3/30/2012 (Video) Fukushima...radiation so high - even robots not safe

Source: RT: The Big Picture
Date: 3/30/2012 upload date
by: Thom Hartmann


Description
Kevin Kamps, Beyond Nuclear joins Thom Hartmann. More than a year into the nuclear crisis at Fukushima - radiation levels have now reached their highest point yet. What does all this mean - and what should nuclear supporters in America be taking away from the continuing crisis?

3/30/2012 California Slammed With Fukushima Radiation

Source: Washington's Blog
Date: 3/30/2012

Fukushima Radiation Plume Hit Southern and Central California

The Journal Environmental Science and Technology reports in a new study that the Fukushima radiation plume contacted North America at California “with greatest exposure in central and southern California”, and that Southern California’s seaweed tested over 500% higher for radioactive  iodine-131 than anywhere else in the U.S. and Canada:

Projected paths of the radioactive atmospheric plume emanating from the Fukushima reactors, best described as airborne particles or aerosols for 131I, 137Cs, and 35S, and subsequent atmospheric monitoring showed it coming in contact with the North American continent at California, with greatest exposure in central and southern California. Government monitoring sites in Anaheim (southern California) recorded peak airborne concentrations of 131I at 1.9 pCi m−3

Anaheim is where Disneyland is located.

EneNews summarizes the data:

Corona Del Mar (Highest in Southern California)

• 2.5 Bq/gdwt (gram dry weight)= 2,500 Bq/kg of dry seaweed
  

Santa Cruz (Highest in Central California)

• 2.0 Bq/gdwt = 2,000 Bq/kg of dry seaweed

Simon Fraser University in Canada also tested North American seaweed after Fukushima:

• “In samples of dehydrated seaweed taken on March 15 near the North Vancouver SeaBus terminal, the count was zero; on March 22 it was 310 Bq per kilogram; and by March 28 it was 380 Bq/kg.” -Vancouver Sun
• Seaweed in Seattle also tested positive for iodine-131; levels were not reported -KIRO
• No results after March 28 were reported

In addition, radioactive debris is starting to wash up on the Pacific Coast. And because the Japanese areburning radioactive materials instead of disposing of them, radioactive rain-outs will continue for some time … even on the Pacific Coast.

Of course, the government is doing everything it can to help citizens cover up what’s occurring. Wepointed out in January:

Instead of doing much to try to protect their citizens from Fukushima, Japan, the U.S.and the EU all just raised the radiation levels they deem “safe”.

Nuclear expert Arnie Gundersen says that high-level friends in the State Department told him that Hillary Clinton signed a pact with her counterpart in Japan agreeing that the U.S. will continue buying seafood from Japan, despite that food not being tested for radioactive materials [see this].

And the Department of Energy is trying to replace the scientifically accepted model of the dangers of low dose radiation based on voodoo science. Specifically, DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley Labs used a mutant line of human cells in a petri dish which was able to repair damage from low doses of radiation, and extrapolated to the unsupported conclusion that everyone is immune to low doses of radiation….

Indeed:

American and Canadian authorities have virtually stopped monitoring airborne radiation, and are not testing fish for radiation. (Indeed, the EPA reacted to Fukushima by raising“acceptable” radiation levels.)

So – as in Japan – radiation is usually discovered by citizens and the handful of research scientists with funding to check, and not the government. See this, this, this, this, this andthis.

The Japanese government’s entire strategy from day one has been to cover up the severity of the Fukushima accident. This has likely led to unnecessary, additional deaths.

Indeed, the core problem is that all of the world’s nuclear agencies are wholly captured by the nuclear industry … as are virtually all of the supposedly independent health agencies.

So the failure of the American, Canadian and other governments to test for and share results is making it difficult to hold an open scientific debate about what is happening.

And it’s not just radiation from Japan.  An effort by the Southern California Edison power company to secretly ramp up production to avoid public disclosure may have led to a leak at the San Onofre nuclear power plant.

And see these articles on California radiation exposure courtesy of EneNews:

• Anaheim, CA has highest amount of radioactive fallout of any EPA air monitoring station in Continental U.S. for iodine-131
• Over EPA limit: Cesium levels in San Francisco area milk now higher than 6 months ago
• USGS: Los Angeles area had highest cesium deposition in US after Fukushima
• “Tends to concentrate in the testicles”: 360+ atoms of radioactive sulfur per day may have been inhaled by Californians after Fukushima
• Unprecedented Spike: 1501 atoms of radioactive sulfur per meter³ was detected in California air
• Radioactive sulfur in California spiked to highest levels ever detected: University researchers
• Controversy after US gov’t estimate showed 40,000 microsievert thyroid dose for California infants from Fukushima — Data not released to public — “Very high doses to children”
• Spike in radiation levels for West Coast? “Abnormal” readings on 8 of 18 EPA monitors for California, Oregon, Washington — Devices now “undergoing quality review”
• Nuclear policy expert: “Striking” that radioactive iodine-131 in California rainwater is so far above level permitted in drinking water
• Uranium-234 detected in Hawaii, Southern California, and Seattle

3/28/2012 High Radiation, Little Water in Japan Reactor

Source: Associated Press
Date: 3/28/2012

Description
Recent investigation found one damaged reactor at Japan's crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant has extremely high levels of radiation and very little water. Authorities haven't been able to probe two others that had meltdowns. (March 28)

Read here for more about the recent probe of the reactor 2 core at Fukushima Daiichi from the Associated Press.

Source: RedButtonStudios, NHK World
Date: Wednesday, March 28, 2012 11:13 +0900 (JST)

Description
Great remix of NHK World by RedButtonStudios

3/26/2012 Tokyo Soil – Blanketed With Fukushima Radiation – Would Be Considered “Radioactive Waste” In the United States

Source: Washington's Blog
Date: 3/26/2012

Tokyo Slammed with Radiation

We noted in August that some parts of Tokyo have more radiation than existed in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zones. And see this and this.

There are indications that radiation levels are increasing in Tokyo.

Nuclear engineer Arnie Gundersen took 5 random soil samples in Tokyo recently, and found that all 5 were so radioactive that they would be considered radioactive waste in the United States, which would have to be specially disposed of at a facility in Texas:

Tokyo Soil Samples Would Be Considered Nuclear Waste In The US from Fairewinds Energy Education on Vimeo.
Video Description

While traveling in Japan several weeks ago, Fairewinds’ Arnie Gundersen took soil samples in Tokyo public parks, playgrounds, and rooftop gardens.

All the samples would be considered nuclear waste if found here in the US. This level of contamination is currently being discovered throughout Japan.

At the US NRC Regulatory Information Conference in Washington, DC March 13 to March 15, the NRC's Chairman, Dr. Gregory Jaczko emphasized his concern that the NRC and the nuclear industry presently do not consider the costs of mass evacuations and radioactive contamination in their cost benefit analysis used to license nuclear power plants.

Furthermore, Fairewinds believes that evacuation costs near a US nuclear plant could easily exceed one trillion dollars and contaminated land would be uninhabitable for generations.

Indeed, shortly after the earthquake, U.S. government officials noted widespread contamination throughout northern Japan, including Tokyo, and said:

Entire region would be required to be posted as radiological area.

No wonder the potential evacuation of Tokyo has been quietly discussed by Japanese officials ever since the earthquake hit.

3/27/2012 UPDATE 1-U.S. agency to keep SCE's Calif nuclear units shut

Source: Reuters
Date: Tue Mar 27, 2012 5:28pm EDT

(Reuters) - The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission o n T uesday said it will not allow Southern California Edison's San Onofre nuclear generator in California to restart until the agency is sure that the company has addressed premature degradation of tubes in the unit's steam generators.
...
Read full article here

[Editor's Note: Map of San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station
View Live Ustream Radiation Detectors in a larger map ]

Plutonium to make nuclear bombs is extracted from reprocessing nuclear waste from commerical Uranium fission reactors

Source: RT: The Big Picture: Conversations with Great Minds
by: Thom Hartman


This interview with Stephanie Cooke, author of In Mortal Hands: A Cautionary History of the Nuclear Age and editor of Nuclear Intelligence Weekly is especially informative.  One reason for the push for commercial nuclear power is that Plutonium is the by-product of the nuclear fuel cycle.  Waste from Uranium fission reactors is reprocessed to chemically extract Plutonium, which is used to make nuclear bombs.

3/19/2012 Radioactive cesium levels rise sharply in Fukushima, according to citizen watchdog

Source: Straight.com
Date: 3/19/2012
by: Charlie Smith

A Japanese citizen watchdog has reported that cesium-137 levels rose more than five times in Fukushima over a 24-hour period between March 15 and 16.
...
Read full article here

3/19/2012 U.N. nuclear watchdog says it received North Korea invitation

Source: Reuters
Date: Mon Mar 19, 2012 4:01pm EDT
by: Fredrik Dahl

(Reuters) - The United Nations nuclear watchdog said on Monday it had received an invitation from North Korea to visit, three years after its inspectors were expelled from the reclusive Asian state for the second time.
...
Read the rest here

3/16/2012 U.S. nuclear expert recounts Fukushima disaster

Source: CBS
Date: March 16, 2012 7:01 PM
by: Scott Pelley

(CBS News) One year ago Friday, rising radiation forced evacuation of most emergency workers from the Fukushima nuclear power plant. The tsunami that struck Japan five days earlier set off an emergency unlike any before: the meltdown of three reactors at the same time.

One of the experts sent into the emergency is Charles Casto. He's a former nuclear plant operator working for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. He was America's top expert at the scene and an eyewitness to history. CBS Evening News anchor Scott Pelley caught up with him to talk about the Fukushima disaster. 
...
Read the rest here and for transcript

3/19/2012 New study: Radiation treatments create cancer cells 30 times more potent than regular cancer cells

Source: Natural News
Date: Monday, March 19, 2012
by: Tony Isaacs

 (NaturalNews) In a groundbreaking new study just published in the peer reviewed journal Stem Cells, researchers at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center Department of Oncology found that, despite killing half of all tumor cells per treatment, radiation treatments on breast cancer transforms other cancer cells into cancer stem cells which are vastly more treatment-resistant than normal cancer cells. The new study is yet another blow to the failed and favored mainstream treatment paradigm of trying to cut out, poison out or burn out cancer symptoms (tumors) instead of actually curing cancer.
...
Read full article here

3/18/2012 NRC dispatches Augmented Inspection Team after California nuclear facility fails test

Source: Activist Post
Date: 3/18/2012
by: Madison Ruppert

San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station

After a safety test at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station near San Clemente, California (which we discussed in this episode of End the Lie Radio), resulted in a “significant issue,” the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has moved to send out a so-called Augmented Inspection Team (AIT) to determine the cause of the failure.
...
Read the rest here

[Editor's Note: Map of San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station
View Live Ustream Radiation Detectors in a larger map ]

3/14/2012 America Is Letting China Steal Our Valuable Nuclear Innovations

Source: Washington's Blog
Date: 3/14/2012

The U.S. Is Letting China Steal Its Nuclear Innovations … 

Just Like Xerox Let Apple and Microsoft Steal Its Valuable Breakthroughs Microsoft and Apple grew rich by using Xerox’s innovation.

Xerox’s research arm (called Xerox Parc) invented the “graphical user interface” used by all modern computers.

Bill Gates famously admitted to Steve Jobs that both Microsoft and Apple had ripped of Xerox’s GUI. Xerox could have made a fortune on its innovation. But it didn’t realize what it had … and failed to capitalize on its breakthroughs (Xerox tried to sue to protect its invention … but years too late, and the lawsuit was thrown out because Xerox had missed the deadline for suing).

The same dynamic is playing out in the nuclear industry. Specifically, the U.S. created a safer, more efficient form of nuclear energy running on thorium. But – like Xerox Parc – America isn’t doing anything with its innovation, and China is running off with prize.
...
Read the rest here

3/15/2012 Key nuclear plant safety order likely to be delayed, NRC tells Senate

Source: The Washington Post
Date: 3/15/2012 02:31 PM ET
by: Timothy R. Smith

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will likely fall behind schedule in issuing a key safety measure designed for U.S. power plants in the wake of Japan’s nuclear reactor meltdown last year, the agency’s chairman told a Senate committee Thursday.
...
Read full article here

 

3/13/2012 The Legacy of Fukushima - Dr. Helen Caldicott on GRTV

Source: Global Research TV
Date: 3/13/2012
by: Stephen Corbett


One year on from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in Japan's northeast, details continue to emerge about how the crisis was much worse than the government and TEPCO originally let on. Joining us to discuss the legacy of Fukushima is Helen Caldicott, a physician, author and radio host who has spoken out for decades about the deadly effects of nuclear radiation.

3/8/2012 US 'offers to supply Israel with military means to destroy Iran's nuclear plants'

Source: UK Telegraph
Date: 7:26PM GMT 08 Mar 2012
by: By Adrian Blomfield

The United States has offered to supply Israel with the military means of destroying Iran's nuclear facilities, but only if it agrees to delay an attack until next year, an Israeli newspaper has claimed.

The reactor building of Bushehr nuclear power plant is seen just outside the city of Bushehr 750 miles (1,245 kilometers) south of the capital Tehran, Iran Photo: AP

Under the terms of the deal, Israel would be provided with "the latest bunker busting bombs developed by the US army" and air-to-air refuelling planes, the Maariv newspaper quoted diplomatic sources and Western intelligence officials as saying.
...
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3/7/2012 Health uncertainties torment Japanese in nuke zone

Source: Associated Press
Date: 3/7/2012

Photo By Itsuo Inouye

FUKUSHIMA, Japan (AP) — Yoshiko Ota keeps her windows shut. She never hangs her laundry outdoors. Fearful of birth defects, she warns her daughters: Never have children.
...
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3/7/2012 Hundreds of banks help finance nuclear weapons, report says

Source: Los Angeles Times
Date: March 7, 2012 11:53 am

More than 300 banks, insurance companies and other institutions are helping to finance nuclear weapons around the world, according to a new report from an activist campaign that aims to prod banks to divest from the makers of such weapons.
...
Read full article here

3/4/2012 Japan earthquake and tsunami anniversary: the television reporter who filmed as she ran

Source: UK Telegraph
Date: 5:36PM GMT 04 Mar 2012
by: Glen Milner, Video Journalist

Ayumi Yanagisawa, a correspondent for the Japanese broadcaster NHK, was working in a tiny seaside town when the earthquake hit. Her first instinct was to pick up her camera.

By Glen Milner, Video Journalist
5:36PM GMT 04 Mar 2012 

Stationed at the national broadcaster's Ishinomaki headquarters in Miyagi prefecture, the reporter was working in Ogatsu on the north east coast of Japan when disaster struck on March 11 2011.
...
Read the rest here

3/2/2012 (Video) Did we almost lose Tokyo?

Source: The Big Picture
Date: 3/2/2012
by: Thom Hartmann

Description

Kevin Kamps, Beyond Nuclear joins Thom Hartmann. In a little over a week - we'll hit the one-year anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami that triggered a nuclear crisis at Fukushima in Japan. And this week - we're learning that that nuclear crisis is even worse than was originally thought. On Wednesday - Japanese Scientists announced that twice as much radioactive cesium than estimated blew out of the plant after the earthquake and tsunami. That's about 40,000 trillion bequerels. And it took just 18 days for those radioactive particles to encircle the planet - turning up in places as far away as Vermont. French scientists are now calling on Japan to remain vigilant in its inspections of fruit, milk, and game to prevent further radiation contamination.

These new numbers come on the heels of a Greenpeace report on the Fukushima disaster - in which the organization places the blame for the crisis - NOT on the natural disaster - but instead on the Japanese Government. The report accuses the Japanese government of ignoring the risks posed to Fukushima before the earthquake and "cutting corners to protect profits over people." It goes on to argues that nuclear energy is "inherently unsafe" and governments are too quick to approve nuclear power plants, while at the same time unable to the consequences of nuclear disasters. That includes the United States. Currently - there are 23 General Electric Mark 1 reactors in operation around the United States. The Mark 1 is the same reactor design used at Fukushima. And just last month - the Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued a warning to 96 nuclear reactors around the nation that sit on fault lines - urging operators to perform new stress tests to see if the reactor can hold up to earthquake. So what should we make of all this?

3/2/2012 The Demonic Reality of Fukushima

Source: CounterPunch
Date: Weekend Edition March 2-4, 2012
by: Cindy Folkers

In the days following the March 11, 2011 beginning of the Fukushima Nuclear Catastrophe, chief cabinet secretary Yukio Edano repeatedly reassured the Japanese public, news media, and world community that there was “no immediate health risk” from mounting radioactive releases from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. His choice of words was very similar to the U.S. nuclear power establishment’s during the Three Mile Island melt down of 1979, as captured by Rosalie Bertell’s classic anti-nuclear primer No Immediate Danger? Prognosis for a Radioactive Earth.
...
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Map of Peach Bottom Nuclear Generating Station:

View Live Ustream Radiation Detectors in a larger map