A Los Angeles Times Story from yesterday discusses radioactivity in the Pacific Ocean and the Fukushima Nuclear Reactors that are melting down. Ken Buesseler of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution even goes so far as to say quote "No radiation from Fukushima has reached the United States yet". This would seem to be a lie except I think it was poor reporting. It is my belief that the reporter mistook "no radiation from Fukushima in the waters of the U.S." for no radiation at all. See this graph from Live Science for a map of radiation traces picked up all over the U.S. as proof that radiation has hit the U.S.
What pisses me off about this kind of reporting is that even though Ken Buesseler him self admits that "“If nobody is making measurements, people can say anything,” the LA Times reporter, Russ Parsons just glosses over the fact that at one point Buesseler makes the claim and then admits that there is no current testing. He also fails to differentiate between air and water testing. This by itself is as misleading as most of the blog posts that the story is blaming for all of the misleading information out there.
I expect more from the LA Times but as far as I am concerned they aren't much better at reporting on this than any other news outlet and that would now include many of the blogs that also have this wrong. Fact is no one really knows what's going on in the water and that's why Ken Buesseler is setting up this program.
The good part of this story is that private money from private people will now spend their money to try to find out what is really going on in the Pacific Ocean. These tests will cost between $550.00 adn $600.00 each.
This should have been going on since the accident and this should be paid by our own government. The fact that the the U.S. doesn't consider radiation from 3 melting down nuclear reactors anything that needs to be studied, measured and reported on should speak volumes to everyone in this country.
So in conclusion, I spent much time criticizing the story but I do feel positive about the part that individuals will be able to anti up and put their money where their mouth is. That someone, somewhere is actually going to quantify and measure what is actually going on in the Pacific Ocean. This is a positive step in the right direction.
I think for educational purposes I should point out that hourly air measurements done by the EPA are done differently than those walking around with Geiger counters like the guy on the beach that gets so much reporting. The EPA's official measurements are of filters that air is pushed through and not just random air samples. This gives a more accurate measurement since radiation seems to be in pockets or plumes and is not a constant. Make no mistake, radiation from Fukushima is and has been here since a few days after the Daiichi Nuclear Plants blew up. That is being measured and is a fact. What all the speculation is all about is the Pacific Ocean and how that is reacting to tons of radioactive water being dumped into it every day since March of 2011. Perhaps Ken Buesseler and other will shed some light on this now that there is a program being set up to do that, no thanks to our government though.
Read the misleading LA Times story here.
Here is a better story from EcoWatch
Also see this from Counterpunch
Here are some quotes and links from Enenews.com
What pisses me off about this kind of reporting is that even though Ken Buesseler him self admits that "“If nobody is making measurements, people can say anything,” the LA Times reporter, Russ Parsons just glosses over the fact that at one point Buesseler makes the claim and then admits that there is no current testing. He also fails to differentiate between air and water testing. This by itself is as misleading as most of the blog posts that the story is blaming for all of the misleading information out there.
I expect more from the LA Times but as far as I am concerned they aren't much better at reporting on this than any other news outlet and that would now include many of the blogs that also have this wrong. Fact is no one really knows what's going on in the water and that's why Ken Buesseler is setting up this program.
![]() |
Photo from Japanfocus.org |
The good part of this story is that private money from private people will now spend their money to try to find out what is really going on in the Pacific Ocean. These tests will cost between $550.00 adn $600.00 each.
This should have been going on since the accident and this should be paid by our own government. The fact that the the U.S. doesn't consider radiation from 3 melting down nuclear reactors anything that needs to be studied, measured and reported on should speak volumes to everyone in this country.
So in conclusion, I spent much time criticizing the story but I do feel positive about the part that individuals will be able to anti up and put their money where their mouth is. That someone, somewhere is actually going to quantify and measure what is actually going on in the Pacific Ocean. This is a positive step in the right direction.
I think for educational purposes I should point out that hourly air measurements done by the EPA are done differently than those walking around with Geiger counters like the guy on the beach that gets so much reporting. The EPA's official measurements are of filters that air is pushed through and not just random air samples. This gives a more accurate measurement since radiation seems to be in pockets or plumes and is not a constant. Make no mistake, radiation from Fukushima is and has been here since a few days after the Daiichi Nuclear Plants blew up. That is being measured and is a fact. What all the speculation is all about is the Pacific Ocean and how that is reacting to tons of radioactive water being dumped into it every day since March of 2011. Perhaps Ken Buesseler and other will shed some light on this now that there is a program being set up to do that, no thanks to our government though.
Read the misleading LA Times story here.
Here is a better story from EcoWatch
Also see this from Counterpunch
Here are some quotes and links from Enenews.com
BBC News, Feb. 2012 — Ken Buesseler, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (at 1:30 in): “It still surprises me how much variability even on our one cruise, between one location and another, that we can’t necessarily explain as scientists, why one organism or one location has particularly more of the cesium in the organisms that we measured than another location. That’s still a bit of a mystery and an open question.”
It’s not a mystery to many at ENENews. See: 1) US Congress: Potential for corridors of “highly contaminated” Fukushima water traveling away from Japan 2) US Gov't Memo: Nuclear fall-out in ocean does NOT gradually spread out -- 'Streams of higher radioactive materials' and 3)Professor: West Coast needs to monitor for pockets of high contamination from Fukushima — Locations in some areas may be affected in a significant way (AUDIO)
But why? You can't feel low level radiation. No, HUMANS can't feel radiation.
What exactly *is* this radiation? It's primarily beta radiation, that's right electrons. We build "curtains" with electric charges to keep fish out of water intakes, Etc. and its not a massive voltage. so why wouldn't these sea creatures run from a moving plume of massive electric charge? They use strong beta isotopes to power space probes as batteries.
These creatures can feel this hell coming. That's my thinking for what it's worth.
Report comment