Rida?

[DVS]

Not to mention the snow and below 0 temperatures up north and no heating available. I wish western journalists would stop following and bothering those who are searching for relatives or have just found they have lost them. I know they likely see it as newsworthy and good press, but really, most I have seen the people are too upset and just want privacy, not a microphone and camera in their face hoping for a reaction for the 6 o'clock news.

Catalina

The news people...they are everywhere. They always look for the sad story with an attempt to show their grief in an attempt to personalize the situation. And the camera zooms in on their face to get the full scope of their emotion. I've never understood that. The last thing these people want is a guy sticking a microphone in their face asking, "could you tell me...how do you feel, right now?"

There was one news story I was watching where this guy was reporting and all of the sudden official looking people were running around and yelling. The news guy said, "we are being told to get to higher ground because another tsunami is coming." The whole time, this poor Japanese guy is pulling on this guy's arm and the news guy is acting like "dude, I'm important. I have to finish the shot!"

 

[Etoile]

Nhk world is in Japan. I think it is mostly the same NHK with more English voice overs.

I was referring to the other non japanease news channels.


@Keroin: thank you!
If you are in danger all the way over there, what's the point of people fleeing from here??? Honestly, so ridiculus.

Ah okay - yes, normally Newsline has English-speaking anchors, but right now they are mostly doing translation of their Japanese programming.

As for the danger outside of Fukushima area...totally ridiculous. People in California have bought up all the potassium iodide which shows a complete lack of understanding of physics. If radiation "spread" like that, then there would be hibakusha from all over Japan, not just Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Places as close as Tokyo were not affected by radiation when the US dropped the bomb during WWII, why would people possibly think that places across the Pacific Ocean would be affected now?! Yes, people further distant from the hypocenters were affected by black rain etc, but come on...California? Not gonna happen.

 

[DVS]

Ah okay - yes, normally Newsline has English-speaking anchors, but right now they are mostly doing translation of their Japanese programming.

As for the danger outside of Fukushima area...totally ridiculous. People in California have bought up all the potassium iodide which shows a complete lack of understanding of physics. If radiation "spread" like that, then there would be hibakusha from all over Japan, not just Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Places as close as Tokyo were not affected by radiation when the US dropped the bomb during WWII, why would people possibly think that places across the Pacific Ocean would be affected now?! Yes, people further distant from the hypocenters were affected by black rain etc, but come on...California? Not gonna happen.

Maybe the Mayan calendar has some people believing these things can happen. The movie 2012 has a following of believers.

 

[YourCaptor]

I was a baby during Chernobyl but my mama occasionally talks about it. The meltdown resulted in over 100 times more radioactive material than atomic weapons produce. Radioactive material was detected everywhere in Europe except Spain. That’s a good 1,000 miles I think. We weren’t within the direct effect zone, however particles contaminated many foods. Particularly milk, a lot of people got sick from drinking milk. When my mama talks about Chernobyl you know for sure milk is next.

So don’t drink the milk Rida, and don’t get pregnant.

 

[YourCaptor]

http://www.euronews.net/nocomment/

 

[Etoile]

I don't think we're going to see a Chernobyl-level meltdown here. That was the worst nuclear accident ever - level 7 on the INES scale. (For reference, Three Mile Island was a 5.) The preliminary assessments so far put Fukushima at a 4.

ETA: For info on radioactive foods: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_equivalent_dose

 

[rida]

I was a baby during Chernobyl but my mama occasionally talks about it. The meltdown resulted in over 100 times more radioactive material than atomic weapons produce. Radioactive material was detected everywhere in Europe except Spain. That’s a good 1,000 miles I think. We weren’t within the direct effect zone, however particles contaminated many foods. Particularly milk, a lot of people got sick from drinking milk. When my mama talks about Chernobyl you know for sure milk is next.

So don’t drink the milk Rida, and don’t get pregnant.

I was in high-school during Chernobyl.
I remember the milk scare, and the leaf-vegetable scare, and the fruit scare, and so on. But I also remember that our tomatoes were the best that year ^_~

Anyway, our milk was the day after the quake, and the stores have been out of it since. So I think it is ok.

 

[rida]

I don't think we're going to see a Chernobyl-level meltdown here. That was the worst nuclear accident ever - level 7 on the INES scale. (For reference, Three Mile Island was a 5.) The preliminary assessments so far put Fukushima at a 4.

ETA: For info on radioactive foods: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_equivalent_dose

I so hate the media right now!

There was a reported news yesterday that claimed that US and EU expert rated the Fukushima accident at a 6/7!

And, of course, the flash news from the Italian expert that came to Tokyo yesterday (16th) and measured the radiation all the way from Narita to Tokyo and found that is 1/6 than the normal radiation in Rome is nowhere making news!

Of course, it would not bode well with the average agenda and political games.

 

[Etoile]

I so hate the media right now!

There was a reported news yesterday that claimed that US and EU expert rated the Fukushima accident at a 6/7!

And, of course, the flash news from the Italian expert that came to Tokyo yesterday (16th) and measured the radiation all the way from Narita to Tokyo and found that is 1/6 than the normal radiation in Rome is nowhere making news!

Of course, it would not bode well with the average agenda and political games.

I believe the French are saying it's a 6 and the US has given their own number too. But Japan said 4 and IAEA agreed, so that's what I'm going with.

But yeah, people seem to forget that we get radiation every day and it's in our bodies. I really don't think the Fukushima accident is as severe as people fear it to be.

 

[rida]

I believe the French are saying it's a 6 and the US has given their own number too. But Japan said 4 and IAEA agreed, so that's what I'm going with.

But yeah, people seem to forget that we get radiation every day and it's in our bodies. I really don't think the Fukushima accident is as severe as people fear it to be.

Yeah.

Even the Red Cross International said is safe.
http://www.corriere.it/notizie-ulti...a-Tokyo-sicura/16-03-2011/1-A_000187299.shtml

But that too does not make news, as it is something nobody want to hear.
How could they keep on justifying withholding troops if the radiation scare is not real?

 

[Etoile]

I just had the following exchange on another message board:

The situation is frightening. Worse than Chernobyl. We don't know all about these unatural chemicals that are made by humans, and what it all can cause and do to the environment and earth. It's really scary .. Wish there were other ways to create electricity and power for Japan and other countries than those nuclear fabric stuff. If they don't get the reactors under control, especially the one with dangerous Plutonium in it .. Dang, it's said that it'll take 25 000 years before it all will be gone from our earth if that stuff gets out.

Please don't spread misinformation. This is NOT worse than Chernobyl. Chernobyl was a 7 on the INES scale, the highest possible number, the worst nuclear accident ever. Fukushima has so far been rated a 4 by Japan, and the IAEA has accepted that number. (French and US authorities claim it is a 6. For reference, Three Mile Island was a 5.) And we do know what it can cause and do. We have seen it in Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Harrisburg, Chernobyl, Pripyat, and elsewhere. None of these isotopes are "unnatural" or "made by humans" - they are naturally occuring isotopes. Synthetic isotopes are used primarily for medical and industrial purposes, not power generation as in Fukushima. And of course there are other ways to create electricity and power. Your own country, Norway, uses hydroelectric (water) power primarily. The countries using nuclear power have chosen to do so with full knowledge of the risks. (And these risks are ridiculously small, we happen to have run into a situation - but the chances are small.) As for "that stuff" getting out, don't forget that there is radiation all around you, every day, in your body. Every time you eat a banana, you're ingesting more radiation! (Bananas can trigger nuclear sensors at airports...they're looking for smuggled nuclear material, and they pick up...bananas!)

 

[rhox5_5]

wow doesn't sound fun hope ur allright.

 

[midwestyankee]

Every time you eat a banana, you're ingesting more radiation! (Bananas can trigger nuclear sensors at airports...they're looking for smuggled nuclear material, and they pick up...bananas!

I always wondered why my smoothies glowed in the dark.

 

[intothewoods]

I so hate the media right now!

There was a reported news yesterday that claimed that US and EU expert rated the Fukushima accident at a 6/7!

And, of course, the flash news from the Italian expert that came to Tokyo yesterday (16th) and measured the radiation all the way from Narita to Tokyo and found that is 1/6 than the normal radiation in Rome is nowhere making news!

Of course, it would not bode well with the average agenda and political games.

I heard a few experts say this is worse than Three Mile Island because there are more reactors than just the one.

What do you guys think about that? I hope they're wrong -- I prefer the positive news! I'm absolutely in awe of the workers who are still going in.

 

[JMohegan]

Yeah.

Even the Red Cross International said is safe.
http://www.corriere.it/notizie-ulti...a-Tokyo-sicura/16-03-2011/1-A_000187299.shtml

But that too does not make news, as it is something nobody want to hear.
How could they keep on justifying withholding troops if the radiation scare is not real?

I can't read your link. Would you mind translating a brief summary? What, exactly, is the Red Cross saying is safe at this time?

Here's the official US position, as of yesterday. I don't think it's been altered since.


Travel Warning
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Bureau of Consular Affairs

Japan

March 16, 2011

The U.S. Department of State warns U.S citizens of the deteriorating situation at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. The United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) recommends that U.S. citizens who live within 50 miles (80 kilometers) of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant evacuate the area or take shelter indoors if safe evacuation is not practical. The State Department strongly urges U.S. citizens to defer travel to Japan at this time and those in Japan should consider departing. On March 16, 2011, the Department of State authorized the voluntary departure from Japan of eligible family members of U.S. government personnel in Tokyo, Nagoya, and Yokohama. This Travel Warning replaces the Travel Alert dated March 13, 2011.

In response to the deteriorating situation at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the Department of Energy, and other technical experts in the U.S. Government have reviewed the scientific and technical information they have collected from assets in country, as well as what the Government of Japan has disseminated. Consistent with the NRC guidelines that would apply to such a situation in the United States, we are recommending, as a precaution, that U.S. citizens who live within 50 miles (80 kilometers) of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant evacuate the area or to take shelter indoors if safe evacuation is not practical.

There are numerous factors in the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami, including weather, wind direction, and speed, and the nature of the reactor problem that affect the risk of radioactive contamination within this 50-mile (80-kilometer) radius or the possibility of lower-level radioactive materials reaching greater distances. For the latest U.S. Government information on the situation in Japan, please go to http://www.travel.state.gov/. Information about nuclear radiation exposure risks can be obtained from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission at http://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/radiation.html and from the Centers for Disease Control at http://emergency.cdc.gov/radiation/.

Source: http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_5390.html

 

[Etoile]

I find it odd that they advise not traveling to Japan at ALL. Osaka, Kyoto, Okinawa, and many other places are perfectly safe. Even Tokyo is largely safe. You shouldn't go to Fukushima or Miyagi prefectures, of course, but I hardly think ALL of Japan is off-limits. Even the Chernobyl exclusion zone is only 30km.

I don't know whom to believe, honestly. People say "Japan is lying, it's worse than they say." Other people say "everybody else is fearmongering, it's not that bad."

 

[rida]

I heard a few experts say this is worse than Three Mile Island because there are more reactors than just the one.

What do you guys think about that? I hope they're wrong -- I prefer the positive news! I'm absolutely in awe of the workers who are still going in.

What I think about it?

I think that the plant problems are serious. But Armageddon is not coming yet.
It would have been better if the government and Tokyo Electric (the owners of the plant) had talked about the troubles right away, instead of hoping to fix it and keep it "hush-hush".

I do believe they are doing their best, and right now, after the global hysterics of panic created by the international media, I can see why they wanted to keep it quiet.

I find it despicable that it got to the point that the stranded and missing and the refugees are now forgotten, and that the consequences of the media fed panic is that help is not coming!

Italian canceled their help arrival and sent the expert that discovered that Rome is still 6 times more radioactive any give day that Tokyo right now; the British Embassy did not give permission to their Emergency Squads to go help; and the American are staying 80KM away from the plant (basically from almost all the damaged areas). And since outside news come in, now the Japanese worry as well that their government is covering up something worse than it is, and truckers have been refusing to drive up to deliver goods and gasoline.

It got so ridiculous that foreigners are evacuating/being evacuated from city as far as Osaka that is over 700KM from the plant!!!

However I do not judge nor berate anybody that feels better leaving. It is a totally personal decision, and I think people should always do what make them sleep better at night. (Since the Italian Embassy is thinking to organize a charter, I'll send my girls if they do (they are off school until after Spring Break anyway and they are bored out of their mind). But Hubby and I will stay.)

And on a personal note? I'm sick and tired of well meaning vanilla friends outside of Japan yelling "run!" on e-mail and FB ...

 

[Etoile]

Yeah, my American friend who is there (can't remember if you met him, rida), told people to stop telling him to come home. He has been living in Tokyo over a year now and he sees no reason to leave. I would never presume to tell somebody what to do...you can read the news for yourself and make your own decisions.

Guess you are not coming here for sakura matsuri then?

 

[rida]

I can't read your link. Would you mind translating a brief summary? What, exactly, is the Red Cross saying is safe at this time?

Here's the official US position, as of yesterday. I don't think it's been altered since.

That article is the Red Cross saying that Tokyo is safe, and that the vessels of reactor 1,2,3,and 4 are not broken.

More interesting is the below Flesh News that basically got totally ignored:

http://www.corriere.it/notizie-ulti...dioattiva-Roma/16-03-2011/1-A_000187264.shtml

ESperti, Tokyo meno radioattiva di Roma

16 Marzo 2011 13:14 ESTERI

(ANSA) - TOYOHASHI - Roma e' sei volte piu' radioattiva di Tokyo. E' la sorpresa delle analisi effettuate dalla squadra della Protezione civile italiana nella capitale nipponica, resi noti dalla nostra ambasciata. I rilievi danno una radioattivita' di fondo sul tetto dell'ambasciata di 0.04 microsievert/ora. Il valore ambientale tipico della citta' di Roma e' di 0.25 microsievert/ora. Non ci sono isotopi che possono essere stati prodotti in un reattore nucleare e questo esclude al momento rischi a Tokyo.

Basically that Rome is normally 6 times more radioactive than Tokyo is right now, and that no isotopes from the plant were detected.

Yeah, Italy too has its own agenda, of course, with the political parties "fighting" over the nuclear power "yes vs no" debate.

But considering that this numbers make their decision to withheld the help look coward, they are probably true. And the fact that nobody else turned them into a big article? Probably makes them even more true. (I cannot see any political gain for them by stating that Rome is more radioactive, and I'm pretty good at finding "suspicious reasons" if I start digging)

 

[Etoile]

I'm seeing reports that IAEA has named this a 6 on INES, but I can't get to their website right now to confirm.

ETA: Here is the IAEA page on the current situation: http://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/tsunamiupdate01.html
There's no INES update beyond the 4 reported a few days ago.

 

[rida]

Yeah, my American friend who is there (can't remember if you met him, rida), told people to stop telling him to come home. He has been living in Tokyo over a year now and he sees no reason to leave. I would never presume to tell somebody what to do...you can read the news for yourself and make your own decisions.

Guess you are not coming here for sakura matsuri then?

I'm looking forward Sakura's blooming over here ^_^

 

[rida]

I'm seeing reports that IAEA has named this a 6 on INES, but I can't get to their website right now to confirm.

I read that the French were the first claiming it a 6.

My cynical view is that, considering they were the first to evacuate their people, and that they are a heavily invested into the Nuclear Energy and as such NOT against it, is that they are aiming to win the reconstruction contracts ...

 

[Etoile]

I'm looking forward Sakura's blooming over here ^_^

Well, if you come here, we have a lovely guest room for the three of you!

 

[JMohegan]

I find it odd that they advise not traveling to Japan at ALL. Osaka, Kyoto, Okinawa, and many other places are perfectly safe. Even Tokyo is largely safe. You shouldn't go to Fukushima or Miyagi prefectures, of course, but I hardly think ALL of Japan is off-limits. Even the Chernobyl exclusion zone is only 30km.

I don't know whom to believe, honestly. People say "Japan is lying, it's worse than they say." Other people say "everybody else is fearmongering, it's not that bad."

A friend of mine, partner at a US-based international law firm, told me his firm moved its entire Tokyo staff, and their families, to hotels in Kobe and Nagasaki two days ago.

Another friend has a daughter studying abroad in Nagoya. He had wanted to let her stay, despite his wife's frequent fits wanting to bring her home. Don't know what they'll do in the wake of this latest travel warning.

A lot of people don't know whom to believe, it's true. It doesn't help that no one seems to know what the hell's going on at those plants. Lotta spin + no facts = fuckload of nervous confusion.

 

[catalina_francisco]

I heard a few experts say this is worse than Three Mile Island because there are more reactors than just the one.

What do you guys think about that? I hope they're wrong -- I prefer the positive news! I'm absolutely in awe of the workers who are still going in.

Heard that too, which accompanied by the cooling issues (hence the Japanese now trying to cool from both ground and air in an affort to avert an escalation of the situation), and the corrosion which will follow from pouring them full of seawater out of desperation, does make for the potential for things to get much worse. While the danger may not be at its height right now, if things change it is then too late for those who might be there to avoid serious risk. Probably one of those situations where forewarned is forearmed fits best, more so than burying one's head in the sand and hoping it all goes away. I am not interested in news forecasts which exaggerate the situation, but for the most part I have not seen that happening here.

There have been lots of effort put into explaining the risks and realities via experts and people who do this for a living, not so much to cause panic, but rather to put things in perspective and divert panic. From some conversations I have followed online, there is a growing anger (which they openly admit) from westerners living in Japan aimed at those who contemplate leaving temporarily or permanently with their families as a precaution. I empathise with the Japanese who for the most part don't have a choice. Unfortunately, unlike the tsunami, you cannot see radiation in the air so it is all a matter of trusting what you are told and hoping things do not escalate out of control.

Hope you and your family remain safe, Rida. It cannot be easy.

Catalina