World Affairs Brief, May 11, 2012 Commentary and Insights on a Troubled World. Copyright Joel Skousen. Partial quotations with attribution permitted. Cite source as Joel Skousen’s World Affairs Brief (http://www.worldaffairsbrief.com)

THIS WEEK’S ANALYSIS:

Another Phony Underwear Plot

The Truth about the Russian Troops at Fort Carson

Hagmann Claims Based on Dubious “Insider” Source

New Army Prison Camp Manual: Detention of and Reeducation of Dissident Citizens

Russia’s Preemptive Threat to Europe’s Missile Defense

Worries over Fukushima

Ex-presidential Gravy Trains

Greek Left Fails to Form a Government

Obama Risks All on Gay Marriage Support

[…]

WORRIES OVER FUKUSHIMA

Natural News put out a dramatic and apocalyptic piece on the Fukushima nuclear crisis that had dozens of subscribers calling to find out “is it true?” While most of the data was correct, except the exaggerated issue of how radiation has already floated over to America (nothing even close to danger levels) the author was way over the mark in predicting an imminent melt down of the fuel storage pools of reactor building #4.

The partially damaged reactor building still stores spent fuel rods 3 stories up in earthquake damaged buildings which many pundits are claiming is about to collapse. The truth is that this is a dangerous situation only because of the potential for more earthquakes in the future. That’s the only danger that could threaten the integrity of the building, which is not “about to collapse.”

Even though chances of an earthquake sufficient strong to collapse this buildings and its fuel rods (which would lead to a meltdown and high radioactivity release) is not high, I completely agree that the Japanese government needs to demand that these rods all be removed from elevated storage and be put in below ground containment—as has been done in other plants.

If this disaster happens, it will still not affect the US as much as Chernobyl did the Ukraine and Belorussia—close neighbors to the reactor—due to the much longer distances between Japan and the US. Most of the health damage was limited to populations a few hundred miles from Chernobyl. Western Europe did see a fairly small percentage of the population affected, but the fact that it did not affect most people indicates that long distance radiation effects at relative small doses are highly dependent on personal nutritional habits and the relative strength of the individual’s immune system—not absolute exposure itself, which is nearly impossible to avoid unless you leave the country. There is no reason at this time to take extreme measures to relocate away from North America, but we will keep watching this situation, which is of concern.

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Related: I’m assuming this is the Natural News article in question:

Fukushima reactor No. 4 vulnerable to catastrophic collapse; could unleash 85 times Cesium-137 radiation of Chernobyl; human civilization on the brink