The Australian Broadcasting Company & Fukushima Fallout Awareness Network – 2013-12-01 00:53:08
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-29/an-typhoons-spreading-fukushima-fallout/5124084
Typhoons Spreading Fukushima Fallout
The Australian Broadcasting Company
(November 29, 2013) — Typhoons that hit Japan each year are contributing to the spread of radioactive material from the Fukushima nuclear disaster into the country’s waterways, researchers say.
A joint study by France’s Climate and Environmental Science laboratory (LSCE) and Tsukuba University in Japan shows contaminated soil gets washed away by the high winds and rain and deposited in streams and rivers.
“There is a definite dispersal towards the ocean,” LSCE researcher Olivier Evrard said Wednesday.
The typhoons “strongly contribute” to soil dispersal, he said, though it can be months later, after the winter snow melts, that contamination actually passes into rivers.
An earthquake-sparked tsunami slammed into the Fukushima plant in March 2011, sending reactors into meltdown and sparking the worst atomic accident in a generation.
After the accident, a large number of radioactive particles were flung into the atmosphere, dispersing caesium particles which typically cling to soils and sediment.
Studies have shown that soil erosion can move the radioactive varieties of cesium-134 and 137 from the northern mountains near Fukushima into rivers, and then out into the Pacific Ocean.
Last year, the radioactive content of Japan’s rivers dropped due to fairly moderate typhoons.
However, more frequent and fierce storms in 2013 have brought a new flood of caesium particles.
This is “proof that the source of the radioactivity has not diminished upstream” said Mr Evrard.
Tsukuba University has completed a number of studies on Fukushima since November 2011.
Scientists “concentrated mostly on the direct fallout from Fukushima yet this is another source of radioactive deposits” that must be taken into account, he warned.
Coastal areas home to fishermen or where people bathe in particular face a potential risk.
Tens of thousands of people were evacuated from around the Fukushima plant following the disaster and nearby villages and towns remain largely empty as residents fear the risks of radiation.
The delicate process of decommissioning the site is expected to take decades.
‘ACTION ALERT! Fukushima Radioactive Fallout Food Safety Petition’
“Kimberly Roberson / Change.org
ACTION: Comment to FDA at http://1.usa.gov/17COR8W
(November 29, 2013) — FFAN is still hard at work demanding transparent, responsible food monitoring. This week we are launching a letter campaign to Congress to initiate legislation to protect our food supply against Fukushima’s ongoing radiation releases, with more info at www.FFAN.us under “Take Action Now†and below:
Here is a sample letter you can copy, paste and send to your elected officials. It’s always good to add your own words as well. And it’s easy to do. Just click on this link find your representatives: http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml
Dear Congressmember:
All children worldwide deserve equal protection. So please tell me why children in the US are allowed to eat at minimum 12 times more man-made radioactive poison in their food than children in Japan?
I am writing to demand, in the continuing wake of the Japan nuclear catastrophe, that FDA be required to lower the recommended amount of radioactive cesium allowed in our food to 5 Bq/kg. I also demand that you request widespread testing of the US food supply immediately.
It is our RIGHT TO KNOW how contaminated our food is and our choice whether or not we eat it. Everyone has the right to say “Bye-Bye, Becquerels!â€
Japan’s nuclear industry and government have lost control (once again) of its ruined nuclear power complex at Fukushima, a site that continues to leak massive quantities of radioactivity into the Pacific Ocean. This is adding to the existing toxic releases from atomic bomb tests and nuclear power over the past seven decades.
The American Medical Association has called for testing of seafood. Canada is going to start testing its salmon in light of an historic low in salmon numbers. Korea has been testing imports from Japan, returning food with small amounts of cesium contamination.
Bluefin tuna tested from off of the California coast has been contaminated with Fukushima cesium. Radioactive jam from Bulgaria labeled “organic†and discovered in Japan has since been recalled there. This same brand of preserves is now being sold on American grocery shelves. How am I supposed to protect my child’s health against internal contamination if I don’t know how contaminated our food is?
As members of Congress we are asking that you pass legislation to begin food testing immediately. The US FDA has a recommendation limit twelve times that of Japan at 1200 Bq/kg of cesium.
Even with the continuing release of radioactivity into the Pacific, and food testing in other countries, the FDA stated to the press that it still sees no danger from man-made radiation in food even though children are more vulnerable to radiation damage.
Food testing is urgently needed. We demand that you take a stand and encourage your fellow congressmembers to do the same.
Sincerely,
Your Name
Unless we have monitoring and responsible policy, we won’t know what is safe to feed our families. One thing is crystal clear: We can not allow another Fukushima to happen. Please do everything you can to support a widespread transition to safe, renewable energy.
Kimberly Roberson is the director of Fukushima Fallout Awareness Network
Follow: https://twitter.com/RadFreeFoodie
Visit: www.FFAN.us
FFAN is a fiscally sponsored non-profit of Beyond Nuclear and committed to protecting this and future generations against internal contamination of radionuclides via ingestion of food.
“FFAN is the only group working toward safe food policy in the US due to the ongoing Fukushima Daiichi nuclear catastrophe. Please support their work and comment on the FDA Citizen Petition today!â€
— Dr. Peter Montague, Founder and Director of Environmental Research Foundation.
Posted in accordance with Title 17, Section 107, US Code, for noncommercial, educational purposes.
