Japan Earthquake

Japan Earthquake | Page 1926

‘Nuclear Village’ Protester Turns Hero as Fukushima Drives Atomic Backlash www.bloomberg.com
by bo 7/14/2011 2:03:41 PM

Japanese traditional media dismissal of Kan's ideas: www.straitstimes.com
by bo 7/14/2011 2:04:32 PM

That would be my evening round up. See especially the Guardian story.
by bo 7/14/2011 2:05:40 PM

@Markfm 96 svh isn't that really really high?
by lillymunster 7/14/2011 2:11:32 PM

@xxx that is what I thought, that when you get into whole seiverts it is really lethal. I thought maybe I was getting numbers confused.
by lillymunster 7/14/2011 2:24:24 PM

@lillymunster well it would kill in 2-3 min
by xxx 7/14/2011 2:27:46 PM

96 is indeed high, though #1 goes much higher at times. Similar to #2, periodically the DW B CAMS gets a high reading, I think of it as a scab of radioactive crud scabbing near the sensor, it then goes away in a day or two after reaching its peak value.
by Markfm 7/14/2011 2:29:38 PM

Tehachapi CA rad monitor 37cpm. They are spiking again. Anyone have any wild guesses why they are getting rad spikes.
by lillymunster 7/14/2011 2:38:05 PM

More contaminated cows english.kyodonews.jp
by lillymunster 7/14/2011 2:42:08 PM

@lillymunster Wild guesses: Fuku is spiking, or they are near a hotspot and it spikes when the wind comes from that direction.
by Bobby1 7/14/2011 2:42:40 PM

@Bobby1 It has been like this off and on for maybe 3 weeks.
by lillymunster 7/14/2011 2:49:23 PM

Gm everyone! A question for dean: What does a NPP need a MAUSOLEUM for? I thought they belong on cemeteries.
I found the notion in this document: pbadupws.nrc.gov . Here is the excerpt: "The miscellaneous radwaste buildings of both sites provide structural support and
anchorage of nonsafety-related equipment and systems. The radwaste building is
among a group of nonsafety-related structures which provide support to
nonsafety-related SSCs that treat, process, and store solid, liquid, and gaseous
radwaste materials. As described in CDB1-QDC00-QSMRW, “Miscellaneous Radwaste34 Enclosure
Buildings,” 5/14/03, this structural group at Quad Cities covers the chemical waste
sample tank foundation, floor sample tank foundation, laundry sample tank foundation,
maximum recycle radwaste building, offgas filter building, radwaste solidification
building, radwaste building and tank farm foundation, stack gas monitoring building,
waste sample tanks foundation, high radiation sample building, interim radwaste storage
facility, laundry, tool, and decontamination building, river discharge tank foundation,
mausoleum, and dry active waste building."
by Peter Melzer 7/14/2011 2:53:06 PM

@Peter Melzer maybe dry cask storage flyingcuttlefish.wordpress.com
by elainekirk 7/14/2011 2:59:57 PM

@elainekirk, thanks. Dry-cask storage is probably it. Strange use of the word! Did you see, they even have got a laundry and a sample tank for used laundry water.
by Peter Melzer 7/14/2011 3:05:58 PM

@Peter Melzer laundry seems to be fairly common. From what I read at least in the US many of the plants have moved to having their contaminated laundry picked up and processed by contract companies. So low level contamination is being transported for no reason other than someone wants to make a buck.
by lillymunster 7/14/2011 3:07:29 PM

@Markfm , I believe these rad level fluctuations may be related to the detector. Only, I have not been able to find out yet what detector they use precisely.
by Peter Melzer 7/14/2011 3:09:50 PM

According to the NISA report to IAEA dated past June, pp 20, 21:
"(1) Amount of radioactive materials discharged to the atmosphere
….The discharged amount since early April has been declining and is about 10(e)11 Bq/h to 10(e)12 Bq/h in iodine-131 equivalent."

In other words high emission of radioactive effluent into the atmosphere is ongoing, perhaps at somewhat lower magnitude than in May. Who knows?
Anything in the Tera Bq/h range makes your hair stand up. Under such conditions, they have to scrub down Fukushima City over and over again.
by Peter Melzer 7/14/2011 3:33:08 PM

@Peter Melzer I posted a japanese leaflet a while back that showed how much radiation public could remove using hints and one was wasing clothes removes 80% and they knew this from tests done when washing the workers socks? says a lot for the intergrity of their protective wear that these samples were measureable
by elainekirk 7/14/2011 3:37:22 PM

Cesium found in hay at another farm in Fukushima [14 July, 2011]: www3.nhk.or.jp
by es 7/14/2011 3:39:05 PM

Toshiba develops nuclear decontamination system [14 July, 2011]: www3.nhk.or.jp
by es 7/14/2011 3:39:19 PM

BARRIERS TO COVERAGE: High hurdles blocked reporting of Fukushima nuclear accident [14 July, 2011]: www.asahi.com
by es 7/14/2011 3:39:43 PM

Diet begins debate on renewable energy bill [14 July, 2011]: www3.nhk.or.jp
by es 7/14/2011 3:44:52 PM

Crisis min: cooling must precede evacuees' return [14 July, 2011]: www3.nhk.or.jp
by es 7/14/2011 3:45:01 PM

@elainekirk , in the real world nothing is ever perfect. I am sure that these face masks are also not 100 percent safe. The workers may move them during the day. They are sweating. It must be hot and steamy under there. That is why, it is important to be extra cautious with monitoring their contamination levels.
by Peter Melzer 7/14/2011 3:45:10 PM

@Peter Melzer one worker said that after he went into a unit someone just wiped his down with a cloth really unbelievable
by elainekirk 7/14/2011 3:47:25 PM

TEPCO starts injecting nitrogen into No. 3 Fukushima reactor

TOKYO, July 14, Kyodo

The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant said Thursday it started to inject nitrogen into the No. 3 reactor to reduce the risk of further hydrogen explosions, a move marking further progress toward containing the four-month-old nuclear crisis.

The injection of the substance into the plant's three troubled reactors has been one of the key goals Tokyo Electric Power Co. has intended to achieve by mid-July, and the No. 3 reactor was the only remaining one that was not receiving the inert gas.

As Tokyo Electric has also started to operate a new system that enables water to circulate around the three reactors to stably keep the nuclear fuel inside cool, the utility and the government believe they are basically moving ahead with the restoration work as planned in a roadmap.
english.kyodonews.jp
by Edano 7/14/2011 3:55:11 PM

cool !

Edano: Japan discussing a nuclear-free society

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary says Prime Minister Naoto Kan's Wednesday announcement will lead to a national discussion on how to realize a nuclear-free society.

Yukio Edano told reporters on Thursday that most parties are in line with the view that the nation should reduce its dependency on nuclear energy in the long run while in the meantime enhancing safety standards of current plants. He said he believes the view is a national consensus at this time.

As for the electric power supply, he indicated that restarting nuclear plants which are now halted for regular inspections is unnecessary, as nationwide conservation efforts will prevent a power shortage this summer.

Thursday, July 14, 2011 15:25 +0900 (JST)
www3.nhk.or.jp
by Edano 7/14/2011 3:59:04 PM

@Edano :)
by es 7/14/2011 4:00:17 PM

imagine the entire world (except France !) suddenly notices that their nuke plants are all redundant !
by Edano 7/14/2011 4:00:42 PM

Kyushu Electric delays restart of Sendai reactor

Kyushu Electric Power Company on Thursday announced the postponement of the restart of operations of the Number One nuclear reactor at its Sendai plant in the southwestern prefecture of Kagoshima, citing local opposition.

The reactor was initially scheduled to resume operations in late July.

A regular checkup on the reactor began in May and has been completed.

The utility cited as another reason a lack of a timetable for the central government's plan to carry out additional safety assessments called "stress tests" on nuclear plants.

The mayor of Satsumasendai City, where the plant is located, says one condition for the restart would be the restart of operations at the Genkai nuclear power plant in Saga Prefecture.

Kagoshima Governor Yuichiro Ito has demanded the central government hold a briefing on the issue for local residents.

The Number 2 reactor at the Sendai plant is also scheduled to stop operations for regular checks in September.
www3.nhk.or.jp
by Edano 7/14/2011 4:02:47 PM

another magical mashine !

Toshiba develops nuclear decontamination system

Japanese electronics maker Toshiba has developed a system to decontaminate radioactive wastewater at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant from early August.

The system, nicknamed Sarry, was shown to media at a plant in Yokohama on Thursday. It consists of a series of 14 tanks, each 1.4 meters wide and 3.6 meters high.

Minerals put inside the tanks are to absorb radioactive cesium and strontium and reduce levels of radioactivity in contaminated water by a factor of about one million.

A decontamination system in place at the Fukushima plant since June has been accident-prone and running at 73 percent capacity, far below the target of 90 percent.

The new equipment is expected to be used in parallel with or as a supplement to the existing one.

A Toshiba official says the firm made the new system simpler than the existing one by studying problems it developed.

Thursday, July 14, 2011 19:26 +0900 (JST)
www3.nhk.or.jp
by Edano 7/14/2011 4:04:26 PM

Kansai Power to shelve MOX fuel plan in Takahama

Kansai Electric Power Company has postponed a plan to introduce recycled plutonium fuel at a reactor in its nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture.

The utility told NHK on Thursday that a lack of local understanding means it cannot proceed with feeding the No.4 reactor of the Takahama plant with plutonium-uranium mixed oxide, or MOX fuel, in regular checkups starting on July 21st.

The revelation came shortly after the Mayor of Takahama Town, Yutaka Nose, told reporters that lack of transparency in the government's energy policy in the wake of the nuclear crisis makes it impossible to understand why the reactor needs MOX fuel.

Consent from Fukui Prefecture and Takahama Town is vital for the utility to carry out the plan.

The No.4 reactor was supposed to become the fifth in Japan to introduce recycled nuclear fuel, after the company began using MOX at the No.3 reactor of the plant in January.

Two power plants in Saga and Ehime Prefectures that had already used MOX fuel are not in operation.

The No.3 reactor of the Takahama plant, the only working reactor on MOX fuel, is scheduled to be suspended for regular checkups early next year.

Kansai Electric Power Company's decision is likely to affect the so-called "pluthermal" project, the pillar of the nation's nuclear recycling policy.

Thursday, July 14, 2011 19:49 +0900 (JST)
www3.nhk.or.jp
by Edano 7/14/2011 4:05:20 PM

@bo G'night. Many thanks for your thought-provoking article, for the clarity and perspective. I don't want to keep you up, but do you know what are the precedents in Japan for modifying traditional ritual performances in the wake of natural disasters? I assume Obon/Bon has been disrupted on occasions in the past, and out of necessity local solutions have been developed to preserve ancestral honour. Or is it lost forever?
by es 7/14/2011 4:10:22 PM

@lillymunster , as to the WASH-1082, I found this: atomicpowerreview.blogspot.com . Interesting pics, too. Explosions were heard from the torus of two units at Fukushima. Looks like they possess serious structural weaknesses.
by Peter Melzer 7/14/2011 4:21:44 PM

Alexander Higgins has the EPA Radnet graphs back up blog.alexanderhiggins.com
by Bobby1 7/14/2011 4:27:06 PM

I am back in the office finally so will keep an eye on the list
by lillymunster 7/14/2011 4:28:15 PM

A number of diagrams in this document www.tepco.co.jp
by elainekirk 7/14/2011 4:36:22 PM

Hamaoka host city at crossroads - Nuke plant site faces decision: Cut or preserve atomic ties? [14 July, 2011]: search.japantimes.co.jp
by es 7/14/2011 4:53:46 PM

Japan: Jump in Heatstroke Deaths [13 July, 2011]: www.nytimes.com
"Heatstroke deaths quadrupled this spring and summer as many Japanese switched off their air-conditioners in response to government appeals to curb electricity use. Twenty-six peopled died of heatstroke from June 1 to July 10, the government said, and almost 13,000 were taken to hospitals for treatment. Japan has shut down 35 of its 54 nuclear reactors since the March earthquake and tsunami, reducing national power capacity by 11 percent."
by es 7/14/2011 4:54:08 PM

Article in Ukrainian press seems to be reporting Ukraine rehabilitation centres are to host 100 children in September-October 2011 who suffered from the accident at the NPP Fukushima-1: www.kyivpost.ua
by es 7/14/2011 4:54:40 PM

LDP to promote reduced reliance on nuclear power in new energy policy [14 July, 2011]: mdn.mainichi.jp
"The largest opposition Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is set to shift its energy policy to promote reduced reliance on nuclear power following the Fukushima nuclear crisis.

The LDP decided to review its nuclear energy policy -- maintained since it was in power -- as the issue is likely to emerge as a major point of contention during the next general election for the powerful House of Representatives. It has deemed the promotion of nuclear energy will no longer win voter support.

However, the party is very unlikely to pursue total abolition of Japan's nuclear plants, which would represent a drastic policy change, and instead seek to reduce the number of nuclear reactors on a gradual basis.

In its campaign pledge for the 2010 House of Councillors election, the LDP clearly stated that it will actively promote nuclear power generation."
by es 7/14/2011 4:55:04 PM

Lithuania picks Hitachi GE for nuclear plant plan [14 July, 2011]: www.reuters.com
"Lithuania has picked Japan's Hitachi and a combined Hitachi-U.S. General Electric company to continue talks on building a new nuclear power plant by 2020, the Energy Ministry said on Thursday."
by es 7/14/2011 5:07:46 PM

France moves Japan Bastille Day party to Fukushima [14 July, 2011]: www.france24.com
"AFP - France on Thursday moved its annual Bastille Day celebrations in Japan from Tokyo to Fukushima prefecture, which was hit hard by the March 11 quake, tsunami and nuclear disaster.

It was the first time France has moved an overseas celebration of its national day to a venue outside the host country's capital.

Six hundred survivors of the quake catastrophe joined the celebration, which was hosted by French Culture and Communication Minister Frederic Mitterrand in a sign of solidarity with the quake-hit nation."
by es 7/14/2011 5:18:53 PM

Agency yet to finalize stress test plan [14 July, 2011]: www3.nhk.or.jp
"Japan's nuclear safety agency has yet to finalize plans for new safety checks on the nation's nuclear power plants, despite being asked to do so in a week.

The Nuclear Safety Commission had asked the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency to finalize in about a week the methods and a timetable for the tests.

On Wednesday, a week after the safety commission's request, the agency's official in charge of nuclear disasters, Yoshinori Moriyama, said they are unable to say at present when they would be able to report on their plan."
by es 7/14/2011 5:28:15 PM