ACE Video / Blog Part 4
Highlighting Independent Reports, Books, and News
Related To Meltdowns At Fukushima and Chernobyl, and the partial Meltdown at TMI
Information in this report is taken from reports, books, and news releases by reliable independent scientists, physicians, experts, and reporters. We hope after review of this information that residents in the Greater Philadelphia Region will urge local, state, and federal officials to speak out for far more protective measures on behalf of public health and safety related to the growing potential for a Limerick Nuclear Plant radiation accident / meltdown and the urgent need for more protective emergency and evacuation planning.
What Really Happened After Meltdowns
At Fukushima, Chernobyl, and TMI?
Industry Hid Data and Lied About Radiation Releases. Governments Made Fatal Mistakes Leaving Millions Exposed To Major Radiation Releases. Government and Industry Are Still Lying About Harmful Consequences
We Must Challenge Nuclear Lies, Cover-Ups, and Secrecy
Cover-Ups and Lies will result in more people in the Greater Philadelphia Region unnecessarily exposed longer and harmed worse by large radiation releases from a Limerick Nuclear Plant Radiation Accident / Meltdown. Unless the truth is told and elected officials speak up, NRC will NOT require more protective emergency and evacuation planning for a Limerick Nuclear Plant meltdown. Expanding the evacuation zone and avoiding Limerick’s radiation plume will be imperative to limit radiation exposure, reduce radiation sickness, and minimize long-term health harms, including cancers.
FUKUSHIMA MELTDOWNS – 2011
· Japan’s apocalyptic nightmare, the worst nuclear catastrophe in history, sent the nuclear industry spin machine into overdrive.
With 3 meltdowns releasing major radiation with widespread health and environmental impacts, they foolishly claimed no health harm.
They underreported radiation levels and tried to hide the reality to avoid liability and the costs of broader evacuation and clean-up efforts.
· Two years after the March 11, 2011 triple meltdown at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex, new research and new information continues to come to light about its continuing bio-medical and ecological consequences, and what they indicate about the impact of nuclear power on public health, safety, and the environment.
“The Fukushima crisis is actually an issue of global public health,” said Dr. Helen Caldicott.. “As a physician, I’ve been distressed about the lack of general understanding of the medical science that should be part of any discussion of nuclear power, but isn’t. For example, cancers in humans take from five to seventy years to develop after radiation exposure, so it takes time to actually see the effects in populations,” she said.
“But we are already observing a demonstrable increased incidence of thyroid abnormalities in children in the Fukushima Prefecture. This may be an early indicator of an eventual increased incidence of thyroid cancers. Further, plumes of radioactivity from Fukushima are currently migrating in the Pacific Ocean towards the West Coast of the U.S.”
“This crisis is far from over. Large radioactive releases into the ocean continue, and thousands of tons of radioactive waste are set to be incinerated in cities throughout Japan. And worst of all, Fukushima Daiichi’s building #4, which holds 100 tons of highly radioactive spent fuel, was seriously damaged and could collapse causing the fuel pool to burn, releasing even more massive amounts of radiation. All of these have profound medical and public health implications.”
· Fukushima Radioactive Fallout Was Detected Over 11,500 Square Miles
4,500 Square Miles Had Radiation Exceeding Japan’s Highly Inflated “Allowable Radiation Limits”
The Exclusion Zone is 310 Square Miles
But the evacuation zone remained at 12 miles
· Fukushima’s owner, TEPCO, two months after meltdowns started, finally admitted to multiple meltdowns with impacts estimated to be 20 times worse than Chernobyl.
At the same time, government illogically claimed Fukushima’s radiation would not be harmful to health.
· Government officials limited and eliminated radiation monitoring and reporting to cover-up the truth to protect the nuclear industry.
They hid data, played numbers games, and refused to expand the evacuation zone. That unnecessarily jeopardized the health of millions.
· Large Numbers Of Japanese People Are Accumulating Significant Levels of Internal Radioactive Contamination.
Radiation sickness symptoms have been identified in people as far as 140 miles from Fukushima.
· Fukushima Doctors Are Forbidden To Tell Patients Illnesses Are Related To Radiation Exposure. If They Refuse Their License Can Be Revoked.
· Early on independent experts estimated 1 million additional cancers would occur, based on the amount of radiation released.
CHERNOBYL MELTDOWN – 1986
· Chernobyl caused over 1.5 million additional cancer deaths and a broad range of other serious diseases and disabilities
· Chernobyl’s children suffered massive increased cancers, infant mortality, birth defects, heart problems, and more
· Doctors in Cuba treated over 25,000 children from the Ukraine and Russia for leukemia
· Damage to the environment over vast dead zones is proven devastating decades later. 80 Square Miles Has Become A Permanent “Exclusion (Dead) Zone”. Radioactive Fallout Was Found Over 200 Miles From The Reactor – Radiation actually traveled to the U.S. About 350,000 People Were Evacuated.
· The truth can no longer be hidden. Russian Scientists compiled over 5,000 studies in a booktitled: “Chernobyl: Consequences To People And The Environment” – New York Academy of Science nyas.org/annals.
Chernobyl Deaths Top a Million Based on Real Evidence ISIS Report 24/05/12
The Soviet government initially tried to hush-up the explosion and resisted immediately evacuating nearby residents. It also failed to tell the public what happened or instruct people and cleanup workers how to protect against radiation, which significantly increased the health damage from the disaster.
Medical records from contaminated areas speak for themselves; doctors, scientists and citizens bear witness to the devastating health impacts of radioactive fallout from nuclear accidents – Dr. Mae-Wan Ho
The Russian publication, Chernobyl, by scientists Alexey V. Yablokov,Vassily B Nesterenko, and Alexey V.
Nesterenko, translated and published by the New York Academy of Sciences in 2009, concludes that among the billions of people worldwide who were exposed to radioactive contamination from the disaster, nearly a million deaths had already occurred between 1986 and 2004. Most of the deaths were in Russia, Belarus and
Ukraine [5] (see Truth about Chernobyl, SiS 47). The report drew on thousands of published papers and internet and printed publications.
Devastating health impacts did not escape the notice of the hundreds of doctors, scientists and other citizens who had to bear witness to the deformities, sicknesses and deaths of exposed babies, children and adults in their care.
There is a clear difference in mortality rates between highly contaminated provinces and less contaminated provinces of Russia (see Figure 1).
The Chernobyl explosion on April 26, 1986 led to a fire that burned for 10 days, forcing some 300,000 people from their homes.
· Some 19 Russian Regions also received high doses of radiation over some 60,000 square kilometers and impacted some 2.6 million people.
· Radiation released into the air contaminated 50,000 square kilometers of Ukraine.
· Some 46,500 square kilometers of neighboring Belarus were also contaminated, constituting 23 percent of the country.
· Meanwhile, radioactive material spread across much of northern Europe and reached as far as the east coast of the United States
THREE MILE ISLAND (TMI) PARTIAL MELTDOWN – 1979
· Independent researchers reported that TMI’s partial meltdown may have caused
between 50,000 to 100,000 excess deaths in a 1990 book Titled;
“Deadly Deceit: Low Level Radiation – High Level Cover-up“by Jay Gould and Ben Goldman
· It reveals that after TMI infant deaths soared and birth defect deaths were far higher.
Official Responses To Meltdowns At Fukushima, Chernobyl, and TMI Show A Pattern Of Unethical Deception.
With every radiation accident / meltdown government and nuclear industry officials routinely deceive the public to reduce opposition to nuclear power and to prevent collapse of the nuclear industry. Information in this report provides insight into how public opinion is manipulated.
When independent radiation experts compile verifiable data on meltdowns that contradicts the nuclear industry’s deceptive and misleading propaganda, the nuclear industry responds by falsely claiming “little” or “no” health harm occurred, even though the evidence and common sense suggest otherwise. They never acknowledge the realities.
Health Impacts and Deaths From Meltdowns are Deliberately Underestimated by the Following Methods:
· Using dilution to underestimate the level of radiation by averaging exposure over a large region, (such as an entire country), so high exposure doses and health statistics of the most contaminated areas are lumped together with the least exposed.
· Discounting internal sources of radiation due to inhalation and ingestion of radioactive material from fallout
· Using obsolete and erroneous models for external sources of ionizing radiation
· Not counting diseases and conditions other than cancers
· Misrepresenting natural background radiation
· Suppressing and withholding information from the public
Health Impacts From Radiation Are Censored Worldwide.
· The Excuse: not alarming the public.
· The Reality: deceptive tactics using media to avoid negative public opinion.
· The Consequences: exposure to dangerous accidental radioactive releases without the incentive or opportunity to take precautionary actions.
Fukushima and The Battle for Truth
Fukushima’s Meltdowns, beginning in March 2011, Unleashed Dangerous Radiation on the World.
Radiation Spread in Air, Groundwater, the Food Chain, and the Sea.
· Radiation has contaminated Japan’s water, soil, food, sewage sludge, building materials, seawater, fish, and people. Evidence already shows the suffering of the children, who have been most impacted.
· Plumes of radioactive gases crossed the Pacific Ocean and reached the US. within days. Independent scientists detected xenon-133 and “high concentrations” of cesium-137 in the United States and Canada.
· Nuclear expert Arnie Gundersen estimates that, within four days of Fukushima’s explosions, Seattle was exposed to xenon and krypton levels 40,000 times above normal, followed by slower-moving clouds of iodine, cesium, and strontium isotopes.
· Monitoring March 15 to 19, 2011 showed radiation swept over Hawaii and the West Coast, covering all of western North America. While the Rocky Mountains blocked much of the fallout, rainwater was contaminated even as far away as New England.
· Two of three East Coast monitoring stations (including one in Boston) detected the presence of dangerous “hot particles”. Air sampling traced fallout all the way to Stockholm.
· Although the Norwegian Institute for Air Research was reporting that fallout had blanketed most of the United States and Canada, little official alarm was demonstrated in either country.
· Three weeks after Fukushima’s reactors began to overheat and explode, the US government still refused to publish any official data on radiation levels in the United States.
· A citizen’s brigade of radiation trackers started with hundreds of people measuring radiation with Geiger counters after rainstorms, detecting radiation all across the U.S.
· Joseph Mangano, Radiation and Public Health Project Director, and Dr. Janette D. Sherman, reviewed weekly mortality records collected by the Centers for Disease and Control in 122 cities and reported that the greatest mortalities in excess of what would be expected were seen among children under the age of one. The findings echoed the 16,500 “excess deaths” recorded in the 17 weeks following the Chernobyl explosion. On February 23, 2012, Mangano updated the report, showing excess death count to be nearly 22,000. Twelve industry pundits and pro-nuclear bloggers immediately dismissed the findings as “bogus.”
· Three months after Fukushima melted down, TEPCO finally admitted Fukushima radiation releases surpassed Chernobyl’s, and that it is the worst nuclear accident on record, yet falsely claim health risks are small or non-existent, despite shocking numbers of victims from Chernobyl.
Evidence shows radiation sickness symptoms in Japanese people far outside the evacuation zone.
Evidence Also Shows That Large Numbers Of Japanese People Are Accumulating Significant Levels of Internal Radioactive Contamination.
· The average person in Tokyo (more than 140 miles from Fukushima), is thought to have inhaled “hot particles” (10 per day throughout April, 2011 – Gunderson & Busby)
· 15 of 15 children are internally contaminated with Iodine-131 and Cesium 135 and 137 as far as 40 km (about 25 miles) from Fukushima (Reported 6-26-11)
· Fukushima radiation was also confirmed in U.S. water, soil, and milk.
· A study shows infant deaths soared in the U.S. after Fukushima.
Japanese Government and the Nuclear Industry Are Compounding Harms To Japanese Citizens.
· Health experts said, “A culture of cover-up” and inadequate cleanup efforts have combined to leave Japanese people exposed to “unconscionable” health risks long after Fukushima (Canadian Medical Association – Reported 12-27-11)
· Japanese government and industry officials withheld and deleted radiation data, hiding the amount of radiation released. Japan failed to report that 95% of radiation monitors were not working after the meltdown until two months later (5-29-11)
· They failed to admit any meltdown occurred at Fukushima until 2 months after it started.
· Japanese officials left evacuees in peril, refusing to expand the evacuation zone, even after high levels of radiation were found outside the zone.
· July 2011 cesium levels stopped declining, but remained stuck at 10,000 times above pre-accident levels.
· Gordon Edwards, president of the Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility said it’s completely untrue to say this level of radiation is safe or harmless. Reassurances have been completely irresponsible.
To say there are no health concerns flies in the face of all scientific evidence.
· An investigative reporter in Japan visiting from New York City said, “During my November (2011) visit I was the only one on the streets of Tokyo who wore a mask to avoid inhaling cesium.” While radiation levels continued to rise in Japan months after the meltdowns, people were not wearing masks to protect themselves from internal radiation exposure because government and industry officials irrationally continued to claim there was no risk.
Officials Have Forbidden Doctors in Fukushima To Tell Patients That Their Illnesses Are Related To Radiation Exposure.
· The Fukushima Medical Society Forced Doctors to Sign A Secrecy Agreement; If They Refuse, Their License Is Revoked.
Evidence Shows Japanese Hypocrisy
· Records Dispute Their Own False Claims Of No Harm From Fukushima.
· 573 Deaths from 13 Prefectures Have Officially Been Certified As Related to the Fukushima Nuclear Crisis by Japanese Officials. (Reported 2-5-12) However, the number must be far higher because 634,573 Deaths were Submitted to Undergo Screening by the date of the report.
· In Japan, there is a FINANCIAL INCENTIVE to deny that a death was caused by Fukushima because 5 Million Yen must be paid if the dead person is a breadwinner.
NEWS ON CHILDREN’S
RISKS AND HARMS FROM FUKUSHIMA
Ø Radiation Was Documented In Children’s Bodies Up To 60 Kilometers From Fukushima (Reported by June 2011)
Ø Ethical, Legal, and Medical Implications Turned Into A Human Rights Mess, Documented By A New White Paper On What Is Going On With Denial of Medical Care to Children in the Fukushima Region (Reported 11/08/12) http://www.simplyinfo.org/?p=8220
· Some children were denied treatment by doctors after the central government ordered them to stop examining patients for thyroid disorders. It may not be legal. According to Japan’s medical law the refusal of care by doctors around Japan appears to be in violation of those laws.
· Dr. Yamashita, stated that his goal is to deny people the proof needed to obtain compensation from the government. Doctors that are willing to deny patients medical care because Dr. Yamashita requested it, makes them accomplices in the deception and purposeful injury of those children to avoid compensation from the government.
Fukushima Mom: 5 Hospitals Refuse to Provide Medical Care to Children;
“We can’t be seen by a doctor when we want to be seen”… “It is just not right” — Doctor: It will be confusing if our result is different than Fukushima Medical University
Published: August 28th, 2012 at 6:54 pm ET By ENENews
Fukushima – Local Children Unwitting (and Unwilling) Radioactive Guinea Pigs
(Reported October, 2012 by John C.K. Daly l Oil Price.com)
· The children of Fukushima have been an involuntary irradiated Fukushima “test” group monitored since March 2011. They display disturbing health abnormalities. Scientists do have a well defined test group – the population of Fukushima Prefecture surrounding the stricken NPP. The sixth report of the Fukushima Prefecture Health Management Survey was released in April, 2012.
ü The survey examined 38,114 local children.
ü 36 % of Fukushima children have abnormal thyroid growths.
ü 13,460 of Fukushima children, or 35.3 percent, had thyroid cysts or nodules up to 0.197 inches long growing on their thyroids
ü 0.5 percent of the children had growths larger than 0.197 inches.
· So, why might this be significant? According to the American Thyroid Association (ATA), thyroid problems from nuclear events occur when radioactive iodine is leaked into the atmosphere and thyroid cells that absorb too much of this radioactive iodine may become cancerous, with children being particularly susceptible.
· Australian pediatrician Dr. Helen Caldicott, said: “It is extremely rare to find cysts and thyroid nodules in children.” “You would not expect abnormalities to appear so early- within the first year or so – therefore one can assume that they must have received a high dose of (radiation)”.
Cancer Risk To Young Children Near Fukushima Daiichi Underestimated
Video by Ian Goddard – Introduced by Arnie Gunderson from Fairewinds. 01/18/12
http://fairewinds.com/content/cancer-risk-young-children-near-fukushima-daiichi-underestimated
Radioactive Iodine Found in Breast Milk of Japanese Mothers (Reported April 22, 2011)
Tests show 45% kids in Japan’s nuke disaster area were exposed to thyroid radiation |
07-05 – 2011 English.news.cn |
· Cesium-134 and 137 isotopes were detected in urine tests conducted on 10 children in Fukushima City, located about 60 kilometers from the Fukushima nuclear power plant. More than 1,080 children were screened from March 26-30, 2011 (newborn to 15 years old) |
· Soil samples taken by citizens at four locations in Fukushima City (June 26, 2011) all tested positive for radioactive cesium contamination. Measurements were between 16,000 to 46,000 becquerels per kilogram — far exceeding the legal limit of 10,000 becquerels per kg.
Radiation Detected in Fukushima Children’s Urine (NKK)…10 out of 10 Children Had Cesium 134 in Their Urine (June 30, 2011)
· Urine samples from 10 elementary to high school students in the prefecture’s capital Fukushima City were analyzed by a French research organization.
· Tests show clearly that children living as far as 60 kilometers from the plant are suffering internal exposure. It urged the state and prefectural governments to immediately check children in Fukushima for such exposure.
· Children located 50 KM away from ground zero are suffering from fatigue, diarrhea, and nosebleeds.
CESIUM FOUND IN URINE OF FUKUSHIMA CHILDREN
07/02/12 The Japan Times Online – Kyodo
Radioactive cesium was found in urine samples from 141 infants and young children in Fukushima Prefecture.
Fukushima Children at Risk of Heart Disease (by Chris Busby) 9/27/11
· Chris Busby, a chemical physicist, is the Scientific Secretary of the European Committee on Radiation Risk (ECRR) and a visiting professor at the University of Ulster.
· Busby documents the heavy impact of radiation on the hearts of Chernobyl children while noting other immediate effects such as brain damage and birth defects.
· Cesium impacts the heart, especially dangerous in children. Busby is warning officials to start looking at heart disease and heart attacks now and to get children out of cesium contaminated areas quickly.
Greenpeace Condemns Move to Raise Radiation Exposure Levels for Japanese Children 4/22/11
· Children’s Allowable Levels were set at 10 Times Higher than the Average Dose Shown to Increase Cancer Risk in Nuclear Workers.
· After March 2011 Fukushima Meltdowns, the Japanese government protected the nuclear power industry instead of Japan’s children. They set allowable radiation exposure limits so high that renowned scientists suggested the levels would eventually kill children.
Japanese Government Still Refusing to Evacuate Children
In October 27 2011, Fukushima women met government officials in Tokyo to demand that the government evacuate Fukushima children immediately. But, the government official only repeated the government’s policy of cleaning up the contaminated areas in Fukushima. (Reported 1/3/12)
· One Mother said this is insane. Children should be our first priority: Evacuation is something you DO folks-it’s NOT something you sit around and debate. But, the government official only repeated the government’s policy of cleaning up the contaminated areas outside the evacuation zone around Fukushima.
· Six months after the meltdowns started, the Japanese government was still refusing to evacuate Fukushima children outside the evacuation zone in spite of evidence of high radiation contamination of area.
· 360,000 children lived in the Fukushima region .Only about 5% (20,000) whose parents could afford to move and live in safer areas evacuated. (Reported Oct 30, 2011)
High Radioactive Cesium Levels Found at Tokyo School
(160 Miles From Fukushima) 12/14/11 http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201112140064e
Workers
Fukushima workers have been treated like expendable collateral damage.
· There has been no accurate accounting of “missing” or dead workers.
· An undercover reporter estimated between 700 to 4,000 workers died (2011).
· Radiation data released long after the meltdowns started, showed many workers were receiving lethal doses.
· Workers found lethal radiation levels months after the meltdown (Reported 8-2-11)
· 8-2-11, five months after meltdowns started, the highest radiation reading to date was reported. A single dose would be fatal in weeks. 60 minutes of exposure could kill the worker within weeks
· Radiation was so lethal – robots were finally used – Reported 4-18-11
· Workers complained about industry handling of radiation exposure data – Reported 4-21-11
1. Workers took 3 times radiation limit – 4-27-11
2. Fukushima workers suffer internal radiation exposure 5-21-11
3. Workers exposed to high radiation 5-30-11
4. Fatal radiation levels found at Fukushima Plant 8-2-11
Japan Citizens Were Victimized.
Evidence From Japan News Reports Reveals The Negligence Of Japanese Government Officials Whose Evacuation Orders Left Victims
Much Too Close To Radiation Releases Far Too Long
· Fukushima Evacuees Turned Away From Medical Facilities and Shelters 3-30-11
· Japan plans to extend evacuation zone around Fukushima 4-11-11
· Japan Plant Exclusion Zone Ban Takes Effect – 4-22-11
· People were unnecessarily exposed for over a month
· French urge 70,000 more Fukushima Evacuations
· Greenpeace: Radiation measurements call for further evacuation around Fukushima 4-11-11
· Radiation Including “Low-Level Radiation” is already sickening Japanese People 6-8-11
· 15 out of 15 Internally Contaminated @ 40 km from Fukushima 6-26-11
· Right to Relocate Based On Radiation Exposure In Japan DENIED 8-3-11
· Public Denied Access To Devices That Check Internal Radiation Levels 9-11-11
· Fukushima Safety Level – NOT SAFE 12-19-11
· Petition Was Started Against Japan’s Higher 20mSv Radiation Exposure Level 4-23-11
· By fall of 2011, stories were reported about a farmer’s suicide, dosimeters for children instead of evacuation, scraping playgrounds, and mutant animals.
· Unsafe Radiation Found Near Tokyo, Vast Area of Japan Contaminated June 18, 2011
ü Radioactive contamination of grass exceeded safety standards at a distance of 90 to 125 miles from Fukushima nuclear power plants.
ü Japanese scientists have become so concerned about the health of their children that they initiated their own radiation monitoring program and made their own maps. The results are shocking.
ü A very disturbing report about parents concerned about possible radiation sickness in children appeared in a local Japanese paper. Symptoms include: Nosebleed, diarrhea, lack of energy 2-year-old boy had nosebleeds from the end of April to May. 6-year-old girl had nosebleed everyday for 3 weeks in April. For 1 week, she bled copiously from both nostrils.
Evidence Shows Fukushima’s Fallout From Meltdowns
Caused Widespread Radioactive Contamination.
Evidence Shows Entire Food Chain Became Radioactive in Japan
· Green Tea - Radioactive 250 miles from Fukushima
· Retailers were told to stay mum about radiation levels in tea.
· 6-17-11 was the 1st time high levels in tea were admitted.
· Rice - Fall 2011 – 154 farms poisoned with cesium 25% above allowable limits
· Rice shipments were finally banned after many tons were sold.
· Infant Milk Powder – Japan babies may face a life of debilitation and disease from cesium.
· Milk
· Cheese
· Spinach, Leafy Greens
· Tomatoes
· Mushrooms
34 miles from Fukushima – Up to 6,200 Becquerels Cesium Per Kilogram – Legal Limit 500
· Animal Feed
· Beef – Cattle shipments were banned 8-2-11
· Worms – High cesium levels were detected – 2-6-12 (Ecological Society of Japan)
· Radiation Levels Found 20,000 Becquerels per kilogram – 14 miles away
1,000 Becquerels per kilogram – 40 miles away
290 Becquerels per kilogram – 100 miles away
RADIOACTIVE FOOD FALLOUT – Responses
· Japan Grocery Stores Started Listing Radiation Levels Of Foods
· Japan Prime minister said: “Produce is safe, I want you to eat it.“
· A leading French radiological laboratory formed after Chernobyl disagrees with Japanese assessment that radioactive contamination of food presents, “no risk”.
· The European Union authorized an emergency order allowing large increases of radiation in food.
· World Health Organization said: “Radioactive Food Contamination Causes Real Risk”
· Canadian Food Inspection Discontinues Testing of Japan Products (6-17-11)
· U.S. Radioactive Food Testing Is Abysmal, Yet Legislators Keep Lowering The Budget for Testing
· The Japan Times: Jan. 3, 2012 “Mothers first to shed food-safety complacency” – I feel a sense of crisis over food safety,” a Japanese Mother said. “And I can’t trust the government. I have to set my own standards and make my own choices.” “So (we) should realize (food) contamination will continue for a long time in Japan”
Radiation Levels Soar Far From Fukushima
Elevated radiation levels were widespread in eastern Japan (Reported June 18, 2011)
· Radioactive rain causes 130 schools in Korea to close (April 4, 2011)
· Rain in California had 10 TIMES more radioactivity than Korea (April 4, 2011)
· Unsafe levels of radioactive contamination have been reported from multiple sources throughout vast areas of eastern Japan in locations far away from the Fukushima nuclear power plant.
· Independent radiation testing found cesium 134 and 137 in air filters of cars more than 100 kilometers beyond Japan’s evacuation zone and even in northwest U.S.
· Levels are exceeding acceptable safety limits in many locations.
· Radioactive cesium has traveled over 100 miles away from Fukushima
· Pastoral grasses are contaminated beyond safety standards
· If grass is contaminated, cows eat the grass, and children drink the cows’ milk.
· Crops also absorb radiation; in fact, growing crops is a strategy used to clean up soil that’s contaminated with radiation.
· The “Dead Zone” Around Fukushima Could Be Even Larger Than The Dead Zone Around Chernobyl
· All soil samples near Fukushima tested positive for Cesium (Far Exceeding Legal Limits)
· Radioactive soil levels were comparable to Chernobyl (Reported 5-25-11 Japan Times)
· 40 miles from Fukushima, radiation levels were as high as those that triggered resettlement near Chernobyl. (Reported 7-5-11)
· Radiation may have sunk 30 cm into the ground near Tokyo, over 140 miles from Fukushima meltdowns
(Reported 3-14-12)
ü 5 centimeters beneath the ground – 3 months after meltdowns
ü 10 to 30 centimeters beneath the ground – as of 3-14-12 – one year later
ü Further delay of decontamination will make radioactive materials sink even deeper
· Soil samples taken by citizens at four locations in Fukushima City (about 60 kilometers from Fukushima meltdowns) all tested positive for radioactive cesium contamination. Measurements were between 16,000 to 46,000 becquerels per kilogram — far exceeding the legal limit of 10,000 becquerels per kg. June 26, 2011
10/15/11
Citizens’ Testing Finds 20 Hot Spots Around Tokyo, 160 Miles From The Fukushima Disaster Zone
http://www.theledger.com/article/20111014/ZNYT03/110143016/1002/SPORTS?Title=Radioactive-Hot-Spots-in-Tokyo-Point-to-Wider-Problems
Takeo Hayashida signed on with a citizens’ group to test for radiation near his son’s baseball field in Tokyo after government officials told him they had no plans to check for fallout from the devastated Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. Local officials said there was nothing to fear.
The level of radioactive cesium in a patch of dirt just yards from where his 11-year-old son, Koshiro, played baseball was equal to those in some contaminated areas around Chernobyl.
SEA WATER
The Fukushima Disaster Produced The World’s Worst Nuclear Sea Pollution (Reported 10-28-11)
· Enough Highly Radioactive Water Spilled Into The Sea to Fill 40 Olympic Sized Swimming Pools
· Radioactive Leak Into The Sea Was 20,000 Times Above Limit. 4-21-11
· Radioactive Iodine-131 Was Detected 4,385 Times Higher Than Legal Limit. 4-1-11
· Radioactive Debris Plume Is Likely to reach U.S. in 3 years. 4-22-11
· Greenpeace Marine Radiation Monitoring Was Blocked by Japan Government. 4-28-11
· Greenpeace Ship Begins Radiation Sampling 5-3-11
· By 5-26-11 Greenpeace Finds Marine Life Was Soaking Up Radiation Along Fukushima Coast.
· Ocean Radioactivity Was 10 Times Radioactivity of Chernobyl 5-20-11
· TEPCO Halts Filtering of Radioactive Water Releases Into The Sea 6-28-11
· Scientists Test Sick Alaska Seals For Radiation (Reported 12-27-11)
· Seals With Damaged Flippers and Hair Loss are being killed by Radiation From Fukushima according to biologists (Reported 12-28-11)
· Pacific’s Cesium-137 Levels – 30 Times Higher Than Reported . Could present a cancer risk for generations – Cesium has a 30-yr. half life. (Reported 12-22-11)
· Cesium 134 and 137 found in Plankton 600 km from Fukushima only 3 months after meltdowns started. (Reported 3-17-12 by Tokyo University)
FISH
Contamination of Fish in the Pacific Ocean Could Have Wide-Ranging Consequences for Millions.
· 60% of Pacific Fish Positive For Cesium 1-13-12
· Cesium was found in 16 fish species in November, the last month data was available.
Cesium was especially prevalent in certain species:
ü mackerel – 73 %
ü halibut – 91 %
ü sardines – 92 %
ü tuna and eel – 93 %
ü cod and anchovies – 94 %
ü carp, seaweed, shark and monkfish – 100 %
GROUNDWATER
STRONTIUM -90 CONTAMINATION was confirmed far OUTSIDE JAPAN”S EVACUATION ZONE
Japan’s Government announced Strontium 89 and 90 were detected in 11 locations outside the 20-kilometer evacuation zone around Fukushima – as far away as 62 kilometers. (Reported June 8, 2011)
· SR-90 was found in groundwater 6-12-11
· SR-90 contamination worsened, TEPCO operators warned 6-11
· SR-90 found in gutter 250 Kilometers (160 miles) from Fukushima 10-15-11
RADIOACTIVE SEWAGE SLUDGE
Sewage plant perplexed over how to dispose of highly radioactive sludge 5-14-11
· Radioactive sewage sludge worries Japanese
· It Seeped Into Sewage in Dozens of Treatment Plants
· No one expected such high levels
· Piles of radioactive sludge are growing around the country. NO ONE WILL TAKE IT
· Over 1,550 TONS of Highly Radioactive Sludge From 5 Prefectures Cannot Be Buried – 7-29-11
RADIOACTIVE CONCRETE – BUILDING MATERIALS
· Radioactive Cement Was Made From 3 Sewage Sludge Plants Reported 5-6-11
· New Apartment Building had high levels of radiation found 7-11
· High levels of Radioactivity found in concrete in a new condominium building. Reported 1-16-12
· Concrete mixed with radioactive materials taken from an evacuation zone was used.
RADIOACTIVE RUBBLE
1,000 tons of radioactive rubble was taken to Tokyo by train, then burned and dumped into Tokyo Bay. (Reported by NIRS – October 2011)
RADIOACTIVE INCINERATION – JAPAN IS BURNING RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
Incineration of radioactive materials is spreading radiation further all over Japan and drastically increasing health risks – inhaling radioactive particles is the worst route of exposure.
· Japan is venting radiation high into the atmosphere by burning radioactive wastes. Reported 9-5-11
· High cesium levels were found in dust at 42 incineration plants in 7 prefectures – Cesium levels were documented from 30,000 Becquerels to 95,300 Becquerels
· Cesium incinerator dust was found above limits in 7 prefectures across east Japan.
· Radioactive rain-outs will continue as long as Japan continues to burn its wastes, even in the U.S. and Canada, according to experts
RADIOACTIVE ANIMALS
· Mutant Rabbit Was First Reported 6-14-11 – An earless bunny was conceived after Fukushima outside the evacuation zone – discovered by a woman raising rabbits for over 10 years who said this is the 1st time this happened. Rabbits gestation period is about 4 weeks.
RADIOACTIVE MALE CEDAR FLOWERS
· These flowers were found with high radiation levels (Reported 12-27-11
· Radiation will keep spreading as these flowers open.
RADIATION MONITORING
Radiation Levels Kept Rising, Not Going Down (4-28-11 Bloomberg News)
Since Fukushima’s 3 meltdowns started radiation was released at the approximate average rate of one billion becquerels per hour.
· Japan deceptively claimed citizen monitors were not working.
· The Fukushima operational record wasn’t released until November 2011
Japanese Radiation Data Is NOT Independent (Reported 6/25/11)
· Full disclosure is not in the interests of the Japanese nuclear industry, yet they control the data.
· TEPCO, Fukushima’s owner, withheld information and lied from the start
· They claimed they didn’t want to release data to avoid panic with high readings. Reported 5-28-11
When citizens and Greenpeace started monitoring, extraordinary levels of radiation were found, even 100 miles from Fukushima, including Tokeo.
· Government and industry tried to stop citizen monitoring – saying leave the monitoring to us.
Radiation was dispersed and spread over the general population in many regions of Japan. The public minimally should have full disclosure on data for:
· cesium-137
· strontium-90
· iodine-131
· noble gases
· plutonium-239
Many radionuclides were detected with independent testing.
· PLUTONIUM, one of the most hazardous radionuclides, was released since March 2011, yet NOT reported until May, 2011 when a Fukushima worker informed an investigative reporter
ü If ingested, Plutonium, a very potent carcinogen, can cause genetic damage.
ü Plutonium, an alpha emitter, should not be found far from Fukushima, yet it was spotted far from Fukushima/ (Journal Scientific Reports March 8, 2012 )
· Airborne Radioactive Xenon-133 was measured up to 40,000 times greater than normal in the weeks following the fallout, by Pacific Northwest National Lab in Washington State – July 2011 journal article.
· Xenon-133 is a gas that travels rapidly and signals other radioactive chemicals will follow.
· Radioactive Iodine-131 was found hundreds of times above normal
- Places like Portland OR, Fresno CA, and Denver CO, after entering soil from rainfall.
(February 2012 journal article by the U.S. Geological Survey)
· Cesium-134 and Cesium-137 in the U.S. had the highest levels in the same places.
Map Showed Massive Radiation Plume Heading toward U.S. and Canada (Reported 5-14-11)
· US and Canada response: “Quick FUDGE the numbers before anyone notices”
· Canada turned off its fallout detectors (4-9-11)
What did the U.S. government do?
· NRC Raised Allowable Radiation Dose Limits from 360 after Chernobyl to 620 after Fukushima
· EPA Raised Radiation Limits
U.S. Halted Radiation Monitoring While Radiation Levels Were Going Up Everywhere. (Reported 5-6-11)
The U.S. radiation monitoring system was mostly turned off a month after the disaster in Japan. Why?
By 4-9-11, Fukushima radiation was detected across the U.S. in air, precipitation, drinking water, and milk.
· Elevated Radiation Levels were found in all parts of the country.
· West Coast and Rocky Mountain states received greatest amount of Fukushima Fallout.
· Philadelphia had highest level in drinking water of 13 cities tested.
· Radiation was detected in California fruit and vegetables by 6-4-11
· Bay area milk – iodine and others – levels comparable to Tokyo.
· Testing was limited but: Iodine 131 reported everywhere
· Cesium & Iodine were detected in milk even in Ireland – by March 23, 2011
· Cesium-137 was confirmed in the Nevada air, snow, rain
· Vermont’s milk from cows contained Strontium-90
U.S. Radiation Monitoring After Fukushima Was Confirmed Unreliable (Reported 11-4-11)
· NRC handed radiation monitoring over to nuclear industry lobbyists at Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) who forward data to EPA.
· A no bid contract for radiation monitoring for EPA was awarded to a former Bush Appointee. This radiation monitoring network proved to be unreliable.
Jeff McMahon, Forbes, pointed out …strategies used to minimize public perceptions of the real risks of the Fukushima radiation: “Covering the story, I watched the government pursue what appeared to be two strategies to minimize public alarm. It framed the data with reassurances like this often repeated sentence from the EPA: ‘The level detected is far below a level of public health concern.’ The question, of course, is whose concern. The EPA seemed to be timing its data releases to avoid media coverage. It released its most alarming data set late on a Friday – data that showed radioactive fallout in the drinking water of more than a dozen U.S. cities.”
Nuclear Industry and Governments’ Lies, Falsely Claiming No Risk From Fukushima, Must Be Debunked For Precaution and Prevention In Emergency and Evacuation Planning In Communities Around Nuclear Plants Like Limerick.
Fukushima Meltdowns
News and Investigative Reports
Saturday, 27 October 2012 – On the News With Thom Hartmann:
Fukushima Is Having Trouble Disposing of Hundreds of Thousands of Tons of Contaminated Nuclear Waste Water, and More
It’s been a year and a half of crisis at the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan – and that crisis continues to this day. This week, Fukushima’s water-treatment manager admitted that they are having trouble disposing of hundreds of thousands of tons of contaminated nuclear waste water.
· Since the plant began melting down in March of 2011 – TEPCO operators have been desperately dumping water on the exposed reactors to keep them cool.
· Now, all that water has accumulated within the reactors and TEPCO is running out of space to put it all.
· Over the next three years, the amount of wastewater is expected to triple at the plant – worsening an already massive health concern.
· Fukushima is teaching the world that despite decades of nuclear energy proliferation, we still don’t fully understand the dangers of nuclear power.
· Nor do we know how to deal with nuclear catastrophes like Fukushima. It’s time to build movements around the planet and ditch nuclear power for good. No nukes!
Review: Silence Deafening, Fukushima Fallout… A Mother’s Response
Posted: 09/06/2012 5:45 pm
She writes.
· “Knowing what I knew, and then seeing those facts to be so thoroughly disregarded by the media and elected officials has begun to take on a sort of nightmare quality.”
· “It may take decades for the true magnitude of Fukushima Daiichi to be comprehended, just as the effects of the Chernobyl nuclear meltdown of 1986 are still being realized.”
· “This is the story of my attempt to learn the truth, and then to do something about it in my own small way.”
· The author quotes Gandhi: “First they laugh at you, then they ignore you, then they fight you, then you win.”
Initial Deaths Verified To Be Related To Fukushima
02/05/12 The Yomiuri Shimbun
573 Deaths’ Related to Nuclear Crisis’
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T120204003191.htm
A total of 573 deaths have been certified as “disaster-related” by 13 municipalities affected by the crisis at the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. This number could rise because certification for people remains pending while further checks are conducted. The screening process was difficult in cases when people had stayed in evacuation facilities for an extended time and when there was little evidence of where they had been taking shelter.”
If a municipality certifies the cause of death is directly associated to a disaster, a condolence grant is paid to the victim’s family. If the person was a breadwinner, 5 million yen is paid.
Dr. Mercola on Fukushima Radiation Radiation from FukushimaSeptember 04, 2012
On March 11, 2011, TEPCO’s Fukushima nuclear power plant was fatally crippled. Exactly how much radiation has poured out, contaminating not only cleanup crews but also residents in surrounding areas, remains unclear, as does the risk posed to the rest of the world from nuclear fallout.
One thing is clear: this disaster is far from over… and emerging evidence suggests the impacts may be far worse than we are being led to believe.
Radiation Levels at Fukushima at Record Highs
It’s been over 1 year since the damage occurred, but it’s just now being reported that samples from the basement of reactor number 1 revealed:
· Radiation levels reached up to 10,300 millisievert (mSv) an hour – enough to make a person sick within minutes, and kill them shortly thereafter.
· In perspective, workers at this site reach their annual allowed radiation dose in 20 seconds.
· Workers cannot go anywhere near the site, so robots must be used.
· It’s estimated that complete demolition of the plant will take four decades and require new cleanup technologies to be completed.
Adding to the already precarious situation, another of the reactor buildings – which houses 1,331 spent and 204 unused nuclear fuel assemblies, each of which contains approximately 50-70 nuclear rods – is now tilting and the walls are bulging outward. …Large amounts of radiation could add to the radiation already released into the environment.
Obviously, the situation is still incredibly volatile.
Ø It’s a mystery why U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) only conducted accelerated sampling from March to June 2011.
A report from the Congressional Research Service, suggests radiation-contaminated debris from Japan may take up to three years before it reaches the U.S. West Coast: The debris plume likely will reach the U.S. West Coast, dumping debris on California beaches and the beaches of British Columbia, Alaska, and Baja California.
Ø Although the ocean currents have a slow flow, there’s still a threat posed because radioactive contaminants are incredibly persistent in the environment Radioactive contaminants with long half-lives (e.g., cesium-137, with a half-life of about 30 years) could still pose concerns if transported over long distances by ocean currents.”
Ø Case in point, 15 bluefin tuna caught near San Diego, California in August 2011 were found to contain Fukushima-derived radiation, including caesium-137 and caesium-134, at levels 10 times higher than those detected in previous years. The researchers noted:
Is Fukushima Worse Than Chernobyl?
When the Chernobyl reactor melted down in 1986, approximately 134 plant workers and firefighters were exposed to high doses of radiation – 800 to 16,000 mSv – and developed acute radiation sickness. Of those 134 workers, 28 died within 3 months of exposure.
In total, more than 160,000 children and 146,000 cleanup workers became victims of radiation poisoning as a result of living and working in that radiotoxic environment, raising the incidence of birth defects, leukemia, anemia, cancers, thyroid disease, liver and bone marrow degeneration, and overall severely compromised immune systems.
These, however, are only estimates, and according to some data, Chernobyl deaths may actually top 1 million.6 Fukushima is the largest nuclear disaster since, but there are many similarities popping up. For one, as the Institute of Science in Society (ISIS) points out:7
“From the beginning, the official nuclear safety experts were at pains to minimize the projected health impacts, as they are doing now for the Fukushima accident.”
According to ISIS, with Chernobyl, they underestimated related deaths by:
· Underestimating the level of radiation by averaging exposure over a large region, such as an entire country, so high exposure doses and health statistics of the most contaminated areas are lumped together with the less and least exposed
· Ignoring internal sources of radiation due to inhalation and ingestion of radioactive material from fallout
· Using an obsolete and erroneous model of linear energy transfer due to external sources of ionizing radiation
· Not counting diseases and conditions other than cancers
· Overestimating the natural background radiation; today’s “background” has been greatly increased by discharges from nuclear activities including tests of nuclear weapons, use of depleted uranium, and uranium mining
· Suppressing and withholding information from the public
While downplaying the risks of contaminated U.S. seafood, the Congressional Research Service goes into great detail on the magnitude of radiation that entered the ocean water following the disaster:
· “Seawater was monitored with a dose rate of greater than 1,000 millisievert per hour was confirmed by TEPCO on April 2, 2011, in a pit located next to Fukushima’s Unit 2 seawater inlet point. …Experts cite this incident as the largest recorded accidental release of radiation to the ocean.
Did 14,000 Americans Already Die from Fukushima Radiation?
· A report published in the International Journal of Health Services suggests that up to 14,000 deaths related to Fukushima may have already occurred in the United States:
· “Deaths rose 4.46 percent from 2010 to 2011 in the 14 weeks after the arrival of Japanese fallout, compared with a 2.34 percent increase in the prior 14 weeks.
· The number of infant deaths after Fukushima rose 1.80 percent, compared with a previous 8.37 percent decrease.
· Projecting these figures for the entire United States yields 13,983 total deaths and 822 infant deaths in excess of the expected.
· …Recent assessments have suggested that the amount of radioactivity released from Fukushima equals or exceeds that released from Chernobyl.
· Given the continuing emission of radioisotopes from the melted reactors, the high density of population around the plant, and the close proximity to food sources, we can expect that morbidity and mortality will be high in Japan.
· …Adverse health effects may also be expected in the United States, even though exposures have been far below those in Japan.
· Low-dose radiation exposure, previously assumed to be harmless, has been linked with elevated disease rates in children born to women who underwent pelvic X-rays while pregnant, Americans exposed to atomic bomb fallout, nuclear plant workers, and, for leukemia, children exposed to very low doses after Chernobyl.
· In addition to physical diseases is loss of cognitive ability in adolescents following low-dose ionizing radiation in utero.”
The Potential Dangers of Low-Dose Radiation
If the levels of radiation that reach the U.S. are, in fact, low, this may still pose a formidable threat to human health and the environment.
· In 2010, the United National Scientific Committee released a report on the effects of low-dose radiation, noting the following (the report uses the term ‘low dose’ to mean doses of radiation below 200 mGy – a computed tomography (CT) scan delivers about 10 mGy):
· There is strong evidence of “statistically significant” elevations of risk of solid tumors and leukemia above doses of 100 – 200 milligray (mGy)
· Findings of elevated incidence of circulatory disease in populations irradiated at high doses are raising some concern
· There is “increasing evidence” of radiation exposure leading to increased incidence of cataracts
· Radiation exposure of the developing embryo or fetus during pregnancy can also contribute to the appearance of non-cancer diseases in children. In addition to the induction of congenital mal-formations, the central nervous system is particularly affected … Mainly on the basis of animal studies and some observations following high-dose exposures of pregnant women, the Committee considers that there is a threshold for these effects at about 100 mGy.
· There is emerging evidence from recent epidemiological studies indicating elevated risks of non- cancer diseases below doses of 1 to 2 Gy, and in some cases much lower.
· Although this report was released in 2010, scientists are just now going to review it to help assess the true effects of Fukushima.
· There is also a phenomenon known as the “bystander effect,” which multiplies the dose and harm from radiation exposures. According to Dr. Mae-Wan Ho, cells that have not been exposed to radiation can be harmed by nearby cells that have. Writing for ISIS, Dr. Ho explains:
ü “…low dose radiation is all the more dangerous because it does not kill the targeted cell, but allows its influence to spread widely to adjacent cells, thus multiplying the radiation effect (about 100 fold)
ü …a wide range of bystander effects in cells not directly exposed to ionizing radiation have been found, which are the same as or similar to those in the cells that were exposed, including cell death and chromosomal instability.”
· Currently, there is a considerable push to understand bystander effects, genomic instability, and adaptive response after radiation exposure in low doses… but it is now clear that bystander effects do occur and are a general phenomenon induced by all types of radiation.