2011 Mar 16 The Coast is Clear (for now): Radiation Heading Eastward
Olivia Lee (a.k.a. The Nutritioneer) and Dr Richard have both shared an illustrated map from Der Speigel showing a "time lapse time-lapse of the Japanese radiation exposure headed mostly east, over the Pacific, and not westerly towards China."
The People's Daily has also run a report claiming that "no abnormalities have been found in China radiation monitoring."
For now, at least , it seems Beijingers can exhale and stop clutching their iodine bottles.
Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal writes about renewed international scrutiny on China's own nuclear plans as a result of this week's crisis:
"China [which has many fault lines of its own] is in the midst of a nuclear-power building binge, with 25 plants under construction in addition to the 13 now in operation. The plan is to expand China's current installed production capacity by nearly seven times—to 86 gigawatts in 2020 from 10.8 gigawatts now—and increase nuclear power to 5% of China's energy output, from around 1%. Nuclear power is a core element of Beijing's commitment to reduce emissions from burning coal and other fossil fuels, much of which China has to import. Its expansion is part of five-year plan for 2011 through 2015 formally adopted by China's legislature, the National People's Congress, on Monday."
China, nevertheless, has announced that it will strengthen nuclear radiation monitoring, according to this Dow Jones Newswire report.
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In Case You Were Wondering: Radiation Levels in Beijing?
Developments in Japan have been distressing, to say the least, and given Beijing's close proximity, it's only natural to worry (albeit at the back of your mind) about any potential fallout risks from the ongoing Fukushima nuclear crisis here in the Capital.Liquid Reassessment: Beijing Drinking Water and Food to be Tested for Radiation
As Japan’s nuclear crisis continues to fester with no sign of letting up (at the time of writing, the latest worries centered radioactive water leaking into the sea) and now Chinese authorities have announced testing for radiation in the food and drinking water of 14 places, including Beijing and Tianjin, according to the China Daily.
The announcement comes on the heels of a confirmation that the “level of radiation stemming from iodine-131, a radioactive isotope, was higher than usual in four counties in Northeast China's Heilongjiang province” as well as restrictions on certain Japanese food imports. Nevertheless authorities have reiterated that the detected levels of radiation are too low to pose any public health risk.
Even More Ways to Help Out Japan's Tsunami-Quake Victims
We already wrote a post about what we can do to aid Japan’s tsunami-quake victims, but more of the Beijing community is pulling together to line up charity events for the next few weeks. Read on to see how to join the cause.
More Ways to Help Japan's Tsunami-Quake Victims
Last week’s devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan has hit close to home on many, many levels. Here are some more ways to help from Beijing:Online donations can be made via Chinapay to the Red Cross Society of China by visiting the English language page and filling out the form.
You can also wire money from the post office located in Beixinqiao in Dongcheng District (东城区北新桥三条八号) using the customer account number (客户号) 111119995.
In Case You Were Also Wondering: How Earthquake Prone is Beijing?
Japan’s devastating tsunami-quake-nuclear crisis may be old news by now, but the alarming number of super-tremblors that have wreaked havoc around the world in recent years should be enough to make anyone wary of an earth-shattering catastrophe occurring in their own backyard.China, of course, has seen its share of death and destruction over the centuries – after all, much of the country sits on the “junctions of several tectonic plates, including the Pacific, the Eurasian and the Indian Ocean plates with at least 495 faults crisscrossing its topography.” Scientists recently determined that at least 130 of these fault lines lie beneath major cities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, but also pointed out that 80 of the are “inactive” (though this may not be so reassuring considering the unspecified nature of the other 40 and this NYT report on how scientists have historically underestimated the power of earthquakes).
