After Fukushima; The Ongoing Radiation

Started by Shiranu, January 07, 2014, 04:15:59 AM

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Shiranu

Just a couple of articles about the problem the plant still poses and corruption and crime surrounding what is happening there. I apologize now for the long quotes, but this is an issue that is causing all sorts of problems in all sorts of areas.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/evaggelos ... 09766.html

QuoteThe American producer, Ian Thomas Ash, introduced his film and answered questions. He is young and unusually virtuous and talented. He sees himself as a witness of a tragedy he has to report to the world.

He said he felt morally obliged to document the effects of the horrific nuclear accident. That is the reason he is not married and without children. For the duration of filming he lived in the contaminated Fukushima prefecture with the affected local people. He ate the food they ate and drank the same water. In addition, he speaks Japanese and has lived in Japan for several years.

He admitted the focus of his documentary was not the actual disaster or the lethal nature of the nuclear power plants. Rather, he felt compelled to bring to life the nuclear meltdown through the eyes and feelings of mothers and children near the damaged Fukushima nuclear factories.

...

The Fukushima mothers are angry. They speak of deception and betrayal. They resent they have become the guinea pigs of the unholy alliance of the nuclear company and the state, which keep telling the mothers everything is under control.

The mothers see workers "decontaminating" radiation hot spots near their homes, but no one can guarantee their children will not get cancer. All the officials say is, "it's safe, it's safe."

Meanwhile, we see Fukushima children on hospital beds being checked for thyroid cysts. Forty-four percent of the children are afflicted with thyroid cysts. Those children also suffer from severe nosebleeds and skin rashes. Each child carries a shining glass radiation badge hanging from his or her book bag.

Ian talked to some of those young children. They cheerfully explained the purpose of their radiation badges. "To warn us about the radiation in the playground," they said. "Will we get leukemia and die?" they asked.

http://guardianlv.com/2013/12/fukushima ... the-world/

QuoteOn the Reagan, an estimated 70 sailors are suffering from radiation exposure which has increased rates of various forms of cancer and other medical problems that appear to have no cure. Sailors from the ship, as well as the other support ships, are saying that TEPCO knowingly released radioactive steam into the atmosphere on top of all the radioactive contamination that spilled into the Pacific Ocean.

None of the reported instances of malfeasance by the Japanese electric company involved the Yakuza at that point, at least not that anyone is aware of. TEPCO is facing lawsuits for their callous mishandling of the situation and the Japanese government has levied criticisms at the company as well.

On December 19 this year it was noticed that steam was rising from what appeared to be the fifth floor of Reactor 3 and this steam has been coming out of the wreckage of the reactor intermittently since that date. On Dec. 28 TEPCO reported that the steam had been seen via cameras aimed at the area not just on Dec. 19, but also on the 24th and the 25th.

This disturbing development could be caused by several different factors, not least of which could be the start of another meltdown that could release more radioactive fallout in the atmosphere. This fallout could reach the West Coast of the U.S.A. in just three days. The Tokyo power company are continuing their low key approach and have not verified that another meltdown is imminent.

This latest development is playing out against a backdrop of near slavery being enforced on homeless denizens of Japan by the Yakuza. Black Market labor is big business in the country of Japan. Yakuza are recruiting cheap labor from the masses who huddle on cardboard pads clutching their clothing tight against the invading cold of Japanese winter. For the bargain basement price of around $60 a day, these workers are being used to handle and transport dangerous radioactive rods from the Fukushima Prefecture.

...

Several scenarios have been put forward as to why Reactor 3 is suddenly, and intermittently, producing steam. The first scenario is that a meltdown is already taking place. The reactor still has 89 tons of spent fuel inside it which could be drying out and melting down.

Scenario two deals with the corium reaching groundwater and the melted down molten fuel has reached the soil underneath the reactor and is reacting with moisture in the soil and it is releasing more radioactive fallout. The third scenario, which is the most "desirable" of the three is that the damaged fuel rods and pellets have come in contact with rainwater.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/07/world/fuk ... -problems/

Quote2. What can you do with radioactive water?
The most immediate problem for plant operator Tepco is the hundreds of tons of water poured over the damaged nuclear reactors every single day to keep the molten fuel cool. If the fuel is not kept cool, it could cause another disaster.
That radioactive water then needs to be stored safely. But several on-site water storage tanks that were originally designed to be temporary have sprung leaks. Tepco said last summer that as much as 300 tons of toxic groundwater was seeping into the Pacific Ocean every day, sparking fears about radioactive contamination of fish, which are a major food source.


I'll try to find more later, but the reports on the steam only started a week or so ago. All in all, this is still a very important, ongoing event that no one particularly talks about... and that is just ridiculous imo. The Japanese government just says, "No, no... it's all safe.", yet statistics and toxic steam seem to say otherwise. And this is not just Japan effected; the entire pacific is at risk of nuclear contamination.

I am however a little iffy on the U.S.S. Reagan people who were effected; if it was nuclear exposure, should they not be in worse shape than they are?
"A little science distances you from God, but a lot of science brings you nearer to Him." - Louis Pasteur

SGOS

Interesting.  Right after the meltdown, I heard some people saying that people's fear of nuclear power was unnecessarily exaggerated, and that the Fukushima meltdown was a glowing testimony to the safety of modern nuclear power.  True there were some dangerous after affects but nothing that should be considered an indictment of the industry as a whole.  Apparently, the people who are dying might have a different perspective on the issue.

Shiranu

I am not sure how to look at it.

On one hand, I am positive there are negative effects going on.

On the other... I don't know how much of it might be exaggeration to try to further an agenda.

I would wager it is somewhere inbetween; I don't particularly buy this theory that the place is a nuclear bomb waiting to happen, but I don't buy that it is not that bad either. I do believe in the possibility of it being a huge disaster waiting to happen, I just don't know eminent that is.

If nothing else, it has at least shown an interesting (though unsurprising) bit of Japanese culture; that they would turn to their underworld hiring homeless to do this type of work before relying too heavily on foreigners. No matter where you go, no matter how great a place may seem... they always got some weird traditions and beliefs that smear how great they seem otherwise.
"A little science distances you from God, but a lot of science brings you nearer to Him." - Louis Pasteur