Japan Earthquake

Japan Earthquake | Page 2071

@M.I.A. dark spot to the left of the back tower leg?
by lillymunster 8/3/2011 2:29:31 PM

Kenzo Miya, a professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo and an expert in nuclear engineering, suggested another possible explanation.
"As well as radiation spilling out when the vents were opened, we can't rule out that radioactive substances poured into the pipe during the hydrogen explosion" that damaged the reactor on March 12, Miya said.
"Radiation levels also could be high in the exhaust stacks of the Nos. 3 and 4 reactors. This should be closely checked to ensure the safety of workers at the plant," he said. www.yomiuri.co.jp
by Majj 8/3/2011 2:30:13 PM

@lillymunster yes, and then follow the line of it to front leg...
by M.I.A. 8/3/2011 2:30:23 PM

@M.I.A. the start of it looks more like shadow on the small retaining wall but as it goes toward the closer tower leg it does look more like a crack.
by lillymunster 8/3/2011 2:32:47 PM

The concrete apron should be smooth, maybe. It may just be debris on it only, but seems like there's a shadow...
by M.I.A. 8/3/2011 2:32:49 PM

The three workers tested for radiation, using measuring equipment with a maximum measure of 10 sieverts, which means the actual level of radiation was likely higher.
Because that level of radiation was detected on the outside of the piping, the level inside the piping could be even higher.
The workers were exposed to a maximum level of 4 millisieverts of radiation. The area where the high level of radiation was detected was subsequently made off-limits to workers. www.asahi.com
by Majj 8/3/2011 2:32:50 PM

Personal account of a worker who climbed into a running steam generator in a reactor. globalvoicesonline.org
by lillymunster 8/3/2011 2:42:24 PM

Sellafield MOX plant to close. www.guardian.co.uk
by lillymunster 8/3/2011 2:46:08 PM

Fukushima's nuclear cauldron: Retirees who want to go in
www.csmonitor.com
by Panserbjorne9 8/3/2011 2:49:53 PM

@M.I.A. , the RPV is clad in a concrete radiation shield. Hence, under normal operational conditions, rad levels are much lower than what they show now, if I recall correctly much less than 1 Sv/h. We assume that the RPV has been breached, and corium has escaped to the bottom of the dry well. Tepco thinks the dry well is partially under water (see diagrams elaine posted earlier today). The water is constantly boiling away and must be replenished. There seems to be significant concern of hydrogen production either through radiolysis or through renewed oxidation of cladding of not yet molten fuel rods. The contamination found in the stack and in the second floor room may be the remainder of hardened venting in March and may have only be found by this week's explorations. In addition, happenings in the containment may have caused new radiation releases. We are left with second guessing. The containment monitor readings from the dry well (which is now wet) are so spurious, who knows what they mean? It could be that the water in the containment undergoes spurts of highly radioactive steam release, bubbling up and down. The stack between Units 3 and 4 should be similarly contaminated.
by Peter Melzer 8/3/2011 2:58:47 PM

@MIA, I meant the radiation levels in the primary containment in my second sentence, ;)
by Peter Melzer 8/3/2011 3:25:37 PM

Daily news roundup done www.simplyinfo.org
by lillymunster 8/3/2011 3:35:53 PM

Radiation has impeded attempts to replace cooling systems to bring three melted reactors and four damaged spent fuel ponds under control after a tsunami on March 11 crippled the plant. The latest reading was taken on the second floor of the No. 1 reactor building and will stop workers entering the area.
“It’s probably the first of many more to come,” said Michael Friedlander, who spent 13 years operating nuclear power plants in the U.S., including the Crystal River Station in Florida. “Although I am not surprised, it concerns me greatly; the issue is the worker safety.”
The 10 sieverts of radiation detected on Aug. 1 outside reactor buildings was the highest the Geiger counters used were capable of reading, indicating the level could have been higher, Junichi Matsumoto, a general manager at the utility, said at a press conference. www.bloomberg.com
by Majj 8/3/2011 4:01:41 PM

I guess I haven't told you. You can use all Akai tsubu tsubu cartoons for peace purpose. and, We will make more English versions soon.
by elainekirk 8/3/2011 4:08:13 PM

@Majj at least they are starting to accept that the workers are people first and foremost now lets hope they start investing in their welfare more
by elainekirk 8/3/2011 4:09:19 PM

Vermont health regulators said on Tuesday they found a fish containing radioactive material in
the Connecticut River near Entergy's (ETR.N) Vermont Yankee
nuclear power plant which could be another setback for Entergy
to keep it running.
The state said it needs to do more testing to determine the
source of the Strontium-90, which can cause bone cancer and
leukemia.
Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin wants the 620 megawatts
reactor shut in March 2012 when its original operating license
was to expire. www.reuters.com
by Majj 8/3/2011 4:17:38 PM

Massacre National Park, USA
In what looks like the establishment of a state religion, federal- and state-funded monuments to nuclear weapons are popping up all over the country.
Hoping perhaps to enshrine the myth that the god of the underworld, after which Plutonium was named, can be transformed from a vengeful, bloodthirsty self-destructive nightmare demon, into a benign peace-loving fairytale prince, government propagandists are establishing nuclear war theme parks — but without the uncomfortable taint of mass murder or Cold War hatreds.

Tours recently began being offered at the “B Reactor” on the Hanford Reservation in Washington State where for decades plutonium for the nuclear arsenal was extracted in a way that permanently threatens the Columbia River. At Rocky Flats, Colorado, where the machining of plutonium poisoned tens of square miles, a National Wildlife Refuge has been established. Near Fargo, North Dakota, the State Historical Society now owns a deactivated intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launch control center, has dubbed it “Ronald Reagan Minuteman Missile Site” and opened it to tourism. In South Dakota, a disarmed ICBM launch center run by the National Park Service is called the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site and you can go underground to personally simulate at attack that could murder multiple millions of people.
More: www.huntingtonnews.net
Oh what a fun day for the family.
by joniver 8/3/2011 4:23:01 PM

@elainekirk I'm very sorry but Idon't agree. This is all theater . For 4 months they did not care. They will not change the tactics now. People is not the same there. There are people and people and the rights this people have can variate very mouth. Is not easy be party of a minority in Asia.Remember when Google Earth show that a big area where spencives building were made over a very old low class area . The riches get in panic and Goggles tock the information out. Works are disposable. There and every were in the word. They are like soldiers. No body care what happen after the wor . Only us here :-(((
by Majj 8/3/2011 4:25:32 PM

@joniver WTH? I remember hearing they turned a silo site into a museum in western SD but they have it set up so you can pretend to do a missile strike? When they opened that the media here portrayed it as a look into the cold war.
by lillymunster 8/3/2011 4:28:49 PM

@elainekirk Exemple : ""his discovery isn't that big of a deal.""" They just will have to kill some workers..... The Japanese nuclear team observed these fizzing pockets from afar with a gamma camera, because it's still too dangerous to get within smelling distance of the crippled plant. Tepco has since sealed up the area, and says this discovery isn't that big of a deal. Reports MSNBC:
Tepco, which provides power to Tokyo and neighboring areas, said it had not detected a sharp rise in overall radiation levels at the compound.
"The high dose was discovered in an area that doesn't hamper recovery efforts at the plant," Tepco spokesman Junichi Matsumoto told reporters on Tuesday. www.wjla.com
by Majj 8/3/2011 4:31:18 PM

@elainekirk what are the cartoons your talking about?
by lillymunster 8/3/2011 4:35:39 PM

@lillymunster Lily don't worry, atomic - nuclear, it's all warm fuzzy fun for the family and nothing to be afraid of.
More PR BS.
by joniver 8/3/2011 4:42:22 PM

@lillymunster sry here are the cartoons free to use
www.mikanblog.com
www.mikanblog.com
www.mikanblog.com

message that came with them-
"I guess I haven't told you. You can use all Akai tsubu tsubu cartoons for peace purpose. and, We will make more English versions soon."
by elainekirk 8/3/2011 4:45:04 PM

@elainekirk Oh the red pebbles.
by lillymunster 8/3/2011 4:52:08 PM

Sake shipments surge in 3 disaster-hit prefectures after promotional efforts
Shipments of refined sake from the three disaster-hit prefectures of Fukushima, Miyagi and Iwate boomed in May, apparently as a result of promotional events to help the areas recover from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

Brewers in the prefectures, who saw shipments rise between 20 and 60 percent in May from a year earlier, say the sudden popularity is unprecedented. At the same time, some fear that concerns about the effects of radiation from the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant on rice and other materials used in the brewing process may hurt sales of sake produced from this autumn onwards.

Okunomatsu Sake Brewery in Nihonmatsu, Fukushima Prefecture, which had been particular about using local rice in its products, is considering switching to rice produced in other prefectures starting this autumn.

"Even if the radiation level of the sake we produce is below the standard, that won't be enough to persuade customers to choose our products. We will make a thorough effort to ensure safety and peace of mind," said company official Yasuo Usuki.

Nationwide shipments of refined sake have been declining in Japan after peaking at about 1.7 million kiloliters in 1975. In 2009 the figure dropped to about 620,000 kiloliters. The recent boom has accordingly caught brewers off guard.

"We've never experienced sales like this -- it's almost scary," commented Atsushi Nakui of the Iwate prefectural brewer's association.
More: mdn.mainichi.jp
by joniver 8/3/2011 4:54:16 PM

Discussions begin on how to scrap Fukushima plant

A government-appointed panel has begun discussing the timetable for decommissioning the reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

About 30 people, including members of the Atomic Energy Commission and officials from the plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, took part in the panel's initial meeting on Wednesday.

Yuichi Hayase, who joined US researchers in studying the accident at Three Mile Island in 1979, briefed the participants on how that plant was brought under control.
Hayase explained that it took 11 years to extract all the fuel rods, as workers were coping with the world's first nuclear meltdown. It was also necessary to develop remote-controlled robots and technology to process contaminated wastewater.

Panel members discussed middle- and long-term challenges in the decommissioning process, such as how to repair the reactor containment vessels and decontaminate the buildings by remote control to enable extraction of the fuel rods.

One expert cited the need for long-term training of specialized personnel, while another said international expertise is essential in drawing up the timetable.

Kyoto University Professor Hajimu Yamana, who heads the panel, said he expects longer preparations for extracting the fuel rods, because the reactor cores at Fukushima are more badly damaged than at Three Mile Island.

The panel plans to finalize the timetable by early next year, at the end of the second stage of the process to bring the plant under control.

Wednesday, August 03, 2011 19:07 +0900 (JST)
www3.nhk.or.jp
by Edano 8/3/2011 4:57:17 PM

scrap ? why scrap ?
by Edano 8/3/2011 4:57:26 PM

An interesting series Greg Mitchell is doing this week leading up to the anniversary of Hiroshima. www.thenation.com
by lillymunster 8/3/2011 4:59:10 PM

Nagasaki mayor calls for nuclear-free NE Asia

The mayor of Nagasaki has urged the Japanese government to start efforts to denuclearize Northeast Asia, as the first step toward creating a nuclear-free world.

Mayor Tomihisa Taue met with Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto in Tokyo on Wednesday.

Mayor Taue said he has been garnering signatures from municipality chiefs across the country for a petition calling for Northeast Asia to be denuclearized. He said he has collected more than 100 signatures so far.

He said the Japanese government should support the movement in order to start denuclearization efforts.

Foreign Minister Matsumoto said US President Barack Obama called for a nuclear-free world and that the Japanese government has been making serious efforts toward achieving nuclear arms control and non-proliferation.

He says it will be not easy to realize such a world but that the government will take the will of the mayors seriously.

After the meeting, Taue told reporters that no progress will be made toward scrapping nuclear arms as long as people only call for abolishing such weapons without taking any specific action.

He says showing the efforts of Japan, the only country attacked by nuclear bombs, to realize a nuclear-free Northeast Asia will become a step toward reaching the next stage.

Wednesday, August 03, 2011 21:02 +0900 (JST)
www3.nhk.or.jp
by Edano 8/3/2011 5:00:24 PM

@Edano Nope, a little duct tape and some sky blue paint and they will be back up and running in no time! /sarcasm
by lillymunster 8/3/2011 5:00:52 PM

Sellafield plant set to cut 600 posts
A nuclear fuel manufacturing plant at the Sellafield complex in ***bria is to close, putting 600 jobs at risk.

The Mox plant, which recycles plutonium into mixed oxide fuel, is no longer viable because of uncertainty in the Japanese nuclear industry, the plant's only customer, officials said.

Officials at the Prospect union, which represents the workers, condemned the decision, saying it had been made without consultation.

The union said it was "ill-conceived".

The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) which runs the plant says workers may be offered jobs elsewhere in the complex.

However, it admits there is no guarantee of redeployment. It says the closure of the plant will take several months.
More: www.bbc.co.uk
by joniver 8/3/2011 5:00:54 PM

@joniver cool !
by Edano 8/3/2011 5:02:26 PM

they can offer them jobs in japan ...
by Edano 8/3/2011 5:03:15 PM

That ridiculously edited, word, is C U M B R I A.
by joniver 8/3/2011 5:04:08 PM

@Edano It gladdens my heart to read an article like that:)
by joniver 8/3/2011 5:04:57 PM

@joniver sooner the better they have turned the Irish sea into what was until March the most radioactive sea in the world
by elainekirk 8/3/2011 5:15:01 PM

@lillymunster yes the red pebbles I like it I am known for my blue blots elsewhere so red pebbles will fit in my world nicely
by elainekirk 8/3/2011 5:19:54 PM

@lillymunster And don't forget those bungee cords, they have a million uses...sagging pipes, faulty ducts. Hang a few little green pine tree air fresheners to give the place a delightful scent. But be sure to bring a jar Vaseline to rub in your eyes and on your camera lens. Works like magic!
by joniver 8/3/2011 5:22:22 PM

@joniver LOL. :-)

@Elaine, I read this one yesterday. Why the US suddenly wants to make MOX and Canada wants to run it seems unfathomable while the rest of the world is pulling back. www.nirs.org
by lillymunster 8/3/2011 5:23:57 PM

@joniver Re: the sake. I'm guessing the boom has little to do with sympathy buying, and more to do with a realization among Japanese sake drinkers that this may be their last chance to stock up while it's pre-Daiichi sake.
by RadioGuy 8/3/2011 5:27:43 PM