Japan Earthquake

Japan Earthquake | Page 2757

sounds like a gentleman agreement.
by Edano 12/9/2011 1:12:13 PM

@Edano BSE or radiation, pick your poison?

IIRC the US banned the cow cannibal feed that was causing most of the BSE cases.
by lillymunster 12/9/2011 1:13:14 PM

@lillymunster economy vs. health
by Edano 12/9/2011 1:14:33 PM

@Edano I thought they had deals with Australia to import beef. They must be having larger issues with beef safety than they are letting on.
by lillymunster 12/9/2011 1:16:04 PM

it seems the EU has agreed for a fiscal union this night..... without the britains....
by Edano 12/9/2011 1:16:26 PM

@lillymunster you mean they don't have enough beef due to contamination ? wow.
by Edano 12/9/2011 1:17:39 PM

@Edano that is what i am wondering.. Why are they looking to import so much?
by lillymunster 12/9/2011 1:18:44 PM

they probably know that the situation will not improve in the next years.
by Edano 12/9/2011 1:19:08 PM

maybe they forsee future problems.
by Edano 12/9/2011 1:19:47 PM

they have to raise a complete new clean cow generation. that takes time.
by Edano 12/9/2011 1:21:58 PM

The MOX study with the overexposed rat group dspace.lrri.org:8080
by lillymunster 12/9/2011 1:23:17 PM

Soon the whales will be contaminate in the Pacific, then Japan will be importing more veal
by MaryW 12/9/2011 1:31:25 PM

Thats a great photo of the whaling vessels
by MaryW 12/9/2011 1:36:39 PM

"Eurozone leaders reach new deal without backing of Britain" edition.cnn.com
by Pedro Jesus 12/9/2011 2:07:05 PM

"PM says Japan plans to declare tsunami-hit nuclear plant stable by end of year as planned" www.washingtonpost.com
by Pedro Jesus 12/9/2011 2:16:07 PM

@Pedro Jesus Politicians dictating science...
by lillymunster 12/9/2011 2:22:04 PM

CONFIRMED: The Angels Shiga Rescue Group has RECIEVED a permit to enter the zone. They have been granted permission to enter on the 14th of December. A permit is good for one week. They have rescued 600 animals from Fukushima. www.facebook.com
by lillymunster 12/9/2011 2:23:51 PM

Japan's Massive Earthquake Shook Satellites Out of Their Orbits. dvice.com
by MaryW 12/9/2011 2:25:57 PM

Petitions start to vote on nuclear power in Tokyo and Osaka. ajw.asahi.com
by lillymunster 12/9/2011 2:27:03 PM

Angels Shiga has permission to enter the zone as of Dec 14th already have rescued 400 animals
www.facebook.com

7 groups have been rejected in their permits to enter the zone to rescue animals. Trying to get a list of names of those rejected. Hiroshi Hoshi is tweeting locations where animals are located hoping the other groups can use that information to find animals faster while they wait on their permit. He knows where many of them are hiding out at as they have been feeding these animals for months and they trust him.
by lillymunster 12/9/2011 2:58:14 PM

@lillymunster There must be a balance between politics and science, science and politics. If the scales are not levelled up, some pretty terrible things can happen. History is full of dreadful examples of what can happen when the balance between the two gets disrupted.
by Pedro Jesus 12/9/2011 3:04:11 PM

Fukushima Residents Exposure Readings Alarming--Still Not Complete. Half of Fukushima examinees exposed to radiation above annual limit. Local government is continuing to conduct health checks on all the residents in Fukushima Prefecture, a population of some 2 million. Dec 09.2011 enformable.com
by MaryW 12/9/2011 3:06:45 PM

@MaryW those are just estimated doses by the radiation study. I really think all evacuees and those still residing in the region should get a WBC soon so people know if they have any significant contamination or not.
by lillymunster 12/9/2011 3:09:04 PM

@Pedro Jesus This is a big problem in the US where politicians are trying to dictate not just science policy but science itself. There was a discussion on one of the public radio science shows that suggested US politicians be quizzed on science understanding as part of debates. Another person suggested they must pass a basic understanding of science test to run for office. Something needs to be done though.

I worry this rush to declare "shutdown" will bite Japan in the backside just like the beef and rice issues have.
by lillymunster 12/9/2011 3:11:32 PM

@ALL: Does anyone have access to the global incident map, as there appears a 'nuclear incident icon' symbol around the France/Germany area on the map. www.globalincidentmap.com
by MaryW 12/9/2011 3:29:26 PM

I don't have access. RSOE
isn't showing anything hisz.rsoe.hu
by lillymunster 12/9/2011 3:32:12 PM

@lillymunster , apart from the fact that "cold shutsown" is a complete misnomer for the situation, I agree that GoJ is not doing itself a favor with this strategy. Crises like these are not over because you declare them over. GoJ is going to loose all credibility, if something unforeseen happens, e.g. a loss of cooling because of a new quake.
by Peter 12/9/2011 3:32:49 PM

merkel and sarkozy at the EU summit ...
by Edano 12/9/2011 3:33:36 PM

@Peter I worry something unanticipated could still happen like corium hitting water table, hydrogen explosion or another disaster as you mention. If they start letting people back in or relaxing the evacuation potential zone and then something happens it will be a total mess. People already don't trust the government. I think that would be the last straw. But as we have already seen the govt. holds so much power vs. the people.
by lillymunster 12/9/2011 3:34:57 PM

The nuclear icon is located east/south east of Paris France
by MaryW 12/9/2011 3:37:01 PM

@lillymunster You are looking at the alert map, nuclear icon is on the 'incident map', link below
by MaryW 12/9/2011 3:37:56 PM

I had to enlarge the incident map to pinpoint a better local (Paris)
by MaryW 12/9/2011 3:39:12 PM

@MaryW Yes I see it. I don't have a login to see the details of the incident.
by lillymunster 12/9/2011 3:42:08 PM

@Peter Question: what does 'cold shutdown' really mean, according to current nuclear safety standard regulations?
by Pedro Jesus 12/9/2011 3:44:41 PM

@lillymunster , they are in a process of deconstructing their own power structure. If things develop as they do, this will be a very different Japan in five to ten years. Unfortunately, evolutionary progress is slow.
by Peter 12/9/2011 3:45:02 PM

@Peter yes it is a very slow process. There are hints of hope. Osaka elected a new mayor and governor out of a "non-party" group of people who were fed up with politics and want nuclear power in their region ended. The people's referendums on nuclear power in Tokyo and Osaka are collecting signatures. If those succeed other prefectures could do the same. It is all painfully slow but it is change.
by lillymunster 12/9/2011 3:47:55 PM

@Pedro Jesus , it is a technical term that means that the rpv water temp. is maintained through cooling at 100 degrees celsius or less with all fuel inside the rpv and control rods fully inserted. This does not pertain to the current situation at all.
by Peter 12/9/2011 3:48:31 PM

Hey I found one interesting sentence in this reuters article with the title UPDATE 5-Entergy exits power transmission in $1.78 bln deal www.reuters.com : "The deal is Entergy's second bid in recent years to restructure its business, following a failed effort to spin off some of its nuclear power plants into a stand-alone company."
by Peter 12/9/2011 3:51:04 PM

I suppose utilities like Entergy perceive nuke power as a liability themselves. The idea seems to spin off the old plants as long as they are licensed and operating.
by Peter 12/9/2011 3:53:38 PM

@Peter So, basically speaking, we're not expected to see Toshiba/Areva decommission plans to be enforced any time soon, are we? TEPCO seems to be playing around with technical terms without giving any factual certainty of when the decommissioning procedures are expected to begin. Is this an accurate assessment of the current situation?
by Pedro Jesus 12/9/2011 3:56:08 PM

@Peter nobody wants old falling apart nuke plants with future decommissionin g costs? :-)
by lillymunster 12/9/2011 4:08:17 PM

@Pedro Jesus , dean posted links to the Smithsonian on the history of tmi. It took almost until 1990 that fuel was removed and still today the reactor is not totally taken apart. Tmi involved only a partial meltdown. Fukushima will take decades longer. This should mean brisk, long term business for the companies involved. What strikes me odd is how slow tepco is moving forward on a firm footing. If it takes decades until the reactors can disassembled, you would think that tepco will go ahead and implement fixed, lasting systems for water circulation and treatment, replacing the temporary measures put in place at present. Essentially, I expect a water treatment plant be constructed in concrete and steel. Instead, tepco seems to be scaling back efforts. I do not understand why they are holding back.

by Peter 12/9/2011 4:52:35 PM