Radiation Spikes at Reactor 1
Over the last couple of days we have been monitoring some very interesting information coming from a couple of Japanese sites. These websites have given us a first hand look at the current radiation models of each reactor at Fukushima. This photo below will show some disturbing numbers in regards to reactor 1.
Reactor 1 is showing signs of some sort of fissioning process, which is responsible for much higher levels of radiation. These numbers are currently showing 201 Sv/h (sieverts per hour), which is far and above any number that allows someone to work anywhere near the facility. The general consensus among nuclear engineers is 6 Sv/h-10 Sv/h will result eminent death, so this is extremely troubling information. We are aware that the Japanese government has been using an element known as Boron to slow the fission process, so it’s not clear why this type of spike is happening.
This is certainly not good news for Japan and it opens up the idea to some larger and potentially more dangerous issues. There is still a threat of an explosion at the facility, which can occur from a number of different chain reactions, but the actual condition of each reactor is still unclear. We are going to continue monitoring reactor 1 to the best of our ability, although it seems nearly impossible that a human or machine could survive a second with that type of exposure to radiation.
Storm to Drench the West Coast!
In our last post we discussed that levels of radiation have fallen substantially from samples taken at UC Berkeley. We are also aware now that a very large storm is making it’s way to the west coast. This storm will help us all understand whether levels are in fact increasing or if the Pacific Ocean is playing a much larger role at containing the radiation.
Weather forecasts put this storm over California by Monday night and most areas expect a fair amount of rain and even a little snow in the upper elevations. It’s certainly late to have a storm of this caliber arrive, but it will be an excellent measurement for those at UC Berkeley. We are actually very interested in the rainwater samples as it will give us an idea of what to expect in the coming months. TEPCO still has no idea, nor a solution to the problem. This essentially means that higher measurements after this storm could create a bit of a radiation road map for those concerned.
It’s impossible to make any predictions here as we’ve only witnessed the initial explosions in mid March at Fukushima. This is certainly encouraging news as even large releases may still be localized due to the level of water being used to flood the reactors, as well as the inability for these particles to make it into the upper atmosphere for the journey over the Pacific. That said, there’s always that possibility that these radioactive particles do in fact make there way here.
Many of those out there in search of answers look to sites such as Radiation Fears. Unfortunately the situation at Fukushima is so complex we don’t have the answers. We can say that avoiding the rain will certainly reduce the risks of being exposed to more radiation, but the fact is we just don’t know the levels that will make it across the Pacific.
We will continue to monitor this situation and give updates with any new samples at UC Berkeley.
Radiation Effects – How bad is it?
EPA Monitoring Shut Down
For the last few weeks we have been researching a number of different aspects of the Fukushima release and how the fallout will continue to effect the United States. For many of you doing research on the internet there are only a few sites that actually update news and information. Unfortunately this past week one of the largest U.S. monitoring systems run by the EPA shut their system off. This poses a challenge to those who used these monitors to obtain information. The good news is UC Berkeley is continuing their samples of air, food and water.
We’ve also been noticing that there are a number of sites that discuss large radioactive plumes and massive quantities of radiation being released into the environment. Unfortunately spreading this type of information does two things. One, it distorts the facts and two, it causes unnecessary panic amongst many in the northern hemisphere. Similar to news on television, the more compelling the information to the viewer, the more likely the viewer will come back again, regardless of how factual the information is. It’s no mystery we have a problem with radiation and unless we decommission every nuclear plant on the planet, it’s not going to stop anytime in near future. Understanding how we can avoid exposure is important, but the truth is there is no way to avoid breathing or eating these particles as they will eventually be widespread.
Radiation is somewhat of a phenomenon in terms of how it disrupts the environment and our bodies. Our only real point of reference is Chernobyl and that event was catastrophic in many ways. The good news is we can use Chernobyl as a guide to fallout levels in Europe and compare those numbers with the current levels here in the United States. It’s a bit selfish to ignore the damage being done to Japan, but let’s just say that Japan is in a much worse position than we are here in a U.S. and it’s not getting any better for them. Their exclusion zone will continue to expand as the local quantities of radiation accumulate. And they also have two additional worries, which are seafood and ground water contamination.
There are still a number of questions that remain, but it’s fairly obvious that Fukushima is continuing to leak large quantities of radiation into the local environment in Japan. Here at Radiation Fears we have been monitoring numbers both at Fukushima and the United States, while using maps as a reference of potential fallout. The fear mongering crowd will show you maps that make it look as though high levels are inevitable, but it’s just not true. Our bodies are all extremely different and we all live in various parts of the United States that have all been affected at different levels. The fact that you live in one area of Idaho, where high levels of fallout were found a couple of weeks after the event at Fukushima, doesn’t necessarily mean that your body will be effected any different than someone who lives in Southern California. These are things that will never be fully understood. The bio-accumulation our bodies go through in our life span is as complex as the toxins we are exposed to.
Videos showing Plumes a Myth?
We recently saw a couple of maps being spread throughout the internet through Youtube and Vimeo. These maps were showing high levels of Iodine 131 and Cesium 137 in the environment across the western United States in early May. The truth is a number of these maps are merely predictions of potential fallout. These types of predictions are extremely complicated in nature, which leaves plenty of room for error.
If you watch this video below with Arnold Gundersen, you’ll see that there were high levels of Iodine 131 recently detected on or near a reactor. This evidence would point to a recent high level release from Fukushima. Now comparing these levels to the maps and the UC Berkeley’s research, you’ll notice there are some serious discrepancies with the information reported. We are continuing to see levels of Iodine 131 in the air samples decline here in the Western U.S. Keep in mind that Iodine 131 has a half life of 8 days and is literally out of the environment within 60 days, so the recent high levels point to a release occurring much later than the initial explosions in mid-March. As we know Fukushima is currently releasing constant quantities of radiation in the environment, but we’ve come to a conclusion that these levels remain constant in the local environment, but have not reached the upper atmosphere of the Jet Stream to continuously effect the United States at these higher levels.
Now the threat is far from over, but there is a bit positive news here. As Fukushima continues to release these radioactive particles into the environment, we can assess that unless a larger explosion occurs, a majority of these particles will remain somewhat localized. There is continued discussion as to the threat of explosions and larger environmental releases, but at this point we have seen the levels of Cesium 137 and Iodine 131 decline over the last few weeks. This is great news for the United States, but we still have radioactive particles in our food chain and in water samples. We are more than 60 days removed from the major event at Fukushima and most food processing was done after the exposure. It’s nearly impossible to avoid this radiation altogether, but avoiding milk for a short time, while monitoring UC Berkeley’s site is still an option. Although many at UC Berkeley don’t find these levels concerning, any level of radiation is still a threat to the human body.
The area around UC Berkeley generally remains dry during the summer months, while other parts of the United States will get rain. This usual summer weather pattern will make the task of determining levels a daunting one. There is currently no way to observe the levels of radiation fallout without having similar monitoring stations to UC Berkeley across the United States during the summer months. We are hoping that some private entities take this challenge on to help monitor the situation moving forward.
Here are some recent images from UC Berkeley’s site that show declines in milk:
Air samples from UC Berkeley showing levels of decline:
As the levels above suggest we are seeing a decline, so please be weary of what you read and definitely stay informed on the situation as many factors could change at a moments notice. Continue to pray for the situation in Japan and realize that we are all in this together. And let this be a lesson to our government officials that we need to make some major changes in the realm of clean energy. Nuclear should no longer be considered a clean energy as it will be responsible for thousands if not millions of deaths and disease between Chernobyl and Fukushima. The United States needs to focus on energy that is sustainable with little effect on the health of both man and the environment.
Fukushima – One Step Forward and Four Steps Back as Each Unit Challenged by New Problems-Radiation Effects from Fairewinds Associates on Vimeo.
A plan destined to fail – The Fukushima Exit Strategy
The news in the U.S. in regards to Fukushima has been extremely quiet on the topic of radiation and other issues still lingering. We have been monitoring recent reports that Japan has created an exit strategy for Fukushima that will take 6-9 months. What they fail to mention is that robots that are currently roaming the control units of Fukushima are showing levels that would expose a worker to more than a years dose within 5 hours. That poses a bit of a problem to an any exit strategy.
In order to clean up a mess like Fukushima we need to look at Chernobyl as a model. Unfortunately Chernobyl to this very day has levels within a mile that make any cleanup nearly impossible. Take into consideration that Chernobyl’s reactor exploded some 25 years ago. Could this be a sign that the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant may never have an exit strategy? I think that’s certainly plausible, but we’ll have to see what technology has been developed over the last two decades to allow a more efficient solution of decontaminating these highly radioactive areas.
We often mistake reality with optimism. It can easily be said that little has been learned since the explosion at Chernobyl as it’s been over a month and very little has been done to stop the leaks at Fukushima. Unfortunately, radiation is a subject that is highly controversial as there are so many complexities involved in both the process of creating energy as well as the waste involved. We currently have 104 reactors in operation at 65 power plants across the country. Just where is all the nuclear waste going? That’s a great question and will most likely be a topic of conversation as we discuss the future of the Yucca Mountain project in Nevada and radioactive waste in general here in the U.S.
As we continue to monitor the status of the radioactive leaks and radiation levels throughout Japan and the United States, we will also do our best to keep our readers informed of the clean up process. The entire event at Fukushima has taught all of us here in the United States that safe and clean energy is the only real solution to sustainable living.
Is Nuclear Radiation the Missing Link to Cancer?
Almost every weekend we see another “Race for a Cure.” Have you ever contemplated the notion that we should be more interested in a “Race for a Reason?” As much as we all appreciate the many foundations implemented to finding a cure, why don’t we have foundations created to researching reasons behind the many cancers being diagnosed daily?
Unfortunately I’ve witnessed a number of deaths due to cancer, as well as watch friends and family members deal with the deadly disease. I am actually starting to believe that statistics over the last few years are far worse than what’s being reported. I have more than 10 friends that have cancer or have had cancer under the age of 30 (the number of people I know with cancer is much higher). Five of those friends have been diagnosed with thyroid cancer under the age of the 30. I’ve even had two friends that had one particular cancer with odds at over one in a million (both diagnosed under the age of 30). Those are pretty staggering statistics and something that I believe needs much more research than cancer itself.
I had a conversation a few weeks back with a friend who happens to be an endocrinologist. He had mentioned that it’s nearly impossible to know such a high number of people with thyroid cancer at such a young age. I never really thought much about it until the accident at Fukushima, when I learned about the high levels of thyroid cancer that increase after a nuclear disaster from radioactive particles such as Iodine-131. I now begin to question the potential of our own nuclear reactors leaking small amounts of radiation which is possibly responsible for thousands, if not millions, of cancers around our country. We’ve learned recently that normal testing devices such as Geiger Counters are merely appropriate for larger quantities of radiation rather than measuring small amounts of radiation farther from the source of a major disaster.
According to UC Berkeley’s Nuclear Engineering Department, bioaccumulation is occurring in the food chain here in the United States from particles traveling from Fukushima. These particles are not detected in the air with normal testing devices, but rather with very expensive and intricate devices that many citizens are unable to find on the open market. Maybe that’s a sign that we need to get working on a “Race for a Reason.” It’s actually astonishing how little we all know about nuclear energy. It’s becoming apparent that the reason behind that is due to the levels of danger involved. I hope that Fukushima becomes a stepping stone for researching and that over the next year we begin to get involved in researching the many reactors around this country.
Below is a very interesting article I found in regards to a couple of leaks that occurred in the late 1950′s and early 1960′s in a town called Santa Susana in the Simi Valley area of Los Angeles. The meltdown happened at a Boeing-Rocketdyne nuclear testing facility. This leak has been pushed well outside of mainstream media for years, but will most likely draw much more interest in the years to come as we study the effects of radiation. This information came out after a recent $30 million dollar settlement by Boeing in the case. It’s been reported that there has also been a number of rare and fatal eye cancers reported in and around the area that have only been seen in this part of the valley and around Chernobyl.
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Host Steve Curwood talks with Dr. Arjun Makhijani, who provided scientific testimony for the case, and Bonnie Klea, who was a secretary at the Boeing facility for eleven years following the 1959 accident.
Transcript:
URWOOD: From the Jennifer and Ted Stanley studios in Somerville, Massachusetts, this is Living on Earth. I’m Steve Curwood.
Nuclear power plant accidents. Chernobyl in the Ukraine, Windscale in the UK, and… the Santa Susana Field Lab in California. Those incidents are the top three releasers of radioactive iodine in nuclear power history. But number three slipped largely under the radar.
The Boeing-Rocketdyne Nuclear Facility, also referred to as the Santa Susana Field Lab, is located about 30 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles, near the Simi Valley area. And in 1959, a clogged coolant channel in a 20-megawatt nuclear reactor lead to the melting of 30 percent of the fuel elements in the reactor core. The Former Sodium Reactor Experiment Containment Building where the 1959 meltdown occurred (Courtesy of DOE).
Iodine-131 – that is, radioactive iodine – was released in doses estimated up to 100 times that of Three Mile Island, enough to cause various types of cancers and thyroid abnormalities, particularly in children under the age of 15. And while radioactive iodine only has an eight day half life, that’s more than enough time to get into the local dairy cows and contaminate the milk supply
The facility also released many other radioactive materials, as well as other toxic chemicals, over a period of years. After an eight-year-long court battle, more than 100 local residents reached a settlement with Boeing-Rocketdyne.
Dr. Arjun Makhijani provided scientific testimony for the plaintiffs. He’s the president of the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research and a former advisor to the EPA on nuclear matters. Hello, sir.
MAKHIJANI: Hi Steve.
CURWOOD: So, tell me the story of what happened in California. Now why is it that nobody ever heard about this?
MAKHIJANI: Well, it was a sodium-cooled reactor that had had a problem that had been detected in terms of contamination in the core, and they ran the reactor anyway. And then, in the middle of July, they had a partial meltdown and there was a release of radiation. The iodine-131 releases were between, I estimate, somewhere between 80 and 100 times bigger than the iodine-131 releases from Three Mile Island.
And there had been a reactor accident at Windscale in Britain two years prior which had an even larger release of iodine from there. And after attempting to sort of cover it up, or hide the consequences, in a day or two the British authorities decided to go largely public. They collected milk from a 200-square-mile area – I believe half a million gallons, if I remember the number correctly – and they dumped it. So they actually went and sampled the milk, collected it.
And I felt that at the time of the Rocketdyne accident, in 1959, that that example was available to the authorities. And yet, despite that public health example, they did not follow a sound procedure. And then the officials concluded that, “ah, well, although we don’t really understand the accident, we don’t think anything was released;” and that became the accepted theory for 45 years.
So, essentially, people were led to believe that there were no serious releases of radioactivity, especially in terms of iodine, from this accident. And so the subsidiary questions as to who was hurt, whether somebody got thyroid cancer, and so on, were not really raised until this lawsuit was filed.
CURWOOD: Just briefly explain the science of why iodine-131 would be of interest involving people’s health.
MAKHIJANI: Yes. Now, iodine-131 is a radioactive form of iodine – very radioactive – that’s produced in nuclear reactors when uranium is split and we generate energy. It’s the same as iodine in terms of how the body recognizes it, chemistry, so it goes to the thyroid. But when it gets to the thyroid, the radiation damages the thyroid – increases risk of cancer, and, at certain levels, increases risk of hypothyroidism, because part of the thyroid gets destroyed in children. It can have developmental effects.
CURWOOD: Now, you were brought in as an expert witness on the nuclear questions here. What was the lawsuit all about?
MAKHIJANI: Well the lawsuit was filed by neighbors of this plant, essentially alleging that the plant’s operation had caused a variety of health effects, especially cancers. Radioactivity wasn’t the only type of thing that was emitted from the site. They had chemicals, they had chromium, they had heavy metals, and so on. So it was a complicated case.
My own involvement as an expert involved primarily the radioactivity at the site, and estimating how much was released. The facility itself was quite complex. They had a huge number of activities. And I did report that if they wanted me to study everything it would take years and cost millions, and, of course, there were not the years available, nor the millions, to do it.
CURWOOD: Now, going back over the records that were kept by Boeing, apparently there’s some large gaps in those records. Can you fill in any of those parts for us of what might be found?
MAKHIJANI: Well, that’s partly what we did in arriving at the estimates of how much iodine was released. Our best estimate was about 1,300 curies. That would make it the third largest release of iodine-131 in a reactor accident in the history of nuclear power. First there was Chernobyl; then Windscale in England in 1957; and the third-worst would be this sodium-reactor experiment in Simi Valley. Because the records were incomplete, and the investigations were incomplete, it was like solving a mystery with partial information. And so essentially we filled in the gaps through scientific analysis.
CURWOOD: Arjun Makhijani is president of the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research. Thank you, sir.
MAKHIJANI: Thank you very much, Steve.
Aerial view of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory, which includes both the developed land (facilities and buildings) and undeveloped land (buffer zone) shown in the picture. (Courtesy of DOE)
CURWOOD: The 1959 nuclear power accident is one of a series of chemical contaminations, radiological mishaps, and partial nuclear meltdowns that occurred at Boeing’s Santa Susana Lab over decades. And while Boeing compensated inhabitants of surrounding areas with $30 million this past September, a number of Boeing employees, those closest to the radioactivity, have yet to succeed with worker’s compensation claims.
Bonnie Klea worked for Boeing at the Santa Susana Field Lab right after the 1959 meltdown. She lives in West Hills, California, a town about two miles from the facility, and joins us on the phone. Ms. Klea, thanks for speaking with us.
KLEA: And thank you for calling.
CURWOOD: Now you’ve been active in raising awareness about Boeing’s nuclear facility since you were diagnosed with cancer, what, in 1995?
KLEA: Yes. I worked up at the facility in 1963 until 1971, and in 1995 I was diagnosed with bladder cancer. And my doctors asked me where I worked, because generally it’s an environmental cancer, or it’s a smoker’s cancer, and I was not a smoker. So I told my doctors where I worked in the ‘60s and ‘70s, and they said, oh my gosh, we’re treating a lot of employees for cancer from that facility. Not just the scientists, but the janitors and the secretaries. And one of my doctors said we’ve even gone so far as to write the company a letter to ask them what are they doing to their employees.
CURWOOD: So you weren’t there for the ’59 meltdown though?
KLEA: No, I was there in ’63. That happened ’59, but we had another meltdown in ’64, which is just becoming public now, as far as I know. They had 80 percent of the cladding on the fuel rods melt down. And it was immediately shut down when they found that out, and decommissioned in 1965. And that’s been kept secret for a very long time.
CURWOOD: As a former employee of Boeing, you weren’t a plaintiff in the class action lawsuit where Dr. Makhijani made his statement?
KLEA: That’s correct. Don’t forget, when you’re working for a company, and that company causes you harm, you’re only recourse is through worker’s compensation, which I filed in 1996. And eventually, I lost my case. Their doctor that they sent me to wrote a six-page letter, and he said it was work-related. And then the company’s health physicist found out; he went to the doctor and made him change his letter, so I had a little one paragraph that said it wasn’t work-related, and I consequently lost my case.
CURWOOD: You say you attended a meeting this past July where Boeing-Rocketdyne addressed a group of ex-Boeing employees. Would you tell us about what happened at that meeting, and describe the scene for us?
KLEA: Yes. You know, we had a big workers’ study done at UCLA, and their conclusion was that we had six to eight times the death that they ever expected from exposure to radiation. So after that study was done the Boeing company commissioned their own doctors, they brought in four doctors from all over the country, to do their own workers’ study. And so they had a little meeting at the recreation center to tell the employees that their work did not cause them extra death or any harm.
And one of the employees stood up and said, now look, my son died of leukemia, my husband died of leukemia, and I have leukemia, and we were all employees. And, you know, they just said, well, we don’t know about that. And another stood up, he says, I have lung cancer, and he says I had a beryllium test, and he says I can’t get the results of my test back from the company. And so here they are telling a roomful of workers that the job did not make them sick, and most of us were sick or survivors.
CURWOOD: As I understand it, Boeing stopped the nuclear aspects of its work there in Ventura County, what, back in the late ‘80s, ’89. But have they cleaned everything up there?
KLEA: No, they haven’t cleaned anything up. In fact, I’m part of a group right now that is monitoring the cleanup. We want it cleaned up to EPA standards, which is a very, very tight standard that they use for the Superfund sites, and the reason we can’t use the EPA standards is because ther’re currently no residents living on Santa Susana mountains. But they propose to release it for unrestricted use. Potentially we could have schools and homes and children living on nuclear land. And believe me, those of us who are getting involved, our group is growing. And we’re just not going to let them do that.
CURWOOD: How do you feel about all this?
KLEA: I’m pretty upset. And I’m more upset at what they’re doing today, and they’re still denying it, they’re still fighting our worker claims, they’re still fighting worker’s compensation, they’re still lying to the employees, telling them that their jobs didn’t give them cancer when we’re all sick and some of us are dead. And that upsets me more than anything.
CURWOOD: Bonnie Klea, speaking from her home in West Hills, California. The Boeing Corporation declined to be interviewed, or comment on the settlement, but did provide a written statement regarding workers compensation. Boeing says, quote:
“There is no evidence that working conditions caused increased mortality in the Rocketdyne workforce.”
And as for the partial meltdown in 1959, Boeing writes:
“The 1959 Sodium Reactor Experiment (SRE) incident was not a ‘meltdown.’ Measurements and data taken at the time determined that releases were contained and controlled in accordance with regulatory guidelines. The SRE facility has since been properly decommissioned and cleaned up and has not adversely impacted the surrounding communities.”
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You can read more about this at the link below:
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/hac/pha/pha.asp?docid=78&pg=0
http://www.neontommy.com/2010/02/students-entice-boeing-to-clea
Who knows when they END? – Arnold Gundersen
Arnold Gundersen has done an amazing job at keeping the public informed on the disaster at Fukushima. The last phrase of his new video is extremely telling “Who knows when they end,” referring to every global nuclear disaster. He also has a very intelligent way of explaining the current events as they unfold. In this video below Arnold seems to be challenged by the lack of information he’s had to review at both Fukushima and from the EPA in terms of the fallout. We are all looking forward to his professional opinion on reports over the next couple of weeks. Very few are considered knowledgeable enough to give advice, but Arnold Gundersen is someone we can all trust.
We’ve had numerous emails asking us why others aren’t concerned and the answer to that question is simple. It’s a human reaction to fear only what you see, while everything else can be explained. When cancer rates increase, citizens will demand answers. Unfortunately with the lack of knowledge behind cancer it will be hard to prove any effects from Fukushima. Life is about agendas, whether it’s nuclear proliferation or financial stability. Fukushima has global implications in many ways, so empathizing with TEPCO, may be the only way to truly understand the situation.
As much as I want numbers and answers, I’m confident it won’t happen. There is a huge global agenda in terms of pushing nuclear energy and this event at Fukushima could literally spell the end of nuclear proliferation. I say this on the err of caution, as I believe the concealing of information, exposure levels and contamination could somehow allow nuclear energy to prevail in the short term. We’ll have to see how this all plays out. And let’s all pray it’s not at the expense of our health.
Fukushima Dai-ichi a Maximum 7 on the International Scale
The mere fact that it took TEPCO and the Japanese government one month to raise the level to 7 just shows the rest of the world how inadequate some of the most crucial systems are in monitoring radiation exposure. Here are some facts about Fukushima and radiation:
Fact: A level 7 on the international scale is the worst possible nuclear disaster.
Fact: Fukushima Dai-ichi has released the most deadly element (Plutonium) known to man from these multiple explosions, along with many other cancer and disease causing particles into the atmosphere.
Fact: Japan has higher levels of radiation at further distances than Chernobyl’s evacuation zone. And these were noted well before raising the level to a maximum 7.
Fact: Radioactive particles have been found circling the entire northern hemisphere.
Fact: Any radiation above that of normal background radiation is a hazard to your health.
Fact: After 30 days the Japanese government has no way of stopping these leaks, which will lead to bioaccumlation throughout the northern hemisphere and primarily in countries in the path of the jet stream, such as the United States.
Fact: It took Japan and TEPCO nearly three weeks to ask for outside help.
Fact: Cancer rates will rise from the effects of Fukushima globally
Fact: France is the only government currently concerned at the noted levels of exposure, which are currently well below the United States.
Fact: TEPCO and Japan have purposefully hidden information from the public.
Fact: In certain parts of Belarus (which is nearly 500 miles away) 36.4% of children under the age of 4, when exposure occurred from Chernobyl, will likely get thyroid cancer.
Fact: The Canadian and United States governments have no intention of letting their citizens know the risks of breathing, eating and drinking particles from Fukushima.
Fact: Food chains have already been contaminated in Japan. Current ocean models show contamination could occur in the United States within 9-12 months.
Fact: There is more than 50,000 Tons or 12 million gallons of highly radioactive water in the four disabled reactors at Fukushima.
Fact: If you live in the United States or Canada your risk of cancer WILL increase.
Unfortunately I have very little fiction to report, but this little news interview with Arnold Gundersen today should give you some insight into reactor 4, which has begun heating up again:
The Truth Behind Nuclear Energy – Radiation 101
The father of Health Physics, Dr. Karl Morgan stated, “There is no safe level of exposure and there is no dose of radiation so low that the risk of a malignancy is zero.” This statement is very powerful and was obviously ignored entirely to support an industry where financial gain is far more important than life itself.
In troubled times we search for so many answers and yet we find ourselves back at the starting point so quickly. Monday marks one month since the massive earthquake, tsunami and catastrophe at Fukushima. It’s hard to believe that 1 minute can ultimately change the entire world. The outlook is hard to imagine, simply knowing that a good portion of the world will be subject to the intake of additional radioactive particles that could ultimately add to our chances of multiple cancers throughout our lifetime. As scary as that is to say, it’s also something we have to live with.
Many people were scared of the unknown. Each of us wanted answers from our government and the EPA and deservedly so. Is it selfish to want to protect our children from something that could be detrimental to their health? Absolutely not! Life is not a game of wrong place at the wrong time. It’s much deeper than that and it’s important that we start standing up to our government to whom we pay taxes to. The EPA needs to do what’s right and our politicians need to follow suit. With that in mind, we have to understand that a lot of red tape stands in the way, so answers about Fukushima will be hard to come by for many years.
In order to understand how to move forward from this issue at Fukushima we have to understand the basics of ionzing radiation and how it affects our body. Because cancer and diseases are nearly impossible to link to their sources, there really is no way of putting the two together. That said, I do believe there are ways to ultimately add to the prevention of cancers through eating healthy and also taking preventive steps to catch debilitating diseases or at least contain them in their infancy. I’ve had a number of friends and family members throughout my life develop cancer and a few with genetic diseases. I can say I have learned a lot with every single situation and have become stronger mentally and emotionally through each situation.
As I try to explain how radiation affects the body, I want you all to keep in mind that nothing is certain in life but death and taxes. Each one of our bodies was created uniquely and we all have a tolerance to the many chemicals and particles that we breath in on a daily basis, some much more than others. No doctor is going to tell you your chances of death by breathing or ingesting a certain amount of becquerels of Cesium or Strontium. What I can tell you is that the impact may be much more minimal than larger doses, but depending on each of our thresholds some will certainly fall victim in the United States and worldwide to particles from Fukushima. Always keep in mind that you can’t alter your destiny, you can only prepare for it.
There is no easy way in explaining radiation, although it’s quite easy to point out that the most dangerous forms are man-made. Radiation travels in waves and include ultraviolet light, visible light, radio waves and other forms, which include particles. Non-ionizing radiation can shake or move molecules while ionizing radiation can actually break molecular bonds causing unpredictable chemical reactions. Ionizing radiation consists of both energy waves and particles that cannot be seen, felt, tasted, smelled or heard by the human body. Human exposure to these natural radiations (called background radiation) are responsible for a certain amount of cancers and mutations. Any exposure above that of the natural background radiation is cause for concern, as it can be responsible for otherwise preventable diseases.
Ionizing radiation can be defined as matter or energy given off by the nucleus of an atom that is unstable and in the process of decaying and reaching a stable (ground) state. The energy released is in the form of alpha and beta particles (also known as subatomic particles) or waves (known as gamma or x-rays). Most atoms and their elements are not radioactive, although there are a few that occur naturally, including uranium, radium and thorium.
Through nuclear bombs and testing, along with nuclear power, humans have created and released these man-made radioactive elements (called radionuclides). Humans ultimately destroyed the biosphere by mining and industrially processing these radioactive elements, allowing these elements to flow outside their natural realm and contaminating our universe. Due to the lack of understanding and ability to find ways to dispose of these elements, generations will continue to suffer from the aftermath of these man-made and natural elements that contaminate the globe.
Alpha particles are heavy and large subatomic particles that generally travel short distances and can be stopped by a piece of paper or skin. However, these heavy particles do extreme damage once exposed to the body through inhalation or a cut in the skin. Once in the body they have the ability to tear through cells in organs or blood, while releasing their energy in the surrounding tissue. These alpha particles tend to leave extensive damage in the process. Examples of alpha particles are Plutonium and Uranium.
Beta particles are lighter and tend to travel at much greater distances. These particles are more penetrating than alpha particles and find themselves in the most sensitive layers of the skin from external exposure. Inhalation of these beta emitters poses the biggest risk. Externally a half inch thick water shielding or plexi glass can stop a beta emitter. Strontium-90, which can be found in almost every human on earth due to nuclear bomb testing, has a way of tricking our bones into thinking it’s calcium. This beta emitting particle is responsible for bone and blood cancers, such as leukemia. Strontium-90 and tritium are beta emitting particles that are released during normal operations of nuclear reactors.
Gamma rays are the most penetrating of all radiations and can only be stopped by a very thick lead. Cesium-137 is one gamma emitter that is often released by nuclear reactors and one that has been found in larger quantities from Fukushima. Like Strontium-90, Cesium-137 also does an excellent job of confusing the body into thinking it’s potassium, collecting in the muscles. Iodine-131, which is another element found from Fukushima on U.S. soil, is both a gamma and beta emitter and focuses on penetrating the thyroid while affecting the surrounding tissue.
Understanding ionizing radiation can also help you understand that many of these of particles have been around the atmosphere for many years. The quantities in which they are currently being released from Fukushima poses a risk to everyone human on this earth. So if for one moment you thought moving to South America would allow you to avoid the risk, think again. Nuclear reactors are covering our entire planet they are all releasing radioactive particles on a daily basis. The real question now is how clean is nuclear energy? It’s obvious it’s the dirtiest form of energy on the planet. It’s responsible for deaths every single day and there is no way of stopping the damage once these plants have been created as no man on this planet has discovered a way to dispose of this waste.
All this said, there is no way we can avoid Cesium-137 in our food chain. It’s already here and will continue to accumulate until they are able to stop the leak at Fukushima. In the short term Iodine-131 is a concern, but with healthy eating and higher levels of iodine in your diet, you should be able to avoid some of these risks. I believe it’s important that we pay attention to the levels of Strontium-90 and Cesium-137 in the years to come.
The U.S. government needs to test the levels in various forms of air, water, food and milk. If we see elevated levels in milk and food, it’s imperative we find alternate locations of food sources. There could be numerous reasons why one location in the U.S. has higher levels of Cesium than another and distance isn’t the only factor. Our best defense in this scenario is finding lower levels, or preferably undetectable levels, in our food chain. I can confidently say that our chances here in the U.S. of developing cancers or mutations are a lot lower than those who have been affected by larger doses of radiation in Japan. It’s extremely disheartening to think that man could create such disastrous elements that could have such a huge impact on human health across the globe. It’s even more devastating that our children and their children will have no choice, but to accept it.
We will run a series of articles on specific illnesses linked to these radioactive particles. In our next article we will follow up with foods that could be avoided to lower the risk of intake.
EPA – Environmental Pretending Agency
In a world where money and power separate the men from the boys, it’s become clear that the health of individual people is no longer a priority. This statement rings true for the entire globe and not just the United States. The United States has simply put methods in place to fool the citizens of America into believing they are protected. The EPA is an under funded, government entity that merely serves as a walking contradiction. They do an excellent job at playing political roles in development projects across the country, but they sorely lack from a protection standpoint. Maybe changing the P in EPA to PRETENDING would suffice.
The IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) has an agenda….that’s strange. In most cases an agenda is hard to prove, but we don’t think it takes a rocket scientist to prove that the IAEA is making a strong push for nuclear energy from a global perspective. But sadly this is at the sake of many lives. As we move into month two of this global nuclear disaster we start to really see the implications worldwide. Disease and deaths will increase across the northern hemisphere, but it’s safe to say we won’t have those statistics for another decade or two. So why the worry?
In comparing apples to oranges you tend to get a sour taste. But in the spirit of big business that’s the only way to thrive. If you are waiting for a the new measurement tool that Google plans on creating to test the amount of radiation intake from Fukushima compared to a cross country flight, they’re working on an app for that. As this ever evolving world of money, power, greed and energy dominate, we somehow look for small breaths of fresh air. Unfortunately that fresh air is slowly dwindling.
Forgive us for being so blunt, but it seems evident that the powers that be are simply using the media to report what they want, which is obviously not the entire truth. Spending a significant amount of time on a daily basis researching news and topics behind this nuclear catastrophe really takes its toll on an individual. As we continue to work on reporting the truth surrounding this disaster at Fukushima Dai-ichi, we promise to continue our serious approach.