tsunami

[dewsnap]

I follow all sentiments above.

A friend of mine was sent a warning e-mail from the Phillipino embassy. Stay indoors if it rains in the next 24 hours.

Japan govt confirms radiation leak at Fukushima nuclear plants. Asian countries should take necessary precautions. If rain comes, remain indoors first 24hrs. Close doors & windows. Swab neck skin with betadine where thyroid area is, radiation hits thyroid first. Take extra precautions. Radiation may hit Phillipine at startng 4pm today. Pls send to your friends.

[euphonius]

This message is being circulated in China via SMS. I've received it in both English and Chinese, purportedly sourced to the British Broadcasting Corp. I've not seen these recommendations from other authoritative sources.

It's a very serious situation and will have worldwide ramifications for days and months and perhaps aeons to come.

Stay tuned your local and national authorities, folks, and stay safe.

[CantDecide]

This message is being circulated in China via SMS. I've received it in both English and Chinese, purportedly sourced to the British Broadcasting Corp. I've not seen these recommendations from other authoritative sources.

It's a very serious situation and will have worldwide ramifications for days and months and perhaps aeons to come.

Stay tuned your local and national authorities, folks, and stay safe.

BBC News has an article stating the text message is a fake:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-12745128

If you are in China and don't have a V*N you might not be able to see that, so here is the text:

A fake text message warning people that radiation from the Fukushima nuclear plant has leaked beyond Japan has been panicking people across Asia.

The SMS message, purporting to come from the BBC, has been circulating around Asian countries since Monday.

It warns people to take necessary precautions against possible effects of radiation.

The BBC has issued no such flash but the hoax has caused particular panic in the Philippines.

Some media reports suggest that workers and school children there were sent home after the rumours began to spread, prompting the Philippines government to issue an official denial.

Disasters such as that currently unfolding in Japan often trigger a rise in scam texts and e-mails intended to fool users into downloading malware or simply to spread panic.

The US Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) has told computer users to be wary of potential e-mail scams, as well as fake anti-virus and phishing attacks regarding the Japan earthquake and the tsunami disasters.

"Such scams may contain links or attachments which direct users to phishing or malware-laden sites," it said.

In the Philippines, the Department of Science and Technology has held a press conference to reassure the public that they are safe even if radiation levels in Japan continue to rise.

On Tuesday morning, reactor 2 at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant became the third to explode in four days.

Radiation has reached harmful levels but there is no suggestion that it is affecting anything other than the immediate area.

Officials have extended the danger zone, warning residents within 30km (18 miles) to evacuate or stay indoors.


FAKE E-MAIL IN FULL
BBC Flash news : Japan Government confirms radiation leak at Fukushima nuclear plants. Asian countries should take necessary precautions. If rain comes, remain indoors first 24 hours. Close doors and windows. Swab neck skin with betadine where thyroid area is, radiation hits thyroid first. Take extra precautions. Radiation may hit Philippine at around 4 pm today. If it rains today or in the next few days in Hong Kong. Do not go under the rain. If you get caught out, use an umbrella or raincoat, even if it is only a drizzle. Radioactive particles, which may cause burns, alopecia or even cancer, may be in the rain.

There is also an article on the BBC site saying the radiation levels at the plant are falling.

My cousins were in Tokyo for the week, they have emailed a few times and said they are fine, they are supposed to return to Beijing tomorrow.

I hope everyone you may know is fine.

[euphonius]

Many thanks for this, Josh. I suspected as much. I've occasionally received official government notices by SMS here in China, and these did not conform to their style and format. Needless to say, the Chinese government would NOT be quoting the BBC.

It does seem that, dire as they are, things in Fukushima are "relatively" stable right now. Damn scary, serious situation nonetheless, and makes me worry about China's own coastal nuclear power stations.....

cheers

[CantDecide]

The BBC is reporting an explosion at reactor 4 now, and more released radiation, but everything says the radiation is of a "local" (20km-30km) nature. So while I guess its stable(r), it doesn't seem out of the woods yet.

The BBC had been pretty made clear that right now as far as everyone can tell, the 'meltdown' that has occurred is only of the containment materials, not of the nuclear fuel itself, which would be much more dangerous.

[Lao Jia Hou]

Here is an interesting link that displays an Austrian forecast of radiation dispersion ...

http://www.myhealthbeijing.com/preve...r-the-pacific/

[jape]

Low levels (very low, don't know what THAT means) shown to kick back into China and across to western USA ...

[CantDecide]

While the radiation doesn't seem headed this way, the latest BBC article is kind of scary:

it is possible that enough fissile uranium is present in the cooling pond in enough density to form a critical mass - meaning that a nuclear fission chain reaction could start.

The pool lies outside the containment chamber.

So if it happened, it would lead to the enhanced and sustained release of radioactive materials - though not to a nuclear explosion - with nothing to stop the radioactive particles escaping.

Wonderful.

If you are 'special', you can read the full article here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12762608

[euphonius]

Thanks Josh. Damn. Here's the money quote in that Beeb story: "The possibility of re-criticality is not zero".

Two very telling stories today in the New York Times. One quotes US Nuclear Regulatory Commission head as saying there's no water in the No.4 cooling pond, seemingly in direct contradiction of TEPCO, and the other notes an acute political leadership vacuum in Japan at just the moment it needs it most. The former is of extreme immediate importance, given the potential for huge releases of cesium-137 and other deadly isotopes. The latter is just downright depressing, as it's a legacy of America's own paternalistic colonialism in Japan for the past 65 years. You prop up and micromanage compliant governments to keep them compliant, and, when push comes to shove, you discover the incompetence that you've helped to cultivate.

Scary shit.

[jape]

Yeah, and 40 year old reactors with external back-up generators in an earthquake and tsunami zone? Difficult to judge facts from outside but it seems to me GE (CEO talking to TV and in Aus at present) are already wriggling and saying they just supplied the things, that only the Japanese should take responsibility for upgrades. I don't personally think that sort of commercial legal consideration is all that applies with nuclear reactors.

Jeff, I read somewhere that if it all goes to shit the 'betadine' solution mentioned above has some validity as iodine injections stops some radioctivity progress in the body? What do you know about that? Just that I only have Savlon and it is iodine free ...