Scientific American: "Half-Life and Death: Radioactive Drinking Water..

Thank you, ee!

"Living and Dying Downwind: Radiation, Japan and the Marshall Islands"


"When the dangerous dust and gases settle and we discover just how much radiation escaped the damaged Fukushima reactors and spent fuel rods, we may never know how many people are being exposed to radiation from the burning fuel rods and reactor cores, and how much exposure they will receive over time."

"Minute and above-background traces of Iodine-131 are already showing up in Tokyo's water supply - 150 miles southwest of the leaking reactors - and in milk and spinach [with a dash of Cesium-137] from 75 miles away.
The Japanese government has recently warned pregnant women and children to avoid drinking Tokyo tap water, and I-131 levels 1,200 times above background levels were recorded in seawater near the reactors".


"Aside from sharing the dubious distinction of both nations having been at the receiving end of America's nuclear weapons, Japan and the Marshall Islands now share another dubious distinction. The unleashed isotopes of concern from the damaged Japanese reactors - Iodine-131, Cesium-137, Strontium-90 and Plutonium-239 - are well known to the Marshall Islanders living downwind of the testing sites at Bikini and Enewetak atolls in the central Pacific, following sixty-seven A- and H-bombs exploded between 1946-58. In fact, it is precisely these isotopes that continue to haunt the 80,000 Marshallese fifty-three years after the last thermonuclear test in the megaton range shook their pristine coral atolls and contaminated their fragile marine ecosystems".

"Profiles of the four isotopes":

o "Iodine-131 [radioactive iodine] has a half life of eight days, and concentrates in the thyroid gland about 5,000 times more efficiently than other parts of the body. Traces of I-131 have been discovered in Tokyo drinking water and in seawater offshore from the reactors. It took nine years for the first thyroid tumor to appear among the exposed Marshallese and hypothyroidism and cancer continued to appear decades later."

o "Cesium-137 has a half life of thirty years and is a chemical analog of potassium; Cs-137 concentrates in muscle and other parts of the body. Rongelap Island has a new layer of topsoil containing potassium to help neutralize the Cs-137 left over from the H-bomb tests, but the Marshallese residents remain unconvinced and suspicious about the habitability of their long abandoned home atoll. Meanwhile, the U.S. is pressuring hard for their repatriation despite the fact that most islands at Rongelap will remain off limits for many decades with strict dietary restrictions of local foods."


o "Strontium-90 has a half life of twenty-eight years, is a chemical analog of calcium and is known as a "bone seeker." Rongelap and the other downwind atolls have residual Sr-90 in their soils, groundwater and marine ecosystems."

o "Plutonium-239 has a half life of 24,000 years, is considered one of the most toxic substances on Earth, and if absorbed is a potent alpha emitter that can induce cancer. This isotope too is found in the soils and groundwater of the downwind atolls from the Bikini and Enewetak H-bomb tests."


"Lessons from the Marshall Islands"

"* It took nine years after exposure to the 1954 Bravo fallout for the first thyroid tumor and hypothyroidism to occur in an exposed Utrik woman from the I-131. Several more tumors [and other radiogenic disorders] among the exposed people appeared the following year and every year thereafter. The latency period for thyroid abnormalities and other radiogenic disorders [see below] endures for several decades".

"* Because a child's thyroid gland is much smaller than an adult's thyroid, it receives a higher concentration of I-131 than an adult dose. Also, because a child's thyroid gland is growing more quickly than an adult's, it requires and absorbs more iodine [and I-131] than an adult thyroid gland. That is, the thyroid effect is age-related.* Radioactive Iodine-129 with a half-life of 15 million years and a well-documented capacity to bioaccumulate in the foodchain, will also remain as a persistent problem for the affected Japanese."


"* The Majuro-based Nuclear Claims Tribunal was established in 1988 to settle all past and future claims against the U.S. for health injury and property loss damages from the nuclear tests. As of 2006, the NCT had paid out $73 million [of the $91 million awarded] for 1,999 Marshallese claimants. There are thirty-six medical conditions that are presumed to be caused by the nuclear tests [ [link to www.nuclearclaimstribunal.com]."]

"Eligibility for Marshallese citizens consists of having been in the Marshall Islands during the testing period [1946-58] and having at least one of the presumptive medical disorders."

"Any amount of ionizing radiation - which is cumulative - can pose a health threat for certain individuals, and especially those with compromised immune systems."

(GLP cut and paste rules respected)

[link to www.yokwe.net]


The bottom line is this:

They are reporting I131 in the ground water, in milk, in spinach. Don't kid yourself, the other stuff (Iodine 129, Cesium-137, Strontium-90 and Plutonium-239 are all there also.

Last Edited by emerald eye on 04/03/2011 04:16 PM

Thanks guys, just trying to keep the situation honest. So much misinformation is being reported, most of it from governments.

Thank you for this thread.

Thanks.

They tend to only report the I131 because of its short half life of only 8 days, so people tend not to get as freaked out by it.


They don't want to mention the Cesium-137, Strontium-90 and Plutonium-239 which are present also, as they have much much longer half lives.

And they especially don't want to mention the Radioactive "Iodine-129 with a half-life of 15 million years and a well-documented capacity to bioaccumulate in the foodchain, will also remain as a persistent problem for the affected Japanese."

Last Edited by emerald eye on 04/03/2011 04:18 PM

"As Fukushima fallout circles the globe, nuclear sleuths sift it for clues" (from the Washington Post.)





"Because both isotopes can come from a bomb or a reactor, nuclear sleuths also search for another isotope that originates only in reactors: cesium-134. It is produced during the slow-boil nuclear fission inside reactors, but not the flash-bang of a nuclear explosion. The ad-hoc sensors built by academics on the West Coast have picked up cesium-134 from Fukushima, as have the permanent CTBTO stations."

"Nuclear detectives can dive deeper still, sorting out whether radioactive emissions emanate from a dangerously active and still-fissioning reactor core, from burning fuel rods, or from used fuel sitting in pools."

"When the active core of Chernobyl exploded, it sent dozens of different radioactive elements into the atmosphere, including isotopes of strontium, yttrium, and rhodium — all produced only by active reactor cores or burning fuel rods."


"The University of Washington team say they have not seen any of these isotopes, indicating that the fuel rods at Fukushima have not caught on fire."

"And the lack of other short-lived isotopes — especially iodine-133 — indicates that the primary safety systems at Fukushima kicked in as planned during the earthquake and shut down fission in the reactors. Halting fission starts an atomic clock of sorts in which quickly decaying isotopes vanish within hours or days. Andreas Knecht of the University of Washington team said their Seattle detector can sense iodine-133 up to seven days after a reactor produces it, but has found none. "

"The detection of still another isotope, tellurium-132, offers a further clue about the source of radioactive emissions from Fukushima. Fuel rods sit in pools for months or years, releasing fewer and fewer different isotopes over time, and — unlike hotter fuel rods — they don’t produce tellurium-132. Spotting that isotope, as the detectors have, points to a damaged reactor core".



[link to www.washingtonpost.com]


So BS that they didn't spot tellurium-132 "pointing to damaged reactor cores". If that one was there, so were the others produced by the Cherobyl reactor. [/b]

"The gamma radiation collected in Berkeley comes from these four radioactive isotopes, Vetter said: iodine-131, cesium-134, cesium-137 and tellurium-132, the signatures of the nuclear disaster in Japan." [link to articles.sfgate.com]


"Results from RadNet filters in San Francisco, Anaheim, Riverside, and Seattle show three new types of radioactive isotopes previously unreported to the public. They include Cesium-137, Tellurium-132, Iodine-132, and Iodine-131. High exposure to some of these isotopes is dangerous to human health."

"Cesium-137 is a known carcinogen and is a byproduct of nuclear fission with a half life of 30 years, making it one of the more long-lasting isotopes released. Tellurium-132 was responsible for a large part of the dose that impacted Chernobyl workers in the first week, while Iodine was thought to be the cause of a spike in thyroid cancers among children living near the Russian reactor. Iodine-131 is considered dangerous at low doses, which causes mutations, than high doses, which kills cells, and is therefore used in medical treatment to aggressively attack cancer cells."

[link to www.wayoutwestnews.com]

Last Edited by emerald eye on 04/03/2011 04:37 PM

It's all how you look at it.

Some people will get Cancer, the person above talking about radiation is correct, most of what is leaking is 131 and has a half life of 8 days (about as long almost as it takes to reach California, most of what gets into the food chain will have little or no effect on you by the time it reaches you, very little of the longer decaying elements.

Sure some of the other elements are out there, lots of people will get cancer, statistically at least, could be you or I, most likely not.

Interesting things to ponder though

One big set of clues we have as to the previous civilization is that special diet are always kept by those who had access to old books.

As it seems Nukes have been used before on this planet and we also have the Kosher diet which disallows shellfish or any other scavenger

In the past I have noticed that rules regarding cooking of meats are perfect for Prion avoidance and hypothesized that was their actual purpose.

Plutonium

Sticks around in the food chain a long time and that's where it will end up... in scavengers, and being heavy at the bottom of the ocean

Only point here other than that observation.

This is why we always say Be PREPARED stock up

6 months after this stops leaking if your eating from cans taking other precautions you'll be fine.

Just stay away from the shell fish

"This is why we always say Be PREPARED stock up

6 months after this stops leaking if your eating from cans taking other precautions you'll be fine.

Just stay away from the shell fish"
Yes, you are correct.

This is really hard for me as I love seafood. I bought frozen two weeks ago...

Last Edited by emerald eye on 04/03/2011 05:25 PM

Thanks Emerald Eye, I'm suggesting this info be pinned.

? Did you use to be Irish Eyes in a different life?

Thanks,

No Irish Eyes was someone else.

Good articles.

Thx

Emerald Eye, Thanks for all the information and also thanks for your help the other day. I had fair success stocking up at the store, no milk except tiny little shelf stable single cartons, but we spent a fortune. It would have been SO much better to add a little each week especially since not everyone in my household even thinks it important. Then I had to find new storage cabinets and it is a whole giant project but worth it to me.

An important question for you: In light of the continuing flume coming directly at me here on the central coast of California, would you be putting topical iodine on your 11 year old daughter? I read to paint a 3 inch square on her skin and keep doing it, it wouldn't hurt, but is it too late? If for example, radioactive iodine has already been taken up by her thyroid, does it stay there or is it constantly replaced and introducing new non radioactive will fill it up instead? I have just one tiny bottle, should I split it with the 16 year old boy too? (I KNOW not to drink it, etc...after reading almost everything here at GLP.)

Thanks again for your informative posts and working to compile so much information for us.

Hi there,

That is a tough question, because the levels now reported would not warrant it yet, but do we trust the levels?

I would for sure use canned milk or milk powder re-hydrated with spring or bottled water for the little one. Kids under 5 are at the greatest risk from I 131 thyroid cancer, but the younger the child, the greater the risk. Iodine deficiency increases the risk of thyroid cancer if exposed to radioactive Iodine, so maybe some kelp supplements would be in order.

"The younger the age at the time of radiation exposure the higher the risk. No risk was demonstrated for exposure after age 15 years in the pooled analysis, but other studies indicate that some may exist."

[link to www.uptodate.com]


A good article to read:

"Risk of Thyroid Cancer After Exposure to 131 I in
Childhood""Our results also indicate that iodine deficiency increases therisk of 131 I-related thyroid cancer. "


[link to jnci.oxfordjournals.org]


"Health lessons from Chernobyl"

"Davis: For the thyroid, the worst pathway by far is through milk. Second are green and leafy vegetables, and fruits. Inhalation and water are less important."


"CNN: Dr. David Brenner of Columbia University said that upwards of 90 percent of thyroid cancer cases around Chernobyl could have been avoided if authorities had simply told people to stop drinking milk. Do you agree with that?"

"Davis: Yes, I do."

[link to thechart.blogs.cnn.com]



So probably the best thing that you can do, is take your kids off milk unless it was produced or packaged before this incident (powdered or canned), and avoid consuming rainwater. I would also wash fruits and vegetables, and peel whatever I could as recommended here:

[link to books.google.com]

Another reference:
[link to books.google.com]

Also if you and your kids are not drinking milk, you should probably use a calcium supplement.
Here is a PDF that contains the recommended calcium for adults and children based upon age and gender.

[link to ag.arizona.edu]




If you can afford to do so, a bottle of Betadine (povidone-iodine) is very cheap compared to other preparations and might be a worthwhile option to add to your preps.

According to research by Ken Miller, health physicist at the Hershey Medical Center, using 24 healthy adult male test subjects he found that an adult could get a blocking dose of stable iodine by painting 8 ml of a 2 percent tincture of Iodine on the abdomen or forearm approximately 2 hours prior to I-131 contamination.

Here is the link to the paper if you would like to read it:

[link to www.jstage.jst.go.jp]



For adults, paint 8 ml of a 2 percent tincture of Iodine on the abdomen or forearm each day, ideally at least 2 hours prior to possible exposure. For children 3 to 18, but under 150 pounds, only half that amount painted on daily, or 4 ml. For children under 3 but older than a month, half again, or 2 ml. For newborns to 1 month old, half it again, or just 1 ml.


Betadine surgical prep is readily available in feed and supply stores for animal use and is usually fairly inexpensive.

Prolonged oral use of large amounts of iodine can cause goiter and thyroid dysfunction and topical use has caused this in babies and infants, but should fairly safe in older children. Topical iodine is safe and effective, and unlike oral dosing, you are less likely to get an overdose as long as the child doesn't lick it off or your child is very young.


That being said, I would probably wait on using the topical iodine that you have, but instead supplement with some kelp if you can, avoid drinking milk and contaminated water, and decontaminate food as much as possible.

I don't really know what the best answer is right now, some iodine is good, iodine deficiency is bad, but too much can be toxic especially for kids. If the levels do go up you have 24-48 hours to paint the iodine on and still provide adequate thyroid protection.

As always you should seek the advice of your health care provider or pediatrician if you are uncertain or have questions about this topic. That being said, unfortunately some will not take your questions as seriously as they probably should.


Kindest regards and best wishes to you and your family,
ee

Last Edited by emerald eye on 04/04/2011 12:44 AM

Povidone-iodine sales shoot up amid radiation threat

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- Hundreds of worried folks have been trooping to drugstores across the city since Wednesday to secure various sizes of bottles of povidone-iodine, amid the radiation scare in Japan.


A 7.5-milliliter bottle of branded povidone-iodine costs P25 over the counter. But some of the consumers reached by Sun.Star Pampanga said they did not mind the price, so long as they heed the advice contained in a text message which spread like wildfire on Monday.


Post your online prayers for Japan earthquake victims

The text message reads: “BBC Flashnews: Japan government confirms radiation leak at Fukushima nuclear plants. Asian countries should take necessary precautions. Remain indoors for the first 24 hours. Close doors and windows. Swab neck skin with betadine where thyroid area is, as radiation hits thyroid first. Take extra precaution. Radiation may hit the Philippines starting at 4:00 p.m. today (Monday, March 14).”
Another message warned the public against a nuclear fall-out: “Kapag umulan mamaya, huwag lalabas at delikado. May tendency na masunog ang balat ninyo, makalbo o magka-cancer.”


Panicky residents in this city said it is best to stand guard about the nuclear explosions in Japan, after it was hit by tsunami from a recent 8.9-magnitude earthquake.


“Tutuo man o hindi ang mga text na iyon, maganda na ang sigurado. Baka maulit iyong sa lahar noon na ibinaba ang mga alert level tapos bigla na lamang dumating,” said Adelaida Bustos, a mother of three kids whom she fetched early from school.


Ramon Sitangco, who works in a bank, said he spent the day worrying about the possibility of radiation, passing on the messages to his friends and text mates: “It is no joking matter. The source of the text messages seems to have knowledge of radiation and first aid that he recommended the swabbing of Betadine.”


An official of the Department of Education division office, who preferred not to be named, said that there is nothing to worry about.


“The department did not issue any order on the suspension of classes.
After an emergency meeting with the Department of Science and Technology and Phivolcs, we were assured that the radiation leak was far from reaching the country,” the official said, although some schools took it on their own to send students home early for safety reasons.


In an interview, Science and Technology Secretary Mario Monteno disclosed that the Philippine National Research Institute was monitoring the radiation fall out locally and found out the country is too far from Japan to be affected.


“We just hope that irresponsible texting of such will stop so as not to cause panic and so fear to the public,” he said.


Published in the Sun.Star Pampanga newspaper on March 17, 2011.

Thanks, for this but it’s difficult to trust health authorities when people know that they are not getting the full truth.

It is worth mentioning that while the Russian authorities failed to administer potassium iodide (KI) to their populations, the Polish government did administer some 18 million doses to more than 90% of the children within 7 days of the incident, which had the effect of decreasing thyroid cancer by 90%.

[link to books.google.com]

So sometimes governments make the right decisions about the situation and sometimes they do not. Sometimes it is just as simple as supplying iodized salt. For more information:

“As the 20th anniversary of Chernobyl approaches, UNICEF says that the numbers of children who developed thyroid cancer could have been significantly lower if they had been consuming iodized salt in their daily diet at the time of the accident.”

“Calling for universal salt iodization, Maria Calivis, UNICEF Regional Director for Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CEE/CIS) noted: “For the 4,000 children in question, iodized salt could have made all the difference. Many would have been spared from thyroid cancer. “
[link to www.news-medical.net]

[link to www.unicef.org]




“Ten years after the Chernobyl nuclear plant catastrophe more than 500 children in Belarus are suffering from thyroid cancer. The major cause of the high incidence of thyroid cancer in children under 15 years of age appears to be contamination resulting from that catastrophe, mainly with isotopes of radioactive iodine. Another important factor may be iodine deficiency in the environment.”

[link to www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]


[link to environmentalchemistry.com]

[link to www.iaea.org]


[link to www.who.int]

Last Edited by emerald eye on 04/04/2011 11:40 AM

Thanks for the info OP...
Got anymore Pics of yourself? lol

Thanks!

As for the pics, they are on pay-for-view only.

great thread for some truth-hopefully more will pay attention

Thanks!

Latest forecast has all of California under radiation threat April 6, 7 — Shows levels as high as in Japan (VIDEO)


[link to enenews.com]

Sorry, I don’t know how to embed non U-tube videos.

I will post the truth when I find it:

“Letting radiation leak, but never information.”

“As Fukushima's nuclear reactors become Japan's perpetually burning tire-yard fire, they have laid bare the fundamental flaw of Japan's "nanny state": the assumption that "father knows best" and that the public are children incapable of dealing with potentially dangerous situations. The reflexive, obsessive control of information has done our people a great disservice.”

“The increasingly senile governor of Tokyo, Shintaro Ishihara, called the disaster "divine intervention" for Japan's "egoism" (he later apologized; now let's have a public retraction of his 2000 speech claiming that heinous foreigners would riot during natural disasters like these). Governments began to disagree on the definition of "safe distance" from Fukushima, while Japan adjusted "safe levels of radiation exposure" to suit political expediency.”


“When some foreign reportage became sensationalist, proponents of nuclear power utilized it to sow doubt and dissent. Commentators were derided as fearmongers for presenting the heresy that nuclear power might not be so safe after all. Eventually, if the information had not been sourced from the nuclear industry itself, it was interpreted as suspicious, culturally insensitive, even anti-Japanese.”


“Criticism shifted from those who caused this incident to those who wanted to do something about it. People moving to a safer location were treated as deserters. The exasperated public began to tune out and adopt a sense of futility and fatalism, even as radiation levels rose and contaminated the food chain.”

“We were told that nuclear power was safe. One assumes, not unreasonably, that this means no leaks. Zero emissions. Hence, the public should have zero tolerance for any man-made radiation. We should reject ex post facto reassurances that this amount of millisieverts is insignificant, the same as an X-ray, an airplane flight, etc. Sometimes the government's advice was so unscientific that it tried the patience of an educated society. (In a land of poorly insulated housing, being told to "just stay indoors" is clearly stopgap.)”


“My point is that the public has been kept in the dark for generations about the risks of nuclear power, settling for cute cartoon characters that deliberately and persistently underinform us. Yet when the industry screws up, who takes the fallout?”


[link to search.japantimes.co.jp]

(GLP cut and paste rules respected)

“NEWS ADVISORY: Radioactive iodine 7.5 mil. (7.5 million) times legal limit found in seawater near No. 2 reactor.”

[link to english.kyodonews.jp]


But don't worry, the fish are still tasty!

Nice one Ee! Thanks for the post!

Fascinating and frightening!

Yes, scaring me too...

Last Edited by emerald eye on 04/05/2011 01:51 AM

“Gov't to toughen inspections of marine products for radioactivity”


“Elevated levels of radioactive iodine have been found in young launce caught off Kitaibaraki, Ibaraki Prefecture, prompting the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry to advise that it not be consumed."

“No officially permitted level of iodine has been set so far for fish and clams as the Nuclear Safety Commission says it is difficult for radioactive materials to accumulate in them.”


“But the detection of an iodine level of 4,080 bequerels per kilogram in young launce has prompted the ministry to consider setting such a level for fish and clams, health minister Ritsuo Hosokawa said Tuesday.


[link to english.kyodonews.jp]

“No officially permitted level of iodine has been set so far for fish and clams as the Nuclear Safety Commission says it is difficult for radioactive materials to accumulate in them.”…that statement is total BS and the NSC knows this.

Sea food will concentrate the plutonium

“Mollusks will accumulate plutonium in their edible tissues at concentrations 3,000 times higher than the surrounding water, edible seaweed, 2,000 times higher than surrounding water, crustaceans 300 times and fish 40 times.”



[link to books.google.com]

So the pumping operations are going well.Sigh...I loved my seafood :(

Topical iodine is safe. Everybody used it on cuts and scratches in the 50's. I have used it for years and I suggest you go ahead and us it. Unless it is not absorbed in 12 or 24 hours you are not using too much. Pretty harmless and great for the pain from hangnails. Everybody living within 100 miles of a nuke plant should us it daily. Females should apply directly to breasts. I have been doing it for at least 10 years. Iodine has been reduced to 2% because meth dealers use it. But, because I have saltwater fish and my shrimp don't molt right the vet gives me 7% for my tank. In the 50's it was always 7%. Can't hurt you.

testing to see why I can't post

I agree with you that in general topical iodine is pretty safe. There are however, a few exceptions to that rule.

One situation that requires caution is very young children. They can absorb larger doses, as their skin is relativity porous compared to older children and adults. “Skin disinfection with iodine has caused goiter and hypothyroidism in 5 of 30 newborns under intensive care (Bouillon, 1988).”

Also caution should be used in pregnancy, nursing moms, and people with burns or skin conditions:"Chronic topical maternal use of povidone-iodine during pregnancy has been associated with clinical and biochemical hypothyroidism in the infant (Danziger et al., 1987)."

"Prolonged exposure to tincture of iodine can induce superficial necrosis. At least one death has been reported consequent to extensive skin involvement. Solutions of iodine applied to the skin should not be covered with occlusive dressings. Topical application of povidone-iodine on burn patients may lead to increased iodine/iodide absorption (Lavelle et al., 1975) and the development of a metabolic acidosis, renal failure and and changes in mental status although a cause and effect relationship has not been definitely established."


[link to www.inchem.org]

I guess with every silver lining, there is a cloud.


As with anything else, as long as people use good sense it is quite safe. However, very young children, pregnant or nursing women and people with skin conditions that may increase absorption should be cautious.

Last Edited by emerald eye on 04/05/2011 02:57 AM