Japan: 9.0 Earthquake-Tsunami-Nuclear Reactor Developments #3

[nursebeeme]

Small amounts of radioactive isotopes from the crippled Japanese nuclear power plant are being blown toward North America high in the atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean and will reach California as soon as Friday, according to experts.

A network of sensors in the U.S. and around the world is watching for the first signs of that fallout, though experts said they were confident that the amount of radiation would be well within safe limits.

http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-japan-nuclear-usa-20110317,0,1431467.story

 

[wfgodot]

2.15pm (11.15pm JST): The head of the global nuclear watchdog, the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency, plans to visit the Fukushima plant to see for himself what is going on. "The situation continues to be very serious. We wish to go to the site, but we will discuss it upon our arrival," said Yukiya Amano, a Japanese national and former diplomat. He was leaving Vienna en route for Tokyo with a small group of nuclear experts.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2011/mar/17/japan-nuclear-crisis-tsunami-aftermath

 

[ScorpRising]

http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/03/17/japan.nuclear.reactors/index.html?hpt=T1#


The IAEA said the water temperature in spent fuel pools is typically kept below 25 degrees Celsius (77 degrees Fahrenheit). That requires a constant cooling source, which requires a constant power source -- both unavailable at the damaged plant.

"The concern about the spent fuel pools at Fukushima Daiichi is that sources of power to cool the pools may have been compromised," the agency, whose chief Yukiya Amano is heading to Japan, said.

On Tuesday, temperatures at the the fuel pools in Unit 4, 5 and 6 all registered far above the recommended levels: 84 degrees Celsius; 60.4 degrees Celsius and 58.5 degrees Celsius respectively, the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency said.

By the following day, it was reporting "no data" for Unit 4 and worrying trends for the other two:

Unit 5 had risen to 62.7 degrees Celsius and Unit 6 to 60 degrees Celsius.

OK... the boiling point of water is 100 C. So, can we conclude that the water in the SNF ponds are not boiling away? If so, that means there's a crack in the pool and dumping water into it is a futile effort as it will continue to run out?

 

[peeples]

Good morning all..

I woke up to CNN saying that americans are being evacuated from Japan and when asked about military families it was stated.. the military is taking care of them but that the chartered planes taking americans out are open to taking military families as well...


Anything else important happen???

 

[Quiche]

Radiation level rises after water dropped at troubled reactor

Quote: The radiation level rose at the troubled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant Thursday after the Self-Defense Forces' helicopters dropped water at its crisis-hit No. 3 reactor, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said.

The level around the plant's administration building rose to 4,000 microsievert per hour at 1:30 p.m. from 3,700 in the morning.

http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2011/03/79033.html


(Those numbers are crazy/deadly high!)

 

[nursebeeme]

UN predicts nuclear plume could hit U.S. by FRIDAY as Obama finally falls in line with the rest of the world and starts evacuating American citizens from Japan

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...uclear-plume-hit-US-Friday.html#ixzz1GrpRyUhl

................

 

[nursebeeme]

The head of the global nuclear watchdog, the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency, plans to visit the Fukushima plant to see for himself what is going on. "The situation continues to be very serious. We wish to go to the site, but we will discuss it upon our arrival," said Yukiya Amano, a Japanese national and former diplomat. He was leaving Vienna en route for Tokyo with a small group of nuclear experts.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2011/mar/17/japan-nuclear-crisis-tsunami-aftermath

 

[Quiche]

http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-japan-nuclear-usa-20110317,0,1431467.story

From Nurse's link: The NRC released computerized projections showing that within half a mile of the plant, radiation levels were so high that one could receive a fatal dose, and that even 50 miles away one could receive more than 16 times the average annual dose all people are exposed to from natural sources.

 

[nursebeeme]

Scientists Project Path of Radiation Plume

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/17/science/17plume.html?_r=1

 

[complex]

I got this from a friend who knows firefighters in my local area in CA. Just thought I'd share....hopefully it's correct....but I'm not easily relieved i guess lol


This information was sent by the Fire Dept. as a courtesy update.

The County Health Dept. refers to Los Angeles County.


Yesterday the County Health Department convened a conference call for law enforcement, fire and EMS agencies to discuss the risk of local contamination by radiation from Japan. Here is a synopsis of what was said:

1. The likelihood of radiation from Japan reaching the US is extremely remote. There is no indication that prevailing winds will carry any airborne material from Japan to LA. The most likely route is over Alaska and north of Canada. The least likely route would take it only as far south as Oregon.

2. There are sensors being monitored in Hawaii, Alaska, Washington and Oregon. It takes 3 to 6 days to reach Alaska and twice that long to reach California IF the winds came this far south (very unlikely). There is plenty of time to react if sensors in Hawaii detect radiation.

3. The radiation being released now (2 REM/hour) in Japan is significantly lower than at its peak (40 REM/hour). We are normally exposed to about 10 microREM/hour from background radiation. The radiation will stay in Japan. Rains predicted for Japan will cause airborne radioactive particles to fall into the ocean.

4. Taking potassium iodide (KI) is not helpful to people in the US, because there is no radioactive iodine present. The radioactive isotopes of iodine and cesium that KI pills are intended to block are too heavy to travel this far. Other isotopes that could be carried further by the wind cannot be blocked with KI pills.

5. KI pills are only effective for 24 hours. Taking KI before radioactive iodine is present will not prevent internal contamination and may be harmful. Read the CDC information athttp://www.bt.cdc.gov/radiation/ki.asp.

6. If KI pills are needed, the public health officer will notify the public. Distant sensors will provide early detection, so there will be plenty of time to inform the public and distribute medications.

7. The best way to prevent ingestion of airborne contaminants is to stay indoors. N95 masks MAY be effective against airborne radioactive particles, but they are not approved by OSHA for that purpose.

8. Again, there is NO indication of any threat to the US from radiation released in Japan.

 

[Quiche]

Fukushima plant operator working to connect power cables

Quote: Initial reports said the work could be completed yesterday but Kyodo said work would continue into today.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/br...ect-power-cables/story-e6frf7jx-1226023623019

 

[nursebeeme]

http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/03/17/japan.nuclear.reactors/index.html?hpt=T1#


The IAEA said the water temperature in spent fuel pools is typically kept below 25 degrees Celsius (77 degrees Fahrenheit). That requires a constant cooling source, which requires a constant power source -- both unavailable at the damaged plant.

"The concern about the spent fuel pools at Fukushima Daiichi is that sources of power to cool the pools may have been compromised," the agency, whose chief Yukiya Amano is heading to Japan, said.

On Tuesday, temperatures at the the fuel pools in Unit 4, 5 and 6 all registered far above the recommended levels: 84 degrees Celsius; 60.4 degrees Celsius and 58.5 degrees Celsius respectively, the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency said.

By the following day, it was reporting "no data" for Unit 4 and worrying trends for the other two:

Unit 5 had risen to 62.7 degrees Celsius and Unit 6 to 60 degrees Celsius.

OK... the boiling point of water is 100 C. So, can we conclude that the water in the SNF ponds are not boiling away? If so, that means there's a crack in the pool and dumping water into it is a futile effort as it will continue to run out?

found this and snipped it from IAEA site on #4-6 temps! (((it took forever for the site to open)))

The IAEA can confirm the following information regarding the temperatures of the spent nuclear fuel pools at Units 4, 5 and 6 at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant:

Unit 4
14 March, 10:08 UTC: 84 ˚C
15 March, 10:00 UTC: 84 ˚C
16 March, 05:00 UTC: no data
Unit 5
14 March, 10:08 UTC: 59.7 ˚C
15 March, 10:00 UTC: 60.4 ˚C
16 March, 05:00 UTC: 62.7 ˚C
Unit 6
14 March, 10:08 UTC: 58.0 ˚C
15 March, 10:00 UTC: 58.5 ˚C
16 March, 05:00 UTC: 60.0 ˚C
The IAEA is continuing to seek further information about the water levels, temperature and condition of all spent fuel pool facilities at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

http://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/tsunamiupdate01.html

 

[wfgodot]

Japan nuclear reactor water-bombing has little effect

Good round-up of today's events from Guardian at link above

 

[Quiche]

Scientists Project Path of Radiation Plume

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/17/science/17plume.html?_r=1

The interactive map from this link is awesome: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/03/16/science/plume-graphic.html?ref=science

 

[nursebeeme]

:lamb::lamb::lamb:wonder why iaea offers the public no temp data on #1-3??????????????????????

 

[Quiche]

Weather for Tokyo today--

http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/hdfForecast?query=tokyo+japan

 

[tehcloser]

Interesting........I was googelin' around and you know how one thing leads to another, lol. I wound up on this site, and it seems it's going to be down for maintenance at a rather "convenient" time. That is "if" they are right about when the "plume" arrives.

Site Maintenance, March 19, 2011
The Army FRG site will be undergoing maintenance on Saturday, March 19 for 4 hours starting at 2100 PDT. During this time, the portal will be unavailable. We apologize for any inconvenience.

http://www.armyfrg.org/skins/frg/home.aspx?AllowSSL=true

Here is what the director says the site is for:


Army vFRG serves as the web site of choice for Army Families, providing accurate and up-to-date, unit-specific, articles and information on various topics.



Just sayin' it struck me as odd...........

 

[nursebeeme]

on high tech dispersal models and sharing the data with the public!!!

no words!!!!!!

The spokesman said that the Met Office is providing regular briefings to Cobra - the government's emergency committee - on the situation but he said the modelling would not be made public. When I asked why not he said that the lead agency - so-called Regional Specialised Meteorological Centre - was the Japan Meteorological Agency and that there would be a risk of putting out conflicting or contradictory information.

The Met Office's other involvement is to inform the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) of the situation. In this case, he said that the Met Office is acting as a conduit for information from the Japanese authorities on the basics of what has happened so far (for example location, time etc). The Met Office is not sharing its dispersion models with the ICAO.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2011/mar/17/japan-nuclear-crisis-tsunami-aftermath

(((insert sheeple smilie)))

 

[nursebeeme]

Interesting........I was googelin' around and you know how one thing leads to another, lol. I wound up on this site, and it seems it's going to be down for maintenance at a rather "convenient" time. That is "if" they are right about when the "plume" arrives.

Site Maintenance, March 19, 2011
The Army FRG site will be undergoing maintenance on Saturday, March 19 for 4 hours starting at 2100 PDT. During this time, the portal will be unavailable. We apologize for any inconvenience.

http://www.armyfrg.org/skins/frg/home.aspx?AllowSSL=true

Here is what the director says the site is for:


Army vFRG serves as the web site of choice for Army Families, providing accurate and up-to-date, unit-specific, articles and information on various topics.



Just sayin' it struck me as odd...........

FRG is "family readiness group" which is unit family support... ((I am currently an FRG leader and have been one in the past))

I think it is just site maintenance...

moo

 

[tk71texas]

watching the videos of people waiting to get out of town, holding suitcases and crying are just heartbreaking