Dr.Teruo Higa’s
Living A Dream

#47 Dealing with the Damage Caused by the Eastern Japan Earthquake

Some fifty days have passed since the enormous earthquake of March 11. Through the efforts of many EM volunteers, EM has been widely used as a sanitary measure in the affected areas, starting in the evacuation centers. A system in now in place where EM can be delivered to any location that requests it. Therefore it is being widely used by many people in their living areas, for which they have been grateful, but measures to deal with the foul odors coming from the huge amounts of marine products that have been stored, and the dust, including asbestos dust, in all the debris, and foul odors emitted by piles of waste, exceeds what volunteers can handle.

There have been differences in how local administrations have accepted EM volunteers and how well they have understood about EM, but in general the use of EM has gone smoothly in the areas where EM outreach has been active. In Ofunato in Iwate Prefecture, EM was used to treat several thousand tons of fishery waste; this is an application of the knowhow obtained mainly by EMRO in Miyazaki when it helped treat foul odors in landfills where dead cattle were buried that had died of foot-and-mouth disease.

First, a hole is dug in order to dispose of the waste matter. A 10-20 dilution of Activated EM is allowed to saturate into the soil at the bottom of the hole. Then as marine waste is put into the hole it is sprayed with a 10-20 dilution of Activated EM. When the waste reaches a thickness of 30-50 cm., 10-15 cm of soil is placed on top of it, and this is repeated in layers. This method almost completely eliminates foul odors and pollution of subterranean water, as well as later secondary pollution that effects sanitation. If, however, there is still foul odor, this means that insufficient EM was applied, so continue to apply and spray Activated EM until the odors disappear.

Because of the cooperation received from the Iwate Compost Co. Ltd., the method applied in Ofunato City was done in the very best way. Iwate Compost has been making EM Bokashi compost for over twenty years, and that compost is, in both quality and quantity, the best in the world. Because that compost is no different from high quality Bokashi, it is being used to combat odors in toilet in evacuation centers.

The method they use is to form a kind of sandwich, first adding a layer of Bokashi compost  (Cosmogreen) to the bottom of the holes, then throwing in a layer of marine waste, then spraying Activated EM, and then another layer of Cosmogreen.

The effects are immediate and the local government and Fishermen’s Cooperative were greatly relieved, and EM has begun to be used in every place that is in need of odor control. Iwate Compost Co. Ltd. has helped make EM and EM Bokashi Compost available throughout the prefecture of Iwate, and has actively been helping in fighting salt damage from the tsunami. Because of their efforts, they have been working together with almost every public agency, and EM is being used throughout the prefecture. 

And EMRO has been supporting those cities, towns, and villages that have expressed the desire to use this opportunity to develop industry throughout the region, and to develop a systematic response in which EM is used on a daily basis as part of emergency management in times of disaster and other situations.

In Miyagi Prefecture, too, starting with Ishinomaki City, Kesennuma City, and Minami Sanriku City, many cities, towns and villages have been applying EM in the same way as in Ofunato, described above, and the activities have mainly been promoted by EM users who suffered from the earthquake and tsunami. Also, in places where they have set up a system to accept EM volunteers from outside, some 2,000 EM instructors from Yamagata, Niigata, and Akita are helping out, taking local conditions into consideration.

Many EM users from western Japan, wanting to help as local volunteers, have also applied to do so, but one problem is the lack of a system set up to handle them, so we are limiting volunteers to only EM volunteers from neighboring areas and prefectures in Tohoku who have not suffered from the disaster. People fortunate enough not to have been hit by the earthquake and tsunami need to be mentally prepared, knowing that they themselves could be hit next. I am calling on those in other regions to, based on the information gained about measures taken during this disaster, create a systematic way to disseminate EM to respond to disasters in their own regions that is more solid and proactive.

Please make use of the information available on measures taken to deal with the recent earthquake damage in the DND (Digital New Deal website)  (http://dndi.jp/19higa/higa_Top.php), especially No. 30, “Emergency Management You Can Do Yourself with EM Technology.” In cases of the use of EM for public purposes, EMRO will provide a series of EM informational materials and targeted help. 
 
Measures Against Radiation Pollution
1. Measures Against Internal Exposure
When radioactive elements enter the body through the water, air, or food, even a small amount will continuously expose the inside of the body to radiation. The radioactive element Cesium 137 has a half-life in the human body of 15-40 days for people under the age of fifteen, and 60-90 days for adults. In other words, within a certain time period it is excreted out of the body, but the effects it can have vary greatly depending on the food one eats and ones lifestyle.

To state the conclusion first, one must live a complete EM Lifestyle. The first thing one must do is to make sure to obtain agricultural products grown using EM, meat raised using EM, and EM-grown aquaculture products. Next, those products not grow using EM should all be washed in Activated EM, and when cooking using heat, try to add around 1-2% EM or Activated EM. When cooking at temperatures above 100 degrees C, adding EM or Activated EM won’t contravene the Food Sanitation Act. For those who aren’t confident in the Activated EM they make themselves, I suggest you use straight EM liquid. EM is used here because the phototrophic bacteria in it render radioactive energy harmless, and the lactic acid bacteria and yeast in EM are also effective against a lowered immune system.

Naturally the EM Lifestyle will be complete is one also uses, in tandem, such EM products as EM-X Gold, EM Revitalizing Salt, and EM Revitalizing Minerals. These countermeasures are sufficient to deal with ordinary levels of radiation, but what is the problem is a lifestyle that worsens the ability of the body to eliminate radioactive materials from the body.

Tobacco, liquor, processed boil-in-the-bag food near its expiration date, vitamin and mineral deficiency, lack of enzymes found in fresh food, and physical and mental stress, all lead to the release of various free radicals in the body. Because these free radicals lower the body’s metabolism, it makes the body far less able to eliminate radioactive materials.

On top of this, medical exposure to radiation through X rays, CT scans and the like, and the effects of electromagnetic waves, have a direct connection with elevated levels of exposure within the body. We should try to avoid excessive X rays, CT scans, and PET scans. And it goes without saying that one must avoid increasing exposure by putting EM Ceramics or EM Ceramic Seals on cell phones, microwaves and other household appliances.
 
2. Measures to Deal with Environments Polluted by Radioactivity
The accident at the Tokyo Electric Power Company’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant spread radiation over a very large area. Scraping away the top layer of soil in school playgrounds is all very well, but things come to a standstill when it comes to disposing of this soil. When we consider measures against radioactivity in farmlands, mountains and forests, and open public spaces, clean up done using existing methods would cost so much money it makes your head spin. Further, there is no decisive counter measure, and one can only wait for the radioactivity to lessen over time.

In 1998 an experiment was done using EM in an area made off limits in Belarus, the country downwind from the Chernobyl accident; in this experiment, when 5 liters of EM was sprayed on 10 a of land, within half a year the amount of radiation had dropped by 15%. Afterwards, in an experiment conducted in the Ukraine in an area off limits because of Chernobyl, we found that a half year after being treated with EM there was 30-35% less radiation. Both of these countries are black soil regions, with lots of organic material in the soil, the right conditions for EM to multiply.

Taking these conditions into consideration, if we were to apply these results to Japan, we would try to use 50 liters of Activated EM per 10 a, 100kg of rice bran, which helps increase EM, per 10 a, 200-300 kg per 10 a in the case of farmland. Results should be clear within 40 days or so, and when measurements are taken, if sufficient results are not seen, then EM alone in the same amounts should be sprayed on the soil again. Phototrophic bacteria have the power to utilize powerful energy. Because of this, it has the power to selectively bond with radioactive material in the soil. Therefore, when EM is activated in the soil, radioactive material is removed by EM, and crops cannot absorb the radioactive material. In addition, because a phenomenon that had been predicted takes place, namely the shift to utilize the energy of radioactive elements, Cesium 137, which supposedly has a half-life of 30 years, disappears within one year.
 
Restoring Rice Fields and Farmland Damaged by Salt
Other than rice fields and farmland that has been inundated with seawater for a long time because of the ground sinking, if one uses 50-100 liters of Activated EM per 10 a, there is no need for large scale desalinization. The sludge that has accumulated on the surface will also be broken up by the EM and it is easy to make the soil fertile again. In a region like Japan, where it is quite rainy, the majority of soil has insufficient minerals; fields and rice fields that are, say, soaked in sea water for a week, will be naturally desalinized with only 30-50 mm of rain and won’t end up in terrible shape. If EM is also used, the sludge and salt that has flowed in will actually function as fertilizer to revive the soil. Even if you do not use EM, if we have a normal rainy season, desalinization will occur naturally. Sludge and oil, and measures to deal with chemicals, are much more of an issue.

Use 50-100 liters of Activated EM per 10 a, then once every ten days, three or four times, apply EM Bokashi Extract, which contains rice bran (0.2-0.5%) and molasses, and it will be possible to solve all problems. Naturally, if odors remain in rice fields, or there is poor growth, all you need to do to solve it is apply double the amount or increase the amount of EM Bokashi Extract.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has secured a huge budget to deal with salt damaged soil. They should use this budget for basic measures to deal with the shore, and they should also consider that creating a system that regularly uses EM in water management will be the most effective way of dealing with the issue at present, and will be a tremendous help in future crisis management.

In Japan, which has so much rain, it is meaningless to desalinate rice fields as one would desalinate the desert. Officials should understand that the rainy season will sufficiently desalinize the fields, and instead use their budget to strengthen agriculture. If EM is systematically used in water management, the cost is low and it is possible to clean up rice fields; at the same time it will lessen the harmful effects of chemical fertilizers and agrochemicals, create an abundant ecology, preserve biodiversity, clean rivers and the ocean, and protect and revitalize marine product resources. We should aim at an agriculture that at the same time protects human health. 

 

The Municipal Minato Elementary School, Ishinomaki City, used as an evacuation center.

Cleaning around the school building with EM.

Using EM to counter the foul odor of drainage water from the Self Defense Force’s bathing support facility (in Ishinomaki City).

Drip system to add EM.

4 tons of EM Bokashi delivered from Hyogo Prefecture.

Using EM to treat sludge that has been scraped away (Municipal Akai Minami Elementary School, Higashi Matsushima City).

Getting rid of sludge underneath the floor and spraying EM.

Spraying EM on marine products that give off a putrefying smell.