West Coast USA Danger IF Japan Nuclear Reactor Meltdown
Nuclear Meltdown Alert – follow updates here – scroll down
“If they can’t restore power to the plant (and cool the reactor), then there’s the possibility of some sort of core meltdown”.
An alarming statement made by James Acton, a physicist who examined Japan’s Kashiwazaki nuclear plant after a 2007 earthquake, who told CNN that Japanese authorities are in race to cool down the Fukushima reactor.
Following the fifth largest earthquake in recorded world history, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake, has resulted in the closure of all Japan’s nuclear power reactors, one of which, the Fukushima reactor, is overheating and in danger of a meltdown if coolant is not restored soon. It’s like a pressure cooker… when you have something generating heat and you don’t cool it off or release the steam…
Reported from abc NEWS, Scientists said that even though the reactor had stopped producing energy, its fuel continues to generate heat and needs steady levels of coolant to prevent it from overheating and triggering a dangerous cascade of events.
They go on to say, “Up to 100 percent of the volatile radioactive Cesium-137 content of the pools could go up in flames and smoke, to blow downwind over large distances,”
“Given the large quantity of irradiated nuclear fuel in the pool, the radioactivity release could be worse than the Chernobyl nuclear reactor catastrophe of 25 years ago.” said Kevin Kamps, a nuclear waste specialist.
Fukushima I (there are two plant locations) is one of the 25 largest nuclear power stations in the world.
How would a nuclear plant meltdown unfold?
- Control rods are driven back down into the core upon emergency (if rods don’t make it all the way… trouble)
- The coolant (water) could cease if backup systems fail (electricity, pumps, generators, batteries)
- Reactor continues to produce heat
- Numerous venting valve systems would release pressure above ~1,000 psi into containment vessel
- Eventually the uranium fuel encasement metal will melt (2,200 deg F)
- Radioactive contamination then released into the reactor vessel
- Radiation escapes into an outer, concrete containment building
- Radiation escapes into the environment as radioactive Fallout.
Not only would such a disaster be horrible for the local region and Japan, but other countries, namely the U.S. could be effected next by airborne fallout of radiation particles, the magnitude of which is yet to be determined.
Why would the west coast USA be in danger of Fallout?
The prevailing jet stream winds are blowing from Japan directly across the Pacific ocean to the west coast of the United States. Any airborne radioactive Fallout would make its way across with the jet stream, reaching the U.S. in approximately 36 hours, depending on the actual speed of the jet and how quickly the particles mixed in with the jetstream.
Image of the Jet Stream from Japan to the U.S.
(THIS MAP IS NOW OUTDATED)
AccuWeather.com
Update,
BBC News Asia-Pacific is now reporting that radiation levels inside the nuclear reactor are 1,000 times of normal, and there are now high levels (unspecified) ‘outside’ of the nuclear reactor plant. They report that people are being evacuated in an approximate 6-mile perimeter.
Map of Nuclear Power Plant Reactors in Japan
Fukushima Power Plant, Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) diagram
Update,
The Washington Post reports that a second nuclear reactor in the Fukushima power plant is also affected. The plant has a total of six reactors. Reports only a few hours left on battery power for cooling systems.
Update,
Clarification from NHK Wolrd News Japan… a second location, Fukushima II, not far from the Fukushima I nuclear power plant, is also experiencing cooling problems. The government’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said equipment failures have made it impossible to cool 3 of the plant’s 4 reactors. (Translation: ‘impossible’ is not a good word).
Update,
Reuters is now reporting that Tokyo Electric Power Company has lost ability to control pressure at some of the reactors at its Fukushima II (Daini) plant nearby the Daiichi power plant (Fukushima I), both suffering from core cooling problems. If battery power at Fukushima II is depleted before AC power is restored, the plant will stop supplying water to the core and the cooling water level in the reactor core will drop.
Update,
Kyodo news reports that the cooling system has now failed at three nuclear reactors at Fukushima II, and the coolant water temperature has reached boiling level.
Update,
Kyodo news reports, “the operator of the two plants in Fukushima Prefecture is set to release pressure in containers housing their reactors under an unprecedented government order, so as to avoid the plants sustaining damage and losing their critical containment function.” …”the action would involve the release of steam that would likely include radioactive materials”
Update,
From Kyodo news, Japan, URGENT: Concerns of core partially melting at Fukushima nuke plant. The core at Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant’s No. 1 reactor may be partially melting, the nuclear safety agency said Saturday.
Reuters, Japan authorities: TEPCO plant fuel rods may have melted -Jiji, …could develop into a breach of the nuclear reactor vessel and the question then becomes one of how strong the containment structure around the vessel is and whether it has been undermined by the earthquake
Update,
Reuters, An explosion was heard and smoke was seen at the Tokyo Electric Power Company Fukushima No.1 nuclear power plant, Jiji news agency quoted the police as saying on Saturday.
Outer structure of building that houses reactor at Fukushima plant appears to have blown off – NHK by Reuters_TonyTharakan at 3/12/2011 8:12:43 AM12:12 AM
Tepco says explosion may have been hydrogen used to cool Fukushima plant – Kyodo; Tepco says 4 people taken to hospital after reported explosion, no word on condition – Jiji
Update,
From The Associated Press, An explosion at a nuclear power station Saturday destroyed a building housing the reactor…the explosion destroyed the exterior walls of the building where the reactor is placed, but not the actual metal housing enveloping the reactor.
In 1986, the Chernobyl nuclear reactor exploded and caught fire, sending a cloud of radiation and Fallout over much of Europe. That reactor – unlike the Fukushima one – was not housed in a sealed container, so there was no way to contain the radiation once the reactor exploded.
Fukushima Nuclear Reactor Explosion VIDEO
Fukushima Nuclear Reactor Explosion VIDEO
credit: abc NEWS
Fukushima Nuclear Reactor image, before – after Explosion
credit: NHK Sōgō channel news, sourced from Wikipedia
Things to know about Cesium-137, “IF” there is a complete meltdown and radioactive Fallout released into the environment
(also spelled, Caesium)
Where does cesium-137 come from?
Radioactive cesium-137 is produced when uranium and plutonium absorb neutrons and undergo fission. Examples of the uses of this process are nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons.
What is the half life of cesium-137 ?
The half-life of cesium-137 is 30 years. Because of the chemical nature of cesium, it moves easily through the environment. This makes the cleanup of cesium-137 difficult.
How do people come in contact with cesium-137?
Walking on contaminated soil could result in external exposure to gamma radiation. People may ingest cesium-137 with food and water, or may inhale it as dust. It is distributed fairly uniformly throughout the body’s soft tissues. Exposure may also be external (that is, exposure to its gamma radiation from outside the body).
How can cesium-137 affect people’s health?
Exposure to radiation from cesium-137 results in increased risk of cancer. If exposures are very high, serious burns, and even death, can result. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says everyone is exposed to minute amounts of cesium-137. The average annual dose in the Northern Hemisphere is less than 1 millirem annually. That falls below the 100 millirem exposure limit the Nuclear Regulatory Commission recommends.
(information sourced from the U.S. EPA)
Update,
There have been maps circulating around the blogosphere showing the would-be radiation Fallout pattern from Japan across the Pacific Ocean. In fact, one map indicates a long 7-day time frame to reach the west coast U.S…
One must use common sense when considering this possibility. It’s all really quite straight forward. Any particles would flow with the wind. Period. All one needs to do is know the wind pattern from the day of release, namely, the Jet stream. Currently the Jet Stream is moving over Japan and streaming across the ocean towards the U.S. (as it pretty much always does). The average speed of the jet is about 100 – 120 knots, or about 110 – 140 mph. Simple math, 4,500 miles divided by 120 mph equals about 37 hours (plus or minus). A day and a half. End of story.
Note, it’s all about the wind pattern. There are weather sites that illustrate this and update regularly. The first image of this post shows the current jet stream as of post time, which will wiggle waggle throughout time.
Also note, “IF” and whatever amount of radioactive Fallout is released, will disperse rapidly from the site. It’s not like there will be millions of glowing people on the west coast U.S. 36 hours later, but there would certainly be some amount of exposure given the current jet. Not qualified to surmise how much that would be… Those in the immediate vicinity of Fukushima would obviously be tragically affected.
“IF” Fukushima suffers a catastrophic reactor meltdown, given the present state of red alerts there, it would likely happen fairly soon, within 24 hours I would think. They will either get things cooled down now, or it’s going to melt. Having said that, “IF” Fukushima melts down completely, the following image shows the position of the jet stream on March 14 and 15, which would probably be the approximate time frame for whatever radioactive Fallout particles to make it across.
It appears then, that central California (San Francisco) to north to the Oregon border would be in the bulls-eye for the most part. Although none of the west really will escape the wind pattern as forecast from WeatherBank. The darker colors indicate the higher jet-stream wind speeds, which one might surmise to bear the greater majority of particles, or at least the first arrival.
Potassium Iodide (Potassium Iodate) for Radioactive Fallout
(similar, with the same purpose)
There are several suppliers of Potassium Iodide, an over-the-counter drug which itself is a preventative measure that all preppers really should keep in their inventory. Be aware of the FDA Guidelines for Potassium Iodide usage and dosage during a radiation emergency (generally 130 mg per 24 hours for adults).
Update, 12-Mar-2011, 2100 UTC
TOKYO (Nikkei), The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) said Saturday afternoon the explosion at the Fukushima I nuclear plant could only have been caused by a meltdown of the reactor core. Tokyo Electric Power Co. began to flood the damaged reactor with seawater to cool it down, resorting to measures that could rust the reactor and force the utility to scrap it.
Translation: last ditch effort to cool it down… hopefully it works.
Update, 12-Mar-2011, 2115 UTC
Reuters, A third nuclear reactor is now in trouble and has lost its emergency cooling system. “The emergency cooling system is no longer functioning at the No. 3 reactor at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power facility.
Update, 13-Mar-2011, 0200 UTC
There are lots of reports swirling on the internet regarding the condition of the nuclear reactors at two locations (near each other – see map above), many reports conflicting and interchanging facts between Fukushima I and II (Daiichi and Daini) as well as ‘reactor numbers’, e.g. 1, 2, 3, … interchanging with location numbers. Sloppy reporting I suppose.
In any event, what we do know is basically this…
Evacuation of 210,000 people within 12 miles of the Fukushima I (Daiichi) nuclear power plant.
Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant (Daiichi), has 6 nuclear reactors.
Reactor 1, loss of cooling, explosion of outer containment shell, radioactive iodine and cesium detected ‘outside’, admitting ‘partial’ core meltdown – but contained within reactor enclosure, flooding the reactor with seawater as a ‘last resort’ to attempt to avert a full meltdown, internal pressure is reported as high while temperatures are ‘officially’ reported as dropping, unknown regarding ongoing meltdown situation
Reactor 3, cooling system has reportedly failed, releasing excess radioactive steam, reportedly considering or attempting seawater flooding to avert a meltdown
Fukushima II Nuclear Power Plant (Daini), has 4 nuclear reactors.
Reports point towards 3 reactors in trouble (or were in trouble) there with cooling systems. Details sketchy on Fukushima II.
Update, 13-Mar-2011, 1130 UTC
(TOKYO) JapanToday.com, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano warned that a hydrogen explosion similar to one that blew away part of a building housing of another reactor (No. 1 at Daiichi) at the same facility on Saturday could occur at the reactor (No. 3 at Daiichi).
Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), began injecting fresh water into the No. 3 reactor’s core vessel on Sunday to deal with the problem that the tops of MOX fuel rods were 3 meters above the water inside.
Why did the Fukushima nuclear power plant reactor fail in Japan?
Following the magnitude 8.9 earthquake, the ensuing tsunami washed over the area and knocked out the backup power diesel generators. All that was left was battery power, which was not sufficient to keep the nuclear rods cool enough.
What is the local health danger from the nuclear accident?
People who are outside the immediate area could inhale radioactive particles. A nuclear reactor accident could release radioactive iodine and radioactive cesium. Breathing in or eating food contaminated with radioactive iodine can cause thyroid cancer. Potassium Iodide (or Iodate) tablets can help prevent this.
Contamination of food and water can result from radioactive dust that settles on water supplies, crops or grass. Cows or other animals eat, and it works up the food chain. Any suspected foods should be washed.
Radioactive cesium with its long half-life (30 years), can cause more long-term damage, including cancer.
How far might the radioactivity spread?
This depends of course upon how much radioactivity is released into the environment. Weather conditions, wind and rain, will mostly affect the spread.
Is there any danger to those outside of Japan at this time?
Currently there is no known danger, no. There is no evidence of a reactor core breach of containment vessel.
A General Electric Boiling Water Reactor assembly (BWR)
Typical operating temperature of the reactor is approximately 570 F
Update, 13-Mar-2011, 2200 UTC
There is now a virtual blackout on the situation around Fukushima Japan due to the 20 km (13 miles) evacuation zone, which I’ve determined to mean a 10 km radius (20 mile diameter) zone. The only new information will come from government filtered statements, or someone working on the disaster who leaks out information.
The only new real information that has come out lately, and it’s not good news, is that the Reactor No. 3 at Fukushima is different from Reactor No. 1 in that it uses some amount of ‘MOX‘ fuel, also known as Mixed Oxide – meaning uranium mixed with plutonium. The plutonium itself evidently comes from decommissioned or surplus weapons-grade material, which would otherwise have been disposed of as nuclear waste.
“IF” Reactor No. 3 were to meltdown completely and release into the environment by either an explosion or otherwise, the fact that there is plutonium in the mix would make the disaster even worse. Much worse. (working on more facts about this)
General Electric BWR Fuel Assemblies and Control Rod Module
Fuel Rod Cladding Material, ‘Zircaloy’, melting temperature of 2200 F
Fuel Assembly ‘Active Length’ 3.6 m
A BWR system
Update, 14-Mar-2011, 0100 UTC
Here are some facts about Plutonium-239, an ingredient in MOX fuel, as in Reactor No. 3
Half-life = 24,000 years
Pu-239 emits ‘Alpha’ radiation particles
The Alpha particles have a very short range of effectiveness, that is ‘bad’ effectiveness – just several centimeters. However, the ‘bad’ is very bad in that they are considered 20 times more dangerous than an equivalent energy of beta or gamma emitting radioisotopes.
Translation: Pu-239 particles are not particularly dangerous until they are inhaled or ingested, at which time they become extremely dangerous when they become lodged internally and immediately bombard and irradiate surrounding body tissue (up to several cm). Very highly toxic. Given the 24,000 year half-life, any released Pu-239 particles will contaminate the area for a very long time.
Cesium-137 is different in that it emits high energy gamma radiation which can travel great distances and penetrate right through many materials. It must be remotely handled or adequately shielded to provide protection. Thick layers of concrete, lead, steel and other comparable shielding materials are necessary to stop the penetration of gamma rays.
Summary conclusion of this update: The addition of Pu-239 to the potential Fallout mix, should it occur, will definitely make matters worse. The scenario for mixing into the lower levels of the atmosphere and drifting to other areas remain the same – except in this case, there would be longer lasting particles that would be distributed and dispersed.
Update, 14-Mar-2011, 0300 UTC
Evidently, Fukushima Daiichi, Reactor No. 3, the one with the MOX fuel, with Plutonium, has just exploded, according to reports on FOX, Drudge, Breitbart, and other outlets. No information regarding if this was just the outer shell (as in Reactor No. 1), or worse.
Official: “Damaged Japan Nuclear Fuel Rods Were Fully Exposed”
Video: Explosion of Fukushima Daiichi Reactor No. 3
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIZKlaEZMLY[/youtube]
Update, 14-Mar-2011, 153000 UTC
FOX news just reported that Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary, Yukio Edano said “…although we cannot check it, it is highly likely it is happening”, a meltdown is underway. The fuel rods are melting in all three troubled reactors.
Tokyo Electric Power Co. says the exposure happened at Reactor No. 2 of the Fukushima Daiichi plant because a steam vent wouldn’t open Monday, causing a sudden drop of water.
“It’s impossible to say whether there has or has not been damage” to the vessels (reactor vessel, 6-inch stainless steel), nuclear agency official Naoki Kumagai said.
The Nuclear Information Resource Service reports “Air dose rate on site (outside the reactor building) was 3,130 at around 9:30pm.” We believe the 3,130 figure means 3130 MicroSievert/hour, which would be highest reading yet recorded—about 310 millirems/hour. For comparison, the U.S. EPA allowable dose to a member of the public from a single reactor is 25 millirems/year.
From NIRS, “According to our colleagues in Japan, Tokyo Electric Power states that Fukushima Daiichi-2 “has again lost its coolant (sea water was pumped in but is dropping). They cannot ease the reactor pressure because the relief valve is stuck closed.
Current Summary: Situation looking dire, however, no apparent complete meltdown is evidenced at this time.
Nuclear Security Expert, Joe Cirincione, says in the following video interview,
“Absolutely” the radiation Fallout particles could reach the west coast United States.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F70jpw_LT-Q[/youtube]
Update, 14-Mar-2011, 2310 UTC
NHK World, reporting an explosion at Reactor No. 2
Translated statements from live NHK World TV via FOX news translator:
Explosion Heard at Fukushima Daiichi Plant in Japan
Could be worse case scenario
Containment vessel may have been blown or cracked
Radiation outside is 10,000 times normal
Fuel rods remain exposed
Radiation readings may be picking up actual particulate matter from the fuel itself (radioactive iodine and cesium)
The current thinking is that this explosion has damaged the reactor vessel which itself is surrounded by a concrete containment building. Evacuation of ‘nonessential’ personnel is underway. Approximately 2 meters of the core is exposed and not covered by water. There is hardly a doubt that it is melting.
Update, 15-Mar-2011, 0400 UTC
450,000 people have been evacuate to a 30 km radius (almost 40 mile diameter) from the Fukushima location.
Local news in Japan are saying for those nearby to seal yourself indoors and to not become exposed to the outside atmosphere.
Update, 15-Mar-2011, 1600 UTC
Fire in a fuel pool at Reactor No. 4 (storage pool for spent fuel rods). Pool may be boiling. Considering helicopter water dumps. Officials told the International Atomic Energy Agency that “radioactivity is being released directly into the atmosphere.” (from the fuel storage pond)
Tokyo Electric Power Company has evacuated nearly every worker from the entire Fukushima site, according to NIRS, and has only left a few workers behind. Given this apparent fact, it is a sign that they may have given up and cannot stop a full meltdown.
Some radiation has been detected in Tokyo, but apparently very low.
credit: Kyodo
Panicked residents start to flee Tokyo as radiation levels rise after THIRD blast at stricken nuclear power plant
credit: Kyodo
Overhead view of Fukushima Nuclear Plant after explosions
credit: AP
During much of the reporting on this subject, you may have heard lots of usage of the term, ‘prefecture’. What is a prefecture? The prefectures of Japan are the country’s 47 sub-national jurisdictions. The chief executive of each prefecture is a directly elected governor. There… now you know.
Update, 15-Mar-2011, 2130 UTC
U.S. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin is in the Bay Area touring a peninsula hospital. NBC Bay Area reporter Damian Trujillo asked her about the run on tablets and Dr. Benjamin said although she wasn’t aware of people stocking up, she did not think that would be an overreaction. She said it was right to be prepared. (Makes sense… why not be prepared, yes?)
On the other side of the issue is Kelly Huston of the California Emergency Management Agency. Hoston said state officials, along with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the California Energy Commission, were monitoring the situation and said people don’t need to buy the pills. (Maybe a bit irresponsible statement, especially coming from an emergency management agency)
Update, 15-Mar-2011, 2300 UTC
New fire at Fukushima Daiichi No. 4. This time at the outer containment building. TEPCO says it is impossible to go near the fire since the radiation is so high. The earlier fire was reported at the fuel rod pool where they store ‘spent’ fuel rods.
Institute for Science and International Security said, the situation has “worsened considerably”. “This accident can no longer be viewed as a level 4 on the International Nuclear and Radiological Events scale that ranks events from 1 to 7.” “…now closer to a level 6, and it may unfortunately reach a level 7″ (a worst case scenario)
Additional sources are confirming that it is too dangerous for workers to approach and attempt to put out this new fire. Earlier reports indicated that TEPCO had removed all except a few personnel from the entire area. The apparent fact that they are not attempting to douse this new fire, may mean that truly, the area is far too radioactive. Note that there are the usual conflicting reports. Updates to follow…
Update, 16-Mar-2011, 0400 UTC
Multiple news outlets are reporting that TEPCO has now withdrawn everyone, yes, everyone, from the Fukushima nuclear power plant. This seems unimaginable, but perhaps it is imaginable if the situation is entirely lost.
If radiation levels at the plant are too high to avoid radiation sickness, then at least one reactor vessel may truly be breached.
Good news for Japan for the time being, regarding winds, they are blowing from the northwest and forecast to continue out into the Pacific Ocean.
A new report that was fed-through from CNBC said that Reactor No. 5 and 6 (which have been out of the news until now), ‘spent’ fuel pools are higher temperature than normal – no further details at the moment as to what that means specifically.
Update, 16-Mar-2011, 1530 UTC
A small crew is reported to have returned to the plant. (brave souls)
Dr. Michio Kaku, physicist, “It’s gotten worse…suicide mission…we may have to abandon ship.”
“We have cracks now, cracks in the containment vessels…and if those cracks grow or if there’s an explosion, we’re talking a full blown Chernobyl, something beyond Chernobyl.”(The last step in a nuclear meltdown is a breached containment vessel)
Radiation levels are higher over northern Japan.
The U.S. says it will conduct its own measurements of radioactivity in Japan.
Probable ongoing multiple meltdowns.
The Pentagon reports that all crew of U.S. ships near Japan are being given Iodide pills.
Update, 16-Mar-2011, 1940 UTC
The U.S. Nuclear Agency Chief Gregory Jaczko has just reported that there is NO WATER in the fuel rod pools of Fukushima No. 4.
How would the U.S. know this? Speculation on my part would be High-Resolution govt. satellite imagery or drone imagery.
What does this mean? If the report is accurate, then there is nothing to stop the fuel rods from getting hotter and ultimately melting down. The outer shell of the rods could also ignite with enough force to propel the radioactive fuel over a wide area.
Update, 17-Mar-2011, 0600 UTC
New solid information is hard to come by. Helicopters have flown over while dumping water, but having seen the video footage, this action does not appear to be effective while considering the big picture.
The UN made a forecast that shows the possible movement of the radioactive plume coming from Japan as it is churning across the Pacific, while they also emphasize that radiation in the plume will be diluted as it travels.
Attempts are being made to bring in a line of electricity to the plant. There are questions as to the effectiveness given the present damage and apparent radiation levels at the facility.
Ongoing conflicting information between the Japanese government, TEPCO, and the U.S. government.
Update, 17-Mar-2011, 1830 UTC
Fuel pool No.4 still apparently empty or nearly empty of water where there are anywhere between 2 and 8 reactor cores present.
Radioactive steam spews into atmosphere from reactor No. 3.
Frantic efforts continue to douse with water are not effective – helicopters – water cannons.
Each Diaichi reactor contains between 60 and 80 tons of fuel rod assemblies.
Evacuation zone expanded to 50 miles has been recommended.
U. S. has authorized the first evacuations and chartered planes for Americans including military families out of Japan.
Radiation plume to hit U.S. on Friday, ‘officials’ say extremely minor health consequences.
Radiation being found at airports across the U.S. from passengers arriving from Tokyo (Dallas-Fort Worth and Chicago O’Hare).
Update, 18-Mar-2011, 0200 UTC
Nuclear Regulatory Commission chairman Greg Jazcko: Reactor No. 4 fuel pool has no water and is releasing radiation levels that are lethal in a short period of time, based on NRC fact-finding rather than TEPCO statements.
A shift in the wind could have severe consequences for those in Japan, although they are currently blowing out into the Pacific.
TEPCO: Closer to installing a power line to at least one reactor at the site, possibly enabling use of cooling systems again, depending on damage.
Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, Screening passengers and cargo entering the U.S. from Japan for radiation.
New York Times: “What you are seeing are desperate efforts — just throwing everything at it in hopes something will work,” said one American official with long nuclear experience who would not speak for attribution. “Right now this is more prayer than plan.”
Current Satellite Image of Fukushima on 17-Mar-2011
Update, 18-Mar-2011, 1430 UTC
Japan’s nuclear safety agency: Raised the rating of the nuclear accident from 4 to 5 on a 7-level international scale.
Level 5 definition: Severe damage to a reactor core, release of large quantities of radiation with a high probability of “significant” public exposure or several deaths from radiation.
Tokyo Electric Power Company: Possibility of “recriticality,” in which fission would resume if fuel rods melted and the uranium pellets slumped into a jumble together on the floor of a storage pool or reactor core. (Spraying pure water on the uranium under these conditions can actually accelerate fission)
Los Angeles Times: Damage to the floor or sides of the spent fuel pool at Reactor No. 4, making it extremely hard to refill the pool with water. Rip in the stainless steel lining of the pool at Reactor No. 4 and the concrete base underneath.
NKH World: Outside power source is unlikely to be available at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant for some time. It will take some time to confirm the safety of the damaged facilities.
AP: from ‘diplomat official’, Radioactive fallout has reached California but the first readings are far below levels that could pose a health hazard.
A Los Angeles Geiger counter, privately owned, is presently fluctuating around between 40 – 50 CPM, peaking at 70 CPM
Update, 19-Mar-2011, 0030 UTC
TEPCO has connected an external power line with the receiving point of the plant and confirmed that electricity can be supplied. Another 5,000 feet of cable are being laid inside the complex before engineers try to crank up the coolers at reactor No.2, followed by numbers 1, 3 and 4 this weekend. Outside of TEPCO, high skepticism remains whether or not the plants cooling apparatus will still function after the disaster. If not, there is an option of last resort under consideration to bury the Fukushima plant in sand and concrete to prevent a catastrophic radiation release.
No additional facts regarding radiation levels or the current state of meltdown. The various media have not reported anything new on this during today except for the electrical line that is underway.
Update, 19-Mar-2011, 1800 UTC
Tap water from Tokyo has been found to contain a small level of radioactive iodine-131, fortunately well below the tolerable limit for food and drink at this time.
Radiation levels in spinach and milk from farms as far as 75 miles from Fukushima exceeded government safety limits. The Japanese government is considering whether to order a halt to the sale of such products from the area.
After getting two generators running, their is now enough power to maintain the cooling functions of the No.5 and No.6 reactors.
TEPCO also said it made holes in the roofs of the No.5 and No.6 reactors to remove hydrogen to prevent the explosions that occurred at the No.1 and No. 3 reactors.
TEPCO plans to restore an outside power source for the Number 2 reactor on Saturday, and for the Number 4 reactor on Sunday.
Winds at this time are still blowing off-shore and sparing many regions from radiation. The wind direction is forecast to shift.
Update, 20-Mar-2011, 0100 UTC
The surface winds in the Fukushima region are shifting and beginning to blow from the north in some areas. As a result, radiation levels are currently high in ‘lbaraki’, which is located about 100 miles SSW of Fukushima and is registering 8 times above normal.
Firefighters ended their 13-hour water spraying operation to cool the No.3 reactor and its fuel pool using an unmanned vehicle spraying seawater being pumped through a half-mile of hose.
10 Firetrucks and Japan’s Defense Forces have begun new spraying on No. 4 fuel rod pool.
Work ongoing to reconnect power, beginning with No. 2, which they hope to use as a distribution point to the others. Questions remain as to the damage of the cooling systems.
Radiation levels on the west coast U.S. remain negligible as measured by the EPA and their RadNet Air Monitoring stations.
Update, 20-Mar-2011, 2300 UTC
The Japanese government said: Power was returned to Reactor No. 2 on Sunday, other reactors are also expected to gain power early in the week.
No indication whether the damaged pumping systems can be restored.
Pressure buildup at Reactor No. 3 threatened the possibility of more radioactive venting, however it appears that this has not occurred yet.
Apparent restored water pumps to Reactor No. 5 and 6, although they were not of central concern, having been shut down prior to the disaster, in a state known as “cold shutdown.”
Shipment ban of milk from Fukushima, spinach from Ibaraki, high levels found in spinach from Tochigi and Gunma to the west, canola from Gunma, and chrysanthemum greens from Chiba, south of Ibaraki, according to a report from the New York Times.
Based on vegetable contamination, radiation has spread south and west.
The Radiation Network and EPA Network are all ‘clear’ on the west coast U.S., meaning, nothing out of the normal is apparently taking place.
Update, 22-Mar-2011, 0200 UTC
New bursts of radioactive steam from Reactors 2 and 3 and a wind direction shift prompted TEPCO to halt operations of electrical power restoration and water spraying activities due to high radiation levels, nearly 2,000 microsieverts per hour.
Radiation levels in seawater near the Fukushima plant were more than 120 times the ‘legal’ level today. It is presently unknown regarding sea life effects in the area.
Viewing the surface level wind maps from the Japan Meteorological Agency and Weather Underground, confirms that winds are trending from the north, meaning, they are trending to blow from Fukushima generally southward. Yes, Tokyo is south.
High radiation levels are reported in Ibaraki Prefecture, the border of which is just 35 miles from downtown Tokyo.
West Coast U.S. EPA RadNet and the Radiation Network are indicating ‘normal’ readings (Gross CPM).
Update, 22-Mar-2011, 1500 UTC
Soil measurements, 5 cm below surface, 40 miles from Fukushima, 400 times higher than ‘normal’, iodine-131 and cesium-137.
TEPCO ready to restore power in control rooms 3 and 4, as soon as spraying operations are finished today.
Surface winds in Japan still blowing from north to south.
RadNet and Radiation Network measurements remain low.
Update, 23-Mar-2011, 0400 UTC
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will halt imports of dairy products and produce from the area of Japan where a nuclear reactor is leaking radiation. Other foods imported from Japan, including seafood, still will be sold to the public but screened first for radiation.
Although seemingly common-sense, the Japanese government is calling on consumers to refrain from eating leafy vegetables such as spinach and cabbage produced in Fukushima Prefecture.
Given that electrical power lines have been brought into Fukushima, and based on the lack of information or press-release that electrical cooling systems have been restored at any of the Fukushima reactors, we can logically assume that systems are damaged to sufficient degree, while they are likely attempting repairs.
Infrared temperature readings of Reactor 2 are reportedly around 260 F, well above boiling, indicating that there is no water inside.
Localities around Tokyo are now registering radiation levels of 100 – 300 nGy/h (not panic levels, but high), targetmap.com.
Surface winds are now southeast and southwest, from Fukushima partially towards Tokyo.
Main-Stream-Media is nearly entirely off the subject of the disaster in Japan, while fully engrossed in Libya. The short attention span is a sad thing.
Update, 23-Mar-2011, 1500 UTC
Rain water is believed to have caused radiation levels (iodinge-131) in Tokyo drinking water to have risen well above ‘safe’ levels for infants today in all 23 neighborhoods of Tokyo and 5 surrounding cities, a region of 30 Million people. Huge demand now for bottled water.
New smoke rising from Reactor 3 resulted in worker evacuation from No. 3 reactor, as well as firefighters preparing for a water-spraying operation, which was then abandoned for the day.
Reactor 1 is designed for temperatures up to 575 F. Reactor 1 is now registering 750F.
Workers are now receiving 1 year of maximum radiation in just 30 minutes, and are being constantly rotated.
Update, 24-Mar-2011, 0100 UTC
A NHK helicopter crew has confirmed what appears to be steam rising from No. 1, 2, 3 and 4 reactor buildings.
GE’s Chief of safety research for Boiling Water Reactors (the design used at Fukushima) said there are likely nearly 30 tons of salt in Reactor 1, and 50 tons of salt in each of the remaining reactors. The seawater used to cool the reactors has boiled to steam and has left salt behind, some of which is feared to be ‘sticking’ to the fuel rods – which would further impede the ability to cool.
Power lines are connected to all Reactors, but there are fears of water-cooling-pipes being burst into pieces if the massive cooling pumps ingest air-pockets within the pipes of the system. The process of bleeding the air out of the existing piping is involved and dangerous.
U.S. west coast EPA radiation monitoring stations have identified trace amounts of radioactive iodine, cesium, and tellurium, although the levels are “hundreds of thousands to millions of times below levels of concern”, according to their latest summary report.
Update, 24-Mar-2011, 0100 UTC
3 workers suffered radiation burns on their legs while dragging a cable through contaminated water. (I find it amazing that we have not heard of other ‘accidents’ given what has happened)
Following a work stoppage at Reactor 3 due to black smoke billowing from the building, work has resumed at the most dangerous situation of the six reactors.
Tokyo: Shortages of ‘staple’ supplies including bottled water, rice, instant noodles and milk. Some shops are imposing limits and rationing.
Update, 25-Mar-2011, 0000 UTC
Tokyo: First time that radioactive cesium exceeding the legal limit has been found in a Tokyo vegetable. Radioactive water has been detected at water purification facilities in Tokyo and 5 other prefectures.
Evidently power is ON (lights on) at the control rooms of No. 1 and No.3.
Ongoing pump inspections prior to attempted activation. Particular concerns about pumps causing further damage depending on the state of the plumbing, water level, salt, and air pockets.
Update, 25-Mar-2011, 1600 UTC
A very serious condition now is being reported at Fukushima, from Japanese ‘officials’ including Prime Minister Naoto Kan, who have now said that apparently there has been a reactor core breach, reportedly Reactor No. 3. The belief by some nuclear experts is that ‘Corium’ may be leaking out the bottom of the reactor.
Corium is the ‘melt’ in ‘meltdown’, a lava-like substance formed in the intense heat of a runaway reactor, composed of molten nuclear core fuel.
Reactor No. 3 would be the worst of them all to suffer a direct breach, as it contains MOX fuel including Plutonium.
All work has apparently stopped due to this development, but reports are mixed on this…
The following video is a new perspective look as to what is happening at Fukushima Daiichi regarding radiation in the area. Arnie Gundersen, a Chief Nuclear Engineer.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kgwd_9HyME[/youtube]
Update, 26-Mar-2011, 0130 UTC
Highly radioactive water was found leaking possibly from both reactor No.1 and No. 2.
They have switched to fresh water injection at No. 3, in the hope of preventing crystallized salt (from previous seawater injection cooling) from forming a crust on the fuel rods and hampering smooth water circulation, thus diminishing the cooling effect. It is believed by some that the damage is already done.
Update, 26-Mar-2011, 1600 UTC
Reactor No. 3:
A large vertical crack runs up and down the side of the reactor vessel and is leaking fluids and gases. The problem with cracks is they don’t get smaller.
Food Supply:
Very high levels of radioactive iodine-131 in local seawater threatens seafood supply and fishing.
Fresh Cooling Water injection:
Fresh water (instead of seawater) is apparently coming from U.S. naval barges after the U.S. urgently requested to switch from using the corrosive seawater.
Update, 27-Mar-2011, 2000 UTC
Radiation levels in the basement of Reactor 2 was said to measure 1,000 mSv/h, enough to bring on radiation sickness. For potency relevance, if exposed at this level for 4 hours, it kill half those exposed within 30 days of exposure. TEPCO later retracted the radiation level statement (1,000 mSv/h).
Two weeks after the disaster, still no cooling pumps have come online, leading one to believe that the damage is severe, the apparent meltdown continues, and the situation there may drag on for some time with little ‘effective’ work being reported.
Update, 28-Mar-2011,0130 UTC
Najmedin Meshkati, Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the University of Southern California said, “I think maybe the situation is much more serious than we were led to believe,” adding it may take weeks to stabilize the situation and the United Nations should step in. “This is far beyond what one nation can handle – it needs to be bumped up to the U.N. Security Council. In my humble opinion, this is more important than the Libya no fly zone.”
Ken Replies: I wish the main stream media would follow this advice
Earthquakes continue to rock the region, with a magnitude 6.1 today (USGS revised), just 70 miles from the Fukushima nuclear power plant.
Japanese government is considering raising the level of ‘acceptable’ radiation per year from the current level of 1mSV (milliesieverts) per year to a new but ‘temporary’ level of 20 to 100 mSv per year. In the U.S., it is 6 mSv per year.
Fukushima Nuclear Webcam
latest image:
TEPCO, webcam, Fukushima nuclear power plant
Update, 28-Mar-2011, 1700 UTC
Plutonium has been detected in soil at five locations around the Fukushima power plant.
TEPCO continued to remove highly radioactive water from inside reactor buildings, in an effort to enable engineers to restore the power station’s crippled cooling functions.
It is currently requiring 7 tons of water per hour at building / reactor 2, to stay even with the water that is evaporating / steam.
It has been revealed that a crane had fallen on to the fuel pool at Reactor 3 and is thought to have damaged the fuel rods there.
An incredible video of the Fukushima power plant from helicopter, taken 27-Mar-2011
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKFGavZ_rf4[/youtube]
Update, 29-Mar-2011, 1630 UTC
Balancing act: Workers are facing the need to balance two urgent but difficult tasks — the coolant water injection and the removal of leaked radioactive water. “We have reduced the amount of injected water to a minimum given the reactor No. 2′s tendency to spew highly radioactive water,” said Hidehiko Nishiyama, a TEPCO spokesman. TEPCO has decreased the amount of fresh water being injected into its core, allowing the reactor vessel’s temperature to gradually rise — to 160.5 C as of 1 p.m. Tuesday.
The most serious problem is puddles of highly radioactive water found in the basements of turbine buildings of the number 1, 2 and 3 reactors. The source of leaks into the basements of the units is unknown, TEPCO says.
Workers are also trying to pump water out of the turbine houses of the No. 1 and No. 3 reactors.
“TEPCO is in an awful dilemma right now,” said Jim Walsh, an international security expert at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “One the one hand, they want to cool the reactor and keep the reactor cool, so they have to pour water in. If there is a leak in one of the containment vessels, that water keeps leaking out. So they have a problem where the more they try to cool it down, the greater the radiation hazard as that water leaks out from the plant.”
Update, 30-Mar-2011, 1500 UTC
”We have to find a way out of the contradictory missions” of the incoming water (attempt to cool the fuel) and the removal of contaminated water (leaking out, filling the basements and interconnecting trenches).
The statement above, sums it up. It’s like dumping water into a sieve, except what comes out is extremely radioactive and they are rapidly running out of places to put it. Excess is now running into the ocean where levels of more than 3,000 times the limit are being measured near the drainage outlets of the plant.
The Nuclear Safety Commission of Japan has suggested digging a pool outside the turbine buildings in case the pumped contaminated water exceeds the capacity of the tanks (drainage tanks – which are apparently nearly full).
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano also indicated that all six reactors at the plant should be scrapped. Nishiyama (spokesman for the governmental nuclear regulatory body) said it is expected to take at least 20 years to finish the procedures to decommission the six-reactors. Katsumata (chairman of TEPCO) said TEPCO considers it as an option to cover the troubled reactors with ”stone coffins” made of concrete and iron.
Update, 31-Mar-2011, 1600 UTC
The International Atomic Energy Agency reports that radiation levels beyond the Fukushima evacuation perimeter are currently double that of threshold levels that were established for Chernobyl evacuation.
Officials Say Radioactivity at Crippled Japan Nuke Plant Is 10,000 Times Above Gov’t Standard
Workers at the Fukushima nuclear plant say they expect to die from radiation sickness as a result of their efforts to bring the reactors under control, the mother of one of the men said.
“They have concluded between themselves that it is inevitable some of them may die within weeks or months. They know it is impossible for them not to have been exposed to lethal doses of radiation.”
Iodine tainted milk discovered in Washington state and California with extremely low levels of radiation. The I-131 isotope has a very short half-life of about eight days, so the level detected in milk and milk products is expected to drop relatively quickly.
Update, 01-Apr-2011, 0100 UTC
World’s largest concrete pump heading from South Carolina to Japan aboard the world’s largest cargo plane, a Russian Antonov 225.
Iodine-131 at a concentration of 4,385 times the maximum level permitted under law has been detected in a seawater sample collected about one-fifth mile South of the plant on Wednesday afternoon, exceeding the previous high recorded the day before.
Wednesday’s sampling also revealed cesium-137, which has a half-life of 30 years, at a level 527 times higher than the legal standard.
Dr John Price, a former member of the Safety Policy Unit at the UK’s National Nuclear Corporation has warned that it might be 100 years before melting fuel rods can be safely removed from Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant.
Update, 01-Apr-2011, 1630 UTC
The EPA RadNet is indicating Beta-Gross-Count-Rate (CPM) numbers that appear somewhat higher than they have been in a few locations noted below, while the rest of the network location numbers appear similar to what they’ve been on average. Still though, it is interesting to note the slight changes.
Los Angeles: 81, 105
Sacramento: 69
Reno: 169
Las Vegas: 173
Tucson: 158
Nothing terribly new from Fukushima at the moment. Huge concrete pump en-route (reportedly to retrofit for water? – thought it would’ve been used to begin burying the mess).
TEPCO has apparently been ‘caught’ and scolded for under-reporting some of their previous radiation numbers – groundwater.
Not enough dosimeters to go around for all workers.
Update, 02-Apr-2011, 0000 UTC
Depth of radioactive water in trenches at No. 1, 2, 3 is approximately 3 to 5 feet deep (JAIF report).
Near the No.4 reactor, 400 liters of a synthetic resin solution were sprayed in an experiment intended to solidify contaminated dust and prevent radioactive materials from getting airborne.
At least 90 tons of water (more than 22,000 gallons) a day need to be pumped in to cool the 1,300 stored fuel rods in the pool at Number 4 which is generating an equivalent amount of heat as Reactors 1 and 2 combined.
Update, 02-Apr-2011, 1930 UTC
It has been discovered that radioactive water has been leaking from a crack (about 8 inches wide) in the wall of a maintenance pit between the No. 2 Reactor and the ocean, a pit that contains power cables near the reactor’s water intake used to power pumps.
The radiation level has been measured at over 1,000 milisieverts per hour at the water leak.
TEPCO says it is preparing to pour concrete into the cracked pit to stop the radioactive water leak.
Update, 03-Apr-2011, 1800 UTC
Saturday’s attempts to plug the crack with concrete failed. Preparations underway to inject a type of polymer into the pit in its latest effort to block the leaking water.
The Japanese government said Sunday it will be several months before the radiation stops and permanent cooling systems are restored.
Update, 04-Apr-2011, 1630 UTC
Dumped 11,500 tons of low-level radioactive water in the Pacific Ocean from near Reactor 5 and 6, to make room for disposal of highly radioactive water from No. 2.
Arnie Gundersen speculates that periodic fission is occurring in Reactor 1 based on Neutron detection, chlorine-38 detection and extra heat (95% of which comes from fission). As they flood it with water, the chain reaction begins – boils off the water – then stops. “They need to add boron to the water to stop the chain reaction.”
Reactor 1
Reactor Pressure Vessel temperature, 242 C (467 F) at feed water line nozzle.
Reactor 2
Reactor Pressure Vessel temperature, 139 C (282 F) at feed water line nozzle.
Poured a polymer absorbent as a measure for stopping the water leakage from the pit (no effect)
Reactor 3
Spent Fuel Pool Thermography temperature, 56 C (132 F)
Reactor 4
Spent Fuel Pool Thermography temperature, 32 C (90 F)
Update, 05-Apr-2011, 1600 UTC
TEPCO spotted a crack in the pit and started infusing liquid glass into gravel below the pit near the Number 2 reactor.
Of highest concern, water samples taken near the water intake of the No. 2 reactor contained 1.1 million times the legal limit of cesium 137, which has a half life of 30 years. You might want to take a Geiger counter with you to check the fish, next time you go out to eat… (In all seriousness though, this will obviously affect local fishing and distribution in the area for many years to come.)
Seems like the EPA summary page has the same same copy-and-paste sentence listed for each day:
“EPA’s RadNet radiation air monitors across the U.S. show typical fluctuations in background radiation levels. The levels detected are far below levels of concern.”
Update, 06-Apr-2011, 1600 UTC
U.S. Democratic lawmaker Edward Markey told a House of Representatives hearing on the nuclear disaster that the NRC had told him the reactor core in No. 2 had melted through the vessel. In apparent ‘damage control’ over the statement, NRC Martin Virgilio, deputy executive director for reactor and preparedness programs, said “That’s not clear to us, nor is it clear to us that the reactor has penetrated the vessel”.
Fears of another hydrogen explosion is prompting an effort to inject nitrogen gas into the Reactor No.1. Nuclear fuel can split water molecules and create a hydrogen byproduct. Nitrogen, an inert gas, can offset this effect.
It has been reported that the water leak at Reactor No. 2 (at ‘the pit’) has been successfully plugged with liquid glass, or sodium silicate. Statements have been made though that there may be other outlets now that this one has been plugged. Time will tell.
U.S. government engineers sent to help with the situation, are concerned that the containment vessels which are now filling with water in an attempt to keep what’s left of the fuel rods cool, are vulnerable to the stresses of the water weight, and may possibly break open – especially should a large earthquake aftershock occur.
They are also highly concerned that fragments or particles of nuclear fuel from spent fuel pools above the reactors were blown “up to one mile from the units” when several of the buildings exploded weeks ago.
They also said in their report that the water flow in No. 1 “is severely restricted and likely blocked.” Inside the core itself, “there is likely no water level”. Similar problems exist in No. 2 and No. 3, although the blockage is probably less severe, the assessment says.
“They’ve got a lot of nasty things to negotiate in the future, and one missed step could make the situation much, much worse.”
Update, 07-Apr-2011, 1600 UTC
The Japanese government is considering expanding the evacuation zone around the Fukushima plant an additional 10 km. Currently the zone is a 20 km radius.
A Very strong earthquake (aftershock) of magnitude 7.1, just 75 miles away from Fukushima, has caused power outages in parts of Miyagi and Yamagata prefectures. Buildings in Tokyo swayed for about 1 minute. Fukushima workers have been evacuated.
After injecting nitrogen in Reactor No.1 to avoid a hydrogen explosion, the pressure inside has increased (makes sense), although certainly adding to the stresses of the structure.
Now that the water leak at an exit tunnel at Reactor No. 2 has been successfully plugged, the water inside is now rising underneath the complex and is now apparently just 3 feet from ground level. An overflow will cause a serious slow down to progress there.
The Japanese government is criticizing foreign media for reporting what it says have been misleading statements and over-reacting.
More than 100 South Korean schools have cancelled or shortened classes over fears that rain falling across the country may include radiation from Japan’s stricken nuclear plant.
Interesting to note the strange but very bright blue light during the 7.1 earthquake as recorded from this camera. It may be a transformer explosion, but at that distance it seems awful bright…
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71mb45Ol2Us[/youtube]
Update, 08-Apr-2011, 1800 UTC
Toshiba, one of two Japanese nuclear reactor makers, said that it will take 10 years to remove the fuel rods from the four Fukushima reactors and to demolish the facilities there.
China and Russia are ‘expressing concern’ over the Japanese discharge of radioactive water into the ocean. (Not surprising – it’s their backyard…)
The towns around Fukushima Daiichi (12 mile exclusion zone) are dead zones with packs of abandoned pets hunting for food and herds of cattle wandering through the streets.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yp9iJ3pPuL8[/youtube]
Update, 09-Apr-2011, 1600 UTC
To stop the leakage of highly contaminate radioactive water into the sea, TEPCO is installing an enclosure mechanism at seawater intake for the No. 2 reactor with steel sheets,’ while planning similar curtains for the Nos. 1, 3 and 4 reactors. The installation will help prevent contaminated water from spreading outside the plant’s bay.
TEPCO will fly a small unmanned helicopter to survey the plant, starting on Sunday depending on the weather, expecting it to capture images of damaged installations at the Nos. 1 to 4 reactors that workers cannot approach due to elevated levels of radiation.
About 60,000 tons of contaminated water lies in basements and trenches outside reactors No. 1, 2 and 3.
The water level rose in a trench at the No. 2 reactor, adding to concern the utility may have to speed up transfer of the radioactive fluid to a waste- treatment facility and tanks. The increase may be happening as the company stopped a leak of radioactive water near the unit on April 6.
Video footage of the tsunami as it hit the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJ3IgHQuCBM[/youtube]
Update, 10-Apr-2011, 1700 UTC
TEPCO still planning to move 60,000 tons of highly radioactive water to other storage tanks and holding areas, while they continue to dump other supposed ‘lesser’ radioactive water into the Pacific ocean.
They have begun using unmanned heavy equipment, remote-controlled power shovels and bulldozers to remove radioactive rubble to be stored in containers at the plant.
Update, 11-Apr-2011, 1800 UTC
A magnitude 6.6 earthquake located 60 miles to the SSE of the plant, temporarily halted all water injection cooling operations. The ongoing onslaught of earthquakes in the region highlight the vulnerability that remains, especially given that the structures are already in a weakened state and under stress from previous quakes.
Scientists are warning that the March 11 event not only will lead to years of aftershocks but might also have increased the risk of a major quake on an adjacent fault. A new calculation by American and Japanese scientists concluded that the March 11 event heightened the strain on a number of faults bracketing the ruptured segment of the Japan Trench.
Evacuation perimeter expanded: At present, those who live in the 20-km range must evacuate while those in the 20-30 km radius ring are asked to stay indoors. The government is expected to change evacuation status from voluntary to mandatory.
Japan may raise the level of the nuke crisis to the most severe, according to Kyodo.
Update, 12-Apr-2011, 0300 UTC
Fukushima now at Chernobyl level disaster (Level 7)
(NHK) The Japanese government’s nuclear safety agency has decided to raise the crisis level of the Fukushima Daiichi power plant accident from 5 to 7, the worst on the international scale.
Each of the seven steps of the crisis scale represents a ten times increase in the severity of the incident. In other words, the disaster is now officialy 100 times worse than it was (previously at level 5, now at level 7). Many suspected this all along, but now it is official.
(KYODO) The release of a preliminary calculation Monday by the Nuclear Safety Commission of Japan, said the nuclear plant was releasing up to 10,000 terabecquerels of radioactive materials per hour.
The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency made the decision on Monday. It says the damaged facilities have been releasing a massive amount of radioactive substances, which are posing a threat to human health and the environment over a wide area.
A fire broke out Tuesday morning, but was soon extinguished, the plant operator said. (no further details on the fire at this time)
Update, 12-Apr-2011, 1400 UTC
Earthquakes continue to pound the region.
Magnitude 5.4, 5.2, 6.2, 6.0, on and on… just during the past 24 hours. Structural integrity remains a concern.
Update, 13-Apr-2011, 1600 UTC
The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency told TEPCO to immediately examine the buildings and consider reinforcement work if they are judged as not sufficiently quake-proof. ”As strong aftershocks occur almost daily, we have to consider what will happen to buildings already damaged by blasts”
Radioactive cesium 25 times above the legal limit for consumption was detected in fish caught off Fukushima Prefecture (sand lance).
One of the sample fish had a level of cesium of 12,500 becquerels per kilogram about 500 meters off the city of Iwaki, and 35 kilometers from the Daiichi nuclear power station, it said. The limit is 500 becquerels under the Food Sanitation Law.
Cesium-137 has a half-lifer of 30 years.
TEPCO says the water temperature in the spent fuel storage pool at the No. 4 reactor has risen to about 90 degrees Celsius. It fears the spent fuel rods may be damaged. (ya think?) TEPCO sprayed 195 tons of water for 6 hours on Wednesday morning.
Update, 14-Apr-2011, 0400 UTC
An Arnie Gundersen update, an expert that I feel is one of the lone voices of practical realism in the wilderness on this matter
[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/22352930[/vimeo]
Update, 14-Apr-2011, 1700 UTC
After transferring 660 tons of highly radioactive water from ‘the trench’ at Reactor No. 2 to a ‘condenser’ inside the Turbine building of No. 2, the water level noted in the trench has risen again to just 1.5 cm below the level at which they started the transfer. (here’s a thought – do ya think there might be a reactor leak somewhere? time for plan-B?)
An agency spokesman said, “the rise in the water level is likely linked to the continued injection of water into the No. 2 reactor core, which is necessary to prevent the nuclear fuel inside from overheating” “we’re feeling the difficulty of lowering the level of the water in a stable manner”
Concern grew over the state of the No. 3 reactor at one point, as the agency said in the afternoon that the temperature of part of its reactor pressure vessel was found to be rising suddenly. (this is likely due to what is called ‘spontaneous criticality, or recriticality’ of the nuclear fuel – according to Arnie Gundersen)
Update, 15-Apr-2011, 1700 UTC
Nuclear fuel inside the reactors has partially melted and settled in granular form at the bottom of pressure vessels, according to an analysis by the Atomic Energy Society of Japan made public by Friday.
Kyodo reports, “A large buildup of melted nuclear fuel could transform into a molten mass so hot that it could damage the critical containers and eventually leak huge amounts of radioactive materials.”
Plutonium has been detected for the third time in soil samples taken at the complex. (They say, ‘small’ amounts – whatever that means)
TEPCO said it will throw sandbags containing zeolite, a mineral that absorbs radioactive materials, into the sea near the plant, possibly on Friday, to reduce the levels of contamination in the Pacific Ocean.
The U.S. Department of Energy is shipping five large stainless steel tanks for storing water contaminated with radioactive materials.
The levels of radioactive iodine and cesium in groundwater near the Nos. 1 and 2 reactors have increased up to several dozen times in one week, suggesting that toxic water has seeped from nearby reactor turbine buildings or elsewhere.
From the University of Maryland, using the NOAA HYSPLIT model.
Update, 16-Apr-2011, 1500 UTC
Radioactive sea water near Reactor No. 2 inside ‘the fence’ that was installed to help reduce water escaping into the ocean, has suddenly risen six times higher than yesterday (radioactive iodine, 6,500 times higher than the legal limit) and and the level of cesium increased four times higher than yesterday.
According to ‘official’ numbers, the accumulated radiation level 30 kilometers away (in Namie) in the three weeks through Friday stood at 17,010 microsieverts. (This is about 3 years worth of typical annual radiation in just 3 weeks, 30 km away)
In an effort to convince the Japanese public that some vegetables grown near Fukushima are OK to eat, a Japanese government restaurant is now offering Fukushima vegetables, fresh from the nuclear emergency zone. When the restaurant opened for business Friday, politicians rushed in, filling a table of 12. The officials hope that their promotion of Fukushima food can end the growing confusion about what is safe and what is dangerous. (Read the Washington Post story here) …don’t know about you, but this seems a bit crazy – especially having proven that Plutonium has been found in the soil there…
Update, 17-Apr-2011, 2000 UTC
TEPCO says, 6 to 9 months to get Reactor temperatures below 100 C, ‘cold shutdown’ – stable.
Plans are drafted to cover the reactor buildings with concrete walls and roofs.
Reactor No. 2
Plans to seal with sticky cement a part in the Reactor vessel that is believed to have been breached. TEPCO hopes to begin cooling the reactor within roughly three months in the same manner as the No. 1 and 3 reactors.
U.S. made ‘iRobots’ have just entered the Reactor No.3 building to perform measurements (radiation and temperature).
Update, 18-Apr-2011, 2000 UTC
Radiation levels inside No. 1 and No. 3 is apparently 57 millisieverts per hour, slowing down efforts. (odd how they report the same reading for two different locations)
Japanese auto makers are now measuring radiation levels of new cars for export. The Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association said, “…did not detect levels that could pose a threat to human health” (With their recent increases in ‘safe’ levels, who’s to say… Maybe take a Geiger counter to the auto dealership if you’re thinking of buying a car made in Japan?)
From South Korea television, ”What is most serious is that even a month after the accident, we see no prospects of getting radioactive leakages under control”
From Korean Central News Agency, “The crisis at the Fukushima plant ”is getting more serious”
Spraying a chemical hardening agent around the damaged plant to prevent the migration of radioactive dust and soil. It is an emulsion widely used in construction sites to settle dust. TEPCO says it hopes to finish spraying the agent around the reactor buildings by the end of May, and in the rest of the compound by the end of June. After that stage, the company plans to cover the reactor buildings with huge filter curtains to prevent any further spread of radioactive materials into the environment.
Update, 19-Apr-2011, 1800 UTC
A plan is apparently in place and the process begun to move an estimated 10,000 tons of water exceeding 1,000 millisieverts per hour of radiation (enough to bring on quick radiation poisoning), from the location around Reactor No.2 into a storage tank to be processed in order to remove some of the radiation.
Robots have measured the air temperature inside of Reactor building No. 2, 106 degrees F (41 C) and 95 percent humidity. (Sauna)
Robots are finding high levels of radiation inside Buildings No. 1 and 3, as high as 50 to 60 millisieverts per hour, which is shedding doubt on whether humans will be able to effectively enter and carry out plans of the recently announced road map.
About 1,800 gallons of water are being pumped into each reactor per hour.
[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/22586794[/vimeo]
Update, 20-Apr-2011, 1700 UTC
After yesterday’s efforts to drain and move some of the highly radioactive water, the level after one day has dropped by only 1 cm. That’s less than half an inch. (as they dump more water in, it just keeps coming out – except what comes out is highly radioactive)
Another report claims the level has dropped 2 cm (less than an inch). (suppose that any drop is better than a rise in this instance)
A Bloomberg report title sums it up well, “Tepco Must End ‘Whack-a-Mole,’ Cover Fukushima Reactors as Typhoons Loom”. Evidently the Typhoon season is only a few months away, and while they highlight seemingly futile efforts that are dropping water supplies by fractions of an inch, and while little Robots dart in and out of doorways taking measurements – others are questioning why aren’t they building containment around the premises.
The Japanese government has downplayed the disaster so much, that their disinformation campaign has led people who are beginning to return to the Fukushima region – thinking that it’s safe enough to do so. Due to the reality that the region actually is highly contaminated with radiation, the government is now considering a ‘legal’ ban on entering within 12 miles of the Fukushima plant. Oops. (brilliant)
From UC Santa Cruz, Daniel Hirsch ‘a renowned expert on nuclear policy often quoted by major media outlets’, said among other things, “Every amount of radiation exposure increases your risk of cancer” “There is no safe level of radiation”. As far as radiation released from Fukushima, Hirsch said experts “do not have a good handle on the amount”.
Update, 21-Apr-2011, 1700 UTC
The Japanese did officially enact a ‘no-entry’ zone of 12 miles (20 km) of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. Apparently until now, the evacuation perimeter had not been readily enforced.
Radiation levels of over 100 microsieverts per hour were measured at four locations 2 to 3 kilometers from the Daiichi nuclear plant from late last month, the science ministry said Thursday as it released such data for the first time. Although affected by local wind patterns, if we plug-in the inverse-square-law for dispersion and work the numbers backwards, this translates to approximately 62 millisieverts per hour of radiation just 0.1 miles from the plant during that time period. This is more than 9,000 times higher than the ‘typical’ levels in a ‘normal’ environment. (In the U.S. we typically receive 6 millisieverts per year.
Japan and the International Atomic Energy Agency have agreed to boost their information sharing on the ongoing crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, State Foreign Secretary Chiaki Takahashi said Thursday. (OK, we’ll see. Too bad this didn’t happen sooner)
TEPCO reports that 520 tons of highly radioactive water has drained into the ocean since April 1. They site measurements of radioactive-iodine-131 (which has a half life of 8 days, considered gone after 80 days), but alarmingly they have not released measurements of Cesium, which has a half life of 30 years, considered gone after 300 years).
RoboCam from inside a Reactor building
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQig6SAddZ0[/youtube]
Update, 22-Apr-2011, 0100 UTC
Arnie Gundersen video update
[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/22706805[/vimeo]
Update, 22-Apr-2011, 1600 UTC
Political Posturing: “Fukushima Gov. Yuhei Sato said Friday he will never allow Tokyo Electric Power Co. to resume operations at its Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.” (I can’t imagine how they would resume operations – the place is now essentially a pile of nuclear rubble)
Finding new ‘friendly’ ways to describe the situation: The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission says conditions at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant are “static but fragile.”
Reactor No. 1 Pressure Vessel Temperature (153 C)
Reactor No. 2 Pressure Vessel Temperature (136 C)
Reactor No. 3 Pressure Vessel Temperature (101 C)
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck 130 miles to the south
A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck 14 miles to the south (that was close)
Google Earth (18-mar-2011)
Update, 23-Apr-2011, 1800 UTC
30 Fukushima workers have now received radiation dosage exceeding 100 millisieverts.
A small piece of concrete, about 1 foot x 1 foot x 2 inches, has been found that is emitting 900 millisieverts per hour of radiation (that level is extremely dangerous to one’s health). It was found during cleanup operations of the exploded debris from Building No. 3. (no doubt there are more…)
140 tons of water was injected into the fuel rod storage pool of No.4 on Saturday as the water temperature remained above 90 degrees Celsius, much higher than normal. (10 more degrees and we have highly radioactive steam entering the world once again)
There are fears that the weight of the water might be further damaging the No. 4 reactor building. The company (TEPCO) says it will be more cautious about the volume of cooling water it injects. It promised to monitor the level and temperature of the water in the pool. (insert sarcasm: that’s reassuring…)
The Japanese government has expressed concern about the structural strength of the No. 1 reactor, saying water injections to cool fuel rods may be making the vessel less earthquake-resistant. (there has been more and more talk of this – sounds like the ‘officials’ are posturing themselves prior to a possible structural collapse in the future)
‘Experts’ have pointed out that since reactors weren’t designed to be filled up with water, the process could put strain on structures and possibly cause cracks, especially if the area were hit by another major tremor as aftershocks continue to rumble around Japan. (makes sense to me…)
Update, 24-Apr-2011, 1700 UTC
TEPCO has created a map of radiation levels at and around the plant as part of its removal of radioactive debris. It indicates the number of millisieverts per hour at each location.
The company says it will try to complete the clean-up work by July, but hasn’t decided on places and methods of disposing of removed debris yet.
They have decided to construct temporary storage tanks for highly radioactive waste-water that has accumulated. The radioactive water will be sorted into 3 levels of contamination – low, medium and high – and will be stored accordingly.
At the Number 4 reactor, they injected 200 tons of water on Friday and 140 tons of water on Saturday into the reactor’s storage pool for spent fuel rods as the water temperature remained above 90 degrees Celsius, much higher than normal. But there are fears that the weight of the water might be further damaging the No. 4 reactor building.
Update, 25-Apr-2011, 1600 UTC
There are 1,535 fuel rods stored in the No. 4 fuel pool, the most in the entire facility. The temperature has risen precariously close to boiling while a balancing act of water injection versus weight and structural integrity continues. They had backed off on new daily water to 70 tons (17,500 gallons) but the temperature quickly rose to within several degrees of boiling. 210 tons (52,500 gallons) will be injected Monday in an attempt to cool it down.
The no-go evacuation zone (20 km) according to NHK has more than 370 livestock farms containing 4,000 cattle, 30,000 pigs, 630,000 chickens and 100 horses. Many of these animals have died or are facing starvation since their owners evacuated. Fukushima Prefecture has launched an operation to euthanize the weakened animals, return those grazing outside to barns, and disinfect the carcasses of the dead ones.
Japan’s Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) said it would halve the total compensation of its president, chairman and other top executives as it grapples with the world’s worst nuclear crisis in 25 years at its Fukushima Daiichi plant. (Too bad this type of reprimand doesn’t happen in the U.S. where the execs and banksters compensation continues to soar amid the enormous taxpayer bailouts and government protections)
Update, 26-Apr-2011, 1700 UTC
Robots checking for suspected leaks in No.1 before attempts are made to further flood Reactor No. 1 with more water than before, in an attempt to cool it further.
News regarding this event is becoming very scarce – nothing new.
Update, 27-Apr-2011, 1700 UTC
(JAIF) Radiation monitors were given to 55 educational facilities from kindergartens to high schools of Fukushima Prefecture.
(JAIF) Workers are removing radiation-tainted topsoil from school grounds in the northeastern Japanese city of Koriyama.
Tests have begun on No. 1 and No.3, injecting more water into the reactors than in the past. Then, 18 hours later they will send in the Robots to check for leaks.
Japan’s science ministry has for the first time released a map projecting estimated cumulative radiation exposure near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The science ministry says it will update its data twice a month on its website. It also says it plans to release a map of radiation levels in the soil.
Link to Japan Ministry of Science and Technology ‘Reading of environmental radioactivity level’
Ongoing concerns about a leak at No.4 fuel pool (This has pretty much been proven and documented since early on… why they keep mentioning it as though it’s a new thing is beyond me… I suppose this is simply a slow process of admitting that the issue exists.)
Update, 28-Apr-2011, 1600 UTC
The Japan health ministry plans to scrap the annual radiation dose limit for nuclear power plant workers… to secure enough workers for maintenance and checkups of nuclear power plants other than the Fukushima power station.
The ‘test’ injection of more water helped to cool the No. 1 reactor core faster and there appeared to be no major leakage from the No. 4 unit’s spent fuel storage pool. However…
…From the Wall Street Journal, Tepco said Thursday they would postpone their plan to cool reactors via the injection of massive amounts of water that would flood the containment vessels that house each unit. The plan to fill the containment vessels is a departure from the current system of continuously injecting water on to the fuel rods. They didn’t say when it might resume.
The trial run saw a more-than-anticipated drop in the temperature and the pressure inside the plant’s No. 1 reactor, raising the possibility that air from outside could enter and spark an explosion when oxygen hits the hydrogen inside the reactor. Similar explosions in the first week of the crisis exacerbated damage and radiation at the plant.
Update, 29-Apr-2011, 1700 UTC
Arnie Gunderson’s latest video hypothesizes about the explosion that occurred in Building No. 3, likely a ‘prompt criticality nuclear reaction’ from the 50′x50′x50′ fuel pool (located above the reactor itself) which was likely empty of cooling water leading to a detonation which shot pieces of fuel rods up to 2 miles away from the building.
[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/22865967[/vimeo]
Update, 30-Apr-2011, 1700 UTC
Japanese Radiation Adviser Quits in Rebuke to Government
Kosako criticized the government for what he said is its “impromptu” handling of the crisis and slow pace of bringing the nuclear facility’s radiation leaks under control.
Nuclear dirty-bomb explosion of No.3, which Gundersen describes in his video
Update, 2-May-2011, 1700 UTC
Japanese government’s safety standards on radiation levels at elementary and junior high schools in Fukushima Prefecture apparently states that it is safe for schoolchildren to use school playgrounds as long as the dose they are exposed to does not exceed 20 millisieverts over a year (5 times the average for adults in the U.S.).
U.S. doctors of the group, Physicians for Social Responsibility, said “Any exposure, including exposure to naturally occurring background radiation, creates an increased risk of cancer.” “Children are much more vulnerable than adults to the effects of radiation, and fetuses are even more vulnerable.”
“(Twenty millisieverts) for children exposes them to a 1 in 200 risk of getting cancer. And if they are exposed to this dose for two years, the risk is 1 in 100. There is no way that this level of exposure can be considered ‘safe’ for children,” the statement said.
Update, 3-May-2011, 1600 UTC
Reactor Temperatures (still above boiling)
Reactor No. 1 (142 C, 287 F)
Reactor No. 2 (117 C, 242 F)
Reactor No. 3 (111 C, 231 F)
Fuel Pool No. 4 (90 C, 194 F)
Once again, sea water radiation levels are spiking. Radiation readings have risen to 100-1,000 times the normal level on the Pacific seabed at points 20-30 meters deep.
Marco Kaltofen, Professor at Worcester Polytechnic Institute
[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/23186557[/vimeo]
Update, 5-May-2011, 1700 UTC
For the first time since the hydrogen explosion, workers entered Building No. 1 with a plan to install a ventilation filtration system to reduce the level of radioactivity inside, which in turn will allow more effective work towards establishing more realistic cooling to the reactor itself.
Two workers, wearing air tanks similar to those used by scuba divers, were the first inside and spent about 25 minutes there, officials said. Eleven more soon followed to install air filtration ducts. Officials hope to install similar systems at the plant’s Unit 2 and Unit 3 reactors, but say greater obstacles there have slowed progress.
Hidehiko Nishiyama, deputy director-general of the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said sea sediment with radioactivity 1,000 times higher than usual was found near the plant.
Update, 7-May-2011
On Thursday, the company switched on a new filtering system that removes radioactive substances from the air drawn from the Number 1 reactor building.
Meanwhile, the temperature of the bottom of the Number 3 reactor’s pressure vessel reached 150.3 degrees Celsius at 11 AM on Saturday, or about 40 degrees higher than 10 days ago.
TEPCO believes this is being caused by a decrease in the amount of water being injected to cool the reactor. It says it plans to switch to a different pipe neby.
Workers will be sent into the Number 1 reactor building as early as Sunday afternoon to step up efforts to restore the cooling system.
Arnie Gundersen Update:
Airborne Releases
Unit 3 Explosion
Liquid Releases
[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/23393101[/vimeo]
Update, 9-May-2011
Questions regarding the effectiveness of the No. 1 filtration system. 10 to 70 millisieverts per hour were detected in areas where workers would be expected to spend prolonged periods of time inside. Some levels were as high as 700 millisieverts per hour at ‘hot spots’ at the building.
xinhuanet news:
Workers opened the main access points to the reactor and in doing so freely released 500 million becquerels of radioactive substances into the atmosphere, where it had gathered in the upper part of the reactor.
A Swedish company that provided robots to clean up waste at Chernobyl after the 1986 nuclear disaster will provide machinery to remove rubble at reactor buildings at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
JAIF:
They have detected high levels of radioactive strontium in soil inside the compound. Strontium can cause cancer and like calcium it tends to collect in bones once
humans inhale it. Up to 570 becquerels of strontium 90 per kilogram of dry soil were detected in samples taken from 3 locations.
Reactor No. 3 temperature: 208 Celsius (that doesn’t seem good)
There have been some blog reports, photos, and a video floating around the internet regarding a supposed mystery fire, some say occurred at or near Reactor No. 3. have no exacting information, but felt it worthy to post a photo mosaic of the incident captured from video frames of a webcam pointing at the plant. There has evidently been zero main-stream-media coverage of what this may have been.
Update, 10-May-2011
Concerns about Reactor No. 3 temperature increase has prompted a change in the location of water injection and an increase in the amount of water injected per hour (now 9 tons per hour).
We’ve heard it before, but again, high levels of radiation (this time in No. 1) has slowed down work in the immediate vicinity. 700 millisieverts per hour is the current measurement (that’s extremely high by the way…)
The Japanese Science Ministry and the US Energy Department conducted a joint aerial survey from April 6th to the 29th of the area within an 80-kilometer radius of the plant. The map shows the density of radioactive cesium in red or yellow, depending on the concentration in the soil. The high density area lies northwest of the plant, coinciding with data collected on the ground.
Update, 13-May-2011
New TEPCO statements reveal the following:
After 2 months of sunny news reporting of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster from the main-stream-media, government and nuclear agencies, it seems that, well… the Reactor pressure vessel of No.1 has holes in the bottom… what’s left of the nuclear rods are completely exposed to air within the vessel… and there is a blob of molten nuclear goo at the bottom from the mostly melted nuclear rods – melting its way into the containment chamber – which itself is leaking to the outside. Surprise, surprise (not surprising for most of us following this disaster).
Image of the likely situation, Reactor No. 1
Credit: Daily Yomiuri Online
There are new concerns that very large amounts of cold water hitting the melted fuel could cause an explosion, trigger substantial damage to the reactor and create a “high risk of atmospheric release running for days, if not weeks.” “I think [the flooding option] will now be scrapped.” said Shaun Burnie, nuclear adviser to Greenpeace Germany.
TEPCO says the melted fuel has apparently cooled, even though much of the injected water is leaking through holes at the bottom of the vessel.
An ‘official’ from Japan’s nuclear safety agency says TEPCO will only inject water to a height that would allow the system to work (just enough for cooling). He said TEPCO will likely change its strategy and inject water to the minimum necessary level.
There are concerns that No. 2 may be in a similar state as No.1, that is, melted rods at the bottom of the reactor, leaking through into the containment chamber.
Unit No. 3 apparently has no water. Arnie Gundersen indicates the remaining possibility of hydrogen explosion.
Unit No. 4, the top section of the building is leaning (the fuel pool is up there). Concerns that an earthquake aftershock of sufficient magnitude could topple it.
Radioactive cesium exceeding the state limit has been detected in tea leaves harvested in 5 municipalities neighboring Tokyo.
A radioactive cesium exceeding the state limit has been detected in pasture grass and vegetables in Tochigi and Ibaraki prefectures, neighboring Fukushima Prefecture. The local government instructed wholesale distributors to stop selling parsley.
Update: Arnie Gundersen, Fairewinds Associates
Highly Recommended viewing…
[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/23680177[/vimeo]
Update, 15-May-2011
NHK World reports on Friday, a robot at Unit No. 1 detected a maximum of 2,000 millisieverts of radiation per hour on the first floor of the reactor building. This is the equivalent of 333 years of radiation that is typically received by Americans in their environment. In other words, your dead if exposed to this much. Why isn’t this widely reported? Astonishing.. The radiation level is the highest since the disaster began.
It is quite apparent that the melted-down fuel rods have to some degree melted and dropped through the bottom of the reactor vessel and are now in the containment structure (concrete) which is leaking openly to the environment.
TEPCO says it may take a number of years to remove damaged nuclear fuel rods from the Number 1 reactor. The question is… during that time period, will the radiation be contained or still leaking into the environment
Wall Street Journal: The pressure vessel, a cylindrical steel container that holds nuclear fuel, “is likely to be damaged and leaking water at Units Nos. 2-3,” said Junichi Matsumoto, Tepco spokesman on nuclear issues, in a news briefing Sunday.
He also said there could be far less cooling water in the pressure vessels of Unit Nos. 2-3, indicating that there are holes at the bottom of these vessels, with thousands of tons of water that was pumped into these reactors mostly leaking out.
Tepco separately released its analysis on the timeline of the meltdown at Unit No. 1. According to the analysis, the reactor core, or the nuclear fuel, was exposed to the air within five hours after the plant was struck by the earthquake. The temperature inside the core reached 2,800 degrees Celsius in six hours, causing the fuel pellets to melt away rapidly.
Within 16 hours, the reactor core melted, dropped to the bottom of the pressure vessel and created a hole there.
I have noticed now that news of the this disaster is mostly entirely vanished from the main-stream-media, TEPCO is now trickling out news such as what is reported in today’s update, news which is quite serious, news which has been mostly denied by officials up until this time.
Update, 17-May-2011
Sources: NHK, KYODO, and other media outlets
More than two months after the nuclear meltdown, the Japanese government says a team from the International Atomic Energy Agency will arrive in Japan next week to investigate the Fukushima accident.
They have begun to pump an estimated 22,000 tons of highly contaminated radioactive water from the No. 3 reactor to a temporary storage facility at the plant, where radioactive water from the No.2 reactor is already being transferred. The ‘megafloat’ water storage barge has arrived at port near the plant. It will be moved over to the plant where it will be used to store up to 10,000 tons of radioactive water. The apparent plan is to eventually filter the water to remove contamination.
Municipalities neighboring Tokyo where harvested tea leaves were discovered to be highly contaminated with radioactive cesium (half life: 30 years, gone after 300 years), are debating where to put them and how to dispose of them.
Businesses in Iwaki City (about 30 km away) are demanding that Fukushima Daiichi be permanently shut down as radiation leaks are harming their business. Manufacturers are demanding radiation checks for products and sales of farm produce has fallen. um…. really?
TEPCO plans to set up a facility in the plant’s compound probably, next month, to deal with contaminated water accumulated in the course of water injection into the reactors. Such water is estimated to total 200,000 tons within the year. TEPCO says the facility is designed to lower the radioactive density of contaminated water so it can be reused to cool the reactors, or be stored as relatively low-level radioactive water.
Update, 19-May-2011
Apparently, according to a Bloomberg report, A radiation alarm went off at Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Fukushima nuclear power plant before the tsunami hit on March 11, suggesting that contrary to earlier assumptions the reactors were damaged by the earthquake that spawned the wall of water. Fukushima Reactor May Have Leaked Radiation Before Tsunami Struck
“When it comes to the oceans, however,” says Ken Buesseler, a chemical oceanographer at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, “the impact of Fukushima exceeds Chernobyl.” “Levels of some radionuclides are at least an order of magnitude higher than the highest levels in 1986 in the Baltic and Black Seas, the two ocean water bodies closest to Chernobyl.” Radioactivity In The Oceans After Fukushima Disaster
Devastation Inside Fukushima Nuclear Plant
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqLuxJNNcjE[/youtube]
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission was warned years ago regarding the dangers of the existing vent valves which led to the hydrogen explosions at Fukushima Daiichi.
New York Times:
Mr. Sarrack said that the vents, which are supposed to relieve pressure at crippled plants and keep containment structures intact, should not be dependent on electric power and workers’ ability to operate critical valves because power might be cut in an emergency and workers might be incapacitated. Part of the reason the venting system in Japan failed — allowing disastrous hydrogen explosions — is that power to the plant was knocked out by a tsunami that followed a major earthquake. U.S. Was Warned on Vents Before Failure at Japan’s Plant
TEPCO releases photos of tsunami hitting plant
Update, 22-May-2011
TEPCO: Half a Million pounds of radioactive water leaked into the sea during early May. 20 terabecquerels of radioactive materials flowed out to sea.
(AFP) TEPCO and official regulators avoided direct reference to the term “meltdown” to “lead the public into underestimating what was really happening.” Public anger and confusion have intensified, and critics say the latest revisions underline the slowness of moves to ensure the safety of nearby residents.
Wall Street Journal: …vapor is still seen sometimes from the spent fuel pools at reactors No. 2, 3 and 4, depending on the weather and wind direction of the day.
Update, 29-May-2011
13 degrees away from boiling… The water cooling ceased to function in No.5 during Saturday and reached 87 degrees C before getting it back under control. Oops.
Here we go… next problem – Typhoons (a.k.a. Hurricanes). Talk about spreading radioactivity, how about typhoon winds and rain…
“…we have not completed covering the damaged reactor buildings,” a Tepco official said on Saturday. “We apologize for the lack of significant measures against wind and rain,” the official added. [Insert Sarcasm] Well, since you apologized, it’s all good
100,000 tons of radioactive water. That’s enough to fill roughly 40 Olympic-size swimming pools. That’s what’s flooded the 6 reactor buildings. This is going to (is) work it’s way into the water supply and become an increasing threat to the longevity of life itself. At least to those who drink the water.
Shocking, I know… “Radiation up to several hundred times normal levels has been detected on the seabed off the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, Japan’s Science Ministry has said.”
Why do all of the media outlets copy and paste the exact same thing, that is, ” the crippled Fukushima…”? Crippled? Really?
Update, 6-Jun-2011
Due to a family illness, I have been unable to continue to provide ongoing updates to this post, while trying to balance my time bringing forward new posts for the website with the requirement for my time due to the family illness. I am thrilled that so many have been, and continue to provide valuable information via the Comments on this thread, and I leave it in your hands for now.
If you enjoyed this, or topics of current events risk awareness or survival preparedness,
check out our current homepage articles…
@a/mer,So sorry, busy procuring & not investing thought (medicine power) into the duality.(Maya) You, who Know, read between the lines. Note: first-(http://scroogle.org/) Like an x-ray? Yeah, I breath & eat them whenever I get the chance…Re. Alpha, Beta, Gamma radiation which is only a piece of the whole. Educational site… (.http://www.blackcatsystems.com/GM/experiments/ex7.html) Lived @ 9000+ft. with Geiger-Mueller tube systems and had higher cpm”s-Elevation= Law of diminishing returns. The cumulative exposure to higher background is one factor, as in air travel. Further societal integration will divulge contradistinguishing wisdom regarding cpm background, and exposure to Np,Pu,Am,Cm,Bk,Cf.Es,Fm,Md,No,Lw,& their many decaying isotopes,none of which were givens in nature, and all of which are theoretical scientific offal! (Duh, let’s see what happens if?)… Though you may all be way ahead of me. The “Gate” was a passing complecting over view of cover-ups; could not resist the contemporary concomitance of Fuk-u-Die! Hence “Dai-Gate”. Stop and meditate, keep your B.P. low. Cognizant action befuddles that part of the distraction game & “Homie don’t play dat game”. Humanity has been living in a transuranic biosphere,the occupancy of which “Science”( = Theories transformed to “Law” by way of shaving data that corrupts postulation, which in reality is “Chaos” and that can not be randomly dropped,nor can it be incorporated!) The short of it is science is a belief system based in a crap shoot. Tesla, W. Russell, (True father of Quantum Physics) were supposed to have had their knowledge & patent’s locked away for 1000 to 1500 yrs. as humanity was deemed disparate,needing that passage to evolve convergency. So I ask, why do the few access and experiment with no constraints,deference,or accountability. (Manhattan Project, HARRP, Bio.& Chem. weapons;) Did you vote on the referendum for these and the likes of the Patriot Act -Amendment? NOT!!!!!! “These are the times that try mens souls.” This hubris,disapprobation,& presumption that tests effecting all life is good science has to be stopped! Unless, hum,could depopulation be the goal? (Are you a part of the problem and in agreement?) If you have a healthy paranoia and keep silent, preparedness can’t hurt. Modern survival incorporates multi-levels of awareness and action. Good luck, what’s done is done. Now we live with it. That’s a positive resolution-live. There’s always the hope for positive change. Thank you again Ken.
http://fairewinds.com/
fairewinds latest video – tracking nuclear fallout.
Results for radioactive contamination: New Food Chain Samples posted, Dpt. Nuclear Engineering, U.C.Berkeley
May 2, 2011
Home » Forums » Berkeley Radiological Air and Water Monitoring Forum
New food chain samples posted
5/2 (5:20pm): Our food chain samples have been updated with new samples of topsoil, spinach, kale, and arugula. We have also begun testing Northern California seaweed.
There are no isotopes from Japan detected in the new spinach, kale, arugula, and seaweed samples. The new strawberry samples from 4/20 show no I-131, but Cs-134 and Cs-137 are present. The highest levels of radioisotopes detected would require the consumption of more than 3 tons of strawberries in order to receive the same equivalent dose as a cross-country airplane flight.
The topsoil continues to show decreasing levels of I-131, while the trend for Cs-134 and Cs-137 is not yet clear.
Mark [BRAWM Team Member]
—The above quote from the UC Berkeley Dept. of Nuclear Engineering is presented in whole simply as an update regarding to Berkeley’s just posted findings of food sampling just completed. Overall, many of the foods previously contaminated at the present time no longer are showing contamination; the exception being strawberries, which still show Cs-134 and Cs-137 to be present.
—With regard to the Berkeley Dept. of Nuclear Engineering’s ever present comment, “The highest levels of radioisotopes detected would require the consumption of more than 3 tons of strawberries in order to receive the same equivalent dose as a cross-country airplane flight.”, Epidemiologist Dr. Steven Wing (during an interview with Arnie Gundersen on April 22, 2011), stated that he thought perhaps this statement referred to the risk of “acute” radioactive sickness. Steven Wing then went on to thoroughly discuss health risks of long term, low level radiation exposure (including internal exposure threats). If you are interested in more information on that topic, Ken has posted that talk in the update section above: ‘Update, 22-Apr-2011, 0100 UTC’
Angusmerlin: We discussed this ad nauseam on this blog. Do not compare internal radionuclide ingestion to external background radiation!! Internal radionuclides provide a exponentially dangerous (due to tissue proximity), incessant source of radiation. It cannot be turned off, and depending on half-life, will be with you until your demise. [snip]
V
Yeah in cities near Chernobil theres still readings of 150 cpms in evacuated villages.
Tokyo Broadcasting System has set up a live webcam at Fukushima Daiichi where you can see that #3 and #4 reactors are constantly emitting radioactive steam.
http://www.youtube.com/user/tbsnewsi?feature=feedlss#p/l/-ZPYlazljME
Today’s EPA Radnet radionuclide findings for several areas still reporting (9:10pm, Thurs, 5/5/2011):
Los Angeles is upward trending, now spiking at: +100 CPMs
Riverside is downward trending and is now about: c. 100 CPMs
Sacramento is again spiking at about: c. 100 CPMs
San Bernadino is now downward trending at about: c. 80 CPMs
San Diego is upward trending, now spiking at: +100 CPMs
San Francisco appears to continue to be: within normal range of reporting
Happy Cinco De Mayo!
Today’s EPA Radnet radionuclide findings for several areas still reporting Friday, 5/6/2011):
Los Angeles upward trending, peaking at: c. 145 CPMs
Riverside upward trending, peaking about: c. 175 CPMs
Sacramento: was not charting
San Bernadino upward trending, peaking at about: c. 135 CPMs
San Diego upward trending, spiking at: +105-110 CPMs
San Francisco appeared to continue to be: within normal range of reporting
Happy Mother’s Day Weekend!
Latest news, the japanese authorities decide to shut down its nuclear
facility in Hamaoka, southwest of Tokyo.
I write this from japan and would like to know
how many American know about trouble in
the Monju fast-breeder reactor right now.
Even I didn’t know it before 3.11.
“In‐Vessel Transfer Machine” falling into the
reactor vessel and we tried more than 50 times
to recover it, but didn’t work at all.
And Point man did suicide.
Anyway, Monju now don’t make any electric and
we just keep state maintenance. And do it at least
30 years, people said.
Big problem is Japan tried to fix it with dangerous
method. I don’t know how dangerous, but concern
about it is first breeder, if there is any mistake,
it is the problem for north hemisphere.
Please check about what happen in Monju now.
Thanks Masaya,
I have only seen a little bit for Tsuruga posted so far,
[[Radiation leaks from fuel rods suspected at Tsuruga plant
A photograph shows the Tsuruga Nuclear Power Plant in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture. (Mainichi)
FUKUI (Kyodo) -- Leaks of radioactive substances from fuel rods are suspected to have occurred at a nuclear power plant in Tsuruga, the Fukui prefectural government said Monday, citing a rise in the level of radioactive substances in coolant water.
The operator, Japan Atomic Power Co., will manually shut down the No. 2 reactor of the plant on the Sea of Japan coast and examine the primary cooling system for it. The local government denied that the levels of radioactive substances could threaten the nearby environment.
According to Japan Atomic, 4.2 becquerels of iodine-133 and 3,900 becquerels of xenon gas were detected per cubic centimeter Monday, up from 2.1 and 5.2 becquerels, respectively, during previous measurements conducted last Tuesday.
It is possible that a pinhole has been created in a zirconium alloy encasing fuel pellets, according to sources at Japan Atomic.
The company said the planned shutdown is a precaution following the crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi power station caused by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. Japan Atomic's regulations require a reactor to be halted when the amount of leaked iodine reaches 40,000 becquerels.
The company said it will increase the frequency of measurements to once a day from once a week before deciding when to shut down the reactor.
(Mainichi Japan) May 3, 2011]]
And this…
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20100507a1.html
[[Friday, May 7, 2010
OSAKA — Monju, a nuclear reactor designed to generate more plutonium than it burns, resumed operation Thursday morning in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture, 14 years and five months after a sodium coolant leak and subsequent fire inside the plant shut it down.
One more time: The Monju fast-breeder reactor in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture, shut down by a sodium-leak accident and coverup in 1995, is restarted Thursday as Mayor Kazuharu Kawase (below left) and Japan Atomic Energy Agency head Toshio Okazaki watch from the control room. KYODO PHOTO
The restart of the so-called fast-breeder reactor marks the start of the government's second attempt to complete a long-delayed program aimed at using such reactors to reduce Japanese dependence on foreign oil.]]
In case someone does not have it…
http://www.facebook.com/EPA/posts/158729057520738
Why do I feel like I am in the original version of the Invasion of the Body Snatchers?
I cannot help but to line some things up…
All of the nuclear issues, current and past.
(yet they won’t just say that the cold war never really ended)
And the funding for the expansion of nuclear power plants is moving ahead…
FEMA denies Texas disaster relief…
Radnet monitors down or left unread…no data
‘Safe’ levels upped to the highest the FDA would allow…
Did I mention No Data?
Maybe they could take the money they plan on spending for that nuclear program, and instead FIX the Radnet monitors, and give Texas the disaster relief they need, as well as all of the places in the US that have been hit with flooding and tornadoes.
Somehow the priorities seem a little bit off.
Feels like the part where they have the lines of already snatched people going into the pod places to work.
Greetings all, Check out Arnie’s latest update, especially His last statements released on 05/06/2011 @http://fairewinds.com/
Really frustrated–what should we actually DO to keep ourselves safe? I recently moved home to California from New Zealand. I’m pregnant and have little kids. I’m confused about what foods I should be avoiding. Whether I should be keeping our doors and windows closed. Etc. I’ve been trying to avoid milk and dairy products, but my son likes milk and “official” sources say you have to drink a lot for there to be a problem. Is organic worse than conventional because the cows eat more grass? Where do I go to find out how to protect ourselves? Latest Gundersen video interview wasn’t very helpful with specifics, in my opinion.
We also just had renovations done on our house before we came back. Latest Gundersen interview says dust from renovations can be bad. I’ve been keeping my doors and windows open to try to air the house out. What to do??
Well, the EPA has made it impossible for us to have information that would allow us to make reason based decisions. So you have to think in terms of “Ok, without knowing whether it’s completely unnecessary or not, what am I willing to do, disruption to family life wise, in case I later learn that there WAS a problem? It’s very odd having to make decisions without any information and there are plenty of people around to tell you that you are insane if you try to take any measures. I have read a number of places that leafy vegetables like spinach, Kale, lettuce, and possible cabbage (and others) have broad leaves that CAN catch radioactive dust IF there is any around and that washing it (although some suggest it wouldn’t hurt) actually doesn’t help because those veggies absorb contaminants like Cesium quickly – just like it was potassium in fertilizer. According to the EPA IF water is suspect, THEN reverse osmosis is the preferred method of cleaning it. Second choice would be distilled water and stores like Safeway have begun carrying large 2.5 gallon containers of distilled water. If I were pregnant I would probably choose alternative water for now just to be sure. Yes, I have heard dairy can be a problem. Soft cheeses, milk, cream etc. MAY be a problem IF contaminants are present. Odd to say but goat and sheep milk is thought to be even more of a problem. Please note that if you or your children say anything to others about choices your family may make – you will most likely be ridiculed etc. so I would not tell kids WHY you are making any changes nor, unless you are patient with those who talk down to you, might you want to say anything to others. But surely no one would judge a pregnant woman taking precautions? Yes – creatures that graze on pastureland are believed to possibly ingest into their bodies contaminants IF any are present so it is POSSIBLE that grass fed beef (which is usually ‘organic’ or specialty) MAY have a higher risk of containing contaminants. Theoretically, I’ve heard chicken and eggs, if raised, produced, indoors COULD have less exposure to contaminants as would beef raised in shelters. We have almost no information so anything you do may be unnecessary so I tend to look at it as if ‘If I learn, 8 months from now, that there was a problem, will I be happy with the steps I took. And if I take steps and learn 8 months from now, that they were entirely unnecessary, will I be happy with having made those adjustments.” You may want to avoid open windows on breezy days or open the windows on the non windy side of the house. I am no expert – I have just been reading posts like yours and some of the replies etc. I would also say that it MAY be useful to make sure the kids and you are getting the vitamins and minerals you need from a supplement for awhile – this COULD discourage uptake of some contaminants IF any are present.
@Annette….try organic powdered milk…probably processed prior..
read Psalms 91& take it to “heart”…get to know God “intimately”
I’m a nutritionist of 33 yrs & have always relied on good nutrition including a vast array of supplements.
Just recently, as I was contemplating the various antidotes for the many kinds of radiation, I heard the
voice of the Lord God “there is no escape”, meaning that nothing here on earth will help or save you
for what is & what is coming down the road.
They’re wondering if they can leave the door to #1 open? Sadly, my first thought was, what the hell difference does it make at this point?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110508/ap_on_bi_ge/as_japan_earthquake
Take action! Sign this petition. Let’s all do what we can and demand safe food: http://action.foodandwaterwatch.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=6370
You know, I was reading something about a week ago, and it was going on about how there was no EPA data…and then right in the middle, hidden in plain sight, there was a paragraph on how all of this was happening JUST AS THE FDA FUNDING WAS BEING REDUCED.
Not to be a WTF kind of person, but I have to step back and look always for the hidden underlying political financial agendas.
Just to be brief, the FDA, and everyone who should be monitoring these situations, already has all of the funding they need. They are supposed to be delegating it into the proper areas of their spending, so if there is no money for these specific programs, then finding out where the money went may be more in line than signing a petition to get the FDA more funding.
They like to pass the buck though, and there is always that sweet government handshake. The one where the hand extended comes with the words of how much they would like to help, if they only had the funding, while the other hand passes off millions to the pharmaceutical companies and that whole gig.
Signing petitions may be great, but being well aware and informed of what is being signed, what it really means, and if what is being asked for would be something you would sign if there was no data being withheld, and no fear of your safety involved.
Myself, I would say that the FDA, just needs to do their job. Pretty simple.
No trade offs, no more funding, they have already been funded…just DO WHAT THEY GET PAID FOR.
Giving them more funding, when they don’t even do what they are supposed to…
But anyways…possibly part of the issue with the EPA not getting the radiation data out, is that they are not specifically responsible for it.
[[Very fine airborne particulates
Tiny particles, under 2.5 micrometres, are attributed to health and mortality concerns, so some health advocates want the EPA to regulate it. The science may be in its infancy, although many conferences have discussed the trails of this airborne matter in the air. Foreign governments such as Australia and most EU States have addressed this issue.
The EPA first established standards in 1997, and strengthened them in 2006.
As with other standards, regulation and enforcement of the PM2.5 standards is the responsibility of the state governments, through State Implementation Plans.]]
So, like Arnie Gunderson did mention…Write to your State officials and DEMAND to them, to monitor the air/food/water…
And to the FDA
My personal opinion though, is that giving the FDA more funding, should not be needed.
@coolmom…this is what the fine print says…
[[What We Recommend
THE LATEST FROM OUR BLOG
Food & Water Watch on GMA
Any Radiation Can Be Harmful
1) The FDA should immediately ban all food and water imports from Japan, expanding on the FDA’s original step of restricting imports of milk and produce from the region near the accident site.
2)The EPA should increase its monitoring in the United States of air, water, precipitation, and milk for radiation.
The data generated by this environmental monitoring should be used by the FDA and the USDA to design sampling programs for soil, water used for irrigation, livestock or crop production, crops including leafy greens, and meat and milk in areas of the United States that are affected by radiation.
3)Congress should provide adequate funding for food inspection, both at home and abroad, instead of attempting to cut both USDA and FDA’s funding, which would weaken their ability to meet their current obligations even without the additional burden posed by this nuclear accident.
4)Congress should rethink our agricultural and trade policies, which encourage importation of an increasing share of our food from countries with weak regulatory regimes. If radiation from Japan ends up affecting these countries’ food systems, regulators there will not have the tools to ensure that food production is safe.]]
And a little background
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124812668070866483.html
http://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/ReportsManualsForms/Reports/BudgetReports/2011/default.htm
If you notice, the FDA consistently bundles food safety, with medical products…and guess where the money goes? Because if you look further, the FDA gets funding from the pharmaceutical companies, but you know the spinach doesn’t pay them back.
http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/2010/ucm199516.htm
FDA NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release: February 1, 2010
[[FDA Requests $4.03 Billion to Transform Food Safety System, Invest in Medical Product Safety, Regulatory Science]]
FDA 2010 budget
http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/2009/ucm152276.htm
[[President's FY 2010 Budget for FDA Invests Substantially in Food and Medical Product Safety
$3.2 billion request reflects a 19 percent increase from FY 2009
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is requesting a budget of $3.2 billion to protect and promote the public health as part of the President’s fiscal year (FY) 2010 budget — a 19 percent increase over the current FDA fiscal year budget.
The FY 2010 request, which covers the period of Oct. 1, 2009, through Sept. 30, 2010, includes increases of $295.2 million in budget authority and $215.4 million in industry user fees.
The FDA budget proposes two major initiatives for FY 2010: Protecting America’s Food Supply and Safer Medical Products. It also includes increases for current law user fees and for infrastructure to support critical agency operations. The FDA is also proposing four new user fees to facilitate review of generic drugs, register and inspect food manufacturing and processing facilities, reinspect facilities that fail to meet Good Manufacturing Practices and other safety requirements, and issue export certifications for food and feed.
“This historic increase in the FDA's budget is a great investment in public health,” said Joshua Sharfstein, M.D., acting commissioner of food and drugs.
The following are the FDA's key proposed budget increases:...]]
So, like I mentioned…Where is the money? And why are they not doing their job? I am sure the FDA has enough money to fix any of the EPA’s RADNET monitors…if they really wanted to.
@Ingot, Nice job highlighting the FDA budget situation.
99.9 percent of Americans have no clue and don’t care about the billions being spent (well, maybe not quite 99.9, but the vast majority…). I often wonder where are the checks and balances. Who is the watchdog to verify the spending, and where it goes. Like you said, it’s all done with a ‘government handshake’ and probably a wink and a nod. Until vast more Americans demand accountability, the situation will continue to worsen. A 19 percent spending increase is absolutely unheard of in business today! On the contrary, business has mostly been cutting spending. It looks like the government business is a good one to be in…
Hi Ken,
This is a nice introductory for people who don’t understand, or just don’t know yet…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjP2gHoBLvA&feature=related
It is a semi-long series documentary, but maybe well worth pondering.
I wish it could be part of the general social studies curriculum, but you know that would probably never happen.
But yes, I agree with what you wrote…
I teach the Century of the Self!! I have my students watch segments in class and give them extra credit for watching more!
@majia
That is really cool! Can I ask you, what age group do you teach, and what country you teach in?
My kids know, because they live with me, but in public school, they get taught the opposite, in the US.
@Ingot
Thanks for the information. It has been so frustrating trying to find information online to understand everything that has been going on. I have been commenting and asking questions on the EPA Facebook page and it seems like they don’t take anyone that doesn’t agree with them seriously. They also repeat the same line over and over about no harmful levels of radiation have been found instead of answering any questions. Even when I was asking what levels they consider safe, it took awhile to get an answer. Finally they gave me the FDA’s levels, which they said they are using. I thought the EPA used different (lower)levels. It has been frustrating to get any real info. After seeing the Iodine levels in precipitation were 190 here, I mentioned to the EPA that I told my kids not to eat the snow and I have them use an umbrella in the rain. The EPA told me that there is no reason to take any kind of precautions because the levels are so low. I feel like they are being very irresponsible to tell a parent that. I know I’m not an expert, but I still believe that the lower radiation exposure my kids get the better. I’m not freaking out and locking my family in the house or anything. It’s frustrating that the information isn’t available. Even when radiation in Utah was found in our precipitation, they never tested our milk like they did other states. It makes me wonder if they avoid testing in areas they think will show higher levels? I have contacted my representatives. I’m trying to figure out what else I can do and thought that might have been beneficial, but I see your point.
I know it can be frightening, and I have kids too…but basically, if there is no data, then we are going along blind. Or almost blind.
But you are a mom…so you know that gut feeling when something happens to one of your kids? The one that happens in the solar plexus? Just listen to it.
The body has what is called the Enteric Brain, or Enteric Nervous System. There are just as many neurons in the solar plexus area, as there are in the brain, and the two ‘brains’ are connected via the Vegas Nerve.
You can look them up, and there is alot of info about them…but basically, sometimes the enteric brain knows before the brain/mind.
Just listen to what you feel, but not the fear part…just the part that knows. And it does not matter what other people think. If you do your own research, and you know that your choices won’t be harmful for your kids, then you know what? An umbrella is just all the more reason to sing Mary Poppins songs and practice jumping over puddles, right? Or whatever age appropriate things you can do together.
Maybe all of this is not very information based, but mom to mom, you not feeling stressed out will be way better for all of your health.
Milk is really only needed for the vitamin D and calcium they add into it.
You can get vitamin D and calcium drops, and then make vitamin D/calcium brownies, muffins, and alot of other things. Just put 2 or so drops inside of one.
Mix it into some jelly and have PB&J for lunch, with chamomile tea.
Just thinking outloud…keep looking around the corners
Since the EPA is still reporting gross beta air concentrations for major population areas (gross beta findings are not broken down into various radionuclide concentration levels), I decided to try charting daily gross beta EPA levels for a number of major California cities/areas across the State. Over the past week the findings have been upward trending across the State, with some exceptions (such as San Francisco). Someone suggested, however, that in the case of Los Angeles, prior to the March 18th arrival of Fukushima jet stream plume radiation particles (and prior to the Japan earthquake itself), there were some cases, where numbers already were over 100 CPMs for Los Angeles. So, I decided to do a check. I went back 51 days from March 17th (in effect pre-Fukushima radiation arrival to the West Coast; and then I went forward 51 days, March 18th to May 6th. I counted all the days prior to March 18th, and all the days from March 18th forward; and noted how many of these days came up 100 CPMs, or more. (*Please note, these are approximated numbers only. I may have missed one or two of the counts, but still I feel these numbers are fairly representative of pre and post March 18th Los Angeles gross beta numbers, posting at over 100 or more CPMs.)
Guess what? There were 16 days in the 51 days prior to March 18th, which showed 100 or more CPMs. There were 13 days of the 51 days, March 18th and after, which showed 100 or more CPMs. Very, very, very discouraging. For Los Angeles, at least, charting EPA gross beta CPMs across time does not appear to be an effective way to monitor for Fukushima radiation particles at this time. Still, perhaps, charting Northern to Southern California may shed some radiating light, so to speak. But, then again, maybe not.
It is extremely disappointing, and unethical, that the EPA has stopped testing for air concentrations of various types of radiation found across the United States. Yes I know, the EPA has said there is no Fukushima radiation problem right now, so they are no longer going to do air analysis testing for Fukushima radionuclides. Yet, how can any of us take corrective action of any sort, when there is essentially nothing upon which to base our judgements for a particular place/time.
P.S., Remember at least we still have the NILU Fukushima plume tracking maps. Recent research has found the NILU forecasts to be 95% accurate for jet stream directions and radionuclide concentrations predicted—- at least in Europe this has been found to be the case. Hopefully, NILU tracking is accurate forecasting Fukushima radiation plum ‘weather’ for the United States, as well!
@Ken, Anonymity prevents me from asking Arnie Gundersen directly. Do you know what His take is on the #4 fuel pool webcam potentiality? ( I killed my T.V. years ago, have never used a cell phone, don’t own a computer, and have no e-mail address.) There are more pressing issues. Hence, I use your site, as it is both cutting edge, and I don’t encounter the “you can comment simply by using the login below” (filter?, tracer? -Why should a site need personal information if there is no hidden agenda?) For others my presentations are purposefully paradoxical, my meditation is ” Medicine Power” concomitant healthy paranoia, upon which I elucidate. The transient nature of waking state cognizance is lost to most. (By now you know to read between the lines as this philosophical, theological, scientific, quantum dialogue has spawn interspersed below the threshold of conscious perception.) Given the rarity of the western transcendent visionary, we have few Guides. Our offspring’s future is reason to advance the Science of modern survival. If you can’t see through the veil you can search, and while doing so attend the day to day with regard to the future. Here and now, be prepared, come May 21st. metals and food may be new world currencies. Yes; Ladies and Germs, food for thought could be a punch line. Rim shot… Adieux
@Otter, I will be surprised if Arnie Gundersen does not at least comment in his next video update (he updates seemingly once/week) regarding the allegation that there was fire in or around the #4 fuel pool several days ago. I will link that update when it is released.
As you mentioned, I do believe and had decided to enable comments without having to ‘register’. I know that not only do some people wish to remain anonymous, but it also makes it simpler and quicker for anyone to comment. Like you said, no agendas here – so long as the basic rules of human decency are applied. The comments are moderated when I have time to do so, or am already at my computer, so as to filter out those that blatantly disregard the simple rules.
Ken,
First, thanks for your sleuthing out of all this information. The mainstream media has followed their orders and backed off of coverage. This was a disaster two orders of magnitude greater than Haiti was, yet we only get a couple weeks of spotty coverage? I have to say, when only six corporations maintain ownership of 95% of our media outlets, they can be more easily controlled. A few veiled threats, a call from someone in power promising……whatever, and voila, the end of coverage.
This is a tragic and ongoing event, and unlike Chernobyl, the response has been less than tepid. Really? they have left the recovery opf these reactors to Tepco???
Where the hell are all of the experts? Where are the folks who have experience dealing with a nuclear disaster [read: Chernobyl]???
We are seeing incompetence on a never before seen scale. That the Japanese government would rather save face than be truthful about what is happening is beyond ludicrous, and the U.S. should step up and call them to the carpet.
We’re talking about a world changing event here. If these idiots lose control of this thing, we could be looking at an extinction level event.
May God have mercy on tehir greedy souls.
Too cheap to meter? What a load of crap.
@Ancona, I agree with you. In fact, in addition to you having pointed out that big corporate owns the media and therefore ‘essentially’ controls what is fed to the masses to some extent, these same corporations own the U.S. government, in effect. We really are no longer represented by our representatives. The government-media-complex (phrase coined by M. Savage) is controlled and run by corporate big money and Wall street.
Update rain precipitation contamination in Santa Monica, Southern CA area:
Michael Collins [of EnviroReporter.com Radiation Station]
May 9, 2011 at 11:51 pm
“….we just tested the precipitation we’ve had at Radiation Station in about 6 weeks and it has come in at 42.2% above normal background. And by the nature of the drop off in ionization picked up by the Inspector pulling away from the wet towel we used to collect the rain drops (off of plant leaves in our garden), it appears to be of alpha and/or beta origin.
Fallout needs a mechanism to come down to earth. It has one now in Southern California and we’re picking it up. It isn’t as dramatic as Potr in St. Louis who used his Inspector to show rain coming in at a whopping 62 times background, but it is clearly not from a natural source.
This is also not the first time Fukushima meltdowns fallout has impacted Southern California. And it won’t be the last. Yet EPA has stopped its special testing. We haven’t.”
Fukushima Tempco Reactor Building #4 beginning to lean, and some say is in danger of falling. The structural integrity of Building #4 is reported to be a “Very, very serious concern”, according to Dr. Robert Jacobs, an Associate Professor of Nuclear History and Culture at the Hiroshima Peace Institute. According to Dr. Jacobs, the Japanese government has reported that it has begun to shore up building #4.
To see video advance about half way through for Dr. Jacobs comments on the seriousness of the lean:
http://rt.com/news/return-fukushima-zone-plant/
I know that no one will really know how to answer this particularly accurately, but how long do you think it will take *reasonably* to get the rods under control? I know that obviously a lot of the containers are in ruins, but I was thinking about what exactly can be done to cool the radioactive stuff specifically. Im moving to Victoria BC for university in September, and am just sort of concerned about how much this will affect me. Do you think it is safer to stay in central Canada? Does it matter at all?
i live on the island and have been avidly watching the jetstream since all of this has happened. most of the plume has gone around us. we often get a ridge of high pressure that protects us from the jetstream~it seems to split into a v towards alaska/cali and passes us by. we’ve been on the edge of the plume a few times though. the health canada website has been tracking the ctbto data including a monitoring station just outside of victoria in sidney. it’s been reading nil for i131 and for cesium for the last week. alberta got hit harder than we did.
funny how all the comments fizzled out. Thank you Ken for the continuing updates.
@Tom, you’re welcome… as is typical, the interest factor fades over time. This particular post has been the most popular for our site since the disaster, but is now fading away as attention is focused elsewhere in the main-stream. It’s human nature (short attention span), and we can only hope that 5 or 10 years from now we don’t get a cancer from what is being released today from Fukushima.
NILU has just today posted on its website that it will no longer track Fukushima weather forecast plumes:
“Fukushima
last modified 2011-05-11 21:12″
“Thank you for your interest in the FLEXPART products for Fukushima. The Forecast system is no longer running.”
Parting words of NILU Fukushima radiation plume weather forecasts.
Wonderful! Sweet! Now none of us will have any idea of any corrective actions to take should the need arise– because we will all be in the dark, if the need does arise. Keep the public ignorant, so they won’t panic mentality. Yes, the average person no longer wants to know about Fukushima radiation threats. They are scared! They don’t want to talk about radiation. Anyway it is no longer news. And, if you don’t know, you will be safe. Think I will put my head in a hole, even if the sky does rain down upon me.
P.S. The EnvirReporter.com Radiation Station in Santa Monica, CA has pledged to continue live date posting of radiation levels for the Los Angeles basin area.
It is better to light one little match, than to curse the darkness.
In case any of you are in the know, I found this on another forum:
“Submitted by Lalla (not verified) on Thu, 2011-05-12 04:30.
I have dug up the SPEEDI projected radiation spread according to weather pattern. Maybe it will be helpful info to some:
http://www.nsc.go.jp/NSCenglish/geje/mext/speedi_1.html “
p.s.: If enough of us e-mail NILU, maybe they will re-open posting. The Fukushima radiation situation in Japan is far from controlled, and at this time just seems to be rolling on… along with Fukushima’s contribution to the Japanese jet streams.
We need you, NILU. Please do not leave us in the dark!
nilu@nilu.no
More information regarding NILU including current forecast at: http://www.youtube.com/user/dutchsinse#p/u/0/haMePBnkJhY
Dutchsinse’s video has gone viral
http://enenews.com/nuclear-meltdown-fukushima-tepco-worried-fuel-burned-hole-bottom-containment-vessel#comment-48752
I was thinking about all the dead zones that humans have created since the beginning of the industrial revolution, and Fukushima is probably going to be one of the longest lasting. I still feel that long distance is going to spare people from the deadly effects of this, but try to imagine what it is going to be like for those within a radius of 100-200 miles around this plant. They still do not have this under control, where in the case of Chernobyl it was buried and did not continue. Fukushima is next to the ocean also and the regional arae of ocean around Japan is going to be affected in a very negative way, another dead zone.
The toxins that humans have poured into the environment is criminal, yet those polluters get slapped on the wrists and get tiny very recoverable fines. I am actually talking more about those that purposely try to get away with dumping toxic waste somewhere, more so than accidents. There are a lot more of those rotten criminals without a conscience that dump poison deliberately than these accidents. It should be when someone that poisoned the environmemt they get very serious prison time and companies receive fines that take 50% or more the assets of the business, then perhaps there would be less dead zones.
In regards to the lack of interest with Fukushima, people and the media are only going to be engrossed into something for a long time that has flash to it and sensationalism to it. Case in point that OJ Simpson saga that became so sickening had practically no value to anyone other than gossip. Unless there is some sort of large breach in one or more of those severely damaged reactors and Toyko has to be evacuated from some deadly radioactive cloud, the Fukushima disaster coverage will die off.
I have said this before, the Modern Survival site is updated daily with something new and interesting and does not become stale. Ken works very hard and there is a lot of time and thoughtful effort that goes into the production of this site. I hope all of you out there appreciate just what a blue-ribbon site this truly is and how fortunate we are to have it and be able to interact and post our opinions and learn from each other. I really hope that one day that list with visitors on line to this site is in the several thousand range, this site definitely deserves that.
Just found this site…after looking for any news regarding this very subject. I’m shocked at how people seem to have little to no interest in this ongoing gross disaster…And it appears that the media has moved on as well, so I guess that explains why my neighbors are back to discussing in detail, the latest news on ‘Dancing with the Stars’.
Have you seen this piece?
http://www.nuclearfreeplanet.org/articles/tepco-fukushima-fuel-rods-are-fully-exposed.html
Greetings All, Reflecting on security and health through positive attitude. The meditation of slow heart beat. @ A/Mer you will know “ann a thachair e gu maith dha” @ Van/I., You are correct on the jet stream movement, though March had the La Nina cycle effect combined with the jet stream seasonal cycles resulting in almost daily dispersal from Japan; fast and straight via the U.S.,Canadian line. Evidenced by I-131 water contamination in Boston region, strontium 90 being found in New England dairy, and americium counts recorded. @ Jesse, I too have extended family in the northwest which are well informed, and yet are not leaving. Indeed some continue plans for B.C. life. Mind over matter, is key to the esoteric aspect of survival, visualize concomitant conveyance, positive wards stave exoteric distortions. (Sorry, yet again- those who Know, will read between the lines.) @ Random- nice piece, The “WAS a problem?” cogitation is positive in it’s nature and your questioning seems to contain it’s own answer.(” WAS”, is -Is ) If we buy into this existence semantics are inherent in dialogue. Paradoxically, yearning positive communicative consequence frequently reads negatively, generically speaking. Lastly @ M.S.B., Ken & clan- Wovoka’s vision in the 19th century was that if All danced, change would come for the people. Thought transference in the temporal 21st century is your virtuosity, the germ of the seeds you sow may not have physical dancing as a result; it does seem to have much causal mental energy dancing. May this medium bring a renewed precept upon which “People” know a natural, inherent, and inalienable right as a given. Tangible societal amalgamation of survival scientism’s convergence has inertia. Essence of vision quest? Reversion of crisis through individual optimism in life; breath to breath, day to day, always here and now.
May life treat you well, too, Otter!
I sincerely doubt that plutonium, cesium, strontium, etc. could be rendered ineffective by a “positive attitude”.
To @Anonymous says:
May 15, 2011 at 5:42 PM
“I sincerely doubt that plutonium, cesium, strontium, etc. could be rendered ineffective by a “positive attitude”.”:
Positive thought. Does it help? Maybe, or maybe not, Anonymous. But, some say the gods first thought of life, and then breathed it into being. Anyway, if nothing else, with positive thinking my immune system should be in better shape to fight off the negative effects of the plutonium, cesium, strontium…. than those without hope.
Thank you for this informative blog.
I check daily.
This website has been a calming force. The dearth of information regarding Fukishima is at best disturbing. Two websites posted here that tracked the flow of radiation, the U. of MD website and the site using the NOAA model, have recently and without explanation become inaccessable or are no longer updated. Knowing there is a constant release of radiation into the atmosphere and seeing how the mainstream media reports none of this only exacerbates my concerns. This website has provided invaluable information presented in a balanced manner. I cannot overstate my appreciation for all of the information provided here, and for the work Ken does in providing information and the forum. Thanks, and keep up the good work.
Buffalobill and all the rest of the gang at Modern Survival Blog, remember that once before the NILU Fukushima reports were stopped. But, NILU restarted posting their forecasts, when they realized that there was a demand. So, everybody, email NILU at nilu@nilu.no, and once again let them know that ‘yes’, we do want them to continue their weather forecasts for Fukushima radiation plumes. And, bless you all. Take care of yourselves, please!
Again email NILU at:
nilu@nilu.no
I have been trying to make an accurate picture of the potential risks posed by the continuing release of radiation from Fukushimas reactors to me and my family and have found it increasingly hard to find any current information. Of course I started on the EPA’s website then on to the california website. All I am finding is platitudes. I want hard facts accurate numbers radioactive dispersal maps so I can make informed decisions. I don’t understand the lack of media attention this event is getting. I understand the American press but I had hoped to unearth more info internationally. Are we the people deemed to reactive to make decent decisions based on accurate figures. I have to say I am disappointed by our governments response to this issue. As a naturally trusting person I have become less trustful of the media at large. Thank you for at least having some information on your site. It gives me faith in the American people that we will continue to try to be informed citizens of a democracy.
NHK says…
No.1 reactor is in a “meltdown” state
Tokyo Electric Power Company says the No.1 reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is believed to be in a state of “meltdown”.
The utility company said on Thursday that most of the fuel rods are likely to have melted and fallen to the bottom of the reactor. Earlier in the day, it found that the coolant water in the reactor is at a level which would completely expose nuclear fuel rods if they were in their normal position.
The company believes the melted fuel has cooled down, judging from the reactor’s surface temperature.
But it suspects the meltdown created a hole or holes in the bottom of the reactor causing water to leak into the containment vessel.
It also suspects the water is leaking into the reactor building.
The company is planning to fully fill the containment vessel with water by increasing the amount injected.
The company says, however, it must review the plan in light of the latest finding.
Friday, May 13, 2011 05:21 +0900 (JST)
They say that the NRC says, that ‘even though the conditions are not entirely stable, neither are they changing at a pace that would cause undo concern.’
Umm, maybe they mean that no one needs to be concerned about the fuel rods over heating now, because there are not any fuel rods left?
But thanks Otter…there is that.
Japan finally confirms nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear reactor admitting 5 feet of the nuclear fuel rods have melted into a pool of lava that is burning through the bottom of the containment vessel….
I feel that when there is an accident at any one of the nuclear plants, that company’s stocks should freeze…No sell-offs.
The many stock holders who wanted to make money by supporting something like TEPCO, of course all bailed, so now the tax payers who maybe didn’t want it in the first place, and are being directly effected by it, have to foot the bill. Coorporate world in plain view, it makes me feel ill.
Sorry, I know it’s a little bit off topic, but it is the trickle down, and the same thing would happen here…it already does, because the government funds and backs the nuclear power plants. No insurance company would or could do it, but I bet they invest in it.
I just wonder if most people realize it. And if they realize that they indirectly support the very things they may not want, by buying into the insurance game.
Sometimes this whole place seems so backwards to me.
Maybe it was too early in the morning to start looking at it.
If I ever get lost in the woods somewhere, I want to do it with you guys.
Here we go again, where some government has tried to hide the truth about the severity of some disaster like Fukushima or something that they want to hide and keep secert. Again, the truth just like the Deepwater Horizon and every other top secert whatever comes out. It would be so much easier to just tell everyone the truth straight out. It is no wonder that people have little or no respect and don’t believe anything from whatever the government or media “tells” us. It is the financial debacle, it is the bin Laden confusion, the middle east, etc, etc, etc., it is the whole stupid show that is put on for the public.
If that Fukushima reactor 1 starts to completely breach, then Tokyo is in deep trouble. If it explodes then the entire island of Japan and parts of Korea, Russia, and other islands could have some severe exposure worries. Ken, I must say that you have done an absolutely phenomenal job of covering this disaster; the illustrations, maps, charts, explanations really clarifies to all of us what is “really” happening that are not familar with nuclear reactors and nuclear engineering.
@ A/Mer,”Go raibh maith agat. An chodlata shaimh; ceillurann an draiocht” Also, your efforts are educational for all. @ Ingot,The irony of Name is not lost on me. I do apologize for not hailing your studies, time, and knowledge in last post. (Life…!?*#) @ Be Informed, I apologize for the wrongful interpretation of one of your posts for which I gave negative response. I will heed my advise and read between the lines as semantics play heavily in this form of communication. Reaction versus responsive; huh; kind of analogous with the on point issue. To the M.S.B. clan, I see more of you all the time. Spread the word. Can’t get Arnie Gundersen’s latest to play so I hope I’m not being redundant. First hand experience gave the over view of both blatant government budgetary waste and the folly it is used for in subjugating the populous. Specifically the Rocky Flats Nuclear Storage facility and the 24/7 on site fire department with it’s related training program for personnel. As reported above by Daily Yomiuri Online the addition of water could cause “an explosion”. The between the lines fact is that you can’t put out a plutonium fire with water, it will detonate. Hence the irony of the on site department, the waste of funding, and the inside joke of the crew about roulette and “over-time”.(Many have passed from cancers) Also, east of The Flats has a disturbingly high Leukemia rate compared to general statistics nation wide. And it just keeps on coming… Expectantly on course and in need of a positive mind set to derail the Geo-Political axiom.
Otter, when I went to Ireland two years ago, I felt like my soul and spirit had finally come home. It was if my great great grandmother from Ireland and my mother, too, were walking at my side the whole time I was in that mystical land. I could hear their voices whispering to me. The spirits of the green isle spoke everywhere I went. It was very difficult to go back home to the United States.
I agree with you, Otter, all life forms are involved with the Fukushima radiation threats, higher and lower forms. We are all in this together.
Yes, it is better to light one little candle, than to curse the darkness! Though sometimes it is hard to remember this….
@angusmerlin. I was watching the news, and for the first time in weeks they actually mentioned the situation about all pets of those people that fled the Fukushima area and it was not good. People so often forget about the poor animals that have suffered so much. Most pets are probably dead that were unable to be rescued, dogs and cats can take less radiation exposure than humans. I imagine those pets that are reptiles are still around as long as there is a food source. It is extremely upsetting to see the hopelessness and despair in the faces of these animals that were left behind. Hopefully people around the world will see this and make plans for their pets when their area is hit by a disaster so the pets are not left behind like Hurricane Katrina and Fukushima. Animals have feelings, in a lot of ways more so than many humans. Awareness of those suffering around us can be viewed as lighting that candle to break the darkness. Like you said we are all in this together.
Yes, Be Informed, my heart grieves for all these innocent creatures, too. The animals and the children– so, so dependent upon us. Given a similar situation (where almost everything is destroyed around me, perhaps like the Japanese man (who manufactured pet food), who still had his beloved companion dog friend, I too might choose to live in my car with my dog (and two feathered bird people) until I could find a new home for all of us.
A civilization’s greatness will be judged by how it treats those in need, including its fur and feather children.
EnvioReporter.com: May 9th, 2011- New Los Angeles Rad Rain results found to be 42.4% above normal radiation level readings.
@Otter, I wondered if anyone would catch the name.
And really thank you for that…here is what happened March 27th
I was in the 3D darkness, and there was just a spot that was circle shape, of red sparkles…it was like a red glitter light. So I was watching it.
And then the feeling came around me, the one that feels like sinking into…
and I saw and felt the water coming around me. The greens of the ocean, how it looks when the light comes through it?
And then right in front of me was the large greenish seaweed, like soft sheets alive.
I could feel the water, the movements of it, back and forth, but that comfortable soft feeling, and watching the seaweed move too…
I was looking at it, and put my hand over to touch it, and going right over next to it…I was wondering about the particles, and I could almost see them, but I wanted to ask the plant if they were going inside of it…
It was a curious moment, when that silence happens…and then there was this voice, a female voice, but it sounded like one of those automated voices almost…and that sound like it was coming through loudspeakers. And the echoyness like it was in a very large place, even like a large hallway that is curved, that is how the sound moved. It came with an image of a curved cinder block wall painted.
It just said, ‘we will have to replace the pipes…this will continue’
It was so loud, from the quiet with the seaweed.
@ angusmerlin, Haileo,din dhuit-conas ata tu? @ Ken, Thank you for posting comments between survivalists. (bloggers?, personally speaking it feels outside the field of this growing science) I am old and an infant in this world of communication. You all educate me and other seekers. Many afraid, many allowing their healthy sceptic view to find comfort through the massive efforts playing into this forum. While at times my left of left view will taint dialogue, I hope that in some small way my life work, education both institutional and societal will further cement these varied efforts toward the viable underlying science of survival. Have to keep coming back to healthy mind- set as a foundation. You won’t survive if you are too distracted, exhale, squeeze, wait for the heart beat, then fire off. On point the cover up is a given and these energies through the passage of time and Medicine Power unveil the truth. (History repeats itself.)… This aid posted herein-Smiths Detection’s “Radseeker” looks like a gem. Though I would guess it will cost! Check it out, use of this counter looks to bridge the transuranic void most generic counters don’t read. Now back to A/Mer, I leave you with a new distraction. Kwe- it is informal in both Mohawk and Micmac, something different to focus on, my other 50%. Good luck more in the future. Survive-All.
The above http://www.youtube.com/user/leakspinner is reported to
track the Japanese press and TV, providing a source to the latest news on Japan/Fukushima status.
One little tidbit reported today from one Japanese news agency, 05-14-2011:
Readings for Fukushima reactor #1 recorded to be about 2000 mSv ph — said to be the highest readings found since March 11th!
http://blogs.voanews.com/breaking-news/2011/05/14/japan-nuclear-plant-worker-dies-2/
Was reading the morning paper and from the Associated Press and there was an article that showed me one of the utmost survival preparedness about a mayor that had a 51 foot tall floodgate constructed that saved his town. The town of Fudai started to erect this shield in 1967 because of past tsunamis in 1933 and 1896. The mayor was scolded for spending so much money on something so tall and supposedly “unnecessary”. Because of this wall 3000 people are still alive and have a place to live that only suffered minor damage because the tsunami reached 66 feet tall. The mayor, Kotaku Wamura unfortunately died in 1997 and did not get to see that his wonderful insight saved so much. A beautiful article about someone that thought ahead and did not listen to the critics. A true person that prepared for the worst and thousands owe their lives to someone that had common sense and survival wits about him.
At Fukushima the waves reached about 45 or 48 feet tall, and if someone had this intuition and thought for the possibilty for a larger tsunami and built a similar seawall in height, Japan and most of the world would not be going through this nuclear nightmare.
Ken, this what the Modern Survival site is about, survival, but it also has to do with being cost prepared for disasters. All the advice you and the other people have given is so valuable because even if someone survives, what about the financial aftermath that so many people face after any disaster? What do they say? A penny of being prepared prevents a pound of heartache. Something like that.
Thanks for the reminder Angusmerlin. Email to nilu requesting they re-start posting of their forecasts of the Fukushima radiation plumes sent.
ZAMG-Fukushima: “Accident in the Japanese NPP Fukushima: Weather today, spread of radioactivity.”
Interesting radiation plume weather forecasting link still working (*Note: ZAMG Disclaimer, “Please keep in mind that, due to the decreasing level of radioactivity in the crisis region, the actual area of influence is likely much smaller than the one displayed here.”)
http://www.zamg.ac.at/wetter/fukushima/
http://enenews.com/high-concentrations-plutonium-soil-30-miles-fukushima-very-high-radiation-very-different-govt-released
Most of us have known all along…
An informative summary of the current situation…
http://globalcooperative.wordpress.com/2011/05/14/reactors-in-meltdown-as-private-forecasts-continue/
Be Informed, found this pet story today on the Japanese on line Newspaper, Yomiuri/English version: ,
“Pets of evacuees ‘trapped’ in cars”
@angusmerlin. I found that with any animal as long as they know that they have not been abandoned and have contact with the people that are their families they will mostly recover. It is when they are alone and they feel that those that matter to them are gone it is what will depress them and kill them quicker than anything.
IF someone had just built a tall enough flood wall like that insightful mayor had done in his town to protect nuclear reactors then so many would not be going through this calamity. Insurance is like this, you pay a few hundred dollars a year to save you hundreds of thousands if something does happen. In this case it might have cost a few hundred million dollars to save quite possibly save trillions of dollars. Not to mention to save the dire suffering of so many.
Off the subject of Fukushima, I was curious what type of birds do you have? I have had cockatiels for years and birds are so intelligent. I have seen after these disasters that dog and cats seem to get the most preferred treatment, but the exotics such as birds and reptiles fewer people seem to give notice to. After hurricane Katrina I saw this picture of this Sulfur Crested Cockatoo in a tiny cage in total despair, it was awful to see. I really hope that in future disasters and this Fukushima chaos that animals are better taken care of. I hope that groups like PETA will help.
One cockatiel, one parakeet, and 4 pigeons. Oh, and a baby, but now fully feathered screech owl in my pine tree. Yes, cockatiels are very smart, and incredibly loyal and sweet. And mine seems to have a 6th sense. About the same time as the Japan quake, the cockatiel began throwing herself around her cage, completely panicked. And, nothing was to be seen around, which should have frightened her. It took me a long time to calm her down. Boy, did that send chills up my spine!
There was a story on Al-Jazeera about another town along Japan’s coast that also survived with minor (relatively speaking) damage. A wooded area stood between them and the coast, and the trees absorbed the brunt of the force. I’m glad the floodgate wall worked, but if that town had planted trees in 1967 instead, there would have been no controversy about the expense. Also, engineering projects get weaker with time, while trees grow bigger and stronger and can be replaced indefinitely.
As for the animals, I don’t think PETA specializes in these kinds of rescues, but there are a few organizations that do. One is the International Fund for Animal Welfare. Here is a link to a webpage of an email they sent out a while back about the Japan disaster. http://www.kintera.org/cms.asp?id=1492709&campaign_id=21976&tr=y&enString=ffSCSxQrJkJFITPyGaKOLZPxFhKAJBTiMQSGO0PtEiLOIVMvGeI0G&auid=7966859
the picture of the spent fuel pond in reactor 4 building looks phony. reactor 4 blew up the day after the quake, there was “fire” and steam, coming out of the building and the pond was leaking. now we see a pristine scene almost like a photo taken long before any crisis.
Yeah, I have noticed the same thing Ken, about the reporting…
I wonder what the safe zone is for the US Gov now?
I always listen to the seaweed, it is very honest.
This is interesting…
http://www.innovationnewsdaily.com/nuclear-radiation-sickness-treatment-1829/
Radiation sickness has haunted humanity since the atomic bombs dropped, killed entire teams of firefighters at the Chernobyl nuclear plant disaster and worries workers trying to fix the Fukushima reactor in Japan. But certain death from a high dose of radiation may finally vanish with a stem cell-based cellular treatment that protects the human body when it is most defenseless.
Such a therapy might even work up to several days after exposure to dangerous levels of radiation, according to Ram Mandalam, president and CEO of Cellerant Therapeutics. His company has a U.S. government contract worth up to $153.2 million to develop the treatment known as CLT-008.
“It could be given three to five days post-exposure and help with survival,” Mandalam said. “That’s important in cases such as what’s happening in Japan, where people may not learn the level [of radiation] they have been exposed to until 24 to 48 hours later.”…continued
From the Cellerant Therapeutics site page…
“If all goes well, Mandalam expects to have enough trial data to begin looking at getting approval from the Food and Drug Administration in about five years.
The company’s current contract came from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA)”
http://www.allianceforbiosecurity.org/pdf/Alliance-White-Paper-fo-%20Dr-Lurie.pdf
Ken All, (Greetings)… Read a quote that seemed fitting. ” The cruelest lies are often told in silence.” Robert Louis Stevenson…
Here’s a prediction (based on the fact that I was right when I told my kids that there was going to be a meltdown back in March-because nuclear material needs serious babysitting, and the babysitting apparatus was destroyed):
Within a year the Japanese will admit that three nuclear reactors have suffered meltdowns and that at least two have suffered breaches. They have waited as long as they have to avoid the panic that this information would otherwise have incited. Just a prediction based on my previous success!
Even now people are bored with the whole scene, so despite the fact that things are not winding down doesn’t bother them. We are like lambs.
The U.S. needs to do some serious intervening. . .and I suspect that we already have(I’ve been wrong about that sort of thing in the past through. Political realities escape me).
No need to worry, folks. According to Ann Coulter, all this radiation is not going to increase cancer rates. Turns out that it will actually protect us from it. Who knew?
http://www.anncoulter.com/cgi-local/article.cgi?article=414
Good. Let’s all pitch in and buy Ann Coulter a one plane ticket to Fukushima, Japan. And, she can enjoy all the health benefits of radiation she wants!
And to boot, Ms. Coulter will have a nice, glowing rosy complexion.
Well, I want all of you Modern Survival Bloggers to know (tongue in check) that we have all been wrong; that things in Fukushima are indeed settling down. At least that what the NRC is now telling us. The NRC has just announced that they are suspending 24 hour around the clock emergency monitoring of Fukushima, since they say that situation is now stabilizing:
“WASHINGTON, May 16 (Reuters) – The U.S. nuclear regulator is ending its around-the-clock emergency monitoring of the Japanese nuclear crisis as the situation there slowly begins to stabilize, the agency said on Monday.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said it will continue to keep a small team of staff in Japan and coordinate response efforts with other federal agencies, but it will shift these activities to its Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation from its 24-hour operations center.
“The conditions at the Japanese reactors are slowly stabilizing,” NRC Executive Director for Operations Bill Borchardt said in a statement.
“As conditions have continued to improve and the Japanese continue to implement their recovery plan, the NRC has determined that it is time to adjust our response,” he said.
The NRC began monitoring the Japanese crisis after a massive earthquake and tsunami on March 11 knocked out power to Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi complex causing its reactors to overheat.
At that time, there was concern that the accident at the facility could send significant amounts of radiation to the U.S. West Coast or Hawaii, but those fears did not materialize.
Japanese officials are still working to contain radiation that continues to leak from the wrecked plant. [ID:nL4E7GG2NL] (Reporting by Ayesha Rascoe; Editing by David Gregorio)”
http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFN165471120110516
MENTAL HEALTH WARNING; Do not read the Ann Coulter post! It is so varied in study ( using reverse time frame data, unsubstantiated by referenced footnote ) given her lack of expertise her serendipitous wisdom exudes fraudulent intent. Can you say conspiracy? It didn’t come from the void between her ears…
I missed this article of May 11th. If already posted, I apologize. If not, this is interesting news:
Found on the Greenpeace International website-
Daily News: Japan scraps plans to build new nuclear reactors, while Chile approves hydroelectric dam project
Blogpost by Alexa P – May 11, 2011 at 11:47
#Nuclear: The Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan announced that he wants to scrap plans to build 14 new nuclear reactors, in light of the ongoing Fukushima crisis. The government had intended to supply 50 percent of Japan’s energy needs with nuclear power by 2030, but yesterday Kan vowed to abandon this plan and invest in renewable energies, saying that the country’s energy policies “need to start from scratch”. Junichi Sato, the executive director of Greenpeace Japan, greeted the decision, saying: “This announcement could put Japan’s energy policy on a new path of clean, renewable technologies, what we need now is the will and commitment to see it through.”
Michael Collins of the EnviroReporter.com Live Monitoring Radiation Station in Santa Monica, California on March 17th reports that outdoor rain water testing for radioactivity relative to background radiation was found to be negative Tuesday….
A breath of fresh air for Los Angeles!!!
Cesium tracking charts from CTBTO Monitoring Station in Sacramento, California:
http://www.bfs.de/de/ion/imis/ctbto_aktivitaetskonzentrationen_caesium.gif
All about the vents: (theirs and ours)
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/18/world/asia/18japan.html?_r=1
enenews has some interesting updates today. Apparently, re-criticality has occurred at one or more reactors. Details are sketchy right now, but there will be frequent updates.
Hello Ken and everyone. I just found this item; thought it was important to post for others to see. http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/05/19/radioactive-substances-breast-milk-5-japanese-women/?test=latestnews. I really appreciate your continued monitoring of the situation in Japan as I check this site everyday. Thank you all so much!
@ Ancona,Thank you for that post (05/19/2011 ) rarefied news is just that, rare. I would like to say to All that any site ( contrary to M.S.B. policy; ) which demands your personal information (Name/e-mail and first born) to enable posting has a hidden agenda. Though I am a rookie it is clear to me that even M.S.B. knows if you are up. That’s o.k. by me as survival is dependent on clan/group trust. Time has verified this site, it’s management, and many consistent truths. It’s agenda is such that it doesn’t have a need to waste time on any gleaned information of a personal nature a webmaster could, if desired, use to your demise. Interlopers comment despite M.S.B.’s concise posts.” Their flotsam and jetsam” , time that can not be repaid us having read and disregarding their drivel. This is the science of earthly survival, intuitive wisdom expounded from repetitive experience culminating in propositions of relevance Here and Now. Never forget the breath, consciousness=energy. ” That which Is” knows existence through our being. * ( ing and tion come from the Latin or earlier root for “To Be” i.e.-Being is” Be to Be”, Station= Stay “to be”: on and on,) as in occupation intending formulation affecting culmination… Survive-All…
)5/19/2011; woo… We all knew it was what it was, but to read it in fact still greaves me deeply. Survive-All…
http://www.opednews.com/articles/1/Food-Safety-in-the-Post-Fu-by-Marianne-Barisonek-110513-897.html
Please read and forward this excellent article. Here is an excerpt:
We don’t really know how much radiation has leaked from Fukushima. Since the inside of the reactors are too hot for anyone to go inside, there is no way of knowing how many of the approximately 600,000 fuel rods were exposed to the air. We don’t know how much has fallen with the rain. We don’t know how much has been dumped in the ocean.
But the EPA assures us that they can take thirty samples of milk from all over the country, not even one for each state, once in three months and we’ll have a good idea of the health impacts of the radiation from Fukushima.
Radiation doesn’t fall evenly. Measuring one milk sample for an entire region is like saying you’re going to find your New York City friend by standing in the middle of Time Square and asking exactly one person if they know where he is.
A sudden rise in radioactivity at Fukushima No. 3 reactor water intake for Thursday, May 19, 2011 was reported by NHK World Japanese online news reports. According to Tepco, seawater radioactive contamination levels near the Number 3 reactor was found to have doubled from previous day readings. Thursday No. 3 intake radiation levels measured at 1,800 times the national legal limit.
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/18_37.html
While the update report is not yet available, it should be interesting to see what the International Atomic Energy Agency Nuclear Accident Update Log has to say about Fukushima No. 3 reactor for the date of 19 May 2011, when the IAEA’s log is updated.
http://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/tsunamiupdate01.html
P.S., There appeared to be utter silence Friday (May 20, 2011) with regard to the apparent surge in Fukushima No. 3′s intake radiation readings. At least I did not see any mainstream media coverage. Fairewinds, what say you?
Found on EnergyNews blog:
An enlightening article and video present by BBC Adam Curtis:
“A IS FOR ATOM”
15:42 UK time, Wednesday, 16 March 2011
….As a background to the ongoing crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant I am putting up a film I made a while ago called A is for Atom. It was part of a series about politics and science called Pandora’s Box.
The film shows that from very early on – as early as 1964 – US government officials knew that there were serious potential dangers with the design of the type of reactor that was used to build the Fukushima Daiichi plant. But that their warnings were repeatedly ignored.
The film tells the story of the rise of nuclear power in America, Britain and the Soviet Union. It shows how the way the technologies were developed was shaped by the political and business forces of the time. And how that led directly to inherent dangers in the design of the containment of many of the early plants.
Those early plants in America were the Boiling Water Reactors. And that is the very model that was used to build the reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. Three of them were supplied directly by General Electric.
In 1966 the US government Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards tried to force the industry to redesign their containment structures to make them safer. But the chairman of the committee claims in the film that General Electric in effect refused.
And in 1971 the Atomic Energy Commission did a series of tests of Emergency Core Cooling systems. Accidents were simulated. In each case the emergency systems worked – but the water failed to fill the core. Often being forced out under pressure.
As one of the AEC scientists says in the film:
“We discovered that our theoretical calculations didn’t have a strong correlation with reality. But we just couldn’t admit to the public that all these safety systems we told you about might not do any good”
And again the warnings were ignored by senior members of the Agency and the industry.
That was the same year that the first of the Fukushima Daiichi plant’s reactors came online. Supplied by General Electric.
The film also has some of the recordings of the voices of the Commissioners struggling to deal with the Three Mile Island disaster in 1979. It was recorded by a dictaphone left running on a table – and you get a very good sense of what it must feel like to deal with such a crisis. A group of men realising they have no idea what is going on inside the core – knowing only that the cooling systems seem to have failed.
A long video, but here it is:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/adamcurtis/2011/03/a_is_for_atom.html
@ A/mer… Love the way my Wizard friend’s name in shorthand encompasses the old world with the new. Just want you to know I have responded to your posts, they ( as this may well ) haven’t as I am aware, been given to you. I’m no web master and rarely go past this site. No e-mail address, no cell,… this is a compromise to the very core of my beliefs. I only hope positivity curbs the needs we carry “as products of our environment”, embrace. Thank you for your many and varied posts. If that reads as paradox, well that’s semantics for you. I’m sure those who are ready will read between the lines… Back at you; Dia dhuit… Survive-All…
God bless you, too, Otter. You are right, I do crave the old world, yet live and breathe in the new.
To Ken and to all of my fellow Modern Survival Bloggers, just as King Arthur had his knights meet around the round table in order that all would be considered equal in worth and dignity, so too do we all come together around our table of equality to discuss all aspects of fact and fiction: Fukushima past, present, and to come. Just as the good King did in the past, to make our world a safer and more fair place to live. To make right, wrongs. To protect the weak and innocent. A goal worthy to pursue.
“Rex quondam, Rexque Futurus”
Here lies King Arthur, the once and future king.
ARNIE GUNDERSON 5/22/2011
http://fairewinds.com/updates
I can not seem to find any government readings on the previous pages that I had bookmarked or saved to my favorites. Nilu no longer has there map up and the page is gone. Both of the Canadian government websites for radiation readings are no longer online. I live in Alberta and its been raining for the last 24 hours……can anyone recommend where to purchase/obtain a good geiger counter from a reputable source? As well if anyone knows of any other maps and readings that are stillup and active?
It seems the only map I can find online is at http://www.radiationnetwork.com/
but the readings all seem pretty low I think…..(wondering how acurate they really are….there is a link from that page to a reading in Japan, which seems low as well)
@angusmerlin: on the above link it seems to note in the legend that an Alert Level = 100 cpm
Again thank you to Ken for keeping up with this site and to all of you who still follow it. I do not check it everyday, but do find comfort in still being able to access it regularily. Take care all.
Desperate for some reading material during my lunch break today I grabbed the first magazine I found. It was the 11/8/10 issue of TIME magazine. (Yes, I do work in a medical office, lol.) In it I found the following article which I’ve copied and pasted in its entirety.
CANCER
Re-evaluating the Risks of Radiation
Radiation exposure is a potential cancer promoter since it can trigger mutation in healthy cells. But researchers had long thought that the risk of developing cancer this way was lower in adults than in young children, whose rapidly dividing cells make them more susceptible. Now scientists report that this assumption may have been wrong and that middle-aged adults may actually have twice the risk of radiation-induced cancers than previously thought.
In a new analysis of cancer rates among U.S. adults and Japanese atomic-bomb survivors, a team at Columbia University concluded that previous estimates of radiation risks may have underestimated one key factor: the accumulation of precancerous cells in adults. These cells, which increase in number with age, need only the slightest provocation–from, say, exposure to radioactive waves in cosmic energy or X-rays and other medical tests–to turn malignant. With increasing exposure, the cancer risk rises. The findings are particularly applicable to screening tests, like whole-body X-rays of healthy individuals, in which the potential benefit of finding an abnormality may not outweigh the risk of developing cancer from the radiation, say the authors.
From NHK..(I like that they say there is No immediate danger, again, still…I guess they mean that it won’t be a danger until these 3 days pass.)
Contaminated water removal to be suspended soon
The operator of the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant is continuing the transfer of highly radioactive water from 2 reactor buildings to storage facilities within the compound, but the facilities are expected to become full within 3 or 4 days.
About 47,000 tons of contaminated water has accumulated in the turbine buildings and utility tunnels, hampering Tokyo Electric Power Company’s efforts to bring the plant under control.
TEPCO is pumping a total of 14,000 tons of such water from the Numbers 2 and 3 reactors to the storage facilities. But one of the facilities is expected to reach its capacity in 3 days and the other in 4 days, forcing the transfer to be suspended.
TEPCO says it is studying whether it is possible for the storing facilities to accept additional radioactive water for the time being, until it starts operating a new facility.
The new facility is designed to lower the radiation level of the contaminated water on a full-fledged basis, and then use the water to cool the reactors. The facility is expected to be completed by mid-June.
The utility says the levels of the remaining contaminated water at the 2 reactors remain almost unchanged and that there is no immediate risk that the radioactive water will leak into the ground or the sea. TEPCO says it is monitoring operations closely to prevent any leaks.
TEPCO reported that it had discovered contaminated water leaking into the sea in April, and again earlier this month. The utility has since taken measures to prevent further leaks.
Monday, May 23, 2011 19:25 +0900 (JST)
http://enenews.com/tepco-confirms-meltdown-of-reactors-no-2-and-3-no-3-in-worse-condition
KyodoNewsENG Kyodo News English
M5.1 quake jolts Fukushima Pref., no tsunami warning issued http://bit.ly/j7a8tx
https://twitter.com/#!/KyodoNewsENG
Just came across this youtube post on one of the forums (Berkeley) re a supposedly alternative weather radiation plume forecasting model. I had to mess around with it a bit to get it to the May 23rd map; so, be patient. No description is available for reading the map. Anybody know if this radiation plume forecast model is legit?
(P.S.: You can also view the live Fukushima cams at the nuclear reactors.)
“fukushima radioactive verseuchung world!” [23.05.2011.mpg]:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zToMIrgScmk&NR=1
OK, I was finally able to read the fine print. Map model is based on worst case scenario, and is not considered to be accurate re weather conditions on the ground, or re current radiation levels. But, perhaps map forecast model will at least provide us with an idea of where the radiation plumes are spreading as they move over the Pacific….
Again, anyone know authenticity of this model?
Hm-m-m-m,
The more I read the disclaimer, it sounds like this is an interesting display, but perhaps probably not too useful!
I’ve been following you all here for the last few months and appreciate all the comments as well as the blog itself. You may have already noticed this, but the EPA released a few crumbs of information today. The updates included some Cs-134 and Cs-137 detections in Richmond, CA precipitation gathered on April 28th as well as some I-131 in Olympia, WA precipitation for the date of April 25th. Again, thank you for all your efforts to gather information on this issue; it has saved me so much time in my struggle to educate myself on what is actually happening.
I have this date ordered view to make it easier to check out any new readings;
http://opendata.socrata.com/Government/All-detected-radioation/sifb-cbb9
Gardenmama- No, haven’t been tracking EPA aerial radiation analysis, since the EPA essentially stopped monitoring it. So, thanks for the info! It’s much appreciated.
I just got a camera for my birthday and it uses a lithium ion battery that was made in Japan…is it safe? I live in Canada, are these types of things scanned for radiation?
【LIVE Fixed Camera】Fukushima Daiichi NPP(presented by TBS/JNN)
http://news.tbs.co.jp/newsi_sp/youtube_live/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCwnpl7X8pU&feature=channel_video_title Just saw this 6 hr. old post on water leakage at the central storage which has been in the news lately as the next TEPCO plan… Survive-All…
http://www.youtube.com/user/bitesizejapanese Another 26th, May update re: ground water and the recent major radiation rise. Remember http://scroogle.org/ First… Survival-All…
Thanks Otter, I’ll go have a look too.
I had noticed this from a few days ago at NHK
“TEPCO is pumping a total of 14,000 tons of such water from the Numbers 2 and 3 reactors to the storage facilities. But one of the facilities is expected to reach its capacity in 3 days and the other in 4 days, forcing the transfer to be suspended.
TEPCO says it is studying whether it is possible for the storing facilities to accept additional radioactive water for the time being, until it starts operating a new facility.”
And how, if the storage has reached capacity, can they check to see if it could maybe hold some more? Now today they say this…
“TEPCO probes into possible leak at Fukushima
The operator of Japan’s troubled nuclear plant is trying to determine where contaminated water from a waste disposal facility is leaking to, after finding that the water level inside the facility has dropped.
Tokyo Electric Power Company has been removing highly radioactive water from the Fukushima Daiichi plant’s crippled reactors to the waste disposal facility within the compound.
The utility suspended the transfer from the No.3 reactor on Thursday and checked the water level in its section of the disposal facility.
Engineers learned that the water level had dropped by 4.8 centimeters over a 20-hour period, meaning some 57 tons of water has been lost.
The utility says it inspected inside the disposal facility and found contaminated water leaking to a passageway leading to another building.
TEPCO attributes the problem to a failure to stop the water leaking before the transfer began.
Thursday, May 26, 2011 19:57 +0900 (JST)”
And they say that they may have to plug the leak.
Arnie Gunderson’s testimony to NRC ACRS.
http://www.fairewinds.com/updates
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCwnpl7X8pU&feature=channel_video_title I hpoe you can get this 1 hour old post regarding fukushima Daini 4 unit complex fire, seven and one half miles south of Daiichi. …Survive-All…
Thank you, Otter, for the news about the fire at Fukushima nuclear reactor #3. Yes, I heard about that fire. Then, all the sudden, I could not find anything. Perhaps more troubling to me, however, was the 5/26/11 video on the likelihood of a “Massive Radiation Release From Fukushima Daiichi 26.05.11″. Nothing anywhere on the mainstream media about the sudden impossible drop in radiation levels from +200 sieverts to 40 some sieverts at Fukushima No. 1 nuclear reactor. The half life of the involved radio isotopes simply would not allow for this sudden plummet in radiation levels over a 24 hour period. Half life decay simply would not allow this type of drastic decay! Possible explanation? A likely major, major release of radiation by Tepco to lower the radiation levels at their No. 1 nuclear plant. May the gods have mercy on Japan, and upon the rest of us!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2l3Gv4AhNk&feature=relmfu
Your thoughts? Just as I start to relax, Tepco apparently has pulled the wool once again over our collective eyes! As usual, mainstream media is asleep, or is it….
Dia d huit, Otter! May God bless and protect all of us…
Sorry, Otter and al, that should read, fire at Fukushima No. 4 nuclear reactor, and not at No. 3.
Some reported radioisotopes half lives:
Half life decay periods for the following radionuclides:
* Iodine 131: 8 days
* Cesium 134: two years
* Cesium 137: 30 years
* Uranium 238: 4.5 billion years
* Uranium 235: 710 million years
* Plutonium 239: 24,100 years
* Strontium 90: 30 years
So, no way could the radiation levels go from +200 sieverts to 40 some sieverts over a 24 hour period of time in Fukushima No. 1 nuclear reactor without some serious leakage! Care to comment, Tepco?
http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2011/05/23/anti-nuclear-ballot-measure-starts-circulating/
A ballot initiative which would help close down California nuclear plants. Ok, you Californians–track this down and SIGN it. Better yet, help circulate it!
Solar,
Where the heck do you sign?
@Solar, Yes Solar!… ( Here follows a non a sequitur ) Came across this and it seems there are at least three possibilities, maybe more. Please let me know if you have any word. http://www.youtube.com/user/MAGETMIKE First this must be the first release of highly detailed footage from the second week of March re: fukushima, Second, there is a total black out going down. Third, this is an example of agenda which is either very sick on a human, psychological, and spiritual tract, or it is very sick “Sock Puppet” diversion. ( If you don’t know, that is a factual military/alphabet program to lie and divert attention from the facts. ) Actually if it’s the third potential, it is both… Survive-All…
@ Ken; My ” Six”… miss you hope to see posts soon. Regarding the last post again being a rookie the site should refer to the 05/28/ 2011 post with the detonation photo. Survive-All…
Sorry for less updates this week. My wife has had major surgery this Tuesday and I’ve been at the hospital nearly 24/7 since. As she recovers, I will be posting more, as they do have wireless there fortunately.
hope your wife heals well and recovers swiftly from her surgery.
@ ken & L… I had hoped you were on a well earned vacation. Leigheas go luath, Dai dhuit,L. ( Heal soon, God bless. )
we send our best to you and your wife and thoughts for her speedy recovery….
Hi Ken-
I’ve been wondering what’s up so am quite grateful for the explanation about updates… although would prefer to have heard it was due to something less stressful to your personal life.
I’ll say a prayer for your wife’s speedy recuperation and complete recovery of her best health, and ask that each and every person who reads this does the same. Even if you are not ‘a believer’ in the efficacy of prayer. PLEASE say one for her anyway.
Every time I come here to read the new stuff i give thanks for it being here and for you providing it.
Thank you.
@ lostinthewoods, Very well said.
Let’s all of us at Modern Survival Blog send positive thoughts of healing to Ken’s wife, and of love and protection to both Ken and his wife. The power of thought can be healing!
Thanks to everyone for expressing your good wishes and concerns. It means a lot. It has been (still is) a trying time, and this experience has given me an even deeper value for love and life, and what really is important in this world. All else is secondary. For those that have experienced a loved one on the edge of life, not knowing… then you know exactly what I mean. You will never be the same again and will look at the world with a different set of priorities afterwards. I know I do.
@A/mer, Re: 05/28/2011 Ditto; Mind over matter, positive focus, medicine power. It adds up to the power of One. I don’t care what or Who your God ( Gods ) is. What our world family and closer to home our clan, with it’s shifting strengths and weaknesses needs is positivity. Survival entails dropping the big picture to Ward the individual. Reading between the lines, Druid, Native American, New Age, Religious based Theology: if you are reading this prejudice has zero forward effect. As One we drop fear and focus on the current events and envelope Mrs.M.S.B.’s Being with goodness. The heart line is faster than any other healing medium. With thoughts bestowed for you and peaceful Grace to yours, may you be healed.
Love and Godspeed. Survival-All… “Be Well Now..”
Listening to a report this week about how switzerland is fazing out nuclear power made me wonder: Why do they also say still that Japan “experienced a partial meltdown?” I thought it was they STILL are experiencing SEVERAL COMPLETE MELTDOWNS! How can they just lie about it and blow it off? How? This is still a huge deal!
JAPANTODAY Japan News and Discussion:
TEPCO believes stabilizing reactors by year-end impossible
Monday 30th May, 07:48 AM JST
http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/tepco-believes-stabilizing-reactors-by-year-end-impossible
Greetings, You are likely tracking these posts but, for those who are joining the truth dialogue here is an update from Bristol southwestern U.K.- digital readings from inside and outside follow. ( 05/29/2011 ) This post is about the Japanese Government printing up a manual regarding tourism in Japan and the “unfounded rumor” regarding hazards ?!$$$%&**** http://www.youtube.com/user/leakspinner?feature=mhum#p/u/7/QXQPIBXswCM Survival-All…
Heartfelt wishes for you wifes speedy, uncomplicated and full recovery! .
I do have an inkling, from personal experiences, what a stressful time this has been for you, Ken. I have always drawn a calm perspective from observing the night sky and at the following site we are given the opportunity to marvel at it in its entirety. To think, we are all made of the same stuff! My hope is that these images bring you comfort.
http://skysurvey.org/
(imho, Nick Risinger deserves a Nobel Peace Prize)
Thank you for the kind words. My day today at Lauren’s side was rewarded with progress an order of magnitude from yesterday. I must say that UCSF Medical Center has been absolutely top notch in professionalism, and is known as the best for treating neurological aneurysms on the west coast, and in the top 3 overall.
Also, your link to http://skysurvey.org/ is amazing. This is the most impressive display of our surrounding universe that I’ve ever seen. Sure, GoogleSky is pretty cool, but this is unique in how it is displayed. Once it loads all of the stars, the display is stunning. To realize the possibilities of the slice of sky that surrounds us…
Hang in there Ken! You and your wife continue to be in our collective thoughts. We love you!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0pvjI02xHE Seems relevant on a number of covered issues. One of which is fukushima . Survive-All…
“I just receive the information from a source beyond my comprehension.”
I’m all for alternative viewpoints, but, can we please stay a little more focused here?
If we start bringing crop circles into the equation, or any other methodology that is not supported by modern scientific principles, we risk alienating those that may have just found us.
This is an important source of information. We have a shared responsibility to make sure that our platform is built on a rock solid foundation.
Well, I was just over on Berkeley’s Dept. of Nuclear Engineering public forum. And, on one of their threads (‘Fear Does Not Take the Weekend Off’) Berkeley’s bloggers were humorously telling fun little silly stories. And, you know what, I joined in on the fun. Once in awhile something different is good for the soul.
I mis-remembered. The BRAWM (Berkeley Dpt of Nuclear Engineering) public forum thread re the humorous stories is at:
“Fear doesn’t take a holiday!” It was hysterical. I laughed my way through all the posts. Enjoy!
http://www.nuc.berkeley.edu/node/4381
P.S.: Otter, your posts are a breath of fresh air to me. Keep them coming. God only knows, we can all use a bit of fresh air these days.
By the way, the Angusmerlin contribution to the Berkeley Department of Nuclear Engineering public forum thread, “Fear does not take a holiday” was:
“While they [the Berkeley BRAWM forum team moderators] were all laughing at us [the posters] and quickly got bored, the BRAWM team decided to liven things up and irradiate the day with a special match race between radio runner Iodine-131 pitted against runner upper Cesium 137. Who won?
Answer #1: It was a dead tie…
Answer #2: (I thought of this later)- -
“No one won. It was a dead heat.”
As found on EneNews:
“Sunday, May 29, 2011
Radiation in Reactor 1 Drywell its 225 Sv-hr
Posted by Lucas Whitefield Hixson at 5:56 PM
Radiation levels in the Drywell for Reactor 1 spiked at 215 and 225 Sv/hr
1Sv = 100 REM/hr
225Sv x 100 = 22,500 REM/hr
At this rate death would occur within one minute, the drywell is reaching close to vaporization levels”
——————-
My comments: And, then suddenly the levels again will mysteriously go back down to 40 some sieverts. Massive leaks? Or, intentional water releases by Tepco….
Well, we all know that fusion continues to highly enjoy itself at Fukushima’s nuclear reactors, doesn’t it. Under control? Even close to being under control?
Add to the above No. 1 reactor problems at Fukushima, cesium radiation levels at reactor #2 have now doubled levels found in reactor #1, according to Tepco (NHK World English). Stabilizing the reactors by year’s end may even be impossible, admits Tepco. Gee, what a surprise!
Found on: Counterpunch.org
An interesting read–
May 30, 2011
A Reckless Denial of Reality
Clinging to the Nuclear Option
By RUDI H. NUSSBAUM
The national organization Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR), committed to protecting public health, demands the de-commissioning of all currently operating nuclear plants in the US and urges members of Congress to refuse to subsidize the construction of new ones with guaranteed loans and liability insurance premiums. Why? Here is the scientific/common sense justification for such an uncompromising position:
1. After the accident at the Three Mile Island (TMI) plant, the official Columbia U. study found no increased health effects among the surrounding population, consistent with the officially accepted exposure levels as estimated by the TMI plant operators and applying the internationally accepted radiation risk factors, derived from the long-term follow-up of the externally exposed A-bomb survivors. Contradicting these findings, a subsequent study by Wing et al
found statistically significant excess cancers. These cancers have affected the lives of real persons. Yet, Wing’s results were angrily dismissed by the radiation establishment and government health agencies because risk assessments, based on “current radiological science,” precluded that the officially accepted, very low levels of population exposures (doses) released from the TMI reactor could induce the observed excess cancers. The possibility that combining flawed dose estimates with flawed risk models could predict flawed numbers of cancers that might be off by several orders of magnitude (factors of ten), was never considered by the Columbia U. investigators.
Following a tradition illustrated nearly 400 years ago by Gallileo’s fate, accepted beliefs and supporting theoretical models, combined with vested interests, trumped observation. Questioning assumptions in adopted radiobiological models and radiation risk assessments would be equivalent to heresy.
2. All over the former Soviet Union increased incidence of cancers and a multiplicity of other serious health detriment, associated with varying levels of environmental radioactivity from the Chernobyl disaster, have been documented by clinical reports and public health statistics. Until recently, the majority of those studies, however, could only be published in Russian scientific/medical journals and these were arrogantly ignored by the Western radiation health establishment. Instead, the nuclear technology promoting United Nation’s (UN) agency: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) (the World Health Organization (WHO) is not permitted to conduct independent studies on radiation health) published report after report with estimated numbers of Chernobyl radiation victims that are orders of magnitude smaller than those observed and documented in the recently published compendium of the Russian data in English (Yablokov et al., Annals of the NY Academy of Sciences, 2009, usefully summarized by the German equivalent of PSR). The UN Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) (and the WHO) had accepted IAEA assertions of very low numbers of radiation victims, purportedly based on the world’s most reliable current radiobiological and radiation risk models. Thus, mainstream radiation health scientists proclaim that the variously documented large numbers of radiation-associated health effects after the Chernobyl catastrophe in the former Soviet Union “cannot be caused” by radiation, rather they must be the result of psychosomatic traumas.
Similarly, in far away Western European countries for which UNSCEAR had estimated very low fallout doses after the Chernobyl explosion, a multitude of excess health effects have been reported in refereed medical/scientific journals, such as neo-natal mortality, Down’s syndrome or lowering of child IQ. However, mainstream radiation regulating and protection agencies, quoting the IAEA/WHO reports, deny any causal relationship between Chernobyl fallout and most of those observations. Vested political and financial interests, cherished theoretical models, mixed with intolerable arrogance, again trump reality.
3. Several years ago, the German government commissioned a team of prestigious government-employed health scientists to design a state-of-the-art study of children <5 years who lived in the proximity of any of the 16 German normally operating nuclear power reactors. Presumably, the study was meant to assuage with maximum credibility the continuing citizens' concerns about observed childhood leukemia clusters around some of these reactors. Therefore, to my knowledge, it is the only government-sponsored radiation study ever that was designed with full input from and oversight by an independent scientific commission, including several members who had publicly supported the citizens' concerns. Contrary to their expectations, the government scientists found irrefutable evidence that for <5 year old children there exists an association between residence within 10 km of any of these reactors and a more than doubling of risk for contracting leukemia or other cancers. This amazing finding caused quite a stir in the German media (and remains underreported and unacknowledged in the US), but it has never been credibly refuted. Some defensive (“ecologic”) studies with negative outcomes around power reactors in France and England claim to have cast doubt on the German results, but critical analysis of their data shows them to lack the necessary statistical power (i.e. sensitivity to detect an effect) to invalidate the German findings. Desperate for an "out," the government researchers, the health agencies involved and the German government then declared these excess cases of early childhood leukemia and cancers in the proximity of nuclear plants to be “inexplicable” at this time. They claim that according to “currently accepted radiobiological models” the initiation of these excess malignancies would require levels of radioactive emissions to be three orders of magnitude larger (1,000 times) than what the reactor operators claimed to have been released. However, (1) officially accepted radiation risk factors do not take into account the extreme radio-sensitivity of the developing fetus and of very young children (R.H. Nussbaum and I. Fairlie).
Also, (2) the officially assumed levels of radioactive emissions ignored, e.g., large releases of radioactive Noble Gases (e.g. Krypton) and of Tritium (radioactive hydrogen). Both of these radioisotopes can easily enter the human body via the food chain. Equally important is the fact (3) that the traditional measure of radiation exposure, the concept of dose (absorbed energy averaged over a unit mass of exposed human tissue), which is a fundamental macroscopic concept in current radiation risk estimates, is clearly inadequate to describe a variety of known injurious microscopic cellular/molecular mechanisms that can be triggered, in particular, by internally lodged radioactivity.
Those who deny or deceptively play down the catastrophic threats to public health from all phases of the nuclear power cycle, from mining to the lack of any proven solution to permanent and safe disposal of very long-term deadly spent nuclear fuel, recklessly ignore the medical/scientific lessons we should have learned from current and previous nuclear accidents. The international radiation health science establishments, such as IAEA or ICRP, many of whose members are solidly enmeshed with nuclear arms and nuclear energy production, have for decades deliberately ignored observed detriment from radioactive emissions. Their estimates of the public health impact from environmental radioactivity are based on partially outdated and flawed theoretical models that had been developed decades ago to quantify the effects of exposures to external radiation, such as those suffered by the Japanese A-bomb survivors. In agencies that are mandated to protect public health a mindset that denies reality is intolerable.
In addition to unacceptable long lasting effects on public health, even if operating normally (see section 3), nuclear energy technology can only be financed by taxpayers worldwide because private capital considers it too risky and refuses to underwrite it. The nuclear power industry holds citizens hostage to protect its profits. The industry’s safety claims and its new marketing gimmick of modular design reactors are largely deceptive, since it has nothing to offer in terms of safe disposal of spent nuclear fuel rods.
It is particularly tragic that the current Japanese population is again a study cohort for the devastating effects of a very different mix of environmental radioactive contamination.
Rudi H. Nussbaum is a Professor emeritus of Physics and Environmental Sciences at Portland State University.
Link:
http://www.counterpunch.org/nussbaum05302011.html
Thinking of you and your family Ken, praying for a speedy recovery. HUGZ
Through prior posts,( reference: 05/02/2011 ) a diffuse panoply of paradoxical, inherently biased catalysts toward positivity exists. Elucidated sine qua non exigent holistic sciential inertia the Anthropocene epoch expires. Enthronement of modern principles negates scientific foundation. ( American Heritage Dictionary ) “Science”-”theoretical explanation of natural phenomena”, “Such activity applied to any class of phenomena”, “Any activity that appears to require study and method”… Quantum Theory-physics, ( displacement of a vibrating body at zero time ) Chaos, String Theory, are theory. The summation of Laws made,revised,and discarded. Id est; Scientific empiricism conceptually formulates observations for hypotheses. The amalgamation which ( given semantics ) epicycloid art forms created through focused endeavor, polemical syllogism,scrutinized, and thus presented ( not only with disclaimer but in a wholly Positive synopsis ) invokes postulate scientism. ( Survival science intuit-read between the lines ) Laconic deduction requires examination of the potential of paradox. An example “zero” being previously mentioned begs the question, how? You can not Have Zero, it’s existence is analogues with infinite.To give infinity a value you must negate finite. Perhaps-http://skysurvey.org/ was alien-ating?.. ( Joke!/pun )… Seems kritterkarin and Ken both found it relevant and beneficial to post for the M.S.B. clan. Sending love and Godspeed to all; K and L May the Heart line medicine grow. Positivity through our collective thought… “Be Healed Now”… Survive-All… P.S. Nick Risinger does deserve awards adinfinitum…
Sine qua non-Latin “without which”, “without such”… Adieux… Survive-All…
10:43 PMET (5/31/11)
“We ‘came close’ to losing northern Japan”
Famed physicist Michio Kaku says northern Japan was almost lost to a “100% core melt” in the Fukushima nuclear accident.
http://inthearena.blogs.cnn.com/2011/05/31/we-came-close-to-losing-northern-japan/
This is from GlobalResearch.ca,
“…The decommissioning of the Fukushima 1 nuclear plant is delayed by a single problem: Where to dispose of the uranium fuel rods? Many of those rods are extremely radioactive and partially melted, and some contain highly lethal plutonium….
Besides the fissile fuel inside the plant’s six reactors, more than 7 tons of spent rods have to be removed to a permanent storage site before workers can bury the Fukushima facility under concrete. …
International Atomic Energy Commission (IAEA) has never seriously addressed nuclear-waste disposal as an industrywide issue. Based on the ration of spent rods to reactor fuel inside U.S. nuclear facilities, there are close to 200,000 metric tons of high-level nuclear waste at the 453 civilian nuclear-energy plants worldwide. Yet not a single permanent storage site has ever been opened anywhere.
The inability of Tepco or the government to pay for nuclear waste disposal puts the financial liability squarely on its partner companies and suppliers, including GE, Toshiba, Hitachi, Kajima Construction and especially the sources of the uranium, CAMECO and Rio Tinto and the governments of Canada and Australia. A fundamental rule of both capitalism and civil law is that somebody has to pay.
Since Australia and Canada aren’t in any hurry to take back the radioactive leftovers, that leaves Japan and treaty-partner United States with only one option for quick disposal- Mongolia.
Its GDP, ranked 136 among the world’s economies, is estimated to be $5.8 billion in 2010. Thus, $12 billion is an unimaginable sum for one more hole in the ground.
…the money will go into a trust fund for maintenance costs. That’s because $12 billion spread over the half-life of uranium – 700 million years – is equivalent to $17 in annual rent. That doesn’t even cover kibble bits for the watchdog on duty, much less the cooling system.
URL of this article: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=25064
Japan news as reported by NHK World English-
1. Tepco News Item #1:
“TEPCO cools storage pool in No.2 reactor building”
“The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says it has succeed in lowering the temperature in a storage pool for used nuclear fuel at the No.2 reactor after it started operating a cooling system there.
Tokyo Electric Power Company says the temperature in the pool dropped to 38 degrees Celsius on Thursday from about 70 degrees previously.
TEPCO had anticipated that it would take about one month to lower the temperature to about 40 degrees.
In the No. 2 reactor building, steam released by the storage pool has been pushing up the humidity level to 99.9 percent. Such excessive humidity has prevented recovery efforts so far.
The company installed a circulatory cooling system to lower the pool temperature in order to reduce humidity and began operating the system on Tuesday.
Since the temperature has sharply decreased TEPCO plans to inspect the interior of the building as it suspects humidity has also declined. If the situation has improved, it will install systems to remove radioactive substances.
The company plans to start operating similar cooling systems at the storage pools in the No.1 and 3 reactor buildings in June, and in the No.4 reactor building in July.
Friday, June 03, 2011 05:11 +0900 (JST)”
————–
2. Tepco News Item #2:
“Wastewater rises, fears mount”
“The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is struggling to remove pools of highly radioactive wastewater as fears of an overflow get more intense.
Tokyo Electric Power Company says wastewater levels rose around 6 centimeters inside the No.2 reactor turbine building, and in its utility tunnel, during the 24-hour period through Thursday morning.
Increases were also seen inside the No.3 and 4 reactor turbine buildings.
The water level in the utility tunnel is now just 28 centimeters from the surface outside the No.2 reactor, and 24 centimeters from the surface outside the No.3 reactor.
Tokyo Electric plans to start using a water purifier by the middle of this month. But as an emergency measure it’s preparing to remove wastewater pooled inside the No.3 reactor turbine building to its turbine condenser.
The utility is also considering using 2 additional buildings inside the compound as storage.
The level of wastewater inside the No.1 reactor building dropped 8 centimeters on Thursday morning from Wednesday, unlike the other facilities.
Tokyo Electric is measuring the level of radiation in groundwater near the plant to check for possible wastewater leakage.
Thursday, June 02, 2011 13:03 +0900 (JST)”
————-
NHK World English News Item #3:
“Earthquake hits Niigata, no tsunami alert”
“The earthquake hit at 11:33 AM local time. Japan’s Meteorological Agency estimates the quake’s magnitude at 4.7, with its focus in the prefecture.
Tremors with an intensity of 5 plus on the Japanese scale of 0 to 7 were registered in Tokamachi City in the prefecture, and an intensity of 4 in Tsunan Town, also in Niigata.”
—————-
What a wild, wild ride!!!
Energy News
JUST IN: 6.3 quake hits off east coast of Japan, same latitude as Fukushima
June 2nd, 2011 at 10:01 PM
“6.3-magnitude quake hits off the east coast of Honshu, Japan — USGS, Xinhua, June 3, 2011:
An earthquake measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale jolted off the east coast of Honshu, Japan at 09:05: 03 a.m. local time (00:05:03 GMT) on Friday, the U.S. Geological Survey said. [...]“
“Linda Moulton Howe interviews Scott Portzline, security consultant to Three Mile Island Alert, Coast to Coast AM, May 26, 2011:”
(Note:Interview on Fukushima nuclear fallout starts about the 20 min. level.) Coast to Coast audio interview provided by enenews at following link:
http://enenews.com/explosions-occurred-early-3-reactor-very-similar-chernobyl-several-hundred-pounds-plutonium-ejected-video
***That the nuclear, ongoing disaster at Fukushima is worse than Chernobyl.
A must hear interview!!!
This article seems to be a transcript of the audio interview.
http://www.earthfiles.com/news.php?ID=1855&category=Environment
Note that there are numerous links at the end.
From the NIRS site: 6/2/11
Nagasaki University Hospital says that 40% of the people it sent to Fukushima Prefecture in March to assist with the aftermath of the earthquake/tsunami received measurable internal exposure to radiation, including Iodine-131 and Cesium-137.
In a new indication of just how far significant levels of radiation spread from Fukushima, Japan today banned distribution of green tea grown in four prefectures southwest of Tokyo—more than 150 miles from the Daiichi site—because of elevated levels of Cesium-137
Ken, hope your wife is recovering well.
June 3, 2011
‘Exclusive Arnie Gundersen Interview: The Dangers of Fukushima Are Worse and Longer-lived Than We Think’
http://www.chrismartenson.com/blog/exclusive-arnie-gundersen-interview-dangers-fukushima-are-worse-and-longer-lived-we-think/58689
No aspect of this disaster is watered down here. (also a “solution” I’d not yet heard suggested is offered):
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2011/05/28/fukushima-how-many-chernobyls-is-it/
I’m heading out to commune with my teensy slice of the sky. Ken, I’m thinking of you and your wife and hoping that all is good.
thanks- yesterday she was moved from the hospital to an acute rehabilitation facility that specializes in brain trauma, and it’s a lot closer to home – which is nice (I can now go home to feed the dog instead of burdening others to take care of the little guy). She’s making progress each day – unclear how long she will be hear at this point, but I’m hopeful for her speedy recovery.
Whistleblower Kei Sugaoka reports some damming information against Tepco.
Many of the following links have mysteriously been closed down. Some, however, are still open. View them while you still can. Happy sleuthing.
“Physics Forums”
http://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?p=3339087
“Yeah it was a interview of Kei Sugaoka, here is the info from the youtube video before it was nuked:
Uploaded by laborvideo on Jun 3, 2011
GE Nuclear Inspector And Whistleblower Kei Sugaoka Speaks Out About Fukushima , GE & Obama
General Electric nuclear plant inspector Kei Sugaoka was one of the inspectors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant in 2000. He noticed a crack in the steam dryer which he videotaped. He was later ordered by TEPCO to edit this part of the tape which is illegal in the United States. He went public and some TEPCO managers were fired. He thought that things would change but they have not. Additionally as a result of being a whistleblower he was also fired by General Electric and has been struggling to get the truth out about these dangerous plants. This interview was done on May 5, 2011.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBjiLaVOsI4&feature=
http://criticality.org/2011/05/whist…lear-reactors/
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/27/wo…usion.html?hpw
http://www.baycitizen.org/disasters/…-nuclear-react…
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-b…0040523×2.html
Production of Labor Video Project http://www.laborvideo.org laborvideo.blip.tv
(c)2011″
most of the links are dead now, kind of crazy… here is another link i found which is also interesting:
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_lis…A0A2E17C94FC6C
Ken, you and your wife are still in my thoughts and prayers!
Thank you. The experience has enormously reinforced three words… Life Is Precious. We all take it for granted most of the time.
Yes, and we are all grateful for yours!
The Japan Times Online
Sunday, June 5, 2011
“Lethal four-sievert reading taken by robot; suppression chamber suspect
Radiation in No. 1 reactor building at highest level yet
Kyodo, AP
Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Saturday it has detected radiation of up to 4,000 millisieverts per hour in the building housing the No. 1 reactor at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.
News photo
Where there’s smoke: A video image from the Fukushima No. 1 power plant shows steam rising from an opening in the floor of the No. 1 reactor building Friday. TEPCO / AP
The radiation reading, which was taken when Tepco sent a robot into the No. 1 reactor building on Friday, is believed to be the highest detected in the air at the plant so far.
On Friday, Tepco found steam spewing from the basement into the building’s first floor. Nationally televised news Saturday showed blurry video of a steady stream of smoky gas curling up from an opening where a pipe rises through the floor.
The radiation is so high now that any worker exposed to it would absorb the maximum permissible dose of 250 millisieverts in only about four minutes. Tepco said there is no plan to place workers in that area of the plant and said it will carefully monitor any developments.
The utility said it took the reading near the floor at the southeast corner of the building. The steam appears to be entering from a leaking rubber gasket that is supposed to seal the area where the pipe comes up through the first floor. No damage to the pipe was found, Tepco said.
The reactor’s suppression chamber is under the building, and highly radioactive water generated from cooling the reactor is believed to have accumulated there, Tepco said, adding that the steam is probably coming from there.
Meanwhile, tanks for storing radioactive water were on their way Saturday to the plant.
Tepco has said radioactive water could start overflowing from temporary storage areas on June 20, or possibly sooner if there is heavy rainfall.
Two of the 370 tanks were due to arrive Saturday from a manufacturer in nearby Tochigi Prefecture, Tepco said. Two hundred of them can store 100 tons, and 170 can store 120 tons.
The tanks will continue arriving through August and will store a total of 40,000 tons of radioactive water, according to Tepco.
Workers have been fighting to get the plant under control since the March 11 tsunami knocked out power, destroyed backup generators and halted the crucial cooling systems for the reactors, causing the world’s worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986. Several explosions have scattered radioactive debris around the plant, and reactors are spewing radiation into the air and leaking it into the sea.
On Friday, nine workers who entered the building to attach a pressure gauge to the pressure vessel of reactor No. 1 were exposed to around 4 millisieverts of radiation, according to Tepco.
The fuel rods are believed to have melted almost completely and sunk to the bottom of the containment vessels of reactors 1, 2 and 3.
A complete meltdown would have seen the fuel melt entirely through the containment vessels and into the reactor floor.”
Sorry, forgot to post the link to Japan News Online:
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110605a3.html
Getting really tired. That should have read:
“The Japan Times Online”
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110605a3.html
@ A/Mer, Haileo. You’ve been working hard, excellent work. Do take a break, envision, breath positivity as a constant for long healthful life. As regards most recent Tepco information they sure do throw the numbers around. Nine workers into reactor number one and only 4 millisievertts of radiation???? They must have opened the door stepped in and said “Tag you’re it and ran”. Even the approach to to number 1 would have given them that dosage. Health, internal and external, meditate medicine power; together we can change the direction of the future. It’s path is filled with Red and we need the Blue of Spirit to circumvent the events told and untold in this “Here and Now”. One Mind walks the Path, One sees within the silence of breath, center creates future. Positive begets positive,it’s a given that All is Perfect, Oneness Will ( willful Oneness ) is catalyst of reversion. Survive-All… P.S.,A/mer( ican )wizard you’re top of the page now, keep them coming, and as a Native American Church card carrying member says we are one with the earth and with our ancestors always… Might have meant all ways?…
Fukushima: Twice As Bad As Thought
Posted by Eben Harrell Monday, June 6, 2011 at 11:46 am
View Comments • Related Topics: Energy , Chernobyl, Fukushima, NISA, TEPCO
One recurring theme that has emerged after Fukushima is the tendency of nuclear experts to underestimate (publicly at least) the severity of the disaster. Today we received further proof of this when the Japanese government more than doubled the estimate for the amount of radiation released from the plant in the immediate aftermath of the crisis in March.
Government watchdog The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency also said that the meltdowns of the plant’s reactor cores–at least one of which we now know suffered a total meltdown—happened much more quickly than Tepco has previously suggested, making it clear that the plant operators’ desperate attempts to cool the reactors by dumping sea water on them were largely unsuccessful.
According to news reports, NISA now estimates the total amount of radiation released into the atmosphere in the first week of the crisis at 770,000 terabecquerels. This compares with NISA’s previous estimate, released on April 12, of 370,000 terabecquerels for the first month of the crisis. NISA has pointed out that most of the radiation was released in the first week.
The new estimate brings falls in line with another government watchdog, the Nuclear Safety Commission, which has projected the total radiation release at 630,000 terabecquerels, Dow Jones reported.
The latest figure is still only about 10% of the radiation released from the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, which is estimated at 5.2 million terabecquerels.. But the amended estimate further undermines the credibility of Tepco, NISA and the IAEA in the aftermath of the crisis. It’s easy to understand why in the frenzied few weeks after the earthquake those three bodies would have wanted to remain cautious when estimating the scale of the emergency—they wanted to prevent panic. But there’s a problem with that approach. The nuclear industry has long suffered from a “credibility gap” and low-level of trust from the public. The global community needs to know as quickly and as accurately as possible what’s going on in a nuclear emergency. If there is a level of uncertainty about the situation–as there was at Fukushima–officials should emphasize that.
It is often said that one of the scary things about radiation is that you can’t see or sense it. In the case of an invisible radiation leak, we should demand that national and international nuclear safety experts be highly visible, and as emphatic as possible.
Read more: http://ecocentric.blogs.time.com/2011/06/06/fukushima-twice-as-bad-as-thought/#ixzz1OXP8DsIv
LATEST ARNIE GUNDERSEN VIDEO UPDATE: June 5th, 2011
‘White House & NRC Recommend 50 Mile Fukushima Evacuation, Yet Insist US Safe With Only 10 Fairewinds’ chief engineer Arnie Gundersen emphasizes the need to enlarge evacuation zones around US nuclear plants to 50 miles. Reducing US evacuation zones to only 10 miles during a nuclear power accident compromises public safety.’
http://www.swnkacangi.com/ The bottom of page… And Ken plus one… Hope you are healing on all levels… Survive-All…
A bit more information re yesterday’s news (6/6/11) that the Japanese government’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency admits that radiation in week one after the quake/tsunami was twice the level as first believed; and that plutonium found outside of nuclear reactor No. 1 was indeed from the reactor No. 1 itself, and not from prior weapons testing as previously believed:
“Japan Finds Plutonium One Mile Away From Fukushima, Doubles Radiation Leak Estimate
http://feedproxy.google.com –
In a double whammy of bad news from the mainstream media blackouted Fukushima (or perhaps the general population just doesn’t care any more) today we learn that not only did The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) double its estimate of the radiation leak in the early days of the Fukushima catastrophe, something we had predicted would happen eventually courtesy of the secretive Japanese government, but that Plutonium from Fukushima has now been found in the town of Okuma, over 1 mile away from the stricken Nuclear Power Plant.
On the fallout estimate doubling:
The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency says it believes the earthquake-stricken Fukushima plant emitted nearly 800,000 terabecquerels of radioactive material into the air in the days after it was hit by a massive tsunami.
That is more than double the original estimate and is based on new information suggesting the No.1 and No.2 reactors suffered meltdowns much earlier than thought.
The revision reveals the failure to contain the disaster resulted in much more radioactive contamination of the soil, sea and air than the plant’s operators had acknowledged.
And far more importantly, on the plutonium and its 87 year half life:
Plutonium that is believed to have come from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 power plant has been detected in the town of Okuma about 1.7 km away from the plant’s front gate, a Kanazawa University researcher said Sunday.
It is the first time plutonium ejected by the stricken facility has been found in soil beyond its premises since the March 11 megaquake and tsunami led to a core meltdown there.
Naturally, coming from Japan there had to be a silver lining of lies with the latest mushroom cloud:
Professor Masayoshi Yamamoto of Kanazawa University said the level of plutonium detected in soil in Okuma, Fukushima Prefecture, is lower than the average level observed in Japan after nuclear tests were conducted abroad.
This was the last resort after earlier attempts to lie about the source of the material failed:
The Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry has found plutonium in soil on the nuke plant’s grounds, but it was believed to have been fallout from bomb tests abroad.
By analyzing the ratio of three types of isotopes in the plutonium, Yamamoto was able to determine that it was emitted by Fukushima No. 1 and not past bomb tests.
The soil samples were collected by a team of researchers from Hokkaido University before April 22.
Somehow we think by the time this is all over, mutated rabbits will be the least of the demoralized Japanese population, which already is experiencing a demographic crunch.”
http://equityhelpdesk.com/node/43048/related_links
CNN’s John King interview with Arnie Gundersen (video):
“Japan’s radiation twice as bad.
Full meltdowns at three reactors.”
(June 7th, 2011)
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2011/06/07/jk.radiation.gundersen.cnn
Japan Today News reports:
“Blackout hits Fukushima nuclear plant’s Nos. 1, 2 units
Wednesday 08th June, 06:59 PM JST
Print
TOKYO —
The crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant suffered power outages at its Nos. 1 and 2 reactors temporarily Wednesday, with lights in the units’ central control room being cut off and the transmission of radiation data being partially halted.
The operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co, said the blackout did not affect its water injecting operation to cool the reactors, while Goshi Hosono, an adviser to Prime Minister Naoto Kan on the radiation leakage crisis, said the incident did not affect any equipment that could have caused an extremely serious situation.
Electricity was restored around 5:30 p.m., TEPCO said, adding that it is investigating the cause of the power outage.
The company said it found that a power panel linked to locations including the Nos. 1 and 2 reactors’ central control room did not work at around 2:30 p.m.
The system to transfer data from radiation monitoring posts was found to have partly stopped. The blackout is also believed to have affected the nitrogen supply system for the No. 1 unit’s containment vessel so its operation was stopped manually.
TEPCO is investigating whether the blackout damaged measuring equipment and affected its monitoring system of abnormalities.
Also Wednesday, TEPCO revealed a plan to leave a door linking the reactor and turbine buildings of the No. 1 unit open to reduce humidity in the reactor buildings later this month and help improve work efficiency within them.
Since radioactive materials within the reactor building could leak to the outside through the opened door, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, the government’s nuclear safety agency, has instructed the utility to report the expected effects of the move on the environment by June 15.
At the No. 2 unit, the level of humidity has been high due to what appeared to be evaporation of water in a spent fuel pool of the reactor building and radioactive contaminated water believed to have accumulated in the building’s basement. The humidity has hampered piping and data measuring work there.”
http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/blackout-hits-fukushima-nuclear-plants-nos-1-2-units
I wonder how much additional high level radiation will result leaving the door linking the the reactor and turbine buildings of the No. 1 reactor open to reduce the humidity? And, how low will this door be left open?
In addition to the above news that Tepco is considering releasing humidity (and, therefore, radiation) through an open door to reactor #1, Tepco also appears to be considering ‘a plan to decontaminate the water so that it meets national safety standards and then release it into the Pacific Ocean.’:
NHK WORLD English Daily News:
“TEPCO mulls release of decontaminated water
The Tokyo Electric Power Company is studying a plan to decontaminate seawater pooled at the Fukushima Daini nuclear power plant and discharge it into the sea.
TEPCO says about 3,000 cubic meters of radioactive seawater has been stagnant in the basement of the plant’s reactor and turbine buildings since being hit by a tsunami following the March 11th earthquake.
The utility says the temperature in all 4 of the plant’s reactors has fallen below 100 degrees Celsius, but cites the risk that stagnant seawater will corrode equipment.
TEPCO is considering a plan to decontaminate the water so that it meets national safety standards and then release it into the Pacific Ocean.
The utility says the concentration of radioactive cesium in the water is 30 times the permissible limit, but that it contains no other radioactive materials exceeding the safety limits.
In April, TEPCO drew strong criticism for discharging contaminated water with levels of radioactive iodine-131 about 100 times the limit from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
The utility will decide whether to discharge water from the Daini plant after consulting with local municipalities, people in the fishing industry, and the Fisheries Agency.
The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency says that a full examination of the plan is necessary even if radioactivity is below the safety limit.
It added that the concerns of local municipalities and people in the fishing industry must be taken into account.
The Fisheries Agency says it cannot now authorize a discharge of seawater even if the level of contamination is under the limit.
The chief of a fishing cooperatives’ association in Fukushima Prefecture expressed shock and bewilderment at the utility’s plan.
Wednesday, June 08, 2011 19:55 +0900 (JST)”
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/08_30.html
DAILY YOMIURI ONLINE + AP Associated Press (Tuesday, June 8th, 2011):
‘Melt-through’ at Fukushima? / Govt report to IAEA suggests situation worse than meltdown
The Yomiuri Shimbun
Nuclear fuel in three reactors at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant has possibly melted through pressure vessels and accumulated at the bottom of outer containment vessels, according to a government report obtained Tuesday by The Yomiuri Shimbun.
A “melt-through”–when melted nuclear fuel leaks from the bottom of damaged reactor pressure vessels into containment vessels–is far worse than a core meltdown and is the worst possibility in a nuclear accident.
The possibility of the situation at the plant’s Nos. 1 to 3 reactors was raised in a report that is to be submitted to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
If the report is released as is, it would be the first official recognition that a melt-through has occurred.
It was revealed earlier that sections of the bottom of the pressure vessels where control rods go through have been damaged. Highly radioactive water from inside the pressure vessels was confirmed to have leaked out of the containment vessels, even outside the buildings that house the reactors.
The report also acknowledges problems with the vertical administrative structure concerning nuclear safety regulations. As a result, the report says, who was responsible for keeping people safe in the event of a nuclear accident was not clear.
The report proposes separating the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency from the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry and making it an independent organization. The report also proposes drastic reform of the nation’s nuclear administration, including the Nuclear Safety Commission.
===
Vessel damaged 5 hours later
The pressure vessel of the No. 1 reactor at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant is believed to have been damaged five hours after the March 11 earthquake, according to an analysis by the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency.
The finding differs with a provisional analysis earlier released by plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co., which stated the the pressure vessel was believed to have been damaged 15 hours after the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake.
On Monday, NISA, a nuclear watchdog body run by the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry, disclosed the results of a detailed analysis regarding damage at the Nos. 1 to 3 nuclear reactors at the Fukushima facility. NISA estimates that the No. 2 reactor’s pressure vessel was damaged 80 hours after the disaster. TEPCO’s analysis contends the No. 2 reactor’s pressure vessel was damaged 109 hours after the quake.
According to NISA’s analysis, the No.1 reactor’s core began suffering damage three hours after the earthquake.
The No. 1 reactor’s pressure vessel was damaged at 8 p.m. on March 11, five hours after the earthquake. The No. 2 reactor’s pressure vessel suffered damage at 10:50 p.m. on March 14, while the No. 3 reactor’s pressure vessel suffered damage at 10:10 p.m. on March 14. NISA data showed the pressure vessels at the Nos. 1 and 2 reactors were damaged earlier than TEPCO’s analysis showed.
On the other hand, the No. 3 reactor’s pressure vessel was found to have been damaged 13 hours later than TEPCO’s data showed.
NISA presumed the vessels failed when there was almost no water in the reactor cores of the Nos. 2 and 3 reactors.
(Jun. 8, 2011)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T110607005367.htm
the fundamental truth here is that a cover up of extraordinary preportions is well under way..the fact that media is not persuing and displaying relevant news is not a lack of interest..money and strong men are playing the game…far be it that we small pawns should be important in these billion dollar games of deciet and intrigue..being a survivalist is understanding when you are being lied to and denied access to pertinet info..my praises to all of you diligent diggers and stealers of info…keep up the good work for us all…watch your backs is also in mind…luc
G.F.D.I. again it dumped a submission on the last word… Can anyone tell me how to recover a post that disappeared prior to “Submit Comment” was pressed? It’s a MacBook Pro… Survive-All…
Haigh, Otter.
I have a PC, but just maybe there are similarities. When you right click on your mouse, does the option “undo” (or something similar) come up? Sometimes, by clicking on the “undo” option, what I have just lost will once again magically reappear. If not, sometimes by clicking on the arrow to return to previous field, I can also recapture what I think I have lost. I know you have a Mac, but just maybe…..
Otter, Dia d huit!
A/Mer
P.S., Otter, Sometimes you need to click on the ‘undo’ option two, three, four times before you can get back to where you had input your information. As someone behind me pointed out, make sure you do so right away. Often you can then save your ‘lost’ input. Not always, but often. OK…
Not much new(s) today. The series of after shocks continues in Japan.
You can check for yourself daily by linking to:
USGS government report for earthquakes:
USGS at http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/quakes_big.php
Rachel Maddow’s tongue in cheek take on Germany’s announcement that it plans to shut down all of its nuclear power; and New Jersey’s governor’s announcement that he wants to build a nuclear power plant in New Jersey.
Rachel Maddow: New Jersey can probably get a bargain deal, if it buys one of Germany’s unsafe nuclear power plants, and airlifts it over and places it in New Jersey.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/#43334005
Japanese retirees ready to risk it all:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110606/hl_nm/us_japanese_fukushima_1
If this actually happens, remember, it’s not about hero worship, it’s about living a life worthy of their sacrifice.
Love ya A/mer, A response!, Dia Dhuit! Well the arrow back system hasn’t done it the 2 or 3 times this has happened. I surely am hopeful that this darn carnivore can be tamed with the process you have suggested. I’ll soon find out. Thus far the best I could get to was the javaframe where I found references to M.S.B. the last time this happened. I had no luck recalling my typed comment even though the date and time were right, I could not find a way to recall it. Having expended the time and energy it just infuriates me and if it weren’t for the clan and people like you, I would just go back under and only monitor current events. I can’t help feeling that there is direct intent when a post that has new and potentially damning information just plain dissolves as it is all but done. You know I’m not a conspiracy nut job. I do have two brain cells that connect and the people ( they ) don’t deserve a capital “P”,that have the power to do the things that are being done in the name of safety for the public ( or whatever ) should be taken to the Hague ( Den Haag ) as criminals and charged with the crimes of premeditated murder and or genocide. Time will unveil through suffering and biological mishaps like reproductive failure; what is what… Sorry, not the linear thought that I lost, just the real thing. I don’t hear anyone willing to say the Truth of the matter with regard to responsibility and criminal action that needs to be taken against the creators and perpetrators of this situation. Anyway, Love and Peace… Survive-All… P.S. Thanks A/mer…
Otter:
For MAcs, if you inadvertently delete your text, immediately go to Edit_Undo. There’s a good chance that it will recall your post as well. The trick is to do always do this immediately after ‘it’ happens.
are there any accurate disperssion models taking into account reliable weather data and up to date radiation data combined, for the sea and the atmosphere? we need these answers! now! what is TEPCO hiding?
Unfortunately, no. None at this time appear available.
@ A/mer-and viewers of this… ( Oh, I should say that it was pointed out to me that your handle in shorthand is also Aim-er… On the point, on target. ) So, the questionably lost last post was in response to none the less an A/mer post re: 06/11/2011… The summation of the “Lost” post was a quantum break down of the isotopes that we generally give a single denotation in dialogue. The Half-life of Pu 244 is approximately 80 years. ( 800 year existence… ) However, we are dealing with the failure of a system in some cases having ” MOX ” fuels involved. Therefore, we must calculate the oxidation of Pu and it’s many transuranic wastes that enable a half-life to be given a duration. ( Remember!:$$$&%- a half-life is only 10% decay of an isotope. There are Ten half-lives to the negation of particle emitting. ) So now we come to Pu-239 ( The Real Thing “They” don’t want you or I thinking about, it’s half-life is 24,000 years. that equals 240,000 years to pass, mean while that decay creates numerous byproducts, none of which we want in our environment! Another is Pu-238 it is supposed to be the common Pu found at fukushima daiichi, as well as recent reports from the areas of fukushima daini, (7.5 miles south of daiichi-another black-out site having 4 reactors ) “Tsunga”, and doubtless there are more reactor sites in the news black out of grave concern. Pu-241 has a half-life of 14.4 years generally stated as 15 years, and last ( You can read between the lines here regarding reality. ) Pu-233 has a given lethal half-life existence listed as 20 minutes???? That would be the Pu of choice to disseminate to the “silent majority”… ( That’s 1.888 hours-half-life times ten it’s done? ) “That’s all Folks”… Survive-All … P.S. Again… this is not! the complete text that was herein written… Yes, Just Now not before!!! I am being edited ( as I write ) doubtless in the hopes that the complete view does not surface!
Presenting the following Tepco plan to use French and American cleaning devices to remove nuclear contamination.
“TEPCO to use filters at plant
The operator of the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant has briefed Japan’s nuclear regulator on equipment for removing highly radioactive substances in water at the facility.
The Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, reported on the functions of the US and French devices to the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency on Thursday, a week before the firm plans to start using the equipment.
TEPCO says it will separate oil from contaminated water before transferring it to US-made equipment that absorbs radioactive cesium using minerals including zeolite. The water is then to be transferred to French-made equipment that absorbs radioactive substances using chemicals.
The company says the devices will reduce the concentration of radioactive substances in the water to one-thousandth to one-ten-thousandth of the current level.
TEPCO plans to remove salt from the decontaminated water before storing it in tanks to use it to cool the plant’s reactors.
More than 105,000 tons of water contaminated with highly radioactive substances has accumulated in the basements of the plant’s reactor and turbine buildings, hampering efforts to bring the plant under control.
About 500 tons of such water is accumulating daily amid continued injections of fresh water into the reactors to cool them. TEPCO plans to decontaminate 1,200 tons of such water daily.
The firm plans to obtain the consent of the agency and begin testing the devices on Friday.
TEPCO says it will use facilities at the plant to store highly radioactive waste to be produced in the filtering process. But the firm has not decided how to decontaminate the waste.
Thursday, June 09, 2011 19:26 +0900 (JST)”
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/09_31.html
—————–
Can we trust Tepco on anything it says. Tepco may well becoming frantic by now on many fronts, not only regarding its nuclear disaster, but also regarding possible Tepco financial disaster. According to some Japanese news sources, Tepco’s stock is now around $2, and approaching zero. We’ll see about that one, too.
Days ago they said that they were so concerned about the water level in the basements and tunnels reaching ground level…and an overflow.
They also said that they would see if they could put more water into the storage facility that was supposedly full…
Then the next day in an unrelated area, they mentioned that they had found a leak in the storage facility, which was leaking into another basement.
I had written about a month ago, trying to find out about the depth of these basements, how far down is the floor, which is also possibly cracked from the earthquake and the massive water pressure building inside of them. But I only found one thing written. I posted the link then, and it said that the lower basements were full to their tops.
Tepco said a few days ago that the water in them was five plus metres deep, and was gaining I think it was 5 cm per day?
Now the three days till they said they would reach ground level has gone by and…silence.
Has anyone seen or heard anything on this?
As of 6/12/2011, NOTHING, NOTHING AT ALL.
And, daily I try to check about 5 different Japanese/English news online sources; plus the regular blog sources I believe many check daily, as well.
I highly, highly suspect the radiated water overflow potential is why Tepco is really scurrying to test its newly installed radiation filtration system. They have hits some snags, but say they will shortly testing….
P.S., Radioactive strontium up to 240 times legal concentration limits has now been detected in seawater samples collected near an intake at one of the crippled Fukushima nuclear plants; and was also found in groundwater near the plant’s No. 1 and 2 reactors. (As reported by Tepco, Sunday June 12th, Japan time date)
Don’t know if Tepco Fukushima nuclear plants’ storage units possibly have already reached overflow capacity for the stored radioactive water. Just perhaps, just perhaps this is related to the ‘first time findings for strontium’ in the ground water on the plant and at the intake area of the Fukushima nuclear plant. Nothing is being said about current Tepco storage units capacity levels, so who knows for sure!
One thing is for sure, it has really been raining a lot in Japan! Related?
Otter to “NPNG”: Thank you, I have stated that I am an infant in this cyber world. I could not give you more truth. I have written down your knowledge and if there was a language that I could honor you in I would use it, my enduring gratitude… Now I just have to use your tutorial, learning something new every day. @ Ken, Thank you for this post and we of my people keep the vigil for ours, you and yours, and the life we live… WOW!” NPNG” It Just Happened and I did what you said and it Worked!!!! BIG- Ding, Ding, Ding! A Winner… There are many Gaelic languages, ( Irish, Scottish, Isle of … and dialects too boot… ) A common thread is- That which Is- which is roughly translated to English or American English as “God Bless you” It truly encompasses far more in it’s dialectic intent. So I say to you… Dia dhuit! Heath, ease of life for you and yours, blessings ( Good Luck ) to you in return for your efforts times ten… Survive-All… One Happy Otter; more to come, need to pass the “Medicine Power” to Family as age seems to bring on with frequency. Until next time…
Otter, Glad it worked.
Again; This is from the N.Y. Times so… http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/09/science/earth/09elements.html?_r=1&hpw About half way down they give you: “by smashing calcium ions into atoms of Pu or another element, curium.” This is the story of the growing table of elements the children of this field seem to think they have the right to decide on our behalf, what is good to bring into existence… Survive-All…
@ A/mer, & “Anonymous re:06/09/2011″ Sorry! I’m about to tape a dime on this thing and check my sites at 400 yards. +=% ****&**** I lost another one and despite prior success with edit undo I could not access the command let alone get the post back- that was for your P.S. A/mer ( Just found it today- Thank you ) As to “Anonymous” sorry It was all laid out for equating exposures and it dumped as I was about to submit. Must be sun spot activity! ( #@$^%$#$%^&*&^%$%^&%%$$$ ) Survive-All…
Two ways to protect yourself:
1. As you’re composing, periodically make a copy of the text, especially at critical junctures like right before you attempt to send it. On a PC, the easy way is to left click, highlight the text, right click, then select copy.
2. Compose your text where it is saved automatically as you write it, and then copy and paste it to wherever you need it after it is finished. One place where you can do this is g-mail.
G-mail is free and allows you to remain completely anonymous if you choose to. Your text is saved to their servers as you create it, so it’s impossible to lose. The downside is that it’s likely stored indefinitely, especially if you use any of the key words or fit any of the patterns that “they” are constantly searching for.
I wouldn’t be at all surprised if “they” are skillful at identifying (what “they” might view as) extreme efforts to remain private, especially when there is a pattern.
We have no choice but to fight this battle on “their” terms.
They want us to be afraid. They want us to hide.
That keeps us from standing up side by side.
@ “Anonymous” re: 06/10/2011 Old Otter thanks you for your information. I mentioned previously that this is a MacBook Pro and I am an infant in this cyber-world always with the nagging issue that use of this tech. is bad “Medicine for me” ( Not unlike metal and Roman Nose or Crazy Horse with the wisdom of a photo stealing a piece of your Soul. ) Guess what! I just lost this post and thank you note, and it let me have it back via edit/undo… I have been deep in the java frame network of this system and found all of M.S.B.’s workings and dealings open to whom ever has the knowledge to look. I have seen all of Ken’s work, site names, posts from me, you, and tons of gibberish I can not decipher; nor can I recall or cut and paste from the frame. It’s beyond me but, there for the P.T.B. to have a look and I’m sure print out. Anyway, I get in front of a window based system and have no clue as to how to even turn it on. If someone has done it for me like the dentist office asking for me to input my data I got nothing. To give you the visual, I have never used a cell phone, killed my T.V. years ago ( It’s just a health insurance plan that is green too boot! Only slim oozing out of the main-stream hypnotic conspiracy contraption… “Trap” being key… ) Oh, and I don’t have an e-mail address just have this site as it does not require that login information which is great. Now I know it makes zero difference and I still stand behind M.S.B. as they have proven there are more important issues than those a webmaster with ill intent might access to make use of personal and “Anonymous” information. Thank you again for your time, may it be returned to you ten fold… Survive-All…
Otter,
On your Mac, initially type your message in a Mac program called TextEdit where you can initially and easily type your message there and then copy and paste it into this blog.
To give it a go:
- you’ll find TextEdit on your dock (the icon looks like a sheet of paper with some text on it and a pen over the bottom right corner). It can also be found in your Applications folder.
- Double click on the TextEdit icon to launch this program;
- Click on “Format” in the Options bar along the top of your screen;
- Below Format you’ll see these choices: “Font”, “Text”, “Make Plain Text”
- Choose “Make Plain Text” to eliminate any formatting of your text.
- Begin typing. When done, simply copy and paste it into this blog. Yes, you can copy and paste it from the Text Edit document window to the blog window
Don’t take this personally, but there’s a vg chance that your problem is operator-error based and taking a v basic Mac lesson will do you wonders and take you to heights you’ve never dreamed of via the Mac. In the meantime, this should solve your problem of losing your messages before you send them. Good Luck!
Good luck!
Otter to NPNG, Yes! You are now in “Save as” NPNG hints 06/10/2011 in a new Otter folder… Thank you again for your time. It may take a bit for an old superstitious Otter to get it down but text edit was found and put on the dock and on from there. So again here’s to you… Dia dhuit… Survive-All… Next time back on point with the lost Otter posts refrain ♬…
Ken, I hope your wife is well soon…keep breathing.
Thanks for the wishes. She is still in the hospital, although at least she has been transferred to one closer to home. Improvements each day (which is the key!). Looks like probable discharge sometime next week followed by a few months recovery at home. So far, so good…
Little improvements day by day is very encouraging. Yeah!
You and your wife are still in my thoughts and prayers, Ken.
Take care of yourself, and be sure to get enough sleep, OK…
Haileo, so… the N.Y. Times writes under “Environment” that Gregory B. Jacko ( Really? ) chairman of the N.R.C. is under investigation. He was tasked with the elimination of the “Yucca Mountain” nuclear waste storage project. Blah, Blah, and Blah…. (06/11/2011 N.Y. Times, you can read it for yourself ) Of real importance is the fact that Finland leads the world in the storage of nuclear wastes. Sure they brought you composting toilets, were more than 4 decades ago spraying their inland lakes with ph balancing non-polluting solution; why on earth would they have the forethought? While the U.S. would deem that we can find a better solution? http://spectrum.ieee.org/energy/nuclear/finlands-nuclear-waste-solution/0
Worth the time to check out. Hope this isn’t redundant, the post that is… Survive-All…
Here is a news story from today:
http://www.mail.com/int/news/world/484364-anti-nuke-protests-japan-3-months-quake.html#.1264-stage-hero1-7. Japan has plenty of sunshine and wind. Hope they develop those energy sources!
35% increase in infant mortality in some West Coast cities since Fukushima….
http://www.counterpunch.org/sherman06102011.html
Re June 10 – 12, 2011
“A 35% Spike in Infant Mortality in Northwest Cities Since Meltdown
Is the Dramatic Increase in Baby Deaths in the US a Result of Fukushima Fallout?” By JANETTE D. SHERMAN, MD and JOSEPH MANGANO:
“U.S. babies are dying at an increased rate….
The recent CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report indicates that eight cities in the northwest U.S. (Boise ID, Seattle WA, Portland OR, plus the northern California cities of Santa Cruz, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Jose, and Berkeley) reported the following data on deaths among those younger than one year of age:
4 weeks ending March 19, 2011 – 37 deaths (avg. 9.25 per week)
10 weeks ending May 28, 2011 – 125 deaths (avg.12.50 per week)
This amounts to an increase of 35% (the total for the entire U.S. rose about 2.3%), and is statistically significant. Of further significance is that those dates include the four weeks before and the ten weeks after the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant disaster. In 2001 the infant mortality was 6.834 per 1000 live births, increasing to 6.845 in 2007. All years from 2002 to 2007 were higher than the 2001 rate.
Spewing from the Fukushima reactor are radioactive isotopes including those of iodine (I-131), strontium (Sr-90) and cesium (Cs-134 and Cs-137) all of which are taken up in food and water. Iodine is concentrated in the thyroid, Sr-90 in bones and teeth and Cs-134 and Cs-137 in soft tissues, including the heart. The unborn and babies are more vulnerable because the cells are rapidly dividing and the delivered dose is proportionally larger than that delivered to an adult.
Data from Chernobyl, which exploded 25 years ago, clearly shows increased numbers of sick and weak newborns and increased numbers of deaths in the unborn and newborns, especially soon after the meltdown. These occurred in Europe as well as the former Soviet Union. Similar findings are also seen in wildlife living in areas with increased radioactive fallout levels.
(Chernobyl – Consequences of the Catastrophe for People and the Environment, Alexeiy V. Yablokov, Vasily B. Nesterenko, and Alexey V. Nesterenko. Consulting Editor: Janette D. Sherman-Nevinger. New York Academy of Sciences, 2009.)”
———————
Sherman and Nabgabi present an extremely interesting piece of exploratory research. And,a valid starting place upon which further studies can extend the possibility that Fukushima radiation is causing increased infant mortality among American babies on the northern West Coast. I hope these two researchers (or others) will expand this this study to include a larger research sample population. Regardless, this is justified exploratory research. A place upon which further studies can be extended. Thank you, Janette Sherman and Joseph Mangano.
The Japan Times Online, Monday June 13, 2011 (Japan time date):
1. “High level of strontium found at Fukushima plant Kyodo”
“Radioactive strontium up to 240 times the legal concentration limit has been detected in seawater samples collected near an intake at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Sunday.
The utility said the substance was also found in groundwater near the plant’s Nos. 1 and 2 reactors. The government’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said it is the first time that the substance has been found in groundwater….”
The above Japan Times Online article goes on to say the Tepco is getting ready to begin testing a newly installed “system, intended to decontaminate highly radioactive water that is accumulating at the site and hampering work to restore the damaged plant, as early as Monday.” Snags were encountered putting the testing several days behind schedule.
For the continuing Fukushima radiation problems, it feels endlessly like one step forward, two steps backwards….
For full article:
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110613a1.html
—————–
2. Interesting visual data updates re Japan radiation/aftershocks also found on Japan News Online. (Note: Some are in English; some in Japanese.)
“Visual data updates:
Most recent earthquake (from tenki.jp)
Maximum radiation levels by prefecture
Interactive visualization of radioactivity levels
Daily radiation levels in eastern Japan
Radioactivity concentration in water by prefecture”
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/tohoku-kanto-earthquake-news.html
Latest Arnie Gundersen update (June 12th, 2011):
“Hot Particles From Japan to Seattle Virtually Undetectable when Inhaled or Swallowed”
http://fairewinds.com/home
Just read this small story. http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110613a5.html It seems public outcry against nuclear energy is growing in the USA.
Japanese Red Cross declines blood donation from … http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110608a8.html From the “Japanese Times”.
@Ingot possibly related to your June 11th post,
Just came across this from NHK World English (Tuesday, June 14th, 2011 Japan timeline). Now Tepco is claiming they may be running out of space
to store the accumulating radioactive water in about 2 weeks.
“Early on Tuesday, Tokyo Electric Power Company began using the US-made equipment, which can absorb cesium, on low-level radioactive water.
Leaking pumps and a mistakenly closed valve delayed the start of the operation since last Friday.
Workers checked for signs of leakage during the 4-hour test-run on Tuesday morning.
The equipment is part of a planned water treatment facility that will also include an oil separator, a decontaminator and a desalination device.
More than 105,000 tons of highly radioactive water is building up within the nuclear plant, and TEPCO says it may run out of space to store it in about 2 weeks.
The utility is hoping to shorten the test-runs by one day and begin operating the treatment facility from Friday.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011 12:19 +0900 (JST)”
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/14_18.html
Daily Updates for Japan quake/Fukushima news:
NHK World English, June 15th, 2011:
“Plutonium detected in Fukushima plant soil”
“The operator of the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant says tiny amounts of plutonium have been detected in samples of soil in the plant’s compound.
Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, announced on Tuesday that an independent research institution has analyzed soil samples taken on May 30th at 3 locations.
The utility said plutonium was detected in samples collected near a recreational ground 500 meters from the Number One reactor. Plutonium was also detected in samples from near a waste disposal facility, also 500 meters from the reactor.
The utility said all the amounts of the detected plutonium are too small to pose risk to human health.
This is the third time that plutonium has been detected in soil samples at the plant since the nuclear accident began on March 11th. TEPCO said the levels of plutonium detected within the compound following the accident were about the same as those detected in Japan after atmospheric nuclear tests carried out by foreign countries during the Cold War era.
The utility said the level of plutonium-238 detected near the recreational ground was 0.19 becquerels per kilogram and the figure is down from the 0.26 becquerels detected in April.
Once plutonium is taken into human lungs and other organs, it can stay in the body for a long period of time and carries the risk of causing cancer.”
Tuesday, June 14, 2011 22:35 +0900 (JST)
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/14_39.html
——————
NHK World English, June 15th, 2011:
“TEPCO to cover reactor with polyester sheets”
“The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant will begin to cover the No.1 reactor building with polyester sheets this month to prevent the dispersal of radioactive substances.
The buildings of the No.1, 3, and 4 reactors were severely damaged by explosions and radioactive elements are still being released into the atmosphere. There are fears that heavy rain may hamper the workers’ activities and that the rainwater may become contaminated with radioactive materials.
To prevent these situations, Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, plans to enclose the reactor buildings with polyester sheets. The covering of the No.1 reactor building will begin later this month.
The roughly one-millimeter-thick sheets will be attached to the steel frames of the 54-meter-high building.
To minimize workers’ exposure to radiation, TEPCO will use a special method with very few personnel. A large crane designed to ward off radiation will set up 62 pre-assembled parts at the reactor building.
TEPCO aims to complete the covering operation in late September.
The utility plans to carry out similar work at the No.3 and 4 reactor buildings.”
Wednesday, June 15, 2011 07:26 +0900 (JST)
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/15_07.html
———————–
Kyodo News Online:
“Japan to retain nuclear power as main energy source: Kaieda”
TOKYO, June 15, Kyodo
“Industry minister Banri Kaieda pledged at a government panel meeting earlier this month to do his ”utmost” to enable idled nuclear reactors to resume operation, noting that nuclear power will remain a core energy source for Japan’s electric power generation, according to the undisclosed minutes of the meeting obtained by Kyodo News on Tuesday.
The pledge apparently reflected a backlash by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry against Prime Minister Naoto Kan’s plan to develop energy-saving measures and renewable energy into a pillar of the nation’s energy policy, government watchers said.
Kaieda made the remark at a meeting on June 7 of a government task force in charge of formulating Japan’s new growth strategies, which started discussing innovative energy and environmental strategies that day.”
http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2011/06/97135.html
———————
4. In the meantime, strong aftershocks continue to shake off Japan’s coast.
Three occurring today alone, 6/14/2011, with magnitudes:
5.2 Near East Coast of Honshu, Japan
5.8 Off East Coast of Honshu, Japan
5.2 Hokkaido, Japan Region
One wonders how Tepco’s already damaged nuclear power plants in Fukushima will hold up to these almost every day shakes, and remain remotely intact!
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/quakes_big.php
“Fukushima News Online
Documenting Media Representations of Fukushima Daiichi
JAPAN | Local officials saying no to restarting nuclear reactors”
Posted on June 14, 2011 by fukushimanewsresearch:
http://fukushimanewsresearch.wordpress.com/2011/06/14/japan-local-officials-saying-no-to-restarting-nuclear-reactors/
Then, shortly after the 5.2 aftershock off the Near East Coast of Honshu,
a magnitude 5.5 hit the Bonin Islands, Japan Region on June 14th.
1. The Jungle Apocalypse Podcast
“Meltdown Fukushima –Live video shows radioactive “cloud” around Reactors 3 & 4″ (June 14, 2011 Posted in: Featured article)
“Steady streams of smoke/steam out of the Reactors 3 and 4 suddenly started to engulf the entire reactor complex at Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant. It is the TEPCO’s live camera footage after 12AM JST on June 14. Watch after the 2:00 mark of the video!!!”
http://www.jungleapocalypse.com/featured/meltdown-fukushima-live-video-shows-radioactive-cloud-around-reactors-3-4/
Any nuclear engineers in the know about this development today? Sudden fog? Or, rapidly worsening radioactive emissions from the badly damaged Fukushima nuclear reactors Nos 3 and 4?
—————
2. Now consider that Japan was again rocked today (6/14/2011) by three fairly large aftershocks: two off the East Coast of Honshu, and one in the Hokkaido regions of Japan.
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/quakes_big.php
———————
3. With these almost daily aftershocks in mind, further consider the fact that the structural integrity of reactor No. 4 has been already been questioned by many, as prior Tepco pictures show reactor No. 4 building to be leaning. ( For example, see video at Fairwinds, “Fukushima – One Step Forward and Four Steps Back as Each Unit Challenged by New Problems”: http://fairewinds.com/updates )
Well, let’s all hope for sudden severe fog with background lights of some sort lighting up things…. Did anyone see this actually occur on today’s Tepco Live Feed Camera?
“Edited – Crane inspecting small fire at building no.4 – Fukushima
radioactiveEU”
Uploaded by radioactiveEU on Jun 14, 2011
“Workers inspecting spent fuel pool at reactor no.4 Fukushima.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCsW1aKNu-c
@ Solar. Have read about that Nebraska nuclear plant, but not much in the main news though. I guess it is more important to talk about King Weiner than something that matters about in this country. You see these crumbling examples of the United States’ infrastructure and you wonder what is next? Like that bridge in Minnesota that suddenly collapsed, there are so many other examples of the decay all over the place, and very serious like the nuclear plants. Kind of matches the deterioration of the U.S. economy and the U.S. dollar.
JapanToday, Tuesday, June 16th, 2011- 06:10AM JST:
“U.S.: Spent fuel pool never went dry in Japan quake”
WASHINGTON —
Water used to cool radioactive waste at the stricken nuclear complex in Japan did not dry up, as earlier feared, U.S. regulators said Wednesday in a reversal of a claim that pitted U.S. officials against Japan in the days after that country’s nuclear disaster…”
http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/u-s-spent-fuel-pool-never-went-dry-in-japan-quake
—————
Well, with all the information hold backs and “miscalculations” on both sides of the Pacific, who do you believe?
Then there was the reported ‘small fire’ at the No. 4 plant yesterday, June 14th. Plus, a live video cam showing what possibly was a large amount of smoke engulfing Nos. 3 & 4 nuclear plants. This time the smoke-like haze was wafting up as smoke from a fire would do, and not sideways as does fog. Makes one really wonder what on earth is going on in Fukushima. And, who to believe. (sources: see @angusmerlin, June 14th, 10:36)
JapanToday, June 17th, 2011 – 07:15AM Japan time line
“Activists urge gov’t to allow animal rescue groups into Fukushima no-entry zone”
TOKYO —
“Born Free USA and thousands of Change.org members on Thursday urged the Japanese government to allow rescuers into the Fukushima evacuation zone to help the starving animals who have been abandoned. For the past several weeks, thousands of animals in the evacuation zone around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant have been left to fend for themselves.
Various animal welfare groups have mobilized in Japan and are willing and ready to help these animals. The Japanese government simply needs to allow them access….
When nuclear disaster struck Fukushima, Japanese officials had no contingency plan for evacuating animals. People were forced to leave quickly, and ordered to leave their animals behind….
On April 22, the Japanese government enacted a strict no-entry policy, leaving tens of thousands of animals without aid for weeks… anyone caught sneaking into the evacuation zone to help animals would be arrested….
The Japan Anti-Vivisection Association believes that nearly 675,000 farm animals lived in the evacuation zone prior to the disaster. As few as 1,000 are still alive. The number of cats and dogs is unknown, but as of May 23, only 75 animals had been rescued from the evacuation zone. The rest have been forced to scrounge for what food, water and shelter they can find. Some have even been caught on video roaming the highly radioactive site of the nuclear power plant itself.
On May 10, the Japanese government eased the barricades, starting a rotation that would allow residents of certain villages to enter for two hours at a time, during which they may crate or tie up their animals outside so government officials can collect them. It is uncertain how quickly that will happen, and there is still no plan for the surviving farm animals.
…[A]nimals still surviving need immediate help. They don’t have several weeks.
…[L]ocal and international rescuers are standing by to help the starving animals in the evacuation zone as soon as they are allowed in.”
http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/activists-urge-govt-to-allow-animal-rescue-groups-into-fukushima-no-entry-zone
NHK World English, Thursday, June 16th, 2011, Japan date line
“TEPCO: Opening door of No.2 reactor is safe”
“Tokyo Electric Power Company plans to open the doors to the reactor Number 2 building at the Fukushima Daiichi plant for ventilation, to lower humidity and start restoration work.
Tokyo Electric said on Thursday that an air purification device, which has been working since last Saturday, has reduced radioactive concentration inside the building to levels that have little impact on the nearby environment.
The utility said the concentration of radioactive iodine in the air has been reduced to about one-10th of former levels and radioactive cesium to about a quarter, as of Wednesday night….
Inside the reactor Number 2 building, the humidity has been extremely high, due to moisture apparently from the containment vessel and spent-fuel storage pool, and is hampering restoration work.”
Thursday, June 16, 2011 18:13 +0900 (JST)
For full article:
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/16_23.html
NHK World English
“Radioactive water still threatens to overflow”
The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant is under pressure to ensure the flawless operation of a system to decontaminate radioactive water, which threatens to overflow….
More than 110,000 tons of the highly radioactive water has accumulated…
Tokyo Electric Power Company says it’s vital to put the water treatment system into full operation on Friday, as scheduled.
Any delay in launching the system could cause contaminated water to overflow within 2 weeks.
TEPCO admits, however, that water may leak from pipes connecting devices, even if the system works as planned….”
Thursday, June 16, 2011 20:24 +0900 (JST)
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/16_31.html
—————
Well, guess what? The water is leaking! And now, part of the newly installed filtering system automatically has shut down, because of this leaking water, reports Tepco. So, the system well not be fully operating by Friday, the date that Tepco claims is critical re the possibility of overflowing radioactive water.
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/17_05.html
P.S.: What is Tepco going to do with all the vast amounts of radioactive waste that will be filtered out by their new filtering systems???
Don’t know, huh!
The Telegraph
Friday 17th, June 2011
Japan
“Japan: Tepco to build sarcophagus over Fukushima reactor”
By Julian Ryall in Tokyo
7:00AM BST 16 Jun 2011
“The operator of the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant has announced plans to construct a shroud over one of the reactor buildings, a stop-gap measure until a more permanent solution can be found, such as entombing the facility in concrete.
A similar concrete sarcophagus was built over the remains of the reactors at the Chernobyl power plant after that facility was destroyed in an accident in April 1986.
Tokyo Electric Power Co. will start the construction of a rigid steel frame over the No. 1 reactor on June 27, Yoshikazu Nagai, a spokesman for the company, said.
A hydrogen explosion destroyed the walls and roof of the reactor building on March 12, the day after the cooling system was knocked out by the Great East Japan Earthquake and the tsunami that it triggered.
The frame, which is being put together off-site, will support polyester fibre panels that have been coated with a resin designed to prevent further radiation leaking into the atmosphere.
The entire structure will be put together by remotely controlled cranes and other vehicles in order to minimise the amount of radiation the company’s emergency repair crews are exposed to, Mr Nagai said.
The cover will stand 177 feet high and be 154 long with a roof that can be opened to give cranes access to the interior. It will also be fitted with filters that will gradually scrub the air inside the building of radioactivity, enabling workers to enter the plant.
Tepco will use the operation to test the construction methods and effectiveness of the shroud but plans to build similar covers over the No. 3 and No. 4 reactor buildings, which were also damaged by explosions after the tsunami.
Eventually, Tepco plans to erect a concrete structure around the reactors, although it admits that will take several years to achieve.
Company officials admit they are not sure how effective the temporary cover may be in limiting emissions of radiation from the reactors and spent fuel pools, but it will at least prevent more rainwater entering the buildings and becoming contaminated with radiation, they said.”
Here’s “The Earthquake Report JAIF’s” nice presentation of “JFK” online news articles re Fukushima’s damaged nuclear reactors:
Introduction:
“We have been reporting a status of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station by summarizing news aired by NHK, which is Japanese national broadcasting company. We regard it as most credible news among many news sources and we are happy to say that NHK’s English website has gotten enriched and now you can see movies and English scripts at http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/society.html. Given this situation, we decide to simply place these scripts as it is for the record in case that it will be deleted from the website later, rather than summarizing news as we did.
Link:
http://www.jaif.or.jp/english/news_images/pdf/ENGNEWS01_1308215436P.pdf
Back to the fire/explosion on the night of June 14th at No. 4 nuclear reactor (home of the spent nuclear fuel)– Here is an interesting interpretation of one blog’s (“Wasps nest”) version of the June 14th night fire/explosion at No. 4 reactor:
“This is TEPCO video of the #4 fuel pool at Fukushima Daiichi just after midnight last night, June 14, 2011.
It is on fire by 00:46.
There is an explosion at the back of the structure which is captured in frame 1:05.
There is a flash of Cherenkov radiation visible from the back of the structure between frames 1:05 – 1.07.
There is more fire and smoke at 1:31, 1:36, 1:46 and the fuel becomes energetic at 2:12. A transient criticality event appears to have been achieved at 2:12, but the expected is not apparent, at least to me at first glance.
It might have simply been the fuel pool disintegrating into yet another disaster. Anyone even remotely near Fukushima Daiichi with a metallic taste in their mouth should seek medical attention right now.
Just remember that the fuel pool number 4 at Fukushima has around 225 tonnes of spent fuel rods which now seem to be far from under control.”
http://www.waspsnest.com/2011/06/16/remember-fukishima-fire-explosions-and-criticality-in-the-fuel-pool-at-reactor-4-caught-on-video
This is long, but worth reading:
“Scientific experts believe Japan’s nuclear disaster to be far worse than governments are revealing to the public.”
Dahr Jamail Last Modified: 16 Jun 2011 12:50
“Many Japanese citizens are now permanently displaced from their homes due to the Fukushima nuclear disaster [GALLO/GETTY]
“Fukushima is the biggest industrial catastrophe in the history of mankind,” Arnold Gundersen, a former nuclear industry senior vice president, told Al Jazeera.
Japan’s 9.0 earthquake on March 11 caused a massive tsunami that crippled the cooling systems at the Tokyo Electric Power Company’s (TEPCO) nuclear plant in Fukushima, Japan. It also led to hydrogen explosions and reactor meltdowns that forced evacuations of those living within a 20km radius of the plant.
Gundersen, a licensed reactor operator with 39 years of nuclear power engineering experience, managing and coordinating projects at 70 nuclear power plants around the US, says the Fukushima nuclear plant likely has more exposed reactor cores than commonly believed.
“Fukushima has three nuclear reactors exposed and four fuel cores exposed,” he said, “You probably have the equivalent of 20 nuclear reactor cores because of the fuel cores, and they are all in desperate need of being cooled, and there is no means to cool them effectively.”
TEPCO has been spraying water on several of the reactors and fuel cores, but this has led to even greater problems, such as radiation being emitted into the air in steam and evaporated sea water – as well as generating hundreds of thousands of tons of highly radioactive sea water that has to be disposed of.
“The problem is how to keep it cool,” says Gundersen. “They are pouring in water and the question is what are they going to do with the waste that comes out of that system, because it is going to contain plutonium and uranium. Where do you put the water?”
Even though the plant is now shut down, fission products such as uranium continue to generate heat, and therefore require cooling.
“The fuels are now a molten blob at the bottom of the reactor,” Gundersen added. “TEPCO announced they had a melt through. A melt down is when the fuel collapses to the bottom of the reactor, and a melt through means it has melted through some layers. That blob is incredibly radioactive, and now you have water on top of it. The water picks up enormous amounts of radiation, so you add more water and you are generating hundreds of thousands of tons of highly radioactive water.”
Independent scientists have been monitoring the locations of radioactive “hot spots” around Japan, and their findings are disconcerting.
“We have 20 nuclear cores exposed, the fuel pools have several cores each, that is 20 times the potential to be released than Chernobyl,” said Gundersen. “The data I’m seeing shows that we are finding hot spots further away than we had from Chernobyl, and the amount of radiation in many of them was the amount that caused areas to be declared no-man’s-land for Chernobyl. We are seeing square kilometres being found 60 to 70 kilometres away from the reactor. You can’t clean all this up. We still have radioactive wild boar in Germany, 30 years after Chernobyl.”
Radiation monitors for children
Japan’s Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters finally admitted earlier this month that reactors 1, 2, and 3 at the Fukushima plant experienced full meltdowns.
TEPCO announced that the accident probably released more radioactive material into the environment than Chernobyl, making it the worst nuclear accident on record.
Meanwhile, a nuclear waste advisor to the Japanese government reported that about 966 square kilometres near the power station – an area roughly 17 times the size of Manhattan – is now likely uninhabitable.
In the US, physician Janette Sherman MD and epidemiologist Joseph Mangano published an essay shedding light on a 35 per cent spike in infant mortality in northwest cities that occurred after the Fukushima meltdown, and may well be the result of fallout from the stricken nuclear plant.
The eight cities included in the report are San Jose, Berkeley, San Francisco, Sacramento, Santa Cruz, Portland, Seattle, and Boise, and the time frame of the report included the ten weeks immediately following the disaster.
“There is and should be concern about younger people being exposed, and the Japanese government will be giving out radiation monitors to children,” Dr MV Ramana, a physicist with the Programme on Science and Global Security at Princeton University who specialises in issues of nuclear safety, told Al Jazeera.
Dr Ramana explained that he believes the primary radiation threat continues to be mostly for residents living within 50km of the plant, but added: “There are going to be areas outside of the Japanese government’s 20km mandatory evacuation zone where radiation is higher. So that could mean evacuation zones in those areas as well.”
Gundersen points out that far more radiation has been released than has been reported.
“They recalculated the amount of radiation released, but the news is really not talking about this,” he said. “The new calculations show that within the first week of the accident, they released 2.3 times as much radiation as they thought they released in the first 80 days.”
According to Gundersen, the exposed reactors and fuel cores are continuing to release microns of caesium, strontium, and plutonium isotopes. These are referred to as “hot particles”.
“We are discovering hot particles everywhere in Japan, even in Tokyo,” he said. “Scientists are finding these everywhere. Over the last 90 days these hot particles have continued to fall and are being deposited in high concentrations. A lot of people are picking these up in car engine air filters.”
Radioactive air filters from cars in Fukushima prefecture and Tokyo are now common, and Gundersen says his sources are finding radioactive air filters in the greater Seattle area of the US as well.
The hot particles on them can eventually lead to cancer.
“These get stuck in your lungs or GI tract, and they are a constant irritant,” he explained, “One cigarette doesn’t get you, but over time they do. These [hot particles] can cause cancer, but you can’t measure them with a Geiger counter. Clearly people in Fukushima prefecture have breathed in a large amount of these particles. Clearly the upper West Coast of the US has people being affected. That area got hit pretty heavy in April.”
Blame the US?
In reaction to the Fukushima catastrophe, Germany is phasing out all of its nuclear reactors over the next decade. In a referendum vote this Monday, 95 per cent of Italians voted in favour of blocking a nuclear power revival in their country. A recent newspaper poll in Japan shows nearly three-quarters of respondents favour a phase-out of nuclear power in Japan.
Why have alarms not been sounded about radiation exposure in the US?
Nuclear operator Exelon Corporation has been among Barack Obama’s biggest campaign donors, and is one of the largest employers in Illinois where Obama was senator. Exelon has donated more than $269,000 to his political campaigns, thus far. Obama also appointed Exelon CEO John Rowe to his Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future.
Dr Shoji Sawada is a theoretical particle physicist and Professor Emeritus at Nagoya University in Japan.
He is concerned about the types of nuclear plants in his country, and the fact that most of them are of US design.
“Most of the reactors in Japan were designed by US companies who did not care for the effects of earthquakes,” Dr Sawada told Al Jazeera. “I think this problem applies to all nuclear power stations across Japan.”
Using nuclear power to produce electricity in Japan is a product of the nuclear policy of the US, something Dr Sawada feels is also a large component of the problem.
“Most of the Japanese scientists at that time, the mid-1950s, considered that the technology of nuclear energy was under development or not established enough, and that it was too early to be put to practical use,” he explained. “The Japan Scientists Council recommended the Japanese government not use this technology yet, but the government accepted to use enriched uranium to fuel nuclear power stations, and was thus subjected to US government policy.”
As a 13-year-old, Dr Sawada experienced the US nuclear attack against Japan from his home, situated just 1400 metres from the hypocentre of the Hiroshima bomb.
“I think the Fukushima accident has caused the Japanese people to abandon the myth that nuclear power stations are safe,” he said. “Now the opinions of the Japanese people have rapidly changed. Well beyond half the population believes Japan should move towards natural electricity.”
A problem of infinite proportions
Dr Ramana expects the plant reactors and fuel cores to be cooled enough for a shutdown within two years.
“But it is going to take a very long time before the fuel can be removed from the reactor,” he added. “Dealing with the cracking and compromised structure and dealing with radiation in the area will take several years, there’s no question about that.”
Dr Sawada is not as clear about how long a cold shutdown could take, and said the problem will be “the effects from caesium-137 that remains in the soil and the polluted water around the power station and underground. It will take a year, or more time, to deal with this”.
Gundersen pointed out that the units are still leaking radiation.
“They are still emitting radioactive gases and an enormous amount of radioactive liquid,” he said. “It will be at least a year before it stops boiling, and until it stops boiling, it’s going to be cranking out radioactive steam and liquids.”
Gundersen worries about more earthquake aftershocks, as well as how to cool two of the units.
“Unit four is the most dangerous, it could topple,” he said. “After the earthquake in Sumatra there was an 8.6 [aftershock] about 90 days later, so we are not out of the woods yet. And you’re at a point where, if that happens, there is no science for this, no one has ever imagined having hot nuclear fuel lying outside the fuel pool. They’ve not figured out how to cool units three and four.”
Gundersen’s assessment of solving this crisis is grim.
“Units one through three have nuclear waste on the floor, the melted core, that has plutonium in it, and that has to be removed from the environment for hundreds of thousands of years,” he said. “Somehow, robotically, they will have to go in there and manage to put it in a container and store it for infinity, and that technology doesn’t exist. Nobody knows how to pick up the molten core from the floor, there is no solution available now for picking that up from the floor.”
Dr Sawada says that the creation of nuclear fission generates radioactive materials for which there is simply no knowledge informing us how to dispose of the radioactive waste safely.
“Until we know how to safely dispose of the radioactive materials generated by nuclear plants, we should postpone these activities so as not to cause further harm to future generations,” he explained. “To do otherwise is simply an immoral act, and that is my belief, both as a scientist and as a survivor of the Hiroshima atomic bombing.”
Gundersen believes it will take experts at least ten years to design and implement the plan.
“So ten to 15 years from now maybe we can say the reactors have been dismantled, and in the meantime you wind up contaminating the water,” Gundersen said. “We are already seeing Strontium [at] 250 times the allowable limits in the water table at Fukushima. Contaminated water tables are incredibly difficult to clean. So I think we will have a contaminated aquifer in the area of the Fukushima site for a long, long time to come.”
Unfortunately, the history of nuclear disasters appears to back Gundersen’s assessment.
“With Three Mile Island and Chernobyl, and now with Fukushima, you can pinpoint the exact day and time they started,” he said, “But they never end.””
Well, to sum up the week’s “As the Fukushima Disaster Turns” serial– the following Tepco Fukushima plant disaster summary for the week of June 13th surely will entertain you:
MsMilkytheclown: “Fukushima unit 4 spewing problems update 6/16/11☢”.
This is the second day in a row unit 4 has thrown this “hissy fit”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_fJRnXTGaw
Further increases in infant deaths possibly linked to Iodine-131, now on the East Coast:
First it is reported over this last weekend that a number of Pacific North West cities are showing increased infant mortality post Fukushima (source: http://www.counterpunch.org/sherman06102011.html). Now, the same epidemiologist researcher is finding that Philadelphia infants are also showing increased baby deaths, up 48 percent since radioactive Iodine-131 has been found in Philadelphia’s drinking water, post Fukushima nuclear disaster.
As reported by Enernews, June 16th, 2011:
http://www.myfoxphilly.com/dpp/news/local_news/is-iodine-131-killing-babies-in-philly-061611
Kyodo News/English Advisory, June 17th, 2011:
“All spent nuclear fuel pools to be stably cooled in 1 month: TEPCO (17:04)”
Come on people; I’ve got a pool going on 2 million hits. Lets keep spreading the word and say something on the many and varied topics deep in this site. At the very least keep the healing positivity of your thought time expressed in visions of health and stress-free equilibrium for our hosts. They do put in the energy and it should be reciprocated. Somehow, some way we have avenues that will lead us into the future. While I see many redundant posts, and or “c” doesn’t spring to mind when someone writes ( with a healthy paranoia ) that “a plus b” equals…
It’s quite time to say it all like it really is. Things like at least two-thirds of Japan is and will forever be a dead zone. Things like depopulation is the driving motive behind current events. Bilderberg believes itself to be “The Illuminati “… Hum…? , or maybe that’s what they want us to believe. After all the enlightened don’t have agendas regarding; well anything… Save the transfer of the wisdom that drives one to knowledge, the basis of which is this dance of life. Conscientiousness in all phases of being, sleep or waking state, awareness is preparedness. If you Start! ( jump, heart rate up, adrenaline surge ) at the presence of someone or a noise you are not expecting, you are not prepared. Keep breathing, stay centered, Do what you are doing not what you are planning to do next. That’s the best way for a knife to demand sacrifice, you just cut your finger and the wilderness smells blood. The reason for this 101 is that repetition is full circle, the stories are told over and over and we learn from hearing them. No reason not to ask questions, just keep the dialogue moving along. The jet stream is running through New England again and it looks like rain too boot. Remember, no radiation is acceptable; not now; not forever… Read between the lines “c” is take your wet shoes off at the door. Strip down and shower while you eat some kelp. Remember, “The-They”, aren’t looking out for your best interests. It isn’t profitable, nor is it a good investment to do onto others. Just the slightest insight into TEPCO and the equation becomes self-evident. ( This one you have to read between the lines I’m not giving the answer. ) So stay here now, keep healthy and pass along some of that excess goodness as you can. How you do the dance is the path of it all. Here we are to learn to dance, the nature of dance is change. New dance steps evolve as should awareness of the dance around you. In the end you can’t take it with you so stay focused, breathe, and conscientiously em braise both life and death. It’s on you, you came here to be a part of the solution not the problem. Right ? Survive-All…
Haigh, Otter.
Good to hear from you. Constructive discussion is the path to our future life! If we sit back and do nothing, we stagnate and die slowly.
Death, a lonely place to be. Breath and movement forward, life to come.
“It is better to light one little candle, than to curse the darkness.”
Dia d huit, Otter and all!
To life–
According to the EnviroReporter in Santa Monica, CA:
Rain in Los Angeles basin is OK; not hot. Yeah!
“6/17/11
9:10 am 10-minute INTERIOR average: 39.5 CPM
8:56 am 10-minute EXTERIOR average of WIPE SAMPLE FROM RAIN FROM CLEAN GLASS ON WINDSHIELD IN SANTA MONICA: 46.3 CPM which is STATISTICALLY THE SAME AS above the prior EXTERIOR average of 44.7 CPM. NO DETECTABLE FALLOUT IN RAIN.
8:45 am 10-minute EXTERIOR average: 44.7 CPM NORMAL”
http://www.enviroreporter.com/2011/03/enviroreporter-coms-radiation-station/
On Thursday, June 16th, Tepco said that it was critical that its water filtration system to remove radioactive materials from contaminated water be started by Friday. That, otherwise, in two weeks the radioactive water stored at the damaged plants might start to overflow. (Seems like I have been hearing about Tepco’s ‘just one to two more weeks left’ water overflow time bomb– for at least the last two to four weeks.) Friday has come. Friday has gone. The filtration system is still down.
Tepco reports that the water radiation filtration system was removing so much cesium from the water that the filtration system had to be shut down. ( “TEPCO: cleanup system could take time”, NHK World English, Sunday, June 19, 2011 06:59 +0900 (JST)-
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/19_03.html )
———————
Between the above Tepco radiation filtration problems; looming radioactive water overflow threats; the unacknowledged fire/smoke engulfing nuclear plants Nos. 3 & 4 on Wednesday night, June 13th (some report that this happened again on Thursday night, also); and, the “small fire” at plant No. 4 the same night… Well, you get the message. Time just keeps ticking away.
Then this morning (Saturday, June 18th a little after 9:00 am Pacific Daylight time), the EnviroReporter Radiation Station’s geiger counter in Santa Monica appeared fixed for at least a ten-fifteen minute period at about: 72 CPMs (Note: normal background radiation level for the Santa Monica station is said to be 42-46 CPMs). I had to leave shortly after, so I don’t know if this was an instrument problem, or if Los Angeles had hot radioactive air this morning. Nothing has been posted on their website addressing this issue… at least that I saw. So, maybe the 72 CPM reading was just a quirk; but then again, maybe not.
The radioactive plumes of Fukushima just keep right on blowing– At us. This sure does not leave one with a warm toasty feeling. Toasted perhaps.
NHK World English, Monday, June 20th, 2011, Japan time date:
TEPCO opens doors at No.2 reactor
Tokyo Electric Power Company says it has fully opened the doors at the No. 2 reactor of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
The restoration work inside the No. 2 reactor has been hampered by humidity of almost 100 percent caused by steam from the containment vessel and spent-fuel storage pool.
TEPCO opened the doors halfway at 8:51 PM on Sunday, and it fully opened them at 5 AM on Monday.
The utility has been using an air purification device for more than a week to reduce the radioactive concentration inside the building.
The firm calculated that the level of background radiation around the plant after opening the doors would be 0.0014 microsieverts per hour. The annualized figure would be far below the permissible limit of one millisievert a year.
A TEPCO official told reporters that the door-opening has almost no impact on the nearby environment so far.
TEPCO says it has explained its plan to Fukushima Prefecture and 13 local municipalities. The firm added that it will begin checking radiation levels and adjusting meters inside the building.
Monday, June 20, 2011 05:53 +0900 (JST)
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/20_07.html
Japan Today, Sunday
“More radioactive water pooling at Fukushima plant”
National Jun. 20, 2011 – 06:10AM JST ( 0 )
TOKYO —
http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/mre-radioactive-water-pooling-at-fukushima-plant
The Organization of Asia-Pacific News Agencies:
June 19, 2011
“Radioactive reactor equipment may be exposed at Fukushima plant+”
“TOKYO, June 19 Kyodo – Highly radioactive equipment removed from and kept under water near a suspended reactor at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant may be partially exposed and emitting radiation into the air, officials of the plant operator said Sunday. Tokyo Electric Power Co. began injecting water for the equipment the same day at the building of the No. 4 reactor, which was suspended for regular inspection when it lost cooling functions in the March 11 …”
http://www.oananews.org/view.php?id=182054
——————–
Any bets? Do I hear, Tepco reactor No. 4.
Here’s another link, where you can read entire article re exposed radioactive emitting equipment:
http://www.quote.com/news/story.action?id=BBC170n0105
For easy access, here’s the daily updated JapanTimes Online news link to its
“Maximum radiation levels in Eastern Japan”
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/radiation-levels.html
NHK World English, Monday, June 20, 2011 05:53 +0900 (Japan time date)
“TEPCO injects water to No.4 reactor storage pool”
“Tokyo Electric Power Company has been trying to reduce a high level of radiation discovered in the Number 4 reactor of the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
The utility started to inject water into a pool on the top floor which was used for storing large equipment contaminated by radiation on Sunday….
…Tokyo Electric Company discovered that the water level of the pool had dropped to about 1/3 of its capacity as of June 11th….”
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/20_03.html
Can’t seem to find any more info about possible #4 explosion last Thurs…I may have to stop biking before that jet plume comes our way. Anyone know more than the orig speeded-up video footage? Thx much!
I found the following theory and wonder if this was the case. Other than this video, I haven’t heard or read anything on this either (albeit, nada would be expected). On the other hand, has anyone been able to view Tepco’s Fukushima live cam just before or following June 16th, the date of this video?
You can view the vid and read Chad’s theory posted below the video at this link:
http://www.waspsnest.com/2011/06/16/remember-fukishima-fire-explosions-and-criticality-in-the-fuel-pool-at-reactor-4-caught-on-video
Chad writes:
“1hr video sped up to 3 min. Video is infrared, only black and white.
You speed up steam plume to that speed and looks like a Nuclear Bomb
was dropped and thats the Mushroom cloud…What would happen if you
added cool water to hot water, add humidity, cool night air on the
ocean and speed it up 20x….you have the video…. Bad Science!”
—Pace una volta per tutte
Whelp, I just went to waspnests.com’s site to check what I feel is the manufactured/modified alarming aforementioned video and got this page error: “Error establishing a database connection”
Perhaps they got wise, or otherwise, and took it down. The only reason that I originally I went to that site was to follow (unlike me, I should add) a link that someone had posted. Let’s all keep in mind how v easy it is for someone with some talent and technical know-how to create, produce, and modify photos and videos to come up with a story….any story. I will continue to do my dd before assuming anything is true.
You have a quick eye, NPNG. This Tepco live cam video is all over the place, including at http://www.jungleapocalypse.com/featured/meltdown-fukushima-live-video-shows-radioactive-cloud-around-reactors-3-4/
It is also back up at the Waspnest.com. I, too, would love to see the video in real time. Again, keep in mind, that the background tower artificially gives this video a nuclear-like look. Minus the tower, perhaps more fog like. Still, fire smoke does appear to be present. And, a “small fire” at No. 4 reactor was reported that same night that the Tepco live cam video in question took place. And, now we have some elevated rad readings from the live EnviroReporter in Santa Monica for June 21st! Not sure we will ever find the truth to all of this.
http://nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/International/18-Jun-2011/US-orders-news-blackout-over-crippled-Nebraska-Nuclear-Plant-report
disappointing to put it mildly, if true.
http://www.npr.org/2011/06/20/137295681/river-falls-short-of-nebraska-nuke-plant-shutdown
a followup to my last posting re the nebraska power plant. as with all things internet, one needs to research reliability of sources…..
When I first reported the engulfing smoke/haze at nuclear plants Nos. 3 and 4, nuclear explosion did not positively appear present to me. One of the towers in the background of the video kind of gives it a nuclear explosion kind of look. Without that tower, nuclear explosion does not seem present. What was noticed by me and of marked interest, the smoke/haze appeared to be rising up, and not side ways. Importance? Smoke from a fire rises up. Fog tends to snake side ways. At very least, a fire appeared to be present at Nuclear reactor No. 4 the night of Thursday, June 14th, possibly co-existing with some type of explosion. And, backing my theory, one youtube source reported that there was a small fire at reactor No. 4 the night of June 14, 2011! (see, @angusmerlin, June 14th @ 10:36PM; and,
@angusmerlin June 14th, @ 10:50PM, Modern Survival Blog posts above.)
Well, why would the above fire theory be important? Those in the know say fires at nuclear power plants are rare. Extremely, extremely rare. And, you are talking about a fire at the No. 4 nuclear reactor storage plant for hot, highly radioactive spent fuel rods!!! Need I say more….
NHK World English, Tuesday, June 21st, 2011, Japan date time line.
“Water decontamination test at Fukushima stops”
“The test run of a water decontamination system at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has again been halted due to a malfunction.”
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/index.html
P.S., Why is this important? Tepco a week ago said that by last Friday, June 17th, it was critically important that Tepco’s new water radioactive filtration system be up and fully running in order to prevent Tepco’s storage containers of highly radioactive water from overflowing. Well, to put it mildly, Tepco’s newly installed filtration system is not even remotely fully running. In fact, it has once again (for a second time) been halted. Well to be fair to Tepco, this is an untested, exploratory system. And, Fukushima is the testing ground. Oh my, oh my.
On the positive side:
“TEPCO Builds Pillars to Support Fukushima No. 4 Reactor Pool”
“Fukushima, June 20 (Jiji Press)–Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Monday it has finished building pillars to support the bottom of the spent fuel pool of the No. 4 reactor at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
The power firm will boost the load tolerance of the pool by reinforcing the facility with more concrete by the end of July, TEPCO officials said.
The building that houses the No. 4 reactor sustained major damage in what appears to have been a hydrogen explosion in March.
An analysis shows the quake resistance of the building is almost intact, but TEPCO is conducting reinforcement work to keep on the safe side, the officials said.
In the work, TEPCO built 32 steel pillars to support the pool’s bottom. Each pillar can withstand weights of up to 40 tons.
(2011/06/20-22:40)”
http://jen.jiji.com/jc/eng?g=eco&k=2011062000882
————–
Importance of the above Tepco structural re-enforcement of the No. 4 nuclear reactor’s spent pool– The Japan aftershocks keep right on a coming, almost daily. And, some of these shakers are fairly large magnitudes (+5′s, with a few +6′s). So, any re-enforcement of the No. 4 reactor nuclear pool and building is absolutely welcome! For the sake of the world, and especially for the sake of the Northern Hemisphere.
As originally found on Enernews:
Ex-SKF, Sunday, June 19, 2011
“Contaminated Water Processing at #Fukushima: The Water Was Simply Too “Hot”
for the system to handle, TEPCO found out.”
“From Asahi Shinbun (1:02PM JST 6/20/2011):
東京電力福島第一原子力発電所で放射能汚染水の浄化装置がトラブルで停止した問題で、東電は２０日、原因は予想以上の高濃度の汚染水が装置に流入したのが原因とみられると発表した。２０日午前中から再度試験をして放射線量を調べる。
TEPCO investigated the contaminated water treatment system that was halted [when the radiation on the Kurion's subsystem exceeded the limit (4 millisieverts/hour) set by TEPCO] and announced on June 20 that the problem was caused by the flow of the water that contained much more radioactive materials than expected. TEPCO is conducting the test again to measure the radiation level.
Well, over 100,000 tonnes of highly contaminated water at Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant are estimated to contain 720,000 terabecquerels of radioactive materials.
If Kurion’s vessel absorbed enough radioactive materials in 5 hours and it should have taken 30 days, as I wrote in my previous post, the water was 144 times as radioactive as the system had anticipated.
If the water actually turns out to be 144 times as radioactive, the Fukushima accident would need a new INES category and should not be placed in the same category (Level 7) as the Chernobyl accident which released only 5.6 million terabecquerels of radioactive materials. Maybe it should be simply called “Level Fukushima”.”
http://ex-skf.blogspot.com/2011/06/contaminated-water-processing-at.html
@ NPNG, Investigative time well spent. Un vero poeta… Riferendosi al tuo ultimo post; vivere o morire!-Pace una volta per tutte… Survive-All… Peace once and for all… Peace once and for ( All )… P.S. , Your help has been; inestimabile…
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_aging_nukes_part2
AP IMPACT: Tritium leaks found at many nuke sites[EXCERPT]:
Radioactive tritium has leaked from three-quarters of U.S. commercial nuclear power sites, often into groundwater from corroded, buried piping, an Associated Press investigation shows.
The number and severity of the leaks has been escalating, even as federal regulators extend the licenses of more and more reactors across the nation.
Tritium, which is a radioactive form of hydrogen, has leaked from at least 48 of 65 sites, according to U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission records reviewed as part of the AP’s yearlong examination of safety issues at aging nuclear power plants. Leaks from at least 37 of those facilities contained concentrations exceeding the federal drinking water standard — sometimes at hundreds of times the limit.
Thx, NPNG. That’s exactly what I’ve seen so far as well. It’s the utter lack of news about the fire, at least, & alleged possible explosion that have me choosing to exercise indoors, again. Big well wishes to all, especially Ken’s wife.
If I don’t post this A/mer or others will… It is for the growing seekers, their numbers continue… Today’s update: http://www.youtube.com/user/MsMilkytheclown … Have to keep telling “Them”; there is a news black-out as regards fukushima. No less one ordered by the president regarding the Nebraska situation. Since when did you vote to give up the checks and balances system. Why was there a limit put on the presidents powers to start? We are looking down the historical inception technique of Fascism. Does that fly for you? It’s time to vote, and I mean everyone vote. You have a given power to be represented Constitutionally and by Rights Amendments. We have to replace those in their seats of power as it is being used against not only us but, the future. It has to be stopped now! The tweak of any given natural disaster can thrust too many man made systems into what we see as current events. ( Ha-Ha: What “We The People” are allowed to see… The government is not in place to anything us except what “They put forth representing Us!” ) The system does not allow the #! to act as a dictator! Sorry; P.T.S.D. still slips out now and again. Truly, we need to vote out the existing politico since we don’t have the vote of confidence that many nations do ( U.K. )… Survive-All… P.S. Yes I voted for him but, as his puppet compliance has become way to obvious, I’d rather throw my vote out on the outside chance that everyone would do the same and vote for the best Green or Libertarian Party candidate that is in the running! You may have noticed that “president” isn’t in capital letters; he doesn’t deserve them!… Think! See! Do! … Please… Now that may read as agenda, but isn’t that what survival is? An agenda?…
June 21st live CPM stats from the live EnviroReporter Station, Santa Monica, CA– (*Note: Normal background radiation level for this geiger counter at the EnviroReporter Station is said to be: 42-46 CPMs):
“6/21/11
7:45 pm 10-minute INTERIOR average: 35.7 CPM
7:30 pm 10-minute EXTERIOR average: 45.8 CPM
12:25 pm 10-minute INTERIOR average: 34.7 CPM
12:10 pm 10-minute EXTERIOR average: 48.4 CPM
9:05 am 10-minute INTERIOR average: 37.6 CPM
8:35 am 10-minute EXTERIOR average: 43.2 CPM NORMAL
12:35 am 10-minute EXTERIOR average: 48.2 CPM
12:20 am 10-minute INTERIOR average: 36.5 CPM
12:05 am 10-minute INTERIOR-TESTED average of SANTA MONICA MIST: 64.8 CPM OR 77.5% ABOVE SUBSEQUENT BACKGROUND
http://www.enviroreporter.com/radiation-station-stats/
—————
Looks like the greater Los Angeles Basin area had a bit of a hot night, and day to come on Tuesday, June the 21st. Especially note the 10-minute 64.8 CPM mist reading, which equates to “77.5% above subsequent background” radiation levels, according to EnviroReporter Station stat postings. This represents a high rad level for this Santa Monica area. Fukushima radio plumes, here you come a visiting… again.
has anyone heard anything about possible crippled Nebraska nuclear plant?
i hope this is allowed and thank Ken and everyone watching whats going on in this world without blinders on
http://nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/International/18-Jun-2011/US-orders-news-blackout-over-crippled-Nebraska-Nuclear-Plant-report
I sure hope Tepco has indeed been reinforcing the spent radioactive rod pool structure at No. 4 reactor, Fukushima, as promised. The leaning tower No. 4 building, holder of hot spent fuel rods. Notice that three of the latest quakes posted @ M5.0+ are in the Honshu, Japan region. One of the aftershocks is a 6.7 magnitude shaker. A little beasty in and of itself.
MAP 6.7 2011/06/22 21:50:48 39.980 142.247 32.0 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
MAP 5.1 2011/06/22 20:43:48 37.612 144.329 10.6 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
MAP 5.2 2011/06/22 14:28:59 40.040 142.769 40.9 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/quakes_big.php
M-6.7 quake hits northeast Japan; tsunami alert briefly issued
JapanToday online news:
National Jun. 23, 2011 – 10:00AM JST ( 29 )
TOKYO —
“A magnitude-6.7 earthquake rattled northeast Japan early Thursday in the same area where a massive quake triggered a deadly tsunami in March, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
The Japan Meteorological Agency issued a tsunami warning for the region after the quake, but canceled it about an hour later.”
http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/magnitude-6-7-quake-hits-northeast-japan
NHK World English, Thursday, June 23rd, Japan time line date:
“Water filters at Fukushima still not working”
“…The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is still struggling with a malfunctioning water-decontaminator—the key to dealing with highly-radioactive water accumulating at the site.
The new water decontaminating system was shut down only 5 hours after it went into operation on Friday….”
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/23_04.html
————
And, the large aftershocks continue to come!
http://www.safecast.org/
npr’s “the world” had a segment on safecast today. thought it might be of interest….
The following is cut and pasted from the radiationnetwork.com website; of which my house in Humboldt County, CA represents the coastal northern California station. We have an Inspector Plus Geiger counter. Todays report, follows another June 11th from the Kauai station…I’ve already written congress, senators, etc…but EVERYONE needs to! Nukes are forever and will never be compatible with life, we need to use less energy, every single one of us…and clean energy. This is dreadful, and the punishments in terms of poor health, appears to only be beginning. 35% infant mortality along the pacific coast? 48% increase in Pennsylvania I believe I read…Anyhow, here’s tonights update…
Update: 6/23/11, 7:50 A.M. – Kauai Station, the “Perfect Storm”
Yesterday, June 22nd, our network’s Monitoring Station on the island of Kauai, within the Hawaiian island chain, broadcast yet another Radiation Alert over the Network, at 8:08 A.M. local time – a 3 minute surge of 209, 456, and 186 CPM (Counts per Minute) respectively, accompanied by a generally elevated level leading up to that, and followed by another blip at 2:52 P.M. The Kauai station indicates it was raining at the time, so we believe the precipitation brought down Fukushima fallout from the atmosphere.
This detection follows a similar, sustained elevated radiation level from the Kauai station on June 10th – see the Update below dated 6/11/11. Other than this, since the nuclear disaster in Japan, the stations on our Network that we believe to have detected Fukushima radiation in significant and noticeable levels have been limited to a couple of high altitude stations in Colorado, and an obvious one in Japan itself. So the question is, “What is so special about the Kauai station?”. In answer, I think we what have here is “the perfect storm”:
bullet First, of all the US stations on our network, Kauai is about the closest to Japan, some 3,500 miles away (Anchorage, AK is, too). And as mentioned before, within the Hawaiian chain, Kauai is the “remote outpost” farthest north and west toward Japan, as compared to our stations on Maui and the Big Island. Having said this, while proximity is important, weather patterns are of at least equal importance when considering radiation fallout.
bullet And speaking of weather, the Kauai station, situated on the north shore in the community of Princeville, is in a very rainy place, getting about 60 to 80 inches per year. Some other parts of the island are in a rain shadow.
bullet The radiation detector on the Kauai station is an external probe model, and the wand itself is mounted outdoors, protected under the overhanging eaves of the structure, but readily available to “sniff” the air, which in this case is often quite wet and occasionally contaminated, apparently.
bullet Beyond that, the Geiger-Mueller tube used in the probe is of the same pancake design as in the Inspector line of instruments, with a nominal 2″ diameter, finished out with a thin mica end window, categorizing this as an ultra-sensitive Geiger counter capable of detecting low levels of Alpha and Beta radiation, along with Gamma radiation.
So there is your “perfect storm” – in relatively close proximity, amidst a rainy environment, set up for outdoor monitoring, and using an ultra-sensitive detector. The next order of business is to place additional monitoring stations around Kauai, in both high rainfall and rain shadow areas to provide confirming readings and to test out some of the theories offered above. We also need to correlate detections with weather patterns and movements of the jet stream, combined with any verifiable “releases” of radiation from Fukushima.
funny thing….well not so funny at all. checked out canadas monioring site, which is updating weekly now. I was in there 2 days ago and they had not updated for the last two weeks…..now they have updated right to the 28th of june. we have had a great deal of rain the last two or three weeks and no big changes showing. but I wouldnt trust their site. once again, nothing to see here people…..
uggh!!! grrrrr!!! why do we pay taxes??? to employ govt officials to do a propper job!!!
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hc-ps/ed-ud/respond/nuclea/data-donnees-eng.php
ticks me off, but what do we expect from our government???
Friday, June 24th, 2011
Latest physicist Michio Kaku video: “Fukushima Day 103 “ticking time BOMB…50-100 yrs cleanup” PLUS Fort Calhoun Nuclear Plant Island”
http://www.japannuclearreactordisaster.com/fukushima-day-103-ticking-time-bomb-50-100-yrs-cleanup-plus-fort-calhoun-nuclear-plant-island.html
*Note: Michio Kaku Interview starts about the 7:30 minute point into the video
NHK World, Saturday, June 25, 2011 22:05 +0900 (JST)
‘Resumption of decontamination system not in sight’
“The operator of the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has still not resumed operations of a system to decontaminate highly radioactive water….
Water is being injected continuously into the reactors and the resulting contaminated water is starting to fill up the storage facilities, raising fears that it will start overflowing around July 5th….”
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/25_18.html
More recycled news of recycled news of more of the same recycle news and the only new news are the changed dates. So, what else is new?
Date’s a little old. Still nice Fukushima doggy story. June 15th, 2011
“Video released of dog rescue from TEPCO grounds in Fukushima”
http://www.examiner.com/animal-welfare-in-national/dogs-rescued-from-tepco-plant-grounds-video
The story:
“With the thousands of pets still alive in the Fukushima exclusion zone, private citizens are risking their own safety to rescue as many animals as possible. The Hoshi family has been rescuing animals from the zone for weeks. They have just released a video showing their raid on the TEPCO grounds to save the two dogs recently seen in TEPCO surveillance videos.
According to The Hachiko Coalition, the dogs are being housed in an underground bunker to ensure safety:
“Their radiation levels were very low and they have been washed multiple times to decontaminate them, given good clean water and food. Urine is being monitored to ensure they did not ingest radioactive water. Reportedly the dogs are healthy and recovering fine.” ”
Renee Snyder
International Animal Welfare Examiner
June 15, 2011 3:30 pm ET
http://www.examiner.com/animal-welfare-in-national/video-released-of-dog-rescue-from-tepco-grounds-fukushima
U.S.A. Pacifica Radio interview with -Arnie Gundersen – “Nebraska Nuclear Plant: Emergency Level 4 & Getting Worse” (June 14th, 2011), 3 parts:
http://modernsurvivalblog.com/nuclear/west-coast-usa-danger-if-japan-nuclear-reactor-meltdown/comment-page-11/#comment-11650
Angusmerlin, could you please post the link again, he one posted is just to your comment. Thanks a bunch.
Thak you so much. Take care
First They Radiated… – Donald George Patrick Rickman…Amdg
First they radiated our Pets and all the animals of the forest,
and I spoke out because I had HEALTHY Pets and I love all animals
Then they radiated the Pregnant Women and their unborn Children,
and I spoke out because I was the Father to four (4) HEALTHY Children
Then they radiated the Teenagers,
and again I spoke out because I helped to raise six (6) HEALTHY Teenagers
Then they radiated the Adults,
and I spoke out because I am an Adult
Then they radiated Senior Citizens
and since I am also a Senior Citizen I spoke out for them
Then they radiated me and since no one had listened or heard in a timely manner, what I had been saying these past 75_Days and STILL COUNTING there was no one to speak out for me
Other than God. . .
Remember Japan?
NHK World English, Sunday, June 26th, 2011 (Japan date time line)
“TEPCO ready to inject nitrogen into No.2 reactor”
“Tokyo Electric Power Company is ready to inject nitrogen into the containment vessel of the Number 2 reactor at its Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant to prevent hydrogen blasts.
The company says it will monitor radiation levels around the compound more closely as the nitrogen may force out tiny amounts of gas containing radioactive substances.
Work is underway at the damaged nuclear plant to decontaminate water and inject it back into the reactor for cooling.
But if the reactors are cooled to a stable level, less moisture will be produced, raising the ratio of hydrogen in the air.
Hydrogen can cause an explosion when it reacts with oxygen.
TEPCO has been pumping nitrogen into the No.1 reactor since April and has completed preparations to do the same at the No. 2 reactor….”
Sunday, June 26, 2011 02:50 +0900 (JST)
Wow! What happened to my LAST COMMENT? Whatever, try this one: Today is Day_105 and COUNTING and
It’s official! Lady Gaga proclaims that Japan is safe now
Why does THIS EVENT AND THE REPORTING OF IT, JUST GET BETTER AND BETTER ( EVERY PUN INTENDED?)
NHK WORLD English,
Sunday, June 26th, 2011 (JST)
“Boric acid being added to No.3 reactor fuel pool”
“Tokyo Electric Power Company has begun adding boric acid to the spent fuel storage pool of the No.3 reactor at its Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant to prevent fuel racks from being corroded by alkaline water….
Last month, TEPCO found that the water in the pool had turned strongly alkaline…. The leaching of calcium hydrate from [pieces of concrete that had fallen into the pool from the earlier March hydrogen explosion] is believed to be the cause.
TEPCO says the condition may accelerate corrosion of aluminum racks holding spent fuel rods and may cause the rods to topple in the worst case, which could lead to re-criticality.
At the same time, TEPCO is preparing to install a circulatory cooling system at the fuel pool that will go into operation in early July.”
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/26_11.html
Yes, more re-cycled news, but here you go anyway…
NHK WORLD English, Sunday, June 26th, 2011 (Japan time date)
“Decontamination system to fully operate on Monday
The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says it hopes to begin full-scale operation on Monday of a system to decontaminate highly radioactive water.
Contaminated water is still accumulating in the plant, as water is being injected to cool the reactors.
Tokyo Electric Power Company was forced to suspend the test run of the system a number of times due to problems with a device that removes radioactive substances.
The utility says it managed to resolve the problem by using a different absorbent material for the devices, and the equipment that removes salt is working normally.
The company says it will review its procedures, and will consider replacing the absorption devices more frequently than once a month.
The storage facilities for contaminated water will not fill up until July 5th, as 5,400 tons was cleaned during the test runs and the contaminated water that was about to fill the reactor buildings can now be transferred.
However, it remains to be seen if the system can operate stably, as the pump of the salt-removal device failed on Saturday.
It is also feared that heavy rain during the rainy season or a typhoon may quickly fill up the storage facilities.
Sunday, June 26, 2011 23:31 +0900 (JST)
Decontamination system to fully operate on Monday
The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says it hopes to begin full-scale operation on Monday of a system to decontaminate highly radioactive water.
Contaminated water is still accumulating in the plant, as water is being injected to cool the reactors.
Tokyo Electric Power Company was forced to suspend the test run of the system a number of times due to problems with a device that removes radioactive substances.
The utility says it managed to resolve the problem by using a different absorbent material for the devices, and the equipment that removes salt is working normally.
The company says it will review its procedures, and will consider replacing the absorption devices more frequently than once a month.
The storage facilities for contaminated water will not fill up until July 5th, as 5,400 tons was cleaned during the test runs and the contaminated water that was about to fill the reactor buildings can now be transferred.
However, it remains to be seen if the system can operate stably, as the pump of the salt-removal device failed on Saturday.
It is also feared that heavy rain during the rainy season or a typhoon may quickly fill up the storage facilities.
Decontamination system to fully operate on Monday
The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says it hopes to begin full-scale operation on Monday of a system to decontaminate highly radioactive water.
Contaminated water is still accumulating in the plant, as water is being injected to cool the reactors.
Tokyo Electric Power Company was forced to suspend the test run of the system a number of times due to problems with a device that removes radioactive substances.
The utility says it managed to resolve the problem by using a different absorbent material for the devices, and the equipment that removes salt is working normally.
The company says it will review its procedures, and will consider replacing the absorption devices more frequently than once a month.
The storage facilities for contaminated water will not fill up until July 5th, as 5,400 tons was cleaned during the test runs and the contaminated water that was about to fill the reactor buildings can now be transferred.
However, it remains to be seen if the system can operate stably, as the pump of the salt-removal device failed on Saturday.
It is also feared that heavy rain during the rainy season or a typhoon may quickly fill up the storage facilities.”
TEPCO is lying about everything.
now the say they are putting boric acid and water into the spent fuel pond in reactor building three.
there is no spent fuel pool in reactor 3 building, in case everybody forgot, it blew o smithereens when reactor 3 had the explosion.
they are running in boric acid into the highly radioactive soup that exists in the floor of the building in an effort to prevent the stuff from going re-critical.
BORON ABSORBS NEUTRONS.
trouble coming up big time.
“Japan Atomic Industrial Forum, Inc. (JAIF): Atoms in Japan.”
A nifty Japanese/English site that chronicles the Fukushima nuclear reactor plant disaster, since day one (& before) up to the present.
http://www.jaif.or.jp/english/news_index.php
Hi, M.S.B.; Best wishes for health and peace to you and yours… Just wanted to say to everyone that the Fort Calhoun sit-rep is nothing but lies as regards what is being fed the Sheeple. Look anywhere and you will see the flooded plant, and with the information that storage is outside containment it should all be very clear. Lies, Lies,Lies… Awareness is Preparedness… Survive-All… P.S. @ A/mer thanks for your diligence… Oh!, and for those of you that have been Guest Posting, May life reward you tenfold for your efforts… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6cfIyRh4ws just in case you need a direction to start.
“Fukushima to Fort Calhoun: Radiation threat, data manipulation:
June 27, 2011 11:03 am ET
Deborah Dupre,
Human Rights Examiner
http://www.examiner.com/human-rights-in-national/fukushima-to-fort-calhoun-radiation-threat-manipulation
Video: “‘Prestigious doctor: US nuclear ‘Baby valley of death,’ Millions to die”
June 27, 2011 1:10 pm ET
National
examiner.com
http://www.examiner.com/human-rights-in-national/prestigious-doctor-us-nuclear-baby-valley-of-death-millions-to-die-video-video
“70% of Japanese oppose restarting closed reactors: poll”
JapanToday, Jun. 27, 2011 – (Japan date time line)
TOKYO —
http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/70-of-japanese-oppose-restarting-closed-reactors-poll
***
Consider also that Germany has officially announced that it is planning to ultimately close down its nuclear power plants over the next decade, or so. With world wide radiation impacts from the continuing Fukushima nuclear disaster at the fore front, and now the flooding at the Fort Calhoun Nuclear Power Station: Why, oh why is the United States still re-commissioning its ancient power plants, and planning on building even more???
We all need to write to our U.S. Congressional representatives and senators to voice our protest– now, before it is too late.
NHK WORLD English. Monday, June 27, 2011 20:40 +0900 (JST)
“TEPCO halts water circulation due to leaks”
“The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has suspended using decontaminated water as a coolant because of leaky pipes.
Tokyo Electric Power Company began circulating recycled water through the No.1, 2 and 3 reactors at 4:20 PM on Monday.
But it halted the operation one and a half hours later after discovering water leaking from the pipes.
TEPCO has been attempting to run the decontamination system since June 14th. It has so far treated about 1,850 tons of the water….”
***
Sound a little familiar?
Frustrating
Frustrating
Frustrating
Daily Yomiuri Online, Jun. 27, 2011:
“Disposal of radioactive debris a headache for Fukushima Prefecture”
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T110626002191.htm
JapanTimes, Monday, June 27, 2011
“Fukushima residents’ urine now radioactive”
Kyodo
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110627a2.html
The Mainichi Daily News, June 27, 2011
Mainichi Japan
“Radioactive cesium from Fukushima expected to reach U.S. West Coast in 5 years”
“Radioactive cesium leaking from the tsunami-hit Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant….
The Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA)….estimates that cesium-137 from the plant will spread …as far as about 4,000 kilometers off the coast of Japan — in one year. It then predicts the substance will reach Hawaii three years later and the U.S. West Coast five years from now. However, the agency says that by that time, its density will have declined significantly.”
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/national/news/20110627p2a00m0na009000c.html
June 26 and June 27, 2011 CPM radiation stats from the Santa Monica Live Monitoring EnviroReporter Rad Monitoring Station:
Monday, 6/27/11
5:15 pm 10-minute INTERIOR average: 37.4 CPM
4:45 pm 10-minute EXTERIOR average: 44.9 CPM NORMAL
9:50 am 10-minute INTERIOR average: 40.3 CPM
8:45 am 10-minute EXTERIOR average: 48.9 CPM
Sunday, 6/26/11
10:00 pm 10-minute INTERIOR average ON AGGREGATE DUST OF LARGE PROGRESSIVE KENMORE HEPA FILTER after two years usage in Glendale, CA: 67.6 CPM OR 1.9 TIMES NORMAL BACKGROUND
9:20 pm 10-minute INTERIOR average ON AGGREGATE DUST OF KENMORE PLASMAWAVE HEPA FILTER after 6 weeks usage in Santa Monica, CA: 98.6 OR 2.8 TIMES NORMAL BACKGROUND
8:45 pm 10-minute INTERIOR average ON ONE HOT SPOT OF LARGE PROGRESSIVE KENMORE HEPA FILTER after two years usage in Glendale, CA: 55.6 CPM OR 1.6 TIMES NORMAL BACKGROUND
8:20 pm 10-minute INTERIOR average ON ONE HOT SPOT OF KENMORE PLASMAWAVE HEPA FILTER after 6 weeks usage in Santa Monica, CA: 84.2 OR 2.4 TIMES NORMAL BACKGROUND
6:48 pm 10-minute INTERIOR average: 35.4 CPM
1:20 pm 10-minute INTERIOR average ON ONE HOT SPOT OF HONEYWELL HEPA FILTER after 6 weeks usage in Santa Monica, CA: 99.2 CPM or 2.6 TIMES NORMAL BACKGROUND
12:45 pm 10-minute INTERIOR average: 37.8 CPM
12:30 pm 10-minute EXTERIOR average: 45.3 CPM NORMAL
10:20 am 10-minute INTERIOR average: 34.1 CPM
10:05 am 10-minute EXTERIOR average: 43.6 CPM NORMAL
NHK WORLD English, Tuesday, June 28th, 2011 (Japan date time line)
“Radioactive ash found in waste incineration plant”
… in Tokyo
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/28_03.html
@A/merlin the White; Good work with the repost.. Thank You Ken… This is really eye opening, given that it starts with main stream media… Watch for the post-modern Soy-lent-Green starting around 11.5 min. .http://www.youtube.com/user/MsMilkytheclown Survive-All…
Helen Caldicott’s interview with Arnie Gundersen, June 17th, 2011.
[as referenced by Enenews, June 29, 2011]:
“Arnold Gundersen with the latest on the Fukushima meltdowns…”
http://ifyoulovethisplanet.org/?p=4603
“M5.4 quake jolts Nagano Pref., injuring 12″
Kyodo News/English
TOKYO, June 30, Kyodo
http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2011/06/100335.html
***
Japan keeps on a rocking. Wonder about these quakes continuing effects on the Fukushima nuclear power reactors, already damaged and severely weakened.
Also, of note, the Magnitude 5.4 Nagano, Japan quake was not even reported by the USGS on its earthquake tracking system. http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/quakes_big.php
I wonder why the Nagano quake was not listed on USGS? This is the first time I have noticed any of the Japan quakes reported by Japanese news sources, not being reported by the USGS tracking system. The USGS tracks all Magnitude 5 or greater earthquakes worldwide, and updates throughout the day. Interesting that the June 30 M5.4 Nagano quake wasn’t reported.
I have noticed that the USGS very often downgrades earthquakes (hardly ever ‘upgrades’ them), so I’ll bet that they downgraded this one too. That in itself is either a conspiracy, or a big problem with the way they initially record quake magnitudes.
You may well be right, Ken. Four different earthquakes (with magnitudes ranging between 4.6 and 4.9) were reported off the east coast of Japan in the Honshu area by the USGS for June 30:
Magnitude 4.8 – OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
2011 June 30 21:48:00 UTC
[distance referenced to Hachinohe, Marioka, Aomori, Tokyo]
Magnitude 4.7 – OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
2011 June 30 06:22:29 UTC
[distance referenced to Sendai, Iwaki, Fukushima, Tokyo]
Magnitude 4.9 – NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
2011 June 30 10:22:45 UTC
[distance referenced to Iwaki, Koriyama, Fukushima, Tokyo]
Magnitude 4.6 – NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
2011 June 30 16:20:38 UTC
[distance referenced to Iwaki, Fukushima, Koriyama, Tokyo]
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/usc0004lbx.php
***
Yet, none of the above four earthquakes referenced Nagano (or any of its cities), the prefecture that reported the 12 injuries. Another complicating factor, if I recall correctly, the Japanese use a different earthquake magnitude determining system, than does the United States. However, it seemed that for the Great Magnitude 9.0 Japan quake, the Japanese system initially was the more conservative of the two.
Magnitude downgrade of the Nagano 5.4 Japan quake, or something else???
More details for the 5.4 Nagano quake of Thursday, June 30:
“11 injured after 5.4-magnitude quake jolts central Japan”
English.news.cn 2011-06-30 10:57:04
“TOKYO, June 30 (Xinhua) — A shallow earthquake with a magnitude of 5.4 on the Richter scale jolted Nagano Prefecture and its vicinity in central Japan on Thursday morning, injuring at least 11 people, the Japan Meteorological Agency and local media said.
The 8:16 a.m. quake was centered in central Nagano and injured 11 people in Matsumoto and Yamagata in the prefecture. Two of the injured suffered broken bones, according to Kyodo News.
No tsunami warning was issued after the quake.
The quake was followed by two aftershocks of magnitude 5.1 and magnitude 3.9.
Kyodo quoted Akira Nagai, the agency’s senior official in charge of quake and tsunami observation as saying that it is likely that more aftershocks measuring up to 5 will occur in the coming week.”
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-06/30/c_13958226.htm
P.S.: This central Japan, Nagano quake appears to be an entirely different quake from the four that the USGS reported for June 30.
OK. Ken, you were right. The 5.4 Nagano quake appears to have been downgraded to a M4.9 by the USGS:
Magnitude 4.9 – EASTERN HONSHU, JAPAN
2011 June 29 23:16:41 UTC
Earthquake Details
Magnitude 4.9
Date-Time
Wednesday, June 29, 2011 at 23:16:41 UTC
Thursday, June 30, 2011 at 08:16:41 AM at epicenter
Location 36.270°N, 137.906°E
Depth 12.2 km (7.6 miles)
Region EASTERN HONSHU, JAPAN
Distances
48 km (30 miles) SSW (209°) from Nagano, Honshu, Japan
87 km (54 miles) NW (317°) from Kofu, Honshu, Japan
105 km (65 miles) W (262°) from Maebashi, Honshu, Japan
179 km (111 miles) WNW (293°) from TOKYO, Japan
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/usc0004ktb.php
July 1, 2011, Arnie Gundersen video on:
“New Analysis of Unit 3 Fuel Pool Video Reveals Top of Fuel Bundle”
http://www.fairewinds.com/
Very, very interesting! Only one fuel bundle shows as present in the fuel pool at reactor No. 3 in the Tepco video. According to Mr. Gundersen, a couple of other nuclear engineers also looked at this Tepco video of Unit No. 3′s fuel pool. Both agreed that, yes, there appeared to be only one single fuel bundle present. Indeed, Arnie, exactly were are the other fuel bundles in unit number 3 fuel pool?
Been out of town, so am reporting on this a bit late. But, here you go anyway:
“Nuclear Workers and Fukushima Residents at Risk: Cancer Expert on the Fukushima Situation
Jul. 01, 2011″
Matthew Penney
“Japan’s leading business journal Toyo Keizai has published an article by Hokkaido Cancer Center director Nishio Masamichi, a radiation treatment specialist. The piece, entitled “The Problem of Radiation Exposure Countermeasures for the Fukushima Nuclear Accident: Concerns for the Present Situation”, was published on June 27 and is consistent with the critical coverage of the Fukushima crisis that has appeared in independent weekly magazines, notably Shukan Kinyobi, which have taken a strong anti-nuclear stance since the March 11 earthquake-tsunami-meltdown, and have repeatedly focused on the dangers of radiation exposure while calling for far-reaching measures to protect those at risk.
Nishio begins by asserting that the Fukushima crisis has caused Japan’s “myth of nuclear safety” to crumble. He has “grave concern” for the public health effects of the ongoing radiation leak.
Nishio originally called for “calm” in the days after the accident. Now, he argues, that as the gravity of the situation at the plant has become more clear, the specter of long-term radiation exposure must be reckoned with.
Lamenting the poor state of public knowledge of radiation, Nishio writes, “Japan, with its history of having suffered radiation exposure from the atomic bombs, should have the most [direct] knowledge of radiation, but in fact, in the approach to the nuclear accident, has simply fallen into confusion.” He places blame on a number of groups:
TEPCO executives, who he accuses of having hidden the truth and prioritized the survival of the company over public health.
Bureaucrats who were unable to put together an accurate body of information about radiation effects from which to formulate policy.
A prime minister and cabinet lacking both leadership and an appropriate sense of urgency.
Politicians who sought to use the crisis in intra- or inter-party struggles.
Nuclear industry lobbyists and “academic flunkies” (goyo gakusha) of the government who built up the myth of nuclear safety in the first place.
Looking at these groups, he writes, “I just cannot feel any hope for Japan’s future. These circumstances are simply tragic.”
He leaves the press out of his main list of culprits, but points to the poor state of scientific knowledge among journalists as a major factor behind what he views as their inability to bring essential information to the public in a timely manner. He also accuses the media establishment of prioritizing “avoiding a panic” over “communicating the truth”.
…Former Minister for Internal Affairs Haraguchi Kazuhiro has alleged that radiation monitoring station data was actually three decimal places greater than the numbers released to the public. If this is true, it constitutes a “national crime”, in Nishio’s words.”
For full sobering text, link to:
http://japanfocus.org/events/view/100
***
Something to think about, as another blogger has pointed out, if Japanese radiation monitoring station data was indeed three decimal places greater than the numbers released, than “microsieverts” that were reported should have read “millesieverts”. You have got to be kidding.
Remember those ‘worse case scenarios’ that the radiation plume forecasts were based upon. If the former minister Kazuhiro’s allegations are true, than guess what? Now, former nuclear engineer Arnie Gundersen’s findings of radiation ‘hot air particles’ in Seattle takes on even more powerful import, does it not.
Does anyone have any information re the veracity of former Minister for Internal Affairs Haraguchi Kazuhiro allegation that Japanese radiation monitoring station data was actually three decimal places greater than the numbers released publicly? Does anyone know if NILU based its weather forecasting projections on these same Japanese reported radiation level numbers? Unfortunately, former minister Kazuhiro’s information sources may well be internal, classified sources– which cannot be checked.
Around and around we go, and where we will stop no one knows.
Really, really hope that allegation that Japanese radiation monitoring station data was actually three decimal places greater than publicly reported is inaccurate. Radiation readings on the West Coast over the past four months do not appear to be in line with that figure.
But if true, than radiation in Fukushima was 1000 times worse than reported.
Has anyone else noticed that all the comments and links posted on the 28th of June are now gone? I had looked at them and was going to forward some to a friend who works at a shop, changing air filters regularily…..if you dont mind reposting links that have disappeared, it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you all. Be well.
You may be referring to some links which were moved to the Fort Calhoun article -since they were not related to the Fukushima incident.
Hi Anonymous.
Following previously posted link will get you to Gundersen video/transcript (“TEPCO admits to more than double previous release estimates”. Refers to information on “hot air particles” found in car air filters:
http://fairewinds.com/content/hot-particles-japan-seattle-virtually-undetectable-when-inhaled-or-swallowed
“Radiation News” website:
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
7/5/2011 “Japan groups alarmed by radioactive soil”
Source: AFP
Date: 7/5/2011
“TOKYO — Soil radiation in a city 60 kilometres (40 miles) from Japan’s stricken nuclear plant is above levels that prompted resettlement after the Chernobyl disaster, citizens’ groups said Tuesday….”
For full article, go to: http://radiationnews.blogspot.com/
“RadiationNews” website
Monday, July 4, 2011
7/4/2011
“Just when I thought Fukushima I had stabilized, 266 Sieverts/hr reactor 1 dry well!”
“I was reading the Lucas Whitefield Hixson news site via the RadiationNews™ Google gadget when I saw his report on Fukushima Daiichi reactor I dry well. Just when I thought TEPCO was making progress in stabilizing Fukushima I the radiation spikes again, this time to all time highs. As the measurement device is labeled as “Defective meter” perhaps we can pray it is an erroneous measurement? Below is a screen grab which shows the latest data plot is from 7/3/2011 (Sunday JST):
Location: Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant
Date: Mar 15, 2011 (Tuesday) – 03 July 2011 (Sun)
The latest: D / W: two hundred sixty-six Sv / h , S / C: 0.769 Sv / h
Situation Defective meter
Date D / W S / C
7 / 03 266 0.769
7 / 02 42.0 0.770
7 / 01 34.2 0.773
6 / 30 43.2 0.775
6 / 29 33.8 0.775
6 / 28 35.4 0.764
6 / 27 51.0 0.793
6 / 26 35.0 0.798
6 / 24 41.6 0.801
6 / 23 54.3 0.803
6 / 04 250.0 0.889
6 / 03 222.0 0.898
6 / 02 209.0 0.909
6 / 01 185.0 0.919
5 / 31 59.0 0.928
5 / 30 41.8 0.936
5 / 29 225 0.944
5 / 28 215 0.950
5 / 27 63.8 0.959
5 / 26 43.7 0.958
5 / 25 215 0.987
5 / 24 192 0.997
5 / 23 201 1.01
NISA plant parameters have been published (when the reactor), the amount of nuclear radiation has been graphed.
You can check the daily water temperature, pressure and radiation dose of No. 1-5, Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power reactors.
As soon as the data is published and updated as the graph.
No. 4 spent fuel pool temperature for a value other than not being published, not a graph.
Meaning of the terms in the chart below. D / W stands for … well dry. Containment vessel to the body. S / C … stands for the suppression chamber. To the pressure suppression chamber.
※ The value of the graph shows the maximum absolute value of the day.”
Source:
http://radiationnews.blogspot.com/
Defective temperature gauge, my eye!
If you look at the chart, there were a number of other prior dates also showing Plus 200 Sieverts measurements. Temperature gauge, I suspect, is functioning just fine.
And, here is the Tepco’s news release of reactor No. 1 status for July 4 (Japan time), as reported by NHK News/English:
“Water flow falls at No.1 reactor, but restored”
“The volume of cooling water flowing into the No.1 reactor of the Fukushima
Daiichi nuclear plant fell on Monday, forcing workers to inject additional water.
A cooling system is in place at the number 1, 2 and 3 reactors. The system injects
3.7 tons of water every hour into the No.1 reactor.
Tokyo Electric Power Company says the reactor’s water flow began to decrease
gradually around 9 PM on Sunday night. By 8:13 AM on Monday, only about 3
tons of water was flowing into the No. 1 reactor, setting off an alarm.
Workers immediately began injecting double the usual amount of water. They
managed to restore normal water flow in the reactor before 9 AM.
TEPCO says there was no change in temperature or pressure in the No.1 reactor.
The utility says some kind of debris may have clogged the hoses, reducing the water flow, and that it is checking to see how the failure occurred.”
Monday, July 04, 2011 17:29 +0900 (JST)
http://www.jaif.or.jp/english/news_images/pdf/ENGNEWS01_1309835336P.pdf
Notice that nothing at all was said about the immensely high radiation levels measured in reactor No. 1 on July the 3rd. A slight omission!
A better link to article,
“Just when I thought Fukushima I had stabilized, 266 Sieverts/hr reactor 1 dry well!”:
http://radiationnews.blogspot.com/2011_07_04_archive.html
Los Angeles Greater Basin “Weather” Report–
July 26, 2011 CPM radiation stats from the Santa Monica Live Monitoring EnviroReporter Rad Monitoring Station. Normal background radiation levels are reported to range from 42 CPMs – 46 CPMs.
Wednesday, 7/06/11
10:00 pm 10-minute INTERIOR average: 39.0 CPM*
9:45 pm 10-minute EXTERIOR average: 47.0 CPM
7:50 pm 10-minute INTERIOR average of a Radiation Station Teledyne Waterpik air cleaner and ionizer’s 3M filter – dust aggregate from filter (video recorded): 57.6 CPM which is 46.94% higher than preceding interior reading.
7:00 pm 10-minute INTERIOR average of a Radiation Station Teledyne Waterpik air cleaner and ionizer’s 3M filter – specific spot on filter (video recorded): 60.2 CPM which is 53.57% higher than preceding interior reading.
6:40 pm 10-minute INTERIOR average: 39.2 CPM
6:25 pm 10-minute EXTERIOR average: 43.4 CPM NORMAL
2:25 pm 10-minute INTERIOR average: 39.0 CPM
2:10 pm 10-minute EXTERIOR average: 40.2 CPM
8:45 am 10-minute INTERIOR average: 39.4 CPM
8:30 am 10-minute EXTERIOR average: 48.9 CPM
http://www.enviroreporter.com/radiation-station-stats/
Sorry, I forgot to quote the above 7/06/2011 EnviroReporter.com’s rad stats. Actual posts for Wednesday were taken directly from the EnviroReporter Live Monitoring station’s Rad Report of 7/06/2011.
“Living and Dying with Radiation- Mary Dickson, Utah”
http://www.dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/Dialogue_V37N02_13.pdf
***
The above article describing how real everyday people’s lives have been impacted by cancer, likely caused by radiation plumes from the United States desert nuclear bomb testing, is made starkly real. In line with this, Ken, again thank you for the service you provide for all of us by the time consuming hard work you do in keeping the Modern Survival Blog site open and running.
May God bless you and yours, Ken!
Thank you for posting this article…..it was a fantastic read. Very scarey, but such an eye opener. Informative and so sad…..when will we ever learn, when will we all stand together against the invisible issues???
My children are still pretty young and my mother in law was diagnosed last year with non hodgkins lymphoma….she doesnt have much time left now….I think she grew up in southern quebec….
When will we as a people pull our heads out of the sand and stand up for our children and future generations to stop the nuclear everything??? Is all we can do is continue to pray….I pray that God doesnt leave us to our own rule much longer.
Praying for you all. Ken, sending a special prayer for you and your wife.
Earthquake Report – JAIF
“No. 135: 12:00, July 7″
NHK news regarding status of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station
yesterday and today.
(Fukushima NPP Site)
“●Wastewater filters not working to capacity
●TEPCO says reactor cooling on target at 80 percent
(Other news)
●Utility admits to dishonest e-mails on restart
●Japan’s nuclear crisis affects farm exports
●Tokyo parents demand safe school lunch
●Govt to conduct stress tests at all nuclear plants
●Kan orders new rules to restart nuclear reactors
●Microbes used to remove cesium in water and soil
●Plaintiffs demand decommission of Hamaoka reactors
●Gov’t plans additional nuclear safety tests
●Background on nuclear stress tests
●Radioactive strontium to be closely monitored”
For full articles go to link below:
http://www.jaif.or.jp/english/news_images/pdf/ENGNEWS01_1310012385P.pdf
TOKYO, July 7, Kyodo
July 7, 2011, 11:11 a.m. EDT
“Tepco temporarily halts cooling at Fukushima Daini”
By MarketWatch
“Tokyo Electric Power Co. (9501.TO) said Thursday that it stopped the cooling system for a reactor at the Fukushima Daini power plant in Fukushima Prefecture for three and a half hours due to an electrical system problem, Kyodo News reported.
Cooling operations were suspended for the No. 1 reactor and an adjacent pool for spent nuclear fuel from around 5:30 p.m. to shortly past 9 p.m. while the operator, known as TEPCO, looked into why sparks came from a power panel at a building adjacent to that housing the reactor.
Temperatures for the reactor and the fuel storage pool are believed to have risen slightly from about 25 C to 35 C and from 26 C to 27 C, respectively, during the suspension.
The reactor and the pool must be kept cooled because nuclear fuel inside them emits heat as it decays, even though the reactor has gone offline and has been brought into a stable condition called ‘cold shutdown’ following the March earthquake and tsunami.
The other three reactors at the Fukushima Daini plant, located to the south of the crisis-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power complex, have also been in cold shutdown-mode since the disasters.
A plant worker found sparks coming out of a power panel in the basement of the No. 1 reactor’s adjoining facility shortly after 2 p.m., prompting the company to cut power to the facility so that it could be inspected, TEPCO said.
The reactor has two sets of cooling systems for sustaining cold shutdown, but one of them has remained crippled since the tsunami in March.”
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/tepco-temporarily-halts-cooling-at-fukushima-daini-2011-07-07
Japan Earthquake Hits Near Nuclear Plant: 5.6 Temblor Reported
HUFFPOST AOL News
“NEW YORK — An earthquake registering 5.6 shook the Pacific off Honshu, Japan, the U.S. Geological Survey said Thursday. That is the area of northeast Japan ravaged by a March 11 quake and tsunami that knocked out power at the Fukushima nuclear plant.
No immediate damage or casualties were reported from the quake that struck at 3:35 a.m. Friday (1835 GMT Thursday), the USGS said. No tsunami watch was immediately issued.
The epicenter of the quake was some 51 miles (83 kilometers) southeast of Fukushima, in Honshu, Japan, the USGS said. The quake was centered some 28 miles (45 kilometers deep, the agency said.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/07/japan-earthquake-hits-nea_n_892544.html?ir=Green
I found this petition to demand the E.P.A. reestablish radiation testing and making it accessible to all. There are also links to the status of the lack of movement on the F.D.A. fish and foods Black-out; Cover-up; Lies unspoken the worst of possibilities… http://www.thepetitionsite.com/774/petition-to-reinstate-ongoing-testing-for-radiation-from-fukushima/ Every little thing that We do that confounds the Globalists intent is a win… Awareness is preparedness… Resist, fight back any way you can. It’s your “Inalienable Right”. Survive-All…
LIVE RADIO UPDATE: July 8th, 2011
TODAY 12:30pm EST: Fairewinds’ Arnie Gundersen on WBAI Radio with Gary Null.
Listen Live
http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/?
Fairewinds Video, “Duxbury Emergency Management Host Independent Nuclear Expert Panel” (June 15th, 2011)-
Posted by FairewindsAssociates on 7/08/2011
“Can Fukushima Happen Here?”
Watch the nation’s top independent nuclear experts (including nuclear engineer Arnie Gundersen) discuss how Fukushima happened and whether or not American nuclear plants have similar vulnerabilities.
http://fairewinds.com/home
***
On the Fairewinds home page, the video link will be found on the right hand side of the page about half way down, highlighted in green: “Duxbury Emergency Management Host Independent Nuclear Expert Panel”
About 2 hours, 10 minutes. Long, but very educational and informative.
Like we didn’t know Reut. link on japan government announcement… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ru8Ffwa9oqs&feature=related Survive-All…
Los Angeles Greater Basin “Weather” Report–
Friday, July 28, 2011 CPM radiation stats from the Santa Monica Live Monitoring EnviroReporter Rad Monitoring Station. Normal background radiation levels are reported to range from 42 CPMs – 46 CPMs.
“7/08/11
10:05 pm 10-minute INTERIOR average: 39.9 CPM*
9:50 pm 10-minute EXTERIOR average: 45.6 CPM
4:00 pm INTERIOR spot reading in Santa Monica market with approximate background of 39 CPM – Two peaches sustained 81 CPM and above or over two times background (208% of site background).
3:40 pm 10-minute INTERIOR average: 39.6 CPM
3:25 pm 10-minute EXTERIOR average: 47.0 CPM
1:05 pm 10-minute INTERIOR average: 39.6 CPM
12:45 pm 10-minute EXTERIOR average: 45.8 CPM NORMAL
8:45 am 10-minute INTERIOR average: 35.8 CPM
8:25 am 10-minute EXTERIOR average: 43.9 CPM NORMAL”
07/10/2011 Japan time:
Magnitude 7.0 earthquake off the East Coast of Honshu, Japan
USGS
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Maps/10/145_40.php
Mainichi Daily News
Sunday, 7/10/2011, Japan time line
“M7.3 earthquake jolts northeastern Japan”
“TOKYO (Kyodo) — Areas in northeastern Japan hard hit by the March 11 mega earthquake and ensuing tsunami were jolted again Sunday morning (Japan date time line) by a strong earthquake with a magnitude of 7.3, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage from the 9:57 a.m. quake, which registered 4 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7 in 11 municipalities in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures including the city of Morioka in Iwate.
The agency initially put the quake’s magnitude at 7.1 but later revised it to 7.3.
A warning for a tsunami of up to 50 centimeters was issued for Pacific coastal areas of the three prefectures immediately after the quake, but was lifted at 11:45 a.m. …”
The utility, however, moved staff at the Daiichi plant, where workers are trying to contain a nuclear crisis triggered by the March disaster, and at the Daini plant to higher ground to prepare for possible tsunami, it said.
No abnormalities were reported either at Tohoku Electric Power Co.’s Onagawa nuclear power plant in Miyagi Prefecture….”
For full story:
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/national/news/20110710p2a00m0na001000c.html
Earthquake Report, JAIF
” No. 139: 12:00, July 11
NHK news regarding status of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station
yesterday and today.
(Fukushima NPP Site)
●Long-term response needed for radioactive water
●TEPCO suspends decontamination system
●TEPCO: Quake caused no problems at nuclear plants ”
http://www.jaif.or.jp/english/news_images/pdf/ENGNEWS01_1310358451P.pdf
Two Peaches in Greater Los Angeles found high in radiation
In Los Angeles, on Friday, July 8th, 2011, two peaches found at a local Santa Monica market were confirmed to have sustained radiation levels of 81 CPMs, or greater. The market’s background radiation was said to be about 39 CPMs. The two peaches, thus, had significantly high radiation contamination equaling over two times site background levels.
http://www.enviroreporter.com/radiation-station-stats/
Another blogger noted that: “What makes this discovery especially significant is that the 2X background radioactivity detected in these peaches was likely significantly attenuated by their water content; when eaten the exposure rate may be significantly higher. Even worse, it is likely that the detected radioactivity is from a longer half life radionuclide; which when eaten, would irradiate a person from the inside out for potential years to come.”
@Potrblog, July 10th, 2011, at 8:05 pm
http://www.enviroreporter.com/2011/03/enviroreporter-coms-radiation-station/
Additionally, it appears the Greater Los Angeles Basin is continuing to get intermittent low level elevated radiation readings. That is, radiation levels less than 100 CPMs, but elevated relative to normal background levels for the geiger counter testing station).
http://www.enviroreporter.com/radiation-station-stats/
***
Are any other areas in California coming up with similar findings?
(Originally posted by me @’Berkeley Radiological Air and Water Monitoring Forum’ on Monday, 7/11/2011 under thread, “Two Peaches in Greater Los Angeles found high in radiation”.
http://www.nuc.berkeley.edu/node/4973)
Gundersen Update at Fairewinds:
VIDEO UPDATE: June 10th, 2011
“Why Fukushima Can Happen Here: What the NRC and Nuclear Industry Don’t Want You to Know.”
“The well-known safety flaws of Mark 1 Boiling Water Reactors have gained significant attention in the wake of the four reactor accidents at Fukushima, but a more insidious danger lurks. In this video nuclear engineers Arnie Gundersen and David Lochbaum discuss how the US regulators and regulatory process have left Americans unprotected…”
http://fairewinds.com/content/why-fukushima-can-happen-here-what-nrc-and-nuclear-industry-dont-want-you-know?
U.S. nuclear industry weighs costs of safety reforms
Reaction to U.S. nuclear safety report
12:25pm EDT
“(Reuters) – The U.S. nuclear industry’s top cop will weigh major changes in how it regulates the country’s 104 reactors after Japan’s Fukushima disaster, a move that will help shape the future of the power source and could lead to significant cost increases.
A task force report published on Wednesday has recommended the Nuclear Regulatory Commission look at a fundamental shift in how it plans for catastrophes like the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan in March….
An engineer who has worked on reactors similar to the Fukushima plant and now consults for environmental groups said the report might mean plants can avoid design changes.
“These NRC recommendations are plain vanilla and are designed to avoid the costly modifications to really fix the problem,” said Arnie Gundersen of Fairewinds Associates Inc of Burlington, Vermont.
The Union of Concerned Scientists, a group that advocates for nuclear safety, issued two dozen of its own recommendations on Wednesday, emphasizing the regulator should take a broad and fast approach.
“Fukushima should shake the NRC out of its complacency,” said David Lochbaum, director of the group’s nuclear safety project.”
Full article:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/13/us-usa-nuclear-idUSTRE76C4BO20110713
Japan’s Softbank to build experimental solar plant this year
Wed Jul 13, 2011 4:57am EDT
Reuters
“Japan nuclear crisis sparks $2 bln renewables project”
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/13/softbank-solar-idUSL3E7ID0YB20110713
Justin McCurry in Iwaki-Yumoto
guardian.co.uk,
Wednesday 13 July 2011 19.42 BST
“Fukushima cleanup recruits ‘nuclear gypsies’ from across Japan
Thousands of engineers and labourers have been lured by higher wages and a sense of duty”
Full article:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/jul/13/fukushima-nuclear-gypsies-engineers-labourers
NewsBlogged | Latest News, Videos and Live Video
Wednesday July 13th 2011
“Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Reactor Latest News Real-Time Updates
Below is the latest news about Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan updated in real-time by RSS feeds. For more Japan news see this page and for the latest earthquakes see this page!
Fukushima – Google News”
http://newsblogged.com/fukushima-nuclear-power-plant-reactor-latest-news-real-time-updates
Earthquake Report – JAIF
No. 141: 12:00, July 13
“NHK news regarding status of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station
yesterday and today.
(Fukushima NPP Site)
●New cooling devices set for Fukushima fuel pools
●Decontamination system fails again
●TEPCO restarts decontamination system
(Other news)
●Fukushima Prefecture to inspect all cattle farms
●On-site inspection of cattle farmers begins
●Hosokawa indicates tests on all beef cattle
●Checking internal radiation of people begins
●Moms set up network to protect kids from radiation
●Kyoto governor calls disaster response slow
●Governors criticize PM’s handling of disaster
●Operators of 2 reactors to apply for final tests
●Over 100 involved in Kyushu Power’s e-mail scam
●Kan to propose reduced dependence on nuclear power”
Full articles:
http://www.jaif.or.jp/english/news_images/pdf/ENGNEWS01_1310526965P.pdf
Otter is sorry; I had a good one for everyone but, it went into cyber-space when I tried to drag the link… Maybe I’ll find the juice to rerun it soonish. Best to all, thank you for your tireless work in tracking down, confirming, and posting the latest… What a good and Love filled Clan… Survive-All… P.S., No I couldn’t call it back, some times it is what it is in life, best intentions just fade away…
Dia d huit, Otter.
I once lost an entire report that I had worked for about two hours. It was about 11:30 at night. The report was due for a meeting the next day. Both of my dogs hid at the far ends of my house… if you know what I mean. Yes, think I know how you feel.
It will come back to you, Otter. Don’t give it up…
***************************************************
Hi Ken,
Still keeping you in my thoughts. Hang in there!
***************************************************
“Some more thoughts on the Two Peaches
Michael Collins [from the live EnviroReporter.com Radiation Station] says:
July 9, 2011 at 8:15 pm
“@ Angusmerlin: The two peaches found high in radiation emissions were actually in a Santa Monica market as noted, not the Farmer’s Market. I tested the fruit in this small market had because the opportunity presented itself. None of the other fruit present were higher than the background radiation in this store. That said, those peaches were sold in who knows how many places.”
http://www.enviroreporter.com/2011/03/enviroreporter-coms-radiation-station/
***
With the above comment in mind, I thought and then I thought some more….
1. While Fukushima ground radiation may have been very low in some California areas, other geographical locations (depending upon the direction of the contaminating Fukushima jet stream flows), may have been relatively more heavily impacted by resulting radioactive fallout. There were times, in fact there were a number of times, when I tracked the NILU radiation weather forecasts that San Francisco/Berkeley areas appeared more minimally impacted, compared to Los Angeles and surrounding areas. Yes, I know NILU was based on worst case scenarios. But, also keep in mind that TEPCO hugely underestimated initial Fukushima nuclear fallout, which proved to be actually 2X worse than first reported. I did not track the Central Coast farm belt. Should have, but didn’t. Consider that resulting ground contamination will be cumulative over time. Even while air radioactive pollution may not have been significantly high over the California West Coast, it would seem over time– over extended periods of time especially– radiation fallout could add up, accumulating at the ground level. And, the rains shall fall. Fallout is said to still be spewing from nuclear reactors at Fukushima, to a lesser extent, but still escaping. Why is the above important? While San Francisco/Berkeley farm produce may not have been significantly impacted by Fukushima radiation fallout, perhaps other areas in the State of California have been hit more substantially, cumulatively over time– due to the direction of Fukushima current air flow. And, two “hot” peaches show up in Los Angeles.
2. Mr. Collins reports that numerous pieces of fruit were checked at the little market in Santa Monica. Consider that of all the fruit tested, only two pieces came up radioactively “hot”. While spot checking with the handy dandy “Inspector” monitor, only two pieces of that fruit sustained high levels of radiation– detected @ 2X background levels. Only two peaches. It speaks volumes that only two pieces of the fruit came up contaminated. Why didn’t any of the other pieces of fruit tested by the spot checking also come up “hot”, if artificially positive radiation results had occurred due to the testing methods used? Would not some of the rest of the fruit also have come up with “artificially” elevated positive readings? The fruit was all located in a small market, and spot tested about the same time. Yet, nothing else showed up high, nothing at all.
Just two “hot” peaches show up in Los Angeles.
3. There are referenced Bionerd Youtube videos on this thread that seem to indicate that the problem with using geiger counters to detect radiation in food sources is not that the geiger monitors over identify “hot” food/produce, but rather that geiger counters (unless extremely expensive state of the art equipment), tend to way under identify radioactivity in food. That is, geiger counters that you or I may be able to afford, are unlikely to identify radioactive food at all. If it is true that portable geiger counters tend to result in false negatives in identifying radiation in food, the fact that Michael Collins’ Inspector Monitor found any radiation at all in two peaches in Los Angeles is pretty significant. Contamination may actually have been worse than the Inspector CPM readings indicated in the two Los Angeles peaches tested.
http://www.youtube.com/user/bionerd23#p/u/4/Silk2g8fS8Y
http://www.youtube.com/user/bionerd23#p/u/3/krWa4M8i2bk
4. And, yes, I also wish that the two peaches had been bought and tested over, let’s say, two ten minute periods of time, similar to air testing methods used at the EnviroReporter’s Radiation Station. But, you all need to remember that Mr. Collins is volunteering his time to test this produce out in the first place. A job that our own government should be doing for us, but is not! I applaud the EnviroReporter folks for all they have done for those of us in the Greater Los Angeles area. To my knowledge, no one else out there has been willing to come forth to check and post Los Angeles air quality and farm produce. It is a lot of work and energy. Thank you, Michael Collins, for your public service.
***
Further research needed? Most definitely. The EnviroReporter findings are a first alert that possible radiation problems may exist for some of our food sources. Bottom line, our government needs to take over the responsibility for “spot” checking California farm produce for possible Fukushima radiation contamination. But, will the government do it? In light of the fact that the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) has just recently stopped posting gross beta air radiation findings, governmental food testing/public reporting of results found currently appears to be extremely unlikely.
So again, thank you, EnviroReporter and Michael Collins for letting us know about two “hot” peaches in Los Angeles.”
Under thread: “Two Peaches in Greater Los Angeles found high in radiation”
http://www.nuc.berkeley.edu/node/4973#comment-14748
What is truly amazing about this incident, the Deepwater Horizon, any type of severe manmade disaster, including the finanicial problems is that has long as the guilty party waits long enough it all goes away, the public forgets about it. This strategy seems to work for everything. The problem in Japan is no better, and if anything people are getting long term effects from the fact that there is still plenty of radiation spreading out from Fukushima. It has been only 4 months and you might hear of what is going on over there once every 2-3 days on the major news “providers”. Just wait long enough and you can get away with almost anything, that is the new motto with companies that don’t care about safety. Just wait long enough, a few months, and it will go away.
Ken, I am sure everyone would like to know how your wife Lauren is doing, if it is okay with you could you please give everyone an update and her prognosis for recovery in the future. I as well as everyone else would like to know. Also how are you doing? You must be exhausted. There are a lot of people out there that are wishing you both well.
Fukushima reactors 1-3 stabilized?
Oh, but by the way, the radiation water filtration, purification system problems at Fukushima are continuing on… and on … and on; and then on some more. The filtering system has simply been plagued with issues! Tepco reports that the radioactive filtration system has been functioning at 20% below what had been predicted by Tepco. That’s way below where the system should be functioning (re targets set by Tepco). And, no one seems to know why.
Then, over this past month, in Fukushima reactor No. 1 drywell, temperatures on several occasions sky rocketed. Tepco’s response, the temperature gauge was broken. The readings were false. There was no problem. Let’s give Tepco the benefit of the doubt. Let’s just say that the gauge was broken– If Tepco knew the temperature gauge was broken, then why oh why didn’t Tepco immediately replace/fix the broken gauge the first instance that the temperature zoomed up in Reactor 1? Why did Tepco wait for over a month to say that the gauge was broken. No matter how you look at it, this is bad!
For full article and graphs: “Just when I thought Fukushima I had stabilized, 266 Sieverts/hr reactor 1 dry well!” July 4th, 2011.
http://radiationnews.blogspot.com/2011_07_04_archive.html
***
And, we should believe Tepco, when it now says that the reactors are cooled and stabilized?
Yes, I know the above article is one and a half weeks old. My point in referencing the article, is that Tepco has a history of saying one thing, while knowing that entirely something else is actually going on. Add to this, the fact that the radiation water filtration keeps going on the blink in one way or the other. Keep in mind that Tepco says that radioactive water filtration/re-cycling is the keystone for stabilizing the nuclear reactors at Fukushima. But, it keeps breaking/having glitches.
We are supposed to believe Tepco that it actually has stabilized the reactors? Well, guess over time we all will see, one way or the other.
@ A/mer… Good to read your input again. Positivity, research, and facts. You hit the nail on the head with #3 dated 07/16/2011. I researched the once advertised RadSeeker systems and found that you would have to sell your Prius to get the bottom of the line unit at 24K, the unit you and the rest of us need is the RadSeeker 2, which comes in at a hefty 35K. These are what are needed to get true readings of the panoply of radio active spew that is covering the earth. It’s hard to live with a government “For The People” that we know is covering up all of the many active poisons that the generic counters do not register. Not demanding that this information is put out for all, the full truth, is unpatriotic and ill willed, as goes our fellow man. This is where our responsibility lies, as the true Patriots of this land and the world as a whole. This gift so blatantly abused, is our only home. ( “Earth” ) Here we have the modern day call for the recommitted mind set that brought forth this Nation. If you are not seeking truth and remedies, then you are the Benedict Arnold of our day!!! Cpm shows nothing as regards what’s coming down and will be for… Cpm is showing Japan via “The Radiation Network” to have counts of 12-20, and a click shows Hawaii with it’s wealthy populous and health awareness coming up in the 40 plus continuously. They don’t even have the top of the line readers, just better than most. The equipment that the EPA stopped using as a full disclosure would be more than our poor pea brains could deal with. Note: cpm also peaks at midday. Just that little bit of knowledge is a catalyst in the thought processes born in the evaluation of radiation levels as they exist in relative and relevant fact. Why a midday peak if it’s from Japan’s fallout? It should be an irrelevant factor. Day, night; absolutely nothing to do with the actions of fallout dispersal… Love to all: May that which Is, look over us in this life with kindness. Survive-All… Best wishes and thanks to our host’s… Be healed Now…
Greetings All, My whiskers are twitching with this typhoon approach and the current state TEPCO’s reality presents. ( Yes, indeed that is oxymoronic. This due the implied definition of “state” which without reproach is an area or zone with defined parameters that do not infringe beyond marked borders. ) At least I can tell you; whose 1st Amendment sensibilities won’t be offended about being happy and alive here, now. Laughing in the midst of this debacle helps to restore the balance. We live in a gross plain with higher energies in the same space at the same time. Igniting the positive and pleasant, up-beat areas of the brain generates energy flow that has a directional momentum that is counter to the focused thought processes that the study of this negative event is catalyst to, of, for, on and on Creating a diversion and misdirection of our inherent powers. It is an anchor unto the mind making murky the clarity we possess to chose and by mind change the course of these unfolding events. It’s the way we tread the path via these strings ( Pun Indeed ) that will determine how events evolve. The past is no more. The future is malleable. The present “Is”, and it is the “Way” to change. This link has value in the generation of positive mind set, in that it presents current news with embedded humor. Medicine, this beyond “Criticality” situation, needs to attain balance. I’ll post the link in a moment. First I want you to find Katie Goodman’s full play video. Inspiration whether serendipitously or directly inspired by the ( What we now know are quite a few reactors across Japan with damage. ) Fukushima daiichi reactor cluster… Ms. Goodman’s “I didn’t f#$! it up” was used in the prior Ms. Milky the clown video which is also worth your time if you can find it. http://www.youtube.com/user/MsMilkytheclown This is the current video regarding greenhouse foods with high contamination among other issues. Goodman with “Broad Comedy” is used as inserts in the prior link post by Ms. Milky… Good luck, Have some fun, Smile, and have a love of and for life here and now as that’s all there really is… Bring on the Medicine… Dance the future into reality. In finding the negative passage, ( Facts? News? ) spin it, mould it, confound it. It can’t be if we unite and make it so… Survive-All…
Here, Otter, is Ms Goodman’s little ditty re Fukushima nuclear disaster, plus other little goodies re Tepco’s announcement that it has stabilized Fukushima reactors 1, 2, and 3: “Fukushima LIES and China Swears to it 7/16/11″
Uploaded by MsMilkytheclown on Jul 15, 2011
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKgEVGgYFT4&NR=1
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Majia’s Blog
“Chris Busby Video July 17 on Fukushima Radiation Contamination
In this video, Dr. Busby is discussing the health effects–particularly cancer rates–for radiation fallout from Fukushima in Japan
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/16057578
“I have transcribed some of the data from the lecture.
In particular, it is interesting to look at Dr. Busby’s discussion of the Cesium-137 found in air filters from Tokyo and from Fukushima
Cesium-137 Content From Air Filters
734milliBecquerels/cubic meter of Cesium-137 for Tokyo air filters sampled
In comparison, the 1963 global weapons fallout 2.7milliBecquerels/cubic meter for Cesium-137
Chernobyl fallout was 8milliBecquerels /cubic meter for Cesium 137
And the Fukushima filters 2.7Becquerels/cubic meter (2700millibecquerels)
Implications
Air in Tokyo contaminated more than the global weapons fallout peak by a factor of 270
If the filters were people, their external dose would be .2 micrograms per hour just from Cesium-137
If the filters were people, their internal dose would .3-.5 millisiverts just from Cesium-137 isotopes
Busby concludes by arguing that the global nuclear industry should pay for the human and infrastructural costs of Fukushima and that scientists who minimized the dangers should be prosecuted for misleading the public in ways that compromised their health.”
http://majiasblog.blogspot.com/
EnviroReporter.com
Michael Collins says:
“July 18, 2011 at 3:27 pm
@ Raddies: I’ll be talking again with Jeff Rense live tonight for half an hour at 9:00 pm PDST at http://www.renseradio.com/listenlive.htm
We will be discussing those hot peaches and other subjects about the nature of the spread of radioactive contamination in America and the challenges in detecting and reporting on it….”
http://www.enviroreporter.com/2011/03/enviroreporter-coms-radiation-station/
“CRMT- Kelowna BC receives High Fukushima Fallout Radioactive Rain on 07/16/11″
“Canadian Monitoring Tour has also found the same levels of radiation in the rain which fell at around 12:10 AM on Sunday July 17th 2011″
Uploaded by connectingdots1 on Jul 16, 2011
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYTWbcBe_MM&feature=player_embedded#at=69
**Note: Though not in California, this “hot” rain finding in Canada is consistent with two “hot” peaches showing up in Los Angeles, California.
Fukushima jet flow patterns
Re the above “hot” rain in Canada article, what does this have to do with California, especially Southern California? To answer this question, here is a link to a weather forecasting station that frequently updates Japan Jet Stream Air Flow Patterns over Northern America. Handy. Very handy. If you read a report such as the above ‘connectingdots’ report of “hot” rain in Canada (or where ever), you now have access to analyze the Japan jet stream air flow patterns re the reported “hot” rain. You possess at your finger tips on the internet at least some idea as to where that “hot” jet stream from Fukushima is flowing. Yes, definitely handy. Very handy. By the way, when I checked the flow patterns yesterday (July the 17th, 2011), at one point the Japan jet stream was going over Southern California. So, guess what about the radiation flow from Fukushima…
Yes, indeed, this is consistent with two “hot” peaches showing up in Los Angeles.
http://www.weatherimages.org/data/imag192.html
Some have asserted that the “hot” Canadian rain findings were purely artifact of naturally occurring radon. However, since the Canadian rain monitoring tour was conducted over a three day period of rainfall, it would appear unlikely that the “hot” Canadian rain findings were only artifact due to possible naturally occurring radon during day one of initial rainfall. During all three of the test days, high levels of radiation were detected at various locations in Canada.
P.S.: Connectingdots continues to be traveling throughout Canada and testing for radiation fallout as he travels on his Canadian radiation monitoring tour. You can follow his radiation findings for the various Canadian areas that he is visiting daily. You can also check for past travel days, as well. If his testing methods are accurate, much of Canada currently is getting heavily impacted by Fukushima radiation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYTWbcBe_MM&feature=player_embedded#at=69
@Angusmerlin, Cheers! Well done, especially well presented. Thank you for the time and effort. From all the M.S.B. clan. Remember stay centered, keep with the breath, be at peace and Godspeed… Signing off for counter balance ceremonies, talk with you all soon after. Have to stop Ma-on ( Mayon ) land fall… Oh, made you react! Thanks for the energy, I can use all that there is in this quest… Dia Dhuit… A/Mer… One day, you will tell me your dialectic origins. To all; stay with the” ism” and let your “Being” bleed truth. It will keep you safe from purchase.( Not just of radio active foods… ) Also, if you are pulling your savings to invest in gold or silver, first look into the flow of fakes being produced and distributed. Even under the guise of the grading and encapsulating companies that investors have and believe are a given truth. Survive-All…
Arnie Gundersen Video Update:
Ex Japanese Nuclear Regulator Blames Radioactive Animal Feed on “Black Rain”
July 19, 2011
http://www.fairewinds.com/
Chris Busby’s recent conference with people from Fukushima, re the dangers of radiation fallout and HOT PARTICLE to the health of those living in Fukushima.
Uploaded on by MsMilkytheclown on July 14th, 2011.
Japanese translations have been edited out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_i3t_510Jg&feature=related
Holistic Approach re treating for radiation exposure:
“What to Do About Radiation”
http://healthypetnetwork.net/?p=919
“News Blogged: Latest News, Videos, and Live Video
Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Reactor Latest News Real-Time Updates”
http://newsblogged.com/fukushima-nuclear-power-plant-reactor-latest-news-real-time-updates
For Fukushima Earthquake Updates, also see:
Earthquake Report – JAIF
No. 152: 12:00, July 24
http://www.jaif.or.jp/english/news_images/pdf/ENGNEWS01_1311480053P.pdf
Berkeley Radiological Air and Water Monitoring Forum thread:
“the BEST interview on Fukushima, etc. that I’ve heard”
http://www.nuc.berkeley.edu/node/5099
“Out of all the interviews I’ve listened to recently, this one had me saying WOW !!
Roger Cooper interviews Doug Rokke, a depleted uranium expert.
I could fill up this whole page with his revelations.
Set aside some time to listen to it.”
http://newsworldwide.wordpress.com/2011/05/19/exclusive-roger-cooper-interview-with-doug-rokke-there-is-no-safe-radiation-level/
http://www.podomatic.com/profile/rogercooper99
Odds and Ends
Alternative geiger monitoring system?
“From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
December 2009
Tradescantia…..
“…Stamen hairs and ionizing radiation
The cells of the stamen hairs of some Tradescantia are colored blue, but when exposed to sources of ionizing radiation such as gamma rays, the cells mutate and change color to pink; they are one of the few tissues known to serve as an effective bioassay for ambient radiation levels.[4]”
***
Above Wikipedia reference is courtesy of Chase at the EnviroReporter’s blog:
“Chase says:
July 22, 2011 at 2:00 pm
An ‘all natural’ way to detect ionizing radiation. If you cannot afford a Radiation Detector, like a lot of people, then this may be an option. At least it’s something to try and they’re colorful too.”
http://www.enviroreporter.com/2011/03/enviroreporter-coms-radiation-station/
***
*Note: The colorful wandering Jew plant is one of the Tradescantia family.
@ A/mer, Nice find, looks worth further study… Back from passage through the veil. Looks like tons of rain but, not the forecasted event. Thank you all for the positivity. We can control this, it’s a matter of mind set. I see that the numbers are coming forth with regard to those that have passed from the fukushima efforts. 198 workers missing!
( Really? ) Hopefully they left when they figured out that they were disposable. It is all perfect in that which “Is”… Survive-All…
this article is about a month old and not sure if it has been posted yet, but want to share it:
http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/06/29/radiation-in-our-food/
and one more more recent article from helen caldicott:
http://www.helencaldicott.com/2011/07/internal-radioactive-emitters-invisible-tasteless-and-odorless/#more-302
WOW…..is all I can say…..prime example of the canadian gov’t….this page says it all….interpret the information coming forth, or not coming forth: in Alberta, our rainy season has been steady in june and july. the last two tables show that either their have been no radioactive isotopes detected at all OR that health canada has not measured them.
We the people need to stand up now and DEMAND that our government be forth coming and test our air, water, soil and food…..am thinking that we should get a petition going, call your local officials and DEMAND that at least our local health departments do proper testing……for our own health, our families health, our friends heath, the health of our children, grand children and future generations. Its time we hold our government officials accountable to do their jobs. Come on people, its time to at least take a stand!!!
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hc-ps/ed-ud/respond/nuclea/data-donnees-eng.php
Two large quakes struck the East coast of Honshu, Japan over the past two days— one of which was in the Fukushima prefecture. An additional three somewhat smaller shakers hit off of Honshu today….. Holy Moses! Everybody catch your breath and hold the Japanese in positive thoughts, and prayers.
“M6.2 quake jolts northeastern Japan”
JapanToday: Japan News And Discussion
National Jul. 25, 2011 – 11:30AM JST ( 25 )
TOKYO —
“The U.S. Geological Survey is reporting that another strong earthquake has jolted northeastern Japan, the same region devastated by March’s massive quake and tsunami. There are no immediate reports of injuries or damage, and no tsunami warning is in effect.
The U.S.G.S. says the magnitude 6.2-quake struck at 3:51 a.m. Monday and was centered at a depth of 35.6 kilometers in the Pacific Ocean, 94 kilometers east of Fukushima Prefecture. The epicenter is 282 kilometers northeast of Tokyo.
On Saturday afternoon, a magnitude-6.4 quake struck in the same area off the east coast of Honshu….”
http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/m6-2-quake-jolts-northeastern-japan
***
And today, another three though ‘smaller’ shakers (magnitude 4.9, 5.2 and 5/1 respectively) also hit off of Honshu, according to The U.S. Geological Survey, 7/25/2011.
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/quakes_big.php
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Maps/10/140_35.php
Make that another 4 quakes striking today off of Honshu.
I really feel for the people in Japan. So many have perished, so many displaced, so much suffering…….ongoing earthquakes, multiple meltdowns and damaged nuclear plants still spewing, a company and government dropping the ball in regards to their responsibilities……while the rest of the worlds governments just seem to sit back and watch while radioactive fallout circles the globe……Japans suffering will go on for years to come
I pray for the people of Japan firstly and may God forgive us all
Fukushima to provide lifetime thyroid tests
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110725p2a00m0na007000c.html
a first step in government responsibility to its people, although I do think they should expand the testing to those outside of the Fukushima area as they have found contaminated areas outside of the area
and away too many steps back to count…..OMG…
http://www.examiner.com/civil-rights-in-jersey-city/japan-passes-law-to-cleanse-internet-of-bad-fukushima-radiation-news
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aY5cvod4Tiw&feature=related
video interview with greenpeace rep
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRahgkwNtPo
fukushima city meeting with govt authorities, made me cry
Fukushima ANOTHER Aftershock and Trouble Continues 7/24/11
MsMilkytheclown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IL2Vohnazk&NR=1
Prof. Kodama Angry about Japanese Gov.s Gross Negligence
Two part video adressing the issues, especially concerning children
English sub titles
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Dlf4gOvzxYc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDlEOmcALwQ&feature=related
thank you tokyobrowntabby for the translation
And HUGE Cudos for Prof. Kodama for standing up!!!
I have been quietly following the posts as it has been difficult to find news on this event. I saw this article to day and wanted to post before it mysteriously dissappears like most of the news on the disaster.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/07/31/bloomberg1376-LP8WWK6JTSEJ01-5PIJEFGJ36KM50OK194CMKAJ22.DTL
Aug. 1 (Bloomberg) — Tokyo Electric Power Co., operator of Japan’s crippled Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant, said it detected the highest radiation to date at the site.
Geiger counters, used to detect radioactivity, registered more than 10 sieverts an hour, the highest reading the devices are able to record, Junichi Matsumoto, a general manager at the utility, said today. The measurements were taken at the base of the main ventilation stack for reactors No. 1 and No. 2.
The Fukushima plant, about 220 kilometers (137 miles) north of Tokyo, had three reactor meltdowns after the March 11 magnitude-9 earthquake and tsunami knocked out power and backup generators. Radiation leaks displaced 160,000 people and contaminated marine life and agricultural products.
The utility, known as Tepco, tried to vent steam and gas the day after the earthquake as pressure in reactor No. 1 exceeded designed limits. A buildup of hydrogen gas subsequently caused an explosion that blew out part of the reactor building.
“I suspect the high radiation quantity was an aftermath of venting done,” Matsumoto told reporters in Tokyo. “The plant is not running. I don’t think any gas with high radiation level is flowing in the stack.”
Tepco sent three workers around the ventilation stack today after a gamma camera detected high radioactivity levels in the area yesterday, Matsumoto said. The workers were exposed to as much as 4 millisieverts during the work, he said.
The utility will create a no-go zone around the stack and cover the area with protective material, he said.
–With assistance from Shunichi Ozasa in Tokyo. Editors: Amanda Jordan, Reed Landberg
The meters are maxed out? There is no word on how this is or will be contained? This level of radiation is scary? Why is this not front page news?
Hum, wonder if these new skyrocketing levels of radiation are connected with all of the continuing fairly large quakes hitting the east coast of Honshu, Japan? The nuclear reactors at Fukushima already are in horrendous shape. Both Saturday and Monday (Japan time date), +6 magnitude shakers again struck Honshu. Holy smoke!
Complements of blogger ‘LAS’ on EnviroReporter.com: For any of you out there, who have the space and the means, here’s a way to help needy families in Fukushima re-locate for the time being. A nonprofit organization links up small Fukushima families with free temporary housing around the world on a short term basis in vacant spaces available (rooms, guesthouses, vacant condos, and so on).
http://openyourheartopenyourhome.com/
“Fukushima Detects Highest Level of Radiation YET!!! YIKES!”
MissMilkytheclown, 8/1/11
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YJEozxHO3o
Submitted on 2011/08/02 at 12:27 AM
Arnie Gundersen video: “Nuclear Power 101″
“Fairewinds examines the fundamental advantages and disadvantages of splitting atoms to boil water.
Included in this presentation and PowerPoint is a discussion of how nuclear power plants work, how to cool a reactor during an accident, the effect of hot particles when inhaled, and concerns involving the long-term storage of nuclear waste. This presentation took place at the Nuclear Power Conference held at the University of Vermont July 23, 2011.”
Watch Video Now
Link to Arnie Gundersen video, Fairewinds: “Nuclear Power 101″
http://fairewinds.com/content/nuclear-power-101-fairewinds-examines-fundamental-advantages-and-disadvantages-splitting-ato
http://www.nuclearfreeplanet.org/articles/japanese-find-radioactivity-on-their-own.html
an article on how the japanese peoples are starting to take matters into their own hands as it seems the government is lagging in getting things done to protect their people. Seems to me it sets a good example for the rest of us here in Canada and the USA….we deserve to know the truth from our governments and health authorities, but alas, they do not want to cause panic….so we must all take action to monitor for radiation. I will be ordering a geiger counter for our family as we have had much rain in the last two months. For anyone else who may not be able to afford one, might I suggest pooling money together with friends, family and neighbours in your communities to purchase one to do readings in your local areas. The article says that the lady spent over $600 on her monitor/detector, but I did see them for sale online for aprox $300.
Wishing you all good health.
Arnie Gundersen 4/4/2011 video discusses the off the charts high levels of radiation reported at Fukushima’s nuclear Tempco power plant on August 1st.
“Lethal Levels of Radiation at Fukushima: What Are the Implications?”
http://fairewinds.com/content/lethal-levels-radiation-fukushima-what-are-implications
Arnie Gundersen has offered an interesting tower venting theory to explain the sudden astronomically high increase in radiation at Tempco’s nuclear power plant.
I still can’t help wondering, however, if these (at first glance) suddenly skyrocketing levels of radiation may also be connected to all the large +6 magnitude quakes continuing to hit the east coast of Honshu, Japan. Not to mention the many, many, many +4 and +5 quakes also hammering Honshu’s east coast. Fukushima’s bitterly battered power plants continue to get bitterly battered! And battered….
USGS government report for earthquakes re last Saturday and Monday (July 31st and August 2nd, 2011)
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Maps/10/140_35.php
A few good articles on Japan……the first one showing how people will be compensated….who will really be compensating the people? share with all you know, even those who are pro nuclear, this one might change their thinking, the other two – they are standing up and we should look to them as an example:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14383832
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110803p2a00m0na019000c.html
http://www.bna.bh/portal/en/news/467453
check this video out….it covers the extremely high levels at fukushima as well as a short discussion on the plants in the usa
http://www.nuclearfreeplanet.org/thom-hartmann-fukushimawhat-you-havent-been-hearing-and-why.html
wishing you all health and happiness
an article published earlier this week:
http://www.straight.com/article-415211/vancouver/fukushima-brings-big-radiation-spikes-bc
August 12, 2011.
Video: “Dial “M” for Meltdown”-by Brian Rich.
Presented via Fairewinds.com.
August 12th, 2011.
About an 11 minute video.
http://fairewinds.com/content/dial-m-meltdown-brian-rich
Los Angeles Rad Weather Report:
EnviroReporter Radiation Monitoring Station
(West Los Angeles/Santa Monica area)
Normal air radiation background levels: 42 CPM – 46 CPM.
Thursday:
” 8/11/11
10:15 pm 10-minute INTERIOR average: 36.5 CPM
9:55 pm 10-minute EXTERIOR average: 45.9 CPM
6:45 pm 10-minute EXTERIOR average: 46.1 CPM
6:30 pm 10-minute INTERIOR average: 39.8 CPM
3:50 pm 10-minute INTERIOR average of KENMORE PLASMAWAVE AIR CLEANER/HEPA FILTER AGGREGATE FROM 7/19/11 = 23 DAYS OF USE IN RADIATION STATION: 68.1 CPM which is 190% of PREVIOUS INTERIOR BACKGROUND OF 35.8 CPM – (See Video of testing with commentary)
3:00 pm 10-minute INTERIOR average of HONEYWELL HEPA FILTER AGGREGATE FROM 7/19/11 = 23 DAYS OF USE IN RADIATION STATION: 80.0 CPM which is 229% of PREVIOUS INTERIOR BACKGROUND OF 35.8 CPM – (See Video of testing with commentary)
2:15 pm 10-minute INTERIOR average of HONEYWELL HEPA FILTER HOT SPOT FROM 7/19/11 = 23 DAYS OF USE IN RADIATION STATION: 85 CPM which is 237% of PREVIOUS INTERIOR BACKGROUND OF 35.8 CPM – (See Video of testing with commentary)
12:55 pm 10-minute INTERIOR average: 45.9 CPM
12:40 pm 10-minute INTERIOR average: 35.8 CPM
8:40 am 10-minute INTERIOR average: 39.2 CPM
8:20 am 10-minute EXTERIOR average: 42.6 CPM”
http://www.enviroreporter.com/radiation-station-stats/
***
A little hot in Los Angeles?
solar img podcast with guest Arne Gunderson. I takes a min or two to load, please have volume turned up.
http://solarimg.org/shows/SolarIMG_podcast_Arnie_Gundersen_130811.mp3
What are the consequences of a melt through near and far from Japan???
sorry for the delayed response. a good place to start to get the answers you are looking for would be Arnie Gunderson at http://www.fairewinds.com, he has put out numerous videos and done interviews as well as testified at meetings. He is a nuclear engineer, in the business for 37 years I think.
There is a link provided to his latest release at his site in Angusmerlins comment bellow as well.
8/23/2011:
M 5.8 earthquake strikes Virginia, epicenter within about 20 miles of nuclear power plant.
See “EarthQuake – Report.com” for updates & video:
http://earthquake-report.com/2011/08/23/very-strong-and-dangerous-earthquake-rattles-virginia/
“Very strong and dangerous earthquake rattles Virginia – 2 Nuclear reactors safely stopped in Virginia”
Last update: August 23, 2011 at 7:44 pm
by By Armand Vervaeck and James Daniell
Louisa earthquake landscape – Panoramio image from BBest – http://www.panoramio.com/photo/3809386
***
Latest Arnie Gundersen talks:
1. August 21st, 2011 Video:
http://www.fairewinds.com/content/new-data-supports-previous-fairewinds-analysis-contamination-spreads-japan-and-worldwide
“Contamination Spreads in Japan and Worldwide”
“Newly released neutron data from three University of California San Diego scientists confirms Fairewinds’ April analysis that the nuclear core at Fukushima Daiichi turned on and off after TEPCO claimed its reactors had been shutdown. This periodic nuclear chain reaction (inadvertent criticality) continued to contaminate the surrounding environment and upper atmosphere with large doses of radioactivity.
In a second area of concern, Fairewinds disagrees the NRC’s latest report claiming that all Fukushima spent fuel pools had no problems following the earthquake. In a new revelation, the NRC claims that the plutonium found more than 1 mile offsite actually came from inside the nuclear reactors. If such a statement were true, it indicates that the nuclear power plant containments failed and were breached with debris landing far from the power plants themselves. Such a failure of the containment system certainly necessitates a complete review of all US reactor containment design and industry assurances that containments will hold in radioactivity in the event of a nuclear accident. The evidence Fairewinds reviewed to date continues to support its April analysis that the detonation in the Unit 3 Spent Fuel pool was the cause of plutonium found off site.
Third, the burning of radioactive materials (building materials, trees, lawn grass, rice straw) by the Japanese government will cause radioactive Cesium to spread even further into areas within Japan that have been previously clean, and across the Pacific Ocean to North America.
And finally, the Japanese government has yet to grasp the severity of the contamination within Japan, and therefore has not developed a coherent plan mitigate the accident and remediate the environment. Without a cohesive plan to deal with this ongoing problem of large scale radioactive contamination, the radioactivity will continue to spread throughout Japan and around the globe further exacerbating the problem and raising costs astronomically.”
–
2. August 14th, 2011 Podcast:
“Radiating Americans with Fukushima rain – food – secret Clinton pact”
Solar IMG podcast with guest Arne Gunderson:
http://solarimg.org/shows/SolarIMG_podcast_Arnie_Gundersen_130811.mp3
Link to “SENES” Japan rad weather forecasts to North America:
http://www.senes.ca/japan/forecasts.html
According to another blogger at the Berkeley forum: Not included in these forecasts is Japan’s burning of radioactive trash. Supposedly this Japan radiation weather model is calculated on ‘estimated’ lower levels of radiation than is actually being emitted.
***
It might be interesting to cross check the “SENES” Japan forecasts with “weatherimages.org’s” Japan jet stream forecasts to see how well the Japan to North America wind patterns for these two forecasters correlate. If reliable, seems the “SENES” rad model should correlate fairly closely to “weatherimages”.org’s Japan jet stream predicted air flow forecasting.
http://www.weatherimages.org/data/imag192.html
Exposing the “unspeakable” realities of the Japanese catastrophe in this 60 Minutes program Sunday night during which leading nuclear scientist Dr. Michio Kaku said radiation from Fukushima will impact of all of humanity. The nuclear energy power industry violation of the right to health is apparent throughout the new Australian report.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcOol3KJscc&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NijkuHCq1A&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=LhDFNe0iREI
Things are getting worse, if anybody out there still cares:
http://dprogram.net/2011/12/08/jeff-rense-with-dr-bill-deagle-md-fukushima-getting-worse/
How can anyone take Bill Deagle seriously? I mean Really, Deagle?
http://swallowingthecamel.blogspot.com/2008/02/dr_27.html
We all care, those who are in the know!
Glad to see that at least two people are still here. It’s time to start paying attention to this topic again. Hopefully others will find their way back. Radiation levels are spiking all across the US. Do your research.
People forget so quickly or choose to ignore. I never have. Years ago I did research on toxins in air & water in Texas City, Texas. I had data from air monitoring. Got past security at Union Carbide to President’s office and rattled off my info. Had him actually shaking. EPA planes flew out of Dallas. Story hit Galveston Daily News. The toxins were stopped in air and water dumping. People were actually vomiting on sidewalks but no one would do anything. The toxic smell would seep through closed windows in homes. Just using this to let you know I wish I could help with this; also for citizen awareness. I think it is harder when there is nothing to SEE or smell or accurate ways to test our food. How can people think all that radiation would not affect the U.S. & the world. Maybe a Course in Radiation 101. Seriously though, I did run across this site today looking for updated data on the radioactive waste offshore California. I an just one insignificant person that cares. Yet I know, sometimes, it can take only ONE to get things done. I’ll check back to see if you have ideas for direction. Thank you.
Hi there…
I am still watching, of course.
I just saw this, and the way it is written, it sounds like the US public was being informed all along, and like they knew the levels were high…but that sure is not what we experienced.
Missing data, unused monitors, raised safety levels…you all know. “nothing to see here…just move along”
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/medical-journal-article-14000-us-deaths-tied-to-fukushima-reactor-disaster-fallout-2011-12-19
Here is the latest from Arnie G.
http://www.fairewinds.com/content/tepco-believes-mission-accomplished-regulators-allow-radioactive-dumping-tokyo-bay
The best online site for real news about the worldwide radiation effects of Fukushima is http://enenews.com/
There is an active community monitoring everything about what is happening as a result of the Fukushima radiation fallout that continues and will continue for many years. Best site for information about radiation effects on food and humans. Scary as hell.
Another site that shows radiation levels obtained from volunteers all over the US and fed in daily is http://radiationnetwork.com/. Remember radiation is accumulative.
Please Please pay attention and research this on the web for yourself, PEBBLE BED REACTORS litterally can NOT melt down and deliver almost the same usable output as conventional water cooled power generators. They are easier to decommission at the end of their life cycles and deliver whats needed for power in the meantime. Brain damaged morons who don’t believe terrorist exist have even suggested using this system without a “hard” containment building.