Big Media Fukushima reports.

Ventured out onto the InterWeb to check on Big Media.  Started with Drudge, saw this from MSNBC.  Didn’t note any obvious radiological errors. There was this:

…the two workers injured were wearing boots that only came up to their ankles.

Ankle-high work boots? Not to make light of their burns, but only the Manolo can make sense of this.

They spend some time on the “leaking reactor” fears, but also note:

It could have come from a leaking reactor core, connecting pipes, or a spent fuel pool.

I’ve been playing catch-up on the numbers so much that I’ve not really considered the source. But this is a BWR, and the main steam lines go directly into the turbine building. Of course then you have to account for the 10,000x activity. So no advancing that theory for now.

The U.K Independent has a journalist team roving the areas around Fukushima. It’s a break from the incessant numbers we toss around here, if you’d like a feel for things.

The WSJ reports on gaps in our environmental monitoring system.

In California…four of the 11 stationary monitors were offline for repairs or maintenance…The Environmental Protection Agency said the machines…periodically need maintenance, but did not fix them until a few days after low levels of radiation began drifting toward the mainland U.S.

They should have started repairs immediately.  Were they operating before the plume got here?  Regardless, it’s not a cause for worry.  Crossing the Pacific doesn’t tend to make fallout bunch up.  If 7 of 11 are working and aren’t all crowded together, we’d still get a decent picture. 

About 20 monitors out of 124 nationwide were out of service earlier this week,

Honestly, that doesn’t seem bad.  You can’t have 100% availability on a system like this unless there are backups everywhere.  Assuming they went for robustness in the design phase, we can probably put resources to better use elsewhere.

But it’s always good that people are looking.

And, from a Beltway media outlet (of course), the important question is raised:  how’s Japan’s disaster going to affect US?

Not getting political here, there’s plenty of blame for Donkeys and Elephants alike.  This is just obvious to everyone who must balance a budget:  when you spend beyond your means you place yourself in the power of others.  

You can refuse to save for a rainy day, but that doesn’t stop them coming.