In Japan, Radiation Is Detected In Its Food Supply ; Need For Safe Food To Be Exported To Japan

Update : Associated Press : Radiation now discovered in Tokyo's tap water supply

OP-ED : Japan Finds High Radiation in Spinach, Milk Near Nuke Plant

The Japanese government has detected abnormal levels of radioactive materials in spinach and milk in Fukushima and Ibaraki, two prefectures near the doomed Fukushima nuclear power plant.

So far, only spinach and milk have tested positive for above-average radiation (whatever that means). But if radiation can be found in milk, it should certainly already be showing up in beef. And if it is showing up in spinach, what about other vegetables or fruits ? What is more, with the radioactive plume blowing out over the Pacific Ocean, seafood would naturally also be exposed to nuclear radiation.

Meanwhile, the tainted Japanese food supply is already causing growing concerns outside of Japan, especially in countries, which import food from Japan.

"As uncertainty remains, countries that import Japanese food are on alert for possible contamination. Those nearby, such as Thailand, South Korea, Taiwan, India, Singapore and parts of China, have begun screening the imported Japanese food for radiation, and Italy has banned all Japanese food imports outright. Tuesday, the European Union issued an alert recommending radiation checks on all imports that have come out of Japan since March 15. Contaminated food continues to emit radiation -- the stronger the level of radiation, the longer it lasts. Any exposure to radiation increases the risk of cancer."

Based on these early concerns, the world should begin a program to export food to Japan, to prevent the nuclear radiation survivors from being exposed to anymore radioactivity from domestically-produced food.

Should America be on Nuclear Radiation Alert ?

America on radiation alert: Japan faces world's worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl as experts warn fallout may reach U.S.

Wind currents at 30,000 feet could carry a nuclear cloud across the Pacific Ocean, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission admits that it is ''quite possible'' that radiation could reach the U.S., with California ''monitoring situation closely,'' according to The Daily Mail.

"Fears that America could be hit by the nuclear fallout from the Japan earthquake have dramatically increased as workers prepared to abandon a reactor crippled by the earthquake and tsunami ..." in Fukushima, Japan.

"Right now it's quite possible that there could be some radiation floating over the United States,' said Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokesman David McIntyre, according to The Daily Mail. Other pertinent parts of The Daily Mail report :

"The wind direction for the time being seems to point the (nuclear) pollution towards the Pacific," Andre-Claude Lacoste, of the French Nuclear Safety Authority, told AFP.

The NRC downplayed the threat to Americans, however. Mr McIntyre told the AFP: "We don't think that it would be particularly harmful... even in a worst case scenario."

"We see a very low likelihood, a very low probability that there is any possibility of harmful radiation levels in the United States or in Hawaii or in any other U.S. territories," added an NRC statement.

Read the full report : America on radiation alert: Japan faces world's worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl as experts warn fallout may reach U.S.

Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Disaster Toll Underreported

Updated : Official Death Toll Reported to be 1,217

Two Days After the 8.9 Magnitude Earthquake and Tsunamis, the True Extent of the Disaster in Japan is Yet Unknown.

Rescue teams from various countries, including the United States, Great Britain, and numerous other countries, have set out for Japan, to join what is being described as the ''colossal'' effort to rescue survivors of the tripple tragedies of the earthquake, tsunami, and the resulting nuclear emergencies.

Reports of food shortages in Japan continue to grow, not only as a result of the damage to stores, but to transportation and distribution systems.

One emotional story that demonstrates the large scale loss of life is the often-repeated news report that as many as 10,000 people are reported to be missing in the port town of Minamisanriku, after the tsunami swept away large portions of the town.

Adding to the rescue and recovery efforts is the concern about the nuclear emergency taking place at the Fukushami nuclear power plants. The New York Times is finally catching up to the severity of the nuclear fears.

''The emergency appeared to be the worst involving a nuclear plant since the Chernobyl disaster 25 years ago. The developments at two separate nuclear plants prompted the evacuation of more than 200,000 people. Japanese officials said they had also ordered up the largest mobilization of their Self-Defense Forces since World War II to assist in the relief effort.

''On Saturday, Japanese officials took the extraordinary step of flooding the crippled No. 1 reactor at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, 170 miles north of Tokyo, with seawater in a last-ditch effort to avoid a nuclear meltdown. That came after an explosion caused by hydrogen that tore the outer wall and roof off the building housing the reactor, although the steel containment of the reactor remained in place.

''Then on Sunday, cooling failed at a second reactor — No. 3 — and core melting was presumed at both, said the top government spokesman, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano. An explosion could also rock the No. 3 reactor, Mr. Edano warned, because of a buildup of hydrogen within the reactor.''

The official death toll, reported to be as low as 800 people, is unrealistic in the face of the evidence of disaster in the coastal town and villages following the dangerous tsunami.

Another example of the underreporting of the extent of the damage is the growing reality that Japan is facing a nuclear emergency. Although more than 200,000 people have been evacuated from danger zones around two atomic facilities in Fukushima, Japanese media and government officials keep insisting that few people have been hospitalised as as result of radiation exposure. And the events at the Fukushima nuclear power plants continue to be irresponsibly described as possible''partial meltdowns,'' in spite of the facts that one nuclear reactor exploded on Saturday and the desperate efforts to cool the damaged nuclear reactor cores at the troubled nuclear power plants with sea water.

Nobody knows what Japan's plans are, in order to keep people safe, should a nuclear meltdown happen.

Meanwhile, the divergence in reporting doesn't end with the fallout of the disaster. Even the size of the earthquake is in dispute. The Associated Press has reported that the Meteorological Agency in Japan upgraded the magnitude of Friday's catastrophic earthquake to 9.0 from its earlier measurement of 8.8. By comparison, the U.S. Geological Survey had measured the earthquake at magnitude 8.9 -- leaving that measurement unchanged as of Sunday.

Japan nuclear meltdown risk

Breaking news :

• Second U.S. aircraft carrier, 175 miles away from doomed nuclear power plant, detects radiation
• NYTimes : Employees abandon Fukushima power plant ; Japan Faces Potential Nuclear Disaster as Radiation Levels Rise
• USA Today : Blast rocks Fukushima reactor No. 2 ; radioactive leak feared
• YouTube.com - Hydrogen Explosion At Fukushima Number 3 Reactor (March 14)
• CNN reports that nuclear meltdown may be underway

In apparent desperation to prevent a nuclear meltdown, Tokyo Electric Power plans to use sea water to cool down the nuclear reactor at the Fukushima power plant. The drastic sea water plan may not be working.

Japanese authorities are in a race against time to secure the integrity of the nuclear reactor at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, following a large explosion earlier today.

The large 8.9 magnitude earthquake on Friday in Japan had caused extensive damaged to the Fukushima power plant, leading to the failure of the reactor's critical cooling system. Prior to the explosion, nuclear engineers had been releasing steam from the cooling system in an emergency effort to relieve pressure.

Although some press is reporting that the release of radiation is decreasing, Yahoo! news is reporting that the attempt to use sea water is a sign that Japanese nuclear authorities are scrambling to find a solution to prevent a major nuclear disaster.

"They are working furiously to find a solution to cool the core," said Mark Hibbs, a senior associate at the Nuclear Policy Program for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Nuclear agency officials said Japan was injecting sea water into the core — an indication, Hibbs said, of "how serious the problem is and how the Japanese had to resort to unusual and improvised solutions to cool the reactor core."

In a subsequent report, The New York Times provided clarity about the last-ditch effort to use sea water to cool the nuclear reactor core : ''... ocean water is likely to permanently disable the reactor.''

Risk of exposure to the U.S. West Coast by radiation from Japan nuclear power plant explosion

UPDATED : Breaking news :

• NYTimes : Finally, ''Scientists'' Predict Japanese Radiation Plume
• Second U.S. aircraft carrier, 175 miles away from doomed nuclear power plant, detects radiation
• America on radiation alert: Japan faces world's worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl as experts warn fallout may reach U.S.
• Reuters : ''Minute Levels'' of Radiation Detected in Tokyo
• NYTimes : Employees abandon Fukushima power plant ; Japan Faces Potential Nuclear Disaster as Radiation Levels Rise

CORRECTED ! Could a risk exist of nuclear radiation danger to the U.S. West Coast following the Japanese nuclear power plant explosion ?

In the latest news report, The Daily Mail reports that the "Nuclear Regulatory Commission admits it is 'quite possible' radiation could reach the U.S."

If the nuclear power plant explosion in Fukushima, Japan, generates large amounts of nuclear fallout, then people living in the West Coast of the United States could be exposed to nuclear radiation, if radiation enters the Pacific Ocean jet stream.

Indeed, "The wind direction for the time being seems to point the (nuclear) pollution towards the Pacific," Andre-Claude Lacoste, of the French Nuclear Safety Authority, told AFP, according to The Daily Mail.

Conceivably, some amount of radiation would reach islands in the Pacific Ocean, such as Hawaii, followed by the West Coasts of Canada and the United States. Large U.S. West Coast cities, such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle, would be at risk.

It is not yet known if scientists with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Homeland Security have issued any emergency advisories in the United States. Even as David McIntyre, a spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said, "Right now it's quite possible that there could be some radiation floating over the United States," the NRC "downplayed the threat to Americans," however. Mr McIntyre told the AFP: "We don't think that it would be particularly harmful... even in a worst case scenario," according to The Daily Mail.

People living along the West Coast of the United States seemed to have largely escaped mass damage from the tsunami following the 9.0 magnitude earthquake in Japan. Now, the dangerous new threat facing the U.S. West Coast is radiation exposure.

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Related stories :

• Reuters : ''Minute Levels'' of Radiation Detected in Tokyo
• NYTimes : Employees abandon Fukushima power plant ; Japan Faces Potential Nuclear Disaster as Radiation Levels Rise
• USA Today : Blast rocks Fukushima reactor No. 2 ; radioactive leak feared
• CNN : Tests detect radioactivity on 17 U.S. Navy crew members in Japan
• YouTube.com - New (Hydrogen) Explosion At Fukushima Number 3 Reactor (March 14)
• CNN reported on Sunday that nuclear meltdown may be underway
• IAEA issues YouTube video statement