Japan Earthquake

Japan Earthquake | Page 2502

A visiting Belarusian scientist, who has offered advice to residents affected by the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster, said Wednesday that he believes Japan's food radiation limits have been set too high and urged the nation to lower them to realistic levels.
myemail.constantcontact.com
by M.I.A. 10/13/2011 6:12:47 PM

about one year ago i also found a strange plastic bottle on a back shelf in my clinic lab. to my surprise it contained hydrofluoric acid en.wikipedia.org , one of the worst substances on earth. it can melt glass (that's why it is stored in plastic bottles) and it can penetrate your skin without pain and kill you from inside. it is highly toxic when inhaled or touched. i guess some worker forgot it years ago when they constructed the rooms.
by Edano 10/13/2011 6:17:05 PM

@Edano In reference to NYC? The nuclear terrorist post
by lillymunster 10/13/2011 6:20:49 PM

Edano, nuclear terrorists are a threat at Indian Point. Because the storage pool. Thats not secure enough against airplane crashes.
by Liz 10/13/2011 6:35:44 PM

Setagaya hotspot unrelated to Fukushima

High levels of radioactivity observed in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward have been found to have nothing to do with the nuclear disaster in Fukushima.

Experts commissioned by the ward reported a level of 3.35 microsieverts per hour at a 1-by-10-meter area at a sidewalk near a residential fence on Thursday. A maximum of 2.707 microsieverts per hour had been detected in the location a week before.

Later on Thursday, the experts found what seemed to be the source of the radiation -- 3 or 4 old jars in a wooden box left in a storage space under the floor of a vacant house facing the sidewalk.

The jars were reportedly dirty and black, and measured about 8 centimeters long and about 6 centimeters wide.

The radiation level of the bottles reportedly exceeded 30 microsieverts per hour -- higher than the maximum that could be measured with the experts' devices.

After obtaining permission from the house's owner, the experts measured radiation levels on the premises.

The ward says it will take steps to eliminate the radiation while consulting the science ministry and other authorities.

Thursday, October 13, 2011 20:13 +0900 (JST)
www3.nhk.or.jp
by Edano 10/13/2011 6:40:09 PM

@Edano
the reuters version has this little distraction to downplay it
Radiation exposure from natural sources in a year is about 2,400 microsieverts on average, the U.N. atomic watchdog says. www.reuters.com
by elainekirk 10/13/2011 6:43:48 PM

@Edano I wonder if there is a language issue. Some said bottles, some say jars. I think of bottles as glass like a wine bottle. Jars more like a glass pickle jar. But could these be pottery? They made radium pottery to make radium water. The radium is in the pottery
jar itself
by lillymunster 10/13/2011 6:47:14 PM

... and they say 20 mSv/year is mandatory for evacuation. so 30ySv/hr * 24 * 365 makes 263 mSv/year ....
by Edano 10/13/2011 6:52:44 PM

.... and even the 3.35 ySv/hr reading still makes 30 mSv/year....
.... the 2.707 ySv/hr reading makes 24 mSv/year.....
by Edano 10/13/2011 6:54:53 PM

We have a PICTURE! 600 uSv/hr on the bottle surfaces! 4.bp.blogspot.com
by lillymunster via 4.bp.blogspot edited by Edano 10/13/2011 6:57:17 PM

According to Setagaya-ku and the Ministry of Education and Science, the bottles look to be made of glass, about 7 centimeters long and 5 to 6 centimeters in diameter. There are several tens of bottles in a wooden box. The content of the bottles are powdery.

ex-skf.blogspot.com
by lillymunster 10/13/2011 6:58:41 PM

sorry micro (UPDATE: They say it was most likely radium-226, the surface radiation was 600 microsieverts/hour.)
by lillymunster 10/13/2011 6:59:13 PM

In the meantime, more radiation "hot spots" (often several microsieverts/hour) have been discovered in the Tokyo metropolitan area. More later.
by lillymunster 10/13/2011 7:00:16 PM

@all, 4.9 earthquake OFF EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
by Liz 10/13/2011 7:01:22 PM

They are likely radium powder like this:

www.orau.org
by lillymunster via Orau.org 10/13/2011 7:04:19 PM

www.tepco.co.jp
pictures from the "drill"
by Edano via Tepco.co.jp 10/13/2011 7:17:46 PM

@elainekirk :) there is a nice conversation on this "drill" between peter and dean. 7.5 hours ago. it is worth reading ! :) we decided it is pure PR, no serious "drill".
by Edano 10/13/2011 7:30:49 PM

NYC,Fukushima Disaster, We Need to Shut Down Nuclear Power Plants Now!
www.youtube.com
www.youtube.com
by Liz 10/13/2011 7:42:53 PM

@Edano thank you I will first go and ready the kitchen for the washing machine that is arriving tomoro ...
by elainekirk 10/13/2011 7:46:27 PM

@lillymunster , flasks and test tubes! Looks like a chemistry kit to me. I bet someone used the stuff as termite control on the fence.
by Peter 10/13/2011 7:51:30 PM

I suppose they will have considered the possibility that the old house under which the bottles were found was vulnerable to the weather and the cellar was flooded during the rains that brought the radiation and it concentrated in there
by elainekirk 10/13/2011 8:24:16 PM

Friday, October 21, 2011
9:00 a.m. Briefing on North Anna (Public Meeting)
(Contact: Meena Khanna, 301-415-2150)
This meeting will be webcast live at the Web address--
by lillymunster 10/13/2011 8:51:31 PM

Puppies born in the evacuation zone. a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net
by lillymunster via A2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net 10/13/2011 8:57:55 PM

The radiophobia article is well-reasoned, good work! A moral conscience inherently appears to those lacking one like a disorder, just as love can appear to be an illness to those not in it. But love and socially-protective empathy are both healthy human traits.
by Ian 10/13/2011 9:15:09 PM

@Ian thanks. That was one of those mash ups where everyone suddenly put a few things together. Seeing it for what it is also makes it much easier to deal with it.
by lillymunster 10/13/2011 9:22:19 PM

@lillymunster , I took note. I was trying to find the minutes of the Oct 3 meeting at the station, but could not find any.
by Peter 10/13/2011 9:37:46 PM

@Peter they should be out by now - let me check my email
by lillymunster 10/13/2011 9:43:14 PM

@lillymunster , I checked here: www.nrc.gov , and the meeting is not listed. Links on the schedule get you to the invitational letter and a very useless slide show, :)
by Peter 10/13/2011 9:47:10 PM