Thom Hartmann: Fukushima - Did we almost lose Tokyo?

[thomhartmann]

Kevin Kamps, Beyond Nuclear joins Thom Hartmann. In a little over a week - we'll hit the one-year anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami that triggered a nuclear crisis at Fukushima in Japan. And this week - we're learning that that nuclear crisis is even worse than was originally thought. On Wednesday - Japanese Scientists announced that twice as much radioactive cesium than estimated blew out of the plant after the earthquake and tsunami. That's about 40,000 trillion bequerels. And it took just 18 days for those radioactive particles to encircle the planet - turning up in places as far away as Vermont. French scientists are now calling on Japan to remain vigilant in its inspections of fruit, milk, and game to prevent further radiation contamination.

These new numbers come on the heels of a Greenpeace report on the Fukushima disaster - in which the organization places the blame for the crisis - NOT on the natural disaster - but instead on the Japanese Government. The report accuses the Japanese government of ignoring the risks posed to Fukushima before the earthquake and “cutting corners to protect profits over people.” It goes on to argues that nuclear energy is “inherently unsafe” and governments are too quick to approve nuclear power plants, while at the same time unable to the consequences of nuclear disasters. That includes the United States. Currently - there are 23 General Electric Mark 1 reactors in operation around the United States. The Mark 1 is the same reactor design used at Fukushima. And just last month - the Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued a warning to 96 nuclear reactors around the nation that sit on fault lines - urging operators to perform new stress tests to see if the reactor can hold up to earthquake. So what should we make of all this?

The Big Picture with Thom Hartmann on RT TV & FSTV "live" 9pm and 11pm check www.thomhartmann.com/tv for local listings

[Esse Quam Videri]

1. Almost?

Fukushima is not over by any stretch of the imagination.

[DCKit]

2. Jeez Thom, STFU. We can't have over 10 million people knowing they were contaminated.

They might lose faith in clean nuclear energy.

So, shaddup already.

BTW, if you're actually checking back on this post, my dear departed mom loved you to no end. She played your show so loud, I could hear you in the barn - or anywhere on the fifteen acres around the house all the way in the hinterlands of Virginia.

I'm here in DC and could use a job, and I do love what you do.

[HopeHoops]

3. Before we regret what might happen? Bad choice of words. We already DO regret it.

[proverbialwisdom]

4. Not my field, but I scan the excellent enenews.com almost everyday; recent updates, below.

http://enenews.com/just-published-worst-radiation-plume-from-fukushima-was-blown-over-tokyo-on-march-14-15-this-was-the-main-deposition-event-over-japan-for-the-entire-disaster

Just Published: Worst radiation plume from Fukushima was blown over Tokyo on March 14-15 — “This was the main deposition event over Japan for the entire disaster” — Large fractions of cesium fell on land

Published: March 1st, 2012 at 4:15 pm ET


Follow-up to: Wind blew from Fukushima to Tokyo on day Reactor No. 3 exploded -- Radiation cloud reached south of Shizuoka on March 14 (MAP)

UPDATED: "Really troubling" wind shift said NRC: 1,000 microSv thyroid dose south of Tokyo over ten hour period on Mar. 14 reported US Navy -- 300km from Fukushima -- "This reminds me of the drill"

Title: Xenon-133 and caesium-137 releases into the atmosphere from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant: determination of the source term, atmospheric dispersion, and deposition
Source: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics; Atmos. Chem. Phys., 12, 2313–2343, 2012 www.atmos-chem-phys.net/12/2313/2012/ doi:10.5194/acp-12-2313-2012
Authors: A. Stohl1, P. Seibert2, G. Wotawa3, D. Arnold2,4, J. F. Burkhart1, S. Eckhardt1, C. Tapia5, A. Vargas4, and T. J. Yasunari6
1 NILU – Norwegian Institute for Air Research, Kjeller, Norway
2 Institute of Meteorology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
3 Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics, Vienna, Austria
4 Institute of Energy Technologies (INTE), Technical University of Catalonia (UPC), Barcelona, Spain
5 Department of Physics and Nucelar Engineering (FEN),Technical University of Catalonia (UPC), Barcelona, Spain
6 Universities Space Research Association, Goddard Earth Sciences and Technology and Research, Columbia, MD 21044, USA
Date: Received: 8 October 2011 – Published in Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss.: 20 October 2011
Revised: 1 February 2012 – Accepted: 23 February 2012 – Published: 1 March 2012
Emphasis Added

http://enenews.com/nrc-weve-stop-labs-testing-fukushima-radiation-directors-knock-doe-cool-worried-about-talking-press-about-consequences#comments

Title: NRC worried about US National Labs “chomping at the bit” to help with Fukushima Radiation analysis – Call lab directors and say “Knock it off” (Saturday, March 12, 2011)
Source: Enformable

Date: Feb 28, 2012

[bvar22]

5. Relax, everybody, they are just venting a little steam.

"I know science", and there is absolutely NOTHING to be worried about.
These plants are "engineered" to withstand natural Disasters and terrorist attacks.
It is impossible for a modern plant to Melt Down!
They have redundant back up systems, so they are perfectly SAFE.
So everybody calm down. There is NOTHING to be concerned about.
Would the government allow a Big Corporation to build a Nuclear Plant in and Earthquake Zone
if it wasn't perfectly safe?

Trust me, because "I know science", and you are a stupid Luddite.

Did I mention that "I KNOW science"?



You will know them by their WORKS,
not by their excuses.
[font size=5 color=green]Solidarity99![/font][font size=2 color=green]
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