Photo of Chernobyl Tree Rings...
 

-AC

What does it all mean? From what I understand early annual wood growth is lighter and slower late summer/fall growth is darker. Is there any information on the effects with a detailed explanation of what is happening?

The photo is from the cover of a document, generally referred to as the 'Yablokov Chernobyl book' that thoroughly assesses the environmental and health impacts of Chernobyl.

-AC_Hacker

So how much effect will we see here from the Japan disaster?

Roughly none on land:
RadNet Data - Portland, OR | Japanese Nuclear Emergency: Radiation Monitoring | US EPA

However, excessive radioactive Cesium was found in the ocean water near Fukushima. I will continue my practice of not eating any oceanic carnivores, on account of how high up the food chain they are, and how much heavy metal and other natural and artificial nasty things find their way into the oceans.

AC, thanks for sharing the photo. That's really cool.

RS,

You might want to do a little more research on this issue.

I'm going on TV tonight to present material I have found. I have been researching this since chernobyl, and more intensively for the last week.

There is so much money to be made in the nuclear industry that statements made by the EPA should not be taken at face value.

Please read the report linked to above (or at least the conclusions at the end of major chapters). There's a lot more to it than a nice photo.

-AC

A/C,
I must be looking at outdated reports, as they seem to be only monitored up to 2011. Are there updated studies? But from what I see is the increase in I-131 in my area.
Will you divuldge the channel and time you are on at?

No wonder why I have been having the urge to dig a bunker..........

I can't speak for Washington, but I know that Oregon has stopped disclosing radiation readings. They say it's too low to matter.

But how much could it cost to maintain a web page?

Here is an interesting graphic from CDC (Center for Disease Control)...


Tonight @ 7pm, Comcast channel 11, local cable. I've been doing this for 21 years.

You'd be safer moving to the southern hemisphere... much more fun than living in a hole.

-AC

A/C, you should go yell at whoever put together that map. The figures there include deaths from car crashes, tuberculosis, and lung cancer, not just radiation-related deaths. Terrible garbage science like this is a setback to the state of rational discourse. Yes, I'm actually offended by that graphic.

I've got a link to the live radiation data that The Man is trying to keep quiet: Monitoring Results from Portland, OR | RadNet | US EPA

I've studied humans long enough to know that the urge to dig a bunker comes first, and information about radiation comes afterward. I can show you that the data doesn't support your conclusion, but I really can't change your mind about the bunker. Well, at least we can exchange tips about where and how to build efficient outbuildings, and how to plant a garden that will keep you well fed throughout the year.

I said that with a smile on my face, but it has been on my mind. With the threat of nuclear bomb makings and enemies of the US.......... it gets me thinking.

So how can you grow veggies in the bunker?:)

Another concern is the recent sightings of owls that normally reside in Alaska showing up in the states. Don't birds and animals in general have a better sense of fleeing danger? Before big earthquakes, etc. Why are they coming south?

Hmm. They need lots of light, which means lots of electricity. Could you build the bunker adjacent a geothermal power source? You could build a wind, solar, or hydro power source above the bunker, but what if it needs servicing? One appealing solution is nuclear.

I think the best place to be in the wake of a civilization-ending disaster is on an aircraft carrier. Get below deck until the fallout cools down, then convert the four acre flight deck into a farm. You've got a nuclear reactor onboard, which goes for 25 years without refueling. There's room for hundreds of people, plus livestock or hydroponics below deck. That's a good size for a community to remain cohesive and at least a little productive.

We had birds laying eggs here in February. Perhaps the owls detected a suitable climate farther south than usual.

I know very little about nuclear and the effects of a nuclear disaster. Many living things have been destroyed by the fallout and finding a way to keep from becoming one of them hasn't been at the top of my list. Should it be? I don't know.

I remember when I was a kid and taking a tour of the newest nuclear power plant south of Longview/Kelso, WA. From what I remember they showed in the tour was that it is an extremely safe way to produce electricity. Funny thing is, the plant was torn down a few years back.

The plant was built right on the Columbia, in the 100-year flood plain. Not only that, it was built down-river for Bonneville dam. The Allies pioneered the technique of destroying dams as a weapon. Not reason to think that nobody will ever think to do something like that again. Also, like most reactors, the waste was stored in open pools also in the 100-year flood plain. In addition to all that, the reactor is built on a earthquake-prone fault line very similar to the San Andreas fault.

It was not at all extremely safe... that was just P.R.

I had a neighbor whose father worked at the plant, and he related that there were frequent leaks and releases that, against rules and the law, were never reported.

I had the honor of having this guy, Lloyd Marbett on my show, last Sunday...


...he was very instrumental in having Trojan Nuclear plant (the one you mentioned) shut down and then torn down, although to this day he says he wanted the cooling tower to stay up as a monument to stupidity and short-sightedness.

-AC

I am not sure about the effect of radiation, but wood is lighter early in the growing season because conditions are better, mostly abundant moisture, resulting in large cells. As the season progresses, the cells are smaller until trees go dormant in the fall. The process starts over the next spring, giving trees "rings", one for each growing season. If radiation slows growth or makes cells smaller, it could result in darker wood, but only due to cell size, not an actual change in the color of the wood.

Hi, I have a question about those trees though...why were they cut down? someone planning to make radioactive furniture?are they safe to use as lumber?

Record radiation found in fish near Fukushima plant – This Just In - CNN.com Blogs

I wonder how long before it really hits us on the west coast? I haven't heard much lately...............?????????

my understanding is they've basically stopped monitoring for anything. there are a few expected studies to be done on moose and salmon if I remember correctly but nothing major. Canada has massively cut the department of fisheries and oceans so I'm not sure who's left to actually do this research.

This radiation thing is really a problem. I went back and studied the 'official' reaction to the following nuclear disasters:

• Windscale (1957)
• Three Mile Island (1979)
• Chernobyl (1986)
• Fukushima (2011)

...and in every case, the people who lived in the areas surrounding the disaster were not properly informed of the grave risk to which they were exposed. It only came out much later, when it was too late to do anything, that the people who were in control of the information, were in full possession of information regarding the dangers and knowingly withheld information that was vital to survival.

We have no reason to believe that officials will provide us with information we need to avoid sickness or injury.


The Japanese people recognized this early in the Fukushima disaster, and set up a citizens monitoring network (Link-1, Link-2) that has set the standard for non-governmental citizen response.

We need to do the same thing.

There is no known safe level of radiation.

-AC