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' [b]Fukushima - The Elephant in the Room[/b]...Meanwhile, the crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi plant rages on with no resolution in sight and a cold shutdown now projected to be years away.
Until last week there was an apparent media blackout on the crisis, although some Americans, this writer included, have followed the status of the reactors daily at Energy News and Fairewinds, the website of nuclear energy expert, Arnie Gundersen. The Fukushima reactors were built by General Electric, which also owns Comcast, NBC, CNBC and MSNBC, so the absence of timely information is not surprising....
The Norwegian Institute (NILU), a Scandinavian organization that measures air quality, akin to our EPA, had, for the first six weeks following the explosions, issued forecast maps for the northern hemisphere which tracked fallout clouds containing radioactive iodine, cesium and xenon, a gas. Those maps were disturbing to all who saw them, as they showed North America literally blanketed in radioactive fallout at levels that vastly exceeded normal background radiation.
The EPA announced in early May that it would cease testing air, rainwater, tap water and milk.... ![[Linked Image from opednews.com]](http://www.opednews.com/populum/uploaded/most-recent-iodine-map-from-nilu-11671-20110611-13.gif) LEVELS OF RADIOACTIVE IODINEGreenpeace, which conducted tests on marine life outside of Japan's 12 mile limit last month, found levels of contamination in fish and seaweed to be above legal limits.
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[b]Hot Particles From Japan to Seattle Virtually Undetectable when Inhaled or Swallowed[/b]Original estimates of xenon and krypton releases remain the same, but a TEPCO recalculation shows dramatic increases in the release of hot particles. This confirms the results of air filter monitoring by independent scientists. Fairewinds' Arnie Gundersen explains how hot particles may react in mammals while escaping traditional detection. Reports of a metallic taste in the mouth, such as those now being reported in Japan and on the west coast, are a telltale sign of radiation exposure.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 19,831 Likes: 180 |
Reports of a metallic taste in the mouth, such as those now being reported in Japan and on the west coast, are a telltale sign of radiation exposure. Well didja think a nuclear FAIL on this level was going to pass without serious repercussions and loss of life? Fortunately there is no shortage of humans and their loss, though emotional for some, will hardly be felt on a global level.
Good coffee, good weed, and time on my hands...
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' Greger, I admire the philosophical equanimity of someone like yourself---who lives on the east coast. I remember a Finnish student who quoted a bit of Chairman Mao's copious scribblings to the effect that it was quite unimportant to the broad sweep of history whether millions of people lived or died. This person was lost in admiration that a political leader could have such a deep philosophical awareness. I pointed out that whatever the quality of Mao's philosophy, I would have just a tad of unease about such a philosopher running the affairs of millions of people---particularly if I were one of those millions of people. I guess the depth of my philosophy is just not deep enough. · · · 
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Joined: Nov 2006
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 19,831 Likes: 180 |
'
To read too many books is harmful.
Mao Zedong
Good coffee, good weed, and time on my hands...
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journeyman
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journeyman
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Can't decide if this thread is satire, irony or something else..... >Mech.
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Joined: Dec 2005
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I believe that Fukushima nuclear disaster poses not only a threat to Japan, but also to the rest of the planet. What do you think?
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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Of course the danger from the Fukushima fallout is not limited to Japan. Most of it probably is ending up in the Pacific Ocean, which I just happen to live pretty near. The question is: Where else on Earth is that danger of any significance compared to other man-made and natural mutagens?
All sorts of things pose some risk. There is no such thing as "a safe level" of radionuclide exposure (in terms of the dose-response curve), but we all are exposed to naturally-produced radionuclides every day we are alive. (Otherwise Carbon 14 dating would not work!) We all ingest chemical mutagens every day, too. And I'm not just talking about pesticide residue or second-hand smoke: Fresh, wholesome, organic brocolli contains some natural mutagens, just like many other vegetables, grains, fruits, etc.
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Of course the danger from the Fukushima fallout is not limited to Japan. Most of it probably is ending up in the Pacific Ocean, which I just happen to live pretty near. as well as increases in the cesium in the SF Bay area topsoil as the UCB sampling indicates, and in the upper atmosphere posing a threat to aviation, but why depend upon an energy source that we really can't control and whose effects last a long long time?
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Joined: Nov 2006
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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why depend upon an energy source that we really can't control and whose effects last a long long time. Beginning with wood, peat and whale oil, moving to petroleum and coal, then to fissionable materials, practically everything we've ever used as a fuel/energy source has had unintended consequences. The use of fossil fuels appears to be changing the climate. We are still decades away from investing enough in renewable resources for them to take the place of our current sources of energy. There has never in the history of man been any guarantee that you would survive another day. No such guarantee appears to be in the offing anytime in the foreseeable future either... Hemlock? 
Good coffee, good weed, and time on my hands...
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