Can Hemp, Marijuana and Mushrooms Fix Fukushima?

Can Hemp, Marijuana and Mushrooms Fix Fukushima? Part 1: What Happened?

CANNABIS CULTURE - Certain mushrooms, cannabinoids, terpenes, hemp and hempseeds can be used to clean up and protect us from radioactive pollution from Japan's Fukushima power plant and other nuclear disasters.

By David Malmo-Levine, Cannabis Culture - 

Non-renewable sources of energy like coal, oil and natural gas – and uranium, the raw material for nuclear power – have certain things in common that appeal to ruling minorities … They're concentrated in territory which can be "owned" … Lots of money is needed to bring them up and process them … A high degree of technical know-how is required. Renewable sources of energy – sun, wind, water & plants – are something else … they're almost impossible to exhaust … they're available in many parts of many countries … and they're potentially easier and cheaper to harness … Far too democratic for some …

– Nuclear Power for Beginners, Stephen Croall & Kaianders, 1983, Random House, p. 101
This article will attempt to do five things. It will 1) Describe exactly what happened at the Fukushima nuclear accident on March 11, 2011, 2) predict what the global consequences will be, 3) determine if nuclear power can ever be safe, 4) identify other non-nuclear reactor sources of human-made (and many might argue, unnecessary) radiation pollution, and 5) explain how marijuana, nutritional and industrial hemp, and certain types of mushrooms may be the solution to all this harmful radiation that we – as crew members on spaceship Earth – now find ourselves exposed to.
What Happened at Fukushima?

Other residents of Dawson, Pickens, and Forsyth Counties remember the days of the red sky, in 1959, which many at first believed to be the end of the world but later attributed to GNAL (Georgia Nuclear Aircraft Laboratory) operations. During this time, the sky in the vicinity was a deep crimson color, and some families gathered inside to pray, fearing the Apocalypse.

- Inside Dawson Forest: A History of the Georgia Nuclear Aircraft Laboratory, Dwayne Keith Petty (1)

He noted the glowing red sky long before he reached the workers town of Pripyat, and for the first time realized that it was from the fires at the reactor."

- The Lessons of Fukushima: Surviving Nuclear Disasters, Remembering the Sacrifice of Brave Nuclear Workers, Lucas Whitefield Hixson (2)

Back in April and June 2011 the Potrblog team predicted that Fukushima's Fallout would create unusual Northern Lights. We now further refine those predictions of when and where to expect these unusual Northern Lights.

- Red Sky At Night: Solar Flares Spawn Fukushima's Deadly Delight (3)

A special automated NASA camera that takes a picture of the sky every minute in Huntsville, Ala., captured 20 minutes of the vibrant red and green aurora borealis.

- Northern Lights Take Trip Down South, Seth Borenstein, October 26, 2011 (4)

What is going on in my head? And why's the sky gone red?

- Beastie Boys, "OK", from the LP "Hot Sauce Committee part 2", released April 2011
Fatally Defective
The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant - owned by Tokyo Electric Power Co. (Tepco) - was the sight of the "Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster", which, according to Wikipedia, "…was a series of equipment failures, nuclear meltdowns, and releases of radioactive materials at the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, following the T?hoku earthquake and tsunami on 11 March 2011. It is the largest nuclear disaster since the Chernobyl disaster of 1986, and only the second disaster (along with Chernobyl) to measure Level 7 on the International Nuclear Event Scale." (5)
Why did the "equipment failures" occur? A highly technical summary is available on YouTube, for those who can follow it. (6)
The earthquake itself caused damage to the reactors even before the tsunami hit, because the design of the GE Mark 1 reactor is "fatally defective". (7)
Two days after the disaster, TEPCO confirmed there was one death of a worker due to being trapped and crushed by the earthquake. (8) Another worker died shortly thereafter under mysterious circumstances – TEPCO won't reveal the cause of death because it would be a "violation of privacy". (9) At least five workers died in the disaster.
Just over two weeks after the disaster, video was released showing the extensive damage to the site. (10)
Over two months after the disaster, TEPCO finally admitted there was an actual meltdown through the containment vessel. (11)
Wikipedia goes on to say that,
"In May 2012, TEPCO reported that at least 900 PBq (petabecquerels, or 10 to the 15th power of becquerels) had been released "into the atmosphere in March last year [2011]" putting the radiation release from all the reactors taken together as equivalent to a "sixth"(17%) that of Chernobyl." (12)
Far Worse Than Chernobyl
Independent researchers from Kyoto and Hiroshima Universities say that the situation could be far worse than Chernobyl. They say that in Japan, "Radiation was detected in ranges from '590,000 to 2.19 million becquerels/cubic meter outside the 30km range.' These numbers far exceed the levels at Chernobyl which ranged below 550,000 becquerels/cubic meter. … There are a staggering 4400 tons of nuclear fuel rods at Fukushima, which greatly dwarfs the total size of radiation sources at Chernobyl." (13)
Others calculate the initial release at many times higher a volume – 154 trillion Becquerels. (14)
To give you an idea of just how poisonous 154 trillion becquerels is, keep in mind that 1 microsievert = 76.923 Becquerels. (15) Radiation dosage charts estimate a dental X-ray at 5 microsieverts (about 385 bequerels). 10 million microsieverts (about 769 million Bequerels) is a "fatal dose". (16)
In other words, if those experts who estimate the 154 trillion Becquerel release amount are correct, well over 200,000 fatal doses were released by April of 2011, - a little over one month into the disaster. More leaks out every day.
According to one website, "food radiation should not exceed 500 Becquerel/Kg". (17) According to recent testing conducted near Fukushima, over 10,000 Bq/Kg of Cesium-134/137 was measured from 10% of wild boar meat samples. And 97.9% of all wild boar meat samples tested were over 100 Becquerels/Kg. (18)
Swimming pools near Fukushima are now showing radioactive cesium levels of over 100,000 bequerels per kilogram. (19)
Hot Particles
There is currently much debate over just how much radiation is required to kill someone – especially if that someone is a fetus, an infant, ill or very old. The "hot particle theory" or "hot particle problem" proposes that it takes much less radiation to kill or harm someone if it's inside you than if it's outside you. (20a 20b) Another problem with radiation protection guidelines and regulations is that the standard permissible dose is based upon what a healthy Caucasian male in his 20's can handle. (21a 21b 21c)
One study determined there was a decline in live births experienced in Japan nine months after Fukushima, similar to the decline in live births experienced central and eastern Europe nine months after the Chernobyl disaster. (22)
Since the Fukushima disaster, rabbits born near Fukushima have begun to be born with mutations. (23) 36% of children born in Fukushima Prefecture have had abnormal growths – cysts or nodules – on their thyroids, one year after the disaster. (24)
It's Getting Worse
There is evidence that the amount of radiation leaking from Fukushima is increasing. In January of 2012, 70 million becquerels per hour (approximately 182,000 dental X-rays) of radioactive cesium were leaking from the No. 1 and No. 3 reactors, up 12 million becquerels from the previous month. (25a 25b 25c)
Local freshwater fish have tested positive for ever-increasing levels of radioactive cesium. (26) Recently, a fish was caught in the port of Fukushima that had a reading of 254,000 becquerels per kilogram – about 660 dental X-rays worth in each kilo of fish. (27)
By the end of August 2011, thirty-three locations within a 62-mile radius of the Fukushima Daiichi plant tested positive for enough radiation to force a resettlement based upon Soviet Union Chernobyl standards, while another 132 locations had enough radiation to warrant calls for voluntary resettlement. (28) Some experts argue that parts of Tokyo are now almost as – or even more - radioactive than Fukushima itself. (29a 29b)
Land Of The Rising Sun
There is evidence of mutant vegetation growing in the suburbs of Tokyo. (30)
Apparently the radiation levels measured in Tokyo "exceeds Chernobyl" in some places and the Japanese Government is now discussing evacuation. (31) Large sectors of the Japanese population are accumulating significant levels of internal contamination. (32)
There are indications that the food chain is contaminated throughout Japan. Tea has been tested above legal radiation limits in multiple prefectures further from Fukushima than Tokyo. One area with illegally radioactive tea is Shizuoka Prefecture - over 300 kilometers from Fukushima. (33a 33b)
"Radioactive cesium exceeding the legal limit has been detected in four tea products that reached the market and were made with tea leaves from Saitama and Chiba prefectures, a recent health ministry inspection showed," The Japan Times wrote. "One of the products, using tea leaves from Chiba Prefecture, contained 2,720 becquerels of cesium per kilogram, far above the government-set limit of 500 becquerels, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said Friday." (34)
No Plan
In December of 2011 a professor from Kyoto critical of Tepco's response argued that "nobody really knows how bad it is." (35) Some of the fuel had "gone missing". (36) One worker was caught on camera saying "The holes and cracks in the ground are terrifying." (37a 37b) As of February of 2013, there was still "no containment" of any of the fuel in any of the reactors. (38) Tepco is running out of space to contain the 75 gallons per minute of highly radioactive cooling water, which it cannot filter and dump back into the sea safely. (39)
Apparently there is no strategy, no plan and no technology to deal with the meltdown. (40) Because Fukushima is so close to the sea, a Chernobyl-type sarcophagus solution is not possible. (41) Large earthquakes continue to hit Fukushima, and the Japanese government said that "an 8.0 earthquake is possible". (42) Japan experiences as many as 1500 earthquakes per year. (43)
A Ticking Time Bomb
Reactor 4 is filled with fuel and could explode at any moment – a "ticking time bomb" according to experts: "If an earthquake or other event were to cause this pool to drain this could result in a catastrophic radiological fire involving nearly 10 times the amount of Cesium-137 released by the Chernobyl accident." (44a 44b 44c)
If one of the worst-case scenarios occurs and something terrible again happens to any one of the reactors, experts are recommending people "need to go further than 450km" – in other words, nearly the entire island of Japan may one day need to be evacuated. (45a 45b 45c)
Just in case Japan experiences another disaster and you want to check up on the Fukushima reactor, there is a 24/7/365 camera pointed at the reactor connected to YouTube with an archive of sped-up videos (watch one hour's worth in three minutes). (46)
The Tokyo Electric Power Company has resisted calls to bury the spent fuel rods in concrete, "citing the cost". (47)
The Japanese government's reaction to the disaster has been shameful. Instead of following the recommendations of international authorities and expanding the exclusion zone, (48) the Japanese government has instead opted to "define the problem out of existence" by raising the permissible level of radiation exposure for members of the public to 20 millisieverts per year, considerably higher than the international standard of 1 millisievert per year. (49a 49b 49c)
To put that in perspective, one millisievert equals 1000 microsieverts, or 200 dental X-rays. 20 millisieverts – the Japanese government's new "permissible level" - raises the yearly permitted dose from the international standard of 200 dental X-rays worth of radiation per year (a little over one every other day) to 4000 dental X-rays worth per year … or nearly 11 dental X-rays per day, each and every day.
Stop Testing, You're Stirring Uneasiness
To make matters worse, the local government asked a research team from Hirosaki University to "stop conducting internal radiation exposure tests" because the tests were "stirring uneasiness". (50) The Japanese government has actually called for private citizens to stop testing for radiation themselves, arguing that the Geiger counters that cost between 5 and 6 hundred dollars are not accurate. (51) Of course they're not as precise as more expensive machines, but those machines aren't being used, and the affordable ones are accurate enough to determine if the radiation is generally low or high. The Japanese government has also stopped 25000 Geiger counters from entering the country. (52) Radiation weather forecasts have also been censored. (53)
It was reported in late July that a senior executive of a subcontractor to Tokyo Electric Power Co. ordered workers to cover dosimeters with lead plates to keep measured radiation doses at low levels. (54) Every time the radiation-reading instruments get an abnormal reading, Tepco claims that the instrument is broken. (55) Tepco has a history of covering up it's mistakes – a series of "forged documents, fake repairs and fatal accidents" - so much so it's been named "the cover-up company". (56)
Cleaning Up or Spreading Around?
Critics, including some radiation experts in Japan, claim clean-up efforts are "meaningless". Using high-pressure hoses "simply spreads the radiation". (57a 57b) Radioactive waste is piling up at several sewage plants, well away from the crippled Fukushima reactor. The Japanese don't know what to do with all the radioactive waste – some of it is being turned into fertilizer for food. (58) And some of the radioactive debris is being burned in incinerators – spreading the radioactivity to other countries. (59a 59b 59c)
The Japanese national government is grossly understating the risks of their radioactive waste-disposal plans as it forces local governments to accept extremely radiated waste and the sketchiest "regular landfill" disposal plans. (60) Covering the reactors with tents – another clean-up strategy currently being used - also seems counter-productive, according to some experts, who argue that pumping the radiation out through stacks will push the radiation to a higher elevation, dispersing it even further. (61)
Most Expensive Electric Bill Ever
Not only are the decontamination efforts ineffective, but Tokyo Electric Power Co. now wants to stick the Japanese taxpayer with the entire trillion-dollar cleanup cost, instead of chipping in the 10 billion or so yen ($100 million dollars) the Japanese government is requesting they cover. (62)
The US government has joined their counterparts in Japan in this orgy of irresponsibility, as the Department of Defense has abandoned and refused to assist nearly 70,000 American service members and their families stationed in Japan with their medical bills. (63)
56% of all fish catches off Japan have been found to be contaminated with radioactivity, and 40% of bottom dwelling fish (sole, halibut, cod) that has been caught near Fukushima have radioactive cesium levels higher than current Japanese regulatory limits. (64) The contaminated fish is being sold to unsuspecting Canadians, (65) and sent to poor countries as "food aid" (66) - perhaps because of assurances from the authorities that the fish is safe, in spite of exceeding the legal limit.
Dilute Until Legal
Now Tepco wants to dump hundreds of thousands of tons of water filled with 1 to 5 million becquerels per liter of Tritium into the sea – "to dilute the (radioactive) water to bring the tritium density below the legal limit". That's upwards of 1705 trillion (1.7 quadrillion) becquerels of Tritium total as of May 7, 2013 – or 2.2 million lethal doses.
The legal limit is currently 60,000 becquerels per liter for Tritium. I suppose one could justify putting any amount of radioactive water into the sea to dilute it to below the legal limit, given the size of the sea. Tepco may have to dump the radioactive water anyway because it's running out of space to put more tanks. (67)
It seems like the cleanup of Fukushima is being directed by The Three Stooges, under strict Murphy's law guidelines. One is forced to believe that a level of incompetence never-before seen on planet Earth has manifested itself in Japan, for the only other option is to believe that these officials are purposefully attempting to give the world (at least the part of the world that walks outside and eats foods found in the ocean or is fed from food exposed to the rain) a massive dose of radiation – a thought that might drive one insane, were one to entertain it for more than just a little while.
Find out how hemp, marijuana and magic mushrooms can help save us from the Fukushima disaster in the upcoming parts of of this article, coming soon to Cannabis Culture.