Okinawa

Super-Typhoon Neoguri Approaches Japan’s Okinawa Islands

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Super-typhoon Neoguri, with gusts of up to 270km per hour, expected to hit southernmost subtropical island chain early Tuesday, possibly reaching mainland Japan by Wednesday
Typhoon Neoguri, the first super typhoon of 2014
Satellite image by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) showing typhoon Neoguri, the first super-typhoon of 2014 heading towards Japan. Photograph: NOAA/EPA

– Super-typhoon Neoguri approaches Japan’s Okinawa islands (Guardian, July 7, 2014):

Super-typhoon Neoguri is approaching Japan’s Okinawa islands, bringing strong winds and torrential rains.

Gusts of up to 270km per hour (160 miles per hour) are expected to slam into the southernmost subtropical island chain early Tuesday, and may reach mainland Japan by Wednesday. The storm could be one of the worst in decades, the national weather agency said.

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Radioactive Fukushima Firewood Used In Okinawa, Resulting In HIGHLY Radioactive Ashes And Radioactive Noodles and Pizzas

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From the article:

“If you burn firewood with 468 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium, it will result in ashes with 85,176 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium (468 x 182). Even by the lax “standard” of the Ministry of the Environment, you wouldn’t be able to bury these ashes in a regular dump, not to mention using it in your garden. You certainly wouldn’t want to use them in your noodles, because the transfer rate from the ashes to the noodles seems rather high from the example in the article.”

– #Radioactive Okinawa Noodles and Pizzas from Radioactive Ashes from Radioactive Firewood from Fukushima (EX-SKF, Feb. 7, 2012):

Radiation’s reach is indeed long. Okinawa is as far away as you can get in Japan from Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, and there has hardly been any radioactive fallout. Maybe because of that, businesses in Okinawa don’t seem to be much concerned about radioactive contamination in goods.

Here’s an example of some Okinawa restaurants having bought firewood from (of all places) Fukushima Prefecture via a distributor in Gifu Prefecture who clearly thought it could get away with it; one of the restaurants made the traditional “Okinawa Soba (noodle)” using the ashes from the radioactive firewood, and has already served the noodles to the customers.

As usual, the familiar refrain from the government officials: “There is no effect on health.” They might as well add “Just keep on smiling.”

From Okinawa Times (2/8/2012):

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Okinawa Prefecture announced on February 7 that 4 restaurants in Okinawa have used firewood from Fukushima Prefecture, and in one of the restaurant the maximum 468 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium was detected from the firewood, which is about 11 times the level of the national safety limit for radioactive cesium in firewood (40 becquerels/kg). In another restaurant, 39,960 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium was detected from the ashes after the firewood was burned, which is about 5 times the level of the national safety limit of 8,000 becquerels/kg. The Okinawa prefectural government says, “For both the consumers and the employees at these restaurants, there is no effect on health at these levels.”

Read moreRadioactive Fukushima Firewood Used In Okinawa, Resulting In HIGHLY Radioactive Ashes And Radioactive Noodles and Pizzas