Fukushima Spring (by the other Bill not Bill Duff). BRAWM Perspective.

I have been relatively silent here lately for a variety of reasons - mostly because there is not much that is new news and that the debates and arguments that I think are important continue, but somewhat muted due to things being pretty much played out (barring new revelations).

For awhile I contemplated writing an essay or account called "Fukushima Spring" for publication to simply follow the events and the emotions and feelings I had as well as the effect on all of us - the whole Earth.

Pregnant women and children exposed to the worst imaginable risk of harm in high levels in Japan and to a relative degree less (and we don't know what the relativity is) here in the U.S. and around the globe (mostly the Northern Hemisphere).

All that lives may well be altered in some way either now or in future generations due to genetic changes and mutations caused by Fukushima. Lives liquidated by cancer or spontaneou8s abortions or other radiation related illnesses will end genetic lines in human beings and all species.

And what do we really know from all this?

What we know is that it is really impossible to know exactly how catastrophic and damaging these events will turn out to be.

BRAWM tells us that these are miniscule risks but others with different (and sometimes much better) credentials tell us that the risks are substantial and potentially horrific.

But until studies and analyses are done we continue to be operating in a vaccuum of info: emptiness, really.

I walk aroud my yard and garden and wonder which plants, which berries, which vegetables are safe or "safer". I wonder how much of the plants are composed of radiocesium or even strontium or hot particles and I HAVE NO WAY OF KNOWING. It is a frustrating experience, a sad one.

I have at times referred to my own experience with my kids and spouse (and myself) who, according to an MD, have thyroid problems "probably" caused by swimming in water near the effluent pipes (less than a mile away) at a nuclear plant (no warning signs there at a public beach)where we used to live. The problems have been devastating for us.

I became much more active for a while providing some support for the group "Radiation and Public Health Project" which tests baby teeth for Strontium 90 and does epidemiological studies of the impacts of nuclear power plant emissions and effluents. Their scientists and doctors also worked with whistleblowers and were involved in NRC hearings on safety issues - and so I learned a lot.

I learned not to trust official reports and studies which might be skewed (or outright falsified) by industry influence or bias and to trust those who seemed motivated by the best interests of humanity and not by government or industry.

But I also learned to trust facts.

The fact is that BRAWM does not have all the facts. These folks have been wonderful in many ways but they are not health physics specialists and they (or some of them) have an interest in projecting confidence in what they tell usw, the status quo, the safety of what we are exposed to.

My experience has been quite different. I am not a scientist but I do have a doctorate and have worked with some of the most preeminent physicists in this field as well as some of the researchers whom I trust (although they make mistakes).

My gut feling and experience tell me that the danger of these events is far worse than what we generally are led to believe. IF the socalled "hot particles" are even real and really made it to the US (a claim I have yet to see documented to my satisfaction - I like to see the data and challenge the presenter of the data as I do with BRAWM) BUT IF there are hot particles along with the Radiocesium and the effect of the radioiodine we were exposed to and POSSIBLY Strontium 90 or other seriously dangerous elements (or simply just some of the above rather than ALL OF THE ABOVE - Which remains possible) THEN the consequences may already be affecting us and out loved ones.

There is the danger of mass hypochondria too, but I will say unequivocally (and of course these are anecdotal) that I have witnessed or communicated with others who are experiencing health problems and been aware of other unusual things such as metallic taste, shortness of breath, dizziness, metallic looking clouds, yellow rain, etc etc etc -- all which MAY or may NOT be related.

We just don't know.

But BRAWM's perspective, sadly, seems to be that THEY KNOW! All is well. This is not so bad, so serious, one in a million or a billion chance of danger or cancer or deadly mutations.

But BRAWM cannot really give us these reassurances. They can provide us data. Epidemiologists can give us the anlysis relative to the health effects.

But BRAWM has failed, in my opinion, to provide ENOUGH data (although they are head and shoulders above any other source of information).

Where is the data on lettuce from California?

Tomatoes?

Peppers?
Corn?

Where is there any urinalysis? Even fecal anlysis (start with the cow dung maybe as we KNOW they have it in them)?

We have NO CLUE whether the single or handful of samples they have collected and tested is representative of what we all are being exposed to. There are simply too few samples in the food chain testing.

We are eating these foods now not knowing whether they have any contamination (or a lot of it). We know that as food is harvested and frozen the radiocesium may be there - in our freezers.

We STILL do not know if our everyday activities are safe or dangerous..

Sliding into home base. Playing in a sandbox. Digging in the garden.

BRAWM has failed to do ground level testing (as the public forced the Japanese government to do at less than 1 meter heights) for radiocesium etc.

When we change the air filter in our cars (as Arne warned about) or mow the lawn or do haying or scrape the paint off our house for repainting or change the air filters in our hat and airconditioning systems? We have NO WAY OF KNOWING if there are hot particles or higher levels of cesium or even strontium or other damaging radionuclides.

We simply do not know enough and for all the kudos I MUST give BRAWM for what they HAVE done they simply have not done enough to give us what we need and it MAY NOT BE THEIR FAULT!

Our government has failed us. The industry is complicit in my opinion in crimes against humanity (the extent of which we can only guess) and BRAWM does not have the resources to do all that needs to be done.

YET BRAWM STILL seems intent on constantly reiterating the claim that (almost) all is well which rings so so hollow to me and to many of us.

This forum has kind of degraded into a ping pong match of gotcha: we are right or we are wrong but we REALLY DO NOT KNOW who is right.

I needed to vent. The NOT-KNOWING is the worst. Can I eat the raspberries growing in my yard. If I get a hot particle on one of them will I get colon cancer?

When I changed the air filter on my car did I expose myself to a far more deadly hot particle? When I scraped the old paint off my friend's house did I breathe in the crap from Fukushima and damaged my lungs further since part of the time it was unbearably hot and I would avoid the dust mask or forgot it the first day?

Nobody can tell me.

This is why I oppose all nuclear power plants forever. Germany is set to go totally renewables by 2050 and we can do it too.

BRAWM needs to own up to the fact that they really should not be reassuring us that all is well.

And we need to get more data, BRAWM.

Potatoes. Apples. Grapes. Lettuce. Tomatoes. Peppers. Squash.

More soil samples from more places.

ground level air sampling (to capture the floating dust etc which we live and work in).

The rest of us who oppose nuclear power need to remain active (peacefully) on all fronts.

and keep the dialogue going....