'노란비(Yellow Rain)', 한국에도 내릴 것인가?

지난 3월 23일 일본의 수도인 도쿄에는 노란비(yellow rain)가 내렸다. 물론 일본 정부는 ‘꽃가루(pollen)’가 날리는 것이라고 말했다. 하지만 많은 사람들이 이 노란비가 바로 체르노빌 스타일의 오염일 거라고 생각했다. 4월 7일, 한국에도 비가 올 거라고 예보되어 있다. 한국에도 ‘노란비’가 내릴 것인가? 몇 가지 참조가 될 만한 자료를 모아놓는다.

Yellow Rain Falls In Tokyo? Pollen Excuse Exact Same As Chernobyl Yellow Rain Lie

While the Japanese government continues to say that the yellow rain seen in Japan was simply "pollen," many have been reminded of a very similar occurrence after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

Almost on que, the Japan Meteorological Agency has confirmed the rain to be pollen after receiving hundreds of calls from concerned citizens.

The ''yellow rain'' seen Wednesday in the Kanto region surrounding Tokyo was caused by pollen, not radioactive materials as many residents had worried, the Japan Meteorological Agency said Thursday, reported the Japan Times.

That's right, according to so called experts, enough pollen to cause hundreds to report their findings, rained down on Tokyo at the same time as a devastating nuclear disaster has released high levels of radiation at least 20km from the nuclear plant.

This explanation has reminded many of the yellow rain that hit after the Chernobyl disaster.

Similar to the explanation in Japan, government officials claimed that the yellow radioactive rain that fell in Gomel, Belarus was merely pollen and nothing to worry about. We now know that was a bold faced lie.

Women and children actually played in the puddles of yellow rain after the nuclear disaster in Chernobyl. Remembering Chernobyl - Yellow Rain:

"We all jumped in the puddles with the yellow stuff. ... You don't see (it in) the air, it doesn't materialize. But when you see the yellow dust, you see radiation," Antonina Sergieff said.

The accident was originally caused by a small testing error that resulted in a chain reaction in which highly pressurized steam literally blew the top off of a nuclear reactor.

The result was the release of 100 more times radiation than the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, according to the United Nations issue brief on Chernobyl.

Among the unstable elements released were iodine-131, caesium-137, strontium-90 and plutonium-239. Scientists say that exposure to such elements, especially in such high doses, impairs critical cellular functions and damages DNA.

When these elements first reached Sergieff 20 years ago, they came in the form of yellow rain.

It was not long after that residents in her hometown knew it wasn't simply "pollen" - which is what government officials assured them, she said.

Whether or not the yellow rain now falling in Japan is 100% radioactive remains to be seen.

With that being said, history DOES repeat itself and the way that Japan has covered up this disaster and used the exact same excuses as the ones used in Chernobyl indicates that we may be facing a much bigger disaster than Japanese officials are willing to admit.

Suspected Pollen Fall Stokes Radiation Jitters in Kanto

월스트리트저널

March 24, 2011, 4:07 PM JST

By Yoree Koh

As far as weather experts were concerned it was an unremarkable grayish morning in Tokyo and neighboring prefectures located in the crook of Japan’s biggest island. But the calm weather belied the storm of phone calls made to Japan’s Meteorological Agency this morning, as citizens made anxious by the crisis at the wrecked reactors at Fukushima remain on high alert for the slightest sign of news–or anything else–from the plant.

Reuters

A man holds an umbrella as it rains in central Tokyo March 23.

The day after Tokyo authorities warned against giving tapwater to infants on account of small doses of radioactive iodine in the water supply, residents in the surrounding Kanto region anxious about a mysterious yellow substance seen on back porches and sidewalks barraged the JMA’s help line Thursday morning, fearful that the powdery material might be radioactive remnants of rain from the previous night. But it wasn’t the dregs of black rain.

The JMA believes the yellow patches are pollen, but has yet to confirm this.
“Pollen is something people see all the time and ignore, said a JMA official. “But people are extra vigilant now because they are scared of radiation exposure” due to the caustic Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

At time of publication, over 280 inquiries concerning the yellow powder had been phoned into the JMA after the help lined opened at 9:00 am JST Thursday. The JMA said it is the first time the service has received this kind of volume, underlining the anonymous but evident way radiation fears have manifested in Japan, similar to how shoppers hoarded water and instant noodles in the immediate aftermath of the disasters two weeks ago. A JMA official said the help line typically gets a lot of traffic when a typhoon is on the horizon. But even then the number of calls rarely reaches 200.

The JMA said the pollen — flying about in especially concentrated amounts this year because of last summer’s record heat wave – fell down with the rain Wednesday night. While the pollen would usually be drained down gutters during heavier rain falls, the droplets don’t pool into puddles when it’s weak. Instead, the water left on the ground evaporates quickly leaving the caught pollen naked on the pavement.

Cause of 'yellow rain' found to be pollen: weather agency