CPSIA - More Good News and Bad News

We trust our government, right?  They really know what they're doing, and we can certainly trust their judgment (not to mention their websites ending in "dot gov").  That goes without saying.  In fact, we need lots more government.  As Ronald Reagan once said, the most encouraging words in the English language are "I'm from the government and I'm here to help!"  Or did he say they were the most terrifying . . . .  I am probably confused.

Anyhow, one thing we know for sure is that there is no safe level of lead.  NO SAFE LEVEL - get it?!  And money is a petty concern when you are facing a scourge like LEAD.  Money grubbing businessmen!  Ooooh, I really hate people who want to hoard money rather run lots of tests for lead when the risk to CHILDREN is so great.  Arghh, thank heavens for the government - they will save us.  Yes, save us.

We know all this.  It's a given.  But isn't the situation in JAPAN something of a challenge to these bedrock assumptions?  I hold a degree in Chemical Engineering, so I know this-and-that about numbers and science. A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing (just look at Congress), so I don't hold myself out as an expert.  Just opinionated.  That said, I can't QUITE square up the government's terror over lead in all manifestations in children's products in light of its calm reassurances about the radioactive material spewing into the environment from Japanese nuclear reactors disabled in the recent tragic earthquake.  I wonder if Jan Schakowsky, Henry Waxman and Dick Durbin know about this.

Lead, bad . . . nuclear material, safe?  I thought radiation was a much more threatening problem for human health, so wouldn't safe radioactive material imply safe lead?  Dumb ole' me . . . .  Here's what the press and our government say:

Huffington Post "Radiation Leaks Into Groundwater Under Japan Nuclear Plant":  Radiation has been detected in Japanese GROUNDWATER now.  Okay, let's get this straight.  Groundwater flows freely, right?  There are giant aquifers that convey water over long distances.  Water also seeps through the ground, pulled by gravity and surface tension.  Groundwater feeds into the drinking water system (Japanese drinking water, in this case) and also into the sea.  Hmmm.  I dimly recall that polluted groundwater is associated with some of the worst environmental disasters in history, like Love Canal.  The groundwater contamination in Japan acknowledged thusfar is said to be "just" iodine-131.  Notably, the authorities have also found plutonium in the soils, but haven't "found it" in the groundwater yet.  They're also not talking about radioactive cesium, either.

Iodine-131 is no problem, it turns out.  Safe, safe, safe:  "The groundwater contamination was found in concentrations 10,000 times higher than the government standard for the plant. The iodine-131, a radioactive substance that decays quickly, was nearly 50 feet (15 meters) below one of the reactors, according to TEPCO spokesman Naoyuki Matsumo.  Seiki Kawagoe, an environmental science professor at Tohoku University, said the radioactive substances were unlikely to affect drinking water, noting that radiation tends to dissipate quickly in the ground, as it does in the ocean."  [Emphasis added]

Phew!

And don't worry, the cavalry is coming - the government is ON THE CASE!  "The other concern is that contaminated water from the plant could seep into underground waterways and eventually into rivers used for drinking water. Tomohiro Mogamiya, an official with the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare's water supply division, said that was 'extremely unlikely' since groundwater would flow toward the ocean, and the plant is right on the coast. . . . 'When people return to the area we will test the water to make sure it is safe,' said Masato Ishikawa, an official with the Fukushima prefecture's food and sanitation division."  [Emphasis added]

Sounds like a plan.  What could go wrong?

Here's a small note on iodine-131:  It has a half-life of eight days, so its mass decreases faster than other radioactive materials.  Plutonium decays with a half-life of 24,000 years.  I am feeling so calm about all this. The government has told me not to worry!

At least it's not lead.

UPI "EPA: Radiation levels in U.S. milk 'safe'"  Japanese nuclear meltdown radioactive materials that are uncontrollably spraying into the air, water, soil, food sources and being conveyed all over the world, are now in the United States food chain.  The EPA has detected the presence of Japanese radioactive materials in U.S. milk sources. 

Who drinks milk anyhow? 

I believe children drink milk.  Not a worry, says the EPA:  "'These types of findings are to be expected in the coming days and are far below levels of public health concern, including for infants and children,' the EPA said on its Web site. A radiation reading from milk in Spokane, Wash., on March 25 was 0.8 picocuries per liter, less than that of a normal banana, which naturally contains radioactive potassium.  'Radiation is all around us in our daily lives, and these findings are a minuscule amount compared to what people experience every day,' FDA senior scientist Patricia Hansen said in a statement." [Emphasis added]

That settles it, right?  The EPA says we're all safe.  Radiation is all around us, in the air, the water, our food.  We get a little bit every second of the day, just like lead.  Lead?  What?! 

I am afraid you just don't get it, so here is ABC News putting it all in perspective:  "A person would have to drink almost 1,500 gallons of milk -- two firetrucks full -- in eight days to reach the conservative safe limit."  [Emphasis added]

Kids sometimes get pretty thirsty . . . .

Where did the radioactive material in milk come from?  The Associated Press discounts gremlins and fairies:  "The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency this week said Japan's radioactive fallout is showing up in milk in Washington and California, most likely after a cow ate tainted grass or drank puddles of rainwater containing it. Iodine-131, the type that was found, is short-lived and decays fairly quickly, becoming harmless." 

This suggests that we should get used to eating Japanese nuclear material.  But it's really safe, so stop your worrying.  It's not lead, after all.

None of this should change anyone's mind on lead.  Lead is a REAL PROBLEM.  There is no safe level for lead.  Radioactive iodine, radioactive cesium, a little bit of plutonium - THAT we can handle, radiation is everywhere, you know.  Lead is a different matter.  There are SOOOO many victims of lead . . . but we can't really identify them.  But they gotta be there, right?  Hmmm. 

Don't forget the children, no safe level of lead, no safe level of lead, no safe level of lead . . . .

CPSIA - Another Update on How VERY Safe We Are

I want to bring you up-to-date on the nuclear situation in Japan, but first a quick reminder - none of this matters BECAUSE there is no lead in plutonium or the other radioactive elements being discharged in tremendous mass into the air, water and soil by the disabled Fukushima reactors.  So really, what's the worry?!

Let's start by noting that according to the Wall Street Journal, there are three trenches at reactor no. 2 that hold water emitting radiation at a rate of 1,000 millisieverts per hour.  According to the paper, this level of radiation PER HOUR is "four times the allowable annual dose for a nuclear worker, even in an emergency situation" [Emphasis added].  Ouch, that's hot!  But we shouldn't worry.

And the ocean near the reactors is zapping Geiger counters pretty intensively, too.  Apparently, the ironically-named "Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency" announced today that water measured at the monitoring location near reactors nos. 1 to 4 had a mere 3,355 times the permitted levels of iodine-131. These measurements were taken 330 meters from the reactors' discharge.  Hmmm.  That's one-fifth of a mile out to sea.

I heard on the radio today that we should not worry about these radioactive elements because their half-life is only eight days, so soon they will be "all gone". [The reassurance was hardly necessary - it's not in my nature to worry about little details like nuclear radiation raining down on my head.]  The spokesman for the ironic Japanese "safety" agency also threw cold water on my worries (bad choice of idiom?), noting that "the contamination of the seawater was not a risk because of the government's 20-kilometer evacuation zone and because iodine-131 degrades quickly and does not pose a long-term health threat."  But I dimly recall from my school days that half-life is an EXPONENTIAL term.  In other words, half-life describes the time in which half of the mass degrades.  Two half-lives does not imply that it's all gone.  No, half is gone in one half-life, and then half again in another half-life, leaving 25%.  Three half-lives, and you have 1/8 of the original mass left.  Get it?

Actually, iodine 131 sounds kinda icky.  Check out its Wikipedia page.  The so-called Japanese nuclear "safety" agency also notes that the radioactivity will be greatly diluted in the ocean (umm, wasn't their measurement of radioactivity FROM THE OCEAN?) and that people don't fish near the reactors.  Okay, that's good news, but of course, with radiation levels as high as they are, the fishermen couldn't fish there for long anyway - they'd die within days.  The "safety" agency apparently does not believe that fish swim very far or would ingest radioactive materials and somehow get caught elsewhere.

Nah, that could never happen.  NOTHING to worry about here.  Everyone get back to work!

Luckily, back here in the leading world center for science, we are focused on the REAL threat to humanity, LEAD-IN-SUBSTRATE.  Having carefully assessed the situation, noting the perils of bicycle licking and trombone tooting, Congress outlawed everything that might have a molecule of lead in it.  People are so freaked about lead that we have to hold hearings, hire consultants, lawyers and lobbyists to pitch the case for selling products with sterling safety records and then pray for a case-by-case, component-by-component exemption (even under draft legislation).  Of course, no one has gotten one of those exemptions yet, but it's only been three years . . . . .

Luckily, we know what really causes physical harm here.  Lead is the boogeyman - Congress told us so.  And who told them?  Consumer group lawyers.  I can't see the American Academy of Pediatrics, Consumer Federation of America or Consumers Union ever making a mistake or going too far - can you?  We must be on the RIGHT TRACK . . . .

So, the bottom line, the situation in Japan is interesting but irrelevant to human health and the real threat to Americans is lead in rhinestones, tubas, ATV engine blocks and of course, that teeny-tiny ball of brass at the ink end of your ballpoint pen.  You're in good hands, America!

CPSIA - Health and Safety Update

More fascinating revelations from Japan today.  I can't help but express wonderment at the news that plutonium turns out to be perfectly safe!  According to Bloomberg.com, the utility that owns the disabled reactors found some plutonium on site recently:

"Tokyo Electric Power Co. found plutonium in soil samples taken near the stricken Fukushima Dai- Ichi nuclear plant a week ago, the company said. The presence of plutonium outside the plant means there’s been degradation of the fuel in at least one of the six reactors, Denis Flory, deputy director general of safety at the International Atomic Energy Agency, said yesterday at a press briefing in Vienna. Tokyo Electric can’t determine which reactor emitted plutonium, Vice President Sakae Muto said in a briefing shown on a webcast. The contamination 'shouldn’t have any effect on human health,' Muto said."

They found plutonium in the soils a week ago and because plutonium is so safe, they didn't bother telling anyone for a week.  Imagine the monumental paperwork back-up necessary to slow THAT disclosure!  Then again, as they note, the plutonium shouldn't have any effect on human health.  Right.

I assume the Japanese are taking simple comfort in the fact that it's not lead.  I think it's obvious that plutonium is safe because it's not lead AND there is NO safe level for lead.  It's elementary - no lead, no problemo.  Just a little plutonium.  Now I understand why the CPSIA doesn't make us test for plutonium, too.

Thank heavens for the CPSIA.

CPSIA - Other People Have Bigger Problems Than We Do

I think it is important to keep the CPSIA crisis in perspective. While I remain incensed about the CPSIA and the resulting treatment of our company and its various stakeholders, I realize that the world does not revolve around this issue. This is a perfect week to count our blessings, if only because real problems are on horrifying display in Japan.

It is hard to read about Japan and not feel true despair and compassion. The mounting drama of their nuclear meltdown is heartbreaking. The death toll, which appears greatly understated, is truly heartbreaking. The devastation of a proud country and a real friend to our country is shattering. They need help - and they need it NOW!

I urge you to stand with the people of Japan and share generously with them at this terrible time of need. There are many organizations mobilized to provide relief. The American Red Cross is a popular choice.

Please dig deep. They are our neighbors and our friends - this is the time to stand up and be counted.