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Asahi Shinbun Confirms Nuclear Rods In Pressure Vessels And Spent Fuel Pools Are Damaged
Well, in tried and true fashion, it took Japan a week to confirm what everyone else had been certain had occurred over a week earlier. According to the Asahi Shinbun, with a translation courtesy of Ex-Skf, we finally know that the "nuclear fuel rods in the pressure vessels and in the spent fuel pools at the plant have been damaged." Which means that any incremental work the repair crews may be doing at this point is simply window dressing in preparation for the concrete tomb/lead bath.
From Asahi:
TEPCO released the test result of the air sample taken from Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant today [March 21]. Analysis of the sample, collected on March 19 at 200 meters from the northwest corner of the Reactor No.1, showed the level of radioactive iodine at 6 times as high as the safety limit; it also showed the existence of cesium.
Both iodine and cesium are byproducts of nuclear fission. The test seems to confirm that the nuclear fuel rods in the Pressure Vessels and in the Spent Fuel Pools at the Plant have been damaged.
It took TEPCO 2 days to analyze the sample, as the sample had to be taken to Fukushima II Nuclear Power Plant for analysis.
In the meantime, in the "continuing lies from TPTB category", we realize that the bioRobots which had last made an appearance in Chernobyl are back in full force in Fukushima:
Japan's nuclear safety agency said on Monday it
acknowledged a risk of radioactive dust being inhaled by workers at the
stricken nuclear plant in Fukushima, but had seen no sign yet of that
happening.
Could they be more specific: "there were no signs of workers breathing in air", or "there were no signs of "volunteer" kamikazis growing a 4th arm in the last 168 hours?" Surely both will be perfecty contained outcomes to this increasingly more irresponsible disaster.
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<satire>
I think that it would be simpler to list the few fields where ZH and the commenters may not be the global experts.
</satire>
A couple of random details.
Radiation Dose Chart
http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/radiation.png
Readings from International Radiation Monitoring Stations are Secret
There is an international treaty requiring the industry & governments to not reveal the readings from a network of international monitoring stations.
In other words, this is planned ahead so that the industry and the governments know they can tell the populace whatever fits with the industries and government's purposes.
From the WSJ 3/18/11.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405274870381820457620701128289875...
<snip>
"Dr. De Geer said the terms of the treaty prevented him from divulging specific details, such as the exact readings of different radioactive isotopes picked up by the monitoring network."
<snip>
Operation 'Fahrenheit 451' has been activated.
Any scientist who reports actual isotopic radiation levels gets a visit from the "firefighters," who set all their equipment, research and laboratories ablaze.
The news went from grim to stable the day after the Nikkei dropped 1000 points and the US markets followed. When you have 15 TRILLION DOLLARS invested in a fake recovery and a nuclear disaster suddenly threatens its cover, It all of a sudden becomes "What Disaster"? Read my flippin radioactive lips, We don't have a problem.. And we sure as hell don't have another 15 TRILLION DOLLARS to start over again. So as the radioactive rain waters 40% of America's produce in California and rods melt away and release their deadly brew, just remember all is well and there is no reason to be concerned about the Economic destruction the Earthquake and Tsunami will cause. And just forget about the health risks to millions of people it really doesn't matter, so go ahead and put on your ralley hats and slide into your denial comas because they also just claimed that entire Middle East isn't going to come unglued either.
Google accuses China of blocking GMAIL
http://dawnwires.com/technology/google-accuses-china-of-blocking-email-s...
Warren Buffet says Japan is a great buy.
There's no mention of whether he is buying jack shit there now, as there typically would be with Buffet Propaganda.
Maybe he's buying funeral homes and flower shops.
Instead, the article skips Japan specifics and talks about how he's looking to make acquisitions in Korea.
Has he sold his stake in BYD yet?
The Japan calamity is the beginning of the next big global contraction. It's already begun and will intensify in a very short order. This greatly increases The Bernank's dilemna, and on a contrarian call, makes QE3 less likely, given other factors at work.
Warren Buffet is probably selling tickets to his own funeral; the man is an alien.
"Warren Buffet says Japan is a great buy."
He's trying to dump.
Maybe he'll pickup uranium instead. ;)
The decades-long fed-sponsored credit binge made almost everyone look good, and many, like Buffet, look great.
The ongoing credit collapse will show even the best for how little they are.
http://www.tldm.org/news10/akita.htm
4 dead nukes
in variouse stages
of decay....
for freakin ever...
NIKKEI +2.72%
I guess we will have to wait for that comet to hit Earth and kill at least 4 billion people to bring stock market down for more than 10% without recovering after couple of days
And what's with this stupid math questions to determine if you're machine or not?
Check what i got:
___ times 28 equals -840 ?!?!?!
WTF??!?
ONLY FREAKING MACHINE CAN CALCULATE THIS !!!
I need to go to college first to be able to post on ZH?!
Not much seems to make sense as of late. One disaster after another gets covered by paper. Such is the power of the printing press.
From Jefferson Airplane:
<<< When logic and proportion
Have fallen sloppy dead
And the White Knight is talking backwards
And the Red Queen's "off with her head!"
Remember what the dormouse said;
"Keep YOUR HEAD >>>
Why am I wasting my time?
Workers being evacuated again? CNN just reported "some kind of smoke" from #3.
FUKUSHIMA, Japan (AP) -- Gray smoke rose from two reactor units Monday, temporarily stalling critical work to reconnect power lines and restore cooling systems to stabilize Japan's radiation-leaking nuclear complex.
Comments associated with the use of the bulldozing tanks suggest spent fuel has been distributed as highly radioactive rubble that is preventing access to the site without workers getting high doses of radiation.
Wait! There's good news:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/3067317/Red-wine-can-protect-against-rad...
Go long vinyards and import/exporters!
I'll die trying! This shit is done!
Why is a battle tank going to Fukushima??? Crikey.......
http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/World/20110321/japan-fukushima-nuclear-plant-c...
The "Chernobyl Solution" may be in the works. Bulldoze earth around the damaged reactors and entomb them in concrete etc.
Huh. Either they read ZH, or it was obvious to everyone from watching the 'firefighters spraying #3' video that all the crap lying around was a major impediment to access. And NO ONE is going to get out of their vehicle to pick up stuff, drive abandoned cars away, etc.
That tank pic is dated the 20th - Sunday. Nighttime. After watching the video, I posted they should borrow armored airtight bulldozers from the Israelis. Looks like the Japs are trying to do some clearance on the cheap, with a pissy little blade on the front of a tank. Should use the Israeli monster bulldozers, which could clear out all those annoying subsidiary buildings in the area. Field proven capability! Say there are Palestinians living in the buildings, and the Israelis would knock 10% off the rental and throw in free shipping.
Either that or everyone is getting so frustrated with the situation they've decided to just fire artillery at the reactors from close range and see what happens.
Hmm... Actually, if the SFP rods are already burning, and the problem is they are up high (inaccessible) and all in one heap (burning and may melt down/go critical), then maybe that isn't such an insane idea? Blast through to the SFP, then blast the rods out onto the ground. Spread out and accessible - is that better or worse than the present nightmare?
#3 is the one with MOX plutonium rods, but those are still in the core. Is it worth doing _anything_ to get the SFP (not MOX) rods away from the reactor vessel? Could a meltdown in the SFP burn through the reactor containment vessel from the outside?
The more I think about this brilliant example of nuclear achitecture, the more I am convinced the designers were completely mad.
"And NO ONE is going to get out of their vehicle to pick up stuff, drive abandoned cars away, etc."
See, here in the U.S. looters would have already taken care of that.
Modern Battle Tanks are designed to run in a nuclear environment. Good choice.
I give you!
TRIFLATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Deflation in what you want
Inflation in what you need
Castflation of your private parts from eating irradiated Mothra fish
Two 'battle' tanks fitted with bulldozer blades are going to remove highly radioactive rubble to make it easier for workers to move around. The tanks are air sealed so can have a posative pressure inside and have a measure of protection from penetrating radiation.
Markets have the attention of a 10yr old child with ADD.
Everything is fine now. Nothing to see here anymore. Incredible.
Futures up over 100 points. Just another meltup Monday, as the Bangles used to say.
This is not a market. It is not open or free, and it does not represent true price discovery. It is purely manipulated.
French Nuclear Body:Radiation Arriving Above France Wednesday
PARIS (Dow Jones)--French nuclear regulator Autorite de Surete Nucleaire, or ASN, Monday said
that nuclear radiation from the Japanese nuclear plant Fukushima are expected to reach France
Wednesday but shouldn't have any consequences at all on French people's health, food or the
environment.
Speaking during a press conference, the ASN's head Claude-Andre Lacoste said that radiation
from Fukushima should be 1,000 to 10,0000 times less significant than the radiation on France
from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986.
It will take years to deal with the consequences of the Fukushima accident, the ASN also
said, noting that the situation there hasn't changed much and that radioactive emissions there
are ongoing.
There are 1000-2000 t water in the fuel spent pools normally (according to one news agency: 1400 t in unit 4)
According to one article about fighting a wildfire a small helicopter (as we've seen in the earlier attempts) can usually take 5 ton water per flight.
A German HLF 20/16 (not the best model) firefighter truck can carry around 2400 litre. If there is a possibility to get water, it can pump 2000 litre per minute. The Japanese seem to use ones (Isuzu NPR/Morita pumper - see more: http://www.fire-engine-photos.com/countries.asp?id=130&page=4&start=3279 ) that can pump 3000 litre/minute. According to one article they sprayed 90 tons on one reactor /day before they had to stop. In one video I could see 2 units at the same time on one reactor - so let's say, it needs to drive back to refill, because I don't see a possibility that they can refill the pumper at the reactor - so they need to drive back to their starting point to refill.
What are you saying panzer commander?
That the japs are in the shizen? knee deep in the schtucken?
i think you are... radiation is a nasty way to go.
Yes and yes. They are in the Scheiße and knee deep in the ehm...whatever. Media reports that smoke is rising from #2 and #3 again and they had to evacuate everyone. To describe their efforts: It's like pissing against a raging wildfire.
Sincerely,
your Prussian Luftwaffe commander
all is fine, the situation is under control but just in case:
11:47 21Mar11 RTRS-U.S. SAYS MAKES AVAILABLE POTASSIUM IODIDE TO U.S. PERSONNEL, FAMILIES IN NAGOYA, TOKYO, YOKOHAMA AND CERTAIN OTHER PARTS OF JAPAN
11:49 21Mar11 RTRS-U.S. SAYS MAKES POTASSIUM IODIDE AVAILABLE AS A "PRECAUTIONARY MEASURE," SAYS NO ONE SHOULD TAKE IT NOW
For Dai-Ichi Fukushima Plant I Savviest: Stop worrying about ‘spent’ fuel pool fires. Zirconium tubes do not burn by Rod Adams http://atomicinsights.blogspot.com/2011/03/stop-worrying-about-spent-fuel-pool.html
vs Why Fukushima’s “spent” fuel rods will continue to catch fire http://my.firedoglake.com/kirkmurphy/2011/03/15/why-fukushimas-spent-fuel-rods-will-continue-to-catch-fire/
Must Hear -->Dr. John Waterman about Nuclear Meltdown & Benjamin Fulford (The Crazy Ninja :-) always interesting)
Download MP3: http://www.americanfreedomradio.com/archive/Project-Camelot-32k-031611.mp3
Workers train to spray reactor with concrete, 21 March 2011, by the CNN Wire Staff - Tokyo (CNN) http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/03/21/japan.nuclear.reactors/?hpt=T2
Michio Kaku on Japan’s Nuke Crisis & Chernobyl Option – Last Word http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obK4zISRgyo
If not, there is an option of last resort under consideration to bury the sprawling 40-year-old plant in sand and concrete to prevent a catastrophic radiation release.
That method was used to seal huge leakages from the 1986 Chernobyl disaster
18 March 2011, by Kiyoshi Takenaka and Yoko Nishikawa -TOKYO (Reuters) http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/03/18/us-japan-quake-idUSTRE72A0SS20110318
Just like we entombed the damaged fuel at TMI?
Tyler,
I owe you all at ZH especially its heart and soul Membership! Thank you so much for helping get the video out there to surrounding countries! Please come and I will treat you like a king with a tour of the most powerful camera in the world.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6Q7VfWdgEg
Again my warmest thanks to all
Andrew
P.S. Your all amazing people and it's not bull either!
Smoke seen rising from area which housed core of spent nuclear fuel in reactor Number 3 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1368357/Japan-tsunami-Staff-evacuated-smoke-rises-nuclear-reactor.html#ixzz1HERo2Rab
White smoke was seen over reactor No. 2 – Plumes of grey smoke over reactor No. 3 caused the evacuation of some workers http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFWNAS152520110321
More volunteers ‘prepared for death’ at Fukushima http://www.hindustantimes.com/More-volunteers-prepared-for-death-at-Fukushima/Article1-675822.aspx
hadn't seen concrete mixers at the base of #3 before. see them in the dailymail article Youri posted
Slightly off topic. A line of radiation monitors that spans from ND to KS are picking up the elevated radiation levels that were on the coast a day or two ago????
https://cdxnode64.epa.gov/radnet-public/showMap.do
My own Geiger, is/was reading at nearly double (50CPM) what has been a relatively stable background level of 15-20. (This is still inside the "normal" range however) The monitor east of me is/was reading 90CPM.
Levels in SD are over 200 right now. This is more than 3 times what RadiationNetwork considers normal, considering the elevation there.
These are far from dangerous at this point; I'm not posting this from a lead lined bunker, and I'm not trying to freak anyone out. I just find it ironic that the radiation that "Wasn't even going to get here", is now being measured as far East as Lake Superior.
A second heli-shakey-cam. Even more crap than the first. Has this one been linked before?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3Lg88ECaCE
Japanese to English translation of description:
Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station was taken by helicopter from the sky (Ookuma Town, Fukushima Prefecture) is part of the video the night of 17 and the No. 3 No. 4, published by Electric Power Company.
Check site for its employees, was taken around 4:00 pm Wednesday. The video published in three, to video length of 55 seconds to 1 minute, and building the No. 3 give the steam exploded hydrogen, reflected in the appearance of the building the No. 4 blown away by the explosion walls and ceilings The.
---
I notice that no pictures seem to be turning up of the latest smoke episodes. Total media blackout, apparently.
Important Vid (If somebody Can see this vid please respond) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vhuVUt5l_k
It is said that it's blocked somehow???
TIP: Download Vid and take screenerz an ya suddenly see a heck of a lot more.
My Samples: http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v393/youricarma/Fukushima%20-%20Daiich...
I used simple VLC player to take my screenerz.
The Japanese Government, as part of Operation Transparency & Credibility, has taken the fairly sizeable step of blocking youtube in their nation.
You know, because things are stable and/or getting better.
Radiation levels at plant gate shot up from 500 microsieverts/hr to 2000 during the smoke episode, then subsided to previous levels.
2000 microsieverts is of course 2 millisieverts...or 0.2% of a sievert per hour.
I think I have an engineering solution. Build a polder, i.e. a perimeter berm of earth and precast concrete bridge parts or concrete rubble from adjacent buildings, using the turbine halls as one side of an enormous rectangular dike around Reactors 1-4, at least 30 ft tall, then fill with seawater. Hitachi makes high volume utility pumps. 24" pipeline from ocean to polder.
Use the towers to rig firehoses that spray continuously while building the perimeter dike. Send the fire engines home or use them as scrap building blocks for the dike. Need a fleet of Israeli bulldozers.
The other day I thought of an enormous frame building with vents and sensors that would sit on top of the damaged area. Big pit good too. Maybe slowly fill it up with entombment material. Then worry about the next seismic/tsunami event and how to handle that.
The big question remains heat suppression. So water is good for that. However it is unlikely to be ultrapurified water so it will be 'activated' water. Interesting what happens as it evaporates--how much goes up vs. concentrates in the pool. May need to circulate it as well, so the contaminants probably get cycled into the ocean then....
Overall an excellent idea. Brute force but elegant.
All is well.
Why the panic?
Professors Oehmen and Monreal, both being 'experts', Monreal being a MIT alum (and winner of a prestigious $900,000+ award from the U.S. Department of Energy) and Oehmen a MIT professor (and spokesman for the nuclear industry), have both written and lectured that this can not be happening, that there is little to worry about, ergo these recent events must be big illusions and or merely a bad dream.
Things can't be and aren't getting worse, either.
Sigh...daily life in Japan post-accident
Greater levels of radioactive materials found due to rainTOKYO, March 22, Kyodo
Far greater amounts of radioactive iodine and cesium were found in rain, dust and particles in the air in some areas over a 24-hour period from Sunday morning due to rainfall, the science ministry said Monday.
''Considering the results of a separate test, radioactive materials in the air and drinking water are confined to levels that would not affect health,'' an official of the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology said. ''The impact on agricultural crops needs to be examined mainly by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry.''
In a notice to the nation's 47 prefectures, the health ministry called on local governments on Monday to advise residents to stop giving babies water in forms such as baby formula if radioactive iodine is found in drinking water at levels greater than 100 becquerels per kiloliter.
''Babies can easily absorb radioactive iodine in their thyroid glands,'' a ministry official said, explaining the reason for issuing the notice. The intake limit set by the central government is 300 becquerels per kiloliter of water.
The science ministry said separately traces of the substances were detected in drinking water sampled Sunday in nine prefectures but they were all below the intake limits set by the government.
The nationwide survey showed both radioactive iodine and cesium were found in Ibaraki, Tochigi and Gunma prefectures, while iodine alone was found in Saitama, Chiba, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Niigata and Yamanashi.
In Fukushima Prefecture, where the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is located, the prefectural government said 23 becquerels of iodine was found per kiloliter of water.
Yamanashi appeared in the latest iodine list, after not being listed in the previous survey based on samples taken Saturday.
Cesium was detected in a sample in Tokyo on Saturday but was not detected Sunday. It was detected in Gunma on Sunday, though the prefecture was not cited in the previous survey.
Among other prefectures, 12 becquerels of iodine was detected in Ibaraki, 10 becquerels in Tochigi, 5.9 becquerels in Gunma, 2.9 becquerels in Tokyo, and 3.6 becquerels in Niigata, among other locations, the ministry's tally showed.
As for cesium, 2.8 becquerels was found in Tochigi and 1.2 becquerels in Gunma.
The central government's Nuclear Safety Commission of Japan sets the intake limit for iodine at 300 becquerels per kiloliter of water and 200 becquerels for cesium.
Due to damage caused by the massive earthquake on March 11, research is currently impossible in some areas. Fukushima Prefecture is publishing data based on its own research.
Meanwhile, the government's task force to tackle nuclear accidents instructed municipal governments near the crisis-hit Fukushima plant on Monday to ease conditions under which they require people to undergo mandatory decontamination.
A radiation level of 100,000 counts per minute will be introduced as a new standard for decontamination, up from 6,000 counts per minute, the government said, adding that raising the bar will not endanger health.
The government's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said the decision was made based on advice from domestic nuclear experts and the International Atomic Energy Agency.
As the number of people who want to undergo radiation checks has surged, a lack of staff and equipment for the tests and decontamination was feared.
The task force also urged the municipalities to tell residents not to take iodine preparations that prevent the absorption of radioactive iodine without expert guidance.
The intake of such preparations can help to prevent thyroid cancer but can involve side effects including allergic reactions.
==Kyodo
Jim, above you surmised that the media has been told to back way off.
An example of this may be the performance of Fox' Sheperd Smith. He was the guy in the middle of Katrina and came unglued when he saw up close and personal the govt. inability to respond. He developed a high sensitivity to govt. BS re emergencies.
He landed in Japan about the time #2 had its 'big noise' inside explosion. His first few appearances were riveting, as he seemed to be keen to report what was really happening. There was one incredible segment where they were cutting to the Japanese tv describing fears that the outer containment of #2 had cracked. Really tense tv. And he said they'd be heading up to the emergency zone.
But 'they' didn't. He stayed, so he said in Tokyo. Subsequent reports amounted to reading pablum accounts of info long since obvious. And while he wore a heavy green jacket like he was outdoors, he was always standing in front of the same daylight photo of the Tokyo skyline. So far as one could tell, he was standing all dry and warm in a studio somewhere. Reporting no breaking news or even any news that would ruffle anyone.
above Youri Carma posted a link to a daily mail news report.
it contains a photo of #3, which shows concrete mixers at the base of the reactor.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1368357/Japan-tsunami-Staff-evac...
there's also a large crane in the daily mail photo. don't know if that has been there before.