Where To Get News & Updates On Fukushima

Note: This is a follow-up post to Fukushima Nuclear Fallout – Should We Evacuate?

The sky isn’t just falling, it already fell and if in the U.S. on the West Coast you and your family are being irradiated, you’d better move south or to the Southern Hemisphere quickly, to prevent getting Thyroid cancer or other related ailments.

If you are on the West Coast and feeling afraid, wondering how true that statement is, watch this video: West Coast Radiation Exposure: What are the Risks?.

In the video nuclear engineer Arnie Gundersen puts some of the ‘scare information’ that is out there in perspective, such as reports of a 500% increase of radiation on California coast – that is actually not related to Fukushima; there are many natural and non-natural causes of radiation.

Second scenario: After 311, fallout from the nuclear explosions at Fukushima was released into the Pacific Ocean, whose currents reach the shores of western U.S. If you live near or on the West Coast, you may be being subjected to radioactive fallout.

Don’t eat Pacific fish or milk that may be contaminated; eat healthy foods, exercise and take supplements to protect your health.

Whom to believe, what to believe? And more to the point, who is providing accurate information to the U.S. public?

Japan? No. It is known that not only did they fail to report events at the time they occurred, they deliberately provided misinformation and instructed (a recently released email) government officials to not do anything that would ‘hurt the reputation of TEPCO’ – the Tokyo Electric Power Company in charge of the power plant and its cleanup.

Ok, that’s a bust.

In addition, Japan has imposed a ‘States Secret Act’, threatening prison time for anyone who reports on Fukushima. Me thinks it is the TEPCO executives and Japanese and U.S. government representatives who supported this act are the ones who should be wearing orange jumpsuits.

Maybe we should rely on U.S. corporate controlled media outlets to investigate the issue thoroughly and report factual, non-biased information to the public? That should get a giggle.

Even more important, what may the future hold with regards to Fukushima? What are the ‘what if’ scenarios everyone should be discussing? The future of Fukushima and potential for additional nuclear fallout is the more serious threat, not current reality.

Confusion, confusion, confusion is the name of the game. Read the two quotes below, comparing Fukushima to the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. Whom do you believe? Why?

Quote #1

“There is no possibility that the physical health consequences of Fukushima Daiichi will be anywhere near as bad as those of Chernobyl.”   Source: New Scientist March 16, 2012

Quote #2

“While the amount of radioactivity released into the environment in March 2011 has been estimated as between 10 percent and 50 percent of the fallout from the Chernobyl accident, the 400,000 tons of contaminated water stored on the Fukushima site contain more than 2.5 times the amount of radioactive cesium dispersed during the 1986 catastrophe in Ukraine.”   Source: Natural News Blogs

Pretty confusing, no? Conflicting reports by two reputable sources. If I didn’t know any better, I would simply believe the first quote, as it is from ‘New Scientist’ – you’d think they know what they are talking about.

Well, they don’t. If you picked #2, you won the prize. The majority of experts describe Fukushima – its nuclear fallout and potential devastating health effects – as being worse than Chernobyl. Especially the long-term danger.

Update Feb, 2014: EcoWatch (listed below) just published an excellent timeline with facts about nuclear events, radiation and the history of the industry denying any health effects, “50 Reasons We Should Fear the Worst from Fukushima“.

From what I’ve learned, listed below are excellent sources for accurate, non-biased information on Fukushima i.e. what occurred on 311; how much radioactive material was released into the atmosphere and ground water; continued fallout; risks with decomissioning efforts at the plant; increase in illnesses post 311 (infant mortality, thyroid cancers), etc.

• FaireWinds.org– website by Arnie Gundersen and his wife with many articles and videos, continually updated with new information and assessments of the situation.
• Safecast.org – gather data on radiation levels around the globe, keeping people informed of risks with data on their environments.
• RadCast.org – citizen watchdog group, monitor radiation levels in U.S., field testing of marine life, share information openly in public forums and online.
• ENENEWS – quoted from the website: “ENENews is an online service dedicated to covering the latest energy-related developments. Established shortly after the Fukushima Daiichi disaster in March 2011”.
• BBC News Asia – many reports on multiple related topics.
• Aljazeera America – quality, objective reporting.
• NukeFree.org – their mission is to “… stop construction of new atomic reactors, and to close those now in operation.” I think many support those goals, especially post 311.
• EcoWatch – articles from professionals with varying backgrounds writing about Fukushima as well as green businesses and green products.
• Anything by Helen Caldicott, M.D. – nuclear activist, former Harvard Medical School professor and expert in children’s health.
• Anything by Arnie Gundersen – nuclear engineer who became a whistleblower, has traveled to Japan to assess the situation firsthand and is regularly interviewed by many media outlets.
• Anything by Harvey Wasserman – long-time political and environmental activist who “works for the permanent shutdown of the nuclear power industry and the birth of Solartopia, a democratic and socially just green-powered Earth free of all fossil and nuclear fuels.”   Source: Ecowatch.com.

A Facebook group you may want to join that has been following the situation for years, has some very knowledgeable folks on it, posts new articles, discusses risks, etc. is: FFAN-Fukushima Fallout Awareness Network.

Stay safe, Molly