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Fukushima Cover Up: a Play In 2 Acts

George Washington's picture




 

Act 1:  Japanese Prime Minister Had to Fly In to Fukushima In the Middle of the Night to Get the Scoop from Low-Level Nuclear Workers … Because Tepco Wouldn’t Tell Him the Truth

In this 27-second video, Amy Goodman summarizes her interview with Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan:

We just came from Tokyo. We broadcast for three days from Japan. And we’re going to play the interview I did with the former prime minister, the one in charge at the time [of the Fukushima disaster], Naoto Kan. He said it was extremely difficult to get a straight answer from TEPCO, the Tokyo Electric Power Company, that ran the plants, and he had to fly in. He figured the only place he could get a straight, nonpolitical answer—he flew in the middle of the night to the plant to talk to the workers to figure out whether he had to evacuate 50 million people in Tokyo.

 

This is not the first time Tepco has been less than honest:

  • Tepco admitted that it’s known for 2 years that massive amounts of radioactive water are leaking into the groundwater and Pacific Ocean, but covered it up
  • Tepco falsely claimed that all of the radiation was somehow contained in the harbor right outside the nuclear plants

Act 2: U.S.Nuclear Authorities Were Extremely Worried About West Coast Getting Hit By Fukushima Radiation … But Publicly Said It Was Safe

Nuclear expert Ed Lyman - chief scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists - said:

While the U.S. government was telling the American people there was nothing to fear from Fukushima and that U.S. plants aren’t vulnerable to the same problems, internally, they were—there was a much different story. So we’ve learned from a lot of Freedom of Information Act documents that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the White House were actually very concerned about the potential impact of radiation from Fukushima affecting not only Americans in Tokyo, which was more than a hundred miles away from the plant, but also Americans on the West Coast. And they were furiously running calculations to try to figure out how bad it could get. But there was no sense of this in what they were telling the public.

Indeed, Seattle residents were exposed to dangerous radioactive "hot particles" because the government didn't warn residents:

This is similar to the Japanese government withholding radiation plume data from evacuating Fukushima residents ... which caused them to evacuate to areas of very high radiation.

EneNews rounds up details on the freedom of information act information.

 

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Sun, 03/02/2014 - 13:34 | 4497570 Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando's picture

Rense.com has a section dealing with Fukishima. The fact that we hear absolutely nothing speaks volumes about the gravity of the situation. 

Sat, 03/01/2014 - 18:06 | 4494748 Laddie
Laddie's picture

The US government, under Barak Hussein Obama's orders, or rather I should say his puppeteers orders, TOOK OUT the Radiation Monitors from Washington state in early April 2011 because "the readings are so high there must be a malfunction" that was their excuse AND they stopped testing milk and other food items also and have NEVER resumed.

They are EVIL, truly, demonically evil, and it coincides with their attempts to disarm the traditional American, Dispossessed Majority, soon to be a minority.

Fri, 02/28/2014 - 20:29 | 4492083 Setarcos
Setarcos's picture

Try Enenews ... it has been aggregating Fuck you Shima news since nearly day one after the initial disaster.

Fri, 02/28/2014 - 17:47 | 4491210 Jim in MN
Jim in MN's picture

The best place to get information on Fukushima is....right here.  The ZH community sweated blood writing about this at the time.  Do an archive search, but first chill a case of beer.  There is a lot of material, right down to blow-by-blow examinations of the photos and videos as the disaster unfolded.

For a full summary, try this link, by yours truly.  jopy.org/jimn.pdf

Key points: 

--Radioactive releases far exceed Chernobyl, more like total of atmospheric nuclear tests

--Likely fatalities in the thousands to tens of thousands

--Pacific near US likely to end up around 5-10 times natural background, again similar to above ground nuclear testing impact

--Fish bioaccumulation pathways are wide open; North Pacific fisheries should be closed until testing and risk mitigation regimes are in place and enforcable

--Japanese land and water concentration pathways should be intensively mapped and monitored with independent, international resources made available to the Japanese public; much wider evacuation zones are needed, possibly including Fukushima City (pop. 250,000) and the main north-south freeway in Japan

--The core material should be immediately removed by any means necessary; the site is not tenable from a geological and hydrological standpoint

Sat, 03/01/2014 - 23:54 | 4495786 verbot
verbot's picture

i agree completely jim. zerohedge has no equal. our lives would be different without all the work of tylers crew and i for one am grateful to have true patriots leading the way thru these dark times. all good men of  conscience will find consensus. 

 

Fri, 02/28/2014 - 20:48 | 4492148 Alananda
Alananda's picture

Best info on Fukushima on ZH?  No way.  www.enenews.com.  Other sites have even more in-depth coverage.  http://pissinontheroses.blogspot.com/ is one.  FYI.

Sat, 03/01/2014 - 01:18 | 4492666 Element
Element's picture

I gave up on enenews each time I tried to read it, because I could not find a BS-sieve with a fine enough mesh to sift out all that bullcrap without it clogging and bogging all the time, so gave up after a few attempts, with a fair amount of disgust for the site. Having said that, I should add that the thing that's useless about enenews is the comment section, real low-grade stuff. As for the actual news itself, it was ok if you ignored the hyperbole surrounding it.

But I'm with Jim on this, zh covered the topic so much better for general analysis and detail, and all the important stuff got a thorough treatment, with numerous links to far more in-depth stuff. Lapri at EX-SKF was and still is awesome for the nitty-gritty.

Not to be unkind to GW, but unfortunately, the above article, and many on this topic, seem to have no actual new news value, just another predigested hash, or else much ado about not much.

Sun, 03/02/2014 - 08:34 | 4496537 Absinthe Minded
Absinthe Minded's picture

"But I'm with Jim on this, zh covered the topic so much better for general analysis and detail, and all the important stuff got a thorough treatment, with numerous links to far more in-depth stuff. Lapri at EX-SKF was and still is awesome for the nitty-gritty."

This is why I stick with ZH, because there is almost as much info in the comments as there is in the articles. Thank you Element.

Sun, 03/02/2014 - 01:38 | 4496108 scraping_by
scraping_by's picture

Your choice of vague invective leads to the question, is it hyperbole if it's true? GW's article shows the official information is a pattern of minimization, distraction, and stonewalling. Accurate information will therefore be an alternate news source. Accurate information will show up again and again. And, if it's more serious than the anodyne official word, accurate information will look hyperbolic.

And if GW want to keep following something that you smarter people threw down the memory hole, well, there will be nerds to keep listening. Even if we don't get to eat at the jock's table a lunchtime.

Sun, 03/02/2014 - 09:07 | 4496577 Element
Element's picture

 

 

Accurate information will show up again and again.

Propaganda and confirmation bias, "will show up again and again" too, but accurate information needs no props.

Jocks v Nerds ... really?

Rules of Fight Club
#1: You do not talk about Fight Club.
#2: You do not talk about Fight Club.
#3: If someone says "stop" or goes limp, taps out the fight is over.
#4: Only two guys to a fight.
#5: One fight at a time.
#6: No shirts, no shoes.
#7: Fights will go on as long as they have to.
#8: If this is your first night at Fight Club, you have to fight.

We beat the crap out of topics to remove the concretions of bullshit and see what remains. Do that at enenews and its all concretion of bullshit ... then nothing!  ROFL  WTF?!  Ripped off!!!  lol  :D

I tried enenews several times, it stank, own it.

Fri, 02/28/2014 - 21:05 | 4492209 Jim in MN
Jim in MN's picture

Do the beer and archives thing and then get back to us.  At the time the expertise was here.  Now it is monitored at ZH, because it has been thoroughly covered, and nothing big gets by.

Nothing wrong with those sites, but when the fan is meeting the shit, there is more and better perspective here.

Fri, 02/28/2014 - 22:45 | 4492453 Yes_Questions
Yes_Questions's picture

 

 

I did the Scotch and HOLY FUCK during.

 

+1

Fri, 02/28/2014 - 16:24 | 4490684 ThirdWorldDude
ThirdWorldDude's picture

It is much worse than what they're telling. Not so many sources that report exact radiation numbers, but some bits and pieces that're coming to light paint a very depressing picture.

Don't know if you caught this piece, The Ocean is Broken, written by an Aussie sailor en route throughout The Pacific. Makes a helluva sense if you put into perspective the record number of whales observed near N. America's west coast, the recent morbid and "unexplainable" starfish holocaust and countless older stories about seals, polar bears, I've read even wombats and tasmanian devils are affected by some kind of "skin disease"...

Check out Hatrick Penry, the guy that coined the term Plume-Gate and wrote a book proving 3 full meltdowns happened already within the first week after 11th of March 2009. His evidence came entirely from NRCs released transcripts after being sued under FOIA.

It's sick and fucked-up beyond comprehension and the worst part is we have yet to experienced a lion share of consequences.

(all links open in new windows)

Fri, 02/28/2014 - 17:31 | 4491093 Johnny Cocknballs
Johnny Cocknballs's picture

hadn't seen the plume gate stuff, thanks for the links.

you know it doesn't help that the "journalist" spending the most time on this is Alex Jones.  It's a brilliant way to discredit what appears to be very real, significant danger, both direct and indirect.

Then again, if he's helping people at least be aware of it, maybe that's a net good.

Fri, 02/28/2014 - 19:47 | 4491901 ThirdWorldDude
ThirdWorldDude's picture

You're welcome Johnny; this is knowledge that needs to be spread out and it doesn't really matter which way it comes from if it is the truth. You're right about AJ; his sensationalist approach has somewhat damaged the truth movement's credibility, but once in a while he picks up bits that MSM has strict orders to either not report on or hugely downplay. No matter the source, everybody should learn to do their 'due diligence' by double-checking and cross-referencing facts and sources... separating the weed from the chaff, so to speak.

Just noticed my freudian slip in the post above, should say 2011 instead of 2009. 

Fri, 02/28/2014 - 15:37 | 4490422 Evil Peanut
Evil Peanut's picture

CNN’s Jake Tapper: "I think the American people, honestly, want security over freedom."
Benjamin Franklin: "Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both."

That right there demonstrates perfectly how far we have fallen culturally.

America is doomed is a failed experiment. People got lazy and let the corporations take over, that is the whole story. Once the corporations where legal citizens with more rights than living flesh and blood people then end was of American was set in stone.

The only solution is for the lazy fuctards to get off their colective asses and start over from scratch.

Some general rules such as....No corporation may exist for more than 5 years. It may apply for a 5 year extension. It must pay local taxes on all forms of revenue and profit. It is not a person in any shape or form and has no legal rights as one. Profits may not exceed $10 million per year. Profits exceeding the maximum are donated to charities. This keeps competition in the market place and ensures everyone is working or running a business.

Fri, 02/28/2014 - 17:34 | 4491114 Hobbleknee
Hobbleknee's picture

Why should corporations exist at all?  The entire purpose of the corporation is to limit liability.  If corporation destroys half the planet, why should liability be limited to a fraction of the damage done?  Case in point, Fukushima. If people were held accountable for their actions, the world would be a better place.

Fri, 02/28/2014 - 21:08 | 4492219 johnQpublic
johnQpublic's picture

why the threadjack evil peanut?

Fri, 02/28/2014 - 17:20 | 4491024 Doubleguns
Doubleguns's picture

"I think the American people, honestly, want security over freedom."

This is just what he honestly thinks. Its not a fact that the American people think and no one can help it that Jake Tapper is an idiot who cant think straight. 

Fri, 02/28/2014 - 15:56 | 4490484 monad
monad's picture

Jake Tapper is a greedy suckup. He only thinks about himself, so what he thinks shouldn't matter to anyone else who isn't standing between him and the donuts. Caveat suckerz.

Sat, 03/01/2014 - 15:33 | 4494125 Sambo
Sambo's picture

People should stop watching TV. Period.

Sat, 03/01/2014 - 18:13 | 4494791 cbxer55
cbxer55's picture

I did. Do not even own a boob tube. Not even in my mind to buy one at this point. Although I should have one for bad weather days. When it's storming, I turn off this here computer, power down everything, and pull all the plugs. Had a puter zapped once before, even with a good surge protector, it still got fried. Not chancing it again. Almost got caught flat-footed last year when a tornado was headed in my general direction, cause I had no idea since I had no idiot box. Guess that would have made me the idiot, picked up and carted off by a nader since I did not have a t.v. 

Fri, 02/28/2014 - 18:40 | 4491553 rlouis
rlouis's picture

Yep, but the propaganda axiom: "If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. ...It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its power to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State."

J. Goebbels

 

Thanks for the current info on Fukushima, George.

 

 

Fri, 02/28/2014 - 20:32 | 4492031 Emergency Ward
Emergency Ward's picture

"TSA gate rape stops terrorists -- NSA spying keeps you secure -- the American military is a global force for good -- banks deserve to be bailed out -- warrant-less SWAT raids are essential for public safety  -- radiation may be good for you (provided it comes from an imploded nuclear plant) -- dissenters and whistle-blowers are traitors."

-- The American Propaganda Machine

Sat, 03/01/2014 - 03:20 | 4492754 TheRideNeverEnds
TheRideNeverEnds's picture

Truth is treason in an empire of lies. 

Fri, 02/28/2014 - 15:31 | 4490399 Son of Captain Nemo
Son of Captain Nemo's picture

Already in the drinking water of Vancouver.  You'll know this is real when all those wealthy Hong Kong businessmen give up that expensive real estate overlooking Vancouver island...

And just in case any of you hadn't heard about this thing called "WIPP" out West...

Now you know!

Sun, 03/02/2014 - 00:13 | 4495869 TheAnswerIs42
TheAnswerIs42's picture

And so what? From the article:

Smith and his colleagues tracked rising levels of cesium-134 at several ocean monitoring stations west of Vancouver in the North Pacific beginning in 2011. By June 2013, the concentration reached 0.9 Becquerels per cubic meter, Smith said. All of the cesium-134 was concentrated in the upper 325 feet (100 m) of the ocean, he said. They are awaiting results from a February 2014 sampling trip.

The U.S. safety limit for cesium levels in drinking water is about 28 Becquerels, the number of radioactive decay events per second, per gallon (or 7,400 Becquerels per cubic meter). For comparison, uncontaminated seawater contains only a few Becquerels per cubic meter of cesium.

I've highlighted the important parts...

We are talking about a difference between 0.9 and 7,400. Are you really that scared?

 

Sun, 03/02/2014 - 07:01 | 4496462 Bearwagon
Bearwagon's picture

We are talking about contamination, not just irradiation, meaning the acculumation of radioactive substances in the body, where they provide a nearly steady dose-rate, thereby leading to a steadily rising dose, which in turn gets ever more dangerous. Yes, I am scared - and you'd better be, too.

Sun, 03/02/2014 - 10:35 | 4496778 TheAnswerIs42
TheAnswerIs42's picture

You are certainly correct regarding contamination, however in the case of Fukushima, the contamination (ie committed dose) has been calculated and is being monitored.

That is why they closed the fisheries located near the site. However, for fish which migrate across the Pacific, it is an entirely different story.

Here's the Abstract from one of the monitoring studies (BTW, the most recent levels monitored are about one-half of those found in this study):

Radioactive isotopes originating from the damaged Fukushima nuclear reactor in Japan following the earthquake and tsunami in March 2011 were found in resident marine animals and in migratory Pacific bluefin tuna (PBFT). Publication of this information resulted in a worldwide response that caused public anxiety and concern, although PBFT captured off California in August 2011 contained activity concentrations below those from naturally occurring radionuclides. To link the radioactivity to possible health impairments, we calculated doses, attributable to the Fukushima-derived and the naturally occurring radionuclides, to both the marine biota and human fish consumers. We showed that doses in all cases were dominated by the naturally occurring alpha-emitter 210Po and that Fukushima-derived doses were three to four orders of magnitude below 210Po-derived doses. Doses to marine biota were about two orders of magnitude below the lowest benchmark protection level proposed for ecosystems (10 µGy?h?1). The additional dose from Fukushima radionuclides to humans consuming tainted PBFT in the United States was calculated to be 0.9 and 4.7 µSv for average consumers and subsistence fishermen, respectively. Such doses are comparable to, or less than, the dose all humans routinely obtain from naturally occurring radionuclides in many food items, medical treatments, air travel, or other background sources.

LINK: http://www.pnas.org/content/110/26/10670.full

Please to read that paper, it is a good introduction to radiation doses, how they are calcuated and what they mean.

Fri, 02/28/2014 - 15:27 | 4490376 alphamentalist
alphamentalist's picture

um, newsflash: politicians are shameless dicks, who care about nothing but keeping their seats.

Fri, 02/28/2014 - 15:43 | 4490438 suteibu
suteibu's picture

Indeed.  Every time TEPCO is made to be the villain, the government is pleased. 

The government made NPPs possible in Japan, insured them with taxpayer funds, allowed them to run a business assured of profit, wrote and enforced (supposedly) the regulations, and marketed NP as necessary, safe, and good for all of Japan.  It was the corruption in the bureaucracy and political class which has caused this disaster.

As bad as TEPCO is, the government has the primary responsibility in the whole mess.

Fri, 02/28/2014 - 15:25 | 4490363 Joebloinvestor
Joebloinvestor's picture

Why do you think all radiation monitoring on the west coast stopped?

http://www.enviroreporter.com/investigations/fukushima/radiation-station...

The first thing that will happen is a complete collapse of the fishing industry.

Sun, 03/02/2014 - 00:05 | 4490777 verbot
verbot's picture

 

i will keep to supporting what jim in mn has to say..... 

had to edit.... i dont have a qualified opinion thats not a raging rant over this fukushima event.anymore and the tylers do have certain benchmarks of decorum...lol...

zerohedge is the gold standard of information.....nuff sed...

Fri, 02/28/2014 - 15:37 | 4490413 Hephaestus
Hephaestus's picture

So true! I quit eating tuna(and other fish) not long after FukuShima blew. In a few generations at the rate of spills the world has ben having since WWII no one will die of old age.

Sat, 03/01/2014 - 17:37 | 4494618 Reformed Sheep
Reformed Sheep's picture

In a few generations at the rate of spills the world has ben having since WWII no one will die of old age.

 

Sure they will, because the government will simply revise what constitutes 'old age'; like they do with 'safe levels', 'unemployment', etc.


Sat, 03/01/2014 - 00:24 | 4492589 TheAnswerIs42
TheAnswerIs42's picture

Eh, much ado about nothing. The levels of radiation recorded in fish from the Pacific are much less than you would get just by eating a banana.

It's all relative.

There are peer reviewed papers on this, which most people seem to be unaware of or cannot understand the math/statistics.

Of course the MSM and the ecoloon sites are all about promoting hysteria and not the  facts.

For example: http://www.pnas.org/content/110/26/10670.full

Or http://educate-yourself.org/lte/christopherbiusbyalarmism19nov13.shtml

 

Sat, 03/01/2014 - 18:16 | 4494803 Joebloinvestor
Sat, 03/01/2014 - 23:47 | 4495732 TheAnswerIs42
TheAnswerIs42's picture

Ok, just read http://www.pnas.org/content/110/26/10670.full and digest that (I kinda doubt you read that). This was done on the West Coast.

It measured the levels in tuna, which migrated a few thousand miles over several months as the particles went thru their half-lives.

 

And look at the hundreds of coutners listed at Radiation network: http://www.radiationnetwork.com/

All at background levels. If there was something going on, these things would be reporting it.

 

Sat, 03/01/2014 - 12:41 | 4493561 boogerbently
boogerbently's picture

Confirmation bias.

Data mining.

The sad fact is, we can't believe any "news" media, science publication, anymore.

They both are governed by agenda, advertising, and research grant dollars.

Two equally reputable networks or scientists will have opposite opinions.

All we can do is use what information, experience, and logic we have to form our own conclusions.

The facts are:

Just weeks after the nuclear event, acres of crap from Japan had drifted to our shores.

TEPCO has been proven to be lying about the extent of radiation emitted.

There has been increasingly MORE radiation being emitted, over the years since the event.

Our govt mysteriously has no "oceanographic radiation" measuring agency.

 

Short of everyone buying our own (radiation specific) measuring devices, we never will really know the extent of the damage.

I can't believe there isn't a ZH, disaster prepared, conspiracy theorist, radiation detector armed Californian that can report his findings to us. (then, would we trust his report???)

 

 

Fri, 02/28/2014 - 18:56 | 4491656 mt paul
mt paul's picture

what is  the human half life 

for 200 $ Alex...

Fri, 02/28/2014 - 21:15 | 4492237 johnQpublic
johnQpublic's picture

at what point on the curve?

thinking basic calculus here...bible said humans used to live 600 years, so f(x)=xsquared-1

Fri, 02/28/2014 - 15:41 | 4490435 Miffed Microbio...
Miffed Microbiologist's picture

It's funny. I have four cases of canned tuna which I purchased in 2010 just as a long term protein source if anything went bad. I've quit using them now realizing they have much greater worth then I had originally intended.

Miffed;-)

Fri, 02/28/2014 - 18:22 | 4491473 Poofter Priest
Poofter Priest's picture

Ha ha ha.....I have been slowly working my way through the pre 2011 tuna fish I bought for the same reasons.

I like a tuna sandwich with a cup o' coffee.

I like tuna melts and tuna noodle casserole.

These may be the last cans of tuna I get to eat.

....speaking of 'miffed'

Fri, 02/28/2014 - 21:16 | 4492240 johnQpublic
johnQpublic's picture

lol

me to

7 cans left and i'm a hoader

Fri, 02/28/2014 - 18:10 | 4491408 RafterManFMJ
RafterManFMJ's picture

Him say, "YOU GLOW NOW! Why you here four hour?!"

Fri, 02/28/2014 - 15:53 | 4490474 Hephaestus
Hephaestus's picture

Damn I was thinking how much for a can of your pre fukushima tuna when I read the second line.

Fri, 02/28/2014 - 17:05 | 4490933 Miffed Microbio...
Miffed Microbiologist's picture

Yes, Mr often bemoans the fact my hair color doesn't match my mental acuity, which,in certain situations, is not advantageous for others.

Miffed;-)

Fri, 02/28/2014 - 15:53 | 4490473 akak
akak's picture

You can also buy European, Atlantic-caught tuna canned in olive oil that is FAR superior to any of the catfood-like tunas canned in the USA --- I recommend the "Ortiz" brand from Spain, but there are others --- which will not only last for two decades or more in the can, but actually improves with age, becoming softer in texture but richer in flavor.

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