Japan: 9.0 Earthquake-Tsunami-Nuclear Reactor Developments #1

[Melanie]

I just read that those nuke plants were built to withstand a 7.9 quake. This 8.9 quake is a whole other animal. Now there are reports of rising radiation levels around two additional nuke plants named Mekawa and Onagawa. My question is this: why did they build a nuke plant there at all, if they knew the area was THAT prone to large quakes?

Here's an interesting site where you can monitor radiation levels at various locations in the US.

http://www.radiationnetwork.com/RadiationNetwork.htm

Since last night, Calif has gone from 15 to 31. But dollars to donuts, that site will go down the second anything out of the ordinary begins to show up.

Just woke up and checking you fine posters, as I'm afraid to go to the general "panic mode" main stream media.

Can you tell me what this means: Since last night, Calif has gone from 15 to 31.

Is that earthquakes? Seems minor if so (we usually have dozens within a 24 hour period).

West Coaster here -

Thanks so much!

Mel

 

[tehcloser]

Just got a CNN alert:

-- U.N. agency: State of emergency at nuclear power plant in Onagawa, Japan, where excessive radiation levels reported.

So much for quiet.

 

[katydid23]

So much for quiet.

Teh, whatever you do, don't take a nap. :noooo:

 

[Daisyjane]

Just woke up and checking you fine posters, as I'm afraid to go to the general "panic mode" main stream media.

Can you tell me what this means: Since last night, Calif has gone from 15 to 31.

Is that earthquakes? Seems minor if so (we usually have dozens within a 24 hour period).

West Coaster here -

Thanks so much!

Mel

my comment referred to the levels shown on that radiation link I posted.

http://www.radiationnetwork.com/RadiationNetwork.htm

 

[Melanie]

my comment referred to the levels shown on that radiation link I posted.

http://www.radiationnetwork.com/RadiationNetwork.htm

Thank you, DJ. I see it's gone down a couple of points. I'm really suprised at the number of nook stations we have in the US -- I always paid attention to California, but not the other states - egads!

Good Morning -- :seeya:

Mel

eta: nope, back up again to 32. Interesting -- wonder if its windy, or just fluctuates...

 

[tehcloser]

Japan's nuclear crisis was growing today amid the threat of multiple meltdowns, as more than 170,000 people were evacuated from the quake- and tsunami-savaged northeastern coast where police fear more than 10,000 people may have already died.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...sion-zone-facility-widened.html#ixzz1GUcL0rEN

 

[Sonya610]

As far as the American Media focusing on scare tactics instead of the victims; you can be sure the victims in Japan (at least those that have power and access to the news) couldn't care less what the America MSM is saying. They are focused on their own people and their own crisis.

If this had happened in many parts of the US another "crisis" would be added to the list as pillaging and random violence would likely start immediately. When a small scale disaster (tornados) hit a local community here the looting began before the victims had crawled out of the rubble. In Japan's hard hit areas many stores are simply "closed" and even though people may not have food or water they wouldn't dream of looting and vandalizing the businesses in their community.

The world should be in awe of the Japanese, so calm and civilized even when faced with utter disaster.

 

[tehcloser]

I'm just not seeing that our MSM is going into panic mode, I see the opposite, which actually worries me more than the normal panic mode. lol.

 

[Daisyjane]

I'm watching msnbc news, and an earthquake specialist is saying we've not yet seen the larger aftershocks. Friday's quake has now been upgraded to 9.0, and they say we can expect one aftershock of 8.0 and five aftershocks of 7.0, all carrying the potential to trigger tsunamis. And methinks aftershocks of that magnitude will impact the unstable nuke plants, too.

 

[tehcloser]

Amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A 65-year-old man has been found on the roof of his floating house nearly 10 miles out at sea, two days after the tsunami that devastated the north-east coast of Japan.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/13/japan-tsunami-survivor-shinkawa-rescued-fukushima

 

[Trident]

As far as the American Media focusing on scare tactics instead of the victims; you can be sure the victims in Japan (at least those that have power and access to the news) couldn't care less what the America MSM is saying. They are focused on their own people and their own crisis.

If this had happened in many parts of the US another "crisis" would be added to the list as pillaging and random violence would likely start immediately. When a small scale disaster (tornados) hit a local community here the looting began before the victims had crawled out of the rubble. In Japan's hard hit areas many stores are simply "closed" and even though people may not have food or water they wouldn't dream of looting and vandalizing the businesses in their community.

The world should be in awe of the Japanese, so calm and civilized even when faced with utter disaster.

You need to remember we have more "cultural diversity" here than they do in Japan. I believe Japan stays true to the Japanese way of life.

 

[Daisyjane]

Amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A 65-year-old man has been found on the roof of his floating house nearly 10 miles out at sea, two days after the tsunami that devastated the north-east coast of Japan.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/13/japan-tsunami-survivor-shinkawa-rescued-fukushima

Hopefully we will be seeing more of these rescue and miracle stories unfolding in the next days. A breath of fresh air amid all the gloom and doom.

 

[wfgodot]

3.36pm: According to Associated Press, Japan's weather agency says a volcano in southern Japan has resumed eruptions of ash. The Meteorological Agency issued a warning saying that Shinmoedake volcano had resumed shooting out gas, boulders and ash after a couple weeks of inactivity. The mountain is on the other side of Japan from the epicenter of Friday's magnitude 8.9 earthquake and resulting tsunami, which devastated much of the country's northeast coast. It was unclear if the eruptions were linked to quake.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2011/mar/13/japan-earthquake-and-tsunami-japan

 

[not_my_kids]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2011/mar/13/japan-earthquake-and-tsunami-japan

Really, like they haven't had enough already? Let's just throw some volcanoes in the mix too. And on the other side of the country, when rescue resources are already stretched so thin they are transparent...beautiful.

Nature, we get it, you're pissed.

 

[peeples]

Finally awake... did i miss anything.. any updates???

 

[i.b.nora]

Here's an interesting site where you can monitor radiation levels at various locations in the US.

http://www.radiationnetwork.com/RadiationNetwork.htm

Since last night, Calif has gone from 15 to 31. But dollars to donuts, that site will go down the second anything out of the ordinary begins to show up.

Regarding that "interesting site'. It's a website for selling geiger counters, and radiation network software.

The radiation map is virtually meaningless in the context or lack of context within which it is being shown. IMO.

 

[belimom]

Thank you, DJ. I see it's gone down a couple of points. I'm really suprised at the number of nook stations we have in the US -- I always paid attention to California, but not the other states - egads!

Good Morning -- :seeya:

Mel

eta: nope, back up again to 32. Interesting -- wonder if its windy, or just fluctuates...

Scary, isn't it? I grew up close to two sites - a nuclear energy plant and a nuclear bomb plant - and lived in fear as a child that something would go wrong at one of them. Little did I know at the time, but the ground around the Savannah River Plant had high levels of radiation. I've heard there is radiation in the Savannah River where we went waterskiing. Even after SRP was shut down, high levels of nuclear waste were abundant. It eventually became an EPA Superfund Site. It is now a research facility and there are plans to reopen it as a plutonium oxide facility soon.

As for the energy plant, it is much newer (1987 vs 1954) and I don't believe it has the same issues with the bomb plant. However, they are almost directly across the river from each other, with one in GA and one in SC, so it would be difficult to tell who is leaking radiation. I do know that water discharged from the cooling towers at the energy plant (Vogtle) is sometimes very hot: I remember as a teen skiing past the plant and having the water that was spraying on my legs be hot enough to make my legs red. I hung on for dear life, as I did not want to fall until we were upstream.

As you can tell, I am not one who thinks that nuclear fuel - or anything nuclear - is clean. That's not a discussion for this thread but I hope this awful situation in Japan at least helps get safety measures put in place here in the U.S.

 

[Sonya610]

Really, like they haven't had enough already? Let's just throw some volcanoes in the mix too.

Apparently that has been an active volcano for some time, it has only been a couple of weeks since the last activity. Most likely the people in that area are able to handle it, it won't turn into another Pompeii.

 

[peeples]

Found this...
I have NOT read it all and it's long....
http://morgsatlarge.wordpress.com/2011/03/13/why-i-am-not-worried-about-japans-nuclear-reactors/

At the bottom of the article it lists these as good sites to be informed from..

* http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/RS_Battle_to_stabilise_earthquake_reactors_1203111.html
* http://bravenewclimate.com/2011/03/12/japan-nuclear-earthquake/
* http://ansnuclearcafe.org/2011/03/11/media-updates-on-nuclear-power-stations-in-japan/

 

[tehcloser]

The 1,421-metre (4,689-feet) Shinmoedake volcano in the Kirishima range saw its first major eruption for 52 years in January. There had not been any major activity at the site since March 1.

http://www.timeslive.co.za/world/article965229.ece/Japanese-volcano-erupts