US Air Force WC-135 Detects Deadly Radiation Over Pacific (US in 24hrs)

Originally posted by boondock-saint
actually those pics ur talking about
are not the same ones I am talking about.
This is the one I am talking about. A fire completely
surrounded by water, nowhere near an oil refinery.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/ff579d8dc5f9.jpg[/atsimg]

image credited to quoted link below

In northeastern Japan’s Miyagi prefecture, a fire broke out in a turbine building of a nuclear power plant. Smoke was observed coming out of the building, which is separate from the plant’s reactor, and the cause is under investigation, said Tohoku Electric Power Co. the company said.

...

I don't think that picture in the story was supposed to be related to that quote. That picture was in the story, but in my opinion the excerpt you quoted was not intended to be a caption of that photo you posted.

Here is the picture of the Nuke plant with the smoke (from the OP). It looks nothing like the picture you posted.:

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/f29d898f3ae1.jpg[/atsimg]

The part of the plant that exploded was NOT the part of the plant containing the nuclear material.

reply to post by boondock-saint


Yeah that's not the image I was talking about but.... That fire, in no way, appears to be anywhere close to any of the plants, it's a house.

TY Soylent Green Is People for clearing that up, I was sure the article was talking about that specific explosion and fire. The one posted in the post I replied to is a house on fire, no where near any nuclear plant.

I just read that Japanese officials are confirming reactor 3 rods are/were fully exposed? fully as in open to the air, or fully as in coolant has failed and they are no longer submerged, even in sea water?

I'd like information on the storage facility for the spent fuel rods. Obviously they are spent, and not in meltdown, so I think we can debunk the theory that spent fuel rods are causing a fire. The entire reason they refer to them as spent is that all fissile material has been used. I'd suspect the reason they are kept near the reactor is because of the MOX fuel they are using, reusing partially spent rods and mixing.

A lot of theories being tossed around, but remember folks, we just don't know at this point, be prepared, but I wouldn't be packing and drinking the kool-aid just yet, this can still be contained.

If we don't have confirmation that the fuel rods have been cooled by tonight, that's when I'll start worrying.

I have been reading these threads for the last few days and watching CNN all day today, and CNN are now reporting that the 17 US marines were indeed being treated for radiation and there ship has been moved far away from Japan's waters for safety reasons.

Now if the OP wasn't onto something then surely the news that we are hearing now wouldn't be happening? (so maybe give he/she a break?).

Its obvious that we wont be told EXACTLY whats happening in real time, as thay need to be lead and only tell us what is SAFE for us to know..

As i said i have been watching the news all day (CNN) and they keep changing the stories. Also every time they have an expert on talking about the nuclear situation, as soon as he starts telling us something interesting or new then they break for an Advert break !!
They just asked an expert what the worst case scenario would be and before he could answer he was cut of and went to a break !

Either way, 2 reactors have blown and the 3rd is on its way, US ships are being moved and its obvious that radiation will be in the air.
The news we get, half it, and then double it and you might, just might get somewhere near the truth. (lol).

My heart goes out to our fellow humans in Japan and all the surrounding countries. Im in the UK and im holding my breath for you guys....

I live in Portland, OR and I am concerned..not in a state of panic yet, but definitely worried. My biggest concern is that we won't have any information until its really too late to act. That and my husband flew to Hawaii for work yesterday - he took potassium iodine tabs with him at my urging.

I really think its in everyone's best interest to get as much infomation as possible and to watch for signs of things going bad locally. If the dairies in your area stop milking their cows (or processing the milk) its a pretty good sign somethings up. Relying on heresay just won't work.

I REALLY wish I'd invested in RAD stickers! Might be too late to get potassium iodine at this point but you can still protect yourself if needed with Plan B - with topical iodine application www.ki4u.com...

Yep, this is noooo good.

reply to post by onyx718


Well I can agree with that to an extent. I am untrusting of the Japanese in these kind of situations because they are notorious for being isolationist and under-reporting things for fear of hurting their extremely strong national pride. I definitely do not believe we are getting the whole story.

Originally posted by m.red
im not sure if this has been posted but it might help.

nuclear events

and go to situation update!

I did go and found this tid-bit

Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said workers were also battling rising pressure within the reactor. They have opened vents in the containment vessel, which could release small amounts of radiation.

so they have to release air pressure on the containment
vessel so that sea water can be pumped in. It also said
that out of 5 pumps, only one was working. And if it fails ??

reply to post by iWokeUp

Those military personnel were in helicopters flying near the nuke plant, and they were only slightly contaminated. Their contamination was able to be cleaned up with soap and water.

There is a bit of radioactive gas being purposefully vented from the plant the keep the pressure down (to minimize the risk of explosion), so it only makes sense to move the boats. The radioactive venting is NOT a major concern, and the radiation will not make it all the way to the U.S.

reply to post by edgecrusher2199


=====Disclaimer=====
apparently I clicked reply to (edgecrusher2199) instead of reply. This post is a general informational post for the thread, not aimed at anyone specifically.
==================

Ok, someone needs to mention this right freaking now.

Potassium Iodide blocks your thyroid function. This is useful in nuclear disasters to stop your thyroid from taking in radiodine, which will cause thyroid and other types of cancer.

Taking Potassium Iodide, without the threat of immediate radiation exposure, is dangerous and in some cases can be FATAL.

I'd try to get some, yes, but I wouldn't advise taking any until it's actually necessary. Beyond that, it merely protects your thyroid from cancer, you'll still be irradiated and can still get radiation poisoning and other cancers. It's not some magic pill. It's irresponsible for people to be advising, with no medical knowledge at all, everyone in a potential danger zone take it.

This right here is where being prepared turns into dangerous fear mongering.

reply to post by phishyblankwaters


Where have I fear-mongered or even mentioned anything about potassium iodide???

Originally posted by boondock-saint

Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said workers were also battling rising pressure within the reactor. They have opened vents in the containment vessel, which could release small amounts of radiation.

so they have to release air pressure on the containment
vessel so that sea water can be pumped in. It also said
that out of 5 pumps, only one was working. And if it fails ??

From what I understand, the reactor has been shut down and fission is no longer taking place (i.e., it's not getting "hotter" with a runaway chain-reaction fission, like Chernobyl). But the material is still ho enough to cause pressure in the vessel. I suppose if they can't cool it down soon enough (like, as you say, the pumps fail), then the pressure could conceivably build up until the building explodes, releasing too much radiation into the atmosphere.

However, this won't necessarily happen even if the last pump fails (they could keep trying to vent) -- and (more importantly), since fission has ceased, there is no chance of a meltdown.

Originally posted by Soylent Green Is People
Those military personnel were in helicopters flying near the nuke plant, and they were only slightly contaminated.

what do you call near ???
they were taking readings 60 miles
from the coast. So the radiation had already
moved 60 miles out to sea when they were picked up
by the helos. that is some pretty strong stuff to travel
that far out to sea.

reply to post by edgecrusher2199


I talked about potassium iodine. And I would hope that anyone who takes anything would read about the usage and possible dangers. I was addressing what I assumed was a reasonably educated audience. My bad.

Then again, I also attached a link to the topical alternative and that includes warnings re: thyroid function.

I'll aim a little lower with my statements.

reply to post by phishyblankwaters


Right on. But I am just jumping on real quick and in a very serious note to find out what is happening in real time. If this thread is a bunch of chattering and bickering could someone PLEASE link me to a relevant thread with live updates on the issue at hand?

I have family, closest in SF Bay area and need to know when to tell them to either leave, take Potassium Iodide or relax and just kick back with a tall smoothie.

WHAT do we know and WHAT has been discovered since i finally left this thread last night at 2'30 am before having to get up and start my day at 7am?

Originally posted by AllSeeingI
US Air Force WC-135 Detects Deadly Radiation Over Pacific (US in 24hrs)

Special USAF aircraft have detected large amounts of Radioactivity over the mid-north Pacific region. The radiation cloud could make landfall in western North America within 24 hours.

The WC-135 Constant Phoenix is a special purpose aircraft derived from the Boeing C-135 and used by the United States Air Force. Its mission is to collect samples from the atmosphere for the purpose of detecting and identifying nuclear explosions. It is also informally referred to as the “weather bird” or “the sniffer” by workers on the program.

Still working to get other sources. The article did point out that during the Hydrogen Explosion earlier the cloud reached a height of 800m during the initial blast.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/f29d898f3ae1.jpg[/atsimg]

More to come....

UPDATE: The original author claims to have been given an anonymous insider tip from a contact friend of his inside the military. He himself is attempting to find out if this story is true. He asks for any possible leads be emailed to him. Mentioned in the source article.

edit on (3/14/11) by AllSeeingI because: typo

edit on (3/14/11) by AllSeeingI because: update

I live near Vancouver BC and after reading your very alarming message I checked with the BC provincial emergency services,I talked with the local manager and he told me that the federal government has just issued
a message that for the time being there has been no major amount reported,nor have they moved to Kamloops etc.just a load of BS, as usual somebody who gets their kicks in stirring up fear is at work. I am sure the Canadian government will try to protect its citizens from radioactive contamination so for the time being it looks like we can relax somewhat...!

I googled one of the items in the OP's original linked story.

300 ICU beds made available in Vancouver and Victoria Hospitals

It's just not happening.

Anyone who has ever been to a hospital in Canada knows that clearing 300 ICU beds 1., would be news, 2., couldn't be done without without paratroopers ready for the counterattack mounted by the relatives of the sick.

I think this story is a crock.

Even then 150mg is the maximum daily doseage recommended. Beyond that your looking at long-term adverse effects, but as stated before people who are claiming there taking the suppliment before this radiation has even hit the US Coast is a worrying sign that many are caught up with conflicting informations.

reply to post by boondock-saint


So where is the rest of the world? I thought that everyone was going to come to the rescue as it not only affects the good people of Japan but everyone potentially?

This is not something which Japan should have to deal with alone, so who's on board and why don't they have this contained yet?

And WHY are they still planning hundreds more facilities worldwide if they cant contain this one in the aftermath of 2 horrific disasters?

AccuWeather is addressing this concern.

No one knows right now exactly how this will end.

"You can calculate how long the release of a radiation would take to cross the Pacific from Japan to the U.S. by choosing different speeds that the radioactive particles might be moving and using the direct distance between given locations- say Sendai, Japan, and Seattle, Wash.," Andrews added.

However, even that calculation may not reflect how long the particle would take to cross the Pacific, since it would not likely cross the ocean in a direct path. This is the case because the wind flow is often a complicated pattern.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/83a4205180fd.jpg[/atsimg]

Calculated time for radioactive particles to cross the Pacific from the power plants in Japan to big West Coast cities if the particles take a direct path and move at a speed of 20 mph:

Cities
Est. Distance (miles) ---- Est. Time to Cross Pacific (days)
Anchorage 3,457 ----------7

Honolulu - 3,847 -----------8

Seattle - - 4,792 ------------10

Los Angeles -5,477 ---------11

www.accuweather.com...

While federal officials expected little danger in the United States from Japanese plumes, they were taking no chances. On Sunday, Energy Department officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the agency was working on three fronts.

........
Separately, energy officials said the agency was readying plans to deploy two-person monitoring and sampling teams, if necessary. The teams would travel to consulates, military installations and Navy ships to sample the air in a coordinated effort to improve plume tracking.

Finally, the department was preparing what it calls its Aerial Measuring System. Its detectors and analytical equipment can be mounted on a variety of aircraft. Officials said the equipment and monitoring team are staged out of the department’s Remote Sensing Laboratory at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, and are on two-hour call.

“We’re on top of this,” a department official said.

www.nytimes.com...

reply to post by Echtelion


Nice read but please tell me how many people in America actually suffered from the Cherynobol disaster....I would guarantee that the stats will back me up on the relative distance from the disaster and the fallout from the disaster was exponentially less the further away from the disaster itself.
I am also not saying don't be prepared but be prepared within reason and not with fear, This is a rolling event...and first concern should be for the people of Japan and all countries to the east first of where there is not a vast ocean to cross and there has not been any mention of plutonium being released now has there.
Also the core is not the same type as Cherynobol as they are not a graphite type and also the meltdown should go into the underground containment of fukushima.
Once again you can say to me being prepared is a good thing....but being prepared with knowledge would be a far better thing would it not.
as i said before why not panic everybody the world over shall we....and then drive the world into a further crisis than the mess it is already in and then that will make everyone feel better and also which has been stated in here is the OP is using a totally unconfirmed source....complete and utter fearmongering.
are we all going to start building underground shelters again.....surrounding ourselves in 6inch lead casing or one foot thick concrete bunkers.....when the evacuation zone so far is only 20km from the reactor....I should think the Japanese have more experience with nuclear fallout than any other nation in the world next to Russia.
now do you think that the ash from the explosion got into the jetstream.....nope.

Professor Robin Grimes, from the Centre for Nuclear Engineering, told Sky News the Chernobyl plant was an old Russian design which had a completely different structure to Fukushima.

"The plants in Japan are light water reactors so they work on a very different principle," he said.

"The type of problems that one might anticipate will be quite different to Chernobyl."

He added that the Fukushima incident was more on the scale of the 1979 accident at Three Mile Island, in Pennsylvania, which was registered at five.

Then, 140,000 people were evacuated after the reactor's core suffered a partial meltdown. Although there was contamination within the plant, there was none outside and no casualties.

Other nuclear incidents include a leak from a plant in Tennessee in 1979, which contaminated some 1,000 people and an explosion at a secret reprocessing plant in Tomsk-7, western Siberia. The number of casualties there is still unclear.

Japan has experienced the only two deadly nuclear accidents since Chernobyl - one in Tokaimura in 1999 which killed two workers and another in Mihama in 2004 which resulted in four deaths.

Tokaimura is Japan's worst nuclear accident to date, and exposed more than 600 people to radiation.

source

now lets think of the numbers that will be reached fron the tsunami.....I would wager it will climb well past 10,000 so what is more of a threat at this particular time the the people.....lets put things in perspective....I bet more Americans die from getting exposed to Radon from under their houses than will get exposed fron Fukushima even if it suffers complete meltdown.

For gods sake.

Why does the US have to be brought into everything?

Lets focus on Japan, the place where it happened.