Japan: 9.0 Earthquake-Tsunami-Nuclear Reactor Status #4

[mysticrose]

Radiation found in Japanese milk, spinach

In the first sign that contamination from Japan's stricken nuclear complex had seeped into the food chain, officials said Saturday that radiation levels in spinach and milk from farms near the tsunami-crippled facility exceeded government safety limits.

Minuscule amounts of radioactive iodine also were found in tap water Friday in Tokyo and elsewhere in Japan — although experts said none of those tests showed any health risks. The Health Ministry also said that radioactive iodine slightly above government safety limits was found in drinking water at one point Thursday in a sampling from Fukushima prefecture, the site of the nuclear plant, but later tests showed the level had fallen again.

Six workers trying to bring the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant back under control were exposed to more than 100 millisieverts of radiation ....

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42165497/ns/world_news-asia-pacific/

 

[Nova]

LOL, you can name her, just avoid making her the topic. I removed a couple posts that are just rants about AC and nothing to do with the topic at hand.
So, I suppose if you all want to keep the discussion about this theory here, that is ok, just do what we have to to keep it from becoming a thread about AC.
Does that make sense?

I'm sorry, J. Your instructions always made sense. I only meant to make a joke, not to imply you weren't clear.

Bottom line: a study or two seem to show that small increases in general radiation may deter the onset of cancer in the population as a whole. It's a nice thought, but I don't think anyone (except perhaps she) is claiming we should run out and buy plutonium lollipops.

 

[Nova]

Has anyone heard anything further about the 30 schoolchildren still sitting in their classroom waiting for parents who never picked them up?

Frankly, when I read the original story, I wasn't sure whether to be sad for the children or furious at the adults who had left them sitting there for several days.

 

[JustToSeeYouSmile]

Has anyone heard anything further about the 30 schoolchildren still sitting in their classroom waiting for parents who never picked them up?

Frankly, when I read the original story, I wasn't sure whether to be sad for the children or furious at the adults who had left them sitting there for several days.

I do not have any information on the 30 school children. I think be glad for the children that they survived, and sad that there may have been no one able to pick them up.

 

[Quiche]

Japan firefighters wrap up water-spraying operation at nuclear plant

Quote: Japanese broadcaster NHK reported that Tokyo Fire Department crews had initially planned a seven-hour operation, beginning about 2 p.m. Saturday, but extended it through the night, spraying seawater through an 875-yard hose to cool the radioactive material at the plant's No. 3 reactor.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/fgw-japan-nuclear-water-spraying,0,3020995.story

 

[Quiche]

Japan Earthquake: iRobot Sending Packbots and Warriors to Fukushima Dai-1 Nuclear Plant

Quote:These robots may be able assist at Fukushima Dai-1 in several different ways. The Packbot 510s are equipped with HazMat payloads [photo below], which can detect temperature, gamma radiation, explosive gases and vapors, and toxic chemicals, and feed all of that data back to their controllers in real-time.

http://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/...ot-sending-packbots-and-warriors-to-fukushima

 

[Quiche]

I do not have any information on the 30 school children. I think be glad for the children that they survived, and sad that there may have been no one able to pick them up.

They're still waiting for mum and dad

Quote: Teachers think that some of the boys and girls, aged between eight and 12, know their fathers and mothers are among the missing and will never again turn up at the gates of the school on the eastern outskirts of the town, but they are saying nothing.

http://gulfnews.com/news/world/other-world/they-re-still-waiting-for-mum-and-dad-1.779172

 

[Nova]

I do not have any information on the 30 school children. I think be glad for the children that they survived, and sad that there may have been no one able to pick them up.

My post above was probably very unfair. It may be there wasn't any place at the time of the article to which the children could be evacuated. I need to keep in mind that for all we know, there are entire areas of Northern Japan that have yet to be explored at all.

 

[Quiche]

U.S. military families torn over Japan evacuation

Quote: YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan -- The first U.S. Air Force flight to evacuate military family members from Japan lifted off here Saturday, carrying 233 people, nine pet dogs and a sea of mixed feelings.

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/03/19/2123792/us-military-families-torn-over.html#ixzz1H5rtQW4y

 

[Quiche]

Tsunami survivors in town that vanished search for hope and shelter

Quote: In this fishing community, the biggest shelter is the Ocean Plaza gymnasium, where more than 700 people are crammed into corridors, stairwells and offices. Some have made walls from cardboard boxes. Most mark out territory with layers of blankets and futons.

and

But, after days of survivors having to cope on just one piece of bread or ball of rice, the food situation is improving. Saturday's dinner in the Ocean Plaza disaster shelter is a boiled egg, a helping of rice and a scoop of seaweed and vegetables. It is the third meal of the day.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/20/tsunami-survivors-hope-shelter-japan

 

[Nova]

They're still waiting for mum and dad

Quote: Teachers think that some of the boys and girls, aged between eight and 12, know their fathers and mothers are among the missing and will never again turn up at the gates of the school on the eastern outskirts of the town, but they are saying nothing.

http://gulfnews.com/news/world/other-world/they-re-still-waiting-for-mum-and-dad-1.779172

It does say the children are watched over by their teachers and relatives, so maybe the classroom is simply the best shelter that can be provided at the moment.

But it's been a week. Seems to me it might be time to say, "Honey, we don't know where your parents are or if they will be able to come to get you." And maybe that's what the children have been told, but the article makes it sound like they've been kept in the classroom for a week without a word of guidance from adults.

 

[hockeymom]

It does say the children are watched over by their teachers and relatives, so maybe the classroom is simply the best shelter that can be provided at the moment.

But it's been a week. Seems to me it might be time to say, "Honey, we don't know where your parents are or if they will be able to come to get you." And maybe that's what the children have been told, but the article makes it sound like they've been kept in the classroom for a week without a word of guidance from adults.

In my community even if one schoolmate dies(by whatever means),there are grief counselors sent ASAP. I hope under the circumstances they have counseling to help these poor little ones.

 

[Sooner Fan#1]

:dance: I stumbled on to this website a few days ago and wanted to share it.

I have a son in the Philippines and it has been extremely helpful to me. Lots of you already are aware of it but, just in case....

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/quakes_all.php

I was just gobbsmacked that there are so many! :nuclear::thud:

 

[Kat]

Thank you SF!

I knew we had one last night because I woke up this morning and the doors (which never latch properly since the move before last) on his chifforobe (highboy, armoire...etc) were standing open again. Seems to happen when we have those minor quakes here LOL.

Prayers for the suvivors in Japan.

 

[peeples]

NV monitors radiation

http://www.ktnv.com/story/14281168/officials-monitoring

Whatever the wind blows southern Nevada's way is measured and monitored by Desert Research Institute near the campus of UNLV. This includes levels of gamma radiation.

 

[not_my_kids]

I'll be happy to avoid further discussion of She Who Must Not Be Named.

But I think the point here was a claim (originally from scientists, not SWMNBN) that the additional radiation reaching the U.S. west coast from Japan might actually be a good thing for Californians, Oregonians, etc.

With all the bad news of late, it would be nice to believe our risk of cancer had gone down a little bit, no?

Ironic moment, we have a member by that name (She Who Must Not Be Named). She might be a bit confused if she ever stumbles in here now, lol.

I would love to believe that a little bit of radiation is good for us, especially since it make all this so much less scary. But on the other hand, I don't believe anything said right now that seems to be said just to make the public feel better. We all know (or thought we knew) that radiation is bad. We all get it, but we don't need it and we certainly don't want it. Now, we are hearing, mainly from Japan, that irradiated food and water are just fine, and that might be true for one glass of low radiation water or milk, or one bowl of irradiated spinach probably won't hurt you. But how long will it remain? How much will many of these people ingest over the next year, two years, decade? And let's not forget that we thought we knew what safe levels were until the Japanese government changed their minds about that too.

 

[UFO]

Good site IMO.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_newsr...nting-humanitarian-nuclear-crisis-after-quake

I believe the graphic under the Tuesday story is up to date.

 

[not_my_kids]

In my community even if one schoolmate dies(by whatever means),there are grief counselors sent ASAP. I hope under the circumstances they have counseling to help these poor little ones.

I only really saw one time that any of the experts have addressed the need for counseling, and I think it was the Red Cross rep on CNN. One of the anchors asked what the top concerns were in the camps (so not related to the schoolkids themselves) and he said that food, water, blankets, and psychological counseling were the biggest issues. Of all of those, he feared that the one need that wouldn't be met would be the counseling, since most forget how important it is at times like these.

 

[JustToSeeYouSmile]

I only really saw one time that any of the experts have addressed the need for counseling, and I think it was the Red Cross rep on CNN. One of the anchors asked what the top concerns were in the camps (so not related to the schoolkids themselves) and he said that food, water, blankets, and psychological counseling were the biggest issues. Of all of those, he feared that the one need that wouldn't be met would be the counseling, since most forget how important it is at times like these.

I imagine there is major triage going on. And unfortunately counseling probably falls at the bottom of the basic needs list.

You can't survive to need counseling until you have food, water and shelter.

These poor kids.

 

[not_my_kids]

It was severely criticised after the 2007 earthquake in the Niigata Chuetsu-Oki area when it was forced to shut down a plant, admitting that it had not been designed to cope with such tremors. That plant has never reopened. Five years earlier, Tepco was found to have falsified nuclear safety data at least 200 times between 1977 and 2002. All 17 of the company's boiling water reactors were shut down for inspections after the government provided evidence that Tepco had been concealing incidents. This forced the president, Nobuya Minami, and a number of board members to step down. It was 2005 before the firm was allowed to restart all its reactors.

Tepco is now run by Masataka Shimizu, who as well as being the new president is also head of the risk management committee. But he is another Tepco lifer and there have been few signs that the world's fourth-largest utility has been transformed.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/mar/20/tepco-japan-nuclear-disaster-bp

Wow, their history really does suck.