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

[peeples]

earthquakes and Iowa...
Probably only of interest to me.. but i'll post it anyway

http://wcfcourier.com/news/local/article_5c03dbc5-b77c-5bc6-ad60-98579ec13758.html

 

[hockeymom]

"A military spokesman said forces didn't move in because they weren't requested by Tepco."

"Weren't requested by TEPCO" ???

Wouldn't it be their PM to request or order military intervention?

Who IS in charge over there?

I have obviously missed something important here...?

Sounds eerily similar to here. BP oil spill and even Katrina. Feds can't step in unless State requests it. There really shoulb be some policy that in ICE the head of the government steps in.

In regard to the crops containing radiation,the sad thing is that many of the people in the area are employed by the fishing and farm industry. I think this will effect the for years to come. That country was down economically already,this is really going to impact them.(probably us too)

 

[JBean]

How to Save California

After the disaster trifecta in Japan--quake, tsunami, nuclear crisis--Californians are asking if they might be next. The state's two reactors sit near seismic faults, tsunamis are a risk, and evacuation plans are iffy. Did someone say 'prepared'?

The San Onofre nuclear site in southern California.

Chad Ress for Newsweek
snip

But for regions vulnerable to quakes and tsunamis—especially if, like Japan, they hit the trifecta of having nuclear plants in the crosshairs of those natural disasters—there have been no scarier words than these: Japan is the most earthquake- and tsunami-prepared country on the planet.
This, we now know, is what “well prepared” looks like: total loss of power at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactor, which deprived the reactor core and spent-fuel pools of cooling water. Fires and explosions that released radioactivity. Sea walls built for a “worst case” tsunami swamped like a child’s sandcastle. No running water, electricity, or heat for thousands of the 700,000 refugees, who in some shelters lived on one and a half rice balls a day.



http://www.newsweek.com/2011/03/20/how-to-save-california.html

 

[not_my_kids]

Workers have managed to cool down the fuel storage pools of two of the six reactors at Japan's leaking nuclear plant.
The Tokyo Electric Power Company has declared Units 5 and 6 safe, after days of pumping salt water to cool them. The two units, however, were two of the least damaged of all the reactors.
One village of about 6,000 people near the power plant has been told not to drink the tap water because of higher levels of radioactive iodine. But the Japanese Health Ministry is insisting there's no health threat.

http://www.news1130.com/news/world/article/200142--two-nuclear-japanese-reactors-are-safe

Nope, you're all perfectly safe...but don't drink that, just in case.

 

[Nova]

We had those drills in school too. For us, it was for tornadoes. Not kidding, the exact same protective pose for bombing drills and for tornadoes...that's a bit disturbing in itself.

I grew up about 150 miles from Cuba, so in addition to the "duck and cover" drills, during the Missile Crisis we also had posters showing children taking cover in ditches to avoid the machine gun fire from enemy planes overhead.

I'm guessing the posters were left over from WWII, because I don't think the Cuban air force actually used Stuka or Messerschmidt planes.

(ETA another irony: as anyone who knows South Florida has seen, there's no such thing as a dry ditch down there. Any depression quickly fills with water, snakes, gators, etc. So if Fidel had actually attacked, I might have braved the bullets.)

 

[luckyducky]

Didn't see this posted - awesome news and maybe hope they can find more survivors.
Woman, grandson found under rubble in Japan. The voice rang out suddenly, unexpectedly, from the wreckage left behind by the monstrous earthquake and tsunami that ripped through the country's northeast nine days ago. "Please help! Please help!" http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42176977/ns/world_news-asiapacific/

 

[Quiche]

on page two of Progress at Japan Reactors; New Signs of Food Radiation

Quote: Spinach from a farm in Hitachi, about 45 miles from the plant, contained 27 times the amount of iodine that is generally considered safe, while cesium levels were about four times higher than what is deemed safe by Japan. Meanwhile, raw milk from a dairy farm in Iitate, about 18 miles from the plant, contained iodine levels that were 17 times higher than those considered safe.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/21/world/asia/21japan.html?pagewanted=2&src=me

 

[scandi]

Discussing the impact of leaking radiation to the United States, Mr. Chu said Americans were “in no danger” and that “it’s unlikely they will be exposed to danger.”

In Japan, however, radiation contamination appears to be spreading. The government said Sunday that it is barring all shipments of milk from Fukushima Prefecture and all shipments of spinach from Ibaraki Prefecture, after finding new cases of above-normal levels of radioactive elements in milk and several vegetables.

Higher-than-normal levels were detected in milk from 4 of 37 dairy farms in Fukushima, said Yoshifumi Kaji, the director of the food safety department’s inspection and safety division at Japan’s Health Ministry. Levels higher than deemed safe were also found in spinach grown in the neighboring Tsukuba Prefecture, as well as canola and chrysanthemum greens in two more prefectures.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/21/world/asia/21japan.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Um...not so comforted, really.

Hi NMK's, I was thinking about the farmers in the area of the tainted crops. Last night the news said if any higher levels are found they will stop growing crops in those areas. What about the farmers? Their livlihoods will be stripped from them. I wonder if they will be compensated by the Japanese gvnmt?

xox

 

[CarmelEyesD]

Duck and Cover video from the 50's

[video=youtube;IKqXu-5jw60]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKqXu-5jw60[/video]

 

[peeples]

OMG if i was a kid seeing that I'd be traumatized LOL

 

[CarmelEyesD]

I still don't like when small airplanes fly over my house-childhood carryover, i guess.

 

[Nova]

OMG if i was a kid seeing that I'd be traumatized LOL

And we didn't just watch educational films on the subject, as others have noted, we got to act it out in frequent "drills". It's a wonder we aren't all traumatized.

 

[hockeymom]

OMG if i was a kid seeing that I'd be traumatized LOL

When I was little and said my prayers,I would get done blessing everyone and the last thing I would say was"Dear God,please don't let there be a nuclear war". I'm sure I was in about kindergarten when that started. I've always feared it,probably because of those dumb drils. The horn was a different sound form the regular fire drill and it freaked me out.

 

[peeples]

My son is fine with fire drills and tornado drills, but when they threw in lock down drills he freaked out and has to be warned ahead of time they are going to happen and has to have someone with him 1 on1 or he freaks.. no way he'd have been able to handle duck and cover if it was portrayed like that!

 

[peeples]

More info on cat island!

http://consciouscat.net/2011/03/20/japans-cat-island-is-safe/

 

[not_my_kids]

What's horrible is that we are all sitting here talking about how horribly traumatized we were or would have been by the drills in school...I hope we aren't forgetting the hundreds or thousands of kids that were sitting in the schools in Japan for the 20 minutes of the sirens before they were hit with a 30 foot wall of water. And those that have heard those sirens most every day since, knowing that it isn't a drill and there isn't anywhere left to run. Dear God, it never ends for them.

 

[Allusonz]

I read this article yesterday, (can you believe I didn't post it? lol) it has a bit about vending machines and the power they use that I found interesting...

Japan still struggling to restore power to cool down reactors

Excerpt:
Nearly 1 million homes remained without electricity in the quake zone, and rolling blackouts have been taking place elsewhere. As the threat of blackouts has intensified, one activist called on Japan to unplug millions of vending machines that dispense everything from hot corn soup to bouquets of flowers.

Japan has 5.5 million vending machines, each using as much power as an average household, said Canadian speechwriter and publicist John Harris, who is based in Japan's Chiba prefecture. Add that up, and it requires as much power as the entire capacity of the troubled Fukushima nuclear plant at a time when Japanese are being asked to conserve electricity, he said.

The nearly 1 million machines operated by Coca-Cola, which because they use both refrigeration and heating are the "biggest power hogs," are still running even as train service is curtailed, he said.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-japan-quake-main-20110319,0,1131441.story

funny never truly thought of how much vending machines would use till this now, so much to learn and so little time tks Quiche!!

 

[Allusonz]

One of my sons lives in a very rural area of San Diego county. I sent him home with an earthquake backpack last night. I have handed him this same backpack no less than 5 or 6 times in the past and he always "forgets" it. Last night he took it without hesitation. LOL.
So, this press has been good for something because he should have these supplies anyway.

I am certainly heartened to hear this. I see my own children taking note this time. I as well am getting asked about various things we should stock up on from them so i suggested making a list.

 

[Allusonz]

"A military spokesman said forces didn't move in because they weren't requested by Tepco."

"Weren't requested by TEPCO" ???

Wouldn't it be their PM to request or order military intervention?

Who IS in charge over there?

I have obviously missed something important here...?

wow all i can say is wow!!!

 

[Quiche]

No gases to be released from No. 3 reactor

Quote: The Tokyo Electric Power Company has decided against releasing gases from the overheating No. 3 reactor...

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/20_23.html