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WASHINGTON – An internal audit has confirmed observers’ concerns that many of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s radiation monitors were out of service at the height of the 2011 Fukushima power plant meltdown in Japan, a finding one critic said raises “serious questions” about the federal government’s ability to respond to nuclear emergencies and to alert the public of their consequences (see GSN, Dec. 21, 2011). The April 19 report by the EPA Inspector General’s Office also casts further doubt on the agency’s already controversial claims that radiation from Fukushima did not pose any public health threat on U.S. soil,...

The US Military is currently seeking a large amount of potassium iodide, this according to a listing on the FBO.gov website by the Defense Logistics Agency. In the listing it is made clear that they want to be ready in the event of nuclear fallout which has lead many to speculate that this could be in response to the Fukushima nuclear disaster or perhaps in anticipation for an attack on an active Iranian nuclear facility. The DLA is apparently looking for upwards of 400,000 dollars worth of the thyroid protecting tablets at a time when many government officials have openly...

In June 2011, Arnie Gundersen of Fairewinds Associates was featured in a podcast hosted by Chris Martenson. The show updated listeners as to some of the latest events surrounding Reactor 4 and groundwater monitoring concerns, I will only highlight a few of the details, the entire podcast can be found here. Chris Martenson: What can they really do beyond just keep trying to dump water in there and keep their fingers crossed? Arnie Gundersen: If you put too much water in these reactors they get heavy, and they are not designed to sway when there is heavy – tens of...

MADISON — While some see a wave of legislation aimed at weakening organized labor following Indiana’s new right-to-work law, Wisconsin is not expected to join it anytime soon. “No,” Cullen Werwie, spokesman for Gov. Scott Walker, told Wisconsin Reporter on Monday when asked if Walker thought the Republican-controlled Legislature would pursue legislation prohibiting labor organizations from requiring workers to join unions. Republicans on the record said they've heard of no proposals. Off the record, some in the GOP said no one is interested in waging another big battle over labor matters in this season of recalls. "Boy, I don't think...

(UPDATE: The document issued by the Fukushima Prefecture's expert committee is here (PDF, in Japanese). Total number of children tested: 3765 No. of children found with lumps 5.1 millimeter or larger: 26 No. of children found with lumps less than 5.1 millimeter: 56 No. of children found with cysts 20.1 millimeter or larger: 0 No. of children found with cyst less than 20.1 millimeter: 1086 No. of children with no lumps, cysts: 2622 There are children who have both lump and cyst. ============================================ Waaaiiit a minute... I was looking for more information on the post I wrote about the lumps...

The irradiation of vital organs is caused by incorporated radionuclides. If a cell is damaged, there are four possibilities for the cell. 1.: The cell dies instantaneously. 2.: The functionality of the cell is destroyed. 3. The cell degenerates and cancer occurs. 4.: The cell repairs itself. But this is only possible for adult cells. Cells in embryos have no such repair functions, children cells can't do that either. For them it's all about growing and dividing and only with time, the ability to repair themselves becomes existent. That's one of the crucial factors why children are especially in danger....

A very well-written article from New York Times by Martin Fackler, on December 6, 2011. I translated this article and posted on my Japanese blog, but the futility of so-called "decontamination" is best summarized, to me, by the photo that the New York Times put at the top of the article: Even the ardent supporter for the residents' return by decontaminating the towns and cities, Professor Tatsuhiko Kodama of Tokyo University, has this to say: “I believe it is possible to save Fukushima,” said the supporter, Tatsuhiko Kodama, director of the Radioisotope Center at the University of Tokyo. “But many...

Cesium from Fukushima plant fell all over Japan November 26, 2011 By HIROSHI ISHIZUKA / Staff Writer Radioactive substances from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant have now been confirmed in all prefectures, including Uruma, Okinawa Prefecture, about 1,700 kilometers from the plant, according to the science ministry. The ministry said it concluded the radioactive substances came from the stricken nuclear plant because, in all cases, they contained cesium-134, which has short half-life of two years. Before the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake, radioactive substance were barely detectable in most areas. But the Ministry of Education, Culture,...

Sources on staff at “Dancing With the Stars” say the producers at the hit show have been very surprised by the outpouring of negative reaction to the casting of Chaz Bono as a contestant on the new season — launching Sept. 19 on WLS-Channel 7. “Of course, they knew there would be some anti-Bono calls and emails,” said a longtime “DWTS” insider. “But this has been more vicious and in larger volume than was anticipated. … Some of the comments are downright scary,” the source added. It seems some of the negativity may be coming from ABC viewers in the...

A nuclear power plant located in Louisa County, the epicenter of the earthquake in Virginia, has shut down. The North Anna Power Station, operated by Dominion Power, has two reactors. The plant declared an "unusual event" in the wake of the 5.9 magnitude quake, which is the lowest stage on the plant's emergency scale. As a result, the plant has been shut down. The AP reports the plant is being run off of four emergency diesel generators, which are supplying power for critical safety equipment. Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokesman Roger Hannah says the agency was not immediately aware of any...

Um, WTF. Boone is dead now, so is Rex. TEN deathclaws AND an Legion Assassination team. I'm level 30 but that didn't help my companions, and I barely made it out alive.WHY?????

...The subject of evacuating the US citizens was raised in the early hours on March 16 (local time). The US had already knew about the unusually high temperature of the reactors from the Global Hawk data, and determined that "the fuel has already melted". The US thought the Kan administration was simply leaving the disaster response to TEPCO, and "distrust [in the administration] was intense". The US high-ranking officials wanted to evacuate the US citizens [from Tokyo] but the local officials including Maher objected, as "it would severely undermine the US-Japan alliance". The plan was never implemented...

...Last time, the Ministry put out on May 10 the WSPEEDI simulation done on March 25. That simulation, if disclosed in a timely manner, may have prevented many, many children from developing thyroid cancer in the future. One set of the maps is about krypton-85 surface concentration. The maps show the band extending well beyond Tokyo and Kanagawa...

Can anyone add to this. I'm in Everett,WA and this is no good for me. http://enenews.com/fukushima-forecast-radioactive-particles-concentrated-northwest-april-6-video

Gundersen describes the Fukushima plant as stable, but precarious. In this update, he discusses the high levels of radiation (2 Million disintegrations/second being found on the ground as far as 25 miles from the plant site.) He also addresses a New York Times report of hundreds of tons of water being put into the reactors each day. Gundersen points out that all of the water going in to the reactors is being irradiated, leaking out, and polluting the Ocean. He concludes by discussing the differences between the accident scenarios that the nuclear industry previously planned for and what has actually...

Today's Trajectories Air parcel trajectories found using the NOAA HYSPLIT model, as a function of plume height, for release over the Fukushima power plant. Each figure corresponds to release on the indicated date. The top panel of shows the forecast projection of the plumes, with each circle representing a 24 hr period of time. The uncertainty in location is represented by the line segments drawn through each circle (these uncertainties are difficult to estimate at later portions of the trajectory). The bottom panel of shows the forecast altitude of the trajectory. Dotted lines indicate where rainfall occurs. The entry point...

Japan is facing two meltdowns in the wake of its devastating earthquake. The first, and more critical, is the meltdown at the Fukushima I Nuclear Plant, 150 miles north of Tokyo. Surely, this is the greater near-term threat. But long-term, another threat looms, having to do with the Japanese government’s response to the former. As the fourth largest economy in the world, behind the EU, US, and China, any major setback in Japan likely will have widespread repercussions. Japan is also the third largest holder of US Treasuries, behind the United States and China. While it is too early even...

A plume of radioactive dust from Japan’s nuclear disaster is expected to drift over the United States mainland in the next few days. President Obama urged Americans to “plan their own exit strategy.” “While we don’t know exactly how dangerous this cloud may turn out to be there are steps you can take to protect yourself from exposure,” the President said. “For example, now would be a good time to visit the Southern Hemisphere. The plume is expected to bypass this region on its first trip around the globe. So, you should be relatively safe there.” Following his own advice,...

The fear that a nuclear cloud could float from the shores of Japan to the shores of California has some people making a run on iodine tablets. Pharmacists across California report being flooded with requests. State and county officials spent much of Tuesday trying to keep people calm by saying that getting the pills wasn't necessary, but then the United States surgeon general supported the idea as a worthy "precaution." U.S. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin is in the Bay Area touring a peninsula hospital. NBC Bay Area reporter Damian Trujillo asked her about the run on tablets and Dr. Benjamin...

An IDF military court Sunday morning convicted two Givati soldiers for violating rules of conduct by sending two Arab children to examine suspected bombs during the Operation Cast Lead counterterrorist campaign nearly two years ago. Friends of the soldiers appeared in court with shirts proclaiming, “We are victims of Goldstone," referring to the United Nations-sponsored report authored by Judge Richard Goldstone, who accused Israel of committing war crimes during the three-week battle.