Aerial fallout map confirms soil radiation levels

[nadinbrzezinski]

Japan's Nuclear Safety Commission says a new aerial map of radioactive fallout contamination has confirmed the radiation levels in the area near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

The commission's chairman, Haruki Madarame, told reporters on Monday that the map will reinforce the agency's system to monitor contamination and will help find ways to lower radiation levels.

The Japanese Science Ministry and the US Energy Department conducted a joint aerial survey from April 6th to the 29th of the area within an 80-kilometer radius of the plant.

The map shows the density of radioactive cesium in red or yellow, depending on the concentration in the soil.

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/10_04.html

And this is the problem with the nuclear industry... you can shill all you want, and the industry does... but the science will catch up to you sooner or later. Problem is that when it is later the consequences are worst due to lack of timely action

[CoffeeCat]

1. How about some testing in the United States?

I'm happy to see Japan joining forces with the US Department of Energy to do this testing.

However, so many questions remain unanswered with regard to the amount of radioactive
isotopes from Fukushima--that we're consuming here in the United States.

The facts are: Cesium and radioactive iodine-131 was found in soil, drinking water, milk
and produce throughout the United States, in Tennessee, Vermont, California, Hawaii, Oregon
and Missouri.

Another fact: The EPA stopped testing after these radioactive isotopes were found. That
was several weeks ago. Those isotopes have continued to flow from Japan to the US. Greater
accumulation in our soil, water, produce and milk have no doubt happened.

Another fact: A French authority on radiation, CIIRAD, warned Europeans to stop drinking
milk and eating leafy greens. CIIRAD noted that the radiation levels in the United States
were several time higher than in Europe

How about some testing in this country? And please, no more MSM articles about the radiation
in our food, milk and water being the equivalent of getting an xray. We don't eat x-rays. X-rays
expose the outside of our body. The radioactive isotopes from Fukushima, if ingested, will find
their way into our thyroids and cause cancer.

We need answers. Again, I'm glad to see the science (and reality) catching up with the reality/truth
of this situation. Maybe some of that truth can spread over here.

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. It will require pressure, we have an industry to protect

[TheWraith]

3. The EPA did NOT stop testing. That's simply false.

They released "live" data for a couple weeks to show people that there was no health threat, then they went back to quarterly reports, they way they've always done.

A handful of radioactive particles are in no way equivalent to an X-ray. And this:

"X-rays expose the outside of our body. The radioactive isotopes from Fukushima, if ingested, will find their way into our thyroids and cause cancer."

This is wrong in every way. Point one, the entire reasoning behind X-rays is that they go completely through the human body and keep going. That's how they work.

Second of all, you will NOT get thyroid cancer due to Fukushima. That's like saying that it you're ever exposed to sunlight, it automatically gives you skin cancer. Dosage is important, which is why no one in the US is at risk.

[thereismore]

4. Jesus fucking Christ, when are you people going to learn that an X-ray is a one-time thing,

but ingestion of even small amount of Cs that gets in your bones/muscles is a gift that keeps on giving until you die? Fuck this, I am tired of explaining this.

[CoffeeCat]

6. and you wear protective clothing when you get an x-ray...

The x-ray is only focused on one part of your body. You are protected with an apron on your body
that prevents the radiation from entering other parts of your body. My children wear one of these
when they get dental x-rays.

An x-ray is a very controlled situation with protective measures.

Eating Cesium that meanders about your body, as an internal emitter--which means it wreaks havoc with your
DNA---is not the same as getting a one-time, controlled x-ray while you're wearing protective garb.

[Generic Other]

5. No one is at risk? And how do you know this?

Please list your qualifications for making such a statement. "...we will not get thyroid cancer due to Fukushima." Are you a psychic or a scientist? Hard to tell. Did you read this info in tea leaves or by examining the entrails of birds? The levels of thyroid cancer increased dramatically in the Ukraine after Chernobyl. This is an undeniable fact backed up by actual published data.

It is not surprising to find some of us worrying about the cumulative effects of radiation dosages we might or might not be receiving because of Fukushima. No one is saying everyone will get cancer, so why do you try and silence people for asking questions by implying that's what they are saying. Why do you try to minimize their concerns? What expertise do you have that makes you an authority on this issue? We have had 60+ days of radiation pouring from the reactors. How can we know what dangers we face if we are not willing to demand information?

Japan is not forthcoming with information and in fact asked other governments to silence the flow of "non-official" information.

The EPA complied with the clamp down on information by discontinuing "live" data, opting to test rainwater and drinking water once every three months as they have done in the past. When we have an ongoing emergency, one would think they would test more often to err on the side of safety.

The nuclear industry has a stake in downplaying the severity of the situation, to try and calm our very real fears. They are working overtime because they know in the end Fukushima is going to spell the demise of their plans to build more nuke reactors. We know what their agenda is.

We also know what the agenda is of those who oppose nuclear power. It is about asking people to decide what they consider the level of acceptable risk for themselves and their families and whether there are better alternatives to nuclear power. it is about wanting to close the reactors worldwide based on the dangers they pose.

I do not stand to profit in any way from my opposition to nuclear power except that I might breathe easier and feel safer.
This is not going to happen until the situation in Fukushima is stabilized. Until then, I want to be kept informed by honest people with real understanding of what we are facing. Not fortunetelling.

[CoffeeCat]

7. The EPA did halt testing. You are WRONG.

There were many articles written when the EPA stopped the testing which would measure the radioactive
isotopes from Fukushima. They did stop testing for Fukushima-related isotopes and went back to their
normal schedule, which is testing every three months.

And we're not talking about generalized testing, which happens under normal circumstances. I didn't
imply that the EPA would never, ever test again. You know perfectly well I was talking about the
EPA's monitoring of radiation in the US--due to Fukushima. They have stopped that extra testing.

No doubt about it.

Here's an article from Forbes for you, "EPA Halts Extra Radiation Monitoring Focus Shifts to Seafood". There were
dozens of articles, because the EPA did indeed stop the monitoring of Fukushima radiation coming into the US--and since this was
a thread about Fukushima, you know that this is the testing to which I was referring.

http://blogs.forbes.com/jeffmcmahon/2011/05/04/epa-halts-extra-radiation-monitoring-focus-shifts-to-seafood/

[CoffeeCat]

8. Again, you are wrong about thyroid cancer...

You seem to speak in absolutes--which contradict everything I've ever read about radiation exposure
correlated to increased cancer rates.

Will everyone get cancer? No. However, as exposure to radioactive isotopes increases, so does the
incidence of cancers among populations. That is a fact.

What do you think the EPA "safe levels" are based on? They're based on the likelihood that a person
will get cancer and suffer from other illnesses, if exposed to a certain level of radiation. The government
then makes a decision--that 1 in 1,000 is not a serious threat; but levels that would cause cancer in 1 in 100
people--is a serious threat.

There is a direct correlations between radiation exposure and increases in cancers. That is a scientific
fact.

The academic and scientific communities that study radiation and its affect on the body--would be shocked
by your insistence that no one will get cancer from Fukushima. Some will.

The problem is--and this relates back to the EPA testing issue--is that the EPA is no longer testing the
milk or produce now. So, how are we to know what the levels are?

Don't you think it's a bit bizarre that the United States EPA halts testing for Fukushima isotopes in
the US--during an ongoing nuclear crisis?

[Kurovski]

9. K&R. (nt)

[CoffeeCat]

10. kicking this informative post/map (nt)