O-mama - Opinionated Moms

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As of 3 p.m. PST, 3/17:  The IAEA has just announced that electrical power has been restored at the nuclear site, so cooling efforts can begin.  Crisis not over, but better news today.

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Are we all gonna die?  Well, yes…eventually we will.  Right now, though, we want to know if a Hindenburg-like nuclear radiation blimp is floating over the ocean on the jet stream from Japan to the USA.  And, if so, is it enough to kill us immediately or give us some sort of cancer that will do us in later?  The answer is NO, not today.

We hear the word nuclear and we all have a meltdown.  Instead, we need to calm ourselves down and remember it’s not about us, this time.  Just ask the MAMAs in Japan, they know firsthand about nuclear impact and the actual fall-out, so we should take our cue from them.   They are being relatively calm and collected in the face of triple tragedies.  Meanwhile, 5,000 miles away, Americans are stocking up on potassium iodide pills and topical iodide.   How about, instead of panicking, we get informed and calm our kids down who are hearing all sorts of theories.  

Yes, people in Japan near the Fukushima Daiichi plant have tested positive for radiation in the area, including US Naval soldiers helping with the relief mission.  But, after they were washed down, literally with soap and water,  they were free of contamination. News reports say one person has had a concerning amount of exposure.  US military personnel have been removed from within 50 miles of the area - as advised by the US gov't, which is in disagreement with the Japanase gov't - and hundreds of thousands of Japanese have been evacuated.  Fifty workers at the plant remain to "put out the fire" and are putting their lives in danger - they have become Japanese super heroes.  (Images of the Incredible Hulk come to mind?!)  However, the levels of radiation coming out of the plant in Japan do not seem to be high enough to be freaking out people in Tokyo (yet), so why are people panicking in Los Angeles?  Are we uncertain about what is exactly going on there?  Yep, a little bit, but we shouldn't panic.

How about some perspective on the situation, because sometimes a point of comparison is helpful.  In case you’re not up for the long read..here’s the Reader’s Digest version:  to date, a nuclear reactor meltdown hasn't been as bad as a nuclear bomb?! So far, Chernobyl (RUSSIA) was the worst meltdown in history because it caused a big explosion that blew radioactive material all over Belarus and the Ukraine. The Three Mile Island partial nuclear meltdown (USA) was not as bad, and the Fukishima Daiichi plant disaster (JAPAN), well, we don’t know how bad it’s going to be.  Feeling any better?

Here’s the long version: A nuclear bomb is really bad.  On a scale of 1 to 10, it's in the gazillions.  First of all, the bomb itself levels the place, kills the people and sends a radioactive mushroom cloud into sky…super duper bad deal.  Those who survive the blast are exposed to intense radiation in a flash. So, your body takes in lots of radiation really quickly.  Survivors of atomic bombs at Hiroshima and Nagasaki have high rates of cancer.   

The world’s largest nuclear accident from a reactor happened at Chernobyl in 1986. Two workers died immediately, 28 responders died within months from radiation exposure and thousands died from cancer-related deaths.  Radioactive iodine got into the general population there through grass fed cow’s milk.  Radioactive iodine can be deadly when ingested through a food source (hence the scramble for potassium iodide pills).  There is still an unihabitable area 30 kilometers around the plant considered the "exclusion zone."  So, preventing the dangerous material from contaminating the environment is critical, but averting a complete meltdown is vital to preventing big, gigantic explosion/bomb-like bad news. The partial meltdown of the nuclear reactor at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania was the worst nuclear accident in the United States but, to this day, there is no evidence of unusual health trends in that area resulting from the accident.  A little better now?

So, what about the reports that radiation could travel from Japan via the jet stream and end up in the United States?  Glad you asked, because it would take a large, nuclear bomb-type mushroom cloud to get those powerful particles high enough into the air to be carried away, especially, carried up, up and 5,000 miles away.  Most of the stuff thrown up from the Daiichi plant right now will fall down in Japan, and on its neighbors immediately downwind.  Luckily for us, radioactive dust loses its “power,” for lack of a better word, with time and conditions (like moisture).  According to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, given the thousands of miles between the countries, the US is “not expected to experience any harmful levels of radioactivity.”  For those of us who worry about radioactive particles falling into the ocean and lighting up sea life, there is virtually no research done on the subject, so it’s a guessing game on that one.  Any better?

The point being, right now, let's not over react.  Our concern for any immediate danger should be for Japan.  If the reactors there completely meltdown, then, ummmmmm, yep, then we are talking about unchartered territory and a worldwide panic attack.  In which case, we'll be tweeting from our bomb shelter.  

There is a hot new anxiety pill: potassium iodide.  But, before you start popping any pills, unless you are reading this on your computer while sitting next to the Daiichi plant, you don't need them yet. There is more danger in self-medicating than radiation exposure from Japan right now. As an aside, if you live near a nuclear plant in the US you'd already have the pills distributed by the government (we're in the danger zone of the San Onofre Nuclear Generator, so we've got a stash of pills at O-MAMA headquarters).  More good-ish news, the US government has enough stockpiled to provide the pills to everyone who would eventually need them, if there ever was a disaster here.  But, if you aren't in the immediate red zone… please don't panic...if you are within 50 miles of a reactor, ask your doctor about them because pregnant women and young children are the most vulnerable. But, if you're not in the zone, be skeptical...be cautious...but don't panic. 

In the meantime, our focus in the USA should be on what is really going on in Japan?  And, when a natural disaster hits our shores, are we ready?  What's our game plan for nuclear safety when an earthquake/tsnumai/power outage hits California's reactors?  Do we have a plan B if our plants are damaged?  How about we focus our energy on that reality?  

The situation is changing every minute in Japan and we should be worried about it.  But, try and invoke your inner Japanese-MAMA zen self for their sake, because they have learned the lesson, "what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger." They’ve already lived through the worst of the worst nuclear devastation in world history and they are coping with their current tri-crises with grace and action.  They don’t have food, water, shelter, fuel or electricity and they aren't panicking, they are acting orderly, coming together and getting creative.  Their disaster isn't going to kill us, but it should make us stronger by making us smarter in preventing our own crisis.

If you want to help, send Japanese MAMAs good wishes and charitable donations directly to the Red Cross to support them during their time of need.