[__ Prayer __] PJT in Japan

[Pizzaguy]

I am encouraged by your willingness to help - this won't just help those you reach out to - but will do YOU good!

Also, please remember that these reactors are not exploding. What they are having is hydrogen gas explosions - not good news, but not an atomic explosion. Such outburts can throw radioactive matter into the air (is anything radioactive is caught up in the incident), but they are not examples of the core exploding.

It does sound like my prediction is coming true: this situation is becoming stable and soon, maybe, the world can turn it's attention to the human crisis in Japan apart from these five reactors.

One of the news-hounds over at thespaceport just posted:

flir (FORWARD LOOKING INFRARED) footage from helicopters shows all reactors and pools are now below 100c

We are moving away from "crisis" to "situation".

 

[Pizzaguy]

Radiation dose at the west gate of the Fukushima Daiichi was 83 millirem per hour on March 18 at 7:10 p.m. EDT and dropped to 36 millirem per hour by 8 p.m. EDT, Edano said. Radiation levels have decreased since March 16. Although they are higher than normal, radiation levels near the reactors are within the range that allows workers to continue onsite recovery measures, the International Atomic Energy Agency said.

I just took a test, I get 477 mrem per year just living my life. (The national average for the USA is 620 mrem per year).

Take the test yourself: Calculate Your Radiation Dose | Radiation Protection | US EPA

So, at 36 mrem per hour, you'd get a year's dose of my life's radiation in about 14 hours of continually being outside. No where can I find such a level being any threat to you. And you'd have to stand at the gate of the plant to get that dose.

 

[jasoncran]

I just took a test, I get 477 mrem per year just living my life. (The national average for the USA is 620 mrem per year).

Take the test yourself: Calculate Your Radiation Dose | Radiation Protection | US EPA

So, at 36 mrem per hour, you'd get a year's dose of my life's radiation in about 14 hours of continually being outside. No where can I find such a level being any threat to you. And you'd have to stand at the gate of the plant to get that dose.

i'm at 340.19 and dont you love how the liberal media is making this out to be.I'm for caution and enviromental cleanliness. But i have a motto. You dont want to pollute and want to drive the ecomony to the ground in order to do so for you RADICAL and illogical earth worship then i have a suggestion. Move to the most primitive nation and live there.

 

[Theofilus]

Theo, we all have a loss of appetite, and I feel a little nautious and foggy headed but it could be stress with all the conflicting reports I`m getting and my parents so worried. My daughter`s appetite is coming back though which is good. My husband insists the Japanese media is right that we are at no health risks. I don`t know.

If I'm understanding that Wikipedia page correctly, and given the numbers I'm hearing in the news, I would think that it's the stress that is causing you to lose your appetite. I once ran into a pedestrian with my car. She was OK except for a broken leg (I was worried I had killed her until I got out of the car and spoke to her). But even though I knew she would be OK, the stress and shock caused me to loose both sleep and appetite for many days. The stress you're going through now is much more than what I experinced. I cannot even imagine being in your situation. So It's no surprise that it's having an affect on your appetite.

 

[jasoncran]

PJT, You dont have radiation sickness. If you did. Posting here wouldnt be possible at all. You would be in the intensive care unit or in heaven.

 

[pjt]

Thank you for all your reassuring replies.

Yes, the kindergarten passed out material saying for us to not be surprised if we and our children experience any sort of stomach disorder because after a big quake or any traumatic event people often have stomach related symptoms. The information given said it is almost to be expected because it is so common. I think this is true.

Moreover, I`m in a group of over 1000 foreign women married to Japanese men in Japan and it sounds like a lot of us have the same comfort/problem of our mothers all calling and emailing franically for us to come home or we will die! On the one hand it is comforting to have a mother who cares but on the other hand it tends to create stress when you have an upset aging mother all worried and the only way to calm her down seems to be to go and stand in front of her and say "see, I`m fine", but you can`t do that, and you just hate to be the cause of so much worry to your mother.

The information you gave Pizza, it the same info. the Japanese gov. has given. They did say some radiation has been detected in the food near the site and water in Tokyo but the amount is so little that it could be consumed without harm.

As for my idea, it was not received very well, but that`s ok because I was given other ways I can help. Logistically it is not practical at this time to transport people since the object of these missions is to get supplies in and out ASAP. Taking people out would slow down the process tremendously and if someone got hurt or sick it could even stop the process temporarily. If there were 600,000 families willing at this moment to take in these people then my idea would be best but because there is not and their situation is so urgent, taking in aid to the people is the best thing for now. But fortunately aid is starting to get in to these sites.

As for the nuclear situation, yes, it seems to be stabilizing now. The Japanese reported it is not completely safe and over, but we are progressing in that direction. So with that momentum I think we will come out of this just fine.

My husband told me yesterday that one of the men in his Bible study group, a fine Japanese Christian man, is at the nuclear site working on it. Actually his regular job is at the site. So we have a brother in Christ there as a witness to all those men going in. I also know some women whose husbands work for the self defense force and they too were sent in. I find their nature very noble because they went in during the most urgent times and they said they are ready to die if need be. They were not afraid. The Japanese spirit always deeply impresses me. If the Japanese were to become a Christian nation, what a mighty light they would be. A lot of the Japanese values already resemble Chrsitian values. They just don`t have Christ. But God puts His people where they are needed even in a nuclear plant that is on the brink of meltdown as in the case of the man in my husband`s Bible study group. As I think of it, what an honor it was he was chosen by God to do this enornmous task. These workers are also working without food. The food is scarce there as you can imagine but they press on.

I listened to a sermon yesterday and the pastor was saying we just have to be willing and ready to be used by God. The more mature we become, the bigger the challenges we face but we have to embrace these challenges with gratitude and understanding that no situation is a mistake. We can be slandered to the point of our reputation ruined, taken to court, falsely accused and thrown in prison, and so many other things but none are a mistake. All have a purpose guided by God, and as Christians this we have to believe and trust. I really liked his sermon. I think it is practical for all Christians.

 

[Pizzaguy]

The information you gave Pizza, it the same info. the Japanese gov. has given.

I understand that you may or may not trust the gov't - even the Japanese gov't. That is partly why I have been getting my information from MIT, the Nuclear Energy Institute and the IAEC.

As for the nuclear situation, yes, it seems to be stabilizing now. The Japanese reported it is not completely safe and over, but we are progressing in that direction. So with that momentum I think we will come out of this just fine.

I have always believed this. Of course, it's easy for me to say that, since I'm way over here. But then it isn't - my son and daughter-in-law are over THERE!
But again, as I "read the tea leaves", I constantly gathered that this was a Three Mile Island (serious, but manageable).


It stuns me that a country as great as Japan could be so devastated like this. My heart goes out to them.

 

[pjt]

Pizza, I think we are close to the end of the diaster and are about to enter the clean up period. But this is what I think. I think the situation may be a little worse than when the Japanese government reported and other Japanese seem to feel the same as they are now demanding more transparency from the government, but I don`t think things are as bad as some of the outside media have painted the nuclear situation.

The tsunami situation is undeniably a catastrophe.

The earthquake could have been a horrible catastrophe if it had not been for the amazing earthquake resistant construction, but because of the construction countless lives and infrastructure were spared. We`ve seen other countries with much smaller earthquakes just crumble, but Japan stood.

The nuclear situation, I think time will tell about the actual damage from that. This morning I woke up with underneath the tips of my fingernails turning black. I can brush off loss of appetite as stress but suddenly my fingernails turning black and they`ve never done that before, I tend to feel it has to be related somehow to the radiation. Do I think it is life threatening or serious? No. Am I going to the doctor over it? No. But I can`t just shelve that as totally unrelated to the radiation. I think somehow it is related. I also think my dog`s bloody diahrea was somehow related. I think probably people/pets got some radiation in them, not enough to kill them but enough to have minor side effects, but with the radiation steadily going down everyone will be fine. Will this have long term effects on our children`s fertility? Time will tell, but even if fertility is affected, I don`t see that as a major issue. People still have life and are functioning fine so this is what matters most.

 

[jasoncran]

Pizza, I think we are close to the end of the diaster and are about to enter the clean up period. But this is what I think. I think the situation may be a little worse than when the Japanese government reported and other Japanese seem to feel the same as they are now demanding more transparency from the government, but I don`t think things are as bad as some of the outside media have painted the nuclear situation.

The tsunami situation is undeniably a catastrophe.

The earthquake could have been a horrible catastrophe if it had not been for the amazing earthquake resistant construction, but because of the construction countless lives and infrastructure were spared. We`ve seen other countries with much smaller earthquakes just crumble, but Japan stood.

The nuclear situation, I think time will tell about the actual damage from that. This morning I woke up with underneath the tips of my fingernails turning black. I can brush off loss of appetite as stress but suddenly my fingernails turning black and they`ve never done that before, I tend to feel it has to be related somehow to the radiation. Do I think it is life threatening or serious? No. Am I going to the doctor over it? No. But I can`t just shelve that as totally unrelated to the radiation. I think somehow it is related. I also think my dog`s bloody diahrea was somehow related. I think probably people/pets got some radiation in them, not enough to kill them but enough to have minor side effects, but with the radiation steadily going down everyone will be fine. Will this have long term effects on our children`s fertility? Time will tell, but even if fertility is affected, I don`t see that as a major issue. People still have life and are functioning fine so this is what matters most.

i look into the radiation sickness and what it is and post what i find. i am not an expert on that.

 

[jasoncran]

Radiation sickness - MayoClinic.com

here pjt this will help. they define what it is and what the treatment is.

 

[pjt]

i look into the radiation sickness and what it is and post what i find. i am not an expert on that.

Thank you Jason. From what I can gather, I have not heard anything about black fingernails and radiation, but it sounds like it was not just radiation that was released. There were other chemicals that were released with the explosions so I wonder if the black fingernails are related to the other chemicals, but I don`t know. My whole fingernails did not turn black, just under the tips. Anyway, it is odd and has never happened to me before so I think it probably is related. Of course, I doubt I will ever know 100% since the Japanese government says everything is safe, but I can give no other explanation for it. Other than a little stomach upset I feel okay so I am not going to worry myself over it. Actually I don`t feel overly stressed either. I have felt some anxiety in regards to my mother and my children, but overall I would not say I`m highly stressed so I don`t think stress did this to my fingernails. My stress level is not that high. As for my dog, he seems to be doing alright now so I`m thinking just enough of some chemical got in us to cause a little upset but not enough to do major harm.

 

[jasoncran]

Thank you Jason. From what I can gather, I have not heard anything about black fingernails and radiation, but it sounds like it was not just radiation that was released. There were other chemicals that were released with the explosions so I wonder if the black fingernails are related to the other chemicals, but I don`t know. My whole fingernails did not turn black, just under the tips. Anyway, it is odd and has never happened to me before so I think it probably is related. Of course, I doubt I will ever know 100% since the Japanese government says everything is safe, but I can give no other explanation for it. Other than a little stomach upset I feel okay so I am not going to worry myself over it. Actually I don`t feel overly stressed either. I have felt some anxiety in regards to my mother and my children, but overall I would not say I`m highly stressed so I don`t think stress did this to my fingernails. My stress level is not that high. As for my dog, he seems to be doing alright now so I`m thinking just enough of some chemical got in us to cause a little upset but not enough to do major harm.

btw you havent even been exposed to One gray of radiation so that rules out radiation sickness.

 

[pjt]

Radiation sickness - MayoClinic.com

here pjt this will help. they define what it is and what the treatment is.

Thank you again Jason. I read the whole article and there was nothing about fingernails there so it is a mystery to me. But I do think it`s related to the nuclear plant, but I guess it is good there is nothing about fingernails so I don`t have to worry about this being radiation sickness.

 

[reba]

You are an inspiration!

 

[Pizzaguy]

I also think my dog`s bloody diahrea was somehow related.

When my son went into the hospital for 10 days, his dog ended up with bloody diahrea and I took her to the vet. The vet said the doc had colitis because of "separation anxiety".

What little drama queen that little dog was!

Any chance your dog picked up on the stress and responded in the same way?

 

[handy]

Thank you again Jason. I read the whole article and there was nothing about fingernails there so it is a mystery to me. But I do think it`s related to the nuclear plant, but I guess it is good there is nothing about fingernails so I don`t have to worry about this being radiation sickness.

PJT, I promise I'd like this to be encouraging and not worrying...but there is a correlation between black fingernails and radiation...sometimes radiation therapy patients can experience black or brown streaks in their fingernails.

The good news is that this is associated with a very low, safe level of radiation. It is not, really not, indicative of radiation sickness or poisoning. Nor does it mean that you've been exposed to the level of radiation that would cause sickness. Nails and hair are just very susceptible to environmental changes. It doesn't mean that you've been exposed to a harmful amount of radiation, just more than what your body is used to processing.

I realize that this is probably scary and quite frankly discussed with my husband if I should even bring it up, because the last thing I want to do is to add to your worries...

But, both Steve and I agreed that you should be given information, so that you can deal with what you are experiencing instead of being kept in the dark.

I know things are really chaotic there now...when you can next see a doctor, be sure to mention the black nails and have that discussion, but try not to worry about it.

Hugs to you, PJT, your spirit and your faith are truly inspiring.

 

[Theofilus]

PJT, I promise I'd like this to be encouraging and not worrying...but there is a correlation between black fingernails and radiation...sometimes radiation therapy patients can experience black or brown streaks in their fingernails.

The good news is that this is associated with a very low, safe level of radiation. It is not, really not, indicative of radiation sickness or poisoning. Nor does it mean that you've been exposed to the level of radiation that would cause sickness. Nails and hair are just very susceptible to environmental changes. It doesn't mean that you've been exposed to a harmful amount of radiation, just more than what your body is used to processing.

I realize that this is probably scary and quite frankly discussed with my husband if I should even bring it up, because the last thing I want to do is to add to your worries...

But, both Steve and I agreed that you should be given information, so that you can deal with what you are experiencing instead of being kept in the dark.

I know things are really chaotic there now...when you can next see a doctor, be sure to mention the black nails and have that discussion, but try not to worry about it.

Hugs to you, PJT, your spirit and your faith are truly inspiring.

I was googling this earlier, and I couldn't find any connection between rdiation and fingernails. What I did find was that it could be caused by malnutrition, fungal infections or certain medications or chemotherapy. Do you have a link to something about radiation causing it? Wikipedia doesn't list anything about fingernails as a side-effect of radiation therapy, but it does list damaged nails as a possible side-effect of chemotherapy.

 

[pjt]

You are an inspiration!

Reba, I don`t think I`m much of an inspiration but I do find ALL OF YOU an inspiration. It is actually very nice to walk through and process this in my mind with you. With my family in America, they are scared so I can`t process things with them. With my family and friends here, it is important to keep each other encouraged so I can`t process things with them either. So all of you have been a blessing to me because I can process thoughts with you that I can`t with others. So I do appreciate all the listening ears although I`m a little embarrassed taking up so much of a thread just focused on me. I find it a bit self centered on my part so I apologize for that. I`m normally not the type of person that likes to draw too much attention to myself.

 

[jasoncran]

Reba, I don`t think I`m much of an inspiration but I do find ALL OF YOU an inspiration. It is actually very nice to walk through and process this in my mind with you. With my family in America, they are scared so I can`t process things with them. With my family and friends here, it is important to keep each other encouraged so I can`t process things with them either. So all of you have been a blessing to me because I can process thoughts with you that I can`t with others. So I do appreciate all the listening ears although I`m a little embarrassed taking up so much of a thread just focused on me. I find it a bit self centered on my part so I apologize for that. I`m normally not the type of person that likes to draw too much attention to myself.

i admire your ability to keep some sanity. its not self-centered to me. you leaned on us and you needed the support. i was wondering if that was the case.

 

[pjt]

When my son went into the hospital for 10 days, his dog ended up with bloody diahrea and I took her to the vet. The vet said the doc had colitis because of "separation anxiety".

What little drama queen that little dog was!

Any chance your dog picked up on the stress and responded in the same way?

That is possible Pizza. I was not home during the big quakes but my neighbor said our dog howled through them all. Our dog is actually a very cowardly dog. He is even scared of kittens much less cats! So that could be it. I don`t think I will ever know for sure but the bloody diahrea happened after the first plant explosion so it could still be linked with that. I don`t know.