Thousands evacuate as Fukishima nuclear emergency is declared

[Jan Klimkowski]

Dr Michio Ishikawa, pro-nuclear scientist and former head of the Japan Nuclear Technology Institute, has been speaking again.

He describes some of the potentially catastrophic consequences of the flooding of the reactors with sea water, the almost unimaginable amount of radioactivity contaminating the Fukushima water, and stresses the need for urgent, international action:

My previous column in this series explained my estimation of the current status of the reactor core and the issue of radiation discharge into the environment.Today, I am going to discuss a major headache of the situation, i.e. water contaminated with a high level of radiation.Gas (containing radioactive materials) which continues to be released from the melted reactor core is cooled and becomes mixed in with cooling water.The level of contamination is still rising as we speak.

According to estimation by a group of experts who formerly worked at the nation's pioneering nuclear organization, Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI), the three nuclear reactors damaged in the recent disaster contain the amount of radioactivity equivalent to over one billion curies of cobalt-60, if you would excuse me for the use of old unit of measurement.Say just 1% of that gets mixed in and the cooling water would have 10 million curies of radioactivity.This is a horrifically large amount.

Cobalt 60 is widely used as radiation sources.A typical unit containing 10,000 50,000 curies of radioactivity is encased in a chamber surrounded with walls measuring about 1meter thick in concrete.In the old days, radiation education used to teach students that the strength of 1 curie of radiation from cobalt 60 is approximately 1 roentgen in 1-meter distance.It was an easy way of having a grasp on the strength of radioactivity.

Exposure to 700 rem of radiation (equivalent to receiving 700 roentgen of radiation for one hour) in a short period of time would almost certainly kill a person.Exposure to approximately one tenth of that or 50 rem of radiation would give a person noticeable effects, whereas exposure to 10 rem or below, I was taught, would have no adverse health effects.That is why the duration of work in a radioactive environment used to be calculated based on the measured amount of radiation indicated by the maximum exposure of about half that figure or 5 rem.

With this perspective, one would realize that ten million curies of radiation is something beyond comprehension.It is like saying to a poor person who is trying to get by with ten yen (ten curies) that he must come up with ten million yen.First-generation experts from JAERI as they are, they are showing hesitation about re-circulating the massive amount of contaminated water to cool the reactors.

Even if we manage to build a core cooling facility using the water, how would we establish radiation shields?Radiation exposure would become a serious problem unless the facility is shielded solidly.Once contaminated water is fed into the system, the radiation dose of all piping will rise, denying human access.Failure is not an option.

Another issue is corrosion.The reactors were doused with seawater for approximately 2 weeks.Judging from the amount of evaporation, around 3,000 to 4,000 tons of seawater must have been injected per reactor unit.The amount of salt contained in the seawater would total around 100 tons per unit.

This means nuclear fuel and an equal amount of salt are mixed together in the reactor core.I have absolutely no idea how such massive amount of salt would react with the reactor core, and what materials such reaction would produce.

The group of former JAERI experts is concerned about salt-aided progression of corrosion on pipes and other facilities.Stainless steel and other quality materials used at nuclear power plants corrode with chlorine, and develop cracks called stress corrosion cracking inside.Magnesium chloride in seawater is said to aggravate such cracks.

There is no need to elaborate what would happen if cracks develop at the reactor and cooling equipment.What's worse, corrosion at existing facilities could leak the highly contaminated water to the external environment.

These points the experts highlight are correct, and we should all take note.Yet, hearing these factors and throwing your hands in the air would only make the operation to cool down the melted cores and its schedule announced the other day un-executable, leaving the discharge of radiation unattended.We must never give up.We must remember that those factors that have been pointed out include elements of speculation that may or may not reflect reality.

In working our way toward the goal, it is important to firstly verify the current state of the reactor cores and contaminated water.We should build and set up an operation base and bridgehead at the reactor buildings and start gathering expert knowledge from in and outside the nation.This step is now being taken on site, although it could have started sooner.

Once we establish the current situation, there is always a way to find a solution for it.The solution should be implemented under international cooperation, which should, in turn, reinforce the world's preparedness against nuclear disasters.That is what the world wants.The international community is carefully observing Japan's next steps.Meeting this expectation is our nation's mission in response to the support the rest of the world has given Fukushima in the face of this tragedy.I believe taking such steps will lead to the future of nuclear energy in Japan.

[Peter Lemkin]

To sum it up....the situation is just at the brink of world-class disaster!!! Some sensed that from day three - when the failure of all cooling systems was clear. Somehow, they still officially talk the talk of getting it all under control. From what is already known, it is actually amazing it is not already thousands of times worse [trust me, it is horrible!]...but that scenario is just waiting to happen....any day now...:gossip: Physics happens....and at that nuclear plant it won't be pretty what happens [already has, and soon will.....] 10,000,000 Curies is nothing to laugh about!...and I think that is a VERY, VERY conservative estimate!!! [Hiroshima released about 2-3 million Curies]

[Keith Millea]

Look what's coming our way.........

Published on Sunday, May 22, 2011 by the Associated Press

Going Backwards: Small 'Neighborhood Nukes' Envisioned


PITTSBURGH, PA - Two U.S. representatives from Pennsylvania are advocating that the federal government back a new generation of miniature nuclear reactors that could power neighborhoods.



Coming to a neighborhood near you? A Westinghouse mini-nuclear reactor. http://www.ap1000.westinghousenuclear.com Reps. Jason Altmire, a Democrat, and Tim Murphy, a Republican, announced Friday at the Western Pennsylvania headquarters of Westinghouse that their proposal calls for construction by 2021 of two small nuclear reactors, both funded partially by the Department of Energy. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said the plan was part of their efforts to give Western Pennsylvania a role in energy legislation expected from Congress this year.

Westinghouse has designed a small modular reactor that would shrink nuclear operations to one capsule about 90 feet tall, would not need to be near a large body of water for cooling, and could be within miles of an industrial plant, military base, or neighborhood to be powered, officials said.

The seven-month-old project is still in the "nursery" stages of research and development, chief executive officer Aris Candris said, but Westinghouse envisions the plants as something that can be put anywhere, like a windmill.

Altmire introduced the measure last year to no avail, but he said higher gasoline prices had improved the environment for energy legislation. Scrutiny of the nuclear industry has intensified, however, since a March 11 earthquake triggered a tsunami that knocked out cooling systems at Japan's Fukushima Dai-ichi plant, causing the world's worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl in 1986.

"You can't pretend Japan didn't happen," Altmire said, but he added that the smaller reactors would use the same safety mechanisms as the company's larger ones, including a passive cooling system that can douse overheated reactors with water stored inside the chamber.

Within hours of Friday's announcement, however, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued a statement calling on Westinghouse to respond to technical issues that the agency said it had found in the design of the company's flagship AP1000 reactor, such as the design of the reactor's shield building and some pressure expected within the containment. Westinghouse said in a statement that it would continue to work with the commission, but that none of the issues was "safety-significant.

© 2011 Associated Press

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/05/22-2

[Ed Jewett]

http://ex-skf.blogspot.com/2011/05/radio...ag-in.html

Maybe something to bookmark...

"ABOUT MY COVERAGE OF JAPAN EARTHQUAKE OF MARCH 11

I am Japanese, and I not only read Japanese news sources for information on earthquake and the Fukushima Nuke Plant but also watch press conferences via the Internet when I can and summarize my findings, adding my observations."

the web site features English and Japanese text

[Peter Lemkin]

http://ex-skf.blogspot.com/2011/05/radio...ag-in.html

Maybe something to bookmark...

"ABOUT MY COVERAGE OF JAPAN EARTHQUAKE OF MARCH 11

I am Japanese, and I not only read Japanese news sources for information on earthquake and the Fukushima Nuke Plant but also watch press conferences via the Internet when I can and summarize my findings, adding my observations."

the web site features English and Japanese text

According to the Tokyo Metropolitan government, 170,000 becquerels per kilogram radiation was detected in the sewage slag sample taken on March 25 at Tobu Sludge Plant, a sewage treatment facility in Koto-ku. The samples taken at two additional facilities also showed radiation over 100,000 becquerels per kilogram. The slag has already been recycled into cement and other construction materials. In comparison, the sewage slag from Koriyama City in Fukushima measured 334,000 becquerels per kilogram, and Koto-ku is 225 kilometers away from Fukushima I Nuke Plant.

This [above] and even more radioactive sewage slag mentioned on that website is ENORMOUSLY radioactive! A becquerel = one nuclear disintegration per second. Some of the water and materials at the plant would, however, be thousands to millions of times that....some billions of times more.

While it is not detailed, I'm presuming this is the normal end product of sewage waste - after processing and drying. [i.e. normal waste water, when concentrated in Japan is highly radioactive, even far from the plant!] Such materials should NOT be recycled, but put in hazardous waste repositories!

[Keith Millea]

This is 10 days old,but gives a good overall picture of the situation.

[Peter Lemkin]

Look what's coming our way.........

Published on Sunday, May 22, 2011 by the Associated Press

Going Backwards: Small 'Neighborhood Nukes' Envisioned

They have even smaller ones....they call them basement nuclear reactors [for a high rise or hospital, etc]. Miniaturization is not the issue. The ones used in subs are very small and powerful. Safety is the issue!

And, the more there are, the more can fail.....

[Peter Lemkin]

Today, for the first time, TEPCO admitted there have been three [3!] meltdowns in reactors 1,2, and 3!.....no surpise to me; but they have been trying to keep it secret all along. Meaning: Things are as bad as the worst predictions and will get worse [not better] as time goes on!.....

[Peter Lemkin]

Just learned that TEPCO didn't suddenly 'just happen to spill the beans'....there are [from today] a team of experts from the IAEA at the plant to give an international and hopefully impartial evaluation....they simply couldn't hide the lies another day.... :mexican:

[Keith Millea]

Published on Thursday, May 26, 2011 by Reuters

New Leak Feared at Stricken Japan Nuclear Plant

by Kiyoshi Takenaka and Yoko Nishikawa


TOKYO - Radioactive water appears to be leaking from a waste disposal building at Japan's Fukushima nuclear complex, operator Tokyo Electric Power said on Thursday, in a new setback to the battle to contain radiation from the crippled power plant.

The disclosure by Tepco raises the stakes in a race to complete by next month a system to decontaminate a massive pool of radioactive water at the site that critics see as a growing risk to both the nearby Pacific and groundwater.

A magnitude 9.0 earthquake and the massive tsunami that followed killed about 24,000 people and knocked out the Fukushima plant on March 11, triggering the world's worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl.

The crisis, which has displaced some 80,000 residents from around the plant, prompted a review of Japan's energy policy and growing calls for efforts to step up health monitoring for a crisis now in its 11th week.

Experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency began an inspection on Thursday of equipment damaged by the tsunami at a second nuclear plant, the Tokai complex about 120 km (75 miles) north of Tokyo, as part of an investigation prompted by the Fukushima accident.

A poll by the Asahi newspaper published on Thursday showed that 42 percent of Japanese people opposed nuclear power, up from 18 percent before the disaster.
The survey underscored the public's deepening concerns about nuclear safety and criticism of the way the government and Tepco initially responded to the crisis and how they appeared to have been repeatedly slow in admitting the gravity of the situation.


Although many outside experts had concluded that uranium fuel in three Fukushima reactors had melted down within days of the crisis, Tepco only announced that conclusion this week.

"We have to take seriously the criticism that we haven't done enough to provide and circulate information," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said at a news conference. "But we have never covered up information that we had."
POSSIBLE LEAK

The effort to regain control of the plant relies on pumping massive quantities of water to cool the three reactors that suffered meltdowns and storing the contaminated water in an improvised storage facility. Tepco officials said, however, that the water level in the storage facility had dropped, suggesting a leak.

Environmental groups have focussed on the threat to sea and ground water from the accident. Greenpeace said earlier this month it had collected samples of fish, seaweed and shellfish along the Fukushima coast that showed radiation levels above Japanese safety limits.

Residents of the town of Futaba, forced to evacuate along with others inside a 20-kilometre (12-mile) zone around the plant, were allowed to return briefly to their homes on Wednesday.

A day earlier, residents of the nearby town of Minami Soma had been allowed back to their homes for a two-hour visit wearing hooded white protective suits, masks and goggles.

Video shot by a couple returning home and broadcast on Japanese television showed a ghost town with weeds overrunning a garden and a stray dog barking in the distance.

"It didn't even feel like my own home," one woman told Nippon Television. "I thought I was prepared for that, but I wasn't."

(Additional reporting by Shinichi Saoshiro; Writing by Kevin Krolicki; Editing by Tomasz Janowski and Alex Richardson)

© 2011 Reuters

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/05/26-1