Japan Earthquake

Japan Earthquake | Page 2806

Here is more evaluation on ppIV-78: "After the earthquake, water injection continued through the reactor core isolation cooling system (RCIC). Around 12:00 on May 12, the RCIC stopped operation. Alternatively, water injection was made through the high-pressure coolant injection system (HPCI) but the reactor pressure decreased and thus the reactor water level is estimated to have increased. Before dawn on the morning of March 13, however, the reactor pressure dropped and HPCI stopped operation.
The stoppage of HPCI is estimated to have triggered the reactor pressure to exceed the operation pressure of about 7 MPa. But the main steam safety relief valve (SRV) is estimated to have been activated to release the vapor to S/C to maintain the pressure at around the 7 MPa level, during which time it is estimated that the reactor water dropped and the reactor fuel was damaged.
It is estimated that the main steam SRV opened to lower the reactor pressure, and at 9:25 on March 13 alternative injection was carried out and wet vent operation done in response to the increase in PCV pressure. It was reported that the alternative injection from fire engines was executed, but this measure could not demonstrate the required performance due to the relation with the reactor pressure, etc. as the water level has not been restored yet. More detailed investigations and analyses of the conditions/situations of equipment would be necessary in order to find out to what extent such measures worked."
No reasons given why the pumps stopped.
by Peter 12/22/2011 4:41:06 PM

The assessment concludes on pIV-79:"Regarding the progress of events in the accident at Unit 3, previous analyses showed that the RCIC and HPCI ceased to function, so PCV spraying using fire engines and wet vent operation were carried out. In addition, there is the possibility that, based on the water level situation following the start of fresh water injection and RPV pressure reduction operations, not enough water was injected and it is estimated that the lack of sufficient cooling led to core melt, with the melted fuel moving down to the bottom of the RPV.
From the balance between the injected water volume and volume of steam produced, it is estimated that the water injected into the RPV is leaking.
Based on the RPV temperature measurement results, it is considered that a considerable amount of fuel is cooling on the RPV bottom."
by Peter 12/22/2011 4:45:51 PM

Here is Table IV-5-3Fukushima Daiichi NPS, Unit 3 – Main Chronology (Provisional) i1214.photobucket.com
I hope the screenshot is legible. It just says "stopped".
by Peter via I1214.photobucket 12/22/2011 4:56:01 PM

More smackdown of Mangano & Sherman : vitals.msnbc.msn.com
"Cancers typically associated with lower levels of radiation take years to develop, Maidment explained. “With leukemia, you’re talking about five to seven years,” he said. “And there’s a 10 to 20 year delay for solid tumors. I know of no mechanism that could get you instantaneous mortality from radiation at lower levels.”"
by Ian 12/22/2011 5:16:29 PM

Reuters) - Police fired teargas to break up demonstrations on Thursday over a proposed power plant in a southern China town, where protests have escalated into clashes with police this week and officials tried to calm tempers by suspending the project.
www.reuters.com
by M.I.A. 12/22/2011 5:47:07 PM

This refers to a coal-fired plant, but I think it's interesting how the Chinese people are starting to face down their gov't. Seems to be happening world-wide.
by M.I.A. 12/22/2011 5:49:05 PM

Rescue group estimates are 100 people in the zone today trying to bring out the abandoned critters.
by lillymunster 12/22/2011 5:49:34 PM

@Ian Mangano & Sherman provide no explanation at all for how lower levels are making people immediately drop dead.
by lillymunster 12/22/2011 5:50:38 PM

@Pedro, check your email. You should have info waiting
by lillymunster 12/22/2011 5:54:32 PM

Enviroment Pollution in Canada on Thursday, 22 December, 2011 at 04:07 (04:07 AM) UTC.
Description
Japanese lumber and household goods have begun appearing on the British Columbia coast in what many locals think is the vanguard of a wave of debris from last March’s Japanese tsunami that will eventually clog West Coast beaches with cars, boats and even waterlogged houses. “I found more debris in 10 minutes than I have in four years … and it’s all Japanese in origin,” said Perry Schmunk, Mayor of Tofino, a community of 1,600 on the west coast of Vancouver Island. In addition to Japanese drink bottles, Mr. Schmunk said he has found toothbrushes and a child’s sock. Known in Japan as the T?hoku earthquake and tsunami, the March 11 disaster killed upwards of 20,000 people and swept away an estimated 200,000 buildings. This fall, researchers at the University of Hawaii claimed that 20 million tonnes of debris had been washed to sea by the tsunami, and that, according to their models, it would not hit North America until 2013. In late September, a Russian ship reported sailing through a field of tsunami debris near the Midway Islands — about 5,000 kilometres west of the B.C. coast. Crew members described seeing furniture, appliances and a 20-foot fishing boat from Fukushima, the area hardest hit by the tsunami. hisz.rsoe.hu
by MaryW 12/22/2011 5:59:09 PM

TEPCO Press Release (Dec 22,2011)
Plant Status of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (as of 3:30 pm, December 22). ---UNIT 1 (Shut down) On December 22, according to the operational record thus far, we changed
the volume of nitrogen into PCV and that of gas emitted from PCV gas
control system. At 10:35 am on the same day, we decreased the nitrogen
injection amount from approx. 18Nm3/h to approx. 13Nm3/h. In addition, at
11:45 am, we confirmed the volume of gas emitted from the gas management
system decreased from approx. 30Nm3/h to 26.9Nm3/h. ---UNIT 2 (Shut down) On December 22, we conducted the sampling of the gas management system.
According to our radionuclide analysis, Xe-135 at the entrance of gas
management system was below detection limit (1.1x10-1Bq/cm3), and we
confirmed that is below the determination criteria for recriticality such
as 1Bq/cm3.
---UNIT 3 (Shut down) (From 1:30 pm to 3:15 pm on December 22, we injected hydrazine (corrosion inhibitor)) At 9:43 am on December 22, At the Alternative Cooling apparatus of Spent
Fuel Pool Cooling and Filtering System, since the suction force of
primary circulating pump decreased, we stopped the pump to conduct flushing of entrance-side strainer of primary circulating pump and
stopped cooling of spent fuel pool. (The temperature of pool is approx.
13°C when the pump stopped)
Then, we flushed the strainer so that the suction force recovered. Thus,
at 11:06 am on the same day, restarted the pump and began to cool the
spent fuel pool. (The temperature of pool is approx. 13°C when the pump restarted)
---UNIT 4 (Shut down) (No update reported)
by MaryW 12/22/2011 6:28:34 PM

(Continued) UNIT 5 (Shut down) At 10:11 am on December 22, since we finished the recovery work of
seawater pump (System B) of equipment water cooling system, we made a
trial run. At 11:25 am on the same day, we confirmed no abnormalities and
restarted the operation. UNIT 6 (No update reported) OTHER-- At 10:00 am on December 22, we started to replace the transmission parts
of monitoring post No.2 and No.8 which monitor dose rate inside the site.
At 11:40 on the same date, we finished the replacement work. In addition,
monitoring post No.8 data was unavailable from 11:10 am to 11:40 am, but
we confirmed that the other monitoring posts didn't indicate unusual
values. Monitoring post No.2 was available during the replacement work
due to the replacement parts are different from Monitoring post No.8.
by MaryW 12/22/2011 6:31:26 PM

TEPCO Press Release December 22.2011 www.tepco.co.jp
by MaryW 12/22/2011 6:32:51 PM

Uploaded December 22. 2011
by MaryW 12/22/2011 6:42:34 PM

Fukushima N-Reactor Cooling System Stopped Manually Before Explosion
Tokyo, Dec. 22 (Jiji Press)--A cooling system for the No. 3 reactor of the crippled nuclear power plant of Tokyo Electric Power Co. <9501> was switched off manually, leading to the reactor's explosion three days after the plant was hit by the 9.0-magnitude earthquake and ensuing tsunami on March 11, TEPCO said Thursday.
A worker at the Fukushima No. 1 plant voluntarily stopped the high-pressure coolant injection (HPCI) system, one of emergency cooling apparatuses for the reactor's core, for fear of damage on the system and resulting radiation leaks, TEPCO said.
Instead, the worker tried to cool the core by injecting water using a diesel-powered pump.
But because a valve to release the air pressure inside the reactor failed to work as its battery was dead, water did not enter, and the hydrogen explosion occurred shortly past 11 a.m. on March 14 JST, the company explained.
Previously, TEPCO told that the HPCI system stopped working because its battery ran out.

(2011/12/23-01:46)
jen.jiji.com
by MaryW 12/22/2011 6:52:23 PM

Interviews with women at the head of the protest movement in Japan www.counterpunch.org
by lillymunster 12/22/2011 7:17:46 PM

YIKES!
#Radioactive Rice from Watari District, Fukushima City: 1540 Bq/Kg: News of radioactive cesium rice just keeps c... bit.ly
by lillymunster 12/22/2011 7:58:50 PM

Some questions about the contaminated rice problem.

1. What happens when the known bad rice? Is it destroyed (where/how)? Is it mixed with enough clean rice so it "passes" the Bq/Kg test so it can be sold? Export it to 3rd world countries that do not check for radiation?

2. In Japan how do they handle the "rice straw". Burn it? Feed it to cattle? Plow it under in the fields? Does the Fuku province do anything special with rice straw from fields with contaminated rice?
by RonD 12/22/2011 8:08:58 PM

@RonD I have not seen an answer anywhere on this in English or Japanese. It is the big question.
by lillymunster 12/22/2011 8:14:12 PM

More on the AP 1000 approval www.reuters.com
by lillymunster 12/22/2011 8:25:56 PM

Modeling The Spread of Radioactivity in Seawater
Researchers funded by MIT Sea Grant develop model to examine near-shore and open-ocean circulation. web.mit.edu
by MaryW 12/22/2011 9:09:07 PM

@moderator Please remove the incomplete post without the link thank you
by MaryW 12/22/2011 9:09:42 PM

@MaryW slowly but surely academia is doing what the govt wouldn't.
by lillymunster 12/22/2011 9:13:57 PM

@lillymunster The worst of it is, the government should take responsibility to fund all these necessary research projects that will be needed for decades to come. Isn't that also what our tax money be going to? As long as independent studies are the only ones being done, the longer it will take to gain the impact of this global radiation.
by MaryW 12/22/2011 9:17:38 PM

@lillymunster Thank God we are a nation (US) with an abundance of millionaires who will hopefully help fund these researches and their organizations
by MaryW 12/22/2011 9:20:24 PM

A Major Canadian Paper Reports That The Government Covered Up Massive Amounts Of Radioactive Material From Fukushima In Canadian Air” And Are Continuing To Manipulate Radiation Monitoring Data.

Alexander Higgins
August 4th, 2011

While the alternative media has reporting on a cover up of the Fukushima nuclear fallout throughout the disaster we haven’t seen a mainstream news source do much more than act as a stenographer for the government and the nuclear industry through the ordeal.

This could clearly be seen in the nuclear fallout maps.
blog.alexanderhiggins.com
by MaryW 12/22/2011 9:25:34 PM

by MaryW via Blog.alexanderhiggins 12/22/2011 9:27:13 PM

Updated Friday, December 23, 2011 0:14 am TWN, Reuters
Gov't, TEPCO mismanaged Fukushima evac: report

TOKYO -- Poor communication at the top level of government may have delayed the evacuation of residents threatened by radiation leaks from the Fukushima nuclear plant, the Yomiuri newspaper reported on Thursday, citing a panel investigating the crisis. www.chinapost.com.tw
by MaryW 12/22/2011 9:29:34 PM

@lillymunster Have lots of xmas cookies to bake, this is my 'take a break time' :)
by MaryW 12/22/2011 9:30:41 PM

by MaryW 12/22/2011 10:20:37 PM

The latest Washington Post/ABC News poll, done in April after the Fukushima disaster, found that 64 percent of people oppose new nuclear plant construction, a spike in opposition from previous years. abcnews.go.com
by lillymunster 12/22/2011 10:40:47 PM

That article reads like Westinghouse wrote it. :-(
by lillymunster 12/22/2011 10:41:36 PM

Panel sees gov't evacuation order in nuclear crisis as irrational

TOKYO, Dec. 23, Kyodo

A government panel investigating the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant is expected to point out in its upcoming report that the government's evacuation order issued shortly after the accident was irrational, sources close to the matter said Thursday.

The order instructed people living within 20 kilometers of the plant to evacuate. Panel members believe the order led some residents to move to areas where radiation levels were higher and caused confusion, the sources said.

The government's nuclear safety agency and the science ministry had data that would have helped prevent people from unnecessary radiation exposure, but they did not report it to the crisis management center at the prime minister's office, thinking that the data was ''merely a hypothetical calculation result,'' according to the sources. english.kyodonews.jp
by Edano 12/22/2011 11:03:03 PM

irrational ? without the necessary data, what else should they do ?
by Edano 12/22/2011 11:04:48 PM

Japan eyes relaxing arms export ban

TOKYO, Dec. 23, Kyodo

Japan plans to relax its ban on exporting weapons to enable participation with other countries in the joint development and production of arms, and provision of equipment for humanitarian purposes, government sources said Thursday.

It is the first time to make drastic changes to the country's long-standing arms export ban, although there have been some exceptions in the past.

The sources said the government is making final arrangements for Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura to release a statement next Tuesday on reviewing the ban to be in step with the current global environment regarding weapons. english.kyodonews.jp
by Edano 12/22/2011 11:06:01 PM

6 utilities in western Japan to tie up to expand wind-power generation

KANAZAWA, Japan, Dec. 22, Kyodo english.kyodonews.jp
by Edano 12/22/2011 11:06:56 PM

@Edano NISA or the science ministry didn't know their own calculations were not hypothetical? They ended up sending people right into that north west corridor of fallout.
by lillymunster 12/22/2011 11:08:03 PM

US stalemate over payroll taxes & unemployment is starting to crack. No word if they will actually get it done before end of the year. www.reuters.com
by lillymunster 12/22/2011 11:09:44 PM

english.kyodonews.jp

Sumo wrestlers in disaster drill
Yokozuna Hakuho (C) and about 60 other sumo wrestlers take a boat tour on the Sumida River in Tokyo as part of a disaster drill on Dec. 22, 2011. (Kyodo) english.kyodonews.jp
by Edano via English.kyodonews.jp 12/22/2011 11:11:01 PM

(strangest news of the day)
by Edano 12/22/2011 11:11:13 PM

maybe they wanted to simulate a tsunami :) :) :)
by Edano 12/22/2011 11:11:48 PM

english.kyodonews.jp

Girl missing since Indian Ocean tsunami reunited with parents
Meri Yulanda (C), is pictured with her parents in her hometown of Meulaboh city in Aceh province, Indonesia, on Dec. 22, 2011. The 17-year-old was reunited with her parents after going missing in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. (Kyodo) english.kyodonews.jp
by Edano via English.kyodonews.jp 12/22/2011 11:18:17 PM

seven years after ....
by Edano 12/22/2011 11:18:32 PM

@Edano the disaster drill made me giggle. It makes no sense what so ever. :-) Maybe sumo wrestlers have some secret power I don't know about?
by lillymunster 12/22/2011 11:27:15 PM