SimplyInfo » Entries tagged with "pacific"
TEPCO Begins Dumping Contaminated Water Into The Sea
[Translate] TEPCO has begun dumping groundwater pumped out of a set of wells inland from the reactors into the Pacific. TEPCO dumped 200 tons of groundwater yesterday as a test. They claim it has the same radiation level as nearby rivers but did not say what that level was or the actual substances in the water. Previous tests of the well water detected tritium and cesium but at low levels. TEPCO still needs to gain the approval of the government and local fishing groups before continued groundwater dumping can begin. TEPCO also admitted that the radiation levels at the edge of the plant grounds could go up. They cited the transfer of highly radioactive water in one of the leaking ponds as the source. The water is being moved to above ground metal tanks … Read entire article »
Filed under: The Latest
Sisyphus With A Paper Cup; TEPCO’s Enormous Water Problem
[Translate] The contaminated water problems at Fukushima Daiichi have been plaguing the plant since day one. In recent months the problems have once again shown themselves to be too much for TEPCO to deal with while the plant continues to contaminate the environment. TEPCO stated that they were again, out of space only to find space after it became apparent the government would not allow them to dump contaminated water into the Pacific Ocean. This is something TEPCO has asked to do repeatedly since 2011 when they dumped contaminated water into the Pacific on top of what has been leaking. Contamination and contaminated water from the failed reactors is still making its way out of the plant a number of ways, all with long term major implications for the environment and public … Read entire article »
Filed under: The Latest
Fish Sampling Shows Widespread Problems From Nuclear Disaster
[Translate] A group of researchers from the Oregon Sea Grant released some of their findings on Pacific albacore tuna. The research group found very small levels of contamination that can be traced back to Fukushima Daiichi. The tuna were harvested off the US west coast. The project will help researchers understand the migration patterns of these tuna along with giving some ideas how contamination may be moving in the sea. Albacore are smaller fish than the large fast growing bluefin tuna that were found to be contaminated with Fukushima fallout earlier this year. The bluefin tuna caught near California in August of 2011 had about 10bq/kg of combined cesium found in their flesh. The Oregon research group was kind enough to provide us with a data snapshot to give some understanding of … Read entire article »
Filed under: US Nuclear News
Sorry Charlie, There’s Cesium-137 In Your Tuna
[Translate] The announcement yesterday that radioactive contamination from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster has been found in bluefin tuna spread widely in just over a day. The media accounts were frequently short on details making it very hard to understand what it all really means. Dr. Fisher of Stony Brook University, one of the authors of the study was kind enough to provide us with an advance copy of the paper, Pacific bluefin tuna transport Fukushima-derived radionuclides from Japan to California. The paper will come out on the PNAS website later this week. The bluefin tuna were caught in San Diego in August 2011, five months after the start of the Fukushima disaster. The fish are estimated to have been exposed for about 1 month before they migrated across the Pacific. Based on the age … Read entire article »
Filed under: The Latest
WHOI Pacific Contamination Paper, It Is In The Details
[Translate] Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute recently released their paper on Fukushima Daiichi related contamination in the Pacific. The full paper can be found here at PNAS. Various media outlets used the report as a declaration that there isn’t a problem in the Pacific. What was actually found by WHOI wasn’t an “all clear” of the Pacific. It was more of a cautious warning that more study is needed. Some comments included in the announcement of the paper on WHOI’s website clarify the situation and the uncertainty. (emphasis added here) “Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), the team found that the concentration of several key radioactive substances, or radionuclides, were elevated but varied widely across the study area, reflecting the complex nature of the marine environment. In addition, although levels of radioactivity in marine life sampled during the … Read entire article »
Filed under: The Latest
Cesium Found In Plankton 600km From Japan Hints At Larger Problems In The Pacific
[Translate] The University of Tokyo’s Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute has found Cesium 137 & 134 in plankton specimens from 30km to 600km off shore of Japan into the Pacific. All monitoring stations found contaminated plankton ranging from .3 to 56.4 bq/kg dried weight. Researchers noted that while the individual plankton samples were below the Japanese safety threshold for food, the levels in the plankton will accumulate in the fish that eat them. The elevated levels raise concerns about seafood in the Pacific. Fish tested in Japan frequently show with some level of contamination though usually below the government threshold. This and other testing of the Pacific have found the radiation is not diluting away as some have claimed. How it will impact food safety and the health of the ocean remains to … Read entire article »
Filed under: The Latest
Alaska To Test Sick Seals For Radiation
[Translate] Public health officials have been trying to determine the cause of a deadly outbreak in ringed seals that now includes the local walrus population. NOAA declared an unusual mortality event and researchers have been scrambling to find the cause. Researchers have now ruled out a virus, their initial suspect. They have moved on to testing for radiation exposure. Local officials said the radiation levels in the water near the coast of Alaska were fairly low but seals could have encountered a concentration in the currents elsewhere in their migration patterns. Their migration map shows them well into Russian waters. Radiation was found off the Kamchatka Peninsula one month after the start of the Fukushima disaster. This is within the migration pattern of the Alaska ringed seal. The Kamchatka Peninsula faces the Bearing Sea, part … Read entire article »
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Criticism Of Fukushima Disaster Response Grows Worldwide
[Translate] Greenpeace expert Ike Teuling did an on the ground investigation at Fukushima City, 60km from the nuclear plant. His investigation found radioactive hot spots up to 100 times the background radiation levels. The area in general is still highly contaminated. Greenpeace has called for the evacuation of all children and pregnant women from Fukushima City, something that should have happened 9 months ago. Soon after the disaster the discussion on our live blog was one of puzzlement why Fukushima City was not being evacuated. Radiation levels there soon after the disaster were concerningly high. The local government response has been far from useful. They told residents to do their own decontamination and to bury radioactive dirt and materials in their yards. Those with the means to do so have already evacuated. … Read entire article »
Filed under: The Latest
Radioactive Dirt? Dump It In The Sea!
[Translate] A group of scientists have suggested taking the radioactive soil that is being collected in Japan and dump it in the Pacific. They said they would put it in containers first, as if that truly mattered much. It was pointed out that this would violate the London Convention on pollution. Former education minister Akito Arima, said, “The sea is common property of all humankind, and the key is whether fishermen and the general public will support the proposal.” The scientists failed to take into account what other countries might have to say about this. As the Pacific isn’t owned by any one country this idea would likely receive a very negative reception from other countries. The perception outside of Japan on the already massive dumping of radioactive material into the Pacific is … Read entire article »
Filed under: The Latest
Radiation In Sea From Fukushima Hits Russia In 1st Month Of Disaster
[Translate] Reports released at a Symposium last month admitted that cesium being leaked into the sea from Fukushima Daiichi had traveled 2000km and down to 5000km in depth in the Pacific during the first month of the disaster. Why this information was not released to the public sooner was not explained. Substances were found on the Russian Kamchatka Peninsula during the first month of the disaster. With the currents in the Pacific this raises questions about the contamination already reaching the waters of Canada and the US. Currently no sea testing or seafood testing is planned in the US where officials closed the issue weeks after the disaster claiming models said there was no risk. Canada has done some minor testing but no comprehensive testing of the sea or seafood. Update: sources for the … Read entire article »
Filed under: The Latest
Concerns Over Pacific Seafood Expand After Fukushima
[Translate] The recent IRSN report reminded of the widespread problem of radiation contamination to the Pacific ocean by Fukushima Daiichi. The mercury contamination of higher on the food chain fish like swordfish illuminates the risk to seafood from radiation contamination. The concern is the low level consumption of radiation contaminated fish over time since people do not eat once, they eat multiple times a day, every day. A 2009 study showed that mercury contamination rose 30% in Pacific fish since 1990 and that 40% of US mercury ingestion comes from Pacific fish, a 75% rate for the rest of the world. Coal plants in China are cited as a major source of mercury in the Pacific. The EPA has been fighting to keep a set of standards warning people about fish consumption, … Read entire article »
Filed under: The Latest
Fukushima Ocean Releases Study, Now In English
[Translate] A rough translation to English of the IRSN French study on Fukushima ocean discharges. The original document in French can be found here. Date summary of knowledge on the impact on the marine environment of radioactive discharges from nuclear site rugged Fukushima Dai-ichi October 26, 2011 This information note presents and discusses the latest information collected by IRSN, since the previous briefing note of 11 July on the same subject. A strong radioactive contamination of the marine environment occurred after the accident in the plant Nuclear Fukushima Dai-ichi March 11, 2011. It had the main source direct discharge contaminated water from the plant, which lasted until about April 8, and to a lesser extent, impact in the ocean part of radionuclides discharged into the atmosphere between 12 and 22 March. A immediate vicinity of the plant, the concentrations in seawater reached the end … Read entire article »
Filed under: The Latest, Worldwide Exposure
Radioactivity in Pacific Will Circulate To Other Parts Of The World
[Translate] Government experts in Japan have released findings that radioactive cesium will circulate to parts of the Atlantic and Indian oceans. The experts also said it will circulate south and west eventually coming near the Phillipines and eventually back to Japan over a total of 20 to 30 years. So much for the theory of total dilution. The article talks about cesium as it has a longer half life than some isotopes like iodine-131. What is rarely mentioned in these predictions are the amounts of other more dangerous isotopes like stronium-90. It would be good to know the total make up of these migrating clouds of contaminated water. This article would not be possible without the extensive efforts of the SimplyInfo research team Join the conversation at chat.simplyinfo.org All content is copyright SimplyInfo.org. Content … Read entire article »
Filed under: The Latest, Worldwide Exposure
TEPCO Fukushima Radiation Leaks Into The Sea May Violate International Law
[Translate] The Marquette University Law Blog explains how the leaks at Fukushima Daiichi may put Japan in violation of international law. If these assumptions are correct private companies may be putting countries and their citizens at considerably liability. This article would not be possible without the extensive efforts of the SimplyInfo research team Join the conversation at chat.simplyinfo.org All content is copyright SimplyInfo.org. Content may also be copyright of other specific original authors or creators and was reproduced here with limited permission. While we welcome the sharing of information or promoting our work, please do so with respect to the large amount of effort and time that goes into our research and analysis. Referring to something or a quote is great, copying it all or in substantial parts is not so great. If you … Read entire article »
Filed under: Daiichi NPP, Plant Status, Sea/Soil Contamination, The Latest, Worldwide Exposure
Radiation: Expedition samples Pacific Ocean
[Translate] A new 15-day scientific expedition aboard the University of Hawaii’s research vessel Kaimikai-O-Kanoloa will measure radioactive substances in the Pacific Ocean that leaked from the Fukushima nuclear power plant over the past months. The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) will lead the first international, multidisciplinary assessment. This article would not be possible without the extensive efforts of the SimplyInfo research team Join the conversation at chat.simplyinfo.org All content is copyright SimplyInfo.org. Content may also be copyright of other specific original authors or creators and was reproduced here with limited permission. While we welcome the sharing of information or promoting our work, please do so with respect to the large amount of effort and time that goes into our research and analysis. Referring to something or a quote is great, copying it all or … Read entire article »
Filed under: Fukushima and Japan, Sea/Soil Contamination, Worldwide Exposure
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