The plum blossoms are out, and smell heavenly. This photo was taken yesterday a few yards down the road. The weather has been cool, sunny and quite windy. Very refreshing. There is a small organic farm in our neighbourhood owned and operated by a guy our age. He has a self-serve road-side stand for neighbours. Strawberries are in season here and his have the most exquisite perfume.
We’ve been looking for informed expert opinion about the radiation risks for our area given the reactor trouble to the North. Via The Guardian, a British expert panel discussion at the British Embassy in Tokyo is extremely reassuring. The short story: the worst case scenario is long term contamination of a 30km radius, with no health effects in Tokyo. If you are worried, it’s definitely worth reading the transcript. The modelling results from the Nulear Regulatory Commission in the US that led to a recommended exclusion area of 80km do not seem inconsistent with the British evaluation.
Also via The Guardian, a blog post at Nature provides a quick, technical-but-plain-language refresher on what radiation is for those of us who slept through physics class.
In spite of the absence of a radiological risk to Tokyo residents, several embassies, including the British, French and Australian, have recommended that their citizens consider leaving the Tokyo area. This is because of infrastructure concerns, not radiation. Also keep in mind that Tokyo is in great shape compared to the humanitarian crisis along the North-Eastern coast. Infrastructure damage, the large affected area, and the large number of evacuees have led to unmet need for warmth, food and medicine.
An electrical blackout is imminent here, so that’s it for now. Also time to change a diaper. Again.
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