Perilous
Times
Dr. Sircus On The Japan Radiation Situation: If There Was
Ever A Time To Prepare For Worse Case Scenarios, It Is Now
Destroyed: A satellite image of the Fukushima nuclear station
shows the destroyed reactor buildings and radioactive steam rising
from the plant. From the satellite it is safe, but flying below,
as approaching helicopters need to do if they are ever to bury the
plant in sand and concrete, it is so dangerous that one approaches
the gates of hell on earth in plain sight.
Above and surrounding that plant, its infernal heat and death rays
would kill a man quickly if he got close enough. A person taking a
walk inside the area of the nuclear power plant without any
protection would burn up on a cellular level as fast as you can
drop a hat. That nastiness of existence is going, in all
likelihood, to grow nastier as each day, week and month passes,
but amazingly this situation is already starting to receive less
media attention as if a hell on earth did not exist in Japan.
Obama flew over me today in the northeast of Brazil on his way
down south to Rio. And the news line read that the President’s
mind was split between what was going on around him in Brazil and
the attacks going on in Libya. Not a mention was made of the mega
disaster of still a much unknown dimension in Japan and very much
solidly in the northern hemisphere. The online Times version made
no mention of the disaster today in terms of its health threat but
instead was only concerned with the economic fallout, of which
there will be a lot.
The headlines we wake up to Monday morning say: A new column of
smoke rising from an overheating nuclear plant in Japan drove
workers out of the smoldering site dented hopes for a breakthrough
in the post-quake atomic crisis raising the risk of uncontrolled
radiation. The World Health Organization said today that radiation
in food after an earthquake damaged a Japanese nuclear plant was
more serious than previously thought, eclipsing signs of progress
in a battle to avert a catastrophic meltdown in the reactors.
Just a little bit of radiation can make you terribly sick and of
course a lot can kill you quite instantly. Every little bit of
radiation adds to the winds that bring on cancer so there is a lot
to be concerned about. An unexpected spike in pressure inside one
reactor on Sunday is setting back efforts to bring Japan’s
overheating, leaking nuclear complex under control and concerns
are growing that contamination of food and water is spreading.
If there ever was a time for starting to plan for worse-case
scenarios, it is now. But we are not hearing any stories of people
from the north fleeing to the southern hemisphere; are you? That’s
right, there is no panic or mass migration going on—just some
concerned parents trying desperately to get their hands on some
iodine, any iodine and for good reason. But the controlled press
strikes back and makes fun of these very concerned citizens. It
appears that the press and the experts are going to abandon the
people of Japan like they did the Gulf Coast, which is still
staggering from the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster.
The survival rate after radiation exposure depends
on the radiation dose. For those who survive, full
recovery typically takes from a few weeks to 2 years.
As each day passes the world comes closer to reading news of one
of the largest nuclear stations in the world going out of control
creating a permanent hot spot on our planet that will create
nightmares for generations to come. It is already happening and we
are within a hair’s breadth of incalculable suffering and harm to
human civilization. That might sound dramatic but what else are we
to think with thousands of tons of nuclear material at risk at the
still not under control overly large nuclear power station. Some
of the bravest men who have ever lived are battling to bring the
situation under control and at this point we can only pray that
their sacrifices are not in vain.
At Fukushima prefecture’s 12 monitoring points, the highest level
of radiation was detected in the village of Iitate where a reading
of 12.10 microsieverts per hour was recorded at 8:00 am (2300 GMT
Sunday). An X-ray is 600 microsieverts so people in this region
are receiving the equivalent of almost an X-ray every other day at
this level meaning 180 X-rays a year. In three years it will be
540 X-rays in six years over a thousand and that’s only if the
radiation intensity gets no worse. And we must remember that these
detectable readings are not reporting on the full range of
radiation since many types of radiation on not detectable with
normal instrumentation.
“This event has the potential to be the most globally disruptive
natural hazard in modern times,” said Rob Verchick, a disaster
expert at Loyola University in New Orleans. “And it may just be,
in the context of globalization, of all time.” “The Asian tsunami
of 2004 killed more people. The fall of the Twin Towers launched
two wars. The collapse of the Berlin Wall spelled the end of an
empire. But in this event, psychological, even philosophical,
shock over the confluence of human tragedy and nuclear catastrophe
yields some fundamental questions. If a technological power like
Japan can be so vulnerable, who’s safe? Is even minimal risk, as
with nuclear power, too much risk? Do we need to rethink the role
of government in protecting the public?” wrote Joji Sakurai,
writing for the Associated Press.
image
No one in the world is going to enjoy seeing this simulation. The
longer the nuclear plant in Japan emits radioactive particles the
further it will travel and touch down in foreign lands. When we
hear of the “safe” levels we should starting thinking of the
Physicians for Social Responsibility, a U.S. non-profit advocacy
group, which at one point called for a halt to new nuclear
reactors in the United States.
“There is no safe level of radiation exposure,” said Jeff
Patterson, a former president of the group. Hard science has
concluded that Patterson is correct in his assertion, which means
every time you read the “safe” word used in conjunction with
nuclear radiation in the newspapers or on TV, you are reading
deliberate manipulations of our minds. Actually the report on the
Taiwan food imports read “slightly” contaminated so we have to add
the “slightly” word to the word “safe”. Anyone who wants to eat
some “slightly” contaminated radioactive food, please raise your
hand, and imagine in a month or a year from now, as the soil soaks
up more and more radiation, what the food situation is going to
look like.
They will keep saying it’s safe or talk about
safe amounts or tiny exposure until people and
children, millions of them, are in their graves.
Radiation exceeding Japanese safety standards were found in milk
from a farm about 30 km (18 miles) from the plant as well as
spinach grown in neighboring Ibaraki prefecture. Radioactive
iodine has also been found in tap water in Tokyo, about 240 km
(150 miles) to south. Many tourists and expatriates have already
left and residents are generally staying indoors. Radioactive
iodine and cesium were also found in northern Ibaraki and in dust
and particles in the greater Tokyo area, the government said on
the 20th. Authorities in Taiwan, checking food imports for
radiation, found a shipment of fava beans from southern Japan that
had been contaminated.
Japan’s Health Ministry says tests have now detected additional
types of radiation-tainted vegetables in more places, suggesting
that contamination from its tsunami-crippled nuclear complex is
reaching further into the food chain. Ministry official Yoshifumi
Kaji said Sunday that tests found excess amounts of radioactive
elements on canola and chrysanthemum greens, in addition to
spinach. He said the areas where the tainted produce was found
included three prefectures that previously had not recorded such
contamination. But Japanese officials say levels so far are not
alarming, meaning they will not start to evacuate the northern end
of Japan or Tokyo any time soon.
Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said radiation levels
in milk from a Fukushima farm about 30 km (18 miles) from the
plant, and spinach grown in Ibaraki, a neighboring prefecture,
exceeded limits set by the government. Shoppers in Tokyo avoided
the produce that came from Ibaraki prefecture in the northeast,
where radiation was found in spinach grown up to 75 miles (120
kilometers) from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant.
On Monday the 21st, the Japanese government told people not to
drink the tap water in a village near the quake-hit nuclear power
plant after high levels of radioactive iodine were detected. The
health ministry said 965 becquerels per kilogramme of radioactive
iodine was found in water sampled on Sunday in Iitatemura, which
is 40 kilometres (25 miles) from the Fukushima No. 1 plant. It is
already more than three times the level the government considers
advising people to limit the intake of water.
The radiation from the plant will only get stronger and become
more penetrating into the environments around it. The local affect
is quite strong but what is local might soon come to envelop the
entire island nation of Japan.