Well, I’m back in Koriyama now. Now I get to spend the next couple days cleaning and trying to get everything back to normal.
I’ll post more later.
Category: Japan (Page 7 of 11)
Hey everyone. I know it’s been a few days. I’m sure everyone’s waiting patiently for me to say that I’m coming back to Tulsa, but it doesn’t seem like it’s going to be happening.
I’ve been following every little bit of news that I can get, and from what I can tell, there’s no immediate threat here in Tokyo, or even in Koriyama. Radiation levels are higher than normal, but they are still well within healthy limits. I am planning on staying in Tokyo until Sunday, and if my managers are still planning to open the office on Monday, go back to Koriyama. If the managers decide to postpone opening the office, I may stay in Tokyo for a few more days. As it stands though, many of our clients are going back to work, so that means, that we will too (assuming the area still remains safe).
From what I have been reading and watching on TV, there are a number of things to be careful of, but as long as I’m cautious, there won’t be any problems. For instance, don’t eat spinach or drink milk that came from Fukushima. I’ve decided that since I can’t read much kanji, I’ll just refrain from consuming any spinach and milk.
Don’t go swimming in the ocean near the reactor. Yeah, this one is a joke, but the reactor area is the only place that the radiation levels have reached dangerous levels.
Drink bottled drinks. There have been trace amounts of radioactive material found in the tap water. While it’s not enough to be harmful, I figured I’d just drink from bottles to be safe.
So those are just a few of the things. I’m also staying indoors most of the time. This has gotten me a little stir-crazy, but I figure it’s best to be safe.
Hope everyone is enjoying the Oklahoma weather. And don’t worry about me too much. I’m doing great!!!
The title is a little misleading. I don’t know if I am coming back to the states yet, but here’s the gist of what’s going on.
Tonight, I’m taking a train to Tokyo. I will be there until Monday. At that point, I will decide whether to stay in Japan, or to come back to the states, depending on how everything plays out.
If things stay the same or get worse, I will probably be coming back to the states. If it gets better, then I may go south to Osaka. The few days in Tokyo will give me time to get all my things in order, and make sure that I can get back into Japan.
I’ll try to keep this site updated as everything happens.
Wish me luck!!!
A few friends (one is a coworker) and I have evacuated Koriyama. In Koriyama, we were only about 70 km away from the nuclear reactors, and with the threat of multiple core meltdowns and containment vessel damage, we wanted to get away. Currently, we’re in Niigata at a hotel. We are currently nearly 150 miles away from the reactors. We will probably be here for at least two more days as we pay close attention to the news and reassess our situation.
I think the main problem right now is being caused by spent fuel rods in reactor 4 at the Fukushima power plant. Overheating apparently caused a fire there, and, while the first fire was put out, a second fire started there. During these fires, there was a lot of radiation released. They are doing everything they can to get this and all the other problems at the reactors under control.
I am now weighing my options, and coming back to the states is definitely one of those options. There are also a few other places that I have considered as well (China, Korea, and even Europe).
We have been very lucky. The wind has almost constantly been blowing towards the east, so contamination on mainland Japan has not been a problem yet. As long as the wind continues to blow toward the east, I don’t think we’ll have any major problems.
My work has been suspended throughout this disaster. I don’t know when we will be asked to begin work again. While that isn’t a major concern (obviously, my health is the most important factor here), it is something that I must take into consideration.
I’ll keep you updated as the situation develops.
Bryan
For those of you who haven’t been paying attention to world news, there was a disaster in Japan this weekend. What started it, was the fifth biggest earthquake in recorded history (magnitude 9.0). The epicenter was in the pacific ocean about 130 miles off the eastern coast of Japan. By the time it reached me, it was still in the low sixes. This earthquake prompted some huge tidal waves (up to 40 feet high).
The earthquakes caused some damage, but the tsunami was what caused most of the damage. There are many towns and cities on the eastern coast that have been completely destroyed. There are over 3,000 confirmed dead right now, and over 10,000 still missing.
That was the first part of this disaster.
Japan mostly uses nuclear power to supply the country with electricity. This is a very clean and efficient form of power… as long as nothing goes wrong. So, the giant tsunami crashed into the reactors, which had already been shut down because of the earthquakes, and broke some of the cooling systems. This was the beginning of the melt down process for at least two reactors and has caused two hydrogen explosions, so far. There is a third reactor that is currently having problems, and is likely to follow the same chain of events as the first two.
While, looking at a map, Koriyama looks very close to the Fukushima power plant (only about 70km), we are currently perfectly safe due to Japan’s geography and weather patterns. We have a mountain range between us and the busted reactors, and the wind constantly blows to the east.
While food and fresh water are in low supply right now, we currently have plenty of both. I currently don’t have any running water in my apartment, but a friend of mine does. I have been staying with him through all of this. I have also stopped by every vending machine that I see to buy more when it is available. We combined our food and now have about one or two weeks worth of food stockpiled. We are also going out everyday to see if there are any stores or supermarkets open, so that we can add to our stock.
I have had many friends and family members ask if there is anything they can do. Unfortunately, if you aren’t a nuclear physicist, there isn’t much that can be done but donate. There are a number of organizations that are accepting donations. To start, you can start at the Red Cross. If you really just want to donate to someone you know though, I’d happily accept any donations =)
I want to thank everyone for all your thoughts and prayers. I am safe, and constantly watching the news for updates.