skip to main |
skip to sidebar
This really is a shame, isn't it? Fukushima Diary. Excerpts:
There was no media coverage about the demonstration, only NHK reported but it was told to be only 400 people, where it was 11,000 people.[LINK]
However, major foreign media covered the demonstration, they are the only source for Japanese to know what is happening in their own country.
【BBC】Japan PM Noda orders nuclear reactors back online
And: (There's video at the link, too)
Japan approves two reactor restarts, more seen ahead
By Linda Sieg and Kiyoshi Takenaka
TOKYO
Sat Jun 16, 2012 5:52am EDT
(Reuters) – Japan on Saturday approved the resumption of nuclear power operations at two reactors despite mass public opposition, the first to come back on line after they were all shut down following the Fukushima crisis.
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, his popularity ratings sagging, had backed the restarts for some time. He announced the government’s decision at a meeting with key ministers, giving the go-ahead to two reactors operated by Kansai Electric Power Co at Ohi in western Japan.
The decision, despite public concerns over safety after the big earthquake and tsunami crippled the Fukushima plant, could open the door to more restarts among Japan’s 50 nuclear power reactors.
“There is no such thing as a perfect score when it comes to disaster prevention steps,” Trade Minister Yukio Edano told a news conference after the announcement.
“But, based on what we learned from the Fukushima accident, those measures that need to be taken urgently have been addressed, and the level of safety has been considerably enhanced (at the Ohi plant),” he said.
All's well, everyone's safe, so start those reactors back up, boys! The latest models show Fukushima is almost directly in Typhoon Guchol's path. If Guchol's a direct hit, wouldn't that be a PR Nightmare /Radiological Catastrophe /Human Cataclysm?
Timing really is everything, right?
New photos show what remains of No. 4 reactor building’s eastern wall The top photo shows how much progress TEPCO's cleanup has made. Cleaner? Yes. Sturdy? For now..
The fact Spent Fuel Pool/Reactor 4 remains standing is the only thing standing between us and global catastrophe. Earthquakes happen almost daily. There's enough material here to contaminate.. Everything, eventually. And there's a good chance a quake will come along sooner rather than later, thereby causing civilization to effectively end.
I, for one, are doing things I will miss when they become unavailable. Went to a movie tonight. I haven't been in a theater in two years. Small crowd, no one talked.. It was really nice!
I will be, in the very near future, doing more items on my Fukushima Bucket List. Small, accessible activities I love. Up next, Thai or Indian, and frozen custard. Jogging outdoors. A day of photography. Asking ______ out. This really is the time, friends. There might not be any more. Don't say no one ever told you..
Nice.. Uncharted territory. Unchecked Nuclear Power, will you ever stop being so much fun? ENews. Excerpts:
*UPDATED* ORIGINAL PRESENTATION HERE: Professor Shocked: "The core completely liquefied -- There's nothing left -- There's no hook -- There's no remaining collapsed core" (VIDEO)
Really short post.. Read comments for further hilariousness.. Here's my favorite!
..think it means it's no longer in the corium 'blob' state but capable of traveling into the earth's mantle in a stream-like state; which is much worse than any previous worst case scenario. There will be no remediation possible; resulting in radiological contamination of underground water-ways (interacting ocean and fresh-water aquifers) within this entire region, for hundreds-of-thousands of years.
Given the amount of energy needed to maintain a liquefied condition without significant surface cooling is unusual. Classical thermodynamics has left the building…
I guess things will be super exciting by the time MSM starts reporting this again..
EX-SKF. Click the link and check out the pictures, now over a year into this bullshit. As the article says, "It's so slow that nothing seems to have been happening."
If we live long enough to write about this in future history books, I wonder how TEPCO's unfailing ineptitude will be treated. Hopefully, harshly, but without the sentence, "By the time the world became fed up with TEPCO and Japan's incompetence handling this global nuclear crisis, it was too late; the damage was done." And yet, I know it's already too late..
SFP4 over 55℃. Coolant system is still stopped. 10 hours started awhile ago, by the way.. Fukushima Diary. Excerpts: (The little squares are a missing font that indicate Celsius..)
Though Tepco stopped the water leakage, coolant system is still not back on. At the moment, they can’t estimate when they can recover it. Also, they estimated the temperature increases at 0.5℃/h, it’s increasing at over 1℃/h. It went up by 22℃ within 18 hours. Currently the temperature of SFP is 55℃.(10:00 JST) The safety limit is 65℃. At this pace, it will reach 65℃ about in 10 hours.
Please remember that nuclear energy containment temperatures must be tightly controlled to remain safe. A 22 degree Celsius rise IS NOT STABLE and IS VERY DANGEROUS. This has been a recurring problem at Fukushima. Unless TEPCO gets its shit together pronto, there will be fireworks; and soon. Radioactive, Extinction Level fireworks.
Prayers to your appropriate deity might be wise right now.. Atheists, just cross your fingers, as nothing else regarding TEPCO seems to help. Also: Helpful aliens? Right now might be a good time to jump into Earth's affairs--You have my permission!
UPDATE:
Probably coolant system of SFP recovered So things have "probably" stabilized.. For now..
Mainichi Expert Sr. Writer: Gov’t sources say No. 4 pool a grave concern — Storage pool barely intact — We have no time to humor senseless thinking of those who downplay the risks This is happening now: A continual erosion of the building's integrity. Mainichi Daily News. Excerpts:
[...] One of the biggest issues that we face is the possibility that the spent nuclear fuel pool of the No. 4 reactor at the stricken Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant will collapse. This is something that experts from both within and outside Japan have pointed out since the massive quake struck. [...] not only independent experts, but also sources within the government say that it’s a grave concern.
(...)The storage pool in the No. 4 reactor building has a total of 1,535 fuel rods, or 460 tons of nuclear fuel, in it. The 7-story building itself has suffered great damage, with the storage pool barely intact on the building’s third and fourth floors. The roof has been blown away. If the storage pool breaks and runs dry, the nuclear fuel inside will overheat and explode, causing a massive amount of radioactive substances to spread over a wide area. Both the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and French nuclear energy company Areva have warned about this risk.
(...)A report released in February by the Independent Investigation Commission on the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Accident stated that the storage pool of the plant’s No. 4 reactor has clearly been shown to be “the weakest link” in the parallel, chain-reaction crises of the nuclear disaster. The worse-case scenario drawn up by the government includes not only the collapse of the No. 4 reactor pool, but the disintegration of spent fuel rods from all the plant’s other reactors. If this were to happen, residents in the Tokyo metropolitan area would be forced to evacuate.
And:
“Because sea water was being pumped into the reactor, the soundness of the structure (concrete corrosion and deterioration) was questionable. There also were doubts about the calculations made on earthquake resistance as well,” (Emphasis author)said one government source familiar with what took place at the time. “[...] fuel rod removal will take three years. Will the structure remain standing for that long? Burying the reactor in a concrete grave is like building a dam, and therefore expensive. I think that it was because TEPCO’s general shareholders’ meeting was coming up (in June 2011) that the company tried to keep expenses low.” [...]
That's some pretty awesome short-term, Bottom-Line thinking, yeah? Is killing your customer base a very sound business strategy? Fukushima is perilously close to becoming an Undisputed Global Event (If Reactor 4's Spent Fuel Pool does indeed go, believe me, You Will Know..), yet won't drop the cash needed to reign in this Catastrophe of Unknown and Unimaginable Magnitude. So it's a good bet that something horrible will happen, as really, it's already happening.. Already.
Why should you care? If you're in the Midwestern United States, chew on this: Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant is at 37 Degrees North Latitude. Kansas City, Missouri is at 39 Degrees North Latitude. I have said this before, but on the good chance you haven't seen it before: The United States is, globally, downwind from Fukushima. And it's not like the earthquakes have stopped, either. And it's not like there's some freak storm coming in from the Sea of Japan.. Wait; There is? My mistake..
(Updated) Japan Meteorological Agency's Highly Unusual Storm Warning on TV: "Don't Go Outside" EX-SKF. Don't forget to watch the wind direction video! Excerpts:
The warning comes from the government agency that prohibited its own researchers from disclosing any information regarding the dispersion of radioactive materials right after the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant accident. Many on Twitter are saying, "Why didn't they say the same thing on March 15 and 21 last year and warn us about radioactive plumes from Fukushima?"
Well, the answer is easy. Because issuing warnings about radioactive material dispersions was not in their job description. It still isn't.
Anyway, a highly unusual low is about to sweep through entire Japan from the Japan Sea side, and the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) decided to hold a press conference which was broadcasted on TV to warn people in the evening of April 4.
And:
Mr. Uchida said, "The wind speed in Kanto is expected to be 25 meters per second, which is almost like a typhoon wind. We expect the wind to be stronger than in the last weekend. In particular, from 6PM to 9PM, it is possible that the wind will be so strong that people may get knocked down by the wind. Transportation may be affected as it may be dangerous to drive a car. So tomorrow, take ample precaution by going home earlier than usual, or by not going out unless it is necessary to do so."
Side Note: If Tokyo is irradiated, I say we give Japan Detroit. The Japanese bring the revenue, the people, and the technology to rejuvenate Detroit. They remake the city in their technological image. The Japanese find Safe Haven. And Detroit rises again. I like that scenario.. The whole Detroit metro area looking like present day Hiroshima..
Powered by alternative energies, of course.. That's a nice pipe dream, right?
Dire, Catastrophic, or Pre-Apocalyptic? We're one big earthquake or explosion from finding out. Fukushima Diary. Excerpts:
A Japanese journalist (a former secretary of Japanese prime minister) tweeted about reactor 4.
More people are concerned about the situation of reactor 4.
..
A Tepco manager from engineering department showed this map of the fifth top floor of reactor 4. This is confidential.
When 311 happened, it (Reactor 4)was in periodic checkup, large cranes or other heavy facilities were gathered too much. The weight constitution is inverse pyramid, very unstable and dangerous.
Meanwhile, NOT on the fifth floor, Reactor 4 is cracked, so we've got that to look forward to..
More vegetables are deformed from stress Fukushima Diary. Delicious pictures featured at the link. Dig in!
It's a dream apartment. What's the catch? Radioactive Apartment in Nihonmatsu City, Fukushima, Measuring 1.2 Microsievert/Hr Inside Ex-SKF. Excerpts:
Relatively high levels of radiation have been detected from the concrete in an apartment building in Nihonmatsu City [in Fukushima Prefecture]. The Ministry of the Environment suspects that radioactive materials were in the concrete, and is investigating.
The apartment was built in September last year in Nihonmatsu City. According to the Ministry of the Environment, the glass badge worn by a student who lives in the apartment registered 3-month cumulative radiation exposure of 1.5 millisievert on December 27, prompting the city to survey the surrounding area.
The survey found 1.4 microsievert/hour from the concrete foundation of the apartment, and 1.2 microsievert/hour inside the apartment. The Ministry of the Environment thinks the apartment was built using concrete with radioactive materials, and is asking the building contractor for details.
I wonder if it is just concrete.
If you recall, 446,000 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium was detected from the sewage sludge in Fukushima City on May 8, 2011. The sludge had been sold to cement companies until the detection at Koriyama City on April 30, when 26,400 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium was detected from their sewage sludge. In the case of Koriyama City, over 900 tonnes of this radioactive sludge had been sold to one cement company (Sumitomo Osaka Cement) alone.
If the surface radiation level of the concrete is 1.4 microsievert/hour, I believe the concrete has at least 100,000 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium in it, if the radiation measurements of sludge and rooftop sediment are any indication.
No security deposit and the first three months free? I'll take it!
Question: Is it still "News" if it's nine months old? NRC March Email: “The walls of the Unit 4 spent fuel pool have collapsed, and there is no water in there”
From: Boska, John
Sent: Wednesday, March 16, 2011 11:31 AM
To: Guzman, Richard
Cc: Pickett, Douglas
Subject: Developments in Japan
Importance: High
Rich, please review and comment, for distribution to our branch.
In a briefing with Joe Giitter that just ended, we were informed that the situation is now much worse in Japan. The walls of the Unit 4 spent fuel pool have collapsed, and there is no water in there. There were a large number of fuel assemblies in the pool, and the fuel may no longer be intact. The radiation levels are increasing so much that it may prove difficult to work on the other 5 reactors at the site, which could lead to more fuel damage and releases. [...]
The answer? Yes. Yes it is still news, and catastrophic to boot..
Breaking News: Possible rapid increase of temperature at Reactor 2 Fukushima Diary. Excerpts:
One of the heat gauges at or near the bottom of the container vessel of reactor 2 measured heat over 100.
According to the explanation of Tepco, it’s the gauge of the equipment for moving control rod.
17:00 1/12: 48.4
23:00 1/12: 102.3
5:00 1/13: 116.4
Because the gauge at the bottom of the vessel measures 48, Tepco still asserts it’s in the state of cold shutdown. They assert it’s not because the fuel has moved or recriticality happened, only because the gauge was broken.
Broken temperature gauge. Check. If you'll excuse me, I'm off to Keep Shopping so the terrorists won't win and our economy won't sink. So.. Who's gonna win that Super Bowl?
Video from The Cruise Ship Jobs Guru Guy. This is him now. Rambling, intermittent weeping, anger.. It's all here, and it's sincere.. The evacuation notice is unofficial, of course--He's telling the world what his acquaintances are doing. This is now Life in Tokyo: Isolation, unreliable knowledge, massive Unknowns, not knowing What's Next, Helplessness, and palpable Tension and Fear. Those poor people..
Woes deepen over radioactive water at nuke plant, sea contamination From Kyodo News. Excerpts:
Japan on Sunday faced an increasing challenge of removing highly radioactive water found inside buildings near some troubled nuclear reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, with the radiation level of the surface of the pool in the basement of the No. 2 reactor's turbine building found to be more than 1,000 millisieverts per hour.
Exposure to such an environment for four hours would raise the risk of dying in 30 days. Hidehiko Nishiyama, spokesman for the government's nuclear safety agency, said the figure is ''quite high'' but authorities must find a way to pump out the water without sending workers too close to push ahead with the restoration work.
Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. said the concentration of radioactive substances of the puddle was 10 million times higher than that seen usually in water in a reactor core, but later decided to reanalyze the data because it found some errors. (Again with the vague bullshit..)
Meanwhile, Tokyo Electric, known as TEPCO, is studying whether highly toxic plutonium is contained in the soil of the plant. The No. 3 reactor was using plutonium-uranium mixed oxide fuel for so-called ''pluthermal'' power generation.
Fukushima crisis could stretch into ‘months, years’ From RawStory. Excerpts:
Japan appeared resigned on Monday to a long fight to contain the world's worst atomic crisis in 25 years after high radiation levels complicated work at its crippled nuclear plant.
Radiation at the plant has soared in recent days: latest readings at the weekend showed contamination 100,000 times normal in water at reactor No. 2 and 1,850 times normal in the nearby sea.
..
"It's very worrying ... there is something seriously wrong (at No. 2)," said Rianne Teule, a nuclear expert for environmental group Greenpeace based in South Africa.
Under-pressure plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) conceded what experts have long been saying: that Japan now faces a protracted and uncertain operation to contain overheating fuel rods and prevent a meltdown.
Further afield, beyond the evacuation zone around Fukushima, there has been plenty of evidence of radiation -- from tap water in Tokyo 240 km (150 miles) south of the nuclear facility to particles found as far away as Iceland. This is not a fucking "local event." This is not a "local event." Do--You--Understand?
No, the Amount of Radiation Released from the Japanese Nuclear Reactors is NOT "Safe" From Washington's Blog. Excerpts, and his links, too:
Tyler Durden points out that - when you consider the fact that the amount of Caesium-137 released at Fukushima in the first 3-4 days of the crisis amounted to 50% that released by Chernobyl over 10 days - the real run rate of the radiation released at Fukushima is now about 120-150% the figure released by the Chernobyl explosion.
There are other signs of high levels radiation. See this and this. And it is important to remember that the amount of radioactive fuel at Fukushima dwarfs Chernobyl.
This Could Continue for a While..
Japan Nuclear crisis: Nuke plant radiation 10 million times high Video from Indian television.
10 Million Times Normal Level of Radioactivity in Water at Reactor #2, Fallout?
Woes deepen over radioactive waters at nuke plant, sea contamination Kyodo News. Excerpts:
Highly radioactive pools of water found inside buildings near some troubled nuclear reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant highlighted the deepening seriousness of the nuclear crisis in Japan on Sunday, with the radiation level of the surface of the water in the basement of the No. 2 reactor's turbine building found to be over 1,000 millisieverts per hour.
Hidehiko Nishiyama, spokesman for the government's nuclear safety agency, said, ''This is quite a high figure...and it is likely to be coming from the reactor.''
Adding to woes is the increasing level of contamination in the sea near the plant. Radioactive iodine-131 at a concentration 1,850 times the legal limit was detected from water extracted Saturday, compared with the 1,250.8 times the limit found Friday, the agency said.
IAEA chief warns Japan's nuke crisis 'far from the end': report Kyodo News. Excerpts:
Citing a telephone interview, the newspaper wrote that the world's chief nuclear inspector said his biggest concern now centered on spent fuel rods sitting in open cooling pools atop reactor buildings of the quake-hit Fukushima Daiichi plant, about 220 kilometers northeast of Tokyo.
More than two weeks after the March 11 massive quake-tsunami disaster, which crippled the plant, Amano cautioned that the nuclear emergency could still go on for weeks, if not months, given the enormous damage to the plant, the paper said.
Workers evacuated as reactor radioactivity soars From The Irish Times. Excerpts:
Japanese authorities evacuated workers today from a reactor building they were working in after radiation in water at the crippled nuclear power plant reached potentially lethal levels, the plant's operator said.
Tokyo Electric Power Co said radiation in the water of the No. 2 reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi plant was measured at more than 1,000 millisieverts an hour. That compares with a national safety standard of 250 millisieverts over a year.
The US Environmental Protection Agency says a dose of 1,000 millisieverts is enough to cause haemorrhaging. Japanese nuclear regulators said the water contained 10 million times the amount of radioactive iodine than is normal in the reactor, but noted the substance had a half life of less than an hour, meaning it would disappear within a day.
I'm sure the damage isn't already done.. Fresh water cooling Japan nuclear plant From Adelaide Now. Excerpts:
JAPANESE emergency teams are using fresh water instead of seawater to try to cool reactors at Japan's tsunami-damaged nuclear plant.
They had switched to using fresh water at the Fukushima nuclear power facility because it was less corrosive than seawater, the UN atomic watchdog said in a statement.
"The IAEA has been informed by Japanese authorities that fresh water is now being used in place of seawater to cool the reactor pressure vessels at units 1, 2 and 3 at the Fukushima nuclear plant," it said.
encouraging. hooray.
This will be the week when everything changes. Get ready, then hang on.
Posts
