Japan Earthquake

Japan Earthquake | Page 2479

english.kyodonews.jp

Fukushima children start undergoing lifelong thyroid examinations

FUKUSHIMA, Japan, Oct. 9, Kyodo

Children in Fukushima Prefecture started taking ultrasonic thyroid examinations Sunday to check whether the nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant has affected a gland which in growing children is particularly vulnerable to damage by radiation.

Local officials said authorities plan to check the thyroids of about 360,000 children in the prefecture up to age 18 as of April 1, and conduct follow-up tests for the rest of their lives in what they say will be a project of an unprecedented scale in the world.

With the help of Fukushima Medical University, the Fukushima prefectural government launched the massive testing program in response to parents concerned by evidence showing an increased incidence of thyroid cancer among children after the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. english.kyodonews.jp
by Edano via English.kyodonews.jp 10/9/2011 11:43:55 AM

www3.nhk.or.jp

Thyroid checkups begin for Fukushima children

The Fukushima prefectural government has begun thyroid examinations for children in an effort to assess the health impact of the nuclear accident.

The examinations will cover around 360,000 youths aged 18 or younger as of April 1st.

Their health will be monitored for their lifetime. Radioactive iodine released from the damaged nuclear plant could accumulate in children's thyroid glands, raising the possibility of cancer.

On Sunday, 150 children from some municipalities in the government-designated evacuation zone, such as Iitate Village and the Yamakiya district of Kawamata town, underwent ultrasound examinations for tumors or other problems at Fukushima Medical University. www3.nhk.or.jp
by Edano via Www3.nhk.or.jp 10/9/2011 11:46:54 AM

@Edano I don't trust them to be honest with the results, I really wish I could
by elainekirk 10/9/2011 11:47:13 AM

@elainekirk no, they just need statistical data, they are not interested in health.
by Edano 10/9/2011 11:47:58 AM

www3.nhk.or.jp

Temperatures drop at Fukushima damaged reactors

New footage of the troubled Fukushima Daiichi plant has been released by the Tokyo Electric Power Company. No steam is seen leaving the No.2 and 3 reactors, which indicates that internal temperatures have dropped.

On Saturday TEPCO released video footage taken from above the No. 1 through No. 3 reactor buildings between Monday and Thursday.

As for the No. 1 reactor building, a hydrogen explosion collapsed its roof, blocking a clear view of the inside.

The video shows that the No. 2 reactor building suffered no major damage to its pipes and other equipment.

However, inside the No. 3 reactor building debris are scattered everywhere.

TEPCO confirmed that no steam is presently being released from reactors No.2 and 3.
In August, the 2 reactors were emitting steam.

Officials say the temperature inside the No. 3 reactor dropped below 100 degrees Celsius 3 weeks ago, followed by a decline in temperature at reactor No.2.

TEPCO believes that the drop in temperatures has led to the reduction in steam.

Photos of the central control rooms for No. 1 and 2 reactors were also released.

The maximum radiation level in the control rooms is 0.01 millisieverts per hour.

Sunday, October 09, 2011 08:58 +0900 (JST)
www3.nhk.or.jp
by Edano via Www3.nhk.or.jp 10/9/2011 11:49:22 AM

IAEA radiation team arrives in Fukushima

A team of radiation experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency has visited Fukushima Prefecture to exchange views with members of the Japanese government decontamination task force.

The 12-member IAEA team has been in Japan since Friday to give advice on ways to effectively clean up radioactive substances, at the request of Environment Minister Goshi Hosono.

The team includes IAEA experts on radiation protection and radioactive waste as well as Russian experts with knowledge of the 1986 Chernobyl accident.

The team arrived in the prefecture on Sunday morning and exchanged views with prefectural officials and members of the government decontamination task force.

The head of the Japanese task force, Masaru Moriya, said it is essential to make living space safe through decontamination, as tens of thousands of people are still living in shelters.

Moriya said he hopes members of the IAEA team will give advice from a technical viewpoint based on their knowledge of and experience in decontamination.

The IAEA team's leader, Juan Carlos Lentijo, said the team will inspect demonstration experiments for decontamination and try to make a useful report to Japan and the rest of the world. Lentijo is general director at Spain's nuclear regulatory authority.

The team will later visit Minami Soma City to inspect areas for the government's model decontamination projects. For the remaining 2 days, the team will also visit Date City and Iitate Village.

Sunday, October 09, 2011 13:03 +0900 (JST)
www3.nhk.or.jp
by Edano 10/9/2011 11:50:41 AM

Removal of hydrogen continues at Fukushima plant

Tokyo Electric Power Company will try to remove more hydrogen from the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on Sunday. The density of the gas increased in pipes connected to the No. 1 reactor after a significant drop on Saturday.

Last month, TEPCO found that hydrogen had built up inside pipes leading to the No. 1 reactor containment vessel and its density was between 61 and 63 percent of the total gas present.

This poses a problem because releasing high densities of hydrogen outside the reactor building could cause another explosion.

On Saturday, TEPCO spent one hour removing hydrogen, while at the same time injecting nitrogen to the pipes to reduce the risk of an explosion.

About half an hour later, the company found the percentage of hydrogen had dropped to nearly zero.

However 2 hours later, the density was measured at 3.9 percent. Even though TEPCO says an explosion is unlikely, hydrogen at a density of over 4 percent could cause a blast when mixed with oxygen.

TEPCO believes that the hydrogen level rose because gas accumulated in the upper part of the pipes may have redistributed internally.

Sunday, October 09, 2011 08:58 +0900 (JST)
www3.nhk.or.jp
by Edano 10/9/2011 11:51:45 AM

@Edano tepco believes that nobody is in a position to contradict their beliefs
by elainekirk 10/9/2011 11:54:25 AM

they have moved the lighting to behind the tower on 1 I wonder if it is getting too hot around the unit
by elainekirk 10/9/2011 11:58:37 AM

greetings to all
by dean 10/9/2011 1:09:51 PM

@dean greetings dean
by elainekirk 10/9/2011 1:12:58 PM

"Radiation dose is in steady decline" has been confirmed. On September 20,
we updated the further progress.
By bringing the reactors and spent fuel pools to a stable cooling
condition and mitigating the release of radioactive materials, we will
make every effort to enable evacuees to return to their homes and for all
citizens to be able to secure a sound life......THIS is from the daily status... with "sound life" being the operative words... hmmmmmm
by dean 10/9/2011 1:17:31 PM

@ elaine.. did lilly set up the procedure for when we review the FOIA to provide inputs
by dean 10/9/2011 1:19:01 PM

@dean I dont know dean she should be around she usually is by this time
by elainekirk 10/9/2011 1:26:49 PM

@dean return citizens whilst the build up of hydrogen conitues in #1 despite them getting it to zero it was back at 3.9 in 2hrs nothing stable there
by elainekirk 10/9/2011 1:28:02 PM

@ elaine.. the point exactly,,, when you look at google earth map and see the area around the plants it just makes me think in my minds eye what it would be like for families, at this point, to even plan a return, especially with young/unborn children
by dean 10/9/2011 1:31:59 PM

@dean frightening and yet you can see that is what the gov and tepco are angling for
by elainekirk 10/9/2011 1:34:21 PM

If I moved back to farm land I would take top soil off and cut most trees and tell the GOJ to come get their mess... then replant
by dean 10/9/2011 1:36:33 PM

off for breakfast...be back in awhile..
by dean 10/9/2011 1:42:15 PM

okey dokey see you soon
by elainekirk 10/9/2011 1:56:28 PM

Morning! (afternoon-evening)
by lillymunster 10/9/2011 1:59:30 PM

@elainekirk I have the FOIA notes sheet ready to go. The one I sent out early last week has been updated to reflect using the FOIA docs we now have.

This is the central document. You and Dean are editors on the share for it. Anyone who wants to help needs to just let one of us know so we can add them. I did this so someone didn't do a drive-by and erase work or something.

docs.google.com
by lillymunster 10/9/2011 2:03:33 PM

@lillymunster morning
by elainekirk 10/9/2011 2:10:58 PM

@elainekirk going through my backlog of open web pages and notes from last week. Trying to figure out what to do with what. I was re-reading the IAEA letter. Found in interesting that the IAEA was having major financial problems back in 2001. They blamed the US not putting more money into it. Why are they not making the commercial power plants pay in for that portion of the IAEA work? It should be some sort of tax on them. I also noticed the US was concerned about the lack of attention to the Mayak site. I don't know if they meant to make sure the Russians were not doing something that violated an agreement or concern over the contamination situation. It is an interesting letter. pbadupws.nrc.gov
by lillymunster 10/9/2011 2:19:01 PM

@lillymunster I noted in their accounts that the US doesnt fund them to any great degree, under uk charity laws they couldnt be funded by they industry but there would be scope for them charging the industry for their input but I doubt the industry would pay up front
by elainekirk 10/9/2011 2:22:28 PM

@elainekirk Besides the calls for an international emergency squad, the IAEA really should split their non-proliferation activities into their own office. It is an important activity but really different from minding commercial power. They also need to take the "promote nuclear power" mandate out. I can see why they put those in during the infancy of the technology but today it is just a conflict of interest.
by lillymunster 10/9/2011 2:25:40 PM

The United Kingdom signed an agreement on 8 March 2011 to contribute £4 million, or approximately $6.4 million, to the IAEA´s Nuclear Security Fund, fulfilling a commitment it made at the 2010 Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, D.C. and making it the Fund´s second-largest national contributor with a total contribution of $19 million. www.iaea.org
by elainekirk 10/9/2011 2:28:03 PM

@elainekirk these commercial power companies should be putting in to pay for the activities the IAEA has to do because they operate. I have to wonder if lack of cash has played a part in the IAEA not being heavily involved on site at FUKU. The week before Fuku the EPA was complaining they were out of cash.
by lillymunster 10/9/2011 2:32:33 PM

@lillymunster I am trying to find out what they actually function as very vague trying to find that so I can see if they are answerable
by elainekirk 10/9/2011 2:35:08 PM

found the 2009 accounts with each countries contribution www.iaea.org
by elainekirk 10/9/2011 2:44:48 PM

@elainekirk cool! I added that to the article and put it in the library under IAEA.
by lillymunster 10/9/2011 2:49:37 PM

@lillymunster I must go clean up a bit but I will keep watching
by elainekirk 10/9/2011 2:51:13 PM

@elainekirk going to do a bit more on the website and will be out til later this afternoon my time.
by lillymunster 10/9/2011 2:56:13 PM

@elaine, edano, lilly, the cleft palate question reminded me of T-box gene mutations: en.wikipedia.org . Here is a scientific appreciation of this family of genes for developmental biologists: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov . Something I would definitely watch out for.
by Peter 10/9/2011 3:02:41 PM

@Peter oh thankyou
by elainekirk 10/9/2011 3:33:42 PM

Marine veteran is free to tell the story of America's nuclear test subjects | Health | Dallas...: bit.ly via @AddThis
"These guys were sworn to secrecy," said R.J. Ritter, national commander of the National Association of Atomic Veterans. "For the official record, it didn't happen. They were told by a CID officer, 'What you saw and heard here today didn't happen.' Now after all these years they're free to tell their story, but they are hard-pressed to find someone old enough, including in the military, to understand that it happened."
by elainekirk 10/9/2011 3:34:25 PM

at this point, we have to distinguish between direct radiation damage to tissues and genetic damage.

palate cleft is a direct damage to the developing fetus tissues, more exactly a direct damage to the "building process". the palate tissues are hindererd to grow together, so this construction step is omitted, and the rest of the body is normal. a cleft is not inherited and not a chromosomal "mutation". it can happen on a single exposure to high energy radiation (1 single xray can be sufficient).

if a more "important" part of the fetus development is concerned, the fetus will die and lead to a stillbirth (or major congenital malformation and/or stillbirth and/or neonatal death). this is expected to happen very often compared to a cleft, which is more like an exception, a coincidence.

another, different radiation effect are damages to distinct parts of the DNA, which lead to "mutations" and syndromes such like DiGeorge syndrome. this kind of damage will be inherited, it will affect all children of the affected person on the genotype base, more or less grave. it can even omit one or more generations and affect the grandchildren.

thyroid cancer (or leukaemia), as an example, can occur either as a direct damage to the exposed or her fetus, but it can even occur in later generations when the chromosomes are damaged.
by Edano 10/9/2011 4:09:11 PM

@Edano ty I had thought cleft was associated with others glad I have learnt more
by elainekirk 10/9/2011 4:19:47 PM

@all. Something I have noticed. We seem to actually have better data about deformities and radation effects from some of the older incidents than we do from Chernobyl. Not totally sure why, possibly due to all the politics involved. So if people are looking for data or information, older exposure sets like the bomb tests, hanford, mayak, Kyshtum and Semipalatinsk may give us better answers.

BTW, Bo may have some helpful information on Semipalatinsk. He mentioned that was one of the destinations on his recent trip.

en.wikipedia.org
by lillymunster 10/9/2011 4:20:26 PM

@Edano so is cleft palate always connected to radiation or just one cause?
by lillymunster 10/9/2011 4:21:35 PM

@elainekirk a cleft can also be part of a genetical syndrome. trisomie 18, cri-du chat ....
by Edano 10/9/2011 4:21:54 PM

@lillymunster no, a smoking or drinking or drugging mother can also cause a cleft.
by Edano 10/9/2011 4:24:20 PM

@lillymunster @Edano there is much on twitter about the Japan government saying that they cannot say thyroid problems are caused by the radiation, this may become a tipping point as people realise they are not going to be looked after and given free health care the only thing the gov will be paying for is the research carried out to benefit the creators of the next nuke calamity.
by elainekirk 10/9/2011 4:30:15 PM

Hi@all, I found this and translated parts of it.
During a refueling much more radioactivity escapes from a nuclear power plant than during normal operations. This is shown by data from the period of refueling at the nuclear power station Grundmemmingen and research from the free author Ingrid Bertram recently published in the german consumer program Plusminus.
The npp Grundmemmingen ist the largest facility in Germany. A large scale study of the University of Mainz examined the cancer risks in children living near nuclear power plants in 2007.
Physicist Alfred Körblein from the Environmental Institute Munich looked for years for an answer to the question: Is there a connection between refueling and a cancer risk?
The result: the level of noble gas shoots up within a day 160-fold. Within a few days almost a third of the entire yearly emission for noble gases escape into the environment and with iodine it is even half of the yearly emissions. "The emissions are now focusing on a short time interval within the refueling period. “And that was the proof, i needed to my thesis to show that it is precisely the emission spikes that caused the negative health effects, and not the medium-sized burden over the year," says physicist. Confronted with the results of Körblein, nuclear power plant operator RWE writes that all limit values will be well below, even at "spike" detection.
Reinhold Thiel is engaged in the organization Doctors against nuclear war. During his research he made an interesting discovery: a table with emission levels of the radioactive carbon C14, published by the federal office for radiation protection. He found out that in certain periods much more radioactivity occurs than otherwise. “The table says that always in that quarter in which the refueling is made increased levels of radioactivity have been measured. The reason why is simple: during refueling the lid of the vessel is opened and the spent fuel rods are put into the storage pool. When the lid is opened much more radioactivity escapes through a ventilation system than during normal operation. That’s when these spikes occur.
It should be noted that the power plant operator must not publish these detections. The people that live around the power plant know nothing about such spikes. The radiation levels made public show only the average readings over a longer period of time. “The correct levels however are kept secret. These are the spikes. And these are significantly higher than averaged levels.
Nuclear physician Edmund Lengfelder puts it this way. If a person drinks a whole bottle of hard liquor in one day it will be dangerous. But drinking it over a period of 2 month that bottle will be harmless.
www.contratom.de
by Liz 10/9/2011 4:31:21 PM