Radiation from Fukushima: Profit-driven cancer and sterilization for Pacific sealife and communities

"Change.org censorship, re Fukushima"
2013-09-14 report from Carol Wolman
 Dear Friends,
One of today's headlines: "Japan's Nuclear Migraine: A Never-Ending Disaster at Fukushima; Japan is stumbling helplessly from one crisis to the next as it battles the ongoing disaster at the Fukushima nuclear power plant" (link), "[...] In the eyes of industry experts and the Japanese public alike, the company has proved one thing unequivocally --- that it is in far over its head in trying to handle the aftermath of the disaster. [...] Malfunctions, bungling and cluelessness seem to be ongoing themes at Fukushima. [...] "The day-to-day catastrophes are so serious that TEPCO never gets a chance to turn its attention to its actual plan," says Michael Maqua at the Society for Plant and Reactor Safety (GRS), in Cologne, Germany. He  too is appalled by TEPCO's handling of the situation. [...]".
Evidently Prime Minister Abe lied through his teeth when he assured the Olympic Committee that the site is under control, is not leaking water into the Pacific, and has caused no health problems. Japan was awarded the 2020 Olympics, so the Committee bought the lie. It's hard to believe that its members didn't know better. It shows the power of the international nuclear industry to cover up the truth.
The UN has to offer international assistance, and take over management of the site, as well as providing funds and expertise. This is addressed in a new petition: [secure.avaaz.org/en/petition/STOP_FUKUSHIMA_RADIATION_UN_ACTION_NEEDED/]. This has gained 1460 signatures since it was launched on September 3rd. It is addressed to the UN General Assembly, which meets at the end of September.
I've been sending these updates to signers of our "Petitioning Senators Boxer, Feinstein, Wyden, Merkley, Cantwell and Murray, West Coast Senators: Investigate the ongoing danger from the Fukushima nuclear reactors" [change.org/petitions/west-coast-senators-investigate-the-ongoing-danger-from-the-fukushima-nuclear-reactors] every 3 days. When the number of signers reached 10,000, change.org began to "moderate" ; (censor) the updates, and didn't notify me.   Although I've sent out several updates since then, none have gone to the signers.
It's most unfortunate, since the AVAAZ petition [link] was launched about that time. I was counting on the change.org signers to jump start that one, with 10,000 signatures or more very quickly. Since the senators petition signers never saw the link, they didn't respond. So please do what you can to spread the news.
The following posts confirm the ongoing difficulties at Fukushima.
Peace, [signed] Carol Wolman

* 2013-09-11 "Nuclear Expert: Molten fuel may have flowed through cracks in foundations of Fukushima reactor buildings — No one’s been able to go under there and take samples" [enenews.com/nuclear-expert-molten-fuel-flowed-cracked-foundations-fukushima-reactor-buildings-able-samples]

* 2013-09-11 "NHK: Attempts to stop Fukushima contamination flowing into ocean have failed — Japan Nuclear Expert: “Most likely flowing fairly quickly into sea” from nearby Reactor No. 2" [enenews.com/nhk-attempts-stop-fukushima-contamination-flowing-ocean-failed-japan-nuclear-expert-flowing-fairly-quickly-sea]

* 2013-09-11 "Fukushima Plant Chief in 2011: If we fail to urgently deal with radioactive leakage, we can’t overcome the crisis — 2 years later Tepco admits they couldn’t afford to work on it" [enenews.com/fukushima-plant-chief-2011-fail-urgently-deal-radioactive-leakage-overcome-crisis-tepco-delays-action-years] [...] Masao Yoshida, the chief of the Fukushima plant when the nuclear crisis broke out, raised the alarm over water leakage in April 2011. "Handling the water is an urgent task. If we fail to deal with it, we can't overcome [the crisis]," said Yoshida, who died in July. TEPCO, however, found that simply securing space to store an increasing volume of radioactive water was enough to keep its hands full. As a result, it delayed taking steps to tackle the water leaks, leaving highly radioactive water untouched in the tunnels. Masayuki Ono, acting general manager of TEPCO's nuclear power and plant siting division, said: "We deal with issues according to their priority, but face delays in solving them. Under the current system, we're not capable of handling the risk properly."

 * 2013-09-12 "Gundersen: Fukushima Unit 4 fuel racks distorted from quake and roof falling into pool — Nuclear rods likely to snap and won’t be able to be removed (AUDIO)" [enenews.com/gundersen-fukushima-unit-4-fuel-racks-distorted-quake-roof-falling-pool-nuclear-rods-snap-wont-be-able-remove-be-able-be-removed-audio]

 * 2013-09-12 "Fukushima tritium levels spike 15-fold in three days" [rt.com/news/fukushima-tritium-levels-spike-738/]

 * 2013-09-10 "Insight: Japan ponders Fukushima options, but Tepco too big to fail" by Linda Sieg from "Reuters" newsire [www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/10/us-japan-fukushima-tepco-insight-idUSBRE9891C520130910]

 * 2013-09-12 "Japan Times: Talk of Olympics being taken away from Tokyo if problems at Fukushima worsen over next couple of years" [enenews.com/japan-times-talk-of-olympics-being-taken-away-from-tokyo-if-problems-at-fukushima-worsen-over-next-couple-of-years]

 * 2013-09-12 "Award-winning Filmmaker on Fukushima: “People have low white blood cell counts… children and adults experiencing more nosebleeds and rashes” -Japan Times" [enenews.com/award-winning-filmmaker-on-fukushima-people-have-low-white-blood-cell-counts-children-and-adults-experiencing-more-nosebleeds-and-rashes-japan-times]

 * 2013-09-12 "National Geopraphic: Fears are mounting that Fukushima radiation could lead to dangerous contamination levels in seafood from Pacific — At least for now fish are not glowing so ‘eat up’!" [enenews.com/national-geopraphic-fears-are-mounting-that-fukushima-radiation-could-lead-to-dangerous-contamination-levels-in-seafood-from-pacific-at-least-for-now-fish-are-not-glowing-so-eat-up]

 * 2013-09-11 "Hawaii TV: Fukushima plume to reach coast of U.S. next year — “Radiation increase will be measurable” (PHOTO)" [enenews.com/hawaii-tv-fukushima-plume-to-reach-coast-of-u-s-next-year-radiation-increase-will-be-measurable-photo]

 * 2013-09-11 "Website map tracks path of ocean pollution, Fukushima radiation plume" by Kimberly Wright from "Hawaii News Now" [www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/23399560/website-map-tracks-path-of-ocean-pollution-fukushima-radiation-plume]


 * 2013-09-13 "Fukushima nuke plant spews vapor, Japanese operator clueless about cause" [www.thestandard.com.hk/breaking_news_detail.asp]:
Vapor has begun rising again from a reactor at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, more than two-and-a-half years after its core melted down, the site's Japanese operator said.
Tokyo Electric Power said it believed the steam was coming from a puddle sitting atop the reactor, but has not been able to clarify why.
TEPCO said the Fukushima nuclear plant remained stable, with sensors in and around it showing no increase in levels of radioactive release.
The steam appeared as TEPCO found more evidence that radioactive waste water at the plant was contaminating groundwater on its way to the sea.
Thousands of tonnes of water were poured on the reactors to tame the meltdowns sparked by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami. TEPCO says their temperature is now stable but they need to be kept cool to prevent them running out of control again.
The continuing nuclear catastrophe at Fukushima has come under the international spotlight in recent weeks as Tokyo fought off challenges from Madrid and Istanbul for the right to host the 2020 Games.
Speaking to Olympic chiefs in Buenos Aires ahead of their decision to award the Games to Tokyo, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the situation at Fukushima was “under control.’’
Thousands of tonnes of radioactive water are being stored in temporary tanks at Fukushima. Much of it has been used to cool molten reactors at the plant.
TEPCO and Japanese officials are considering releasing some of it into the Pacific Ocean after filtering out radioactive materials, but face opposition from fisherman and neighboring countries.—AFP

* 2013-09-13 "Steam Spotted at Fukushima Nuclear ReactorTokyo Electric Power says temperature is now stable but plant must be kept cool to prevent future problems" by Charlie Campbell from "Time" news magazine [world.time.com/2013/09/13/steam-spotted-at-fukushima-nuclear-reactor/]
 * 2013-09-13 "Fukushima 'not under control' warns TEPCO official" [www.foxnews.com/world/2013/09/13/fukushima-not-under-control-warns-tepco-official/]:

TOKYO (AFP) –  The Japanese government and TEPCO were scrambling to reassure people Friday that they have a lid on Fukushima after a senior utility executive said the nuclear plant was "not under control".
The remarks by Kazuhiko Yamashita, who holds the executive-level title of "fellow" at Tokyo Electric Power, seem to flatly contradict assurances Prime Minister Shinzo Abe gave Olympic chiefs a week earlier.
In a meeting with members of the opposition Democratic Party of Japan, Yamashita was asked whether he agreed that "the situation is under control" as Abe had declared at the International Olympic Committee meeting in Buenos Aires.
He responded by saying, "I think the current situation is that it is not under control," according to major media, including national broadcaster NHK.
News of his comment prompted a rush by the government and TEPCO to elaborate on Yamashita's remark, saying he was talking specifically about the plant's waste water problem, and not the facility's situation in general.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, Abe's right-hand man, separately said Yamashita was repeatedly pressed by DPJ lawmakers when he made the remark.
The view of TEPCO as a company does not contradict Abe's statement, Suga added.
TEPCO has poured thousands of tonnes of water on the Fukushima reactors to tame meltdowns sparked by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
The utility says they are now stable but need to be kept cool to prevent them running out of control again.
Much of that now-contaminated water is being stored in temporary tanks at the plant, and TEPCO has so far revealed no clear plan for it.
The problem has been worsened by leaks in some of those tanks that are believed to have seeped into groundwater, which runs out to sea.
The continuing nuclear catastrophe at Fukushima has come under the international spotlight in recent weeks as Tokyo fought off challenges from Madrid and Istanbul for the right to host the 2020 Games.

 * 2013-09-13 "Fukushima's radioactive leak: 'no way to filter this stuff out' - expert" by Angela Davis from "Voice of Russia" [voiceofrussia.com/news/2013_09_13/Fukushimas-contaminated-water-There-is-no-way-to-filter-this-stuff-out-expert-9633/]:

Tokyo Electric Power Company's foreign advisors Lake Barrett and Dale Klein have held a news conference on Friday to discuss the contaminated water at the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant. On September, 11 TEPCO announced that levels of tritium, which is considered one of the least harmful radioactive elements, had increased more than 15 times in groundwater near a leaked tank at the facility. The Voice of Russia discussed the current situation with Mr. Paul Gunter, director of Reactor Oversight at Beyond Nuclear.  Last month TEPCO said more than 300 metric tons of highly radioactive water leaked from one of the hastily built steel tanks at the plant, which was damaged by a massive earthquake and tsunami in March of 2011.  The reports on the increased radioactive elements at the plant come just days after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told the International Olympic Committee that the situation at the Fukushima facility, 230 km from Tokyo, was "under control". Tokyo was chosen to host the 2020 Summer Olympics. 

[Question and answer with] Mr. Paul Gunter, director of Reactor Oversight at Beyond Nuclear. 
It's been reported the levels of tritium increased more than 15 times. How do you estimate the situation with Fukushima radiation level? How dangerous is that? 
In fact tritium while it is a low level admitter, it incorporates very intimately into the food chain. Tritium is hydrogen. So this is isotopic hydrogen mixed with water. There is no way to filter this stuff out and once it incorporates intimately with the biology there, this radioactive element can, clinically-proven, cause cancer, birth defects and genetic mutations. So, to trivialize the impact of tritium is a promotion of nuclear power and it takes a way to tries to obfuscate our concerns that a reverse tsunami of radioactivity is now moving back in to the ocean from the Fukushima wreckage and it is carrying radioactivity. 

What areas are in danger to be affected by this because obviously the half life of any radioactive substances is a very long time. It is not going to go anywhere once it gets into the ocean. But what are the chances that we are going to see this in areas far away from Fukushima radiation source? 
I think it is dependant on when the accident can finally be brought under control. Right now Fukushima is a nuclear catastrophe that remains out of control now for more than 2.5 years. Neither Tokyo Electric Power Company or the Japanese government have been able to stanch this radioactive hemorrhage that is occurring from the plant. So, the extent of the accident can spread right now is unknown. Clearly the first industry to be impacted is the coastal commercial fishing industry on the Eastern shores of Japan and this is a big concern because the fishing industry represents a vital economic business to Japan but also a pathway to radioactivity to come back into humans. 

To what extent is the fish already not safe to eat in that area? 
I think that the concern here is that the radioactivity will linger, it will bio-magnify up through the food chain and again the accident is not under control. There is more and more radioactivity, more and more radioactive isotopes not just tritium but we are concerned about the radioactive cesium and the radioactive strontiums, radioactive iodine. These are all now moving in grown water through the wreckage of the reactor meltdowns and into the ocean. So, this represents a very long-term problem that will only get worse over time as more radioactivity enters the food chain. 

What is the problem with capping the source of radioactivity? 
Nobody is really sure of where those melted radioactive cores are right now. They could be in the basement, in a giant molten but solidified elephant’s foot that is leaking radioactivity with all the water moving in there. It could have burned through the floor and now in the earth underneath the reactors. We are seeing reports of steam issuing off of the reactors just today through Japanese news services. The accident is still ongoing and because of high radiation fields you cannot get instrumentation in there, you cannot get people in there to determine where this accident is really moving right now.

 * "Energy Analyst: Concern a ‘reverse tsunami’ of radioactivity now moving back into Pacific from Fukushima plant — Nuclear catastrophe remains out of control and hemorrhaging", headline chosen for reposting of previous article on this list from 2013-09-13 "ENE News: Energy News" [enenews.com/energy-analyst-concern-a-reverse-tsunami-of-radioactivity-now-moving-back-into-pacific-from-fukushima-plant-nuclear-catastrophe-remains-out-of-control-and-hemorrhaging-contamination]

 * 2013-09-14 "ABC News: ‘Never-Ending Disaster at Fukushima’ — ‘Japan is stumbling helplessly from one crisis to the next’" [enenews.com/abc-news-a-never-ending-disaster-at-fukushima-japan-is-stumbling-helplessly-from-one-crisis-to-the-next-as-it-battles-the-ongoing-disaster]

 * 2013-09-14 "NHK: ‘Worrying discovery’ at Fukushima plant — Radioactivity level ‘sharply rising’ — 30-fold increase since Sunday (VIDEO)" [enenews.com/nhk-worrying-discovery-at-fukushima-plant-radioactivity-level-sharply-rising-30-times-higher-than-sundays-measurement]