Q & A
Q: What happened in Japan to cause the nuclear crisis the country is experiencing? A: The reactors did well in the earthquake, but it was the tsunami that got it. It looks like the water may have flooded the pumps and controls. The plant was probably experiencing hardware issues. Also, it is not just water that entered the plant – it is ocean bed, topsoil, mud and seawater. That is not good for electronics and seawater is highly conductive and corrosive. Q: Concerns have been raised in the media about trace
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Physics Professor Mark Utlaut answers your questions about nuclear power amounts of nuclear radiation from Japan hitting the West Coast. Could this happen? If so, what would the ramifications be? A: In general, radiation is something to be concerned about. It is radioactivity. If it interacts with biological material it can cause genetic problems. Any time there is an explosion, stuff goes up and then falls back down and stays residually around the explosion. To get here from there by wind is problematic because of the way currents go., though they run south of us. Places
in California would be more affected. Q: Are there steps people can take to protect themselves from radiation if there ever is a nuclear radiation emergency? A: People can take iodine, but we naturally get iodine from living near the ocean. People in Kansas who don’t live near the ocean put iodine in their salt. However, if you take too much, there are problems that way. Basically the government would help if there was a real problem – they want you to pay taxes after all.
Q: The decommissioned Trojan Nuclear power plant is about 40 miles outside of Portland. All the uranium from the power plant still sits in bins on the property. Are there any health risks that could pose? A: We are upriver from the Trojan Nuclear power plant. Even if there is an earthquake, nothing would probably happen. Q: Could Hanford, a power plant in central Washington with an active reactor, be an issue? A: Maybe. We’re down river
from Hanford, and Hanford is a colossal nightmare. They’ve buried stuff for years. I don’t know how water gets to Columbia there. They don’t know what it is doing to the water. -Rosemary Peters
UP senior fundraises for Japan relief Danielle Castro is selling t-shirts, proceeds will go to the Red Cross
Rosemary Peters Editor-in-Chief peters12@up.edu Senior Danielle Castro has strong ties to Japan, so when she heard about the 9.0 magnitude earthquake on March 11, she was concerned. “I have family in Okinawa,” Castro said. “Everybody on my mom’s side is from Okinawa.” However, Castro’s family is OK. “They had enough time to evacuate,” Castro said. The epicenter of the earthquake was closer to the northeastern coast of Japan, and the tsunami didn’t affect Okinawa as badly as places such as Sendai, more than 1,100 miles northeast of where Castro’s family lives. According to CNN, 9,487 people had been confirmed dead and 15,617 officially listed as missing – a total of 25,104 – as of 9 p.m. (AEDT) yesterday as a result of the quake and tsunami. About 387,000 evacuees – including those affected by the damaged nuclear plants – are staying in around 2,200 shelters with limited food, water and other supplies, according to the Kyodo News Agency.
Shortly after hearing about the crisis, Castro visited the website threadless.com where she entered a t-shirt design contest. For every t-shirt sold during the course of the contest, 25 percent of the proceeds went to the Red Cross to be donated to Japan. After crunching the numbers, Castro realized if she took her shirt design and sold the shirts on her own, she could raise more money. “I wanted to raise more money than what was going to be coming off of this competition,” Castro said. Castro approached UP’s Marketing Department with her idea and Assistant Vice President of Marketing and Communication Laurie Kelley responded. “Danielle came to the marketing office and talked with my colleague John Furey about this idea she had for the t-shirt competition with threadless,” Kelley said in an email. “I loved her design and knew she would be successful in trying to sell them to raise money for the Red Cross.” In the end, Kelley connected Castro with UP alumnus Mike Thompson. “UP alum Mike Thompson of
Taylor Made T-Shirts printed the shirts at an extremely low cost so that more proceeds could go to the Red Cross,” Castro said in an email. When designing her shirt, Castro incorporated symbolism into every figure that appears on the white cotton tee. “Rays of sunlight from a Japanese sunrise come over the father and his child, revealing shadows of a Samurai spirit,” Castro wrote on her website. “This design acknowledges the history of Japan and what Samurai embody: honor, endurance, tradition, and hope. In the sun, you’ll see the seismograph drawing of the 9.0 earthquake to acknowledge the tragedy, but the father and son walk on.” Castro said the money raised will go straight to Japan. “Japan has been an ally,” Castro said. “With Hurricane Katrina, they sent over about $13 million and the government also gave money to the Red Cross.” Castro sold over 100 shirts with the International Club at Espresso UP yesterday. While selling shirts last night, Castro and the International Club set up a booth for students to fold purple origami paper cranes.
Photo Courtesy of exclaimorange.com
Senior Danielle Castro’s t-shirt design. T-shirts are $10, and all of the proceeds go to the Red Cross. Their goal is to fold 1,000 cranes she said. because it is a sign of well wishes Shirts can be purchased for in Japanese culture. In order to $10. Castro is selling the shirts to reach 1,000 cranes, they will have people who contact her via email students fold at other events. at castro11@up.edu. She is also “Just keep the people of Japan selling them on her website. in your thoughts and prayers,”
JAPAN: Japanese students reflect on situation
Monday, March 21
support that Japan is receiving. “The American Navy came to Japan – I really appreciate that,” Seiji said. “President Obama said he’ll do his best to save Japanese peoples’ lives. I feel happy in my heart.” - Rosemary Peters and Ona Golonka contributed to this story.
Tuesday, March 22
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Japanese residents start hoarding bottled water after testing shows radioactive matter in tap water is at levels unsafe for infants. Officials evacuated some workers from the Fukushima plant as a black plume of smoke billowed above a reactor. Japanese government expands food restrictions after the health ministry said tests detected radioactive material at levels exceeding legal limits. CNN reports 9,487 people had been confirmed dead and 15,617 officially listed as missing – a total of 25,104. About 387,000 evacuees are staying at 2,200 shelters, according to the Kyodo News Agency.
big earthquake, since there are still many aftershocks. Regardless, she is hopeful. “I appreciate those people who work for saving Japan,” Satomi said. “I really hope these efforts will bring bright future in Japan soon. I want to do what I can do as much as possible.” Seiji is also happy about the
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according to Satomi and Yuuki. Even though Japan is in the midst of a natural disaster, students are hopeful about Japan’s recovery. “People are helping each other,” Yuuki said. “I saw lots of cooperation and warm behavior during this difficult time.” Satomi worries about another
Plant operator of Tokyo Electric Power Co. said high levels of radioactive substances were found in seawater near the plant. American schoolteacher, 24-year-old Taylor Anderson who had been missing, is found dead.
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The World Health Organization (WHO) declares “no immediate health risk” for shortterm exposure to food contaminated by radiation in Japan. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory commission reports the U.S. is safe from harmful levels of radioactive releases from Japan.
grandparents. “I guess it was about two days later, they heard from my grandparents,” Maika said. “They are doing OK.” During the natural disaster, Japanese people were asked to conserve electricity. Satomi, Yuuki, Seiji’s family and Maika’s
family are all trying to save electricity. “Some days ago, every family was asked to save the electricity because the nuclear plant was stopped by the earthquake,” Seiji said. “My family also tried to save electricity.” The area has had scheduled blackouts since March 14,
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Continued from page 1
Wednesday, March 23
A more in depth timeline can be found at: http:// www.swedishwire. com/component/ content/ article/34:globalnews/9027:japandisaster-timelineday-by-day