Japan Earthquake

Japan Earthquake | Page 1444

@UKVal OK, I didn't automatically make that assumption. Perhaps it'd be prudent to write and request permission to publish the personal info, especially since the content of his message has been edited.
by es 5/30/2011 6:33:27 PM

@Majj nothing to do with you Maj.."nothing to see here, move along". LOL it has been taken care of. Thanks
by RBeaner 5/30/2011 6:33:37 PM

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Ibaraki to check radiation at beaches
Kyodo
MITO, Ibaraki Pref. — The Ibaraki Prefectural Government will check radiation levels at 17 beaches starting in June to allay fears related to the nuclear crisis in adjacent Fukushima Prefecture, Ibaraki Gov. Masaru Hashimoto said Monday.

The move comes after the central government and Fukushima Prefecture decided last week to monitor radiation at seaside and lakeside beaches from June. The Iwaki Municipal Government in Fukushima also said last week that it will forgo the opening of nine beaches in the city this summer.

With the swimming season set to begin in July at most beaches, the Ibaraki government plans to measure radiation in sand and seawater at its beaches twice in June and once in July to ensure they are safe for public use, local officials said. search.japantimes.co.jp
by Panserbjorne9 5/30/2011 6:34:04 PM

@es I did contact him to say iI planned to put it on the blog, but have not had a reply
by UKVal 5/30/2011 6:34:44 PM

@Panserbjorne9 I wonder how many people will want to swim there this summer!
by UKVal 5/30/2011 6:36:13 PM

@UKVal exactly
by Panserbjorne9 5/30/2011 6:36:55 PM

@elainekirk @UKVal Regarding that letter..."All modes of punishment must be "on the table."
Seriously?
Can this too be edited as was the "bomb" threat, please ?
by Reed 5/30/2011 6:37:47 PM

N-plant worker regrets 17-yr career / Forced to leave Fukushima home, devotes self to caring for other evacuees
Shigeto Tanaka / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

KAWAMATAMACHI, Fukushima--Kenichi Togawa, 37, was standing nearby as an executive vice president of Tokyo Electric Power Co. knelt down at an evacuation shelter and bowed deeply, his forehead touching the floor.

Residents of the shelter shouted angrily at the executive. "How long will you force us to live this kind of life?" one called out.

It was March 30, at a shelter set up at a facility normally used for people to experience nature in Kawamatamachi, Fukushima Prefecture. About 160 people from Namiemachi and other municipalities near the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant were staying in the facility's gym.

At the time an employee of one of TEPCO's subcontracting companies, Togawa could not keep watching. "I'm a victim, but I'm also a culprit," he thought. www.yomiuri.co.jp
by Panserbjorne9 5/30/2011 6:38:15 PM

@Majj Oi cara, tudo bom? That article about the yearly radiation exposure limit is confusing. I think they're mixing up three different exposure limits. The yearly limit under normal working conditions, the 5-year overall limit and the yearly limit under emergency conditions. It is actually contradictory.
by Pedro Jesus 5/30/2011 6:39:22 PM

@Pedro Jesus I thought that article was garbled in translation or something.
by Bobby1 5/30/2011 6:40:03 PM

From my most recent post- "Late one night, Togawa found an elderly person who could not walk well and had collapsed on the way to the toilet. He helped the person back to the gym.

He also saw elderly and handicapped people with only one blanket to protect them against the cold. Togawa was struck with guilt, thinking, "This happened because we operated the nuclear plant."
Then he thought: "My colleagues are working desperately to prevent the nuclear crisis from worsening. I must work hard here to help these people."
by Panserbjorne9 5/30/2011 6:40:58 PM

@Bobby1 I'm pretty sure of that. It makes no sense. I don't know how an editor from a news agency allows that trash to be published. It completely discredits the agency and their personnel.
by Pedro Jesus 5/30/2011 6:42:24 PM

@panserbjorne powerful stuff glad to see the media has woken up - I wonder if tepco have cut their advertising budget so now they have to attract readers ?
by elainekirk 5/30/2011 6:52:55 PM

@elainekirk All is well . The scribbles are so efficient that that if one of us get stuck in MOD , am other one put the article :-)))) Important is that the information is flowing :-))))
by Majj 5/30/2011 6:57:16 PM

@majj thank you :)
by elainekirk 5/30/2011 7:01:58 PM

I wonder if tepco have cut their advertising budget so now they have to attract readers ?
Actually this a very good point, elaine. :)
by estacion 5/30/2011 7:03:05 PM

Radioactivity in No. 1 Reactor Basement Water 10,000 Times Normal
Fukushima, May 30 (Jiji Press)
Tokyo Electric Power Co. <9501> said Monday that the amounts of radioactive materials in water at a reactor building of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant were about 10,000 times the normal levels for water inside a nuclear reactor.
The water, recently found in the basement of the No. 1 reactor building of the nuclear power plant, contained 30,000 becquerels of iodine-131 per cubic centimeter, 2.5 million becquerels of cesium-134 and 2.9 million becquerels of cesium-137.
On May 13, Tokyo Electric Power employees entered the No. 1 reactor building and found water 4.2 meters deep in the basement.
Water levels had risen to 4.6 meters high by 5 p.m. Monday (8 a.m. GMT) due to rain and water injections to cool the damaged nuclear fuel. The amount is estimated at 2,700 tons.
The water is believed to have leaked into the basement from the reactor pressure vessel and the container that houses the vessel.

(2011/05/30-22:04)
jen.jiji.com
by estacion 5/30/2011 7:12:38 PM

Large Amounts of Radioiodine Found in Thyroids of Fukushima Workers
Tokyo, May 30 (Jiji Press)
Tokyo Electric Power Co. <9501> said Monday that large amounts of radioactive iodine-131 have been found in the thyroid glands of two male workers at the firm's crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan.
Tokyo Electric will conduct detailed checks to see whether their overall exposure levels, or the combined levels of internal and external exposure, have surpassed the limit of 250 millisieverts, set for workers at the plant in Fukushima Prefecture damaged by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, the company said.
The workers, who are both Tokyo Electric employees and have already left the nuclear plant, have not shown any signs of health problems so far, according to the firm. One of the two is in his 30s and the other in his 40s.
The two were engaged in the operations of the plant's No. 3 and No. 4 reactors in March and April, including on March 11, closely watching data in the reactors' central control rooms.
External exposure stood at 73.71 millisieverts for the worker in his 30s and at 88.7 millisieverts for the one in his 40s.
(2011/05/30-16:40)
jen.jiji.com
by estacion 5/30/2011 7:17:45 PM

Govt Work to Monitor Tokyo Elec. Management to Begin This Week
Tokyo, May 30 (Jiji Press)
Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku indicated Monday that work to monitor Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s <9501> management will begin this week.
It is hoped that members of a working group of the inquiry committee on Tokyo Electric's management and fiscal conditions will hold their first meeting within this week, Sengoku said at a press conference.
As head of the working group to sort out the power utility's management-related problems, Sengoku thus expressed his intention of picking team members and setting up its secretariat as soon as possible.
The inquiry panel, chaired by lawyer Kazuhiko Shimomura, is designed to assure compensation payments by the operator of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power station for those affected by fallout from the plant crippled by the March earthquake and tsunami.
(2011/05/30-14:19)
jen.jiji.com
by estacion 5/30/2011 7:23:21 PM

@estacion that is a novel way of saying they are having rehearsals in readiness for the pantomime
by elainekirk 5/30/2011 7:37:12 PM

posted link by Salu at the other board
S&P cuts TEPCO rating by 5 notches to junk status
TOKYO, May 30, Kyodo

Standard & Poor's downgraded its long-term credit rating for Tokyo Electric Power Co. by five notches to junk status Monday, saying it remains uncertain whether the operator of the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant would be smoothly bailed out by the Japanese government.

The downgrading of the utility's long-term debt rating to B-plus from BBB came as the company, known as TEPCO, is struggling to come up with funds to cover compensation payments over the crisis at the nuclear plant in Fukushima Prefecture, which has been crippled since the devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

S&P said in its statement that while the government has announced a plan to help the company compensate victims, the details of the scheme remain unclear and lender banks will likely be forced to restructure TEPCO's debt.
english.kyodonews.jp
by estacion 5/30/2011 7:45:44 PM

@all I added today's datapoints to the Temp chart for the R5 Unit. I think we can now clearly see the temperature spike caused by the pump failure, and temps back to nearly normal, and I think it also shows the temperature cycling as they switch between cooling the core (which doesn't go up that much since it was shut down before the tsunami) and the SFP (the blue line), which went 11 hours without cooling while they replaced the new pump.
spreadsheets.google.com
by radioguy 5/30/2011 7:47:30 PM

@estacion what excuse could they have for high i131 in thyroid? They should be taking mega potassium iodide.
by Ian 5/30/2011 7:47:43 PM

That Downgrading to Junk just killed the Financial Lifeline !
by Veenie 5/30/2011 7:48:41 PM

@Ian: I think this could be a clear "radiaton by inhalation" case
by estacion 5/30/2011 7:50:22 PM

@radioguy ty @Ian they are saying it was the early stages so they cannot even be sure of the dose I would imagine as at that stage they probably had no dosimeters as Tepco had none so the chances of them being given safe iodine are maybe slim also?
by elainekirk 5/30/2011 7:50:27 PM

Either that or its Jaws and the little ones...
by radioguy 5/30/2011 7:50:30 PM

Gov't eyeing drastic reform of electric power industry by 2020
english.kyodonews.jp
by estacion 5/30/2011 7:55:39 PM

@elainekirk They can determine the level of exposure by analysing the amount of radioactive particulates present in the thyroid tissue, can't they?
by Pedro Jesus 5/30/2011 7:55:45 PM

i56.tinypic.com

Here's the chart, for the record. Glad to see the functionality works. I'll try to work up one that does the same for the D/W & S/C CAMS .
by radioguy via I56.tinypic 5/30/2011 7:55:47 PM

@pedro that would be dependent on whether they had been given 'good' iodine wouldnt it?
by elainekirk 5/30/2011 8:20:02 PM

@elainekirk What I meant was, and I have no clue about it, if the doctors can determine the workers' exposure now buy analysing a sample of the tissue (through biopsy). Is that possible?
by Pedro Jesus 5/30/2011 8:22:16 PM

@pedro I will await input from those who have knowledge but personally I believe it rests on how well protected by 'good' iodine the thyroid was
by elainekirk 5/30/2011 8:24:13 PM

@Pedro Jesus yes I was wondering if they relied on biopsy for diagnosis. But I do not understand how, if the exposure was in early March, the news has taken this long to come out. I hope they were quicker with the diagnosis
by UKVal 5/30/2011 8:24:35 PM

@elainekirk what worries me is that unless they had iodine supplies on site it is unlikely they were protected at the time of the first radiation spiikes
by UKVal 5/30/2011 8:26:29 PM

@elainekirk sorry I was a bit unclear - I meant all of the other workers in the vicinity. So far we only know about 2 who clearly weren't protected or it was insufficient
by UKVal 5/30/2011 8:28:54 PM

@ukval I fear that samples were taken from 1 in x employees to assess exposure as opposed to everybody being tested but I am going by memory so will try to find the facts
by elainekirk 5/30/2011 8:30:42 PM

@elainekirk Could you check this and see if unpublished preview links can be posted for review?
houseoffoust.com
by radioguy edited by elainekirk 5/30/2011 8:30:53 PM

@elainekirk oh gosh I do hope you're wrong. That would be criminal in view of what we know about those early readings.
by UKVal 5/30/2011 8:31:52 PM

@radioguy page not found
by elainekirk 5/30/2011 8:32:53 PM

what's showing on the TEPCO cam
by UKVal 5/30/2011 8:37:34 PM

pointscope01.jp
by UKVal 5/30/2011 8:38:13 PM

sorry - trying to post image...
by UKVal 5/30/2011 8:38:29 PM

OK... I suspected that. OK... I put this appeal draft on the front page for now just so we can take a look at it. I need the link for the support letter for the bottom.

houseoffoust.com
by radioguy 5/30/2011 8:40:42 PM