of COURSE it isn't dangerous. The Government would tell us if it was, right? Right? *eyeroll*

Amidst all of my health issues, I guess I'll have to welcome tumors or cancer.

What do you expect our government to say?

All we have to do is decide when we can believe them .....

~~~~~~~ Flips a coin ~~~~~~

at worst would have extremely minor health consequences in the United States

It was only a few days ago that the experts and the government of Japan were claiming that there was little danger there.

Experts will swear to anything. They do so by the dozens, if not hundreds, every day in court rooms across America.

Sunshine and wind are free.

I have solar and love it. Especially in a storm when everyone else's power goes out, and I don't even realize it until I hear it on the news or look outside and see the dark houses. My monthly electric bill: $0. Maintenance costs and hassle: over two years now and never touched it.

Right. And if I were to mount panels on my house, my batteries might get a full charge a few times in the summer. And run 0% throughout the winter.

Wind won't work either. Check out NREL's graphs.

Get it through YOUR head that it may be free, but that doesn't make it readily available.

What part of the country do you live in and how much was it to put in solar?

You are correct, the world needs to worry more about using more solar and other forms of safe energy!

Right. And if I were to mount panels on my house, my batteries might get a full charge a few times in the summer. And run 0% throughout the winter.

Where do you live that you that little sunshine?

Wind won't work either. Check out NREL's graphs

The DOE are the same people telling us nuclear is safe.

I live in Indiana.

And I use my solar throughout the winter, too. It even charges on gray, drizzly days -- just not as much.

Many people think of solar as direct sun-to-power, but really it's sun-to-storage. Even in the dead of winter there are many sunny days and you store that power for later use.

It wasn't cheap to install, but I am not a handy person. Anyone with a few skills could do a lot of the work themselves. That said, while it wasn't cheap, it wasn't nearly as expensive as I assumed before I looked into it.

It's like most things -- at first it seems terribly complicated, but once you have some experience with it, you realize it's quite simple. If I expand it, I will do some (or all) of the work myself this time.

I'm just a few years away from being a little old lady, living alone. Come on, kids -- get with the future.

OK. let's just accept that we're all going to die of radiation poisoning next week. Let's go out and buy iodine tablets, duct tape, and plastic sheeting and seal ourselves into our houses.

Let panic reign.

And I believe in Unicorns too. I'm really tired of having my intellegence insulted by the so called Experts. Try your BS on someone else.

I'm no longer buying.

Gwen, We have a hybrid system. Combined solar and wind that feeds back into the grid (for now). Put the word out and ask around. Check online, as prices have dropped.

We got our 800 watt solar panels from a friend who was upgrading, and a 400 watt turbine. We live in a South facing valley, with a "wind funneling" effect. Combined with an inverter and 2 yacht batteries. The batteries were the biggest expense.

Each household is different, and there is a site you can go to in order to calculate how much wattage you may need to run your household. Our system will run water pump, freezer, fridge, lights and low wattage appliances when power goes, but we also have to be conservative with our energy consumption.

We use primarily an EPA rated 4 woodstove for heat in the winter, and only propane for waterheater and cook stove. We did obtain a wood cookstove (very cheap) through word of mouth, and will be installing that also.

Put the word out there what you are looking for....have friends and family on the lookout, too.

While technology is making better and more affordable systems, many are looking to upgrade. One of my favorite Granny quotes " You can have anything the rich folks have, you just have to let them have it first." LOL

Good luck with your seach!

RIGHT! Look on the "bright side"! At leasr we'll be able to eliminate 'daylight savings' time changes because or children will start glowing in the dark!

I am testing the background radiation daily (southern VA) and so far it is normal (around 0.05 microsieverts/hr)

What a crock of BS! Newscasters are sensationalists and that's it.

Think back when America tested Trinity in the New Mexico desert. Trinity's yield was 19Kt. Radiation contamination dispersed quickly and only small towns and cities approximately 50 miles from the blast site had barely traceable contamination, though enough to cause problems. Little Boy (Hiroshima) was 15Kt and Fat Man (Nagasaki) was 21Kt.

Concerned about this being worse than Chernobyl, which is said to be equal to about 300Xs Hiroshima? Deadly contamination only spread approximately 100 to 200 miles from Kiev, where the power plant was located.

Honolulu is about 3,800 miles southeast of the power plant and San Francisco is 5,000 miles away, directly east.

Well, since Americans are too stupid to legalize hemp as an alternative fuel source let's just build a bunch of reactors on fault lines! They're safe and clean, and radiation is good for you.

I'm digging a hole right now! Wait! Maybe if I drive really fast I can make it down to Patagonia, Chile before the radiation hits! I should be safe there. Oh, that's right. With the reduced ozone in that part of the world the increased solar radiation might be worse! Back to the hole.......

As an old survivalist with quite a bit of experience I can tell you that blowing problems out of proportion is often far worse than the original problem. Numbers do not lie - people lie. Look at the actual numbers for radiation: 0.05 microsieverts per hour is normal. You can be exposed up to 5 microsieverts per hour for a long time (1-2 weeks) without much adverse reaction, but past that point things get worse and worse very fast (it is a steep logarithmic curve).

If our government is telling the truth, it will be a first.

Celia,

I think it's super that you have solar! But it's not really free, as your post seems to imply (electric bill $0). We live in a communal housing situation partially run by solar power (about 50%), and it cost over a million dollars to have the panels installed. We're a community of hundreds, not simply a single family home (where the installation costs would not, of course, be a million dollars). But you need to amortize the initial costs over years--a lot of folks would like to install solar panels but lack the ability to pay for the up-front costs. It's the way to go, for sure, but not cheap!

Ben - no, the US govt will not tell you the truth. But you can buy a Geiger counter for a couple hundreds of bucks and do your own measurements. Radiation contamination varies locally to a tremendous degree as proven around Chernobyl.

You can be exposed up to 5 microsieverts per hour for a long time (1-2 weeks) without much adverse reaction,

"... without MUCH adverse reaction" - It's the fear of the unknown that frightens folks.

TP - this is not a very well understood area of medicine and different people react differently, with the young people being potentially more adversely affected by higher radiation doses (the ones who will reproduce). Higher radiation doses definitely affect reproduction.

All that testing of nukes in the western US COULD BE one of the reasons for the increase in the cancer rate in this country. Just thinking!

Max, I stocked up on potassium iodide pills years ago. They don't spoil so I figured one day thay might come in handy. I purchased a NOS Civil Defense geiger counter on ebay for fifty bucks last month. Now I just have to figure out how to use it.

Celia, I like your solution.

I'm not so worried about the actual radiological effects on the west coast, I'm looking at the financials of it. Think of the all the residential real estate out there that will have to place deed notices on the property in terms of elevated radiation....that's a lot of homes. Think of the effects on the aquifers....the produce, these are the things that will be greatly impacted simply by the stigma of "fallout".

Radiation is often misunderstood. Most of the general public doesnt know that the Grand Canyon is highly radioactive (due to its age), there are certain rock outcrops that tourists pose for picture on that give them their annual dose within half an hour. Some sections of Yellowstone are actually fenced off they are so radioactive.

I can only shake my head at how cafraid of everything citizens of the US have become. People in NY buying up iodine pills. People running out and stocking up on plastic sheeting and duct tape, people hoarding cipro, people lining up and making total fools of themselves running over everyone in sight to get a flu shot. The masters in Washington have you all pegged. All they have to do is get on camera and preach gloom and doom and no matter the subject, they can count on the fact that the majority will not bother to research or learn anything they will just instantly go into panic mode.

I'm not worried about a little bid of radiation. Hell, I don't go into a panic when I get a chest x-ray, teeth x-ray or even the high dose CAT scan (I've had two). There are lots of risks in life - I'm more concerned about the risks of sharing the road in California everyday with a third of the people driving without insurance and the illegals that will hop across the border if you are in an accident with them.

But I am glad people are using solar, wind and hybrid! Saves more oil, coal and electricity for the rest of us. And for the people willing to buy and drive around in a butt-ugly tiny Prius - thank you. I will keep my car and SUV that you can actually transport things in and travel in. And when hybrid cars and SUV's compete price wise, I may buy one. Right now, payback is not worth it.

Ben, most US made radiation meters have a scale in micro Rads (uR). The conversion is simple: divide your result by 100 to get the results in microSv.

Learn to use your meter and save the iodide tablets until you see readings past 1 micro sievert. The most dangerous stuff is not the radioactivity itself, but radioactive dust you can breathe in. Have plenty of good dust masks on hand.

I love it when people flip out and think the whole world will be covered in lethal amounts of radiation because there's a problem in Japan and wind happens. ^_^

D.Man - Grand Canyon is not radioactive due to it's age, but due to it's geology. Yes, some rocks there are fairly radioactive, but not to the degree you describe. Radioactivity needs to be respected - but again: numbers do not lie, only people do. Look for the numbers and make your own interpretation.

Well, I don't think I'm going to need the iodide pills for this one. The next one might be closer. I was actually considering sending the pills to the Japanese since they need them now. I can always stock back up later.

Shellie makes a good point. We're always being played

Max, that's some good info. I didn't know that about the dust or the grand canyon. If I go there, I will take my geiger counter.

Maintenance costs and hassle: over two years now and never touched it.

Yesh, talk to us about it in about 15 to 25 years when you will be replacing a number of panels when 1. their efficiency drops, 2. weather extremes cause some of them to crack, and 3. when their effective life cycle ends beginning 25 years from the date of installation and you need to begin replacing them as they lose efficiency and fail. You will make up for lack of maintenance costs at about that time. :)

Combined with an inverter and 2 yacht batteries. The batteries were the biggest expense.

Expect to replace the batteries every two to five years, especially if they are sitting on the ground. Note the length of your warranty carefully. You could be replacing one of those right after the warranty voids. I'd purchase a spare just in case.

get ready to see cancers and malformation in newborns rise !

I doubt it. So far as the information I have shows, none of the 'hard stuff' has gotten out yet.

Note to self: I haven't had my daily dose of radiation yet. I think I'll go eat a couple bananas in a moment. :)

The nanotechnology is here for the next generation of solar panels that will keep producing energy through cloudy weather. Many people live in areas where they can produce surplus electricity which they sell back to the grid. On many occasions that means not paying electric bills or paying small electric bills. I can see the possibility of having your own panels and recharging your electric car off of the sun. You unplug from the gas pump and you unplug for coal and nuke fired electrical power plants.

We need to jump start this new energy source and secure the green jobs that can be created in America and stay in America. The alternative is buying Chinese solar panels or solar panel parts to stimulate their economy.

WHEN the first reactor melts down, will that cause the other two to melt down? What will happen to all of the "stored" spent nuclear material in reactor #4? If it all melts down, what levels of radiation will America see then? Hmmm....

You know for sure the government wouldn't tell you that if you live on the West Coast, you are toast, do you?

Just had some bananas made into a deliciously simple desert and consumed them. I just got exposed to more radiation than we are going to get from Japan under current conditions.

Yes, it is true that bananas contain radioactive isotopes, particularly small amounts of potassium-40. Right now, my insides are getting bombarded with low levels of beta radiation as well as high energy gamma radiation via electron capture.

And, did I mention that we will get less radiation from Japan's broken reactor facility than what I will be getting over the next number of days from the bananas I just ate? If you think I am kidding, slice some bananas in a bowl and get out the geiger counter.

The truth is that even if you stop eating bananas now, you still will be exposed to radioactive isotopes of potassium. It is unavoidable. Cutting vegies from your diet won't do, either. Milks, fruits, nuts and meats have it, too.

Our bodies need potassium and use it regularly every day, absorbing it from the foods we eat, from the soil we handle, and from the dust we inhale, every day. Now, everybody go have some radiation today and quit worrying about little to nothing.

We need to jump start this new energy source and secure the green jobs that can be created in America and stay in America.

"Green jobs" are a farce. Once the infrastructure is completed the mass layoffs follow. A relatively few jobs will be created but many more will go to oblivion. Those who want to argue the contrary position are among those whow have to learn the hard way several times over their lifetimes. :)

DUDE, you don't even know what a 'meltdown' is, do you?

No, one 'meltdown' won't cause the others to do the same. They aren't contagious. If you're talking about a full containment breach (nuclear fuel melts through containment), not only is that unlikely, but the result would be a whole lot of radiation in the LOCAL environment, and not much going anywhere else. If it hits the water table before substantially cooling, you could see enough of a steam explosion to scatter uranium across a sizable chunk of the western pacific, but still nothing that'd impact us before it dispersed to unnoticeable levels. The spent fuel faces a similar risk, but at even lower odds (not as hot).

The radiation coming out of the plant is only a problem for the plant workers. Radiation is like light. Hell, most of it is light. It shines in straight lines and gets dimmer the farther it goes. Think of the power plant as a big radiation light bulb. If you can't see the plant, you're probably not getting hit (hiding behind a wall won't help much, though). The fear is the radioactive material that may be released. So far, that's been minimal amounts in steam vented from the reactors and possibly some from the exposed storage pool, but no one's really certain what's happened there. If anything breaches containment, there's the possibility of off-gassing iodine-131 and cesium. There's even slight worry about that happening now at the storage pool. That could be rather bad, but it's still only a local problem.

WHEN the first reactor melts down, will that cause the other two to melt down? What will happen to all of the "stored" spent nuclear material in reactor #4? If it all melts down, what levels of radiation will America see then? Hmmm....

Probably not. They are fairly far apart for any chance of that to happen. Last report that came across my desk showed that reactor 4 still is doing ok in spite of its problems. They have made efforts to replenish the water in the 'spent rods' area. They also are working on getting the main cooling systems back online. ETA is as of yet unknown.

Should that worst-case scenario of the fuel rods melting in #4 happen, though, we will get more and it will be more harmul, but it still would be considerably less than the people of Japan would get and likely still would not be enough cause for panic.

You know for sure the government wouldn't tell you that if you live on the West Coast, you are toast, do you?

What makes you so sure I am dependent on government for my information? I couldn't care less what they have to say on the matter. It is likely that they would lie in order to prevent mass panic.

But, in this case things are not anywhere as bad as the media is making it out to be. While the situation could still go south, at the moment the situation is improving.

dcpyle - you would not see any increase of radiation from bananas - trust me, I now check all the imported food. It is easy to skew the facts. We ingest tiny amounts of radioactive particles all the time - but they are not ALL ALIKE. Some radioactive elements are thousands times more toxic than others. It's like bacteria - they are not all alike.

There's not only radiation in the air that's heading east, there's radiation and radiation covered debris that will start washing ashore on the west coast. Also those tasty tasty fish, an you thought mercury was bad ;)

C.Smith - many, many tons of radioactive steam have been generated on this site from cooling hot reactors and fuel, along with all kinds of radioactive dust generated by the explosions. Most of it will no doubt settle into the ocean and be of no immediate concern to us (but some of it will end up in the food chain).

Unlike in Chernobyl, this material has not been blown up into the higher levels of the atmosphere, so the dispersal will be limited.

Yeah! for some civilized, intelligent, thoughtful, educated, and meaningful responses. "The Media" only gets attention through inflammatory, reactive, sensationalism. Not just this, in everything! "The Government" only regulates information to prevent mass hysteria and "The Media" exaggerated sensationalism. When will people learn to evaluate information, do their own research (we have lots available now with internet), and stop over-reacting. No one knows what is happening in Japan, not even those workers right at the reactor sites. Electricity is being re-established to the facility so hopefully the coolers will be restored. Caution makes sense, but hysteria is ridiculous. Why not get real facts before spouting off???

As they minimize the radiation threat, after looking into their crystal ball with their half-baked predictions, I don't place much credence in what they're saying!

It's not over 'til it's over, so check out the news that the EPA is placing more sensors and monitoring units in Alaska, Hawaii, and Guam. Oregon's governor has had several sensors placed on the Oregon coast.

Better safe than sorry! I reside in the Northwest, and have lived in HI and AK and believe continual monitoring is best.

Prayers to the people of Japan and all who have suffered heartbreaking and gut-wrenching loss.

Noelle - EPA has lots of sensors, but most are not very sensitive or accurate. And will they make the actual readings available in real time to the public? They have not done so in the past. No wonder lots of people are not relying on them for the early warning information.

When you look at the maximum occupational exposure to radiation allowable in US it is 5 Rads per year, which translates into a continuous exposure to a radiation level which is 100x the normal background. EPA does not even start warning people until the radiation levels reach 10,000 times the normal background. Does that still give you a warm, fuzzy feeling?

Check out this independent continuous radiation monitoring network website as an alternative to the government run system: http://www.radiationnetwork.com/

LOL ready, set, amaericans begin your panic!!! Its like we really dont have anything else to do. Like paranoid old people, if it starts to drizzle start scrambling into the storm shelter.

They don't 'Got_it?'. Fools.

dcpyle, depends on what type of battery and yes, location is important.

Ours are in a storage room with temp ave between 50 and 70 degrees, and we are upgrading to Crown Industrial 12-125-13 this summer. Expensive, yes...but what we have saved so far in energy costs over the years will more than pay for it.

These puppies are HEAVY, but last 20 plus years if not drained ( we have a monitoring system in place that interupts before that can happen) and cannot put a price tag on the security we feel.

We had many people try to discourage us from doing this when we started 7 years ago, but we ignored them. I'm glad we did.

First and foremost, this is not an easy endeavor....it takes work and up keep, but my husband and I are dyed in the wool "do-it-yourselfers". However, once you get the hang of it, it is not as daunting as some might think. This is NOT for everyone, but when we hear someone trying to explore this, we try to be supportive.

I grew up during the '70's when the great nuclear debate was going on. All I have to say is WE FREAKING TOLD YOU SO!!!!! What absolutely amazes me is that even now, this country and its energy department are still expounding the great benefits (and minimizing the hazards) of pumping our world full of supercharged particles. JESUS!!! What is UP with that? People, puhleaaaze stop posting your comments to the forums and start posting your comments through the mail to your congressmen, to the energy department and to anyone else who will or will not listen to you.

As for solar power, I think its an absolutely fantastic idea. Understand, that it is very expensive and at present the photovoltaic cells aren't very efficient and do not produce a large amount of electricity. However, that is because 1) they aren't mass produced in quantities that will help lower the price of the systems (remember that computers were once millions of dollars) and 2) producers just simply don't sell enough to give them incentive to pour the billions of dollars into the research to perfect the systems and make them more feasible to the average homeowner.

Last but not least, remember that the Nuclear Energy Moguls DO have a lobby, a fairly old and established lobby. They had to in order to sell this crappy energy producing/radiation poisoning system to stupid uninformed energy hungry Americans.

"All the available information continues to indicate Hawaii, Alaska, the U.S. Territories and the U.S. West Coast are not expected to experience any harmful levels of radioactivity,"

So the 'government' tells us that 'all is well'.

And the 'government' of Libya tells it's people that their cities will soon be 'liberated' from those nasty rebels trying to take away their 'freedoms'.

Governments always tell us the truth, right? Hmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Didnt they tell us a few days ago that this wouldn't effect the US? And now we learn its headed this way. Methinks that all of this was MUCH worse than they ever led us to believe in the first place. What is most astonishing is, it ain't over peeps. What really will happen if those SIX!!! COUNT THEM SIX!!!! reactors all meltdown? What really is the worse case scenario for the US if that happens?

jaerae, I've always been told "Don't believe nothing you hear and only half of what you see.". The truth is hardly told about anything. "Ratings boosters", that's what we hear. Either "It's not that bad." or "Oh my God, the sky is falling."Fortunately/unfortunately the internet is a vast sea of, for lack of a better word, "knowledge". Pick and choose and come to your own conclusions because we'll never get the whole truth.

And if you find someone to answer that question for you, I hope the answer isn't "We're f@#$ed.".

Max, what do you suppose the half-life is on all that Taco Bell Beef? lol!!!

That gut-bomb beef is worse for you than a slug of radiation, that's for sure! ;)

RN...a bran muffin and two cups of coffee would do the same thing...just dont get stuck in traffic. Thats the worst....

Some of the potassium in all bananas is radioactive. Doesn't matter where they are grown. They are not irradiated deliberately to kill bacteria. The radiation in them is completely natural.

We could have 2 Chernobyls every year, and still not kill as many people as die in auto accidents in the US every year.

San Fransisco was levelled by an earthquake. Thousands died. And yet there are more people now there than ever. Until the next earthquake there kills thousands more.

But do we block development there because it will kill thousands to have that place occupied by people? No.

So let's not get so scared by Nuclear power. It has only killed 3 people in the US in it's entire history here.

And those were people that worked at the plant.

If it still scares you, you should never climb stairs or take a bath.

We ingest tiny amounts of radioactive particles all the time - but they are not ALL ALIKE. Some radioactive elements are thousands times more toxic than others.

Correct--at least this part I have quoted. What we are getting from Japan is amongst the least worrisome. The half-life is hours to days for most of it. And the amounts we will be receiving are miniscule in the extreme. You will have more of a chance of getting cancer you might get from potassium-40 from daily exposure to soil in your own backyard.

On your other part, see the following for additional confirmation:

The Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO), under DHS, was "established to improve the Nation's capability to detect and report unauthorized attempts to import, possess, store, develop, or transport nuclear or radiological material for use against the Nation, and to further enhance this capability over time." In June 2006, the DHS awarded the DNDO contracts totaling $1.15 billion to enhance the detection of radiological and nuclear materials. This funding will focus on the Advanced Spectroscopic Portal (ASP) RPM program. The current system uses a plastic scintillator for detection whereas the proposed upgraded detector will use sodium iodide or germanium. The next generation system will use "the spectra of radiation to improve system effectiveness by optimizing sensitivity, probability of detection, and false alarm rate." Therefore, if the current RPMs are inspecting upwards of 90%, why is an upgrade needed? First, they are not inspecting 100% and that leaves room for error. In addition to this, current portal monitors are subject to false alarms caused by legitimate radioactive materials, (i.e. kitty litter, bananas, and ceramics). Evaluations of various border scenarios have shown that nearly 80% of false alarms were triggered by such legitimate radioactive materials.

http://www.nti.org/e_research/e3_88.html

In line with the quotes above, we eat things that are radioactive every day. Some of us have metabolisms that keep potassium from leaving the body as quickly as others. I take a medication that causes buildups of potassium if I am not careful. I have to avoid salt substitutes because of it. I would be at higher risk from bananas than others but it still does not worry me.

The same goes for the reactors at the site that is now the talk of the world. If it really goes south there (not necessarily "in the cards" as of yet), then it might be time to worry a bit. But that time is not now.

Has anyone seen this article:

http://ecocentric.blogs.time.com/2011/03/12/japans-radiation-exposure-how-serious-is-it/

I've read the article. It is alright but can lead to fearmongering because it does not say what got out at the reactors. It leaves it to the imagination, which is a very bad thing to do.

Plutonium-239 did not get out as of yet. So, there is nothing to worry about there.

Strontium-90 did not get out as of yet. So, there is nothing to worry about there.

So long as the reactor is kept cool enough, these ones are of no concern to us. Even talking about them without quantifying what happened can lead to unnecessary fear. Newscasters like that situation because the readers are more likely to keep visiting for further news if they are kept overly concerned. In my case I ignore fearmongering news agencies when I see too much of it because I cannot trust them to tell me the truth when I really need to know it.

Cesium-137 may have gotten out in the steam releases. This is of some concern to locals in Japan. So far, I have seen no confirmation of serious amounts of this isotope, however.

Iodine-131 definitely was in the cloud and is of concern to locals. However, the amount was very small and may do nothing. If someone is worried about this it is a simple matter to take potassium iodide pills until the few days necessary pass before it is gone. The half-life is very short for I-131.

In point of fact, something people do not realize is that Iodine-131 is used for medical procedures, including the use for full thyroid ablation. In this procedure, high doses of I-131 are given to the patient, which destroys the thyroid gland. The I-131 decays and is eliminated from the body by the kidneys over the next several days after taking the substance.

Potassium iodide tablets also can help with Cesium-137 because if potassium levels are high enough in the body there is less chance that the radioactive Cesium will be incorporated into the body. This is because Cesium-137 can take the place of potassium in the body.

If the body has enough potassium the body will not generally use what is left or try to use cesium in place of potassium. Good nutrition is of tantamount importance here. If you eat plenty of fruit and vegetables (milk also is high in potassium but bananas are a really good source of this element), you have less risk of damage from radiation from either of these latter two elements. Now, go leave off your western, McDonalds-based or BK-based diets and eat your fruits and vegetables (and, maybe, take the recommended dose of potassium iodide if you are that scared).

Oh, and for the moment, stop worrying about something that will not affect us here in the US at the present time, even with the iodine particles wafting in the breeze overhead. There is not enough to be of concern as of yet. If the reactors actually go critical, or if there are true meltdowns, there may be more cause for concern. But, for now, there is no use worrying about this. In a few days the iodine-131 will be gone.

dcpyle,

Very informative... However your comment,

...and for the moment, stop worrying about something that will not affect us here in the US at the present time...

I believe there is no 'for the moment' concerning this. The average dispersal rate of radiation to safe levels is about 200 miles. Chernobyl's maximum dispersal was approximately 220 miles.

San Francisco is 5,000 miles away.

When 131I is present in high levels in the environment from radioactive fallout, it can be absorbed through contaminated food, and will also accumulate in the thyroid. As it decays, it may cause damage to the thyroid.

The primary risk from exposure to high levels of 131I is the chance occurrence of radiogenic thyroid cancer in later life. Other risks include the possibility of non-cancerous growths and thyroiditis.

The risk of thyroid cancer in later life appears to diminish with increasing age at time of exposure. Most risk estimates are based on studies in which radiation exposures occurred in children or teenagers. When adults are exposed, it has been difficult for epidemiologists to detect a statistically significant difference in the rates of thyroid disease above that of a similar but otherwise unexposed group.

The risk can be mitigated by taking iodine supplements, raising the total amount of iodine in the body and therefore reducing uptake and retention in tissues and lowering the relative proportion of radioactive iodine. Unfortunately, such supplements were not distributed to the population living nearest to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant after the disaster, though they were widely distributed to children in Poland.

Within the USA, the highest 131I fallout doses occurred during the 1950s and early 1960s to children who consumed fresh sources of milk contaminated as the result of above ground testing of nuclear weapons.
The National Cancer Institute provides additional information on the health effects from exposure to 131I in fallout, as well as individualized estimates, for those born before 1971, for each of the 3070 counties in the USA. The calculations are taken from data collected regarding fallout from the nuclear weapons tests conducted at the Nevada Test Site.

The Japanese nuclear disaster Fukushima I nuclear accidents of March 2011 resulted in significantly elevated iodine-131 levels in foodstuffs from spinach to tap water. These levels have been detected near the plant and as far away as Tokyo. A peak of 190 Becquerels per liter was recorded in a Tokyo water purification facility.

On 27 March 2011, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health reported that 131I was detected in rainwater from samples collected in Massachusetts, USA, and that this likely originated from the Fukushima power plant.

www.bphc.org/.../Health%20Notes/public%20health%20advisory.docx

Myself and realizing that I constantly have regular old iodine salt in my diet, I'm not going to rave about dangers of thyroid cancer what with the minimal amounts being projected here.

True as said Media Hype overplays risks t Americans and underplays the more real threat of people taking too much iodine and the dangers from that, in fearful anxiety of radiation poisoning.

"As deficiency of iodine can have side effects on the body, in the same way excess iodine can have adverse affects on the body, resulting in iodine poisoning.

The most commonly observed symptoms and signs of iodine poisoning are coughing, abdominal pain, diarrhea, delirium and fever. The person can experience pain in throat and mouth. Feeling shock and stupor in a person suffering from iodine poisoning may also be observed. A person suffering from iodine poisoning will urinate rarely. Very often, the person will feel thirsty. In very rare cases, extreme situations will be observed. Like, the person will be extremely thirsty or he will not at all be thirsty. The other scenario will be, he will urinate very frequently or very rarely. The person will also have breathing problems and might suffer from shortness of breath as well.

The person suffering from iodine poisoning will have a metallic kind of taste in the mouth. Seizures are also a commonly observed as one of the iodine poisoning symptoms. The person may also appear to be nervous. The eyeballs of this patient might experience a protruding effect and may also appear to be too big. One of the signs of iodine poisoning is abnormal sensitivity in the retina. A person suffering from this poison might have clear distant vision, but his near vision will be weak.

Loss of appetite and insomnia are also observed. Effects of iodine poison may be inflammation in the brain and nerve tissue. Sudden vibration in the brain and eyes can also be experienced. Pain in the lower part of the body and morning headaches are also common in a person suffering from iodine poisoning. Acute sense of touch is also a symptom of iodine poisoning. Extremely poor or sharp hearing, drop in blood pressure, purple stains around the mouth and high body temperature are some other effects of iodine poison."

Far too many Americans are more gullible than they care to admit, such as 2K millennium nuts that liquidated their stock portfolios, bank accounts and savings, and stocked up on large quantities of food stores and water in readiness for a full scale shutdown.

In like, many an American on the coast most likely went to the store to merely find out that iodine supplements were sold out long before they expected, and yet...went ahead and once obtaining such, proceeded to disregard warnings, taking it in too great of amounts (the more I take the safer I am) and for far too long of an oral regimental dosage.

But no, news media didn't warn us of this, they plastered the air ways with,

NUCLEAR FALLOUT IN JAPAN!

IODINE SUPPLEMENTS SELL OUT NATIONWIDE!

We are far too much a nation full of complainers, whiners and criers too lazy to admit or understand that life was never a promise of easy street, has its struggles and strifes and requires wisdom and common sense to negotiate its well traveled roads.

We are more ready to take the extreme right or left, than to dig in and seek truth and reality.

We should be more scared of the media hype as we are promised U.S. Governmental regulatory studies on our own reactor's stabilities.

We all remember the problem with regulatory commissions prepared and operative to prevent gulf oil disasters?

If we believe that those studies are determined to detect the truth about engineering protocols and guidelines in situational awareness along earthquake prone zones or otherwise "areas of risk management", or that they are willing to shut down current reactors to perform reliability fixes, we are most likely the pack of fools we project ourselves to be in daily life as we go along with our thumbs in our mouths and our other hand stuck in our diapers.

Prez Obama wan't to blame for the deep oil disaster, nor how it was handled come came through as best he could manage and even created new regulatory commissions, and even watch dog groups to watch the watch dogs.

In like, he won't be responsible for any misguidance by nuclear regulatory commissions, but we should ask ourselves the right questions.

Do we really have faith that the Republican agenda will really be to safeguard our nation, at a high cost to nuclear energy corporations while they have proven so enslaved to the wrong sides in the past?

Can we entrust our safety even to the Democratic Senators when even our Dem Supreme Court Justice seems to have been found in bed with the Koch Brothers?

www.bphc.org/.../Health%20Notes/public%20health%20advisory.docx

Christ Almighty, Holy Crap!!

Symptoms of Iodine Poisoning (I posted earlier)

Loss of appetite and insomnia are also observed. Effects of iodine poison may be inflammation in the brain and nerve tissue. Sudden vibration in the brain and eyes can also be experienced. Pain in the lower part of the body and morning headaches are also common in a person suffering from iodine poisoning. Acute sense of touch is also a symptom of iodine poisoning. Extremely poor or sharp hearing, drop in blood pressure, purple stains around the mouth and high body temperature are some other effects of iodine poison.The person may also appear to be nervous. The eyeballs of this patient might experience a protruding effect and may also appear to be too big. "

They just described most guys wives for at least 12 weeks out of the year!

joe donahue,

really, things could have been worse,could have been Bush.

Pure genius joe. Pure freakin genius. Don't you have a state capitol to protest or something? Maybe take a bath or wash your clothes? Possibly something more than contemplating your bellybutton lint as the drools drips off your lower lip?

this is a really dumb thread.

Water drops from helicopters...seriously?

It's time to do what the Soviet Union did to Chernobyl. Sand bag bombs and concrete from the air. Entomb all six reactors. Make a sarcophagus for each one, and pile on the sand and concrete till there is little or no radiation coming out. It will be an eyesore and a testament to man's folly forever, but will save lives.

Getting cooling going again is no longer an option. It's time to cut our losses and save as many Japanese lives as we can. It's time for Obama to step up and take over this mess. A coordinated aerial bombardment from as many countries as we can muster is the only option left.

I live in SoCal, and will get the first dose of radiation tomorrow Friday...thanks a lot.

So you want our country to just go in and take over the Japanese handling of their problem....nice. It is not "our" loss to cut. I like how you say an aerial bombardment from as many countries as possible but will blame Obama because no one did.

Have you not been reading or hearing about the differences in reactors from Chernobyl and these?

Hey! It's a good excuse to break out the vodka though - right? I'm referring to that urban legend that residents around the Chernobyl area were given vodka to counteract the effects of radiation.

It is a good idea to inspect nuclear reactors. Better to be safe than sorry when the downside is SO severe.

Nuclear meltdowns, Chernobyl... Time to go play S.T.A.L.K.E.R. some more.

Your a fool, go live in your microwave oven if it will save you a buck.

"at worst would have extremely minor health consequences in the United States" I don't believe it just like all the other reports and talking heads have been WRONG to this point.

The point is this directly contradicts what the president has told the people of the U.S. That guy is done. He is no leader, "I .. I... have been ad..ad..advised that radiation will not reach the United States". stuttering fool.

And I say we're all gonna die. That contradicts the president, too. So of course he's wrong.

Were you under a rock when we first discovered that our Government was LYING TO US?

Words are cheap.

Don't look under a rock because there is radiation there too seeping up from under the surface. Radon gases in your basement. Radiation from the sun and your cell phone and television. The electronics in your car. It is everywhere even the food you eat. The effects of radiation from the two bombs we dropped on Japan in WWII were negligable beyond 200 miles from the blast site. I am not panicing from a accident that is many thousands of miles away. I will get more radiation from 10 minutes in the summer sun than a year of exposure that reaches me from this accident in Japan.

What I find appauling is how governments or experts in the 21st century still choose to simply say condescending, ambiguous statements when the public, now more educated and experienced as ever, wants substantiation.

Rather than drivvling on about "a little radiation of litte consequence will be floating over the Aleutian Islands and then Southern California by Saturday..." Why not quantify it better?

We've all been told about millisieverts (mVs) now. So, why not just state the radiation scatterings that'll move eastward and reach the US will cause a .X rise in daily exposure, of little consequence. Give us a radition impact range or estimate. Let US decide if it truly is something not to worry about or discuss with a doctor (i.e. if I'm pregnant, etc).

Surely you jest Bumble. Just look at all the hysterical posts. You honestly think the vast majority will take the time to actually learn about what is being said? Beside, most will automatically assume they are being lied to and swear Armageddon is here. Uneducated panic and hysteria are the order of the day here in the good ol USofA.

"Radiation is around us every day. This is yet another story that has hype"

So are other poisons. Would you take the cap off the Draino and take a swig?

My Aunt lived near the Trinity test site. She died of an extremely fast-growing breast cancer in 1958. She was 33 years old. Feel "safe" now?

Civilian nuclear plants operate for profit. Their personnel are understaffed. The Navy has a maximum exposure of 125 M rems/yr for their people vs 5000 MR/yr exposure in civilian plants. The way the civilian plants are operated is a detriment to all of mankind. The French aren't as sloppy as these corporations that run our plants. The systems used by the USN are superior in every way. The right looks at the bottom line and to hell with the environment or the effects on the end user.

My Aunt lived near the Trinity test site. She died of an extremely fast-growing breast cancer in 1958. She was 33 years old. Feel "safe" now?

When was the last time she and relatives had a genetic test for oncogenes? That is early enough an age to be an indicator of carrying at least one or two. If she was a carrier, then she is lucky to have died before her ovaries got her with another fatal cancer. If anyone else is a carrier in the family, expect the ovaries next after the breasts.

Yes, I am serious. Go and have your family checked for the oncogenes that may have been responsible. If any of you carry them, it is not a matter of 'if' you will get cancer, it is 'when.'

And, yes, I still feel fairly safe given the current circumstances since what we will be getting is very considerably less dangerous and less long-lasting than what people exposed to a nuclear explosion and fallout would get. Thank you for asking us.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Nuclear_waste_locations_USA.jpg

No matter where you live, it's close

sandtrich

"The right looks at the bottom line and to hell with the environment or the effects on the end user."

While Japan may be conservative, I believe they are very forward thinking on the environmental front. This isn't a case of right or left thinking - this is a prime example of the result of bean-counters deciding that the extra money to prevent this wasn't worth the level of risk they thought might occur. Had they decided to take prevention to a level above the calculated risk, they might have done a better job of protecting the backup power generators that were neutralized by the tsunami that, the loss of which, appears to be the main cause of this problem. The world always seems to have to re-learn the prime lesson of "THE COST OF REPAIR IS ALWAYS MORE THAN THE COST OF DOING IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME".

Correct, only 80,000 Americans got cancer from those tests.

Please show me where you are getting your numbers.

I agree these tests were extremely harmful for the participants. What I don't believe is that there is evidence of harm being done far from the blast sites from airborne radiation.i

The radiation effects on our populations were obviously small

And yet, so many people get cancer these days. And fertility problems, too. How do you know when the effects will manifest or if those effects can be generational?

In fact, we don't know anything except that it is potentially dangerous. If you trust the government and the scientists, god help you.

Here's a source:

Here's a source: =

They won't let me post a link. Google this: "80,000 U.S. Cancers Caused by Bomb Test Fallout - 15,000 of Them Fatal Critics Call for Public Health Response, Compensation, Radiation Truth Commission"

There is a fairly good documentary film - Called "Radio Bikini" which documents Atomic bomb testing in the Marshall Islands — Operation Crossroads— and the ill effects it had on the indigenous population as well as U.S. navy sailors watching it from their ships. Not pretty. Look it up on IMDB.

how much radiation infected your family when we dropped two nuclear bombs on japan, those had absolute atmospheric consequences, amazing we lived, if you lived within a few hundred miles of the leak itself I'd worry, but not at this distance, also nuke tests nevada, arizona. shocking we even exist. hype, rush yourself to the store and get some duct tape

My dad was one of the lucky ones to get to watch from the deck of a ship in the pacific. He died a few years ago from white melanoma on the bottom of his feet, it was only by accident that they caught it. He thought it was a corn and kept trying to get rid of it himself, not that it would have mattered. There is no cure for that particular type of cancer. It was rare enough they use it for a study guide at the hospital out here that studies cancer. What caused it? Who knows?

15,000+ of the paid claims to date were to downwinders of the atomic testing.

As of October 14, 2009, 21,629 claims under the act were approved expending a total of $1,444,082,096

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiation_Exposure_Compensation_Act

joegintn It was a little over 200 years ago that Lavoisier proved that we live in a closed loop. It will play out for better or worse. Bit optimistic of you to think that transforming benign matter into something toxic would not have any effect what-so-ever on the whole.

Since when is uranium benign? It starts off radioactive and harmful in large quantities.

As a survivor of over 2000 nuclear tests performed both below ground and above, not to mention 3 Mile Island and Chernoble, I can't attest to the 80,000 cancer deaths supposedly caused by nuke test radiation, but as a member of the Baby Boomer generation, 76 million strong, I can attest to the fact that the vast majority of us are alive and cancer free. I can also attest that way more of us have died from car accidents than that 80k number. And also, as a career member of the miltary, not to mention all the SOP screenings we all had as children in the post-war world, I've had the worlds supply of xrays zapped thru me. I've also spent a good deal of time in the tropics. I am cancer-free. So everyone just take a big chill pill and give the authorities a chance to sort this mess out. Might not be as bad as imagined.

We live in the oil age hence harmful chemicals in the air/water everyday.

So now the extremists are worried about low level radiation, EPA does not need funding. Global warming does not exist. Whats wrong with this picture.

My former father-in-law and mother-in-law were 50 miles north of Hiroshima when the first bomb was detonated; My father-in-law died about 10 years ago at the age of 67 from kidney failure due to high blood pressure. My mother-in-law is still alive and well at the age of 74.

My parents were both living in Alamogordo, NM, when the first test bomb was detonated. neither of them ever had cancer problems. My brother and I are in our 60's and have never has cancer issues.

Howard Roark-1138273 - I stand corrected "relatively" benign when buried in the ground. Considerably less benign when mined and used for nuclear power and bombs.

tjm-797207 Yeah, that's the plus and minus side of being a soldier. You're forever trained to wait for orders and never question authority.

Anecdotal evidence that you yourself are just peachy is not science. I suppose there are plenty of people who can attest to personally driving while blind drunk and not ever running over anyone or causing fatal accidents.

Also, what is it with some people that they are naturally predisposed to disbelieving science?

some sanity -

I don't think the numbers that I'm talking about above are "anecdotal evidence". And science is usually proved by crunching the numbers. And trust me, I've been a questioning pain in the ass to any & all authorities above me all my life. I even got a First Sergeant fired, and didn't get sent to the brig for striking a superior officer, both something unheard of. I do believe in science, as my college grades will atest - I also believe that there are a lot of chicken littles like you in the world running around yelling "the sky is falling!" Get a grip, mate - panic never helped any situation. That's part of my military training, too.

tjm-797207 Panic and concern are two separate states of mind. Nuclear meltdown in Japan - concern. Nuclear meltdown in my living room - panic.

"as a member of the Baby Boomer generation, 76 million strong, I can attest to the fact that the vast majority of us are alive and cancer free." Hate to tell you, but by 2030, Americans 65 years and older (boomers) will account for 70% of all cancer diagnoses.

Please take a look at the thousands of peer-reviewed studies showing the increased LIKELIHOOD of cancer from radiation exposure. It does not mean everyone who gets an xray gets cancer immediately.

some sanity -

Yeah, well, unchecked concern has a way of becoming panic all too soon.

Walter Paul: Good point, and all the climate change deniers still want to use their refrigerators! It seems the USA has a large number of science haters, this is what I don';t understand. If science is so "bad" how can they put themselves into airplanes, ride in modern vehicles or use their appliances? As someone who was employed a a scientist (EE + geophysics) until the late 90's, I can tell you the amount of jobs and companies where you can use that sort of education has vastly decreased. To add to that, the respect of pure science and understanding of the scientific method has also decreased.

I am currently doing all I can to figure out how to emigrate to a northern european country, the only thing keeping me in this beautiful country full ofd stupid people is my mother. when she passes, I am getting out of here as faasst as I can!

CarterFrancis -

Yeah, well, anytime you want to break down what kind of cancer we're all going to have and WHAT EXACTLY CAUSED IT (too much sun, DDT, the pack of Marlboros you smoke every day, nuclear radiation, yo' mammy, whatever) you go right ahead & post it. If low-level atmospheric nuclear radiation was as all-encompassing deadly as you apparently believe, all the boomers would have died from it a long time ago. Try to remember, there are still surviviors of Hiroshima & Nagasaki. Go figger, eh?

Iodine-131 has a half-life of 8 DAYS, people! How many weeks do you think it takes a breeze to cross the entire pacific ocean? Even if it went in a straight line from Japan to San Fransisco, it'd only be a fraction of what it started as when it got there. Add in dispersal across the entire Northern Hemisphere and it really is insignificant.

Americans are just easily scared. They think everything/everyone is out to get them. That's why the fear mongering from the Right has been so successful instead of cool head prevailing that deal with real-life facts.

I see some people are bitter they didn't get their iodine when it was cheaper and are now lashing out at those who did.

HuronHippie-1511838 - How is being prepared, being greedy? There are 3-5 nuke plants that we have no idea what is happening to because governments can't be trusted to tell the truth. Do you believe what our government tells you all the time? How about the Japanese government being honest? If you answered yes to EITHER of those, you are in the very small minority of people on this planet and I would recommend you DON'T get iodine.

The bottom line is we don't know that is going on, or how bad this will get. If we have radiation coming over here now, I got some news for you..... the reactors are NOT done yet and I would dare say they really haven't even started spewing out radiation YET. This will get worse before it gets better.

and you are mocking those who are getting ready? I think you better take a better look at what's going on and maybe even read a history book or two. They give you a better idea on just how honest governments are to their citizens.

Nuking the plant will generate enough heat to vaporize the rods

HuronHippie - you forgot to mention how dishonest the average person is to their government and to each other - of course that begs the question, "Can we trust anybody...even you or me?" We have to have some degree of trust. Do I trust the government completely? No. Do I trust them not to do something totally and completely stupid? Generally - though I'll allow for the possibility that they might. In short, regardless of possible radiation, population control conspiracies, etc. , the fact is that on average, about 2.5 million people will die every year in the US from various causes - that averages out to around 6,850 people every day - regardless of circumstances. That's just life. Make the wisest decisions you can, but don't get overly hung up on "What if?", and "How long do I have?" - the statistics are in: "One out of one people dies", and your next heartbeat is not guaranteed.

Like they are any more honest.

i like to get all of my important information from the newsvine experts. LOL

Let's hear what Palin and o'donell and backman have to say. Therein lies the real wisdom. It's not with "educated' people or "scientists".

Well if you are calling Obama an educated person then you are the one who is the fool!!!!!

USA is great, but not for you. Can't stand the truth. Look in the mirror and you will see the real fool.

I can show my college transcripts but your boy Odumbo cant and wont show his, WONDER WHY???????? I have nothing to hide but the same cannot be said for this idiot. I also now the word "stupider" is not in the Webster dictionary but you call this man intelligent.

If he was educated his reply to the cop situation should have stated " this police officer acted in a stupid manner" instead he decided to say the cops acted stupider.

usa is great -

"I also now the word "stupider" is not in the Webster dictionary..."

Oh, just give them some time - I'm sure it'll make it - after all, "ain't" finally made it into the dictionary! : ^ D

usa is great..Just curious. What makes our president an idiot?

Curious lack of punctuation, usa. Can't and won't are abbreviations...does your keyboard have apostrophes and commas?

"Now" in your context is spelled "know", and it's Obama, not Odumbo.

I normally don't correct grammerical errors, however, in a case where one is criticizing someone else's intellect....

one should do just fine. :)

Not the same Steve...for crying out loud, do not drink tincure of iodine..it is poison. Steve Smith

This is the way the world ends...

Save the cheerleader . . . save the world.

EdWA, so you're saying we should take all the cheerleaders and lock them in an air-tight fallout shelter for the next few hundred years? Actually, that may be a good idea.

No we shouldn't put a bullet in our heads. What we should do is help our fellow humans where we can, spend some time with thepeople and things you love, and reflect on what we have done to ourselves.

Erika, your comment is the most sane of all the comments so far!

At least your pantry is stocked in advance of future price increases.

mabey the rumor was started from the salt manufacturer?

you should be able to double your money, sell the salt to the highest bidder.

Interesting. My fiancee in Nanning hasn't mentioned anything like that there, and we talk about this every day.

It is the manifestation of the shock doctrine, governemnts and corporations never miss a chance to profit from a disaster.

OK. Page, I stand corrected. Just got an email from my fiancee.

When I return to home for job . My friend calling me . In Japanese earthquake influence. In Chinese region starts taking place to rush to buy table salt on March 16.
Many many person Wait for to line Buy table salt there . After dinner I go to supermarket. But Not long when I get it
Chinese expert said that the Chinese table salt big part is a mineral salt,

Sounds like now is the time to sell your investment!

You should offer your salt to the people that have mentioned their fear of radiation poisoning from the radiation cloud coming this way. You could double your money.

Actually, Japan's air is probably still safer.

Plus, while radiation is cumulative, it's also constant. You live in a radioactive environment every day. Even in Tokyo, the exposure basically means your 'radiation age' (related to cancer risks) is about 20 days older than you really are. Whoop-di-friggin-doo.

I'm still waiting to hear what it will do to the ocean and Sea of Japan over which the radiation travels. Some particulates must fall into the sea and then travel through the water and into our oceanic foodchain and sealife. Much like we were told the oil toxins made Gulf seafood and shrimp unsafe. Until I hear otherwise I'll be eating freshwater trout and Atlantic fish. I guess no more mahi-mahi, and here I was just getting use to Asian shrimp because it was cheaper!

Sure, the air is safer, it's just those pesky radioactive particles that are floating along with it. What did Al Gore say?

"It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it."

Exactly...as soon as all the radiation talk started...the forums where full of jackasses pointing the finger blaming Japan, TEPCO, and the like. Well, I hope all of you that spread the Japanese anti-sentiment are happy. Ohh, and all the fanboys for American car companies...I hope your happy too. I even saw someone on the forums wishing the Toyota, Honda, and Nissan plants be the first to get nuked...hahaha. Seriously??

The earth is constantly bombarded by radiation from space. Astronauts get way more radiation exposure than anyone in the US is going to get from Japan.

Months to fix????? How about hundreds of years and then the outcome is still questionable.

A flare for the dramatic huh Erika? Hundreds of years? Really? Yep, you'e one of the illinformed hystericals.

Shellie-- yes, really, Erika is right. One of the first radioactive elements detected outside the plant last Friday when the cooling systems failed was strontium, which has a half-life of 28 years, and that doesn't mean it is gone in 56 years, it means half of it will break down every 28 years, so after several hundred years it will be MOSTLY gone. One of the reactors having major problems has a core of plutonium, which has a half-life of 24,000 years. You really ought to read about these things before calling someone else un-informed.

But, if MSNBC says it take it as Gospel. Right?

I think you should hide in a cave deep deep deep underground, CD.

We'll tell you when it's safe to come out.

hedward,

I'll be in the cave with CD. And when you come to tell us it's safe, better wear a bullet-proof vest, because some of us know from EXPERIENCE that the government lies to the people, and some of us are just naive fools.

Good luck with the underground thing. You'll be exposed to about as much native radiation from the surrounding rock.

Personally, I'm not really that freaked about this situation. My point was that I don't believe either the government or the experts about anything regarding public safety, and I don't think people are idiots because they are concerned.

cd:
You have lived every day of your life in a radioactive environment. Every human being since the first has. Compared to the natural background radiation you get every day, this will be unnoticeable.

Celia:
Then look up your own fats. The radioactive material coming in the wind is primarily Iodine-131. It has a half life of 8 days. Between dissipation and decay, there won't be much left by the time it hits you.

you're exposed to more radioactivity *every single day* than you will get from the Japanese meltdown.

Don't go outside, dig yourself about 50 feet underground, then line that with LEAD. Don't eat any food (it has radioactive carbon in it). Don't get an X-ray.

I like how you know for a fact that all of them now have cancer, my father in law was not only exposed but was employed in New Mexico by the military in the 50's in "weapons development" and as a chemical engineer was definitely "EXPOSED" and he is now in his 80's and cancer free, not a health problem at all. So yup, go hide in your cave and keep those nasty particles away, I hear there are some great caves in New Mexico!! Science brings way more positives to our world than it does negatives!

Developers have already made this scenario into a Xbox 360 game called Fallout 3. You've been living in a fallout shelter for many years (cave)... everyone gets pissed off and wants to open it and get outside. Once you get out into the "post-apocalyptic" Washington D.C. area it gets good. I've always imaged what it would really be like to live in an era that comes after hundreds of nukes have hit the surface of earth exposing everything to radiation...this game does an awesome job of portraying that (including the political/scientific lies). Ok, official dork here over and out.

There was a John Wayne film called 'The Conqueror' in 1955 which was filmed in an area very close to a nuclear-testing site. Within 30 years, 91 people who worked on the film had contracted cancer and 46 had died of it. This is about 50% higher than the average rate of cancer.

I see some folks mentioning the fact that we are all exposed to some 'background radiation' every day. While this is true, we really don't know yet just how much is going to end up in the U.S. mainland, but apparently we're getting some and it will probably include cesium and strontium, which have half-lives of about 30 years (meaning half of it depletes every 30 years). It depends on how much worse the situation in Japan gets. I am on the west coast and I'm not hugely worried about it yet, but if that plutonium reactor has a full meltdown, I will definitely be trying to find out exactly how much radiation will be carried here. Chances are slim that it will be bad enough to really do anything about it, but things don't seem to be getting better every day. I haven't heard any really good news about it yet.

Curious: what exactly would you like to see him do or say?

Duh... (1) Assure Americans that the Radioactivity is low/high (2) Be open and tell us what the government is doing - probably nothing in his case (3) Encourage us all that we are Strong as a nation (Bush/Reagan did this) (4) Tell us of backup plans - this is a serious thing that happened in the world.

Honestly - A good leader LEADS

I wouldn't want to be responsible for what he faces for one hour. Never has a President been faced with so many challenges but he remains calm and is making wise decisions. I don't see him rushing us into wars. But of course saying so might get him reelected and regardless of any good he does you remain blinded to the facts.

John Smith, you're kidding, right. What do you watch? Faux "news"?? (it's showing) He has said all of that and more. Please, get a grip on reality. (stop watching faux...)

If he has answered those questions, pleasew tell us what his plans are and is the US in ANY danger what so ever???????

If the U.S. is not in any danger -- as he and everyone else has claimed -- why would we need a plan? Do you plan what to do if a giant chicken steps on your roof?

Is the pres calm or just detatched? You'd better believe he is already to run to a safe place. The same jerks who run governments will be saved to rule again, and again and again. And still keep screwing up. If you always do what you always did, you'll always get what you always got.

These posts are good for a laugh. Let's see, you want the president to address the situation so as soon as he does you can run here and claim he is not telling the truth and you don't believe it and continue the hysteria. You want a "plan' so you can run here and talk about how it's a bad plan and all the "experts" are stupid but only you have the RIGHT plan. This country needs an enema! lol

@Shellie

such is the scared and miserable life of the conspiracy theorists and people who think that the Gov lies to us about every little particle of information.

Honestly, when nothing happens at all in the next few days to the west coast we can all come here and laugh our asses off at all of these posts.

This is what the Republican's want by the way by defunding education; people who are not informed, or have been fed misinformation, and that will not do their own research on the subject. Instead they will rely on only news for facts or instantly assume that everything is 100% worse then what is being officially stated.

Questioning the Government is alright, but claiming that they lie through their teeth 100% of the time about every thing is boorish.

Dont you think the US should have a plan since we have fault lines here in the US? I dont think being perpared is stupid, however no planning is VERY STUPID!!!!!

He has been so busy with his basketball picks, He may not know what has happened. At least we can hope.

Let the experts on nuclear power do the talking and let the experts on radiation tell us about that. All any president could do is say what their experts tell them.

Regarding being prepared for an earthquake here, it is always a matter of cost and priorities. How many of you have upgraded you houses to resist earthquakes and carry insurance that covers earthquake damage. It is on my priority list, but don't have funds yet. That is life, whether individuals, cities, states or countries. Making hard decisions is what we do and wait for all the malcontents to offer their scathing condemnation of our "bad decisions". You will reap what you sow, and I hope you are ready to answer for your own brilliant decisions.

I will continue to pray for wisdom for our leaders to make the best decisions possible, and try to realize the we are all human so mistakes will be made.

Progress has a price?

GREED has a price. Progress doesn't require nuclear reactors.

Or electricity, or computers, or cell phones, or automobiles, or microwaves or or or...........

Theres no phone, no lights, no motor car... Not a single luxury

Like Robinson Caruso....It's as primitive as can be

We've been spending most our life ...Living in an Amish Paradise

Were all crazy Mennonites...Living in an Amish Paradise

But you'd probably think it bites...Living in an Amish Paradise

Well actually, it's an issue I have pondered lately, Shellie. Although it's quite a stretch to imply that we can't have any modern amenities, such as computers and cell phones, if we reject nuclear, I wonder if we're so much happier now than when we were members of small tribes who spent their days hunting and gathering food.

We live longer, but we die in the end just the same. As for diseases and such, we're no better off -- just the diseases have changed. Ironically, some of us treat our maladies with the same herbal medicines those primitive tribes used, including aspirin and digitalis.

We've managed to proliferate and take over the earth, killing off many of the other species and creating landfills with plastic that will never degrade, and poisoning our water until we don't dare eat the fish. There are so many of us that we're crowded together like rats in a cage, barely know our neighbor's name, and don't even have time to nurture our own babies.

But hey, we can trade insults on Newsvine, and that's a great life, isn't it?

But, Rob, that would require LOGIC and RATIONALITY. That's too much work.

We'd much rather react in blind fear and hysteria to every word from our fear-mongering masters in the media.

even if the obama came on TV and told you "the truth" that you so much want to hear, NO ONE can do a thing about it anyhow.

...and he has...

Amen

Welcome to the USofA.

Respect for liars, don't think so.

EXACTLY!!!! nothing can be done.

That's what I was thinking too; most likely to avoid mass-hysteria.