<p>My understanding, based on speaking with a number of nuclear engineers, is that while the MOX is a problem for keeping the fuel cool and from having rods melt, the biggest problem with Chernobyl was the graphite that, once it exploded, sent a large plume into the air. The graphite fire is what made Chernobyl so nasty-- this is something F.ukushima lacks, thankfully. </p>
<p>It should be noted that the readings of radiation nationwide in Japan outside of even just the plant are still in the relatively low microsieverts range. Even in Tokyo, you will get less of a dose than you might in some mountain ranges. </p>
<p>As for not trusting the Japanese government, they’re many times more open and competent than the former Soviets were during Chernobyl.</p>
<p>Also, to the best of my knowledge, the soldiers didn’t refuse-- the SDF just didn’t see it as being a safe move.</p>
<p>The fact is, if this had been a Soviet-style RBMK reactor, I’m sure the situation would have been much worse.</p>
<p>From what I have read, it is actually 180 who have stayed behind.</p>
<p>Also, I really wouldn’t be so quick to criticize the Japanese. Our government wasn’t particularly forthcoming during the gulf oil catastrophe, this summer, and we still don’t know what is going on down there completely.</p>
<p>It’s an emerging situation on an Island which has just experienced a tsunami big enough to warrant as much press coverage as the nuclear disaster. They are in the middle of a mess we cannot begin to understand. There is probably a limited amount of options they have at this point, anyway, and the main thing is to keep people calm. The shelters are full, towns are gone. They are pulling hundreds of bodies from the mud each day. It’s so big, when you include the nuclear situation, it redefines the word catastrophe, frankly.</p>
<p>I’m sure they are doing the best that they can. It’s not like this is even “man made.” I believe we have coastal reactors, too.</p>
<p>No doubt. I used to drive by the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Statino (SONGS) almost every other week as I commuted to and from San Diego during grad school. It was my landmark of choice for knowing when I was close to La Jolla.</p>
<p>Also, it was great to have around, because it made my electricity really cheap. I loved it. </p>
<p>My understanding, however, is that it was built to such high standards that it was too expensive-- the containment wall on an old decommissioned reactor is six feet thick concrete and steel. They built it to extreme standards.</p>
<p>Son’s program in Kyoto has re-thought their decision to shut down and will now remain in session. He is SO happy to be staying in Japan. However, some of the schools sending students to the program are insisting that their students leave, and some parents are pressuring their children to withdraw from the program prematurely. We (and our son) perceive Kyoto to be very safe, but I understand that it is difficult for many parents (especially those who have not visited Japan themselves) to imagine that the horrors occurring in Japan right now are not being experienced by large swathes of people in the country.</p>
<p>Yes, it would be like leaving Chicago because there was a hurricane in New Orleans.</p>
<p>I looooove Kyoto. One of the most beautiful places on the planet. I’m glad your son gets to stay. I don’t think I’d leave a kid in Tokyo right now, places that populated and dense are subject to shortages and panics which, imho, can be dangerous in and of themselves. YMMV</p>
<p>Unfortunately, I just learned that there have been some mixed signals between the staff on the ground in Kyoto and the people in the US who administer the program. The program is, in fact, going to close and they will be requiring all the students to evacuate this week. It is the middle of the night in Japan now, so I doubt my son is aware of this final decision. He will be very upset; while I know he’ll eventually make his peace with all of these reversals, he’s had to deal with an awful lot of ups and downs for such a short period of time.</p>
<p>I think almost all the programs are sending kids home. Check out <a href=“http://www.cultures-shocked.org%5B/url%5D”>www.cultures-shocked.org</a> under the Japan Forum.</p>
<p>Kids are very tough and do bounce back. This is a very unusual time and the best we can do is allow Japan to heal itself without having to extend itself to care for all the other obligations during this challenging time.</p>
<p>Thank you, UCLAri, for posting the link. H has been watching CNN all week long, and if it weren’t for the video of the dogs or the two American teachers finally located, I would have rated their coverage a full 11. Is it really “breaking news” if it gets repeated every 30 minutes?</p>
<p>What the public needs is not more sensationalism, but scientific facts. For insatnce, I’ve been reading about the Chinese hoarding iodized salt. Goodness. This might give some folks here in the US an idea to do the same (since KI and powderized kelp are sold out everywhere). Why would not those articles explain the simple fact that any table salt, taken in the amounts high enough to deliver a relevant amount of iodide ion, could KILL the person? LD50 oral of sodium chloride in rat is 3g/kg (half of the rats kick the bucket if given this much salt). In humans, the lowest reported lethal dose is about 1 g/kg!! Which means that if an average person weighing 150 lb (65 kg) eats 3 ounces of table salt at once, s/he could die!</p>
<p>I have no plans to cancel my HI vacation at this moment. What worries me, though, is the fact that more and more US physics professors and radiologists are raising legitimate concerns about the airport scanners… :rolleyes:</p>
<p>I’ve been saying again and again that RADIATION IS EVERYWHERE. All of us are surrounded by evil unseen rays of energy.</p>
<p>Things like: light, sound, heat, radio waves, and the most evil radiation of all, COSMIC RAYS.</p>
<p>Every time you get on a plane and fly around the world, you are bombarded by cosmic rays. Every time you are in the Rockies or, goodness forbid, the equator, you are bombarded by radiation. </p>
<p>Living in a brick house exposes you to a lot of radiation.</p>
<p>Honestly, people will freak out about radiation, but they’ll run to the doctor to get a CT done. They’ll not think twice about an x-ray at the dentist (ever notice how the dentists gets the heck out of that room?)</p>
<p>The amount of radiation even people living in Tokyo are being exposed to is likely far less than what someone living in the Rockies is exposed to on a daily basis. That’s just how the universe works. No amount of media bluster will change that. </p>
<p>Also, taking iodine pills? No thanks. I prefer NOT to take medicine unless I have a good reason to do so. Iodine pills are nasty buggers, and should only be taken if there’s a bloody good reason.</p>
<p>Brick tends to have relatively (key word) high levels of uranium and thorium in it because, well, it’s made of materials that naturally have that in them. Wood generally does not have a lot of uranium or thorium in it. So there’s that.</p>
<p>More amazing survival news from Japan… A man was found alive in the tsunami rubble, 8 days after the disaster! And the Cat Island residents are OK, too, but desperatley need food:</p>