Japan Earthquake

Japan Earthquake | Page 2321

'Research whaling' begins in waters off Hokkaido

KUSHIRO, Japan, Sept. 9, Kyodo

Four boats departed from the port of Kushiro, Hokkaido, on Friday to commence so-called research whaling, planning to catch up to 60 minke whales by late October to study their impact on coastal fishery stocks.

The boats returned to the port after a short time due to bad weather without catching any whales, people involved said.

The autumn program, conducted by the Association for Community-Based Whaling based in the western Japan city of Fukuoka, is authorized by the Fisheries Agency to catch whales off the Pacific coast within a 50-mile radius of Kushiro Port. Meat from the whales will be sold. english.kyodonews.jp
by Edano 9/9/2011 11:18:16 AM

english.kyodonews.jp

Kaminoseki promotes nuclear plant despite Fukushima crisis
Photo taken on Aug. 19, 2011, shows Nagashima Island (front), the planned site for Chubu Electric Power Co.'s Kaminoseki Nuclear Power Station, in the town of Kaminoseki in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan, with Iwaishima Island visible in the distance. (Kyodo) english.kyodonews.jp
by Edano via English.kyodonews.jp 9/9/2011 11:20:21 AM

TEPCO begins stress tests at idled reactors

The Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, has begun stress tests to confirm the safety of its idle nuclear reactors.

TEPCO began the tests on Friday at 2 of the 7 reactors at the Kashiwazaki-kariwa nuclear plant in Niigata Prefecture.

The utility plans to assess the reactors' earthquake and tsunami resistance through a computer simulation.

Such tests were introduced in Japan after the March 11th disaster caused reactor core meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, which is also run by TEPCO.

Other reactors across the country that are idle for regular checkups must also pass such tests before their operations can resume.

TEPCO says it hopes to confirm the safety of the halted reactors in Niigata and brief local authorities on the results.

But Niigata Governor Hirohiko Izumida says he cannot determine whether the reactors can be restarted until the Fukushima accident is properly assessed.

Friday, September 09, 2011 15:30 +0900 (JST)
www3.nhk.or.jp
by Edano 9/9/2011 11:22:32 AM

@Edano surely if they are off the pacific coast and tepco are saying the waters near the plant are no longer heavily radioactive that means the contamination the whales have either succumbed or sought food elsewhere?
spread and dilute.
by ElaineKirk edited by Edano 9/9/2011 11:23:13 AM

@edano would you like to edit that for me so it makes sense please ;)
by ElaineKirk 9/9/2011 11:24:03 AM

morning all! (afternoon-evening)
by lillymunster 9/9/2011 11:39:52 AM

Nobel laureate Oe calls for scrapping nuke plants

Nobel prize-winning author Kenzaburo Oe has called on the Japanese government to shut down all nuclear power plants in the country.

Oe made the appeal with 4 other speakers at an event in Tokyo on Thursday.

He referred to the US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, and said the nuclear accident in Fukushima makes him feel as if a third atomic bomb was dropped on Japan by its own people.

Oe urged the audience of 1,200 people to demand that the government scrap all 54 reactors in Japan.

Film director Yoji Yamada said he thinks everyone shares regret, sorrow and anger because they accepted the peaceful use of nuclear power without doubt. Yamada said opponents of nuclear power should join hands regardless of their ideology or status.

Oe is organizing a major rally in Tokyo on September 19th to call for the abolishment of nuclear power plants.

Friday, September 09, 2011 06:50 +0900 (JST)
www3.nhk.or.jp
by Edano 9/9/2011 11:48:29 AM

Elaine are you still around?
by lillymunster 9/9/2011 12:00:56 PM

Sea radiation at Japan nuke plant much higher
TOKYO - Radioactive material released into the sea in the Fukushima nuclear power plant crisis is more than triple the amount estimated by plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co, Japanese researchers say. www.reuters.com
by Peter 9/9/2011 12:02:39 PM

Quake shook nuclear plant twice as hard as design allowed
(Reuters) - Last month's record earthquake in the eastern United States may have shaken a Virginia nuclear plant twice as hard as it was designed to withstand, a spokesman for the nuclear safety regulator said on Thursday. www.reuters.com
by Peter 9/9/2011 12:08:32 PM

Ft. Calhoun and dealing with all the internet rumors. www.omaha.com
by lillymunster 9/9/2011 12:26:50 PM

I thought maybe I should post something marking where things are at since it will be 6 months on Sunday. Anyone have thoughts on progress or lack of progress that should have been done by now?
by lillymunster 9/9/2011 12:28:07 PM

Calif. San Onofre nuclear plant shut after blackout NEW YORK, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Southern California Edison's
2,150-megawatt San Onofre nuclear power plant in California
remained shut early Friday after shutting Thursday afternoon
during a blackout that left millions without power in Southern
California, according to a report by the U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission.

Utility officials at Sempra Energy's (SRE.N) San Diego Gas
& Electric said Thursday the massive blackout caused by "human
failure" left nearly 5 million people without power in parts of
California, Arizona and Mexico on Thursday. [ID:nN1E78729H]

Officials said many residents may be out of service for a
day or more. www.reuters.com
by Cryptococcus 9/9/2011 12:38:31 PM

People fleeing to Okinawa blogs.wsj.com
by lillymunster 9/9/2011 1:10:13 PM

@All hi! If some see's @Elaine Kirk(or any other pommy here)... from the link... "The remains of Hurricane Katia are expected to come across the UK on Monday bringing a spell of very windy weather. There remains a fair amount of uncertainty about its track and intensity, and warning areas may be extended or upgraded to amber in subsequent issues, but the best estimate currently is that northern and western parts of the UK are most at risk from very strong winds. The public should be aware of the risk of disruption to transport and of the possibility of damage to trees and structures.

The public are advised to take extra care, further information and advice can be found here: www.metoffice.gov.uk
by Thunder 9/9/2011 1:28:19 PM

@Thunder oo I looked in at the right moment thank you . I will be home in Scotland with my desktop by Sunday so look forward to your updates I have so missed this group
by ElaineKirk 9/9/2011 2:06:06 PM

@ElaineKirk hey, do you have email access right now?
by lillymunster 9/9/2011 2:22:43 PM

@all No German language glitches today! 3 Pennsylvania nuke plants preparing for flooding — ‘Abnormal operating procedure’ underway at Three Mile Island
enenews.com
by smoss 9/9/2011 2:28:18 PM

Greetings good friends.
by bo 9/9/2011 3:05:19 PM

@bo Hello...Good to see you!
by smoss 9/9/2011 3:15:51 PM

@smoss hey there, I have brief access to the web, so stopped by to see folks. I am so impressed by the new look at SimpyInfo! It is awesome!
by bo 9/9/2011 3:17:12 PM

Reposting from last night- Remembering "3/11": Six Months After the Fukushima Reactor Disaster, Key Lessons Appear To Be Going Unlearned www.marketwatch.com
by Panserbjorne9 9/9/2011 4:00:44 PM

could a mod please restart Organize? Thanks
by Panserbjorne9 9/9/2011 4:00:55 PM

Doh! Restarted.
by bo 9/9/2011 4:07:23 PM

english.kyodonews.jp

Half year after tsunami
Many damaged buildings and rubble remain in Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, on Sept. 9, 2011, nearly a half year after the March 11 quake and tsunami. The moon is reflected on stagnant pool of foul-smelling seawater filling a ground depression. (Kyodo) english.kyodonews.jp
by Edano via English.kyodonews.jp 9/9/2011 4:18:23 PM

@all May be old...TEPCO to Build Iron Wall to Contain Radioactive Water
Plant Status

Tokyo Electric Power Co. plans to build an “iron wall” between the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear energy facility and the ocean to keep radioactive water out of the sea. Thousands of 24-yard-long iron pipes will be sunk into the earth, extending to below the sea bed, to create a wall around the water intakes for reactors 1-4. Construction of the 875-yard wall is expected to begin by the end of the year and be complete in about two years.

safetyfirst.nei.org
by smoss 9/9/2011 4:37:29 PM

@all JAIF status report (with the following disclaimer) We have been reporting a status of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station by
summarizing news aired by NHK, which is Japanese national broadcasting company.
We regard it as most credible news among many news sources and we are happy to say
that NHK’s English website has gotten enriched and now you can see movies and
English scripts at www3.nhk.or.jp
Given this situation, we decide to simply place these scripts as it is for the record in case
that it will be deleted from the website later, rather than summarizing news as we did. www.jaif.or.jp
by smoss 9/9/2011 4:42:40 PM

Japan - Worried families at Minamisoma

Notice the boy's hand gesture when finds out he is free of radiation, somehow that little movement got to me.
Heartbreaking.
by joniver 9/9/2011 4:43:27 PM

Japan Official Ordered Nuclear E-Mails, Inquiry Finds
Investigators concluded Thursday that a nuclear plant operator that tried to manipulate public opinion with fake e-mails was acting under instructions from a high-ranking local government official, adding a new twist to a scandal that has hampered Japan’s efforts to restart idled nuclear reactors after the Fukushima disaster.
An independent investigative committee found that the governor of Saga Prefecture told the operator, Kyushu Electric Power, to send e-mails supporting the restart of two reactors at the company’s Genkai Nuclear Power Station.

The company has already admitted to ordering employees to pose as regular citizens by sending e-mails during an online town-hall-style meeting in June over whether to allow the restart of the reactors.

Mr. Furukawa has denied requesting any faked e-mails, saying a Kyushu Electric vice president misunderstood his remarks during a private meeting earlier in June.
More: www.nytimes.com
by joniver via I1235.photobucket 9/9/2011 4:54:54 PM

@all TEPCO has been examining radiation exposure of some 10,700 workers who worked at the plants. Intermediate result of this examination as of
8/10 is as follows.
103 workers received more than 100mSv. (100-150mSv: 81 workers, 150-200mSv: 14 workers, 200-250mSv: 2 workers, 250mSv-: 6 workers)
Definite exposure doses of 6 workers who received more than 250mSv are distributed from 309 to 678mSv.
*The allowable emergency limit for radiation doses: 250mSv www.jaif.or.jp
by smoss 9/9/2011 4:56:02 PM

FORMER Japanese premier Naoto Kan stopped those at the Fukushima nuclear plant from leaving after the tsunami.

The Tokyo Shimbun said Friday that Mr Kan stormed into the company's head office in response, saying: "You cannot pull out and look on quietly. Then foreign countries could say 'We'll do it'," citing a transcript it obtained.

"There is no retreat when Japan's existence is on the line," Mr Kan reportedly said, adding: "People aged 60 or older may as well go to the site."

The report said he told the then president and chairman: "Prepare to meet your fate."
More: www.perthnow.com.au
by joniver via I1235.photobucket 9/9/2011 5:15:39 PM

Hi@all, there is a very well made documentaryvideo on this site. Just scroll down abit. Its in Japanese. Even if you dont understand it, the pictures are incredible! www.tabibito.de
by Reeba 9/9/2011 5:15:58 PM

TOKYO (AP) – Japan's new trade minister apologized Friday for calling the now-desolate area around the tsunami-hit nuclear power plant "a town of death," a remark seen as insensitive to residents who had to evacuate because of radiation leaks.
www.usatoday.com
by Panserbjorne9 9/9/2011 5:23:55 PM

@Panserbjorne9 YA think? ;)
by RadioGuy 9/9/2011 5:24:18 PM

Aged North Anna Nuclear Power Plant

Quake-rattled nuclear plant puts NRC in unprecedented spot

"I guarantee you, you're going to get a lot of, "Did you think of this? Did you look at that?" said Jack Grobe, a deputy director of NRC's Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. Given the historic nature of the event, he said the agency is still figuring out what it needs to review.
When Dominion's Larry Lane said the plant -- 11 miles southwest of the quake's epicenter -- hoped to restart one of its two reactors on Sept. 22, Grobe said: "Clearly on that day we won't be ready."

More: content.usatoday.com
by joniver via I1235.photobucket 9/9/2011 6:04:20 PM

The Great San Diego Blackout
I didn’t even notice there was a black-out at first, other than the printer going off while I was trying to print protest books against San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. A group of us formed up post-Fukushima, and we’re going places and raising awareness. And we need books — lots of books! People are pretty ignorant about the dangers, even post-Fukushima. There’s a lot of information being kept from the public and misinformation being presented to them.

San Onofre didn’t help at all to keep the power on when the grid went down.

Instead, they had to shut down themselves! Supposedly this was because “they had no place to send the power.” That’s how the spokesperson for the plant describes it.

But I would say it was because they had no offsite power coming INTO the plant! That’s what probably really shut the plant down.

But one way or the other, here’s the obvious thing: San Onofre is not helping.

San Onofre is presumably currently operating on Emergency Diesel Generators as I write this — and generating ZERO power to help alleviate the situation.
More: www.counterpunch.org
by joniver 9/9/2011 6:11:55 PM

NRC rejects quick restart at Virginia nuclear plant: Nuclear regulators shot down an ambitious five-week timeline proposed to restart Dominion's (D.N) two North Anna reactors in Virginia during a public meeting on Thursday to discuss the Aug. 23 earthquake that knocked the station offline. www.reuters.com
by Majj 9/9/2011 6:40:37 PM

Fukushima in recriticality Posted by Mochizuki on September 9th, 2011. At four different places in Japan,Iodine 131 was detected between 15th-25th August. The half life time of Iodine 131 is about 8 days. It’s natural to think Fukushima got into the recriticality state. fukushima-diary.com [What's the latest on this idea that Cesium 131 is still being released?]
by Cryptococcus 9/9/2011 6:57:58 PM

Also, these photos of cicadas. Sure, not enough good science here to give evidence. But photos do help I suppose. www.freeml.com and fukushima-diary.com
by Cryptococcus 9/9/2011 6:59:56 PM

@Cryptococcus the only thing they are testing for right now, at least as far as telling the public is Cesium 137 and 134.
by lillymunster 9/9/2011 7:02:57 PM

@Cryptococcus someone sent me the original Japanese article via twitter yesterday and I couldn't make sense of it at all except the iodine and tokyo part.

I am trying to think of any way possible other than ongoing reaction to cause this and can't think of one why there would still be iodine 6 months later?
by lillymunster 9/9/2011 7:05:35 PM

@Cryptococcus @lillymunster There's this, I guess, but it would take rainfall studies: Half-life doesn't mean gone. Ma-On's remains washed over Fukushima in late July. Maybe that's the wash-down from a much larger amount several decays down the half-life chain?
by RadioGuy 9/9/2011 7:10:18 PM

I wonder how long that takes to get to sludge? zero to 2,300 Bq/kg somewhere in the 14 days after August 11.
by RadioGuy 9/9/2011 7:13:02 PM

@RadioGuy I think we need to determine what the complete life of I-131 is and also look at the iodine level vs cesium level if it is still possible to have I-131 6 months later. Sludge is an obvious concentrator so seeing large amounts of something is expected. I was under the assumption that I-131 would be gone by now?
by lillymunster 9/9/2011 7:15:01 PM