Atomic Energy: A Tragicomedy of Errors
Low levels of radioactive particles are detected on their way to N. America: Swedish official
Radioactivity from the disaster-stricken Fukushima NPP will reach North American shores within days, a Swedish official has said.
The research director at the Swedish Defense Research Institute (SDRI), a government agency, was quoted as saying that, based on data received from a network of global monitoring stations, some radioactive particles, albeit minuscule amounts, would cross the Atlantic, and even reach Europe, as did after the Chernobyl disaster.
“It is not something you see normally,” Lars-Erik De Geer told Reuters. However, “it is not high from any danger point of view.”
“It is only a question of very, very low activities so it is nothing for people to worry about,” he said.
“In the past when they had nuclear weapons tests in China … then there were similar clouds all the time without anybody caring about it at all.”More …
US Citizen Advised to Leave from 80-km Radius of NPP
Earlier today, the state department advised all US citizens living within 80km (50 miles) of Fukushima Daiichi NPP to leave the area. Japanese government’s exclusion zone is 20km, with a 20-30km caution zone.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission released the following statement:
“All the available information continues to indicate Hawaii, Alaska, the U.S. Territories and the U.S. West Coast are not expected to experience any harmful levels of radioactivity.”
Three Mile Island
Meanwhile, the US Energy Secretary said the situation seemed to be more serious than the 1979 partial meltdown of the Three Mile Island NNP in Pennsylvania.
The French Connection
According to nuke scientists in France, the Three Mile Island partial meltdown was a 5 on a scale of 1 to 7, with the Chernobyl core meltdown scoring 7, and the Fukushima NPP crisis so far rating 6 in severity.
The Chinese Gamble
The Chinese authorities are having second thoughts about their wholesale nuclear energy plan. They are building 27 new reactors (a total of 70 are under construction globally), but have suspended approval for new plants because of the disaster at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi NNP.
China had ambitiously planned to build at least 110 nuclear reactors during the next five years.
“We will temporarily suspend approval for nuclear power projects, including those that have already begun preliminary work, before nuclear safety regulations are approved,” said an official statement.
“Safety is our top priority in developing nuclear power plants.”
Most of China’s new NPP’s are planned near high-population areas, and “China’s State Council has assured people that the country will not be affected by the radioactive leaks.” Said a report.
We Are Not Invincible!
However many Chinese prefer to buy salt for “radiation protection” rather than believe the government assurances about radiation safety.
People are hoarding huge quantities of salt for protection against radiation. Potassium iodide, a salt, provides protection against thyroid cancer caused by radiation.
Fire Earth 
