Switching gears today

Greetings,

Yesterday a 8.9 quake hit Japan. This blog has readers in the Japan area. Be sure to say a prayer for our fellow man in the area. This is the strongest quake on record.

But lets talk about a very serious subject regarding this quake. As many of you have heard, their nuclear power plant is having problems with their cooling system. One reactor has already melted down & the others are getting way too hot. Does anyone remember Chernobyl? Thousands had to be evacuated & the land to this day it is not inhabitable. If this radiation leaks beyond the boundaries of the containment chamber, effects of that meltdown will be felt here in the U.S.

Here is a link to a map from a forum that I monitor & get info from quite often. It was made by a person using data from the Chernobyl meltdown & fallout to calculate the fallout from this potential manmade disaster.

http://img847.imageshack.us/img847/438/fallout.jpg

Am I saying this map is accurate? No......BUT we should be aware of the fact that we may see effects from this nuclear plant. Anything above 500 rads is a death sentence. Exposure needs to be below 200 rads to guarantee survival.

0-50 rads - No obvious short-term effects

80-120 rads - You have a 10% chance of vomiting and experiencing nausea for a few days

130 -170 rads - You have a 25% chance of vomiting and contracting other symptoms

180-220 rads - You have a 50% chance of vomiting and having other severe physical effects

270-330 rads - 20% chance of death in 6 weeks, or you will recover in a few months.

400-500 rads - 50% chance of death

550-750 rads - Nausea within a few hours ; no survivors

> 1000 rads - immediate incapacitation and death within a week or less.

http://www.solarstorms.org/Sradiation.html

The map doesn't go beyond the boundaries of the Rockies. So I don't know if it will continue east or not. Lets just pray that this doesn't happen at all!

I will continue to monitor this & will update as I know anything. This entry is in no way, shape or form to instill fear, hopelessness or panic. I want to inform, that has always been my intention.

Stay safe & well my friends, til next time.

Lori