Nuke crisis poses ‘substantial risk,’ no wider evacuation eyed: Obama

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WASHINGTON, March 17, Kyodo

President Barack Obama said Thursday the damage to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant posed ”a substantial risk” to people nearby, while stressing the U.S. government had no immediate plan to expand the scope of its evacuation order beyond an 80-kilometer radius of the troubled plant in northeastern Japan.

Speaking at the White House, Obama said that a U.S. decision to ask American citizens living within the 80-km radius of the quake-hit nuclear plant in Fukushima Prefecture to evacuate as a precautionary measure was ”based upon a careful scientific evaluation.”

While urging U.S. citizens in Japan to continue to monitor the situation, Obama assured the safety of the United States, saying, ”We do not expect harmful levels of radiation to reach the United States, whether it’s the West Coast, Hawaii, Alaska, or U.S. territories in the Pacific.”

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To read the complete article, click here -> http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2011/03/79102.html

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No increased radiation so far in Southern California, air quality agency says

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March 17, 2011 | 11:28 am

No increased levels of radiation have been detected in Southern California since a nuclear power plant was damaged in Japan, the local air quality agency said Thursday.

“As of right now, we have not seen any change in the background levels of radiation,” said Sam Atwood, a spokesman for the South Coast Air Quality Management District.

The agency monitors radiation on behalf of the federal government for the Southern California area at three regional stations.

“We’re going to monitor it minute by minute,” Atwood said. “Nobody is predicting anywhere near hazardous levels of radiation on the West Coast of the United States. But because our instruments are extremely sensitive, it is very likely the instruments will measure some increase.”

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To read the complete article, click here -> http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/03/no-increased-radiation-so-far-in-southern-california.html

Japan dumps water on overheating reactor

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By Chisa Fujioka and Jon Herskovitz Chisa Fujioka And Jon Herskovitz – 2 hrs 17 mins ago

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese military helicopters and fire trucks poured water on an overheating nuclear facility on Thursday and the plant operator said electricity to part of the crippled complex could be restored in a desperate bid to avert catastrophe.

Washington and other foreign capitals expressed growing alarm about radiation leaking from the earthquake-shattered plant, 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo. The United States said it was sending aircraft to help Americans leave Japan.

“The situation continues to be very serious,” International Atomic Energy Agency chief Yukiya Amano told reporters at Vienna airport as he left with a group of nuclear experts for Japan.

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To read the complete article, click here -> http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110317/ts_nm/us_japan_quake

Fukushima Plume to Reach Continental U.S. Friday

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by Thomas Roche on March 16th, 2011

The New York Times just published a story in which it obtained the projected course of the radiation plume from Fukushima I plant.

If current weather holds, the plume is projected to reach the Aleutian Islands on Thursday (tomorrow) and California on Friday, but by the time it reaches the U.S. the effects should be detectable but not harmful.

This sounds 100% reasonable based on everything I know about the crisis, but to be fair, in coming to that conclusion, it’s my opinion the New York Times is meeting the US Government way more than halfway. The last NRC projection levels were from Sunday, before a whole lot of things happened.

The projection itself did not include information about radiation levels. Those come from the NRC, but are maddeningly unspecific and, most importantly, did I mention they are from Sunday?

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To read the complete article, click here -> http://techyum.com/2011/03/fukushima-plume-to-reach-continental-u-s-friday/

Find more information here as well -> http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/03/16/science/plume-graphic.html?ref=science

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Screencap from the New York Times

The New York Times just published a story in which it obtained the projected course of the radiation plume from Fukushima I plant.

If current weather holds, the plume is projected to reach the Aleutian Islands on Thursday (tomorrow) and California on Friday, but by the time it reaches the U.S. the effects should be detectable but not harmful.

This sounds 100% reasonable based on everything I know about the crisis, but to be fair, in coming to that conclusion, it’s my opinion the New York Times is meeting the US Government way more than halfway. The last NRC projection levels were from Sunday, before a whole lot of things happened.

The projection itself did not include information about radiation levels. Those come from the NRC, but are maddeningly unspecific and, most importantly, did I mention they are from Sunday?

Japan’s Nuclear Crisis: ‘There Is A Recognition This Is A Suicide Mission’

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by Mark Joyella | 4:55 pm, March 16th, 2011

U.S. officials are increasingly alarmed at the way Japan is handling its ongoing nuclear crisis, with one official telling ABC’s Martha Raddatz “They need to stop pulling out people—and step up with getting them back in the reactor to cool it. There is a recognition this is a suicide mission,” the official said.

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To read the complete article click here -> http://www.mediaite.com/tv/japans-nuclear-crisis-there-is-a-recognition-this-is-a-suicide-mission/

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U.S. shows growing alarm over Japan nuclear crisis

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By Jeff Mason and Tom Doggett Jeff Mason And Tom Doggett – Thu Mar 17, 12:24 am ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States showed increasing alarm about Japan’s nuclear crisis on Wednesday and urged its citizens to stay clear of an earthquake-crippled power plant, going further in its warnings than Japan itself.

The State Department said the United States has chartered aircraft to help Americans leave Japan and had authorized the voluntary departure of family members of diplomatic staff in Tokyo, Nagoya and Yokohama — about 600 people.

“The State Department strongly urges U.S. citizens to defer travel to Japan at this time and those in Japan should consider departing,” it said.

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To read the entire article click here -> http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/sc_nm/us_nuclear_usa

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