Japan: 9.0 Earthquake-Tsunami-Nuclear Reactor Status #5

[Verity]

You guys think this plan will work?

http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2011/04/82921.html

TOKYO, April 4, Kyodo

The government has asked Tokyo Electric Power Co., operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, to study the possibility of containing radioactive substances from four damaged reactors by wrapping their entire containment buildings with a huge amount of sheeting, government sources said Sunday. The proposal calls for building framed structures around the 45-meter-high containment buildings and then wrapping them with the sheeting, the sources said. If all of the four buildings were wrapped in this manner, it would cost about 80 billion yen and take up to two months, the sources said.But atomic energy experts are skeptical about the feasibility of the plan, proposed by a general construction firm, saying the step would have only limited effects in blocking the release of radioactive substances into the environment.

How does a lid on a leaky bucket solve the problem?

A source close to the government criticized its latest move, saying, ''Politicians and the TEPCO management adopted the proposal from the major construction company which does not have deep knowledge about nuclear power plants.''

Sounds about right, but only applying common sense, no particular expertise.

 

[bessie]

You guys think this plan will work?

http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2011/04/82921.html

TOKYO, April 4, Kyodo

The government has asked Tokyo Electric Power Co., operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, to study the possibility of containing radioactive substances from four damaged reactors by wrapping their entire containment buildings with a huge amount of sheeting, government sources said Sunday. The proposal calls for building framed structures around the 45-meter-high containment buildings and then wrapping them with the sheeting, the sources said. If all of the four buildings were wrapped in this manner, it would cost about 80 billion yen and take up to two months, the sources said.But atomic energy experts are skeptical about the feasibility of the plan, proposed by a general construction firm, saying the step would have only limited effects in blocking the release of radioactive substances into the environment.

I just finished preparing a pie and almost forgot to make the slits in the top crust before it went in the oven. A big oops because with the edges of the crust well-sealed, I would've had a big mess. I don't know much about nuclear reactors, but if the materials emit heat, I would think that expanding particles or gases would find a way to escape and might erupt the surface. *shrug*

 

[buffetoflies]

OT but what flavor of pie is it?

 

[bessie]

OT but what flavor of pie is it?

lol Actually, it was a chicken pot pie. I've never cared for them, but my husband recently told me he loved his mother's pot pies, so thought I'd give it try. It was de-lish!

I just read the whole article, and it looks like my pie theory is correct:
Osaka University professor emeritus Keiji Miyazaki said that there is the risk that such sheeting would be torn apart by heat emanating from nuclear reactors. ''What must be done speedily is rather the restoration of the reactors' cooling functions,'' said the professor of atomic energy engineering.

http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2011/04/82921.html

 

[not_my_kids]

Engineers also planned to begin injecting nitrogen gas into reactors Nos. 1, 2 and 3 in an attempt to prevent possible explosions from the buildup of hydrogen gas. Explosions at the three reactors in the first four days after the magnitude 9 earthquake and accompanying tsunami that struck Japan on March 11 badly damaged the reactor buildings and disabled the cooling pumps that provided water to the reactors. Government officials say it may take months to fully restore the cooling systems.

The official death toll from the disaster topped 12,000 on Sunday, as about 25,000 U.S. and Japanese troops finished an intensive three-day effort to recover bodies. The search located 78 corpses, but more than 15,000 people are still officially listed as missing. Some 160,000 survivors remain in shelters.

Japan's Red Cross and the Central Community Chest of Japan have collected more than $1 billion but have yet to distribute any cash directly to victims, prompting chief cabinet secretary Yukio Edano to urge Sunday that the process be accelerated.

A Red Cross spokeswoman, Miyoko Kawamura, responded that the payments would likely start within the month of April.
http://www.rep-am.com/articles/2011/04/03/news/national/doc4d9936242c360002369332.txt

 

[not_my_kids]

The Japanese government announced Sunday that reactors 1 through 4 at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant will be covered with a special cloth to reduce the amount of radioactive particles being released into the atmosphere.
A forty-five meter high frame will be constructed within a month or two to support the cloth covering the reactors.
http://www.arirang.co.kr/News/News_View.asp?nseq=114493&code=Ne8&category=1
I have so many doubts about this.

 

[mysticrose]

The Japanese government announced Sunday that reactors 1 through 4 at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant will be covered with a special cloth to reduce the amount of radioactive particles being released into the atmosphere.
A forty-five meter high frame will be constructed within a month or two to support the cloth covering the reactors.
http://www.arirang.co.kr/News/News_View.asp?nseq=114493&code=Ne8&category=1
I have so many doubts about this.

A month or two :waitasec: really, wow. I would hope like a week or two....

 

[OneLove]

I can't thank you wonderful folks enough for following this news and keeping us posted. I am away from home caring for a terminally ill relative and have no time to do my usual "leisure reading" here at Websleuths. But I do manage to sneak VERY frequent looks at THIS thread via my phone. You are the best news source ever, beating out CNN, MSNBC, BBC, and a live Japanese channel I also have loaded on my phone. If I only have 30 seconds to peak, its you guys hands down! I honor you faithful posters right along with the Fukishima Valiants ( can't make myself say Fifty since there are so many more).

Unsettling story to tell: last week we took visitors out to breakfast. There was a hole in the wall, funky little retail shop across the street that caught one's eye, so we all meandered over to check it out. We struck up a conversation with the odd little owner and I asked how he came to start his shop. He surprisingly said he had been a nuclear engineer with the Department of Defence in Colorado. He began explaining "criticality" and how he came to feel the use of nuclear energy is insane, so he left his profession for good. I asked him what the worst case scenario in Japan could be and he said that would be if the reactors attained criticality. I asked what, in his opinion, would happen, and his answer was shocking and gutwrenching. We all left his shop pretty traumatized. We considered that HE might be the insane one, mentally disturbed and dismissed from his profession. I kinda want to believe that 'cuz it would be a truth so much easier to live with than what he told us Still not sure what to believe. But I know that if what he told us has any truth in it whatsoever, it explains why the public reports all seem to stop short of spelling it out.

I pray that many are sending powerful prayers/intentions, as I DO absolutely believe that has the ability to affect what happens. Many prayers can uplift and transcend, all of us in unison can be powerful in our thoughts and highest intentions. Our earth needs our focus and best intentions now like never before.

Profound healing is possible with profound love and I am sending my deepest love to you all and to the terrible wound in Japan.

Namaste - - OneLove, OneHeart, Many Paths

 

[Peliman]

Monday, April 4, 2011

Tepco may release radioactive water 100 times legal limit into Pacific Kyodo News

The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station plans to release water containing radioactive materials into the sea possibly from Tuesday in a bid to help speed up work to bring the crippled complex under control, it said Monday.

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110404x1.html

 

[Peliman]

More info on the damaged nuke plant water dumping into the ocean. It seems to me they are making day by day decisions while working with multiple problems at the plant. So here's some snippets from today's story but it's only partial until one reads the whole story. Attemps to seal the crack appear to have failed.

Tokyo (CNN) -- About 11,500 tons of radioactive water that has collected at the crippled Fukishima Daiichi nuclear facility will be dumped into the Pacific Ocean, officials said Monday, as workers prioritize dealing with a crack that has been a conduit for contamination.

Officials with the Tokyo Electric Power Company, which runs the plant, proposed Monday afternoon releasing excess water that has pooled in and around the Nos. 3, 4, 5 and 6 reactors into the sea. But most of the dumped water -- 10,000 tons -- will come from the plant's central waste treatment facility, which will then be used to store highly radioactive water from the No. 2 unit, an official with the power company said.

Workers also have injected a dye tracer into the water to allow them to track the dispersal of such particles, the spokesman added.

The picture at the link is one spotted yesterday from the dailymail.co.uk site. Pictures tell a thousand words. I'm undecided if the long orange extension on the truck is a concrete pumper or a portable crane. It looks like a concrete pumper and maybe how they got concrete into the pit yesterday.

If it's a concrete pumper it may have only pumped one concrete trucks worth of concrete into the pit. Normally in pouring operations concrete trucks would be lined up and taking turns dumping their load into the pumper. I've seen pours take place over 12 hours that used up to 120 concrete trucks feeding the concrete pumper. They will need at least 15 concrete trucks running back and forth to a nearby concrete plant loading and unloading at the pumper with whatever mix they decide to use for projects.

It appears to me there is some competing ideas between engineers between restoring cooling to the reactors or burying them in a mix of some type.

If the leak didn't get plugged in the latest attempt. I'm afraid they may need to remove all the concrete, newspaper and and junk they have tried to use in the last two attempts before trying another approach in repairing the leak.

I feel for the workers, they have their hands full. I also think we're seeing more truthful information coming from sources. I mean they are telling us the attempts to seal the crack have failed, we're seeing pictures. Not that any of us like what's happening. Take a look at this pic, if it's a concrete pumper it's a long drop to the floor of this building, messy...

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/04/01/article-1371793-0B7008C500000578-391_634x389.jpg

 

[not_my_kids]

More info on the damaged nuke plant water dumping into the ocean. It seems to me they are making day by day decisions while working with multiple problems at the plant. So here's some snippets from today's story but it's only partial until one reads the whole story. Attemps to seal the crack appear to have failed.



The picture at the link is one spotted yesterday from the dailymail.co.uk site. Pictures tell a thousand words. I'm undecided if the long orange extension on the truck is a concrete pumper or a portable crane. It looks like a concrete pumper and maybe how they got concrete into the pit yesterday.

If it's a concrete pumper it may have only pumped one concrete trucks worth of concrete into the pit. Normally in pouring operations concrete trucks would be lined up and taking turns dumping their load into the pumper. I've seen pours take place over 12 hours that used up to 120 concrete trucks feeding the concrete pumper. They will need at least 15 concrete trucks running back and forth to a nearby concrete plant loading and unloading at the pumper with whatever mix they decide to use for projects.

It appears to me there is some competing ideas between engineers between restoring cooling to the reactors or burying them in a mix of some type.

If the leak didn't get plugged in the latest attempt, I'm afraid they may need to remove all the concrete, newspaper and and junk they have tried to use in the last two attempts before trying another approach in repairing the leak.

I feel for the workers, they have their hands full. I also think we're seeing more truthful information coming from sources. I mean they are telling us the attempts to seal the crack have failed, we're seeing pictures. Not that any of us like what's happening. Take a look at this pic, if it's a concrete pumper it's a long drop to the floor of this building, messy...

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/04/01/article-1371793-0B7008C500000578-391_634x389.jpg

If that's the concrete pumper, I can see why one is having little effect. Actually no matter what that is, I can see why it's having little effect. It seems like they are trying to hunt elephants with a flyswatter.

For the scientists that support trying to bring back the cooling functions...have they seen the reactor housings? Are they aware that the maintenance pit that is cracked and now leaking radioactive material back out is in a position where (I think) it would have to be fixed in order to do anything to the electrical for #2? And that so far, attempts to fix that crack with the equivalent of diapers and paper mache have been unsuccessful?

 

[essies]

I can't thank you wonderful folks enough for following this news and keeping us posted. I am away from home caring for a terminally ill relative and have no time to do my usual "leisure reading" here at Websleuths. But I do manage to sneak VERY frequent looks at THIS thread via my phone. You are the best news source ever, beating out CNN, MSNBC, BBC, and a live Japanese channel I also have loaded on my phone. If I only have 30 seconds to peak, its you guys hands down! I honor you faithful posters right along with the Fukishima Valiants ( can't make myself say Fifty since there are so many more).

Unsettling story to tell: last week we took visitors out to breakfast. There was a hole in the wall, funky little retail shop across the street that caught one's eye, so we all meandered over to check it out. We struck up a conversation with the odd little owner and I asked how he came to start his shop. He surprisingly said he had been a nuclear engineer with the Department of Defence in Colorado. He began explaining "criticality" and how he came to feel the use of nuclear energy is insane, so he left his profession for good. I asked him what the worst case scenario in Japan could be and he said that would be if the reactors attained criticality. I asked what, in his opinion, would happen, and his answer was shocking and gutwrenching. We all left his shop pretty traumatized. We considered that HE might be the insane one, mentally disturbed and dismissed from his profession. I kinda want to believe that 'cuz it would be a truth so much easier to live with than what he told us Still not sure what to believe. But I know that if what he told us has any truth in it whatsoever, it explains why the public reports all seem to stop short of spelling it out.

I pray that many are sending powerful prayers/intentions, as I DO absolutely believe that has the ability to affect what happens. Many prayers can uplift and transcend, all of us in unison can be powerful in our thoughts and highest intentions. Our earth needs our focus and best intentions now like never before.

Profound healing is possible with profound love and I am sending my deepest love to you all and to the terrible wound in Japan.

Namaste - - OneLove, OneHeart, Many Paths

Oh my everyone pay attention to Arnie Gunderson in this video. He mentions "criticality"-this ain't good and doesn't look like it's getting any better!!

Fukushima Update from Fairewinds with evidence of periodic chain reaction at reactor 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sryIe-sirG4

 

[essies]

Monday, April 4, 2011

Tepco may release radioactive water 100 times legal limit into Pacific Kyodo News

The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station plans to release water containing radioactive materials into the sea possibly from Tuesday in a bid to help speed up work to bring the crippled complex under control, it said Monday.

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110404x1.html

Japan To Dump Thousands Of TONS Of Radioactive Material Into The Ocean!-April 04, 2011 CNN
[video=youtube;4ZZLOqUY454]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZZLOqUY454[/video]

 

[not_my_kids]

Hawaii is grappling with twin effects from Japan's earthquake. Not only did last month's temblor generate a tsunami that damaged or destroyed dozens of local shops and attractions, but Japanese tourists are now canceling travel to the state amid the devastation back home, The Wall Street Journal reported in its Monday edition.

The number of Japanese visitors to the Aloha State has fallen 25 percent since the March 11 quake, compared with a year ago, according to the Hawaii Tourism Authority. The drop follows a 28 percent increase in Japanese tourists from January 1 through late February from a year ago, said the state agency. With hotels reporting cancellations of future bookings as high as 45 percent, Hawaii is bracing for further tourism impact.
http://www.myfoxny.com/dpps/your_mo...nk-hawaii-tourism-dpgonc-20110404-fc_12613095

- RADIOACTIVE DUMP PLANNED. Plant operators dump 10,000 tons of radioactive water into the ocean to make room at a storage site for more highly contaminated water.
http://www.katv.com/Global/story.asp?S=14376651

Japan's government on Monday told the operator of the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant to move quickly to stop radiation seeping into the ocean as desperate engineers resorted to bath salts to help trace a leak from one reactor.
http://www.emirates247.com/news/wor...adiation-tries-bath-salts-2011-04-04-1.376891

April 4 (Bloomberg) -- Tokyo Electric Power Co. plans to build an undersea silt barrier stop the leak of radioactive fluids from its crippled nuclear station after attempts to block the flow of contaminated water from a reactor failed.

"A silt fence ensures that mud down deep doesn't seep through," Hidehiko Nishiyama, Japan's spokesman on nuclear safety, said in Tokyo. The barrier may take "several days" to install and will "ensure that water doesn't leak from the area in front of the No. 2 reactor's intake duct and the conduit."

Japanese officials are trying new ways to plug the leak and met Jeffrey Immelt, chief executive officer of General Electric Co., to discuss technical support to contain the crisis at reactors based on the U.S. company's design. The leak itself may not pose a severe threat, said Kathryn Higley, professor of nuclear engineering and radiation health physics at Oregon State University.

"You're likely to have a footprint in the soil and the sands and sediments as that material leaks out, but the impact is likely to be pretty minimal," Higley said yesterday in a telephone interview. "Even if it does get out into that marine environment, that area around there has been pretty badly torn up, so there's not a lot of life to be impacting."



Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/artic...-5nfkohb5crmjpjcu5gc16fs0hu.DTL#ixzz1IYebALHY

 

[not_my_kids]

My second link above...does that make any sense to anyone, or does it sound like they expect this to get worse? Think about it, they are dumping upwards of ten thousand tons of irradiated water back into the ocean, so that they can have somewhere to store the irradiated water from the next round of cooling. Is this round of water the lesser of two evils, with levels expected to rise in the next round of cooling water?

Either way, not the best plan or reasoning that I have ever heard...

 

[Peliman]

My second link above...does that make any sense to anyone, or does it sound like they expect this to get worse? Think about it, they are dumping upwards of ten thousand tons of irradiated water back into the ocean, so that they can have somewhere to store the irradiated water from the next round of cooling. Is this round of water the lesser of two evils, with levels expected to rise in the next round of cooling water?

Either way, not the best plan or reasoning that I have ever heard...

I've seen it explained as unavoidable.

 

[essies]

Government Under Fire as Radiation Is Found in Milk, Rain
Federal officials have still not published any official data on nuclear fallout from Japan disaster
John Upton on April 2, 2011
snip-
Radiation from Japan rained on Berkeley during recent storms at levels that exceeded drinking water standards by 181 times and has been detected in multiple milk samples, but the U.S. government has still not published any official data on nuclear fallout here from the Fukushima disaster
“The official mantra from a lot of folks in government is, ‘Oh, it’s OK in low levels,’” said Patty Lovera, a Washington-based assistant director at the nonprofit Food and Water Watch.


“But low levels add up. We would like to see a more coherent strategy for monitoring air and water in agricultural areas and then using that data to come up with a plan, if you need one, to go look at the food system.”

Radiation falling with rain can cover grass that is eaten by cows and other animals. It can also fall on food crops or accumulate in reservoirs that are used for irrigation or drinking water. Seafood can also be affected.

more at link-
http://www.baycitizen.org/japan-disaster/story/government-under-fire-radiation-milk/1/

 

[Peliman]

If that's the concrete pumper, I can see why one is having little effect. Actually no matter what that is, I can see why it's having little effect. It seems like they are trying to hunt elephants with a flyswatter.

For the scientists that support trying to bring back the cooling functions...have they seen the reactor housings? Are they aware that the maintenance pit that is cracked and now leaking radioactive material back out is in a position where (I think) it would have to be fixed in order to do anything to the electrical for #2?d that so far, attempts to fix that crack with the equivalent of diapers and paper mache have been unsuccessful?

My guess is they have not seen the housings, they are supposedly encased in concrete. What I don't know is if any of the explosions that occurred damaged the concrete surrounding the housings.

I'm unclear concerning the repair of the crack and electrial on #2 because I've seen a report stating something like "where the electric lines converge."
Great catch too

 

[Daisyjane]

Dumping 'lower level' radioactive water into the Pacific - right now. But remember a few days ago we read/discussed how they were increasing the allowable limits of radiation in milk and food? How long until they start allowing higher levels of radiation in the water they dump into the sea?

 

[Daisyjane]

Will this finally give us some real answers as to what to expect?

http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2011/04/83065.html

TOKYO, April 4, Kyodo

The government has ordered the Japan Meteorological Agency to promptly disclose its data on the projected spread of radioactive materials from the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station, the government's top spokesman said Monday. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said in a news conference that he had told the agency that it ''should have made the data public'' along with an adequate explanation. According to Edano, the agency did not disclose the information because it was part of reference materials compiled in response to a request from the International Atomic Energy Agency, and it feared that releasing the data could cause misunderstanding about the spread of radiation.

The agency conducted a simulation assuming the release of a certain level of radioactive materials from the Fukushima plant to gauge how the materials would spread based on weather conditions in the vicinity of the plant, Edano said. The projection showed the potential spread of radioactive materials per 100 square kilometers, the chief Cabinet secretary said, adding that the IAEA had asked the agency for the projection so that the U.N. nuclear watchdog could gauge the possible global impact.