Archive for the 'Health' Category
Switzerland Moves Embassy from Tokyo to Osaka
March 21st, 2011Via: Swiss Info: Switzerland has announced that its embassy in Tokyo has been transferred to Osaka, 600 km south of the Japanese capital. A foreign ministry statement said the temporary move had been made because of the “uncertain situation” in Tokyo, and in particular around the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant. The ministry said the embassy […]
Japan: Food Contamination Worse Than Previously Thought
March 21st, 2011I thought that the information out of Japan would get clearer as the days passed, but it just seems to be getting blurrier. So, it’s more of the familiar serious-not-dangerous shuffle. Via: Reuters: The World Health Organization said on Monday that the detection of radiation in food after an earthquake damaged a Japanese nuclear plant […]
Oil Spill Reported Near Deepwater Drilling Site in Gulf of Mexico
March 20th, 2011Via: Huffington Post: The Coast Guard is investigating reports of a potentially large oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico not far from the Deepwater Horizon site. According to a knowledgeable source, the slick was sighted by a helicopter pilot on Friday and is about 100 miles long. A fishing boat captain said he went […]
Commander of U.S. Military Forces in the Pacific On Prospect of Reactors Being Abandoned to Melt Down: ‘That Can’t Happen’
March 18th, 2011Reminder: Voice of America is the official propaganda outlet of the U.S. Government. Via: Voice of America: The commander of U.S. military forces in the Pacific says he is sending his troops into the danger zone near the Japan’s crippled nuclear power plants as needed, and if necessary he will send more to help prevent […]
JAPAN WEIGHS NEED TO BURY NUCLEAR PLANT
March 18th, 2011Via: Reuters: Japanese engineers conceded on Friday that burying a crippled nuclear plant in sand and concrete may be a last resort to prevent a catastrophic radiation release, the method used to seal huge leakages from Chernobyl in 1986. But they still hoped to solve the crisis by fixing a power cable to two reactors […]
Power Restored to Cooling System of Reactor Two at Fukushima Daiichi
March 17th, 2011Finally, a bit of good news. I hope it’s real. Via: Cnet: The Tokyo Electric Power Co. has successfully restored power to part of a dangerously overheating nuclear power plant damaged by last week’s earthquake and tsunami, a key move in efforts to cool the site. The power company, also called Tepco, connected a power […]
U.S. Checks Passengers, Cargo from Japan for Radiation
March 17th, 2011Update: Low Levels of Radiation Detected on Passengers from Tokyo: Radiation detectors at Dallas-Fort Worth and Chicago O’Hare airports were triggered when passengers from flights that started in Tokyo passed through customs, the New York Post reported. Tests at Dallas-Fort Worth indicated low radiation levels in travelers’ luggage and in the aircraft’s cabin filtration system; […]
Feds Deploy More Radiation Monitors in Western U.S.
March 17th, 2011Yeah, well, I’d say: Get your own Geiger counter and ignore the feds on this. Via: AP: More radiation monitors are being deployed in the western United States and Pacific territories, as officials seek to mollify public concern over exposure from damaged nuclear plants in Japan, federal environmental regulators said. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency […]
Head of U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission: “There is no water in the spent fuel pool and we believe that radiation levels are extremely high”
March 17th, 2011Via: AP: The chief of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Wednesday that all the water is gone from one of the spent fuel pools at Japan’s most troubled nuclear plant, raising the possibility of widespread nuclear fallout. But Japanese officials denied the pool was dry. “There is no water in the spent fuel pool […]
Physicist and Uranium-Industry Analyst at MIT: ‘This Is a Slow-Moving Nightmare’
March 16th, 2011Via: Reuters: Japan’s nuclear crisis appeared to be spinning out of control on Wednesday after workers withdrew briefly from a stricken power plant because of surging radiation levels and a helicopter failed to drop water on the most troubled reactor. In a sign of desperation, police will try to cool spent nuclear fuel at one […]
