Fukushima Fallout Could Have Been Much Worse, Study Says

[bananas]

Source: Wall Street Journal

If heavy rain had fallen in Tokyo on March 14 or March 15, the capital could have experienced the same severe spikes in radiation that areas northwest of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant suffered, says the author of a new study.

“There was a period when quite a high concentration went over Tokyo, but it didn’t rain,” Norwegian scientist Andreas Stohl told Nature News. “It could have been much worse.”

<snip>

Mr. Stohl’s paper says the highest emissions occurred on March 14-15, and at the same time winds transported these emissions over Japan. Rain or snow on those days in places such as Iitate, northwest of the plant, caused those areas to suffer from high radiation on the ground, and some were later evacuated indefinitely.

If it had rained in Tokyo those days, “a disastrous scenario … in the major population centers would have been possible,” the paper says.

Read more: http://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2011/10/27/fukushima-fallout-could-have-been-much-worse-study-says/

[Art_from_Ark]

1. The thing about Iitate is that it is really close the reactors

and is along the path of the prevailing winds from the reactors, so yeah, it would have high levels of ground radiation. However, claiming that a one-day rainfall event in Tokyo, 150 miles from the reactors, would have the same effect on long-term radiation levels in Tokyo as the same rainfall event at a location 25 miles away that has been constantly exposed to prevailing winds from the reactors since then, is a bit disingenuous.

[Bluesbreaker]

2. WSJ bullshit

The fallout from Fukushima is much worse than Tepco and the Japanese government has admitted, as scores of independent scientists have verified. Just listen to one of them, Arnie Gundersen, to see what I mean. Going back to the original updates and listening to them all gives a clear picture of how this disaster evolved from the beginning and just how bad it is. Or spend a few minutes on enenews.com

[bananas]

3. Arnie and enenews are excellent sources of information. nt

[vets74]

4. Standard-design nukes have been in use for 60 years. They are very safe.

That is based on real numbers. Real deaths. Real radiation readings.



Also, disposal of nuclear power waste materials is a trivial problem compared with coal or natural gas. Political posturing is the one and only bar to using the geologically stable Yucca Mountain storage site.

Using a nuclear plant for a year generates about 2 cubic yards of spent uranium. Yes, folks, 2.

Waste material from coal and natural gas goes into the atmosphere, where it poisons people and causes cancer and puts mercury into the oceans.

Coal also releases radiation as it burns. When that's from a large electricity plant, the amounts exceed even a large non-catastrophic nuclear plant accident. Only two radiation releases from nuclear plants exceed the normal annual radiation release from a coal-fired plant.

Why fear nukes? Based on the evidence, that is based on false propaganda from the coal industry -- the Masseys of the world. They kill 30 Americans a year and 2,500 people worldwide just from the mine accidents. Add air pollution and it's in the 100s of thousands at a minimum.

The suck-up bastards at the Murdoch Journal will publish anything that supports anti-green extraction industries.

[wordpix]

6. lol "disposal of nuclear power waste materials is a trivial problem"

:crazy: you gotta be kidding. it's so "trivial" we've spent billions on Yucca Mt. to store the waste indefinitely and the site's never been used, Nevada doesn't want it used and even Obama says mothball it.

Plus, the asshats who want to build new nukes want US taxpayers to pony up at least $36 billion (Obama's number in stating he supports this) in taxpayer-guaranteed loans. Then what? New plants get half-built and we're on the hook for more or they're not finished?

This industry needs to be shut down and immediately is not soon enough. Read "Nuclear Roulette: The Case Against a Nuclear Renaissance" to see how "safe," "clean" and "cheap" nuclear energy really is. NOT

[formercia]

5. We all are partially to blame

Just look at how much energy we all use every Day. Where do people think it comes from? The quickest way yo get rid of Nuclear Power is to start turning off the lights that aren't needed for safety reasons and immediate use. Look at Las Vegas,now there's a waste of energy.

It wasn't that long ago that people didn't use electricity.

People talk about going off-grid and at the same time, try to figure out how the can power their dishwasher and big-screen TV.