How come there is no fall out on the West Coast any more?

Umm...I think we need a nuclear scientist in the room to comment on the statement that "Now that fission has halted these elements are no longer being generated." (and please feel free to give your feedback on my comments below as well. Thanks!)

I seem to recall reading (was it on nuclear expert Arne Gundersen's fairewinds.com or was it on Physicsforum.com?) that the 3 meltdowns have created blobs of continuously fissioning products which have melted through and possibly OUT of their entire containments. With water being sprayed into each of the damaged buildings, some of which is likely also reaching these fissioning blobs, the steam being released continuously (which you can see in the live TEPCO cams) must be highly radioactive.

Anyway, this is where the major problem lies for the clean up crew. No one knows how to handle actively fissioning blobs safely...the technology hasn't been invented yet. (IMHO, a crime of the highest proportions that we would give our blessing--and our tax payer money--to anyone to create something that has the risk of creating such a lethal, long-lasting and uncontrollable result which no one knows how to remedy...)

Physicsforums.com has a great thread discussing this (the comments are mainly from nuclear physics professors and students.)

Here's one interesting thread (found here: http://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=481674):

Question: "I don't understand. How can a nuclear plant accident produce more radioactive fallout than an atmospheric nuclear explosion? No nuclear test has ever triggered panic around the global fearing radioactive dust spread by wind."

Answer: "A typical nuclear reactor fissions as many atoms as a nuclear bomb every 4 hours. A bomb is made up of a few kg of fuel, a reactor has as much as 100 tons. There are a lot more fission products in reactor fuel than a bomb explosion."

And here:

Question: "But supposed the controls rods were not inserted and the fuel rods melt and become molten and there is a tough cement underneath that prevent further falling underneath the plant. Would the uranium still fission when it's already in the molten state or would fission only occur when the uranium is solid?"

Answer: "From the continuity of matter property, what goes into a system, must come out elsewhere if mass in the system is constant. So, if some seawater goes in, it must come out somewhere as water or steam. It is the steam that is occasionally vented to keep the pressure down. However, this means that the system is no longer closed to the environment, and some fission products, mostly gases Xe and Kr, and perhaps some volatiles, e.g., I, will escape to the atmosphere.

The objective now is to cool the reactor core and minimize the release of radioactive substances to the environment." (Obviously stated before the confirmation of the three meltdowns).

Multiply the "100 tons" number mentioned above by three (the number of reactors which blew up at Fukushima) and you can see why those of us who live on the West Coast (in direct line of the Pacific Jet Stream) have every right to be concerned and to question those who claim no more radioactive releases are making their way into the Pacific Jet Stream and coming our way...We want 100% reassurance and TRUTHFUL answers and transparency and verification by independent groups of people about the "official statements" being made. As Obama promised his administration would be one of transparency. Where is the transparency of these statements? The statements may be all true, but please, show us proof through independent oversight and verification.

Perhaps the ongoing releases into the atmosphere is in fact why the DOE and the WA State DOH are doing aerial testing for gamma radiation on the ground in King and Pierce Counties of Western Washington this month, from July 11-28, results of which won't be available until the end of the year (too late for local residents to do much about it if they do find anything) and as they say, some of the data may be withheld for security purposes. Sadly, these kinds of vague statements don't help create any greater sense of trust by the general public...

Where can you see these cameras?