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02 Aug 2011 10:18

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World: Fukushima radiation: What deadly radiation “hot spots” look like

  • See the red spots? You know, the ones surrounded by blue and green? Those represent 10 sieverts per hour of radiation. That is extremely high and could lead to death within seconds. And at the Fukushima site, that’s what they’re apparently still dealing with … mind you, five months after the fact. “Radiation leakage at the plant may have been contained or slowed but it has not been sealed off completely,” noted Osaka University professor and nuclear engineering expert Kenji Sumita. “The utility is likely to continue finding these spots of high radiation.” To put this in perspective, add three zeros to the number 10, to make it 10,000 millisieverts per hour (mSv). Then, take a look at this graphic. Yeah. Scary as hell, right? We’ll say. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Jun 2011 11:17

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U.S.: Report: Hospitals giving out unnecessary double-CT scans

Fun fact about CT scans: They cost lots of money. Also, a chest CT scan has as much radiation as 350 chest X-rays. So why are some hospitals giving them to patients twice? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 Apr 2011 19:51

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World: Radioactive water continues to leak into ocean from Fukushima

  • NO concrete fails to plug irradiated water leak at Fukushima source
  • » The flow has continued at a seemingly unchanged rate. This is bad news for pretty obvious reasons- the leak, coming through an eight-inch crack in a pit containing power cables, is sending water irradiated at 1000 millisieverts per hour into the ocean. Having tried pumping in concrete and failed to make any progress, TEPCO’s next plan is to employ a similar strategy using a type of polymer. Polymer spraying has already been happening throughout the plant, in an effort to prevent radioactive isotopes from escaping into the environment.
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

27 Mar 2011 12:04

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World: TEPCO corrections: Not “10 million times” normal level, “100,000 times”

  • errors As you might have noticed earlier today, TEPCO reported a level of radiation that was insanely high — 10 million times the usual level — coming from the water at a Fukushima reactor. This was very wrong, so much so that we took down our posts about this.
  • correctionsTEPCO apologized — while noting the amount was a still-very-high 100,000 times its normal level. “I am very sorry,” said TEPCO’s vice president, Sakae Muto. “I would like to make sure that such a mistake will not happen again.” Good apology, Muto. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Mar 2011 10:42

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U.S., World: FDA’s Fukushima food ban: Not really that big a deal

  • scary The FDA just limited the import of food from the area of Japan near the Fukushima nuclear disaster, days after officials discovered radiation in some foods, including milk and spinach. A lot of people have been freaking out over this.
  • not scary However, this almost assuredly isn’t a big deal — only four percent of our imported foods come from Japan, and the ones we usually eat from the country are things like fish, which weren’t significantly affected by Fukushima. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Mar 2011 13:49

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World: China, South Korea strictly checking Japanese food

  • China and South Korea wary of radiation in food: Some countries (and even individual restaurants) that import food from Japan are concerned about the possibility of radiation contamination. The Japanese government has assured their citizenry that the radiation levels detected in milk, spinach, and some water is not enough to do rapid or lasting damage, though they’ve imposed a freeze on food from that region. China and South Korea want to look into the matter themselves, though, absent the responsibility of keeping the Japanese citizenry from being stricken with panic, which their government obviously has. That seems reasonable enough. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Mar 2011 15:53

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World: Food-borne radiation detection prompts call for ban, general fears

  • worrisome Radiation has been detected in milk and spinach from areas surrounding the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, causing World Health Organization officials to call for a ban on food coming from that area.
  • zealous An upscale restaurant in Taiwan known as Peony, which specializes in Japanese cuisine, has gone to some length to prove their culinary purity: diners are offered radiation meters to check their food. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

20 Mar 2011 11:42

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World: Japan finds more radiation-laden foods, limits their sale

  • bad As we reported yesterday, a number of food items from the region near Fukushima — including milk and spinach — had high levels of radiation in them, leading to considerable concern in Japan.
  • worse Now, more foods have tested positive for radiation — including canola and chrysanthemum greens. Now, Japan has restricted sales of food from anywhere near Fukushima. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Mar 2011 12:56

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World: Japan: Officials find radiation in milk, spinach and drinking water

  • water Officials discovered safe but high levels of radioactive iodine in the drinking water of five Japanese cities, including Tokyo, during a radiation test. They were trace amounts that were within acceptable legal limits, however.
  • food Officials also discovered high radiation levels in milk and spinach near Fukushima. In the case of the spinach, eating it every day for a year would be equal to 20 percent of the level of radiation you’d get from a CAT scan. source
  • » What happens next: Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano says that they’ll continue to test food products, and if they find contaminated products, they’ll ban them from the market. Some experts are understandably skeptical. “They should seriously think about restricting any agricultural products in that area,” said Lam Ching-wan of the University of Hong Kong School of Medicine. “It seems that the whole ecosystem could be affected, so they shouldn’t take any chances.” The radiation factor of milk and spinach is important to note, because after Chernobyl, many cancer cases resulted from children who ingested high levels of radiation in milk.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Mar 2011 11:07

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World: U.S. Navy: Officers helping in Japan exposed to radiation

  • 17 U.S. Navy personnel treated for low levels of radiation source
  • » But how … ? Apparently the officials were in Navy helicopters and flew through a plume of radioactive material let into the atmosphere by the Fukushima reactors. Yikes.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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