Japan: Earthquake, Tsunami + Nuclear Disasters

[Barbmac]

It is unclear why the workers weren’t equipped with footwear that could protect them from 15 cm of water. Judging from the photos from the power plant, it would appear that a lot of workers are just wearing normal shoes as part of their radiation suits. There also seems to be some folks with plastic bags duct-taped over their shoes.

Those poor, intrepid and brave souls - one has to wonder what their futures hold.

Dr. Edwin Lyman, a Senior Scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists’ (UCS) Global Security Program has suggested levels of radioactive fallout — particularly cesium-137 — from Fukushima may be nearing Chernobyl levels. In his comments, Lyman also noted that he believed the “danger that the workers are facing†at the power plant itself “are greater than TEPCO suggests†and suggested, as have others recently, that it’s possible the area around the plant could become uninhabitable for decades.

It's the caesium-137 that's the real worry rather than iodine-131. The latter has a half life of around 8 days and so it's going to reach safe levels quite rapidly compared to caesium-137 with a half life of around 30 years!

[Snowangel-MK]

It's the caesium-137 that's the real worry rather than iodine-131. The latter has a half life of around 8 days and so it's going to reach safe levels quite rapidly compared to caesium-137 with a half life of around 30 years!

Yes, and the plutonium !

IODINE 131 - Half-life: 8 days

The thyroid slurps up iodine, including the radioactive kind which immediately kills and mutates cells and can cause thyriod cancer.

CESUIM 137 - Half-life: 30 years

Radioactive cesium easily enters the food chain through milk and vegetables, if inhaled or ingested it acts like potassium but continues to emit radiation inside the body, it can iincrease the risk of many forms of cancer.

PLUTONIUM 239 - Half-life: 24,000 years

Plutonium is very toxic and dangerous if inhaled because lungs are particularly sensitive to radiation.

Half-life: The time it takes a substance to lose half its radioactivity

[Coast]

Still no resolution to the nuclear problems or even much progress judging by the media reports. Would one huge Chernobyl style bang have been less devastating than the continual leaks that are coming up day after day?

Japan's nuclear safety agency worried about reactor breach

* Radiation increases, bad news piles up from site

* PM Kan lambasted in parliament over disaster

* Plant operator seeks help from French companies

Plutonium found in soil at the Fukushima nuclear complex heightened alarm on Tuesday over Japan's battle to contain the world's worst atomic crisis in 25 years, as pressure mounted on the prime minister to widen an evacuation zone around the plant. Some opposition lawmakers blasted Naoto Kan in parliament for his handling of the disaster and for not widening the exclusion zone. Kan said he was seeking advice on such a step, which would force 130,000 people to move in addition to 70,000 already displaced. Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co said plutonium was found at low-risk levels in five places at the facility, which was crippled by a massive earthquake and tsunami on March 11. A by-product of atomic reactions and also used in nuclear bombs, plutonium is highly carcinogenic and one of the most dangerous substances on the planet, experts say.

They believe some of the plutonium may have come from spent fuel rods at Fukushima or damage to reactor No. 3, the only one to use plutonium in its fuel mix. Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said while the plutonium levels were not harmful to human health, the discovery could mean the reactor's containment mechanism had been breached. "Plutonium is a substance that's emitted when the temperature is high, and it's also heavy and so does not leak out easily," agency deputy director Hidehiko Nishiyama told a news conference. "So if plutonium has emerged from the reactor, that tells us something about the damage to the fuel. And if it has breached the original containment system, it underlines the gravity and seriousness of this accident." Sakae Muto, a Tokyo Electric vice-president, said the traces of plutonium-238, 239 and 240 were in keeping with levels found in Japan in the past due to particles in the atmosphere from nuclear testing abroad.

"I apologise for making people worried," Muto said

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/29/japan-idUSL3E7ET0PZ20110329

[NorthNorfolkWeather]

Still no resolution to the nuclear problems or even much progress judging by the media reports. Would one huge Chernobyl style bang have been less devastating than the continual leaks that are coming up day after day?

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/29/japan-idUSL3E7ET0PZ20110329

What is worrying me is the way that TEPCO can't bring everything under control, with talk of the Japanese government thinking of extending the evacuation zone, it tells me that there are still some huge problems there and we are weeks away from a resolution, and that's in one of the worlds most advanced countries.

You have to feel for the people that are suffering this

[Coast]

What is worrying me is the way that TEPCO can't bring everything under control, with talk of the Japanese government thinking of extending the evacuation zone,

I heard this morning that the US Government were advising the Japanese to take the zone to 80km and that many families may never be able to return in their lifetime.

Reminds me very much of the haunting pictures of a deserted Pripyat:

http://pripyat.com/en/photo_gallery/pripyat/

[Beverley Lass]

What is worrying me is the way that TEPCO can't bring everything under control, with talk of the Japanese government thinking of extending the evacuation zone, it tells me that there are still some huge problems there and we are weeks away from a resolution, and that's in one of the worlds most advanced countries.

You have to feel for the people that are suffering this

I also feel very very sad for the poor animals left behind in

the evacuated zone. Horrible.

BL

[Coast]

TOKYO — Japan's leader insisted Tuesday that the country was on "maximum alert" to bring its nuclear crisis under control, but the spread of radiation raised concerns about the ability of experts to stabilize the crippled reactor complex.

Wan but resolute, Prime Minister Naoto Kan told parliament that Japan was grappling with its worst problems since World War II.

"This quake, tsunami and the nuclear accident are the biggest crises for Japan" in decades, Kan said, dressed in one of the blue work jackets that have become ubiquitous among bureaucrats since the tsunami. He said the crises remained unpredictable, but added: "From now on, we will continue to handle it in a state of maximum alert."

http://calgary.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20110329/japan-fukushima-nuclear-containment-effort-110329/20110329/?hub=CalgaryHome

I'm not quite sure what they mean by maximum alert? There is nothing more than maximum, so has this crises peaked or can it possibly get worse?

Not yet a particular worry, but this demonstrates how things travel around the World:

Low levels of radioactive iodine believed to be from the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan have been detected in air samples in Glasgow. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) said the concentration of iodine found was "extremely low" and "not of concern for the public".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-12892383

The amount of plutonium detected at the quake-stricken plant in Japan is similar to that which would occur at a location far from an atmospheric nuclear test but is not harmful to people, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said on Tuesday.

In the latest blow to hopes that authorities were gradually getting the Fukushima Daiichi plant under control, plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co said plutonium had been found at low-risk levels in soil samples at the facility.

"It (the amount of plutonium discovered) was the same level as normally found in the atmosphere as radioactive fallout after an atmospheric nuclear test, but a test done far away that would not directly affect someone," Hidehiko Nishiyama, deputy director-general of the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, said at a news conference.

The detection of plutonium at the site was further evidence that fuel rods in at least one of the six reactors may have melted down considerably before they were cooled, and that there is damage to the structures containing the nuclear core.

Only trace amounts of the toxic substance have been detected. The level of up to 0.54 becquerals per kg of soil is not considered harmful.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/29/japan-plutonium-idUSTKB00740320110329

[Snowangel-MK]

The three workers who stood in radioactive water at the Fukushima Daiichi plant for two hours without adequate protective clothing, have been given a clean bill of health. The workers were installing power cables at the No.3 reactor when they were unknowingly exposed to radiation levels of 3,000 millisieverts through water that was higher than the boots they were wearing.

The National Institute of Radiological Sciences in Chiba Prefecture released the men on Monday, saying they hadn't needed the treatment for burns that had been expected, and that their internal organs had suffered minimal exposure. The men will be monitored again at the medical facility in a few days time.“It appears in this case they had some minor burns like one can get sunburn from the sun’s radiation,†says Professor Barish.

[Snowangel-MK]

TEPCO has no choice but to keep pouring water into reactors at the Fukushima nuclear plant to limit a huge meltdown despite fears it could cause highly radioactive leaks. A consequence of this emergency measure is that radioactive water has been found in the basement of all four reactors' turbine buildings and in underground tunnels linked to them.

This is a difficult situation - pumping in water to keep the fuel rods cool and then pumping out and safely storing the contaminated water. The build-up of radioactive water first became a problem last week, when it splashed over the boots of two workers, burning them and prompting a temporary suspension of work. Then earlier yesterday officials said that workers had found more radioactive water in deep trenches used for pipes and electrical wiring outside three units. Their worries were further compacted by the discovery of a pool of radioactive water outside the Fukushima facility. Exactly where the water is coming from remains unclear, though many suspect it is cooling water that has leaked from one of the disabled reactors.

Officials believe the contaminated water has sent radioactivity levels soaring at the coastal complex and caused more radiation to seep into soil and seawater. Run-off has accumulated during the operation in the basements of the turbine rooms connected to three reactors, and filled up their adjacent tunnel systems that stop roughly 60 metres (180 feet) short of the Pacific Ocean shore. The water out of reactor two has measured 1,000 millisieverts per hour - four times the recently-hiked total exposure limit for emergency staff, and a level that can cause radiation sickness with nausea and vomiting in an hour.

The immediate challenge is to safely dispose of the massive amounts of contaminated water - the tunnel near reactor two alone holds 6,000 cubic metres (212,000 cubic feet), more than two Olympic swimming pools.

All of this water has to be removed so that engineers can repair equipment and get systems fully up and running. Extracting it, however, has been hampered because some of the tanks into which it would be fed are themselves full.Eventually the water will be cleaned. "The water can be put through an ion exchange system to take out radionuclides like caesium. That is relatively easily done; the technology is available to do that," explained Laurence Williams, another British professor of nuclear safety, at the John Tyndall Institute. "The caesium is removed and put in a shielded container and sent to a repository.

Edited March 29, 2011 by MKsnowangel

[Gorky]

Here's a damage survey of some buildings in Onagawa. 3 story Reinforced concrete structure dragged across a parking lot with gouge marks from the pilings, then just flipped onto it's side.

And another video showing a drive through town. The height at which damage is evident is shocking.

Not seen any videos of the tsunami itself from this town, and I can guess why given the damage :/ The surge value was 15m in the harbour. Add to that wave action and runup up the hill and it's easily 20m+ high damage path through the town

[The PIT]

I wonder what all the "It's all under control" people are thinking now.

I suspect that real level of radiation leakage is still being down played so expect further announcements in the coming weeks. A major incident which again trying to cover it up is failing.

[johnholmes]

Not seen any videos of the tsunami itself from this town, and I can guess why given the damage :/ The surge value was 15m in the harbour. Add to that wave action and runup up the hill and it's easily 20m+ high damage path through the town

as you say the height to which the damage, almost total devastation really,at some considerable height above sea level is hard to comprehend. Have you any idea what the height on top of the first hill is?

Edited March 30, 2011 by johnholmes

[Gorky]

as you say the height to which the damage, almost total devastation really,at some considerable height above sea level is hard to comprehend. Have you any idea what the height on top of the first hill is?

I don't read Japanese but I presume the text which appears is saying 20 metres above sea level, which would tally with the terrain imagery for that area on Google Maps. I imagine most of the concrete buildings which still standing in the video were almost completely submerged

[johnholmes]

I don't read Japanese but I presume the text which appears is saying 20 metres above sea level, which would tally with the terrain imagery for that area on Google Maps. I imagine most of the concrete buildings which still standing in the video were almost completely submerged

thanks-pretty amazing to think of that level of devastation somewhere over 60 feet above sea level

[The PIT]

The bbc headline about this http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12903725 is rather nonesensical. They haven't much choice but to scrap them as they've effectively been decommisioned by events.

[Snowangel-MK]

The bbc headline about this http://www.bbc.co.uk...acific-12903725 is rather nonesensical. They haven't much choice but to scrap them as they've effectively been decommisioned by events.

At this stage, the announcement by Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) that it will decommission four hobbled nuclear reactors at Fukushima, Japan, is little more than a formality.

Their fates were more or less sealed when the company took a decision - a few days into the crisis - to pump seawater into the reactor vessels as a measure to cool them down.

The salt water is extremely corrosive to the materials used inside - even without core damage, the vessels would have been written off.

Water clear-up 'urgent' at reactor

If engineers cannot identify the precise source of the contaminated water and seal it off, they will have to build a steel or concrete "surrounder" to catch it. The water would then be piped away to another site for immobilisation.

Long-term outlook

In the longer term, the nuclear fuel will have to be transported away from the reactor sites and to dry stores elsewhere.

Some of the nuclear fuel at the Fukushima plant will be intact, but some could be damaged, and this will need to be treated in a different way to the rest.

After the fuel is taken away, workers will need to embark on the process of decontaminating the reactor vessels and the containment facilities.

http-~~-//www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12908313

[HighPressure]

"Professor Laurence Williams, from the University of Central Lancashire, said contaminated water could also be passed through an ion exchange resin, which would reduce the radioactivity levels of the water."

That's interesting as having run a large Ion exchange plant the process itself most commonly used in water softening, merely transfers the containment to the resin. A resin filter only lasts for x amount of water until its efficiently drops and it passes the contaminants straight through. At that stage you have to either chuck the stuff away which would be highly concentrated with radioactive material or carry out a regeneration regime which normally involves a process of back washing but this produces effluent which has to be disposed of?

Edited March 31, 2011 by HighPressure

[Snowangel-MK]

International Atomic Energy Agency Briefing on Fukushima Nuclear Accident,

31 March 2011 (14:00 UTC)

Summary of Reactor Status,

Current Situation

Overall at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, the situation remains very serious.

The Unit 1 condenser is full. Pumping water from the Unit-1 turbine building basement to the Unit-1 condenser has been stopped as of 22:30 UTC on 28 March. For Units 2 and 3, in order to prepare for removal of the water from the turbine building basement, pumping of water from the condenser to the suppression pool water surge tank started at 07:45 UTC 29 March and 08:40 UTC March 28 respectively.

For Unit 1 fresh water has been continuously injected into the Reactor Pressure Vessel (RPV) through the feed-water line at an indicated flow rate of 8 m3/h using a temporary electric pump with diesel backup. In Unit 2 fresh water is injected continuously through the fire extinguisher line at an indicated rate of 8 m3/h using a temporary electric pump with diesel backup. In Unit 3 fresh water is being injected continuously at about 7 m3/h into the reactor core through the fire extinguisher line using a temporary electric pump with diesel backup.

The indicated temperature at the feed water nozzle of the RPV on Unit 1 has decreased from 281 °C to 251 °C and at the bottom of RPV decreased from 134 °C to 128 °C. There appears to be a corresponding decrease in RPV pressure with a slight decrease in Drywell pressure. The indicated temperature at the feed water nozzle of the RPV of Unit 2 has increased from 177 °C to 181 °C. The temperature at the bottom of RPV was not reported. Indicated Drywell pressure remains at atmospheric pressure. The indicated temperature at the feed water nozzle of the RPV in Unit 3 is about 89 °C and at the bottom of RPV is about 114 °C. The validity of the RPV temperature measurement at the feed water nozzle is still under investigation.

No further information is available regarding the plan to commence the pumping of water into the Unit 1 Spent Fuel Pool by concrete pumping truck from 29 March. On Unit 2 the temporary electric pump supplying water to the spent fuel pool experienced a malfunction. Spent fuel pool water supply was changed to a fire truck pump but a crack was discovered in a hose on 30 March 04:10 UTC. Pumping water to the spent fuel pool was therefore stopped. Pumping was subsequently restored and water was fed into spent fuel pool in Unit 2 from 10:05 UTC on March 30. Water injection into the spent fuel pool in Unit 4 by concrete pump was completed at 09:33 UTC on March 30.

Units 5 and 6 remain in cold shutdown.

[Coast]

Want to see inside one of the reactor buildings?

[picog]

Want to see inside one of the reactor buildings?

The damage seen close up is phenomenal. It looks like we will cleaning it up for years.

Maybe the govt (here and overseas) should consider using the "nuclear money" to install a solar panel/hot water/ wind turbine system for every household in the UK?

[Snowangel-MK]

Radioactive water is leaking into the sea from a 30-centimetre (12-inch) crack in a containment pit at Japan's quake-hit Fukushima nuclear plant, its operator Tepco has said.

The crack under reactor 2 may be the source of recent radiation in coastal waters, Tepco officials said.

Hidehiko Nishiyama, deputy director-general of the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, told a separate news conference that Tepco was planning to pour concrete into the pit to seal the crack.

[Beverley Lass]

The damage seen close up is phenomenal. It looks like we will cleaning it up for years.

Online Mail

Indeed, according to this article "100 years" to make the fuel rods safe.

More pics here too of the massive damage to the reactors and of the

world's biggest concrete pump being sent over from the US to help

seal the leakage.

BL

[Snowangel-MK]

Finally a happy tale (tail) from Japan..... Coastguards have rescued a dog from the top of a house washed out to sea by the tsunami three weeks ago !

http-~~-//www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12944317

Edited April 2, 2011 by MKsnowangel

[The PIT]

Finally a happy tale (tail) from Japan..... Coastguards have rescued a dog from the top of a house washed out to sea by the tsunami three weeks ago !

http-~~-//www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12944317

I guess he had a wuff time...

[NorthNorfolkWeather]

I guess he had a wuff time...

With comments like that, you'll be stranded on a roof soon.....