Japanese Self Defense Forces Combat Nuclear Biological Chemical monitoring teams have been monitoring radiation levels to help protect workers fighting the nuclear disaster.

The military NBC units have been using lead suits, that weigh 48 pounds, and special armored cars that are equipped with NBC monitoring gear.  They are trying to make sure workers are rotated in and out of the plant for short time periods because of high radiation levels.

Most developed countries have NBC units in their military. Mainly because they also have WMDs, and have planned for their use on the battlefield.  Military NBC units can be used in a secondary role in case of something like what is happening in Japan.  I hope budget cutting here in the U.S. hasn’t affected our military NBC units.

Workers evacuated from Fukushima Daiichi immediately after the 9.0 quake/tsunami, say the reactors were already in trouble.

One worker said Reactor 1 suffered a hydrogen explosion the day after the tsunami.  He saw white smoke coming from reactor 1 while the tsunami swept by.  He also said because reactors were undergoing maintenance they were more susceptible to damage by the tsunami.

Fears of radiation contamination in fish supplies has Sushi restaurants   dropping fresh fish from their menus.

So far, the prevailing winds have been blowing radiation from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, out over the Pacific Ocean, prompting concerns by those who rely on fish from the ocean.

Those concerns are also being expressed by the governments of South Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, India, Singapore and the Philippines.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration claims it’s monitoring Japanese food for contamination.

Japanes Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano, said milk & spinach from Fukushima & Ibaraki Prefectures.

Edano says they believe that none of the contaminated products made it into the supply chain, and down played any health risks.

In a press conference Japanese Fire Fighting officials have expressed sorrow for the literal sacrifice that fire crews, at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, are making.

They stated that many of the fire fighters insisted they were willing to endure high levels of radiation if it would help solve the crisis. One official said his own wife understood that it could be necessary for him to become a “savior” for Japan.

Officials are now saying that some workers at the plant have radiation exposure  equivalent of  10 chest X-rays every hour.