Podcast-Another 20 Navy Sailors: USS Ronald Reagan crew with thyroid cancers, leukemia, brain tumors

[JohnyCanuck]

These are the allegations made by the lawyer, Charles Bonner, representing the crew of the USS Ronald Reagan allegedly harmed by exposure to radiation from the Fukushima nuclear disaster, in an interview with the website http://www.nuclearhotseat.com .

Nuclear Hotseat #129, Dec. 10, 2013:

At 27:00 in
Charles Bonner, attorney representing sailors from the USS Ronald Reagan: They’re not only going to the rescue by jumping into the water and rescuing people out of the water, but they were drinking desalinated sea water, bathing in it, until finally the captain of the USS Ronald Reagan alarmed people that they were encountering high levels of radiation. As a result of this exposure, the 51 sailors that we represent right now have come down with a host of medical problems, including cancers and leukemias, all kinds of gynecological problems [...] people who are going blind, pilots who had perfect eyesight but now have tumors on the brain. These service men and women are young people 21, 22, 23 years old and no one in their family had ever (inaudible) any of these kinds of illnesses before.

At 33:00
Bonner: These sailors had none of these kind of medical problems, now they have back pains, memory loss, severe anxiety. They have testicular cancer, they have thyroid cancers, they have leukemias, they have a host of problems, rectal and gynecological bleeding, a host of problems that they did not have before [...] And it’s only been 3 years since they went in. [...] The Japanese government is in a major conspiracy with Tepco to hide and conceal the true facts.

http://enenews.com/another-20-navy-sailors-uss-ronald-reagan-crew-with-thyroid-cancer-leukemia-brain-tumors-bleeding-blindness-children-becoming-sick-after-responding-to-311-crisis-japan-govt-and-tepc

[newfie11]

1. Not surprising

I'm not sure the average Japanese knows the extent of radiation induced health problems in their country.
It will eventually come out.

[mdbl]

2. Anyone I know where I can purchase an inexpensive Geiger counter?

I need to check all of my seafood before I cook or eat it.

[oldbanjo]

3. Amounts that are bad for you won't show with a geiger counter.

I stopped buying canned fish/tuna the day Japan had the accident. Japan is exporting fish that will harm you.

[mdbl]

6. Damn, I love Tuna and hate that we ruined it with mercury & now radiation

but I think the FDA should require the canned fish industry to test and state findings before they can sell it. Is this asking for too much? Oh I forgot, we're not supposed to know the toxins and unnatural ingredients in the foods we eat.

[jmowreader]

21. If we're talking tuna, the nationality of the fishing vessel doesn't matter

Tunas are the most migratory (or "pelagic&quot fish in the ocean. This is the Pacific tuna migration map.



And this is the Atlantic tuna migration map.

Real simple: if it's a tuna that came out of the Pacific Ocean, it's been to Fukushima.

[kestrel91316]

8. I solved that little problem by giving up all animal products in my diet.

I don't trust seafood to be non-radioactive, among other things.

[silvershadow]

4. Coming soon, to a town near you. :/ nt

[Bonobo]

5. Doesn't pass the smell test.

Lying liars lie.

Especially sleazy lawyers being quoted on websites that claim that radiation is melting starfishes all over the world in the Pacific AND Atlantic oceans.

[Generic Other]

7. I am not blaming the melting starfish on Fukushima

but there is a problem locally.

<snip>

Divers were out in Puget Sound waters Saturday to see if they can help solve a mystery. Scientists are trying to figure out what's causing one species of starfish to die in parts of Puget Sound and the waters off of Canada.

Seattle Aquarium biologists Jeff Christiansen and Joel Hollander suited up in scuba gear in their search for answers. “We're going to look for both healthy and potentially diseased sea stars,” Christiansen explained. “We've got some sea stars that look like they're melting on the bottom.”

The same thing is happening in the waters near Canada and nobody’s sure why. The cause could be environmental or perhaps driven by disease.

<snip>

http://www.king5.com/news/environment/Biologists-search-for-cause-of-sea-star-deaths-229408861.html

[AnotherDreamWeaver]

13. This article says it's the lack of oxygen in the ocean:

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20131205/articles/131209727#page=0
Threat of 'dead zone' developing off Sonoma Coast

[nadinbrzezinski]

20. Something is killing the star fishes

On the other side of the Pacific, likely an anaerobic environment and the development of a dead zone. That is happening.

As to the USN, we know the services have lied in the past. Agent Orange is exhibit A.

[proverbialwisdom]

9. Full disclosure: Not my field, haven't read all of this.

http://www.rogerwitherspoon.com/energy.html

A Lasting Legacy of the Fukushima Rescue Mission: Part 4 Living with the Aftermath
Energy Matters Blog Post
March 15, 2013 (241KB PDF)

A Lasting Legacy of the Fukushima Rescue Mission: Part 3: Cat and Mouse with a Nuclear Ghost
Energy Matters Blog Post
March 2, 2013 (179KB PDF)

A Lasting Legacy of the Fukushima Rescue Mission: Part 2: The Navy Life - Into the Abyss
Energy Matters Blog Post
February 10, 2013 (175KB PDF)

A Lasting Legacy of the Fukushima Rescue Mission: Part 1 Radioactive Contamination of American Sailors
Energy Matters Blog Post
Janury 31, 2013 (126KB PDF)

http://www.rogerwitherspoon.com/bio.html

Link from: http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/nation/a-lasting-legacy-of-the-fukushima-rescue-mission-part-1-radioactive-contamination-of-americ

[Marrah_G]

10. Holy shit.... is this true?

[FBaggins]

11. Depends on what you mean by "is it true"

Are there a bunch of servicemembers with health problems? Sure. On a ship with 5-6,000 people, there will always be a number of health issues (many of which are entirely new to the person). And, as is common with such lawsuits, you'll see claims that it's caused by something that could get the client and lawyer a bucket of cash.

But is it plausible that these things are caused by radiation exposure? Nope. But when has that ever stopped an attorney? Most of the issues he attorney lists (children of these former sailors are getting sick? rectal and gynecological bleeding?) have no rational connection to radiation exposure.

We're talking about a nuclear aircraft carrier here with substantial NBC detection and remediation capabilities. The ship knew about the exposure (first to 17 SAR mission participants... then later to anyone above-decks on the ship as it sailed through part of the plume from Fukushima. It was reported at the time. In both case, the dosage to those exposed was reported as roughly one month's worth of background exposure. That's orders of magnitude below anything that could cause bleeding (etc).

[Marrah_G]

12. Thank you!

[Melissa G]

14. Check the posts/ bias of who you are thanking

others might give you a different answer.

[PCIntern]

15. it's just like eating three bananas!!! nt

[nadinbrzezinski]

18. You forgot the transcontinental flight

And the two dental x-rays

[nadinbrzezinski]

19. And the navy in particular, or DOD in general, would never

Ever, not in their lives, cross their hearts, lie, cough agent orange cough, as exhibit A.

[malaise]

16. Frightening

[hunter]

17. The cursed name of the ship can't help...

[jmowreader]

22. What interests me is the low number of affected sailors

There are about 6000 people in a CVN's ship's company; all of them were drinking and bathing in this water, but fewer than 100 of them came down with all these diseases?

From the CDC's Public Health Statement on Hydraulic Fluid, at http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/phs/phs.asp?id=755&tid=141:

Very little is known about how mineral oil hydraulic fluids and polyalphaolefin hydraulic fluids will affect your health. There are reports of health effects in people exposed to these classes of hydraulic fluids. After drinking mineral oil hydraulic fluid, a child developed pneumonia and bleeding in the intestines and then died. A man whose hands and forearms were heavily exposed to mineral oil hydraulic fluids in his job developed weakness in his hands. This effect was probably caused by one of the organophosphate ester additives of the mineral oil hydraulic fluid. The skin and eyes of animals were red and swollen after contact with certain mineral oil hydraulic fluids and polyalphaolefin hydraulic fluids. Animals breathing very high levels of polyalphaolefin hydraulic fluids became drowsy and had congested lungs and trouble breathing. We do not know if mineral oil hydraulic fluids or polyalphaolefin hydraulic fluids will cause birth defects, reproductive effects, or cancer.

This is a large, complex and almost-new vessel; could it have been leaking hydraulic fluid, jet fuel or some other petroleum product in an area where all these sailors worked?

[Cha]

23. Scary shit. Those poor sailors and

everyone who's affected by the fallout.