ScribbleLive

@Nancy TEPCO news conference expected Tuesday...

@LM, no slight intended. It is difficult to establish a correct timeline. Who knows how accurate tepco is.

@UKVal My money is on "all is a mess" on Tues. I think that is the same day the Govt announces their roadmap for recovery on their end, compensation, rebuilding etc.

@elainekirk I posted it a bit ago. We need to make sure Dean gets a copy. It is in my list to add to the doc.

for those recently arrived - please can you sign the petition pinned above & forward to anyone else you can think of. We can at least do something...

Just my 2 cents...I think they already knew about the full extent of meltdowns but were banking on the leaks not being so large that they could't stay ahead by pumping in tons of water. At TMI they didn't get a good look at the Corium until much later. They've been hoping to avoid the dirty word...meltdown.

are we putting anything in the organization line for the peitition?

@Nancy The other question is....do we really know that the Corium in 1 has water covering it? With large leaks and a gauge not giving a reading because of the low level, I'm not sure we can believe Tepco.

I also read they are increasing water to 1. What effect might this have on the potentially exposed slag? www3.nhk.or.jp

;)

Interesting update from a reporter regarding workers at the plant. I was not aware that foreign workers may not be subject to the safety restrictions Japanese workers are: "Actually, from the perspective of human rights,
> TEPCO and relating companies could have been making foreing workers
> work in restricted areas exceeding the limit time."

@bo it makes the call for US (and other) foreign workers seem a big ghoulish now.

@Nancy , in that article www.japantoday.com , tepco admits for the first time that both the RPV and the CV are breached. Potentially, the corium sits in the suppression pool.

Night Bo.

@Peter Melzer : i'm back. what about walraff ?

@bo , I wish you could read a book chapter by the German investigative journalist Guenter Wallraff, who once signed up for a clean up job in a German nuclear power plant after a radioactive water spill in the secondary containment. The book's title in German is "Ganz unten", meaning "At the bottom". It has been translated in other languages where the title is "Turk Head". I can't find in English, though. In sum, the power company contracted the work out to temp agencies to protect its tenured work force from reaching exposure limits. The temp agencies hired day laborers from street corners, homeless downs and outs, foreigners without papers. They were paid in cash at the end of the day and disappeared in the woodwork. No health insurance, no follow up, no nothing. I am afraid similar strategies are going to be employed here, too.

@Edano, read below. Perhaps you are able to help find an English translation of this book. If you read German, I can only recommend it. If Have seen it also in French and Spanish.

@Peter Melzer There is already evidence of this. They are bringing in temp workers, not caring about their skill set and using them for that but instead just tossing them into a job. There was a truck driver who was shanghaied into going liquidation at the plant. Multiple stories of them still using day laborers. Many of the workers are sub contractors.

"Lowest of the Low" is the english title.

www.amazon.com the book seems to be a rarity prices from 40-100 $ wheee