Cesium-134

Fukushima Children Test Positive For Internal Radiation Exposure

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And should be evacuated immediately:

– Fukushima City (Over 290,000 People) Is In Danger: Greenpeace Detects Cobalt-60 And High Radiation ‘Hot Spots’ – Children Should Be Evacuated Immediately

Tokyo:

– High Levels Of Radioactive Cesium In Ashes FROM REGULAR HOUSEHOLD GARBAGE At Tokyo Trash Burning Plant

– Fukushima children test positive for internal radiation exposure (Guardian, June 30, 2011):

Trace amounts of radioactive substances have been found in urine samples taken from children from Fukushima city, raising concerns that residents have been exposed internally to radiation from the stricken nuclear power plant 37 miles (60km) away.

Tests were conducted in May on 10 children, aged between 6 and 16, by a Japanese civic group and Acro, a French body that measures radioactivity. All 10 tested positive for tiny amounts of caesium-134 and caesium-137.

Read moreFukushima Children Test Positive For Internal Radiation Exposure

Radioactive Cesium In Urine Of All 10 Children Tested In Fukushima City, Located 60 Km From Fukushima Nuclear Plant

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Nuclear engineer Arnie Gundersen recommends an evacuation zone of at least 80 km around the Fukushima nuclear plant. Listen To Dr. Helen Caldicott to understand internal radiation:

– Dr. Helen Caldicott Interviews Chief Nuclear Engineer Arnie Gundersen: Very High Concentrations Of HOT PARTICLES (Plutonium, Americium, Uranium, Strontium, Cesium) In Pacific Northwest During April And May

See also:

– High Levels Of Radioactive Cesium In Ashes FROM REGULAR HOUSEHOLD GARBAGE At Tokyo Trash Burning Plant

– Fukushima City (Over 290,000 People) Is In Danger: Greenpeace Detects Cobalt-60 And High Radiation ‘Hot Spots’ – Children Should Be Evacuated Immediately

– Radioactive Playground In Tokyo Metro Area!

– Radioactive substances detected in children’s urine in Fukushima (Monsters & Critics/DPA, June 30, 2011):

Tokyo – A small amount of radioactive substances was found from urine samples of all of 10 children in Fukushima surveyed by a Japanese civic association and a French nongovernmental organization, the groups said Thursday.

David Boilley, president of the Acro radioactivity measuring body, told a news conference in Tokyo that the survey on 10 boys and girls aged between 6 and 16 in Fukushima city suggested there was a high possibility that children in and near the city had been exposed to radiation internally, Kyodo News reported.

The highest levels found by the survey were 1.13 becquerels of radioactive cesium-134 per 1 litre of urine from an 8-year-old girl, and 1.30 becquerels of cesium-137 in a 7-year-old boy, Kyodo said.

The city is located 60 kilometres north-west of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station, which has been leaking radiaoactive material into the environment since it was hit by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

Read moreRadioactive Cesium In Urine Of All 10 Children Tested In Fukushima City, Located 60 Km From Fukushima Nuclear Plant

Radiation In Our Food: US Receives Steady Flow Of Radiation From Fukushima (FOX News)

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In Canada:

– Canada: Private Testing Companies, Government Agencies, And Universities Refuse To Test Soil For Radiation

An if you know about the health effects of INTERNAL emitters vs. external radiation then you better avoid as much radioactive particles as possible.

“Radiation exposure is increased by a factor of a trillion. Inhaling even the tiniest particle, that’s the danger.”

More info on that below.

– Radiation in Our Food (Fox News, June 29, 2011):

Though the horrendous tsunami that hit Japan on March 12, 2011 seems like old news in the midst of today’s headlines, the crippled nuclear power plants at Fukishima Daichi continue to spew radiation into water, air and soil, with no end in sight.

Even as thousands of Japanese workers struggle to contain the ongoing nuclear disaster, low levels of radiation from those power plants have been detected in foods in the United States. Milk, fruits and vegetables show trace amounts of radioactive isotopes from the Fukushima Daichi power plants, and the media appears to be paying scant attention, if any attention at all. It is as if the problem only involves Japan, not the vast Pacific Ocean, into which highly radioactive water has poured by the dozens of tons, and not into air currents and rainwater that carry radiation to U.S. soil and to the rest of the world. And while both Switzerland and Germany have come out against any further nuclear development, the U.S. the nuclear power industry continues as usual, with aging and crumbling power plants receiving extended operating licenses from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, as though it can’t happen here. But it is happening here, on your dinner plate.

Read moreRadiation In Our Food: US Receives Steady Flow Of Radiation From Fukushima (FOX News)

Fukushima: Kurion’s Cesium Removal System Is Clogged – Areva’s Water Decontamination System Had Not 10 But 48 Leaks!

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– #Fukushima I Nuke Plant: Kurion’s Cesium Removal System Is Clogged Somewhere (EX-SKF, June 12, 2011):

Part of the contaminated water treatment system being readied at Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant is the cesium absorption tower using the technology of Kurion, a US start-up with very little information on their corporate website.

TEPCO discovered that not enough water was flowing through one of the 4 subsystems, and suspects it’s clogged up somewhere.

And a bit of new information that the Kurion’s system removes not just cesium but technetium and iodine, according to the press conference handout from TEPCO which is found below.

By the way, the number of pipe leaks in the Areva’s system was not “over 10”. Well, it was “over ten” for sure, but it was actually 48.

From Yomiuri Shinbun (11:45AM JST 6/12/2011; diagram of Kurion’s system added):

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TEPCO announced on June 12 that the test run of the system to treat highly contaminated water at Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant would be delayed after June 13.

Read moreFukushima: Kurion’s Cesium Removal System Is Clogged – Areva’s Water Decontamination System Had Not 10 But 48 Leaks!

High Concentration Of Radioactive Cesium Found On Seafloor In 300Km Strip Along Fukushima Coast

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– High radiation found on seabed in 300-km stretch off Fukushima (Kyodo News, May 28, 2011):

TOKYO — Radiation levels up to several hundred times normal have been detected on the Pacific seabed in a 300-kilometer-long area off the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, the science ministry said Friday.

The ministry said high-level radioactive materials were detected on the seabed in a north-south stretch ranging from Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, to Choshi, Chiba Prefecture, and warned the contamination could affect the safety of seafood. The science ministry said it detected iodine and cesium on the seabed at 12 spots 15- to 50-km from the coastline between May 9 and 14.

– #Fukushima I Nuke Plant: High Concentration of Radioactive Cesium in the Ocean Soil in 300-Kilometer Strip Along the Coast (EX-SKF, May 27, 2011):

Radioactive materials in concentration that was up to several hundreds of times the normal level were detected from the soil on the ocean floor in the 300-kilometer strip along the coast from Kesennuma City in Miyagi Prefecture to Choshi City in Chiba Prefecture.

Oh what a surprise. Who could have known?

The Ministry of Education and Science, who did the survey, even goes to contradict the oft-repeated statement by the chief cabinet secretary and says “the marine products may be affected.”

Chief Cabinet Secretary Edano’s favorite refrain whenever a new leak was found at Fukushima I Nuke Plant was: “It will have no immediate effect” on health, on environment, on anything. (These days, he is busy trying to “qualify” his use of “immediate”. Quite funny if the situation is not this dire.)

No word on other nuclides like plutonium, uranium, and strontium.

I’m trying to locate the original survey data at the Ministry’s site.

From Mainichi Shinbun Japanese (1:15AM JST 5/27/2011):

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The Ministry of Education and Science disclosed on May 27 that radioactive materials in concentration that was up to several hundreds of times the normal level were detected from the soil on the ocean floor in the 300-kilometer strip along the coast from Kesennuma City in Miyagi Prefecture to Choshi City in Chiba Prefecture. The Ministry says “the marine products may be affected”. It is now confirmed that the radioactive materials in the contaminated water released [both intentionally and unintentionally] from TEPCO’s Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant into the ocean have spread far and wide.

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The soil samples were taken from May 9 to May 14 at 12 locations about 15 to 50 kilometers off the coast. Radioactive materials were detected in all samples. The highest concentration of radioactive materials was detected from the sample taken from the ocean floor, 126 meters deep, 30 kilometers off the coast of Fukushima I Nuke Plant. Cesium-134 was 260 becquerels/kilogram, and cesium-137 was 320 becquerels/kilogram.

Read moreHigh Concentration Of Radioactive Cesium Found On Seafloor In 300Km Strip Along Fukushima Coast

Japan Government Quietly Released WSPEEDI Simulation, Showing Very High Iodine-131 Organ Dose In Infants

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Flashback:

– Japan Hit By Massive Nuclear Fallout Cloud Of Highly Radioactive Iodine:

– Ministry of Education Quietly Released WSPEEDI Simulation, It Shows Very High Organ Dose of Iodine-131 for Infants in Wide Area (May 22, 2011)

I mentioned the system called the WSPEEDI simulation system in passing when I wrote about SPEEDI data for the early period of the Fukushima I Nuke Plant accident (March 11 onward).

When Professor Kosako resigned from his post as PM special advisor in protest of the 20 millisievert/year radiation limit for school children, he called for the release of WSPEEDI, which can cover much wider area (“several thousand kilometers”, according to Professor Kosako).

Well well. The Ministry of Education very quietly put the WSPEEDI simulation data on their webpage for SPEEDI data list on May 10, without any fanfare, without any media (I mean MSM) coverage.

The Ministry released 2 simulation maps, one for March 24 and another for March 25. They are only about iodine-131.

One of the maps, “Organ dose of I-131 for infant [less than a year old]”, shows that the extremely high dose along the coast of Fukushima, with the dose in the area around Fukushima I Nuke Plant over 500 millisieverts (deep pink color). I added the prefecture names:

Another map, “Surface deposition of I-131”, shows a very wide area in Kanto and Tohoku in green, which indicates iodine-131 deposition of between 100,000 to 1,000,000 becquerels per square meter. In Tokyo, one green band goes over the densely populated eastern Tokyo (23 “ku” or districts) and another one goes over the middle. That pretty much corresponds with the higher air radiation level that continues in the 23 districts, particularly the eastern most districts, and the elevated level in cities like Fuchu, which sits in the middle. Again, I added the prefecture names:

So this is what TPTB wanted to hide at all cost, and released in a sneaky fashion after 2 months, and it’s only about iodine-131 whose half life is 8 days. Where there’s iodine-131, there’s got to be cesium, but they are still mum on cesium or any other radionuclides. No WSPEEDI data from the earlier days, nor after March 25.

Read moreJapan Government Quietly Released WSPEEDI Simulation, Showing Very High Iodine-131 Organ Dose In Infants

Results Of ACRO’s Radiation Monitoring In Japan (05/17/2011 Update): ‘The Contamination Is Very Large And Comparable To The Environment Of Chernobyl’

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ACRO is a NPO that was created just after the Chernobyl disaster in 1986 and has been monitoring radioactivity in the environment for 25 years together with the concerned populations. It runs a laboratory with the highest scientific standards that is accredited by the French authorities. Its activity is complementary to the official monitoring because it is aimed to answer to the questions of the population.

ACRO was involved during several years in a project in the contaminated areas of Byelorussia to implement radioactivity measurement stations in villages and develop a culture of radioprotection. The European Union and the Swiss ministry of foreign affairs supported our contribution.

– Results of ACRO’s monitoring in Japan (05/17/2011 update):


Afficher Environnement Japon sur une carte plus grande

After the nuclear disaster of Fukushima, ACRO has extended its Citizen Watch of Radioactivity in the Environment to Japan.
We have received samples from the Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures that show an alarming contamination.

• Soil and water were collected by Japanese citizens on the 31st of March 2011.

• Vegetables and mushrooms taken on the 2nd of April in the Sendai area by French journalists.

• Vegetables bought on the 22st of April in a supermarket in Osaka.

• Analysis of the soil in various locations in Japan (12-18th april 2011)

• Seawater collected on the 16th of april in Soma (Fukushima prefecture)

Comments :

The contamination is very large and comparable to the environment of Chernobyl.
The Maeda field of Iitate-mura is the most contaminated place.
Iodine contamination is the largest and it is better to evacuate the population.
On the long time range, cesium 137 is the most worrying element because it has a half-life of 30 years.

Regarding the results expressed in Bq/kg of soil, most of them are higher than the limit fixed by the Japanese authorities at 5 000 Bq/kg for agriculture. Rice cannot be cultivated.

The data expressed in Bq/m² can be compared to the definition of the zones in Byelorussia after the Chernobyl disaster (law of 1991) :
185 000 – 555 000 Bq/m²: migration allowed
555 000 – 1 480 000 Bq/m²: right to rehousing

Most of the results are higher than one of these limits.

– Read the press release in French (11th of April 2011)

– Download the analysis report for the first samples

(Click on images to enlarge.)

FOOD PRODUCTS : ACRO’s RESULTS

Comments :

The results show that the four samples collected in the Sendai area (80 km from Fukushima dai-ichi) are tainted with artificial radionuclides released from the crippled NPP.

Densities of cesium 137 measured in the vegetables (Chinese cabbage, komatsuna and tsubomina) are above the limits set by Japanese authorities (500 Bq/kg). These vegetables should not be eaten.

VEGETABLES BOUGHT IN A SUPERMARKET IN OSAKA: ACRO’s RESULTS


ND: Not Detected

ANALYSIS OF THE SOIL IN VARIOUS LOCATIONS IN JAPAN (12-18th APRIL 2011) : ACRO’s RESULTS

Comments :

ACRO has analyzed samples collected in various locations in Japan by Japanese citizens. Except for Kobe, all these samples are contaminated by numerous radioelements coming from the fallouts of Fukushima.
The large densities in the straw are due to the fact that straw is light: the same amount of pollution falling on a square meter gives a contamination per kilogram far larger with straw than with soil.
The previous analysis that we did on soil samples coming from Fukushima prefecture showed that iodine 131 was dominating. But this element has a quite short half-life (8 days) and disappears relatively quickly: the densities measured this time are lower than the ones for caesium.
The tellurium 129m decays into iodine 129 that has a very long half-life: 16 millions years. This element should be carefully monitored in the surrounding the nuclear power plant.
A mid-term, caesium 137 will be the most problematic element: the densities measured are all below the limit of 5 000 becquerels per kilogram fixed by the Japanese authorities for the culture of rice.
If we calculated the contamination of the caesium 137 in becquerels per square meters, all the values in Fukushima prefecture are higher that the limit of 185 000 becquerels per square meter that gives right to migration in Byelorussia.
The contamination in the Miyagi prefecture is also quite large, confirming the large contaminations of the vegetables that we measured in this prefecture.

Read moreResults Of ACRO’s Radiation Monitoring In Japan (05/17/2011 Update): ‘The Contamination Is Very Large And Comparable To The Environment Of Chernobyl’

Japan: Radioactive Cesium 5 Times Limit Found In Miyagi Pasture Grass (Video)

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Watch the video here.

– Radioactive material detected in grass in Miyagi (NHK, May 18, 2011):

A radioactive substance exceeding the legal limit has been detected in pasture grass in Miyagi Prefecture, neighboring Fukushima Prefecture in which the damaged nuclear plant is located.

1,530 becquerels of radioactive cesium per kilogram were found in a sample collected last Wednesday from a farm operated by the southern town of Marumori. The figure exceeds 5 times the legal limit of 300 becquerels.

350 becquerels of cesium were also detected in a sample from a prefectural farm in the northern city of Osaki.

Read moreJapan: Radioactive Cesium 5 Times Limit Found In Miyagi Pasture Grass (Video)

IAEA Scientists Interested In Fukushima Technetium-99 (Half Life Of 210,000 Years!) And Iodine-129 (Half Life Of 14 Million Years!) Releases

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From the article:

“Scientists from the International Atomic Energy Agency are also interested in learning more about releases of Technetium-99, which has a half life of 210,000 years, and Iodine-129, which has a half life of 14 million years. The Japanese have released no information about those isotopes.”

• Radioactive Isotopes Expected to Reach U.S. Coast In One To Two Years

• Woods Hole Institute To Send Research Vessel To Japan

– Scientists Will Track Fukushima Radiation To Study Ocean Currents (Forbes):

May 17 — Oceanographers know that the Kuroshio current sweeps west from Japan to the Central Pacific and then toward the U.S. West Coast, but they’re less certain how it behaves after it branches toward Alaska and California.

Radiation still leaking into the sea from the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant will help them document the ocean’s circulatory system.

“By the time that current reaches the Central Pacific, there are branches heading more towards Alaska and the South—that gets harder to predict,” said Ken Buesseler, a senior scientist with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute.

Read moreIAEA Scientists Interested In Fukushima Technetium-99 (Half Life Of 210,000 Years!) And Iodine-129 (Half Life Of 14 Million Years!) Releases

High Levels Of Radioactive Cesium Detected In Tea Leaves Picked Outside Of Tokyo On May 15

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– Radioactive substance detected in green tea leaves in Ibaraki towns (Mainichi Daily News):

MITO — Higher levels of radioactive cesium than the national provisional limit were detected in green tea leaves harvested in Daigo and Sakai in northern Ibaraki Prefecture, the prefectural government announced May 16.

The government said radioactive cesium of 894 becquerels per kilogram was detected in green tea leaves picked May 15 in Sakai and that of 570 becquerels per kilogram in Daigo in green tea leaves picked May 14, compared with the official interim limit of 500 becquerels per kilogram.

The prefectural government ordered the two towns May 16 to halt shipments of green tea leaves.

Meanwhile, radioactive cesium of 3 becquerels was detected in the hot extracts of green tea in Sakai and 30 becquerels in Daigo against the provisional limit of 200 becquerels for drinking water under the Food Sanitation Law.

Green tea in Sakai and Daigo bears the brand names of Sashima tea and Okukuji tea, respectively.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, alarmed by the high levels of the radioactive substance in tea leaves, ordered Tokyo and 13 prefectures in northeastern and eastern Japan to check steam dried green tea known as “Aracha.”

UCB Food Chain Sampling Results (Updated 05/14/2011)

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Take a look at the Cesium-137 levels of grass, strawberries and kale.

– UCB Food Chain Sampling Results (May 14, 2011):

Back to Main UCB Air and Water Sampling Page

Radionuclides, once deposited by rainwater or air onto the ground, will find their way through the ecosystem. We are already tracking its path from rainwater to creek runoff to tap water, but we would also like to monitor how much these isotopes that make their way into our food. For example, how much gets taken up by the grass and eventually winds up in our milk?

Read moreUCB Food Chain Sampling Results (Updated 05/14/2011)

Food Chain Sampling Results (Department of Nuclear Engineering University of California, Berkeley)

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– UCB Food Chain Sampling Results:

Radionuclides, once deposited by rainwater or air onto the ground, will find their way through the ecosystem. We are already tracking its path from rainwater to creek runoff to tap water, but we would also like to monitor how much these isotopes that make their way into our food. For example, how much gets taken up by the grass and eventually winds up in our milk?

We have been collecting produce that is as local as possible to test for the radioactive isotopes. We might expect different kinds of plants to take up different quantities of cesium and iodine, so we are trying to measure as many different plants and fruits as we are able to. So far, we have measured grass, wild mushrooms, spinach, strawberries, cilantro, kale, and arugula. We have also measured local topsoil. As of 5/2, we will begin reporting on seaweed from the Northern California coast.

Read moreFood Chain Sampling Results (Department of Nuclear Engineering University of California, Berkeley)

Physicians For Social Responsibility Press Conference (04/26/2011): Chernobyl, Fukushima And Nuclear Power – Disturbing Facts!

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A MUST-SEE!


Added: Erstellt: 26.04.2011

On Tuesday April 26, 2011, Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) held a joint press conference with Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Massachusetts) and the Institute for Policy Studies’ Robert Alvarez on the ongoing impact of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster to public health 25 years after the accident, the continuing nuclear catastrophe in Fukushima, Japan, and the lessons from both for U.S. public health and safety.

Read morePhysicians For Social Responsibility Press Conference (04/26/2011): Chernobyl, Fukushima And Nuclear Power – Disturbing Facts!

Dr. Helen Caldicott On The Japan Nuclear Disaster – The Truth MSM Won’t Tell You! (Video)

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Dr. Helen Caldicott is co-founder of Physicians for Social Responsibility.

Added: 18.04.2011

Related info:

– Dr. Steven Wing And Chief Nuclear Engineer Arnie Gundersen Discuss Global Radiation Exposure and Consequences: There Is No Safe Dose of Radiation

– UC Santa Cruz Nuclear Expert Daniel Hirsch: ‘Every Amount of Radiation Exposure Increases Your Risk of Cancer.’ ‘There Is No Safe Level of Radiation.’

– Dr. Helen Caldicott: How Nuclear Apologists Mislead The World Over Radiation

– Dr. Brian Moench: There Is No ‘Safe’ Exposure To Radiation

– Dr. Peter Karamoskos: Don’t Be Fooled By A Never-Ending Cabal Of Paid Industry Scientific ”Consultants’ – Radiation Is Bad And Causes Cancer

– Are There Safe Levels of Radiation? How Much Radiation Is Safe? (Must-read!!!!!)

– The Propaganda From The Government And The Nuclear Industry About Low-Level Radiation Is Absolute Rubbish

TEPCO Data Points To Out-Of-Control Fission Going On: After 5 Halflives, I-131 Higher Than Cs-134/137 Suggests Ongoing Criticalities

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Summary

During full-power operation, numerous “fission products” are in approximate steady-state equilibrium, meaning roughly equal becquerel of I-131 and Cs-134, with a slow buildup of Cs-137. But they all cease to be created when the reactors are scrammed. Japanese regulators NISA and MEXT seem oblivious of the mysterious fact that I-131 Bq “reactor density” is still often reported double the Cs-134/137 Bq. The TEPCO data suggest that fission is ongoing despite the reactor shutdowns. This is bad news.

Analysis

It seemed very bad taste for April Fool’s jokes, but a few weeks ago there were some very bizarre indications of ongoing criticalities suggested by TEPCO’s own reporting of Cl-38 in “stagnant water” of a drywell, plus, a “neutron beam” again implausibly claimed by Kyodo news to be observed at 2-km distance. All those things seemed to defy the laws of physics and were highly suspect, but they led Arnie Gunderson, Arjun Makhijani, and Chris Martenson all to conclude that the evidence pointed to ongoing fission in the Units 1-4 scrammed reactors and their SNF pools in warm shutdown. Maybe so.

Everyone with just a very basic understanding of reactor safety should know that once a reactor is scrammed, U-235 is no longer fissioning, and I-131 has no parent which can be decaying to create it in an ongoing process. SNF pools contain the million-year halflife I-129 which is difficult to measure, but the water circulating in intact SNF pools should have absolutely no detectable I-131 in them.

Read moreTEPCO Data Points To Out-Of-Control Fission Going On: After 5 Halflives, I-131 Higher Than Cs-134/137 Suggests Ongoing Criticalities

TEPCO Admits Damage To Part Of Fukushima Reactor No. 4 Spent Nuclear Fuel Pool – Japan Government: ‘We Must Devise Some Ways’ To Reinforce The Quake Resistance Of The Buildings, Where Radiation Levels Are High

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Related info:

– Chief Nuclear Engineer Arnie Gundersen: ‘Worst-Case Is the Unit 4 Fuel Pool, Which Has Enormous Amounts of Plutonium And Depleted Uranium’ ‘If That Catches Fire It Could Devastate A Large Area’

– Japan Nuclear Safety Commissioner Admits Cover-Up: ‘If we immediately decided to label the situation as Level 7, we could have triggered a panicked reaction.’

TOKYO, April 13, Kyodo — Some of the spent nuclear fuel rods stored in the No. 4 reactor building of the crisis-hit Fukushima Daiichi power plant were confirmed to be damaged, but most of them are believed to be in sound condition, plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Wednesday.

The firm known as TEPCO said its analysis of a 400-milliliter water sample taken Tuesday from the No. 4 unit’s spent nuclear fuel pool revealed the damage to some fuel rods in such a pool for the first time, as it detected higher-than-usual levels of radioactive iodine-131, cesium-134 and cesium-137.

The No. 4 reactor, halted for a regular inspection before last month’s earthquake and tsunami disaster, had all of its fuel rods stored in the pool for the maintenance work and the fuel was feared to have sustained damage from overheating.

The roof and the upper walls of the No. 4 reactor building have been blown away by a hydrogen explosion and damaged by fires since the disaster struck the plant. The water level in the spent fuel pool is believed to have temporarily dropped.

Earlier in the day, the government’s nuclear regulatory agency ordered TEPCO to check the quake resistance of reactor buildings at the Fukushima plant, which have been rocked by strong aftershocks from the magnitude-9.0 earthquake that wrecked the site and triggered tsunami on March 11.

The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency told the utility to immediately examine the buildings and consider reinforcement work if they are judged as not sufficiently quakeproof.

In addition to the No. 4 unit, the Nos. 1 and 3 reactor buildings have also been severely damaged by hydrogen explosions in the early days of the crisis.

”As strong aftershocks occur almost daily, we have to consider what will happen to buildings already damaged by blasts,” said Hidehiko Nishiyama, a spokesman for the nuclear agency.

He acknowledged the difficulties involved in the work to reinforce the quake resistance of the buildings, where radiation levels are high, but said, ”We must devise some ways.” The agency urged TEPCO to report back to it on the matter as soon as possible.

Read moreTEPCO Admits Damage To Part Of Fukushima Reactor No. 4 Spent Nuclear Fuel Pool – Japan Government: ‘We Must Devise Some Ways’ To Reinforce The Quake Resistance Of The Buildings, Where Radiation Levels Are High

Japan Nuclear Safety Commissioner Admits Cover-Up: ‘If we immediately decided to label the situation as Level 7, we could have triggered a panicked reaction.’

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From the New York Times:

– Japanese Officials on Defensive as Nuclear Alert Level Rises:

Seiji Shiroya, a commissioner of Japan’s Nuclear Safety Commission, an independent government panel that oversees the country’s nuclear industry, said that the government had delayed issuing data on the extent of the radiation releases because of concern that the margins of error had been large in initial computer models. But he also suggested a public policy reason for having kept quiet.

“Some foreigners fled the country even when there appeared to be little risk,” he said. “If we immediately decided to label the situation as Level 7, we could have triggered a panicked reaction.”

Infinite Unknown readers knew that the Japan government has been informed that a (partial) meltdown was a going on from day one of the Fukushima nuclear disaster and I posted these videos on March 15:

Listen to the editor of the Japan Times if you haven’t done so (!!!):

– Japan: Full Core Meltdown Will Send Radiation Over United States

– Japan And US Try To Coverup Nuclear Catastrophe

Fukushima Radiation Taints US Milk Supplies At Levels 300% Higher Than EPA Maximums, Indicates Radioactive Contamination Of The Entire Food Supply

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Comments from article author Jeff McMahon:

-EPA: New Radiation Highs in Little Rock Milk, Philadelphia Drinking Water (Forbes):

Yes, David, I know. Very complicated to explain. EPA lumps these gamma and beta emitters together under one collective MCL, so if you’re seeing cesium-137 in your milk or water, the MCL is 3.0 picocuries per liter; if you’re seeing iodine-131, the MCL is 3.0; if you’re seeing cesium-137 and iodine-131, the MCL is still 3.0.

Here’s a somewhat historic EPA document that speaks directly to that issue:

Although not having a 4 mrem per year equivalent level specified in the current drinking water regulations as do tritium and strontium-90, the compliance monitoring scheme indicates that an iodine-131 level of 3 pCi/L is the MCL compliance level (presumably derived from the NBS Handbook); the ANPRM indicates that 700 pCi/L is the 4 mrem/year equivalent.

via Drinking Water Criteria Document for Beta and Gamma Emitting Radionuclides

Be advised that document won’t open in older browsers.

And here’s a current EPA faq that repeats the same 3 pCi/L MCL for iodine-131:

http://www.epa.gov/radiation/japan-faqs.html#rainwater

If we lump together the three radionuclides in that Hilo, Hawaii reading, we get 61 pCi/L. Alarming? How about that recent Boise rainfall sample: 468 pCi/L.

The reason we shouldn’t be alarmed, EPA says, is that these are short-term, temporary exposures and the MCL assumes long-term exposure.

The EPA has another MCL that it takes more seriously, and that is, that people should not be exposed to more than 4 millirem per year. To make sense of that number we need to be able to express picocuries as millirems, but that’s what that legacy document does that I quoted above:“the compliance monitoring scheme indicates that an iodine-131 level of 3 pCi/L is the MCL compliance level; the ANPRM indicates that 700 pCi/L is the 4 mrem/year equivalent.”

What this all means to me is that if you’re a water company, EPA will insist you keep the gamma/beta emitters in your water below 3 pCi/L in pursuit of another aim, which is to keep your customers’ annual radiation exposure below 700, or, put another way, below 4mrem, over the course of a year.

If we should not be exposed to more than 700 pCi/L per year, then anyone who drinks two liters of Boise rainwater or 13 liters of Hilo milk is in trouble. Both those scenarios may be unlikely, but they’re beginning to get closer to likely than the reassurances we’ve been receiving would seem to indicate.

Fukushima radiation taints US milk supplies at levels 300% higher than EPA maximums


(NaturalNews) The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) continues to release new data showing that various milk and water supply samples from across the US are testing increasingly high for radioactive elements such as Iodine-131, Cesium-134, and Cesium-137, all of which are being emitted from the ongoing Fukushima Daiichia nuclear fallout. As of April 10, 2011, 23 US water supplies have tested positive for radioactive Iodine-131 (http://opendata.socrata.com/w/4ig7-…), and worst of all, milk samples from at least three US locations have tested positive for Iodine-131 at levels exceeding EPA maximum containment levels (MCL) (http://opendata.socrata.com/w/pkfj-…).

As far as the water supplies are concerned, it is important to note that the EPA is only testing for radioactive Iodine-131. There are no readings or data available for cesium, uranium, or plutonium — all of which are being continuously emitted from Fukushima, as far as we know — even though these elements are all much more deadly than Iodine-131. Even so, the following water supplies have thus far tested positive for Iodine-131, with the dates they were collected in parenthesis to the right:

Los Angeles, Calif. – 0.39 pCi/l (4/4/11)
Philadelphia (Baxter), Penn. – 0.46 pCi/l (4/4/11)
Philadelphia (Belmont), Penn. – 1.3 pCi/l (4/4/11)
Philadelphia (Queen), Penn. – 2.2 pCi/l (4/4/11)
Muscle Shoals, Al. – 0.16 pCi/l (3/31/11)
Niagara Falls, NY – 0.14 pCi/l (3/31/11)
Denver, Colo. – 0.17 pCi/l (3/31/11)
Detroit, Mich. – 0.28 pCi/l (3/31/11)
East Liverpool, Oh. – 0.42 pCi/l (3/30/11)
Trenton, NJ – 0.38 pCi/l (3/29/11)
Painesville, Oh. – 0.43 pCi/l (3/29/11)
Columbia, Penn. – 0.20 pCi/l (3/29/11)
Oak Ridge (4442), Tenn. – 0.28 pCi/l (3/29/11)
Oak Ridge (772), Tenn. – 0.20 pCi/l (3/29/11)
Oak Ridge (360), Tenn. – 0.18 pCi/l (3/29/11)
Helena, Mont. – 0.18 pCi/l (3/28/11)
Waretown, NJ – 0.38 pCi/l (3/28/11)
Cincinnati, Oh. – 0.13 pCi/l (3/28/11)
Pittsburgh, Penn. – 0.36 pCi/l (3/28/11)
Oak Ridge (371), Tenn. – 0.63 pCi/l (3/28/11)
Chattanooga, Tenn. – 1.6 pCi/l (3/28/11)
Boise, Id. – 0.2 pCi/l (3/28/11)
Richland, Wash. – 0.23 pCi/l (3/28/11)

Again, these figures do not include the other radioactive elements being spread by Fukushima, so there is no telling what the actual cumulative radiation levels really were in these samples. The figures were also taken two weeks ago, and were only just recently reported. If current samples were taken at even more cities, and if the tests conducted included the many other radioactive elements besides Iodine-131, actual contamination levels would likely be frighteningly higher.

But in typical government fashion, the EPA still insists that everything is just fine, even though an increasing amount of US water supplies are turning up positive for even just the radioactive elements for which the agency is testing — and these levels seem to be increasing as a direct result of the situation at the Fukushima plant, which continues to worsen with no end in sight (http://www.naturalnews.com/032035_F…).

Water may be the least of our problems, however. New EPA data just released on Sunday shows that at least three different milk samples — all from different parts of the US — have tested positive for radioactive Iodine-131 at levels that exceed the EPA maximum thresholds for safety, which is currently set at 3.0 pico Curies per Liter (pCi/l).

In Phoenix, Ariz., a milk sample taken on March 28, 2011, tested at 3.2 pCi/l. In Little Rock, Ark., a milk sample taken on March 30, 2011, tested at 8.9 pCi/l, which is almost three times the EPA limit. And in Hilo, Hawaii, a milk sample collected on April 4, 2011, tested at 18 pCi/l, a level six times the EPA maximum safety threshold. The same Hawaii sample also tested at 19 pCi/l for Cesium-137, which has a half life of 30 years (http://www.naturalnews.com/031992_r…), and a shocking 24 pCi/l for Cesium-134, which has a half life of just over two years (http://opendata.socrata.com/w/pkfj-…).

Why is this milk contamination significant? Milk, of course, typically represents the overall condition of the food chain because 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.

Read moreFukushima Radiation Taints US Milk Supplies At Levels 300% Higher Than EPA Maximums, Indicates Radioactive Contamination Of The Entire Food Supply

Strongest Radioactive Cloud Covers Vietnam, Uranium-238, Cesium-137, Cesium-134 Found In Pine Needles Among Other Isotopes

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A radioactive cloud from the quake-damaged Fukushima reactor explosions in Japan was said to have reached Vietnam in late April 9.

According to the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST), the cloud may exist in Southeast Asia within several days with radionuclide concentrations decreasing with every passing day.

The most powerful radioactive cloud, however, dispersed rapidly on April 9 and 10.

Earlier, MoST said even if the cloud covered Vietnam, the radiation level would increase by only 100 times from the previously-detected level.

By 15:00, April 9, apart from the recognition of the natural radioactive isotopes, the observation stations in Da Lat and Ninh Thuan also discovered radioactive I-131.

In Ho Chi Minh City, the radioactive isotopes I-131, Cs-134 and Cs-137 were recorded.

“The radioactive isotopes recorded at the three above-mentioned locations are at low level, and do not pose a threat to human health and the environment,” scientists said.

Cs-134 was found in the pine needle samples (which are often used to indicate radioactive pollution in the atmosphere and vegetation) in addition to the isotopes Be-7, K -40, U-238, Th-232 and Cs-137 but the level of Cs-134 was very low and does not affect human health.

Updated : 9:18 AM, 11/04/2011

Source: VOV NEWS

There is no safe level of radiation:

– Dr. Peter Karamoskos: Don’t Be Fooled By A Never-Ending Cabal Of Paid Industry Scientific ”Consultants’ – Radiation Is Bad And Causes Cancer

– Are There Safe Levels of Radiation? How Much Radiation Is Safe?

– The Propaganda From The Government And The Nuclear Industry About Low-Level Radiation Is Absolute Rubbish


US: EPA Finds Cesium-137 In Vermont Milk, Radiation Detected In Drinking Water In 13 More Cities

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Don’t miss:

– Are There Safe Levels of Radiation? How Much Radiation Is Safe?

Radiation from Japan has been detected in drinking water in 13 more American cities, and cesium-137 has been found in American milk—in Montpelier, Vermont—for the first time since the Japan nuclear disaster began, according to data released by the Environmental Protection Agency late Friday.

Milk samples from Phoenix and Los Angeles contained iodine-131 at levels roughly equal to the maximum contaminant level permitted by EPA, the data shows. The Phoenix sample contained 3.2 picoCuries per liter of iodine-131. The Los Angeles sample contained 2.9. The EPA maximum contaminant level is 3.0, but this is a conservative standard designed to minimize exposure over a lifetime, so EPA does not consider these levels to pose a health threat.

The cesium-137 found in milk in Vermont is the first cesium detected in milk since the Fukushima-Daichi nuclear accident occurred last month. The sample contained 1.9 picoCuries per liter of cesium-137, which falls under the same 3.0 standard.

Radioactive isotopes accumulate in milk after they spread through the atmosphere, fall to earth in rain or dust, and settle on vegetation, where they are ingested by grazing cattle. Iodine-131 is known to accumulate in the thyroid gland, where it can cause cancer and other thyroid diseases. Cesium-137 accumulates in the body’s soft tissues, where it increases risk of cancer, according to EPA.

Read moreUS: EPA Finds Cesium-137 In Vermont Milk, Radiation Detected In Drinking Water In 13 More Cities

Are There Safe Levels of Radiation? How Much Radiation Is Safe?

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– What They’re Covering Up at Fukushima: ‘You Get 3,500,000 The Normal Dose. You Call That Safe? And What Media Have Reported This? None!’

Radiation exposure is increased by a factor of a trillion. Inhaling even the tiniest particle, that’s the danger.

Yo: So making comparisons with X-rays and CT scans has no meaning. Because you can breathe in radioactive material.

Hirose: That’s right. When it enters your body, there’s no telling where it will go. The biggest danger is women, especially pregnant women, and little children. Now they’re talking about iodine and cesium, but that’s only part of it, they’re not using the proper detection instruments. What they call monitoring means only measuring the amount of radiation in the air. Their instruments don’t eat. What they measure has no connection with the amount of radioactive material.

– Physicians for Social Responsibility: ‘There Is No Safe Level Of Radionuclide Exposure, Whether From Food, Water Or Other Sources. Period.’:

According to the National Academy of Sciences, there are no safe doses of radiation. Decades of research show clearly that any dose of radiation increases an individual’s risk for the development of cancer.

“There is no safe level of radionuclide exposure, whether from food, water or other sources. Period,” said Jeff Patterson, DO, immediate past president of Physicians for Social Responsibility. “Exposure to radionuclides, such as iodine-131 and cesium-137, increases the incidence of cancer. For this reason, every effort must be taken to minimize the radionuclide content in food and water.”

– The Propaganda From The Government And The Nuclear Industry About Low-Level Radiation Is Absolute Rubbish:

Dr. Helen Caldicott (Co-founder of Physicians for Social Responsibility):

“Up to a million people have already died from Chernobyl, and people will continue to die from cancer for virtually the rest of time. What we should know is that a millionth of a gram of plutonium, or less, can induce cancer, or will induce cancer. Each reactor has 250 kilos, or 500 pounds, of plutonium in it. You know, there’s enough plutonium in these reactors to kill everyone on earth.
…..
You don’t understand internal emitters. I was commissioned to write an article for the New England Journal of Medicine about the dangers of nuclear power. I spent a year researching it. You’ve bought the propaganda from the nuclear industry. They say it’s low-level radiation. That’s absolute rubbish. If you inhale a millionth of a gram of plutonium, the surrounding cells receive a very, very high dose. Most die within that area, because it’s an alpha emitter. The cells on the periphery remain viable. They mutate, and the regulatory genes are damaged. Years later, that person develops cancer. Now, that’s true for radioactive iodine, that goes to the thyroid; cesium-137, that goes to the brain and muscles; strontium-90 goes to bone, causing bone cancer and leukemia. It’s imperative … that you understand internal emitters and radiation, and it’s not low level to the cells that are exposed. Radiobiology is imperative to understand these days.”

About the plutonium found around the Fukushima nuclear plant we were told that those ‘tiny’ levels of plutonium  pose no ‘human health risk‘!!!

Think again:

“Plutonium is the deadliest substance on the planet since 1 molecule of Plutonium in your body guarantees the development of cancer, according to radiation medicine experts.”
– Dr. Rima Laibow

Read moreAre There Safe Levels of Radiation? How Much Radiation Is Safe?

Nuclear Engineering Department At UCB Finds Radioactive Iodine- 131, Cesium-134 and 137 In Organic Milk In San Francisco Bay Area

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– UCB Milk Sampling Results:

The following are results for milk samples obtained from a Bay Area organic dairy where the farmers are encouraged to feed their cows local grass. We have detected I-131, at 0.70 Becquerels per liter and lower, as well as Cs-134 and Cs-137.
…
Because the “best by” date on milk is approximately 17-19 days after the milk has been bottled, our milk sample with a date of 3/25 represents milk bottled on approximately 3/5. Since this is before the Fukushima crisis, we do not expect to see any fission product radioisotopes and do not see any within our sensitivity. Our first sample of milk showing any signs of radioisotopes has a date of 4/4, which means it was bottled around 3/18. This is approximately when the trace radioactive isotopes were first seen in the Bay Area.

I131 I132 Cs134 Cs137 Te132 Data
Best By Date Bq/L (liters**) Bq/L (liters**) Bq/L (liters**) Bq/L (liters**) Bq/L (liters**)
Estimated Minimum Detectable Activity (MDA) for samples ending 4/4 0.14 0.23 0.14 0.18 0.10
3/25/2011 less than
MDA		 less than
MDA		 less than
MDA		 less than
MDA		 less than
MDA		 data
4/4/2011 0.70 ± 0.27 (3,800) less than
MDA		 less than
MDA		 less than
MDA		 less than
MDA		 data
Estimated Minimum Detectable Activity (MDA) for samples starting 4/8 0.04 0.05 0.03
4/8/2011 less than
MDA		 less than
MDA		 less than
MDA		 less than
MDA		 less than
MDA		 data
4/11/2011 0.14 ± 0.08 (18,900) less than
MDA		 less than
MDA		 less than
MDA		 less than
MDA		 data
4/14/2011 0.10 ± 0.04 (26,300) less than
MDA		 0.11 ± 0.04 (22,100) less than
MDA		 less than
MDA		 data
4/16/2011 0.22 ± 0.04 (12,200) less than
MDA		 0.10 ± 0.04 (24,000) 0.22 ± 0.08 (12,000) less than
MDA		 data

** The number in parentheses is the number of liters of milk that one would need to consume to equal the radiation exposure of a single round trip flight from San Francisco to Washington D.C. (0.05 mSv). To see how we calculate these numbers, please visit our explanation of the equivalent dose calculation.

And again the general public is fed scientific bullshit, because like the MSM the University of California, Berkeley compares mice with elephants in the room!

You can’t compare radiation exposure with inhalation or ingestion of radioactive particles!

How come the Department of Nuclear Engineering at the UCB does not know these facts???

– What They’re Covering Up at Fukushima: ‘You Get 3,500,000 The Normal Dose. You Call That Safe? And What Media Have Reported This? None!’

Radiation exposure is increased by a factor of a trillion.  Inhaling even the tiniest particle, that’s the danger.

Yo: So making comparisons with X-rays and CT scans has no meaning.  Because you can breathe in radioactive material.

Hirose:  That’s right.  When it enters your body, there’s no telling where it will go.  The biggest danger is women, especially pregnant women, and little children.  Now they’re talking about iodine and cesium, but that’s only part of it, they’re not using the proper detection instruments.  What they call monitoring means only measuring the amount of radiation in the air.  Their instruments don’t eat.  What they measure has no connection with the amount of radioactive material.

– Physicians for Social Responsibility: ‘There Is No Safe Level Of Radionuclide Exposure, Whether From Food, Water Or Other Sources. Period.’:

According to the National Academy of Sciences, there are no safe doses of radiation. Decades of research show clearly that any dose of radiation increases an individual’s risk for the development of cancer.

“There is no safe level of radionuclide exposure, whether from food, water or other sources.  Period,” said Jeff Patterson, DO, immediate past president of Physicians for Social Responsibility.  “Exposure to radionuclides, such as iodine-131 and cesium-137, increases the incidence of cancer. For this reason, every effort must be taken to minimize the radionuclide content in food and water.”

– Updating Japan’s Nuclear Disaster:

“Nuclear radiation is forever,” she added. It doesn’t dissipate or disappear. Jeff Patterson, former Physicians for Social Responsibility president said, “There is no safe level of radionuclide exposure, whether from food, water or other sources. Period.” In 1953, Nobel laureate George Wald agreed saying “no amount of radiation is safe. Every dose is an overdose.”

About plutonium found around the Fukushima nuclear plant we were told that those ‘tiny’ levels of plutonium  pose no ‘human health risk‘!!!

Think again:

“Plutonium is the deadliest substance on the planet since 1 molecule of Plutonium in your body guarantees the development of cancer, according to radiation medicine experts.”
– Dr. Rima Laibow

Response of the US government to the Fukushima nuclear crisis:

– US Government Responds to Fukushima by Trying to Raise Radiation Limits, EPA Pulls 8 Of 18 Radiation Monitors Out Of CA, OR And WA

– US Gov Has Still Not Published Any Official Data On Japan Disaster

Europe seems to have the same disaster plan:

– EU Erhöht Grenzwerte Drastisch! EU Raises ‘Safe Level’ of Cesium in Japanese Food By 20 Times!

– EU Drastically Raises Radiation Limits For Food! – EU Erhöht Drastisch Die Strahlungs-Grenzwerte Für Lebensmittel!

In Canada:

– Just In Time: Canada Suspends Mobile Radiation Measurements

– Canada Refuses To Test Milk For Radiation

“Nuclear radiation is forever,” she added. It doesn’t dissipate or disappear. Jeff Patterson, former Physicians for Social Responsibility president said, “There is no safe level of radionuclide exposure, whether from food, water or other sources. Period.” In 1953, Nobel laureate George Wald agreed saying “no amount of radiation is safe. Every dose is an overdose.”