It pains me to see large parts of the media still hyperventilating over the very modest amounts of radioactive material coming from the Fukushima Daiichi plant on the east coast of Japan.
Nothing has been made more plain that most journalists and editors have no ability to evaluate risk, especially when it comes to radioactive measurements in very unfamiliar units (millisieverts anyone?). Everything they appear to know about radioactivity appears to come from poorly understood science reports and 1950s era B-movies.
You wouldn’t know from the coverage that that very same reactor survived a truly massive earthquake and a towering tsunami with barely a scratch even though it was built around 40 years ago in the expectation of surviving much lesser events.
You wouldn’t know that Japanese people are struggling to survive in the bitter cold, while coming to terms with the loss of family members, friends and entire neighbourhoods. You won’t hear that some survivors are being housed in other nuclear plants, everything else having been washed away.
Witness the BBC reporting today:
Japan nuclear plant: Radioactivity rises in sea nearby
The BBC’s Chris Hogg in Tokyo says the Japanese government has tried to reassure people about the plant’s safety
Levels of radioactive iodine in the sea near the tsunami-stricken Fukushima nuclear plant are 1,250 times higher than the safety limit, officials say.
The readings were taken about 300m (984ft) offshore. It is feared the radiation could be seeping into groundwater from one of the reactors.
But the radiation will no longer be a risk after eight days, officials say.
There are areas of radioactive water in four of the reactors at the plant, and two workers are in hospital.
The plant’s operator says the core of one of the six reactors may have been damaged.
It has announced that fresh water rather than seawater will now be used to cool the damaged reactors, in the hope that this will be more effective.
Why eight days? Because that’s the half-life of radioactive iodine. But that’s not what you find out from the BBC.
What of those two workers in hospital? Sounds serious doesn’t it?
Not all of the media are so poorly informed. The Register’s Louis Page has produced some well-researched articles which go a long way to explaining what is really happening:
The situation at the quake- and tsunami-stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear powerplant in Japan was brought under control days ago. It remains the case as this is written that there have been no measurable radiological health consequences among workers at the plant or anybody else, and all indications are that this will remain the case. And yet media outlets around the world continue with desperate, increasingly hysterical and unscrupulous attempts to frame the situation as a crisis.
Here’s a roundup of the latest facts, accompanied by highlights of the most egregious misreporting.
First up, three technicians working to restore electrical power in the plant’s No 3 reactor building stood in some water while doing so. Their personal dosimetry equipment later showed that they had sustained radiation doses up to 170 millisievert. Under normal rules when dealing with nuclear powerplant incidents, workers at the site are permitted to sustain up to 250 millisievert before being withdrawn. If necessary, this can be extended to 500 millisievert according to World Health Organisation guidance.
None of this involves significant health hazards: actual radiation sickness is not normally seen until a dose of 1,000 millisievert and is not common until 2,000. Additional cancer risk is tiny: huge numbers of people must be subjected to such doses in order to see any measurable health consequences. In decades to come, future investigators will almost certainly be unable to attribute any cases of cancer to service at Fukushima.
Nonetheless, in the hyper-cautious nuclear industry, any dose over 100 millisievert is likely to cause bosses to pull people out at least temporarily. Furthermore, the three workers had sustained slight burns to their legs as a result of standing in the radioactive water – much as one will burn one’s skin by exposing it to the rays of the sun (a tremendously powerful nuclear furnace). They didn’t even notice these burns until after completing their work. Just to be sure, however, the three were sent for medical checks.
So – basically nothing happened. Three people sustained injuries equivalent to a mild case of sunburn. But this was reported around the globe as front-page news under headlines such as “Japanese Workers Hospitalized for Excessive Radiation Exposure”. Just to reiterate: it was not excessive.
The entire article is well worth reading
But panic sells (as readers of WUWT are well aware), and sober analysis of scientific fact is nowhere near as exciting or is likely to spread like wildfire across the Internet.
No-one will die from radiation from Fukushima. No-one will mutate or develop super-powers. Godzilla will not rise from the sea and destroy Tokyo, except in cinemas.
It’s my view that the world deserves better than this. The real plight of the Japanese survivors of the earthquake and tsunami is being forgotten in the service of a bizarre fear about radiation that is more science fiction than science fact.
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Ralph, I’m aware of those stats, part of the reason why I support nuclear. However, we have never had a disaster of the sort playing out in Fukushima, nor one so close to a massive metropolis. Costs will be measured not just in terms of lives lost but environmental and economic damage. An evacuation of Tokyo would in of itself be a momentous calamity
And to reiterate – they are not in control at the moment
ozspeaksup at March 27, 2011 at 4:00 am
Nice catch on the Japanese News Service quoting the TEPCO
officials on the status of Fukushima Reactor #2:
See:
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/27_12.html
The AP story seems to have dropped the information source
and the Western Mainstream Media didn’t notice.
However, ten million times “normal” may involve a bit of
rounding, no matter what the source.
ozspeaksup
What is really dicey is talking about these elevated radiation levels. Why? Because you can be sure someone will call you a fear monger.
I am less concerned when I read this.
First “TEPCO says it measured 2.9-billion becquerels of radiation per one cubic centimeter of water from the basement of the turbine building attached to the Number 2 reactor.” Think about diluting that with a cubic meter of water and note that the water in contained in the basement.
Second: “TEPCO says the radioactive materials include 2.9-billion becquerels of iodine-134, 13-million becquerels of iodine-131, and 2.3-million becquerels each for cesium 134 and 137.” Iodine-134 has a half-life of 52.5 minutes and creates almost all of the radiation.
I posted the following, with minor noted corrections and additions, on Climate Progress a short time ago:
Current radiation levels in Tokyo are .115 microsieverts per hour. This works out to about 1mSv per year if this unusually high amount of background radiation persists. You may be surprised to know that this [elevated level of radiation] is about one third of the average amount of background radiation Americans receive in a year. In other words, the elevated radiation we are currently receiving in central Tokyo is far less than the average American receives in the US. Those of you who are frightened about the situation here should get on a plane and fly here so that you can reduce your exposure to natural background radiation.
The situation at the Fukushima reactors is not optimal and the appropriate accounting for mistakes and adjusting will need to be done when the crisis ends. Start pointing your fingers then.
As for Lewis’ criticisms [note: a previous poster on Climate Progress] about taking two weeks to get freshwater to the Fukushima site, does he have the faintest idea as to what happened here? More than 20,000 people are dead and more than 500,000 are homeless and dealing with that disaster was the first priority and this problem at the Fukushima plant was secondary in comparison. Should the government have ignored all of the human suffering in order to respond to the situation at Fukushima [to satisfy your concerns]?
A close friend and colleague buried three relatives today, all young children and victims of the tsunami. This is what people here are focused on and they are angry that people like you are focused on this. Continue to focus on a problem that will be of little long term consequence here and absolutely none there [if you wish].
A solution:
People naturally have a strong fear of the unknown. The problem is that radiation is invisible. Put Geiger counters in the hands of the population. Let them see for themselves the amount of radiation that comes off a granite counter top, old glass, an old radium faced watch dial or their bathroom tile. They will also see that lack of radiation in the environment, food at the grocery store and smoke detectors. It takes away the fear of the unknown. Geiger counters for the public would also allow the public to monitor a nuclear power plant so that we wouldn’t have to trust authority figures or media, both of which are biased.
Geiger counters can be cheep. I bought a Russian made one off the internet for $60.
MSM has an attention span of a 1-year old toddler. The only things that count and sell are scary headlines.
The media is correct to hyperventilate over minor radiation leaks. There should be no leaks at all. And generally, small leaks are a warning of potentially larger leaks. In this case, the larger leak has apparently now occurred. Japan is reporting a sudden spike of radiation 10 million times greater than normal levels.
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/03/27/workers-grapple-radioactive-water-troubled-japan-nuclear-plant/
Being concerned and taking precautions is prudent. Luck favors the prepared.
Normally WUWT is a beacon of sanity in a world of scare-mongerers.
However, in this case many of the contributors are being of the sort “nothing to see here, move along please” on this subject. Exactly the attitude we all blamed the regular press for during the height of Climategate.
The fact of the matter is that no-one knows what is going on at Fukushima. The info coming from there is at best of low quality, at worst a blatant pack of lies. And if anyone has ever looked at the safety record of TEPCO and the lies of the Japanese government in the past, you would all be much less confident that the workers just received “a mild sunburn” and that all of this will be over soon “because the halflife of Iodine 131 is only 8 days”. Beta radiation is no laughing matter and anyone who says that it is harmless should wash out their mouth with soap.
If I had told my RNC safety officer at the Uni that I had received some mild exposure to C14 beta radiation but it was harmless and I only had a mild sunburn, my licence would have been revoked forever.
This plant is going to heamorrhage radiation for months to come. Most of it leaking away as contaminated water. And the guys that are going to have to go in and clean up the mess will be taking huge personal risks. Let’s hope TEPCO has a good health plan…
Joe says:
March 27, 2011 at 1:03 am
“Nuklear power is NOT secure, because the energy-companies what to make money. I live in germany and they and the experts betray us many times (Atomlager ASSE).
Until now I have linked to this blog. But I don’t do it anymore, because I don’t support Nuklear power which brings million dollar to a few people.”
Joe is typical. He would probably pay inflated prizes for organic vegetables without thinking; yet the fact that German utilities have a rather normal 10% profit margin tells him that they’re all on a murderous rampage to get him.
Typical German ecological anticapitalist – he wouldn’t define himself this way, though – here in Germany it is already the “consensus POV”…
I’m torn between leaving and exploiting them.
Error in the name of El Reg’s writer. It’s Lewis not Louis
Well one thing is for certain and that is radiation decays over time, however this plant seems to have a mind of it’s own and 2 weeks into it things seem to be getting no better.
Nuclear is very safe but when it goes pop then people don’t know how to contain it both in time and space. It all seems to boil down to statistics and luck and hoping for the best.
Nobody on this thread known how it will turn out. After 2 weeks. Sadly, it seems neither do the people actually on the ground due to lack of past experience.
Andy
Oops. Radiation 10mill times higher than normal? Sorry, that was a mistake.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12875327
“The operators of a stricken Japanese nuclear plant have apologised for a “mistake” in reporting a radiation spike 10 million times above normal.”
ATM, all the German sites are blaring bloody murder. Media SNAFU.
Nuclear Radiation, Japan and the Inverse Square Law.
http://modernsurvivalblog.com/nuclear/radiation-japan-and-the-inverse-square-law/
DirkH says:
March 27, 2011 at 6:26 am
“ATM, all the German sites are blaring bloody murder. Media SNAFU.”
Oh. Now they’re retracting already and rewrite their articles. For example
http://nachrichten.t-online.de/fukushima-betreiber-strahlung-nicht-millionenfach-erhoeht/id_45275788/index
Rob Huber says:
March 26, 2011 at 10:19 pm
Or alpha radiation from radioisotopes lodge in the lungs merely make you talk funny since alphas are just helium nuclei.
A couple things I haven’t figured out, in part because there’s a decent chance no one knows, is just what radiation dose the workers received. The does the dosimeters received is not very interesting unless they wore the dosimeters on their ankles.
There is that estimate of 2-6 sieverts, but that’s a dose concentrated on a small part of the body, but on body parts that aren’t nearly as sensitive as squishier organs. I thought the effects of various doses are reported on external radiation, but given the weighting of alphas at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sievert it sounds as though what’s reported would be as if the radiation was internal.
@ur momisugly Verity Jones:
March 27, 2011 at 5:51 am
The story seems to come from New Scientist and was picked up by Natural News and many other places
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn20285-fukushima-radioactive-fallout-nears-chernobyl-levels.html
It’s very hard to get any information on official measurements near the plant, or on these sensors for the nuclear ban treaty around the world.
The Lubos Motl article on radiation units in relation to health effects are so far the most informative attempt I’ve seen at a clear, dispassionate explanation of this matter. While it may not be cause for panic, it is not exacly reassuring either.
http://motls.blogspot.com/2011/03/radioactivity-sieverts-and-other-units.html
Excerpt:
[…]
“Today [March 15], near the worst reactor building in Fukushima, they detected 400 millisieverts per hour: this figure was ultimately confirmed by IAEA (which was, until very recently, trying to downplay all radiation risks in Japan – a fact that may be related to the current Japanese leader of IAEA, Yukiya Amano). I want you – including all fellow big fans of nuclear energy – to understand that this is just a huge number. We have quantified one death to be 5 sieverts above: and the kids playing next to the reactor receive 0.4 sieverts per hour. Thank you, you’re welcome.”
[…]
Thanks for the link crosspatch. Duly added.
And if I might just expand a smidgen on my own views for a moment…
I am quite concerned, as well as very interested in the situation that continues to unfold at the Fukushiuma Daiichi power station. This is no doubt the most serious event to yet occur to a western nuclear reactor. The engineers and operators there truly are sailing in dangerous and uncharted waters. They are quite literally writing the manual for dealing with future events of this nature. While I agree that it is essential for any and all information of the incident to be released to the public, I do not believe speculation and hyperbole, nor the constant incitement to panic such as exhibited by the media and others is even remotely helpful. I feel the press has — with few exceptions — again proven itself hopelessly incompetent and recklessly irresponsible with it’s sensational and misleading coverage. Nothing of import can be achieved by needlessly frightening people — that is unless your aim is to do just that for ulterior reasons. Remember what a certain presidential Chief of Staff recently proclaimed; “Never let a good crisis go to waste”. Using the crisis in Japan to further an agenda is at the very least morally reprehensible.
You can build a nuclear plant in my under pants
http://climaterealists.com/?id=7446
Wow. There’s alot of radiation fearmongers on this thread, new ones in addition to the usuals. Reading those posts is like trying to stomach an Obama speech, or a realclimate post.
The fearmongers only diminish their own credibility, and only confirms rational peoples’ opinion of them.
Which is scarier ?
OR
Rounding up, indeed.
No wonder the Japanese government wagged it’s finger
and scolded the TEPCO managent last week.
@Francisco (March 27, 2011 at 6:47 am)
Thanks for the New Scientist source of the article.
AndyW says:
March 27, 2011 at 6:19 am
“Well one thing is for certain and that is radiation decays over time, however this plant seems to have a mind of it’s own and 2 weeks into it things seem to be getting no better.”
Shutting down a nuclear plant is a long messy process. The media can be hysterical about it for years. Yet there is no danger to the public from the radiation.
Curious how those closest to the situation have the least concern.
As I noted earlier, at elevated levels the amount of radiation we are experiencing here in Tokyo is still a fraction of the normal background radiation the average American experiences. The problems being experienced up at the Fukushima reactor complex should not be dismissed, however, at this point there is no indication that this is going to be anything other than a local event. The 35 million people who live in the Tokyo metropolitan region face little danger, either in the short or long term. Even people like Kevin in Koriyama who posted earlier face little danger.
David Thomson says:
March 27, 2011 at 6:01 am
“The media is correct to hyperventilate over minor radiation leaks. There should be no leaks at all. And generally, small leaks are a warning of potentially larger leaks. In this case, the larger leak has apparently now occurred. Japan is reporting a sudden spike of radiation 10 million times greater than normal levels.”
Ten million times greater than normal levels? When reading a report like this, if you do not have access to reliable information then wait several hours before panicking. Your own hysteria is the best evidence against your stated position.