Fukushima Reactor Disaster: Japan to Restart Nuclear Plants, Post #7824

[Catbird]

I don't know if it matters which nuke plant thread gets what info so I'm just putting stuff here.

From Kyodo News:

"BREAKING NEWS: Top of MOX fuel rods 3 meters above water at Fukushima plant: TEPCO

BREAKING NEWS: Fukushima plant radiation at 882 micro sievert vs 500 allowable in 1 hourNote

[D_el]

"5% Lugol's Solution from your private pharmacy. Avoid Wally World pharmacy since they are probably reluctant to issue chewing gum without a prescription. They'd sell it at the register but if it is issued from the pharmacy you may be denied without a physician's prescription.
OTOH you can purchase it at the site listed below for a reasonable price (what's a reasonable price during a nuclear meltdown?):
http://www.jcrowsmarketplace.com/lug...nofiodine.aspx (5% solution)

(I've heard that 10 drops in 30 oz water works to saturate adult thyroid binding sites for iodine and prevent the radioactive iodine component from gaining attachment to the thyroid since all available binding sites would already be filled with stable iodine).
Disclaimer: Consult your physician for doses and usage."

FAIR USE Statement:
Quoted items are used under the Fair Use Act for educational purposes. In other words: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.

[2Trish]

Is there a system in place that actually tracks radiation in the atmosphere and if there is would the public have access to it?

[twincougars]

Joey_Koele Joey
BREAKING NEWS: Fukushima plant radiation at 882 micro sievert vs ! 500 ! allowable in 1 hour (KYODO) #Japan #earthquake
56 seconds ago Favorite Retweet Reply

streetstrategis Street Strategist
At Unit 1, injecting sea water and boric acid which absorbs neutron into the reactor core. #tsunami #fukushima
2 minutes ago Favorite Retweet Reply

Nuclear Fallout Map presuming total meltdown, I guess:
http://s3.amazonaws.com/data.tumblr....Y3yAfzKA6fk%3D

lacharis Mayra Zamoran
Decretan emergencia en 3 reactores : Japón declaró estado de emergencia en 3 reactores de la planta Fukushima, donde .. http://bit.ly/gvqX5O
5 minutes ago Favorite Retweet Reply

NewsFirst News First
Radiation believed to have leaked from reactor of Fukushima No. 1 plant as top of fuel rods 3 meters above water - Kyodo
6 minutes ago Favorite Retweet Reply

[Catbird]

Translated notes from Prime Ministers press conference that is still going on or just finished.

"Goldie_luvmj

1. 210K people are evacuating, 19 people have been affected by radiation ( #nhkgtv live at http://ustre.am/vmCj) 2 minutes ago via Ustream.TV

2. NHK English live feed --> http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nhk-world-tv ( #nhkgtv live at http://ustre.am/vmCj) 5 minutes ago via Ustream.TV

3. There is no report of panic during the evacuation effort ( #nhkgtv live at http://ustre.am/vmCj) 9 minutes ago via Ustream.TV

4. radiation leaks are from reactor No.1 & 3 but he assume that it is emitted mainly from No. 1 ( #nhkgtv live at http://ustre.am/vmCj) 10 minutes ago via Ustream.TV

5. The reason why radiation level fluctuate at the front gate is because of wind direction ( #nhkgtv live at http://ustre.am/vmCj) 11 minutes ago via Ustream.TV

6. Edano still reassures there should be no radiation health risk ( #nhkgtv live at http://ustre.am/vmCj) 12 minutes ago via Ustream.TV

7. plant 2 vicinity radiation value 1204.2 ( #nhkgtv live at http://ustre.am/vmCj) 15 minutes ago via Ustream.TV

8. He reassures that there are no risk from radiation. ( #nhkgtv live at http://ustre.am/vmCj) 18 minutes ago via Ustream.TV

9. They have mixed the boric acid to reduce the risk to much lower level ( #nhkgtv live at http://ustre.am/vmCj) 20 minutes ago via Ustream.TV

10. I hope 10K missing people r ok & it's just a communication breakdown that prevents them from contact ( #nhkgtv live at http://ustre.am/vmCj) 24 minutes ago via Ustream.TV

11. radiation victim increased to 19 - confirmed. 10k are uncontactable, 39K has been evacuated ( #nhkgtv live at http://ustre.am/vmCj) 28 minutes ago via Ustream.TV

12. radiation level at the front gate of fukushima plant exceed standard level & tells govt emergency ( #nhkgtv live at http://ustre.am/vmCj) 34 minutes ago via Ustream.TV

[rafter]

210K people....where do they put them all? And how did they do it so fast?

I guess they are more organized than the US...(thinking of Katrina)

[Catbird]

From Kyodo News:

#
BREAKING NEWS: Fukushima plant radiation briefly at 1,204 micro sievert: EdanoNote
#
11:22 13 March
Radiation exceeds legal limit in Fukushima plant premises
#
11:21 13 March
NEWS ADVISORY: Radiation at No. 3 reactor very small, under control: EdanoNote

11:18 13 March
NEWS ADVISORY: Fresh water injected into No. 3 reactor of Fukushima No. 1 plant: EdanoNote
#

11:13 13 March
BREAKING NEWS: Radiation believed to leak from reactor of Fukushima No. 1 plant: EdanoNote

[jesner]

"Fukushima Prefecture says a high level of radiation has been measured near the nuclear power station. Radiation levels reportedly rose to 1,015 mircrosieverts per hour on Saturday.The government's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency says the power station's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, observed the radiation level near a gate on the hillside of the plant at 3:29 PM on Saturday, before an explosion was reported at the nuclear plant," said the NHK report.

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/articl...#ixzz1GRZDrGBe


Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/articl...#ixzz1GRZALsBP

[Catbird]

More translated from press conference:

"Goldie_luvmj

1. radiation level of ct scan is 6000μSv, x-ray is 400μSv, front gate of the plant is 1200μSv ( #nhkgtv live at http://ustre.am/vmCj) 1 minute ago via Ustream.TV

2. Leaked radiation level is low, currently@1200μSv which is about the amount people r exposed per year ( #nhkgtv live at http://ustre.am/vmCj) 3 minutes ago via Ustream.TV "


More translated from press conference of Chief Cabinet Secretary Edano and NHK News.

"Touruma:

# Fukushima Pref. reported radioactive contamination found in 19 people, says NHK. #earthquake #tsunami 9 minutes ago via web

# Total of 210 thousands from municipalities around both No.1 & No.3 NPT in #Fukushima to be evacuated, reported NHK. #earthquake #tsunami 14 minutes ago via web

# Water mixed with boric acid was injected into No.3 reactor, cool down of the reactor expected to start, said Edano CCS of #Japan. #Fukushima 20 minutes ago via web

# No.3 #reactor's water level low, exposure of fuel rod, 1204.4 mSv detected at 8:33, safety valve opened at 9:05AM, says Edano CCS of #Japan. 25 minutes ago via web

# TEPCO detected 882 mSv. of radiation at 8:56AM Jpn time today at portal of Fukushima No. 1 NPT' No.3 reactor, says FNN. #earthquake 32 minutes ago via web

# Edano--Chief Cabinet Secretary of Japan--will have press release at 11AM Jpn time today, says FNN. #tsunami #earthquake #Japan 43 minutes ago via web

[bethshaya]

210K people....where do they put them all? And how did they do it so fast?

I guess they are more organized than the US...(thinking of Katrina)

The character of the people is different. Japanese are meek, quiet, reserved, and trusting of their government.

Americans are not. They are aggressive, selfish, untrusting of government and combative. They question everything and waste time. Japanese move as one and know what to do and when to do it. They go where they are told for "the greater good". Americans it is every man for themselves and take all you can get.

Obviously, it is a generalization and there are some on both sides that are not like that, but as a whole, it is what went wrong with Katrina and what went right here.

[My Adonai]

Is there a system in place that actually tracks radiation in the atmosphere and if there is would the public have access to it?

Check this out: http://www.radiationnetwork.com/RadiationNetwork.htm

[Catbird]

Haven't looked into this too much yet but it might be handy.

http://www.epa.gov/narel/radnet/

"RadNet is a national network of monitoring stations that regularly collect air, precipitation, drinking water, and milk samples for analysis of radioactivity. The RadNet network, which has stations in each State, has been used to track environmental releases of radioactivity from nuclear weapons tests and nuclear accidents...Previously this was a paper only publication, but it is now being published online as well. "

[Perpetuity]

11. radiation victim increased to 19 - confirmed. 10k are uncontactable, 39K has been evacuated ( #nhkgtv live at http://ustre.am/vmCj) 28 minutes ago via Ustream.TV

So would that be 10,000 people just missing, or is that 10,000 people that have potentially been exposed to radiation?

[BornFree]

If one of these blows then no one will be around to maintain the others next to it. The rest would blow in short order like fire crackers strung on a fuse. Putting multiple reactors next to each other like this is a really dumb thing to do.

[Catbird]

So would that be 10,000 people just missing, or is that 10,000 people that have potentially been exposed to radiation?

I think that it's 10k uncontactable/missing in the country so far. The press conference covered the emergency situation in general, not just the nuclear crisis and I didn't include all those tweets in my post. But right before the info I posted was a comment about casualities so far:

"# 10K people uncontactable ( #nhkgtv live at http://ustre.am/vmCj) about 1 hour ago via Ustream.TV

# death toll over 1000 not 1 million ( #nhkgtv live at http://ustre.am/vmCj) about 1 hour ago via Ustream.TV "

[WakeMeUp]

I think that it's 10k uncontactable/missing in the country so far. The press conference covered the emergency situation in general, not just the nuclear crisis and I didn't include all those tweets in my post. But right before the info I posted was a comment about casualities so far:

"# 10K people uncontactable ( #nhkgtv live at http://ustre.am/vmCj) about 1 hour ago via Ustream.TV

# death toll over 1000 not 1 million ( #nhkgtv live at http://ustre.am/vmCj) about 1 hour ago via Ustream.TV "

These numbers crack me up - they're obviously a lot higher. Of course the toll is over 1000, entire villages and towns were wiped out.

[Perpetuity]

Catbird, gotcha! That makes sense. I've been so focused on the reactor situation and trying to keep it all straight that I didn't even take into account the overall unaccountable rate for the entire country.

Whew, I gotta get some sleep tonight after either staying up until dawn or waking up at 3 a.m. since the quake happened!

[eXe]

Updates just now from twitter.

cnnbrk CNN Breaking News
Authorities presuming meltdowns may be under way at 2 other reactors #quake http://on.cnn.com/fyrSuV

cnnbrk CNN Breaking News
"Assuming meltdown occurred" at 1 reactor, chief Cabinet secy says #quake http://on.cnn.com/gzqBrm

BreakingNews Breaking News
AP: Japanese government spokesman says partial meltdown is likely under way at second reactor

[Dennis Olson]

Japan Government Official Says 'Partial Meltdown' Likely Underway at Nuclear Plant

Published March 12, 2011 | FoxNews.com

advertisement

Japan's top government spokesman says a "partial meltdown" is likely underway at the Fukushima Dai-ichi complex.

Yukio Edano says radiation at the nuclear plant briefly rose above the legal limit and fuel rods were briefly exposed at the second reactor.

The Japanese government said radiation emanating from the plant appeared to have decreased after Saturday's blast, which produced a cloud of white smoke that obscured the complex. But the danger was grave enough that officials pumped seawater into the reactor to avoid disaster and moved 170,000 people from the area.

"Evacuations around both affected nuclear plants have begun," the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a statement to Reuters.

Sky News is reporting that up to 160 people may have suffered radiation exposure. Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency says people are being tested for radiation exposure.

Authorities have evacuated people from a 12-mile radius around the Fukushima Dai-ichi reactor.

Aftershocks have hit near the troubled nuclear power plant, as 6.1 and 6.3-magnitude quakes rattled the area.

Japan dealt with the nuclear threat as it struggled to determine the scope of the earthquake, the most powerful in its recorded history, and the tsunami that ravaged its northeast Friday with breathtaking speed and power. The official count of the dead was 763, but the government said the figure could far exceed 1,000.

Devastation stretched hundreds of miles along the coast, where thousands of hungry survivors huddled in darkened emergency centers cut off from rescuers and aid.

The scale of destruction was not yet known, but there were grim signs that the death toll could soar. One report said four whole trains along the coast had disappeared Friday and still not been located. The East Japan Railway Company says one of them, a bullet train, had 400 people on board,The Guardian U.K. reports.

Others said 9,500 people in one coastal town were unaccounted for and that at least 200 bodies had washed ashore elsewhere.

Continued aftershocks, some as high as magnitude 6.4, were hampering search efforts as strong waves batter the coastline.

More than 1,231 buildings have been destroyed and another 4,000 damaged, according to a United Nations report.

Atsushi Ito, an official in Miyagi prefecture, among the worst hit states, could not confirm those figures, noting that with so little access to the area, thousands of people in scores of town could not be contacted or accounted for.

"Our estimates based on reported cases alone suggest that more than 1,000 people have lost their lives in the disaster," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said. "Unfortunately, the actual damage could far exceed that number considering the difficulty assessing the full extent of damage."

Among the most worrying developments was the possible meltdown of a nuclear reactor near the quake's epicenter. Edano said an explosion caused by vented hydrogen gas destroyed the exterior walls of the building where the reactor is, but not the actual metal housing enveloping the reactor.

Edano said the radiation around the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant had not risen after the blast, but had in fact decreased. He did not say why that was so. He added that pressure decreased after the blast.

Still, virtually any increase in ambient radiation can raise long-term cancer rates, and authorities were planning to distribute iodine, which helps protect against thyroid cancer.

The explosion was caused by hydrogen interacting with oxygen outside the reactor. The hydrogen was formed when the superheated fuel rods came in contact with water being poured over it to prevent a meltdown.

"They are working furiously to find a solution to cool the core, and this afternoon in Europe we heard that they have begun to inject sea water into the core," said Mark Hibbs, a senior associate at the Nuclear Policy Program for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "That is an indication of how serious the problem is and how the Japanese had to resort to unusual and improvised solutions to cool the reactor core."

Officials have said that radiation levels were elevated before the blast: At one point, the plant was releasing each hour the amount of radiation a person normally absorbs from the environment each year.

The explosion was preceded by puff of white smoke that gathered intensity until it became a huge cloud enveloping the entire facility, located in Fukushima, 20 miles from Iwaki. After the explosion, the walls of the building crumbled, leaving only a skeletal metal frame.

Tokyo Power Electric Co., the utility that runs the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant, said four workers suffered fractures and bruises and were being treated at a hospital.

The trouble began at the plant's Unit 1 after the massive 8.9-magnitude earthquake and the tsunami it spawned knocked out power there, depriving it of its cooling system.

Power was knocked out by the quake in large areas of Japan, which has requested increased energy supplies from Russia, Russia's RIA Novosti agency reported.

The concerns about a radiation leak at the nuclear power plant overshadowed the massive tragedy laid out along a 1,300-mile stretch of the coastline where scores of villages, towns and cities were battered by the tsunami, packing 23-feet high waves.

It swept inland about six miles in some areas, swallowing boats, homes, cars, trees and everything else.

"The tsunami was unbelievably fast," said Koichi Takairin, a 34-year-old truck driver who was inside his sturdy four-ton rig when the wave hit the port town of Sendai.

"Smaller cars were being swept around me," he said. "All I could do was sit in my truck."

His rig ruined, he joined the steady flow of survivors who walked along the road away from the sea and back into the city on Saturday.

Smashed cars and small airplanes were jumbled up against buildings near the local airport, several miles from the shore. Felled trees and wooden debris lay everywhere as rescue workers coasted on boats through murky waters around flooded structures, nosing their way through a sea of debris.

Late Saturday night, firefighters had yet to contain a large blaze at the Cosmo Oil refinery in the city of Ichihara.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan said 50,000 troops joined rescue and recovery efforts, aided by boats and helicopters. Dozens of countries also offered help.

President Obama pledged U.S. assistance following what he called a potentially "catastrophic" disaster. He said one U.S. aircraft carrier was already in Japan and a second was on its way.

More than 215,000 people were living in 1,350 temporary shelters in five prefectures, the national police agency said.

Aid has barely begun to trickle into many areas.

"All we have to eat are biscuits and rice balls," said Noboru Uehara, 24, a delivery truck driver who was wrapped in a blanket against the cold at center in Iwake. "I'm worried that we will run out of food."

Since the quake, more than 1 million households have not had water, mostly concentrated in northeast. Some 4 million buildings were without power.

About 24 percent of electricity in Japan is produced by 55 nuclear power units in 17 plants and some were in trouble after the quake.

Japan declared states of emergency at two power plants after their units lost cooling ability.
Although the government spokesman played down fears of radiation leak, the Japanese nuclear agency spokesman Shinji Kinjo acknowledged there were still fears of a meltdown.

A "meltdown" is not a technical term. Rather, it is an informal way of referring to a very serious collapse of a power plant's systems and its ability to manage temperatures.

Yaroslov Shtrombakh, a Russian nuclear expert, said a Chernobyl-style meltdown was unlikely.

"It's not a fast reaction like at Chernobyl," he said. "I think that everything will be contained within the grounds, and there will be no big catastrophe."

In 1986, the Chernobyl nuclear reactor exploded and caught fire, sending a cloud of radiation over much of Europe. That reactor -- unlike the Fukushima one -- was not housed in a sealed container, so there was no way to contain the radiation once the reactor exploded.

The reactor in trouble has already leaked some radiation: Before the explosion, operators had detected eight times the normal radiation levels outside the facility and 1,000 times normal inside Unit 1's control room.

An evacuation area around the plant was expanded to a radius of 12 miles from the six miles before. People in the expanded area were advised to leave quickly; 51,000 residents were previously evacuated.

"Everyone wants to get out of the town. But the roads are terrible," said Reiko Takagi, a middle-aged woman, standing outside a taxi company. "It is too dangerous to go anywhere. But we are afraid that winds may change and bring radiation toward us."

The transport ministry said all highways from Tokyo leading to quake-hit areas were closed, except for emergency vehicles. Mobile communications were spotty and calls to the devastated areas were going unanswered.

Local TV stations broadcast footage of people lining up for water and food such as rice balls. In Fukushima, city officials were handing out bottled drinks, snacks and blankets. But there were large areas that were surrounded by water and were unreachable.

One hospital in Miyagi prefecture was seen surrounded by water. The staff had painted an SOS on its rooftop and were waving white flags.

Technologically advanced Japan is well prepared for quakes and its buildings can withstand strong jolts, even a temblor like Friday's, which was the strongest the country has experienced since official records started in the late 1800s. What was beyond human control was the killer tsunami that followed.

Japan's worst previous quake was a magnitude 8.3 temblor in Kanto that killed 143,000 people in 1923, according to the USGS. A magnitude 7.2 quake in Kobe killed 6,400 people in 1995.

Japan lies on the "Ring of Fire" -- an arc of earthquake and volcanic zones stretching around the Pacific where about 90 percent of the world's quakes occur, including the one that triggered the Dec. 26, 2004, Indian Ocean tsunami that killed an estimated 230,000 people in 12 countries. A magnitude-8.8 quake that shook central Chile in February 2010 also generated a tsunami and killed 524 people.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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URL

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/03...ible-meltdown/

[Catbird]

Catbird, gotcha! That makes sense. I've been so focused on the reactor situation and trying to keep it all straight that I didn't even take into account the overall unaccountable rate for the entire country.

Whew, I gotta get some sleep tonight after either staying up until dawn or waking up at 3 a.m. since the quake happened!

You and me both!

[Kent]

The character of the people is different. Japanese are meek, quiet, reserved, and trusting of their government.

Americans are not. They are aggressive, selfish, untrusting of government and combative. They question everything and waste time. Japanese move as one and know what to do and when to do it. They go where they are told for "the greater good". Americans it is every man for themselves and take all you can get.

Obviously, it is a generalization and there are some on both sides that are not like that, but as a whole, it is what went wrong with Katrina and what went right here.



Whoever wrote that has a lot to learn about America. Nashville TN was flooded last year. People helped one another with no looting, riots, or expectations of help from FEMA.

Note: Where did FOX dig up the old leftist anti-Nuke Paul Gunter. He was a co-founder of the Clamshell Alliance anti-nuclear group 30 years ago. Gerald Rivera should be ashamed.

[brandyh29]

I just got the text on my phone saying partial meltdown is likely underway

[Catbird]

Latest status updates from TEPCO, as of 3/13 8am JST - about 4 1/2 hours ago.

From: http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp...1031304-e.html

"Press Release (Mar 13,2011)
Impact to TEPCO's Facilities due to Miyagiken-Oki Earthquake (as of 8AM)


Below is major impact to TEPCO's facilities due to the Miyagiken-Oki
Earthquake that occurred yesterday at 2:46PM.
*new items are underlined

[Nuclear Power Station]
Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station:
Units 1 to 3: shutdown due to earthquake
Units 4 to 6: outage due to regular inspection
* The national government has instructed evacuation for those local
residents within 20km radius of the site periphery.
* The value of radioactive material (iodine, etc) is increasing according
to the monitoring car at the site (outside of the site). One of the
monitoring posts is also indicating higher than normal level.
* Since the amount of radiation at the boundary of the site exceeds the
limits, we decide at 4:17PM, Mar 12 and we have reported and/or noticed
the government agencies concerned to apply the clause 1 of the Article 15
of the Radiation Disaster Measure at 5PM, Mar 12.
* In addition, a vertical earthquake hit the site and big explosion has
happened near the Unit 1 and smoke breaks out around 3:36PM, Mar 12th.
* We started injection of sea water into the reactor core of Unit 1 at
8:20PM, Mar 12 and then boric acid subsequently.
* High Pressure Coolant Injection System of Unit 3 automatically stopped.
We endeavored to restart the Reactor Core Isolation Cooling System but
failed. Also, we could not confirm the water inflow of Emergency Core
Cooling System. As such, we decided at 5.10AM, Mar 12, and we reported
and/or noticed the government agencies concerned to apply the clause 1 of
the Article 15 of the Radiation Disaster Measure at 5:58AM, Mar 13.
In order to fully secure safety, we operated the vent valve to reduce the
pressure of the reactor containment vessels (partial release of air
containing radioactive materials) and completed the procedure at 8:41AM,
Mar 13,
* We continue endeavoring to secure the safety that all we can do and
monitoring the periphery.

Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power Station:
Units 1 to 4: shutdown due to earthquake
* The national government has instructed evacuation for those local
residents within 10km radius of the periphery.
* At present, we have decided to prepare implementing measures to reduce
the pressure of the reactor containment vessel (partial discharge of air
containing radioactive materials) in order to fully secure safety.
These measures are considered to be implemented in Units 1, 2 and 3 and
accordingly, we have reported and/or noticed the government agencies
concerned.
* Unit 3 has been stopped and being "nuclear reactor cooling hot stop" at
12:15PM.
* The operator trapped in the crane operating console of the exhaust stack
was transferred to the ground at 5:13PM and confirmed the death at 5:17PM.

Kashiwazaki Kariwa Nuclear Power Station:
Units 1, 5, 6, 7: normal operation
Units 2 to 4: outage due to regular inspection..."

AND

From: http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp...1031303-e.html

"Press Release (Mar 13,2011)
Occurrence of a Specific Incident Stipulated in Article 15, Clause 1 of the Act on Special Measures Concerning Nuclear Emergency Preparedness


At 2:46PM on March 11th 2011, turbines and reactors of Fukushima Daiichi
Nuclear Power Station Unit 1 (Boiling Water Reactor, rated output 460
Megawatts) and Units 2 and 3 (Boiling Water Reactor, Rated Output 784
Megawatts) that had been operating at rated power automatically shutdown
due to the Tohoku-Chihou-Taiheiyou-Oki Earthquake.

In all 3 Units, one offsite power system out of two was lost and diesel
generators were automatically activated.

At 3:41PM, diesel generators failed and as a result, all the AC power
was lost in Unit 1, 2 and 3. Following this incident, at 3:42PM, it was
determined that a specific incident stipulated in article 15, clause 1
has occurred, and level 1 emergency status was announced, together with
the notification to Ministry of Economy, Technology and Industry,
Governor of Fukushima prefecture, Mayors of Okuma town and Futaba town,
and related institutions in accordance with the law.
(already announced)

Afterwards, in Unit 3, High Pressure Core Injection System has been
automatically shut down. Re-activation of Reactor Core Isolation Cooling
System was attempted but failed, and as we were unable to confirm the
level of water injection to the reactor by the Emergency Core Cooling
System, at 5:10 on March 13th, it was determined that a specific incident
(Emergency Core Cooling System water injection inability) stipulated in
article 15, clause 1 has occurred."

[mzkitty]

Before I hit the sack (it's been a looooooong day), I just saw this:

* 3:30AM GMT Mar 13, 2011
* Hot
* Update

Updates on Japanese nuclear reactors, from Tokyo Electric Power Company
Story data:

* spotted by editor
* from www.tepco.co.jp

---------

It's kind of a grid thing, probably you should click since I don't think it would print out well here:

http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp...e/index-e.html

[maric]

All I think is 'Woe to the inhabitants of earth...............'

[maric]

Just saw this:
More on reactors: At least 210,000 told to evacuate area around quake-stricken nuclear plants - nytimes http://nyti.ms/fYmWrO

[Rex Jackson]

Reports coming in that 6 of the 10 reactors are failing. Reactor #6 backup cooling system just failed. Not good.
Standby for a link

[Red Baron]

It looks like we are definately seeing a cascading failure at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear complex. Like somebody said earlier, it looks like one domino is ready knock over the next one. I can't even imagine the whole complex being made uninhabitable. RB

-----------

Press Release (Mar 13,2011)
Impact to TEPCO's Facilities due to Miyagiken-Oki Earthquake (as of 8AM)

Below is major impact to TEPCO's facilities due to the Miyagiken-Oki
Earthquake that occurred yesterday at 2:46PM.
*new items are underlined

[Nuclear Power Station]
Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station:
Units 1 to 3: shutdown due to earthquake
Units 4 to 6: outage due to regular inspection

* The national government has instructed evacuation for those local
residents within 20km radius of the site periphery.

* The value of radioactive material (iodine, etc) is increasing according
to the monitoring car at the site (outside of the site). One of the
monitoring posts is also indicating higher than normal level.

* Since the amount of radiation at the boundary of the site exceeds the
limits, we decide at 4:17PM, Mar 12 and we have reported and/or noticed
the government agencies concerned to apply the clause 1 of the Article 15
of the Radiation Disaster Measure at 5PM, Mar 12.

* In addition, a vertical earthquake hit the site and big explosion has
happened near the Unit 1 and smoke breaks out around 3:36PM, Mar 12th.

* We started injection of sea water into the reactor core of Unit 1 at
8:20PM, Mar 12 and then boric acid subsequently.

* High Pressure Coolant Injection System of Unit 3 automatically stopped.

We endeavored to restart the Reactor Core Isolation Cooling System but
failed. Also, we could not confirm the water inflow of Emergency Core
Cooling System. As such, we decided at 5.10AM, Mar 12, and we reported
and/or noticed the government agencies concerned to apply the clause 1 of
the Article 15 of the Radiation Disaster Measure at 5:58AM, Mar 13.

In order to fully secure safety, we operated the vent valve to reduce the
pressure of the reactor containment vessels (partial release of air
containing radioactive materials) and completed the procedure at 8:41AM,
Mar 13,

* We continue endeavoring to secure the safety that all we can do and
monitoring the periphery.

http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp...1031304-e.html

[Rex Jackson]

Ok there are two plants at Fukushima. I & II. Plant 1 has 6 reactors. Plant 2 has 4 reactors. So far 6 of the 10 are under great danger of melt down, explosion, what ever you wish to call it. Just like volcanoes, they can erupt many different ways. One plant is releasing 'radioactive steam' right now. The plant that blew apart today, I call that a melt down. Saying the plant "is fine", I just don't understand. It exploded, people died, people got exposed to radiation. Doesn't sound fine to me.

Sixth reactor backup system fails

http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2011/03/77230.html

Another reactor at Fukushima nuke plant loses cooling functions

TOKYO, March 13, Kyodo

Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Sunday another reactor of its quake-hit Fukushima nuclear power plants had lost its cooling functions, while at least 15 people at a nearby hospital were found to have been exposed to radioactivity.

The utility supplier notified the government early Sunday morning that the No. 3 reactor at the No. 1 Fukushima plant had lost the ability to cool the reactor core. The reactor is now in the process of releasing radioactive steam, according to top government spokesman Yukio Edano.

It was the sixth reactor overall at the Fukushima No. 1 and No. 2 plants to undergo cooling failure since the massive earthquake and ensuing tsunami struck Japan on Friday.

The disaster raised fears over radioactive leaks from the plants after cooling systems there were hampered, most seriously at the No. 1 reactor.

An explosion Saturday at the No. 1 plant blew away the roof and the walls of the building housing the No. 1 reactor's container.

The government and nuclear authorities said there was no damage to the steel container housing the troubled No. 1 reactor, noting that the blast occurred as vapor from the container turned into hydrogen and mixed with outside oxygen.

Tokyo Electric Power has begun new cooling operations to fill the reactor with sea water and pour in boric acid to prevent an occurrence of criticality. Chief Cabinet Secretary Edano said in a press conference Sunday morning that there had been no major changes in the results of monitoring radioactivity near the No. 1 reactor.

Following the explosion, the authorities expanded from 10 kilometers to 20 km the radius of the evacuation area for residents living in the vicinity of the Fukushima plants.

The Fukushima prefectural government said Saturday that three people had their clothes contaminated with radioactive substances while fleeing from the No. 1 nuclear plant.

The Fire and Disaster Management Agency said Sunday that 15 people were found to have been contaminated at a hospital located within 10 km from the No. 1 reactor. Edano said there was a possibility that nine people who fled on a bus had been exposed to radioactivity.

[Double_A]

Jeffrey T, Red Baron, Archtype, MickeyMouse

I appreciate your measured, no-hype posts and what appears to be experience based commentary.

D_A

[Rex Jackson]

Ok check this out, this is what Ive been warning people about for years.

Nuclear Experts Explain Worst-Case Scenario at Fukushima Power Plant (my comments in blue brackets)

"The type of accident occurring now in Japan derives from a loss of offsite AC power (GRID) and then a subsequent failure of emergency power on site (pumps or the backup generators used to fill in for the GRID). Engineers there are racing to restore AC power to prevent a core meltdown."

Ok, now imagine utility companies trying to restore power, with roads littered with 2-3 stories of debris, no electricity, food, water and gasoline need to be brought in, broken roads, fires, radiation and more. I can't see it but I'm praying.

Few pages long so I'm just posting the link. Please for those that don't get whats going on there and what the dangers are associated with living near our reactors, please study this.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/ar...fukushima-core

[MickeyMouse]

If one of these blows then no one will be around to maintain the others next to it. The rest would blow in short order like fire crackers strung on a fuse. Putting multiple reactors next to each other like this is a really dumb thing to do.

What makes you think that? Chernobyl was a much more serious event and the adjacent reactors continued to operate for some time. Because they shared make-up water and turbine hall, the one adjacent to #4 was shut down for a period of time. They operated for some years after 1986.

Fact is, none of them are likely to "blow". Meltdown, probably, but blow? I doubt it. Chernobyl was an operating reactor that had a massive power surge causing a steam explosion.

[Archetype]

I am beginning to see in some news reports, use of the work "fusion" in regards to the condition of one or more of the reactors; example -
http://www.euronews.net/2011/03/11/j...ear-emergency/

I would assume this to be press hyperbole/mistranslation of "fission"/general misunderstanding/ignorance of basic physics, right? I can't wrap my head around how a fusion reaction would end up occurring because of this, I just can't...

[Rex Jackson]

one of the plants already did explode today

[Catbird]

I think this will be an important factor in how things go over the next few days.

From a journalist in Tokyo:

"martyn_williams

Japan Met Agency briefing underway. Quake magnitude revised from 8.8 to 9.0 44 minutes ago via Seesmic for BlackBerry

Friday's quake was three very large quakes in quick succession. Overall magnitude revised to 9.0 - Japan Met Agency 39 minutes ago via Seesmic for BlackBerry

There remains a risk of strong, severe aftershocks - Japan Met Agency 36 minutes ago via Seesmic for BlackBerry

70% chance of Magnitude 7-class quake in next three days, 50% chance for three days after that - Japan Met Agency 34 minutes ago via Seesmic for BlackBerry

[BornFree]

What makes you think that? Chernobyl was a much more serious event and the adjacent reactors continued to operate for some time. Because they shared make-up water and turbine hall, the one adjacent to #4 was shut down for a period of time. They operated for some years after 1986.

Fact is, none of them are likely to "blow". Meltdown, probably, but blow? I doubt it. Chernobyl was an operating reactor that had a massive power surge causing a steam explosion.

In that case the other reactors were still on line in running order. I would imagine that any personal could just stay inside for the most part and conduct normal operations. In this case I think a lot more is going on outside. Lots of work to do outside with power and coolant problems, and water damage to the out buildings, and infrastructure. It simply is not going to be safe to be outside doing all that after a huge release of radiation. But I admit that I am no expert and that is just an opinion.

[Red Baron]

one of the plants already did explode today

That was a hydrogen explosion caused by steam venting out of the reactor. For me that was a huge sign that things were getting out of control.

Three Mile Island required venting and did release some radioactivity into the environment. At least at TMI they didn't blow the roof off of the outer containment building.

Somehow at Fukushima Plant I, Reactor #1 they lost control and let too much hydrogen build up inside the outer containment building. That really tells me monitoring equipment was damaged during the earthquake and/or tsunami. The operators either do not have the needed information to operate the plant or they have been too reluctant to make very unpleasent decisions in a timely fashion.

Now that they have put the roof of the outer containment building of Reactor #1 into orbit, one can only imagine how much additional damage that reactor building has suffered.

[Red Baron]

Not to inject too much paranoia but I am very cynical as to what information we are actually getting.

NEST (Nuclear Emergency Search Team) is a little discussed branch of our federal government that is tasked with providing 24/7 immediate global response to any sort of nuclear related hazard.

NEST has been involved with the russian nuclear satellite that crashed in Canada in the 70's and has been involved in many "Broken Arrow" (missing nuke) events around the world. Lord knows how many other unreported "events" they have serviced.

Plus the U.S. has specific national intelligence satellite assets tasked directly to monitor nuclear "activity".

I have to believe we are sharing our information with the Japanese. For the U.S. and Japan to act like they don't know what the real radiation situation is, is laughable.

We do have pretty good indications that the information is being very very slowly parsed out to avoid obvious panic. I would love to see the playbook that the governemnt and the MSM use in these situations. Can't say I blame them actually.

However when the roof of the containment building reached Mach 1.8, I knew things were starting to escalate out of control.

[Cascadians]

Google News "nuclear"

Many more mainstream news articles coming online now getting a whiff of the truth.

[Catbird]

Okay, this is definitely something. Wiki for Omagawa Nuclear Plant

From a tweet translating JNN TV stream.

"marcysensei

1. Onagawa Generator 21 microsievel reading. 100km from Fukushima, apparently not a leak. ( #JNN_jishin live at http://ustre.am/kJ3E) 3 minutes ago via Ustream.TV"


Also hitting the twitter stream now.

"tnterada‎ As of 14:00 (JST) #Onagawa - Unite 1-3 - Stable But occasionally observes significant rise in radiation level at the plant #nuclear
Twitter - 15 minutes ago"

"kchr_sms‎ The radiation four times a normal value was observed in the Onagawa nuclear power plant.
What happened in Japan today?: The radiation four times a normal ...‎ - blogspot.com
Twitter - 10 minutes ago"