MSNnews had a story this morning concerning debris from the Japanese disaster. It says debris will start to wash ashore in about a year and may have small amounts of radiation, some debris will take up to 3yrs to arrive.States affected are Calif., Oregon and Wash.Considering the large amount of radiactive material pouring into the sea as i write this,near the reactors, i wonder just how safe this is..? If i were a beachcomber i wouldn't want to touch it, you...?
Radioactive Debris Coming To West Coast..?
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To make matters worse, in the news, MSNBC,i was reading this morning. A high level Japanese official claimed it may take month to stop the VERY radioactive water gushing out of the crippled reactor.He's said this may have a very bad effect on the ocean..! Duh...!! Pretty soon, glowing clams on the half shell will be served in a neighborhood near you...!
This really sucks, the implacations on the worlds seafood/recreation could really take a big hit, if this reactor keeps dumping for months...!
This really sucks, the implacations on the worlds seafood/recreation could really take a big hit, if this reactor keeps dumping for months...!
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You know that Japan isn't the only place where radioactive water gets dumped, right? They say that the entire Irish Sea is closed to fishing due to radiation from British nuke plants. And who's monitoring what actually comes out of North American plants?
Japan is the current media storm, it will all die down when people get tired of hearing about it and that's when people really need to worry about what is going on. The Japanese government has a long history of hiding truths from its people. As does the American government.
Japan is the current media storm, it will all die down when people get tired of hearing about it and that's when people really need to worry about what is going on. The Japanese government has a long history of hiding truths from its people. As does the American government.
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moolie...This thread is about a nuclear accident in Japan and its surrounding effects.What the Brit's may or may not have done to the Irish Sea has nothing to do with an nuclear accident, at least i haven't heard of one happening in the Irish Sea.The information i posted i read on MSNBC online news.Most of that info comes right from the horses mouth, quoted by Japanese offcials. They are the ones being honest saying huge amounts of highly radioactive water is pouring into the sea, and now radiation has been detected in fish near the cripped power plant.As far as the Japanese and American Gov't.s having a long history of hiding the truth, what does that have to do with this post..? This is about the effects of a nuclear disaster in Japan, and how one can learn for emergency prepardness, period...
Hey Kev, I know what happened. 
Sorry to confuse you or take away from what you are trying to say.
But I also know that it has happened in Japan before--they've vented radioactive gasses and released contaminated water before, on several occasions. They just didn't tell the world, let alone their own population because no one could tell. Same as the UK, and I'm sure same as here. The Japanese government is known for secret-keeping--it's cultural.
What I'm saying in response to your post is that this is nothing new, and worrying about it just because they actually told us about it this time just causes unnecessary stress.
People live in houses full of radon gas, they learn to deal with it and live safely with the problem. The seas are way more polluted than we like to think, with raw sewage and all the chemicals that come with it, with radioactivity from stuff that got dumped off ships before there were rules (not to mention all the underwater testing), and with just plain garbage (such as the plastic gyre in the Pacific) that is killing marine life.
Of course we need to change things, of course we need to be wary of what we consume and where we travel/live. But we can't escape everything that people have done to damage the earth. And we can't live every day in fear
Sorry to confuse you or take away from what you are trying to say.But I also know that it has happened in Japan before--they've vented radioactive gasses and released contaminated water before, on several occasions. They just didn't tell the world, let alone their own population because no one could tell. Same as the UK, and I'm sure same as here. The Japanese government is known for secret-keeping--it's cultural.
What I'm saying in response to your post is that this is nothing new, and worrying about it just because they actually told us about it this time just causes unnecessary stress.
People live in houses full of radon gas, they learn to deal with it and live safely with the problem. The seas are way more polluted than we like to think, with raw sewage and all the chemicals that come with it, with radioactivity from stuff that got dumped off ships before there were rules (not to mention all the underwater testing), and with just plain garbage (such as the plastic gyre in the Pacific) that is killing marine life.
Of course we need to change things, of course we need to be wary of what we consume and where we travel/live. But we can't escape everything that people have done to damage the earth. And we can't live every day in fear
MsPony
Lovin' The Homestead
Kev, Moolie was basically saying its nothing to be overly concerned about. Sorry, but we deal with this everyday.
As for me, I'm a die hard beach baby, will continue my beaching!
As for me, I'm a die hard beach baby, will continue my beaching!
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I hear what you guys are saying.Of course there is all kinds of polluting going on out there.Its just that its not every day you have a out of control nuclear reactor dumping huge amounts of radioactive material into the sea.This has been going on for weeks now, thats a bit different, i'd say.Of course people will still go to the beaches and eat fish.I just think its reason for serious concern, and worth watching how this crisis is handled.After all, nuclear power plants are all over the world.This isn't business as usaul, the Japanese people will suffer for a long time because of this mess.I'm just saying, what have we learned from this.? In todays news the Japanese say they stopped the radioactive water from leaking into the sea, they fixed the leak.However, they are still dumping HOT radioative water into the sea to get rid of the stuff, as they pump in fresh sea water to cool the spent nuke rods.Also in the morning news is China and South Korea voicing concern for the firt time since the crisis started.I'm afraid this is a little more concerning than radon in a basement, although radon is no joke either.I have to admit, i'm watching this whole scene play out, because i don't like nuke power, i don't trust mankinds judgement with such a powerful force, and mother nature will do as she does, causing effects we can not control.Yes, we need to wein ourselves off oil.We have huge amounts of natural gas in the US and Canada, why aren't we using more of it for cleaner/safer energy..?We don't need to take the nuclear risk, we have plenty of natural gas to run electric turbines for power...How many nuclear accidents can the world handle ? And God forbid, terror attacks on nuke plants..We need to learn from the disaster now happening in Japan....rant finished...
patandchickens
Crazy Cat Lady
Different? Meh. In the sense of it coming directly from a damaged nuclear power plant, yes.KevsFarm said:
In the sense of dumping large quantities of radioactive waste into the sea, it is nothing new. (Unfortunately).
"The former Soviet Union and, now Russia, have reportedly
dumped radioactive waste in the Sea of Japan since 1950s. A report
of an environmental group, Greenpeace, first revealed the
surprising fact in February 1993, and Russian authorities admitted
it the following month. Even then, the Russian navy audaciously
dumped 900 tons of low level liquid nuclear waste directly in the
Sea of Japan in October, 1993" (from http://www1.american.edu/TED/japansea.htm)
And note much of what was dumped was not just water made radioactive with fairly short-lived compounds like iodine or cesium or strontium, much was solid waste involving things like plutonium that, really, are "forever" as far as the human race is concerned.
http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/TE_1429_web.pdf is somewhat educational on the subject of radiocontamination of the oceans, at least if you have a good strong coffee first.
And then, seriously, do some dilution calculations.
I am *not* saying the Fukushima accident (or the dumping/leaking of water thereof) is not going to hurt a fly nor that it is good fun and everyone should be doing it. But my point is, let's be realistic.
Well that is an interesting example.
The EPA estimates that there are something like 20,000 deaths PER YEAR in the US alone from extra lung cancers caused by indoor radon levels. (well, that's a 2005 estimate, it may have changed a bit since, I dunno, but you get the idea). http://www.epa.gov/radon/healthrisks.html
If that radon gettin' into homes was caused by human activities, OMG can you even IMAGINE how scary that would be, that we are doing something to kill an estimated 20,000 people per year JUST IN THE USA (radon is in rocks worldwide)???
Oh, wait..... radon gettin' into homes IS basically caused by human activities... it is caused by people building basement-having and/or insufficiently-ventilated houses without checking radon levels before occupancy. It is at least as avoidable as nuclear power plants are.
Repeat: 20,000 cancer deaths per year just in America alone.
Then, we could talk about car crashes and bad diet.
I'm not saying manmade radioactive contamination is ok, far from it. And I *am* fairly concerned about the Fukushima business, from an ecosystem standpoint and long term economic/social/political/cultural impact standpoint. (I do not think we have the information yet to determine whether it's likely to have much in the way of health ramifications but from what IS known so far the answer would appear to be "not really, except compared to even-rarer causes of death like being eaten by walruses)
But I do not think that getting all a-skeered and running around in circles every time there is some new bit of news released -- ALL of which any thinking person already KNEW was coming, right from about day 3 of the incident, if they thought about it --- is particularly helpful.
Plus, your thread here suggests that you are considering everything labelled "radioactive contamination!" as if it were equal and deadly. Rather than considering the mathematics and realities of the subject.
JMHO, no offense meant, just trying to promote reasoned thought,
Pat
freemotion
Food Guru
Only a century ago the oceans were clean and pure and could handle the bits of pollution that entered from civilization on the shores. Since then, the amount of garbage dumped into the ocean has continued to accelerate at an alarming rate. This recent incident in Japan frankly horrifies me.
I'm not running around in circles, but I am horrified and it makes me nervous. Any time I learn of another reason that I cannot escape from environmental contaminants no matter how cleanly I try to live.....I am horrified. And I am very concerned for the people who are exposed to this in Japan. This tragedy will continue for decades as the damage becomes apparent as people get cancer and surviving children grow up and have children with serious health concerns because of it.
It may have been the last straw that broke the camel's back, but it was a thousand little straws, each with little mathematical consequence, that added up and became a huge load that the camel could not bear.
I'm not running around in circles, but I am horrified and it makes me nervous. Any time I learn of another reason that I cannot escape from environmental contaminants no matter how cleanly I try to live.....I am horrified. And I am very concerned for the people who are exposed to this in Japan. This tragedy will continue for decades as the damage becomes apparent as people get cancer and surviving children grow up and have children with serious health concerns because of it.
It may have been the last straw that broke the camel's back, but it was a thousand little straws, each with little mathematical consequence, that added up and became a huge load that the camel could not bear.
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