Japan doubles plant radiation leak estimate

Source: Raw Story

TOKYO — Japan has more than doubled its initial estimate of radiation released from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant in the week after the March 11 tsunami, ahead of the launch of an official probe Tuesday.

The nation's watchdog, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA), now says it believes 770,000 terabecquerels escaped into the atmosphere in the first week -- compared to its earlier estimate of 370,000 terabecquerels.

The findings were released on the eve of the first meeting Tuesday of an independent 10-member academic and expert panel that will look into the causes of the world's worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl a quarter-century ago.

The group's leader, a Tokyo University researcher on human error, Yotaro Hatamura, said at the meeting that "nuclear power has higher energy density and is dangerous. It was a mistake to consider it safe".



Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/06/07/japan-doubles-plant-radiation-leak-estimate/

There were threads about how this meltdown is no big deal. And that Dr. Caldicott was wrong about this and that, so she must also be wrong about the Fukushima statements she made.

These nuclear facility disasters are a long term global problem with diverse implications.

I understand that she is doing it for a good reason, however I do not respect people who simply push opinions with little in terms of factual backing (e.g. "radioactive" French wine...)

It wasn't related to Japan's situation, but to the previous Chernobyl meltdown. I think it was a good perspective on what has already happened. She's a smart one.

She also said this in an interview. It reflects just how serious this really is. Aside from the people in the immediate location, "Everyone else is in long-term danger of getting cancer, or Leukemia, or having their genes mutated in their testicles or ovaries to affect future generations."

... rather like this bit:
> "Everyone else is in long-term danger of getting cancer, or Leukemia,
> or having their genes mutated in their testicles or ovaries to affect
> future generations."

That statement applies to everyone (*) regardless of how far away
they are from the Ukraine or Japan (or anywhere else for that matter).

To repeat: Everyone is in long-term danger of getting cancer, or Leukemia,
or having their genes mutated in their testicles or ovaries to affect future
generations.

The crux of the matter is the relative risk of those events but that statement
has been true throughout the existance of the human race (and long before FWIW).

Blindly trumpeting that fact in the pretence that it is solely due to the
Japanese nuclear situation (or even to Chernobyl) is pure panic-mongering
and is as equally untruthful as TEPCO (or whoever) claiming that there is
no problem to anyone.

The truth lies in between those two ridiculous extremes but, in the same way
that people tend not to trust TEPCO press releases, Caldicott has also fouled
the well too many times by over-exaggerating & hyping for self-publicity.

:shrug:


(*) The only exceptions to the "everyone" are those who have had their
testicles or ovaries removed or otherwise rendered non-functional by
other means.

Hiroshima?
Nagasaki?
The Nevada Test Area and surrounds?

This is a massive problem for the human race over the next century, and then some. It just doesn't have a bunch of exploded bodies. It's a slow motion disaster.

Radioactive particulates in our food chain is about as bad as it gets. Cancers are the extreme of how bad life can get.

> This is a massive problem for the human race over the next
> century, and then some.

I agree and it should be added to the list of massive problems
over the next century - climate change being the most massive for
the reason of scale alone. Overpopulation is probably the second
but at least that one is controllable by humans.


> Cancers are the extreme of how bad life can get.

I disagree. Cancers only come into play if there is no other cause
of injury/death before that. Thousands of people in Ethiopia aren't
dying of cancer - they're dying of starvation. 10,000+ Japanese
weren't killed by cancer a few months ago, they were killed by an
earthquakes and a tsunami. People in Afghanistan & Iraq aren't
being killed by cancer unless they manage to survive the bullets,
missiles, bombs AND the water/sanitation problems. The biggest
killer even in the "peaceful Western world" is heart disease and
the primary cancer that affects those privileged few is the self-
inflicted one from smoking - an optional luxury for those who
don't have to scrabble for food in a parched field, water in a
polluted puddle or watch their infants die from diseases easily
prevented by the cost of a single cigarette.

Yes, there are exceptions but - in general - cancer is a killer
only for people whose life is safe enough & healthy enough to have
to worry about the low end of the mortality risks.

Pretending that the outcome of Chernobyl, Fukukshima or whatever
suddenly puts cancer above such things is hyperbole and that is
what I criticised - not the rhetoric, logic, grammar or whatever
and not the basic premise that "spreading radiation around the
planet is a bad thing".

:shrug:

When compared to smoking, I doubt it's as bad. But then we don't know the extent. That's why I tend to agree with Dr. Caldicott's assessment. She does have a sense of the scope of things. If a million per year are dying because of nuclear material, whether from coal or nuclear plants, then it really is worse than smoking. I don't know if that's the case. Some claim a million have died from Chernobyl. And I can't argue because I don't know. The fact that it's yet another risk is very bothersome.

It's good to hear someone aside from myself mentioning world population, by the way. Thanks. You do see the overall picture.

To lie about the danger...

TEPCO to douse the reactors with sea water because the company was trying to "preserve its investment". Had this not been done, then the damage would be far, far worse.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/06/06/982699/-We-nearly-lost-Northern-Japan

And there is the reason why they are now releasing higher numbers and info about the melt-through.
Trying to get voluntarily just slightly ahead of it being discovered and released.

This is why we need another week of Palin and Paul Revere.

If we must have an opinion about Fukushima, then, as with all things, we must take account of what is best for Obama's reelection chances.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QI5n6RmAfMA