APNews: Japan ups nuke crisis severity to match Chernobyl

[China]

Fukushima radiation levels hit 2-year high

 

Seawater just outside one of Japan’s damaged Fukushima Daiichi reactors registered radiation levels on Wednesday 13 times the previous day’s reading, the operator of the crippled nuclear plant said on Thursday.

 

Japan’s Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), said combined Cesium-134 and Cesium-137 readings just outside the damaged No. 2 reactor jumped to 1,200 becquerels per liter on Wednesday, the highest levels recorded since late 2011.

 

Regulatory limits for Cesium, which emits powerful gamma radiation and is potentially fatal to humans, is 90 bq/liter for Cesium-137 and 60 bq/liter for Cesium-134.

 

A TEPCO spokesman said the sudden spike in radiation was caused by construction work near the No. 2 building, Reuters reported.

 

News of the spike in radiation levels is the latest setback this week for TEPCO, which has been harshly criticized for its handling of the nuclear disaster in the wake of the massive quake and tsunami that hit the power station in March 2011, triggering three reactor meltdowns.

 

On Wednesday, six workers were exposed to radiation after a pipe connected to a contaminated water treatment system was mistakenly detached. Reuters estimates that at least 7 tons of water escaped the system.

 

Earlier, a worker accidentally switched off a water pump used to channel water into the reactor building.

 

Crews are using chemicals to fortify the soil around the Fukushima reactor buildings - hundreds of meters from the port entrance that connects to the Pacific Ocean - to prevent contaminated water from flowing into the ocean. The pressure from injecting chemicals into the ground forced contaminated soil out into the port area, the spokesman said.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[GoSkins0721]

^^Are the 3 Stooges the Managers for this? Good gawd what a complete cluster ****

[Destino]

I'm still wondering how its possible for a coastal nuclear power station to not have safeguarded the backup generators against the risk of flooding.

[China]

Fukushima operator blames storm for radioactive leaks

 

Tokyo (AFP) - Heavy rain at the Fukushima nuclear plant caused a leak of radioactive water containing a cancer-causing isotope, possibly into the sea, its operator said Monday, as a typhoon approaching Japan threatened further downpours.

 

The leak is the latest in a long line of setbacks at the site, and further undermines agreements between operator Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) and the government which limit the level of radioactive contamination in water that goes outside the plant.

 

TEPCO said a barrier intended to contain radioactive overflow was breached in one spot by water contaminated with strontium-90 at 70 times the legal limit for safe disposal.

 

Strontium-90 is produced during nuclear reactions. It accumulates in bones and remains potent for many years, and causes several types of cancer in humans.

 

The admission came as a team of experts from the UN's nuclear watchdog ended their review of Japan's progress in cleaning up the wider environment after the tsunami-sparked meltdowns of March 2011 created the worst atomic disaster in a generation.

 

TEPCO has poured thousands of tonnes of water onto badly-damaged reactors at Fukushima to keep them cool and prevent repeat meltdowns.

 

This huge volume of water must be stored in large tanks until it is cleaned of the radioactive substances it picks up in the cooling process.

 

Rain worsens the problem because as it hits polluted surfaces, it becomes contaminated, meaning TEPCO needs to scoop it all up for storage and treatment.

 

While the storage tanks all appeared to have survived the battering from heavy rain on Sunday, the concrete overflow barriers around them were not high enough to contain the rainwater runoff in several places.

 

Meteorologists say a typhoon that is likely to bring further heavy rain is churning its way slowly towards Japan. Forecasters expect it will hit later in the week.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Stadium-Armory]

So they're saying they aren't prepared for rain. At a nuclear facility. Rain.

[China]

Photos highlight the tragedy that befell livestock, pets after Fukushima

 

NAGOYA--Naoto Matsumura kept a visual record of the Fukushima nuclear disaster. But the images he snapped are not of neighbors and others who were forced from their homes.

 

His photos are of the livestock and pets that were left to fend for themselves after residents were ordered to evacuate as radiation spewed from nuclear reactors.

 

Tens of thousands of animals were left to their fate after areas were designated no-entry zones because of the crisis triggered by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

 

The 54-year-old is now showing his photos at a gallery here.

 

Matsumura lived in Tomioka, Fukushima Prefecture, and worked as a farmer and operator of a local construction company before the nuclear accident.

 

Immediately after the crisis unfolded, he evacuated to safety but returned to his home several days later to take care of domestic animals and pets that were left behind in his neighborhood.

 

His house is located only 12 kilometers from the stricken nuclear plant and was designated as part of the no-entry zone until March this year.

“When I (returned and) approached the animals, they mooed and meowed. (They were so happy to see me),” he said. “That’s why I stayed in my house.”

 

About 70 photos are on display. They include images of Matsumura feeding cats and ostriches, and skeletal cattle that starved to death.

Even now, he is taking care of 50 head of cattle, two ostriches, a pony and several dogs and cats. His house has electricity, but no gas and running water. He gets around that problem by using gas cartridges for cooking and taking water from a spring.

 

Matsumura said he had taken steps to stop the cats and dogs from breeding.

 

The no-entry zone was within a 20-kilometer radius of the nuclear plant. It is estimated that 3,400 head of cattle, 30,000 pigs and 35,000 dogs and cats were abandoned. A good number were killed and disposed of by the central and local governments. Others starved to death.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

Japan Hit By 7.3-Magnitude Earthquake Off Fukushima Prefecture Coast, Tsunami Advisory Issued

 

TOKYO -- TOKYO (AP) — An earthquake of magnitude 7.3 struck Saturday morning off Japan's east coast, near the crippled Fukushima nuclear site, the U.S. Geological Survey said. Japan's emergency agencies declared a tsunami warning for the area.

 

The quake hit at 3:10 a.m. Saturday Tokyo time (1310 GMT), the USGS said.

 

The tremor was felt in Tokyo, some 300 miles (480 kilometers) away.

 

Japan's Meteorological Agency raised the tsunami warning for the area of Honshu. But the U.S. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center did not post warnings for the rest of the Pacific.

[SKINS@THEGOALLINE]

Japan Hit By 7.3-Magnitude Earthquake Off Fukushima Prefecture Coast, Tsunami Advisory Issued

 

 

 

 

This along with the recent beaching of the rare oarfish on California shores makes one wonder if the west coast of the U.S. is due for a major seismic event.

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/technology/2013/10/can-monster-oarfish-really-predict-earthquakes/

[War Paint]

Japan Hit By 7.3-Magnitude Earthquake Off Fukushima Prefecture Coast, Tsunami Advisory Issued

 

TOKYO -- TOKYO (AP) — An earthquake of magnitude 7.3 struck Saturday morning off Japan's east coast, near the crippled Fukushima nuclear site, the U.S. Geological Survey said. Japan's emergency agencies declared a tsunami warning for the area.

 

The quake hit at 3:10 a.m. Saturday Tokyo time (1310 GMT), the USGS said.

 

The tremor was felt in Tokyo, some 300 miles (480 kilometers) away.

 

Japan's Meteorological Agency raised the tsunami warning for the area of Honshu. But the U.S. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center did not post warnings for the rest of the Pacific.

 

On a serious note though, this situation sounds like it's getting worse all the time.  My cousin's doctor in NY, her name escapes me at the moment,(the Dr. has been on Good Morning America before) told my cousin who has thyroid issues, that the spike over the last couple of decades in thyroid problems that women suffer was caused by Chernobyl.   Pretty alarming stuff if true.

[China]

Japan launches anti-radiation underwear after Fukushima crisis

 

Japanese company launches anti-radiation swimwear and underwear as Fukushima nuclear crisis continues.

 

The new swimwear has been crafted from a unique biorubber material that claims to protect the wearer from radiation exposure in contaminated waters.

 

The wetsuit-style garment, which contains micron-sized bubbles, blocks almost 100 per cent of beta rays, according to its makers Yamamoto Corporation, a swimwear company based in Osaka.

 

A further line of anti-radiation underwear made from a lead-based fabric to prevent the contamination of gamma rays is also in development and due to go on sale in the near future.

 

The underwear, which weighs close to 7.5lb, is designed to protect in particular the spine and lower abdomen of the wearer from the damaging effects of gamma ray exposure.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

Navy sailors have radiation sickness after Japan rescue

 

Navy sailor Lindsay Cooper knew something was wrong when billows of metallic-tasting snow began drifting over USS Ronald Reagan.

 

“I was standing on the flight deck, and we felt this warm gust of air, and, suddenly, it was snowing,” Cooper recalled of the day in March 2011 when she and scores of crewmates watched a sudden storm blow toward them from the tsunami-torn coast of Fukushima, Japan.

 

The tall 24-year-old with a winning smile didn’t know it then, but the snow was caused by the freezing Pacific air mixing with a plume of radioactive steam from the city’s shattered nuclear reactor.

 

Now, nearly three years after their deployment on a humanitarian mission to Japan’s ravaged coast, Cooper and scores of her fellow crew members on the aircraft carrier and a half-dozen other support ships are battling cancers, thyroid disease, uterine bleeding and other ailments.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

Looks like Japan is now utilizing their disposable population to help with the clean-up:

 

Special Report: Japan's homeless recruited for murky Fukushima clean-up

 

SENDAI, Japan (Reuters) - Seiji Sasa hits the train station in this northern Japanese city before dawn most mornings to prowl for homeless men.

 

He isn't a social worker. He's a recruiter. The men in Sendai Station are potential laborers that Sasa can dispatch to contractors in Japan's nuclear disaster zone for a bounty of $100 a head.

 

"This is how labor recruiters like me come in every day," Sasa says, as he strides past men sleeping on cardboard and clutching at their coats against the early winter cold.

 

It's also how Japan finds people willing to accept minimum wage for one of the most undesirable jobs in the industrialized world: working on the $35 billion, taxpayer-funded effort to clean up radioactive fallout across an area of northern Japan larger than Hong Kong.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[SteveFromYellowstone]

The fact that some radiation is all cool to eat is reminiscent of people being shocked that Taco Bell only used 32% beef, but not that 35% of the beef needed to actually be beef.

Taco bell says that the lawsuit is bogus and their beef is 88% USDA ground beef with 12% filler. They list every ingredient on their site also. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/checkup/2011/01/is_that_right_the_beef_over_ta.html

[China]

Gov't seeks approval for dumping Fukushima plant groundwater into sea

 

The government on Monday sought approval of a nationwide fisheries federation to dump groundwater at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex into the sea on condition that the water's contamination level is far below the legal limit.

 

During talks with the head of the National Federation of Fisheries Co-operative Associations, industry ministry officials explained that they plan to set "strict" operational procedures for the pump system to allay the concerns of fishermen who think the move could deal a blow to their business.

 

Groundwater will be pumped out before it gets mixed with highly radioactive water accumulating at the basement of reactor buildings, and will be directed to the adjacent Pacific Ocean.

 

The measure is intended to prevent toxic water from continuing to accumulate at the nuclear plant site, but plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. has not been able to operate the system although it finished installing a dozen pumping wells last March.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

Fukushima's Radioactive Ocean Water Arrives At West Coast

 

Radiation from Japan's leaking Fukushima nuclear power plant has reached waters offshore Canada, researchers said today at the annual American Geophysical Union's Ocean Sciences Meeting in Honolulu.

 

Two radioactive cesium isotopes, cesium-134 and cesium-137, have been detected offshore of Vancouver, British Columbia, researchers said at a news conference. The detected concentrations are much lower than the Canadian safety limit for cesium levels in drinking water, said John Smith, a research scientist at Canada's Bedford Institute of Oceanography in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.

 

Tests conducted at U.S. beaches indicate that Fukushima radioactivity has not yet reached Washington, California or Hawaii, said Ken Buesseler, a senior scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Woods Hole, Mass.

 

"We have results from eight locations, and they all have cesium-137, but no cesium-134 yet," Buesseler said. (Isotopes are atoms of the same element that have different numbers of neutrons in their nuclei. In this case, cesium-137 has more neutrons than cesium-134.)

 

...

 

Cesium-134, with a half-life of only two years, is an unequivocal marker of Fukushima ocean contamination, Smith said.

 

"The only cesium-134 in the North Pacific is there from Fukushima," he said. Cesium-137, on the other hand, is also present from nuclear weapons tests and discharge from nuclear power plants.

 

Smith and his colleagues tracked rising levels of cesium-134 at several ocean monitoring stations west of Vancouver in the North Pacific beginning in 2011. By June 2013, the concentration reached 0.9 Becquerels per cubic meter, Smith said. All of the cesium-134 was concentrated in the upper 325 feet (100 m) of the ocean, he said. They are awaiting results from a February 2014 sampling trip.

 

The U.S. safety limit for cesium levels in drinking water is about 28 Becquerels, the number of radioactive decay events per second, per gallon (or 7,400 Becquerels per cubic meter). For comparison, uncontaminated seawater contains only a few Becquerels per cubic meter of cesium.

 

Cesium-137 levels at U.S. beaches were 1.3 to 1.7 Becquerels per cubic meter, Buesseler said. That's similar to background levels in the ocean from nuclear weapons testing, suggesting the Fukushima plume has not reached the U.S. coastline yet, he said.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[s0crates]

This is terrifying.

[Zazzaro703]

It is really scary. They mention nothing about the deformed dying marine life or the fish that are constantly filtering this water and the effects on them.

[smoreese]

Very scary interview with Michio Kaku in Dec. talking about Fukushima.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ColhrJF4mHs

[China]

Japan to create underground ice wall at crippled nuclear plant

 

Japan's nuclear regulator on Monday approved a plan to freeze the soil under the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant to try to slow the build-up of radioactive water, officials said.

 

The Nuclear Regulation Authority examined plans by Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) to construct an underground ice wall at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant starting in June, regulatory officials said.

 

The wall is intended to block groundwater from nearby hillsides that has been flowing under the plant and mixing with polluted water used to cool reactors that went into meltdown after an earthquake and tsunami in March 2011.

 

Under the plan, which is funded by the government, the firm will circulate a special refrigerant through pipes in the soil to create the 1.5-kilometre (0.9-mile)frozen wall that will stem the inflow of groundwater.

 

"We had some concerns, including the possibility that part of the ground could sink," one official said on condition of anonymity.

 

"But there were no major objections to the project during the meeting, and we concluded that TEPCO can go ahead with at least part of the project as proposed after going through further necessary procedures."

 

However, TEPCO may have to review other parts of the project amid fears it might affect existing structures at the plant such as underground drains, he added.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Larry]

Dang, that sounds both expensive, dangerous, and incredibly likely to fail.

[Sikbug]

While I'm glad they are doing something, this doesn't seem like the best thing either. Hopefully it helps. 

[twa]

Dang, that sounds both expensive, dangerous, and incredibly likely to fail.

 

 

Dang, that sounds both expensive, dangerous, and incredibly likely to fail.

 

it is a time tested method and certainly cheaper than allowing more highly contaminated water

[Corcaigh]

I'd want to be pretty damn sure what I was doing before digging in and around a reactor which had gone through some degree of meltdown.

 

And if this is going to be effective in reducing contamination leaving the site, it would have been nice to do it three ****ing years ago.

[smoreese]

Anyone watch the latest episode of the HBO show VICE which was about Fukushima? I encourage everyone to watch this show and you will understand that the government of Japan has been lying about what really is going on from the start. The people of Japan are screwed, this situation is much worse then we have been lead to believe. The cancer rates are going to skyrocket, I feel so sorry for the children and the future generations of Japan.

[Corcaigh]

Yay ... A 6.8-magnitude quake struck near Fukushima, says Japan Meteorological Agency. Tsunami warning issued for Tohoku coast. 

 

http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/11/world/asia/japan-earthquake/index.html