Japan Earthquake

Japan Earthquake | Page 2278

@RadioGuy 7 days work, 7 days hospital then dead. Two weeks.
by lillymunster 8/30/2011 3:37:08 PM

@Peter Melzer the heat stroke incident probably wasn't radiation induced, the heat caused the guy to collapse. I think they conveniently wrote down his death as heart attack because his heart failed as he died from heat stroke.
by lillymunster 8/30/2011 3:38:15 PM

@dean laid out the dosages earlier, but not so much the time-frame.
by RadioGuy 8/30/2011 3:38:31 PM

@RadioGuy I added those to the article for some reference.
by lillymunster 8/30/2011 3:38:51 PM

@lillymunster Not their liability then.
by RadioGuy 8/30/2011 3:39:06 PM

@lillymunster , if this happened as a result of external exposure, the man must have been exposed to more than 1 Sv, unless he had predisposition.

by Peter Melzer 8/30/2011 3:39:11 PM

@RadioGuy Bingo. It is a standard corporate tactic to slightly rewrite something to avoid liability. It is the standard tactic in work comp cases of injury or death.
by lillymunster 8/30/2011 3:39:46 PM

@lillymunster The worker probably only stopped working on the 7th day because of his illness. So if he'd encountered anything super-hot, wouldn't it have been around the 9/10 August?
by es 8/30/2011 3:41:02 PM

@Peter Melzer Dean's mention of possibly running into an unknown hot spot. Or if he was too close to one of the known spots. The guy pictured near the 10 Sv spot was very close to the vent stack. There were also cones put out near hot spots they found that week. Someone likely placed those cones and signs.
by lillymunster 8/30/2011 3:41:17 PM

My estimate based on date of death is he worked somewhere around the 2nd of August until the 9th. Give or take a day forward or back based on how they are counting his days and if any overlapped.
by lillymunster 8/30/2011 3:42:26 PM

I recall that death from acute radiation syndrome occurs within a month. If the dose is high enough, you will die instantly with a radiation tan.
by Peter Melzer 8/30/2011 3:42:57 PM

It looks like lower exposures have some latency and the latency goes down as the exposure goes up. en.wikipedia.org
by lillymunster 8/30/2011 3:44:23 PM

@lillymunster , but they released doses for these guys. Remember on the first pics the guy was using a detector on a long boom, then we got to see a pic with a man who stood closer, perhaps at half that distance of the first guy. They must have had figured out where to stand at that time. I suspect that the deceased worked somewhere without knowing that it was near a hot spot and what the dose was.
by Peter Melzer 8/30/2011 3:49:17 PM

7 days work, 7 days hospital then dead ?
by Edano 8/30/2011 3:51:02 PM

I found this in TEPCO's Press Release of Aug 10, 2011 - Plant Status of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (as of 3:00 pm, Aug 10): www.tepco.co.jp
"Injured
-Arund 12:05 pm on August 10, one partner company worker who was mowing for curing of water treatment hose at west side of Centralized Radiation Waste Treatment Facility (outside) was injured by sickle and was transferred to the Fukushima Rosai Hospital by the ambulance."
by es 8/30/2011 3:53:15 PM

If he had been working in 10Sv/h, he could have been sick within 6 minutes.
by Peter Melzer 8/30/2011 3:53:24 PM

when he wasn't ill before, it is stupid to deny radiation as cause. i think the workers never go elsewhere, so he had no chance to get poison dose elsewhere.
by Edano 8/30/2011 3:54:17 PM

@Edano , well he could have developed leukemia before he signed on to the job, but he would have been a very sick man on arrival. I can't imagine that someone with leukemia two weeks away from death can work all day physically in a tyvek suit wearing a mask.
by Peter Melzer 8/30/2011 3:57:32 PM

This entire premise TEPCO is telling just doesn't make sense.
by lillymunster 8/30/2011 3:57:47 PM

@lillymunster , yep , I understand more and more why ikrockhopper does not trust any of them.
by Peter Melzer 8/30/2011 3:59:39 PM

@Peter Melzer of course not. impossible. aml is a very ugly disease.
by Edano 8/30/2011 4:10:46 PM

IAEA HANDBOOK OF PARAMETER VALUES FOR THE PREDICTION OF RADIONUCLIDE TRANSFER IN TERRESTRIAL AND FRESHWATER ENVIRONMENTS [2010]: jammra.org
by es 8/30/2011 4:13:36 PM

Not sure this has been noted yet. Dr. Sherman article. Virginia earthquake shakes U.S. awake to nuclear power danger. August 29, 2011 sfbayview.com
by Cryptococcus 8/30/2011 4:14:42 PM

@Cryptococcus thanks for finding that. Going to work on N Anna next
by lillymunster 8/30/2011 4:17:10 PM

yw Thanks for all the amazing work you all do!
by Cryptococcus 8/30/2011 4:18:43 PM

english.kyodonews.jp

Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant
Photo taken from a Kyodo News helicopter shows (from L to R) the Nos. 1, 2, 3, and 4 reactor buildings at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture on Aug. 30, 2011, which has been crippled since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. A large crane near the damaged No. 1 reactor building is being used to install airtight sheeting to help prevent the further spread of radioactive substances. (Kyodo) english.kyodonews.jp
by Edano via English.kyodonews.jp 8/30/2011 4:24:02 PM

The deceased was a sub-contractor, right? So the sub-contractor would probably have been tasked with verifying he's acceptable (whatever low standards those might be) and imagine what a morass that is, when they're taking their cut on every "verified" worker they send.
by RadioGuy 8/30/2011 4:25:26 PM

the contractor, I meant.
by RadioGuy 8/30/2011 4:26:24 PM

Gov't officials' role in manipulating nuclear symposiums confirmed

TOKYO, Aug. 30, Kyodo
english.kyodonews.jp
by Edano 8/30/2011 4:27:08 PM

back
by dean 8/30/2011 4:41:37 PM

@RadioGuy the worker worked for a "top tier" contractor of TEPCO
by lillymunster 8/30/2011 4:44:46 PM

@lillymunster The ones who supplied all the Yazuka workers? There could be all kinds of sordid stories in that. For all we know there are less reputable firms with recruiters out preaching radiation homesis to cancer victims to recruit them.
by RadioGuy 8/30/2011 4:50:56 PM

Does TEPCO itself do any med screening of the subcontracted workers? Do we know?
by RadioGuy 8/30/2011 4:52:10 PM

For an additonal layer of separation from liability, I'd almost bet they leave that to the contractors.
by RadioGuy 8/30/2011 4:57:40 PM

@RadioGuy , I thought about that too. The controlled zone labs where I worked were part of a big conglomerate named Hoechst AG which employed in the order of 100,000 people in the region. The company had an own fire dept., medic service and hospital (small clinic with beds). That is where I got my physicals. Large Japanese companies are not that different. I would not be surprised, if tepco maintained own health services for its employees.
by Peter Melzer 8/30/2011 5:01:35 PM

Oyster Creek Begins Startup Process
Oyster Creek Generating Station has begun the startup process after operators took the generator off line in preparation for Hurricane Irene, spokesperson Suzanne D’Ambrosio said.
“In the course of a week, Oyster Creek has experienced an earthquake. Oyster Creek has experienced a hurricane of historical proportions for the Jersey Shore. All the while, the plant stayed safe. It stood strong. It’s proof of the plant's integrity.”
“We think the workers there are an incredibly well trained group of individuals. However what this really shows is really the vulnerabilities of the plant when it comes to a very severe whether situation,” Tauro said.
When the plant shuts down, it is no longer generating electricity but electricity is still coming into the plant from the electrical grid to keep the cooling system going. The plant is still vulnerable to having their power knocked out, which would cause several problems, she said.
The two backup diesel generators that would keep the cooling system going are located in the middle of a flood plain, she said. There are also service water pumps located right off the water.
“In a storm surge, if the service water pumps are damaged, that effects the backup diesel generators,” Tauro said. “There are all these vulnerable stops all over the plant. While the workforce is fantastic the problem is the vulnerabilities of design, location of the backup diesel generators, and the location of the service water pumps combined with angry Mother Nature.”

If the plant lost cooling, there would be a buildup of steam at the reactor and the fuel pools could explode, which would result in widespread radiation. The situation would be similar to what happened to the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan, she said.
“This time we did great but next time, if we do have what’s predicted, you really don’t know what could happen here,” Tauro said.
More: barnegat.patch.com
by joniver 8/30/2011 5:09:39 PM

@Peter Melzer Employees, yes... but subcontractor sponges?
by RadioGuy 8/30/2011 5:16:23 PM

@RadioGuy the definition of who is getting what at Fuku is unclear. TEPCO will say "employees" get this or that. Workers have told people that the subcontractors get lesser gear, or don't get things like cold packs. TEPCO a few months ago tried to dance around the issue that contractor employees are not their domain. I don't know if that stance has changed as they have been forced to improve working conditions.
by lillymunster 8/30/2011 5:22:06 PM

@RadioGuy @Peter there is a beautiful tall ship moored up near fuku where the workers relax and sleep...the Tepco workers that is
by elainekirk 8/30/2011 5:23:14 PM

@elainekirk : no, not the workers, only the heads of tepco.
by Edano 8/30/2011 5:25:41 PM

@RadioGuy , no. But remember that a couple days into the crisis, all subcontractors were asked to leave the premises, only the famed 50 tepco employees were left. Among those people are the crew that went into the building to work the valves for hardened venting. While on that mission, they must have been exposed quite a bit.
by Peter Melzer 8/30/2011 5:26:20 PM

cdn.atwwwuk.com Kaiwo Maru
by Edano via Cdn.atwwwuk 8/30/2011 5:30:01 PM

@Peter Melzer Right. I'm just trying to get a handle on this one. Liability deniability prevents them from saying something clear like "Well, he was working near that pipe before we knew how hot it was" or anything else that would alleviate other workers' fears that there might be another deadly hot-spot that they don't know about. There have just been SO many layers of bad decisions upon bad decisions because no one wants the liability. It's become more like lie-ability.
by RadioGuy 8/30/2011 5:36:39 PM

@Edano, thanks (4 pages back)! :) Boy, a tsunami of research here flowed under my radar!
by Ian 8/30/2011 5:38:31 PM

This disaster is probably the best argument I've seen for nationalization of utilities. Unless you look at GoJ's performance. ::rolleyes::
by RadioGuy 8/30/2011 5:39:28 PM