Putting a radiation rumor to rest
Things are bad enough in Japan and around the world without cranking up the baseless rumor mill.
Jeff Schogol at Stars and Stripes debunks a radiation scare map being circulated on the web:
Japan is facing the very real possibility of a massive release of radiation following three explosions at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, where workers are frantically trying to cool the overheating reactors before they completely melt.
Perhaps more alarming to our readers in the United States is a map circulating on the Internet that purportedly shows the fallout from the ongoing disaster will expose the U.S. West Coast to 750 rads of radiation. The map, allegedly from the Australian Radiation Services, doesn’t say what exactly that means, but it sure sounds bad.
Fortunately, the map is a hoax, according to the real Australian Radiation Services, which has put a disclaimer on its website letting readers know it had nothing to do with the map.
One of the giveaways is that the “rad” is an outdated unit of measurement and is no longer widely used, said Joe Young, managing director for the service.
…THE RUMOR DOCTOR’S DIAGNOSIS: This map is a fake, but the situation at Fukushima is real. Still, U.S. citizens — like those in Japan — should remain calm.
See what others have said
Note from Michelle: This section is for comments from michellemalkin.com's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that I agree with or endorse any particular comment just because I let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with my terms of use may lose his or her posting privilege.
Comments
You must be logged in to post a comment.
 |
Obama’s Land of the LOST
May 25, 2012 01:42 PM by Michelle Malkin
48 CommentsJaczko the Jerk: Harry Reid’s sexist crony gets the boot
May 23, 2012 05:15 AM by Michelle Malkin
31 CommentsWhite House lied, jobs died
May 11, 2012 09:49 AM by Michelle Malkin
102 CommentsDrilling moratorium probe update: Green stonewallers caught red-handed
May 10, 2012 04:37 PM by Michelle Malkin
44 CommentsHillary Clinton convinces China to allow dissident and family to accompany her back to the US join ‘Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves’
May 5, 2012 11:17 AM by Doug Powers
34 Comments
Tens of thousands to fly to Rio to discuss how to limit greenhouse gas emissions
May 3, 2012 07:03 PM by Doug Powers
51 Comments
Obama energy solutions: Chicken crap is the new algae
April 30, 2012 01:13 PM by Michelle Malkin
145 Comments
EPA’s “Crucify them” guy throws himself under the bus
April 30, 2012 12:41 PM by Michelle Malkin
60 Comments
Categories: Enviro-nitwits
Babalu Blog
» U.S. Manned Space Flight in The 21st CenturyVillainous Company
» Must Read Post of the Day. Possibly, the YearRedstate
» Kimberlin’s Associates Caught on Tape?
Things are bad enough without all this crud coming out to scare the daylights out of people around the world. It seems iodine is going off the shelves everywhere with people taking stories like this and others as truth! Thanks, Michelle for this rumor put to rest.
L
Thanks, Michelle. Drudge has been taking the lead in hype this time.
The Left never lets a crisis go to waste.
It wouldn’t be a day in America unless someone was telling us we are all going to die in 5…4…3…2…1
From the NRC website:
Good grief!!! How about another MSM driven “EMERGENCY”??? Anybody remember the Y2K??? If a reactor doesn’t go “CHERNOBYL” on this, there will be a lot of pissed “NEWS ANCHORS”…
Republicans in Wisconsin have been getting that message a lot lately. The rest of us on this blog are pretty much resigned to that cheerful message from the Left on a daily basis.
While I am not one given over to panic. If you live near a nuclear power plant some of this is not a bad idea for you and your family: http://www.kio3.com/
I am much more worried about the fallout from DC than Japan
My thoughts are with those at the plant, who are undboutably putting themselves at great risk by trying to ensure that the damage does not escalate further. Heartfelt thanks to them, they are national heros. Equally so, are all the search and rescuers working to free the trapped and bring home to rest, those lost.
Point well taken, Hawkeye!
Pardon my naivete, but iodine tablets only help against iodine-131. What about strontium-90, which gets into the bones? And what about all the other lovely byproducts of a release of radiation from a reactor? What do we take for those? Taking iodine is like taking an asiprin when you’ve got stage 4 cancer: It might help a little, but really, is that all you can do?
I won’t be doing any panic-buying of iodine. Maybe I’ll add some extra salt to my fries, though..
If anyone can solve the technical challenge the quakes have caused, it’s the Japanese. I’ll be praying for them.
The left never lets an opportunity to take more energy off the table to protect the planet. I have news for the erviro-nuts; the planet is in charge. Hyping the radiation amount doesn’t help. Any conclusions made on faulty info will result in bad solutions. Duping the public into accepting garbage for the truth, is criminal.
Whoever has put this map out there should be prosecuted for releasing false information that may do harm to our country. I am serious. Freedom of speech requires SOME responsiblilty. This is akin to yelling “FIRE” in a crowded theater. It is corrupt and dishonest. That is why I think Rahm did it. j/k
You just wait…
in the coming weeks, just when Japan thinks its getting back on its feet…
From the ashes of the nuclear reactor… out of the sea… comes…
GODZILLA!
Careful! Such inappropriate humor could get you banned!
I like FNC over most other broadcast news media, but they have been doing a real good job of hyping the fears over radiation. It’s almost like
“Oh My G*d Japan Just Tipped Over”.
They, like other news orgs have a driving need to sell for their advertizers. In times like these facts are most important.
Is this like a Dan Rather “Fake but Accurate” NEWS scare tactic?
Agrees.
Totally. The hubby and I were watching Hannity interview two panelists last night with differing views of the potential “fall-out” from the reactors and he just kept hammering the conservative guest(read rational) with one what-if after another. As if he was determined to get a confirmation on the scary scenarios he’d already decided were sure to come to fruition.
It was very frustrating and how ironic now that his website features the headline: Nuclear Overreaction. Rolls eyes.
So, if it is like yelling “fire” in a crowded theater, what are we supposed to do now? Abandon the internet?
As I was saying on another thread, Dr. Michael Crichton was speaking about this very thing with the Chernobyl meltdown. I found all of his speeches here. They’re in ZIP/MHT format. His heirs removed the speeches from his website after his death.
Read the speech Complexity Theory and Environmental Management. You’ll see it is alway fear that drives us in the wrong direction.
But don’t buy any now – Japan is running out. Save it for them.
Let me see if I get this right, the fuel gets really hot, melts, and then cools and the world doesn’t end. Meanwhile, people without food, water, nor shelter in near freezing weather could really use help – but the media keeps talking about Chernobyl. Idiots.
Seriously.
After a decade + of a water carrying LSM spewing the Left’s every whim, please, please give me radiation!
Not to make light of actual events anchored in reality but… for our church fund-raiser they’re setting up several events just for me!
The dunk tank will find me completely immersed in industrial hydraulic fluid. 3 balls-for-a-dollar! Instead of guessing my age/weight fair-goers can wager on “How much anti-freeze can he ingest before the ambulance arrives?”
Don’t get me started on the asbestos-PIE eating contest!? Come one, come all and remember, it’s for a good cause!
TEH WON isnt’ taking all this radiation hype and roumors serioulsy either:
Yep, pretty much. It’s not pleasant for the people tasked with stopping the melting, though. On the other hand (and I’m not being mean or gruesome), it is their job for which they (and should the worst happen, their heirs) are well compensated. When you had an oil well fire, you paid Red Adair his price, because he put it out.
Once again, yep. Which is why I don’t watch the news after the initial catastrophe because all I’ll get is hype.
and seriously, I have spelling problems.
The radiation leakage will cause some to grow cloven hooves, horns and become cannibals-zombies? Fish will morph into giant, fire breathing dragons and tear down cities. Godzilla and such.
Have a nice day.
There is a terrible situation in Japan and the professional worrywarts will make the best/worst of it. I am waiting for algore to claim carbon credits block radiation. At least then they haven’t blamed George bush–yet.
The rad map may be a hoax but isn’t there a real problem with nuclear plants melting down? Chernobyl blew sky high which created its own problem but I don’t think radiation leaks and melt downs are things that can just be poo pooed or ho hummed.
I doubt it could blow over here and cause big problems but I wouldn’t rule anything out yet. And it certainly could cause a big problem for the people of Japan.
Didn’t radiation leaks cause Godzilla to grow so big? The Japanese have been there before. They should be worried. That thing was a monster.
Yes. But even in the worst nuclear disaster in history, Chernobyl, only 56 died. And by 2001 the background radiation in the contaminated area was less than in Denver, CO.
Does this mean we should ignore it? No. Does this mean we should stop the fear mongering? YES!
Amen.
Just sayin’ is all…
Right, and we’re rotating all the while. Even if particles simply hang in the upper atmosphere.., we all pass ‘thru’ it? Many other concerns at present. Sick hoax.
The difference between what is going on in Japan and what happened at Chernobyl is that the plant at Chernobyl did not have a containment system, the reactor in Japan does have a containment system. The containment system is built to contain the pressure from a meltdown. Its not likely that the containment system will fail.
In Japan they cool these things with water which turns to steam. They can’t pump it back through the system (no electricity), so they vent it out. At Chernobyl, they used graphite as a “coolant” which caught fire and radioactive smoke blew all over (no containment system). The containment system in Japan is multiple layers.
The MSM could have experts come and explain it all to us, but it’s not a ratings grabber like hysterical hypotheticals and fear-mongering, nor does it meet the anti-everything-non-solar agenda. Any minute Shep Smith will appear in a rice paddy and ask George Bush where the FEMA trailers are, and some doofus will tell us cold people without homes shouldn’t stay in a trailer made with glue that will vent embalming fluid on your kids.
The US has already had it far worse. We have taken 4 trillion OBAMs over the last two years. That is a potentially lethal dose of Marxism. Iodine pills won’t help. Trust me.
I’d rather take my chances with the Japanese reactors.
It’s a shame they couldn’t have some kind of turbine connected to the steam vents/piping to generate electricity in the event of no electricity.
I mean, the heat’s there, right? It’s turning water to steam… that’s energy.
I’ve often wondered why we don’t use nuclear waste to generate power…
Here is a good explanation of what is happening to the power plants in Japan:
http://theenergycollective.com/barrybrook/53461/fukushima-nuclear-accident-simple-and-accurate-explanation
OMG! You’re right!
Quick. Let’s hurry to the lab and start making a bunch of synthetic spines to graft into the GOP in Congress, because they were born without any. Maybe with the prosthetics, they’ll be able to stand up against the Marxism, instead of melting into their usual pool of mushy goo, and stop any more OBAMs from irradiating the population.
Somebody else can work on synthesizing a pair for the ones whose spines don’t take.
Starting on Saturday morning a number of MSM and other left leaning sites were pumping out dreck from certain “nuclear power experts”. After reading a single paragraph of the first report, I knew enough to vet the source – and wouldn’t you know it the “expert” was from an anti-nuclear anything group. As it turned out, it was also a group that is funded by George Soros.
“Never let a good crisis…”
Our volatility resides right here in the U.S. … at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Rush phrased it as “the Japan reactors are not as dangerous as the American Media Over Reactors” (paraphrase).
I think he had it about right.
Why is Fox News joining in on the hype?
Guy on Rush: Why is Mother Gia picking on the home of the Prius?
Tis a mystery.
LOL
Reuters reports that the Fukushima No 4 reactor roof is cracked… making it a match for the White House (or at least the occupant thereof).
I have heard a lot of experts on nuclear power plants all of a sudden on both sides of the spectrum. I will wait and see what happens before having an opinion either way. What I do believe right now: 1. Without a top secret clearance and a need to know you will never get the truth from the government. 2. Errors by the government will be in the direction of playing Down the situation as they did with Katrina. 3. I trust NOTHING Obama is pushing and right now he is pushing nuclear. I am quite happy with oil, coal and natural gas. 4. I would not mind seeing GE implode on this as they are in bed with Obama. Let them get the BP treatment. 5. I have had thyroid cancer and have operated without a thyroid for 20 years, so its no big deal.
How would you know that?
I think it is an ultimate irony, that two countries that had a war, that ended in nuclear devastation, are able to remain allies, and that a nuclear accident is being alleviated by the victor of this war.
When I was in Japan, in the 1960′s, it was amazing how much like America it was. I felt at home, even though I couldn’t read or speak the language.
It looks like Japan is more like America, today, than America is.
I agree. In a way Japan is more like what this country use to be. I remember when Oregon for example was a clean state, now it is trashed. Same with San Francisco and Honolulu. America has always been a place that takes care of themselves, but I could see a change during Katrina. In a way we are becoming more like Haiti.
So let me see – the same people who are against nuclear power because it’s “unsafe” are the same people who want us getting full body x-rays at the airport because it “makes us safer.”
But…but…..but Obozo’s own Surgeon General supported the idea of getting iodide tablets as worthy “precaution.” She said that today.
http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Surgeon-General-Buying-Iodine-Appropriate-118031559.html
STOP IT, AlohaGuy. You CANNOT make sense. This is not allowed under the most Open and Transparent Aministration, Evah…
Oh, and x-rays for thee, but not for me. Signed: Obama.
/sarc? Maybe…
Obama’s Surgeon General has been completely irresponsible in saying it is ok for Californian’s to buy potassium iodide pills. Taken without medical advice is a huge risk, plus puts those who may someday need it in jeapordy (including our own military). The risks are large, the dosage is tricky. Those allergic to shellfish could die from taking iodide. Those with undetected thyroid conditions could also have serious adverse reactions including irregular heartbeat and death. It is not a one pill-magic protection deal, as it is carefully dosed daily after EXPOSURE and mainly given to those under 40 years of age. This is stupid, irresponsible and dangerous for a U.S. Surgeon General. She should be forced to step down. Another of the many examples of the incompetent people in this administration.
For heaven’s sake, the FIRST measure, if we are ever in danger of radiation, is to “Shelter In Place.” If you are unfamiliar with the term, look at the website for the Red Cross.
This may have been posted previously on another thread but here is live streaming news from Japan (in English):
http://jibtv.com/program/fullscreen.aspx?page=0
When I was a child there were days when we were told not to play outside because of nuclear fallout. There was one occasion where in certain parts of the state, milk was dumped out by farmers, because the cattle had injested too much radioactive grass and their milk was too radioactive.
We all lived. The Surgeon General is an irresponsible idiot.
Unbelievable! And yet, no so unexpected. With these guys the criminal, unethical, irrisponsible… it just doesn’t matter. Expect idiocy, nothing less.
Oregon, San Francisco and Honolulu. Anyone see a common thread running through these political entities? Add Wisconsin to that as well, notwithstanding Nov. ’10′s election.
Oops, s/b nothing more. (apparently I was engaging in wishful thinking).
There are acceptable “levels” of radiation that we live with daily. Those acceptable levles are much less than what we are able to take without harm. However, Drudge is reporting high levels of radiation. I don’t know if that is past acceptable or how much is “ingested” or how it would ultimately affect someone who stays indoors vs outdoors.
What I do know is radiation is leaking from that Japan nuclear plant. That doesn’t sound like it is contained. Explosions, wind, and rain apparently will spread the radiation.
People here say I shouldn’t be concerned about all this, but somehow, I am.
Radiation by any other name, still kills like radiation. Of course, the earth is subjected to radiation from the sun constantly. Somedays, much more than others. Someone said it mutates our genes but my still say Wrangler, not Levis.
Because the freakishly paranoid security uber freaks demanded the US government ban reusing nuclear waste because they were afraid somebody might make a bomb with it.
Seriously – it’s too complicated for me to fully understand, much less explain, but look up France’s nuclear system. They use and reuse their nuclear “waste” until it’s practically gone.
But that’s too scary for America to allow, which is kind of ironic since it’s typically the French who are, or at least used to be, considered the sissies of the West.
Is that known as Acid Rain or is that different? Funny how I haven’t heard those terms Nuclear Fallout and Acid Rain in quite awhile. I have heard Nuclear Football. I can see Obama in the huddle now.
Obama: Ok Holder has leveled the playing field. Hillary, you run the buttonhook, Gates, you run the tailhook, and Biden will do the cut and run. Nancy and Harry will run interference. I’ll heave the Nuclear Football and we will live with the fallout while saying our Hail Marys (or Allah Akbars).
Same idiots that told us to wrap our houses in plastic and duct tape. Why anybody still believes a single word the US government says is a real mystery.
Actually in BWR’s of this type, nuclear waste is generating electricity all the time — until the fuel rods are removed for reprocessing or disposal. The US doesn’t reprocess fuel, but we should; then the gift would keep on giving. As usual, thank the weenies. Fears of “proliferation” keep us from reprocessing our fuel. You don’t even want to know the tortured “logic” by which this is justified.
Thanks for this rumor eraser!
It was nucleat fallout. Until August 1963 nuclear weapons were tested above ground. Those of us in Flyover Country were the recipients of the nuclear fallout from testing in Nevada and occasionally from Soviet tests.
I was a youngster, but I remember it well.
Fox News coverage of this nuclear situation in Japan almost causes me to throw up in my mouth. Who is the executive producer of this crap?
I live in CT. We have a two reactor plant, Millstone along the shoreline. Within 80-100 or so miles their are four other plants with a total of 5 reactors. Pilgrim in Plymouth MA, Seabrook in NH, Vermont Yankee in Vernon VT and Indian Point about 25 miles North of NYC.
The local media outlets over the last few days have gone to the communities these plants are in trying to find people who are against them. So far they have apparently not found anyone in CT. Every report they interview people who have no problems with it.
Thank God for Dr. Jay Lehr of Heartland Institute for applying fact and reason against the onslaught of rumor, panic and Doomsday speculation! I’m hearing media saying how any low radiation cloud will “sterilize” the seas of life and food off Japan for centuries to come. I guess someone forget to tell that to all the fish and coral and seaweed infesting the Bikini Atolls. Thanks for your cool head, MM!
James Greenidge
Queens NY
(Chuckle!) I think that nuclear plant worker Megean Kelly just interviewed told her some cool calm non-Doomsday non-hysterical facts and realities her pouting face didn’t want to hear!
James Greenidge
Queens NY
The rumor and graph floating around is probably the reason there has been a run on Iodine Tablets. Some stories on the web have helped folks user stand What a Sivert is and show radiation comparison charts.
I have worked in commercial nuclear power for 30 years as a radiochemist and rad protection tech. I have been to Chernobyl as well. A Sievert is the Internation unit of radiation dose. We use the REM in the USA. 1 Sievert equals 100 REM. From what has been said so far the Japanese plant has a doserate of 40 Rem/hour. It takes 450 Rem to kill 50% of most people in 30 days. I am worried about the spent fuel pools catching fire. There are 30 years of spent fuel in there whereas only 1 years worth in the reactors. I also want to state what was Tokyo Electric thinking when they built the reactors right on the ocean. From all the quake and tsunami history Japan has, it behooves me that they built it there. Another thing is 6 reactors together. Chernobyl only lost 1 reactor, now multiply that by 6.
By the way, KI tablets have major side effects. I was taught to use “tincture of Iodine” that your mother put on your cuts as a kid. Paint it on the back of your hand every 24 hours if you are in the plume. Kelp also is rich in Iodine. The predominant Iodine isotoe will be I-131 It has a 8 day halflife.
If I could only spell !
A layman’s understanding of a very complex issue: Radiation exposure.
XCKD: Radiation Dose