U.S. Declines to Give Details on Radiation

[jpak]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704608504576208840531837916.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

U.S. government officials, in private sessions on Capitol Hill Friday, repeatedly declined to give details of radiation measurements at the stricken Japanese nuclear complex, saying the situation is shrouded in a "fog of war."

Separately, the Obama administration said Friday "miniscule quantities" of radiation from the Japanese nuclear accident were detected Friday at a monitoring station in Sacramento, Calif., a day after similar traces of radiation were detected in Washington state. The administration said the levels of the radioactive isotope xenon 133 were approximately equivalent to one-millionth the dose received from the sun, rocks or other natural sources.

The Obama administration's reluctance to detail in public what it is learning from radiation-detection operations around the damaged Fukushima Daiichi complex in Japan highlights a broader sensitivity in the U.S.'s posture toward a stricken ally. The shift comes after statements Wednesday by the head of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission that painted a grimmer picture of the nuclear crisis than Japanese officials had offered, and suggested that the U.S. didn't trust the information coming from the Japanese government.

NRC officials told congressional staffers in a briefing Friday that their information about radiation levels around the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex is fluid, and declined repeatedly to release detailed data, saying the information they have isn't reliable enough to share.

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[fascisthunter]

1. in other words, if people get sick and die no one can blame it on the nuke company

sick

[The Backlash Cometh]

19. Complex situation. You have the first lady complaining that our kids

are too heavy and should eat better and exercise, and a president who keeps mum as they go out to play their soccer and football games under a radiated sky and eat contaminated food.

[fascisthunter]

22. poignant

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. Half life of xenon is really low

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenon-133

makes you wonder

As to not telling I doubt they have been told

[flamingdem]

6. Barium was detected in Sacramento

some expert said that pointed to core meltdown, but you'd probably have to see other isotopes as well. The cesium and iodine can be written off as vapor releases, not core melt supposedly.

[nadinbrzezinski]

8. Barium, well we have admited to 3 pattial meltdowns

per eddie last night

[flamingdem]

10. Here's a link about the data

http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2011/03/radiation-plume-modelers-chafe.html

Here it doesn't mention barium.

I am pretty sure I read that earlier. Will search a bit more.

[nadinbrzezinski]

11. here from the same article

these haven't been detected in large quantities...

Talking of heavy articles such as well yes. Barium

[flamingdem]

13. I really wish they'll spell it out, how much and of what

They should have checked those planes for that.

I think people can accept that there is some.

[nadinbrzezinski]

16. They did,. you can bet on that

and the planes were probably taken to the secured arae and washed that bird off

[Sirveri]

12. 2.19 Days to IT and 5.243 to Beta minus.

Gamma and X-ray radiation:

Energy
(keV) Intensity
(%) Dose
( MeV/Bq-s )
XR l 4.29 6.0 % 3 2.59E-4 13
XR kα2 30.625 14.2 % 4 0.00434 13
XR kα1 30.973 25.9 % 8 0.00803 24
XR kβ3 34.92 2.45 % 7 8.57E-4 25
XR kβ1 34.987 4.74 % 14 0.00166 5
XR kβ2 35.818 1.47 % 4 5.25E-4 15
79.623 10 0.27 % 3 2.15E-4 24
80.997 3 38.0 % 7 0.0308 6
160.613 8 0.066 % 5 1.06E-4 8
223.234 12 1.20E-4 % 20 2.7E-7 4
302.853 1 0.0048 % 3 1.45E-5 9
383.851 3 0.00240 % 20 9.2E-6 8

Weak decay energy, I'm not worried in the slightest if it's just Xe133.

[nadinbrzezinski]

17. Nope on that one, no

[ellie]

3. That is completely unacceptable.

People want to know what the hell is going on and how much radiation is around.

[niyad]

5. I guess the gov't doesn't think we deserve to know

[gateley]

9. What the fuck do you expect OUR government to do? They've repeatedly said

they're not receiving accurate, up-to-date information and have already cautioned American citizens to be 50 miles away from the reactors as opposed to Japan telling its citizens that 20 miles is okay, they're helping those who want to leave --

What more do you expect them to do?

Or would ANYTHING be good enough for you?

Sometimes disgust and hatred of this government clouds one's ability to be objective, doesn't it?

[flamingdem]

14. I think the issue is about the worldwide monitoring

They are not allowed, for some reason, to share that with the public.

A diplomat in Austria did that today anyway, so far not much to worry about but later it could be worse, and people really should get access to that data.

[gateley]

23. I was under the impression that we weren't getting the full story (which countries

seem to love to do), so did Austria get info that we haven't?

I know they were discussing on MSNBC that it was kind of nervy (my word, not theirs) to declare a different safety zone guideline for US citizens than Japan was saying was safe -- politics and good relations, dontcha know -- so maybe that's all Obama felt he could do to in essence say 'it's worse than they're saying'?

It's reassuring that they're saying it's not much to worry about yet, but I'm one of those who thinks any radiation is bad. Varying levels of severity, I understand, but any amount can't be considered innocuous.

[niyad]

4. "a fog of war"??? are we at war with japan again?

[nadinbrzezinski]

7. No, the Japanese government is not releasing that data

why they have annoyed the regulators. For some reason monitoring statiosn for oh Fukushima, are never online and always sampling.

[flamingdem]

15. Didn't they get wrecked in the tsumani?

I read that they gave the okay for drones to check.

But I'm not sure if that happened yet or if the US is going to share that data.

[nadinbrzezinski]

18. Actually the complaint is that Japan is NOT sharing the info

[flamingdem]

21. CNN is reporting xenon-133

Maybe that is on this thread already.

I'm just imagining when they change the word miniscule to another term
and how many terms there are to alleviate anxiety! tiny, small, not very much

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/03/18/nuclear.concerns/index.html

The Sacramento monitor detected minute amounts of radionuclides -- substances that emit radiation -- which had been expected, Toth said.

The EPA, in a statement, confirmed that a monitoring station in Sacramento that feeds into the treaty organization's monitoring system "detected minuscule quantities of the radioactive isotope xenon-133, a gas that is produced during nuclear fission. The origin was determined to be consistent with a release from the Fukushima reactors in northern Japan."

It added, "These types of readings remain consistent with our expectations since the onset of this tragedy, and are to be expected in the coming days."

[drm604]

20. People, if you don't believe the U.S. government

how about the World Health Organization?

WHO: No radiation risk outside evacuation zone
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4777635