MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

“Amateur hour at the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare who thought testing one sample from the meat of one cow would be enough.

According to Mainichi Shinbun, the Japanese authorities are finding out that the different parts of the same cow have different concentration of radioactive cesium. Not only that, the same part of the meat from the same cow can yield two different test results. That means even the meat that was tested and deemed ‘safe’ (tested below 500 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium) may not have been safe after all.

Before they actually started to measure, the prevailing opinion from the radiation experts was that radioactive cesium would get evenly distributed in the muscles throughout the body. Amateur hour at the radiation experts, too. (Now they are changing tunes.)

So, no one knew, and no one knows what they’re doing. I seem to fondly recall some of the words of Japan’s consumer advocates – ‘the experts say it’s safe…’, or ‘why should we waste taxpayers’ money testing all cows?’, or ‘if only media did the good job of providing accurate information…’ Amateur hours there, too.

My message to consumers: caveat emptor.” Read more.

Highest radiation level monitored to date at stricken Japan nuclear plant – “The operator of a crippled Japanese atomic power plant said Monday it had measured the highest radiation level since the start of the nuclear crisis, a news report said, dpa reported. Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) said more than 10 sieverts per hour of radiation was recorded on the surface of a pipe located outdoors between reactor 1 and reactor 2 at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, Jiji Press reported. The plant has spewed radioactive material into the environment since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.” Read more.