Japan Nuclear Plant Explosion: Potassium Iodide, Miso Soup & Radioactive Fallout

Trust in God but lock your car door!

The shock of seeing an explosion at a nuclear power plant is jarring and I cried when I saw the video of this event at Fukushima, Northern Japan. I have not felt like this since that fateful day 9/11/01. Ignorance is bliss so what I know about fallout and radiation has me praying and meditating to maintain bliss in the face of this event’s possible impact.

“The blast (Reuters Sat Mar 12, 2011 12:43pm EST “Snap Analysis“) at the 40-year-old Daiichi 1 reactor came as plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco) worked to reduce pressure from mildly radioactive steam in the core after the total loss of power needed to keep water circulating to prevent the reactor fuel from overheating.”

Because the information is sketchy at best, of this and other unstable reactors in Japan, I am writing on how to deal with the worst case scenario, the event of nuclear fallout reaching the US! If one of these reactors releases a significant amount of radiation into the atmosphere it is imperative to know:

1)  West Coast or more of the US can be impacted by fallout (depending direction, wind speed, weather patterns and intensity of release)

2) There is some time before this could occur, up to 10 days post release (Map thanks to Eastern Pennsylvania Permaculture Guild via Permaculture India)

3) You can protect yourself and your family to some degree from some of the effects of the radiation.

Nuclear fall-out map

(Map thanks to Eastern Pennsylvania Permaculture Guild via Permaculture India)(Map thanks to Eastern Pennsylvania Permaculture Guild via Permaculture India)

1) Acute phase see the Centers for Disease Control Web site for acute exposure phase and always discuss with your health care practitioner. Daily dosing is quite smaller than acute dosing to protect from exposure to high levels of radiation. It is important to give this to adults and children unless there are allergies to shellfish or Iodine. KI is a common treatment in preventing thyroid cancer from radiations exposure if taken within 24 hours prior or during exposure as the thyroid needs time to take up the KI to prevent the thyroid from absorbing the radiation.
Discuss this and any treatment with your health care practitioner as there are some mediating medications like diphenhydramine (a.k.a) Benedryl or cortisone to curb any allergic reaction. You must determine the risk of taking KI versus the potential severity of the reaction for sensitive people.

2) For long-term radiation cleansing effects and remediation of radiation exposure eat Miso soup, Brown Rice and Sea Vegetables cooked and prepared in a variety of cooking styles. Avoid high animal food intake and refined sugars including flour product during and after exposure. Fermentation, Phytates and the radiation absorbing effects of seaweed are the active principle in these foods.

3) Be prepared for a period of several days or longer inside if any event of significant fallout occurs. Make sure you have sufficient water, non-perishable food stores like package foods. Foods like dried grains, beans are the healthiest but you need a way to cook them in the event of a power outage, indoors to minimize fallout exposure.

Solar cookers can be used by placing in south facing windows or if you have indoor fire place, wood or gas to propane cook-stove or a solar, or  gas generator. **Remember that all combustion motors or cooking have dangerous CO2 exhaust and must be vented.

For more on Miso and a basic Miso Soup Recipe go to this post.

Stay tuned for more on this topic.

Reference:

Radioprotective effects of miso (fermented soy bean paste) against radiation is B6C3F1 mice… Ohara M., et al…. http://www.ncbi.nim.nih.gov/pubmed/11833659