Video: Radioactive rain and contamination in Saint Louis Missouri 3/29/11

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Description updated 4/6/11

Known facts:

(1) the fallout read 0.228 mR/Hr

(2) the sample was a very few drops of rain water from my SUV

(3) Roughly 2.5 days later the sample showed no radioactivity.

Conjectures:

(1) If this Fallout blew in from Fukushima, it may have been dangerously radioactive over California.

(2) The fallout may have been Iodine 123 produced from nuclear spallation of Cesium 133 via Solar Proton Bombardment

(3) Given Conjecture #2, the source of the Cesium 133 was the decay product of Fukushima produced Xenon 133

For the details on the sample please continue reading below.
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Keep your kids and pets out of the rain!

The video is copyrighted and may not be reproduced with out express permission of "pissiontheroses".

The video shows the radioactive result of a VERY FEW drops of rain which drizzled out of the sky and down onto an SUV on 3/29/11 in Saint Louis Missouri. The rain drops were mopped up off of the hood with a paper towel and a radioactivity reading was taken with a "Radalert Inspector".

It is definately concerning how hot a FEW rain drops of Fukushima fallout can be 9000 miles and several days away from its source in Japan. We were quite surprised how hot the sample was relative to the radioactive snow we measured last week. This sample of radioactive drizzle maxed out and stabilized at 0.228 millirems per hour. Unfortunately, I am unable to identify if the source is Cesium 137, Iodine 131, Iodine 129, Plutonium, or any number of radionuclides the can easily be absorbed through the skin,lungs or stomach. The risk is not so much being exposed to 0.228 mR/Hr in passing, it is eating, inhaling, absorbing, or ingesting the radioactive source of that radiation. It is the difference between getting an X-ray and eating the X-ray machine.

In the short term, we keep our children out of the fallout rain and snow. We make sure our pets and their water bowls are not exposed to the radioactive fallout. Moreover, the greater risk is prolonged radionuclide fallout and environmental contamination over an on going period of months; it would be a death by a thousand cuts, as plants and animals absorb, concentrate, and pass radioactive fallout into our food chain.

If there was ever a year to pray for drought, this is it! Sadly even in the best case scenarios, it would be wise to expect an entire spring rainy season of this kind of fallout; It is likely that Fukushima will produce fallout to rain down on us for many months to come. Take what precautions you can; expect to the EPA to "protect you" and address this issue by raising safe limits for radioactive contamination.

3/28/11 KEEP THE KIDS INDOORS! Radioactive Rain / drizzle in Saint Louis at 0.228 mR/Hr

Pictures and videos to follow shortly. Its drizzling radioactive fallout here in Saint Louis, Missouri. Mr X decided to replicate the radioactive snow test on the rain drops /drizzle that was covering our truck. He took a paper towel and wiped down the truck until the towel was damp. He then took a reading off the rain damped paper towel using a surface contamination meter, that reading was a jaw dropping 0.228 mR/Hr. I am NOT letting my kids out in this stuff.

Radioactive snow reported by New Hampshire Public Health

The NH department of Public Health is reporting that they have detected radioactive snowfall on 3/28/11. "The level was measured at approximately 40 pCi/L (picocuries per liter)". This level of contamination is over 13 times greater than the 3 pCi/L Maximum Contaminant level established by the EPA for yearly exposure. Given the potential ongoing nature of the Fukushima releases, the reported values may be of concern.

The NHPHS identifies the source as "radioiodine, or I-131". Hopefully they actually have the ability to detect the difference between I-131 and I-129. The former has a half life of days, the latter has a half life of millions of years. In a fission reaction one atom of I-129 is produced for every three atoms of I-131. (the health risks) One thing is for certain, Ms X would not want to be eating cranberries or maple syrup from a location that is getting this kind of dosing over an entire growing season. Lets pray that there is no radioactive cesium in these snow falls, and that if there is that authorities expediently inform us.

The entire press release from New Hampshire Division of Public Health Services may be found below, followed by a link to potential radioactive Cesium fallout concentrations (relative to Japan) in the USA.

http://www.dhhs.nh.gov/media/pr/03282011radiation.htm
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Press Release

Low Level of Radiation Found in a Sample of Snow

Contact:
Public Information Office
(603) 271-6526
Twitter: NHDHHSPIO

Division of Public Health Services

Publish Date:
March 28, 2011

Concord, NH – The Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health Services (DPHS) is announcing results of a snow sample processed by the Public Health Labs over the weekend. The sample was collected from the DPHS radiological detection equipment in Concord. The test results show low levels of radioiodine, or I-131, which are consistent with findings from other states as a result of the nuclear reactor crisis in Japan. The level was measured at approximately 40 pCi/L (picocuries per liter).

“In New Hampshire we do not typically test rain or snow samples during the winter season,” said Dr. José Montero, DPHS Director. “However, we felt it was prudent to take the initiative and do some expanded testing. This is not an unexpected finding and we may continue to see similar activity until the crisis in Japan stabilizes. I want to be clear that this does not constitute a threat to the public in New Hampshire and there are no actions people should be taking as a result of this finding.”

The results of DPHS’ radiological detection program are submitted automatically to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This is part of a national program to monitor radiation levels around the country and data are complied by the EPA. DPHS does historic monitoring of radiation across the State on a regular basis and will continue to do so. Monitoring for radioactivity in the air, waters, and soil is done on a continuing basis in New Hampshire. DPHS will conduct additional testing as necessary relative to the evolving situation in Japan.

“For those who may be concerned about this finding I would like to put this in perspective,” said Montero. “The amount of radiation detected is at least 25 times below the level that would be of concern for use as a sole source of water over a short period of time, even for infants, pregnant women or breastfeeding women, who are the most sensitive to radiation. We will be updating the public as further information becomes available.”
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Displayed is a potential Cesium fallout map, follow the link for maps of other elements.

http://www.woweather.com/weather/ne...s&VAR=eurad2500

Who knew Snow was so Hot? Radioactive Snow in the Midwest

Mr X took these readings on 3/26/2011. The photos may not be used without express permission.
The first photo shows an empty plate with a reading of 0.012 mR/Hr. The second photo shows a plate of radioactive snow with a reading of 0.045 mR/Hr. The radiation from the snow is 3.75 times greater than the empty plate. Of course, none of this means much from a fallout perspective without a reading from pre-Fukushima snow; but who knew snow was so hot?

Jet engines, bleed air, and the phase changes of radioactive elements

Two recent news articles have caught my eye. First, reports of radioactive contaminated air filtration systems on aircraft

http://www.kktv.com/home/headlines/Radiation_Detected_in_US_Airports_118216979.html

Second, reports of flight attendants carrying dosimeters

http://cthrc.ca/en/member_area/member_news/union_distributes_radiation_dosimeters_to_flight_attendants.aspx

The first thing one must realize is that not all radiation is the same. There is a difference between passing through a field of radiation and eating the source of that radiation. If you eat, ingest, or inhale radioactive materials they stay with you and keep irradiating you from the inside. It is unlikely that the flight attendant's dosimeters will give them any true indication of the risk they face,unless they can distinguish between the shower of cosmic rays one gets when flying, versus the Fukushima radioactive fallout particles actually entering their bodies through their mouths and lungs. It is the difference between getting a CAT scan and eating the CAT scan machine.

So how much fallout is entering a modern jet aircraft flying through an atmosphere of ionizing radioactive dust and gas? It is an interesting question, one likely not studied in any detail with commercial aircraft. It’s also a question for the health and safety departments of the airlines. It’s a question that every passenger, crew member, maintenance, ground, and overhaul crew should be asking.

Consider that jet engines ingest large quantities of air which are then compressed/heated and passed into the aircraft cabin via engine bleed-air. Radioactive particles like Iodine and Cesium are relatively heavy and have low melting/vaporization temperatures at standard pressures. Depending on where the bleed air is drawn from the engine, the engine is likely to act like a large centrifuge concentrating these heavier radioactive particles into the bleed-air and into the cabin ventilation system. Even more worrisome is the high temperature and pressures these radioactive particles will experience in the jet engine.

The melting and boiling points of Iodine are 113.7°C and 184.4°C respectively, for Cesium the values are 28.4°C and 671°C. Without phase change charts and detail engine data, it is difficult to ascertain with certainty which states these materials are in inside the aircraft. But given that radioactive elements have been found in aircraft ventilation systems, it is an analysis that someone in the industry should be doing.

The questions for such an analysis would be how much molten radioactive Cesium (and molten/gaseous Iodine) is coating and building up inside the engine, air-conditioning and ventilation systems during each aircraft cycle? How much is making it through to the passengers? What’s the exposure to the maintenance and ground crews? Who is going to ensure the safety of the heavy maintenance and overhaul facilities? How may trips can an aircraft make through a fallout zone before the contamination becomes a health issue? If the aircraft is contaminated who is going to decontaminate it and where?

These are all valid questions worthy of analysis, but they are also question no one wants to answer because of the potential impact of a negative finding on air traffic. If the passengers, flight crew, and maintenance teams don’t demand answers, expect the same result as the firefighters and policeman who were told the air was safe to breath at the World Trade Center site after the 9-11 attack.

Poisoning the wells in Fukushima; the new opium and the rise of the Emperor and Empresses.

In the aftermath of the great Tokyo earthquake of 1923, the Japanese rounded up and slaughtered 6,000+ Koreans for poisoning the wells; and, the hands were unknowingly dealt for the outbreak of WWII. A great historical inflection point is now at hand; and the question remains who will be blamed for the nuclear poison in Fukushima? The answer has the potential to realign nations and give rise to a new Emperor and Empresses among them.

If the third nuclear nightmare in Japan is successfully apportioned to the United States, the opportunity exists for the joining of Japan and China into a new Far Eastern hegemony. The partnership will be born out of need, desire, and xenophobia. Japan has technology and efficiency; China has manpower, transnational resources, manufacturing/industrialization, and scale. The US competes as a suitor with paper money, the glamor of empire, and the offer of its strategic military and political control of the industrial opium that flows from wells in the Mideast. Should China and Japan court each other, surly each will see the other as the Empresses, themselves as the Emperor, and the USA as the handmaiden.

From today onward we live in interesting times- just ask the Libyans.

Hawaii: Cesium 137 fallout hotspot on 3/21 - 3/22

The following simulation shows Hawaii to be the point of maximum fallout concentration of Cesium 137 on March 21-22. Note that the simulation is based on an initial release of C-137 from Fukushima. The level of contamination indicated in the simulation is not an absolute value, it is relative to some assumed value. The authorities are censoring the actual levels of contamination released at the Fukushima disaster.

I suspect the actual data is being censored because the release of that information would result in a storm of nuclear regulator compliance issues in the private sector.
It is interesting to note that differences between this simulation based on a specific isotope and the "jet stream" based fallout maps played up in the media. The key take aways are the 7-9 day cycle from peak at Fukushima to peak at Hawaii. Note that the peak fallout levels always seem to stay inside the ring of fire. Remember, this is a simulation and should be consider one data point in a probabilistic continuum.

A simulation of the event with on going releases would be helpful, but I also expect that such simulation would cause public discord. Barring some intervention by the Government with the insurance agencies, it would be wise to expect a shut down of commercial air traffic over the Pacific ocean in the coming days and weeks.

Here is a link to the C-137 fallout simulation

http://www.irsn.fr/FR/popup/Pages/irsn-meteo-france_19mars.aspx

ROM calculation of total Uranium tonnage at Fukushima Daiichi

Click on the chart for the best view of the data.
Most of the assumptions are obvious, so they are not explicitly stated.


ROM calculation of total Uranium tonnage at Fukushima Daiichi

Fukushima Daiichi Reactor # Date First In Service Current Year Years In Service Reactor Capacity, Mega Watts % of total Japanese Nuclear Capacity, Mega Watts % of yearly total Japanese Uranium Usage Yearly Uranium tonnage spent Life Cycle Uranium tonnage
1 1971 2011 40 460 0.9% 0.9% 55.79 2231.79
2 1974 2011 37 784 1.6% 1.6% 95.09 3518.47
3 1976 2011 35 784 1.6% 1.6% 95.09 3328.28
4 1978 2011 33 784 1.6% 1.6% 95.09 3138.09
5 1978 2011 33 784 1.6% 1.6% 95.09 3138.09
6 1979 2011 32 1100 2.2% 2.2% 133.42 4269.51
4696 9.5% 9.5% 569.59 19624.23


Japanese total generation capacity 49467 Mega Watts

Yearly Japanese National Uranium Usage 6000 Tons

ROM total quantity of Uranium Stored at Fukushima Daiichi 19624.23 tons

Look for SAIC to clean up big in Japan

Look for SAIC to clean up big in Japanese nuclear remediation.

Hawaiians, prepare to lose ALL commercial air traffic.

If you are in Hawaii, make immediate preparations to shelter in place or get out now while you still can. Prepare to lose all commercial air traffic to the islands. No airline is going to risk losing commercial aircraft to radioactive contamination. The cost, time, and difficulty of decontaminating a commercial aircraft of radioactive contamination is exceedingly high; the aircraft will basically have to be stripped down to the green. The tooling, supply chain, and EPA requirements would make it near impossible to decontaminate a commercial aircraft. The level of radiation reaching Hawaii need not even reach deadly levels to the shut down commercial air traffic. Air planes act like accumulators and concentrators for radioactive debris and even low levels of uranium and plutonium will build up in and on an airplane.
Given that the probabilities of a losing commercial air service is high even with low levels of contamination, a parametric estimation of the scope of the Fukushima disaster to Chernobyl would indicate a strong possibility of dangerous levels of radiation reaching US soil. The Chernobyl disaster involved approximately 190 tons of Uranium. I estimate the Fukushima site to contain roughly 19,625 tons of Uranium. This potentially makes the Fukushima disaster 103 times greater than Chernobyl (and that’s not even counting the Plutonium on site) These values would explain why the Japanese government is not taking the Chernobyl approach to addressing the issue; if they don’t hold the line they face a MASSIVE potential exponential increase in fallout compared to Chernobyl. It’s for these reasons why it would be extremely prudent to be prepared to be stranded in Hawaii.

I calculated the Fukushima stored uranium tonnage by using Japan’s annual 6,000 ton consumption of uranium and allocated yearly tonnage to Fukushima by its percentage of installed Mega Watt capacity relative to Japan’s total nuclear generation capacity. I then apportioned those yearly values to each of the 6 reactors based on its in-service date. The result was roughly 19,625 tons of uranium stored on site. Chernobyl was less than 1% of the disaster that Fukushima has the potential to be.