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Fukushima Spews More Radiation … Due to Tepco’s Carelessness
Power was lost to the cooling systems to virtually all of the spent fuel pools at Fukushima for more than a day.
Some of these fuel pools have lost containment, and are arguably the top short-term threat to humanity … and America’s national security.
The loss of cooling increased the radiation output from the pools. And the loss of power was due to carelessness by the operator of the Fukushima reactors. As nuclear expert Arnie Gundersen notes:
Is TEPCO doing an adequate job of keeping the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power site safe?
We don’t think so.
***
To have such a massive power failure last almost 24 hours is unconscionable. Because this problem lasted almost one day, and because several cooling systems were simultaneously disabled, Fairewinds believes that a common electrical component is the equipment that failed, likely a junction box or a transformer. Nuclear plants are supposed to be built to be single failure proof, meaning that if one component fails the systems still remain operational via other equipment. The loss of spent fuel pool cooling simultaneously in three nuclear reactors means that a common mode failure, or worse yet a single failure, was somehow allowed to occur in TEPCO’s jury-rigged design. This simply should never happen.
TEPCO claims that there was no radiation release from this recent power failure, but that is a scientific impossibility. When power is lost in a spent fuel pool, the radioactive fuel rods heat the pools up. As the pools heat up, evaporation increases resulting in a white “smoke” (steam). That steam is radioactive, containing some of the radiation that was previously in the pool. As the water warms up, radiation releases will increase.
***
Yesterday’s power loss is further proof that the conditions at Fukushima Daiichi are still unstable, despite what TEPCO and the Japanese and US governments say.
The New York Times wrote:
The latest problem raised new fears about the continuing vulnerability of the plant, which suffered a triple meltdown two years ago and still relies on makeshift equipment.
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The latest troubles also underscore the continuing worries about the safety of the plant…. In particular, experts have warned that the makeshift cooling systems could be knocked out by another large earthquake.
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With the company as the only source of information, it was impossible to independently assess the conditions at the plant, which sits in a contaminated zone that is closed to the public.
Indeed, Yomiuri Shimbun reports that :
Monday’s power outage at Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant highlighted the utility’s management defects at the crippled facility….
TEPCO officials inspected the temporary power distribution panels ….
Source: Tepco
[The] power panel in question … was exposed to the weather while left on the back of the vehicle.
***
Prof. Masanori Aritomi of Tokyo Institute of Technology said, “Due to the recent strong wind, seawater and sand from the nearby beach might have been blown into the power panel.”
“Salt in the sand and seawater could have caused the power panel to short out,” the reactor engineering expert added.
***
TEPCO was in fact aware of the vulnerability of the temporary power panel that had been exposed to the elements.
Tepco admitted mismanagement to Yomiuri Shimbun:
This is the first time that operation of the cooling system was halted for such a long time at several core facilities all together. If you say we were complacent about making our decision and dealing with the situation, I can’t deny that.
In related news, Japanese experts say that Fukushima is currently releasing up to 93 billion becquerels of radioactive cesium into the ocean each day, the reactors have lost containment, and groundwater is flooding into the stricken reactors (delaying clean-up).
And in news which may or may not be related: “A historic number of sea lions is washing up in Southern California — Has reached ‘epidemic proportions’ — Center declares state of emergency — Feds: ‘There’s something going on oceanographically’.” See this and this for possible background on how this might be related to Fukushima.
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integrity?
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2012/11/03/news/u-s-needs-japan-to-rema...
http://csis.org/expert/john-j-hamre
Indeed, the Japanese elite seem to be joined at the hip to the CSIS. It is where all of the US hands hang out for their instructions.
I smell a smoking rat.
Look up water distillation George.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distillation
Gundersen's claim is a joke.
If this is such a threat to the U.S., why isn't the U.S. nuclear authorities all over the Japanese Government?
This certainly shouldn't be about the expense, because WTF good will money be when we are all lit up like a
Christmas tree? Shit is falling apart all over the land, and politicians are all standing around with their dicks in their hand.
The same reason why they didn't tell the last shuttle crash about the damage on the rentry tiles, it's because they know this can't be fixed and anybody that is sent into this maelstorm of radiation to bury it in a sarcophagus (that they haven't build) will be dead. And they can't build one because some of the cores have already burned through the floor of containment and the building and are in the ground and possible the groundwater.
The water and steam/vapor which are H20 water molecules are becoming ionized, they still hold radiation via that process. I'll post a link I want you to read.
http://water.epa.gov/drink/contaminants/basicinformation/radionuclides.cfm
Have a look at a photo of an undamaged SFP, full of spent fuel rods. Pretty blue, right?
Are workers dropping dead from ionised water molecules from these?
No.
There is that dead rat, though.
It's been 20 minutes since you posted this and Element has yet to call you a liar and an idiot. What could that mean?
You proved up the thread that you are an ignorant petty-minded disingenuous troll, intent on misrepresenting and obscuring for cheap thrills.
Bonehead.
LOL. And yet you continue to respond. Is it as much fun for you as for me?
pfff denail is not a river in Egypt
there was indeed (according to the bumbling TEPCO) a rat, or rodent or perhaps a revenging Kitsune in disguise
http://enenews.com/rat-like-animal-blamed-for-fukushima-blackout
I vote for giant mutant rat.
In the same corner, radioactive fog now a weather condition in Japan.
http://fukushima-diary.com/2013/03/the-fog-to-have-hit-tokyo-on-3102013-...
A picture of the animal:
http://ex-skf.blogspot.com/2013/03/fukushima-i-nuke-plant-power-failure....
Because fog NEVER happens naturally unless there's radioactivity involved.
What the hell is this shit, a refugee from ENENEWS?
The water in contact with the molten radioactive mess is not at 100 degrees C, it is considerably hotter so the process is probably more like steam distillation (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_distillation), except using super heated steam that can (by shear force) lift particles into the air.
There's nothing molten, the rods are submerged in water, the reactor containments are flooded.
THE END
My understanding was that the rods had melted-down substantially and at least partially escaped containment and TEPCO was pouring water into the now cracked pools attempting to cool the fuel down in whatever crevices it had melted down into. Whether the water volume has consistantly been enough to cool all the fuel would be mere speculation at this point (and then there's the issue of fuel particulates that have reached the ocean).
Then most of your understanding would be correct.
But that has nothing to do with what Gundersen said about white smoke [phhleeeasse! ... what a laughable jackass!].
And it has no bearing on my clearly pointing out he's totally full of it.
It's about the vapor.
Huh, what?
They found a rat (a four leg type) which shorted out the temporary (as in 2 years) power distribution panel.
As an EE I find that sad. I thought that Japanese were (past tense) good at electronics /electrical circuits.
Evaporation of water leaves almost all dissolved solutes BEHIND in the water, not in the vapor ('smoke' from water, in-fucking-deed!).
You can't groak this simple testable observable repeatable empirical material reality from the link given you?
Or do you just want to propagate Gundersen's fear-mongering lie and calculated propaganda idiocy instead?
People are watching George.
Distilling water removes radioactivity? That'll be news to a lot of people.
The radioactive atomic contaminants held in solution (dissolved) in the LIQUID are what is radioactive.
These do not evaporate, almost at all, they stay in solution within the original liquid.
Anyone educated in the most basic principles of chemistry knows this.
Of coures, you are correct Element.
If it were otherwise, our atmosphere would be full of salt from the oceans, but I notice that that is not the case.
Well spotted! Now, if we could just distill China ...
Actually, a fair amount of dust is from ocean spray....
just sayin'
Yes, particulate solid crystals, as spray, not salt as a vapor.
Element, show some mercy. You're ruining their pathetic global snuff fantasy with non-alarmism. Shame on you.
I will, I'll leave it here and go read something interesting - cheers.
May I be the first to say...well done.
Every beach bum knows, thats not vapor one is rinsing off the car, its salt ;-)
:D Thank you good man.
We know about money around here and I ain't paying any added expense. And NE you'll get you chance to argue your point on newer nuclear disasters once the New Madrid fault snaps. Comfortably West of the Rockies here.
Yup Q99, quite possibly. Horrible potential.
Since the meltdowns, and in the face of the real prospect of power outages taking out many reactors in the US after say, an EMP(on the planning board), or a solar effect to cause the same damage, it occurs to the downwind and conscious thinker that there are very few places in the USA that are UPWIND of the massive amounts of reactors that will melt down after maybe, a month or more of having no power. The sad unreal fact is, there seems to be no real backup plans to cope with this situation when it happens. Is this ignorance of a potential ELE, like fukushima is now, part of a greater agenda to kill off as many people as possible? Is the ignorance of this purposely being ignored like the disaster in japan is?
http://www.nuc.berkeley.edu/node/2947
We measure the waves of radiation coming over us in the jet stream every day. When events like this power outage, or anything else happens, no one knows how much more radiation is released into the jet stream because of the ongoing cover-up and dis-information all around this subject. You are a great Heart Sir George W to stay on this in the way you do. Element also, thank you both. All these detractors are no doubt unaware that they too are sucking down this radiation every day. One has to wonder if they have children at all. There really is no escape from this anywhere on the planet, unless you live underground for the rest of your life starting two years ago almost to today's date. We pray for you because you are being killed off like everyone else. It would be interesting to take a poll and ask, what do people view as the most threatening life ending events that are happening today? The sad darn thing is, most would say the Cyprus event is at this time, which is true because it is a material threat that instigates the Fear of Loss emotions. Long term, it is the release of more and more poisonous radiation that will most likely be the destruction of the human race as we know it. If anyone has ever watched that movie, "On The Beach" and not walked away with your intuition bell ringing off the hook, is already the walking dead.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upg2eqNbF3w
All we can do is measure it daily inside and out. Remain vigilant. Sometimes it is very high, especially in the first of the rains and snows, and other times it is high also. We here are never going to see anything lower that 40 CPM in this part of the world. Bet it is higher in other places. The radiation here is both historical radiation, new radiation after the fukushima holocaust, and some from Hanford ongoing. Wow, what a mess that whole north-west region is. No one cares. The greatest wave was when we ALL got hit pretty hard a week after that blast on Mar 16th. The gift that keeps on giving. Many of our flowers were all mutated that summer of 2011.
So, to anyone who wants to troll this info and do nasty to detract from the real message, may creation have mercy upon your eternal hearts. Here is what we see, and what we see is real. Not ignorance, but fact. Here is the outdoor check from a few minutes ago. Slight winds. It was 56 CPM. Just a little higher than our normal background in the middle of the countryside. (normal avgerage back ground is 0-20 CPM)
http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/4829/outsideck56cpm32013.jpg
Use common sense, protect yourself in the ways that have been shared here by brother George (we are all brothers and sisters here), and always, always follow your Heart!
In fact, the only people who have clearance to really watch Fukushima are either employed by or, in the case of regulators and international inspectors, otherwise beholden to the nuclear industry. Therefore, it is left for others to make qualified assumptions. And if these voices were not out there, to be sure most of Japan's nuclear facilities would already be up and running again and "cold shutdown" would have been the last word you heard from the Japanese government.
Absolute bullshit, evaporation and evaporative distillation removes solute contaminants in the vapor and it remains in the liquid water.
There are no ifs or buts or quisling baloney, nor grey-areas about this, it is a simple testable repeatable experiment that has been known about and used for centuries to produce almost PURE water from evaporated contaminated water.
The vapor does not contain almost ANY contaminants that were in the original liquid.
Gundersen knows this so he is a liar and a propagandist. If he doesn't know then he is a scientific joke.
Open and shut case.
Why then is there such a thing as doubly-distilled water?
One pass, residual contaminants at parts per million or billion
Two pass, residual contaminants at parts per billion or trillion
As I said above, ALMOST ALL contaminants are removed via condensing vapor from evaporated contaminated liquids.
Every molecule or atom will evaporate, and constantly does. It doesn't all happen when the water boils, it happens at all temperatures up to boiling point. But even ice can pass straight from ice to vapor, with no liquid in between.
Th same applies to metals and rock. its just that their tendency to evaporate is very low, unless their temp is raised extremely high (incandescent).
So every time you distill a tiny fragment of metal, in this case radionuclide metals, will also evaporate.
So if you want almost 100% true pure water containing only oxygen and hydrogen atomes as the water molecule, then you distill it several times.
But just one evaporation cycle will remove almost all radioactive atoms from the water vapor.
There is no fresh wave of radioactive contamination occurring
Gundersen is full of it.
So let met get this straight: Because the steam released by water boiled by hot nuclear fuel lacks substantial radioactive particle contamination, I have nothing to fear from the otherwise uncontained and now molten nuclear fuel (due to the admitted insufficient water cooling) releasing further contamination. . .
Is that your argument?
Don't be a ridiculous, spin and avoid all you want, Gundersen claimed water vapor is causing or has caused a new wave of radioactive contamination.
I showed his claim is ludicrous nonsense, an absurd propaganda lie, at best.
Any HONEST person would be looking at this and questioning Gundersen to explain himself, and not formulating your twisted spin designed to both misrepresent my comments, or to obscure the fact that I am right.
Gundersen is patently a liar.
It appears you lean that way too.
Wow man - calm the fuck down. Last time I checked I wasn't going to get irradiated by Gunderson's assertions, regardless of whether they were lies, misstatements, or pure stupidity.
However, while we're debating the effectivity of steam distillation in an unknown and uncontrolled environment, we do know there is uncontained nuclear fuel polluting the environment and we also know that TEPCO and the MSM are completely full of shit.
On a side note, how come when I throw cold water into the rusty cast iron kettle on my wood stove, initially, the steam is orange colored and leaves an iron taste in my mouth?
Your question is completely irrelevant to SFPs full of water that stayed liquid below 65 degrees Centigrade, at 1 atmosphere.
I'll stay relevant to Gundersen's claim of radiation from his white smoke, emitting from water in open SFPs, at below 65C.
Take THAT claim up with Gundersen.
You are right, nothing to fear from this latest demonstration of incompetence from TEPCo. I am sure that these reactors are spewing skittle shitting unicorns and that, even if there were some radiation leakage, it is, after all, good for you.
You are focusing on one part of the issue here and are quite vehemently defending your case, seeking to have people discount everything George and Arnie are saying because of your one claim. While you may be right about distillates in evaporated water you cannot deny the massive and perpetual radiation leak that has come from this facility over the past two years.
It's not a claim, it is PHYSICAL CHEMICAL FACT, and I have a looooong posting history on this topic, and have never denied a damn thing about it, or the contamination levels, just the occasional extraordinary lie and propaganda bullshit, spread by incognizant people with no basic technical or scientific education.
I don't care if you wish to twist and spin that to misrepresent what I'm clearly saying, I can see you more clearly if you do that.
Yes, then you should have no problem drinking the condensate from the cooling pools. Please post the pictures.
If we have no worries from the steam, and vapors is little concern.
Compared to the poisoning of the OCEANS by that much real crap everyday.Thios will affect the entire aquatic food chain, and all animals that enter thru the pollution zones.
Exactly! Primarily on the Japanese central eastern littoral.
And then what of fish (tuna) that migrate from there to the other side of the Pacific?
Do they evaporate?
This is a discussion of Gundersons claim that vapor from open SFPs @ 65C is creating a new wave of radioactive contamination.
It isn't.
I'm not surprised that you didn't answer the question, because you are a "nuke kook". Guys like you are desperate to get nuclear power back on track as part of a personal agenda. And you'll make whatever trifling, bullshit arguments you can.
The answer is that all migratory sea animals pick up the nuclear poison in the western Pacific, carry it to the eastern Pacific and into America's food chain. Thus the recent die off of sea creatures on the coasts of North and South America.
Fuck you.