Original Text from Zukunashi no Hiyamizu's Blog: http://inventsolitude.sblo.jp/article/102693773.html
There has been an increase in the number of paralysis and seizures. Some of them are caused by cranial nerve disorder…?
My friend told me that he saw young workers at a construction site screamed “My leg is cramping up!” or “My hand is cramping up!” He asked me that those cramps would be a warning sign of heat exhaustion because it was hot day. Also he told me that their cramps lasted about for 10 minutes.
About 10 years ago, I was riding my bike for 6 or 7 hours in the midsummer heat and my leg cramped up at last. As I noticed that was caused by shortage of water and mineral, I went to a convenience store by pedaling a bike just with one foot and bought a sports drink. After drinking it and taking a rest for half an hour, I completely recovered and went back home.
Above workers could not have poor mineral because they drank water regularly before that and they recovered just after taking a rest. Of course some of their cramps could be blamed on the heat. However I suspect that would result from another cause because I heard that they had experienced the same cramps many times before, and also they lived in Matsudo-city and ate home-vegetables grown by their relatives.
Marshaling back data about “symptom caused by radioactivity” and “search keywords” in my blog, I realized that the symptom of poor control of his limbs was increasing.
I heard that limbs paralyzed and butterfingers had set up since quite early of Fukushima nuclear accident. I received many reports from people living in Tokyo who would have been deeply exposed to the initial radiation caused by the plume. One of them was admitted to a national hospital and resulted in unknown cause. There is almost no doubt that some doctors know such symptom is increasing.
The followings are symptoms I know lately;
・ left foot temporary paralysis, border between Tokyo and Kanagawa, male, early 60s (comment)
・ Suddenly I experienced a sharp pain with one foot and it was too painful to walk in July 2014, early 50s male living in Aichi prefecture (comment)
・ 60's, cramp in my leg, I can't stop coughing, feel sluggish (search keyword)
・ Suddenly I cannot move my lower body. (search keyword)
・ Suddenly he was completely paralyzed from the neck down and died several days later. (search keyword)
・ paralysis of the right side of the body, diminish the length of right arm (symptom of sailors who were exposed on The Reagan in Operation Tomodachi ("Friendship"))
Twins rode on the polluted car and were exposed… I am very sorry that their legs were paralyzed. I got this news in December 2011, quite early on. I was so surprised that I strengthened radioactivity avoidance.
There is a well-known fact in Chernobyl affected area that accumulated internal and external exposure cause nervous system abnormalities. I heard the case that one doctor who was involved in medical care around Chernobyl had his central nervous system damaged, and his words in medical records did not make any sense.
In the first place, gamma-ray energy is several orders of magnitude more powerful than human neurogenic electrical energy. For example, you might as well be in a house where many lightnings per second were around. If lightning struke you, nerve signal would completely stop for 10 to 20 seconds. You would lose mobility in your feet and arms.
In this case, sometimes your limbs would recover if there was no organic problem with nervous system. On the other hand, you would never move your limbs if there was organic problem with nervous system caused by internal exposure.
There is a case that a Japanese pro baseball pitcher could not stay on the mound because of general paralysis. (Daily Sports, July 26, 2014)
I think dizziness is on the increase. This may be caused by nerve abnormality because dizziness is a sign of stroke. I received the report that one person saw a doctor because of awful dizziness. The electrocardiography revealed that he had heart irregularity.
・ I am in my 30s suffering from terrible dizziness, Iwaki-city. I am wondering this may be caused by radiation exposure…? (search keyword)
Weak grip and butterfingers are on the increase in recent days. The first case I knew was tweets about his own physical symptom sent by one cartoonist.
Furthermore, one thing I recently hear is a decrease in brain function. The following comment was sent just a year and a half after Fukushima nuclear accident. Search keywords like “memory loss” and “persistent forgetful” suggest escalation of the situation.
・ I often misdirected of package just a year and a half after Fukushima nuclear accident. I am worried that I am out of my mind… (comment)
・ I am so forgetful in my office, 2014, Tokyo (search keyword)
・ In adult, intelligence diminution, personality disorder, lack of motivation (search keyword)
I saw many tweets about symptoms which may be almost the same disorder as above ones.
・ My husband came back home late at night from Tokyo. He told me “I've got a rash”. So I told him to see his own dermatologist the next day. Then he said “I have never been to see dermatologist here before. Where is dermatologist around here?” I was very surprised because he went there once a month last year!!! What's been going on with him…? (tweet, July 25, 2014)
・ My husband lost his memory just after moving from Sendai-city to Kitakyusyu-city. I felt panic very, very much. He did not notice his memory loss and even now he cannot get his damaged memory back. Now then, it has not been going to happen since we came here Hiroshima-city. However I am still worried and I have to remember that this can happen to me, too. (tweet, July 26, 2014)
We never notice such memory loss if it happen to us. Especially people living alone and have little direct contact with, please pay attention!!! Also unfilial child who never call their living alone parents will suffer great misfortune. They will be questioned by police for a long time because of their wretched parents…
By the way, I will notice whether I develop brain damage or not by checking the number of my blog access. Once I write incoherent and meaningless things in my blog, many readers would leave. After that, the number of access would dramatically increase when someone pointed out that I was a typical example of brain center disorder…
“I am feeling that many young people walk with a cane, ranged to 40s, Higashimurayama-city, Tokyo” (tweet, July 31, 2014)
2015/12/12
They say that the soil in Japan has a lot of uranium in the first place…Was I wrong? My final attempt
Original Text from Zukunashi no Hiyamizu's Blog: http://inventsolitude.sblo.jp/article/105919793.html
October 15th, 2014
Recently I have been looking everywhere for information on uranium. There isn’t a lot to find but I found some that seemed reliable.
The Japan Health Physics Society gives the following description on their website:
“There is in average 1-10 g of naturally occurring uranium in 1 t of soil in Japan just like anywhere else in the world. 1 g of uranium being the equivalent of nearly 10.000 Bq, it means that there is about 10.000-100.000 Bq of uranium in 1 t of soil.”
If we follow this, there could be anything between 12.4 and 124 Bq of uranium-238 in 1 kg of soil in the world. And it would be perfectly natural. (Since 1g of uranium-238 has 12,444.8 Bq and Uranium-238 is the most common natural uranium isotope making up 99.284% of them.)
So in that case it isn’t surprising at all to find a total of 33 Bq/kg of uranium-238/235 in the soil in Japan, as they did in the joint soil survey of the Department of Energy and National Nuclear Security Administration (USA) carried out after the nuclear accident in Fukushima. Nor would it be a surprise that 60 Bq/kg of uranium-238 was found in the soil of the Canadian Embassy in Akasaka, Tokyo, reported in the Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry (treated in ENENEWS on 22/3/2013).
The following two sources also say that there was between 2-29 Bq/kg in the soil of Japan anyway. One of the two is Professor Hiroaki Koide of the Kyoto University Research Reactor Institute who wrote in his dissertation published in 2004 that there was 29 Bq/kg of the uranium series in the soil in his institute.
The second is the Environmental Radiation Database of Nuclear Regulatory Agency who provides readings of uranium in the soil of Yokosuka city. They detected 2-13 Bq/kg on 01/09/2010 and 2-15 Bq/kg on 04/03/2011. So the reading of the joint DOE/NNSA survey for Yokosuka of a similar 13.4 Bq/kg shouldn’t be alarming at all?
Was I making a mistake saying that uranium was released by the accident at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant and was scattered over Eastern Japan? Is the US soil survey revealing nothing new?
I went back to their survey and the uranium readings. What’s new is that I calculated the total and ratios. And two very important things emerged out of this.
October 15th, 2014
Recently I have been looking everywhere for information on uranium. There isn’t a lot to find but I found some that seemed reliable.
The Japan Health Physics Society gives the following description on their website:
“There is in average 1-10 g of naturally occurring uranium in 1 t of soil in Japan just like anywhere else in the world. 1 g of uranium being the equivalent of nearly 10.000 Bq, it means that there is about 10.000-100.000 Bq of uranium in 1 t of soil.”
If we follow this, there could be anything between 12.4 and 124 Bq of uranium-238 in 1 kg of soil in the world. And it would be perfectly natural. (Since 1g of uranium-238 has 12,444.8 Bq and Uranium-238 is the most common natural uranium isotope making up 99.284% of them.)
So in that case it isn’t surprising at all to find a total of 33 Bq/kg of uranium-238/235 in the soil in Japan, as they did in the joint soil survey of the Department of Energy and National Nuclear Security Administration (USA) carried out after the nuclear accident in Fukushima. Nor would it be a surprise that 60 Bq/kg of uranium-238 was found in the soil of the Canadian Embassy in Akasaka, Tokyo, reported in the Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry (treated in ENENEWS on 22/3/2013).
The following two sources also say that there was between 2-29 Bq/kg in the soil of Japan anyway. One of the two is Professor Hiroaki Koide of the Kyoto University Research Reactor Institute who wrote in his dissertation published in 2004 that there was 29 Bq/kg of the uranium series in the soil in his institute.
The second is the Environmental Radiation Database of Nuclear Regulatory Agency who provides readings of uranium in the soil of Yokosuka city. They detected 2-13 Bq/kg on 01/09/2010 and 2-15 Bq/kg on 04/03/2011. So the reading of the joint DOE/NNSA survey for Yokosuka of a similar 13.4 Bq/kg shouldn’t be alarming at all?
Was I making a mistake saying that uranium was released by the accident at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant and was scattered over Eastern Japan? Is the US soil survey revealing nothing new?
I went back to their survey and the uranium readings. What’s new is that I calculated the total and ratios. And two very important things emerged out of this.
The first was the presence of uranium-232. Uranium-232 is an extremely rare nuclide. You don’t just find it in soil somewhere on earth. According to the web dictionary ATOMICA it is only produced as the concentrated uranium fuels are burnt in a light-water reactor. In other words it is a fission product. ATOMICA writes: “Uranium-232 is not a nuclide that can be included among naturally occurring ones. It has a short half-life and by producing highly radioactive daughter nuclides (Tl208 and Bi232) it builds up the dose rate of the reprocessed uranium, nearly tripling in 10 years”. How come that such a fission product is so prominent in the US survey?
The other thing that caught my attention was the ratio of uranium-235 over uranium-238. Japan Chemical Analysis Center describes in a report of uranium contents in soils of sea beds that the ratio of naturally occurring uranium is always found in a constant ratio, which is U235 / U238 = 0.0073 and that this ratio is used to tell whether there is more or less uranium in a sample than naturally. Now in the calculation above this ratio (⑦) is constant but at 0.046, more than tenfold of the natural ratio. This is because there was concentrated uranium-235 of nuclear fuels.
As much as the amount of uranium found in soil samples after the accident might seem natural on its own, the presence of uranium-232 and the ratio of U235 / U238 are nothing but the proof that these nuclides came from within a nuclear reactor or from spent fuels. Highly dangerous uranium was released and scattered, at least in the places where the surveys took place.
Finally, let me introduce you to a comment by an academic that was posted on Masataka Ota’s site. Masataka Ota is a councellor of the city of Yokohama.
“Unfortunately, the DOE/NNSA soil survey tells that uranium-232 fell all over the metropolitan area of Tokyo and contaminated the soil at about 70 Bq/kg. Uranium-232 can be found in a tiny amount in spent fuels. So parts of spent fuel rods came flying over as the reactors exploded. 70 Bq/kg… is the equivalent of over 4000 Bq/m2, which should be rated a radiation controlled area (by legal definition a radiation controlled area starts at 40.000 Bq/m2, however because the danger of alpha nuclides is 10 times more than that of beta and gamma ones, in practice an area is treated as a radiation controlled one starting from 4000 Bq/m2). People should move to the western part of Japan. No human can live in a radiation controlled area.”
From the US Soil Survey: Depleted Uranium and Uranium 238
Original Text from Zukunashi no Hiyamizu's Blog: http://inventsolitude.sblo.jp/article/102226696.html
April 30th, 2013
There are people who think that the uranium 238 detected in the soil survey that was conducted by the National Nuclear Security Administration (USA) could be linked to the March 11th explosion and fire at a Tokyo Bay oil refinery. A reader of this blog posted a comment saying that the uranium 238 could have come from the adjacent depleted uranium storage facility that burnt at the same time.
I don’t think that the uranium detected in the soil survey came from the fire at these plants on Tokyo Bay.
Looking at the survey by the NNSA, uranium, strontium and plutonium were only found in the 6 samples shown in the table below.
April 30th, 2013
There are people who think that the uranium 238 detected in the soil survey that was conducted by the National Nuclear Security Administration (USA) could be linked to the March 11th explosion and fire at a Tokyo Bay oil refinery. A reader of this blog posted a comment saying that the uranium 238 could have come from the adjacent depleted uranium storage facility that burnt at the same time.
I don’t think that the uranium detected in the soil survey came from the fire at these plants on Tokyo Bay.
Looking at the survey by the NNSA, uranium, strontium and plutonium were only found in the 6 samples shown in the table below.
The highest amount of uranium 238 was found in Naraha-machi (Fukushima), followed by Natori city (Miyagi) and Iwaki city (Fukushima). Compared to these places, the figures in Yokosuka (Kanagawa) and in Gotenba (Shizuoka) are relatively low. Although the amount of uranium 232 is pretty much the same everywhere, Naraha-machi again has by far the highest amount of uranium 233 / 234.
Apart from the strontium 90 the sample of Naraha-machi has the highest amount of strontium as well. As the highest concentrations of cesium and iodine are also found in the towns of Fukushima prefecture, I would say that the radioactive matters detected in this survey would mainly come from the Fukushima Daiichi Power Plant. Even if there were depleted uranium scattered from the fire on Tokyo Bay it can’t have exceeded the amount of Naraha-machi.
This hints at an answer to my question raised in the article “What were the alpha and beta sources that fell in Tohoku? ”. Considering that the main elements which are sources of alpha radiation are uranium, plutonium, americium and radon, and looking at the amount of uranium on the table above, it would be natural to think that the main alpha source that fell in the Tohoku region was indeed uranium.
Writing this made me shudder. I would love to believe that the tragedy of Fallujah wouldn’t be repeated in Japan…
Apart from the strontium 90 the sample of Naraha-machi has the highest amount of strontium as well. As the highest concentrations of cesium and iodine are also found in the towns of Fukushima prefecture, I would say that the radioactive matters detected in this survey would mainly come from the Fukushima Daiichi Power Plant. Even if there were depleted uranium scattered from the fire on Tokyo Bay it can’t have exceeded the amount of Naraha-machi.
This hints at an answer to my question raised in the article “What were the alpha and beta sources that fell in Tohoku? ”. Considering that the main elements which are sources of alpha radiation are uranium, plutonium, americium and radon, and looking at the amount of uranium on the table above, it would be natural to think that the main alpha source that fell in the Tohoku region was indeed uranium.
Writing this made me shudder. I would love to believe that the tragedy of Fallujah wouldn’t be repeated in Japan…
Fukushima Foods for Tokyo Olympics Athletes – Endo Olympics Minister says
Original Text from Zukunashi no Hiyamizu's Blog: http://inventsolitude.sblo.jp/article/162224968.html
Fukushima Foods for Tokyo Olympics Athletes – Endo Olympics Minister Expressed His Willingness
Toshiaki Endo Olympics minister at the Japan Press Club in Tokyo
July 25, 2015 09:40
Toshiaki Endo Olympics minister attended a press conference held at the Japan Press Club in Tokyo on July 24, and expressed his idea to introduce cooking ingredients produced in Fukushima prefecture for consumption in the athletes' village of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. His aim is regarded as boosting efforts for recovering crippled economy of the prefecture after the nuclear disaster at TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in March, 2011. He also stated again his willingness to hold some of competitions in the areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake.
“We can also use foodstuff from Fukushima prefecture in the athletes’ village. We are eager to strengthen our bonds with the disaster-affected areas in many varies ways,” Endo said.
According to the state Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games Headquarters Secretariat, cooking ingredients consumed at the athletes' village are to be decided by the Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic andParalympic Games before the competitions kick off. The government, while studying the introduction of food products from Fukushima prefecture in order to assist its recovery and to wipe off reputational damages, is expected to persuade the Tokyo Organising Committee to do so.
Endo also discussed about holding competitions in the affected areas, and underlined his willingness to hold the preliminaries (first-round tournament) of the additional events, decided hereafter, in Fukushima prefecture, telling, “If possible, we want to have the trial heats there.”
-- Translated from the Japanese-original article of Fukushima Minpo, “東京五輪で本県食材 遠藤五輪相が導入意向” at;
https://www.minpo.jp/news/detail/2015072524293 and/or
http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20150725-00000004-fminpo-l07.
Fukushima makes pitch for 2020 baseball, and local food
By AFP
PUBLISHED: 05:37 GMT, 3 March 2015 | UPDATED: 05:37 GMT, 3 March 2015
Fukushima, stricken by one of the world's worst-ever nuclear disasters in 2011, wants to host baseball and softball games at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics -- and hopes to convince athletes to eat the local food.
……
"Fukushima has suffered a lot of financial damage caused by misinformation," he said. "We would like to be able to sweep away those harmful rumours. Fukushima has venues capable of hosting these games."
Fukushima prefecture, situated some 150 miles (240km) north of Tokyo, is also keen on holding Olympic training camps and wants overseas athletes and fans to eat locally produced food, despite concerns over radiation levels. Fukushima city is just 60km away from the crippled nuclear reactors.
"Fukushima's produce is safe and will be safe," insisted Kuwajima. "Of course we would like athletes and visitors from overseas to eat our food."
Fukushima Foods for Tokyo Olympics Athletes – Endo Olympics Minister Expressed His Willingness
Toshiaki Endo Olympics minister at the Japan Press Club in Tokyo
July 25, 2015 09:40
Toshiaki Endo Olympics minister attended a press conference held at the Japan Press Club in Tokyo on July 24, and expressed his idea to introduce cooking ingredients produced in Fukushima prefecture for consumption in the athletes' village of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. His aim is regarded as boosting efforts for recovering crippled economy of the prefecture after the nuclear disaster at TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in March, 2011. He also stated again his willingness to hold some of competitions in the areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake.
“We can also use foodstuff from Fukushima prefecture in the athletes’ village. We are eager to strengthen our bonds with the disaster-affected areas in many varies ways,” Endo said.
According to the state Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games Headquarters Secretariat, cooking ingredients consumed at the athletes' village are to be decided by the Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic andParalympic Games before the competitions kick off. The government, while studying the introduction of food products from Fukushima prefecture in order to assist its recovery and to wipe off reputational damages, is expected to persuade the Tokyo Organising Committee to do so.
Endo also discussed about holding competitions in the affected areas, and underlined his willingness to hold the preliminaries (first-round tournament) of the additional events, decided hereafter, in Fukushima prefecture, telling, “If possible, we want to have the trial heats there.”
-- Translated from the Japanese-original article of Fukushima Minpo, “東京五輪で本県食材 遠藤五輪相が導入意向” at;
https://www.minpo.jp/news/detail/2015072524293 and/or
http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20150725-00000004-fminpo-l07.
Fukushima makes pitch for 2020 baseball, and local food
By AFP
PUBLISHED: 05:37 GMT, 3 March 2015 | UPDATED: 05:37 GMT, 3 March 2015
Fukushima, stricken by one of the world's worst-ever nuclear disasters in 2011, wants to host baseball and softball games at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics -- and hopes to convince athletes to eat the local food.
……
"Fukushima has suffered a lot of financial damage caused by misinformation," he said. "We would like to be able to sweep away those harmful rumours. Fukushima has venues capable of hosting these games."
Fukushima prefecture, situated some 150 miles (240km) north of Tokyo, is also keen on holding Olympic training camps and wants overseas athletes and fans to eat locally produced food, despite concerns over radiation levels. Fukushima city is just 60km away from the crippled nuclear reactors.
"Fukushima's produce is safe and will be safe," insisted Kuwajima. "Of course we would like athletes and visitors from overseas to eat our food."
Experience of a mother who moved from Fukushima to Niigata in January 2013
Original Text from Zukunashi no Hiyamizu's Blog: http://inventsolitude.sblo.jp/article/83036278.html
In January 2013, with my 4-year-old child, I evacuated from Fukushima to Niigata. I left my grandma, father, mother and older brother in my hometown.
Where I grew up is about 60 km from Fukushima Daiichi [Nuclear Plant]. It is located near Mt. Adatara, set on the gentle fan-shaped plain.
My hometown thrived on farming, mainly rice and vegetables, taking advantage of the abundant clear spring water, fresh air, and warm sunshine. Unusual for that region, the population was growing steadily although slightly. I was very proud of my hometown. But it is now one of the most contaminated areas.
What I'll tell you today is just my personal opinion. I understand there will be other interpretations.
I knew little about nuclear power plants or radiation. But maybe I was a little more aware of them than others since my boss from when I was working was against nukes. That boss often told me, 'You know it's dangerous when you hear the word 'vent,' [then] run away right away!' I heard that word, however, a few months after the accident.
The first time I thought about moving was when I watched on TV a helicopter spraying water on Reactor #3 on March 17, 2011. Then I felt more scared when I heard that they would try to stop contaminated water with sawdust. But when we had no water or gas after the earthquake, we went outside [without thinking/knowing about radiation].
From the15th to the 25th of March [2011], I evacuated to my relative's house in Gunma prefecture. I remember the eerie feeling I had when I saw Mt. Akagi was yellow. Later I heard that cedar pollen grows big when exposed to radiation. Radiation traveled that far. [Gunma is about 120 miles from Fukushima city, Fukushima.]
I still regret thinking why I didn't move right then. I feel guilty thinking I wouldn't have had my child exposed to radiation if I moved then.
I couldn't decide right away because I was going through a yearlong at-home job training for my work. I needed income because I'm a single mother. I had fear of radiation, but at the same time I wanted to deny it and thought I would stay and continue [the training] at least one year.
However, my child started to become sick. When I took my child to a hospital, the diagnosis was a cold. But the coughs didn't stop and, looking sluggish, my child seemed to be worse.
One time, a decontamination worker said, "This area is very highly contaminated. I would never live here." The municipal office lent out dosimeters. A municipal worker told me, "Hold it more than one meter above the ground, and stay there more than 30 minutes [to measure the radiation]." He also said it would just be a rough indication, not an accurate measurement.
My younger sister and her husband had already moved. When I called her she said, "Move here right away." On the other hand, my grandma, parents and brother said, "It will be O.K. Don't be nervous."
Since I caused trouble for them when I became a single mother, and since I had promised them I would return the favor to them, I started to feel I couldn't talk about my fear for radiation. Particularly, my grandma was looking forward to taking care of my child, like walking to and from the kindergarten bus stop everyday. I felt I was deceiving both.
In my hometown, I felt more and more uneasy about talking about radiation. One time I carelessly talked about it and my friend scolded me saying I was a wimp. I felt my friendship would be destroyed. The central government promotes decontamination, but it only works if you have a lot of vacant land to keep the removed contaminated dirt. My family doesn't have such extra land, so they don't do decontamination. When the wind was strong, the number on our dosimeter jumped up.
My child likes to play outside--he likes acorns, plants, pebbles, and so on. It was very hard to tell him not to play outside.
My family grows all the vegetables we eat at home and they love to feed them to my child. I saw disfigured dandelions around our fields. 50 to 60 plants grew at one spot and their stems were all put together into one gigantic wide stem, with huge, huge flowers. It was very weird. I had never seen anything like that. Tons of millet suddenly grew in the fields. It never happened before. Disfigured vegetables appeared.
[My family] gave my child peaches, tomatoes, corn, bamboo shoots, and huge shiitake [they harvested]. They fed us dried persimmons, too. Some families stopped growing vegetables and shifted to flowers, but my family stubbornly kept growing food.
There was a town meeting about getaway travel and in that meeting they told us it's better not to eat dried persimmons because they can be contaminated with radiation. That was the first time I felt that it's O.K. to be concerned about radiation. I didn't know why, but I started to cry. So, I brought our disfigured vegetables to the municipal office for radiation testing. I was yelled at there, "Don't you understand? We say it's safe! Mothers must not act like that!" They never tested my vegetables.
It got harder and harder to talk about radiation. At the kindergarten they encouraged children to go out to play and to my disbelief, they used local food for school lunch.
My child had cold symptoms all the time. He had frequent nose bleeding. He was always scratching his itchy body. At the Sakura Festival [cherry blossom fest--probably in April], my child put his barefoot in a puddle of water. After a few days, his foot was swollen. The doctor said it was not a cold symptom, but I couldn't ask about radiation effect. I felt that people would laugh at me if I'd say anything about radiation at the hospital.
On Christmas day, I was feeling dizzy and [at the hospital] I was told I had gastroenteritis. I found that something was wrong with my child's eyesight. The doctor diagnosed it as ametropic amblyopi [reduced visual acuity]. From then on, my child has been using thick eyeglasses.
I heard a story about a mother whose baby had cesium detected in its urine. It felt as if mother's happiness was taken away. My friend who works at the water company told me that they detected cesium in beef stew in May, and all the children who drank milk threw up in September, and so on.
They are told not to tell those stories, but even if I try not to hear, I can't block out all of them. A person who hatches beetle larvae every year said all the beetles were disfigured and died. Stories like a person in his fifties who had a polyp or a hole in intestine... I'm certain that the number of people who got sick rose.
The number of funerals rose, too--totally healthy people suddenly died of heart attack and so on. My mother had a heart attack, too. She never had any heart problem before. Now she has a pacemaker. It made sense when I heard Dr. Bandazhevsky talk about radiation effects on heart diseases.
I myself experienced health problems. I had been outside without a mask. I felt weak and couldn't get up. I felt very sleepy when I worked. I had nausea. I found myself spaced out sitting in my car at a parking lot.
The doctor said I was depressed and prescribed a medicine, but it didn't work at all. On the contrary, my condition got worse. It felt as if a little electricity was running in my body all the time and I couldn't figure out how to do simple tasks. Trying to refresh my feeling, I went shopping and I couldn't remember what I was doing, and stood in the store for hours. Sometimes I wanted to die. Other times when I heard music I just wanted to dance. I couldn't make decisions. I didn't know what I was doing.
It was just as if the film I watched. In that film hamsters whose brains were damaged by radiation just kept running in circles until they died. I took one month off from work, but my symptoms just got worse.
That's why I moved. TEPCO paid 700,000yen [about $7,000] at first and that was soon gone to pay for moving and everyday living. TEPCO then paid another 170,000yen [about $1,700]. I also got cash by cancelling my life insurance.
After we moved, our health recovered tremendously. I had to call my hometown about paperwork and they interrogated me [about moving]. So I moved my registry. I do not intend to go back.
People are nice, but I feel a vague sense of guilt. For example, when I park my car with Fukushima license plates, I feel guilty so I park it where it's hard for people to see. Same thing when we go out to eat. I feel someone will talk behind my back when I [do everyday actions like I] buy clothes. There is strained atmosphere among evacuees [different living situations causing envy--e.g. some have job, some don't, etc.].
I try to behave cheerfully, but I feel totally hopeless when I think about our future.
In January 2013, with my 4-year-old child, I evacuated from Fukushima to Niigata. I left my grandma, father, mother and older brother in my hometown.
Where I grew up is about 60 km from Fukushima Daiichi [Nuclear Plant]. It is located near Mt. Adatara, set on the gentle fan-shaped plain.
My hometown thrived on farming, mainly rice and vegetables, taking advantage of the abundant clear spring water, fresh air, and warm sunshine. Unusual for that region, the population was growing steadily although slightly. I was very proud of my hometown. But it is now one of the most contaminated areas.
What I'll tell you today is just my personal opinion. I understand there will be other interpretations.
I knew little about nuclear power plants or radiation. But maybe I was a little more aware of them than others since my boss from when I was working was against nukes. That boss often told me, 'You know it's dangerous when you hear the word 'vent,' [then] run away right away!' I heard that word, however, a few months after the accident.
The first time I thought about moving was when I watched on TV a helicopter spraying water on Reactor #3 on March 17, 2011. Then I felt more scared when I heard that they would try to stop contaminated water with sawdust. But when we had no water or gas after the earthquake, we went outside [without thinking/knowing about radiation].
From the15th to the 25th of March [2011], I evacuated to my relative's house in Gunma prefecture. I remember the eerie feeling I had when I saw Mt. Akagi was yellow. Later I heard that cedar pollen grows big when exposed to radiation. Radiation traveled that far. [Gunma is about 120 miles from Fukushima city, Fukushima.]
I still regret thinking why I didn't move right then. I feel guilty thinking I wouldn't have had my child exposed to radiation if I moved then.
I couldn't decide right away because I was going through a yearlong at-home job training for my work. I needed income because I'm a single mother. I had fear of radiation, but at the same time I wanted to deny it and thought I would stay and continue [the training] at least one year.
However, my child started to become sick. When I took my child to a hospital, the diagnosis was a cold. But the coughs didn't stop and, looking sluggish, my child seemed to be worse.
One time, a decontamination worker said, "This area is very highly contaminated. I would never live here." The municipal office lent out dosimeters. A municipal worker told me, "Hold it more than one meter above the ground, and stay there more than 30 minutes [to measure the radiation]." He also said it would just be a rough indication, not an accurate measurement.
My younger sister and her husband had already moved. When I called her she said, "Move here right away." On the other hand, my grandma, parents and brother said, "It will be O.K. Don't be nervous."
Since I caused trouble for them when I became a single mother, and since I had promised them I would return the favor to them, I started to feel I couldn't talk about my fear for radiation. Particularly, my grandma was looking forward to taking care of my child, like walking to and from the kindergarten bus stop everyday. I felt I was deceiving both.
In my hometown, I felt more and more uneasy about talking about radiation. One time I carelessly talked about it and my friend scolded me saying I was a wimp. I felt my friendship would be destroyed. The central government promotes decontamination, but it only works if you have a lot of vacant land to keep the removed contaminated dirt. My family doesn't have such extra land, so they don't do decontamination. When the wind was strong, the number on our dosimeter jumped up.
My child likes to play outside--he likes acorns, plants, pebbles, and so on. It was very hard to tell him not to play outside.
My family grows all the vegetables we eat at home and they love to feed them to my child. I saw disfigured dandelions around our fields. 50 to 60 plants grew at one spot and their stems were all put together into one gigantic wide stem, with huge, huge flowers. It was very weird. I had never seen anything like that. Tons of millet suddenly grew in the fields. It never happened before. Disfigured vegetables appeared.
[My family] gave my child peaches, tomatoes, corn, bamboo shoots, and huge shiitake [they harvested]. They fed us dried persimmons, too. Some families stopped growing vegetables and shifted to flowers, but my family stubbornly kept growing food.
There was a town meeting about getaway travel and in that meeting they told us it's better not to eat dried persimmons because they can be contaminated with radiation. That was the first time I felt that it's O.K. to be concerned about radiation. I didn't know why, but I started to cry. So, I brought our disfigured vegetables to the municipal office for radiation testing. I was yelled at there, "Don't you understand? We say it's safe! Mothers must not act like that!" They never tested my vegetables.
It got harder and harder to talk about radiation. At the kindergarten they encouraged children to go out to play and to my disbelief, they used local food for school lunch.
My child had cold symptoms all the time. He had frequent nose bleeding. He was always scratching his itchy body. At the Sakura Festival [cherry blossom fest--probably in April], my child put his barefoot in a puddle of water. After a few days, his foot was swollen. The doctor said it was not a cold symptom, but I couldn't ask about radiation effect. I felt that people would laugh at me if I'd say anything about radiation at the hospital.
On Christmas day, I was feeling dizzy and [at the hospital] I was told I had gastroenteritis. I found that something was wrong with my child's eyesight. The doctor diagnosed it as ametropic amblyopi [reduced visual acuity]. From then on, my child has been using thick eyeglasses.
I heard a story about a mother whose baby had cesium detected in its urine. It felt as if mother's happiness was taken away. My friend who works at the water company told me that they detected cesium in beef stew in May, and all the children who drank milk threw up in September, and so on.
They are told not to tell those stories, but even if I try not to hear, I can't block out all of them. A person who hatches beetle larvae every year said all the beetles were disfigured and died. Stories like a person in his fifties who had a polyp or a hole in intestine... I'm certain that the number of people who got sick rose.
The number of funerals rose, too--totally healthy people suddenly died of heart attack and so on. My mother had a heart attack, too. She never had any heart problem before. Now she has a pacemaker. It made sense when I heard Dr. Bandazhevsky talk about radiation effects on heart diseases.
I myself experienced health problems. I had been outside without a mask. I felt weak and couldn't get up. I felt very sleepy when I worked. I had nausea. I found myself spaced out sitting in my car at a parking lot.
The doctor said I was depressed and prescribed a medicine, but it didn't work at all. On the contrary, my condition got worse. It felt as if a little electricity was running in my body all the time and I couldn't figure out how to do simple tasks. Trying to refresh my feeling, I went shopping and I couldn't remember what I was doing, and stood in the store for hours. Sometimes I wanted to die. Other times when I heard music I just wanted to dance. I couldn't make decisions. I didn't know what I was doing.
It was just as if the film I watched. In that film hamsters whose brains were damaged by radiation just kept running in circles until they died. I took one month off from work, but my symptoms just got worse.
That's why I moved. TEPCO paid 700,000yen [about $7,000] at first and that was soon gone to pay for moving and everyday living. TEPCO then paid another 170,000yen [about $1,700]. I also got cash by cancelling my life insurance.
After we moved, our health recovered tremendously. I had to call my hometown about paperwork and they interrogated me [about moving]. So I moved my registry. I do not intend to go back.
People are nice, but I feel a vague sense of guilt. For example, when I park my car with Fukushima license plates, I feel guilty so I park it where it's hard for people to see. Same thing when we go out to eat. I feel someone will talk behind my back when I [do everyday actions like I] buy clothes. There is strained atmosphere among evacuees [different living situations causing envy--e.g. some have job, some don't, etc.].
I try to behave cheerfully, but I feel totally hopeless when I think about our future.
Discussion about “search words”
Original Text from Zukunashi no Hiyamizu's Blog: http://inventsolitude.sblo.jp/article/101702183.html
“Many people recently die. It is the result of the radioactivity?”,“Sudden death is connected with radiation exposure?”, “Will many people die this year?”
I would answer to these questions with confidence, “That is sure” .There are many individuals who get access to my blog by typing “radioactivity” or “health damage” into a search engine. The following is search words and the number of searches in June 2014.
“Many people recently die. It is the result of the radioactivity?”,“Sudden death is connected with radiation exposure?”, “Will many people die this year?”
I would answer to these questions with confidence, “That is sure” .There are many individuals who get access to my blog by typing “radioactivity” or “health damage” into a search engine. The following is search words and the number of searches in June 2014.
Since they find that they could no longer rely on the doctors or government, they would have no choice but to search Internet for the information.
The followings are the search words of serious situation since the middle of Dec 2012. Recently there are wide variety of illnesses in search words like “disorder of eyes” and “toothache”.
“leukemia, died in 3 days”
“age of 52, subarachnoid bleeding”
“wake up and suddenly die”
“suddenly being unconscious, feel cold”
“myocardial infarction, keel over and die”
“I woke up in the morning and found my brother had died”
“So many people recently die. It is because of radioactivity?”
“Does radiation exposure have something to do with sudden death?”
“My co-workers died after another”
“Why do many old people die?”
“Healthy people die unexpectedly of leukemia, why?”
“I have a sense of dread that I have a child”
“My husband suddenly died, subarachnoid hemorrhage”
“My husband is beginning to be concerned about radioactivity only recently”
“blindness, infant”
“radioactivity, dental pain”
“Will I die of exposure in the future if I continue to live here Tokyo?”
“north Kanto (around Tokyo), crematorium, 3 weeks wait”
“My acquaintance suddenly looked pale and died”
“Five-year-old child suddenly died”
“Although I am suffering from leukemia, bioclean room is always full”
“Sometimes I have an excruciating pain in my Adam's apple, what should I do?”
“I am butterfingered”
Young women, who were not interested in radiological problem, begin to see the abnormal changes around them and think that “Something is wrong…”. As no one let them know, they have no choice but to search Internet. I wish they could notice the danger of radioactivity much earlier… I can't help it.
Referring to population change of Ukraine after Chernobyl accident, the birth rate had been decreasing from the following year first. On the other hand, the mortality rate had been increasing slightly for an initial duration of 3 years. But, it had been increasing significantly after 4 years of Chernobyl accident.
Deadly health damages that occur in a short time after exposure are considered to be cardiac muscle damage and cerebral vascular disease. In Japan, I saw an upsurge in myocardial infarction so far. Cerebral infarction and subarachnoid hemorrhage are also , but they are relatively rare cases. Recently leukemia cases are increasing, and deaths from interstitial pneumonia, lung cancer, leukemia and brain tumors are likely increasing.
We can not do anything to cancel initial exposure now. You will develop these serious diseases sooner , if you do not make efforts to avoid exposure. I desire you to avoid internal exposure caused by contaminated food and drink. For you and people who rely on you.!
The followings are the search words of serious situation since the middle of Dec 2012. Recently there are wide variety of illnesses in search words like “disorder of eyes” and “toothache”.
“leukemia, died in 3 days”
“age of 52, subarachnoid bleeding”
“wake up and suddenly die”
“suddenly being unconscious, feel cold”
“myocardial infarction, keel over and die”
“I woke up in the morning and found my brother had died”
“So many people recently die. It is because of radioactivity?”
“Does radiation exposure have something to do with sudden death?”
“My co-workers died after another”
“Why do many old people die?”
“Healthy people die unexpectedly of leukemia, why?”
“I have a sense of dread that I have a child”
“My husband suddenly died, subarachnoid hemorrhage”
“My husband is beginning to be concerned about radioactivity only recently”
“blindness, infant”
“radioactivity, dental pain”
“Will I die of exposure in the future if I continue to live here Tokyo?”
“north Kanto (around Tokyo), crematorium, 3 weeks wait”
“My acquaintance suddenly looked pale and died”
“Five-year-old child suddenly died”
“Although I am suffering from leukemia, bioclean room is always full”
“Sometimes I have an excruciating pain in my Adam's apple, what should I do?”
“I am butterfingered”
Young women, who were not interested in radiological problem, begin to see the abnormal changes around them and think that “Something is wrong…”. As no one let them know, they have no choice but to search Internet. I wish they could notice the danger of radioactivity much earlier… I can't help it.
Referring to population change of Ukraine after Chernobyl accident, the birth rate had been decreasing from the following year first. On the other hand, the mortality rate had been increasing slightly for an initial duration of 3 years. But, it had been increasing significantly after 4 years of Chernobyl accident.
Deadly health damages that occur in a short time after exposure are considered to be cardiac muscle damage and cerebral vascular disease. In Japan, I saw an upsurge in myocardial infarction so far. Cerebral infarction and subarachnoid hemorrhage are also , but they are relatively rare cases. Recently leukemia cases are increasing, and deaths from interstitial pneumonia, lung cancer, leukemia and brain tumors are likely increasing.
We can not do anything to cancel initial exposure now. You will develop these serious diseases sooner , if you do not make efforts to avoid exposure. I desire you to avoid internal exposure caused by contaminated food and drink. For you and people who rely on you.!
Fieldwork 10 or Appearance of Rashes at a Hot Spot
Original Text from Zukunashi no Hiyamizu's Blog:http://inventsolitude.sblo.jp/article/100082829.html
May 25th 2014
Fieldwork 10 or Appearance of Rashes at a Hot Spot
I am becoming reluctant to go for a walk because I keep measuring high air dose rates one after another. It is a problem as I would like to profit from the good season and get some exercise outside, to sweat a healthy sweat. I’d also like to lose a bit of weight. I guess I just have to keep measuring the air dose rate (including the beta sources) wherever I go walking and choose where it seems relatively safe.
The following is the result of my field trip on May 25th. This time I went with a friend who would be my survey assistant. As usual the figures of the readings on my survey meter are not totally reliable due to lack of calibration but can be used in comparison to its own previous readings, i.e. to judge if radiation levels in one place are higher or lower than another as the same instrument has been used for the measurement.
First we measured the dirt accumulated in a small dip at the entrance of a bridge over a motorway.
80 cpm (photo below). This reading is a little high. There was about 2 cm between the end of the tube-shaped detector and the ground. It was 13:53. We measured several spots after this one that looked like dried up puddles with accumulation of substances but none of them exceeded 80 cpm.
We decided to stop the survey because of these rashes and left the place promptly. When we had a rest at the exit of the park the Air Counter showed a high reading but the survey meter read 35 cpm (photo below). 15:42.
May 25th 2014
Fieldwork 10 or Appearance of Rashes at a Hot Spot
I am becoming reluctant to go for a walk because I keep measuring high air dose rates one after another. It is a problem as I would like to profit from the good season and get some exercise outside, to sweat a healthy sweat. I’d also like to lose a bit of weight. I guess I just have to keep measuring the air dose rate (including the beta sources) wherever I go walking and choose where it seems relatively safe.
The following is the result of my field trip on May 25th. This time I went with a friend who would be my survey assistant. As usual the figures of the readings on my survey meter are not totally reliable due to lack of calibration but can be used in comparison to its own previous readings, i.e. to judge if radiation levels in one place are higher or lower than another as the same instrument has been used for the measurement.
First we measured the dirt accumulated in a small dip at the entrance of a bridge over a motorway.
80 cpm (photo below). This reading is a little high. There was about 2 cm between the end of the tube-shaped detector and the ground. It was 13:53. We measured several spots after this one that looked like dried up puddles with accumulation of substances but none of them exceeded 80 cpm.
We moved on to the park that had been built next to the motorway. My friend was reading the measurements while I walked around holding the detector in a bag at close to ground level. Suddenly my friend told me to stop. The needle of the monitor had jumped. So we changed the range to up to 1000 cpm and the monitor showed 150 cpm (photo below). 15:18.
As we measured around that spot we found even hotter ones. The scale limit being 3000 cpm, the following photo reads 700 cpm. 15:25.
This is the photo of that spot. There is no visible accumulation of dark substances. You can see the feet of my friend and I who were standing there in shock and couldn’t help gazing at the spot. What’s in the plastic bag is the detector.
We moved on further. My assistant called for another stop. 15:29. The Air Counter showed 0.13μSv/h (photo below).
This is the spot of this measurement (photo below). Again there was nothing that would indicate hot radiation (I had the impression that it was hotter closer to the shrub). 15:29.
The limit of the range was 10.000 cpm, which means that here we had 1500 cpm (photo below). 15:32.
At this spot we had high readings even with the detector lifted higher, so there was probably not just beta but also gamma radiation. I presume that there was an air current that carried plentiful radioactive matter with it although the readings on the Air Counter weren’t especially high at this time (question of different reaction time between the instruments?).
At this point my friend started to complain about itching arms. It was 15:37. Rolling up his sleeves we saw that his arms had become red.
This friend has a history of getting rashes after eating sausages of uncertain origin and the Pacific saury, a certain type of fish that is eaten commonly in Japan. On that day we both had eaten some rice balls 90 and 30 minutes before this redness appeared but I didn’t think that there was anything suspicious in it. I didn’t have any reaction.
This park is close to a station. It showed 16:04 on the clock of the platform when I took the following picture.
Actually I had had high air dose rates in the past in this park. And in my opinion there are three facilities nearby that could be considered the source. I decided never to go to this park again.
I want to stress that we are grown-ups. Some might even call us old. And grown-ups such as us get rashes on their arms when attacked by a highly radioactive current. Needless to say what could happen if a child breathes in this kind of air for a long while. It could vomit. It could have a diarrhea. Aren’t many cases of what is diagnosed as food poisoning without clear cause cases like this?
One thing is clear. The area I live in and the area where I often went walking are not suitable for living any more. This is the heavy conclusion that I have reached through my fieldwork trips.
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