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Archive for the ‘Man-Made Disasters’ Category

Gulf Coast Residents Dismayed as Effects of Oil Spill Continue

04/01/2011 Leave a comment

By SABRINA CANFIELD – “GRAND ISLE, La. (CN) – A billboard on Highway 1 says: Devastating Spill, Devastating Feelings. Inside the Gulf Coast Claims Facility building on the far end of Grand Isle, about 60 people have turned out for a National Resource Damage Assessment public scoping meeting. ‘You talk about 18 months or so before we get started,’ a resident tell trustees. ‘That’s a long time for us who live here, while our environment and animals are dying.’

‘We have a huge problem,’ Beverly Armand, continues. ‘We have to stop denying it. We can’t fix the problem if we deny it is there.’

The National Resource Damage Assessment, or NRDA, is being conducted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, the Department of the Interior, and the states of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.”  Read more.

 

Radioactive Material Found in Illinois Grass, Air

04/01/2011 Leave a comment

“SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (IRN) – Radiation believed to be from the nuclear plant disaster in Japan has been detected in Illinois.

The radioactive iodine similar to what was released in Japan was found in a grass clipping in the Joliet area by the Radiological Assessment Field Team, which regularly checks on vegetation, air, milk and eggs to determine if any radiation is leaking from Illinois’ nuclear reactors.

In this case, the grass clippings were taken as part of a drill for the emergency plan at the Dresden nuclear power plant.”  Read more.

 

Fukushima Could Lead To A Tragedy Far Beyond Chernobyl, Creating Permanent Dead-Zones in Japan

03/31/2011 Leave a comment

Dr Michio Kaku: “This is huge.  For the first time they’re [the Japanese government] using that dreaded word ‘breach’, meaning uncontrolled release of radiation into the environment.  And remember that unit 3, which is suspected to have the breach, contains plutonium.  Plutonium is the most toxic chemical known to science.  A spec of plutonium — a millionth of a gram — could cause cancer if it’s ingested, and so this has to be looked at very carefully because if there is a full abandonment of the reactor site, if they abandon ship, we could be in free fall.”

Radioactive Contamination in Groundwater Under Fukushima Reactor 10,000 Times Government Standard

03/31/2011 Leave a comment

“FUKUSHIMA, Japan — Officials with the company that operates Japan’s tsunami-stricken nuclear plant say radioactive contamination in groundwater underneath a reactor has been measured at 10,000 times the government health standard.

A spokesman for plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. says the company doesn’t believe any drinking water supply is affected.

Contaminated water has been pooling at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power complex since it was damaged by the devastating earthquake and tsunami. It has already leaked into the ocean.”  Read more.

 

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Japan’s Nuclear Rescuers: ‘Inevitable Some of Them May Die Within Weeks’

03/31/2011 Leave a comment

By Dominic Di-Natale – “Workers at the disaster-stricken Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan say they expect to die from radiation sickness as a result of their efforts to bring the reactors under control, the mother of one of the men tells Fox News.

The so-called Fukushima 50, the team of brave plant workers struggling to prevent a meltdown to four reactors critically damaged by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, are being repeatedly exposed to dangerously high radioactive levels as they attempt to bring vital cooling systems back online.

Speaking tearfully through an interpreter by phone, the mother of a 32-year-old worker said: “My son and his colleagues have discussed it at length and they have committed themselves to die if necessary to save the nation.”  Read more.

 

Biggest Spike Yet In Radiation at Japan Power Plant

03/30/2011 Leave a comment

By MARI YAMAGUCHI – “TOKYO – Seawater outside the hobbled nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan was found to contain 3,335 times the usual amount of radioactive iodine — the highest rate yet and a sign that more contaminated water was making its way into the ocean, officials said Wednesday.

The amount of iodine-131 found offshore some 300 yards (meters) south of the coastal Fukushima Dai-ichi power plant does not pose an immediate threat to human health but was a ‘concern,’ said Hidehiko Nishiyama, a Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency official. He said there was no fishing in the area.”  Read more.

 

‘Fukushima Plutonium Leak Comparable to Chernobyl Disaster’

03/30/2011 Leave a comment

Nuclear energy expert Lars Polmeier:  ‘Plutonium is a very, very dangerous and harmful substance, even in very small quantities the plutonium, if it is ingested by a human body, almost certainly leads to the development of cancer.  There’s no concept how to monitor and how to store the radioactive fuel which will radiate for many, many, many thousands of years.’

Nuclear Expert: ‘Fukushima – Undoubtedly the Biggest Nuclear Disaster Since Chernobyl’

03/29/2011 Leave a comment

Newsclick interviews Dr. A. Gopalakrishnan, former chairman of the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board in India on March 24, 2011. He speaks about the primary reasons for the continuing disaster in the Fukushima reactors following a major earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

 

Japan on ‘Maximum’ Radiation Alert as Poison Particles from Nuke Plant are Found in OXFORDSHIRE

03/29/2011 Leave a comment

By Richard Shears

  • Traces of radioactive iodide from Fukushima leak also found in Glasgow
  • Pool of radioactive water found outside stricken power station complex
  • Workers battle to remove contaminated water but source of leak is unknown
  • True readings are 100,000 times above normal – but not 10m as earlier stated
  • Crews find traces of plutonium in soil outside stricken complex
  • Protesters warn of ‘another Fukushima’ at Hamaoka plant in quake hotspot
  • Final death toll from earthquake and tsunami expected to top 18,000

Radiation from the Fukushima leak has also been detected across Britain, it was confirmed today as Japan was put on ‘maximum’ alert.

The Health Protection Agency revealed that radioactive iodine had already been discovered 5,500 miles from the stricken plant in Oxfordshire and Glasgow.

Air samples are being tested elsewhere in Britain over fears that much of the country could be hit by the radioactive plume.

Dr Michael Clark of the HPA said: ‘Very low levels of radioactivity, traceable to Fukushima, have been detected at monitoring stations in the UK including Chilton, in Oxfordshire, and Glasgow, in Scotland.”  Read more.

When The Fukushima Meltdown Hits Groundwater

03/29/2011 2 comments

By Dr. Tom Burnett – “Fukushima is going to dwarf Chenobyl. The Japanese government has had a level 7 nuclear disaster going for almost a week but won’t admit it.

The disaster is occurring the opposite way than Chernobyl, which exploded and stopped the reaction. At Fukushima, the reactions are getting worse. I suspect three nuclear piles are in meltdown and we will probably get some of it.

If reactor 3 is in meltdown, the concrete under the containment looks like lava.  But Fukushima is not far off the water table. When that molten mass of self-sustaining nuclear material gets to the water table it won’t simply cool down. It will explode ­ not a nuclear explosion, but probably enough to involve the rest of the reactors and fuel rods at the facility.”  Read more.

More Dead Sealife Continues to Plague U.S. Beaches

03/29/2011 1 comment

By Elena Arteaga -“ALABAMA— Months after the hundreds of birds fell dead from the sky and after thousands of dead fish, crabs, sardines, dolphins, and whales washed ashore worldwide, more dead fish washed ashore in Alabama, and a dead whale washed ashore in Virginia.

There’s still no cause for the hundreds of dead fish that were found dead along the gulf shores over the weekend. They were also found along the gulf state pier Saturday morning. Park officials said it was unusual to see spade fish in that area this early in the year. The dead sigh spanned about three miles of shoreline.”  Read more.

Radiation From Japan Reaches British Columbia

03/29/2011 Leave a comment

By Tracy Sherlock, Vancouver Sun – “Radiation from the Japanese nuclear reactor damaged in the March 11 earthquake and tsunami has been detected in B.C. seaweed and rainwater samples, researchers say.

Tests found iodine-131 in samples taken in the Lower Mainland on March 19, 20 and 25, Simon Fraser University said in a news release Monday.

SFU nuclear scientist Kris Starosta is confident the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is responsible for the recent discovery, but he said there is no immediate danger to the public.

‘As of now, the levels we’re seeing are not harmful to humans. We’re basing this on Japanese studies following the Chernobyl incident in 1986 where levels of iodine-131 were four times higher than what we’ve detected in our rainwater so far,’ Starosta said.”  Read more.