Doctors express “deep concern” about Fukushima impacts on Canada
How do we know how much radiation is reaching Canada from Fukushima? Physicians for Global Survival asked, in a press release today. They added that physicians for Global Survival “would like more openness from safety regulators and government about all isotopes, honesty about methods of measurement and regular updates about risks to vulnerable populations.”
“Physicians for Global Survival is deeply concerned about the long term health of populations exposed due to accidental or planned releases of radioactivity from Fukushima and from domestic power plants.”
How the US monitors radiation
“The US uses a system of RadNet monitors,” the release said, adding that:
Radiation monitors are “point source” monitors, meaning that the radioactive element or ray must actually strike the monitor to be measured. They are unlikely to detect radiation as close as twenty five feet above or beside them. Apparently there are only about 125 of these monitors for the entire continental United States, Hawaii and Alaska.
Feel secure yet?
“News reports mention Iodine-131 and Cesium-137, not because they are the only radioactive elements discharged from the stricken reactors in Fukushima, but because they are the easiest to detect and measure,” the report added.
“They both give off gamma rays (like x-rays for which technicians wear little badges) when they decay. Iodine releases gamma rays directly and cesium, indirectly when its short-lived decay product, barium-137m, undergoes further decay.”
What about Canada?
According to reports from the Gentilly 2 reactor in Quebec, there are 48 radioactive elements identified in regular emissions and, according to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, there may be more than 225 radioactive elements produced in a fully functioning nuclear reactor. Aside from plutonium, news reports are silent.
Alpha and beta radioactivity are more difficult to measure. RadNet measures them by “vacuuming” the air and passing it through a filter. The amount on the filter is then measured. Sources are contradictory about amount of time between detection, measurement and speed at which the public can be informed.
Because of their poor external penetrance – alpha particles can’t penetrate skin and beta particles don’t go much further than a few millimeters – their danger has been discounted. As internal emitters, however, their damage can be extensive. Absorbed in a human body through eating or breathing, they can change enzymes, dislodge ions, and upset strands of DNA.
Radioactive iodine-131 causes cancer by this type of mechanism. The human body absorbs iodine from food for the production of a thyroid hormone that is important for normal growth, intellectual ability and daily energy – ask anyone who has had a “low” thyroid. While in the thyroid, radioactive iodine emits beta particles. Cells have genes which determine their rate of growth and life spans. Beta particles alter these genes and, eventually, in those who develop cancer, turn off the “growth control” gene so that cells grow wildly out of control producing cancer.
Fortunately the danger from radioactive iodine is relatively short-lived. With a half-life of eight days, one tonne becomes a mere 62.5 kilograms in a month. The danger can be decreased but not eliminated by taking potassium iodide tablets immediately before exposure.
Iodine-131, however, is not the only radioactive element released from Fukushima – or from any nuclear power plant, the group said in the news release.
Linda Solomon
Posted: Apr 1st, 2011
Source: The Vancouver Observer
See also:
– GREENPEACE Measures EXTREME RADIATION 35KM From Fukushima: Maximum Annual Dose In Just 4 Days!
– Japan: Blue Flashing Light Seen Over Fukushima Plant (FOX News)
– Nuclear Expert: Suicide Crews ‘Facing 100-Year Battle’ At Fukushima
– Radioactive Iodine-131 In Rainwater Near San Francisco 18,100% Above Federal Drinking Water Standard
– Pennsylvania: Radioactive Iodine-131 In Rainwater 3300% Above Federal Drinking Water Standard
– Dangerous Levels of Radioactive Cesuim 137 Found 25 Miles From Fukushima Plant
– TEPCO’s Totally Insane Disaster Plan At Fukushima Nuclear Plant
– TEPCO Chairman Admits Battle To Safe Fukushima Plant Lost, Reactors To Be Entombed
– US Government Admits Radiation Found In Milk from Washington State
– EU Erhöht Grenzwerte Drastisch! EU Raises ‘Safe Level’ of Cesium in Japanese Food By 20 Times!
– Dr. Michio Kaku: Three Raging Nuclear Meltdowns In Progress!
– Greenpeace Radiology Experts Find High Levels Of Radiation Beyond No-Go Zone
– Japan Nuclear Meltdown: ‘Fukushima Plutonium Leak Comparable To Chernobyl Disaster’ (RT)
– Japan Nuclear Meltdown: Fatal Radiation Detected Outside Damaged Reactor No. 2
– US, Europe: Radiation and Jetstream FORECAST UPDATE (March 27, 2011)
– Updating Japan’s Nuclear Disaster
– Japan’s Government Asks Water Treatment Plants Not To Take In Radioactive Rainwater
– Japan Nuclear Crisis: Engineers Toil To Pump Radioactive Nuclear Plant Water Into The Ocean
–Japan Nuclear Crisis: Close-Up Aerial Video of Wrecked Reactors at Fukushima (25.03.2011)
– Japan Nuclear Meltdown: High Levels of Radiation Leaking From Reactor No. 3
– Japan Nuclear Crisis: High-Radiation Leaks In Fukushima Reactors No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3
– Japan Nuclear Crisis: Fukushima Nuclear Plant Emitted A Neutron Beam 13 Separate Times
– Dr. Chris Busby: Fukushima Now 72,000 Times Hiroshima Radiation
– Japan Officials Say HIGH SEAWATER RADIATION LEVELS Are NO Cause For Alarm
– Japan’s Science Ministry: Radiation Now Exceeds 400 Times Normal 40 km From Fukushima
– Germany Keeps Radiation Measurements Secret Since Japan Nuclear Disaster
– WHO On Japan Food Radiation: ‘It’s A Lot More Serious Than Anybody Thought’
– Japan Nuclear Crisis: Emergency Evacuation Of Workers Ordered After Reactor No. 3 Emits Black Smoke
– Japan’s Health Ministry Tells Villagers Not To Drink Radioactive Tap Water
– Japan Nuclear Meltdown: Partially Accurate MSM Reporting Now Reduced To Lies And Propaganda
– Japan Nuclear Meltdown: Total Information Blackout On Fukushima Unit 4 Reactor
– Japan Finds Radioactive Food Up To 90 Miles From Fukushima Nuclear Site
– Japan Nuclear Meltdown: Multiple Times Worse than Chernobyl
– Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant In Japan: A Dirty Bomb Waiting To Go Off
– Japan Nuclear Meltdown: Radiation Levels 6,600 Times Normal 20km Away from Fukushima Nuclear Plant
– Japan Nuclear Meltdown: It’s Much, Much Worse Than It Looks (Thanks To The Stupidity of Nuclear Engineers!) (MUST-READ!)