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Fukushima Update
Fukushima Update (Video)
Arnie Gundersen at Fairewinds Associates Inc is an energy advisor with 39 years of nuclear power engineering experience, a former nuclear industry executive, and he was a licensed reactor operator. During this crisis in Japan, Arnie's become a premier expert offering frequent video updates on Fairewinds' website.
The newest video has not been posted on youtube yet, and I'm unable to capture the vimeo code for this site - but you can watch it by clicking here (Arnie's videos): Update on Fukushima: Discussion of High Level Radiation Releases and the Previous "Worse Case Senario" Planned for by The Industry from Fairewinds Associates on Vimeo. - Ilene
Gundersen describes the Fukushima plant as stable, but precarious. In this update, he discusses the high levels of radiation (2 Million disintegrations/second being found on the ground as far as 25 miles from the plant site.) He also addresses a New York Times report of hundreds of tons of water being put into the reactors each day. Gundersen points out that all of the water going in to the reactors is being irradiated, leaking out, and polluting the Ocean. He concludes by discussing the differences between the accident scenarios that the nuclear industry previously planned for and what has actually happened.
See also:
Bodies of 1,000 victims of Japan earthquake left uncollected because of fears of high levels of radiation
By RICHARD SHEARS, Mail Online
It comes after Japan finally conceded defeat in the battle to contain radiation at four of Fukushima's crippled reactors. They will now be shut down.
Details of how this will be done are yet to be revealed, but officials said it would mean switching off all power and abandoning attempts to keep the nuclear fuel rods cool.
The final move would involve pouring tonnes of concrete on the reactors to seal them in tombs and ensure radiation does not leak out.
The country's nuclear safety agency revealed levels of radiation in the ocean near the crippled Fukushima Daiichi plant had surged to 4,385 times the regulatory limit.
The dramatic announcement that the four reactors are out of control and will have to be decommissioned was made yesterday by the chairman of the electric company operating the Fukushima plant.
With a deep bow and a grimace, Mr Tsunehisa Katsumata finally offered a humble apology for the failure to stop the leakage of radiation.
- Police, rescue workers and family members could be exposed to radiation
- Radioactivity levels in the ocean 4,385 times above regulatory limit
- Fisherman warned not to operate within 12 miles of plant
- Compensation claims could top $12bn
- Power firm's shares lose 80% of value - may need government bailout
- President still recovering in hospital recovering from 'fatigue and stress'
- U.S. sends specialist Marine unit to assist in decontamination
- Traces of radioactive particles found in U.S. milk - Radiation from Japan's crippled nuclear plant detected in MILK in two U.S. states, Mail Online
Full article here >
Radiation Detected in Plant Groundwater
Fukushima Daiichi Operators Report High Iodine Isotope Levels, Then Reverse Course; Prime Minister Challenges Industry
TOKYO—Workers at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear-power complex found radioactive groundwater just outside one of its troubled reactor buildings, adding a new area of uncertainty to the battle to contain radiation at the troubled facility.
In a brief statement released late Thursday, Tokyo Electric Power Co., the plant's operator, said a test of groundwater at the site revealed radioactive iodine—a common isotope found at the site since it was damaged by the earthquake and tsunami on March 11—at levels 10,000 times the limit the Japanese government sets on seawater.
A Tepco spokesman said shortly after the statement was released that the reading may have been in error and would be reviewed and re-released Friday. That echoed a similar moment last weekend in which the company released radiation readings from around the plant only to amend them down several orders of magnitude, exposing them to a government reprimand.
Continue here >
For fun - "Ann Coulter versus physics" is a long, detailed analysis of Ann Coulter's ridiculous assertion that a little radiation is good for you.
Excerpts:
Last week Coulter wrote a blisteringly stupid followup to her blisteringly ignorant column from two weeks ago entitled A Glowing Report on Radiation. She wrote this article in the wake of the fears arising in Japan and around the world of nuclear catastrophe due to the damage to the Fukushima nuclear power plant caused by the earthquake and tsunami that hit northern Japan on March 11. Coulter wassubsequently interviewed by Fox News pundit Bill O'Reilly on The O'Reilly Factor
As is usually the case for any scientific claims made by Coulter, this is utter rubbish. Unfortunately for Coulter, her timing in publishing her article was exquisitely bad. On the very next day after her article was published, the National Cancer Institute released the most comprehensive study yet of thyroid cancer in Chernobyl survivors. The findings indicated that radioactive iodine (131I) from the fallout from the reactor was likely responsible for thyroid cancers that are still occurring among people who lived near the reactor and that the risk of this cancer is not declining. In other words, no, Ann, the hugely elevated levels of thyroid cancer among people who live near Chernobyl when the reactor disaster occurred are not due to iodine deficiency in the Russian diet. There is some evidence that iodine deficiency might have increased the risk of 131I-induced cancers, particularly in the youngest, but that's not what Coulter said. She implied that iodine deficiency could account for the elevated incidence of thyroid cancer among those affected by the fallout. Much more about the health effects of the Chernobyl disaster can be foundhere. It should also be noted that most people who lived in the area were not exposed to that much radiation according to the United Nations-sponsored team investigating. Most were exposed to about 9 mSv, about 1/3 the equivalent of a CT scan of the chest, abdomen, and pelvis, once the short-term doses to the thyroid were subtracted.
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British nuclear experts have their own herd of telepathic unicorns who travel instantaneously on rainbow beams to wherever they are needed on this planet or the entire galaxy.
Oh and they are always right and they never lie.
"British nuclear experts have their own herd of telepathic unicorns who travel instantaneously on rainbow beams to wherever they are needed on this planet or the entire galaxy."
Good god, man, are you trying to hurt someone? Had I been eating I may have choked to death laughing at this! :-)
My bad..sorry. ZeroHedge is a food free zone, I keep spitting on my screen otherwise.
Burba is a resin they plan to seal the gamma/beta emitters from water before they backfill with sand/equal glass and concrete.
The method I created for the people of Japan to check their food with hit home today. Iodine -131 found at Dresden IL. power plant
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6Q7VfWdgEg
There is no solution except bombing the plant. Containing will not work. I offered vacuum bombs. If they do not work, small nuclear bomb. Fuel must be dispersed to be taken under control. The longer they wait the more diffictult situation they have including the risk of full scale nuclear explosion.
There is no solution except bombing the plant. Containing will not work. I offered vacuum bombs. If they do not work, small nuclear bomb. Fuel must be dispersed to be taken under control. The longer they wait the more diffictult situation they have including the risk of full scale nuclear explosion. man up poeple
Thank you, Tyler and all. I must say that if I lived in Japan I wouldn't live there no mo. Also, I keep looking, rubber neckin' the USGS worldwide earthquake updates and there seems to be on-going activity. We must hope this ends up the best way possible. And for the Japanese, obviously.
So they've admitted what was plainly obvious and now they say they will decommission the reactors. So, how does that change the current requirements of gaining some semblance of control over this pile of debri?
You can't pour concrete on top of something that hot (temperature wise), never mind that reactive. High heat and concrete do not go together.
Even if they can eventually bury the reactors, this does nothing about the bottom.
heh ... yeeaahh ... .riiiiight ... they kinda did that already.
The bottom of this thing is of course the North Pacific basin and this is sitting right on its brim. No matter what you do here to contain it, it isn''t going to play-ball over time.
That fuel will leak and leak and leak - in 200 years it will still be leaking.
That is the truth that people can't digest yet.
The people who proposed and designed and approved this radio-monster have a lot of explaining and prison time to do.
<looking at very appologetic TEPCO old-farts with sudden health issues and memory loss>
They've admitted they don't have an answer.
If they manage to contain molten fuel in a small area, there is a great risk of nuclear explosion rather than thermal explosion Chernobyl style. Instead, fuel must be dispersed to be taken under control. Hiding only helps in accounting.
Ann thinks that thyroid cancer is good for you too, so that study only strengthens her argument.
Lacking as she does a functioning cerebrum, she need not worry about brain cancer.
I can't get to grips with how utterly daft, precious and petty that woman is. Asserting she has a valid point to make about this BS concept, in the face of multiple exploding reactors. Ordinary decency should tell her to fuck up in the first instance. But nnnnooooooo, it's all about her, and her fucking special opinions, and instructing us about how right she is ... oh what a webel, what a dissenter! ... about nothing anyone gives a fuck about.
Fuckwit of the year is hers - no competition.
excellent vid. thx for that. radiation levels 4x worse than Chernobyl! Jesus!
I am afraid most do not appreciate how grave this is...........
TMI was a wake up call.
Chenobyol was shown to us by the USSR how to contain a problem quickly.
This Fukushima will be a example to all Nations with Nuclear Power today and far into the future.
Regardless, Zero Hedge stands out as being the one resource where you could obtain information about Fukushima online. Regardless of what Government actions may or may not truthfully inform the Population that has need of the information.
Let em bury it. Took em long enough.
20 years from now we will revisit the issue unless Jim's idea of a Geo Dome is implemented or other measures to make it last as long as the Pyrimads did.
I turn my back on Nuclear Power for Land Based Power Grid generation. It's time to move to something else to keep the Nation running.
However, while at least one plant is run by Nuclear and teams of "Yes-Men" assure everyone 100% safe I will continue to work towards keeping the household and my neighbors safe if possible.
We recommend:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5384001427276447319#
Chernobyl was obviously not "done quickly"
Chernobyl required over a half million workers working 24/7
Chernobyl has killed over a million worldwide, and is still killing. see this link:
http://www.prisonplanet.com/harmless-chernobyl-radiation-killed-nearly-o...
Should the bureaucracy in their frantic efforts to "cover up" their f**k-up actually attempt to dump cement on top of the mess, it would merely be a smoke-and-mirrors cover-up. The melted/melting messes would merely descend down into the water table and circulate freely....
I am convinced Ann Coulter is a hermaphrodite.
Universal plumbing, bitchez.
Which is the stupidest person in the world. Coulter vs. Palin.
Maybe I should have the worst person? Coulter vs. Palin.
i would say hermaphrodite too polite. she's appears the cock-tucker tranny variety.
...
Radiation is good for you...
In fact, the less you agree with me, the better it is for you.
Not sure if this has been posted yet.
http://america20xy.com/blog6/?p=21519
Subsequently dropped.
The idea was to try to immobilize a lot of the dust and fine debris floating around, as these will often be quite radioactive, seen the grounds were the scene of several reactor explosions.
A quick calculation on how much stuff would be needed to coat a 2000x600 ft slag pile 150 ft high may have provided a reality check.
Still seems something that will need doing, else you won't be needing lights in sushi bars next year.
No more sushi bars in Japan.
The fish are already cooked courtesy of the illegal levels of radiation in the sea water.
There's a business plan that GS should fund, North Atlantic sushi imported into Japan. Guaranteed to be raw for 24 hours after arrival in Japan!
The Japanese (and nearly everyone else) have fished the oceans clean. If anything, the contamination will allow species to bounce back since they can't be eaten anymore. The more I think about this, the more I think: Fuck Japan. You know why? Because these assholes had their banking crisis two decades ago, papered over it, and ignored the side effects that don't show up on a balance sheet (like not modernizing their nuclear reactors). The US is equally as stupid--building sports stadiums instead of fixing gas mains, for one thing. So fucking dumb.
If they could use this polymer gloop to make the neutrons, protons and the electrons stick to the plutonium element so that they can't separate I wonder what would happen? Also, plutonium melts at 600c so what happens after it melts?
Could they not stick some neptunium gloop to it mixed in with the PVA glue.
can you post a link indicating what "Burba" is composed of? Drawing blanks on web search
This company manufactures a similar polymer.
http://ca.kompass.com/live/en/CA013490/depco-international-inc.html
I'm still rearching that myself. Found this...
http://www.say2.org/the-battle-of-chernobyl/23.htm
Don't let them just pour concrete on a hot fuel pyle. Who thinks that will do anything but allow TEPCO to cover up the reality of the situation?
That material will eat the concrete and be leaching out into the fresh water table within 5 years.
This is too important to trust to a bunch of coporate whores, dammit. If you are a corporate whore, I apologize for my lack of tact.
This is one of, if not (now based on the stress of a 9.0) the most active earthquake zone. Any attempt to concrete over will probably literally and figuratively crack over time (not a building, can't sway) -time in which the radiation will only fester. The subground effect so close to the ocean (who knows, even erosion of the shoreline is in play) is also a concern over time and leeching is inevitable.
The rods must be exhumed and taken???? To that multi-billion dollar repository in Nevada built just for this reason (no earthquake, no leeching)? Something like this anyway, hell, take it all to Chernobyl. Anywhere but where it's at unfortunately.
What do you propose?
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/japan-to-scrap-four-of-the-...
From the U.K. Independent:
"Japan has conceded defeat in its frantic three-week battle to save a crippled nuclear plant, with the announcement that four of the six reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi complex will be shut down. In a further blow, tests on seawater near the plant showed radiation levels well above the legal limit, heightening fears of widening nuclear contamination.
The plants' fate was announced on live television yesterday by Tsunehisa Katsumata, chairman of the operator Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco), which has been widely criticised for its handling of Japan's worst nuclear crisis.
"Honestly speaking, work to effectively stabilise the temperature of the reactors has yet to begin," said Mr Katsumata. "Looking at the situation objectively, the company will have no choice but to shut them down for good."
Note the comment about stabilizing the temperature of the reactors. Not good.
And now I will commit the hari kari. Thank you so very much.
George is that you?