Japan: 9.0 Earthquake-Tsunami-Nuclear Reactor Status #4

[buffetoflies]

From a Chenobyl worker. I pray to God the Japanese aren't being lied to.

http://www.aolnews.com/2011/03/22/c...-as-qui/?icid=maing|main5|dl3|sec1_lnk3|51283

One colleague stepped into a rainwater pool and the soles of his feet burned off inside his boots.

Dude should've stepped around that puddle!

Also, the fukushima workers are there voluntarily, and like the lady in the article I bet they feel as if it is their duty to stay as well. Also, these Japanese workers are mostly retired i.e. not in their 30's like she was.
The lady talked about the government changing the benefits they'd receive at the end... but if she left she could have got a job somewhere else where the employees weren't fed lies so that's not a very good excuse.

 

[dsntslp]

A little OT but this is a neat site that one can register for to receive local alerts based on zip code. Our local Red Cross uses this site for it's volunteers.

http://www.nixle.com/

 

[Quiche]

Very comprehensive overview of Fukushima's Status

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/03/22/959180/-Fukushima-Status-Update-Tuesday-PMMAJOR-UPDATE-2AM

 

[buffetoflies]

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia...isis-day-12-A-timeline-of-key-events/(page)/3

Day 13 - Wednesday, March 23:
# Power is restored in the control rooms at reactor No. 1, 2, 3, and 4, says TEPCO.
# Reactors 5 and 6 are reportedly cooled to safe levels after their shared diesel generators is repaired.

Power. NOT Cooling Systems.

 

[Quiche]

Well, looky here-- not as diluted as I'd like.

Fukushima fallout reaches Europe, but traces tiny

VIENNA – Experts say minuscule amounts of fallout from a damaged power plant in Japan have reached Iceland and are expected in France, but don't pose health risks

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/03/23/fukushima-fallout-reaches-europe-traces-tiny/#ixzz1HRb0uvIS

 

[Quiche]

Restoration at nuke plant disrupted, radiation fears spread to Tokyo

Quote: Work to restore power and key cooling functions was disrupted again Wednesday at the crisis-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant as smoke caused workers to evacuate, while fear of radioactive pollution spread to Tokyo with an alert not to give tap water to infants

http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2011/03/80532.html

 

[Kat]

tap water contaminated and babies can't drink it? Oh man this is just a really bad news day. I'll keep praying for the survivors. It just keeps getting worse and worse for them.

 

[hockeymom]

tap water contaminated and babies can't drink it? Oh man this is just a really bad news day. I'll keep praying for the survivors. It just keeps getting worse and worse for them.

Just heard that bottled water in Toyko is very scarce now. People are buying it all up.

 

[Quiche]

Infant radiation dose over 30 km from plant may be over 100 millisieverts

Quote: The radiation dose received by one-year-old infants outside of a 30-kilometer radius of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant since Saturday's explosion at the plant may have exceeded 100 millisieverts, a computer simulation conducted by the government showed Wednesday.

''There are some cases in which they could have received more than 100 millisieverts of radiation, even if they're outside the 30-kilometer radius and in the event that they spent every day outdoors since the explosion at the Fukushima nuclear plant,'' Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano told a news conference.

http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2011/03/80575.html

 

[Quiche]

Neutron beam observed 13 times at crippled Fukushima nuke plant

Quote: TEPCO, the operator of the nuclear plant, said the neutron beam measured about 1.5 kilometers southwest of the plant's No. 1 and 2 reactors over three days from March 13 and is equivalent to 0.01 to 0.02 microsieverts per hour and that this is not a dangerous level.

http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2011/03/80539.html

I have no idea what this means, anyone?

 

[not_my_kids]

Neutron beam observed 13 times at crippled Fukushima nuke plant

Quote: TEPCO, the operator of the nuclear plant, said the neutron beam measured about 1.5 kilometers southwest of the plant's No. 1 and 2 reactors over three days from March 13 and is equivalent to 0.01 to 0.02 microsieverts per hour and that this is not a dangerous level.

http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2011/03/80539.html

I have no idea what this means, anyone?

I AM NOT AN EXPERT. Disclaimer done.

You can get a neutron beam by drilling a hole in the side of a reactor. Obviously, even under the best of circumstances that will release some radiation. Generally, this is a controlled phenomenon, and (I am not sure on this part) I think it is sometimes something that do to see if rods are near burnout sooner then planned, for whatever reason. A neutron beam is usually made on purpose, but if there is a concentrated hole into one of the reactors., this one could have been accidentally created. Once again, I think, but I'm not sure, that it is used to measure the amount of activity within a reactor, since nuetrons are mobile and they show how much energy is really present.

Seeing a neutron beam (which under the circumstances is actually more of a neutron flux, but I digress) is a sign that there are still fast moving neutrons within the reactor, and that the reactor is still creating massive energy. They also say that they have not tested within the beam for radiation from uranium or plutonium, meaning (to me) that they are not sure which reactor is creating the beam. Not good. Slow moving, sluggish nueutrons don't cause a stream, they just sort of meander out the hole and disperse. So there are still some large amounts of energy in that reactor.

Bear in mind, I've had one physics class in my entire life and I didn't do that well, so I could be completely wrong.

 

[OneLove]

Dude should've stepped around that puddle!

Also, the fukushima workers are there voluntarily, and like the lady in the article I bet they feel as if it is their duty to stay as well. Also, these Japanese workers are mostly retired i.e. not in their 30's like she was.
The lady talked about the government changing the benefits they'd receive at the end... but if she left she could have got a job somewhere else where the employees weren't fed lies so that's not a very good excuse.

BBM

At this point, since we are not there ourselves to witness, it is an assumption that the workers are there voluntarily. I do not know that they aren't there with military guns to their heads, nor do I know for sure that they weren't forcibly marched back into that plant when the "allowable" radiation limit was raised to two and a half times what it was when they LEFT the plant shortly before. National emergency and all, ya know. For the common good.

On having their benefits changed AFTER they sustained irreparable harm to their health BECAUSE of the very work they were doing, exactly what job is it this poor woman could run out and get AFTER she was lied to and used, in the state of health she was in? And health insurance? Pre-existing condition?

Some people just have to experience this kind of thing themselves, or watch someone they LOVE experience it before they develop empathy and compassion. I don't wish it on anyone. But karma is still a beotch.

 

[Nova]

I AM NOT AN EXPERT. Disclaimer done....

Fair enough. But along with Quiche, JBean and a few others, you have been tireless in following events in Japan and keeping the rest of us up-to-date.

I just want to say "thank you" beyond hitting the button.

 

[Linda7NJ]

Does anyone else find it very odd this is not REALLY being covered here in the media to the extend I feel it should be?

Are Americans really that stupid to not care because it's "over there"? Ignorance is bliss? :waitasec: Do we really have the attention span of a gnat and prefer "news" about Jersey Shore and Lindsy Lohan?

 

[ThoughtFox]

Does anyone else find it very odd this is not REALLY being covered here in the media to the extend I feel it should be?

Are Americans really that stupid to not care because it's "over there"? Ignorance is bliss? :waitasec: Do we really have the attention span of a gnat and prefer "news" about Jersey Shore and Lindsy Lohan?

I honestly don't know what is going on with that. It is definitely bothering me that we went from 24 hour coverage of the tsunami to 24 hour coverage of the war in Libya. Why can't they cover both?

I think possibly our News media got burned out on Japan so they figure most people don't want to watch it anymore. It's even difficult to get up-to-date information on the CNN or MSNBC websites. Maybe they just don't want to admit that many of their reporters have been pulled out due to the danger from the nuclear reactor. Many of them would probably rather volunteer for duty in Libya or Yemen rather than face radiation and a higher risk of cancer, or worse from radiation sickness.

 

[Peliman]

Yes, news is getting poor on this disaster. Means I'll have to dig deeper.

Wanted to mention......

MAP 7.0 2011/03/24 13:55:36 20.898 99.883 229.4 MYANMAR
MAP 7.0 2011/03/24 13:55:12 20.705 99.949 10.0 MYANMAR
MAP 6.1 2011/03/24 08:21:02 39.120 142.155 36.8 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

 

[peeples]

More radiation found in US states

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/03/23/colorado.oregon.radiation/index.html

Colorado and Oregon have joined several other Western states in reporting trace amounts of radioactive particles that have likely drifted about 5,000 miles from a quake and tsunami-damaged nuclear power plant in Japan, officials say.

But, on a portion of its website dedicated to tracking such radiation, the Environmental Protection Agency noted Wednesday that these and other readings "show typical fluctuation in background radiation levels" and -- thus far -- "are far below levels of concern."

 

[peeples]

INDIAN HARBOUR BEACH --

The devastating effects of Japan’s tsunami are on the minds of emergency responders in Brevard County.

http://www.cfnews13.com/article/new...rbour-Beach-hold-tsunami-drill?cmpid=facebook

 

[Peliman]

2 nuclear plant workers hospitalized

The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency says the workers were standing on a flooded basement floor while working to reconnect power lines in the turbine building adjacent to the reactor. As a result, their feet were exposed to 170 to 180 millisieverts of radiation.

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/24_41.html

 

[Daisyjane]

I honestly don't know what is going on with that. It is definitely bothering me that we went from 24 hour coverage of the tsunami to 24 hour coverage of the war in Libya. Why can't they cover both?

I think possibly our News media got burned out on Japan so they figure most people don't want to watch it anymore. It's even difficult to get up-to-date information on the CNN or MSNBC websites. Maybe they just don't want to admit that many of their reporters have been pulled out due to the danger from the nuclear reactor. Many of them would probably rather volunteer for duty in Libya or Yemen rather than face radiation and a higher risk of cancer, or worse from radiation sickness.

I think it's a combination of several factors. I agree with the factors you've cited, and I add these:

1. Most of the people I know live in their own little cocoons. They'd rather log onto Facebook and post "Hi! Tomorrow's Friday! Gonna get drunk! yay!" than to think about current events (or heaven forbid, future events). And any twinges of compassion for the victims can quickly be quelled by texting to donate $10 to the Red Cross. Then they can comfortably go back to posting "How R U" and "Wassup"

2. Many people are totally consumed by work, looking for work, taking care of kids or aging parents, etc. When they do get a bit of free time, I guess they prefer to spend it on lighter fare like celebrity gossip or sitcoms, rather than world news.