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Vancouver Off-Topic / Current EventsThe off-topic forum for Vancouver, funnies, non-auto centered discussions, WORK SAFE. While the rules are more relaxed here, there are still rules. Please refer to sticky thread in this forum.
If by fine, you mean that 2L water is still sold out everywhere, scheduled blackouts are still ongoing in Tokyo and that the economy is wiped for the next few years, yes, things are fine. I always do appreciate your blanket statements as the expert of all matters though.
No, by fine I meant thousands of people aren't dying and losing their homes. Thanks for trying to twist my statement though, always appreciate when people do that.
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edited for some proper journalism
Quote:
Elevated B.C. radiation levels considered no threat to health
MARK HUME
Vancouver— From Tuesday's Globe and Mail
Published Tuesday, Mar. 29, 2011 12:23AM EDT
Last updated Tuesday, Mar. 29, 2011 12:26AM EDT
Increased levels of radioactive iodine have been detected in seaweed and rainwater samples in British Columbia and a scientist from Simon Fraser University says the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactor in Japan is clearly the source.
Krzysztof (Kris) Starosta, an associate professor in the department of chemistry at SFU, said levels of the radioisotope iodine-131 have risen, but are not a health concern.
More related to this story
Perry Kendall, British Columbia’s provincial health officer, reinforced that view, saying the levels detected by SFU are “minuscule … very, very tiny,” and are nothing to worry about.
He said the levels are “about one-millionth” the dose that would be of concern.
“We’re looking at very low levels of radiation here,” Dr. Kendall said.
Dr. Starosta agreed the levels are low, but he said they did climb over several days of testing as Japanese nuclear workers struggled to bring the damaged reactor under control.
“As of now, the levels we’re seeing are not harmful to humans,” Dr. Starosta said. “We have not reached levels of elevated risk.”
He said the radiation is being carried across the Pacific to North America by the jet stream, strong wind currents that blow west to east high in the atmosphere. While most of the radioactivity falls out over the ocean, some of it has reached the West Coast where it is being deposited with rain. It is mixing with seawater and accumulating in seaweed.
The rainwater samples containing iodine-131 were taken at SFU’s campus on Burnaby Mountain and in downtown Vancouver. Seaweed samples were collected in North Vancouver near the Seabus terminal.
Samples taken March 16 and March 18 did not show the signature for iodine-131, but it did show up in tests on March, 19, 20 and 25.
The radioactive substance is measured in “decays of iodine-131 per second per litre of rainwater,” which is expressed as becquerels or Bq/l.
On March 18, the level was zero, but on March 19 it was 9 Bq/l and on March 20 it was 12 Bq/l. On March 25 the level was 11 Bq/l.
In Japan, a health warning was issued recently when iodine-131 levels reached 210 Bq/l in drinking water. The Japanese standard for iodine-131 in drinking water is 100 Bq/l if the water is to be consumed by an infant, and 300 Bq/l if the water is to be consumed by an adult.
“The only possible source of iodine-131 in the atmosphere is a release from a nuclear fission,” Dr. Starosta said. “Iodine-131 has a half-life of eight days, thus we conclude the only possible release which could happen is from the Fukushima incident.”
He said iodine-131 will probably continue to show up in B.C. for three to four weeks after the Fukushima nuclear reactor stops releasing radioactivity into the atmosphere.
Iodine-131 has been detected in rainwater at several locations in the United States in the past few days, but far below levels that would raise health concerns.
Dr. Kendall said health authorities will continue to monitor the situation, but it appears the fight to control the damaged reactor in Japan is being won, and even a worst-case scenario wouldn’t threaten Canada.
“My sense is that it’s coming under control. The amounts of radiation that were being emitted last week are probably not going to be measured again, unless something absolutely disastrous happens,” he said. “Health Canada and the [Radiation] Protection Branch … have modelled with the U.S. other scenarios. They modelled one where a couple of the nuclear reactor cores melted down and three of the spent fuel-rod containments melted down – and even then we are at such a distance away, and there is such a volumetric dispersion, that we’re not going to see levels of harm.”
and in case anyone is ACTUALLY worried, even if you drank like 230+L of rainwater that would only equate to the radiation you would get on a Plane ride from San Francisco to Washington DC (that is, if my math was right following this http://www.nuc.berkeley.edu/node/1897)
So its basically Nothing, but CNN is like OMGWTFBBQ RADIATION IN MILK IN THE USA!!
And a town in Japan, Litate, outside of the evacuation zone was found to have "High Radiation Levels" the IAEA discovered it but did not disclose the Levels of radiation detected; Greenpeace on the other hand says they found levels 50X above normal
Apparently the IAEA recommended that Japan increase the evacuation zone, which Japan rejects according to this presstv report http://www.presstv.ir/detail/172430.html
the levels detected have met the requirements for an evacuation order supposedly
My connecting flight from Beijing to Tokyo got canceled - they reduced the flights from 5 per day to 1 per day... so they rebooked us on a flight the next day, so we'd have to spend overnight at the airport in beijing
Shows you how drastically the travel has dropped! And this is at the end of April!
I booked another airline instead... Hopefully the flight will be empty so we can get bumped up to business or first class or at the very least, more... space... well if you've traveled in mainland china you know what I mean
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ah that sucks
and Im surprised there's even 1 flight a day out of China to Japan
edit: mobettah you're a retard if you don't know about how Chinese ppl get freaked out over things like this (hell just look at the salt issue)
'things' being the, presumed risk of illness
so naturally im surprised there's enough traffic to even support 1 flight a day (jesus just look at all the canceled flights that should tell you right there)
1) I'm not going to Tokyo right now, I am going in the end of April/early May
2) There's not much reason not to. Based on reports from people there, life is pretty much normal. I would be sleeping through any blackouts that might occur (and by then they will most likely be over) and the hysteria over bottled water should be over by then too. The only issue most people have is the crazy amount of aftershocks that is happening right now.
3) Most of my trip will be taking place in Kyoto and Yokohama anyway, so...
4) Besides donating, Japan's crippled tourism industry definitely needs help so why not!
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SkinnyPupp
1) I'm not going to Tokyo right now, I am going in the end of April/early May
2) There's not much reason not to. Based on reports from people there, life is pretty much normal. I would be sleeping through any blackouts that might occur (and by then they will most likely be over) and the hysteria over bottled water should be over by then too. The only issue most people have is the crazy amount of aftershocks that is happening right now.
3) Most of my trip will be taking place in Kyoto and Yokohama anyway, so...
4) Besides donating, Japan's crippled tourism industry definitely needs help so why not!
I wouldn't mind going if there are cheap flights and hotels =D
1) I'm not going to Tokyo right now, I am going in the end of April/early May
2) There's not much reason not to. Based on reports from people there, life is pretty much normal. I would be sleeping through any blackouts that might occur (and by then they will most likely be over) and the hysteria over bottled water should be over by then too. The only issue most people have is the crazy amount of aftershocks that is happening right now.
3) Most of my trip will be taking place in Kyoto and Yokohama anyway, so...
4) Besides donating, Japan's crippled tourism industry definitely needs help so why not!
No2 is spot on to what life is like in Tokyo area. In most cases, ppl have their chins up and tough it out to move on. Because they power japan, the people won't let japan down
and Im surprised there's even 1 flight a day out of China to Japan
edit: mobettah you're a retard if you don't know about how Chinese ppl get freaked out over things like this (hell just look at the salt issue)
'things' being the, presumed risk of illness
so naturally im surprised there's enough traffic to even support 1 flight a day (jesus just look at all the canceled flights that should tell you right there)
China + Japan = ~1.6 Billion People
China Is Japan's largest trading partner, ~3/4 Trillion dollars flow between them every year.
Yes, let us use sweeping generalizations to classify the Chinese people and their ignorance to come to the conclusion that there would not be a single flight from China to Japan.
Actually, I never really thought of flying to japan. But now that you guys mentioned it, I wonder if there are cheap tourist packages now.
I do feel guilty even for bringing it up though. It's like me taking advantage of somebody while they are down
Based on my trip planning, prices haven't been affected much at all.
Out of all the shit Japan is going through, their tourism industry is probably hurt the most. And that's a HUGE industry for them. Freaking out and running away from Japan is the last thing they need right now.
I'm contemplating going to japan after my summer semester but if their PM is claiming the biggest disaster since world war 2, I don't know how I feel about going somewhere that is rebuilding. Even if it is just tokyo.
Tokyo is not rebuilding per se, the area a few hundred KMs north of Tokyo is. There are a few things broken in Tokyo (the tower is not lighting up yet, and I believe disneyland is closed)
By all means go. Japan needs tourism as much as anything right now.
And remember, Japan is not just Tokyo. There is plenty to see outside that one city. Go to the mountains and see some hot springs or something
not sure if we already talked about this here or in another thread but apparently the whole triangle of life doesn't really apply to us. only if you live in a shitty building that probably will collapse.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MoBettah
Nah son, not talking bout the 5 to 1. That was you. You read what you write? or just spam mental diarrhea?
I was hinting @ how you can even accuse 'blanket generalizations' when 80% of the flights have been cut that's not stereotyping especially when you consider the next
FYI, i'll try to write this so that even you can understand
I'll admit I made a mistake of being surprised that there was even 1 flight a day to Japan
Because I didn't account for Japanese travelers, mainly Business travelers
Airlines in Asia are still maintaining travel to Japan but they're either only sending 1 flight or sending smaller planes because no1s going
however "90%" of the travelers they still have are Japanese Businessmen traveling throughout Asia/Europe
sooo... considering that that makes that "blanket generalization" even more of an educated analysis
Quote:
“Flights are almost full in both directions,” she said, with 90 percent of passengers being Japanese businesspeople
edit: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...064660564.html
and look hotels like the Shangri-La have closed their doors until at the very least the end of April and other hotels that were running @ 80% occupancy before the quake says occupancy is down to 10-15% and as it sounds by airlines and japanese officials they're only seeing Business travelers really because "they have to" be there
now asians being the most cautious/superstitious etc (irrefutable) it shouldn't be far fetched to you to imagine that there would be days with no flights
The health ministry said 510 becquerels of radioactive cesium had been detected in beef from Tenei in Fukushima prefecture, about 70km from the plant - exceeding the 500-becquerel limit, Kyodo News said.
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or at the very least, more... space... well if you've traveled in mainland china you know what I mean 
I was hinting @ how you can even accuse 'blanket generalizations' when 80% of the flights have been cut that's not stereotyping especially when you consider the next
