About the current situation in Japan. Not SAFE at all!

[strawberrycoconut]

Hi, I'm Japanese, living in the U.S. for 20 years.
Since the 3/11 triple disaster, I've been doing intensive studying about the situation everyday.
I need to share some very important information with all of you who concern and want to know the truth.
There are more things to know than what I put below, but let me know if you want to know more.

Because I'm born and raised in Japan, I love Japan, and my family members, relatives, and friends are in Japan. I feel this is my responsibilities as a human to get to know what is going on and what could happen in near future.

The situation in Japan is VERY dangerous.
This is not the time to go to Japan. Please study what is going on there and make a wise choice to not go there.
There are many reasons that explain why it is dangerous there. Please see below brief explanation.
I'm not a scientist, working in nuclear industry, nor a doctor. I'm a staying home mom of 2 who is very concerned about the issue.
Unfortunately, I'm a new member here and I can't post any links here, so I'll put some names and site names so please search them.
.
I hope all of you and other people will benefit from what little I can share here.
Please send prayer to Japanese people.

1. The situation of the Fukushima Daiichi is not solved. The clipped reactors from #1 to #4 have been leaking radiation out in the air as well as into the ocean. This is on going issue. Please find out those clipped reactor buildings current condition and you'll see yourself they are far from safe.
#4 reactor is in the situation still that can be an immediate threat to all human being, especially those in the northern hemisphere.

*Please find video and article.
An assistant professor Dr. Hiroaki Koide in Kyoto University.

US Senator Issues Press Release on Fukushima Spent Fuel Pools — Urges Japan to accept international help — Warns situation worse than reported after touring plant

2. There are two kinds of radiation affects, Internal and external.
External exposure is like from exposure from outside only, x-rays, naturally occurring radiations such as from Radon amount in the ground or from extraterrestrial radiations like from the sun.

Internal exposure is taking radio active particles within by inhaling or eating/drinking. When Nuclear accidents or Nuclear bombs were exploded, many super dangerous radio isotopes would be released in the air, like dust that is blown in the air. This is the most scary thing that human being could be exposed to. The radiation stays inside your body and release radiation for many years that potentially cause many illnesses like cancers.

You can imagine like this way.
External radiation affect is like you get warm with charcoal fire near by.
On the contrast, Internal radiation affect is like swallowing charcoals in your body that don't go away and you can't move away from. You'll burn inside and it has severe impact in human health.

Please find and see video of Dr. Fuse explain about those at a conference in NY, in May '12.

3. Even in Tokyo, about 160 miles away Fukushima Daiichi, is not safe. There are many so called hot spots exist there. Soil there is high enough to be considered nuclear waste here in the US that we would need to bring those samples to a special Nuclear Waste facility in Texas.
Please see Arnie Gundersen's videos.
There are many children, adults who are already affected and have some kind of health problems.
There are many evacuees from Tokyo and surrounding areas.

*Please see this Cesium deposition amount calculation map.
web. site address: yokohama konan dot info slush cs137 hot mail

4. You won't find any information talking about dangerous situation in Japanese government sites or major Japanese news medias. Japanese government is worries the economical impact, so that they hide any negative information.
There are strict control in Japan. There are some activists web sites, blogs, and Youtube videos are shut down. Even one Hokkaido University's geo researcher who has been studying about how to predict earthquake web site was shut down by the government.

5. There are many earthquakes happening everyday. Many scientists think Japan is now entered to the earthquake active era.
Tokai, Nankai earthquake could happen. Big after shocks will be followed in Tohoku area as well.

This is in Japanese earthquake site that I check daily.

web. site: typhoon dot yahoo dot co dot jp slush weather slush jp slush earthquake

6. Food are not safe in Japan.
The food regulations about radiation is still very high compare to the world level. Also, the government don't have strict systems to provide safe food to people. There are many merchants who put different place name of produce to sell contaminated food. Or mix high radio active food/drink with low radio active food/drink to lower the radiation level to reach to its limit.

*This is in Japanese but it explain very well about the comparison of radio active food and drink's regulations in the world.

Regulations in drinks
アメリカの法令基準 0.111 Bq/L Regulation in the U.S.A.
ドイツガス水道協会 0.5 Bq/L German water department
ウクライナ（セシウム137） 2 Bq/L in Ukraine
ＷＨＯ基準（ヨウ素131） 10 Bq/L WHO regulation in iodine
ＷＨＯ基準（セシウム137） 10 Bq/L WHO regulation in cesium
ベラルーシ 10 Bq/L in Belarus
国際法　原発の排水基準値 International safety low
ヨウ素131 40 Bq/L in iodine
セシウム137 90 Bq/L in cesium
日本の暫定基準値（乳児） 100 Bq/L Japanese regulation for infant
日本の暫定基準値 Japanese regulation in general
セシウム（Cs-137） 200 Bq/L in cesium
ヨウ素（I-131） 300 Bq/L in iodine


Ragulations in food
ベラルーシ（子供） 37 Bq/kg in Belarus for children
ウクライナ（野菜）セシウム137 40 Bq/kg in Ukraine (for vegetables)
ベラルーシ（野菜） 100 Bq/kg in Belarus (for vegetables)
コーデックス（Sr90,Ru106,I131,U235の合計） 100 Bq/kg
アメリカの法令基準 170 Bq/kg Regulation in the U.S.A.
これまでの日本の輸入品規制値 370 Bq/kg Regulation before 3/11/12 in Japan
日本の暫定基準値（野菜） セシウム137 500 Bq/kg Japanese current regulation in cesium
日本の暫定基準値（野菜） ヨウ素131 2000 Bq/kg Japanese current regulation in iodine


** Please visit the site name, "Fairwind" of Arnie Gundersen's. I'm sure you'll be able to understand about the issue.

Arnie Gundersen has 40-years of nuclear power engineering experience and sometimes appears on the news like CNN as an expert on nuclear power issues and on what is happening in Japan. Please see some of his videos.

***** You can also find more information from Dr. Michio Kaku and Dr. Helen Caldicott at Youtube.

I hope those information would help anyone who want to know the current situation in Japan.

Sincerely,
Yoko

[larabell]

As I pointed out in the thread:

Ready to move to Japan! Just one (BIG) concern...

where you first posted this comment, there are a number of false statements in your comment that I feel misrepresent what's really going on over here. I won't repeat the details here but anyone interested should refer to the other thread (though it would be more on-topic to post any follow-ups to this thread).

Arnie Gundersen is not a nuclear engineer. Arnie and Helen Caldicott are anti-nuclear activists and their public statements have been debunked in various forums. There are unbiased views out there if one took the trouble to do the research. The statements you've quoted are not unbiased and, in some cases, are simply fabrications.

The soil in Tokyo is currently no more contaminated than it was before 3/11. We know that because the background radiation levels have fallen back to their pre-quake averages. People have been coming out of the woodwork -- government agencies, researchers, and just plain ordinary citizens who managed to buy a Geiger counter before they sold out -- all looking for evidence of contamination and, while there were a few "hot spots" discovered (many of which turned out to either be false alarms or too low a level to worry about) only one is known to have presented any potential danger and that one has been cleaned up. The readings posted by the Miyagi-ken prefectural government indicate that Sendai is in no worse shape than Tokyo. Arnie and Helen can say all they want but the numbers simply don't back up their alarmist statements.

Of course, that's not to say there aren't still problems. There are areas of Fukushima which are still hazardous and probably will be for decades. But extrapolating that to say Japan as a whole isn't safe is not only an exaggeration... it also detracts from the real tragedy which is the massive loss of life and property that the people of Tohoku experienced and are still experiencing -- all just to give a handful of anti-nuclear activists a chance to push their agenda. These people should be ashamed, in my opinion.

I'd encourage anyone interested to do their own research -- check out what the regulatory agencies are saying, check out what *real* nuclear experts are saying. And consider how the media, who are always looking for the next huge scandal to break could possibly have missed all this negative information if it were really true. It just doesn't make any sense.

By the way... the Japanese citizens and media are not being suppressed by the government. Up until recently, mass protests have been pretty much unheard of in Japan but recently large numbers of citizens have been turning out to protest the re-starting of reactors at Oi and elsewhere. Every little detail about Fukushima Dai-ichi makes headlines. People here are very aware of what is going on and the reason you don't see the same alarmist statements in the media that you see coming from the likes of Arnie Gundersen is because they're simply not true.

[strawberrycoconut]

Iarabell, I would like to answer to you and correct many misunderstandings that you have but unfortunately, I don't have enough time to do so. English is my secont language and it takes some time to answer every detail here. So, I'll post an article for you.
I know there are many people who don't want to accept the truth, but they are out there if you want to know. I didn't post my previous information to create contravies but for just wanted to help someone like who are pregrant, have small children, or young enough to be affected by radiation.
I really wish you and your children's safety and happiness. : )

**
MONDAY, MAY 14, 2012
"Black Dust" in Tokyo? With 243,000 Bq/Kg of Radioactive Cesium
Freelance journalist Rei Shiva [Shiba] writing for Nikkan Spa, a daily tabloid in Japan (part; 5/15/2012):

福島県南相馬市内で発見された超強力な放射能を持つ謎の“黒い粉”が話題になったのは今年２月 のこと。

It was this February when the super-radioactive and mysterious "black dust" found in Minami Soma City in Fukushima Prefecture was in the news.

1kgあたり108万ベクレル」というケタ違いの線量は衝撃的なものの、「南相馬での特殊な事例」として受 け止められていた。ところが、その「黒い粉」は東京都内の至るところに存在しているという。

Although 1.08 million Bq/kg was shocking, it was considered to be specific only to Minami Soma. However, I've been told that "black dust" exists everywhere in Tokyo.

「放射線検知器を近づけてみると、明らかに反応があるので、汚染度が高いのかなとは思っていたのですが、ま さかここまでとは……」「黒い粉」を都内で発見した、市民団体「NO！放射能 江東こども守る会」の石川あや子代表は驚きを隠せない。「江戸川区のJR平井駅周辺で『黒い粉』らしきもの を見つけ、採取したサンプルを神戸大学の山内知也教授に検査してもらったところ、最大で１kgあたり24万 3000Bqという数値が出たんです」。

"When I brought the radiation detector closer, it visibly responded. So I knew it might be highly contaminated, but didn't know it was this contaminated...", says Ayako Ishikawa incredulously. Ishikawa is the head of the citizens' group "No! to Radiation, Protect Children in Koto". [Koto-ku is one of the eastern Special Wards of Tokyo]. She says, "We found something that looked like "black dust" near the Hirai JR station in Edogawa-ku. We collected the sample and and asked Professor Tomoya Yamauchi of Kobe University to measure the radiation. The result was that it had the maximum 243,000 Bq/kg [of radioactive cesium]."

これは原子炉等規制法で定められた「安全基準（クリアランスレベル）」の約2430倍という、途方もない数 値だ。

It is 2,430 times the clearance level [100 Bq/kg] specified by the Nuclear Reactor Regulation Law.

「注意して見ると、『黒い粉』は都内の至るところにあります」と石川さんは言う。そんなにあちこちに高汚染 の物質が転がっているのだろうか？　という疑問を抱えつつ、「黒い粉」の調査に本誌記者も同行 した。

"If you look carefully, "black dust" is everywhere in Tokyo", says Ishikawa. Such highly contaminated materials are everywhere? I decided to accompany her to look for "black dust".

まずは、JR平井駅から徒歩10分ほど。公営団地そばの運動場で「黒い粉」を発見した。フェンス近くで何か 所にもわたって吹き溜まっていた「黒い粉」は、一見すると黒い土のように見える。近づいてよく見てみると、 乾燥して干からびたコケやカビのようなものであるとわかる。

First, [to a location] about 10-minute walk from the JR Hirai Station. We found the "black dust" on the playground near the public housing. There were several drifts near the fence, and they looked like just "black soil". When I took a closer look, they were revealed to be something like a dried moss or mold.

「この前来たときと微妙に場所が変わっていますね。風雨で移動したのかもしれません」と石川さん。ガイガー カウンターよりも信頼性の高い、国産のシンチレーション式放射線検知器を「黒い粉」に近づけてみた。すると 数値が急上昇し、毎時2μSvを超えた。東京都の平均的な空間線量（地上１ｍ）の約20倍だ。山内教授は「 一般的に携帯式の放射線検知器は周囲の放射線量の平均値を表示します。つまり、少量の物質に検知器を向けて 数値が急上昇するならば、その物質が極めて強い放射線を出している可能性があります」という。

Ishikawa said, "They are at slightly different locations. Rain and wind may have moved them." We measured the radiation with the scintillation survey meter made by a domestic manufacturer because it is more reliable than a geiger counter. The number shot up quickly, and exceeded 2 microsieverts/hour. That is twenty times more than the average air radiation level (at 1 meter off the ground) in Tokyo. Professor Yamauchi says, "In general, a scintillation survey meter shows the average radiation level. If the number rises rapidly when the survey meter is directed toward a small amount of substance, it is possible that the substance is emitting extremely strong radiation."

...

果たして、「黒い粉」の正体とは何なのか？　そして、「黒い粉」の性質を利用した効率良い除染方法とは？　 5月15日発売の週刊SPA！「首都圏を襲う［放射能の黒い粉］」では、「黒い粉」の元になる物質の怖さの みならず有用性もまた報じている。

What is this "black dust"? What is the efficient decontamination method using the unique properties of the "black dust"? Shukan Spa [weekly magazine] that will go on sale on May 15 has the article "Radioactive black dust striking the Tokyo Metropolitan area", which will report on the danger of the substance that makes up the "black dust" as well as its usefulness.


I don't see much point in comparing it to the clearance level of 100 Bq/kg which is applicable only to enclosed nuclear facilities. After the Fukushima nuclear accident, it's a whole new ballgame where the disaster debris exceeding that clearance level is being shipped to Kyushu to be burned in a regular incinerator and the soil samples in Kanto and Tohoku easily exceed that level in many locations.

Even though I have reported on the "black dust" in Minami Soma City (most recently, here), I am not completely convinced that this "black" substance is any different from a drift of dirt that one often saw on the road surface or near the drains even before the Fukushima nuclear accident. Cyanobacteria that supposedly make up the "black dust" are ubiquitous.

Professor Yukio Hayakawa of Gunma University says if the top 1 millimeter of the soil is taken the radioactivity can be extremely high, though he seems to think that "black dust" is a very good indicator of urban contamination.

No matter what it is or how it came about, it is clearly highly radioactive, and it'd better be removed to avoid contact. No municipalities are doing that, as they should.

Just don't go multiply that number (243,000 Bq/kg) by 65 and exclaim "Look, Tokyo is more contaminated than Chernobyl exclusion zone!" The multiplier of 65 only applies to soil samples that are taken from the surface to 5 centimeters deep, and whose specific gravity is about 1.3g/cm3. If Tokyo's "black dust" has the same weight as Minami Soma's "black dust", it would be less than 0.5g/cm3.

[lorgnette]

strawberrycoconut,

I agree with larabel. Despite your consistent posting, apparently you are an alarmist. You do not know the local conditions in Japan today. All you have are selective publications, not a critical analysis to reveal the ground situation as you claimed.

After you left 20 years ago, when was your most recent visit to Japan?

[larabell]

I'd find the article more credible if at least one major media outlet had picked up the same story. But after spending quite a bit of time searching around, it seems this originates from a web site called Enenews whose ownership is secret and which is hosted on a server in the US. A lot of anti-nuclear blogs have picked up the story but, for the most part, they've simply posted the original article verbatim.

In scientific circles, research results aren't considered valid until at least one other reputable research group has replicated the same results independently. If you can come up with one other *mainstream* and *reputable* media outlet that's taking this story seriously, it might help to bring things out of the realm of UFOs and tin-foil hats.

The other thing that still bugs me is... if there really is radioactive black dust flying around with the concentration of Cs that this article suggests... why isn't it registering in the background radiation measurements? It this some magic fairy dust that's only radioactive when someone tries to measure it in the lab? If so, should we care?

Something just doesn't add up here...