Tohoku Earthquake, Tsunami and Nuclear Disaster!!!

[Yokohammer]

[cstaylor]

[Mulboyne]

AFP: India slaps ban on all Japan food imports

India on Tuesday banned all food imports from Japan, citing fears over radioactive contamination from the country's nuclear disaster. A government statement said the three-month ban could be extended until "such time as credible information is available that the radiation hazard has subsided to acceptable limit." "Since the radiation is spreading/expanding horizontally in other parts of Japan, it may result in further radioactive contamination in the supply chain of food exports from Japan," the Indian government statement said. Several countries, including China, Taiwan, Singapore and the United States, have banned shipments of produce from certain Japanese prefectures while others are monitoring radiation levels in Japanese shipments. India, which is the first nation to impose a blanket ban, imports small quantities of fruits, vegetables and processed food from Japan. The decision was taken after "detailed discussions" involving government nuclear, toxicology and customs officials, the government statement said...more...

[matsuki]

Originally Posted by Taro Toporific
/Has anybody tried to go fishing here?
//The only fish you can catch is the size of bait.

Nah, you just need to go to the lakes or rivers where invasive foreign species have been purposely introduced and are now taking over the native ecosystems.

Yeah, buddy from Kansai was telling me about all the crazy species you can catch in freshwater here. He's a big fan of bass fishing...

[omae mona]

AFP: India slaps ban on all Japan food imports

I may be mistaken, but I think I read recently that this violates some international rules (WTO perhaps?). Member states are not allowed to arbitrarily impose bans on food imports without a rationale based on science. Irrational panic and resulting political pressure doesn't count as "science". If the Japan food imports don't actually have anything wrong with them (and I am pretty sure they don't), then I believe India may be subjecting itself to penalties. Not sure if Japan will pursue this or just let it fly, though.

[omae mona]

The problem with these "zones" is that, although the authorities have mapped out nice concentric circles to define them (nice neat, orderly scientific thinking), the radiation doesn't seem to want to play along.

Hammer, I don't think those zones mean what you think they mean. They do not designate where the radiation is too high. In fact, I believe there are very few areas outside of the immediate plant vicinity where there is consistently unsafe radiation. Rather, the zones designate where there is a reasonable risk (based on models and historical data) of the radiation becoming too high. You can't shuffle people in and out of the area hour to hour as radiation levels change, so they make a very conservative guess about the maximum area where there's a reasonable risk of health-threatening radiation. That's why they're neat concentric circles]There are areas that extend beyond the 30 km circle that show higher radiation than areas inside the circle.[/quote]
Of course. As I said, the circle is not measuring radiation. It's measuring risk of future radiation. For example, theoretically, there could be areas inside the circle where, at the moment, radiation is not much different than historical background levels. And hence, areas outside the circle could certainly be at higher levels than inside the circle.

In other words, just because Namie's radiation is higher than some places inside the circle doesn't mean anything. It doesn't mean there is a risk of it rising to health threatening levels, and it doesn't mean anybody needs to make adjustments to their life.

The question about Namie is very simple: is the radiation there actually at a level higher than the safety limit? If so, first of all the government should be screaming "take shelter". And of course if that were the case, then the residents deserve significant compensation.

Now, although the town may be just outside the zone, radiation is higher than the official "stay indoors" level. So what are the people of Namie and other towns like it supposed to do?

Hang on, are you very very sure about this? Let's be very precise about language, because we are potentially talking about two very different situations. Are you just saying again that Namie has higher radiation than some places inside the 30km zone? Or are you saying Namie has higher radiation than recognized safety limits? Please quote a source (Japanese is fine) if you have read that Namie is actually holding steady over an official radiation limit. If so, then yes, of course the people should be inside, the government should be issuing warnings to them, and TEPCO should be compensating them much more heavily.

It's ludicrous to say that "well, the radiation is higher than at some points inside the 30 km zone, but since you don't fit within our nicely drawn compass circle you're in no danger."

What? It's not ludicrous at all. I think you are completely confusing two concepts. Again, the 30km zone does not mean "radiation is too high in here". The circle is not a map of the radiation. Nobody thinks the radiation's coming out of the power plant in a nice clean circle. The circle is a map of the probability of radiation. It means "we think there's a chance the radiation might get too high in here later". 30km is the very edge of where the most conservative estimates show a reasonable chance of radiation increasing to dangerous levels. If you take issue with the mathematical models the governments all seem to agree on, that's fine; perhaps your math and science knowledge is better than theirs. But otherwise "you're in no danger" is EXACTLY what these models are predicting.

Again, if dangerous levels of radiation have already been detected in Namie, and proven the models wrong (please provide a source if so), then of course Namie residents should be evacuated and compensated.

Can I draw a silly analogy? Say you've gone to one of those dolphin shows at the aquarium. They announce "people sitting in the first ten rows might get wet; please move if this bothers you". This is because management knows how much the dolphins weigh, how high they jump, and can use some formulas to estimate how far the water can fly. PLUS they've done plenty of dolphin shows before and the water has never splashed past the first 8 rows. It doesn't mean everybody in the first 10 rows will get wet; in fact usually just 2-3 people get nailed. Now, some people in the 11th row start demanding financial compensation for getting wet, before the show has even started!

The 10 rows of seats are the 30km evacuation zone. The people sitting in the 11th row are Namie.

(again, if I missed the news and Namie has already reached dangerous levels, then my analogy is invalid. The folks in the 11th row got wet).

The government's decision to force TEPCO to pay 1,000,000 to each evacuee household as a start so that they at least have the means to fend for themselves to some degree is, I think, a good and fair one. But as you mention, people who have not been evacuated but who have to stay indoors can't work either, so don't they deserve something similar?

Sorry, I did not mean to leave that group out. Yes, I think they deserve the same compensation as full evacuees.

And of course there are all the people – 167,000 or so at current count, I believe – who have been evacuated because of the tsunami but are not directly affected by Fukushima. They obviously won't get a yen from TEPCO, so how are they supposed to get back on their feet? That's a gnarly issue as well. All the really big donations have to filter through lumbering government distribution processes, some of which can't even begin until near-final death and displacement figures are available. There's also the problem that the disaster area spans several prefectures.
..
..
Anyway ... I'll stop there because I'm going off on a tangent, which is easy to do with all the interleaved issues that are going on.

Your tangent is what should be the main point. Fukushima should be the side show.

[pheyton]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSRC1_OZPIg&feature=related

http://inmotion.magnumphotos.com/essay/Chernobyl

http://www.scribd.com/doc/52131245/fukushima-areva

[Doctor Stop]

AFP: India slaps ban on all Japan food imports

Oh my god! How are they going to eat curry rice in India now?

[Yokohammer]

... Again, if dangerous levels of radiation have already been detected in Namie, and proven the models wrong (please provide a source if so), then of course Namie residents should be evacuated and compensated. ... etc ...

Sources:
http://mainichi.jp/select/weathernews/20110311/radioactive/news/20110405k0000m040158000c.html
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/national/news/20110405-OYT1T00004.htm?from=y10
http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20110405-00000005-maip-soci

To clarify, according to these sources the radiation measured in Namie has already exceeded the minimum prescribed amount for a "stay indoors" warning. They are in the "stay indoors" range

And as far as the concentric circles being a "probablility map," has someone explained that to the people in the circles? I don't think so. And even if someone did, what difference would it make? People in the 20 km circle have been asked to evacuate, and people between 20 km and 30 km have been asked to stay indoors. Simple. And that is what is fucking up those people's lives.

To reiterate, according to the sources I quoted above, the radiation in Namie has exceeded the official "stay indoors" level (10 mSv, cumulative), but I don't think the government has issued a "stay indoors" warning to the people of Namie yet. Apparently they're "thinking about reconsidering the stay-indoors zone."

Which is why I asked, what are the people of Namie supposed to think/do about that? I suspect they're pretty worried.

[Mulboyne]

[floatl][/floatl]I posted the picture on the left earlier today on Twitter. It shows Futoshi Toba, the mayor of Rikuzen-Takata in Iwate, one of the places worst hit by the tsunami, conducting a lottery to decide how to allocate scarce temporary housing. The scene seemed to capture the mundane emptiness of life in the immediate aftermath of the disaster. And then later I read this story (Japanese). While he was going about his duties that day, the mayor was told by police they had found his wife's body. With all his workload on behalf of the beleaguered town, he couldn't go straight to the morgue. "I'm pleased they've found her," he said, with tears in his eyes. A few hours later, he went along to see her. Standing over her, he kept repeating "Gomenna" ("Sorry"). It was his wife's birthday just the day before and she would have been 39 years old.

At the time of the earthquake, Mayor Toba made it to the roof of the ward office where he was working. He could only watch as the tsunami headed towards his house. His wife was gathering with neighbours to head for high ground when the waters hit. The major had sent his wife a text message at 2:40pm: "Looks like I'll be getting away early today, why don't we go for some yakiniku or something?" "Sounds good," she had replied, "I'll ask the kids what they fancy when they get home". Minutes later, the earthquake hit. In the wake of the devastation, the mayor was overwhelmed trying to arrange accommodation and supplies for the survivors. His sons were safe, and sent to relatives, but he had no time to search for his wife. Yesterday, he finally found out what happened to her. Today, mayor Toba finished drawing lots for the remainder of the temporary housing. "I'm not the only one having a rough time," he said.

[Coligny]

At least he have something to keep his mind busy. Because being in shelter, nothing to do, lost relatives, quake aftershocks, TVNews looping on Fukushina's plant. Those people might need psychologists as much as food and water.

[cstaylor]

NEWS ADVISORY: Gov't reviewing current radiation levels used for evacuation: Edano

http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/

[Mike Oxlong]

...The fisherman's union (or whatever it is called) is unbelievably strong here, it's absolutely insane...

And, they're pissed...

[SIZE="4"]Fishermen: Utility's actions in Japan nuclear crisis 'unforgivable'[/SIZE]

Japanese fishermen have taken the offensive in their fight against the owner of the stricken Fukushima Daiichi power plant, angrily calling the utility's actions insulting, incompetent and "unforgivable" over the course of the weeks-long nuclear crisis.

The National Fishery Corporative Joint Association, a trade group for Japan's fishing industry, issued a scathing statement on Wednesday just hours after meeting with officials from the Tokyo Electric Power Company, which runs the crippled plant.

In it, the group demanded that the utility and Japanese government "compensate all parties (that have) indirectly or directly suffered" as a result of the situation.

"Tokyo Electric has not been capable of understanding the damage at the plant and (contaminated) water. That led to this serious situation," the group said in the statement.

"Tokyo Electric and the government (share) responsibility for this situation. It is unforgivable," the message continues. "All those who are living and sustaining their lives on the sea are feeling strong rage against (the utility and the government's) irresponsible behavior."

Members of the fishing group said they are particularly angry about the decision made and enacted Monday to dump 11,500 tons of radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean. This happened just hours after the group specifically requested it not be done -- leaving its members feeling ignored.

Besides that complaint, fishery association representatives blasted Tokyo Electric's claim that nuclear power plants were safe and that such accidents would never happen...

[omae mona]

Sources:
http://mainichi.jp/select/weathernews/20110311/radioactive/news/20110405k0000m040158000c.html
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/national/news/20110405-OYT1T00004.htm?from=y10
http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20110405-00000005-maip-soci

To clarify, according to these sources the radiation measured in Namie has already exceeded the minimum prescribed amount for a "stay indoors" warning. They are in the "stay indoors" range

Thanks for the detail, Hammer. WTF is wrong with newspaper reporters? You would think the original article about the TEPCO payments would have mentioned this key fact. There is a huge difference, then, between Namie and other towns that are just as close (like Tamura-shi, shown on the mainichi map) which do not have such elevated radiation levels.

For reference I took a peek at the IAEA guidelines for emergencies like this. I am not sure I am interpreting this properly (it's meant for pros). It's just a template for governments to customize, but if you look at Appendix II, they would rank the max 28 microsieverts/hr measured in Namie as way below the status they call "OIL2" that would call for evacuation. It's in the OIL3 range which calls for halting consumption of locally produced vegetables, milk, and rainwater collected for drinking. I am assuming the 28 microsieverts was ground contamination in Namie]
And as far as the concentric circles being a "probablility map," has someone explained that to the people in the circles? I don't think so. And even if someone did, what difference would it make? People in the 20 km circle have been asked to evacuate, and people between 20 km and 30 km have been asked to stay indoors. Simple. And that is what is fucking up those people's lives.
[/quote]
Absolutely agreed. I think people inside the 30km who received official evacuation recommendations (or staying inside, which is just as bad) have had their lives fucked up and deserve the much higher level of compensation.

To reiterate, according to the sources I quoted above, the radiation in Namie has exceeded the official "stay indoors" level (10 mSv, cumulative), but I don't think the government has issued a "stay indoors" warning to the people of Namie yet. Apparently they're "thinking about reconsidering the stay-indoors zone."

This is puzzling to me. the IAEA recommendations don't seem to have any "stay indoors" phase, so this might be a unique Japanese countermeasure (no doubt related to the 4 seasons). Perhaps the government is trying to tweak it. In any case, I don't think there is any consensus that there is health risk to going about normal life in Namie, with the possible exception of eating local food as mentioned above.

Which is why I asked, what are the people of Namie supposed to think/do about that? I suspect they're pretty worried.

Yes, given the numbers shown in those articles you linked to, it seems like in Namie specifically, there are legitimate worries about food source.

[Mike Oxlong]

Fukushima: The Nuclear Explosion Solution

[Tsuru]

Great fucking idea. Let's destroy what's left of the containment and blow them up.

Why didn't anybody else think of this?

[Coligny]

Great fucking idea. Let's destroy what's left of the containment and blow them up.

Why didn't anybody else think of this?

Even if it sounds like Michael Bay was behind this all along... Underground nukular testing seems to work quite well as far as self sealing goes...

trouble is...

The plant are not exactly underground, and the part aboot concrete tankers dumping their load just after the blast on the site seems to require more suspension of disbelief than anything involving John Mc Lane or any other Bruce Willis character...

As long as it's not Tepco of Kan that offer this solution it's still just a bad trip on meth...

[Typhoon]

Great fucking idea. Let's destroy what's left of the containment and blow them up.

Why didn't anybody else think of this?

The US found, in a study done some time ago, that the worst long term impact of a nuclear weapons attack would be a direct hit on a nuclear power station. A de facto "dirty bomb". A huge area around the reactor site would be uninhabitable, due to severe radiation contamination, for many generations.

So given the risks, anyone proposing such a supposed solution can be dismissed as a publicity seeker and certified idiot.

[wagyl]

Nothing particularly new here for those who have been reading critically and rationally, but with all the emphasis on radiation levels in Japan, we can at times forget readings in other places. This site claims to have readings all to the same scale. It is well known that background radiation varies over the globe, and that levels in, for example Tokyo, are nothing to worry about. I am just waiting for the plane loads of radiation evacuees from New York and Denver to arrive at Narita.

[Catoneinutica]

One of the Japan Times' bloggers posted a bunch of liquefaction photos from Shin Urayasu:



http://www.tokyotimes.jp/post/en/1645/On+stable+ground+-+Ground+liquefaction+in+Urayasu+City.html

Anyone care to speculate about the average haircut taken by owners of homes and condos on reclaimed land? It's got to be at least ten percent. Again, keep these images in mind the next time Mulboyne tells you he wouldn't have minded earning 30% on a Tokyo REIT the previous year.

[Coligny]

Nothing particularly new here for those who have been reading critically and rationally, but with all the emphasis on radiation levels in Japan, we can at times forget readings in other places. This site claims to have readings all to the same scale. It is well known that background radiation varies over the globe, and that levels in, for example Tokyo, are nothing to worry about. I am just waiting for the plane loads of radiation evacuees from New York and Denver to arrive at Narita.

The battul between flyjin and stayjin is getting nauseatingly boring. Those who left might be wrong, those who stayed might be wrong. Or just maybe there is no right or wrong... tepco can't be trusted, the governement can't be trusted, your local supermarket can't be trusted.

Seeing cretins like skyzelimit on twitter feeling like half gods because they stayed (in Nagoya btw) is as ridiculous as the "USA USA USA! " crowd at a wrestling event... it's not highschool football, you're not supposed to choose a camp, cheer it and stick to it however wrong it turns out to be...

The keyword is precaution, and qualifying any response as overreaction can't be made honestly without knowing personnal context. In a country like like Japan were foreigner are told to fuck of anytime they are not happy with something. I'd say some locals are more than ballsy to criticize those leaving because they effectively... really... don't like the situation. For all those here on a job assignement... they have no reason to even risk drinking the tap water so anything above this is quite a good reason to leave.

[ketchupkatsu]

It seems like its not only foreign nationals that are fleeing Japan. Talked to a real estate agent in Hawaii who specializes in long term rentals (90+ days) to Japanese nationals, and he said that his normal inventory is full and he is looking for more units. Mentioned that most inquiries were from Tokyo agents, but not too sure if the people looking to rent were from Tokyo or elsewhere.
Also mentioned most clients are wives with their children.

[Bucky]

Barely got high enough

[Catoneinutica]

It seems like its not only foreign nationals that are fleeing Japan. Talked to a real estate agent in Hawaii who specializes in long term rentals (90+ days) to Japanese nationals, and he said that his normal inventory is full and he is looking for more units. Mentioned that most inquiries were from Tokyo agents, but not too sure if the people looking to rent were from Tokyo or elsewhere.
Also mentioned most clients are wives with their children.

One Tokyoite named Blinky doesn't need to inquire because he doubtless has a Hawaii abode locked away.

-catone
-what's going to happen when all the nihonjin start freaking out and raping and pillaging the next time there's a catastrophic typhoon in Honolulu? Better deport their skinny asses back to the Land of the Rising Isotope.

[Mike Oxlong]

-what's going to happen when all the nihonjin start freaking out and raping and pillaging the next time there's a catastrophic typhoon in Honolulu? Better deport their skinny asses back to the Land of the Rising Isotope.

I was unaware they bothered to wait for natural catastrophes...pretty much SOP for any golf tour, and other vacations.

[Mike Oxlong]

[SIZE="4"]Update on the Condition of Japan's Agriculture Following the Tsunami[/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]An aerial view of Minato, Japan, a week after a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami
devastated the area. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Ethan Johnson/Released) [source: flickr]
[/SIZE]

The WSJ has reported "the United Nations indicated as many as 60,000 acres of agricultural land in several prefectures were damaged" due to the March 11, 2011 tsunami and 9.0 earthquake. Given they have approximately 19,000 square miles of farmland this is equal to one-half percent of their farmland. The Associated Press estimated that at most 8 percent of Japan's 4 million acres (1.6 million hectares) of rice farms might have been affected, or about 4 percent of total rice production. Note that the AP's 320,000 acre estimate far exceeds the UN estimate.

The major farmland problem is contamination with debris, saltwater, chemicals and toxins, in addition to radiation surrounding the failing nuclear reactors. From previous events in Indonesia and elsewhere, there is hope that the land will recover and grow rice again quite quickly, within one to two years. Rice growth can be somewhat salt tolerant and it will depend how much water will be washing through the soils, varying by location. Some farms expect richer soils following the tsunami.

A few regions were hit more extremely, such as the strawberry growing region of the northeastern coastal city of Yamamoto Town, which lost 80% of its small strawberry farms and many greenhouses. In Miyagi prefecture which includes Sendai, more than 37,000 acres of farmland was covered in seawater and debris, or about 11% of its total farmland...

via Big Picture Agriculture

[dimwit]

Barely got high enough

Amazing. Where did you find the pictures?

[Coligny]

There's stupid, and there is japanese-stupid... a whole new level of facepalming:

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110406p2a00m0na010000c.html

[TL/DR] retailer will start special sales of Fukushima farm product to show support to... radiation contamination ? Tepco ? Darwin ? don't know...

[FG Lurker]

There's stupid, and there is japanese-stupid... a whole new level of facepalming:

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110406p2a00m0na010000c.html

[TL/DR] retailer will start special sales of Fukushima farm product to show support to... radiation contamination ? Tepco ? Darwin ? don't know...

If they want to promote sales of food from these areas there is an exceedingly simple thing they can do to make it happen: Install Geiger counters in the stores so people can test the food themselves.

Personally I think the food from those areas is likely a fuck of a lot safer than most of the food imported from China...

[wuchan]

I'm starting to think this is never going to end.

7.4 off the coast of miyagi