Monday, September 3, 2018

Stigma and Radiation Contamination II


A few days ago I posted about the contradictory imperatives to avoid stigmatization while still acknowledging harmful effects of radiation contamination:
http://majiasblog.blogspot.com/2018/08/stigma-and-radiation-contamination.html 

Once again this tension is evident in Fukushima Prefecture, where a New Zealand reporter is potentially facing charges for illegal trespassing amid concern he is promoting irrational fears of radiation:

Japanese authorities mulling legal action over Kiwi journalist David Farrier's Fukushima coverage in Dark Tourist series. TVNZ, https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/entertainment/japanese-authorities-mulling-legal-action-over-kiwi-journalist-david-farriers-fukushima-coverage-in-dark-tourist-series

...In the episode, Farrier is filmed taking a tour of areas affected by the 2011 meltdown of a nuclear plant in Fukushima where he suspects a meal served from a restaurant in Namie, a town in Fukushima Prefecture, has been contaminated by radiation. It also shows the journalist enter a no-go zone around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant without permission from authorities, reporting from an abandoned game arcade, and tourists on a bus becoming distressed over rising radiation levels without information about the vehicle's location.

Once again this is a complicated situation.

I can imagine that it would be painful to have one's former home sensationalized and efforts must be made to combat stigmatization of victims.

And simultaneously the constraints put on access to the contaminated zone, coupled with Japan's draconian state secrets law passed after 3/11, have encouraged illicit entries aimed at data gathering. Here is a recent update on the state secrets' classification efforts:

Over 383,000 documents classified under Japan’s state secrets law by end of 2017 JIJI https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2018/05/18/national/politics-diplomacy/383000-documents-classified-japans-state-secrets-law-end-2017/#.W42CssInbFI


Many areas - especially woods - remain quite contaminated and re-contamination occurs as rains wash deposition from up high down to the ocean across time. A very strong typhoon is projected to hit Honshu on Tuesday. This type of deluge re-distributes contamination.

Efforts to rehabilitate the Fukushima region's tarnished image have seemed insensitive to the facts on the ground, including the problem of accumulating toxic waste.

The solution to accumulated toxic waste in ground water is to dump it after filtration - hoping for the best despite knowledge that tritium contamination is going to be significant.

There is no solution to accumulating toxic waste in soil, biomass, construction materials, etc.

How can we acknowledge the infrastructural and social risks of nuclear without amplifying its victimization with stigma?


Fukushima Daiichi Today and Yesterday






9 comments:

  1. How can we acknowledge the infrastructural and social risks of nuclear without amplifying its victimization with stigma?

    By acknowledging the extent of the catastrophe and the damage done as is somewhat being done with downwinders in america. By taking care of the victims instead of victimizing them further, which is human nature. The lies, the bullying the awful insanity

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Qanon fukushima crapoly
      Trump supporters try to hijak Fukushima and nuclear dangers as something Trump and its handlers care care about. In fact the trumpos could care less. TRUMP supports Abe. Trump is moving america towards one or more nuclear catastrophes very quickly.

      WIZARDCITOX
      @QNuevomedio
      Aug 28
      Did you know #Fukushima is not being cleaned up? It can't be "cleaned up" it is the equivalent to 168 nuclear bombs that keep exploding day and night #QAnon the pacific ocean is dying and almost every creature in it...humans will follow

      Delete
    2. Since it can not be "cleaned up", then all these mentionings of Fukushima are without merit---unless one is using it as a moral lesson. Like Chernobyl from which we learned so much.

      Delete
  2. Notice how Trump replaced the NOAA head w a nonscientist. Now americans do not get warnings of hurricanes till they are right on top of them. Take gordon for example. There will be no warnings of nuclear accidents or meltdowns under schmuko the clown. Lots of death and suffering there is getting to be liitle or no oversight of the worst reactors in america

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Latest arclite video on Halden brexit nuclear propaganda on children https://youtu.be/l5Pw17HDPUI

      Delete
    2. I once had a NOAA as a neighbor. He was a scientist and a terrible neighbor. Many scientists are first and foremost after money and status, not facts and truth. Scientist does not automatically mean good.

      Delete
  3. Why are aynrand libertarians becoming so adamant about holocaust denial? I am no zionist and, it is very creepy.

    There are real libertarians and, then there are the vicious psychopathic- fascist racist, cult ayn rand-ideologues who are like scientologists.

    There are the real libertarians like John Locke and Stuart Mill that were humanists, humanitarians and real libertarians

    ReplyDelete
  4. If all the news I had to go on were from these articles and comments I would conclude that despair were a reasonable response. Actually if I had to depend on news from any source I would probably eventually arrive at a similar conclusion. The news is a raw material that has to be processed. Often it turns out to be pure waste material reflecting what? bad relationships, childhood trauma, drugs, ambition, a penchant for telling lies, bad digestion . . . lack of education and poor reasoning powers . . .
    I avoided the news for many years and yet knew quite accurately what was going on. What is going on flows around like water. It is impossible not to get wet and sometimes drenched. If there is nothing new under the sun it is all memory!

    ReplyDelete
  5. FROM ARCLIGHT AT NUCLEAR-NEWS.NET
    INTERVIEWS OF HEALTH EFFECTS OF PEOPLE GATHERING TOPSOIL IN POST FUKUSHIMA CLEANUP

    Https://youtu.be/GRaVx3J0OMc


    NOTE ; During the early months of the disaster a health survey was conducted by a Japanese nurse who had worked in the Chernobyl contaminated regions of Ukraine and Belarus. No other survey of its type was done by the Japanese authorities. Here is the video from a Japanese TV station that compiled the statistics and the discusssion that followed (In Japanese but with English subtitles). This video helps confirm the claims of the testimony from the 2Sept 2018 video above.

    A health survey in Fukushima covered up by the Japanese Media?


    https://youtu.be/2dE3kgHrpSo

    ReplyDelete

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