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Ministry of the Environment: "Tsunami Debris May Have Already Reached North America, Back in February..." EX-SKF. Excerpts:
Oops. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution just recently released a paper saying the debris may reach North America in 1 to 2 years (see Huffington Post, 4/3/2012). Well, actually..
From Jiji Tsushin (4/6/2012):
Ministry of the Environment's Forecast of disaster debris in the ocean: it may have already reached North America
The Ministry of the Environment announced its forecast of the movement of the disaster debris in the [Pacific] ocean after the March 11, 2011 tsunami. According to the forecast, part of the debris floating on the surface of the ocean that is more easily affected by winds may have traveled across the Pacific Ocean and reached the west coast of Canada in February this year.
The Ministry's forecast of 1.33 million tonnes of debris from houses that got swept away, which consists the majority of the debris, shows about 3% of this type of debris, or about 41,300 tonnes, may reach within 10 kilometers off the west coast of North America by February 2013.
I can't find a press release on the subject at the Ministry's website. If the Ministry is to be believed, the first debris took only 11 months, instead of 1 to 2 years (I remember they were counting on two years).
Yeah, so what? The reactors are all right; Right? That's what counts! Well, actually..
Ambassador Murata writes to UN Secretary General: “It is no exaggeration to say that the fate of Japan and the whole world depends on No. 4 reactor” — Appeals for independent assessment team One word? Dire. Two words: We're fucked. Three words? That's all, folks! Enenews. Excerpts:
It seems to us that the Nuclear Security Summit was focused on the North Korea nuclear issue and on the issue of common security from a terrorist attack. Our appeal on the need for the independent assessment at Reactor 4 was regarded as less urgent. We predicted this outcome in light of the nature of the Summit. I suppose most participants fully understood the potential disaster which will affect their countries. Nevertheless, they decided not to raise the delicate issue, perhaps in order to not ruffle their diplomatic relationship with Japan.
I was moved by Ambassador Murata’s courage in pressing this issue in Japan. I know how difficult it is for a former career diplomat to do this, especially in my country. Current and former government officials might be similarly restricted in the scope of their actions, as Ambassador Murata is, but it is their responsibility to take a stand for the benefit of our descendants for centuries to come—to pass on a world safer than our ancestors passed us.
If Japanese government leaders do not recognize the risk their nation faces, how could the rest of us be persuaded of the looming disaster? And if the rest of us do not acknowledge the catastrophe we collectively face, who will be the one to act?
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(From Murata's letter..)
I was asked to make a statement at the public hearing of the Budgetary Committee of the House of Councilors on March 23. I raised the crucial problem. of N0.4 reactor of Fukushima containing1535 fuel rods. It could be fatally damaged by continuing aftershocks. Moreover, 50 meters away from it exists a common cooling pool for 6 reactors containing 6375 fuel rods!
It is no exaggeration to say that the fate of Japan and the whole world depends on NO.4 reactor. This is confirmed by most reliable experts like Dr. Arnie Gundersen or Dr. Fumiaki Koide.
Please allow me to inform you of an initiative being taken by a former UN official who is endeavoring to have the Nuclear Security Summit take up the crucial problem. of N0.4 reactor of Fukushima. He is pursuing the establishment of an independent assessment team. I think his efforts are very significant, because it is indispensable to draw the attention of world leaders to this vital issue.
I am cooperating with him, writing to some of my Korean acquaintances that this issue deserves the personal attention of President Lee Myung-bak. I have written today to Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda. I asked him to consider taking the initiative of mobilizing human wisdom on the widest scope to cope with the Fukushima reactor No.4 problem, fully taking into account the above-mentioned “independent assessment team”.
Mitsuhei Murata
Former Japanese Ambassador to Switzerland and Senegal
Executive Director, the Japan Society for Global System and Ethics
What about the ocean? The ocean's not contaminated; Right? Well, actually..
Study: Radioactive water to reach Hawaii in 2 years Will 2 years be code for 11 months? The Asahi Shimbun. Excerpts:
Water contaminated by radioactivity that entered the sea from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant will reach the Hawaiian Islands in March 2014, according to a computer simulation by the Japan Atomic Energy Agency.
The agency said the radioactivity in the water will be diluted to low levels by the time it has traveled 5,300 kilometers from the Fukushima plant. (They are referring to just cesium, I guess, as no other radioactive substance is mentioned..)
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The researchers said 18,000 trillion becquerels of radioactive iodine and cesium have leaked from the plant into the sea.
The contaminated water will be carried by ocean currents, and the maximum radioactivity level in cesium-137 will be about 0.04 becquerel per liter when it nears the Hawaiian Islands, they said.
Sweet. So what kind of levels do you expect for the plutonium, uranium, tritium, and the rest of this nuclear cavalcade of whimsy? Cesium 137 has a half life of 30 years. MOX has a half life of 24, 000 years.
No matter, though.. Especially if Reactor 4 goes..
Here we are, at what might be the Last Vestiges of Normal Life, and we all continue on, like everything is normal.
May we continue on, like normal, most still in denial, for at least a little while longer, please.
Thousands protest nuclear plants at Tokyo rally Via Rense.
About 4,500 people have rallied in Tokyo to call for the suspension of nuclear power plants.
The demonstrators gathered at Shiba Koen in central Tokyo and adopted a resolution calling for all nuclear plants in the country to be suspended and a nuclear-free society realized.
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The citizens' group that organized the demonstration says only about 100 people took part last year, but about 4,500 joined this year's protest, the largest in the event's history.
Something strange in the Japan Tsunami (Video) Via Rense.
Cat, monkey, super soldier.. Something seems to be hauling ass against the torrent..
Study finds wide variation in radiation levels within no-entry zone Via Rense.
A study of radiation levels within a 20-kilometer radius of the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant revealed contamination levels in many locations would not currently pose a major threat to human health.
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Of 128 locations within the 20-km zone, researchers projected that annual radiation exposure would exceed 100 millisieverts in only 17 places.
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The worst-contaminated location had a radiation level that might expose individuals to more than 500 millisieverts in a year. But nearly half of the sample locations had radiation levels below the 20 millisieverts standard used by the central government as a guideline for issuing evacuation orders.
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Wind direction and local topography has had a major influence on the dispersal of radioactive materials.
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But Yoshiya Shimada, a project leader on medical radiation research at the National Institute of Radiological Sciences, said: "There is almost no risk of cancer if the radiation exposure level is about 20 millisieverts. For the elderly, the stress from living as an evacuee will have a much greater impact on their health than the risks from radiation exposure. Rather than look just at radiation levels, a more flexible response should be adopted in the future taking into account social, economic and psychological factors."
Two points: Again, ANY exposure to radioactivity is bad and cumulative. And second, wind currents can change. If I were a gambler, I'd bet, due to increasing pressure, the Japanese government will eventually allow evacuees to return to their homes based on data that is subject to fluctuation. Since I am not faced with this situation, I will not pass judgement on either the government for bowing to what will be increasing pressure to return, or for evacuees wanting to return home. There is no good way forward, and how those involved proceed will be up to them. I don't envy their choices..
Radiation Expert: "Sr-90 and Uranium and Particulates Will Be Building Up in the USA and Europe ... For Now I Think It Prudent To Stop Drinking Milk" From Washington's Blog. If you haven't already, bookmark that site. Every visit is worthwhile..
No obvious change detected in radiation levels in China
No obvious change had been found in the levels of radioactive material in the environment and food samples on the Chinese mainland, said China's National Nuclear Emergency Coordination Committee Sunday in a daily notice.
A sample survey indicated no abnormality in drinking water, and monitoring results showed that radiation levels in the ocean and air also remained normal, it said.
Hollow re-assurance, or small comfort?
Japan's TEPCO to use gas to offset nuke power loss
Tokyo Electric Power Co., the world's largest private electricity company, said Friday it plans to install gas turbines at two thermal power plants to partially offset power shortages caused by the loss of generating capacity at disaster-stricken power plants.
TEPCO, the main power supplier to the Tokyo region, said the new turbines would boost its capacity to between 50 million and 52 million kilowatts, still well below the nearly 60 million kilowatts of power consumed during peak hot weather days last summer.
The company, which is struggling to stabilize conditions in tsunami-flooded reactors at one of its nuclear plants, earlier said it would only be able to provide 46 million kilowatts of capacity.
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In March, TEPCO imposed limited power rationing to help meet initial shortfalls but suspended the power cuts after finding it was able to meet relatively slack demand due to mild weather and emergency conservation measures such as reduced train schedules.
Dealing with Japan's disaster: The information equation
Like America's 9/11, Japan's 3/11 saw the wireless voice network fail under congestion, while emails and text messages passed through easily. Mobiles sometimes worked when blackouts kept everyone in the dark. Communications and information were as much a lifeline as electricity and water. On 9/11 CNN reduced its homepage to basic HTML text so that it would fit into a single Internet Protocol packet, making it easier for the server and the network to deliver. Likewise, after 3/11 Google distributed its information about blackouts to caches across the network so it would be retrievable even if the actual servers went dark.
Fukushima 50 criticise Japanese government over inconsistent documentation of their radiation exposure
Tokyo, Apr 23 : The Fukushima 50 emergency nuclear plant workers trying to control the situation in the earthquake-cum-tsunami hit plant in Japan, have reportedly accused the government of inconsistent handling of data in relation to radiation exposure.
The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant workers have said that they have been risking their health, while attempting to regain control over the facility that was severely damaged by the March 11 tsunami.
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The paper quoted another nuclear industry source as saying that: "If the radiation data is handled vaguely, workers may not be able to have proof of their exposure to radiation if they need to fight court battles."
Fukushima operator allowed excessive pressure: report
WASHINGTON, USA - The operator of Japan's nuclear plant let pressure in one reactor climb far beyond the level the facility was designed to withstand, which may have worsened the nuclear accident, The Wall Street Journal reported late Friday.
Citing results of its own inquiry, the newspaper said that Japanese rules call for waiting much longer venting the potentially dangerous steam that builds up as reactors overheat.
Following the quake, the pressure inside the vessel that forms a protective bulb around the reactor's core reached twice the level it was designed to withstand, the Journal said.
Then it took 12 hours later to vent the steam, and then, one hour later, the reactor blew up.
Sea leaks would be rated Level 5 or 6
If estimates of leaks of radioactive material into the sea from Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant were judged according to the International Nuclear Event Scale, the severity of marine contamination would be rated Level 5 or 6.
The Three Mile Island nuclear accident in the United States was rated Level 5 on the scale introduced by the International Atomic Energy Agency that runs from zero to seven and is based on radiation leaks into the atmosphere.
The radiation leaks into the sea have caused serious contamination of the marine environment, TEPCO's estimates show. Water that leaked into the Pacific Ocean from the No. 2 reactor's water intake contained an estimated 4,700 terabecquerels of radioactive substances, TEPCO announced Thursday.
Reactor 1 water level concerns Via Rense. Excerpts:
The Japanese government has expressed concern about the structural strength of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant's Number 1 reactor. It says the ongoing water injections may be making the vessel less earthquake resistant.
Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, is planning to fill part of the containment vessel with water to cool the reactor.
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TEPCO says the water accumulation will not compromise the structure. But the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency says large amounts of water can make the building less earthquake-proof.
After 5 Halflives, I-131 Higher than Cs-134/137 Suggests Ongoing Criticalities
Summary
During full-power operation, numerous "fission products" are in approximate steady-state equilibrium, meaning roughly equal becquerel of I-131 and Cs-134, with a slow buildup of Cs-137. But they all cease to be created when the reactors are scrammed. Japanese regulators NISA and MEXT seem oblivious of the mysterious fact that I-131 Bq "reactor density" is still often reported double the Cs-134/137 Bq. The TEPCO data suggest that fission is ongoing despite the reactor shutdowns. This is bad news.
And:
The fact that nobody in Japan seems to know basics of reactor accident progression that I learned at Sandia Labs in early 1980s is truly scary, because it suggests they are playing with these broken/leaking reactors and SNF pools inside at least three buildings totally destroyed by steam explosions ... as if the reactors and their SNF pools are broken toys that they're using trial and error to try fixing.
Residents Scramble as Japan Seals Area Near Plant Excerpts:
Japan sealed off a wide area around a radiation-spewing nuclear power plant on Friday to prevent tens of thousands of residents from sneaking back to the homes they quickly evacuated, some with little more than a credit card and the clothes on their backs.
Fearing they might not see their homes again for months, evacuees raced into the deserted towns Thursday before the ban took effect to grab whatever belongings they could cram into their cars.
Nearly 80,000 people were hurriedly evacuated from a 12-mile zone around the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant on March 12, after an earthquake and a tsunami destroyed its power and cooling systems. The order had no teeth, however, and people began increasingly returning to check on the remains of their lives. Some had stayed all along.
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Under a special nuclear emergency law, people who enter the zone will now be subject to fines of up to $1,200 or possible detention for up to 30 days. Until now, defiance of the evacuation order was not punishable and the police manning the roadblocks had no authority to stop people from entering.
Japan earmarks first $50 bn for post-quake rebuild
TOKYO: Japan's cabinet approved on Friday almost $50 billion of spending for post-earthquake rebuilding, a down payment on the country's biggest public works effort in six decades.
The emergency budget of 4 trillion yen ($48.5 billion), which is likely be followed by more reconstruction spending packages, is still dwarfed by the overall cost of damages caused by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, estimated at $300 billion.
"With this budget, we are taking one step forward towards reconstruction ... and towards restarting the economy," Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda told reporters after a cabinet meeting.
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Though Japan's debt is around twice the size of its $5 trillion economy, it does not face a Greece-style debt crisis since most of that debt is owed to domestic creditors rather than foreign banks.
Radioactive water likely to hamper cooling effort. Via Rense.
The operator of the Fukushima nuclear power facility plans to cool the reactors by filling their vessels with water. However, that process may be hampered by waste water contaminated with highly radioactive materials.
According Tokyo Electric Power Company's blueprint for bringing the troubled facility under control, the Number 1 and 3 reactor vessels will be filled with water up to the height of the nuclear fuel rods by the middle of July. This is aimed at cooling the reactors in a stable manner.
And:
The utility needs to check the reactor turbine building for any water leakage from the building housing the reactor, but workers cannot enter the reactor building at present. However (No, not "However." The word they were looking for is "Also"), the effort to identify the source of a leak is difficult because of radioactive water inside the basement of the turbine building.
Work to move contaminated water from the Number 2 reactor is already underway. However, it's not clear when they can begin moving contaminated water from the Number 1 reactor.
Four More Quakes Hit East Coast Of Japan, Vicinity Of Fukushima
Radioactive iodine found in breast milk of Japanese mothers. Via Rense. Excerpts:
The breast milk of four Japanese mothers has been found to contain small quantities of radioactive iodine.
The government faced calls for a full investigation into the impact of the nuclear disaster on mothers and babies following the discovery.
The radiation contamination came to light after tests were conducted on breast milk samples taken from nine women living northeast or east of Tokyo.
Four of these women were found to be contaminated, with the highest reading of 36.3 becquerels of radioactive iodine per kg detected in the milk of the mother of an eight-month-old baby in Kashiwa, Chiba prefecture.
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However, the breast milk readings were below the safety limit of 100 becquerels per kg of tap water consumption by infants under one year of age and no radioactive cesium was found. (Would there be different standards for tap water and breast milk? I would assume the fat contained in breast milk would warrant a lower threshold of exposure, but that's just me guessing..)
Leading Epidemiologist: Instead of Trying to Avoid Japanese Radiation, Put Your Energy Into Demanding a Saner Energy Policy Great read from Washington's Blog.
Core of Stricken Reactor Probably Leaked, U.S. Says This is Reactor 2 Excerpts:.
WASHINGTON — The United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Wednesday that some of the core of a stricken Japanese reactor had probably leaked from its steel pressure vessel into the bottom of the containment structure, implying that the damage was even worse than previously thought.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s statement regarded unit No. 2, and the agency underscored that its interpretation was speculative and based on high radiation readings that Tokyo Electric had found in the lower part of unit No. 2’s primary containment structure, called the drywell. The statement said that the commission “does not believe that the reactor vessel has given way, and we do believe practically all of the core remains in the vessel.”
The agency’s statement was issued after Representative Edward J. Markey, Democrat of Massachusetts, told a House hearing on Wednesday morning that the commission had told him that the core had melted through the vessel.
TEPCO official describes possible meltdown at No. 1 reactor: The “molten fuel accumulates like lava” From Energy News.
Kyodo reported that on Wednesday a TEPCO official admitted the fuel in reactor No. 1 “could be melting.”
TEPCO official Junichi Matsumoto described the “possible meltdown”, comparing it to “a state in which molten fuel accumulates like lava.”
World Exclusive Photos: Inside Fukushima (Dead Zone) Via Rense.
Takashi Morizumi is a veteran Japanese photojournalist who has documented the hibakusha, or radiation victims, at nearly every nuclear disaster site around the world, including Hiroshima, Nagasaki, the former Soviet test site at Semipalatinsk, Ground Zero in Nevada, Bikini Island and Chernobyl in Ukraine.
The radiation levels around the partially melted-down Fukushima 1 nuclear plant are the worst he's ever experienced.
TEPCO Checking Seabed For Plutonium, Says There's Little Doubt It Has Leaked Since March 11 (Video) Via Rense.
Quake relief tax hike Excerpts:
Japanese consumers may have to help foot the reconstruction bill after last month's earthquake and tsunami caused $300 billion of damage, further burdening the hugely indebted economy, a newspaper said on Tuesday. It would be the first increase since 1997, though a sales tax hike had been the subject of fierce political debate before the earthquake struck as one way for Japan to dig itself out of its massive debt.
The government is considering raising the tax by 3 percentage points to 8 percent when the new fiscal year starts next April, the Yomiuri newspaper reported.
Japan To Set Up Committee To Oversee Tokyo Electric Power
The Japanese government will set up a committee to oversee Tokyo Electric Power Co., to strengthen its involvement in the reconstruction of the company and work to determine procedures for compensation payments to those affected by the crisis.
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"The compensation from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant crisis is likely to reach trillions of yen. Depending on the amount of compensation, the company may face serious financial problems," the sources said.
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The government and the company will decide how to share the costs and responsibilities before starting a full investigation into Tokyo Electric Power's financial conditions.
It's nice of them to pretend, but TEPCO's pretty much dead already.
Toyota making drastic production cuts after Japan quake, tsunami
Toyota has announced drastic production cuts in North America and China due to difficulty in supplying parts following the massive earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
Previously, Toyota Motor Engineering and Manufacturing North America, Inc. (TEMA), had said it would suspend production on Mondays and Fridays between April 15 and April 25. That will continue through June 3, the company said in a statement.
"During the same period, production will run at 50% on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday," the statement said.
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Toyota employs 25,000 workers in North America. It operates nine plants in the United States in Kentucky, Indiana, Texas, Tennessee, Alabama, West Virginia, California and Mississippi. It also operates three plants in Canada and one in Mexico.
Japan´s March trade surplus plunges after tsunami
TOKYO: Japan's trade surplus plunged 78.9 percent in March from a year earlier as exports fell after a March 11 earthquake and tsunami which triggered a nuclear crisis, the finance ministry said Wednesday.
The surplus reached 196.5 billion yen (2.37 billion dollars), still managing to stay in the black for the second straight month, the ministry said.
Exports fell 2.2 percent to 5.87 trillion yen (70.9 billion dollars), falling for the first time in 16 months due to reduced shipments of automobiles and vessels, it said.
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The fall was led by vehicle exports, which fell 27.8 percent. Exports of ships dropped 10.0 percent, and electronics parts fell 6.9 percent, the ministry said.
Japan mulls limited access to zone near nuke plant
Authorities were considering restricting access to the evacuation zone around Japan's crippled nuclear plant Wednesday to limit radiation exposure to residents who may want to return to their homes.
"We are considering setting up 'caution areas' as an option for effectively limiting entry" to the zone, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said.
It was unclear when the ban might be imposed.
About 70,000-80,000 people were living in the 10 towns and villages within 12 miles (20 kilometers) of the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant, which has been leaking radiation after a March 11 earthquake and tsunami wrecked its power and cooling systems.
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