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Ongoing Cover Up of Nuclear Crisis By American and Japanese Governments and Companies
I've previously documented that Japanese
seismologists and nuclear engineers warned years ago that the risk of a
large-scale nuclear accident in Japan were high, with one Japanese
seismologist warning in 2004 that the risk of a nuclear accident was
Like a kamikaze terrorist wrapped in bombs just waiting to explode.
I also showed that whistleblowers have been ignored:
Years before Fukushima engineer Mitsuhiko Tanaka blew the whistle on the fact that Tepco covered up a defective containment vessel, the above-quoted Japan Times article blew the whistle:
Yoichi
Kikuchi, a Japanese nuclear engineer who also became a
whistle-blower, has told me personally of many safety problems at
Japan's nuclear power plants, such as cracks in pipes in the cooling
system from vibrations in the reactor. He said the electric companies
are "gambling in a dangerous game to increase profits and decrease
government oversight."
[Kei Sugaoka, a
Japanese-American senior field engineer who worked for General
Electric in the United States, who previously blew the whistle on
Tepco's failure to inform the government of defects at the reactors]
agreed, saying, "The scariest thing, on top of all the other problems,
is that all nuclear power plants are aging, causing a deterioration
of piping and joints which are always exposed to strong radiation and
heat."Kikuchi and Sugaoka were ignored. Just like AmIndeed, erican whistle-blowers are being ignored.
And after the March 11th disaster, the Japanese government has been covering up information.
Indeed,
nuclear engineer Arnie Gundersen points out that American and Japanese
governments and nuclear companies are covering up many core facts
concerning the Japanese nuclear crisis.
Closing Ranks: The NRC, the Nuclear Industry, and TEPCo. Are Limiting the Flow of Information from Fairewinds Associates on Vimeo.
Tepco
Tepco is covering up crucial information, including:
- After Gundersen pointed out
that the existence of tellurium at Fukushima implies that
re-criticality is coming, Tepco pulled the data, saying that the data
is no longer accurate
- Tepco is denying that a blue neutron beam - also indicating re-criticality - has been observed
- Tepco has tried to deny the report of an imminent nuclear scientist that reactor number 2 had suffered a meltdown
Foreign Nuclear Companies
It's not just Tepco. Foreign nuclear companies are covering up as well.
For example, the large french nuclear corporation, Areva, has privately determined that:
- At
reactors 1 through 3, the nuclear fuel reached 5,000 degrees, beyond
the melting point of steel and the zirconium cladding of the spent fuel
rods
- Containment in reactor number 2 was breached
by hydrogen explosions. While the roof of reactor number 2 looks good
(see photograph below), the hydrogen explosion blew out the containment,
like a sneeze with your nose pinched and mouth closed will pop your
ears:
- Crops and dairy products are polluted out to 50 kilometers from the nuclear site, well beyond what emergency zone is
- Unit
4 experienced "core melt in fresh air". The core melted because the
fuel pool was cracked in the earthquake. The largest release is from
reactor number 4. Because there is no containment as to the materials in
the spent fuel rods, all fission products can be volatilized
- The person who prepared the Areva report said: "Clearly, we are witnessing one of the greatest disasters of our time."
But publicly, Areva is saying no problem, nuclear is safe.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
NRC staff privately identified significant problems and dangers at Fukushima, including:
- A lot of "mud" inside the reactor, from injection of seawater
- The weight of building with all of the water in them might make it unstable in case of another earthquake
- Recriticitality of nuclear fuel.
- Plutonium ejected from fuel pools during the hydrogen explosion. NRC thinks that plutonium was ejected a couple of miles from the reactor
But the NRC is telling Congress and the public that the situation is under control.
Incidentally, Reuters reported yesterday:
U.S.
regulators privately have expressed doubts that some of the nation's
nuclear power plants are prepared for a Fukushima-scale disaster,
undercutting their public confidence since Japan's nuclear crisis
began, documents released by an independent safety watchdog group show.
Internal Nuclear Regulatory Commission e-mails and
memos obtained by the Union of Concerned Scientists questioned the
adequacy of the back-up plans to keep reactor cooling systems running
if off-site power were lost for an extended period.
Those
concerns seem to contrast with the confidence U.S. regulators and
industry officials have publicly expressed after the world's worst
nuclear accident since Chernobyl began to unfold on March 11, UCS
officials said on Wednesday.
"While the NRC and the nuclear
industry have been reassuring Americans that there is nothing to worry
about -- that we can do a better job dealing with a nuclear disaster
like the one that just happened in Japan -- it turns out that privately
NRC senior analysts are not so sure," said Edwin Lyman, a UCS nuclear
expert.
»
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What was the intended meaning of this obvious typo? If they are seeing plutonium, then Japan is in a world of hurt. In the 70's, it was theorized that one gallon of plutonium dumped in the Pacific would kill all life there in 12 years.
Fixed ... thanks for pointing out the typos.
Thanks. I guess there was no other information that went along with that statement from the NRC?
That is probably the worst news yet.
Yes, but that's a very misleading statement by itself.
If one solid piece of pure plutonium was dropped into the ocean, that would be bad, and I'm not sure exactly how bad, but the consequences would be mostly localized and limited (and it could be found and removed).
If one gallon of plutonium with every atom separated and suspended in a fluid was dumped into the ocean, that would be catastrophic, and might possibly have consequences similar to what you quote.
The fact that the predators-that-be are not revealing this information is more than sufficient cause to lynch them immediately.
I'm sorry, the worst, most dangerous crisis of the past 1000 years, and there are, count them, not 1, not 2, not 3, not 4, not 5, not 6, but 7, yes that is fukuSilly correct, 7, I repeat f'ng 7 workers at the plant.
There should be 1000s. There are 7.
Do you understand? 7 for three nuclear reactors in meltdown mode.
They have abandoned the plant, and we are in the largest Kabuki theater ever imagined!
7!
OMG!
What happened to the 3 shifts of the rotating FukuSilly 50? All dead? Home kicking back and drinking a slightly radioactive Ichiban?
7.
There must be some sort of mistake.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-13005110
And isn't it ironic the name of the place is Fuk-u?
what did you expect?
we worship the product of man.
Damn straight.
--Scientific American—reports the nitrogen pumping to avoid another explosion has stopped because of the quake. Another S.A. article says the forecast for more bad quakes is worse now than pre 9.0.
was co-opted by the greens many years ago. It used to be
science cover-to-cover. Not so much any more. Not quite
Omni or Discover, but not a lot of real science.
They even believe in Global Warming ha ha ha ha ha.
So you are saying all isn't well.....
At what point do the Japs round up the guilty both political and Corp?!
uh, how 'bout the twelfth of never? they may round up the lynndie england types, the stooges on the lower rungs, but just like here, the ones in charge won't face accountability.
Yes, but..."it's only a tiny leak..."
and yes, but "it's only a tiny class action lawsuit..."
GW, how's this for a conspiracy. GM Roundup-ready crops and Roundup itself have reduced the mineral content of our food supply by almost half (google it). Almost all Americans are at a deficiency for Magnesium, maybe Calcium, and certainly Potassium (due to the massive amounts of salt in processed foods). All of these defeciencies will increase the absorption of radioactive analogues as they creep into our food supply (Cs, Sr, etc.).
Simply put, if you wanted to maximize the effects of radioactive isotope poisoning through ingestion, then you want to starve the body of minerals. Thanks to Monsanto, this has been accomplished.
If the law regulating suppliments had passed, we'd have to get a prescription for Magnesium citrate.
Monsanto,ADM and Dupont are pure evil. Bill Gates invested heavy. Ubuntu is free
and much better.
These magnesium rocks works wonders.
http://www.life-enthusiast.com/usa/precious-prills-p-581.html
For Potassium use no salt,a potassium chloride product, look on the back to make sure.
Got silver, make colloidal silver. A very good antibiotic.
Fuk the Pharmaceutical companies.
Starve the beasts.
Not that Monsanto isn't evil, but I hardly believe that it's their "plan." More likely, and there's plenty of data to note such, it's a more natural outcome of mining soils, of not replenishing them.
It's been a natural cycle of the earth in that its top soils erode, which then triggers a big re-till (glacial period). Top soil loss is natural, from rain fall: we've just sped up the cycle a bit. For a look at how all this plays our read John D. Hammaker's Survival of Civilization (it's available for free on the Internet).
Monsantos plan is greed, he who controls the seed controls the food.
Its all about control man.
Top soil is easily made, human shit and piss composted is the best, add cow,pig
chicken,rabbit and you dont need no stinking potash.
Mexico used human shit for along time for fertilizer. Its good stuff composted right.
The old timers still do this.
Compost toilet
http://www.aselfsufficientlife.com/compost-toilet-the-sawdust-toilet.html
The Humanure Handbook by Jenkins is a good source for composting human waste. However, times have changed in that we have so much bad stuff in our own systems that can not be removed through composting. Composting does kill the bugs but does not filter the drugs. So if you are taking antibiotics, etc. it will still be in the dirt. Also cows,chickens, etc. that are not grown organically
also have bad stuff in their poop. A farmer's wife that does not grow organically said she can no longer use her cows poop to grow her garden because it kills the plants.
There is a wastewater treatment plant in the PNW that is making and selling
fertilizer from sewage sludge.
http://www.co.pierce.wa.us/pc/abtus/ourorg/pwu/sewer/soundgro/index.htm
Can you cite a source for this fact about Roundup? Somebody else at ZH said (yesterday, I believe) that Roundup sprayed plants, such a soy, are responsible for a virus-sized fungus causing all kinds of havoc with plants and animals, such as dairy cows.
The NRC report is here: http://bit.ly/eEDZn1
It outlines 3 busted reactors, probably leaking containments and a fuel pool whose contents were spread by an explosion. Not a pretty picture.
The current damage control is absurd. There is no overall management or perspective.
Three reactors are on the way to becoming unapproachable because they are bathing in supercontaminated water, but the water may not be dumped because of the fishing industry.
This kind of unwillingness to take a small loss which then results in a much bigger loss is becoming the pattern here.
So the odds of permanently loosing a good part of Honshu to contamination increase.
The NRC report is here: http://bit.ly/eEDZn1
It outlines 3 busted reactors, probably leaking containments and a fuel pool whose contents were spread by an explosion. Not a pretty picture.
The current damage control is absurd. There is no overall management or perspective.
Three reactors are on the way to becoming unapproachable because they are bathing in supercontaminated water, but the water may not be dumped because of the fishing industry.
This kind of unwillingness to take a small loss which then results in a much bigger loss is becoming the pattern here.
So the odds of permanently loosing a good part of Honshu to contamination increase.
Thank you for this link. There is a wealth of information here.
A note or two on first read:
Spent fuel pool in Unit 1 said to be mostly over 12 years old, so little decay heat left. If true, a good break as it pretty much takes one pool out of the picture.
Core slump and salt encrustation at all of the cores, 1-3. They all melted at least partially.
Very hot temps in the reactor vessels. NRC notes that these are probably 'metal readings' i.e. outside temps which lag internal temps considerably.
All of cores 1-3 lack structural integrity to hold water more than halfway up, meaning the remnants of the fuel rods will keep sticking up out of the water. Frankly I don't think there is any way to cool that down in that configuration, just balancing the water 'at their feet' against the exposed portion to maintain some kind of high-temp stasis. Strange and not very stable situation.
The fuel rod partial exposure/partial immersion means that hydrogen will continue to be produced. That's why they're interested in nitrogen purges at least periodically, and continued venting. That's pretty hot radioactive venting. I like this: "Avoid atmospheric thermal inversion (in the afternoon) when venting to minimize dose."
Similarly, fuel rod exposure in the cores means that a steady stream of fission gas is likely to continue--i.e. 'the plume'--along with a steady stream of radioactive water--i.e. 'the other plume'.
The pools in 2 and 3 apparently have water in them. But they are still pretty hot--52 C in pool 2 or 125 F. Pool 3 they say is low despite watering, no temp reported. This is tricky, it's still unclear what fission gas emissions could be coming out, vs. water leaking vs. sort of OK. They say pool 3 could also have ejected material.
Pool 4 is also tough to figure. They say the water is 'cool' but heating up fast. Those rods were definitely damaged badly.
It seems like the NRC team is good with reactors but not so detailed on the pools. My question is, what the hell is all that steam if the pools are 'cool'? Are the rods hot but the water is sufficient in volume that it's like the ocean-lava interactions we've all seen on TV from Hawaii? The steam, in that case, is still carrying cesium etc. I will research more on that point (emissions from pools with water) as even a well-managed pool has to filter the air and monitor the radiation levels in the water. Without ventilation/filtering systems the pools could be participating in source term release--sorry, putting bad shit into the air. Not sure how much though.
Thanks again for the link, etudiant. I agree by the way that it's hard to imagine bringing the cores 'under control' in any serious way given the damage. Status quo appears to be the best case here, and it's not at all OK from a public health standpoint. More needs to be done on informing and advising the public.
it is an almost impossible task dealing with this evil goo. And as if on cue "here's another earthquake."
Arnie Gundersen better hire a security detail if he keeps insisting on explaining how the nuke industry is covering this all up.
Then he needs to hire a security detail to watch his security detail.
I expressed this earlier today. He should hurry to an "undisclosed location" and for god's sake stay out of hot tubs!
They have no choice, the Japanese are going to double down on Nuclear.
They've already doubled down and lost.
It's over.
Hello, all. Long time ZH lurker, first time poster. I'm an "educated layperson", having worked as an environmental consultant for the nuclear industry since 1994. I've been "badged" at a few nukies in the US, so I know the culture. I've been impressed at the coverage by ZH on the Fukushima disaster, and it's poretty obvious that ZH has been well ahead of the curve on the news from this mess.
Again, I'm no expert, just an educated layperson. But make no mistake....this thing has been and will be the disaster of our time. The cultural reaction to any issue in the nuclear industry is "follow the procedure". That's it. Critical thinking and improvosation are trained right out of the operations staff. Unfortunately, when TSHTF at one of these units, there are no procedures to cover it, and the very creative thinking that we all wish would be applied is nowhere to be found, precisely because creative thinking is frowned upon by the industry.
Coupled with the Japanese cultural baggage regarding nuclear anything, the concept pf saving face, and a rigidly heirachical society, and anyone with seeing eyes should have known that this was an unprecendented disaster from day 2. The truth will out in ten years just like Chernobyl, but by then much damage will have been done, mostly to Japan itself.
Lastly, this is precisely the kind of accident where we expect heroic measures. The ignorant and forced Chernobyl "liquidators", the so-called "Fukushima 50", etc. But ask yourselves this question: If this happened in, say, the US or Britain, who in thier right minds would volunteer to get anywhere near that place (those who know the real risks know to stay the hell away). Who in New York or New Jersey would plunge into that neutron stew to do anything useful at all?
Having worked at a utility, the reason the "procedures" are they way they are is because of the US regulatory agencies: FERC, NERC et al. Utilities are required to document the hell out of everything - and if they screw up the paperwork- the utility gets fined. So what the regulators do is create a culture that is risk averse. Its not that these people are dumb.
However, I do not think you are giving credit to the TEPCO utility employees whose continued presence at the disaster site is a personal death sentence; yet they are there trying to solve a problem no one has ever encountered before.
In my book, a guy that goes to work to try and save his country and citizens is a hero.
Welcome aboard
japanese robots?!?
oops.. too creative.
Snookie?
That's an interesting point. I guess the only thing that really mitigates a nuclear disaster quickly is the threat of execution if the orders to respond are disobeyed. In the case of Chernobyl it was the Soviet military that responded if I'm not mistaken. I guess the iron fist of the former Soviet Union comes in handy when discussing nuclear accidents.
You're exactly correct, this crap is never going to get cleaned up if the Japanese rely on volunteers.
Who else, but the folks who are hard-working yet undocumented, and are always willing to do jobs that Americans "just won't do"?
"The problems we face will not be solved by the minds that created them."
- Albert Einstein
Sadly, they're the same minds that have their hands on the controls and won't let anyone else touch them. Forward, ho! To the cliff's edge and beyond we go...
the science is so compelling it is i agree far too easy to become excited over the creation of these "powers." Clearly for some time (probably since the 50's since the scientists in those days fully understood how dangerous a power source nuclear energy in fact was) there has been no serious discussion of "disaster response." Don't even get me started on "the advantage of hydro-electric power" relative to these "fail-safe technologies."
The point of no return, the ill trajectory, was cast when governments started collecting up the nuclear scientists and putting them to work for nefarious reasons. Power and control guaranteed that nukes would be pushed, regardless of the outcome. If all had been under the purview of the public sector it's quite possible that nuclear energy would never have come about: governments just dangled it out there as yet one more of their giveaways to big business.
Years ago I'd read History of the Atomic Physicists by Jung (I believe). A pretty comprehensive accounting (up until the use of atomic weapons on Japan). Can't seem to find any references to this book today (I don't think that my memory is wrong on this one).
New York?
Who ya gonna call?
Why, the Ninja Turtles, of course !
they are going to hire poor mexicans who are going to get some money for their families.
spock?
More like TEPCO.
Nikkei 225 futures lock limit down at -150???
Or is my data bad?
Deleted.
For example, the large french nuclear corporation, Areva, has privately determined that:
so if they have determined that and I am reading what the determined where exactly is the coverup?
You are the guy selling me all those cheap puts, aren't you. You are correct, all is well.
Everything is Great!
The JAIF website(http://www.jaif.or.jp/english/) in their daily reactor status reports has been listing the pressure in the Reactor Pressure Vessel for 2 & 3 as 1 atm for several weeks now, only one way that happens. Only good news is they can run water thru them now.
Me'thinks their private report leaked out. It wasn't supposed to be public.
From New York Times tonight:
Powerful Aftershock Complicates Japan's Nuclear Efforts Here is a link with the last sentence NOT since redacted: http://2012indyinfo.wordpress.com/2011/04/07/powerful-aftershock-complic...