"Cooling restored at 2 reactors in Japan; But other units still pose major nuclear threat" by Hiroko Tabuchi and Norimitsu Onishi, New York Times / March 21, 2011
TOKYO — Japan appeared to make moderate progress in stabilizing some of the nuclear reactors at a stricken power plant yesterday, but the government disclosed new signs of radioactive contamination in agricultural produce and livestock.
I can't take it anymore, readers.
An emergency engineering scramble to mitigate damage at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station brought some notes of relief in the face of persistently dire conditions....
Even with electrical power extended to the reactors, there was no immediate indication that the damaged pumping systems could be quickly restored....
Some analysts project that the longer it takes to achieve a full resolution, the chances increase for one or more reactors or fuel-storage pools to have to be abandoned, increasing the risk of a catastrophic release of radiation.
The plant remains a hazardous place for the emergency crews trying to stave off further damage. At least 25 workers and five members of the Self-Defense Force have been exposed to unsafe amounts of radiation, according to the power company. At least 20 workers and four self-defense soldiers have been injured; two workers are missing.
Meanwhile, the National Police Agency yesterday raised the official death toll to more than 8,100 from the 9.0-magnitude earthquake and ensuing tsunami that slammed into the country’s northeastern coast on March 11.
While challenges with the nuclear facility and radiation contamination persist, individual dramas continued to emerge....
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"Radiation found in food and water increases anxiety" by Kelly Olsen, Associated Press / March 21, 2011
TOKYO —The discovery of contamination in spinach and milk increased fears about the safety of this crowded country’s food supply. Trace amounts of radioactive iodine also were found in tap water in Tokyo and elsewhere in Japan....
The Health Ministry also advised a village in Fukushima Prefecture not to drink tap water because of radioactive iodine in its supply. It stressed, however, that the amounts remained minuscule and posed no health threat.
Sigh. Then down a tall glass, f***ers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
There were no signs yesterday of the panic buying that stripped Tokyo supermarkets of food last week. Instead, shoppers scrutinized the source of items and tried to avoid what they worried might be tainted.
Mayumi Mizutani was shopping for bottled water, saying she was worried about the health of her visiting 2-year-old grandchild after a tiny amount of radioactive iodine was found in Tokyo’s tap water. She expressed fears that the toddler could get cancer.
The government said the level of radiation detected on spinach and milk was minuscule and should be no threat to health....
I'm tired of being radiated by s*** lies from a s*** media.
Yesterday, authorities found contamination at additional farms in Fukushima and on vegetables in Chiba, Gunma, and Tochigi prefectures, said Yoshifumi Kaji, director of the health ministry’s inspection and safety division. He said it was possible some tainted foods have been sold.
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"Reactor repairs stall work to avert meltdown; Trace levels of radiation in water, over US" by Ken Belson and Hiroko Tabuchi, New York Times / March 22, 2011
TOKYO — An official at the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission said yesterday that reactors No. 1 and No. 2 were both too damaged for cooling systems to restart immediately, even when electricity was restored. William Borchardt also said the situation at the plant appeared to be “on the verge of stabilizing.’’ The NRC is advising the US Embassy, supplying assistance to the Japanese, and gathering information to benefit US reactor safety.
The US State Department, meanwhile, said it would offer potassium iodide to its staff members and dependents in the Tokyo region and to the north on Honshu, Japan’s main island and the site of the troubled power station, as a precaution against a possible radiation release.
As if none has been released already.
In a travel warning posted online, the State Department advised against taking the chemical compound “at this time’’ and urged consultation with the US government before consuming it.
Like I'm going to believe anything they say?
Potassium iodide can help prevent thyroid cancer by reducing the chance that radioactive iodine will be absorbed by the thyroid gland.
Harmless traces of radiation from the stricken nuclear complex have been detected wafting over the East Coast of the United States, European officials said yesterday.
Since last week, the officials have tracked the radioactive plume as it has drifted eastward on prevailing winds from Japan — first to the West Coast and now over the East Coast and the Atlantic, moving toward Europe.
Health specialists said that the plume’s radiation had been diluted enormously in its journey of thousands of miles and that — at least for now, with concentrations so low — its presence will have no health consequences in the United States....
(sigh, sob)
Then the wall came up again.
Hey, you don't really need to know that the death toll is up to 8,600, or that the damage could approach $235 billion dollars, or that the IAEA puke is saying they should reexamine their role (he means stop fomenting USraeli war propaganda by looking for nonexistent nuclear bombs and looking into the design flaws and failures of Fukushima).
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You hungry, readers?
"Japan urged to halt sale of food from areas around plant" by Frank Jordans, Associated Press / March 22, 2011
GENEVA — A spokesman for the World Health Organization said contaminated food poses a greater long-term risk to residents’ health than radioactive particles in the air, which disperse within days. It was the strongest statement yet from the world body on radiation risks....
A senior official at the International Atomic Energy Agency said the ocean was capable of absorbing vast amounts of radiation with no effect and that — comparatively — the radioactivity released so far by the plant was minor.
Sigh.
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Why bother anymore?
- Town clings to hope but awaits the worst (By Michael Wines, New York Times)
- Missing Va. teacher’s body found in Japan (By Zinie Chen Sampson, Associated Press)
- Fault line pressure now closer to Tokyo (By Robin McDowell, Associated Press)
- Power restored at Japan facility’s six reactors (By David Nakamura and Brian Vastag, Washington Post)
- Japanese residents baffled by damage to nuclear plant (By Eric Talmadge, Associated Press)
- Toyota halts Japanese assembly (By Masatsugu Horie and Alan Ohnsman, Bloomberg News)
- Tokyo is warned on fallout in tap water (By David Jolly and Denise Grady, New York Times)
The reactors are melting down and the AmeriKan corporate media is covering it up.
- Level of radioactive iodine in Tokyo water supply falls (By David Jolly, New York Times)
See: Fukushima Reactor No. 3 suffers likely core breach, now leaking water at 10,000 times normal radiation levels
Also see: 3 Reactors May Be Breached, Nuclear Disaster Continues
Japanese & U.S. Govts Know What's Going On & They're Not Being Honest! (About Nuclear Crisis)
Dr. Helen Caldicott - Japan Can Dwarf Chernobyl Disaster
Yeah, that was only a single reactor and Japan has way more stored fuel.
I'm so glad I have a media and government that lies to me.
Related:
"Nuclear power has been very unpopular in Germany ever since radioactivity from Chernobyl drifted across the country....
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Also see: Italy to propose nuclear delay
But in the U.S.: NRC OK’s 20-year extension for Vt. nuclear plant
