URGENT - USA / Europe - Radiation and Jetstream FORECAST UPDATE - march 27, 2011
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Moderate levels of CESIUM 137 ON THE SURFACE in the United States – much more….
Rainwater Across Entire US Contaminated With Japan Nuclear Radiation
Posted by Alexander Higgins - March 27, 2011 at 11:01 pm - Permalink - Source via Alexander Higgins Blog
Rainwater across the entire United States is now testing positive for nuclear radiation contamination from Japan's nuclear fallout.
Rainwater Across Entire US Contains Japan Nuclear Radiation
Clicking on the individual stories quickly reveals that Japan nuclear radiation is being detected in rainwater across the entire United States.
For example:
Japan Nuclear Radiation Detected in Massachusetts Rainwater
BOSTON — Health officials said Sunday that one sample of Massachusetts rainwater has registered very low concentrations of radiation, most likely from the Japanese nuclear power plant damaged earlier this month by an earthquake and tsunami.
John Auerbach, the Massachusetts commissioner of public health, said that radioiodine-131 found in the sample – one of more than 100 that have been taken around the country – has a short life of only eight days. He said the drinking water supply in the state was unaffected and officials do not expect any health concerns.
Before I continue with more from the article, are you serious Mr, John Auerbach? You mean to tell me that Radioactive iodine is being found in the rainwater yet the drinking water is unaffected? Who, just WHO!? in their right mind is seriously going to believe that? Our drinking water comes from the rainwater. WOW!!!! Doublespeak at it's finest.
And what in the world has happened to objective journalism? An official says something that is totally nonsensical and it is printed and echoed to every news outlet in the country without even being questioned for validity.
Continuing on…
Nevada and other Western states also have reported minuscule amounts of radiation, but scientists say those presented no health risks.
State officials said similar testing was done in California, Pennsylvania, Washington and other states, and showed comparable levels of Radioactive Iodine in the rain.
Here is a snippet The Huffington Post's story of the radiation hitting Nevada.
RENO, Nev. — Nevada has joined several western states in reporting that minuscule amounts of radiation from Japan's damaged nuclear plant are showing up. But as with the other states, scientists say there is no health risk.
Extremely small amounts of the radioactive isotopes iodine-131 and xenon-133 reached a monitoring station by Las Vegas' Atomic Testing Museum this week, said Ted Hartwell, manager of the Desert Research Institute's Community Environmental Monitoring Program.
Hartwell said he's certain the isotopes came from Japan because they're not usually detected in Nevada. But he said the readings were far below levels that could pose any health risks.
"Unless you have an accident like this (in Japan) you wouldn't expect to see this. No doubt it's from Japan," Hartwell told The Associated Press.
California, Colorado, Hawaii and Washington have also reported tiny amounts of radiation from the Japan accident. Officials have said those levels also are not harmful
….
Tiny amounts of the radioactive isotope cesium-137 were detected at a University of Nevada, Las Vegas laboratory between March 17 and 21, but haven't been reported since then, Hartwell said.
WTF – They have been detecting this in the rainwater for over 1 1/2 weeks and they just tell us now!!
Wait a minute,
Food & Dining > Dining@Large
!? What does radiation in the water have anything to do with dining? Didn't government officials say this wouldn't have any effects on the drinking water?
Hmm….
Elevated levels of radiation in Pennsylvania's rainwater?
"These detections were expected and the levels detected are far below levels of public-health concern," says the EPA.
While short-term elevations such as these do not raise public health concerns – and the levels seen in rainwater are expected to be relatively short in duration – the U.S. EPA has taken steps to increase the level of nationwide monitoring of precipitation, drinking water, and other potential exposure routes to continue to verify that.
The official Baltimore Sun response:
Monitoring finds very low levels in air, but none in water or milk
Anyone with the smallest amount of critical thinking can see right through this.
Seriously, instead of downplaying this whole fiasco the government should be more responsible and arm people with knowledge to prevent against serious adverse health effects.
For example, the simplest measure you can take is buying a BUY A WATER PURIFIER – NOT A WATER FILTER – BUT A WATER PURIFIER.
Start here, do your research, and buy a good one.
There is more that you can do… but let me do some more research and save that for another article.
Here is a nuclear cloud spread simulation of caesium based on 1/10th of Chernobyl levels.
| ALERT!! : USING EARTH FILTERING TO REMOVE NEAR 100% FALLOUT PARTICLES AND DISSOLVED RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL FROM WATER [HOW TO DO IT] | Suggest Unpin Quote [+] |
|
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[CH 8] SCROLL TO AND READ LAST SECTION AND RELAY IT !
[link to www.oism.org]
Filtering through earth removes essentially all of the fallout particles and more of the dissolved radioactive material than does boiling-water distillation, a generally impractical purification method that does not eliminate dangerous radioactive iodines. Earth filters are also more effective in removing radioactive iodines than are ordinary ion-exchange water softeners or charcoal filters. In areas of heavy fallout, about 99% of the radioactivity in water could be removed by filtering it through ordinary earth. p.73
|
March 27, 2011
Elevated radiation levels in Pennsylvania rainwater
Elevated levels of radiation in Pennyslvania's rainwater?
"These detections were expected and the levels detected are far below levels of public-health concern," says the EPA.
Here's the statement.
While short-term elevations such as these do not raise public health concerns – and the levels seen in rainwater are expected to be relatively short in duration – the U.S. EPA has taken steps to increase the level of nationwide monitoring of precipitation, drinking water, and other potential exposure routes to continue to verify that.
Here is the FDA's most recent statement of food safety.
UPDATE: Here's Tim Wheeler's story in the Baltimore Sun on the Maryland response
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Dear NaturalNews readers,The Fukushima situation is unfortunately looking like it's not going to be resolved in weeks or months, but rather years. And in the mean time, radiation keeps leaking (from Reactor No. 2 at the moment) while the nuke plant engineers are running out of space to dump all the radioactive water from the cooling tanks!
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P.P..S. I want to thank everyone who participated in the Health Freedom Expo event that just wrapped up in Long Beach, and I also want to give a shout out to all those who joined the nationwide GMO protests to demand honest labeling of GMOs in our food. You are making a difference! (And the crowds will only get larger as the truth about GMOs spreads this year...)
More news continues below on how to empower yourself for improved health, the dangers of microwave ovens, what to eat to prevent acne and much more (see below)....
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To
First sign of radioactivity reaches the county
By Keith Darcé
Originally published March 25, 2011 at 7:40 p.m., updated March 25, 2011 at 8:40 p.m.
What's coming from Japan?
Of the hundreds of types of radioactive atoms that may have escaped, scientists are generally concerned about five:
· Iodine-131
Half-life: 8 days
Effect on people: The thyroid slurps up iodine, including the radioactive kind, which immediately kills and mutates cells and can cause thyroid cancer. Its short half-life means that very little, if any, would make it across the Pacific.
Measurement in San Diego: 0.13 picocuries per cubic meter of air detected on March 18
· Plutonium-239
Half-life: 24,000 years
Effect on people: It is very toxic and dangerous if inhaled because lungs are particularly sensitive to radiation. (Oddly, it's not very harmful if you ingest it.)
Measurement in San Diego: None detected
· Cesium-137
Half-life: 30 years
Effect on people: Radioactive cesium easily enters the food chain through milk and vegetables. If inhaled or ingested, it acts like potassium but continues to emit radiation inside the body. It can increase the risk of many forms of cancer.
Measurement in San Diego: None detected
· Strontium-90
Half-life: 29 years
Effect on people: Like cesium, this form of strontium stays in the environment. It mimics calcium if ingested, becoming part of bones and teeth. It can increase the risk of bone cancer and leukemia.
Measurement in San Diego: None detected
· Tellurium-132
Half-life: 3.2 days
Effect on people: This isotope is dangerous at high levels, but can be easily washed off the skin if there's external exposure. It would be more dangerous if ingested or otherwise absorbed into the body. The levels being detected in the U.S. are in very small amounts, and the short half-life reduces the risk.
Measurement in San Diego: None detected
Sources: News service and staff reports
Harmless traces of radioactive iodine have been detected in San Diego County, suggesting that the plume of nuclear material spewing from the damaged reactors in Japan finally has reached the region, state public health officials said Friday.
The measurement was recorded on March 18 by an air monitoring device operated by the state.
State officials said their devices also detected iodine at seven California locations outside San Diego County and tellurium-123 at two of those sites.
Earlier this week, EPA officials reported that their own network of monitors had detected tiny amounts of iodine-131 as well as cesium-137 and tellurium-132 in Anaheim, Riverside, San Francisco and Seattle.
The delay in the San Diego County detection points to surveillance systems that appear to do a good job of spotting immediate radiation spikes but require more time, sometimes as much as a week, to identify the specific nature of the radioactive particles.
The lag time is a factor of the numerous stages of collecting and analyzing samples, said Gary Butner, chief of the radiologic health division of the Department of Public Health.
A state worker removes sample filters from the San Diego County device, whose location is kept secret for security reasons, every 48 hours then mails them overnight to the state's laboratory in Richmond where they are analyzed.
The testing stage of the process has been streamlined to 24 hours since the March 18 sample was analyzed, Butner said.
The federal Environmental Protection Agency also operates a monitor in the Kearny Mesa area of San Diego, but it was out of commission from November until last week, EPA officials said Friday.
Its device, like the state's, takes about a week to analyze specific particles, but it also has a probe that delivers hourly reports of radioactive levels to the National Air and Radiation Environmental Laboratory in Montgomery, Ala.
Two of the EPA's other 10 monitors in California also required repairs this week, said Ron Fraass, director of the Alabama laboratory.
All of the devices were functioning normally Friday, said agency spokesman Brendan Gilfillan.
One agency critic said the long duration of the San Diego County malfunction raised serious questions about the agency's ability to properly manage the nationwide network of 124 monitoring stations.
"It's deeply troubling," said Daniel Hirsch, a nuclear policy lecturer at the University of California Santa Cruz and president of anti-nuclear organization Committee to Bridge the Gap.
"The purpose of those monitors is to be available in an emergency, and (the San Diego device) was unavailable for nearly half a year," he said.
An EPA spokesman wasn't able to say why the monitor outage occurred or why it lasted so long.
Aside from iodine, no other unusual radioactive particles have been found in the county since a 9.0 earthquake and tsunamis wrecked parts of Japan two weeks ago and damaged four reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station located along the country's northeastern coast.
All of the radioactive particles discovered in Southern California are typically produced by the atomic reaction that powers nuclear electricity generation stations.
Exposure to high levels of radiation can cause burns and illness. If the particles enter the body through breathing or eating they can become lodged in the lungs, bones and other tissue for years.
The radiation from the molecules can cripple or kill surrounding cells, said Stephen Steuterman, the radiation safety officer for the Scripps Health hospital and clinic system in San Diego County. More serious damage can occur if the radiation causes cells to mutate into potentially deadly cancers.
Federal and state officials continued to stress Friday that all of the levels of radioactive material detected in California and other parts of the country so far have been thousands of times below any threshold for being potentially dangerous to humans.
"There really is no impact on human health," said Ken August, a spokesman for the California health public department.
At least three air monitoring devices are currently operating in San Diego County — the two run by the state and the EPA, and another one run by Southern California Edison at the utility's San Onofre Nuclear Generation Station in the North County.
Others could be conducting their own radiation surveillance on a less official level.
Murray Jennex, a former nuclear engineer from Vista, said he has been carrying around a hand-held radiation detection device for the last week.
All of his readings have been within the range of so-called "background" radiation that would normally be expected from the sun, rocks, minerals and other everyday sources, he said.
His latest measurements, taken Friday in Vista and Thursday along the beach in Oceanside, fell within a range of 12 to 15 microrads per hour, far below the 571 microrad-per-hour exposure rate allowed for nuclear power plant workers, he said.
keith.darce@uniontrib.com (619) 293-1020 Twitter @keithdarce
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Breaking: Low-level radiation found in Bay State rainwater
This just in to the City Desk … the state Department of Public Health announced today they have detected low levels of radiation in Massachusetts rainwater, likely from the nuclear fallout from Japan's crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant.
As you can read below, there's no public health threat, but it does illustrate the severity of the nuclear crisis in Japan. Here's the release …
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) today announced that very low concentrations of radioiodine-131 (I-131), likely associated with the Japan nuclear power plant event, have been detected in a precipitation (i.e. rainwater) sample. The sample location is one of more than 100 locations around the country that are part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Radiation Network (RadNet) monitoring system that routinely monitors for radioactivity in environmental media. Air samples at the same location have shown no detectable radiation. There is no health impact to state drinking water supplies as a result of these findings, and state and federal health officials emphasized that there are no anticipated public health concerns.
The concentration of I-131 was 79 pCi/L (picocuries per liter). The precipitation sample was taken during the past week, with results available today following analysis and confirmatory testing by the DPH Radiation Control Program. Similar testing in other states, including California, Pennsylvania and Washington, has shown comparable levels of I-131 in precipitation samples. Federal officials have indicated that such findings would likely be found in multiple locations across the country, with some variation due to weather patterns.
DPH Commissioner John Auerbach emphasized that the sampling results show no risk to state drinking water supplies. "The drinking water supply in Massachusetts is unaffected by this short-term, slight elevation in radiation. However, we will carefully monitor the drinking water as we exercise an abundance of caution." he said.
I-131 has a short half-life (the time that it takes for half of the radionuclide to break down) of eight days. Detecting a concentration of approximately 79 pCi/L in precipitation would mean that the element becomes undetectable in a relative short time, assuming no continuing source.
It is important to note that any I-131 concentrations detected in rainwater samples are significantly higher than might be detected in a surface water body, such as a lake or pond, because anything falling with precipitation would be greatly diluted once in the water body. In addition, standards that are established for the group of radionuclides, including I-131, are based on a lifetime of daily exposure. Given the short half-life of I-131 and the likely significant dilution of any precipitation that may contain I-131 once falling into a water body, health officials do not expect health concerns associated with levels currently being reported. Nonetheless DPH has worked with the Massachusetts Water Resource Authority (MWRA) to collect raw drinking water samples from the Quabbin and Wachusett Reservoirs last week as part of an expanded monitoring system. Results of this testing showed no detectable levels of I-131 in either body of water.
Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Richard K. Sullivan Jr. directed the Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) to collect additional samples for testing for radioiodine from several water bodies across the state today (Sunday), and results will be available on a rolling basis over the next several days.
"The initial result of DPH tests on water samples from the Quabbin and Wachusetts Reservoirs - the source of drinking water for 2.5 million Massachusetts residents - is good news," said Secretary Sullivan, who chairs the board of the MWRA. "In an abundance of caution, however, MassDEP is sampling additional areas today so that we can be confident that water bodies across the Commonwealth have not been impacted by the nuclear incident in Japan."
USEPA also reported this week that four RadNet sites on the West Coast (Riverside. CA; San Francisco, CA; Anaheim, CA; Seattle, WA) had levels of I-131 in ambient air ranging from 0.003 to 0.01 pCi/m3. USEPA characterized these results as hundreds of thousands to millions of times below levels of concern. In a typical day, Americans receive doses of radiation from natural sources like rocks, bricks, and sun that are about 100,000 times higher than what has been detected coming from Japan. In Massachusetts, all measured air samples have had undetectable radiation levels.
DPH will continue to monitor precipitation and ambient air samples for the presence of radionuclides that may be associated with the Japan event and to assess trends, whether increasing or decreasing. As an added precaution, DPH will also work with the state Department of Environmental Protection to collect and analyze additional drinking water samples (where the drinking water source is a surface water body) for the presence of I-131.
This entry was posted on Sunday, March 27th, 2011 at 12:26 pm and is filed under Breaking News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
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