Question:
I have tickets to visit tokyo japan and a few other cities south of tokyo in early june 2011. Will I be able to get my money back? If so, how?
Answer:
There is no question that additional radiation affects your life expectancy and that even the small additional radiation from the nuclear disaster will have measurable over a huge number of people, although don't expect mass media to pick up on this. Media hardly mentions the effects of depleted uranium munitions and armor on military and civilian populations in the Middle East. Nor do our media empires mention the fact that as a member of a population subjected to new technology, you will be exposed to radiation from airport security equipment, high altitude travel, medical screening devices, kitchen appliances, cell phone towers, cell phones, wireless computer technology, and countless other sources of radiation that are not already part of our background radiation. Your risks are higher than those of a person who lived his or her life in rural China for instance. You are already at risk.
The Japanese are very cautious about radiation and their standards for exposure are an order of magnitude (X10) less than Americans. However, by objective accounts, the disaster in Japan is on the scale of Chernobyl, with less impact because of favorable winds disbursing radiation over the Pacific ocean. In the United States however, the EPA is attempting to make more radiation exposure acceptable. They do this by raising standards for exposure by many orders of magnitude. The US considers uranium enrichment a national security issue. Worker lawsuits from exposure to fluorine compounds after WWII because of the uranium enrichment process was systematically fought. That may be one reason that word 'fluoride' was invented and then promoted as a dental dentifrice. The scientific evidence was manipulated (Bryce "The Fluoride Deception"),
There is no scientific basis for determining a safe level of 'fluoride' exposure. But even at 2 ppm, there have been measurable effects on laboratory mice. Similarly, there is no scientific basis for saying any level of radiation exposure is safe for humans. Even normal background radiation can be harmful to human beings. The talking heads are again making unfounded claims that "a little radiation is good for you."
Personally, I avoid fluoride, I avoid air travel, I avoid unnecessary exposure to dental x-rays.
Contractually, you may or may not be able to get a refund. You should call the airline to ask about the terms of your agreement with them. If you purchased the tickets as non-refundable, you may be stuck.
Call and ask as soon as possible, because you may be within a grace period. The worst case, they will tell you that you are out of luck.
