TEPCO finds groundwater at Fukushima contaminated with radioactive cesium. english.kyodonews.jp

Japanese citizen activist says that if children touch the ground containing radiation their reproductive organs are going to be deformed or sterile.  enenews.com

Top space scientist says radiation on the ground of Mars is lower than the radiation in space.  articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Thousands rally in Japanese capital as government considers reopening reactors which were idled after 2011 disaster. aljazeera.co

Geiger Counter Readings in Seattle, WA on June 4, 2013

Ambient office = .098 microsieverts per hour

Ambient outside = .152 microsieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = .146 microsieverts per hour

Cherry tomato from local grocery store =  .090 microsieverts per hour

Tap water = .085 microsieverts per hour

Filtered water = .066 microsieverts per hour

Magnuson Park in Seattle – Part 3  of 4

      This is the third in a series of posts about radioactive contamination at Magnuson Park left over from World War III. In my last two posts, I covered the history of the radioactive contamination left over from World War II at Magnusson park in Seattle and the Open House thrown by the Navy to explain what it was doing. Fortunately for the citizens of Seattle and the users of the park, State Representative Jerry Pollet decided that the Navy was not doing enough and he conducted a couple of impromptu question and answer session with the various experts who were there. The experts were not really happy with his involvement but they did their best to keep a positive attitude as they were bombarded with questions by those who attended. They did explain that they were not set up to take oral comments and encouraged people to fill out forms if they had questions or comments.

         The local news media brought their cameras early and were treated to an attack on representative Pollet by a self described “environmental lawyer” who accused Pollet of grandstanding and said that there was no danger to the public at all and that Pollet was doing a disservice to the community by needlessly scaring people about the use of the park. Pollet calmly explained that there was sufficient cause for worry about the existing contamination and the plans for removal. He said that the 15 millirems that the Navy had set as a limit for the cleanup could still pose a threat giving the fact the pea patches and housing are being developed at the park. He said that exposure over time, especially for children who used the park frequently, could result in as many as one additional case of cancer per 100 people who use the park.

           During the meeting, the rep from the State Dept of Ecology said that they had a great plan for clean up that was very stringent and would really do the job. Someone asked him what the plan was and he said that they were going to tear out the walls and floors that were contaminated, dig up the soil and cart everything away. Someone asked where the debris would go and he said that he didn’t know. Someone else asked how it was going to be transported and what route would be taken and he said that he didn’t know.

           The format of the Open House with tables holding placards that dealt with different parts of the history, current situation and cleanup plans might be OK for notifying the public about a well known situation and its resolution but it is a very poor format for citizens who have little knowledge of a situation and need to learn more before they can even ask relevant questions. I repeatedly heard people say things like, “Why am I just hearing about this now?” and “I don’t even know the right questions to ask.” and “I want to hear the questions other people ask and the answers that they get.” and “It is too crowded and noisy for me to be able to ask the questions I do have and to hear the answers.” The general mood was one of frustration and confusion.

A visit to Trinity, where the first A-bomb was tested in 1945, turns up radiation still.  washingtonpost.com

Nuclear power isn’t that green or that good a choice.  wsj.com

EU Energy Commissioner says that nuclear power is essential to meeting the continent’s climate goals. nuclearstreet.com

Construction officially began today on the United Arab Emirate’s second new nuclear power reactor at the Barakah site in Abu Dhabi. world-nuclear-news.org

Geiger Counter Readings in Seattle, WA on June 3, 2013

Ambient office = .098 microsieverts per hour

Ambient outside = .092 microsieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = .087 microsieverts per hour

Sliced dried almonds from local grocery store =  .115 microsieverts per hour

Tap water = .095 microsieverts per hour

Filtered water = .088 microsieverts per hour

Fukushima fishermen are being forced to test the fish the catch for radiation. reuters.com

The industry ministry is considering revising an accounting rule to alleviate the financial burden on electricity companies from decommissioning nuclear power plants, sources said Saturday. japantimes.co.jp

Recent UN report that there was no real danger to public health from the Fukushima Disaster was deceptive. nuclear-news.net

A second restart attempt was unsuccessful at North Anna Reactor in Virginia. nuclearstreet.com

Geiger Counter Readings in Seattle, WA on June 2, 2013

Ambient office = .089 microsieverts per hour

Ambient outside = .114 microsieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = .091 microsieverts per hour

Bartlett pear from local grocery store =  .065 microsieverts per hour

Tap water = .067 microsieverts per hour

Filtered water = .051 microsieverts per hour

Rising radioactive spills leave Fukushima fishermen floundering. uk.reuters.com

The Abe administration in Japan is going to intensify efforts to restart Japan’s nuclear power plants. ajw.asahi.com

UN experts claim that the Fukushima nuclear disaster poses no immediate health risks.  timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Smoldering landfill near St. Louise could threaten buried nuclear waste. abcnews.go.com

Geiger Counter Readings in Seattle, WA on June 1, 2013

Ambient office = .131 microsieverts per hour

Ambient outside = .100 microsieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = .077 microsieverts per hour

Red Onion from local grocery store =  .093 microsieverts per hour

Tap water = .076 microsieverts per hour

Filtered water = .058 microsieverts per hour

Radiation Danger in Magnuson Park in Seattle – Part 2 of 4

           This is the second in a series of blog posts about the radioactive contamination left over from World War II at Magnuson Park in Seattle. On May 29^th there was an “Open House” at the Mountaineers building in Magnuson Park where the Navy, the Washington State Department of Health and the Washington State Department of Ecology presented the history of the situation and plans for dealing with it at placard stations around the room. For details on the history of the contaminations, see Part 1.

           There are national standards for cleaning up hazardous waste contamination. There are more stringent state standards in Washington State. There are special standards for cleaning up what have been designated as Superfund sites by the Environmental Protection agency. The Washington State Department of Health has its own standards for industrial work spaces and recreational spaces. These allow more radiation than the other standards. Each of these different designations carry with them a process that requires documentation of the problems at the site in question, exploration of alternative for clean up and a set of public meetings so that the affected citizens can have input to the planning process.

            After four years of sitting on the contamination at Magnuson Park and making no public announcement because the Navy felt that there was no danger to the public because public access to the contaminated areas had been prevented, the situation finally reached public awareness last March. The Navy, which is responsible for cleaning up the contamination decided that suddenly the situation was so critical that they declared that a “Time Critical Cleanup Response” was necessary. This allowed them to circumvent any of the usual processes associated with the different site designations including their environmental impact statements, exploration of alternatives for clean up, public notification and input, and final discussion and decisions on the best way to proceed with the cleanup.

           It appears that the Navy chose to work closely with the Washington State Department of Health because they had the lowest standards for allowable radiation to remain after a cleanup. The Washington State Department of Ecology was brought into the conversation very late in the game in May. Although they are the senior agency in charge of this cleanup, a representative from Ecology explained that they are stretched pretty thin and that they sometimes let “independent cleanups” go forward while they concentrate on other projects. Apparently, the cleanup of Magnuson Park was one of those “independent cleanups” that was being left to the Navy.

           During conversations with the experts scattered around the room and question and answer sessions conducted by Washington State Representative Gerry Pollet, what became clear to me was that the situation was anything but clear. The experts didn’t seem to know things they should have know, the explanations for why the situation was now time critical were poor to non-existent, the plan for removal might be a good plan but the “expert” from the Washington State Department of Ecology didn’t really know much about the details. People were frustrated by the format. They wanted a public meeting with a panel of experts fielding questions from the audience. The reasons given for not holding such meetings were again poor or non-existent. The Navy may have avoided the usual processes but what passed for their new process last night was a garbled and confusing mess.

Magnuson Park and Lake Washington in Seattle: