Japan Earthquake

Japan Earthquake | Page 2325

wow, this is more of a muppets show than a government !
by Edano 9/10/2011 5:44:03 PM

english.kyodonews.jp

Industry minister Hachiro quits over gaffes on Fukushima crisis

TOKYO, Sept. 10, Kyodo

Japan's industry minister Yoshio Hachiro resigned from his post Saturday after making remarks that angered and displeased people affected by the crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, political sources said.

Hachiro submitted a resignation letter to Noda, who accepted it, they said. His resignation deals a blow to Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda who took office and launched his Cabinet just last week, succeeding Prime Minister Naoto Kan.

Hachiro is scheduled to hold a press conference later Saturday. english.kyodonews.jp
by Edano via English.kyodonews.jp 9/10/2011 5:45:22 PM

Hachiro resigns

Japan's Economy, Trade, and Industry Minister has tendered his resignation to Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda. The Prime Minister accepted it.

Yoshio Hachiro abruptly resigned after making an inappropriate remark about radiation on Thursday.

Following a visit to the areas around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, Hachiro joked to reporters that he had been infected with radioactivity.

He also described the area as a ghost town.

He later apologized saying he had used a wrong expression that could cause misunderstanding.

The Noda Cabinet was inaugurated only 8 days ago, on September 2nd.

Tatsuo Hirano, a ruling Democratic Party member and the minister in charge of the reconstruction in northeastern Japan, told reporters that the resignation is regrettable as the Noda Cabinet has just begun to engage in rebuilding the area and dealing with the Fukushima accident.

Asked about the Prime Minister's responsibility for Hachiro's appointment, he said there may be such an assertion but the Cabinet must concentrate on resolving existing problems.

The vice president of the largest opposition Liberal Democratic Party, Tadamori Oshima, told NHK that the Prime Minister needs to take responsibility for the appointment and that his party will demand an explanation from the ruling party in the Diet's Budget Committee.

He also said the problem occurred because the Prime Minister had failed to appoint the proper person for the position.

He said such an appointment based on the DPJ's internal factions is, and will be, doomed to fail.

He added that the people have lost trust in the Cabinet and its efforts to resolve the Fukushima crisis.

Saturday, September 10, 2011 22:59 +0900 (JST)
www3.nhk.or.jp
by Edano 9/10/2011 5:48:51 PM

@Ian water level, pressure, radiation data : www.tepco.co.jp
temp data : www.tepco.co.jp
by Edano 9/10/2011 5:57:42 PM

www.brisbanetimes.com.au
Fukushima's wave of despair
For many, faith in government has been eroded amid criticism over its response to the disaster and suspicions it underplayed the scale of the nuclear crisis, and as political infighting overshadows recovery efforts.
Radiation fears are a daily fact of life after water, beef, vegetables, tea and seafood were contaminated by the Fukushima accident.
''Since March 11, my life has changed completely,'' said Yuko Sugimoto, 56, from Namie, a village in the 20-kilometre no-go zone set up around the nuclear plant after it was crippled in the tsunami.

Read more: www.brisbanetimes.com.au
by RadioGuy 9/10/2011 7:02:17 PM

This Japanese radiation map just resurfaced. www.nnistar.com

It's disheartening how many high-rad areas are outside the exclusion zones.
by RadioGuy 9/10/2011 7:13:05 PM

abcnews.go.com
East Coast Earthquake: Twice What Nuclear Plant Designed to Withstand
The 5.8-magnitude earthquake last month in Virginia caused about twice as much ground shaking as a nearby nuclear power plant was designed to withstand, according to a preliminary federal analysis.

Parts of the North Anna Power Station in Mineral, Va., 11 miles from its epicenter, endured jolts equal to 26% of the force of gravity (0.26g) from some of the vibrations unleashed by the quake, said Scott Burnell, spokesman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

An NRC document says the reactors' containment structure was built to withstand 12% of the force of gravity (0.12g.) Dominion, the plant's operator, says parts of the plant can handle up to 0.18g.
by RadioGuy 9/10/2011 7:28:51 PM

Research on US nuclear levels after Fukushima could aid in future nuclear detection . The amount of radiation released during the Fukushima nuclear disaster was so great that the level of atmospheric radioactive aerosols in Washington state was 10,000 to 100,000 times greater than normal levels in the week following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that triggered the disaster. www.physorg.com
by Majj 9/10/2011 8:27:12 PM

Greetings @all I am home with lotsa catching up to do :)
by elainekirk 9/10/2011 8:41:46 PM

@Lilly and good evening to all
NRC Meeting On North Anna 09/08/11 -
PUBLIC MEETING WITH VIRGINIA ELECTRIC AND POWER COMPANY (VEPCO), ON THE AUGUST 23, 2011 EARTHQUAKE NEAR THE NORTH ANNA POWER STATION, UNIT NOS. 1 AND 2 (NAPS)
can be reviewed or downloaded (mp3 (151mb)/mpeg4) now from the vid-archive page:
video.nrc.gov
by Vivre 9/10/2011 8:41:57 PM

Japan's new trade minister has quit after calling the area around the tsunami-hit Fukushima nuclear plant a "town of death", media reports say.
www.bbc.co.uk
by elainekirk 9/10/2011 8:46:39 PM

@Edano, thanks again n again! :)
by Ian 9/10/2011 8:56:41 PM

@Edano, so what do you think about that on and around Mar 21-23 there's no radiation spike in the Unit-3 drywell? Surely if corium (whether the first load or a second large deposit) relocated into the drywell at that time as per Tanabe, there should be a simultaneous massive spike in D/W radiation. I can't see any way around that. On the other hand, radiation was at its peak on Mar 14 and just hours before the blast, consistent with melt-through shortly before the blast. All the containment data for 3 seems to point to melt-through @#3 around Mar 13-14. That we also have an explosion in that time frame seems to make that melt-through scenario inescapable.
by Ian 9/10/2011 9:09:40 PM

@Ian hi, i have to think about it :)
by Edano 9/10/2011 9:12:16 PM

Another curiosity is why would D/W radiation fall so smoothly since Mar 14? The emissions from corium should be steady for decades. Could this slow fall reflect a China syndrome? Ie, that the corium is traveling (digging) further and further away from the sensor?!!
by Ian 9/10/2011 9:13:39 PM

@Edano, the zoom-in data you added looks great! Thanks! Also odd is the water-level data just before the Unit 3 blast. It behaves a lot like the core pressure, sudden fall then sudden rise, then sudden fall then kabooom!
by Ian 9/10/2011 9:15:58 PM

the decrease in radiation is caused by emission to the outside. in the air and by the cooling water, which now is cleared by the magical mashine. when you look at #2 radiation closely, you can exactly see how the radiation falls when the doors were opened (blue graph).
by Edano 9/10/2011 9:18:46 PM

@Edano, good observation! That makes sense.
by Ian 9/10/2011 9:20:05 PM

the biggest rad spike in drywell i would expect when the rpv cracks for the first time, because then the cooling water goes into the drywell.
by Edano 9/10/2011 9:20:39 PM

corium is like lava, it develops a hard skin at times, made of ceramics. wikipedia has a good article on corium. i think the emissions of fission products from corium varies over the time. most emissions i would expect in liquid state. let's not forget, for a fission process we need a moderator that slows down the neutrons. water does that, so recriticality in corium needs water within. if corium forms a big ball, it has a small surface and will build a ceramic crust. there will be no water inside and hence no fission. when corium moves and melts, it will have more contact to water and have more fission.
by Edano 9/10/2011 9:26:02 PM

dean and i suggested that ongoing quakes may crack the corium crust and lead to higher radiation. you can see a correspondence between high rad spikes and quakes in #1 (red graph). but it is all just speculation.
by Edano 9/10/2011 9:28:47 PM

is there a first piece of plastic cover on #1 steel frame ?
by Edano 9/10/2011 9:37:44 PM

@Edano, yes, just a moment ago I was going to mention that you've noted slight rises with quakes. Interesting and plausible explanatory theory given the corium dynamics you describe.
by Ian 9/10/2011 9:38:08 PM

I wonder why they're going to clear off Unit 3 upper-deck debris before they cover it, but are covering Unit 1 and not clearing off its upper deck.
by Ian 9/10/2011 9:39:57 PM

Or maybe they will clear off Unit 1 too. It's upper deck is even more covered with debris, primary the roof bitumen that's like a giant rug draped over the Unit 1 upper deck.
by Ian 9/10/2011 9:42:16 PM

@Edano, based on the physical dynamics of corium you describe, it really fits that melt-through happened Mar 13-14 hence the highest radiation being measured then. Then thereafter its exterior layer started to progressively harden and thus progressively reduce its emissions. But if corium had flowed into the drywell on Mar 21-23, it would be fluid and emitting maximally. Yet the data shows no such occurrence.
by Ian 9/10/2011 9:59:15 PM

@Ian sounds good.
by Edano 9/10/2011 10:01:35 PM

@Ian is the data reliable? we know how fond tepco are of 'faulty' readings
by elainekirk 9/10/2011 10:01:45 PM

@elainekirk i think it is reliable. the data is handed out twice a day and there haven't been made any backward corrections.
by Edano 9/10/2011 10:04:24 PM

but, however, the data we get is not sufficient to make clear theories.
by Edano 9/10/2011 10:05:45 PM

@elainekirk I think Edano is right. They may withhold and misdirect and minimize, but I think corporate deniability, however much of it you can achieve, depends on nor obviously lying in any way such that you can be caught by your own figures.
by RadioGuy 9/10/2011 10:06:25 PM

@Edano @RadioGuy yup this is true :)
by elainekirk 9/10/2011 10:07:40 PM

@elainekirk, what I find reliable about the data is that I developed a model bounded by the physical structure of the U3 explosion iangoddard.com before I studied the containment data. So when I came to the data with requirements about what it should show if the model I developed is right. So to find that lo and behold, virtually all the U3 containment data pans out as the model requires is like, wow! That makes me confident that the data is correct.
by Ian 9/10/2011 10:10:52 PM

Been gone most of the day. Is there anything I missed that needs to go on the website?
by lillymunster 9/10/2011 10:20:19 PM

@lillymunster still catching up on all the news
by ElaineKirk 9/10/2011 10:21:25 PM

@Ian I think unit 3 is getting uncovered because the radiation levels on the deck are really high. They were taking rad readings over the units about 3 weeks ago. With the unique situation at #3 and we know some fuel was expelled at least in the steam it could be too high. #3 has been a challenge to get people inside due to high rad readings. So they likely need to do anything to lower the rad on or in 3 before they stuff a tent over the top.
by lillymunster 9/10/2011 10:24:20 PM

It looked from the way the cranes were moving around like they were still doing that this past week.
by RadioGuy 9/10/2011 10:32:22 PM

@lilly you'd might like to add a link on the webside to the available NRC recording I posted below
by Vivre 9/10/2011 10:33:18 PM

A cover would just hold all that in.

That's got to be a truly iffy task, moving that stuff around. Nuclear Jenga anyone? Do you suppose they had a camera on that crane so they could get a look before starting?
by RadioGuy 9/10/2011 10:34:27 PM

@RadioGuy nuclear mikado with the fuel sticks. hot !
by Edano 9/10/2011 10:40:51 PM

This is a catalogue of photo's of the damage etc to Fukushima Daini it may be useful ? www.tepco.co.jp
by ElaineKirk 9/10/2011 10:45:46 PM

@RadioGuy they intend to do the same at #4. That really worries me what could happen as they start removing things. They referred to it as demolition. So I am assuming they are going to try to remove some of those broken upper wall sections and roof gridwork.
by lillymunster 9/10/2011 11:05:40 PM

@lillymunster, thanks for the explanation! That cesium-vapor-colored residue over the girders near the south well-cap-rim ejection spot should be extremely hot if it is in fact cesium-vapor residue!
by Ian 9/10/2011 11:25:56 PM