Fukushima Video

A short video documentary on the Fukushima nuclear disaster. Things doesn't look good.

Fukushima: Surge in cancers among young

Surge in cancers among young in Fukushima, but experts divided on cause

Anti-nuclear protesters gather at a rally in Tokyo. Photo: AP

Fifty-nine young people in Fukushima prefecture have been diagnosed with or are suspected of having thyroid cancer, but experts are divided about whether their illness is caused by nuclear radiation.

All of them were younger than 18 at the time of the nuclear meltdown in the area in March 2011. They were identified in tests by the prefectural government, which covered 239,000 people by the end of September.

At a meeting hosted by Japan's Environmental Ministry and the prefectural government on Saturday, most experts were not convinced radiation leaks from the Fukushima nuclear plant could trigger thyroid cancer in children so soon, the Asahi Shimbun reported yesterday.

Among those who voiced alarm was Toshihide Tsuda, a professor of epidemiology at Okayama University. He called upon the government to prepare for a possible increase in cases in the future.

"The rate at which children in Fukushima prefecture have developed thyroid cancer can be called frequent, because it is several times to several tens of times higher," the newspaper quoted him as saying.

He compared the figures in Fukushima with cancer registration statistics throughout Japan from 1975 to 2008 that showed an annual average of five to 11 people in their late teens to early 20s developing cancer for every 1 million people.

Tetsuya Ohira, a professor of epidemiology at Fukushima Medical University, disagreed. It was not scientific to compare the Fukushima tests with cancer registry statistics, he argued.

In November, prefectural officials deemed it unlikely that the increase in suspected and confirmed cases of cancer was linked to radiation exposure.

In the Chernobyl disaster of 1986, it was not until four or five years after the accident that thyroid cancer cases surged.

"It is known that radioactive iodine is linked to thyroid cancer. Through the intake of food, people may absorb and accumulate it inside glands," said Dr Choi Kin, a former president of the Hong Kong Medical Association.

Children might absorb more of it than adults because they were still growing, he said, but it remained to be proven that the radioactive iodine came from the nuclear disaster instead of the normal environment.

The 2011 earthquake and tsunami crippled the Fukushima plant, causing the meltdown of three of its six reactors. More than 23,000 people were killed. - SOURCE

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It's been 3 years since the accident, and people are still clueless as to the real impact it will have on the people of Japan and the rest of the world. Why has so many countries across the world developed & used this technology for so many years, not knowing about the dangers & consequences? Or perhaps they know, but chose not to acknowledge and instead deny it.

Are governments taking the easy way out by advocating nuclear plants? Populations & cities are growing, and they require more and more energy. Developing countries especially, are starting to turn to nuclear power for their energy needs. But only for those who are not deemed as a threat to western powers. One such country is Malaysia.

Malaysia has plans to build not one, but 2 of these things. There's already the Lynas plant built & despite protests, has already started operations. I have a feeling that the people will live to regret the decision... one day. Just like the people of Fukushima.

The fact is, developing countries have become a dumping ground for these highly polluting & dangerous facilities which all western and developed countries are trying to get rid of. Bear in mind, the cost to run & maintain these plants are very high. And these developing countries have to rely on foreign companies & expertise to run and maintain these nuclear plants. Which translates to billions and trillions of dollars in the long run.

Anyway, back to Fukushima. Scientists predict that we will only see the effects on those affected 20-30 years from now. By then, those responsible will not be around anymore. Moreover, it is difficult to ascertain the real cause of the cancer in a person and link it to nuclear radiation.  So, in the meantime, the government & the nuclear providers pretend everything is fine and it's business as usual. Life goes on.

I wonder, currently, how safe are Japanese food in Malaysia & other countries? Since most of the ingredients are produced in Japan and assuming that some parts of the country will be contaminated with radioactive fallout, especially the water and land.

Personally, although I like Japanese food a lot,  I would rather err on the side of caution.

Fukushima - Are we safe?

Pix Source

Fukushima apocalypse: Years of ‘duct tape fixes’ could result in ‘millions of deaths’

Even the tiniest mistake during an operation to extract over 1,300 fuel rods at the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan could lead to a series of cascading failures with an apocalyptic outcome, fallout researcher Christina Consolo told RT.

Fukushima operator TEPCO wants to extract 400 tons worth of spent fuel rods stored in a pool at the plant’s damaged Reactor No. 4. The removal would have to be done manually from the top store of the damaged building in the radiation-contaminated environment. 

In the worst-case scenario, a mishandled rod may go critical, resulting in an above-ground meltdown releasing radioactive fallout with no way to stop it, said Consolo, who is the founder and host of Nuked Radio. But leaving the things as they are is not an option, because statistical risk of a similarly bad outcome increases every day, she said. .....

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- The racks inside the pool that contain this fuel were damaged by the explosion in the early days of the accident. 

- Zirconium cladding which encased the rods burned when water levels dropped, but to what extent the rods have been damaged is not known, and probably won't be until removal is attempted. 

- Saltwater cooling has caused corrosion of the pool walls, and probably the fuel rods and racks. 

- The building is sinking. 

- The cranes that normally lift the fuel were destroyed. 

- Computer-guided removal will not be possible; everything will have to be done manually. 

- TEPCO cannot attempt this process without humans, which will manage this enormous task while being bombarded with radiation during the extraction and casking. 

- The process of removing each rod will have to be repeated over 1,300 times without incident. 

- Moving damaged nuclear fuel under such complex conditions could result in a criticality if the rods come into close proximity to one another, which would then set off a chain reaction that cannot be stopped......

........'If and when the corium reaches the Tokyo aquifer, serious and expedient discussions will have to take place about evacuating 40 million people'....

......At least the northern half of Japan would be uninhabitable, and some researchers have argued that it already is'....

.......'The mainstream media, world governments, nuclear agencies, health organizations, weather reporters, and the health care industry has completely ignored three ongoing triple meltdowns that have never been contained'.....

 - Source

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There's hardly any news about this terrible event these days. It's been 2 years already since the Earthquake and tsunami struck Fukushima. Looks like things are not getting any better. Many people do not realise the magnitude of this disaster and it's consequences. Radioactive water from the nuclear plant has been leaking into the ocean for 2 years already. And there is nothing we can do about it.

Until today, no one seems to be able to come up with a solution. Perhaps it's because there is none.

Actually, from the info I found online, it seems that Japan is already contaminated, including Tokyo. I'm not sure how safe are Japanese food nowadays because the Japanese government will knows there is no point in checking for radiation contamination. What are they going to tell the people? That they can't consume their own food and water?

I suppose it would be a matter of time before something worse happens at the reactor and the whole northern hemisphere would be contaminated.

The worrying thing is that the effects takes years to surface, when we see a rise in cancer & birth defects.

Here in Malaysia, we are planning to build 2 nuclear reactors. We had our first dose of radiation contamination in Bukit Merah, Perak, in the 80s. Now, 30 years later, we have Lynas in Kuantan. No matter how they justify these things, I still think it is a bad idea.

Why do humans like to muck around with things we can't control? All because of economics. Since the day it was discovered, nuclear technology has caused more destruction than benefits. It is pure evil.