Lawmaker drinks decontaminated water from Fukushima plant

What an idiot, and so much for "clean", "inexpensive", and "safe" nuclear energy - God help Japan from this scourge.

nigelboy: "Oh, now I see what smith is trying to say. He's saying that Japanese media often downplays its incidents compared to the international counterparts?"

Admittedly my post was more poorly worded than usual (and this is an excuse, but it actually is because of a slow keyboard buffer to an extent!), but indeed what I meant to say is that the Japanese media oft downplays incidents that occur in Japan compared to how the international media reports them (and also I will admit the latter can play them up and exaggerate). Remember the crises that occurred on March 11th? Remember even Kan getting angry because he wasn't getting the information from sources?

It depends, of course, on what the nature of the incident is, and of course it's not just the media but the people with vested interests who play things down. When the March 11th disasters occurred you would hear time and again reports on, yes, international reports on how 'stoic' the Japanese public were in the face of disaster, but when it's about something that might embarrass the nation on the international stage it tends to trickle down a little slower, if at all.

So this issue was reported and the person I was talking to missed it. Oh well. The facts I mentioned still hold true for a lot of other things.

This story was released on nightly NBC news today. Reaction from people here was simply 'How Stupid!"

Don"t believe the hype - The ground water in Fukushima is contaminated. Simply opening the land for people to live in is totally dangerous.

I wouldn't move back there, if i was born in Fukushima

Globalwatcher,

Oh, now I see what smith is trying to say. He's saying that Japanese media often downplays its incidents compared to the international counterparts? Debatable.

Unfortunately for smith, he chose a poor example "on this issue", since based on my previous post, "this issue" was reported by every major Japanese news organization the day before this JT article.

The Japanese media oft downplays international reports about Japan,

Listen up what smithinjapan is saying. He is correct. Japanese government is downplaying too.

The Japanese media oft downplays international reports about Japan, if it reports them at all.

Why would Japanese media even bother to report "international report about Japan"? I'll make it easier for you. Why would a Canadian media even bother to report "(insert any other country here) report about Canada"?

Report on a report....

Most times if I talk to a Japanese person about this kind of news article they have zero knowledge about it happening

Hmmm. Although this particular news was reported by all major outlets in Japan the day before JT posted this up, your Japanese person apparently missed it.

http://news.google.co.jp/news/story?hl=ja&rlz=1T4DAJP_jaUS318&q=%E5%9C%92%E7%94%B0&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ncl=d5e7T_GziwmOYkM-3xyoJKbDxIUVM&ei=jYOxTtfxMtCDtgfbmfybAg&sa=X&oi=news_result&ct=more-results&resnum=4&ved=0CFwQqgIwAw

nigelboy: "I don't get what you mean by "Japan doesn't like to acknowledge its poor conduct of issues" Please clarify."

Wow, you're more naive than I thought (and I don't mean the katakana 'ナイーブ', or 'sensitive'). The Japanese media oft downplays international reports about Japan, if it reports them at all. Most times if I talk to a Japanese person about this kind of news article they have zero knowledge about it happening. Your comment, as such, falls well into that category of not understanding. Congrats.

PS3 - Problem Solving by Stupid Stunts. Part of the basic education program any parlamentary newcomer has to go through.

I wonder if he said "Gochiso-sama deshita... urrrrp...."

Carny. Plain and simple.

Pass me a glass

Wasn't it the American President Richard Nixon who did this with supposedly treated sewer water? Turned out to be regular tap water. I have no doubt the same thing happened this time.

What people really don't understand is that everyone has drank treated sewer water. At a treatment plant, they remove the sludge and sewage and then release the treated water back into the eco system. That same water starts the process all over again. If it is dumped into a lake or river, it is evaporated and falls back to the earth in the form or rain or other forms of precipitation. Considering what is found in nature and where the water goes, good thing we treat it before it gets into the tap water system.

Of course it's okay to drink ... there just might be consequences for having done so at some point in the future.

All politicians should drink a bottle of this every day. The world would be a nicer place

Sonoda Soda water a refreshing slurp that will leave you tingling with excitement.

Hey Sonoda Water leaks out of Tokai nuclear reactor 22 tons as a matter of fact. You want some.

On the lighter side, this article proves that sometimes life imitates art:

(from the October 28 "Dilbert" comic strip)

http://dilbert.com/2011-10-28/

I wonder if anybody calculated how much it cost to clean up that glass of water. Yeah, it can be done. But it's going to cost trillions of yen to mitigate all of the fallout over land. Going to be a big drag on the economy.

Wasn't it the American President Richard Nixon who did this with supposedly treated sewer water? Turned out to be regular tap water. I have no doubt the same thing happened this time.

Shouldn't be too hard to decontaminate water. We've been doing it for over a century. Converting water to steam should leave any radioactive particles in the boiler. The steam can then be condensed back into drinkable (if very tasteless) distilled water.

I'm simply trying to show that treated water is okay to drink.

Sure thing nothing's gonna happen when he drinks it in front of the media. But later on, who knows.

Brave man. Or a foolish thing to do.

Same thing was done by ADM Rickover, the father of the Nuclear Navy to prove the same point. Wate in itself can't become radioactive. However, the particles in water can carry the radiation if they are irradiated. That is why in reactors, the water used is distilled as best as possible. They try for 99% purity.

So as long as he is confident that they water was properly distilled and no particle were in it, then it should pose no problem.

Tritium is very nasty, However, there shouldn't be too much tritium around. You need a high neutron flux to produce it. Like in a nuclear explosion. Or in a criticality. Which as far as we know could have happened only in reactors 1 through 4 (I wouldn't know any reason for a criticality without a meltdown).

Furthermore, if produced in a gaseous state, it would make its way out of the system rather quickly since hydrogen is very light. The major issues of contamination in these puddles are cesium (like we enjoy it all over Kanto) and the actinides, uranium, plutonium and all the other lovely guys. However, if you ingest these (and know about it), you can use zeolithes to eliminate the majority from your body before it can do more harm. If he suspects such a risk, he will have taken precautions and prepared the chemicals.

Maybe you spent a day going through all the Japanese and non-Japanese media on this issue (probably only non-Japanese, since Japan doesn't like to acknowledge its poor conduct of issues), but how do we know the water he drank is from where he claims it is? Maybe it was just a bottle of fresh Canadian spring water bottled in Hokkaido.

I don't get what you mean by "Japan doesn't like to acknowledge its poor conduct of issues" Please clarify.

@ futurebeast

Exactly, You said it.

Lets bottle all the puddle water from the reactors and sell it online.

nigelboy: "A journalist "dares" him to drink the water and when he does it, it's still not satisfactory."

Maybe you spent a day going through all the Japanese and non-Japanese media on this issue (probably only non-Japanese, since Japan doesn't like to acknowledge its poor conduct of issues), but how do we know the water he drank is from where he claims it is? Maybe it was just a bottle of fresh Canadian spring water bottled in Hokkaido.

Kamekaze nuclear power advocacy. Glad to see the spirit is still strong even though the body will soon be stricken with cancer.Tritium cannot be filtered out to my knowledge.

A journalist "dares" him to drink the water and when he does it, it's still not satisfactory. And when you present the data, their reaction is "how do you know it's safe?"

It's like going in circles with these hack journalist and their followers.

As always zichi brought good info along with a new comer to me, Jeff Laitila. Please bring us in Japan realistic information. This seems to be a new guy that was volunteered to drink 350 - 500 ml of decontaminated water from the plant. It is my understanding that this type of poisoning could take many years to conclude if their is any affect. I hope that things get better but with weekly news that new hot spots are found in Tokyo and surrounding neighbors it is difficult.

Was he nuts!?

@choiwaruoyaji

I kind of agree with you. He was shaking when he was drinking. I think he was shaking not because he was afraid of being radiated, but I think because he knew it is a stupid act and he would get so much criticism from everywhere. But he did it just because one freelance journalist told him to...

btw, you don't look choiwaru, but megawaru :D

Idiocy on a minor scale. The plant build? Grand scale.

When asked by a reporter if the gesture was not simply a “political stunt,” Sonoda said, “It was not a performance. I’m simply trying to show that treated water is okay to drink.”

Hmmm, So are the thousands of tons of decontaminated water from reactors 1 to 3 going to end up in city water treatment facilities?

I kind of admire this guy.

We need more conviction politicians like him...

very brave dude, really a kamikaze man.

I set up a meeting and will expose it. Hope they do not show my face on the teli

Rather you them me Mr Sonoda

“Presenting data to the public is the best way.”

Ummm... drinking puddle water, if indeed it was such (there is no proof) is not 'data' any more than serving irradiated products to foreign dignitaries is proof that something is or is not contaminated.

I feel sorry for Sonoda. He did a reasonable thing, drinking decontaminated water, which means it's not contaminated. It's a futile effort though, as those who are not willing to believe it's safe just move the goal posts or suspect fraud.

Yawn.

Nobody believes anything you say mate. Drinking a glass of water is only going to impress the chuckle demographic.

He's a politician so by default he is untrustworthy. Most probably drinking Evian. I think Japanese citizens are finally realizing how much the government lies to them. It took a disaster such as this in order to amplify the continuous falsity in their lies. That's why so many people have left Japan, including Tokyo and Fukushima and beyond. Don't rely on a corrupt government to tell you whether or not something is safe or not. No food should be sold or grown around Fukushima, yet we find the Japanese government promoting the stuff. How wrong is that?!

How do you say "Hey Y'all, watch this!" in Japanese?

"Teme~~~ra, yoOOOku miteroyoooooooo!!!"

"I do a lot of business with this company." Money over safety? Truely a Japan girl.

How do you say "Hey Y'all, watch this!" in Japanese?

What a clueless prat. And his idiotic stunt is supposed to prove what? Because it certainly ain't convincing any sensible person.

Yes, I guess they must have taken it from the puddle and then put it through the filtration system. Maybe even had a mini system set up to do this in their lab.

papigulio:

" One must be insane to drink (EVEN if treated) water from a radioactive puddle inside a reactor building even if you want to prove its safe. "

I thought the whole point was to show that the water is NOT radioactive anymore after running through all those xeolite filters. I agree that the article is written poorly.

Actually this was water from around the No 5 & 6 turbine buildings, not the ones in the explosions.

The water was treated by TEPCO, and the treatment included desalination, boiling and disinfecting so that it fell below the limits set by the World Health Organization.

From the Yomiuri 13 hours ago: ５、６号機のタービン建屋地下には、微量の放射性物質を含んだ海水や地下水がたまる。一度、海に放出したこともあった。今回、園田政務官が飲んだ水は、東電が特殊な膜や脱塩装置で処理した水を煮沸消毒したもの。セシウムなどの放射性物質は検出限界以下の濃度で、海水浴場の基準や、世界保健機関の飲料水の基準を下回っている。

JapanGal

Will check them all again tomorrow and make a choice.

What's the choice? If you believe you found a hot spot you have a duty to report it, not just for yourself but for everyone. I don't think there is anything else to consider, really.

I don't mean to be on Sonoda's side, but the things have been going on between Sonoda and the free journalist for a couple of weeks. On October 7, Sonoda was explaining to journalists about decontaminated water, then one free journalist said, "If you say it is so safe, can you drink it in front of us?" Sonoda said "I'll think about it." And yesterday, the same journalist was there, so Sonoda drank the water in front of him. As Sonoda has kept saying "Just drinking decontaminated water doesn't mean safety has been confirmed, I know that. Presenting data to the public is the best way." I think he just did it because he knew the journalist would keep asking him to drink the water until he actually does it. After Sonoda drank the water, the journalist said, "Still... it doesn't prove anything!!!" What a jerk!!! He's the one who started it.

This might have been sludge before or when it gets wet, but it is dry and stuck to the roof near drains. Highest number about an hour ago came to 1.84 μSv. Will check them all again tomorrow and make a choice.

I think rather drink that than the stuff that comes out of the taps in Tokyo.

He sipped but he didn't swallow. At least I hope so, for his sake.

"Drink liters of the stuff everyday for 10 or 20 years then we'll see if it's safe mister minister."

(I see the armchair nuclear physiscists are in abundance here...)

Actually, the levels determined to be safe for consumption do account for consumption over an extended period of time (i.e. 20+ years or a lifetime).

Also, exposure pathways for toxins include more than just ingestion. There is also inhalation or vapors and dust, as well as dermal absorption, not to mention the bioaccumulative effects received through the food chain.

PS: Take a radiation measurement from the computer monitor you spend 10+ hours sitting in front of everyday, you just might be surprised to find you are already being "exposed".

Thanks for the info guys. It is an expensive hand held machine and fully calibrated and confirmed. Got to think things through. I do a lot of business with this company.

Ild love to know what this man did to annoy his collegues. Talk about drawing the short straw. Some Japanese citizens might buy the propaganda, but it might be a little harder to brainwash the rest of the world.

@JapanGal:

2.4 muSv per hour? That's about 50 muSv per day and about 17.5 mSv per year. That is already quite a decent dose, which would require a designation as "area with control of ionising radiation according to German law" (starting at 6mSv per year). Visitors may only enter these areas with official permission and workers are allowed entry only for the purpose of work (but there is no temporal restriction).

I'd suggest You tell the building manager that either they clean it in the next weeks or You wash it away, wherever it may end up. If they think it is not their duty, then You can reduce it by washing it away with a pressure cleaner or they take care of it. Don't forget to check after cleaning that it is significantly reduced.

A drainage area on the roof of my building measured 2.4 μSv Should I report it?

Only if your measurement is accurate(proper procedure, calibrated instrument) and been varied by other 3rd party sources(following proper measurement procedures like calibration, etc).

Told a guy off at the local super who waved an el-cheapo geiger-counter around and clearly didn't know what he was doing. He was shocked after I explained him what it takes to make a proper measurement of food, etc. Example: for rice it takes atleast 5kg and a 24-48hrs preparation period before the measurement is taken inside a very expensive equipment.

Yes, you can take readings but also need to account for wrappings/packaging, etc and a timed measurement(more accurate) will involve you holding the counter for 10min still over the food and that is per item.

In short his little handheld won't give him any reading or more likely a wrong one as he didn't calibrate it for the local spot, etc.

Stupid is as stupid does.

I saw him on the news last night. You could see him in the background afterward running to get rid of the deposit in his stomach.

Measuring liquids takes time with a Geiger counter as does food.

A drainage area on the roof of my building measured 2.4 μSv

Should I report it?

His hand was sooooo shakey when he picked up the glass....needed a nip of gin to help down it!

Doin this in a country where historically people would disembowell themselves in front of an audience....... would mean much? Hes probably relieved... drinking a glass of dodgey water or seppuku...... i know which i would choose

Why perform such stupid PR stunts for the media? Like Edano eating Fukushima veggies for the camera in the weeks after the accident... what has happened to prudence in leadership?

I guess we all believe that the reduction of the contamination by a factor of 10000 or 100000 in Fukushima is an amazing feat. Still, we wouldn't want to drink it. Another question which comes to my mind is - what kind of chemicals they need for the filtration and decontamination. Even if the water is decontaminated, it has probably the quality of waste water from a chemical factory - nothing I'd love to have in my soda.

I know I'm going to get flamed for this, but can someone tell me what a "Lawmaker" is?

Are there people whose profession is the making of laws?

Do they get paid per law made?

But readers need to be aware of the fact most of the beer, coke, juice, liquer and other beverages is made from what is most likely going to be contaminated water to some degree atleast anyway.

Idiot, would have liked to see a geiger meter next to it and proof where it actually came from.

Tomorrow's headline.....

"Japanese Law Maker Dies From Contaminated Water"

Hahahaha....

He should try drinking 4 to 5 glasses of water for the next 6 months or longer. By drinking just 1 glass of water does not do anything. He is just another lawmaker that`s deceiving the public.

'samurai spirit is still alive ! Even if there is any harmful effect due to drinking a glass of decontaminted water...who will admit to it? Govt/TEPCO/J-media...? They will find plenty of excuses, but i sincerely pray for his safety and hope he wins landslide re-eletion.

No "Kisu free" for him, that's for sure.

Decontaminated water is known as waer in Japan.

Good on him for at least having the bottle (no pun intended) to back up his point of view... I just hope he hasn't made a huge mistake!

Now it's the journalists' turn to "kanpai" with this decontaminated water. Stupid journalists for asking him to drink the decontaminated water.

...committing suicide never proved anything!!!!

What a Buffoon. He was probably "volunteered" by his more worldly wise colleagues.

I just heard he has grown another ear!

"The water came from puddles that had collected in the plant following clean-up efforts, a source not normally intended for human consumption."

Thanks for that revelation.

And Sonoda expects the public to drink the cool-aid.

I cannot wait to read all the 'witty' and 'clever' comments on this one! Brilliant.

Yeah right, and in his bag is a opened bottle of evian. One must be insane to drink (EVEN if treated) water from a radioactive puddle inside a reactor building even if you want to prove its safe.

Yeah ok so drinking one glass of water proves what? That the water was wet is about all.

Drink liters of the stuff everyday for 10 or 20 years then we'll see if it's safe mister minister.

“It was not a performance!"

No, you got that right, it was a stunt.