Cancerous fish in Pacific after Fukushima

In March 2011 a tsunami caused by an earthquake hit the Fukushima reactor in Japan. Cancerous fish are being found on the US west coast, where currents have likely carried radiation from the Fukushima reactor to fish stocks closer to the US, and fish have picked up radiation from near Fukushima. Tumors are caused by abnormal cell growth, and radiation is one cause of tumors. Fish, and people who eat them, are being exposed to dangerous levels of cesium-137 and strontium-90.

This is what cancer on fish looks like:

Below is salmon with tumors.

Map of Pacific salmon range.


Below: This is what tumors look like in sliced, raw fish. Source.

Here's an estimated fallout map of the Fukushima radiation.
More info on currents and radiation patterns from Fukushima.

What the "experts" say

Government "experts", pundits, and bloggers alike have claimed it's safe to eat the cancerous fish after no testing has been done on them. But radioactive cesium has been found in 15 Pacific bluefin tuna in this study from PNAS. The study says tuna have definitely transported radioactive materials from the Fukushima reactor across the Pacific to the US. The scientists found no cesium in pre-Fukushima tuna. Another blog says this radiation is only 5% of eating a normal banana.

Doses of radiation are cumulative for a lifetime, meaning the dose never goes away, is never diminished, and it stays in your body for a lifetime. The more radiation you are exposed to, the more likely something will go wrong with your body. Until we have more information about the prevalence of the radiation in Pacific seafood, ignoring the impact is foolish and irresponsible.

The NRDC says eating cancerous fish is ok: " Could Fukushima radiation in U.S.-caught fish increase over time to levels that would present a significant health impact to individuals? In our judgment, the answer is “No” due to dilution of the radioactivity released from Fukushima in the vast waters of the Pacific Ocean." They do explain how they think dilution works and why the radiation levels are safe.

Even the Japanese Prime Minister said “There are no health-related problems until now, nor will there be in the future.” That's an impossible claim to make. He cannot control the future, nor does he care since he won't be in office then. Increased cancer rates around Fukushima in Japan may not show up for another 20-30 years, but the damage is already done to the people. It's up to you to keep your family safe by not making foolish assumptions about the safety of food. After all, when has the government ever made a conservative assumption that something is safe?

Caution is required here, not reliance on bureaucrats who just don't care about what happens to people when they are no longer in office. Get educated, know your food and where it comes from, and you should be in a more healthy position.

More links

1. Superstation95. Fukushima radiation is damaging more animals than just fish. Also affected are seals, shrimp, and polar bears. Furry animals have a loss of body hair, an obvious component of radiation poisoning.
2. Nuclear-News. Scientists estimate number of deaths from cancer just from eating radiated fish.
3. The Fish Vet. More info on cancerous fish caught in upper Alaska, Vancouver, and Alberta.

Radiation explained

How much radiation is coming from the Fukushima power plant and reaching the US west coast? How much of this radiation is needed to cause cancer? How much exposure will lead to death? This post will help explain radiation terms and how much radiation is bad for the human body. There will be more posts about cancerous fish next week.

First, radiation emitted from a substance is not the same as radiation absorbed by tissue or other matter.


The Becquerel (Bq)

From Wikipedia:

One becquerel is defined as the activity of a quantity of radioactive material in which one nucleus decays per second.

The becquerel simply measures how many times the nucleus decays per second. But that doesn't explain what level of becquerels is dangerous to a person or animal.

• 2 radioactive decays in a second equals 2 Bq. 
• 1123 decays per second is the same as 1123 Bq. 
• 1 becquerel is 10 milliSieverts (mSv).

The Sievert (Sv)

From Wikipedia:

The sievert is used both to represent the risk of the effect of external radiation from sources outside the body, and the effect of internal irradiation due to inhaled or ingested radioactive substances. Conventionally the sievert is not used for high dose rates of radiation which produce deterministic effects, which is the severity of acute tissue damage which is certain to happen. These effects are compared to the physical quantity absorbed dose measured by the unit gray (Gy).

The sievert measures the biological effect on tissue in joules per kilogram. There is a "weighing factor" which must be applied to the matter or tissue which absorbs the radiation. This factor is different for different types of tissue. Examples:

0.098	μSv:	banana equivalent dose, an illustrative unit of radiation dose representing the measure of radiation from a typical banana[32][a]
0.25	μSv:	U.S. limit on effective dose from a single airport security screening[33]
5 to 10	μSv:	one set of dental radiographs[34]
80	μSv:	average dose to people living within 16 km of Three Mile Island accident[35]
0.4 to 0.6	mSv:	two-view mammogram, using weighting factors updated in 2007[36]
1	mSv:	The U.S. 10 CFR § 20.1301(a)(1) dose limit for individual members of the public, total effective dose equivalent, per annum[37]
1.5 to 1.7	mSv:	annual dose for flight attendants[38]
2 to 7	mSv:	barium fluoroscopy, e.g. Barium meal, up to 2 minutes, 4–24 spot images[39]
10 to 30	mSv:	single full-body CT scan[40][41]
50	mSv:	The U.S. 10 C.F.R. § 20.1201(a)(1)(i) occupational dose limit, total effective dose equivalent, per annum[42]
68	mSv:	estimated maximum dose to evacuees who lived closest to the Fukushima I nuclear accidents[43]

And now some fatal doses in sieverts:

4.5 to 6	Sv:	fatal acute doses during Goiânia accident
5.1	Sv:	fatal acute dose to Harry Daghlian in 1945 criticality accident[45]
10 to 17	Sv:	fatal acute doses during Tokaimura nuclear accident. Hiroshi Ouchi who received 17 Sv was kept alive for 83 days after the accident.[46]
21	Sv:	fatal acute dose to Louis Slotin in 1946 criticality accident[45]
54	Sv:	fatal acute dose to Boris Korchilov in 1961 after a reactor cooling system failed on the Soviet submarine K-19 which required work in the reactor with no shielding[47]

1 sievert is equal to 100 REM, a dose UOM still used in the US. Some more doses from Our Radioactive Ocean:
10 sieverts, aka 10,000 milllisieverts (mSv): usually fatal within a few weeks.


The Gray

Measures energy absorbed by matter in joules per kilogram of matter. The US 'rad' is equivalent to the gray. From Wikipedia:

The gray is conventionally used to express the severity of what are known as "tissue effects" from doses received in acute unintended exposure to high levels of ionizing radiation. These are effects which are certain to happen, as opposed to the uncertain effects of low levels of radiation which have a probability of causing damage. A whole-body acute exposure to 5 gray or more of high-energy radiation usually leads to death within 14 days. This dose represents 375 joules for a 75 kg adult (equivalent to the chemical energy in 20 mg of sugar). For X-rays and gamma rays the gray is numerically the same value when expressed in sieverts, but for alpha particles one gray is equivalent to 20 sieverts, and a radiation weighting factor is applied accordingly.

Radiation found on the US west cost (it's fatal)

Thanks to a map from Our Radioactive Ocean I found 2 samples of Pacific ocean water that measured 2.6 becquerels. Since 1 becquerel is 10 mSv, then 2.6 Bq is 26 mSv. According to the chart above, 2.6 Bq is close to the radiation received from a full body CAT scan. However, that dose is for one second! An hour on a boat in the water would equal an hour of exposure, which would be: (60*60*2.6 Bq) = 9360 Bq * 10 = 93600 mSv, or 93.6 Sv. That's well above the fatal doses in the table above!

Remember, radiation doses are cumulative. Once you absorb enough, cancer begins to grow, or you simply die from radiation poisoning. The danger is in how long you are exposed to the radiation.

More links

1. Our Radioactive Ocean. Has 10+ sites right now and is monitoring radiation levels. It is part of WHO. An actual map of results since 2011 are here. Click on the map point to see one or more samples for that site, oldest sample first. Very helpful!
2. Conversion table. Helpful.
3. A helpful explanation of the radiation units from Radiation Scott.

Diet low in zinc can cause digestive problems

June 9, 2016. Science Daily.

A new study from Technical University of Munich shows even a small zinc deficiency can cause digestive problems but does not normally cause fatigue or skin problems.

Some highlights.

1. Even the smallest zinc deficiency can cause problems. Although this is referred to as a "sub clinical" problem.
2. Zinc deficiency tends to reduce an animal's appetite.
3. The pancreas puts zinc into the digestive tract to help with digestion. 
4. "...a subclinical zinc deficiency in humans has been attributed to increased levels of inflammation markers and reduced immunocompetence."

38 countries now ban GMO crops

Although some still grow them, GMO crops are banned from importation in some countries.

More here.
More info on GMO bans by country and the type of ban (growing, importing, etc).
GMO ban map by country.
World map: countries with GMO labelling laws.
World map: 64 countries require GMO labelling.

Copyscape helps protect your content

If you want to protect your content, you can use Copyscape to search for one of your webpages. Then notify the site own they are using protected content.

Fracking spills poison livestock and people

From The Nation.

1. Fracking fluids (composed of mostly chemicals so toxic the companies won't name them) are poisoning wells in  Pennsylvania, North Dakota, Wyoming and Colorado.
2. Fracking spills poison surface lakes and streams. 
3. The fracking process, putting unknown chemicals under pressure to push out oil, forces these chemicals into aquifers, poisoning them permanently. Aquifers can span multiple counties or nearly a whole state, affection 100,00s of people who can no longer use their wells for drinking or gardening.
4. Jacki Schilke in North Dakota saw fracking begin 3 miles from her house via 32 fracking wells. Then 5 of her cows die. She can no longer sell the cows because they are likely poisoned from the well water. Thus, her livelihood that pays for her food and house, is gone. Schilke has trouble walking, has burning in her lungs, has a rash that hasn't gone away in a year, and sometimes urinates blood.
5. Ambient air testing by a certified environmental consultant detected elevated levels of benzene, methane, chloroform, butane, propane, toluene and xylene—compounds associated with drilling and fracking, and also with cancers, birth defects and organ damage. 
6. Her well tested high for sulfates, chromium, chloride and strontium; her blood tested positive for acetone, plus the heavy metals arsenic (linked with skin lesions, cancers and cardiovascular disease) and germanium (linked with muscle weakness and skin rashes). 
7. Both she and her husband, who works in oilfield services, have recently lost crowns and fillings from their teeth; tooth loss is associated with radiation poisoning and high selenium levels, also found in the Schilkes’ water.
8. 17 cows died in Louisiana after a fracking spill. The following year the sexes of the cows born were skewed: 10 females, only 2 males. 
9. In New Mexico the hair was tested of cows. 54 of 56 (96%) animals showed petroleum residue. That means the cows ate the petroleum. 
10. "In North Dakota, wind-borne fly ash, which is used to solidify the waste from drilling holes and contains heavy metals, settled over a farm: one cow, which either inhaled or ingested the caustic dust, died, and a stock pond was contaminated with arsenic at double the accepted level for drinking water."
11. Cattle that die on the farm aren't used for human food, but they are used for chicken and pig feed. 

What to do
Get a water filter that filters out many of these chemicals AND pathogens. In order to get the right filter, you MUST see third party test results, and these are very rare in the industry. But Berkefeld (Berkey) filters do have test results and they are very good. Activated carbon catches some chemicals but not all. Therefore chemical filters often have multiple stages. Look for a 5-stage filter. Brita filters are not enough!

Tips to buy a filter
Get a silver impregnated filter to reduce bacterial growth while the filter sits.
The bigger counter-top filters like a Berkey (there are other brands like it) general filter 2 liters per hour.

Example units which are good at filtering chemicals

1. Berkey from Amazon with carbon and fluoride filters. $288usd. 
2. Here's an Aquacera carbon filter for $30usd. If you want to make your own filter out of two 5g buckets, make sure the seal between the "dirty" and the "clean" water is 100% tight. You absolutely don't want to get cryptosporidium, as you will never forget it. This is absolutely not for beginners, your health depends on it!

More links

1. See Which water filter is best for you? Has links to reviews of many types of water filters. To remove chemicals you need some type of activated carbon filter, but this won't remove pathogens like bacteria. So you need a combination filter that removes chemicals and pathogens.
2. List of fracking maps. Find out if your aquifer has been poisoned by nearby fracking wells.

GMO problems in India

Indian farmers committing suicide due to GMO crops. In 2002 Indian farmers started using GMO cotton that makes it's own pesticide called Bt so they wouldn't have to buy the very expensive pesticides from Monsanto. Then pests became resistant to the Bt cotton, and the farmers had to switch to other GMO cotton crops, and that means they had to buy seed every year. This leaves many farmers stuck in a cycle of debt from which they have no out, and that leads to bankruptcy.

Sources

1. Suicide figures are here at the New York Uni School of Law.  PDF here. 
2. GMO news related to India from GMO Free Regions.

Philadelphia passes sugary drink tax

Philadelphia recently passed the sugary drink tax which adds 1.5 cents to every ounce of a sugary drink, but this raises a lot of questions.

1. How many computer systems will need to be updated to track the size of each and every drink? 
2. Does this count coffee drinks, which are also loaded with sugar? 
3. Does this count frozen drinks like slurpees? 
4. Does this count sweet tea? It also has a lot of sugar. 
5. Does it count sports drinks, energy drinks? They also have lots of sugar. 

For a 32oz Big Gulp the sugar tax (excluding sales tax) is 48 cents. Berkeley, CA was the first to pass a sugary drink tax. I can see many industries pushing back against this.

Source
Organic Consumers.

EWG has "complete" list of carcinogens in the American people

1. Where the data came from: Environmental Working Group spent about a year reviewing 1000 "biomonitoring" studies. 
2. EWG found that a subset of chemicals pose a significant cancer risk to Americans. 
3. Last week the US congress passed a bill to strengthen the very weak chemical regulations. The bill creates a program called the National Cancer Moonshot Initiative. 

Source
EWG article. June 14, 2016. The list/report.

Glyphosate found in 11 out of 24 breakfast foods in America

ANH released a study that showed 11 out of 24 breakfast foods contained glyphosate. Highlights:

• They found Roundup in oatmeal, bagels, eggs- including the organic variety, potatoes and even non-GMO soy coffee creamer.
• The presence of glyphosate in eggs and dairy supports the fear that the chemical is accumulating in the tissue of these animals, and therefore presumably also in human tissue, in a process called bioaccumulation.
• The study PDF is here. 

Source
ANH. Apr 19, 2016.
93% of people tested positive for glyphosate.