Fukushima ... What YOU Need To Know

The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster came as a result of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011. A truly horrible disaster almost beyond words. Naturally, it dominated news media, electronic and print, for many weeks. The death and destruction was simply heart wrenching.

After a while, the media moved on to the next "when it bleeds, it leads" story and Fukushima became a forgotten incident. Not for the Japanese people - not after that day and for decades and generations to come. I have prayed for all the lost souls and the citizens over there who will continue to suffer from radiation poisoning - especially children. But, should we be concerned? Has or will the effects of Fukushima hit the U.S.?

"The plant comprised six separate boiling water reactors originally designed by General Electric (GE) and maintained by the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO). At the time of the earthquake, reactor 4 had been de-fueled and reactors 5 and 6 were in cold shutdown for planned maintenance. Immediately after the earthquake, the remaining reactors 1-3 shut down automatically and emergency generators came online to power electronics and coolant systems. However, the tsunami following the earthquake quickly flooded the low-lying rooms in which the emergency generators were housed. The flooded generators failed, cutting power to the critical pumps that must continuously circulate coolant water through a Generation II reactor for several days to keep it from melting down after shut down. After the pumps stopped, the reactors overheated due to the normal high radioactive decay heat produced in the first few days after nuclear reactor shutdown (smaller amounts of this heat normally continue to be released for years, but are not enough to cause fuel melting).

"As workers struggled to cool and shut down the reactors, several hydrogen-air chemical explosions occurred. It is estimated that the hot zirconium fuel cladding-water reaction in each reactor produced 800 to 1000 kilograms of hydrogen gas, which was vented out of the reactor pressure vessel, and mixed with the ambient air, eventually reaching explosive concentration limits in units 1 and 3, and due to piping connections between units 3 and 4, unit 4 also filled with hydrogen, with the hydrogen-air explosions occurring at the top of each unit, that is in their upper secondary containment building.

"The negative health effects of the Fukushima nuclear disaster include thyroid abnormalities, infertility and an increased risk of cancer. One study found that more than a third (36%) of children in Fukushima Prefecture have abnormal growths in their thyroid glands. Furthermore, a WHO report found that there is a significant increase in the risk of developing cancers for people who live near Fukushima. This includes a 70% higher risk of developing thyroid cancer for newborn babies, a 7% higher risk of leukemia in males exposed as infants, a 6% higher risk of breast cancer in females exposed as infants and a 4% higher risk of developing solid cancers for females. An increase in infertility has also been reported. As of August 2013, there have been more than 40 children newly diagnosed with thyroid cancer and other cancers in Fukushima prefecture alone and nuclear experts warn that this pattern may also occur in other areas of Japan."

While the American media has pretty much ignored what's been going on for the past 2 1/2 years (you might see a headline here and there), a few dedicated web sites have kept a steady stream of updates. For the most comprehensive coverage, go to Rense.com; scroll down to Japan Nuclear Disaster.

Contrary to the few weak statements by the criminal syndicate out in Washington, DC., one journalist recently penned this:

"Some scientists say Fukushima is worse than the 1986 Chernobyl accident, with which it shares a maximum level-7 rating on the sliding scale of nuclear disasters. One of the most prominent of them is Dr Helen Caldicott, an Australian physician and long time anti-nuclear activist who warns of "horrors to come" in Fukushima.

"Chris Busby, a professor at the University of Ulster known for his alarmist views, generated controversy during a Japan visit last month when he said the disaster would result in more than 1 million deaths. "Fukushima is still boiling its radionuclides all over Japan," he said. "Chernobyl went up in one go. So Fukushima is worse."

On our side of the world, we can still remember the terrible Deepwater Horizon oil platform "spill" in April 2010; eleven died. I won't say accident. To say it was/is a financial as well as ecological disaster is the understatement of the century. Our fellow Americans in the gulf states who depend on fishing and tourism have endured hell for years. After all I have read since that deadly day, I won't eat anything coming out of the Gulf of Mexico. I'm sorry to the fishermen, but it's a choice I've made.

For those who haven't heard what should have lead on all major boob tube channels and cable news networks, here's an update:

"In November 2012, BP and the United States Department of Justice settled federal criminal charges with BP pleading guilty to 11 counts of manslaughter, two misdemeanors, and a felony count of lying to Congress. BP also agreed to four years of government monitoring of its safety practices and ethics, and the Environmental Protection Agency announced that BP would be temporarily banned from new contracts with the US government. BP and the Department of Justice agreed to a record-setting $4.525 billion in fines and other payments but further legal proceedings not expected to conclude until 2014 are ongoing to determine payouts and fines under the Clean Water Act and the Natural Resources Damage Assessment. As of February 2013, criminal and civil settlements and payments to a trust fund had cost the company $42.2 billion."

A money plea deal. When the DA pleads out a case for manslaughter, how many times have you heard the guilty party pay to stay out of prison? When you're charged with and plead guilty to manslaughter, the convicted almost always get jail time unless there's some unusual circumstances. Certainly, the fines for BP are a ton of money, but in the oil business, it's really, well, just the cost of doing business. Money talks. In this case, it also buys your way out of jail.

I bring up the Deepwater disaster because the same applies to Fukushima. Here's but a small sample of what we all need to know:

"This isn't a conspiracy theory, this is happening and it's happening right now.

"The fancy little picture at the top of the article isn't showing you the flow of happy fun time thoughts from Japan back in March of 2012, it's showing you the flow of radiation from the Fukushima nuclear plant after the devastating earthquake and tsunami of 2011. Yes, that sharp pain you just felt in your chest is the sudden realization that the image shows the radiation reaching almost past Hawaii more than a year ago.

"Do the math - If that radiation screamed across the Pacific Ocean that far in one year, just how far do you think it has gotten since then? Look at what World Truth TV is saying and then you decide.

Samples of milk taken across the United States have shown radiation at levels 2000 percent higher than EPA maximums. The reason that milk is so significant is that it is representative of the entire food supply. According to an article published on Natural News, "Cows consume grass and are exposed to the same elements as food crops and water supplies. In other words, when cows' milk starts testing positive for high levels of radioactive elements, this is indicative of radioactive contamination of the entire food supply."

"The Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Deception Protection Agency, instead of refusing to prohibit the sale of tainted foods and mandatory testing of foods produced and harvested from the Pacific Coast, have simply raised the "acceptable levels" of radioactive material in foods." (The column above gives excellent suggestions about purchasing seafood from here on out.)

"In the weeks after the disaster, the government allowed Tepco to dump tens of thousands of tonnes of contaminated water into the Pacific in an emergency move. But the escalation of the crisis raises the risk of an even longer and more expensive clean-up, already forecast to take more than 40 years and cost $11 billion. The admission further dents the credibility of Tepco, criticized for its failure to prepare for the tsunami and earthquake, for a confused response to the disaster and for covering up shortcomings. "We think that the volume of water (leaking into the Pacific) is about 300 tonnes a day," said Yushi Yoneyama, an official with the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, which oversees energy policy."

"A Nuclear Regulation Authority official recently said contaminated groundwater from the plant, which is being fed cooling water from outside, may be seeping into the ocean and that the matter must be addressed carefully because data is limited."

Deadly Radioactive Groundwater Pours Into The Pacific (July 2013): " The Nuclear Regulation Authority said Wednesday it strongly suspects highly radioactive water at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant is seeping into the ground and contaminating the Pacific Ocean."

Fukushima Nuclear Radiation in California Dairy Products. This is an important column because it deals with testing being done by The Nuclear Engineering Department at UC-Berkeley. The piece isn't dated, so I'm not sure how old the data is, but the results are encouraging.

The bottom line is TEPCO's gross ineptness in dealing with Fukushima since day one borders on criminal. At least after the Chernobyl meltdown, the damaged reactors were enclosed in a large concrete sarcophagus fairly quickly, although so many died. TEPCO has made a mess of "fixing it" from day one. It's not getting better and likely reaching a critical point of no return.

As someone who eats a lot of fish, I have kept current on Fukushima. It has caused me to closely scrutinize where any fish is coming from - particularly the Pacific Ocean. I've had to stop eating my favorite prawns and salmon unless I know for sure where it was caught. After Fukushima, I started researching farm raised salmon. Uh, uh, no thanks:

Most of the time, I just go without because I won't ignore what's right in front of my face. Everyone should be very concerned about what is going on in the Pacific Ocean. The toxic water coming out of Fukushima for the past 2 1/2 years is most definitely harming our beautiful oceans and marine life.

When you order fish at a restaurant, ask where it came from and does that restaurant test for radiation considering what's already been found off the coast of California? You can bet a restaurant in NY is going to say, they don't know anything about it. Perhaps all their fish comes from the Atlantic, but not likely. My heart breaks for our fishing families, which I have always supported. If (more probably when) the many popular fish species become more and more contaminated, it will have a huge, negative impact on commercial and family owned fishing businesses. More tragedy.

Our oceans provide us with so many wonderful things besides beautiful mammals, heavenly beaches and delicious fish of all kinds for consumption. They also provide critical plant life. Too many do not appreciate the importance of all sea life. It is criminal what's going on and has been going on for the past 2 1/2 years. We simply cannot ignore the damage done and what is underway for a long time to come.

Everyone needs to be aware of the fall out from Fukushima. If you live in California, Oregon, Washington State or Canada (Pacific side), you need to contact your state representative and ask if your state's health department is monitoring and testing things like fish, water, soil and air samples. Is your state working with big universities like UC Berkeley in their monitoring and testing? What are the results? Why isn't more being publicized to the citizens of those states -- especially farmers? Is river water being tested on a regular basis? Where are the PSA's (Public Service Announcements) warning the citizens of those states about radiation contamination -- especially for pregnant women or moms breast feeding?

While the Poltroon who represents you in the U.S. House is in your district from now until Sept. 6th, send a fax or call and ask them what they're doing about holding TEPCO accountable for this disaster that is affecting the U.S. From the cost of cleaning up the debris from Fukushima to contamination of water supplies and the ocean - what the hell is TEPCO doing about getting some experts to get that plant contained once and for all? Tell the dope who represents you in the U.S. House: TEPCO has not been able to contain Fukushima after more than two years. Their disaster is becoming ours and will likely get worse. Put pressure on them.

This is nothing to smirk at and it's certainly not some 'flaky' issue. Out of sight, out of mind might seem like a good idea, but a lot of suffering has been going on since that earthquake and subsequent tsunami 2 1/2 years ago and now it's here on our shores.

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