Fukushima Is Falling Apart: Are You Ready?

[theo]

This article seems a bit hysterical. Sould we start looking for property in New Zealand? But seriously. Saying that one reactor could produce enough material to cause a mass die off on this side of the Pacific may be a stetch. However, if there are health concerns that they are not telling us about, it wouldn't the first time. How hard is it to test the soil?

http://beforeitsnews.com/story/2055/256 ... Ready.html

Thirteen months have passed since the Fukushima reactors exploded, and a U.S. Senator finally got off his ass and went to Japan to see what is going on over there.

What he saw was horrific.

And now he is saying that we are in big trouble.

See the letter he sent to U.S. Ambassador to Japan Ichiro Fujisaki, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and NRC’s Chairman Gregory Jaczko here.

But what is so ironic about this is that we have been in this heap of trouble since March of 2011. March 17th, to be exact, when the plume of radioactive materials began bombarding the west coast of California.

And Oregon. And Washington. And British Columbia. And later Maine, Europe, and everywhere in between.. . . .

The article goes on to say:

. . . . And that is that the Reactor #4 building is on the verge of collapsing. Seismicity standards rate the building at a zero, meaning even a small earthquake could send it into a heap of rubble. And sitting at the top of the building, in a pool that is cracked, leaking, and precarious even without an earthquake, are 1565 fuel rods (give or take a few), some of them “fresh fuel” that was ready to go into the reactor on the morning of March 11th when the earthquake and tsunami hit.

If they are MOX fuel, containing 6% plutonium, one fuel rod has the potential to kill 2.89 billion people. If this pool collapses, as Senator Wyden is now saying too, we would face a mass extinction event from the release of radiation in those rods.

That is, if we aren’t in one already. Nuke experts like Arnie Gundersen and Helen Caldicott are prepared to evacuate their families to the southern hemisphere if that happens. It is that serious.

[Tourney64]

The letter from Senator Ron Wyden, if real is very scary. Saying that the potential radiation release could be far worse than the original radiation release and that the 10 year cleanup timeline won't work given the severe damage to the buildings and seismic nature of he area. I was not sure about the article given the credentials of the author, but the letter from the Senator that is linked in the article convinced me more that this issue is very real. I'm not sure what is worse for the USA, this disaster, or another term of BHO.

[IdahoCopper]

It is thought that when mankind began living in caves, the background radiation dose to our genes increased, because granite is slightly radioactive. This increased rate of mutation in humans, so we evolved to what we are today.

So this Fukushima event is a bad thing? Maybe not in the long run, if we have the will to cull defectives that are born.

Now that thought is just about as non-PC as it is possible to get. LOL!

[natsb88]

If they are MOX fuel, containing 6% plutonium, one fuel rod has the potential to kill 2.89 billion people.

Yeah, if the radiation in that one rod is perfectly divided into 289,000,000,000 minimum lethal doses and distributed among 289,000,000,000 people.

Yes, radiation can be a serious hazard. So can panic. A lot of people freak out at the mention of radioactivity without putting it into perspective. Standards are very tight for nuclear plant workers. If they exceed a certain level of exposure over a rolling time period (I think it's three months?) they get kicked off the site until it averages back down. The media likes to make a big deal out of that type of situation, but in reality that dosage limit is equivalent to something like one or two dental x-rays over the course of a year. If you have a basement without a mitigation system, you most likely have an accumulation of radioactive radon in your house. If you've ever ground a new point on a tungsten welding tip, you've been exposed to radiation. Have you ever been exposed to sunlight?

I see a lot of speculation in that article. I hardly see any actual measurements or hard evidence. It could be true that radioactive particles are spreading as the article describes. It could also be true (perhaps likely) that they are in such low concentrations, even compared to natural sources of radiation, that it really doesn't matter. Without numbers, it's just a drama piece.

[fb101]

+1 natsb88

[Slaphot]

Also, if you have ever smoked a cigarette, eaten a banana, or been outside in the sun, you have been exposed to radiation.

[John_doe]

I say we build a massive radiation screen on the east side of california to make sure it doesnt get into the united states.

[Engineer]

I say we start breeding glow in the dark shrimp and open up a place called The Fukushima Deli.

[John_doe]

I say we start breeding glow in the dark shrimp and open up a place called The Fukushima Deli.

you would make a fortune.

[Z00]

I say we build a massive radiation screen on the east side of california to make sure it doesnt get into the united states.

ummmmmm the EAST side of Calif. hmmmmmmm

[John_doe]

I say we build a massive radiation screen on the east side of california to make sure it doesnt get into the united states.

ummmmmm the EAST side of Calif. hmmmmmmm

[Rosco]

I say we build a massive radiation screen on the east side of California to make sure it doesn't get into the united states.

Please also include one to the Northern end to protect Or, WA & Canada

Thank you one an ALL

[John_doe]

I say we build a massive radiation screen on the east side of California to make sure it doesn't get into the united states.

Please also include one to the Northern end to protect Or, WA & Canada

Thank you one an ALL

how strategic. done.

[Redneck]

If #4 fuel pool collapses, it's a game changer. The entire site will become so radioactive that they will have to evacuate the site. If that happens, no one will be there to monitor the other fuel pools above units 1,2,and 3 reactors that have already suffered full melt downs. There are also units #5 and #6 that are close by that would also have to be evacuated. The existing and potential conquences of this accident are mind staggering.

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