Rida?

[JMohegan]

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)

Thanks for the translation.

 

[Keroin]

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.

If I had followed the advice of government warnings on travel, there are a lot of cool (and safe) places that I would have missed over the years.

 

[rida]

*snip*
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

Thank you.

You know, foreigners always complain that Japanese does not consider them "locals". But I don't think that this incident will make the Japanese consider the foreigners any more "locals" than they had before ...

 

[Etoile]

Thank you.

You know, foreigners always complain that Japanese does not consider them "locals". But I don't think that this incident will make the Japanese consider the foreigners any more "locals" than they had before ...

Once a gaijin, always a gaijin...

 

[rida]

Once a gaijin, always a gaijin...

But that is reality, and personally I'm fine with it.

 

[JMohegan]

If I had followed the advice of government warnings on travel, there are a lot of cool (and safe) places that I would have missed over the years.

What is Canada advising its citizens re Japan?

 

[Etoile]

But that is reality, and personally I'm fine with it.

I would be too, which is why I'm considering moving back. Not everyone is though. Some people have to be the most important person in their social circle, and that's not as easy to achieve in Japan. I'm not sure I could do it as long as you have, but I'm definitely up for a year or two of it.

 

[catalina_francisco]

Thank you.

You know, foreigners always complain that Japanese does not consider them "locals". But I don't think that this incident will make the Japanese consider the foreigners any more "locals" than they had before ...

Yep, you're right. J has lived and worked there for many years, and is married to a lovely Japanese girl now, has mostly Japanese friends, but is still an outsider. He is cool with it, though regrets some of the things he misses out on because of it.

Catalina

 

[Keroin]

What is Canada advising its citizens re Japan?

Looks like an 80km radius evacuation. I honestly didn't know - just looked it up.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2011/03/16/pol-japan-evacuation.html

 

[catalina_francisco]

Good to see Australia is not going into high panic mode. Aussies In Japan Advice They seem to be providing helpful info, as well as advising what could happen, while emphasising it has not happened, and is precautionary advice. So they also are going with the 80km zone and not traveling unnecessarily, and say their advice is based on information from the Japanese government.

Catalina

 

[Etoile]

I'm loving this article right now:
Why I'm Not Fleeing Japan

 

[DVS]

There will always be panic in situations where the problem can't be seen. You can't see radioactivity. That's one of the tools used in horror movies. For most of the movie, you only see the horror in the eyes of the victims, as one by one they are snuffed out by the monster, whatever it is. The audience is left to create its own image of the hideous creature, in their mind. The tension rises and is fueled by partial glimpses of this monster until the final scene, when the good guys win.

And when the "B" movie doesn't have a good fitting costume for its monster, or the zipper shows, they use a similar process to their advantage, keeping the monster in the shadows, the fog or whatever the environment can provide.

The panic gets worse, when you don't know who you can trust to tell the truth. When talking about nuclear reactors, who really knows what needs to be done in any given situation? How many melt downs have there been? We don't have that much actual knowledge to fall back on. Mostly, we only have what the so called experts tell us. Then, it's a battle of which expert is correct and that only fuels more panic.

Then, there are the hoaxes that thrive on this panic for their own agenda. Again, more panic is the result and as stories are told, they are filled with hysteria and so now we hear that the Fukushima situation is already worse than Chernobyl, which is not at all true.

The solution seems to be based on electricity. If they can reconnect electrical power to the generators, they can pump water into the cooling pools. Of course, one hurdle they still have is if the generators were damaged by the tsunami. But if they weren't, that could go a long way in stopping further damage. I've heard that they are within hours of getting the electrical connection restored.

The unknown has fueled the panic and panic fuels the news stories. It's sad that this has become the news of choice, while there are still those in need of the simple basics of life to survive.

 

[Etoile]

Oh lord, that text message is DUMB.

Obama just finished speaking about Japan; he said US officials have been evacuated from a 50 mile radius around Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant, but: "I want to be very clear: We do not expect harmful levels of radiation to reach the United States." Mentioned that includes Hawaii, Alaska, California, and the Pacific territories. CDC says just stay informed and don't panic. We're also starting reviews of our own plants here.

 

[rida]

I'm loving this article right now:
Why I'm Not Fleeing Japan

Thank you!
I liked the article.

Then, there are the hoaxes that thrive on this panic for their own agenda. Again, more panic is the result and as stories are told, they are filled with hysteria and so now we hear that the Fukushima situation is already worse than Chernobyl, which is not at all true.

I have no words to express the contempt I feel for such actions.

 

[YourCaptor]

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.

And what do we know about food that tastes good?

It's bad for you!

 

[SoCalCynic]

The Important, Rather than the Breaking News

Hi Rida!

This is what I get for not paying more attention to the Lit forums - I had directly e-mailed Rida a few days ago.

We are all stuck now enduring the 'need' for instant news. Accuracy and documentation of sources are sacrificed for a better chance at scoring the mythical scoop. Speed of delivery is the deity that too many now worship.

I've read a bit on earthquakes and earthquake history; given the size of this most-recent quake, and the shallow quake in Christchurch, it is a worthy topic to consider if another side of the Pacific plate is now under greater strain, especially since so little is known of plate tectonics.

I will share an old Southern California joke - what's the one foolproof method of earthquake prediction? Call Cal Tech - if no one answers, get the hell out of L.A!

Best wishes to all,

SoCalCynic

 

[rida]

And what do we know about food that tastes good?

It's bad for you!

Hi Rida!

*snip*

Best wishes to all,

SoCalCynic

Thanks for checking on me!
Planning to work on the revised story file over the week-end.

 

[Etoile]

Japan has now set the INES level at 5. I know at least one of my students has gone from Tsukuba to Osaka. She mentioned how happy she was to get a bath! (?)

 

[Keroin]

From the UN...

http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFLDE72H15D20110318

And the WHO...

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2011/03/18/general-un-un-japan-health_8363054.html

 

[minx1]

Hi hon!

Glad to see you are doing well and are taking it in the usual Rida stride that I have come to know and love

Sorry I've not been in touch Y, mums here and I decided that her visit would be a good time to send the laptop away for repair.

Keep safe

 

[intothewoods]

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 ...

Media hysteria really blows. Thank you for your reply and insight. That was helpful.

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.

Probably best for me to avoid the 24 hour news channels on this topic, since there is a tendency to play up everything in order to provide new content.

 

[rida]

Hi hon!

Glad to see you are doing well and are taking it in the usual Rida stride that I have come to know and love

Sorry I've not been in touch Y, mums here and I decided that her visit would be a good time to send the laptop away for repair.

Keep safe

Thank you!
Panic and hysteria does nobody any good.
I guess that my "fight or flight" response is more of the "calm down and think!" variety

And I'm glad you sound are much happier and enjoying some good time with your mom ^_^

 

[rida]

Media hysteria really blows. Thank you for your reply and insight. That was helpful.

Probably best for me to avoid the 24 hour news channels on this topic, since there is a tendency to play up everything in order to provide new content.

You are welcome!

As always, things could have been handled better from the beginning (such as ask for the military help and use sea water right away), but things are still under control.

The military and the Tokyo Fire department are now up shooting water and working on the electricity.

Electricity is back to reactor 1 and 2 and they should be able to have the pump running sometime in the next 12 to 24 hours (if they work). Reactor 3 is considered now in a stable situation, while 4 still need to be cooled off.

They had some of the guys that built the plant on TV the other day, explaining the main differences with the Chernobyl plant accident. The biggest difference is that one exploded due to nuclear reactions going out of control, while all the reactors here are off (aka no reactions going on).

The radiation risk here is due to the fact that radioactive material that is not kept cool, emit radiations, and depending on the type of radiation, their half life goes from few minutes to few millenniums.

The radiations that have been detected here in Tokyo, still at very low dosage (10 times less than an x-ray), where with half lives raging from few hours to a week.

Still, as it is a very complex subject to explain to the average person, it is easier to create panic than try to educate.

(And curiously, nobody seems to write about the "radiation risks" of airplane flights ...).

 

[Netzach]

You are welcome!

As always, things could have been handled better from the beginning (such as ask for the military help and use sea water right away), but things are still under control.

The military and the Tokyo Fire department are now up shooting water and working on the electricity.

Electricity is back to reactor 1 and 2 and they should be able to have the pump running sometime in the next 12 to 24 hours (if they work). Reactor 3 is considered now in a stable situation, while 4 still need to be cooled off.

They had some of the guys that built the plant on TV the other day, explaining the main differences with the Chernobyl plant accident. The biggest difference is that one exploded due to nuclear reactions going out of control, while all the reactors here are off (aka no reactions going on).

The radiation risk here is due to the fact that radioactive material that is not kept cool, emit radiations, and depending on the type of radiation, their half life goes from few minutes to few millenniums.

The radiations that have been detected here in Tokyo, still at very low dosage (10 times less than an x-ray), where with half lives raging from few hours to a week.

Still, as it is a very complex subject to explain to the average person, it is easier to create panic than try to educate.

(And curiously, nobody seems to write about the "radiation risks" of airplane flights ...).

I was reading that the spinach and milk freaking out everyone reading yahoo for news are still less than the radioactive equivalent of a CT scan. Admittedly, there may be some fudging, but even so, CT scans are ordered without blinking every day. It's still got to be hard to keep cool with so much hype. I'm glad you're doing well and I'm assuming all your contacts have checked in, if not I hope it's just outages, of course.

 

[DVS]

I was reading that the spinach and milk freaking out everyone reading yahoo for news are still less than the radioactive equivalent of a CT scan. Admittedly, there may be some fudging, but even so, CT scans are ordered without blinking every day. It's still got to be hard to keep cool with so much hype. I'm glad you're doing well and I'm assuming all your contacts have checked in, if not I hope it's just outages, of course.

The way I heard it stated was if someone was to drink a glass of the milk every day for a year, it would still be lower than the dosage you'd get from a CT scan. The guy talking was from the U.S. and he said that upper exposure limits are always set pretty low, so even though these levels are measuring high on the scale, they aren't really that bad. He also said the radioactivity in the water is not a big deal, either.

I've also heard that they don't know if the pumps are going to work, once they try to turn them on. But what I heard a few days ago was that the U.S. provided pumps to replace the ones that might have been damaged by the tsunami. I guess that just goes along with some of the other mis-information you hear.

While he said there is still a chance that something could go wrong, it looks a lot better that the rods are now cooler than they were. But it depends on the reason the water levels were down in the first place. If it was because the hot fuel was causing the water to boil and evaporate off, that's good. That's also the likely reason. Because the pumps weren't working, the water levels were not being replenished. But if the vessels were cracked in the earthquake and there are leaks, there could still be a problem. As long as the temperature of the rods keeps getting cooler, that's a very good thing.