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Comment by Linda Loganathan on March 22, 2012 at 4:56pm

I recently watched a documentary on UK TV from perspective of the Japanese children displaced after the Tsunami - it was so moving - they are unable to play outdoors, they are losing their childhood.  They are trying to be brave, but they are really so afraid that they will become sick from radiation in the future.  Let's listen to the Children - they can help us wake up quicker to move away from the old story we have been telling ourselves for so long.

Comment by Mr. Mike on April 2, 2011 at 4:06pm

By EUGENE HOSHIKO, JAY ALABASTER

The Associated Press

updated 1 hour 17 minutes ago 2011-04-02T18:45:26

RIKUZENTAKATA, Japan  — As Japan's prime minister visited tsunami-ravaged coastal areas for the first time Saturday, frustrated evacuees complained that the government has been too focused on the nuclear crisis that followed the massive wave.

Nearly every day some new problem at the stricken Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant commands officials' attention — Saturday it was a newly discovered crack in a maintenance pit that is leaking highly radioactive water into the sea.

"The government has been too focused on the Fukushima power plant rather than the tsunami victims. Both deserve attention," said 35-year-old Megumi Shimanuki, who was visiting her family at a community center converted into a shelter in hard-hit Natori, about 100 miles from Rikuzentakata, where Prime Minister Naoto Kan stopped Saturday. More than 165,000 people are still living in shelters.

Kan's government has been frantically working with Tokyo Electric Power Co. to solve the crisis at the nuclear complex, which has been spewing radioactivity since cooling systems were disabled by the 9.0-magnitude earthquake that preceded the tsunami on March 11.

On Saturday, nuclear safety officials announced that they had found water with levels of radioactive iodine far above the legal limit leaking from an 8-inch crack in the maintenance pit into the Pacific Ocean.

They said the crack was likely caused by the quake and may be the source of radioactive iodine that started showing up in the ocean more than a week ago.

New danger? People living within 12 miles of the plant have been evacuated and the radioactive water will quickly dissipate in the sea, but it was unclear if the leak posed any new danger to workers. People have been uneasy about seafood from the area despite official reassurances that the risk of contamination is low.

The cracked pit houses cables for one of the six nuclear reactors, and the concentration of radioactive iodine was the same as in a puddle of contaminated water found outside the reactor earlier in the week. Because of that, officials believe the contaminated wat

Comment by Mr. Mike on April 2, 2011 at 3:21pm

Thank you for getting that info out Vince Laxton.... People have still been kept in the dark, or the crises has been down played... and I am not sure why! Wonder what they would have to gain? Any way it is a sad state of affairs and very dangerous for all those who live close to it!

Comment by Vince Laxton on April 2, 2011 at 3:08pm

Water danger around Fukushima

"Radiation levels in the plant and its vicinity have reached such high levels that Tepco is looking to hire special workers who are prepared to enter contaminated areas to perform essential tasks before rushing out to avoid prolonged exposure. In return for their bravery the "jumpers" are reportedly being offered up to $5,000 (£3,000) a shift, Japanese media has reported."

Other reports are saying that the original 50 key workers are now the walking dead.

 

Here is a March 31st link http://gu.com/p/2nn5j

Comment by Vince Laxton on March 29, 2011 at 1:46pm

Been looking around the internet for some answer to this question, what risk are the Japanese facing?  Around Fukishima power plant there will be a decades lasting no-go zone.  How big and how far reaching the disaster will spread is yet to be determined.  Radiation is already outside the plant and spreading with most going into the oceans.  

Here is one quote :

"Earlier Monday, 17 U.S. military personnel involved in helicopter relief missions were found to have been exposed to low levels of radiation upon returning to the USS Ronald Reagan, an aircraft carrier about 160 kilometres offshore.

U.S. officials said the exposure level was roughly equal to one month's normal exposure to natural background radiation in the environment, and after scrubbing with soap and water, the 17 were declared contamination-free."

 

That was a low dose from a fly-by.

 

Then on the cbc I watched workers outside, in a local forested area, taking geiger counter readings.  The cameraman (good camera work) tilted down to view the worker's geiger counter screen which clearly read 5000 milli-Rem.  

 

Looking that up, 5000 milli-Rem is considered the maximum dose for a nuclear worker for one year of work.  

Just taking that reading exposed the technician and that camera crew to a year's maximum.

 

At this point, somewhere near Fukishima, there are trees and dirt that can easily kill any human being.  This is a major disaster.  

 

Mr. Mike is right, the over all lack of information is astonishing.

Comment by Vince Laxton on March 28, 2011 at 9:47am

On Sunday, TEPCO officials said radiation in leaking water in the Unit 2 reactor was 10 million times above normal — an apparent spike that sent employees fleeing the unit. The day ended with officials saying the huge figure had been miscalculated and offering apologies.

"The number is not credible," TEPCO spokesman Takashi Kurita said. "We are very sorry."

A few hours later, TEPCO vice-president Sakae Muto said a new test had found radiation levels 100,000 times above normal — far better than the first results, though still very high.

"We will work hard to raise our precision in our work so as not to repeat this again," he said, but he ruled out having an independent monitor oversee the various checks despite the errors.

Muto acknowledged it could take a long time to clean up the Fukushima complex.

"We cannot say at this time how many months or years it will take," he said.

With files from CBC News

© The Associated Press, 2011

Comment by Linda Loganathan on March 21, 2011 at 9:09am

I feel this man's fear and anger. We need to listen to him. We have all been lying to ourselves for so long.

The Truth is coming to meet us.

 

 

Comment by Marcus Kempton on March 20, 2011 at 11:40pm

not cool

Comment by Alice Shapiro on March 20, 2011 at 5:34pm

Yes, I thought of that too, Harold. However, I empathize with the man's emotions and their need to know (which I would too) so I re-posted it in order for others to be prepared to understand this particular issue should anything like this happen to them. I don't have an answer and I certainly understand a government's desire to protect its population from panic. Also, this was early on so the government may not have had the facts yet.

I heard that people in California were buying pills to ward off radiation effects and some were mocking them. Now they are indicating radiation in small amounts has actually reached California. My personal comfort is aided by my faith, I hope everyone has something or someone to comfort them.

Comment by Harold Davis on March 20, 2011 at 5:21pm

I can tell you what it is..........  It's SCARY!!!

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