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Fukushima may be in an apocalyptic downward spiral.
Forget the corporate-induced media coma that says otherwise…or nothing at all.
Lethal radiation is spewing unabated. Emission levels could seriously escalate. There is no end in sight. The potential is many times worse than Chernobyl.
Containing this disaster may be beyond the abilities of Tokyo Electric or the Japanese government.
There is no reason to incur further unnecessary risk. With all needed resources, it’s time for the world’s best scientists and engineers to take charge.
Even then the outcome is unclear.
For a brief but terrifying overview, consult Dr. Chris Busby as interviewed by RT/TV (http://nukefree.org/rt-tv-dr-chris-busby-fukushima-out-control ).
Fukushima Units One, Two and Three are all in various stages of melting down.
Molten fuel at Unit One may have burned through its reactor pressure vessel, with water poured in to cool it merely pouring out the bottom.
A growing pond of highly radioactive liquid is softening the ground and draining into the ocean.
There is no way to predict where these molten masses of fuel will yet go.
Especially in the event of an aftershock, steam and hydrogen explosions could blow out what’s left of the containments.
The extra plutonium in the MOX fuel at Unit Three is an added liability.
At least one spent fuel pool may be on fire.
The site has already suffered at least two hydrogen explosions. Some believe a fission explosion may also have occurred. (http://www.fairewinds.com/ )
All have weakened the structures and support systems on site.
These shocks and the soft ground may be why Unit Four has partially sunk and is tipping, possibly on the brink of collapse. Even a relatively minor aftershock could mean catastrophe.
More explosions are possible. More leaks are virtually certain.
Escalated radiation levels from any one of the reactors could force all workers to evacuate, leaving the entire site to chance.
The New York Times has now reported that critical valve failures that contributed to the Fukushima disaster are likely at numerous US reactors. ( http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/18/world/asia/18japan.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&emc=eta1 )
Significant radioactive debris has been found thousands of yards from the plant. Radiation levels in Tokyo, nearly 200 miles away, have risen. Fallout has been detected in North America and throughout Europe.
Radiation pouring into the sea has begun to spread worldwide.
There is much more, none of it good. ( http://nukefree.org/nytimes-japans-nuclear-opponents-proven-right-officials-ignored-or-hid-dangers )
Japan and Germany have had the good survival sense to abandon future reactor construction, and to shut some existing sites. ( http://nukefree.org/editorsblog/americas-new-nuke-showdown-starts-now )
But here, the corporate media blackout is virtually complete. Out of sight, out of mind seems the strategy for an industry desperate for federal loan guarantees and continued operation of a rickety fleet of decaying old reactors.
The Obama Administration has ended radiation monitoring of seafood in the Pacific. It does not provide reliable, systematic radiological or medical data on fallout coming to the United States.
But we may all be in unprecedented danger.
A national movement is underway to end atomic give-aways and turn to a green-powered Earth ( http://nukefree.org/bonnie-jackson-graham-we-may-be-brink ).
Now we must also move ALL the world’s governments beyond denial to focus on somehow bringing Fukushima under control.
After two months of all-out effort, four reactors and at least that many spent fuel pools remain at risk.
Our survival depends on stopping Fukushima from further irradiating us all.
The world community has come together to put a new sarcophagus around Chernobyl.
A parallel, more urgent effort now needs to focus on Fukushima.
Whatever technical, scientific and material resources are available to our species, that’s what needs to go there.
NOW!!!
Harvey Wasserman edits www.nukefree.org and co-authored KILLING OUR OWN: THE DISASTER OF AMERICA’S EXPERIENCE WITH ATOMIC RADIATION, available free on the internet ( http://www.loran-history.info/health/killing_our_own.pdf ) . His SOLARTOPIA! OUR GREEN-POWERED EARTH is at www.solartopia.org.
11 Comments
Mortal wounds like the Gulf blow out and the radioactive seawater beg the question, just how many blows can the host planet absorb ?
AFAIK, the lethality is primarily restricted to Japan and its closest neighbors, South Korea, China, and Russia. Your invitation to internationalize the situation did not address significant linguistic and cultural obstacles.
The two links below are suitable imho in helping people understand the economic failings of nuclear in providing residential electricity.
http://www.politifact.com/wisconsin/statements/2011/mar/10/michael-moore/michael-moore-says-400-americans-have-more-wealth-/
http://www.nuclearpowerdaily.com/reports/After_50_Years_Nuclear_Power_Is_Still_Not_Viable_Without_Subsidies_999.html
It’s not the planet, per se, that I’m worrying about, although I worry about that, too.
What I am most concerned about the inhabitability of the planet.
This is where there is a messaging problem with the whole green, anti-pollution, movement. We shouldn’t be talking about ‘Saving the Planet’. We should be saying, “We’re against pollution, and resource depletion, because THEY’RE INCOMPATIBLE WITH SUSTAINED HUMAN LIFE!
Don’t get me wrong, I care greatly about the state of the planet, but I think a good portion of the people out there who object to the green movement don’t really understand what the goal is, which is to keep animal life ALIVE. It’s not some pie-in-the-sky, don Quixote tilting at windmills thing.
That being said, ANY more nuclear plants is TOO MANY!
Check here for the latest results released from the EPA, from testing of milk, rainwater, drinking water, and air filtration.
http://www.epa.gov/japan2011/rert/radnet-sampling-data.html#all
The limit for I-131 is 1.1 in the units used in the chart. for no apparent reason, the feds allow higher levels in milk.
See here for results from the UC Berkeley campus for rainwater.
http://www.nuc.berkeley.edu/RainWaterSampling
Make no mistake, we ARE being irradiated from the Fukushima disaster. The results from the EPA show that quite clearly. And don’t think that it’s just in the milk or the water, it’s EVERYWHERE! And also don’t believe the eight day half-life of I-131, as the effective half-life in the body is longer.
And our guvmint is eager to build more nuclear plants.
The Obama Administration has ended radiation monitoring of seafood in the Pacific. It does not provide reliable, systematic radiological or medical data on fallout coming to the United States
But we may all be in unprecedented danger.
I believe this is true.
I would like to know about radiation in fruits and vegetables from the west coast of north america. I will not eat that stuff any more.
I don’t trust pea results.
I don’t understand the uc berkley results.
any way to find a simple explanation about what’s on the fruits and vegetables?
Although I looked in vain for the article, there was coverage in the LA Times about a month ago stating unequivocally that produce in SoCal was found to be radioactive. This article was not to be found anymore. I wouldn’t put it past the PTB to remove any and all links to, and stifle, any news of contamination.
WRT the EPA results, their trustworthiness, although somewhat suspect, do show that radioactive isotopes(I know, redundant) that are by-products of nuclear fission, and only nuclear fission, ostensibly from the Fukushima plants, are being detected here, and in levels that are above legal standards set by the US guvmint.
That being said, I don’t trust the guvmint for a second to tell us if we are in danger or not. To the contrary, I EXPECT lies, which IMHO, is what we’re getting, both my commission and omission.
As to the UC results, if you read the lead paragraph, they state that “For example, in the rain water we collected in 18 hours between March 17 and March 18 we observe an activity of the isotope of I-131 (Iodine-131) of 4.26 Bq/l”. The legal level for drinking water is 1.1Becquerels per liter, the units described. These units are used for the purposes of assessing the radiation level of substances, while rems and sieverts are units used to describe the effects on humans. There really isn’t a conversion as such, as they are used to describe two different characteristics of the radiation.
Mother Earth will have the last say. I think she’s getting tired of us idiot humans and is readying to evict us as a species, like she did with 99% of species before us. When we’re long gone, she will still be here spinning happily around the sun laughing at what fools we are.
“And also don’t believe the eight day half-life of I-131, as the effective half-life in the body is longer.”
um, you seem to be asserting entirely new physics. The widely known physics says i-131 has a certain half life, and it does not matter whether it is inside a body, the half-life is the same. Perhaps you confused the entirely important issue that ingestion is far worse than external exposure? Just check all you facts. Start over.
Unless ya’ll all think there is a massive, massive conspiracy involving hundreds of university professors…., then if the EPA is lying, is Berkeley NUC also lying? Really?
If you think it’s one massive conspiracy of dozens of institutions and hundreds of professors, then….well, I suggest read Hofstadter — “The paranoid style…”
But if you would believe Berkeley’s information, here it is:
“Results Log
5/20 (5:35pm): A milk sample with a Best By date of 5/23 was added to our Milk results. We have our fourth non-detection of I-131 in milk. The latest data point for Cs-137 is slightly higher than the previous one, but within error bars, the trend continues to be a decline in both Cs-134 and Cs-137.”
etc. — there is a lot more:
http://www.nuc.berkeley.edu/UCBAirSampling
I think this diary is apocalyptic. I don’t think Fukushima is apocalyptic.
http://www.care2.com/causes/real-food/blog/fukushima-fallout-low-levels-of-radiation-in-us-milk-contaminated-marine-life-in-japan/
http://www.nuc.berkeley.edu/node/2525
(See the quantities equiv. to flying cross-continent (planes
are not made out of lead or kryptonite, so a tiny amount of
radiation hits you, being above the heavy atmosphere)
So, for those in Hawaii, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon
and California, Bon Appetit!