Security Level 7: Japan Ups Nuke Crisis Severity to Match Chernobyl
- Posted on April 11, 2011 at 11:54pm by
Scott Baker
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TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s nuclear regulators raised the severity level of the crisis at a stricken nuclear plant Tuesday to rank it on par with the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.
An official with the Nuclear Safety Commission of Japan, speaking on national television, said the rating was being raised from 5 to 7 — the highest level on the international scale.
The official, who was not named, said the amount of radiation leaking from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant was around 10 percent of the Chernobyl accident.
The level 7 signifies a “major accident” with “wider consequences” than the previous level, according to the standards scale.
“We have upgraded the severity level to 7 as the impact of radiation leaks has been widespread from the air, vegetables, tap water and the ocean,” said Minoru Oogoda of Japan’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency.
NISA officials said one of the factors behind the decision was that the total amount of radioactive particles released into the atmosphere since the incident had reached levels that apply to a Level 7 incident.
The action lifts the rating to the highest on an international scale designed by an international group of experts in 1989 and is overseen by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
In Chernobyl, in the Ukraine, a reactor exploded on April 26, 1986, spewing a cloud of radiation over much of the Northern Hemisphere. A zone about 19 miles (30 kilometers) around the plant was declared uninhabitable, although some plant workers still live there for short periods and a few hundred other people have returned despite government encouragement to stay away.
Meanwhile, setbacks continued at Japan’s tsunami-stricken nuclear power complex, with workers discovering a small fire near a reactor building Tuesday. The fire was extinguished quickly, the plant’s operator said.
Tokyo Electric Power Co., which operates the disabled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, said the fire at a box that contains batteries in a building near the No. 4 reactor was discovered at about 6:38 a.m. Tuesday and was put out seven minutes later.
It wasn’t clear whether the fire was related to a magnitude-6.3 earthquake that shook the Tokyo area Tuesday morning. The cause of the fire is being investigated.
“The fire was extinguished immediately. It has no impact on Unit 4′s cooling operations for the spent fuel rods,” said TEPCO spokesman Naoki Tsunoda.
The plant was damaged in a massive tsunami March 11 that knocked out cooling systems and backup diesel generators, leading to explosions at three reactors and a fire at a fourth that was undergoing regular maintenance and was empty of fuel.
The magnitude-9.0 earthquake that caused the tsunami immediately stopped the three reactors, but overheated cores and a lack of cooling functions led to further damage.
Engineers have been able to pump water into the damaged reactors to cool them down, but leaks have resulted in the pooling of tons of contaminated, radioactive water that has prevented workers from conducting further repairs.
Aftershocks on Monday briefly cut power to backup pumps, halting the injection of cooling water for about 50 minutes before power was restored.
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Comments (68)
Gypsy123
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 4:39pmI feel bad for these people.
Report Post »TheLeftMadeMeRight
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 4:03pmmight have to turn this one up to eleven….
Report Post »Guitar Master
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 12:12pm…………………………………………………………………………………..
From the REPORTER;
Rest assured that what you are hearing about the nuclear disaster in Japan is only half of the story. Are you naive enough to think that the nuclear energy industry is actually going to allow the REAL facts to leak out.
What you are seeing here is a calamity of immeasurable consequences. The “authorities” have been minimizing the harmful long-term effects of this disaster.
What YOU need to think about is whether YOU want to allow one facility, no matter where it is located, to literally contaminate the entire earth?
Considering the majority of you are a bunch of lazy, indifferent, couch potatoes who care only about Charlie Sheen, TV sports, pizza and beer, it is doubtful that you will give it serious thought.
Now go back to your coma state of mind and send a text message to that moron that you just heard from !
Report Post »Liberalismsamentaldisorder
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 11:35am@thepatriotdave
One reason why there’s less coverage is because the Japanese people are strong and self-sufficient. They’re not standing there suffering and looking pathetic. They’re desperately trying to better their situation by working hard to support themselves. The liberal media has the view that people are just lost without government help. Compare Katrina to this. Remember the pictures of people on roofs just sitting there with a sign saying help me? Lamestream media eats that up. Pictures of people working fervently to better their own situation doesn’t fit the narrative.
Report Post »powhatan
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 10:34amWhy is it that when Indonesia had their disaster the whole world was going nuts to help…and we hear almost nothing about or for Japan. Where are all of the actors and performers raining money to help..where are all the television stations doing their part? Where is the so-called U.N.?
Report Post »MikeinIdaho
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 9:54amPray for the people of Japan as they attempt to rebuild their lives and their country. Very sad.
Report Post »Sinista MACE
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 9:49amThey’re lying, it’s already hundreds of times worse than Chernobyl.
Report Post »MikeinIdaho
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 9:56amAnd you know this, how? Please cite verifiable sources. Thank you.
Report Post »Sinista MACE
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 10:20amI don’t have to cite anything. I have researched it, and I have already drawn my own conclusion.
If you wish to have additional information to draw your own conclusion, then please by all means, do so on your own and seek out the information.
I don’t have to be interrogated by you.
Report Post »Liberalismsamentaldisorder
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 11:44amCompletely disagree. At this point, Chernobyl was still worse. I cannot find a single picture of any fuel rod that was actually expelled from any of the reactors. That’s out of literally thousands of available images that the Japanese have no control over. If you recall, fuel rods were expelled from Chernobyl’s reactor onto the roof and into the surrounding compound. The remaining core melted down through the reactor vessel into the basement of the reactor building. I cannot see any evidence of this in Japan. However, sadly the Japanese incident is still playing out, and may yet be the worst nuclear disaster on record.
Report Post »Sinista MACE
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 5:01pmYou can disagree.
But that would mean that you believe anything the Japanese and American Government is telling you, and don’t have the capacity to draw conclusions based on the information that those governments are NOT revealing, which would make your diagreement irrelevent and naive in my opinion.
There is information that the nuclear plants were storing spent nuclear fuel rods on the roof of several of the reactors, and that they were blown hundreds if not thousands of feet into the atmosphere when the containemnt vessel failed in an explosive conflagration.
There is also radioactive water being pumped and dumped directly into the pacific ocean.
Report Post »felina g
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 9:34amThe news is one talking head after another on “what ifs” on the budget from morning to night. It has become a “Puppet issue” of the highest order. (see last night`s GB)
The silence on Japan is deafening just like it was on the Gulf disaster and aftermath. The media is all complicit. How about the radicals taking over Egyptian gov`t…………..on and on.
We are NOT going to take this ANYMORE !!!
Report Post »donh2
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 8:29amWhat people forget is the impact Chernobyl had on the Soviet Union. The communist empire collapsed very quickly after this disaster. The evil empire of the Soviet Union has taken up a new house in Washington DC . The Fukushima disaster will once again collapse a communist empire by melting down the US dollar in a tsunami of inflation.
Report Post »endgamer
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 7:20amLike the “Swine Flu” pandemic, where everyone was going to die.. What happened.. Nothing. Like the Oil spill in the gulf, that was ALL cleaned up with NO oil around in the matter of WEEKS, when the Exxon Valdez was a horror story. Glenn Becks 8/28 Rally with 500,000+ attendees and the press says maybe 80,000.. and Socialist events have millions.. I have sent money to the Red Cross to specifically help those in Japan.. (Thanks Glenn for this text REDCROSS to 90999) I belive, in order to get the help they desperately need from the Globalists the Japanese will have to succumb to the New World Order and go green..I would not be surprised if they were forced to up the status to a “7” to get this help.. The press will be all over the “environmental” impact and health effects. Hey Progressives. what about the Humanitarian effort for Japan? I don’t see anything (except from the private sector) for a country that has been our ally since the end of WWII.. Disinformation and lies..
Report Post »markinidaho
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 4:38amFor all the hoopla, I doubt that these reactors have put anywhere near as much radiation in the environment as the nuclear explosions of Nagasaki and Hiroshima did, let alone the dozens of explosions that wiped out Bikini Island and other Pacific atolls or the hundred of above ground tests that have been done over the years. Somehow, the world has survived all that radiation. I bet we survive this.
There needs to be some perspective. Sure, this is bad. But it is not nearly as bad as a nuclear explosion, and there have been hundred of them in our lifetimes. We seem to be surviving them OK. What’s a nickel added to the radioactive bank account, when there is already a billion dollars in it? Calm down, people. It is bad. Terrible. So was the tsunami. But neither are earth shattering. Remember, 250,000 people died not very long ago when a tsunami hit the Indian Ocean basin. THAT was bad. This, by comparison, is something from which we can recover.
It is evident to me that the reason this seems so terrible in the news is twofold – 1) the real news of the economic collapse of the world currency is something that the news media (and those that control it) doesn’t want to cover much, and 2) this one cost a lot more money. Human life is much more important than money, folks. Wake up.
Report Post »kryptonite
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 3:47pmMark,
Report Post »You might want to read the following article where the effects of a an atomic bomb vs. a nuclear meltdown like Chernobyl are analyzed. It will surprise, if not shock you.
http://nuclear-news.info/2010/01/02/low-level-radiation-and-birth-deformities/
BOMUSTGO
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 3:02amHaving lived in Okinawa and Northern Japan in the USAF, the Japanese are really decent people.I have recently heard that money has been found in the debris and they are turning it in to the authorities.Big difference from the riff raff in New Orleans during the hurricane.
Report Post »straightenup
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 2:52amI love this country so much, but I am so glad that the Japanese are not like us. Has anyone else noticed the difference in reactions between this tragedy and Katrina? They united as a nation and have come together to help each other whereas those in New Orleans began pillaging and taking whatever they could…. sorry but a flat screen TV is not a necessity to live. I am so impressed by the character they have shown through this crisis.
Report Post »dawg of gawd
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 11:28amYeah, I haven’t seen a single poster of their Prime Minster dressed up like a monkey with a Hitler moustache.
Report Post »dogday
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 2:35amAmazing how little of this is mentioned on the news anymore. It’s so sad. Make sure to donate whatever you can afford to help these people!
Report Post »DocStrangelove
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 1:43amNuclear energy will NEVER be safe enough to use.
Tthe possible resultant devastation FAR outweighs any short-term benefits… the WASTE problem alone being too much of a risk, & those who feel that this kind of disaster “can’t happen here” is either oblivious to the ironies history or they are just succumbing to human ARROGANCE.
Thalidomide was safe too, remember?
Japans earthquake building codes are the most stringent in the world.. & they are unsurpassed technologically… yet even they STILL failed to withstand the force of nature.
Both the San Onofre & Diablo Canyon nuclear plants are on ACTIVE FAULTS.. & they are closer to major metropolitan areas than the Japanese plants are… not to mention that they are 40 years OLD without any appreciable updates & much more vulnerable (despite the bleatings of regulators to the contrary).
WIND, SOLAR, TIDAL, GEOTHERMAL, HYDRO-ELECTRIC…
WE CAN DO THIS!
ALL it takes is the RESOLVE.
After Pearl Harbor, we managed to rebuild our ENTIRE Pacific Fleet, create an AIR FORCE practically from SCRATCH & go on to win a WORLD WAR.. all within FOUR YEARS.
After Sputnik, we managed to mobilize & take a “program” that was ostensibly a handful of “elitist” eggheads playing with rockets in their backyard, &, in TEN YEARS, landed a MAN on the MOON.
Let the cynics step aside if they’re afraid to try… their obstinate attitudes & their CONTEMPT for “American Knowhow” & let those of us who can HANDLE the TASK do the heavy lifting.
Report Post »straightenup
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 2:50amI did not realize that we have tsunamis and massive earthquakes everyday. Almost all of those alternative energy types that you suggested take more energy to produce than they supply. How does that make sense? Nuclear energy is safe. The new plants don’t even need electricity for their cooling systems. Besides the fact that this type of tragedy is EXTREMELY rare.
Report Post »GONESURFING
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 4:29amNuclear energy is not safe !
Report Post »freedom4unme
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 6:43amGonesurfing, neither is anything else. Do you drive? Fly? Ride public transportation of any type? Is energy produced by fossil fuel safe? Natural gas? Recovery and refinement of oil? There in a risk in everything. Put them all into perspective.
Report Post »DocStrangelove
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 3:11pmAll we need is ONE… and accidents happen for other reasons as well.
Those other sources do NOT take more energy to produce… and if we, AS A PEOPLE, have the resolve to mitigate any future catastrophes, we CAN do this.
We MUST do this.
Report Post »DocStrangelove
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 3:14pmFREEDOM4UNME…
Do you HONESTLY feel that a solar array or windfarm has the capacity to irradiate HEMISPHERES??
Does the waste created by a tidal-torque generator have the capacity to cause CANCER for eons?
Please… there is risk in everything… but SOME “risks” are too much to consider.
Report Post »MeteoricLimbo
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 1:41amMercy, and it just keeps quivering. It’s hard to even imagine that kind of unrest.
Report Post »How exactly does boron impact plutonium?
kindling
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 1:38amI think the Japanese are some of the most honorable people. I hear some say God would not let something like this happen to good people. The problem is, if this happens to a country with lets say a history of horrible treatment of their people no one takes any notice. But if it happens to a country of very good and honest people it strikes at the heart of the world because we realize it will be us next.
Report Post »vennoye
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 1:37amYou just feel so bad for them! So many things to deal with, so fast. While you are praying, please ask that the Doctors find better ways to deal with radiation than we know so far.
Report Post »Rayblue
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 1:34amI can usually find humor in the worst of times but the humor has left me tonight at the news of worsened situations in Japan. The tragedy in Japan knots my stomach and forces me to come to terms with the idea of whole races dying before my eyes. Those who still hold a grudge against Japan for their conduct during WWII can go ahead and hold it. You will not have to wait much longer for vindication. I, however won’t condemn a single person that had nothing to do with Pearl Harbor. I’ve seen too much tragedy in my life to say hurtful words for the final gasps of a stricken people. They die just the same as we die and live and breath the same air and see the same sun and moon. The great destroyer has sent a bolt that will mark their faces for a thousand years. The great creator breathed life into them as he has done us. Human compassion is a gift from God and will be a path to righteousness for everyone who lives in the light.
Report Post »Lord have mercy on their souls.
jaxson
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 12:47amSad stuff..I wish they would show more details on the news….dont hear much about it anymore or how things are going and how the people are coping….I havent heard if the Japanese are getting sick from the water and food…just a few things I ponder while the news is covering Charlie Sheen…
Report Post »AzCowboy
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 12:16amJapan needs our help more than Libia. Japan, listen, we can help in this bad situation. It ain’t good but americans (the people) are with you.
Report Post »GOD SPEED
jH…
delhoghe
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 12:07amShould be closer to 9, but they’re getting closer to the truth I guess.
Report Post »GreatAmericanBeckFan
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 12:16am7 is the highest the scale goes so this is as bad as it can get as a 7 indicates a total meltdown. This unfortunately is going to end up being much worse than Chernobyl I fear. You may want to include this in your prayers, I know that many of you are already.
Report Post »foobear
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 1:28am@GreatAmericanBeckFan
Much worse that Chernobyl? How many people have died of radiation poisoning at Fukushima? How much radiation has been released? 1%?
It’s nowhere even near the same category as Chernobyl. A ‘7’ just means it has global implications, not a measure of how dangerous it is.
Report Post »DocStrangelove
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 2:03amFOOBEAR…
How do you know this?
Please cite some EMPIRICAL evidence to back up your assertion.
Report Post »foobear
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 10:22am@DocStrangeLove Are you saying all the news reports are lies?
If not, then tell me how many people have died from radiation at Fukushima. Now tell me how many died at Chernobyl.
Now tell me they’re the same thing.
Report Post »kryptonite
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 2:50pmFoobear: “A ‘7’ just means it has global implications, not a measure of how dangerous it is.”
—–
“Global implications” is an indicator of how dangerous it is, i.e., more people will be affected by the radiation:
==> “The new ranking signifies a ”major accident” that includes widespread effects on the environment and health, according to the Vienna-based IAEA” (AP article, cited previously).
——–
“tell me how many people have died from radiation at Fukushima. Now tell me how many died at Chernobyl.”
The Chernobyl meltdown occurred all at once and was accompanied by an explosion, so yes the radioactivity released was far greater and people died. Although the Fukushima meltdown has been comparatively small, it is ongoing, so the effects are not yet visible. It will likely be deadly, because after a certain level is reached people are affected long-term, so the fact that the radiation level is not as high as Chernobyl’s is small consolation to the Japanese. Additionally, you might want to consider that Japan is tiny compared to Russia, and therefore its population is far denser. Below is a link to an interesting article about how the Fukushima “liquidators” view the situation.
—————
“Are you saying all the news reports are lies?”
I’d say TEPCO has tried to downplay the seriousness of the situation:
==> “Dr John Price, a former member of the Safety Policy Unit at the UK’s National Nuclear Corporation, said: “As the water leaks out, you keep on pouring water in, so this leak will go on forever. The reactors will have to be closed and the fuel removed, and that is 50 to 100 years away.”
Hope he’s wrong!
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3504160/Fukushima-50-deaths-imminent.html
Report Post »MR_ANDERSON
Posted on April 13, 2011 at 9:17amLet’s look at pure facts, and not what the media reports the situation to be.
Facts:
Fukushima situation currently has had 3 explosions, 4 reactors involved, and much more fuel rods involved because of the spent fuel pools.
Chernobyl situation had 2 explosions, 2 reactors involved, and much much less fuel.
The fact that there is radiation being detected everywhere means that there is a huge problem. If there was a case to argue for a level 8 on the scale, this would be one IMHO, but then again that is just looking at the facts.
Report Post »Sam Brown
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 12:07amSo let me ask, in Revelation how much of the worlds water was polluted?
Sammy
Report Post »Dumbsht
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 12:21am1/3 I think it may be that it happens twice.
Report Post »lisa2994
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 1:33pmYes it is Sammy its called worm wood.. I thought of this same thing when I heard about this and realized its in our oceans. I don’t trust ANYONE in our government at all! Now everyone can bash me for being a believer of GOD’s word I guess.
Report Post »Dumbsht
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 12:05amWhat does all this do to the fish stocks of the Pacific ocean ? Anybody know ?
Report Post »Sam Brown
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 12:18amWhen it gets in the food supply you won’t have to turn on the light to use the bathroom because of the glow. The greens will love you for not useing energy though.
Sammy
Report Post »Showtime
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 12:18amWell, there’s radiation in the sea.
Report Post »Dumbsht
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 12:27amYeah….I’m kida wondering if the fish caught in Hawaii and on the west coast will carry problems……that is the migratories like tuna, etc.
Report Post »Stoic one
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 12:00amSo tragic..
Report Post »TruthTalker
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 12:10amoops
Report Post »Showtime
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 12:20amI honestly do not understand how the Japanese can deal with everything that’s happened to them in –what? — a month?
Report Post »thepatriotdave
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 12:34amShowtime
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 12:20am
I honestly do not understand how the Japanese can deal with everything that’s happened to them in –what? — a month?
—————————————————
I’m getting a bit peeved about the whole thing, and by now I’m sure the Japanese are also.
I don’t expect a reasonable answer to my next Q. Why is it the United Nations is quiet about the tragedy in Japan? How come they (U.N.) are NOT heading up a massive relief effort to help the Japanese. Sorry, that‘s two questions I don’t expect reasonable answers to.
Am I the only one that would much rather hear about the recovery efforts in Japan than about who’s killing who in Libya?
Come and participate in the vote to pick our Nominee to run for 2012 Presidential Election…
Report Post »Freedom Jamboree Travel/Lodging Discounts Available.
http://www.americasteapartynews.com/freedomjamboree.php
CatB
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 1:28amI saw on tv today .. they went into the “dead zone” with monitors going off and I am assuming protective gear (they were in a vehicle so I couldn’t see what they were wearing) .. but there were lots of abandoned pets (dogs that I saw) inside the zone .. wandering the streets … so sad … we have groups that rescue after disasters (I have donated to them) but no one is allowed into this area (they had “special” permission to go in and get the readings) heart breaking the loss of life both human and those that loved them (pets).
Report Post »DocStrangelove
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 2:06amTHEPATRIOTDAVE…
“From blankets to emergency communications equipment to technological expertise, United Nations agencies are rushing assistance to Japan to help cope with the multi-front disaster caused by last week’s devastating earthquake, tsunami and nuclear power plant breakdown.
The UN International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has already sent emergency equipment to areas severely affected by the tsunami, noting that re-establishing communications is a “critical tool” to ensure timely support for victims and rescue and rehabilitation efforts in the immediate aftermath of a disaster in which more than 5,000 people died, nearly 9,000 others are missing, and vast swathes of coast and infrastructure were overwhelmed by massive waves.”
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=37798&Cr=japan&Cr1
Report Post »ManThong
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 2:59amThis whole Japan thing is a lot bigger deal than anyone in authority is owning up to, both in Japan and HERE.
Radiation is showing up everywhere around the globe, the worlds (former) third biggest economy is crippled, all their fishing and agriculture is suspect, huge fields of debris across the pacific, 25,000 dead, hundreds of thousands displaced, hundreds of square miles uninhabitable.. the government and media is practically mute… did I miss anything?
Oh yeah, we are all broke!
Somebody‘s got a lot of ’splaining to do.
Report Post »ginsberg
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 6:31ambut glen had those bowls which clearly showed that this could never be a nuclear crisis! Is he an idiot or a liar? And ann coulter said radiation is good for us, so should japan be on everyone’s vacation list this summer?
Report Post »Stuck_in_CA
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 9:09amHeard on over-night radio that the threat to the U.S. is being hidden from us. There are many very harmful particulates reaching this country.
Nothing much we can do. Worry won’t help. Maybe OBAMACARE will pay for our cancer treatment???
Report Post »MR_ANDERSON
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 10:31amI half wonder if they’ll create a level 8 for this one, or if it will be needed.
Report Post »dawg of gawd
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 11:25amNow, now, now . . . what are you all worried about? Sean Hannity continues to insist that nuclear power is totally safe, that the Japan facilities are shining examples of effective containment design.
Why on earth are you so upset about this? It’s nothing. Nothing, I tell you. Nuke, baby, nuke!
Report Post »Neci76
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 11:56amIt’s incomprehensible what the people of Japan are going through! They are losing inhabitable areas by the day. I can imagine owning a home, and being kept away because of radiation levels. Everything in the dwellings is toxic. How come the media is not reportig this shocking story. It certainly is newsworthy! What long term danger for Japan? The United States? The world? This is very disturbing, considering the Japanese can’t seem to get a handle on the crisis. God Bless these poor stricken people. They need a miracle!
Report Post »kryptonite
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 1:33pmAlthough I appreciate Glenn, the Japan crisis opened my eyes to the fact that he has an agenda too. Like many other conservatives/libertarians, Glenn wants nuclear power, so he has consistently downplayed this crisis. He never talks about the radiation threat. This was a night article, and a summarized version (see the website below for a complete article). Contrast it to some of the banal stuff that is posted on this site during the day, and it becomes very clear that an agenda is in play. Moreover, look at how many people have actually posted here. It goes to show that most Blazers are following Glenn, not the facts — or maybe most of the right is also blind to objectivity.
.
The amount of radiation released by the Chernobyl meltdown was a lot higher, BUT what the powers that be are not telling the average citizen is that a significant number of people who did not live within the radius of Chernobyl evacuation zone were STILL affected by lower radiation levels. Like many other people, Glenn has bought into the IAEA lie about the real effects of a nuclear meltdown.
The radiation problem is long-term and worrisome. People will die, especially children. The food chain has been seriously affected and the radiation cloud continues to come our way. But this is Japan’s problem. Yeah, right.
Report Post »lindap1667
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 4:01pmIts so strange that we now only hear something on Japan about once a week. Ten times a day about fighting in middle east, entire days on interviews with old moviestars and who is running for present in 2012.
Report Post »NukeHaze
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 6:58pmTragedy indeed.
I love how so many here who are not experts speak as if they are and/or ignore those who actually are because they fear what they do not truly understand. Physics is complex to say the least. Building nuclear power plants anywhere fault lines or the coast in addition to underwater fault lines led to this horrible conclusion
Report Post »kryptonite
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 9:14pmNukeHaze: “I love how so many here who are not experts speak as if they are and/or ignore those who actually are because they fear what they do not truly understand.”
———-
Maybe you are so pro-nuclear that you reject the research that discloses the devastating long-term effects of nuclear accidents.
==> “Physics is complex to say the least. Building nuclear power plants anywhere fault lines or the coast in addition to underwater fault lines led to this horrible conclusion”
There is an underlying cause for all disasters. Chernobyl was unique, and now so is Fukushima. It is therefore foolish and irresponsible to believe that humans can predict all the possible circumstances under which another nuclear accident may occur.
Report Post »NukeHaze
Posted on April 13, 2011 at 10:50pm@kryptonite
I would venture a guess that you do not know whether or not I am “so pro nuclear” unless you simply stereotype by name. Yes that’s really addressing my comment. Certain BIG disasters can be protected against. Perhaps you are one who lives on a fault line and will blame the impending earthquake that will one day destroy your home and on that day blame it on the back pressure of the nearest hydroelectric power plant. Perhaps you believe wind farms confuse the migratory patterns and mating of owls. I don’t really care to address your absurd claims about me but that there are some of us who likely know a lot more about nuclear physics than your average bear. Ideally we could use all solar, wind, tidal, etc. but being more precautionary and responsible with while refining our power resources is vital whether you like it or not. For the record, geothermal is not as safe as you treehuggers believe it to be either. Chernobyl was a tragedy as well but its failure was not because of a massive earthquake followed by a tsunami strike. It was human error. Design flaws… including designated location of this plant certainly made it much more susceptible to natural disaster than Chernobyl was.
By the way… I am for intelligent solutions to safe power production regardless of whether or not it has a nuclear source. Even just working in a standard coal or gas or wind powered plant presents tremendous potential (pardon the pun) for electrical flashes and electrotion. Falling from heights on the farms. It is a dangerous business but we require power to run the world not treehuggers and sociocommunoprogressives like yourself.
Report Post »kryptonite
Posted on April 14, 2011 at 5:19am@NukeHaze
==> “I would venture a guess that you do not know whether or not I am “so pro nuclear” unless you simply stereotype by name.”
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I did not stereotype. I deduced, which is what an intelligent mind does with the info provided.
Your comment indicated that those of us who are speaking against nuclear energy do so for at least one of two reasons: 1) We are too stupid to seize the concept: “They fear what they do not truly understand; physics is complex…” 2) We overestimate ourselves: “…who are not experts speak as if they are.” Consequently, stupid people will react with primal fear, while those who think too highly of themselves will disregard what the real experts have to say.
Given your condescending statements, I deduced you favored nuclear energy. (I did not give a second thought to your moniker.) If you want people to interpret your position differently, learn to express yourself accordingly. Even so, I gave you the benefit of the doubt; thus the use of the word “perhaps”.
By contrast, you now falsely accuse me of stereotyping, and then do so yourself by labeling me a “progressive,” a “tree-hugger,” and a “sociocommunoprogressive”(whatever that means), without a shred of evidence to support your name-calling. I would expect better than a non-sequitur from someone who purportedly “know[s] a lot more about nuclear physics than your average bear.”
==> “Yes that’s really addressing my comment.”
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The first part of my comment was to remind you that not all experts see eye to eye with you. Although I am not a physicist, I do listen to experts. The difference between you and me is that I care about the CONSEQUENCES of a nuclear accident rather than the “intelligent solutions to safe power production”, BECAUSE big disasters can be protected against only if a) man can foresee all big disasters, and b) man is willing to take preventive action against all foreseeable disasters. I didn’t mention the latter point in my first comment, because it is moot if you believe “a” is false. FTR, I do not trust the government or nuclear power companies to look out for the citizenry’s safety, and I most certainly know the traitor in the WH won’t. History is replete with examples of big disasters that were NOT averted. While I could die or survive any one of them, given that major nuclear accidents will likely cause DNA mutations in unborn children and human reproductive cells, I consider that the potential harm far outweighs the potential benefits, thus the risk is not justified. In any case, the govt’s concern is phony, so I’m on the losing end of this controversy.
==> “Perhaps you are one who lives on a fault line and will blame the impending earthquake that will one day destroy your home and on that day blame it on the back pressure of the nearest hydroelectric power plant.”
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I don’t know about that. Chances are we’ll get nuked before the impending earthquake destroys my home.
==> “…refining our power resources is vital whether you like it or not.”
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I like it not in the case of nuclear energy, and I’d like it much if we made a concerted effort to drill here and drill now.