Japan's ever-sneaky Ministry of Education and Science again quietly released 3 sets of simulation maps of WSPEEDI without any press release nor any explanation; this time it was the simulations that they did on March 15. The Reactor 3 that used MOX fuel blew up on March 14 at 11:01AM JST.
Last time, the Ministry put out on May 10 the WSPEEDI simulation done on March 25. That simulation, if disclosed in a timely manner, may have prevented many, many children from developing thyroid cancer in the future.
One set of the maps is about krypton-85 surface concentration. The maps show the band extending well beyond Tokyo and Kanagawa.
That at least proves one thing, that Tokyo and Kanagawa were probably bombarded with radioactive materials on March 15. I remember seeing posts in Japanese message boards that day and afterwards saying people had a metallic taste in their mouth that day, that people started to have nosebleed and fell ill. Both were attacked and dismissed as "malicious rumors".
All the government needed to do was to warm people in Tokyo and Kanto area that day to skip work and school. Shut the doors and windows and stay indoors.
When Hiroaki Koide of Kyoto University testified on May 23 in a government committee (Upper House, government oversight committee), the data he said he had been told by his superior not to publish was the data of radiation in Tokyo on March 15.
But why were the government experts interested in krypton-85? What does krypton-85 represent? And iodine-129? (The simulation maps are only about krypton-85; they are still sitting on iodine-129 maps or any other maps of other nuclides.)
From the WSPEEDI March 15 simulations on krypton-85 (original in Japanese):
Simulation basis:
Types of radioactive materials released: Kr-85, I-129, Cs-137
Amount of radioactive materials released: 1Bq/h
Location of release: Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, east longitude 141.0356 north latitude 37.4217
Height released: 120 meters (at the height of the stack)
Duration: continuous since March 15 1:00AM
(There are 6 more maps at the link.)
30-Day free trial by following the link.
Tokyo Time
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43 comments:
Wow. Well, I guess I shouldn't be surprised anymore.
Luckily, I took action and flew the family to the Kyushu in-laws on the 14th after work. My Japanese company was sending emails daily, starting Sunday (13th), urging it was 'business as usual', to report to work since we had an 'obligation to our clients'. After watching multiple nuclear reactors explode, I wasn't buying it.
'Just keep doing what you're doing.. because we have no idea what else to do in a crisis.'..
"I remember seeing posts in Japanese message boards that day and afterwards saying people had a metallic taste in their mouth that day, that people started to have nosebleed and fell ill. Both were attacked and dismissed as "malicious rumors"
Are they in Google cache?
But in the meantime they added "この予測は実際の放射線量分布を表しているものではありません。" to the graphics on the pdf again. So, it's still an assumption, or...?
By now, one should think they should know the ACTUAL data as these days already lie in the past so that they should have been able to do REAL measurements. What about that? What do they think is the sense of publishing bad old scary news like that when they aren't even reality-checked after all... I start getting sick in this country!
oh, I read messages like that, too.
they were somewhere here, but don't ask for the specific threads, it's been so long ago now, sorry...
http://www.asyura3.com/rnk/ranking_list.php?code=sjis&q=%8C%B4%94%AD&term=1
Of course I agree with you as usual, just trying to find some positive angles, if that's possible.
1Bq/h doesn't sound like a lot though, does it?
Also it looks like it swept over Tokyo overnight and could have been "gone" by 8am, but since it is called "surface concentration" I don't know if it is settling down or passing or what.
Being born in Italy such coverups I wasn't expecting from Japanese Government. I can understand TEPCO, being a private firm. But Japanese government, surely not. Must I reconsider it?
On the other hand this projection of radiation spread is consistent with actual radiation contamination found on tea leaves in Gunma and Kanagawa prefecture, not mentioning in Shizuoka.
Oh, it's not 1 Bq/m^3,
it's 1e-15 ~ 1e-10 Bq/m^3,
that's 1/1000000000000000 ~ 1/10000000000 Bq/m^3. Correct me if it's meant differently there, but normally, 1e-x means 1/(10^x). So the values for march, 25th, were much, much higher for the substances measured then and it was only Square-Bq (Bq/m^2), not Bq/m^3, that time.
Ah, forget what I wrote...
you're referring to this, I guess:
放射性物質の量 希ガス 10^18Bq/h（総量：10^19Bq）
ヨウ素 10^15Bq/h（総量：10^16Bq）
[10^18 Bq/h =1000000000000000000 Bq/h... high values?!]
It's just annoying that MEXT keeps changing the style and measurement units on every sheet. Also a great way to confuse people, it seems...
But here in the entry, what is "Amount of radioactive materials released: 1Bq/h" based of, then?
And how would the values be nearer on the ground, I wonder...
放射性物質の量 ：単位放出（1Bq/h） was on the first of 3 WSPEEDI sheets for that day, I mixed it up with the next one about 全量放出1時間. Sorry... seems I can't concentrate today, blame it on the heat here in Tokyo though, lol.
As far as I know, these are plain dispersion models - they model the shape of the plume and RELATIVE concentration but provide no actual estimate of radioactivity in the form presented. Basically they can enter into the computer simulation the physical amount of Kr released, but as this 'source term' was unknown at the time, so they just put in 1Bq/h (which is zero for all practical purposes), hence the tiny fractions.
Thats correct, and the metallic taste and the fact that people in Tokyo reported about Yellow rain, then all that was happening, and of course they are afraid of reviling the real numbers. Windpatterns is just a indicator but it gives a good viue on the fallout, but not the amount. That has to be mesured by "hand".
I belive and i was sure from the begining that the hole Nothern part of Japan is heavely contaminated, and imagine Tokyo, its no litle wilage.
This freinds is a chrime against humanity, this is plain evil.
Hello from France!
First, thanks a lot for this blog; you are doing a great job!
Could you help me and translate some informations as explained below?
On this picture:
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/news/110311/images/110605_02.jpg
you can see 1.2 mSv/h
and below, 950
In this Kyodonews new:
http://english.kyodonews.jp/photos/2011/06/95346.html
they say:
"An arrow shows a concrete fragment with radiation measurements of 950 millisieverts per hour in a location west of the building housing the No. 3 reactor of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in Fukushima Prefecture in this handout photo taken on June 4, 2011. (Photo courtesy of Tokyo Electric Power Co.) (Kyodo)'
Is it possible that the red piece is 950 mSv/h, and the blue-green ones 1.2?
Some information is displayed on the sign, but as it is in japanese, i can't read it!
Thanks for your help! And, once more, thank you for this blog. It's now my favourite one!
One other thought: the Krypton would hardly arrive on its own. You are referring to "children with thyroid cancers" but I think that's a little alarmist. If there was deposition of fallout, which would probably include also Iodine and Cesium, then how come there is hardly any elevated radioactivity in most areas of Tokyo today (as measured by the CPJ)?
In Chiba pref. we have about 5-6 times the contamination of Tokyo, but even here I don't think there is a high risk of thyroid cancers as you indicate it. At least for the kids in my neighborhood I hope so.
The NHK news said after the explosion on March 12 that there was no radiation leak. Meanwhile, according to reports that have recently come out, the plant started going into meltdown 3.5 hours after the earthquake on March 11.
From what I understand of this whole nightmare is that the news of what's happening today won't come out for another 2 months when people can't do anything about it because the damage is already done.
Educate yourself and use your own judgement. You know what's right and what's not. You have the power to protect yourself, not the TV and corporate media. Only you have your best interests at heart. What has the government done for you in the past? You have to use your own gut feeling in this situation and stop looking for others to tell you what to do because if you do it could be too late.
Take care of yourself and your love ones and let's hope this mess clears up soon.
According to Wiki, krypton-85 is primarily released from spent fuel rods. Perhaps this is a reason for the focus on it. The half life is 10+ years, and it seems to be more carcinogenic when it is in the form of a gas cloud.
Also, thank you for all the work you are doing to bring us the truth about Fukushima. This is the best web site to find the facts, with no overblown hysteria.
Wow, thats very very dangerous! I hope a second generation of radiactive man.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3853864,00.html (Israeli News Article - 02/24/2010 - Japan offers to enrich uranium for Iran)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/8326274/Israeli-security-chief-celebrates-Stuxnet-cyber-attack.html (Israel proud of their invention, the Stuxnet virus - Feb 16, 2011)
http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Article.aspx?id=212168 (Jerusalem Post, March 15 2011 - They admit to having remote access to security cameras that an Israeli security firm installed last year.)
Google Kobe (7.2 magnitutde) earthquake images and then watch a video of the 03/11 tsunami hitting the mainland. Virtually no earthquake damage for a 9.0 earthquake. It was measured as a 5.9-6.7 by multiple seismic detectors in the Miyagi prefecture, 5.9 being the closest to the epicenter of the "9.0" quake.
I recommend this link if you want more detailed information:
http://www.jimstonefreelance.com/fukushima.html
@Aimelle, "12 mSv/hr", I believe, is the airborne radiation level. 950 mSv/hr radiation is on the surface of the concrete bits. TEPCO's survey map shows 550 mSv/hr concrete bits near Reactor 2, too.
@anon at 6:41AM, look at WSPEEDI simulation on March 25 about body dose of I-131: http://ex-skf.blogspot.com/2011/05/ministry-of-education-quietly-released.html
The French researchers are even more alarmists and said the body dose of iodine-131 was 1 sievert.
For people wondering why they are releasing WSPEEDI simulation so late:
They are patting themselves on the back. When they released WSPEEDI simulation showing body dose of iodine-131 for infants (near the plant, the body dose exceeded 500 millisieverts), the news by the MSM reported the comments by officials saying "the simulation matched the actual measurement, so the validity of our simulation has been thus proved." (I'm paraphrasing it.)
So, this time also, they're now very sure that their simulation matched the actual measurement (which they continue to hide), so they decided to release these maps.
Robbie001 sez:
Kr-85 is one of the noble gases the nuclear power industry is allowed to regularly emit during normal operation. Kr-85 is slowly increases the electrical conductivity of atmospheric air.
Geophysical Problems of Krypton-85 in the Atmosphere:
"The total radioactivity of the atmosphere consists of the radioactivity of its components in both gaseous and liquid state. Since seperate radionuclides interact differently within the atmosphere and differ in properties, a careful study of specific nuclides is necessary. This book considers the properties of Krypton-85 as a radionuclide and the interaction of 85Kr with other nuclides that influence geophysical processes occurring in the atmosphere. Krypton-85 actively causes a number of geophysical phenomena which can have a negative impact on the environment. The authors examine the impact of 85Kr on the atmosphere, the biosphere and man. In addition, they consider the effects of external forces, such as the nuclear power industry, on concentrations of 85Kr over time.
http://www.amazon.com/Geophysical-Problems-Krypton-85-Atmosphere/dp/1560321695
Krypton-85 in the Atmosphere - Accumulation, Biological, Significance, and Control Technology:
The projected rapid growth of the nuclear power industry necessitates a careful assessment of any related potential for environmental pollution. Kr-85 releases deserve special attention because of the inherent difficulty in their control and their essentially nonreactive and mobile nature in the atmosphere. The purpose of the present Report is to estimate the future global concentrations of Kr-85, their potential significance, and possible techniques for their control. Projections of Kr-85 accumulations will be made to the year 2000, as this is now sufficiently close to permit reasonable approximations to be made of the world's energy requirements and the extent to which they will then be fulfilled by nuclear power reactors. On the other hand, the year 2000 is sufficiently far off to allow for periodic reappraisal of the projections of Kr-85 accumulation in relation to developing information about the biological effects of this radionuclide and the technology for control of Kr-85 releases. In addition to the global projections, the present Report also includes estimates of Kr-85 concentrations near nuclear fuel chemical reprocessing plants.
http://www.ncrppublications.org/Reports/044
(continued in next post)
Robbie001 sez:
Krypton-85 pollution and atmospheric electricity:
Krypton-85 is a chemically inert radioactive gas present in the atmosphere, concentrations of which have been greatly increased by nuclear reprocessing and weapons testing since 1945. The long half-life (10.7 yr), allows the gas to mix thoroughly in the atmosphere. Ionization caused by krypton-85 increases the electrical conductivity of atmospheric air. Further increases in krypton-85 emissions seem inevitable. The increase in air conductivity due to release of krypton-85 will vary with height, and be larger over the oceans than over the land. Increases in conductivity will produce uncertain effects on atmospheric phenomena, so changes are compared in magnitude with other factors perturbing the conductivity, such as combustion aerosol burdens, volcanic eruptions and nuclear weapons testing. Conductivity changes are expected to have the greatest significance for meteorological phenomena close to the source.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/1352231094900418
http://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyNET.exe/9100FW8L.TXT?ZyActionD=ZyDocument&Client=EPA&Index=Prior+to+1976&Docs=&Query=600R72109%20or%20Problems%20or%20Krypton%20or%20the%20or%20Atmosphere&Time=&EndTime=&SearchMethod=1&TocRestrict=n&Toc=&TocEntry=&QField=pubnumber^%22600R72109%22&QFieldYear=&QFieldMonth=&QFieldDay=&UseQField=pubnumber&IntQFieldOp=1&ExtQFieldOp=1&XmlQuery=&File=D%3A\zyfiles\Index%20Data\70thru75\Txt\00000011\9100FW8L.txt&User=ANONYMOUS&Password=anonymous&SortMethod=h|-&MaximumDocuments=10&FuzzyDegree=0&ImageQuality=r75g8/r75g8/x150y150g16/i425&Display=p|f&DefSeekPage=x&SearchBack=ZyActionL&Back=ZyActionS&BackDesc=Results%20page&MaximumPages=1&ZyEntry=1&SeekPage=x&ZyPURL
Robbie001 sez:
Here's some more stuff. If you look really hard you may find free versions of these reports or discussions that revolve around them.
Nonradiobiological phenomena affected by /sup 85/Kr include environmental radioactivity, atmospheric electricity, and inadvertent weather modification. If release of /sup 85/Kr into the atmosphere continues unabated, global changes in the atmospheric electric circuit will occur within 50 years. Our present understanding of atmospheric processes is insufficient to determine the extent of consequent weather changes and whether they would be beneficial or harmful. Because of the 10-year half-life of /sup 85/Kr, global changes may last decades.
http://www.osti.gov/energycitations/product.biblio.jsp?osti_id=7326032
This project examines the thesis that atmospheric background ionization is relevant to the understanding of weather. Projections of future world-wide use of nuclear energy imply that sufficient krypton-85 will be produced and may be released to significantly alter the natural ionization background. The scope of the project includes an assessment of krypton-85 on the electrical aspects of the atmosphere as well as the consequences of an altered electrical state of the atmosphere. The results of a first approximation model for the effects of krypton-85 on the atmosphere show that the electric field at the surface of the ocean would be reduced by about 25 percent and at a continental station by about 15 percent. At about two kilometers altitude, the electric field would be reduced by about 14 percent over the oceans and 16 percent over the land. The effects decrease quickly with increasing altitude. Analytical studies of the equations for fair weather atmospheric electricity yield solutions suitable for the interpretation of time dependent phenomena with periods longer than a few seconds. A brief analysis shows that a perfect assessment is not necessary to make an error-free decision regarding krypton-85 control measures. From the viewpoint of a decision-maker, those aspects that could swing the decision from one alternative to another are priority areas for analysis.
http://74.125.155.132/scholar?q=cache:svSh4zZp15kJ:scholar.google.com/+radioisotopes+weather&hl=en&as_sdt=0,48
I was in living in Tokyo and on Mon. 3/14 after the explosion in #3 I told my family we had to leave immediately. The government lies were so obvious and the risk too great. I'm sorry to have been right. We went to Haneda airport but could not get out on a flight until Wed. 3/16. The air did taste metallic, but I didn't really think of it at the time - tasted just like Los Angeles on bad ozone day. We are safe now in the US but I worry often about our friends in Tokyo. Thank you ex-sfk for this excellent blog.
Robbie001 sez:
This paper gives a Kr-85 average background concentration of 1.3 Bq/m3 of air and they claim this is similar to those for latitudes between 35 and 40°N. (mid-1990's). I guess this is why they supplied the surface numbers in their simulation and they didn't supply source factors to go with their arbitrary numbers. I wonder if the Meteorological Research Institute stopped their atmospheric monitoring?
"Atmospheric 85Kr and 133Xe have continuously been monitored since 1995 (weekly averages) at the Meteorological Research Institute, Tsukuba. Elevated 85Kr concentrations observed in spring and fall of 1995–1997 are the result of two factors, the operation of the PNC Tokai nuclear plant and secondly the seasonal change of prevailing wind directions. Elevated 85Kr levels arising from releases of the Tokai plant are interpreted in a semi-quantitative fashion using the daily 85Kr release data and available meteorological data. During periods without the influence of the Tokai plant, 85Kr background concentrations (1.3 Bq/m3 of air) are similar to those for latitudes between 35 and 40°N. Background concentrations show a continuous increase with time and pronounced seasonal variations. The yearly increase rate of about 2.5% observed between 1996 and 1998 is very similar to European observations. The features of the seasonal variations are minimum values during summer and maximum values during winter. 133Xe concentrations are not influenced by major local sources. One observation of a high 133Xe concentration in June 1996 can be interpreted as originating from a Chinese underground nuclear test conducted earlier in the same month.
but what does it actually mean, this metallic taste? i read about it only in context of liquidators before this and there it seemed like the radioactivity level had to be really really high before you can taste anything... are there any surveys or experts' opinions known so far?
it's scary.
Robbie001 sez:
@doitujin
Not just liquidator's evacuees in the Chernobyl region reported the same metallic taste phenomenon.
This article on the Chernobyl Disaster, was written by a LINC student, Lana Petriw. April 26 is the anniversary of this terrible disaster. Lana came to Canada four years ago from Ukraine.
"I remember that day very well. The day was warm and sunny, but the wind blew very hard. The wind brought with it very fine ash-like dust from Chernobyl. The radioactive dust fell on the ground, grass, trees, roofs, roads and almost everywhere. The dust was even inside buildings since the windows were open. Innocent people were breathing in radioactive dust. It was a holiday and thousands of people, including children, were playing outdoors. The children were playing with radioactive sand in the parks.
In a few minutes the people could feel the metallic taste in their mouths, their throats were sore and skin was itchy. Almost all complained of severe headaches and diarrhea. Nobody could explain at first what was going on, but soon after they realized that they were exposed to abnormally high level of radiation.
http://www.nald.ca/sotw/296
Robbie001 sez
Here is a conversation in a forum about Pripyat there is also claims of a metallic taste outside the plant.
"Hi Giorgos,
I am not a former resident of Pripyat, but I think I can still answer your questions. I have received this information either directly from a former Pripyat resident or from reading the stories of former residents.
By the way, if you want to communicate with former Pripyat citizens, you will need to use the Russian forums, because very few of the former residents speak English.
Hello!
I have a couple of questions I haven’t got any clear answers on documentaries or articles about the accident.
The explosion occurred at night, when there is silence and people of Pripyat were sleeping. Did the sound of it wake up someone? Is there someone who felt something’s wrong?
In Pripyat, the explosions sounded like a couple of loud bangs. It was common to hear this type of sound in the city so while they could have woken people up, by themselves, the bangs would not have caused any concern. If I remember correctly, the usual bangs either came from the Chernobyl Plant or from infrastructure in the city itself.
During the next 30 hours, before the evacuation of Pripyat, were there any radiation effects on your health? When authorities battled with radiation, I’ve heard that there was a “metallic” taste on the mouth and other symptoms on the human body. How about the people of Pripyat? Is there someone who felt the same, before the evacuation?
*****Yes, some of Pripyat's citizens reported having an unusual or metallic taste in their mouths prior to the evacuation.******
I have also read about a few people in Pripyat who started feeling ill, but it was not nearly as bad as the firefighters who were dealing with the emergency at the Chernobyl Plant itself.
I have also read reports about Iodine pills being given to the children in Pripyat that Saturday while they were in school.
I think for most Pripyat residents, the major radiation sickness symptoms did not present themselves until some time after the evacuations.
http://forum.pripyat.com/archive/index.php/t-3907.html
Archive of readings from a geiger counter in Tokyo, with emphasis on 3/15:
http://park30.wakwak.com/~weather/geiger_archives.html
Curiously a disclaimer statement has been added to the source file that covers over each graphic. The google translation reads: "This forecast represents something that is not an actual radiation dose distribution."
I also recall hearing reports of metallic-taste-in-the-mouth form Tokyo in the early days of these meltdowns.
There was at least one metallic-taste report from the Three-Mile-Island incident by a person who lived very close. That witness testimony is relayed in the video here : http://www.fairewinds.com/content/seven-wing-presentation-tmi-health-effects
@ doitujin,
a metallic taste was reported by "downwinders" near Hanford in state of Washington, and by people nearby Three Mile Island.
a little humor for the moment.
I get a kick out of some the captchas.
Almost like a retarded idiot was heckling you.
lol
What if the radiation mixes with the chemtrail spraying going on? Then you breathe in both! Scary!
This dose map by Yukio Hayakawa@ Gunma University matches the shapes of the WSPEEDI models rather well:
http://maps.google.co.jp/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=ja&brcurrent=3,0x34674e0fd77f192f:0xf54275d47c665244,0&msa=0&msid=210951801243060233597.0004a4f5311a2612c91f3&ll=36.862043,140.097656&spn=3.203668,4.257202&t=p&z=8
It is a pity that MEXT only started publishing fallout analysis from Tokyo from the 19th onwards, and only from one location which coincidently seems to have been missed by the big plumes on the 15th.
Even as late as March 22nd and 23rd, there was still a heap of iodine and cesium coming down in in Shinjuku. So what about the 15th?
http://www.mext.go.jp/component/english/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2011/05/08/1304089_032219.pdf
http://www.mext.go.jp/component/english/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2011/05/08/1304089_032319.pdf
Another WSPEEDI dataset shows a plume going NW:
http://www.mext.go.jp/component/a_menu/other/detail/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2011/05/10/1305748_0315_07.pdf
I presume the difference is one of winds at different elevation. The southbound plume is referred to as "Surface concentration" and the NE bound as "Air dose rate." Anyone have a certain reading of this directional difference?
The Unit-3 plume seen in the explosion video moves south, consistent with Surface concentration simulation. And is consistent with ground-level readings at the same time : http://vimeo.com/23365266
I covered the jimstonefreelance.com conspiracy theory in Asian Week. My theory is that this is a deliberate disinformation campaign like 9-11 "truth" to blame Israel for everything from 9-11 to shark attacks. There is a similar theory that also blames Israel for tornadoes in the US. Unfortunately, much of the information on Fukushima is coming from the conspiracy media, and even more unfortunately, I fear a LOT of it is dead-on right, at least the stuff that isn't obviously made up to blame one nation of people.
asianweek.com "israel-did-fukushima"
There also appears to be misinformation regarding milk produced in Hawaii having radiation being 240 to 2400 times safe levels when Hawaii health department reports well within safe levels. We need to be vigilant of obvious disinformation that leads back to a psy-war front in the middle-east conflict.
@awarthurhu, please link the news that blamed Israel for tornadoes and shark attacks, unless you made those up yourself. Much of the information on Fukushima is coming from TEPCO, the Japanese government, the MSM, and independent journalists and researchers.
The Israeli company's camera was inside one of the Fukushima reactors, and that is a fact, not conspiratorial fantasy.
And good luck trusting government officials in Hawaii.
My hunch is that the low-elevation (Surface) plume map focuses on Krypton-85 IF it's ground-hugging gas. What other emission would you put into a low-elevation simulation?
Wind histories for Fukushima line-up with the winds (at different elevations) in the WSPEEDI simulation:
http://agora.ex.nii.ac.jp/earthquake/201103-eastjapan/weather/gpv/wind/index.html.en
That official historic wind data confirms that the 'simulation' is reality based wrt the wind. What they used to for their initial-dose-release measures I don't know, but we should assumed it was at least educated if not explicitly informed.
@awarthurhu,
Please provide links to the articles of which you speak so that we can compare their information.
Here the only ones who seem to be that governments are plotting are not ficilitan information and when they do it so elusive and evening.
I live in Tokyo. I did not taste anything metallic. No one around me mentioned anything like this either. I work in an office of 20 people. There was no widespread reporting of anything like a metallic taste. I just googled "metallic taste" in Japanese and picked up nothing (zero) hits from anyone in Japan on this, except for one blogger referencing an overseas article. I just want to add my perspective to the discussion here because I think its important. The yellow rain fell on Tokyo on the morning of the 23rd. It was found to be pollen. The geiger counter readings of about 90 CPM are elevated, but they are not indicative of radiation levels that would cause acute radiation sickness, or would cause metallic taste. 90 CPM over weeks would be a worry, but not deadly. 90 CPM for a few hours is not significant in terms of effects on health. Sorry to break the tone of the discussion here, but I think it is very important to know that not everyone was tasting metal. This blog is the first I have heard of this, and I live in the city.
Another note: when I google "metallic taste in tokyo", all the top references are to this very blog post (or, to Asia Week which referenced this blog).
We had this discussion in a group of people who do measurement all over the country incl. Koriyama etc. and we concluded that not everyone gets this metallic taste or realises it.
Also check the fallout map of the CPJ as mentioned on this blog before:
http://www.jcptogidan.gr.jp/html/menu5/2011/20110525195904_8.pdf
On page 5 you see that some areas of Tokyo have very little, some more esp. in the east.
FYI: I animated the WSPEEDI plume data:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGnKN7NzYik
Hi, with regard to the Yellow Rain being "pollen". After Chernobyl the Ukranians were told that the Yellow Rain was just "pollen" as well. Amazingly, when the children played in the yellow rain that was just "pollen", their hair fell out.
I spoke to a person on a computer help desk in tokyo about whether there had been yellow rain in Tokyo, and sent her a link to the reports from Chernobyl about yellow rain. She said "I wondered what all that yellow stuff was everywhere".
I also spoke to a Ukranian now living in New Zealand (where I am from) and when I told her about my colleague in Tokyo saying there was yellow stuff everywhere, she looked very worried and said; "Oh no, they have the yellow rain".
Note that soon after Fukushima blew up I saw three reports in the news of yellow rain in different parts of the USA. I believe the yellow rain may be strontium oxide (which is yellow) coming down. I suppose it could also be radioactive iodine, which is also yellow. But given it leaves a yellow dust, that sounds like a metal, like radioactive Strontium.
Oh, and after Chernobyl the government there said, "don't worry about the yellow rain, its just pollen". Yeah, right.
I took us down to Nagoya, Chubu Airport on March 12th flew out. Okinawa is quite nice. Stayed for a month.
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