Health - Anxiety Up as Tokyo Issues Warning on Its Tap Water |
- Anxiety Up as Tokyo Issues Warning on Its Tap Water
- Recipes for Health: Carrot and Leek Frittata With Tarragon
- Skin Deep: Trolling the Oceans to Combat Aging
- Supreme Court Rules Against Zicam Maker
- F.D.A. Bans Some Food Imports From Japan
- Well: Interns at the Operating Table
- Well: Horse Chestnut Seed Extract for Leg Pain
- Well: Think Like a Doctor (The Winner)
- Well: What’s Your Biggest Regret?
- Well: Think Like a Doctor (The Contest)
- The New Old Age: Bifocals and Falls
- The New Old Age: Simple Rules for Better Sleep
- Prescriptions: With Drugstore.com Purchase, Walgreen Diverges From CVS Strategy
- Prescriptions: Polls Highlight Split on Health Care Law
- Prescriptions: Panel Chief: F.D.A. Could Still Ban Menthol
- Recipes for Health: Spinach and Red Pepper Frittata
- Recipes for Health: Ricotta and Spinach Frittata With Mint
- Japan Says 2nd Reactor May Have Ruptured With Radioactive Release
| Anxiety Up as Tokyo Issues Warning on Its Tap Water Posted: 23 Mar 2011 11:32 PM PDT TOKYO — Radioactive iodine detected in Tokyo’s water supply prompted Japanese authorities on Wednesday to warn that infants in Tokyo and surrounding areas should not be given tap water to drink, adding to the anxiety about public safety posed by Japan’s unfolding nuclear crisis. Ken Shimizu/Agence France-Presse â€" Getty ImagesAt a shelter in Koriyama, Japan, a vice president of the Tokyo Electric Power Company, right, bowed in apology to evacuees. More Photos » MultimediaRelated
Yomiuri Shimbun, via European Pressphoto AgencyMasayuki Tsuchiya, a farmer in Kawamata, dumping milk. The United States has barred some farm imports from Japan. More Photos » Ei Yoshida, head of water purification for the Tokyo water department, said at a televised news conference that iodine 131 had been detected in water samples at a level of 210 becquerels per liter, about a quart. The recommended limit for infants is 100 becquerels per liter. For adults, the recommended limit is 300 becquerels. (The unit is named for Henri Becquerel, one of the discoverers of radioactivity.) The announcement prompted a run on bottled water at stores in Tokyo and a pledge from the authorities to distribute bottled water to families with infants. Prime Minister Naoto Kan said earlier Wednesday that the public should avoid additional farm produce from areas near the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, severely damaged by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, according to the Japanese news media. The Health Ministry said that it was unlikely that there would be negative consequences for infants who were given the water, but that it should be avoided if possible and not be used to make infant formula. There was some confusion about the public health advice, with experts saying it should also apply to pregnant women, since they and fetuses were vulnerable. “It’s unfortunate, but the radiation is clearly being carried on the air from the Fukushima plant,” Yukio Edano, the chief cabinet secretary, said Wednesday. “Because it’s raining, it’s possible that a lot of places will be affected. Even if people consume the water a few times, there should be no long-term ill effects.” As authorities tried to maintain calm in Tokyo, residents were racing to buy as much bottled water as they could, clearing the shelves of the city’s stores. Mr. Edano said Thursday that officials were considering a plan to import water from overseas, to supplement the bottles they planned to begin distributing across the city. Despite the frequent rain in recent days, it was not entirely clear why the levels of iodine were so high, said a senior Western nuclear executive, noting that the prevailing breezes seemed to be pushing radiation out to sea. “The contamination levels are well beyond what you’d expect from what is in the public domain,” said the executive, who insisted on anonymity and has broad contacts in Japan. It was possible that the levels were an indirect indication that the problems at the plant were deeper than had been publicly acknowledged. The daily Asahi Shimbun cited the Health Ministry as saying that drinking the water would hurt neither a pregnant woman nor her fetus, and that it was safe for bathing and other everyday activities. But experts say that pregnant women, nursing mothers and fetuses, as well as children, face the greatest danger from radioactive iodine, which is taken in by the thyroid gland and can cause thyroid cancer. Children are at much higher risk than adults because they are growing, and their thyroid glands are more active and in need of iodine. In addition, the gland is smaller in children than in adults, so a given amount of iodine 131 will deliver a higher dose of radiation to a child’s thyroid and potentially do more harm. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, if an adult and a child ingest the same amount of radioactive iodine, the thyroid dose will be 16 times higher to a newborn than to an adult; for a child under 1 year old, eight times the adult dose; for a 5-year-old, four times the adult dose. Pregnant women also take up more iodine 131 in the thyroid, especially in the first trimester. The iodine crosses the placenta and reaches the fetus, and the fetal thyroid takes up more iodine as pregnancy progresses. During the first week after birth a baby’s thyroid activity increases up to fourfold and stays at that level for a few days, so newborns are especially vulnerable. Potassium iodide can protect the thyroid by saturating it with normal iodine. People in Japan have been advised to take it. The 1986 accident at Chernobyl caused an epidemic of thyroid cancer — 6,000 cases so far — in people who were exposed as children. The culprit was milk produced by cows that had grazed on grass heavily carpeted by fallout. The epidemic could probably have been prevented if people in the region had been told not to drink milk and if they had been given potassium iodide. The warning Wednesday applied to Tokyo’s 23 wards, as well as to the towns of Mitaka, Tama, Musashino, Machida and Inagi to the west. At a press briefing on Thursday, Mr. Edano said radiation had also shown up in tests of water supplies for two of Tokyo’s neighboring prefectures, Chiba and Saitama, in levels above the maximum recommended limits for infants, but below levels considered dangerous to adults. At a Lawson convenience store in the Tsukiji neighborhood of central Tokyo, the shelves were about half-stocked with water. A clerk said he had restocked them just an hour before.
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| Recipes for Health: Carrot and Leek Frittata With Tarragon Posted: 23 Mar 2011 11:50 PM PDT Tarragon enhances the sweetness of the carrots and leeks in this bright frittata.  Recipes for HealthMartha Rose Shulman presents food that is vibrant and light, full of nutrients but by no means ascetic, fun to cook and to eat.
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2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 1 1/2 cups finely sliced or diced carrot 1 1/2 cups finely sliced leeks Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste 2 garlic cloves, minced 8 eggs 2 tablespoons milk 1/4 cup finely chopped tarragon 1. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium heat in a 10-inch heavy nonstick skillet. Add the carrots and leeks. Cook, stirring often, until tender, five to eight minutes. Stir in the garlic, season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, for 30 seconds to one minute, and remove from the heat. 2. Beat the eggs and milk together in a large bowl. Stir in salt to taste (about 1/2 teaspoon), pepper, the cooked carrots and leeks, and the tarragon. 3. Clean and dry the pan, and return to the burner, set on medium-high. Heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in the skillet. Drop a bit of egg into the pan, and if it sizzles and cooks at once, the pan is ready. Pour in the egg mixture. Tilt the pan to distribute the eggs and filling evenly over the surface. Shake the pan gently, tilting it slightly with one hand while lifting up the edges of the frittata with a spatula in your other hand, to let the eggs run underneath during the first few minutes of cooking. 4. Turn the heat to low, cover and cook 10 minutes, shaking the pan gently every once in a while. From time to time, remove the lid, tilt the pan and loosen the bottom of the frittata with a wooden spatula so that it doesn’t burn. The bottom should turn a golden color. The eggs should be just about set; cook a few minutes longer if they’re not. 5. Meanwhile, heat the broiler. Uncover the pan and place under the broiler, not too close to the heat, for one to three minutes, watching very carefully to make sure the top doesn’t burn (at most, it should brown very slightly and puff under the broiler). Remove from the heat, shake the pan to make sure the frittata isn’t sticking, and allow it to cool for at least five minutes and for as long as 15 minutes. Loosen the edges with a wooden or plastic spatula. Carefully slide from the pan onto a large round platter. Cut into wedges or into smaller bite-size diamonds. Serve hot, warm, at room temperature or cold. Yield: Six servings. Note: For four servings, use the same recipe but reduce the number of eggs to six. Advance preparation: In Mediterranean countries, flat omelets are served at room temperature, which makes them perfect do-ahead dishes. They’ll keep in the refrigerator for a few days, and they make terrific lunchbox fare. They do not reheat well. Nutritional information per serving: 167 calories; 3 grams saturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 6 grams monounsaturated fat; 248 milligrams cholesterol; 7 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 123 milligrams sodium (does not include salt to taste); 9 grams protein Martha Rose Shulman is the author of "The Very Best of Recipes for Health." |
| Skin Deep: Trolling the Oceans to Combat Aging Posted: 23 Mar 2011 09:07 PM PDT FROM a marketing perspective, there’s something alluring about being a beauty “outsider.” Just ask Allison Slater, the vice president for retail marketing at Sephora, about the new anti-aging skin care line Algenist — featuring a star ingredient, alguronic acid, that scientists in San Francisco say they stumbled upon while researching microalgae. Related
Heidi Schumann for The New York TimesSolazyme executives, from left, Jonathan Wolfson, Frederic Stoeckel and Harrison F. Dillon with algae samples.  William P. O'Donnell/The New York Times
Retailing for $65 to $95, Algenist moisturizers, serum and eye balm are already available at Sephora.com and will go on sale in the company’s stores this week. “When we saw it, we thought it was so unique, such innovation, something our clients could really understand,” Mrs. Slater said of the line. “The whole story about this being an unexpected discovery.” Mrs. Slater added that it made sense to her that alguronic acid (a compound that protects microalgae cells, according to Algenist’s maker, Solazyme) could also protect middle-aged faces from environmental assault. “Think about how algae can live anywhere, live in the coldest of places, or the harshest of places, and think about translating that to skin care,” she said. Dermatologists might not wholeheartedly share Sephora’s enthusiasm. But a surprising story about a product’s genesis can be just as important for generating sales as the product’s demonstrable efficacy. Consider Crème de la Mer, which, like Algenist, contains sea matter, and also involves an enterprising scientist: an aerospace physicist trying to heal scars he suffered in a lab accident. “It’s a slightly different story,” said Nica Lewis, the head consultant of beauty innovation at Mintel, a market research firm. “But it’s still ‘brainy scientist comes up with cosmetic product.’ ” According to Jonathan Wolfson, the chief executive of Solazyme, the alternative-energy company that makes Algenist, the product came about after a fortuitous suggestion roughly six years ago by Arthur Grossman, a microalgae expert who’s now an adviser to the brand. At first, Solazyme executives had a good chuckle about the idea of getting into skin care, Mr. Wolfson said. “I really never thought I’d be standing in a store like this,” he told a gathering of reporters during a preview at Sephora Fifth Avenue, amid shiny display cases of primer and volumizing mascara. It may seem novel for a nonbeauty company to get into skin care, but these days, it really isn’t, Mrs. Lewis said. “There are ingredient suppliers that provide ingredients to health care, food and drink industries, and cosmetic companies,” she said. In Japan, “food and health care companies have found cosmetic applications for their ingredients, so they are creating skin care brands.” For example, Frutarom, a flavor-ingredient house based in Israel, makes Alguard, a purified polysaccharide shield from a red microalgae that it says protects skin from daily assaults and reduces roughness as well as the look of fine lines. There are more than 100 algae-derived ingredients used in cosmetics worldwide, Mrs. Lewis said. The patent-pending alguronic acid in Algenist is a “single, purified, highly bioactive compound,” said Tony Day, the vice president for research and development at Solazyme, and therefore delivers “much higher activity to the skin” than products using only a microalgae extract. Studies conducted by an independent lab and commissioned by Algenist, none of which have been published in a peer-reviewed journal, showed alguronic acid increased cell regeneration and the synthesis of elastin (which gives skin that snap-back youthful quality). This testing also demonstrated that alguronic acid provided protection against cell damage induced by ultraviolet rays, and inhibited the enzymes that break down elastin. After reviewing press materials and Solazyme’s 84-page patent application, Dr. David McDaniel, a dermatologist and the director of the Institute of Anti-Aging Research in Virginia Beach, Va., said he was impressed by the in-vitro testing of alguronic acid. “In the petri dish, their data seems to show some substantial benefits to their active ingredient,” he said. But he cautioned that in-vitro testing does not demonstrate how a final formulation works off the shelf. Dr. Dana Sachs, an associate professor of dermatology at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, wrote in an e-mail after looking at Algenist’s dossier that “the claims on cell regeneration and elastin synthesis are based on in vitro models, which is hard to extrapolate to in vivo, and again no statistical significance is presented, so this is a weak claim.” Dr. Day, who has a doctorate in biochemistry, said that statistical significance was found but not included in press materials. And, according to the company, a study of 30 women showed that after 10 days of using the Algenist serum, they had a 25 percent decrease in wrinkles as shown by silicone replicas of their faces. Dr. Ellen Marmur, the chief of the division of dermatologic and cosmetic surgery at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Manhattan, did say Algenist could fairly claim that alguronic acid offers protection against ultraviolet damage to cells, and that she might use the product as “a nice sun protection on top of S.P.F. protection.” Algenist literature touts alguronic acid’s superiority to hyaluronic acid, retinol and vitamin C, among other anti-aging ingredients, in encouraging elastin synthesis and cell regeneration. But Dr. McDaniel, who does research into using plant-derived products to lengthen the life of cells, says he thinks the comparative data must be viewed with caution because the studies that yielded it are “challenging to do accurately, hard to interpret and not necessarily predictive of final products.” Soon, consumers will judge whether Algenist products are a breakthrough. In an unusual move, Sephora is introducing the line in 800 locations in 8 countries all at once, in a rollout coordinated with QVC. “It was a brand nobody has ever heard of,” said Allen Burke, the senior adviser for beauty strategy and development at QVC. “We want to give it a lot of visibility all at the same time.” But Mr. Burke knows that marketing has its limits. “It can be the most interesting story in the world,” he said. “But if it doesn’t deliver, it’s not a business that we can do.” |
| Supreme Court Rules Against Zicam Maker Posted: 22 Mar 2011 10:17 PM PDT WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court unanimously ruled on Tuesday that investors suing a drug company for securities fraud may rely on its failure to disclose scattered reports of adverse affects from an over-the-counter cold remedy that fell short of statistical significance. Eric Shelton/Associated PressUse of Zicam was linked to a loss of smell, a condition known as anosmia. The case involved Zicam, a nasal spray and gel made by Matrixx Initiatives and sold as a homeopathic medicine. From 1999 to 2004, the plaintiffs said, the company received reports that the products might have caused some users to lose their sense of smell, a condition called anosmia. Matrixx did not disclose the reports and in 2003, the company said it was “poised for growth” and had “very strong momentum” though, by the plaintiffs’ calculations, Zicam accounted for about 70 percent of its sales. After a link between Zicam and anosmia was reported on “Good Morning America” in 2004, the company’s stock price dropped significantly. In 2009, the Food and Drug Administration warned consumers not to use the products, and Matrixx recalled them. In the case before the justices, Matrixx Initiatives Inc. v. Siracusano, No. 09-1156, lawyers for Matrixx argued that it should not have been required to disclose small numbers of unreliable reports, which were the only ones available in 2004, they said. They added that the company should face liability for securities fraud only if the reports had been collectively statistically significant. “All drug companies receive on an almost daily basis anecdotal hearsay reports about alleged adverse health events following the use of their products,” Jonathan Hacker, a lawyer for Matrixx, told the justices when the case was argued in January. The Supreme Court has said that companies may be sued under the securities law for making statements that omit material information, and it has defined material information as the sort of thing that reasonable investors would believe significantly alters the “total mix” of available information. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, writing for the court on Tuesday, roundly rejected Matrixx’s proposal that information can be material only if it meets standards of statistical significance. “Given that medical professionals and regulators act on the basis of evidence of causation that is not statistically significant,” she wrote, “it stands to reason that in certain cases reasonable investors would as well.” On the other hand, she said, “the mere existence of reports of adverse events — which says nothing in and of itself about whether the drug is causing the adverse events — will not satisfy” the requirement of materiality. Instead, she said, companies and courts must consider “the source, content and context of the reports.” Here, Justice Sotomayor wrote, the plaintiffs had accused Matrixx of having received information from “three medical professionals and researchers about more than 10 patients who had lost their sense of smell after using Zicam.” That was enough to allow the case to go forward in its earliest stages, she wrote. If the accusations are proved true, she said, “Matrixx received information that plausibly indicated a reliable causal link between Zicam and anosmia.” Reasonable investors would want to know about the reports, she said, particularly given the importance of the product to the company and the risk-benefit calculation consumers might make after hearing of the possibility that using a cold remedy could result in lasting injuries. In rejecting the proposed categorical rule in favor of a contextual inquiry, the court provided only limited guidance to companies and lower courts. “What’s the test?” asked Ronald J. Allen, a law professor at Northwestern, referring to the analysis that companies and courts must make. “The test is what a reasonable person would react to given all the evidence.” |
| F.D.A. Bans Some Food Imports From Japan Posted: 23 Mar 2011 09:03 AM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday it would halt imports of dairy products and produce from the area of Japan where a nuclear reactor is leaking radiation. The F.D.A. said those foods will be detained at entry and would not be sold to the public. The agency previously said it would step up screening of those foods. Other foods imported from Japan, including seafood, will continue to be sold to the public but screened first for radiation. Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex has been leaking radiation after it was damaged in a devastating earthquake and tsunami earlier this month. The sea near the nuclear plant has also shown elevated levels of radioactive iodine and cesium, prompting the Japanese government to test seafood. Japanese foods make up less than 4 percent of all American imports, and the F.D.A. said it expected no risk to the food supply in the United States from radiation. Officials and health experts say the doses are low and not a threat to human health unless the tainted products are consumed in abnormally excessive quantities. Still, the World Health Organization said this week that Japan should act quickly to ensure that no contaminated foods are sold. The most common imports from Japan to the United States are seafood, snack foods and processed fruits and vegetables. Representative Rosa DeLauro, Democrat of Connecticut and the ranking Democrat on the House subcommittee that controls F.D.A. spending, wrote agency officials on Tuesday questioning how they could say with certainty that there was no threat to America’s food supply from Japanese radiation. She noted that the F.D.A. had not always been able to track where food production facilities were located in other countries. |
| Well: Interns at the Operating Table Posted: 24 Mar 2011 12:43 PM PDT |
| Well: Horse Chestnut Seed Extract for Leg Pain Posted: 24 Mar 2011 11:46 AM PDT |
| Well: Think Like a Doctor (The Winner) Posted: 24 Mar 2011 07:35 AM PDT |
| Well: What’s Your Biggest Regret? Posted: 23 Mar 2011 08:33 AM PDT |
| Well: Think Like a Doctor (The Contest) Posted: 24 Mar 2011 09:05 AM PDT |
| The New Old Age: Bifocals and Falls Posted: 24 Mar 2011 08:38 AM PDT |
| The New Old Age: Simple Rules for Better Sleep Posted: 23 Mar 2011 08:30 AM PDT |
| Prescriptions: With Drugstore.com Purchase, Walgreen Diverges From CVS Strategy Posted: 24 Mar 2011 12:10 PM PDT |
| Prescriptions: Polls Highlight Split on Health Care Law Posted: 23 Mar 2011 04:00 AM PDT |
| Prescriptions: Panel Chief: F.D.A. Could Still Ban Menthol Posted: 22 Mar 2011 01:57 PM PDT |
| Recipes for Health: Spinach and Red Pepper Frittata Posted: 23 Mar 2011 08:21 AM PDT Spinach and red peppers bring vitamin A and vitamin C to this beautiful frittata. Spinach is also an excellent source of a long list of other nutrients, including vitamin K, manganese, folate and magnesium. And it’s packed with protective phytonutrients, including the newly discovered glycoglycerolipids, which some researchers believe may help protect the digestive tract from inflammation. Recipes for HealthMartha Rose Shulman presents food that is vibrant and light, full of nutrients but by no means ascetic, fun to cook and to eat.
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1 6-ounce bag baby spinach, or 1 bunch spinach, washed and stemmed 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 2 red bell peppers, seeded and cut in small dice 1 to 2 garlic cloves (to taste), minced 10 fresh marjoram leaves, chopped Salt 8 eggs Freshly ground pepper 2 tablespoons low-fat milk 1. Steam the spinach above an inch boiling water until just wilted, about two minutes; or wilt in a large frying pan with the water left on the leaves after washing. Remove from the heat, rinse with cold water and squeeze out excess water. Chop fine, and set aside. 2. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium heat in a heavy 10-inch nonstick skillet. Add the bell peppers. Cook, stirring often, until tender, five to eight minutes. Add the garlic and salt to taste, stir for about half a minute, and stir in the chopped spinach and the marjoram. Stir together for a few seconds, then remove from the heat and set aside. 3. Beat the eggs in a large bowl. Stir in the salt (about 1/2 teaspoon), pepper, milk, spinach and red peppers. Clean and dry the pan, and return to the burner, set on medium-high. Heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in the skillet. Drop a bit of egg into the pan; if it sizzles and cooks at once, the pan is ready. Pour in the egg mixture. Tilt the pan to distribute the eggs and filling evenly over the surface. Shake the pan gently, tilting it slightly with one hand while lifting up the edges of the frittata with a spatula in your other hand, to let the eggs run underneath during the first few minutes of cooking. 4. Turn the heat to low, cover and cook 10 minutes, shaking the pan gently every once in a while. From time to time, remove the lid, tilt the pan, and loosen the bottom of the frittata with a wooden spatula so that it doesn’t burn. The bottom should turn a golden color. The eggs should be just about set; cook a few minutes longer if they’re not. 5. Meanwhile, heat the broiler. Uncover the pan and place under the broiler, not too close to the heat, for one to three minutes, watching very carefully to make sure the top doesn’t burn (at most, it should brown very slightly and puff under the broiler). Remove from the heat, shake the pan to make sure the frittata isn’t sticking, and allow it to cool for at least five minutes and for as long as 15 minutes. Loosen the edges with a wooden or plastic spatula. Carefully slide from the pan onto a large round platter. Cut into wedges or into smaller bite-size diamonds. Serve hot, warm, at room temperature or cold. Yield: Six servings. Note: For four servings, use the same recipe but reduce the number of eggs to six. Advance preparation: In Mediterranean countries, flat omelets are served at room temperature, which makes them perfect do-ahead dishes. They’ll keep in the refrigerator for a few days, and they make terrific lunchbox fare. They do not reheat well. Nutritional information per serving: 157 calories; 3 grams saturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 6 grams monounsaturated fat; 248 milligrams cholesterol; 4 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 121 milligrams sodium (does not include salt to taste); 10 grams protein Martha Rose Shulman is the author of "The Very Best of Recipes for Health." |
| Recipes for Health: Ricotta and Spinach Frittata With Mint Posted: 23 Mar 2011 08:21 AM PDT I have a lot of spinach in my garden right now, and what doesn’t wind up in salads is going into frittatas. This one is lightly speckled with steamed spinach and seasoned with fresh mint. Recipes for HealthMartha Rose Shulman presents food that is vibrant and light, full of nutrients but by no means ascetic, fun to cook and to eat.
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6 ounces fresh spinach, stemmed and washed, or 1/2 6-ounce bag baby spinach 6 eggs Salt and freshly ground pepper 1 cup fresh ricotta 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint 1 garlic clove, minced 2 tablespoons olive oil 1. Steam the spinach above 1 inch of boiling water just until it wilts, about two minutes. Rinse with cold water, squeeze out excess moisture and chop fine. 2. In a medium bowl, beat together the eggs, salt, pepper, ricotta, garlic, spinach and mint. 3. Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a heavy 10-inch nonstick skillet. Drop a bit of egg into the pan; if it sizzles and cooks at once, the pan is ready. Pour in the egg mixture. Tilt the pan to distribute the eggs and filling evenly over the surface. Shake the pan gently, tilting it slightly with one hand while lifting up the edges of the frittata with the spatula in your other hand, to let the eggs run underneath during the first few minutes of cooking. 4. Turn the heat down to low, cover and cook 10 minutes, shaking the pan gently every once in a while. From time to time, remove the lid, tilt the pan and loosen the bottom of the frittata with a wooden spatula so that the bottom doesn’t burn. It should turn a golden color. The eggs should be just about set; cook a few minutes longer if they’re not. 5. Meanwhile, heat the broiler. Uncover the pan and place under the broiler, not too close to the heat, for one to three minutes, watching very carefully to make sure the top doesn’t burn (at most, it should brown very slightly and puff under the broiler). Remove from the heat, shake the pan to make sure the frittata isn’t sticking, and allow it to cool for at least five minutes and for as long as 15 minutes. Loosen the edges with a wooden or plastic spatula. Carefully slide from the pan onto a large round platter. Cut into wedges or into smaller bite-size diamonds. Serve hot, warm, at room temperature or cold. Yield: Six servings. Advance preparation: In Mediterranean countries, flat omelets are served at room temperature, which makes them perfect do-ahead dishes. They’ll keep in the refrigerator for a few days, and they make terrific lunchbox fare. They do not reheat well. Nutritional information per serving: 189 calories; 6 grams saturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 7 grams monounsaturated fat; 207 milligrams cholesterol; 3 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 121 milligrams sodium (does not include salt to taste); 12 grams protein Martha Rose Shulman is the author of "The Very Best of Recipes for Health." |
| Japan Says 2nd Reactor May Have Ruptured With Radioactive Release Posted: 16 Mar 2011 10:06 PM PDT TOKYO — Japan’s nuclear crisis intensified again Wednesday, with Japanese authorities announcing that a containment vessel in a second reactor unit at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi plant in northeastern Japan may have ruptured and appeared to be releasing radioactive steam. That would be the second vessel to be compromised in two days. MultimediaRelated
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Tokyo Electric Power, via Kyodo News, via Associated PressAt the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, reactors No. 3, left, and No. 4, center, have been damaged. The vessel had appeared to be the last fully intact line of defense against large-scale releases of radioactive materials from that reactor, but it was not clear how serious the possible breach might be. The announcement came after Japanese broadcasters showed live footage of thick plumes of steam rising above the plant. Yukio Edano, the chief cabinet secretary, said the government believed the steam was coming from the No. 3 reactor, where an explosion on Monday blew out part of the building surrounding the containment vessel. The reactor has three layers of protection: that building; the containment vessel, and the metal cladding around fuel rods, which are inside the reactor. The government has said that those rods at the No. 3 reactor were likely already damaged. A spike in radiation levels at the plant as the steam was rising forced some of the relatively few workers left at the plant to retreat indoors, suspending some critical efforts to pump water into several reactors to keep them cool. Earlier in the morning, the company that runs the plant reported that a fire was burning at a different reactor, just hours after officials said flames that erupted Tuesday had been doused. A government official at Japan’s nuclear regulatory agency soon after said that flames and smoke were no longer visible, but he cautioned that it was unclear if the fire, at the Reactor No. 4 building, had died out. He also was not clear if it was a new fire or if the fire Tuesday had never gone out. There are a total of six reactors at the plant. The developments are troubling reminders of the difficulties the company is having in bringing the plant, which has suffered multiple explosions since Saturday, under control. And the confusion is emblematic of days of often contradictory reports about what is happening at the plant. The company, Tokyo Electric Power, says it cannot know for sure what is happening in many cases because it is too dangerous for workers to get close to some reactors. The situation became especially dire on Tuesday, when releases of radiation led the company to pull most of its workers from the plant. Among the authorities’ main concerns are pools for spent fuel rods at several reactors at the plant, including Reactor No. 4, where the pool has lost some of the water needed to keep the fuel rods stable. The rods are still radioactive and potentially as hot and dangerous as the fuel rods inside the reactors. Minoru Ogoda, the official with Japan’s nuclear regulatory agency, said a proposed plan to use helicopters to put more cold water into the pool was looking unlikely. The hole or holes in the roof caused by an earlier blast did not appear big enough to allow sufficient amounts of water in, he said. He said Tokyo Electric would probably try to spray water into the reactor building through a gaping hole in the wall blasted open by the explosion. That explosion on Tuesday was caused by hydrogen gas bubbling up from chemical reactions set off by the fuel rods in the pool, Japanese officials said. Inspectors from the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission said they had been told by Japanese authorities that what was burning was lubricating oil from machinery near the pool. Concern remained high about the storage pools at two other reactors, Nos. 5 and 6. None of those three reactors at the plant, 140 miles northeast of Tokyo, were operating on Friday afternoon when an offshore earthquake with a magnitude now estimated at 9.0 shook the site. A tsunami rolled into the northeast Japanese coastline minutes later, swamping the plant. At least 750 workers were evacuated on Tuesday morning after a separate explosion ruptured the inner containment building at Reactor No. 2 at the Daiichi plant, which was crippled by Friday’s earthquake and tsunami. The closely spaced but apparently coincidental explosions at Reactors Nos. 2 and 4 together released a surge of radiation 800 times as intense as the recommended hourly exposure limit in Japan.
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