Inside Fukushima evacuation zone

[JohnyCanuck]

Run time: 12:05 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yp9iJ3pPuL8   Posted on YouTube: April 07, 2011 By YouTube Member: videonewscom Views on YouTube: 2782   Posted on DU: April 07, 2011 By DU Member: JohnyCanuck Views on DU: 2588

 
Really sad to see the shots of some farm animals dealing with life on their own and also pets moving around in packs on the streets - no doubt wondering what the hell is going on and where have all the humans disappeared to. I wonder if any attempts are being made to feed them at all. Apparently the evacuees weren't allowed to take their pets with them because it would be too hard to remove radioactive contamination from their fur.

[godai]

1. Thanks. Never before seen video. n/t

[Poll_Blind]

2. That was extremely fascinating to watch. My eyes are still a bit wide.

Man...

PB

[Art_from_Ark]

3. Very interesting

The starting point of the video is about 80 miles from my home. While I am aware, of course, of the situation up there, this is the first time I have seen video documentation of it. Thanks for posting it.

[CoffeeCat]

4. Wow, amazing to see the Fukushima plant

...where all of this is playing out.

I wish I understood better the radiation readings that were displayed, and indicated
from the Geiger counter. Those numbers sure rose dramatically.

I was sad to see the doggies. Just wanted to scoop em up and rescue them. :(

[Art_from_Ark]

6. Radiation readings

I am about 100 miles south of Daiichi. According to various research institutes, universities, etc., the ambient radiation here has recently been fluctuating between 0.13 and 0.2 microsieverts per hour, or about 2-3 times normal levels (still considered safe). When the car in the video entered the 30km zone, the reading was more than 1 microsievert/hour, or about 5-6 times the level here. The spot where the reporter "terminated his mission" had close to 1000 times the radiation level of my area, and 100 times the level of the place where he entered the 30km zone.

[CoffeeCat]

7. Very interesting. Thank you for the information!

I appreciate you taking the time to post that.

So, you are in Japan? I hope you and your family are well. I'm sure today's quake was frightening. Not
what Japan needs right now!

Is everyone there worried about the radiation?

[Art_from_Ark]

9. Family are OK, though shaken up a bit

There does not seem to be such a concern about ambient radiation in these parts, but there does appear to be a lot of concern about radiation in food, and, according to a couple of fruit and vegetable vendors I have talked to recently, fresh produce grown in the two prefectures closest to the Daiichi complex, that is, Fukushima and Ibaraki, is being shunned by consumers, regardless of its radiation readings. I have also heard that some grocery stores in Tokyo are providing radiation readings of the produce they sell.

[CoffeeCat]

10. I am glad that your family...

...survived the earthquake and the tsunami. I am sure they are still quite emotional after all of that. It
would be difficult not to be. My best to you and your family!

I can understand why people would be wary of the fresh produce in those areas. I'm sure the economic impact of
all of this is difficult too. If people can't sell their fresh produce--that affects many farmers, growers and
stores. These disasters affected so many different people and areas of life in your country.

Please take care and keep us informed about how you are doing.

[Art_from_Ark]

13. You know, I thought I was living in a danger zone

but as I was waiting for the bus this evening, I saw a bus full of passengers that was headed for Iwaki. Iwaki is probably the starting point of the video. I thought, "What are those people heading into?"

There was also a large group headed for Hitachi, halfway between my city and Iwaki. The bus company had to get a second bus to accommodate all of them. And after the two Hitachi buses departed, there was a second Iwaki bus, nearly full. It was quite a change from earlier this week, when there were just 2 or 3 people on the same Iwaki bus.

[Poll_Blind]

19. Thank you very much for taking the time to post that!

Be safe!

PB

[Art_from_Ark]

22. My pleasure

I think these values give an indication of how the radiation levels decrease over distance. I wish I knew the date the measurements in this video were taken so I could make a more exact comparison, but in brief, with the information I have:

The current radiation level, as measured by the High-Energy Physics Lab (KEK) in Tsukuba, Japan, 165 kilometers (103 miles) from the site, is about 0.15 microsieverts per hour. (According to KEK, normal levels at the KEK site are about 0.07 to 0.09 microsieverts per hour, so the current readings are about 2X higher than normal, but still considered safe).

The radiation level at the place the reporter entered the 30km recommended evacuation zone (that is, about 80 miles from KEK, assuming that they entered the zone via the Joban Highway, which would be more or less on a direct line between KEK and the reactors) was 1.1 microsieverts per hour, or about 7 times the current level at KEK- Tsukuba.

The radiation level at the end of the "mission", less than 1 mile from the reactor complex, was 112 microsieverts per hour, or 101 times the level at the entrance 30km/18 miles away, and 746 times higher than the current level measured at KEK-Tsukuba, 165km/103 miles away.

:hi:

[Art_from_Ark]

23. Looking at the video again, I see that it was recorded on April 3

a little less than a week ago. The KEK-Tsukuba measurements for that day did not fluctuate much and were at essentially the same level that I used in my calculations.

KEK average values from April 9 to April 2 (in descending order):

http://rcwww.kek.jp/norm/history.html

[DeSwiss]

5. K&R

[AsahinaKimi]

8. Amazing footage..

from the damaged roads from earthquake, to tsunami damage, and the abandoned towns.. where only a few animals remained. In some spots, parts of Japan reminded me of central California, with the small sloping mountains in the background. Some spots still very beautiful, but the ravished areas looked so desolate. Thank you for posting..

頑張れ日本!!

[EnviroBat]

16. I looks like such a beautiful country. I always wanted to visit there...

I can't believe the scale of this disaster.

[Stardust]

11. Those dogs seemed amazingly upbeat. I wonder how long they've been

abandoned. And the bulldog towards the end...how precious.

[EnviroBat]

17. I would not have been able to leave him/her there...

Probably would have ended up staying there and dying along side of him/her

[colorado_ufo]

27. At least, they do not look thin yet.

Reminds me of Katrina.

[TheeHazelnut]

12. very interesting, but...

I wonder how much radiation they will be bringing back with them on their car, in their clothes, etc. to contaminate people who didn't agree to take part in this "mission."

[ElsewheresDaughter]

14. my thoughts too....they should abandon the car at least....those numbers on the counter extremely hi

Plutonium is forever!

[EnviroBat]

18. I'm sure those two are going to end up with serious health problems

from the level of exposure they were subjecting themselves to. All to show the world whats happening. God forbid our "media" or, "journalists" let us know anything. But hey, Donald Trump might be running for president! That's important news!!!

[EnviroBat]

15. I lost it at the 9:30 mark when they found that poor bull-dog...

I simply have no words to describe the heaviness in my heart. For the past couple of week I've been really irritable and short with people. I think it's because of what is happening over there. I can't be seen crying here at work...

[ElsewheresDaughter]

21. I couldn't watch those pars either I ff>>>>through them...it's gonna be hard on them next winter

:cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry:

[jakeXT]

20. k&r

[JohnyCanuck]

24. Animals (and humans) from the evacuation zone are suffering.

MINAMISOMA, Fukushima Prefecture — There's a repellent stench coming from the cowshed. It's a mixture of manure, hay and something more difficult to pinpoint — something dank, musty, unworldly.

At the back, penned behind large wooden troughs, two cows stumble back and forth, searching for food and water. Two others are lying on their sides, eyes vacant, their bodies bloated. They, too, had waited to be fed, but in vain.

There is no water — the taps are dry — and there's nothing to feed them with, though even if there was, there's no one to put it out for them. The farmer has fled, along with all the other residents of this small community, who were told to leave following the disaster that began on March 11 a short distance down the road.

snip

Another resident, who requested he not be named, said he had heard of several local farmers who have already thrown in the towel. One, a producer of cabbages in Sukagawa, took his own life last week.

"He had spent years tending to his land so that he could grow his produce organically," my anonymous informant explained. "It's such bad luck."

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fv20110410a1.html

[colorado_ufo]

26. This is terrible to read.

I wish that, if they cannot be saved, that someone could/would humanely end their suffering.

[yurbud]

25. what are those units of radiation?