University students, concerned with the fact that there is no official government soil testing around the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuke plant, took some samples of their own.
They found plutonium-239 and 240, making up a total of 0.078 becquerels per kilogram. The samples were taken on 21 April 2011. Immediately after they took the samples the Japanese government declared the area an evacuation zone.
“This is a new strain, O157 was almost certainly one of its parents. It’s also got material from another type of E-coli. So you’ve got this germ that’s like O157 but has this extra weaponry, that makes it more nasty.”-Paul Hunter, University of East Anglia in England
E-coli O157 destroys your blood cells and kidneys, and might be the parent of the latest, deadliest form.
German press reports say World Health Organization officials have identified the e-coli, that has killed 17 Germans so far, as a new mutant strain, spawned by two deadly forms of e-coli. The new strain has been seen before, but not at the level of an outbreak.
E-coli is a bacteria, and everyone has it (in our intestines), at least the non-lethal kind, but there are some very bad versions out there that will kill: “The vast majority of strains are harmless, but there are a select few that are armed and dangerous because of the particular genes they happen to have. These genes produce those toxins. If they produce these toxins, the outcome of infection, rather than just being a tummy upset, can be far more serious.”-Ian Jones, a professor of virology at the University of Reading in England
Now health officials are trying to found out where the new e-coli spawned. Originally Spanish vegetables were thought to be the carriers (vegetables from Denmark and the Netherlands are suspect as well), but the epicenter of the outbreak is around Hamburg, Germany. More than 1,000 people in Germany are sick, 470 have reached the stage where kidney failure could occur.
Spain has two cases, but officials say those people had just returned from Germany, prompting Spanish politicians to point the finger of blame to Germany.
Sweden is now reporting cases; one death of a woman who went to Spain, 43 people sick. The United Kingdom reports seven cases. Denmark has 14. Netherlands has eight. Austria, France, Norway and Switzerland are reporting cases, most of the people had just got back from trips to Germany.
Russia and the United Arab Emirates have banned vegetables from European Union. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says it’s increasing inspections of vegetables coming from Europe.
Since e-coli is usually found on the surface of vegetables, the best way to protect yourself is to wash them before eating.
Researchers in Japan have discovered that snow on mountains near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant are contaminated with cesium.
Meteorology students from Fukushima University took 31 samples of snow. 14 samples showed high levels of cesium. The average level of contamination exceeds the safe limit of 200 becquerels per kilogram of radioactive cesium. One sample, taken at 1,300 meters (4,265 feet) has 3000 becquerels of cesium.
Fukushima University Vice-President Watanabe Akira says the research shows that large amounts of cesium is spewing into the air.
Reports saying Tokyo Electric Power Company now saying it is likely the damaged reactors at Fukushima Daiichi will not be stabilized by the end of the year, as first hoped.
Problems range from TEPCo’s own faulty assessments, to the Typhoon season now hitting Japan.
This means highly radioactive isotopes will continue to be emitted into the air, and pour into the Pacific Ocean.
The planting season is way behind schedule in the U.S. state of Idaho; at least two to three weeks according to some farmers. The weather has been too cold, and too wet. Here in eastern Idaho the Snake and Portneuf rivers are flooding, making it worse.
The flooding Portneuf is hitting farmers in Inkom: “We’ll lose about 4 to 500 ton of hay and probably, I don’t know how much barley, 150 ton of barley. The problem is there’s still a lot of snow to come down, and I think it’s probably gonna be in July or August before we can get in here, and it’s gonna be to late to crop.”-Jim Guthrie, Inkom farmer
The cold is keeping seeds from sprouting: “The cold weather has probably been as much of a delay as the moisture has been. My sugar beets have been in the ground three weeks and they haven’t sprouted yet. With the cold weather we’ve been having, maybe it’s a good thing they haven’t.”-Jim Tiede, American Falls farmer
Potatoes need relatively dry soil to be planted, and they need a hot summer to help them grow big. Farmers are worried this summer might not be hot enough, or long enough. Add to that a little worm that likes to eat spuds: “It’s an extremely difficult pest to get rid of. The thing can last in the soil for decades, and so the process that you go through to get rid of it is extremely long.”-Larry Hawkins, U.S. Department of Agriculture
Hawkins is talking about a microscopic bug that has seen $36 million spent over five years, trying to get rid of it. It’s shown up in several eastern Idaho potato fields this year. The nematodes are not native to Idaho; they first showed up in Bingham county in 2006. They’re not dangerous to people, but can reduce potato yields by 80%.
The heavy rains from a tropical storm that hit Japan, are flooding the damaged reactor buildings with more water.
That is creating the potential for even more contaminated water getting into the Pacific Ocean. Radioactive water continues to pour from the reactors, TEPCo has failed to stop it..
According to NHK, to date only 40% of workers at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, have been given radiation check ups.
Tokyo Electric Power Company didn’t start testing until 11 days after the 11 March disasters.
Japanese standard safe limits for radiation exposure is 100 millisieverts. So far two workers have been exposed to more than 250 millisieverts. Another 30 have been exposed to more than 100 millisieverts.
TEPCo is trying to shift blame by saying workers are not taking their iodide pills properly. But even that is TEPCo’s fault; radiology experts are questioning whether the timing and level of iodide dosage was appropriate.
China is a land of extremes, literally.
In Central China the drought has become so bad that people are being told not to expect any water for another year. It has drastically cut rice production. The area is normally flooded at this time of year: “Usually it’s the season to fight floods, local villagers would ride on these boats to reinforce dams along the way. However, the drought has reduced water levels significantly, and as you can see, all the boats are stranded.”-local farmer
At the other end of the extreme, in Anhui, Henan and Shandong provinces, wheat farmers think they will have their best harvest for the first time in five years. If they do, China hopes it will reduce their need for foreign wheat: “This year is supposed to be a bumper year for wheat harvest. That is of great importance to the whole macroeconomic situation, and stabilization of the price level for commodity prices. It could also enhance China’s capability to minimize the impact of wheat price fluctuations brought by international grain prices.”-Li Guoxiang, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
French Agriculture Minister Bruno Le Maire reporting that rain fall is only half what it was at the same time last year. French wheat harvests will be down by at least 11%, and exports will be cut in half.
Russia is banning fresh produce from Germany and Spain. At least 14 Germans died from e-coli. Initially the e-coli was traced to cucumbers, but is now showing up in other produce.
In the Philippines 800 tons of fish, on a fish farm, died suddenly because of a drop in water temperature.
The fish began dying last week. Officials say the fish died from a combination of low temperatures, and low oxygen levels.