Japan Earthquake

Japan Earthquake | Page 1696

@estacion Unbelievable. No, apparently completely typical. So during that whole first Keystone Kops tapdance with the impending need for venting, they didn't even know how to do it or if they could? No, it's SimplyUnbelievable.
by radioguy 6/20/2011 1:17:15 AM

@radioguy Nobody thought to put a manual and set of blueprints in the earthquake proof building that was supposed to be the emergency command center.
by lillymunster 6/20/2011 1:21:25 AM

@lillymunster I just erased what I was typing to the same effect. It's all disaster planning by people who never plan to use it, rather than those who think they should maybe be prepared in case they have to.
by radioguy 6/20/2011 1:23:49 AM

@radioguy there was a set of blueprints in the office building that were either ruined or inaccessible after the quake. They had to get a copy set from a contractor that had them.
by lillymunster 6/20/2011 1:29:06 AM

Ohio gozaimasu everyone
by bo 6/20/2011 1:35:55 AM

@lillymunster , I noticed a comment under this blog post Dean relayed earlier: www.anengineerindc.com , stating that unit 1 was not equipped with such isolation condenser. The wiki linked below states likewise, and I saw this claim in other GE associated blogs. It seems that this claim is untrue. Unit 1 had one, but it boiled dry, according to this report: www.yomiuri.co.jp . I smell that some people with vested interest in the BWR technology are running a defamation campaign against the Japanese.
by Peter Melzer 6/20/2011 1:36:02 AM

@Peter Melzer I have pictures of isolation control valves from unit 3, don't think that is part of the IC system though.
by lillymunster 6/20/2011 1:42:10 AM

Daily Mail story purporting to show beneath the surface of things in Northern Japan: www.dailymail.co.uk
by bo 6/20/2011 1:48:04 AM

According to a well-known Japanese documentary maker, TEPCO paid for the creation of a blacklist of actors and musicians who are against the nuclear industry.

"When one actor, Taro Yamamoto, joined an anti-nuclear protest, he lost his part in a popular soap opera. Yamamoto’s ‘crime’ was to say that schoolchildren in Fukushima should not be subjected to the same annual radiation dose (20 microsieverts per year) as nuclear power workers in Europe."
by bo 6/20/2011 1:48:31 AM

@lillymunster , look at this reuters article entitled "Japan Ignored Warning of Nuclear Vulnerability": online.wsj.com . It doesn't chime with the yomiuri article on this issue.
by Peter Melzer 6/20/2011 1:50:03 AM

@Peter Melzer I see what your getting at. If Fuku unit 1 didn't have an IC, then the same reactor built elsewhere in that same early time period would likely not have an IC either. There has to be another very early BWR in the US or Japan of the same vintage.
by lillymunster 6/20/2011 1:56:21 AM

I thought they would start getting the articles out timed for the IAEA kick off but no matter how many there are I put my money on the Daily Mail for having the most keywords in and article- blummin eck they have surpassed themselves
I bid you goodnight lovely people
by ElaineKirk 6/20/2011 1:59:10 AM

@elainekirk heheh, and good night.
by bo 6/20/2011 2:00:05 AM

@lillymunster , yes Oyster Creek for example.
by Peter Melzer 6/20/2011 2:02:30 AM

@Bo Hi! It's really interesting to see the universal parallels. Just as the right has been so successful in the US in labeling the left as Socialists so too are the anti-nuke people portrayed as radical and uneducated. It's been really interesting seeing this unfold, as I had no opinion prior to Fuku about nuclear power. That has changed quite a bit!
by LM 6/20/2011 2:02:31 AM

Nite Elaine!
by LM 6/20/2011 2:02:43 AM

@LM indeed
by bo 6/20/2011 2:03:44 AM

@Peter Melzer From the Wikipedia page on Oyster Creek the plant was built between 1965-69, was online in 69, reactor built by GE, construction handled by a construction company. You would think if GE built unit 1 at FUKU all themselves and were adamant that nothing be changed or void the warranty then it would have the same or better than Oyster Creek. I do know that unit 1 has a different array of cooling systems than the others there. I can't remember what device it is but #1 has an older technology while 2-4 have a newer option. I can't remember if it is the IC or something else. Dean might remember. But it seems like the GE comments that #1 lacked a piece of equipment is not true.
by lillymunster 6/20/2011 2:13:05 AM

@bo That article has some heavy reality to it. I would hope someone would start trying to find out why the red cross money is not going out and someone finally do something about the welfare cut offs.
by lillymunster 6/20/2011 2:15:21 AM

@all Do you think we can label the Tepco elite as incompetent yet? I know I'll take some flack for asking it, but it just seems to me that too many errors have been made to make excuses for them anymore..Jeez..one glass of good Italian wine and I can't keep my mouth shut. Sorry!!
by LM 6/20/2011 2:15:37 AM

@lilly as you know my work focuses on the social and cultural impacts. This is the shadow tragedy that accompanies the physical exposures. The marginalization of these people will only get worse, if history is to be a guide. And there are no graphs to track that over lifetimes. I'm sure many of the evacuees are shocked at how marginal they suddenly seem.
by bo 6/20/2011 2:19:13 AM

@LM The corporate office yes, if they had time to blacklist actors but can't get ice vests for the workers or more resources to the plant it says much about their priorities. They need to be relieved of control but keep the plant staff in place. I would say have the govt. run it but they seem to not have it as a priority either. Maybe there needs to be more international pressure.
by lillymunster 6/20/2011 2:19:20 AM

@bo If people around the world knew they made donations and the govt. is still sitting on them they would be angry. At some point abandoning your people when your a first world country damages your reputation. That may be what it would take to put a stop to some of this. I would hope with the world more connected it would be harder to continue to get away with some of this.
by lillymunster 6/20/2011 2:21:49 AM

@lilly agreed. But the fact that they were able to avoid the banner one-word headlines screaming "MELTDOWN" has probably only emboldened them and made them feel arrogantly confident.
by bo 6/20/2011 2:24:32 AM

IAEA meeting about Fukushima, no public, no reporters allowed, hand picked crowd of attendees for the meeting. www.bloomberg.com
by lillymunster 6/20/2011 2:24:36 AM

@lilly as to the Red Cross, I can't speak to their actions at all.
by bo 6/20/2011 2:24:45 AM

@bo I believe there were other relief groups that may have donated money. There have been some mentions in the media about money still not making it past levels of govt. to people.
by lillymunster 6/20/2011 2:26:00 AM

@Lilly I agree. International pressure would be great but it seems they all have a vested interest in the economic success of nuclear power and not necessarily in the safety. We can only hope this disaster has some positive effect. Given the media blackouts and boardroom handshakes, I'm unfortunately not very encouraged.
by LM 6/20/2011 2:26:02 AM

Aftershocks, explosions hindered N-plant staff. www.yomiuri.co.jp
by LM 6/20/2011 2:26:56 AM

@lilly and @LM agreed, disgusted. Well, I'm off to work, be back on in an hour or so.
by bo 6/20/2011 2:27:12 AM

@LM The elected govt. in the US doesn't want to talk about it and the media finds it inconvenient. Even just taking the lowest self preservation point of view having the Pacific ocean full of radioactive contamination is worth complaining about or trying to stop. I am as mad at our govt. as I am at the GoJ.
by lillymunster 6/20/2011 2:28:48 AM

@Lilly Me too!
by LM 6/20/2011 2:30:07 AM

@Lilly This whole disaster and the international response, or lack thereof, has really gotten me to think of what might happen here in Southern California when the next 'big one' hits. I'm definitely more concerned now than I ever was....
by LM 6/20/2011 2:33:30 AM

@LM The GoJ turned down offers of equipment and help. I would bet if those were offered to the local government in an area they would have accepted.
by lillymunster 6/20/2011 2:35:40 AM

Govt pushing N-safety message / Battling on 2 fronts to ease concerns of IAEA, local governments. www.yomiuri.co.jp
by LM 6/20/2011 2:36:05 AM

@Lilly You're probably right. I'm just saddened that too many people, workers and residents, have been sacrificed to save face and yen.
by LM 6/20/2011 2:38:26 AM

TEPCO workers 'frantic' over vents. www.yomiuri.co.jp
by LM 6/20/2011 2:39:56 AM

@LM It is easy to see where the disconnects are, TEPCO corporate, national government offices and agencies that are way too cozy with the big corporations.
by lillymunster 6/20/2011 2:42:38 AM

@Lilly So true...and not any different in this country.
by LM 6/20/2011 2:43:45 AM

Since people were looking for neatly cut openings into walls, just noticed this one here: www.flickr.com
by Peter Melzer via Flickr 6/20/2011 2:44:03 AM

@Peter Melzer That is the turbine building one I mentioned.
by lillymunster 6/20/2011 2:48:16 AM

My nephew was here for the weekend, 12 years in the military (National Guard). He has been to Afghanistan, Iraq, and worked recovery during Hurricane Katrina. I asked him how concerned I should be about my son in law that is stationed is South Korea. His answer was that our military is good at protecting assets, but not personnel. I did not find this comforting.
by Lurking 6/20/2011 2:56:27 AM

@lillymunster , sorry I missed it. But it seems they cut those to vent the buildings. Like in that NRC report I posted yesterday from the plant in FL, hydrogen might accumulate in the turbine building. The hole should have been higher up to be fully effective though.
by Peter Melzer 6/20/2011 2:56:51 AM

@lillymunster , there is more of this nature. www.flickr.com
by Peter Melzer via Flickr 6/20/2011 3:00:48 AM

...and here. There is a large-scale "disrobing the buildings" campaign going on at the plant. The last two look more like improvements of heat transfer. www.flickr.com
by Peter Melzer via Flickr 6/20/2011 3:03:46 AM