Japan Set to Extend Nuclear Evacuation Zone

[Hissyspit]

Source: Reuters

Japan Set to Extend Nuclear Evacuation Zone

By Chisa Fujioka and Shinichi Saoshiro
TOKYO | Mon Apr 11, 2011 3:15am BST

(Reuters) - Japan plans to extend the evacuation zone around its crippled nuclear plant because of high radiation levels, local media reported on Monday, with engineers no closer to regaining control of six reactors hit by a giant tsunami one month ago.

Concern at Japan's inability contain its nuclear crisis, caused by a March 11 earthquake and tsunami, is mounting with Prime Minister Naoto Kan's ruling party suffering embarrassing losses in local elections on Sunday and neighbouring China and South Korea voicing criticism.

Engineers at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi plant north of Tokyo said on Sunday they were no closer to restoring the plant's cooling system which is critical if overheated fuel rods are to be cooled and the six reactors brought under control.

They are hoping to stop pumping radioactive water into the ocean on Monday, days later than planned.

Read more: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/04/11/uk-japan-idUKTRE72A0UU20110411

[Logical]

1. This isn't getting much press anymore. Amazing. n-t

[Poll_Blind]

2. I tell you what, how all of this has unfolded has been a real eye-opener to me.

Proportional coverage (or I should say, lack of it) of this world-altering event has, possibly more than anything else in the last 10+ years, caused me to really rethink just exactly how "own our own" each of us are when it comes to gathering information and ensuring our personal safety during crisis events.

PB

[Logical]

4. I agree with you. Scary. n-t

[Raschel]

20. Yep. It's amazing. Hard to find much info. And radiation still being dumped into the ocean.

[Art_from_Ark]

21. It's hard to find information *in English*

but it's relatively easy to find information in Japanese. Not just from government sources, but also from research institutes, universities, Japanese news media, and private sources. The problem is that not much of that information is available in English.

[CoffeeCat]

13. I know how you feel...

I have practically made it a part-time job, to figure out exactly what is happening
with this disaster. It is obvious that we are not getting the full truth. It's
just unimaginable that this story isn't front page of every major daily.

I research, read, dig and try to make sense out of information/articles I find. The
information is there, but you really have to dig for it and learn from others.

For example, does everyone know that cesium was found in milk in Vermont? The Cesium
is from Fukushima and it is very dangerous radioactive materials. Contrary to the popular
spin, there is absolutely no safe amount of the radioactive material cesium. It has a half
life of 30 years. It gets inside your body--through inhalation, a cut or by the ingestion
of food or drink--it meanders around your body and does damage.

Ingesting cesium isn't just being "exposed to radiation"--like you're exposed to a bit
radiation in an x-ray. We're talking about ingesting very dangerous radioactive material.

We hear NOTHING about this. Cesium, stromium and iodine-131 have been found in numerous
locations throughout the U.S--in milk, mushrooms, strawberries, in grass and in rainwater.

It's just crazy--the lack of information on this!

[Downwinder]

19. More like a radioactive implant for a brain tumor or prostate

Cancer.

[TheMadMonk]

22. A lot of fallacies and half truths there.

"No safe amount." No probably not. That is why in the couse of a long life we humans accumulate enough random genetic damage from innumerable sources, that some form (benign or galloping malignacy) of cancer will strike as many as half of us.

What can be done is to characterise the radiation exposure level which can be statistically linked to a measurable increase in population wide cancer rates. THAT level is not even remotely close to being approached, except right on top of the reactors themselves.

"The popular spin" as you call is due to the fact that unlike the other two radioisotopes you mention, iodine and strontium, there are no known specific (eg thyroid cancer and leukemia respectively) effects due to radiocaesium exposure. Nor does it "meander" as you put it. It in fact shows a certain affinity for muscle tissue, something which reinforces the finding of no known specific damage.

That is not to say that is has absolutely no ill health effects, it must and will add minutely to the general overall radiation burden we all bear. However whatever those effects may be, at the levels of exposure we are seeing to date, they are immeasurablly small.

Also, what you are not seeing, is that the reason they can exactly quantify how much caesium from Fukushima is in a sample taken thousands of miles away, is by detecting tiny amounts of other short lived radio-isotopes which could have come from no other source and calculating from known ratios at that source. Thus if you see x bequerells amount of Illudium Q-36 with a half life of eleventy six jiffies, then y bequrelles of the caesium must be from the same source.

What is missing from the data which make it into sensationalist print is the fact that there might well be an additonal ten times y caesium present from natural sources and the dozens of nulear tests conducted last century. And in any case the actual amounts being seen are on the very borders of detectability. Istead we get that question/suspiscion begging "Experts say there is no cause for alarm at this time." (My emphasis, but the phrasology begs it.)


Anxiety and knee jerk reactions are doing far more damage that the radiation is at the moment: Germany's switching off of its nukes will add an absolutely guaranteed several dozen respiratory illness related deaths PER YEAR as coal fired generation is ramped up to compensate in the short to medium term.

Is nuclear anxiety contributing to a spike in heart attacks around the world? My guess is probably.

How many idiots, ten thousand miles away, are right now overdosing (possibly to the point of illness) themselves on iodine, and anti-oxidants? More than a few I'm betting.

What fun for the next shipment of nuclear materials in Europe.

[Mojorabbit]

29. If these types of radiation are being found in milk

I would not be giving a glass of it three times a day to a toddler. I am hoping for plentiful information on levels all across the country for the duration.

[TheMadMonk]

32. They are already present. For much of the world in far greater...

...quantities than will ever be added by this incident.

[dixiegrrrrl]

36. Vermont says the cesium radiation did not come from the Fukushima plant.

"Vermont Health Department reports that the amounts detected are not believed to have come from the Japan nuclear power plant damaged last month in an earthquake, that the amounts are minuscule and do not pose a threat. “

BUT
it still is not helpful for public sources to say "radiation" was found, without saying what kind,
then they say, ALL THE TIME, versions of ""A person is normally exposed to about 600 millirem of radiation
every year," said Dr. Chen." (WHAT KIND???)
The measurement was "The amount detected was 1.9 picocuries per liter (pCi/L), with an uncertainty value of 1.6 pCi/L."
I read that as "plus or minus 1.6"...?

then there is this:
Radiation from Japan has been detected in drinking water in 13 more American cities,at levels roughly equal to the maximum contaminant level permitted by EPA, the data shows.
http://blogs.forbes.com/jeffmcmahon/2011/04/09/radiation-detected-in-drinking-water-in-13-more-us-cities-cesium-137-in-vermont-milk/

and

Cesium and iodine both at least 600% above EPA’s maximum contaminant level in Hawaii milk

Arkansas milk 300% above EPA’s maximum contaminant level for radioactive iodine-131…

Radioactive Iodine-131 in Pennsylvania rainwater sample is 3300% above federal drinking water standard

EPA: Radioactive Iodine-131 levels in PA & MA rainwater “exceed maximum contaminant level permitted in drinking water”

reports from Energy News
http://enenews.com

[animato]

41. The Forbes blog article says that the cesium was only just found in milk in Vermont

The cesium-137 found in milk in Vermont is the first cesium detected in milk since the Fukushima-Daichi nuclear accident occurred last month. The sample contained 1.9 picoCuries per liter of cesium-137, which falls under the same 3.0 standard.


So that is saying it wasn't there before or maybe that they did not test for it before?

The reporting on this subject is so shoddy.

[psychopomp]

23. If it's updates you want, this site is probably all you need:

http://nei.cachefly.net/newsandevents/information-on-the-japanese-earthquake-and-reactors-in-that-region/

[grahamhgreen]

24. " does everyone know that cesium was found in milk in Vermont". Ugh

[boppers]

25. What cesium isotope has a half life of 30 years?

Cesium 131 has a half life of 9 days.
http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=cesium+131

132 is 6 days, 130 is under half an hour, 129 is a day and a half...

I think part of the problem with public information is that reporters who couldn't be bothered to stay awake in science class are giving out reams of laughably bad information.... to a public which also couldn't be bothered to stay awake in the same classes.

[boppers]

27. Found it, 137.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caesium-137

Decays into Barium.... over 30 years.

[boppers]

28. Oh, and related decays:

135 is 2,300,000 years
136 is 13 days
138 is 33 minutes
139 is 9 minutes

http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=cesium+137

[dixiegrrrrl]

34. but..but..Vermont Health Dept. says " no threat" from the cesium.

and besides, it just a little little bit, so there.:sarcasm:

Amazing how ever single "official" reporting source in this country hurries to assure us a little bit of radiation
won't hurt us, but makes no distinction among different types of radiation and their half lives.

"A person is normally exposed to about 600 millirem of radiation every year," said Dr. Chen. "Using the most conservative estimates, drinking milk with these trace amounts for one full year would add 0.01 millirem to exposure."

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20110411/NEWS02/110411007/Health-Department-No-threat-from-traces-radiation-Vermont-milk-?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE

[CoffeeCat]

35. I have many questions...

Dr Chen, according to this article says, "A person is normally EXPOSED to about 600 millirem of
radiation per year."

I understand that. But when Dr. Chen says "EXPOSED" does he mean exposure through external
sources, such as flying on an airplane, being near a microwave, getting xrays, etc. Normal
everyday stuff?

Is drinking cesium-137 (which lives in your body for 30 years and is known to cause cancer)
"normal exposure"?

Seems to me that there is a HUGE difference between very low levels of radiation hitting the outside
of your body----and ingesting/inhaling radioactive isotopes (such as iodine and cesium).

Furthermore, if radioactive particles, such as cesium and iodine, are continuously streaming over here
from Japan--doesn't that mean that our exposure is continuous and that those isotopes are
accumulating in our system? We're not just inhaling these substances ONCE. The jet stream
has been picking up and dropping these radioactive substances for nearly a month now.

[dixiegrrrrl]

37. Physicians for Social Responsibility insists there is no safe level of exposure to radionuclides

Notably, Physicians for Social Responsibility has insisted there is no safe level of exposure to radionuclides, regardless of the fact that we encounter them naturally:

There is no safe level of radionuclide exposure, whether from food, water or other sources. Period,” said Jeff Patterson, DO, immediate past president of Physicians for Social Responsibility. “Exposure to radionuclides, such as iodine-131 and cesium-137, increases the incidence of cancer. For this reason, every effort must be taken to minimize the radionuclide content in food and water.”

via Physicians for Social Responsibility, psr.org

[boppers]

42. Biological half life of Cesium 137 is 70 days.

That is, in about 70 days, half of it leaves your system. The 30 year half life does mean that it "lives in your body for 30 years", it means that in 30 years, half of it will have decayed into a different substance, regardless of it being found in muscle, your pee, your septic tank, etc.

Oh, and airplane rides and microwaves aren't "external", many rays aren't stopped by airplane aluminum, human skin, etc. That's how X-rays work, after all. Natural exposure includes both external and internal exposure.

For comparison:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_equivalent_dose

You are correct that inhalation and ingestion often lead to relatively more significant doses, because skin dies and sloughs off (or you get skin cancer) more quickly than lung tissue, brain tissue, etc.

[baldingrockwarlord2]

3. Call It Mission Creep...

or story burnout or call it whatever you want. Similar to the oil rig disaster. It's like noone wants to deal with the continuing bad news. A tsunami has a shorter shelf life than an ongoing nuclear catastrophe-and it's much sexier on TV. Add the disinformation campaign by TEPCO and the Japan Gov't in to the mix and folks are just plain burned out on the story for all the confusion. Too much information and none of it good. And I suspect that they have been minimizing the impact to the entire planet of this disaster-just like the BP Oil disaster.

[Harmony Blue]

8. This is done on purpose to cover up grave crimes against humanity

Just like with the BP oil rig.

The carnage in the Gulf continues, and the same with the damaged nuclear power plants in Japan.

[dixiegrrrrl]

38. Yep.

And welcome to DU.
:hi:

[stockholmer]

5. Effort is in danger of failing & reactors too hot to cover in concrete-TEPCO admits no end in sight

http://enenews.com/japanese-experts-effort-is-in-danger-of-failing-reactors-too-hot-to-cover-in-concrete-tepco-admits-there-is-no-end-in-sight

:-(

[CountAllVotes]

7. thank you for your consistent information w/links

I do appreciate you informative posts that we miss over here.

This is beyond a tragic situation and it will not go away any time soon. This is a nuclear disaster and it seems to me that many are trying to ignore it.

:( :( :( :evilfrown:

:kick:

[stockholmer]

10. here is a good radiation plume tracker for the USA (from Norwegian Institute for Air Research)

http://www.woweather.com/weather/news/fukushima?LANG=us&VAR=niluhemis133&HH=0&LOOP=1

:hi:

[CountAllVotes]

11. woah!

Thanks for this map! :scared:

[CoffeeCat]

15. Scary, isn't it?

And we hear NOTHING about this from our press. What do these levels mean?
Is it going to get worse? Should we be taking any precautions?

The silence is deafening and we've got radioactive materials from a melting-down
nuclear plant--invading our air.

Anyone home?

I've been reading a great deal about this--on wonky, technical sites. I've also
been listening to experts and those who understand this stuff. One thing is for
certain. We are being totally bamboozled with this, "Oh, the radioactivity we're
being exposed to is no big deal! It's like getting an x-ray!"

From what I've read--being exposed to minute amounts of radiation and INGESTING
OR INHALING RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS are two separate animals. This radioactive
cloud that is passing over the US--and continues to pass--dumps very dangerous
radioactive materials in the air, on our grass, on our crops. It gets in
milk (and has done so) and is in the rainwater (this has happened in the US too).

These radioactive materials--such as cesium, iodine-129--are not safe AT ANY levels--if they
have been ingested or inhaled. They cause cancer. Everywhere on that map, which shows
blue/purple, are places where people are getting radioactive materials inside of their
bodies. This is not external radiation hitting our bodies for a short time on the outside.
This is highly dangerous, radioactive isotopes that are ingested and floating inside our
body. Cesium stays in the body for 30 years.

BP had quite a bit of coverage compared to this. It's almost like a media blackout.

[CountAllVotes]

31. You are right!!!!

If you listen to that Dr. Bill on KGO, you know something is very wrong. He says this is nothing as you state.

I know it is far from being "nothing". There is a lot of be afraid of! :scared:


:dem: :kick:

[Demeter]

6. It's About Time

The Japanese Administration in making W look positively proactive in comparison.

[marions ghost]

9. no closer to restoring cooling...

:banghead:

[midnight]

12. They are hoping to stop pumping radioactive water into the ocean on Monday, days later than planned.

This is becoming clear from wind patterns to the dumping of radiation into the water that this disaster is can't be contained.

[CoffeeCat]

16. I don't get it...

...they say that they're nowhere near getting the cooling to happen. Yet, they also
say that they expect to stop dumping radioactive water into the ocean. So, does that
mean that they'll halt the cooling attemps with water? What will they use then?

I just heard that the temps are too hot to encase the reactors in cement.

Unless I'm misunderstanding (and I'm no nuclear physicist so I could be mistaken), then
something doesn't add up here.

[dixiegrrrrl]

39. Something about getting a big tank to put the water in instead of dumping it.

the situation is getting so serious that even CNN has had to resort to......telling the truth, in this article of much detail.

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/04/08/japan.nuclear.crisis/

[Johnny Harpo]

14. Perhaps The Japanese Culture Has Over-Ruled Common Sense and....

now has created a massive state of denial.

They have now gone way past their ability to deal with it.

[peace4ever]

17. My partner is going there next month to visit her family

I'm so worried, and I can't talk her out of it =(

[Art_from_Ark]

26. Where, exactly, is your partner going?

And put yourself in her place-- If you had relatives in Japan, wouldn't you want to go see them?

[Art_from_Ark]

18. Fukushima Prefecture has been preparing temporary housing

for people in the 7 municipalities of Futaba County, the area hardest hit by the nuclear disaster. In a press release dated April 4, the Prefecture plans to make up to 20,000 temporary homes available to residents who are remaining in the affected municipalities. Temporary homes include pre-fab accommodations, privately-owned apartments, and apartments under prefectural management.

http://www.pref.fukushima.jp/kenchiku/04topix/futabagun_houshin.pdf

[Art_from_Ark]

30. NHK is reporting that TEPCO president Shimizu

visited the capital of Fukushima to personally offer an apology. He asked to have a meeting with Fukushima governor Sato, but the governor refused the offer. Fukushima governor Sato is really ticked off.

[Uncle Joe]

33. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, Hissyspit.

[Mnemosyne]

40. Catastrophic nightmare. K&R n/t