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@Ralph Unger In a way that is good at least as far as opening up the containment doors. But with that much radiation in the torus it would seem likely to be high in the drywell part

Yes, that is why I question how they can send workers into that environment.

250 mSv is the total limit for a worker, or is it the daily limit? I think TEPCO is reading it as a daily limit.

It was about 4 mSv a few weeks ago.

@all While we wait...for your consideration. Video of 1995 Monju reactor leak. globalvoicesonline.org

And I can take readings for either gamma or several alpha producing radionuclides here in Hiroshima

@bo Many of us have been here since Reuters, but most lurkers have gone their way. Glad to have you active. Lemme' know when you're next in SF... therobthomas at mac dot com

"It is not enough to affect human health. " funny, that they always repeat the same sentence. makes me think.

Eight workers are set to enter the No.1 reactor building as early as Thursday. They will be the first to do so since a hydrogen explosion occurred one day after the March 11th earthquake and tsunami.

Monday, May 02, 2011 12:56 +0900 (JST) www3.nhk.or.jp

BREAKING NEWS: Radiation leaks from fuel rods suspected at Tsuruga plant: local gov't: (18:26)
english.kyodonews.jp

Japan Atomic: considering closing nuke reactor after technical problem, no radiation leak
Mon May 2, 2011 9:13am GMT
TOKYO May 2 (Reuters) - Electricity wholesaler Japan Atomic Power Co said on Monday it would consider shutting the 1,160-megawatt No.2 reactor at its Tsuruga nuclear plant due to a technical problem, adding that there had been no radiation leak from the facility. The company said it had identified a possible leak of iodine from the reactor's nuclear fuel assemblies into its coolant. (Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori; Editing by Joseph Radford)
af.reuters.com

Anti-nuke candidates win seats, even in plant areas
In nationwide local elections on April 24, many candidates opposed to nuclear power captured seats in assemblies in areas that host nuclear power plants, a sign that the winds of support may have shifted against the nuclear power industry. www.asahi.com signs of hope

@Ralph Unger Assuming the winds are blowing offshore...

Japan's nuclear plants 'can't keep reactors cool'
The backup electricity generators at many of Japan's nuclear power stations lack the capacity to keep reactor cores cool if another earthquake and/or tsunami strikes. So say sources at Japan's electricity utilities who have been comparing the power capacity of the backup generators available against that needed to keep reactors safe from thermal runaway and meltdown.
The plant at Tsuruga needs 3500 kilowatts to safely cool its reactors, but the backups can only deliver 1020 kilowatts, says Kyodo - and that can't be fixed til next March. The agency's sources says the power available will "only run measuring gauges and small-scale water injection devices". And at the Tomari power station, a 3,200 kilowatt backup generator cannot "achieve stable shutdown" of the reactors - and that won't be fixed until some time in the next two years. www.newscientist.com

Another gov't prediction system failed in Fukushima nuke accident

TOKYO, May 2, Kyodo

Japan's system for predicting the volume of radioactive materials to be released into the environment failed in the wake of the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant due to the power supply cut following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, sources close to the matter said Monday.

The malfunction of the Emergency Response Support System, or ERSS, coupled with the insufficiency of the System for Prediction of Environmental Emergency Dose Information, or SPEEDI, designed to predict the dispersal of radioactive materials based on forecasts by ERSS, is likely to have delayed the effective evacuation of residents in Fukushima Prefecture.

The systems' failure casts doubt on the government's disaster-prevention policy, which said that the systems should be used to analyze and predict the amount and spread of radioactive material into the environment during a nuclear crisis. The two systems have cost around 28 billion yen in total for their development and maintenance. english.kyodonews.jp

Thanks Edano for the news posts. So now entry is bumped to Thurs. Hmm wonder if they will try to vent something first.

No upper limit on TEPCO paying compensation. www.reuters.com

@fitter It is really pale. I can pull a photoshop version for those with um, lower quality monitors, it has nothing to do with your eyesight. :-)

@Nancy "Ralph wouldn't answer me if he thinks reactor caps look like boobs too." Don't make me open Pshop, or worse, FCP... I gots some serious plug-ins...

4.6

Date-Time
Monday, May 02, 2011 at 11:29:49 UTC
Monday, May 02, 2011 at 08:29:49 PM at epicenter

Location
38.844°N, 141.849°E

Depth
41.6 km (25.9 miles)

Region
NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

Distances
107 km (66 miles) NE (52°) from Sendai, Honshu, Japan
115 km (71 miles) SSE (147°) from Morioka, Honshu, Japan
173 km (107 miles) NE (44°) from Fukushima, Honshu, Japan
399 km (248 miles) NNE (27°) from TOKYO, Japan

Location Uncertainty
horizontal +/- 28 km (17.4 miles); depth +/- 10.2 km (6.3 miles)