The Conservative Cave
Current Events => General Discussion => Topic started by: Doc on March 17, 2011, 01:02:09 PM
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With all of the misinformation and hyperbole in the media about this event, I thought an injection of facts might be appropriate:
http://www.nei.org/newsandevents/information-on-the-japanese-earthquake-and-reactors-in-that-region/
Fukushima Daiichi
The reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant are in stable condition and are being cooled with seawater, but workers at the plant continue efforts to add cooling water to fuel pools at reactors 3 and 4.
The status of the reactors at the site is as follows:
Reactor 1’s primary containment is believed to be intact and the reactor is in a stable condition. Seawater injection into the reactor is continuing.
Reactor 2 is in stable condition with seawater injection continuing. The reactor’s primary containment may not have been breached, Tokyo Electric Power Co. and World Association of Nuclear Operators officials said on Thursday.
Access problems at the site have delayed connection of a temporary cable to restore off-site electricity. The connection will provide power to the control rod drive pump, instrumentation, batteries and the control room. Power has not been available at the site since the earthquake on March 11.
Reactor 3 is in stable condition with seawater injection continuing. The primary containment is believed to be intact. Pressure in the containment has fluctuated due to venting of the reactor containment structure.
TEPCO officials say that although one side of the concrete wall of the reactor 4 fuel pool structure has collapsed, the steel liner of the pool remains intact, based on aerial photos of the reactor taken on March 17. The pool still has water providing some cooling for the fuel; however, helicopters dropped water on the reactor four times during the morning (Japan time) on March 17. Water also was sprayed at reactor 4 using high-pressure water cannons.
Reactors 5 and 6 were both shut down before the quake occurred. Primary and secondary containments are intact at both reactors. Temperature instruments in the spent fuel pools at reactors 5 and 6 are operational, and temperatures are being maintained at about 62 degrees Celsius. TEPCO is continuing efforts to restore power at reactor 5.
Fukushima Daini
All four reactors at the Fukushima Daini plant have reached cold shutdown conditions with normal cooling being maintained using residual heat removal systems.
Additional details and updates will be available at link........
doc
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I saw Michio Kaku on Nightline last night. He was doing a very good imitation of this: :panic:
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What do you expect from a bunch of teleprompter readers who don't even possess the technical ability to program their DVR's?
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I pray to God that they do have this thing in some sort of "control" Looks like they do. Now to get the power back to the plants and get, hopefuly, full control over this event.
**** the media and their anti nuke scare tactics.
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Details regarding the workers at the plant:
Only one casualty has been reported at the Fukushima Daini plant. A worker in the crane operating console of the exhaust stack was seriously injured when the earthquake struck. He subsequently died.
Two Tepco employees have minor injuries.
Two contractors were injured when the quake struck and were taken to hospital, one suffering two broken legs.
A Tepco worker was taken to hospital after collapsing and experiencing chest pains.
A subcontract worker at an "important earthquake-proof building" was found unconscious and was taken to hospital.
Two Tepco workers felt ill whilst working in the control rooms of Fukushima Daiichi units 1 and 2 and were taken to the medical centre at Fukushima Daini.
Four workers were injured in the hydrogen explosion at Fukushima Daiichi 1. They were all taken to hospital.
Eleven workers (four Tepco workers, three subcontract workers and four members of Self Defence Force) were hurt following a similar explosion at Fukushima Daiichi 3. They were transferred to the Fukushima Daini plant. One of the Tepco employees, complaining of pain in his side, was later transferred to hospital.
The whereabouts of two Tepco workers, who had been in the turbine building of Fukushima Daiichi unit 4, is unknown.
Contamination cases:
One Tepco worker working within the reactor building of Fukushima Daiichi unit 3 during "vent work" was taken to hospital after receiving radiation exposure exceeding 100 mSv, a level deemed acceptable in emergency situations by some national nuclear safety regulators.
Nine Tepco employees and eight subcontractors suffered facial exposure to low levels of radiation. They did not require hospital treatment.
Two policemen were decontaminated after beng exposed to radiation.
An unspecified number of firemen who were exposed to radiation are under investigation.
http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/RS_Progress_by_on-site_workers_1703111.html
Additional details at link.........
doc
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This just proves that we're all gonna die. This is 100 times worse than Chernobyl. This is why we should close all the nuclear reactors around the world now They are nothing but invisible killers.
How can people think like that.
Hey bubblehead...........that person that took the 100 mSv is actually a lot isn't it? I'm thinking that's like 10 rem
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This just proves that we're all gonna die. This is 100 times worse than Chernobyl. This is why we should close all the nuclear reactors around the world now They are nothing but invisible killers.
How can people think like that.
Hey bubblehead...........that person that took the 100 mSv is actually a lot isn't it? I'm thinking that's like 10 rem
Yup--10 Rem. Might even see a little bit of an increase in his WBC count. Other than that, nada.
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Yup--10 Rem. Might even see a little bit of an increase in his WBC count. Other than that, nada.
White blood count...Micheal Jackson would be all for that. O'bama might go for it too.
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I saw Michio Kaku on Nightline last night. He was doing a very good imitation of this: :panic:
Isn't Michio Kaku a physicist?? WTF would HE know about nuclear power (more than the rest of us) ?? Upon reading the Wiki entries about him, he has NO training in Nuclear Power. NONE. If there's anybody I'd listen to, it'd be Sparky or someone else directly involved with nuclear power engineering. TVDOC has some decent credentials, too.
Right here PROVES that he is not a real, true scientist (or has been bought off):
Kaku has publicly stated his concerns over matters including the human cause of global warming, nuclear armament, nuclear power and the general misuse of science.[6] He was critical of the Cassini-Huygens space probe because of the 72 pounds of plutonium contained in the craft for use by its radioisotope thermoelectric generator. Conscious of the possibility of casualties if the probe's fuel were dispersed into the environment during a malfunction and crash as the probe was making a 'sling-shot' maneuver around earth, Kaku publicly criticized NASA's risk assessment.[
Source= Wiki
IOW, he's a f'n over-educated idiot.
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Isn't Michio Kaku a physicist?? WTF would HE know about nuclear power (more than the rest of us) ?? Upon reading the Wiki entries about him, he has NO training in Nuclear Power. NONE. If there's anybody I'd listen to, it'd be Sparky or someone else directly involved with nuclear power engineering. TVDOC has some decent credentials, too.
Right here PROVES that he is not a real, true scientist (or has been bought off):
Source= Wiki
IOW, he's a f'n over-educated idiot.
Um, did you purposefully leave out Nadinletters from DU?????? :-)
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The last people I would listen to would be anyone with out a PHD in the nuclear field and even when I do they all disagree with each other.
Really, The most educated people admit that when the chips are down they have no idea what to do. They make educated guesses and actually experiment to see what works or wont in each case but they are riding on the tail or what they thought was a tame Tiger.
Human arrogance's and the belief that we can controll the powers that we still don't understand----A wake up call that we must have these nuckie plants but must take above and beyond the precautions we have so far, we have to realise we do not turn our back on or think we are in controll of a science that is so very young and and still open to debate on how it works.
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The last people I would listen to would be anyone with out a PHD in the nuclear field and even when I do they all disagree with each other.
I suppose you'd rather listen to some "talking head", or politician that has no knowledge of the processes involved?? The only time disagreement occurs among scientists regarding nuclear power is when academics impress political and ideological beliefs onto the science. The "fathers" of nuclear Physics, Einstein, Fermi, and the members of the Manhattan Project were all pretty much committed leftists, arguably even communists.......however they didn't allow their political ideology color their work.
Really, The most educated people admit that when the chips are down they have no idea what to do. They make educated guesses and actually experiment to see what works or wont in each case but they are riding on the tail or what they thought was a tame Tiger.
Horseshit.........Vesta I have a PhD in Physics and undergrad degrees in engineering and math......perhaps that makes me much more pragmatic than some, but in my 40 year working life I never relied on one "educated guess".......science is all about provable and repeatable results........not guesses.
Human arrogance's and the belief that we can controll the powers that we still don't understand----A wake up call that we must have these nuckie plants but must take above and beyond the precautions we have so far, we have to realise we do not turn our back on or think we are in controll of a science that is so very young and and still open to debate on how it works.
Vesta.....there is virtually nothing that is not understood about nuclear reactors......they have been in operation for nearly seventy years. Granted it is a technology that contains inherent risks, as all technologies do. Management of risk is the engineer's job, and the present state-of-the-art in nuclear power plants is really far safer than many "conventional" mass power sources.
The only difference is the vast and unending ignorance of the masses regarding its use. Compounded by a "media" that thrives on sensationalizing anything that will increase their viewership......regardless of how irresponsible their actions might be.
I started this thread to provide some factual information on the situation at Fukushima.......no more, and no less. If you wish to "run around in circles crying about the sky falling"......I'd appreciate it if you started your own thread.
doc
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Today's update:
UPDATE AS OF 11:20 A.M. EDT, FRIDAY, MARCH 18:
Reactors 1, 2 and 3 at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant are in stable condition, with workers continuing to provide seawater cooling into the reactors. Containment integrity is believed to be intact on reactors 1, 2 and 3, and containment building pressures are elevated but are within design limits.
Site radiation doses have been decreasing since March 16. Radiation dose rates are fluctuating based on some of the relief operations, such as adding cooling water to the used fuel pools. Recent readings at the plant boundary are about 2 millirem per hour. Radiation dose rates at reactor 3 range between 2,500 and 5,000 millirem per hour.
The Japanese Self-Defense Force restarted cooling water spray into the Unit 3 reactor building and spent fuel pool at around 1 a.m. EDT on March 18. Plans are to spray 50 tons of water on the reactor 3 reactor building/spent fuel pool using seven fire-fighting trucks.
A diesel generator is supplying power to reactors 5 and 6. TEPCO is installing high voltage cables from a nearby transmission line to reactors 1 and 2. Once electricity supply is re-established, priority will be given to restoring power to reactor heat removal systems and cooling water pumps. Workers are seeking to install electrical cables to reactors 3 and 4 components in about two days.
Fukushima Daini
All four reactors at Fukushima Daini remain shut down with normal cooling being maintained using residual heat removal systems.
Footnote: Reactor #4 at ****ushima Daiichi has not been mentioned in this or preceeding reports, as it was in "cold shutdown mode" prior to the earthquake, therefore only residual cooling for this reactor is required.
doc
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Thank you for providing these Doc.
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But, but, but Shepard Smith says we don't know if the pumps will work at all... WE ARE DOOMED!!!!!!!!!!!
:whatever:
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I suppose you'd rather listen to some "talking head", or politician that has no knowledge of the processes involved?? The only time disagreement occurs among scientists regarding nuclear power is when academics impress political and ideological beliefs onto the science. The "fathers" of nuclear Physics, Einstein, Fermi, and the members of the Manhattan Project were all pretty much committed leftists, arguably even communists.......however they didn't allow their political ideology color their work.
Horseshit.........Vesta I have a PhD in Physics and undergrad degrees in engineering and math......perhaps that makes me much more pragmatic than some, but in my 40 year working life I never relied on one "educated guess".......science is all about provable and repeatable results........not guesses.
Vesta.....there is virtually nothing that is not understood about nuclear reactors......they have been in operation for nearly seventy years. Granted it is a technology that contains inherent risks, as all technologies do. Management of risk is the engineer's job, and the present state-of-the-art in nuclear power plants is really far safer than many "conventional" mass power sources.
The only difference is the vast and unending ignorance of the masses regarding its use. Compounded by a "media" that thrives on sensationalizing anything that will increase their viewership......regardless of how irresponsible their actions might be.
I started this thread to provide some factual information on the situation at Fukushima.......no more, and no less. If you wish to "run around in circles crying about the sky falling"......I'd appreciate it if you started your own thread.
doc
Horseshit.........Vesta I have a PhD in Physics and undergrad degrees in engineering and math......perhaps that makes me much more pragmatic than some, but in my 40 year working life I never relied on one "educated guess".......science is all about provable and repeatable results........not guesses.
Vesta.....there is virtually nothing that is not understood about nuclear reactors......they have been in operation for nearly seventy years. Granted it is a technology that contains inherent risks, as all technologies do. Management of risk is the engineer's job, and the present state-of-the-art in nuclear power plants is really far safer than many "conventional" mass power sources.
OK Doc, you know how nuclear power works under the IDEAL circumstances, ,But what do you know about the unexpected or totally implausible things that come up. Who ,what have thought an earthquake , And a Tsunami would occur at the same time, who would think that all back up would fail at the same time.
Why are the plants not shielded 10 times over what is considered normal circomstances ?
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Sorry I got booted before i could finish.
We need this technology for our lives at this time, but as so little is known why do we not spend the extra money to insure we can can keep the beast enclosed.??
We if we need this beast cannot continue to have it under minimun standards, we have to pony up and see that the beast is confined by not maximum standards by by ultra standards.
This shit can destroy us if as we have seen an simple act of nature comes our way. When a plant is built and the cost is a billion or more , triple that cost to insure safety. Sorry if the cost is too high but if one wants to use a hair drier , heat their home or have electriciety----that is what the public demands.
You who are a generation before me have believed you have harnessed the beast, yet you keep the beast in wire cages due to money that that cannot or will not find a way to inclose it.----No problem except for Chinabole and that will not happen again.
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Vesta......9.0 earthquake ring a bell? Tsunami?
Earthquake magnitudes:
6.0–6.9 Strong Can be destructive in areas up to about 160 kilometres (100 mi) across in populated areas. 120 per year
7.0–7.9 Major Can cause serious damage over larger areas. 18 per year
8.0–8.9 Great Can cause serious damage in areas several hundred kilometres across. 1 per year
9.0–9.9 Devastating in areas several thousand kilometres across. 1 per 20 years
equivilant in explosive impact
8.1 21.2 megatons 89.1 PJ Guam earthquake, August 8, 1993[12]
8.22 (exactly) 50 megatons 210 PJ Tsar Bomba - Largest thermonuclear weapon ever tested
8.5 167.7 megatons 704.4 PJ Toba eruption 75,000 years ago; among the largest known volcanic events.[13]
8.7 278.0 megatons 1.2 EJ Eruption of Krakatoa (Indonesia), 1883
9.0 474 megatons 2.0 EJ Lisbon earthquake (Portugal), All Saints Day, 1755
Japan earthquake, 2011
It does not matter what "safeguards" you have in place, past a mag 8.5 all bets are off.
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Fukushima Event downgraded;
Daiichi Accident Rated 5 on International Event Scale
New International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES) ratings have been issued for the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi and Daini nuclear power plants, the International Atomic Energy Agency said.
Reactor core damage at the Daiichi reactors 2 and 3 caused by a loss of cooling function has resulted in a rating of 5 on the seven-point scale.
The loss of cooling and water supply functions in the spent fuel pool of reactor 4 was rated a 3, or “serious†incident. The loss of cooling functions in the reactors 1, 2 and 4 of the Fukushima Daini nuclear power plant has led to a rating of 3.
The rating for the Chernobyl accident was 7, or a “major accident†on the INES scale. The Three Mile Island accident was 5, or an “accident with wider consequences.†For more information on INES, see the IAEA’s website and this IAEA leaflet.
INES Event rating is now the same as Three Mile Island.......
doc
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INES Event rating is now the same as Three Mile Island.......
Three Mile was a non-event, so I feel a little better..........
Still waiting to hear how getting the power to the plants is comming along.
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[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZN0hlQ9PBA[/youtube]
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWxeWPUhyE8[/youtube]
doc
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I suppose you'd rather listen to some "talking head", or politician that has no knowledge of the processes involved?? The only time disagreement occurs among scientists regarding nuclear power is when academics impress political and ideological beliefs onto the science. The "fathers" of nuclear Physics, Einstein, Fermi, and the members of the Manhattan Project were all pretty much committed leftists, arguably even communists.......however they didn't allow their political ideology color their work.
Horseshit.........Vesta I have a PhD in Physics and undergrad degrees in engineering and math......perhaps that makes me much more pragmatic than some, but in my 40 year working life I never relied on one "educated guess".......science is all about provable and repeatable results........not guesses.
Vesta.....there is virtually nothing that is not understood about nuclear reactors......they have been in operation for nearly seventy years. Granted it is a technology that contains inherent risks, as all technologies do. Management of risk is the engineer's job, and the present state-of-the-art in nuclear power plants is really far safer than many "conventional" mass power sources.
The only difference is the vast and unending ignorance of the masses regarding its use. Compounded by a "media" that thrives on sensationalizing anything that will increase their viewership......regardless of how irresponsible their actions might be.
I started this thread to provide some factual information on the situation at Fukushima.......no more, and no less. If you wish to "run around in circles crying about the sky falling"......I'd appreciate it if you started your own thread.
doc
Amen, DOC. You know as I do that NOTHING happens in a power plant, but especially a nuke plant, without knowing EXACTLY what SHOULD happen first, and if it doesn't go down EXACTLY as it should, we STOP. No exceptions.
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Three Mile was a non-event, so I feel a little better..........
Still waiting to hear how getting the power to the plants is comming along.
The biggest problem is getting to the plant. Once they get a generator and cabling there, it's not that hard to tie it into the major safety-related busses.
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[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZN0hlQ9PBA[/youtube]
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWxeWPUhyE8[/youtube]
doc
Sorry DOC, but I Remember the government propaganda from the late 1950-early 1960 that was on TV and shown in our class rooms at school.
These films were so inaccurate that a couple of my classmates fathers that worked with radiation went to the school and convinced the school authority's to change their policy's for the once a month drop under the desk in case of attack.
First they changed the under the desk drill in classrooms with windows to sending us into the halls and drop to our knees facing a sturdy wall, hands over our heads in the position one is to take on an airplane when trouble comes about, crash position.
The film that caused my dad to laugh out loud was the one about how radiation would effect people, they showed pictures of what the signs of poisoning such as face and body rashes, loss of hair, the kicker was the assurance that this would pass and not to worry about an issue of VANITY.
Doc, so much was going on way back then, it had only been some 15 years or so since Japan surrendered due to this new Super Bomb. Most of us kids were not even born then but our parents had seen the news reels at the movies and in most cases fought in that war.
Being that we now took that awesome power and had installed it in the NAUTILAS Submarine was a marval of the ages for our grand parents and living great grand parents.------Our world as we knew it changed the lives of every man, woman and child on the face of our tiny little world.
With the lightning speed of a thunder bolt, technology came at us, Yet still after all this time we are still trying to figure out how to dispose of the used rods in a reactor, where to put it. Disposal of the waste is mostly on site for our reactors, people speak of half life that may be 500 years in some cases. Cobalt and Plutonium, isotopes, what country was building their own reactors building their own Nuclear submarines.
As we in my generation aged we now could look back on all the Bull Shit we had been fed, the misinformation our parents had believed and our teachers had taught us as they were so misinformed themselves.
My generation went on to either tune in-drop out or in my case to marry into the Nuclear Navy and for us woman whose husbands worked riding the boats for months at a time, what bits and pieces of knowledge came to us on radiation or the concept of nuclear power had to come from them and listening to the MAN talk with their crew mates.
Only because those of us that had generations of family building the boats really took notice of what was going on day to day. People in Michigan, Nevada or Texas had no idea about what a nuclear plant being built in their area except the power was beneficial to them.
At my doddering age I can understand the fear of the people on the west coast, I understand why so many do not trust either the Japanese government or the USA to give us the facts, our governments do not trust us with bad news, they to survive have to lull us with promisses that can not be met.
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Only because those of us that had generations of family building the boats really took notice of what was going on day to day. People in Michigan, Nevada or Texas had no idea about what a nuclear plant being built in their area except the power was beneficial to them.
Bullshit, Vesta. Many of us people from middle America knew quite a bit about nuclear power & "The Bomb". Perhaps it's because there WERE quite a few USAF Bases around?? Ya know, **** you, you biased idiot!! OBTW...... where did most of the experimentation with "The Bomb" happen?? Do you know?? Do you happen to remember?? Just to refresh your mind, it was in New Mexico.....
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Bullshit, Vesta. Many of us people from middle America knew quite a bit about nuclear power & "The Bomb". Perhaps it's because there WERE quite a few USAF Bases around?? Ya know, **** you, you biased idiot!! OBTW...... where did most of the experimentation with "The Bomb" happen?? Do you know?? Do you happen to remember?? Just to refresh your mind, it was in New Mexico.....
Oh yes Thor I remember that well, for a month the government put out news releases on the first experiment, people all over the country were invited to wittiness this event. -------- Right, few people in government knew anything about the tests.
Sure the farmers that lived 70 miles from the site were a bit upset when then they found 500 sheep dead a week later, OOPSI, that was not supposed to happen. so sorry but the test had nothing to do with your problems, perhaps the sheep died of fear because there were wolf packs in the area.
Going back to the tests on Bikini Islands and the ships that Observed the tests, that must have been fun for the men on the ships with no goggles to blunt the flash of the bomb or protective clothing from the radiation fall out.
Thor, I am not a young kid, I see what is going on, I have a good friend that finally at the age of 60 got a government pension because of Agent Orange. All these years this man was ill but no one would give the agent Orange a thought---was it money that they could not spend on the veterans ??
I distrust every thing our and any other governed does, I have read history , lived through it, and now find that most of my worse fears are true. I am not paranoid, I just look back to see what was what and become very confused about about the world of today.
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Today's update:
SATURDAY, MARCH 19:
At a March 19 news conference, Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said that sea water injection is continuing at reactors 1, 2 and 3 at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
Preparations were being made to spray water into the used fuel pool at reactor 4, and an unmanned vehicle sprayed more than 1,500 gallons of water over seven hours into the used fuel pool at reactor 3, Edano said. He also said he believed that the situation at the reactor 3 fuel pool is stabilizing.
Some reactor cooling capacity has been restored at reactors 5 and 6 after the installation of generators at those reactors, Edano added.
Edano said that progress had been made on “a fundamental solution†to restore power at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, with electricity expected to be restored at reactors 1 and 2 today and reactor 3 as early as Sunday.Edano said that additional equipment was being transported to the site and that other means of providing cooling water to the pool is be examined.
Radiation dose at the west gate of the Fukushima Daiichi was 83 millirem per hour on March 18 at 7:10 p.m. EDT and dropped to 36 millirem per hour by 8 p.m. EDT, Edano said. Radiation levels have decreased since March 16. Although they are higher than normal, radiation levels near the reactors are within the range that allows workers to continue onsite recovery measures, the International Atomic Energy Agency said.
According to the IAEA, radiation dose rates in Tokyo and other areas outside the 30-kilometer zone remain far below levels which would require any protective action by the public.
All reactors at the Fukushima Daini nuclear power plant are in cold shutdown (See the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum website).
Radiation levels have increased above the federal government’s level in some food products from the Fukushima Prefecture and nearby areas. These levels were detected in samples of milk in Fukushima Prefecture and six samples of spinach in neighboring Ibaraki Prefecture, according to the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum. Edano said that if these products are consumed for a year, the total radiation dose would be equivalent to one CT scan.
Additional monitoring of food products is continuing in those regions
doc
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Today's update:
doc
comment removed by moderator
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Vesta....
TVDOC has been providing informational updates on the state of the reactor and if you have something to add to that as far as factual information please feel free tp add.
If you wish to discuss the possible effects of the problem then start a thread of your own regarding that and state what you want to discuss.
DO NOT continue to use this one for that purpose and that is final.
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Public opinion poll since event:
U.S. Public Opinion Data
U.S. public opinion on the safety of nuclear energy is relatively unchanged from 2008 levels despite the Fukushima accident, and 60 percent of Americans surveyed said the situation in Japan has made no difference in how they feel about nuclear energy in the United States.
Fox News Poll conducted by Anderson Robbins Research and Shaw & Co. Research. March 14-16, 2011. N=913 registered voters nationwide. Margin of error plus or minus 3.
"Do you believe nuclear power is a safe source of energy?"
. Yes No Unsure
. % % %
March 14-16, 2011 51 40 9
June 17-18, 2008 53 34 13
"Has the current situation in Japan made you less likely to support using nuclear energy as a power source here in the United States, or has it not made a difference to how you feel?" If less likely: "Is that much less or just somewhat less likely?"
. Much less likely Somewhat less likely Not made a difference Unsure
. % % % %
March 14-16, 2011 19 18 60 3
doc
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Latest update:
UPDATE AS OF 2 P.M. EDT, SATURDAY, MARCH 19:
Radiation doses at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant continue to decrease. Radiation dose rates at the site boundary of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant ranged from 1 millirem to 3 millirem per hour on March 18. Eighteen locations were monitored in a 30-kilometer to 60-kilometer radius of the plant. The highest radiation dose rate at any of those locations was 14 millirem per hour.
Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) is installing high voltage cables from a nearby transmission line to reactors 1 and 2 at Fukushima Daiichi. Power is expected to be restored to reactors 1 and 2 later today (Saturday, March 19, Japan time). Priority is being given to restoring power to residual heat removal and cooling water pumps at the reactors. Plans are being made to extend high voltage cables to reactors 3 and 4 by March 21.
TEPCO also is stepping up efforts today to add water to the used fuel pool at reactor 4.
Two diesel generators are running and supplying electrical power to reactors 5 and 6 at Fukushima Daiichi. A residual heat removal pump, powered by a diesel generator, is providing cooling to the spent fuel pool at reactor 5. Temperature in the spent fuel pool at reactor 5 is “high, but decreasing,†according to Japan nuclear industry sources.
There has been no change in the primary reactor containment structures at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. Crews are still pumping seawater into the reactors 1, 2 and 3 to cool the fuel.
All four reactors at Fukushima Daini have reached cold shutdown conditions with normal cooling being maintained using residual heat removal systems.
doc
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1-3 mr/hr at the fenceline? Sounds like some material got scattered around, but none of the primary containments have been breached. Good news after all for a change.
Oh, and Vesta? As someone who DOES know about nuclear power, you're so full of shit your eyes are brown. Have an extra big bowl of STFU, won't you?
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1-3 mr/hr at the fenceline? Sounds like some material got scattered around, but none of the primary containments have been breached. Good news after all for a change.
Oh, and Vesta? As someone who DOES know about nuclear power, you're so full of shit your eyes are brown. Have an extra big bowl of STFU, won't you?
Lucky for her, I hear it's free. :-)
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1-3 mr/hr at the fenceline? Sounds like some material got scattered around, but none of the primary containments have been breached. Good news after all for a change.
Oh, and Vesta? As someone who DOES know about nuclear power, you're so full of shit your eyes are brown. Have an extra big bowl of STFU, won't you?
Yeah....reading between the lines, I suspect that happened with the hydrogen explosions at the spent fuel rod pools, which seem to be the focus of their efforts right now.
In comments just released the power has been restored to the main reactor systems, and they are preparing to start the primary cooling circuits. Some concern over possible damage to the pumps however, so I assume that they are doing inspections and tests.
doc
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About the only thing they can really do at this point is ensure that they won't cavitate when they start them up. The mechanical seals should have remained intact. If these are like the coolant pumps at other older BWR's I've been to, these are 4160 vac motors versus the 12-15 kV motors found in most larger PWR's. This is good because less starting surge, less "robust" generators, etc., will be needed.
If these are "watercooled" bearings like on some RCP's there might be a problem with air binding in the bearings, but God knows I wouldn't want to be the one going in the primary containment and venting them off. They're just going to have to keep a real close eye on the pump RTD's and discharge pressure to make sure they don't eat the impellers from cavitation.
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About the only thing they can really do at this point is ensure that they won't cavitate when they start them up. The mechanical seals should have remained intact. If these are like the coolant pumps at other older BWR's I've been to, these are 4160 vac motors versus the 12-15 kV motors found in most larger PWR's. This is good because less starting surge, less "robust" generators, etc., will be needed.
If these are "watercooled" bearings like on some RCP's there might be a problem with air binding in the bearings, but God knows I wouldn't want to be the one going in the primary containment and venting them off. They're just going to have to keep a real close eye on the pump RTD's and discharge pressure to make sure they don't eat the impellers from cavitation.
My understanding is that the power lines they were runniing was to backfeed from the grid, so they can transfer the generators to the pumps on the pools.
doc
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My understanding is that the power lines they were runniing was to backfeed from the grid, so they can transfer the generators to the pumps on the pools.
doc
So IOW, they're doing like any other power plant does during a scheduled outage (like the one we're going into in a couple of weeks.) That also makes it easier to isolate damaged electrical systems from the rest of the busses.
I'd go into more detail, but the big long post I just typed up disappeared for whatever reason. Effin Windows 7 laptop.
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So IOW, they're doing like any other power plant does during a scheduled outage (like the one we're going into in a couple of weeks.) That also makes it easier to isolate damaged electrical systems from the rest of the busses.
I'd go into more detail, but the big long post I just typed up disappeared for whatever reason. Effin Windows 7 laptop.
Abbreviations do the lay person little good, Sparky.
BTW, I'm, pretty sure it's operator error when it comes to disappearing posts....... I haven't had but ONE problem with Windows 7 that wasn't operator induced.... :fuelfire: :tongue:
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Latest update:
UPDATE AS OF 10:00 A.M. EDT, SUNDAY, MARCH 20:
A two-part operation to spray water into the used fuel pool at Fukushima Daiichi reactor 4 ended just before 7 A.M. EDT. Japan’s defense ministry announced that the Self Defense Force discharged more than 100 tons of water at the pool, and concluded that much of it reached inside the reactor building.
This was the first time since the March 11 quake that reactor 4 has been doused. Yesterday the Tokyo elite fire services used a high-pressure fire truck to spray water for more than 13 hours into the fuel pool of reactor 3.
The ministry also reported conducting surface temperature measurements of reactors 1 through 4 from a helicopter to evaluate the effect of the water discharge operations. The surface temperature of each unit is below 100 degrees Celsius.
Tokyo Electric Power Co. said this morning that pressure within the reactor containment vessel from reactor 3 has begun to stabilize and has decided against an operation to vent gases to reduce pressure inside the containment vessel.
TEPCO is continuing work to restore electricity to reactor 2. A power cable has been connected from a nearby transmission line. TEPCO hopes to have power restored to the reactor’s control room sometime today. Connections to reactors 1, 3, 4, 5, and 6 are to follow.
doc
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Late report yesterday:
UPDATE AS OF 8:30 P.M. EDT, SUNDAY, MARCH 20:
Fukushima Daiichi
Reactors 5 and 6 at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant are in cold shutdown, the International Atomic Energy Agency reports. This means that the reactors are in a safe mode, with cooling systems stable and under control, and with low temperatures and pressures.
When the quake struck, both reactors had been shut down for inspection and refueling, and had some fuel inside the reactor cores. Tokyo Electric Power Co. has been using a pair of diesel generators at reactor 6 to pump water through the reactors and to their used fuel pools.
An elite firefighting unit sprayed water over the spent fuel pool of reactor 3, Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency reported.
Japan's NISA reported that TEPCO early this morning began pumping sea water into the used fuel pool at reactor 2.
The company is checking individual circuits as it prepares to restore offsite electricity to the reactor's main control room, where it will be able to check and monitor plant systems. To restore power to reactors 3 and 4, TEPCO is considering laying power cables to bypass a radiation contaminated area.
The March 11 earthquake was stronger than the Daiichi plant was designed to withstand, the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum reported. Maximum ground acceleration near reactor 3 was 507 centimeters per second squared - more than the plant's design reference values of 449.
Fukushima Daini
All four reactors at Fukushima Daini nuclear power plant are in cold shutdown with normal cooling.
Small amounts of radioactive iodine - less than a third of the safety limit - have been found in tap water in Tokyo and five other areas, the Japanese government reported. Earlier, radiation had been found in milk and spinach in areas near the reactor.
doc
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This mornings report:
UPDATE AS OF 10:30 A.M. EDT, MONDAY, MARCH 21:
Fukushima Daiichi
Tokyo Electric Power Co. continued efforts on Monday to restore power to its reactors at Fukushima Daiichi as well as stabilize cooling in the used fuel pools of some reactors. Reactors 1, 2 and 3 are in stable condition and reactors 5 and 6 are stable and being cooled by systems powered by electricity that was restored over the weekend.
The Tokyo Fire Department sprayed cooling water into the reactor 3 used fuel pool for about 4.5 hours, ending early Monday morning. At reactor 4, Japan’s Self-Defense Force sprayed water into the pool for about two hours. Overall, 13 fire engines have been used in the spraying. Efforts to spray water into the used fuel pools at reactors 3 and 4 reactor buildings and used fuel pools was stopped on Monday while TEPCO assessed the effectiveness of these efforts.
Workers were evacuated from the area around reactors 2 and 3 Monday when smoke was observed coming from the secondary containment buildings. The smoke was determined to originate from a source unrelated to reactor systems.
Electricity is expected to be restored to both reactors 3 and 4 by March 23.
Radiation dose rates at monitoring posts are slightly higher than on past days. Rates at the plant site boundary range from 1 to 3 millirem per hour. Radiation dose rates in the area where fire trucks have been located are reported to be 2 to 3 rem per hour, with some isolated areas as high as 30 rem per hour.
Fukushima Daini
All reactors are in cold shutdown and are stable.
doc
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Of course, the news is still pushing the "OH, NOES!!! THEY'S RUNNING AWAY--WE'S ALL GONNA DIE!!!!" meme about the smoke from Unit 3.
Assholes.
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Of course, the news is still pushing the "OH, NOES!!! THEY'S RUNNING AWAY--WE'S ALL GONNA DIE!!!!" meme about the smoke from Unit 3.
Assholes.
Yeah....the rumors leaking out are that building three was extensively damaged by the quake (the exterior building), and while testing circuits in preparation for starting the pumps, a junction box shorted and caught fire. I would speculate that there are numerous damaged wiring problems to deal with.
doc
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Yeah....the rumors leaking out are that building three was extensively damaged by the quake (the exterior building), and while testing circuits in preparation for starting the pumps, a junction box shorted and caught fire. I would speculate that there are numerous damaged wiring problems to deal with.
doc
That makes a lot of sense. I just want to say again, thank you for posting these updates. I really do appreciate these un-hysteria-filled reports.
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I really do appreciate these un-hysteria-filled reports.
Even Fox is getting into the hysteria bullshit. :hammer:
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That makes a lot of sense. I just want to say again, thank you for posting these updates. I really do appreciate these un-hysteria-filled reports.
You're welcome!
I confess to having multiple agendas in doing so........
First......I wanted to highlight the sheer hypocrisy and sensationalism of the media (even Fox News). One simply CANNOT rely on media, ANY media to report factually on important issues, particularly regarding nuclear power. Their business model is to attract an audience, not to report the facts.
Second......To find as much factual information as possible, even if the facts are not pleasant to read. Were there a risk of a nuclear catastrophe here, I'd be the first to say so. There IS low level radiation at this facility, and my hat is off to the workers who are there doing their jobs every day. Although progress seems slow, one must understand that due to the elevated radiation levels, workers are limited to only short periods of exposure to keep them safe.
Lastly......I am a strong supporter of nuclear power generation. It has for decades been the ONLY long term source of large amounts of electrical power generation at low cost and environmental impact. All this garbage about solar and wind are simply a practical impossibility......it just won't work. The sooner we come to grips with this premise, the better off we will be. No one ever does the simple math required to compare the US total daily average consumption of electricity to the output of ONE wind turbine, and ONE solar array, then back into the number of either that would be needed........the simple answer is that there isn't enough geography available to do it......let alone the cost.
doc
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Monday evening update:
TEPCO believes the tsunami that inundated the Fukushima Daiichi site was 14 meters high, the network said. The design basis tsunami for the site was 5.7 meters, and the reactors and backup power sources were located 10 to 13 meters above sea level. The company reported that the maximum earthquake for which the Fukushima Daiichi plants were designed was magnitude 8. The quake that struck March 11 was magnitude 9.
Smoke seen from Fukushima Daiichi reactor 3 on Monday subsided after about two hours. Water pressure and levels at the reactor were unchanged through the episode, as were radiation levels, the company said.
TEPCO continues work to reconnect external power to all six reactors. Connections were made to the distribution line at reactor 1 and 2, and components and circuits at those reactors are being checked. Similar power connections have been made to reactors 5 and 6 and a diesel generator is providing power to a cooling pump for the used fuel pools. Power cable is being laid to reactor 4, and power is expected to be restored to reactors 3 and 4 by Tuesday.
Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano announced that Prime Minister Kan has ordered the governors of four prefectures near Fukushima to restrict the shipment of spinach and “kakina,†another leafy vegetable. The shipment of milk from Fukushima prefectures was also restricted. Edano said the order was a precautionary emergency measure.
doc
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Their business model is to attract an audience, not to report the facts.
Which has pretty much been the case ever since the networks made revenue the priority over journalism.
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Which has pretty much been the case ever since the networks made revenue the priority over journalism.
Not to hijack, but that has been the priority since at least the Spanish-American War in 1898.
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Tuesday morning update:
UPDATE AS OF 9:30 A.M. EDT, MARCH 22:
Tokyo Electric Power Co. has reconnected external power supply at Fukushima Daiichi reactors 1, 2, 5 and 6. Offsite electricity is providing power to cooling pumps for the used fuel pools at reactors 5 and 6. Components and circuits at reactors 1 and 2 are being checked before power is restored to them. The company on Tuesday was installing cable at reactor 4 and power is expected to be restored at reactors 3 and 4 on Wednesday (Japan time).
TEPCO said the radiation level at the main gate at Fukushima Daiichi has declined from 33 millirem per hour to 25 millirem per hour.
Fire departments on Tuesday continued to pump water into the used fuel pools at reactors 3 and 4. Seawater is being pumped through a manually laid hose and sent to a water truck for continual spraying. Firefighters have sprayed a total of 3,600 tons of seawater, or about three times the pool’s capacity, in recent days.
Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary, Ukiyo Edano, reported the detection of low levels of iodine 131 and cesium 137 in seawater near the plant. There is no threat to human health, officials said.
Prime Minister Naoto Kan has ordered the governors of four prefectures (Fukushima, Ibaraki, Gunma and Tochigi) to suspend shipments of spinach and milk from specified areas. However, Kan said the levels of airborne radiation in those areas pose no risk to human health.
The Fukushima Daini reactors remain in safe condition today.
doc
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Additional info for Tuesday, March 22:
UPDATE AS OF 2:30 P.M. EDT, MARCH 22:
According to the South Coast Air Quality Management District, which manages three radiation measurement areas for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, radiation levels in the United States have not exceeded natural background levels since before the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. These levels are thousands of times below any level that would result in public health impacts, the agency said.
Fukushima Daiichi Update
Power cables have been attached to all reactors at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, but the power distribution network at reactors 1 and 2 must be repaired before off-site electricity can be restored.
doc
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Amazing how the media has now dropped this like a
hot radioactive potato.
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Amazing how the media has now dropped this like a hot radioactive potato.
Fox is still covering it some, but Obomba's bombing of Libya is the big story.
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Wednesday morning update:
UPDATE AS OF 11:00 A.M. EDT, MARCH 23:
Workers continued efforts on Wednesday to restore offsite power to six reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. External power was available Wednesday at reactors 2, 3, 5 and 6, the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum said, but has not yet been re-established to reactor safety systems.
The next step before fully connecting external power is to test and repair the equipment that it will power. Cooling pumps for reactors 1 and 2 were covered by seawater and will require maintenance to bring them online. Tokyo Electric Power Co. is testing the cooling water pumps for reactor 3. External power was connected to the main control room at reactor 3 on Tuesday.
Reactors 5 and 6, which were shut down for maintenance at the time of the earthquake, are in safe shutdown.
“The earthquake and tsunami may have inflicted considerable damage in addition to knocking out electricity supplies,†the International Atomic Energy Agency said. “Since the extent of this damage (and therefore the extent of necessary repair) is unknown, it is not possible to accurately estimate a work schedule.â€
Japanese authorities have detected high levels of radioactive cesium 137 in soil about 40 kilometers northwest of the Fukushima plant. Surveys of radioactive substances in soil at six locations found levels of cesium 137 that are 1,600 times typical for that area. Japan’s government is expanding offshore monitoring for radioactive nuclides to 30 kilometers.
Japanese authorities have advised Tokyo residents not to provide municipal drinking water to infants or use it in mixing powdered milk for infants because of abnormal levels of radioactive iodine (I-131) detected in the drinking water. One water sample (5,700 picocuries per liter) indicated approximately twice the Japanese government guideline and prompted the restriction for infants. In an emergency in the United States, state and local officials would closely monitor food and drinking water supplies and quarantine any contaminated supplies as needed to prevent public exposure. U.S. officials use pre-established guidelines for safe consumption of food and water set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The U.S. Department of Energy has released the first radiation data from its aerial monitoring system and ground detectors in Japan. The department will update the data regularly.
doc
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5,700 picocuries per liter
I'm gonna have to figure out how much dose that would give if one drinks 2 liters/day...
Anyone got a decent calculator? 5.7E-09 Ci means you'd have to drink 175,000 liters of water to ingest 1Ci of I-131.
I know there was a thumbrule for Co-60, but not sure if that would be useful.
EPA limit is 4 mr/yr from beta/gamma emitters.
By comparison, a pack a day smoker gets about 4000-5000 mr/year (alpha) from Thorium, etc., found in tobacco.
So if they used the 4 mr/yr limit similar to ours, they're getting their panties in a wad over 8mr/YEAR?
FML.
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Thursday update:
UPDATE AS OF 9:30 A.M. EDT, MARCH 24:
Two workers were hospitalized for radiation exposure Thursday, even as Tokyo Electric Power continued to make progress in stabilizing reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
Three workers received radiation exposure of 17 to 18 rem from standing in contaminated water while laying cable in the reactor 3 turbine building, TEPCO said. One of the workers did not require hospitalization. The exposures were less than the 25 rem emergency dose limit established by the Japanese government.
External electric power was restored to reactor 1 and lights were on in the control room. Lighting was restored to the reactor 3 control room Wednesday. Electric power also has been connected to some of the instruments in all reactors except unit 3. While external electricity is available at all six units, it is not in wide use as workers inspect and repair cooling equipment before it can be energized. Reactors 5 and 6 have been safely shut down with cooling systems running on offsite power.
Seawater is being injected to cool the cores of reactors 1, 2 and 3. Workers continue to spray water into the spent fuel pools of reactors 3 and 4.
In Tokyo, the level of radioactive iodine in tap water has dropped to within safety limits Thursday. Yesterday, the Japanese government had advised against giving tap water to infants under one year old.
Smoke seen coming from the reactor building at reactor 3 at 4:20 p.m. on Wednesday (Japan time) “decreased significantly,†the International Atomic Energy Agency said. On Wednesday, smoke from reactor 3 caused the temporary evacuation of workers from reactors 3 and 4.
As reported earlier here, seawater injection continues to cool reactors 1, 2 and 3. Seawater is being sprayed into the reactor 3 spent fuel pool. Crews continued to use a truck to deliver high volumes of water into the spent fuel pool at reactor 4, IAEA said.
doc
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17-18 Rem is a lot if it's whole body exposure, but if limited to the extremities, not so much.
And looks like their exposure limits are similar to, if not the same, as ours.
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Friday's update:
UPDATE AS OF 9:30 A.M. EDT, MARCH 25:
Japanese officials are investigating the source of higher radiation readings at reactor 3 at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant after two workers were contaminated while laying cable in the turbine building. Tests of the water in which the workers were standing contained a concentration of radioactive material many times the level normally found in water circulating in the reactor, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said.
“When we looked into the composition of the water, the source...seems to be the reactor core,†said NISA’s Hidehiko Nishiyama. “Another possibility is the spent fuel, and we cannot rule out that possibility either.â€
Several possibilities could account for the presence of radioactive materials in the turbine building. Seawater sprayed onto the fuel pool area may have washed over the floor of the fuel pool area onto the turbine building and leaked through the damaged roof into the basement of that building. Other possibilities include a problem with an interconnected system to the primary containment, such as the main steam system, or a small opening in the reactor containment structure.
Japanese authorities recommended residents within 30 kilometers of the plant evacuate voluntarily, extending the recommendation from 20 kilometers. Damage to infrastructure in the area from the earthquake severely limits the ability to provide water, food and other necessary supplies to people sheltering in their homes for the coming weeks.
Tokyo Electric Power Co. is stepping up efforts to switch from sea water to fresh water for cooling the reactors and used fuel storage pools. The United States government has urged the switch to fresh water as soon as possible and is providing two U.S. Navy barges, each of which can carry up to 1,000 tons of water. The ships are scheduled to reach port about 60 kilometers from the Daiichi plant in about three days. Japanese workers at the site will install pipes and hoses to carry the water to the plant.
doc
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Sunday, March 27 update:
UPDATE AS OF 9:30 A.M. EDT, MARCH 27:
Tokyo Electric Power Co. workers on Sunday were using pumps to remove highly contaminated water from the basement of the turbine building of reactors 1 and 2 at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
TEPCO also was preparing to remove water from the turbine building of reactor 3. Removal of the contaminated water is necessary to continue power restoration to the plant.
By Sunday, water injection to the pressure vessels at reactors 1, 2 and 3 had been switched from seawater to freshwater.
Off-site power has been restored to all units and work to connect equipment is ongoing. Progress is being slowed by high radiation levels and wet equipment.
TEPCO said that earlier reports of extremely high radiation levels measured in the water in the basement of the reactor 2 turbine building were inaccurate, according to news reports.
UPDATE AS OF 6 P.M. EDT, MARCH 26
At this time, sources such as the International Atomic Energy Agency, Tokyo Electric Power Co. and the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency have reported no new developments at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. NEI will report on any new developments on this website on Sunday morning.
doc
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Monday's update:
UPDATE AS OF 11:30 A.M. EDT, MONDAY, MARCH 28:
Radiation levels in the seawater near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant remained high on Monday, but dropped considerably from the levels reported on Sunday. Monday’s sampling near the plant’s south discharge outlet showed that radioactive iodine levels were 250 times normal, reduced significantly from 1,850 times normal.
Radiation dose rates also remained elevated in the turbine buildings of reactors 1, 2, 3 and 4. Tokyo Electric Power Co. on Monday said that workers had found similarly high radiation levels in water in drainage conduits outside reactors 1 and 2. The company said that rubble at reactor 3 prevented measures from being taken there on Monday.
TEPCO is pumping contaminated water from the basement of the turbine building at reactors 1 and 2 to the main condenser. The company also continued to pump fresh water into reactors 1, 2 and 3, using electrical-driven pumps rather than diesel-powered fire pumps.
Levels of radiation at the plant’s main gate ranged from 12.5 millirems per hour to about 20 millirem per hour. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s annual limit for occupational exposure is 5,000 millirem.
doc
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15-20 mr/hr at the gate? Ow.
But yeah, as Iodine, et al, decay away, it'll drop very quickly. Probably under 1-2 mr/hr inside a week or two.
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15-20 mr/hr at the gate? Ow.
But yeah, as Iodine, et al, decay away, it'll drop very quickly. Probably under 1-2 mr/hr inside a week or two.
Yeah.....based on the latest rumors, reactors 1, 2, and 4 are now running on the normal cooling circuits, and should, in a week or so be in cold shut-down mode.
The building at reactor 3 suffered a near complete collapse, so progress is slow to restore normal cooling. They are going to have a hell of a mess to clean up over the next months or so, but considering that the earthquake and the tsunami exceeded the design limits of the plant to a significant degree, I'm impressed with both the condition of the plant, and the overall reaction and results.
Kudos, to both TEPCO (and its employees), and General Electric.
doc
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Tuesday AM report:
UPDATE AS OF 11 A.M. EDT, TUESDAY, MARCH 29:
Japan’s nuclear regulatory agency says Tokyo Electric Power Co. needs to balance injecting cooling water into the reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant and preventing contaminated water from seeping out, the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum reported Tuesday.
On Monday, TEPCO reported radiation levels of more than 100 rem per hour on the surface of puddles in the reactor 2 turbine building and in a trench outside the building. TEPCO is using sandbags to keep the water confined to the trench, a concrete channel that does not connect to the ocean. The trenches at reactors 1 and 3 are also at risk of overflowing and measures are being taken to contain the water.
The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency is awaiting the results of new Science Ministry tests for radioactivity beyond 20-kilometers from Fukushima Daiichi and new samples from TEPCO of the plant grounds.
On Monday, TEPCO discovered minute levels of plutonium in the soil at five locations at the site. The plutonium measured is as little as was in the environment in Japan following nuclear weapons testing during the Cold War and poses no health risk to humans.
doc
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Wednesday update:
UPDATE AS OF 12 P.M. EDT, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30:
Operators of nuclear power stations in Japan have been urged to ensure their facilities have emergency power sources.
Industry Minister Banri Kaieda Wednesday attributed the nuclear emergency in Japan to the loss of cooling systems at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, the Japan Atomic Industry Forum reported. He told utility companies they should have mobile generators on hand to cool their nuclear reactors as an added safety measure.
Kaieda said the utilities should confirm the steps they have taken and conduct drills within a month or stop operating their nuclear facilities.
According to the NHK news service, many companies are introducing emergency power generators to their facilities. Some have conducted drills for cooling operations based on a situation in which emergency generators fail.
At the Fukushima Daiichi site, workers continued to inject fresh water into reactors 1, 2 and 3 to keep them cool, while at the same time dealing with water that has pooled in the basements of turbine buildings and in concrete trenches near the units. As available storage space in the reactors’ condensers is filled, Tokyo Electric Power Co. is looking to store the radioactive water in tanks that will be brought to the facility. TEPCO has switched to fresh water for spraying the spent fuel pools for reactors 1, 2, 3 and 4.
All the units at Daiichi are operating on off-site electric power and work continues to connect equipment. High radiation levels and wet equipment still hampers restoration of the plants’ original machinery.
The U.S. nuclear energy industry will learn important lessons from the Fukushima Daiichi accident and “identify additional steps we can and will take to further improve safety at our nuclear plants,†one of the industry’s leaders told a U.S. Senate committee today.
doc
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Wednesday update:
doc
Mean while back at the ranch house, latest news mentions 3 reactors that are ours and one the Pilgrim I believe built on an earth quake zone.
Some time in the early 1960's we had an earth quake that destroyed the bridge going from Hampton Beach into Seabrook. Mom took me and some girl friends to check it out, what a mess the bridge was nothing like we have ever seen before.
In the last 3 years we have had quakes strong enough to move homes off their foundations, --weird they start with the booms of a cannon shot, the police have no idea what is going on and from my scanner the police are told to head out there quiet but with a show of lights. The earth does not shake just these big Booms. It sort of jumps.
We locals know of the garbage dump that was used for 200 years in the area and put it down to methane building up and not vented properly. However the methane is vented properly----Like MT. Trashmore in Norfork VA. so we now wonder what is going on under the earth in our Granite State foundation.
The earth is moving, we know this, in some areas it can be natural or due to human caused methane from dumps. Like a fuse to set off unexpected consequences.
In the early 1980's as we traveled from Va to Me. as we got closer to NY we had to close the windows of the car as the stench hit us, big mountins of garbage being covered in hills so high the big equipment looked like toys atop the garbage heaps. Where does mega tons of garbage go from the big city's, will the methane explosion set off a earthquake in a fragile area, what if the area is near a nuck plant.??
So much is intertwined with each other. We plan on foreseeable acts, but there are so many we do not take into consideration. Problems for our advanced society's to solve if we wish to live.
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Vesta--you are so full of HORSESHIT your eyes are brown. The largest quake measured in recorded history around here was about a 4.2. I FART bigger than that. They ESTIMATE the Cape Ann quake in 1655 was about a 6. Seabrook design basis is well beyond that. Then again, these are the kind of idiots you support in Congress, too:
LINK (http://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2011/03/31/halt-licensing-at-all-nuclear-plants-bill-proposes/79429/)
Halt licensing at all nuclear plants, bill proposes
March 31st, 2011, 3:00 am · 2 Comments · posted by Teri Sforza, Register staff writer
A bill introduced in Congress this week would impose a moratorium on all new nuclear reactor licenses — and license extensions of the type under way in California – “until new safety requirements are in place that reflect the lessons learned from the Fukushima reactor meltdown.â€
The relicensing of reactors at California’s Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant is well under way, and San Onofre is expected to apply for relicensing of its two reactors next year. That would allow the plants to operate for an additional 20 years — for a total useful life of 60 years per reactor.
More than a dozen new nuclear plants are on the drawing board nationwide.
“The Nuclear Power Plant Safety Act of 2011 will help ensure that the U.S. fleet of nuclear reactors is safe,†said Rep. Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., on his web site. “We should not wait for an American meltdown to beef up American nuclear safety measures. We must heed the lessons to be learned from the nuclear meltdown in Japan and ensure nuclear safety here in America.â€
Markey’s bill would require much more emergency backup so nuclear plants can weather longer electricity outages, of the type that plagued Japan:
As a first-line of defense, reactors would be required to have 14 days worth of diesel fuel backup generators. Most American reactors currently have seven days worth.
As backup-to-the-backup, plants would be required to have battery generators that can provide power for 72 hours. Most American reactors currently have battery generators that can provide power for only four to eight hours.
=============================================================
Spoken like a guy who hasn't a ****ing clue as to what he's talking about, or one hell bent on destroying any chance of nuclear power ever getting anywhere ever again.
Oh, and ever seen a gas or coal boiler blow? Pretty impressive, and no less destructive.
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Oh, and vesta? Link. I've talked to 3 lifelong "Brookahs" and none of them know of that bridge ever having collapsed.
ETA: The Underwood Memorial Bridge has been around since 1949. Never had anything done to it besides routine maintenance.
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As of 1994, Mt Trashmore did not have the methane "vented properly"..... Damn Vesta, did you fall out of the stupid tree and hit every branch on the way down??
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Oh, and ever seen a gas or coal boiler blow? Pretty impressive, and no less destructive.
No, didn't see the explosion but have seen the results.
My daddy worked in a small powerhouse that had coal/gas/diesel fired boilers. He worked in the turbine room so he was away from the explosion. A tube ruptured in the boiler, the boiler split and boy did it make a mess. No one was hurt, thankfully.
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No, didn't see the explosion but have seen the results.
My daddy worked in a small powerhouse that had coal/gas/diesel fired boilers. He worked in the turbine room so he was away from the explosion. A tube ruptured in the boiler, the boiler split and boy did it make a mess. No one was hurt, thankfully.
The newer ones don't blow like that...more like a frozen popcan exploding but the old style pot belly boilers?....Seen the pics and video in training for work...Glad i wasn't anywhere in the vicinity when she went....Looked like a hydrogen bomb went off! :o
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Friday's update:
UPDATE AS OF 12:30 P.M. EDT, FRIDAY, APRIL 1:
Japan’s nuclear safety agency has reprimanded Tokyo Electric Power Co. for not providing radiation monitors to all emergency workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
Each worker is supposed to have an individual radiation monitor, but some emergency teams have had to share monitors, the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum reported. TEPCO said that low-priority work will be suspended if employees do not have monitors.
TEPCO said that only 320 of the 5,000 radiation monitors were available after the earthquake and tsunami, JAIF said..
Fukushima Daiichi
A U.S. Navy barge containing freshwater to cool the reactors and used fuel pools at the Daiichi site has been towed to the pier. It will be connected to the pumps with hoses.
Meanwhile, injection of freshwater continues at reactors 1-3 and workers continue to spray freshwater on the used fuel pools for reactors 1-4.
TEPCO is evaluating the use of a synthetic resin that would be sprayed over debris at the site to prevent the spread of radioactive dust.
Additional equipment, including the biggest concrete pump in the world, is being provided by U.S. companies. The pump’s 70-meter boom can be controlled remotely. It has been in use at the Savannah River Site, helping build a U.S. government mixed oxide nuclear fuel plant. Concrete pumps are already in use at the site to assist with spraying water into the used fuel pools.
doc
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Saturday's update:
UPDATE AS OF 12 P.M. EDT, SATURDAY, APRIL 2:
Recovery efforts continue at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan, as aid pours in from the international nuclear community in the form of technical expertise, protective equipment for workers, storage tanks for contaminated water and other measures.
Today, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) said it has identified one likely source of contaminated water reaching the Pacific Ocean, accounting for some of the radiation readings in seawater samples taken over the past several days. The crack is in a two-meter-deep concrete “pit,†or trench, that contains power cables near the reactor 2 water intake. Water measuring between 10 and 20 centimeters deep was found in the pit with radiation levels of more than 1,000 milliSieverts per hour. TEPCO plans to pour concrete to patch the crack while continuing to search for other potential leak paths.
The Nuclear Industrial and Safety Agency says iodine-131 will be diluted in seawater and does not pose a threat to the public. Additionally, iodine-131 has a short half-life—about eight days—and will decay to harmless levels fairly quickly. (See NEI's fact sheet to learn more about the health impacts of iodine-131.)
The Japan Atomic Industrial Forum said TEPCO is obtaining a “massive, hollow floating platform†from Shizuoka City and will use it to store contaminated water from the Fukushima site. The float can store up to 18,000 tons of water. Meanwhile TEPCO and the Japanese government are working to identify safe methods for transporting and storing contaminated water.
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Looks like TEPCO is also looking to US firms like Bartlett Nuclear, et al, and are willing to pay BIG bucks...they're paying for the flight, room/board, and 300 mile daily round trips.
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/exclusive-wanted-u-workers-crippled-japan-nuke-plant-20110331-165506-832.html
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Monday's update:
UPDATE AS OF 11:30 A.M. EDT, MONDAY, APRIL 4:
Workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant continued searching Monday for sources of contaminated water leaking from the site into the ocean.
Attempts to seal a crack in a concrete enclosure for cabling in reactor 2 are ongoing after initial efforts failed. Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) injected a color tracer into the enclosure in an effort to track the flow of water. That test confirmed the radioactive water is from multiple sources. TEPCO is planning to install underwater silt barriers near the intake for reactor 2 to help contain the contaminated water.
Japan’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) and Nuclear Safety Commission both said it will take several months to restore permanent core cooling for the damaged reactors. NISA said it will take that amount of time to remove contaminated water from the turbine buildings and restore damaged plant equipment.
To free up storage space for highly radioactive water in a waste disposal tank, TEPCO is seeking approval to discharge 11,500 tons of low-level radioactive water into the ocean. The utility said the radiation level in the water to be discharged is very low. TEPCO estimated that someone eating fish and seaweed from the adjacent water every day for a year would receive a total exposure of 60 millirem, less than a quarter of the average annual exposure from natural radiation.
Workers continue to inject cooling water into reactors 1, 2 and 3. In addition, spent fuel pools for reactors 1-4 are sprayed with fresh water as needed to keep them cool.
Radiation dose rates at the Daiichi site continue to fall. Recent readings showed 12.4 millirem per hour at the main gate, 7.4 millirem per hour at the west gate and 78 millirem per hour on the side of the administration building facing the reactors.
Majority of Americans Think Nuclear Power Is Safe, Poll Shows
A Gallup survey shows that most Americans believe nuclear power is safe. In a poll conducted March 25-27, 58 percent of Americans said they think nuclear power plants in the United States are safe; 36 percent said they are not.
A Harris poll conducted March 23-25 found that 29 percent of Americans consider nuclear power plants “very safe,†with another 34 percent saying they are “somewhat safe.â€
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Thursday, Apr. 7 update:
UPDATE AS OF 1:00 P.M. EDT, THURSDAY, APRIL 7:
Tokyo Electric Power Co. continued to inject cooling water into reactors 1, 2 and 3 at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, despite a 7.1 magnitude aftershock that hit 70 miles north of the plant.
The temblor, the largest aftershock since the 9.0 magnitude earthquake on March 11, hit at 11:32 pm JST today off the northeast coast. The Japanese government issued a tsunami warning after the earthquake, but lifted it about 90 minutes later.
Three nuclear power plants—Fukushima Daini, Fukushima Daiichi and Onagawa—were shaken, but officials reported no new damage and no injuries to employees. Two of the three electric power lines that supply the Onagawa plant were offline, but normal operations continued with the remaining power line to maintain reactor cooling systems. The plant had been safely shut down since March 11.
Fukushima Daiichi
Seawater radiation levels, while still significantly higher than government safety limits, have decreased near the power plant since TEPCO blocked a leak of highly radioactive water into the ocean. TEPCO said it is too early to credit stopping the leak with the decline.
Workers continued to inject nitrogen gas into the containment vessel of reactor 1, a process that began Wednesday. Inert nitrogen gas is used in reactor containment vessels to stabilize the atmosphere. The nitrogen injection is to prevent possible ignition of the hydrogen that is believed to be accumulating inside the reactor 1 containment. It is expected to take six days to complete the process. Spraying water onto the used fuel storage pools at reactors 1-4 was interrupted briefly because of the earthquake.
TEPCO continued its controlled discharge of low-level radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean to make room in storage tanks for more highly contaminated water on the site. The highly radioactive water in turbine building basements is hampering efforts to restore cooling systems, particularly for reactor 2, where the radiation is highest. Before the highly radioactive water is pumped into the wastewater storage tank, the facility must be inspected for damage, the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum reported. Inspection could take up to a week.
The Japanese government is evaluating possible evacuation of some residents from areas within 12.5 to 18.5 miles of the Fukushima Daiichi site. Residents in the 12.5-mile zone were evacuated early in the emergency. Those within the outer area have been advised to stay indoors. The additional evacuation would be from areas where radiation has accumulated since March 11.
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Latest report, Tuesday, April 12:
UPDATE AS OF 11:30 A.M. EDT, TUESDAY, APRIL 12:
Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) is planning to pump highly radioactive water from reactor 2 into a condenser, as the utility works to control radiation and restore cooling systems at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
TEPCO continues to inject cooling water into reactors 1, 2 and 3 and to spray water into the used fuel pools for reactors 1-4. TEPCO also continues injection of nitrogen gas into the containment vessel of reactor 1 to prevent a possible explosion of hydrogen that may be accumulating inside.
A fire that broke out early Tuesday at a distribution switchboard near the south water discharge channel for reactors 1-4 was extinguished without interruption of reactor cooling operations or the release of radioactivity, TEPCO said.
The crisis rating of the Fukushima Daiichi accident was raised from 5 to 7 on the seven-level International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale by the Japan Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency. The new level, the highest on the scale, designates Fukushima as a “major accident.†The new rating puts the Japanese incident on the same level as the 1986 Chernobyl accident—even though Japanese authorities estimate that radiation released at Fukushima is only 10 percent of the amount released from the Ukrainian plant.
Authorities said much of the high-level radiation leaked from reactor 2 on March 15 and 16, early in the accident. Abnormalities in the reactor’s suppression pool caused the radiation release, the Japan Nuclear Safety Commission said. Radiation continues to leak from the suppression pool, the commission said, but the volume has dropped considerably.
For the new rating, the Japan Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency combined the accidents at reactors 1, 2 and 3 as a single event. Previously, separate level 5 ratings had been applied to each reactor. The earlier level 3 rating (“serious incidentâ€) still applies to reactor 4.
Japanese authorities may revise the INES rating at the power plant as more information becomes available.
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A government map of soil radiation levels mainly within a 100-kilometer radius of the disaster-hit Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant shows 34 locations with levels of cesium-137 exceeding 1.48 million becquerels per square meter, the level that was used for determining bans on living near the Chernobyl plant.
The map was released on Aug. 29 by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). Cesium-137 has a half-life of around 30 years. The greatest concentration was found in the town of Okuma, which holds part of the plant, at 15.45 million becquerels per square meter. The six municipalities with levels over the Chernobyl level are Okuma, Minamisoma, Tomioka, Futaba, Namie, and Iitate.
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/national/news/20110830p2a00m0na013000c.html