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

[Cascadians]

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/27_01.html
Sunday, March 27, 2011 08:53 +0900 (JST)

High radiation detected 30 km from Fukushima plant

Radiation levels 40 percent higher than the yearly limit for the general public has been detected just over 30 kilometers from the Fukushima Daiichi power plant.

The Science Ministry says a reading of 1.4 millisieverts was taken on Wednesday morning in Namie Town northwest of the plant.

The government has not told residents outside the 30-kilometer radius of the plant to evacuate, or even to stay indoors.

Someone staying outdoors for 24-hours at that location would exceed the annual limit of one millisievert. The limit is based on a recommendation by the International Commission on Radiological Protection.

The science ministry obtained the reading after monitoring 10 locations outside the 30-kilometer zone, following reports that relatively high levels of radiation were found outside that area.

Radiation exerts now say the amount of radiation detected does not pose a health risk. But they advise residents in the area to stay alert for any possible rise in radiation levels, because the power plant is not likely to stop releasing radiation any time soon.

[Tom McDowell]

Or maybe the Corium is busy drilling a lava hole down to the right-there water table (Pacific Ocean) and the water is lapping back up, propelled by steam jolts and magma fission. Another kind of EQ liquefaction known to occur under nuclear plants.

The geology is that of sedimentary material and landfill under the plant site. Pilings and concrete not on bedrock - think silt. This makes the entobment/containment option ... problematic.


===

.

[minkykat]

Oh, only 3 at once experiencing catastrophic failure. No problem. Did you know Liz Taylor was interred near her friend Michael Jackson? At Forest Lawn Glendale. Traffic there has really gone up. More at 11.

BTW, for serious real, if anyone knows of someone who has 40K and would like to call Liz and Jacko their "forever" neighbors, there is a lovely prayer level crypt for sale just two halls over.
You would have to pass by the glittering twosome on the way to "visit" your future home and as a "member" of Holly Terrace in FL, you also have the right to view all the incredible stained glass windows in there.

I am helping to sell this property so hey, think about it as an investment...and there is no tax on cemetery property!

[Cascadians]

Actually that is my very favorite place on earth. I used to go there a lot. Before it got so busy. If I had 40K I'd buy it and sleep in it.

[Cascadians]

http://enenews.com/

TEPCO believes reactors No. 1, 2, and 3 are breached and leaking radioactive liquid – NHK (VIDEO)

NHK confirms 10 million times usual levels in reactor No. 2 (VIDEO)
Workers evacuated

Report: Radioactivity at 10 MILLION times usual levels at No. 2 reactor — Workers evacuated

CNN on Radioactive Cesium: “Once it’s inside of you, you’ve got trouble” — Nuclear radiation different than normal radiation (VIDEO)

Radioactive iodine detected by Tampa-area nuclear plant — “Iodine travels through the air very easily”

Cesium-137 in soil 40 km NW of Fukushima Daiichi more than highest levels found at Chernobyl

Japan Soil Measurements Surprisingly High, Science Magazine, March 25, 2011:

4 of 11 radiation monitors were offline in California — EPA assures everything is OK, but much of the monitoring system broken

Gaps in US radiation monitoring system revealed, Associated Press, March 25, 2011

Person living 170 miles from Fukushima shows “dangerously high radiation levels”

“Experts have so far been unable to explain why their radiation levels were so high as they are not believed to have been close to the stricken plant”

Nuclear Forecast: Radioactive particles appear to concentrate over surface of Northern California on March 28, 29 (VIDEO)

Fukushima potential releases of Xe-133 from 0 to 100 meters above sea level

“Definite”: Fukushima No. 3 has “long vertical crack” down side reactor vessel – Nuclear Exec.
“The problem with cracks is they do not get smaller.”

“No end in sight for radioactive releases at Fukushima”: IAEA — “Could last months”: IRSN

ALERT: “Highly radioactive water was later found leaking near ALL FOUR troubled reactor units” — From reactors or spent fuel pools?

Fresh coolant injected, high-radiation water leaks in nuke crisis, Kyodo, March 26, 2011 at 12:12 pm EDT

New York Times: “Possibility that radiation from the mox fuel in the reactor — a combination of uranium and plutonium — could be released”

[Hansa44]

Well now.......4 out of 11 radiation monitors are offline in CA, but much of the monitoring system is broken.

What can anyone say? Oh well it's not a problem says EPA and we all know they can be trusted as we can trust all tptb for good wholesome, truthful info.

And none of that radioactive stuff will be coming here. I actually have been believing that, but with so many monitors suddenly on the fritz I'm starting to have some doubts creep in.

[minkykat]

Well now.......4 out of 11 radiation monitors are offline in CA, but much of the monitoring system is broken.

What can anyone say? Oh well it's not a problem says EPA and we all know they can be trusted as we can trust all tptb for good wholesome, truthful info.

And none of that radioactive stuff will be coming here. I actually have been believing that, but with so many monitors suddenly on the fritz I'm starting to have some doubts creep in.

Welcome to the club.

[Cascadians]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wormwood_(star)
Wormwood (star)

Wormwood in the Bible

Although the word wormwood appears several times in the Old Testament, translated from the Hebrew term לענה (la'anah), e.g., Deuteronomy 29:18 and Jeremiah 9:15, its only clear reference as a named entity occurs in the New Testament, in the Book of Revelation:

"And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter." (Revelation 8:10, 11 - KJB). .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... ....
One interesting theory is that nuclear weaponry could be called 'wormwood'. They do poison the water where they are detonated, thus explaining the correlation. Some[12] even point to the Chernobyl disaster as a possible fulfillment of this prophecy, as the name Chernobyl is said to translate to "wormwood."[13]

[plantman]

Well I'm not uptight
Not unattracted
Turn me on tonight
Cause I'm radioactive
Radioactive

There's not a fight
And I'm not your captive
Turn me loose tonight
Cause I'm radioactive
Radioactive

I want to stay with you
I want to play with you baby
I want to lay with you
And I want you to know

Got to concentrate
don't be distractive
Turn me on tonight

Cause I'm radioactive
Radioactive
Radioactive
Radioactive

I want to stay with you
I don't want to play with you
I want just to lay with you
And I want you to know

Got to concentrate
don't be distractive
Turn me on tonight
Cause I'm radioactive oh yeah
Oh yeah radioactive
Don't you stand, stand too close
You might catch it

[Heliobas Disciple]

Following is speculation. If you are a doomer just ignore it.

The turbine building water in question recently COULD have come from damaged piping or leaky valves in reactor piping. However, all reports to date that I have seen shows pressure in the reactor. (Not that I fully trust ANY readings in that plant after what it has been through!!) . In building 4 that would be VERY strange indeed as there is NO FUEL in that reactor!

Consider, however, all the water that has been sprayed on the spent fuel pools! Does ANYONE think ALL of it went where it was needed? What missed would flow down the sides and into the damaged buildings, picking up whatever contaminated particles it encountered. Some has gone to the sea where contamination levels have increased. Doesn’t it seem plausible that much of it also wound up in the turbine basements?? I suspect it did. Now, as to the source of that contamination, the reactors or the spent fuel, I wish I knew and so do they! I suspect there has been damage of spent fuel and cleaning that up will be a real PIA. Bad news but not as bad as a reactor breach at this point, IMHO.

As for the “crack” in the RPV of #3, I believe that to be alarmist hokum. NO WAY for a person to get in there to look. Any cameras in that location would be likely to have “issues” due to heat, radiation and seawater. Would a cracked vessel still hold pressure? I suspect not. Even if a leak DID exist in that area, it would remain inside primary containment and would show up in the discharge from the suppression pool and CV – not just flow freely to the turbine basement (condenser room).

Nice to see you posting again MM, I learn a lot from your posts.

I posted last night an article that said there was no water in the basement the day before those workers went down there, so the sea water spraying causing the water build up doesn't sound like the answer.

And I think it was just acknowledged that there is some sort of breach in reactors 1, 2 and 3. Not sure if it's cracks, but I don't know what else would cause a breach (maybe a broken valve or pipe ).

If you go to 1:30 on this youtube news video, you can hear the translator say:

"[Tepco] believes that similar to reactor number 1 and 3, in reactor number 2 there is a breach in the reactor prompting radiated water to seep out".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zd2ddhWwnXU

I think you'd find the entire clip interesting and informative. If you can translate for the lay person what all those numbers mean, I'm sure I'm not the only one who'd be appreciative.

HD

[ainitfunny]

Watch this short video; WHOLE TOWNS MOVING ...http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/...26_21_256k.asx

[minkykat]

Twitter saying Japanese Govt. to hold international press conference at 8PM their time.

[BlueNewton]

Per NHK

Video news feed which repeats about every 20 minutes - very informative:

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/r/movie/index.html


.

Thank you for that excellent news source, Tom.

[amazon]

Look at this poor guy in Tokyo. He said they can no longer drink tap water in Tokyo! What will they do? Does anyone know if those places on his skin could be due to radiation?

http://www.youtube.com/user/cruiseshipjobsguru

[Marthanoir]

not sure if this has been posted, excuse me if it has

Japanese authorities evacuated workers from a reactor building they were working in after high doses of radiation were detected at the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant.

Japanese authorities evacuated workers from a reactor building they were working in after high doses of radiation were detected at the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant, the plant's operator said.

Tokyo Electric Power Co said radiation 10 million times the usual level was detected in water that had accumulated at the No 2 reactor's turbine housing unit.

A Tokyo Electric official said workers left the No 2 reactor's turbine housing unit to prevent exposure to radiation.

They had been struggling to pump radioactive water out of the nuclear power station, battered by a huge earthquake and a tsunami just over two weeks ago, after it was found in buildings housing three of the six reactors.

Three workers were taken to hospital on Thursday from reactor No 3 after stepping in water with radiation levels 10,000 times higher than usually found in a reactor. But it was not immediately clear if the numbers were comparable with today's reading at reactor No 2.

However, it was yet another indication that the crisis at the plant was far from over, a point the world's chief nuclear inspector underlined at the weekend.

Yukiya Amano, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), cautioned that Japan's nuclear emergency could go on for weeks, if not months more.

'This is a very serious accident by all standards,' he told the New York Times. 'And it is not yet over.'

Radiation levels in the sea off the Fukushima Daiichi plant rose today to 1,850 times normal just over two weeks after the disaster struck, from 1,250 on Saturday, Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said.

'Ocean currents will disperse radiation particles and so it will be very diluted by the time it gets consumed by fish and seaweed,' said Hidehiko Nishiyama, a senior agency official.

The IAEA has sent two additional teams to Japan over the past two days, one to help in monitoring radiation and one to assess food contamination.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said it was time to reassess the international atomic safety regime.





http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0327/japan.html

[Cascadians]

http://enenews.com/

NHK: Fukushima probably exceeds Chernobyl and there is no end in sight (VIDEO)
March 27th, 2011 at 06:29 AM

Video of Tokyo resident: I’ve got “red crap” on skin after going in rain – Unverified
March 27th, 2011 at 05:28 AM
“Japanese evacuation has begun.”

BREAKING: Japan NOT testing for Plutonium in highly radioactive water (VIDEO)
NHK, March 27, 2011 at 3:15 am EDT

[Y2kO]

Well now.......4 out of 11 radiation monitors are offline in CA, but much of the monitoring system is broken.

What can anyone say? Oh well it's not a problem says EPA and we all know they can be trusted as we can trust all tptb for good wholesome, truthful info.

Yeah, the EPA told the Ground Zero workers that the air was safe to breathe.

[Cascadians]

http://oldbooks.net/japanesepowerplants.html
NUKE NEWS Updates

^ ^ ^ ^ ^ Awesome page! ^ ^ ^ ^ ^

[Cascadians]

http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2011/03/81334.html
TOKYO, March 27, Kyodo

Gov't asks treatment plants not to take in rainwater due to radiation

The health ministry has instructed the operator of water purification plants nationwide to temporarily stop taking in rainwater to prevent contamination in tap water following radiation leaks from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, ministry officials said Sunday.

While calling on the plants to ensure stable supply of tap water, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare also proposed covering pools of the plants with tarps to keep out rainwater or to use powdered activated carbon that can help get rid of radioactive materials.

The instruction by the ministry came after radiation levels beyond Japan's regulated standard were found in tap water at multiple purification plants in Fukushima and other prefectures including Tokyo, 220 kilometers southwest of the plant.

Radioactive materials emitted to the atmosphere from the nuclear plant apparently fell down to earth with the rain. Radiation levels in water fall over time after it stops raining.
.... .... .... .... .... .... ....

[Cascadians]

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/27_24.html
Sunday, March 27, 2011 22:02 +0900 (JST)

TEPCO retracts radioactivity test result

Tokyo Electric Power Company has retracted its announcement that 10 million times the normal density of radioactive materials had been detected in water at the Number 2 reactor of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

The utility says it will conduct another test of the leaked water at the reactor's turbine building.

The company said on Sunday evening that the data for iodine-134 announced earlier in the day was actually for another substance that has a longer half-life.

The plant operator said earlier on Sunday that 2.9 billion becquerels per cubic centimeter had been detected in the leaked water.

It said although the initial figure was wrong, the water still has a high level of radioactivity of 1,000 millisieverts per hour.

[Cascadians]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fukushi...clear_accident
Fukushima I nuclear accidents

Wow, this is excellent, has everything!

[BlueNewton]

Radioactive rain. Tokyo is toast. The poor crying guy in that video knows it. They have GOT to somehow put an end to the leaking radioactivity. Just coping with the levels already released in Japan is going to be a hell of a problem.

[LoupGarou]

I still say drop a boatload of graphite into the core, via robot, and let it expend it's energy quicker and get this over with. Just move everybody out for a few weeks, drop in the graphite powder, and call it a day. Come back in a few days and start to cement over the mass. Pull a Daghlian, and get this thing done.

Loup

[Cascadians]

Hiring a bunch of desperate temp workers (that's right, just temp workers from an agency, no training, no experience, minimum wage, terrified to refuse because then won't get more jobs) to clamber around with flashlights isn't getting the job done.

Just unfreakingbelievable that the whole world sits like a big old toad ignoring this while it spews worse and worse deadly radiation "with no end in sight."

At least Russia had the balls to do something with Chernobyl. Although if you look at the wiki link, turns out burying it wasn't the best thing, but still better than NOTHING. Oh yeah they liquidated over a million ppl burying it. Anybody want to volunteer? Sacrifice Japan, that seems likely now. How much of the rest of the globe will become inhabitable, that's the question. Linked to how long the meltdown spews into the environment.

[alchemike]

The entire population of tokyo should relocate to detroit...

o)<

mike

[Witness]

The entire population of tokyo should relocate to detroit...

o)<

mike

From one deadly situation to another eh?
I don't think they could survive Detroit.

[Cascadians]

Anybody read that the temp drones have gone back to "work" in the blast zone? Is it still evacuated? Anybody squirting water on the meltdown?

[Hansa44]

Look at this poor guy in Tokyo. He said they can no longer drink tap water in Tokyo! What will they do? Does anyone know if those places on his skin could be due to radiation?

http://www.youtube.com/user/cruiseshipjobsguru

I just watched that a couple of times and this guy says Tokyo is a city of 2 million people. According to Wikipedia it's a city of 13 million people. Seems the guy would know that............


"The Tokyo Metropolitan government administers the twenty-three special wards of Tokyo, each governed as a city, that cover the area that was the city of Tokyo as well as 39 municipalities in the western part of the prefecture and the two outlying island chains. The population of the special wards is over 8 million people, with the total population of the prefecture exceeding 13 million. The prefecture is part of the world's most populous metropolitan area with 35 to 39 million people (depending on definition) and the world's largest metropolitan economy with a GDP of US$1.479 trillion at purchasing power parity in 2008, ahead of New York City, which ranks second on the list.[3]"

[Red Baron]

BreakingNews: More on Japan plant's water radiation levels: Operators say extremely high reading of 10 million times the normal level was inaccurate - AP

I think any credibility TEPCO might have had, is wholly and completely shredded into oblivion now. Nobody is going to be fooled by this ploy.

Three Fukushima plant workers exposed to radiation due to be discharged from the hospital on Monday - Kyodo

Like everything is just butterfly farts and baby lambs now. The workers sustained -immediate- beta radiation burns. That indicates -very- high levels of radiation. Earlier I had posted a Wiki about "beta burns". The workers have yet to experience more symptoms based on the current symptoms. Blisters and other health effects are very likely as time goes on for these people. Get them -out- of the hospital so their symptoms -won't- be observed and recorded in a clinical setting.

Everything is Okee Dokee!

[Hansa44]

The entire population of tokyo should relocate to detroit...

o)<

mike

Why not all those "ghost cities" in China?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...-deserted.html

[Cascadians]

Nope, no workee, too radioactive, too dangerous. No workee, no squirting, no mopping, just let the thing slide and heat up and melt down.

http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2011/03/81357.html
TOKYO, March 27, Kyodo

Woes deepen over radioactive water at nuke plant, sea contamination

Japan on Sunday faced an increasing challenge of removing highly radioactive water found inside buildings near some troubled nuclear reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, with the radiation level of the surface of the pool in the basement of the No. 2 reactor's turbine building found to be more than 1,000 millisieverts per hour.

Exposure to such an environment for four hours would raise the risk of dying in 30 days. Hidehiko Nishiyama, spokesman for the government's nuclear safety agency, said the figure is ''quite high'' but authorities must find a way to pump out the water without sending workers too close to push ahead with the restoration work. [ What the f* are they smoking? Restoration work? Yes wire by wire, hose by hose we will reconstruct our simple little operation and be back to normal by next week. Go back to watching your sitcoms. ]

Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. said the concentration of radioactive substances of the puddle was 10 million times higher than that seen usually in water in a reactor core, but later decided to reanalyze the data because it found some errors. [ quick, backtrack on that one! news finally picked up on something. Let's put everybody off by looking even more inept and foolish. Soon everybody will stop paying attention while we meltdown and poison the world! ]

Adding to the woes is the increasing level of contamination in the sea near the plant, although Nishiyama reiterated there is no need for health concerns so far because fishing would not be conducted in the evacuation-designated area within 20 kilometers of the plant and radioactive materials ''will be significantly diluted'' by the time they are consumed by marine species and then by people. [ yes the fish too are obedient and won't swim anywhere near ]

Radioactive iodine-131 at a concentration 1,850.5 times the legal limit was detected in a seawater sample taken Saturday around 330 meters south of the plant, near a drainage outlet of the four troubled reactors, compared with 1,250.8 times the limit found Friday, the agency said.

Nishiyama told a press conference in the morning that he cannot deny the possibility that radioactive materials are continuing to be released into the sea. He said later that the water found at the basement of the turbine buildings is unlikely to have flowed into the sea, causing contamination.

The pools of water containing radioactive substances have drawn attention after three workers who were engaging in work to restore the No. 3 reactor at its turbine building on Thursday were exposed to high radiation. Two of them had their feet in water without noticing then that it was highly contaminated.

The three workers, who were taken to a radiation research center in Chiba Prefecture for examination, will be discharged as early as Monday afternoon, officials of the center said, adding that the exposure has not affected their health.

Radioactivity at the surface of the puddle at the No. 3 unit was 400 millisieverts per hour as of Thursday, still far below the more than 1,000 millisieverts per hour detected at the puddle of the No. 2 reactor's turbine building.

Tokyo Electric was not able to confirm how much the actual amount of radiation was at the No. 2 reactor because the radioactivity level was too high for workers to continue measuring.

At a radiation level of 1,000 millisieverts per hour, people could suffer a decrease in the number of lymphocytes -- a type of white blood cell -- in just 30 minutes, and half of the people could die within 30 days by staying in such conditions for four hours.

According to data released Sunday, radioactive iodine-134, a substance which sees its radiation release reduced to about half in some 53 minutes, existed in water at the No. 2 reactor's turbine building at an extremely high concentration of 2.9 billion becquerels per cubic centimeter.

The water also contained such substances as iodine-131 and cesium-137, known as products of nuclear fission, and thus leading to speculation that it may have come through pipes that connect the reactor vessel and turbines, where steam from the reactor is normally directed to for electricity generation.

The pool of water at the No. 4 reactor's turbine building included radioactive substances, but the concentration level was not as high as at the Nos. 1, 2 and 3 buildings, the data showed.

But Tokyo Electric said it will reanalyze the data after some doubts were raised. Nishiyama said the utility company will review the part which showed a massive release of radioactive elements with relatively short so-called ''half-life'' periods, such as iodine-134.

Following the March 11 massive earthquake and tsunami, the reactors and the spent nuclear fuel tanks of the Nos. 1, 2 and 3 units lost their cooling functions. Their reactor cores also partially melted at the plant, possibly discharging radioactive substances.

The No. 4 unit, meanwhile, had all of its fuel rods stored in the spent fuel tank for maintenance work, and the cooling functions of the tank were also lost.

To cool down the reactor cores or spent fuel tanks, massive amounts of seawater or freshwater have been injected such as by spraying water from outside the damaged part of the reactor buildings' outer shell.

The water injections appear to have somewhat helped to prevent the crisis from worsening, but efforts to restore power and enhance cooling efficiency at the crisis-hit nuclear power plant is showing slow progress partly due to the radioactive pools of water found at the Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 4 units.

Workers there are planning to turn on the lights in the control room of the No. 4 reactor, while also trying to inject freshwater into tanks storing spent nuclear fuel at the plant's Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 4 reactors to prevent crystallized salt from seawater already injected from hampering the smooth circulation of water and thus diminishing the cooling effect.

Meanwhile, Tokyo Electric, known as TEPCO, is studying whether highly toxic plutonium is contained in the soil of the plant. The No. 3 reactor was using plutonium-uranium mixed oxide fuel for so-called ''pluthermal'' power generation.

==Kyodo
----------------

Uummmmmm, think by now it's clear somebody else should take over the measuring, study, and operation of this disaster.

[eens]

I just watched that a couple of times and this guy says Tokyo is a city of 2 million people. According to Wikipedia it's a city of 13 million people. Seems the guy would know that............

It sounds like that is the voice of a translator, maybe he translated it wrong. It sounds a bit slurred and to me sounds like 30 million, neither is right.

[Dennis Olson]

Workers Struggle to Remove Radioactive Water From Japanese Nuclear Complex

Published March 27, 2011 | Associated Press

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TOKYO-- Mounting problems, including badly miscalculated radiation figures and inadequate storage tanks for huge amounts of contaminated water, stymied emergency workers Sunday as they struggled to nudge Japan's stricken nuclear complex back from the edge of disaster.

Workers are attempting to remove the radioactive water from the tsunami-ravaged nuclear compound and restart the regular cooling systems for the dangerously hot fuel.

The day began with company officials reporting that radiation in leaking water in the Unit 2 reactor was 10 million times above normal, a spike that forced employees to flee the unit. The day ended with officials saying the huge figure had been miscalculated and offering apologies.

"The number is not credible," said Tokyo Electric Power Co. spokesman Takashi Kurita. "We are very sorry."

A few hours later, TEPCO Vice President Sakae Muto said a new test had found radiation levels 100,000 times above normal -- far better than the first results, though still very high.

But he ruled out having an independent monitor oversee the various checks despite the errors.

Officials acknowledged there was radioactive water in all four of the Fukushima Dai-ichi complex's most troubled reactors, and that airborne radiation in Unit 2 measured 1,000 millisieverts per hour, four times the limit deemed safe by the government.

Those high airborne readings -- if accurate -- would make it very difficult for emergency workers to get inside to pump out the water.

Officials say they still don't know where the radioactive water is coming from, though government spokesman Yukio Edano earlier said some is "almost certainly" seeping from a damaged reactor core in one of the units.

The discovery late last week of pools of radioactive water has been a major setback in the mission to get the crucial cooling systems operating more than two weeks after a massive earthquake and tsunami.

The magnitude-9 quake off Japan's northeast coast on March 11 triggered a tsunami that barreled onshore and disabled the Fukushima plant, complicating a humanitarian disaster that is thought to have killed about 18,000 people.

A top TEPCO official acknowledged it could take a long time to clean up the complex.
"We cannot say at this time how many months or years it will take," Muto said, insisting the main goal now is to keep the reactors cool.

Workers have been scrambling to remove the radioactive water from the four units and find a place to safely store it. Each unit may hold tens of thousands of gallons of radioactive water, said Minoru Ogoda of Japan's nuclear safety agency.

Safety agency officials had been hoping to pump the water into huge, partly empty tanks inside the reactor that are designed to hold condensed water.

Those tanks, though, turned out to be completely full, said Hidehiko Nishiyama of Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency.

Meanwhile, plans to use regular power to restart the cooling system hit a roadblock when it turned out that cables had to be laid through turbine buildings flooded with the contaminated water.

"The problem is that right now nobody can reach the turbine houses where key electrical work must be done," Nishiyama said. "There is a possibility that we may have to give up on that plan."

Despite Sunday's troubles, officials continued to insist the situation had at least partially stabilized.

"We have somewhat prevented the situation from turning worse," Edano told reporters Sunday evening. "But the prospects are not improving in a straight line and we've expected twists and turns. The contaminated water is one of them and we'll continue to repair the damage."

The protracted nuclear crisis has spurred concerns about the safety of food and water in Japan, which is a prime source of seafood for some countries. Radiation has been found in food, seawater and even tap water supplies in Tokyo.

Just outside the coastal Fukushima nuclear plant, radioactivity in seawater tested about 1,250 times higher than normal last week -- but that number had climbed to 1,850 times normal by the weekend.

Nishiyama said the increase was a concern, but also said the area is not a source of seafood and that the contamination posed no immediate threat to human health.

Up to 600 people are working inside the plant in shifts. Nuclear safety officials say workers' time inside the crippled units is closely monitored to minimize their exposure to radioactivity, but two workers were hospitalized Thursday when they suffered burns after stepping into contaminated water. They were to be released from the hospital Monday.

A poll, meanwhile, showed that support for Japan's prime minister had risen amid the disasters.
The poll conducted over the weekend by Kyodo News agency found that approval of Prime Minister Naoto Kan and his Cabinet rose to 28.3 percent after sinking below 20 percent in February, before the earthquake.

Last month's low approval led to speculation that Kan's days were numbered. While the latest figure is still low, it suggests he is making some gains with voters.

About 58 percent of respondents in the nationwide telephone survey of 1,011 people said they approved of the government's handling of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, but a similar number criticized its handling of the nuclear crisis.

The death toll from the disasters stood at 10,668 Sunday with 16,574 people missing, police said. Hundreds of thousands of people are homeless.
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URL

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/03...nuclear-plant/

[Red Baron]

Meanwhile, plans to use regular power to restart the cooling system hit a roadblock when it turned out that cables had to be laid through turbine buildings flooded with the contaminated water.

Anybody else notice the Supreme Irony of a power company that is unable to supply electricity to it's own facility, after two full weeks?

"The problem is that right now nobody can reach the turbine houses where key electrical work must be done," Nishiyama said. "There is a possibility that we may have to give up on that plan."

Ooops? So now what? Punt?

I also get a real sense that a little Yankee Ingenuity would have resulted in a better outcome than these feckless TEPCO drones.

[Dennis Olson]

The Japanese have always excelled at rote-work. But frankly, their ability to employ that "Yankee ingenuity" has always (IMO) been lacking. Perhaps it's a societal issue, I don't know. But they always seemed better at duplicating EXISTING design/methodology than in developing their own. I think we're seeing there here, particularly when you take into account that they have already turned to the US for assistance in all this.

[bw]

I also get a real sense that a little Yankee Ingenuity would have resulted in a better outcome than these feckless TEPCO drones.

Maybe. It's frustrating to watch the circus, and to correlate the statements to the visuals. On the other hand, we were a little short of feck at TMI, and Katrina wasn't our finest hour either. Lot of sweating and heroism going on over there, along with pointy-haired managers who don't give much confidence.

[Publius]

I have no idea how much water they need to remove but if its a spill of some kind how about a sump pump's and yeah we talking garden hose or 2" inch on the discharge side, but hay if it gets it done.

[Red Baron]

I don't want to be too harsh to the average worker in Japan. They are reliable, exacting in detail, loyal and stoic by nature. Wonderful attributes for any society.

The management structure and rulingclasses in Japan however really need to be examined.

[Cascadians]

Shopvac.

[Cascadians]

"But he ruled out having an independent monitor oversee the various checks despite the errors."

WTF? Sorry, due to world's worst nuclear EPIC FAIL your ass is fired and the military is now taking over. Way past time for this to happen!
Why are rinky dinks still in charge?