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Radioactivity from the Japanese disaster won't endanger the U.S. But your donations can help those affected by the tragedy.
RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—As the nuclear disaster unfolds in Japan, there were some silver linings this weekend. After a week of fighting a potential meltdown at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, technicians were able to attach electrical power cables that might enable them to eventually cool down the overheated reactors. But that still wasn't enough to prevent damage to the earthquake-ravaged country's food supply. Over the weekend, elevated levels of radiation were detected in local milk and spinach and other vegetables produced near the plant. The World Health Organization issued a statement saying that the impact of radiation on food may be larger than expected, causing anxiety both among residents and importers of Japanese foods. In the U.S., however, that anxiety is largely unfounded, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) statistics. And one nonprofit located here is warning that overreaction to the radiation scare could be putting Japanese citizens in harm's way.
THE DETAILS: While many restaurants, grocery stores, and hotel chains across Asia have stopped importing food from Japan, the risk to U.S. citizens remains low, said a USDA statement released Friday. According to USDA figures, Japan exports $793 million worth of agricultural products, mostly in the form of processed foods, to the U.S. every year—a tiny fraction of the $80 billion that we import from other countries. Of that, about $235 million is seafood. As with other agricultural products, most Japanese seafood comes to the U.S. in some form of processed good, such as fish cakes, though Japan does export a fair amount of fresh scallops.
All told, Japanese food exports account for 0.6 percent of the total value of all U.S. food imports. That little bit is subject to radiation screening by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection department, which scans all imports for radiation for security reasons.
WHAT IT MEANS: Japanese residents should be concerned about radiation-contaminated foods; U.S. residents, not so much. That goes for airborne radiation, too. On Friday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reported that trace amounts of radioactive particles and iodine isotopes were detected in Sacramento, CA, and in Washington state, but added that the levels they found were 100,000 times smaller than what people usually are exposed to from rock, bricks, the sun, and other background sources.
On Thursday, the Union of Concerned Scientists, an environmental nonprofit founded by independent scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, warned Americans not to overreact after U.S. residents made a run on potassium iodide pills, which are given to people exposed to radiation to protect against radiation poisoning. "There are reports that global supplies of potassium iodide pills are being depleted because Americans are buying them, prompting fears that there will not be adequate supplies in Japan in the event of a larger radiological release," the group said, adding that potassium iodide isn't effective in counteracting radiation exposure through food.
It remains to be seen whether larger quantities of radiation will reach the West Coast and Hawaii, but at present, President Obama and other government agencies seem assured that Americans won't be affected. However, the Japanese people will have to deal with the repercussions for years to come. Want to help? The website for Charity Navigator has a section devoted to the earthquake and tsunami, to make it easier to find a nonprofit that's working in the areas affected by the disasters.
Don't really agree, but hey,
Don't really agree, but hey, we are all entitled to our own opinion. I guess that's just your opinion Legend Trail Real Estate.
Radiation from Japan -- we SHOULD worry
I read from the Natural News Com that the situation is worse than what has been revealed by the media. See http://www.naturalnews.com/031836_radioactive_fallout_Fukushima.html#ixz...
Despite all the desperate efforts by world governments to downplay the severity of the release of radioactive material from Fukushima, world radiation sensors are revealing the ugly truth about the Fukushima catastrophe that the nuclear industry doesn't want you to know: The radioactive fallout is now as much as 73 percent of the daily radiation emitted from Chernobyl following its meltdown disaster. That's the story on Iodine-131, the radioactive iodine isotope that's now spreading across the globe.
Similarly, the amount of caesium-137 being released by Fukushima has now reached 60 percent of that released by Chernobyl (http://www.newscientist.com/article...).
It has been found from data received from the global network of radiation sensors that were originally installed to monitor the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). They were designed to detect illegal nuclear weapons testing events, but now they're proving to be quite effective at picking up the massive release of deadly radiation from the Fukushima nuclear power complex -- which is still burning, by the way, that radiation has spread across oceans and continents.
Because Fukushima continues to leak radiation into the environment, its total radioactive output may yet exceed that of Chernobyl. There's certainly a lot more fuel at Fukushima than there ever was at Chernobyl: 1,760 tons of nuclear fuel versus just 180 tons at Chernobyl.
So Fukushima has ten times the amount of fresh and spent fuel as Chernobyl. And it's still spewing radiation every second. The food and water in Japan is already contaminated, the oceans are radioactive, the air is radioactive, neutron beams are jetting out of the nuclear facility, it's raining yellow water, workers are being hospitalized with radiation burns, and still the nuclear industry says stop worrying... it's all safe! Fukushima may yet out-Chernobyl Chernobyl!
re: we SHOULD worry
I don't think anyone's laughing here. It's perfectly logical for people to be worried about the effects of the Japan tragedy reaching U.S. shores. But all credible indicators are that there's no threat at this time, and not likely to be one. Meanwhile the people directly affected need any help and resources they can get, a need that will be harder to meet if we're distracted by our fears. We don't consider this the end of the story, and we continue to reach out to experts we trust so that if the situation changes, we can report on it.
Rick Chillot
senior editor
Radiation Food
In the 50's and 60's there were open air atomic tests and there were radiation warnings. Nuclear core meltdowns produce much more lon lasting radiation than due bombs. We son't knoiw how bad this meltdown is until years from now. The nuclear industry and governments have a long history of hiding and covering up information. www.infowars.com covers this very well
Radiation from Japan -- we SHOULD worry
Yes, laughing at Californians who worry about radiation is great sport. But before you laugh, please know that some of us are old enough to remember a time growing up in California when radiation from nuclear tests in the Pacific reached California. We were forbidden to drink the milk because of radiation. (It was even found in milk in Tennessee.) I wish I could remember exactly when this was -- probably about 1960 -- but IT DID HAPPEN...so if the Japanese are unable to keep the reactors/stored fuel pools under control, Californians will be wishing they had some potassium iodide tablets or liquid! Why don't you wait until we see that they are able to get the reactors under control before we laugh at Californians.