Japanese Citizens Have Radioactive Pee: Are We Next?

I've always said it. If you're visiting Japan, don't drink the urine.

On the off chance that warning wasn't enough, Japanese officials can add a second reason. Residents living near the doomed Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Plant in Japan are passing urine contaminated with radiation. Citizens as far away as 40 km have tested positive for internal radiation exposure, with urine radiation levels showing contamination of at least 3 millisieverts. The residents have been exposed to radiation since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami knocked out the power plant's defenses, leading to a series of radioactive meltdowns. The plant has been emitting radiation into the environment ever since. Officials in Japan are oddly calm about the presence of radiation in nearby cities, despite the obvious health concerns. "This won't be a problem if they don't eat vegetables or other products that are contaminated," said Nanao Kamada, professor emeritus of radiation biology at Hiroshima University. "But it will be difficult for people to continue living in these areas." Kamada and the rest of the research team found radioactive cesium in the urine of each resident they tested, on both occasions that they tested. Radioactive iodine was found the first pass through the cities, but not in the second. The overall levels are almost at the yearly exposure maximum — a bad sign, since the crisis was only two months old at the time of testing.

Is America the next to see a natural disaster morph into a nuclear nightmare? Officials in New Mexico are worried that they might be the next to face disaster, as wildfires rage a mere one mile from the Los Alamos Laboratory, which houses radioactive material. Los Alamos National Laboratory emergency officials are watching wind directions Monday as the Las Conchas fire continues to burn southwest of the lab. Winds generally from the northwest overnight have helped keep the fire from entering lab property, but forecasts call for a change by mid-day. The lab has an Emergency Operations Center, and it remains operational despite the evacuation of all non-essential personnel from the lab. Natural gas lines at the lab have been turned off, reducing the possibility of a massive gas explosion should the fire spread to the lab. According to a release from the lab, all hazardous and radioactive materials remain accounted for and are appropriately protected, as are key Lab facilities such as its proton accelerator and supercomputing centers. Environmental specialists are mobilized and monitoring air quality, but say the principal concern is smoke. “It's been a very long night for the fire crews,” said Lab Director Charles McMillan. “There has been an outpouring of support from the region, the state, and the federal government and for that we are profoundly grateful.” What happens if the fire turns and hits the plant? No one can guarantee that the radioactive material, currently protected, will stay protected. What happens if we see a similar fire, or tornado, or hurricane, or flood, or even purposeful sabotage, at any of America's 104 commercial nuclear reactors? These are the questions we need to be asking our elected officials. Not later, but now...before we match the Japanese with our number of residents literally passing radioactive waste.