Pegasus Research Consortium

Greetings:

It is with a heavy heart that we have to begin RADIATION WATCH 2013.

As of 21 December 2012, it has been 651 days that Planet Earth has been at war with the nuclear industry - and, unfortunately, our dear beloved Mother Earth seems to be losing the fallout depopulation battle.


However, we are happy to start with some good news.




22 December 2012

PFS pulls the plug on parking lot dump targeted at Skull Valley Goshutes in Utah (http://www.beyondnuclear.org/radioactive-waste-whatsnew/2012/12/22/pfs-pulls-the-plug-on-parking-lot-dump-targeted-at-skull-val.html)

QuoteAs reported by the Salt Lake Tribune, the Private Fuel Storage (PFS) Limited Liability Corporation (LLC) has given up on its plans to turn the tiny Skull Valley Goshutes Inidan Reservation in Utah into a parking lot dump (or "centralized interim storage facility") for commercial high-level radioactive waste. (http://www.nirs.org/factsheets/pfsejfactsheet.htm)

At one time, PFS was comprised of more than a dozen nuclear utilities, led by Xcel Energy of Minnesota, with Dairyland Power Co-Op as a front group.

In 2005-2006, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) granted PFS a construction and operating license, despite objections by traditionals with the Skull Valley band, nearly 500 environmental and environmental justice organizations (http://www.nirs.org/radwaste/scullvalley/skullvalleygoshutesgroupltr772005.pdf), as well as the State of Utah.

The plan was for 40,000 metric tons of irradiated nuclear fuel to be "temporarily stored" (for 20 to 40 years) in 4,000 dry casks on the reservation.

However, as the ultimate plan was to transfer the wastes to the Yucca Mountain dump, when that proposal was cancelled in 2009, this would have meant the wastes would have been stuck indefinitely at Skull Valley.


In 2006 a very unlikely coalition, involving the likes of Mormon political leaders and wilderness advocates, succeeded in creating the first federal wilderness area in Utah in a generation.

This created a "moat" around the Skull Valley reservation, blocking the railway needed to directly deliver the waste.

(We proposed this same action plan at the Avila Beach Diablo Canyon protest way back in 1979 as a way to DENY NUCLEAR at the San Onofre NPP in San Diego.)

And, after lobbying efforts at the top echelons of Republican Party decision making circles by U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) as well as Utah Governor Huntsman, the George W. Bush administration's Department of the Interior refused to approve the lease agreement between PFS and the Skull Valley band, (http://www.nirs.org/radwaste/scullvalley/sv_victory91406.htm) as well as the intermodal transfer facility on Bureau of Land Management property which could have allowed heavy haul trucks to ship the waste containers the final leg of the journey to the reservation.

The Skull Valley Goshutes were first targeted by the nuclear power establishment more than 20 years ago. (http://www.nirs.org/radwaste/scullvalley/goshutepfstimeline061405.pdf) Altogether, 60-some tribes have been actively targeted (http://www.nirs.org/radwaste/scullvalley/historynativecommunitiesnuclearwaste06142005.pdf) for high-level radioactive waste parking lot dumps.

All the proposals have been stopped, as through the work of Native American grassroots environmental activists like Grace Thorpe (NoTen O Quah) (http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/obituaries/articles/2008/04/07/grace_thorpe_tribal_judge_and_daughter_of_jim_thorpe/?camp=pm), working in alliance with environmental and environmental justice organizations.





21 December 2012

25 years ago today, the "Screw Nevada Bill" was passed (http://www.beyondnuclear.org/radioactive-waste-whatsnew/2012/12/22/25-years-ago-today-the-screw-nevada-bill-was-passed.html)

QuoteAs reported by the Las Vegas Review Journal (http://www.lvrj.com/news/twenty-five-years-later-screw-nevada-bill-elicits-strong-feelings-184499521.html), in the wee hours of Dec. 22, 1987, 49 states ganged up on one, singling out Yucca Mountain in Nevada as the sole site in the country for further study as a potential national dump for high-level radioactive waste.

Numerous targeted dumpsites in the East had been indefinitely postponed a year or two before, due to widespread public resistance. Deaf Smith County, TX and Hanford, WA were also being considered for the western dumpsite.

But TX had 32 U.S. Representatives, WA had a dozen, and NV, just one. TX and WA Representatives also held the powerful House Speaker and Majority Leader slots. On the Senate side, NV had two rookie Senators, regarded at the time as easy to roll. The "raw, naked" political decision was made behind closed doors.

But the science -- Yucca's geological and hydrological unsuitability -- caught up to the proposal. So did Harry Reid's revenge, as he grew in power to become Senate Majority Leader. Led by Western Shoshone spiritual leader Corbin Harney, the Western Shoshone National Council maintained tireless opposition to the dump, joined, over time, by more than 1,000 environmental groups. Then, in 2009, President Obama and his Energy Secretary, Steven Chu, wisely cancelled the dangerous, controversial proposal.

Although $11 billion of ratepayer and taxpayer money had already been wasted, another $90 billion would have been wasted if the project had gone forward.

If the dumpsite had opened, many thousands of high-level radioactive waste trucks, trains, and barges would have travelled through most states, past the homes of tens of millions of Americans, at risk of severe accidents or intentional attacks unleashing disastrous amounts of radioactivity into metro areas.

And if wastes had been buried at Yucca, it would have eventually leaked into the environment (beginning within centuries or at most thousands of years), dooming the region downwind and downstream as a nuclear sacrifice area.

Dec. 21st marked the 30th anniversary of the passage of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act.

QuoteJudy Treichel, executive director of the Nevada Nuclear Waste Task Force, has published an op-ed in the Las Vegas Sun entitled "Winning the Yucca battle -- 25 years later." (http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2012/dec/23/winning-yucca-battle---25-years-later/)

Twenty-five years ago, on Dec. 22, 1987, Nevada's number was up — at least we thought so. The most bombed place on Earth was slated by Congress to take another big hit in the form of becoming the final resting place for the nation's thousands of tons of high-level nuclear waste. The Screw Nevada Bill became law, directing the Department of Energy to only consider Yucca Mountain for a national repository.

In addition to being on the western edge of the Nevada Test Site (now the Nevada National Security Site), Yucca Mountain is also beneath the Nellis Air Force Base's test and training range. Military aircraft are tested and war exercises are carried out, often with live bombs.

During a public meeting, conducted by the Department of Energy, a Las Vegas schoolteacher told the agency, "You have decided that the one place in the country where bombs are tested underground and bombs are sometimes dropped from above is the safest place to bring the most dangerous waste there is?" more (http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2012/dec/23/winning-yucca-battle---25-years-later/)

(http://i1073.photobucket.com/albums/w400/thorfourwinds/1-15%20January%202013/sorrell.jpg)

Vermont Attorney General William Sorrell


5 January 2013

Beyond Nuclear - Home - States have no confidence in NRC's Nuke Waste Con Game (http://www.beyondnuclear.org/home/2013/1/5/states-have-no-confidence-in-nrcs-nuke-waste-con-game.html)

QuoteState of Vermont Attorney General William Sorrell (pictured, left) stated that "Until the D.C. Circuit's ruling, the NRC licensed and relicensed nuclear reactors on the assumption that the federal government would take away all of the spent fuel from each reactor site at some defined time, so the NRC never looked at the possibility that the fuel might stay there for years, decades, or even centuries."

He added that NRC has to consider whether licensing new -- and extending the licenses at old -- reactors makes sense in light of the long-term environmental impacts of onsite irradiated nuclear fuel storage, and the uncertainty surrounding the availability of a permanent dumpsite at any point in the future.

In the 1980s, the U.S. Department of Energy was eyeing 7 potential sites in Vermont's granite for a national repository, as well as additional sites in neighboring New Hampshire (Hillsboro) and Maine (Sebago Lake).

more (http://www.beyondnuclear.org/home/2013/1/5/states-have-no-confidence-in-nrcs-nuke-waste-con-game.html)

And in a strange case of the pot calling the kettle black...


5 January 2013

NRC pleads insufficient funds to resume Yucca dump licensing proceeding (http://www.beyondnuclear.org/home/2013/1/5/nrc-pleads-insufficient-funds-to-resume-yucca-dump-licensing.html)

QuoteAs reported by the Aiken Standard (http://www.aikenstandard.com/article/20130105/AIK0101/130109807/1004/deadline-advances-yucca-lawsuit), however, Aiken County, South Carolina -- home to large amounts of high-level radioactive waste at the Savannah River Site nuclear weapons complex -- is arguing the licensing proceeding should resume post haste, with whatever funding is available.

Aiken County, the State of South Carolina, and the State of Washington sued the federal government, to force the resumption of the Yucca licensing proceeding.

Ironically enough, while Aiken County and the State of South Carolina seek to export their high-level radioactive wastes to Yucca Mountain, Nevada, pro-nuclear boosters are simultaneously volunteering -- and lobbying the federal government -- to import large quantitites of commercial irradiated nuclear fuel for "centralized interim storage," and even reprocessing, at the Savannah River Site. more (http://www.beyondnuclear.org/home/2013/1/5/nrc-pleads-insufficient-funds-to-resume-yucca-dump-licensing.html)

WTF ?

NukeSpeak - can someone please explain just what the hell is going on here?


Attorneys representing Aiken County stated in its motion that
"simply put, no appropriations decisions have been made
which prohibit the Nuclear Regulatory Commission from using available funds
to continue the agency's mandatory review of the Yucca Mountain license application. It continues to stand as the law of the land."

The NRC has, on hand, nearly $10.5 million in Nuclear Waste Fund carryover. Plaintiffs want the funds to be used to continue the licensing process for Yucca.




The NRC stated that, "it would be a far more appropriate to conserve the limited amounts ... so that it would be available if and when Congress decides to fund the project ... or to direct their use toward an alternative high-level waste solution."

Judges in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit are hearing the lawsuit that states the NRC illegally halted its consideration of a license for the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in 2010.




Radioactive Japan under LDP: Law May Be Passed to Force Retailers to Carry Fukushima Produce (http://ex-skf.blogspot.ca/2013/01/radioactive-japan-under-ldp-law-may-be.html)


3 January 2013

In another WTF moment, Ms. Mori declares the new national government under LDP is considering passing the legislation to force retailers to sell Fukushima produce.

It's not very clear from the article below by Fukushima Minpo whether this legislation is intended for retailers only in Fukushima, or any retailers anywhere. (The more I read it, it feels the legislation will be for the retailers everywhere in Japan, but not 100% sure.)

Fukushima Minpo also makes it obvious that Japan's Consumer Affairs Agency (whose head is the same Ms. Mori) is for helping producers, not consumers.


And this from 12 August 2012

Fukushima Produce On Sale In Tokyo

QuoteI was really surprised to see produce from Fukushima for sale in a supermarket near my house in Tokyo. Not only for sale but, ON SALE.

At the front door of the market, you can find the peaches ON SALE. In other parts of the produce area you can find peaches from other parts of Japan for double or triple the amount of the Fukushima peaches.

I recently read that Fukushima peaches will be exported to Thailand beginning this month (August 2012).

Measurement of Radioactive Fallout from the March 2011 Fukushima Nuclear Reactor Incident (http://nadp.sws.uiuc.edu/fukushima/)

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) collaborated with the National Atmospheric Deposition Program in an effort to monitor North American precipitation samples for the presence of nuclear fallout in response to the Japan Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Station incident that occurred on March 11, 2011.

Specifically, excess precipitation and filtrate (insolubles suspended in precipitation) from National Trends Network sites and selected Mercury Deposition Network sites were analyzed for the presence of radiological fallout for samples collected during the March 8th to April 5th, 2011 sampling period. NADP samples were provided to the USGS's TRIGA Nuclear Facility in Denver Colorado, where the radiological determinations were made.



This project was implemented to add information about radioactive fallout from the March 12-14, 2011 incident


and to test the capabilities of the NADP to respond to an unexpected atmospheric release. This is the second time samples from the NADP network have been used to measure radioactive fallout, the first being after the Chernobyl reactor failure in 1986.

The study found concentrations (activity) and fallout (deposition) of radioactive iodine and radioactive cesium in significant number of samples. Detectable quantities of Iodine-131, Cesium-137, and Cesium-134 were observed at 21% of the 167 tested locations.

Concentrations of I-131 detected in 5 samples ranged from 29.6 to 1090 picocuries per liter (pCi/L). Concentrations of Cs-134 detected in 23 samples ranged from 0.4 to 55 pCi/L. Concentrations of Cs-137 in 33 samples ranged from 0.70 pCi/L to 39 pCi/L.

Detections and measurable fallout from wet deposition was observed primarily at NADP sites located along the West Coast of the US, the central Rocky Mountain region and northern Great Plains, the central and upper Mississippi River Valley and eastern mountainous regions ranging from Virginia northward through Vermont. Deposition was also observed at NADP sites in Alaska (see figure (http://nadp.sws.uiuc.edu/fukushima/)).




http://www.connectingdots1.com

Tepco admitted on 12/27/2012: 10 million Bq of cesium-134/137 is still released from reactor1, 2 and 3 EVERY SINGLE HOUR!

This is measured at the top part of each reactor building. The amount is computed from the dust density of Cs-134/137, other nuclides are excluded.

Since this April, the releasing amount has been stably around 10 million Bq / hour.

Posted by Mochizuki on December 27th, 2012 http://fukushima-diary.com/2012/12/10-million-bq-of-cesium-134137-is-still-re...

Once again TFW, Above and beyond excellent thread rendering!!!
I wanted too add that, with in the findings of the Great Plains area, both in Central and South Eastern South Dakota, we are currently being summoned to relinquish the Uranium deposits for manufacturing purposes. Of course there are some 'REAL' issues with these areas due to the fact we are considered the bread basket of the world, and that there happens too be Aquifer's located under these mining operations expected drilling and mining sites.

The people of South Dakota are up in arms over this, the big companies that want to support the mining are adamantly denying that there would be no cause for danger as the operation progresses, but when confronted via Town hall meeting's and EPA they have no real safety number  too give.

I have grown up in this part of the country most of my life, recently they have tried to exploit all kinds of trafficking and mining facilitated industries both from and through our beautiful country sides. Farmer's around here are starting to grow corn for E-fuels opposed for consumption because it pays more and saves their prosperity of being farmers and land owners. I have many relatives that, since I was a young whipper snapper, have since given up the AG business completely due to foreclosures and government involvement in regulations.
i.e.- Have some cousins that were left with a tonne of land, almost a complete section, it was a Soybean/corn/Wheat operation in the day,beautiful ranch style home from back in the day built by my Uncle Jack. He also built a dairy milking barn complete with separators and Homogenizers too save expensive processing that was deducted from naturally harvested milk, was quite the operation, both Dairy and grain wise.
Today, his son's operate it, it is no longer a AG/Grain/Dairy based business, it is a hog confinement, all the old barns and everything on the land was bulldozed to the dirt for rebuild of new structures. The place is and absolute cesspool of what it once was, and it is because of the involvement of governments and farmer's inability to produce the ever so delicate balances between crops and livestock.
When I asked one of his son's why they did what they did, the only reply was "It's where the money is."  :o

Either way, the radiation factors are going to be a serious problem for sure, we have too remember that we are living on a natural reactor, the combination of both is going to be devastating none the less when these two influences of the same nature start contributing to one another in a most expedited way.

Simple solutions, just stubborn people with in the current fundamental thinking department of the PTB for sure!!  >:(

Thanks again TFW, really eye opening stuff you post, wish everyone in the PTB groups could see thing's as clearly as you explain them.

With Great Respect,
1Worldwatcher

Study: 88% of cesium in radioactive ash
might be at risk of being transported away from
Japan landfills by wind and rain (http://enenews.com/study-radioactive-ash-dumped-japan-landfills-risk-being-transported-wind-rain)

Quote[...] These results show that 88% of the total radioactive Cs existed in water soluble and ion extractive forms and might be at risk for elution and diffusion with rain and wind. [...]

Following the accident, the Japanese Government established 100000 Bq/kg as the activity concentration limit for radioactive cesium in the incinerator ashes of MSW [municipal solid wastes] that were destined for landfill. [...]

In Japan, most of the incinerator ash of MSW is sent to landfill and these ashes are thus exposed to wind and pH 5.6 rainwater for long periods. As a result, 88% of the total radioactive cesium might be at risk for elution and diffusion due to exposure to rain and wind.

Very interesting reading:

Radioactive Nuclides in the Incinerator Ashes of Municipal Solid Wastes before and after the Accident at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23303086)






Japanese Attorney: Information is being concealed —
"5 people died of acute leukemia last year" in S?ma, 45km north of Fukushima Daiichi (http://enenews.com/japanese-attorney-information-being-concealed-5-people-died-acute-leukemia-last-year-sma-45km-north-fukushima-daiichi)

Quote[...] The recent situation in Soma city*..a child had acute leukemia, a man in 30s died, 5 people died of acute leukemia last year. This kind of information is concealed.

[...] In his turn lawyer Toshio Yanagihara spoke about the "Fukushima Collective Evacuation Trial."

Through this class action suit on behalf of 14 children, the plaintiffs hope to force the authorities to recognize the legal right of hundreds of thousands of children to be evacuated from the contaminated areas.

Fukushima governor hopitalized — Bleeding from colon (http://enenews.com/fukushima-governor-hopitalized-bleeding-from-colon)

QuoteFukushima Gov. Yuhei Sato has been hospitalized since Sunday due to bleeding colon diverticulum, the prefectural government said Monday.

The 65-year-old governor of the nuclear disaster-hit prefecture is being treated with medicine and will be discharged from the hospital in the city of Fukushima in seven to 10 days, according to the prefectural office. [...]

Probably didn't have anything to do with this   :P   

Fukushima governor wants all reactors decommissioned (http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201112010025)

or this:


Sato calls for wider nuke-crisis payment (http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20111223a4.html)






Another man died of acute lymphocytic leukemia | Fukushima Diary (http://fukushima-diary.com/2011/11/another-man-died-of-acute-lymphocytic-leukemia/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+FukushimaDiary+%28Fukushima+Diary%29)




Report: Journalist dies of acute lymphocytic leukemia —
Was living inside 30 km zone to support Fukushima (http://enenews.com/journalist-dies-of-acute-lymphocytic-leukemia-was-living-inside-30-km-zone-to-support-fukushima)



TV: US sailors having traits associated with radiation poisoning after Japan operation -
Bleeding from rectum -
Baby with birth defects - Cancer - Thyroid problems (VIDEO) (http://enenews.com/tv-sailors-having-traits-associated-radiation-poisoning-bleeding-rectum-baby-birth-defects-cancer-thyroid-problems-video)






US sailors sue Japanese utility over radiation exposure - Earthquake Disaster in Japan - Stripes (http://www.stripes.com/news/pacific/earthquake-disaster-in-japan/us-sailors-sue-japanese-utility-over-radiation-exposure-1.202197)

Quote(...) The sailors allege a host of medical conditions, from headaches and difficulty concentrating to rectal bleeding and thyroid problems, as a result of the exposure and say they will have to undergo more medical tests and expensive treatments in the future, their lawyer Paul Garner said Thursday.

The sailors also want TEPCO, which has an office in Washington, D.C., to establish a $100 million fund to pay for any of their future medical expenses. (...)

"Complete Information Control": Japan newspapers receive much frightening info that's covered up — Some evacuees died from acute symptoms yet not reported — Journalists scared (http://enenews.com/complete-information-control-newspapers-receive-tons-frightening-information-covered-fukushima-journalist-frightened-govt-died-acute-symptoms-never-reported)

QuoteAccording to the news received yesterday, 6 evacuees out of 10 from a certain area of Namiecho who relocated themselves in Yonezawa died of acute symptoms (it was said leukemia), and that horrified the remaining evacuees. They presented this fact to the administration and medias, however, the media didn't report it at all. They said they are scared of the government...

Newly Fukushima Footage from 3/11: I can no longer force my employees to continue... many received 'high doses' of radiation -Plant Chief (http://enenews.com/new-311-fukushima-footage-longer-force-employees-continue-received-high-doses-radiation-plant-chief)

QuoteA manager's calls for reinforcements to help contain a series of crises at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant were ignored, newly released TEPCO teleconference footage has revealed. [...]

Mainichi: Fukushima workers stood above highly radioactive rubble — "I had numbness in my toes for several months but I did not go to hospital" (http://enenews.com/mainichi-fukushima-workers-stood-above-highly-radioactive-rubble-numbness-toes-several-months-hospital)

QuoteFukushima No. 1 nuclear plant workers who struggled to bring the nuclear crisis under control in its first few months were only checked for radiation exposure to the torso despite the presence of highly radioactive rubble, according to former employees of plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) and other sources.

[...] radiation dosages from some rubble under his feet topped 100 millisieverts. Several hundred people were working around the building at the time, the onetime TEPCO employee says. [...]
"I had numbness in my toes for several months but I did not go to hospital because I thought it was due to the unsanitary environment," he recalls. [...]

Lives Slipped Away?
The 50 Patients of Futaba Hospital?


"In the three days after the nuclear accident, more than 200 bed-ridden elderly people were stranded at the Futaba Hospital and attached old people's home in the town of Okuma, Fukushima Prefecture, and 50 died during the exhausting evacuation operation. Those 50 deaths have shocked hospital and care home operators across the country and posed hard new questions for Japan as a land of frequent natural disasters." Air date 1/11/2013


NHK Fukushima Special: "We may not have much time left until the next catastrophe occurs" (VIDEO) (http://enenews.com/nhk-fukushima-special-we-may-not-have-much-time-left-until-the-next-catastrophe-occurs-video)

At 46:30 in
Yasushi Kamada, NHK Reporter: "What should we do to save the most vulnerable among us in the event of a disaster?"

"How far should we risk our lives to save others?
We may not have much time left until the next catastrophe occurs.
How much support can medical staff provide when they become victims of disaster?
We medical workers can't help more patients if we don't survive. First and foremost, our own survival is critical".


Yahoo: Rumor spreading in Japan says leukemia up 7 times from last year — Champion wrestler who trained in Fukushima diagnosed with acute myelocytic leukemia (http://enenews.com/media-report-harmful-rumor-japan-leukemia-cases-increased-7-times-last-year-30-year-championship-wrestler-gunma-diagnosed-acute-myelocytic-leukemia)

QuoteMHLW ignores the medical statistics of Fukushima and a part of Miyagi, Fukushima Diary by Mochizuki, December 1, 2011:
Since a few weeks ago, this "harmful rumor" has been spreading on the internet
   •   Date: Nov. 21
   •   Survey of medical association of each local government
   •   April through October
   •   Leukemia cases have increased 7 times since last year
   •   Chairman of medical association said that the connection between unusual increase of leukemia and Fukushima is not clear
   •   60% of the total leukemia cases are acute leukemia (highest ratio since 1978, when they started taking this survey)
   •   80% of the patients are from Northern Japan and the Kanto area
   •   Fukushima has highest rate, then Ibaraki, Tochigi, Tokyo

Posts mentioning 'leukemia' get deleted says Japanese man diagnosed with acute leukemia after 3/11 (http://enenews.com/posts-mentioning-leukemia-deleted-japanese-man-diagnosed-acute-leukemia-after-311)





Japan TV host diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia — Had been eating Fukushima produce on show (http://enenews.com/japan-tv-host-diagnosed-acute-lymphocytic-leukemia-eating-fukushima-produce-show)

Quote"A 63-year-old TV newscaster has been diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia and is now hospitalized, getting ready for chemo. He felt a strange lump in his neck on October 28, he says. (Various news sources including: Zakzak 11/7/2011, Yomiuri Shinbun 11/6/2011)

"In his morning program on Fuji TV he's been promoting Fukushima produce by eating them in the show. He also happened to be in Fukushima in March 15. Just a coincidence. Never mind that ALL is predominant in small children, and an adult case is one in 100,000 annually in Japan."

Japanese testify on radiation hazards at Human Rights Council in Geneva -
World Network For Saving Children From Radiation (http://www.save-children-from-radiation.org/2012/11/16/japanese-testify-on-radiation-hazards-at-human-rights-council-in-geneva/)



Peace Love Light
tfw      (http://files.abovetopsecret.com/files/img/lg50aa500a.gif) (//http://)Liberty & Equality or Revolution

I read all this, and with sadness and horror...  But I ask:  Now what?

Yes, the removal of nuclear energy from the choices of energy production is optimal - BUT...it's NOT likely, given the fact that They're making so much money turning mercury into gold...

So what do We DO?  What CAN We do?

QuoteOriginally posted by Zaphod58

I'll try to find the official reports over the next couple of days to get an idea of what the levels in California are, but nothing I've seen to date raises any alarms.

Greetings Zaphod58:

When we started this thread, we were postulating that 676 days of Fukushima fallout might somehow contribute to the current 'flu' epidemic...   :P

We'll toss out some info for you "to get an idea of what the levels in California are."


April 18, 2011
Fukushima Forecast:

Uninterrupted line of radiation stretches across Pacific, tracking towards West Coast of U.S., Canada (http://enenews.com/fukushima-forecast-uninterrupted-line-radiation-stretches-across-pacific-tracking-west-coast-canada-video)


LiveLink (http://transport.nilu.no/browser/fpv_fuku?fpp=conccol_Xe-133_;region=NH)

QuoteThe Norwegian Institute for Air Research (Norwegian: Norsk Institutt for luftforskning) or NILU is one of the leading specialized scientific laboratories in Europe researching issues related to air pollution, climate change and health.

NILU has a staff of scientists, engineers and technicians with specialized expertise for working on air pollution problems. The staff do more than two hundred projects annually for research councils, industries, international banks and local, national and international authorities and organizations. Its director since 2009 is Kari Nygaard.
Wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norwegian_Institute_for_Air_Research)

QuoteIt's higher than normal of course,
but it's not high enough to cause health problems
unless it lingers for years,
which it won't because the weather will push it out
and cause lower readings as time goes on.

"It's higher than normal of course."

Now, why would you say that? Specifically, why, "of course"?


Maybe this?

April 21, 2011
Radioactive Fukushima Plutonium And Strontium Bombarding US West Coast Since March 18th[/b] (https://mylogicoftruth.wordpress.com/2011/04/22/radioactive-fukushima-plutonium-and-strontium-bombarding-us-west-coast-since-march-18th/)

EPA RADnet Reports Show Plutonium in US since March 18th
 
We found a more complete RADnet dataset for various radioactive isotopes we had previously not encountered.

Recently while searching the EPA RADnet database for radiation reports, we found a link to the main database.  It included the RADNet monitoring data for many isotopes not released in the public reports.

Notice that:

   •   RADnet began monitoring for Plutonium from Day 1 - March 11, 2011

   •   Plutonium was found from Alaska to San Francisco California. and down into Guam from
March 18, 2011

   •   Strontium was detected in the United States on March 18, 2011

   •   Isotopes found not released in public reports Plutonium, Strontium and Cesium

   •   What do the negative values mean in the results column? source (http://lucaswhitefieldhixson.com/users/lucas-whitefield-hixson)



April 25, 2011
New EPA radiation tests show Cesium in California rainwater at highest level since crisis began (http://gramercyimages.com/blog1/2011/04/26/new-epa-radiation-tests-show-cesium-in-california-rainwater-at-highest-level-since-crisis-began/)

Precipitation RadNet Laboratory Analysis, EPA, April 25, 2011:

Richmond, California (San Francisco Bay Area), posted on April 25, collected April 14:

Cesium-134 @ 8.9 picoCuries/liter
Cesium-137 @ 7.9 pCi/l

In the EPA's previous four tests of California precipitation, there was no Cesium-134 or 137 detected.

Areas in US with highest Cesium levels detected by EPA:



All EPA precipitation data posted April 25, 2011.


April 25, 2011
New type of Fukushima forecast shows radioactive Cesium, Iodine over large sections of U.S. and Canada (http://enenews.com/new-type-fukushima-forecast-shows-cesium-iodine-clouds-canada-april-25-videos)


LiveLink (http://enenews.com/new-type-fukushima-forecast-shows-cesium-iodine-clouds-canada-april-25-videos)



And there persists the rumor that all is well in the heartland ...
move along, there is nothing to see here ...



Dr. Helen Caldicott sums it up rather nicely in this video.    8)


Peace Love Light
tfw      (http://files.abovetopsecret.com/files/img/lg50aa500a.gif) (//http://)Liberty & Equality or Revolution

Ordered my goggles today. You will need these if your going to watch radiation :D

(http://www.findcoolclothes.com/products/large_photos/CG325.jpg)

All Americans Should Watch This Video

Posted on March 1, 2012 by WashingtonsBlog


America's aging nuclear plants are in very real danger of melting down (http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2012/02/california-nuclear-plant-suffered-steam-tube-rupture-radioactive-leak-last-week-very-significant-event-which-could-have-caused-a-melt-down.html)

And see this (http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2012/02/newsflash-mainstream-media-does-real-reporting.html).

The Center for Investigative Reporting (via Al Jazeera (http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/peopleandpower/2012/02/2012222134934495461.html)) just released a brilliant, must-watch video showing what's going on:

Must-Watch Video On Unsafe American Nuclear Plants (http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2012/03/must-watch-video-on-unsafe-american-nuclear-plants.html)

(http://files.abovetopsecret.com/files/img/lg50aa500a.gif) (//http://)

The total number of days between Friday, March 11, 2011 and Friday, March 1, 2013 is
720 days.

The radiation poisoning of we, the people, our children, pets, food, water and our land
has continued unabated - 24/7/365

- for 1 year, 11 months, 17 days, 14 minutes

... which is:

•   62,280,440 seconds
•   1,038,074 minutes
•   17,301 hours (rounded down)
•   102 weeks (rounded down)

Once again, are we any closer to a solution to the Fukushima multiple melt-throughs disaster/fiasco spewing life-altering clouds of radiation 24/7/365 ?   

OK, let's try a different tactic to share what we feel is important to understand at this precise time in history.

This is not a drill or dry-fire exercise.

The balloon has dropped, people, and it's called  Nukushima. (http://files.abovetopsecret.com/files/img/mm4f2323dd.jpg)












Fukushima Research
Excess post-Fukushima deaths in the US in 2011. Excess mortality in the US derived from CDC data.
A pdf containing ongoing reports of mortality in 2011 is available here (http://optimalprediction.com/files/deathsweek52.pdf).

Beta Radiation in the United States Following the Fukushima Disaster is available here (http://optimalprediction.com/files/e9ba1877d6.pdf).

Excess Mortality Rate Cover-up Continues
There has been a dramatic increase in excess mortality in the Pacific region for the months
of November and December.  Over 5,000 excess deaths occurred in this region in this time
period, which is more than March, April, and May combined.

The East South Central region also had a spike in this time frame, and the West North
Central and West South Central region also had increases in December.

more (http://optimalprediction.com/files/deathsweek52.pdf).






Excess Deaths in Japan
The Asahi Shimbun reported that the Japanese health ministry estimated that 64,000 more
deaths occurred in Japan in 2011 than in 2010. 

Of these deaths, 20,000 or so can be attributed to the earthquake and tsunami. 

The article states that there is a trend toward higher death rates due to Japan's aging society. 

So we can say that, based on this information, no more than 44,000 excess deaths occurred in Japan after the Fukushima nuclear disaster.  

When compared to the estimate of 53,000+ in this study,

:P

http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/social_affairs/AJ201201020058



Another home-run by our friend Bobby1 (http://optimalprediction.com/wp/fukushima-research/).





Fukushima AIDS, part 1 (http://optimalprediction.com/wp/fukushima-aids-part-1/)

26 February 2013

Chernobyl AIDS & Fukushima AIDS
The ongoing global spread of radionuclides from the destroyed Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is causing immune system-related illnesses in Japan, the USA, and worldwide. The same phenomenon occurred and is still occurring after the Chernobyl nuclear catastrophe in 1986, where it was termed "Chernobyl AIDS."

One result of many studies conducted during the last few years in Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia is the clear finding that Chernobyl radiation suppresses immunity – a person's or organism's natural protective system against infection and most diseases.

The lymphatic system – the bone marrow, thymus, spleen, lymph nodes, and Peyer's patches – has been impacted by both large and small doses of ionizing radiation from the Chernobyl fallout. As a result, the quantity and activity of various groups of lymphocytes and thus the production of antibodies, including various immunoglobulins, stem cells, and thrombocytes, are altered.

The ultimate consequences of destruction of the immune system is immunodeficiency and an increase in the frequency and seriousness of acute and chronic diseases and infections, as is widely observed in the Chernobyl-irradiated territories... [/color]

The suppression of immunity as a result of this radioactive contamination is known as "Chernobyl AIDS."...

Apparently, impaired immunity triggered by Chernobyl radionuclides adversely affected all of the individuals, without exception, who were subjected to any additional radiation. (Yablokov et al., p. 87 & 92, emphasis mine)

So everyone who was exposed to Chernobyl radiation had their immune systems affected from the fallout.

The same will happen to everyone exposed to Fukushima radiation, which is or will be the entire populations of Japan and the USA.

This is known as "Fukushima AIDS."  more (http://optimalprediction.com/wp/)

Thought you might enjoy the read........

Fukushima: A Nuclear War without a War: The Unspoken Crisis of Worldwide Nuclear Radiation

The World is at a critical crossroads. The Fukushima disaster in Japan has brought to the forefront the dangers of Worldwide nuclear radiation.

The crisis in Japan has been described as "a nuclear war without a war". In the words of renowned novelist Haruki Murakami:

"This time no one dropped a bomb on us ... We set the stage, we committed the crime with our own hands, we are destroying our own lands, and we are destroying our own lives."

Nuclear radiation –which threatens life on planet earth– is not front page news in comparison to the most insignificant issues of public concern, including the local level crime scene or the tabloid gossip reports on Hollywood celebrities.

While the long-term repercussions of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster are yet to be fully assessed, they are far more serious than those pertaining to the 1986 Chernobyl disaster in the Ukraine, which resulted in almost one million deaths (New Book Concludes – Chernobyl death toll: 985,000, mostly from cancer Global Research, September 10, 2010, See also Matthew Penney and Mark Selden  The Severity of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster: Comparing Chernobyl and Fukushima, Global Research, May 25, 2011)

Moreover, while all eyes were riveted on the Fukushima Daiichi plant, news coverage both in Japan and internationally failed to fully acknowledge the impacts of a second catastrophe at TEPCO's (Tokyo Electric Power Co  Inc) Fukushima Daini nuclear power plant.

The shaky political consensus both in Japan, the U.S. and Western Europe is that the crisis at Fukushima has been contained.

The realties, however, are otherwise. Fukushima 3 was leaking unconfirmed amounts of plutonium. According to Dr. Helen Caldicott, "one millionth of a gram of plutonium, if inhaled can cause cancer". 

An opinion poll in May 2011 confirmed that more than 80 per cent of the Japanese population do not believe the government's information regarding the nuclear crisis. (quoted in Sherwood Ross, Fukushima: Japan's Second Nuclear Disaster, Global Research, November 10, 2011)

http://www.globalresearch.ca/fukushima-a-nuclear-war-without-a-war-the-unspoken-crisis-of-worldwide-nuclear-radiation/28870 (http://www.globalresearch.ca/fukushima-a-nuclear-war-without-a-war-the-unspoken-crisis-of-worldwide-nuclear-radiation/28870)

Peace,
K

Whisper A Prayer For The Dying



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5691SLhPmw4

Translation via ex-SKF (http://ex-skf.blogspot.jp/2013/04/latest-on-fukushima-i-nuke-plant-waste.html)

11 April 2013

And the latest from TEPCO on April 11, 2013 in the email notice to the press No.35 (http://www.tepco.co.jp/cc/press/2013/1226323_5117.html):

Transfer of waste water from the in-the-ground water storage pond No.3 to the pond No.6 started at 2PM on April 11, but a leak was found at the flange of the pipe of the transfer pump at 2:03PM, so we stopped the pump.

The leak stopped when the pump was stopped. The leaked water was soaked into the soil.

And No.37 (http://www.tepco.co.jp/cc/press/2013/1226329_5117.html):

We will disassemble the flange to investigate the leak that occurred during the transfer of waste water from the pond No.3 to the pond No.6.

We will also start removing the soil that covers the top part of the water storage pond where the leaked water may have dripped.

The water contains 290,000 Bq/cm3 of all beta (mostly strontium), and 22 liters of this water leaked, as TEPCO's email notice No.36 (http://www.tepco.co.jp/cc/press/2013/1226328_5117.html) confirms.

That would be 6.38 billion becquerels of all beta (290,000 x 1000 x 22).




TEPCO's president? One of Mr. Abe's ministers who frequent the plant for photo-ops?

They are having another press conference starting at any moment now (scheduled to start at 6PM local time).

Flange that leaked, from TEPCO's photos and videos library 4/11/2013 (http://photo.tepco.co.jp/date/2013/201304-j/130411_21j.html):







Tested - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tested)

test·ed adjective \?tes-t?d\
Definition of TESTED

: subjected to or qualified through testing —often used in combination <time-tested principles>



What a surprise... :P






Fukushima Pond Leak Update: All 7 In-the-Ground Water Storage Ponds Are Leaking Radioactive (Beta) Water (http://fukushimaupdate.com/fukushima-pond-leak-update-all-7-in-the-ground-water-storage-ponds-are-leaking-radioactive-beta-water/)

Translation via ex-SKF (http://ex-skf.blogspot.jp/2013/04/latest-on-fukushima-i-nuke-plant-waste.html)

13 April2013

Jiji Tsushin (http://www.jiji.com/jc/zc?k=201304/2013041300204&g=soc) (4/13/2013) says TEPCO has reported to the Nuclear Regulatory Authority that the in-the-ground water storage pond No.1 is indeed leaking into the surrounding soil.

TEPCO's handout for the press on April 13, 2013 (http://www.tepco.co.jp/nu/fukushima-np/f1/smp/2013/images/chosui_13041301-j.pdf) shows that beta nuclides are being detected in the water taken from either the drains or the leak detection pipes or both in not only the ponds Nos 1, 2, 3 but all seven of these in-the-ground storage ponds:


 
The top table is for the sampled water from the drain holes, which are placed outside the bottom bentonite layer.

From the presentation material by TEPCO's President (4/10/2013) (http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/handouts/2013/images/handouts_130410_08-e.pdf), Page 7:



Confusing information about which pond had the highly contaminated waste water after the Reverse Osmosis (RO) treatment. Ponds Nos 1, 2, 3 have them for certain, and Pond No.6, I think. According to the TEPCO president presentation, Pond No.5 (capacity 2,000 tonnes) and Pond No.7 (capacity 4,000 tonnes) were empty.

(http://i1073.photobucket.com/albums/w400/thorfourwinds/1-15%20April%202013/01.jpg)


At least 23 injured after magnitude 6.3 earthquake jolts Japan (http://rt.com/news/earthquake-japan-dozens-injured-803/)


Published time: April 13, 2013 07:06
Edited time: April 13, 2013 18:01


A powerful 6.3-magnitude earthquake shook western Japan, injuring at least 23 people – seven of them seriously – and damaging several housesThe Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said the quake hit early on Saturday morning near Awaji Island, just south of Kobe, at a depth of 15 kilometers.??

The quake was initially measured at 6.0 on the JMA seismic intensity scale, though the agency later upgraded its magnitude to 6.3. The US Geological Survey measured the earthquake at 6.0 on the Richter scale, saying it struck at a more shallow depth of five kilometers.??

No tsunami warning was issued, and the country's Nuclear Regulation Authority said it has received no reports of problems at nuclear facilities.?

Many of those who received more serious injuries were elderly people who tripped while attempting to flee, police said.??

An 82-year-old woman in Fukui prefecture broke her leg after falling to the ground, and a 74-year-old woman Hyogo prefecture suffered a broken hip bone, AFP reported.??Japanese TV news footage showed houses with broken rooftop tiles and cracked walls, while some areas of the island underwent soil liquefaction – a common side-effect of strong tremors.

The earthquake was centered in the same region as the 1995 'Kobe earthquake,' a magnitude 7.2 tremor which killed 6,434 people and caused more than $100 billion in damage.??

"I was scared to death. I thought a big quake hit again,"

AFP quoted Hikaru Doi, a 36-year-old employee at a taxi company on Awaji Island, as telling Jiji Press.??In March 2011, a massive 9.0 quake struck northeastern Japan, sparking a tsunami which killed nearly 19,000 people and set off the world's worst nuclear disaster in a generation.??Japan, which is located near a triple fault line, is considered one of the most quake-prone countries in the world.




5.2 quake hits near Fukushima, day after destructive 6.3 tremor — RT News (http://rt.com/news/japan-earthquake-fukushima-tokyo-842/)

Published time: April 14, 2013 16:24


(http://i1073.photobucket.com/albums/w400/thorfourwinds/1-15%20April%202013/03.jpg)

A concrete wall has collapsed at Awaji city in Awaji islad, Hyogo prefecture, western Japan on April 13, 2013 after a strong earthquake (AFP Photo / Jiji Press)

14 April 2013

A 5.2-magnitude earthquake hit the Pacific coast of Japan's Fukushima prefecture and the surrounding area, causing powerful tremors felt as far away as Tokyo.

The quake struck at 1:25pm (UTC), about 70 km from the city of Iwaki in Fukushima prefecture, according to the US Geological Survey. The epicenter of the quake was recorded at a depth of 50 km off the coast of Japan in the Pacific Ocean.

No tsunami warning was issued following the quake. No damage has been reported at the Fukushima Daichi and Daini nuclear power plants, according to plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO).

The tremor comes in the wake of a powerful 6.3-magnitude quake that jolted western Japan on Saturday, injuring at least 23 people and damaging over 1,000 houses.

The Japan Meteorological Agency warned that aftershocks as strong as the lower 5s might occur for about a week afterwards.The agency reported today that more than 390 aftershocks were recorded in Japan. The magnitude of all occurred aftershock jolts did not exceed 3.8, according to seismologists.

Just exactly who is in charge at the TEPCO asylum?

Remember this from only 4 months ago?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdvfsBsXNS4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdvfsBsXNS4&feature=player_embedded

Almost half of Fukushima children now have thyroid disorders from radiation poisoning:

officials blame 'too much seafood'

2 December 2012

Not much information comes out of Japan about Fukushima anymore, and the American MSM seems to have forgotten what watered down reporting they had done earlier. But the human suffering has begun in Japan, and even the Japanese government is trying to pretend it's not happening.

The curtain is pulled over the total impact of this disaster to protect the nuclear power industry. The government and media blackout has become known as "plume gate" for the radioactive plume that was released from the Fukushima mishap.

The Fukushima reactors were designed by General Electric, and 23 reactors of the USA's 104 operating reactors are very similar to Fukushima's.

Lately, awareness of nuclear power's pitfalls is growing and casting a shadow on nuclear power's illegitimate claim of sustainability and unlimited power.

more (http://www.naturalnews.com/038185_Fukushima_children_thyroid_disorders.html#ixzz2E1CzEyBT)

Fukushima is the worst ongoing catastrophe ever devised by thoughtlessness and greed and foisted upon a public in no good position to defend against it. I love the fact that you, Thor, are ON THIS like no other. Deepest respect and appreciation for the hours of research and writing, as well as the contribution of others.

KUDOS AND GOLD!

Peace and Love,
JD

Japan nuclear crisis: Fukushima plant to be entombed in concrete after radiation leak | Mail Online (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1371793/Japan-nuclear-crisis-Fukushima-plant-entombed-concrete-radiation-leak.html)

The 100-year battle to make Fukushima safe: Grim prediction as brave workers expect to 'die within weeks'


By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
UPDATED: 10:03 EST, 3 May 2011

   •   Workers warned they're facing a 100-year battle to make fuel rods safe
   •   Those battling to stop nuclear meltdown are expected to die in weeks
   •   American recruiter asked to hire technicians to help
   •   World's largest concrete pump is being flown from U.S. to assist
   •   Evacuation zone refugees won't be able to go home for months, admits Japanese minister
   •   Joint Japanese-U.S. mission recovers bodies from sea
   •   Man arrested after crashing car through gate of stricken N-plant
   •   TEPCO releases video showing damage inside Fukushima's Unit 4

A nuclear expert has warned it could be a 100 years before fuel rods at Japan's stricken Fukushima nuclear plant are safe.

Dr John Price, a former member of the Safety Policy Unit at the UK's National Nuclear Corporation, said radiation leaks will continue and it could take 50 to 100 years before the nuclear fuel rods have cooled enough to be removed.

The warning comes as the mother of one of the workers who are battling to stop a meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant said today that they all expect to die from radiation sickness 'within weeks'. more (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1371793/Japan-nuclear-crisis-Fukushima-plant-entombed-concrete-radiation-leak.html#ixzz2QZ63tz7e)

Radioactive Japan: One of the Most Contaminated Villages and Towns in Fukushima Lures Children Back with $100 Book Coupons (http://ex-skf.blogspot.jp/2013/04/radioactive-japan-one-of-most.html)

From our friend EX-SKF (http://ex-skf.blogspot.jp/):

(http://i1073.photobucket.com/albums/w400/thorfourwinds/April%2016-30%202013/ex-skfLOGO-300.png)


19 April 1013

Meanwhile in one of the most contaminated towns and villages in Fukushima after the nuclear accident more than two years ago, officials have just launched a new program to encourage children to receive annual health checkups.

If a child undergoes one annual health checkup, he/she will receive 10,000 yen (these days it's close to US$100) worth of book coupons (gift certificates for books).

If a child happens to have evacuated from the village and does not go to the village schools (temporarily re-located to Fukushima City and Kawamata-machi, both contaminated to lesser degrees than this particular village), oh well that's too bad, his/her coupon value will be only 5,000 yen.

The officials openly admit the scheme is to incentivize people with children to come back to the village.

What's the name of the village?

Iitate-mura, with extremely high levels of iodine-131 (http://ex-skf.blogspot.com/2011/03/iaea-correction-iodine-131-in-iidate.html) and several thousand becquerels/kg of neptunium (http://ex-skf.blogspot.com/2012/03/discovery-of-neptunium-239-in-iitate.html) right after the March 2011 accident, and which, thanks to the very politically savvy mayor, has managed to keep the businesses and factories inside the village operating despite the village having been designated as "planned evacuation zone".

From Fukushima Minpo (http://www.minpo.jp/pub/topics/jishin2011/2013/04/post_6937.html) reporting as if it's a good thing (4/18/2013; part):



Collect the stamps: Iitate-mura to give book coupons to children in middle schools and younger to boost the participation rate for internal radiation exposure [WBC] tests and thyroid tests


Iitate-mura, whose residents have evacuated from the village because of the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant accident, started a new program on April 17 to urge children in the village from kindergarteners to middle schoolers to get tested for internal radiation exposure and thyroid every year.

If children get tested, they will be given a stamp, which will be exchanged with book coupons. The project is in response to the lower participation rate, and [the village officials] want these children to make it a habit to be tested.

The program will give one stamp to a child if the child receives both internal radiation check and thyroid test once a year at Azuma Neurosurgical Hospital in Fukushima City.




One stamp can be exchanged for book coupons worth 10,000 yen, and at graduation from kindergartens and schools children will be given the book coupons depending on the number of stamps they will have accumulated. [The village] kindergarten and schools will plan the tests at the hospital as school events.

The program also covers children who have transferred to other schools after they evacuated from the village. However, for them, one stamp is exchangeable for book coupons worth 5,000 yen. One of the program's aims is to have them come back to the village kindergarten and middle school in Iino-machi in Fukushima City, and the village elementary school in Kawamata-machi.

The village officials want children to undergo annual internal radiation testing and thyroid testing, but an increasing number of children have stopped taking these tests after the initial tests. The officials believe that since the initial test results for most children were not in the range that would cause alarm they haven't led to regular checkups.

Testing at a neurosurgical hospital?

I checked the website of Azuma Neurosurgical Hospital (http://www.microsofttranslator.com/bv.aspx?ref=SERP&br=ro&mkt=en-US&dl=en&lp=JA_EN&a=http%3a%2f%2fwww.azumanh.or.jp%2f). They do have pediatrics as one of their specialties but the doctor in charge of the pediatrics section (http://www.azumanh.or.jp/sinryo/sinryoka/sinryoka07.html) is a surgeon specialized in cardiology.



From Camberra's website about Fastscan (http://www.canberra.com/products/hp_radioprotection/fastscan.asp):

QuoteThe Fastscan whole body counter is designed to quickly and accurately monitor people for internal contamination of radionuclides with energies between 300 keV to 1.8 MeV. The FASTSCAN system uses large area sodium iodide detectors and CANBERRA's Apex-InVivo™ and Genie™ software to achieve low minimum detectable activities with count times as fast as one minute.

It is intended for use in power plants and other facilities where the possible contamination spectra are well known and uncomplicated.

That doesn't seem to fit the situation in Fukushima and Tohoku/Kanto regions affected by the nuclear accident.

An Appeal from a Fukushima Woman:
A Young Girl Died of Leukemia.
Please Investigate What Is Happening in Fukushima (http://fukushimavoice-eng.blogspot.com/2013/04/an-appeal-from-fukushima-woman-young.html)

"Good evening, everyone.

I used to live 1.2 km from Fukushima Dai-ichi NPP.
I evacuated with only the clothes on my back.
Currently I am staying in Minato Ward.

On the 6th day of last month, I went to Namie-machi, which was the next town over.
Can you people imagine how it really was?
Prime Minister Abe also went there to take a look the other day.

In my friend's house, there were thirteen dead rats, 30-cm long.
Their feces were almost 1 cm in diameter.  These huge feces were everywhere.
They had chewed on everything including the pillar.

Why didn't Prime Minister Abe see such a place?
He should see the inside of houses, if he is going to take a look.

Before cancelling the evacuation order, please rebuild water and power system, roads, supermarekt, dentists and hospitals.

Even if we can return, nobody will return.
The situation is beyod imagination.
Also, the press should research the issue about Fukushima.

Not too long ago, a young woman died of leukemia.
I heard that younger people began to wear masks immediately.
Why didn't the government urge them to wear masks earlier?

In addition, many people, young and old have died of heart attacks.

Therefore, the press should hurry and do good researches within Fukushima Prefecture before reporting.

I myself is opposed to nuclear power plants.  We have suffered so much.
Everyone, please do not allow the restart.

Please."





11 July 2011

CNN is reporting that according to nuclear safety officials in Japan,

45% of children in the Fukushima prefecture
-- the region where three nuclear reactors experienced a meltdown after the earthquake and tsunami in March of this year --
have evidence that their thyroid gland have been exposed to radiation.

According to "health officials," these levels are not a "risk."

This is the same bullpoop put forth by the MSM after Chernobyl as well, and we all know how that went.   :P

Here's the CNN article (http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/07/06/report-thyroid-radiation-found-in-45-of-children-in-japanese-province/).









Addressing that very point, this may be of interest:

FukuGate - We've Been Conned (http://www.thelivingmoon.com/forum/index.php?topic=3007.0)


Just a reminder: the Fukushima reactors were designed by General Electric, and 23 American reactors in 13 states are GE boiling-water reactors with GE's Mark I systems for containing radioactivity, the same containment system used by the reactors in trouble at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, according to a Nuclear Regulatory Commission.



23 GE-Designed Reactors in in 13 states Similar to Japan's (http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/GE-reactors-Japan-UnitedStates/2011/03/14/id/389407)


The six reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant are all GE-designed boiling-water reactors, according to the anti-nuclear advocacy group Nuclear Information and Resources Service (NIRS (http://www.nirs.org/)).

The group says that five have containment systems of GE's Mark I design, and the sixth is a Mark II design. They were placed in operation between 1971 and 1979.

The Mark I has design problems, the NIRS has said.

"Some modifications have been made to U.S. Mark I reactors since 1986, although the fundamental design deficiencies remain," the NIRS said.

The following 23 U.S. plants have GE boiling-water reactors (GE models 2, 3 or 4) with the same Mark I containment design used at Fukushima, according to the NRC online database:

Browns Ferry 1, Athens, Ala., operating license since 1973, reactor type GE 4
Browns Ferry 2, Athens, Ala., 1974, GE 4
Browns Ferry 3, Athens, Ala., 1976, GE 4
Brunswick 1, Southport, N.C, 1976, GE 4.
Brunswick 2, Southport, N.C., 1974, GE 4.
Cooper, Brownville, Neb., 1974, GE 4.
Dresden 2, Morris, Ill., 1970, GE 3.
Dresden 3, Morris, Ill., 1971, GE 3.
Duane Arnold, Palo, Iowa, 1974, GE 4.
Fermi 2, Monroe, Mich., 1985, GE 4.
FitzPatrick, Scriba, N.Y., 1974, GE 4.
Hatch 1, Baxley, Ga., 1974, GE 4.
Hatch 2, Baxley, Ga., 1978, GE 4.
Hope Creek, Hancock's Bridge, N.J. 1986, GE 4.
Monticello, Monticello, Minn., 1970, GE 3.
Nine Mile Point 1, Scriba, N.Y., 1969, GE 2.
Oyster Creek, Forked River, N.J., 1969, GE 2.
Peach Bottom 2, Delta, Pa., 1973, GE 4.
Peach Bottom 3, Delta, Pa., 1974, GE 4.
Pilgrim, Plymouth, Mass., 1972, GE 3.
Quad Cities 1, Cordova, Ill., 1972, GE 3.
Quad Cities 2, Moline, Ill., 1972, GE 3.
Vermont Yankee, Vernon, Vt., 1972, GE 4.

These 12 newer GE boiling-water reactors have a Mark II or Mark III design:

Clinton, Clinton, Ill., 1987, GE 6, Mark III.
Columbia Generating Station, Richland, Wash., 1984, GE 5, Mark II.
Grand Gulf, Port Gibson, Miss., 1984, GE 6, Mark III.
LaSalle 1, Marseilles, Ill., 1982, GE 5, Mark II.
LaSalle 2, Marseilles, Ill., 1983, GE 5, Mark II.
Limerick 1, Limerick, Pa., 1985, GE 4, Mark II.
Limerick 2, Limerick, Pa., 1989, GE 4, Mark II.
Nine Mile Point 2, Scriba, N.Y., 1987, GE 5, Mark II.
Perry, Perry, Ohio, 1986, GE 6, Mark III.
River Bend, St. Francisville, La., 1985, GE 6, Mark III.
Susquehanna 1, Salem Township, Pa., 1982, GE 4, Mark II.
Susquehanna 2, Salem Township, Pa., 1984, GE 4, Mark II.



Because of continued awareness of the cover-up, the awareness of nuclear power's numerous deadly pitfalls is growing and casting a shadow on nuclear power's illegitimate claim of sustainability and unlimited power - "too cheap to meter."




However, the suffering has already begun

Thousands of Japanese children from Fukushima and the nearby areas have been diagnosed with cysts and nodules on their thyroid glands. So far, 41.1 percent of 57,000 tested have shown these early warnings of potential thyroid cancer.


Even worse, four out of five Fukushima evacuees have been observed with developing thyroid abnormalities.


It's not just iodide isotopes with their relatively short radioactive half-lives that can penetrate thyroid glands, cesium-137 isotopes with longer half-lives can too.

Here's what's what about radioactive half-life (only one can decide the truth for themselves). http://www.lbl.gov/abc/Basic.html#Half

However, the official medical line from the head of this research is that 'maybe they've eaten too much seafood or taken too much iodine.'   :P

It's also an official decree that the testing be stopped before it begins in other areas of Japan.

more (http://www.naturalnews.com/038185_Fukushima_children_thyroid_disorders.html#ixzz2Rz4kUL4g)






Fukushima parents worried about radiation levels for children, file lawsuit seeking evacuation (http://japandailypress.com/fukushima-parents-worried-about-radiation-levels-for-children-file-lawsuit-seeking-evacuation-1526961)

15 April 2013

QuoteParents in the city of Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture – just about 55 kilometers west of Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s stricken nuclear power plant – are worried about radiation levels that, while considered safe for most adults, may have negative health effects on their children, who are traditionally more prone to radiation effects.

In this regard, and with the help of anti-nuclear lobbyists, they filed a lawsuit in behalf of their children asking the government to evacuate them to an area where radiation levels are normal as anywhere in Japan.


After the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, there has been a notable increase in citizens challenging the opinion of authorities, especially as scientists and nuclear experts cannot seem to come to an agreement over what should be considered as safe levels of radiation.

Some of these experts say that radiation levels in Koriyama – a city of over 300,000 – are safe even for children, but parents are worried about the long-term effects of radiation exposure on their children, in addition to eating and drinking out of a food and water supply that may be contaminated.

The central government of Japan has set a threshold of 20 millisieverts of annual exposure for deciding whether people can continue to stay in an area or not.

...

The International Commission on Radiological Protection, a global academic organization on health and radiation, does say that the possibility of negative effects risks decline as the radiation levels drop,

but the organization does not believe that there is a level where there is no risk, especially for children,

as evidenced by the other prominent nuclear disaster of modern times in Chernobyl where thousands of children suffered from thyroid cancer.

Toshio Yanagihara, one of the lawyers who filed the lawsuit is disappointed that the government is more worried about a population exodus than saving the children.

"I don't understand why an economic power like Japan won't evacuate the children," he said.









Japan court rejects Fukushima children evacuation lawsuit | The Japan Daily Press (http://japandailypress.com/japan-court-rejects-fukushima-children-evacuation-lawsuit-2527718)

25 April 2013

A Japanese court has rejected a lawsuit that demanded the Japanese government to evacuate children from Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture due to possible negative health effects of radiation on them.

QuoteThe city is around 50 kilometers west of Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s (TEPCO) stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant, and the parents – with the help of anti-nuclear lobbyists – filed the lawsuit because while the government says that the area is safe for adults, children have been traditionally more prone to radiation effects.

The Sendai High Court made its ruling on Wednesday, effectively ending the progress of the lawsuit which has gained international attention due to arguments on what radiation levels are really safe for children.

Some experts say that radiation levels in Koriyama are actually safe for children, but parents can't help but get worried with issues of food and water supplies that may or may not be contaminated.

The Japanese central government has set the safety threshold at 20 millisieverts of annual exposure. Average radiation numbers in Koriyama City are decidedly low, but some "hot spots" have readings well above the threshold – showing an environment that is unstable with radiation. These threshold readings were cited as the reason for a lower court's similar rejection of the lawsuit, prompting the parents to lodge an appeal before the Sendai High Court.

The court is in effect telling the parents that if they deem the radiation levels worrisome for their children, they should leave on their own accord and not have the government shoulder the expenses of their decision to leave.    >:(


It sure gives a new meaning to "shelter in place".   :P






More Evidence of TEPCO/JapGov Crimes Against Humanity:


- Study: 28% Increase In Thyroid Problems In Babies Born After Fukushima in Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington (http://www.zerohedge.com/contributed/2013-04-03/study-almost-one-third-babies-born-after-fukushima-alaska-california-hawaii-o)


- Over 44% Of Fukushima Children Have Thyroid Abnormalities (http://www.infiniteunknown.net/2013/02/17/over-44-of-fukushima-children-have-thyroid-abnormalities/)


- Seven More Fukushima Children Suspected To Have Thyroid Cancer (http://www.infiniteunknown.net/2013/02/13/seven-more-fukushima-children-suspected-to-have-thyroid-cancer/)


- WHO: Fukushima Workers Had Over 10 SIEVERTS Thyroid Dose (http://www.infiniteunknown.net/2012/12/02/who-fukushima-workers-had-over-10-sieverts-thyroid-dose/)


- 'Many People From Even Tokyo Have Thyroid Problems Already' (http://www.infiniteunknown.net/2012/11/27/many-people-from-even-tokyo-have-thyroid-problems-already/)


- Fukushima: More Then 42% of Children Have Thyroid Nodules Or Cysts (German TV Video, Nov 18, 2012): (http://www.infiniteunknown.net/2012/11/19/fukushima-more-then-42-of-children-have-have-thyroid-nodules-or-cysts-german-tv-video-nov-18-2012/)

More than 42% of 57,000 tested children have nodules or cysts, reports Dr. Suzuki who leads the examinations.

In Chernobyl they found only 0.1 – 1%.



Flashback:

(http://i1073.photobucket.com/albums/w400/thorfourwinds/1-15%20May%202013/US-Navy-Vice-Admiral-Alan-Thompson.jpg)

Alan S. Thompson is a Vice Admiral in the United States Navy. He retired from the U.S. Navy in November 2011 as the Director of the Defense Logistics Agency.

- U.S. Navy Vice Admiral Alan Thompson Reported 1,500 MICROSIEVERTS Per Hour Thyroid Dose South Of Tokyo On March 20, 2011 (http://www.infiniteunknown.net/2012/02/27/u-s-navy-vice-admiral-alan-thompson-reported-1500-microsieverts-per-hour-thyroid-dose-south-of-tokyo-on-march-20-2011/)




Even with 'flawless operation', the growing problem of where to put nuclear power plants' spent fuel rods, which are actually still very radioactive for centuries, has been the central issue that's been swept under the rug since Day One. Using DU (depleted uranium) for ammunition has been one outlet for nuclear waste.


Depleted uranium is a misleading term.

Depleted means it's not suitable for nuclear reactor use, but it's still highly radioactive. Uranium metal is extremely hard, and DU is used to on projectiles and bullets in modern warfare because of DU's ability to penetrate even armor.

There is no consideration given to "minor things like collateral environmental damage."

But that's another story.   :P

(http://i1073.photobucket.com/albums/w400/thorfourwinds/1-15%20May%202013/radionetherlandsworldwideLOGO.png)


18 March 2011


Experts temper Tokyo radiation fears | Radio Netherlands Worldwide (http://www.rnw.nl/english/article/experts-temper-tokyo-radiation-fears)

Quote
The fear of nuclear disaster in Fukushima is growing.

In Tokyo, foreigners are being evacuated and the Dutch embassy is handing out iodine tablets to protect against the possible dangers of radiation.

But the fear isn't based on the reality of what's happening in Japan, say scientists. Beyond the immediate vicinity of the nuclear plant, even in a worst case scenario the health risks will be limited.

"The nuclear disaster at Fukushima is and will remain a local one.

Even if there were a meltdown in all the reactors at once, and the wind were blowing in the wrong direction,"

says radiation expert Albert Keverling Buisman (http://www.gezondheidsraad.nl/en/publications/healthy-working-conditions/education-and-training-radiation-protection-experts),

"the radiation level in Tokyo would rise, but not nearly enough really to pose a health risk," he says.

QuoteDr Keverling Buisman isn't the only one keen to calm the fears of the citizens of Tokyo. The scientific advisor at the British embassy in Tokyo, David Fitton (http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-573398), recently stated that even in the worst possible case – a meltdown in all the reactors – the radiation level in Tokyo wouldn't be dangerous.

Arnout Jaspers, Dutch physicist and science journalist, is critical of journalists who flew out of 'disaster area' Japan because of the danger of radiation.

"Journalists who don't dare to stay in Tokyo during a meltdown at Fukushima aren't worth tuppence,"

he wrote in Dutch daily de Volkskrant,

"because they have failed to keep themselves sensibly informed."


Worst case
After all, what's the nightmare scenario?

"There are a number of reasons why the Fukushima disaster can't become a second Chernobyl,"

the scientists say.

QuoteThree reactors were already offline and the three others shut down automatically when the earthquake happened. At Chernobyl, the reactor was running when the explosion took place.

What's more, the reactors at Fukushima are made of entirely different material from those at Chernobyl. There they were full of graphite.

It's not just that the Chernobyl explosion was much bigger than any explosions that could possibly happen at Fukushima.

Because of the graphite it kept on burning for a long time afterwards. As a result, radioactive particles were swept high into the atmosphere.

"Real Time" Radiation Readings (see links in the "more info") - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=7Gr8hr4W64E)


Increased radiation
In Japan, a meltdown followed by an explosion would throw radioactive material no higher than about 500 metres into the air, says British science advisor David Fitton. Even with the wind in the wrong direction, most radioactive material would fall within a radius of 30 kilometres.

Radiation levels in Tokyo would rise, but not enough to be harmful to health.

It would appear that this statement is deliberately misleading and inaccurate.





Fukushima Radiation Contamination of North America THE TRUTH is BABIES are DYING! - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3oMEqU1oAY)

Physicist Arnout Jaspers acknowledges that after the explosion in Fukushima 3, radiation in Tokyo briefly rose to between 20 and 40 times its normal level.   :P



Reactor Unit 3 was loaded with 6% MOX. Three of the reactors at Fukushima Daiichi overheated, causing meltdowns which released large amounts of radioactive material into the air.

QuoteUnlike the other five reactor units, reactor 3 ran on mixed core, containing both uranium fuel and mixed uranium and plutonium oxide, or MOX fuel (with the core comprising ~6% MOX fuel), during a loss of cooling accident in a subcritical reactor MOX fuel will not behave differently to UOX fuel. The key difference between plutonium-239 and uranium-235 is that plutonium emits fewer delayed neutrons than uranium when it undergoes fission.

That's what Wiki says.   :P


Why is MOX a big deal?

According to the Nuclear Information Resource Center (NIRS), this plutonium-uranium fuel mixture is far more dangerous than typical enriched uranium --

a single milligram (mg) of MOX is as deadly as 2,000,000 mg of normal enriched uranium.
source (http://www.naturalnews.com/031736_plutonium_enriched_uranium.html#ixzz2SGOO6f2d)

QuoteWhile water-insoluble forms of plutonium such as plutonium dioxide are very harmful to the lungs, this toxicity is not relevant during a Loss Of Coolant Accident (LOCA) because plutonium is very involatile and

unlikely to leave the reactor in large amounts.   :P

Plutonium dioxide has a very high boiling point.

The toxic effect of the plutonium to the public under these conditions is much less than that of iodine-131 and caesium. A key difference between the Fukushima accident and the Chernobyl accident was that the Chernobyl explosion shattered the fuel and flung it out of the reactor building, while

at Fukushima there was no steam explosion driven by the release of fission energy.

During a loss of cooling accident, the fuel is not subject to such intense mechanical stresses, so the release of radioactivity is controlled by the boiling-point of the different elements present.

A recent National Public Radio (NPR) piece explains that the half-life of plutonium-239, a component of MOX, is an astounding 24,000 years. The same piece explains that if even a small amount of this potent substance escapes from the plant in a smoke plume, the particles will travel with the wind and contaminate soil for tens of thousands of years.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/031736_plutonium_enriched_uranium.html#ixzz2SGP5rWE1





Uploaded on Mar 17, 2011 by oztvwatcher

April 13, 2011 Possible Nuclear Explosion at 3 Scientists are investigating...

"I believe that the explosion of the No 3 reactor may have also involved criticality but this must await the release of data on measurements of the Xenon isotope ratios,"

he writes in a statement on Fukushima and Chernobyl.

Quote"The Fukushima Dai-ichi site has a considerable number of fuel rods on hand, according to information provided Thursday by Toyko Electric Power Co., which owns the atomic complex:

There are 3,400 tons of fuel in seven spent fuel pools within the six-reactor plant, including one joint pool storing very old fuel from units 3 and 4.

There are 877 tons in five of the reactor cores.

Officials have said that the fuel in Unit 4's reactor vessel was transferred to its spent fuel pool when the unit was temporarily shut in November."


Classic disinformation follows.   :P

QuoteHowever, he says, "Why are there no journalists saying that in some densely populated regions of Brazil, China and India, the radiation level is always 20 times higher than it is in Tokyo?"

Fear
"It is and will remain a serious nuclear disaster, but one taking place locally, about 20 or 30 kilometres around Fukushima," says radiation expert Albert Keverling Buisman. "Given that everyone has been evacuated out of this area, the number of radiation victims will be very limited."

"Even in the worst case scenario, the disaster could only be a tenth of the extent of Chernobyl."

Quote"The iodine pills the Dutch embassy is handing out are fine to put people's minds at rest," Dr Keverling Buisman says. But he doesn't think they'll really be necessary.

But the "radiation expert" nuclear physicist admits,

"The fear of invisible radiation isn't easily calmed by a bunch of scientists."




Folks, there are few segues like this one:


Fallout level in Tokyo was the highest this March since May of 2011 | Fukushima Diary (http://fukushima-diary.com/2013/04/fallout-level-in-tokyo-was-the-highest-this-march-since-may-of-2011/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_camp)

Posted by Mochizuki on April 26th, 2013

QuoteAccording to Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Public Health, the fallout level (Cs-134/137)
in Tokyo was the highest reading this March since May of 2011. (64 Bq/m2)

It was increasing since this February.

QuoteThe reason is not known ...

(by scientists).  :P

(http://www.easyfreesmileys.com/smileys/lol-045.gif) (http://www.easyfreesmileys.com/skype-emoticons.html)



13 March 2013

2 Years Ago Today:
New York Times reports U.S. would be harmed only by 'full meltdown' at Fukushima —
Months later it's revealed 'full meltdowns' occurred (http://enenews.com/2-years-ago-today-nytimes-reports-u-s-would-be-harmed-by-full-meltdown-at-fukushima-months-later-its-revelaed-there-were-three-full-meltdowns)

New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/14/world/asia/14plume.html?_r=5&), William J. Broad, March 13, 2011: Blogs were churning with alarm.

But officials insisted that

unless the quake-damaged nuclear plants deteriorated into full meltdown,

any radiation that reached the United States would be too weak to do any harm.




CNN (http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/06/06/japan.nuclear.meltdown/index.html?iref=NS1), June 7, 2011:


in the wake of an earthquake and tsunami in March, the country's Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters said Monday.

Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fukushima_Daiichi_nuclear_disaster): As the water boiled away in the reactors and the water levels in the fuel rod pools dropped, the reactor fuel rods began to overheat severely, and to melt down.

In the hours and days that followed,

Reactors 1, 2 and 3 experienced full meltdown.


Remember this?

From: http://rense.com/general96/shockingplanerad.html

QuoteThis is STAGGERINGLY bad news and shows, clearly and positively, that Fukushima Radiation is THICK in the atmosphere above even the Southern Hemisphere. It gets worse over North America and the U.S.

Note...and note carefully - a CPM (Counts Per Minute) reading of 100 is a mandatory HAZMAT Quarantine EMERGENCY in the State of California. Get that? The shocking readings shown in the photos below are what the passengers were breathing and fully-exposed to during the flights from Chile to Atlanta and then across the US to Portland, Oregon.

Picture, also from the same source:

(http://rense.com/general96/DSCN0828.JPG)

Read the rest and see the pics at the link.

If You fly...You are being hit HARD w/Fukushima radiation!

My daily average for CPM is now 0.24 to 0.30. I know it is higher than normal but the area has a lot of natural background radiation. Will be looking for spikes when I can. I think we are still clear down here for now. The 1,112 does not make me want to fly. What about all of the flight crews. They do it every other 3rd day or so. They must be glowing or rotating them with hazard pay.

Bet the flight crews have NO CLUE, and no One is telling Them - lest They demand that hazard pay.

Quote from: Amaterasu on July 09, 2013, 02:29:44 AM
Bet the flight crews have NO CLUE, and no One is telling Them - lest They demand that hazard pay.

(http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/297915main_SpaceWxAviation260x170.jpg)
NASA Langley-led effort is trying to build a better model to predict the amount of damaging radiation pilots, flight crews and frequent flyers are exposed to on commercial airline flights. While flight crews are designated by the federal government as "radiation workers," just like nuclear plant employees and X-ray technicians, there are no industry standards for radiation exposure or consistently used methods for measuring exposure. Image credit: NASA

QuoteWhile it may not be commonly known, airline flight crews are currently classified as "radiation workers," a federal designation that means they are consistently exposed to radiation. Flight crews on high-latitude routes, in fact, are exposed to more radiation on an annual basis than nuclear plant workers

Modeling Radiation Exposure for Pilots, Crew and Passengers on Commercial Flights

QuoteSan Francisco -- A group of researchers led by NASA, in collaboration with Space Environment Technologies, Inc., the National Center for Atmospheric Resarch (NCAR), and Dartmouth College, are building a model that can predict the solar and cosmic radiation exposure for crews and passengers on commercial airline flights. Researchers will be presenting their preliminary work at the American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco on Friday, Dec. 19.

While it may not be commonly known, airline flight crews are currently classified as "radiation workers," a federal designation that means they are consistently exposed to radiation. Flight crews on high-latitude routes, in fact, are exposed to more radiation on an annual basis than nuclear plant workers.

But unlike in other fields, radiation exposure is not measured in the airline industry, nor are there standards or limits regarding exposure.

A NASA Applied Sciences project called NAIRAS, Nowcast of Atmosphere Ionizing Radiation for Aviation Safety, seeks to build tools that use real-time data and modeling to estimate radiation exposure. The issue has been of concern to pilots, crews and scientists for some time, but this will be the first real-time, data-driven, global model to predict not just cosmic background radiation, but also radiation during solar storm events.

Passengers and flight crews are exposed to radiation because the shielding from Earth's atmosphere against high-energy solar particles and cosmic rays is weaker at normal cruising altitudes than at the surface. The threat is even greater for flight paths that take planes near the poles, because the momentum shielding by Earth's magnetic field is weaker at high latitudes. The concern is greatest for flight crews and frequent flyers because of their consistent exposure over long periods.

Christopher Mertens, a senior research scientist at NASA Langley Research Center and the NAIRAS principal investigator, said the model should provide the most accurate estimations yet of the biologically damaging radiation doses received by airline crews and passengers. The model will use measurements from ground-based neutron monitors, atmospheric temperature and density, solar particle flux and solar wind parameters to "nowcast" exposure levels. Measurements from the NASA Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) spacecraft and NOAA GOES satellites are used in the model.

"The idea is you combine real-time data with accurate models to predict," said Mertens, who helped develop a radiation dosage model for light-ion radiotherapy. "We need an ability to measure and predict."

John Murray, a Langley research scientist who specializes in satellite aviation-weather products, said including solar, atmospheric and magnetosphere activity into the model will make it stand apart.

"This will help the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) to determine what standards may be needed in order to address the increasing concerns that the industry and public have over human exposure to ionizing radiation," Murray said.

Most aviation-related research on cosmic radiation has focused on the potential damage to communication and navigation technology, Mertens said. But little has centered on human health impacts.

NASA first investigated the issue in the 1960s and 1970s when it was studying the feasibility of high-altitude supersonic commercial aviation transport, Mertens said. At the time radiation exposure during flight was deemed a negligible health concern for commercial aircraft at cruising altitudes given what was known about radiation and the number and types of flights common at that time.

Concerns have grown for three primary reasons. Pilots log twice as many flight hours now as then, while flight attendants typically log more hours than pilots. Epidemiological studies have shown this type of exposure to be more damaging than previously thought. And, the number of polar flights is increasing, Mertens said.

Airlines prefer polar routes – for instance, for certain U.S.-to-northern Europe or U.S.-to-Asia routes – because it's a shorter route with reduced head winds, creating fuel savings of tens of thousands of dollars per flight.

Preliminary research indicates that passengers and crews are being exposed to more radiation than previously thought, especially during significant solar events. Mertens analyzed data from a strong solar storm around Halloween 2003 and found that passengers on polar flights – for example from Chicago to Beijing – were exposed to radiation higher than the limit recommended by the International Commission on Radiological Protection. In addition, not including new features in the model such as magnetic storm effects on Earth's magnetic field underestimated the exposure during that storm by a factor of four.

"People on that flight exceeded their radiation exposure limit, and they don't even know it," Mertens said.

The system could also eventually be used to log radiation exposure for flight crews by year and even by career, so that pilots and attendants can keep track of their personal risk.

NAIRAS, funded in the spring of 2008 by NASA's Applied Sciences Program, is scheduled to be a three-year program. Mertens said he hopes the research will lead to improved methods for measuring radiation, predicting radiation levels and a better system to mitigate exposure for passengers, pilots and flight attendants. The research could also lead to the development of onboard instruments that would give pilots real-time radiation estimates on their control panels, alongside the rest of their instruments.

Murray said the model will be available upon completion to the Centers for Disease Control's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center, the Air Force Research Laboratory and the FAA.

Patrick Lynch
NASA's Langley Research Center

http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/AGU-NAIRAS.html

Air crew radiation exposure—An overview - American Nuclear Society PDF (http://www2.ans.org/pubs/magazines/nn/docs/2000-1-3.pdf)

Quote from: zorgon on July 09, 2013, 02:39:00 AM
(http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/297915main_SpaceWxAviation260x170.jpg)
NASA Langley-led effort is trying to build a better model to predict the amount of damaging radiation pilots, flight crews and frequent flyers are exposed to on commercial airline flights. While flight crews are designated by the federal government as "radiation workers," just like nuclear plant employees and X-ray technicians, there are no industry standards for radiation exposure or consistently used methods for measuring exposure. Image credit: NASA

Modeling Radiation Exposure for Pilots, Crew and Passengers on Commercial Flights

http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/AGU-NAIRAS.html

Air crew radiation exposure—An overview - American Nuclear Society PDF (http://www2.ans.org/pubs/magazines/nn/docs/2000-1-3.pdf)

I definitely know and am aware of these hidden little secrets, but for the most part, everyone I have ever flown with or when I had or was Piloting the Craft, we had these conversation's regularly with in Radiation sickness/poisoning effects, and once more, led to think tank discussions of how to remedy these problems with in Flight transportation. We even brought this up with in FAA research paper when doing thesis on safety and best practices during flight scenario's. Well, looks as if we were not far off base with in our contemporary thinking processes of getting the problem resolved, once again, seems very late in the whole FAA acclimated safety thought processes. ::)

QuoteWhat kinds of health effects does exposure to radiation cause?
In general, the amount and duration of radiation exposure affects the severity or type of health effect. There are two broad categories of health effects: stochastic and non-stochastic.

Stochastic Health Effects

Stochastic effects are associated with long-term, low-level (chronic) exposure to radiation. ("Stochastic" refers to the likelihood that something will happen.) Increased levels of exposure make these health effects more likely to occur, but do not influence the type or severity of the effect.

Cancer is considered by most people the primary health effect from radiation exposure. Simply put, cancer is the uncontrolled growth of cells. Ordinarily, natural processes control the rate at which cells grow and replace themselves. They also control the body's processes for repairing or replacing damaged tissue. Damage occurring at the cellular or molecular level, can disrupt the control processes, permitting the uncontrolled growth of cells cancer This is why ionizing radiation's ability to break chemical bonds in atoms and molecules makes it such a potent carcinogen.

Other stochastic effects also occur. Radiation can cause changes in DNA, the "blueprints" that ensure cell repair and replacement produces a perfect copy of the original cell. Changes in DNA are called mutations.

Sometimes the body fails to repair these mutations or even creates mutations during repair. The mutations can be teratogenic or genetic. Teratogenic mutations are caused by exposure of the fetus in the uterus and affect only the individual who was exposed. Genetic mutations are passed on to offspring.

Non-Stochastic Health Effects

Non-stochastic effects appear in cases of exposure to high levels of radiation, and become more severe as the exposure increases. Short-term, high-level exposure is referred to as 'acute' exposure.

Many non-cancerous health effects of radiation are non-stochastic. Unlike cancer, health effects from 'acute' exposure to radiation usually appear quickly. Acute health effects include burns and radiation sickness. Radiation sickness is also called 'radiation poisoning.' It can cause premature aging or even death. If the dose is fatal, death usually occurs within two months. The symptoms of radiation sickness include: nausea, weakness, hair loss, skin burns or diminished organ function.

Medical patients receiving radiation treatments often experience acute effects, because they are receiving relatively high "bursts" of radiation during treatment.

QuoteAren't children more sensitive to radiation than adults?
Yes, because children are growing more rapidly, there are more cells dividing and a greater opportunity for radiation to disrupt the process. EPA's radiation protection standards take into account the differences in the sensitivity due to age and gender.

Fetuses are also highly sensitive to radiation. The resulting effects depend on which systems are developing at the time of exposure.

I do believe that this scenario falls closer under this description for the concern:

QuoteEffects of Radiation Type and Exposure Pathway
Both the type of radiation to which the person is exposed and the pathway by which they are exposed influence health effects. Different types of radiation vary in their ability to damage different kinds of tissue. Radiation and radiation emitters (radionuclides) can expose the whole body (direct exposure) or expose tissues inside the body when inhaled or ingested.

All kinds of ionizing radiation can cause cancer and other health effects. The main difference in the ability of alpha and beta particles and gamma and x-rays to cause health effects is the amount of energy they can deposit in a given space. Their energy determines how far they can penetrate into tissue. It also determines how much energy they are able to transmit directly or indirectly to tissues and the resulting damage.

Although an alpha particle and a gamma ray may have the same amount of energy, inside the body the alpha particle will deposit all of its energy in a very small volume of tissue. The gamma radiation will spread energy over a much larger volume. This occurs because alpha particles have a mass that carries the energy, while gamma rays do not.

QuoteProtecting Against Exposure
What limits does EPA set on exposure to radiation?
Health physicists generally agree on limiting a person's exposure beyond background radiation to about 100 mrem per year from all sources. Exceptions are occupational, medical or accidental exposures. (Medical X-rays generally deliver less than 10 mrem).  EPA and other regulatory agencies generally limit exposures from specific source to the public to levels well under 100 mrem. This is far below the exposure levels that cause acute health effects.

RAD Measurements available at the provided sight fir fuller understanding of contamination with in cause and effect.

EPA . GOV (http://www.epa.gov/radiation/understand/health_effects.html#anyamount)

I was hoping this ordeal wasn't going to go Aerosol for further radiation contamination, but with the natural and ambient radioactivity being acknowledge as being harmful and possibly life threatening, this creates much worse case scenario for the people who journey via Flight plans to this part of the country/World and for those that have to traverse the Air space there of or about it.

Very Sad sad Out comes with the whole scenario. Thanks for sharing TFW, Amaterasu and Zorgon.

1WW

2 years after nuclear disaster, Japan spawns freaky fruits and veggies

http://now.msn.com/fukushima-vegetables-mutated-in-viral-photos-possibly-due-to-radiation

Wish there was some way to bring in that slide show.

Wow nice going Thor-Munga!    :)

Amy good Link!

If you check out the link you posted a so called news agency linked to the source of their news.  A news company posting a source to their new's source is so rare. I wish new's company's had to follow the same protocol they enforce on newshounds.  Odd day !   :o

Anyway two of the source links for that article are here through M$ translate!

http://www.microsofttranslator.com/bv.aspx?from=&to=en&a=http://blog.donga.com/sjdhksk/archives/30700

http://imgur.com/a/Ne2bP#0

I would imagine the people of japan won't have a problem with hotlinking  :-X

Posted July 12....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDYvsbRnVeQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlTDsBx8NPc

Clif High - fukushima disaster, all by design - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlTDsBx8NPc)



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zauXF70o6ik


Has the Fukushima "China Syndrome" begun? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zauXF70o6ik)

Published on Aug 7, 2013
Kevin Kamps, Beyond Nuclear, joins Thom Hartmann. Today marks the 68th anniversary of the attack on Hiroshima. Unfortunately - the people of Japan are having to deal with another nuclear crisis -- one that has once again entered the "emergency" stage.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6l3oL9DM2Hc


Fukushima Emergency: Plant leaks 300 tons of radioactive water daily - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6l3oL9DM2Hc)

Published on Aug 7, 2013
The Japanese Prime Minister has ordered the government to step in and help contain ongoing radiation leaks from the Fukushima power plant. Tepco - the company that runs the facility that was crippled in the 2011 tsunami and earthquake - has been unable to prevent contaminated groundwater from breaching a barrier and pouring into the ocean. Nuclear energy expert Malcolm Grimston joins RT to discuss this.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vx6jFuPYzng


? Japan government in Fukushima clean-up - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vx6jFuPYzng)

Published on Aug 7, 2013
The Japanese government will get directly involved in containing rising levels of radioactive water at the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant instead of relying solely on the operator, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Wednesday.

Shortly after Abe's pledge, the government revealed that approximately 300 tonnes of contaminated water has been leaking from the crippled nuclear reactors on a daily basis.

Al Jazeera's Rob McBride reports from Tokyo.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkHKpGpMwTw


Radioactive Water From Fukushima Is Systematically Poisoning The Entire Pacific Ocean (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkHKpGpMwTw)

Published on Aug 6, 2013
Michael Snyder brings you news that you won't get on the propaganda television.

No, the state-controlled media won't tell you about this disaster and when the bone cancer cases start popping up from the strontium, you won't hear about it!

We, the people, now have to take over the role that the media played and spread truth about Fukushima, but remember that anyone who brings truth to the people, will be portrayed as a traitor, by the Nazi regime!



Radioactive water has probably reached ocean - China.org.cn (http://www.china.org.cn/video/2013-07/12/content_29401321.htm)

Japan's nuclear regulator says radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima power plant is probably leaking into the Pacific Ocean, despite repeated denials by the plant's operator.

The Nuclear Regulation Authority said on Wednesday that an increase in cesium levels in coastal seawater suggest contaminated underground water has reached the sea.

The watchdog urged the Tokyo Electric Power Company to determine where the water may be leaking from and the impact on the environment and human health.

The watchdog will form a panel of experts to look into ways to contain the problem.

The power company still disputes the allegation, but says it is open to suggestions on safety measures.




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77ZrAAzCmvc


Fukushima breaking news; tepco watch dog declares emergency, 68 ?? of 8/6 keivn d blanch 8/6/13, (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77ZrAAzCmvc)

Published on Aug 5, 2013
(Reuters) - Highly radioactive water seeping into the ocean from Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear plant is creating an "emergency" that the operator is struggling to contain, an official from the country's nuclear watchdog said on Monday.

http://life.time.com/history/wastelan...
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/fuk...

As it is time to 86 tepco and the D.o.e.
Why should they even have a speaking part let alone the lone clowns in charge?

Elevated airborne beta levels in Pacific/West Coast US States and trends in hypothyroidism among newborns after the Fukushima nuclear meltdown (http://www.scirp.org/journal/ojped/)

Author(s)
Joseph J. Mangano, Janette D. Sherman

ABSTRACT
Various reports indicate that the incidence of congenital hypothyroidism is increasing in developed nations, and that improved detection and more inclusive criteria for the disease do not explain this trend entirely. One risk factor documented in numerous studies is exposure to radioactive iodine found in nuclear weapons test fallout and nuclear reactor emissions.

Large amounts of fallout disseminated worldwide from the meltdowns in four reactors at the Fukushima-Dai-ichi plant in Japan beginning March 11, 2011 included radioiodine isotopes.

Just days after the meltdowns, I-131 concentrations in US precipitation was measured up to 211 times above normal.

Highest levels of I-131 and airborne gross beta were documented in the five US States on the Pacific Ocean. The number of congenital hypothyroid cases in these five states from March 17-December 31, 2011 was 16% greater than for the same period in 2010, compared to a 3% decline in 36 other US States (p < 0.03).

The greatest divergence in these two groups (+28%) occurred in the period March 17-June 30 (p < 0.04). Further analysis, in the US and in other nations, is needed to better understand any association between iodine exposure from Fukushima-Dai-ichi and congenital hypothyroidism risk...more (http://www.scirp.org/journal/ojped/)

Published on Dec 1, 2013
Before I forget, please join BeautifulGirlByDana (https://www.youtube.com/user/BeautifulGirlByDana) each night (usually approx. 10-11PM EST) for a live chatroom to talk about Fukushima "PROBLEMS" and media blackout especially since October 25, 2013 (the Last BIG earthquake off of Fukushima).

Press the House (home) icon, and press FEED to find next live broadcast.


Stuff I didn't get to in today's update are listed below:

Latest Headlines: http://enenews.com/

Study finds giant strontium-90 release into body of water begins around 1,000 days after meltdown. —


— Graphic shows very high levels being discharged for up to 50,000 days: http://enenews.com/study-finds-giant-...

Expert: People on West Coast right to be concerned about Fukushima plume — Things "could get much worse" — Lots of radioactivity flowing into ocean — Gov't not testing water or fish (AUDIO) http://enenews.com/senior-scientist-p...

Whale Expert near Vancouver: In 30 years I've never ever seen this kind of behavior, "They must sense this is a safe place to be" — Captain: I've never seen anything like it in 50 years on Pacific — "One even placed its head on the boat." (VIDEO) http://enenews.com/whale-expert-in-30...

Captain: Massive amount of debris off Hawaii, "You had to be there... just kept going & going... so odd it was in straight line" The ribbon-like debris line was between 10 and 20 yards wide, up to two miles long and contained everything from car-sized bundles of commercial fishing nets to buoys, entangled ropes, large plastic fuel cans and buckets, according to Birchett. [...] "It just kept going and going," he said of the rubbish. "The most amount of trash I've ever seen. And it was just so odd that it was in this straight line." — Japan Expert: It's accumulated off islands, warns of fish contamination — Rare dolphin washes up with heart problems & stomach lumps, last examined in 1980s. http://enenews.com/boat-