Fukushima Nuclear Disaster Update – March 30

Radiation Rises in Seawater near Fukushima NPP

Radioactive iodine was detected at 3,355 times the legal limit in seawater some 330 meters south of Japan doomed Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, said Japan’s nuclear safety agency.

Iodine 131 is believed to have caused the high incidence of thyroid cancer among children living near the Chernobyl plant when the 1986 nuclear disaster occurred.

Highly radioactive water has inundated at least 3 reactor buildings and is also  found elsewhere at the stricken nuclear plant.

Half-life of some radioactive elements

[NOTE: Half-life is the time taken for a radioactive substance to decay by half.]

• Cesium-134 ~ 2  years
• Cesium-137 ~ 30 years
• Iodine-131 ~ 8 days
• Plutonium-239 ~ 24,200 years

• Ruthenium-103 ~ 39 days [Ruthenium is a fission product of uranium-235.]
• Ruthenium-106 ~ 374 days
• Strontium-90 ~ 28.85 years  [Strontium-90 is a product of nuclear fission and is found in large amounts in spent nuclear fuel and in radioactive waste from nuclear reactors.]

• Uranium-234 ~  246,000 years
• Uranium-235 ~ 703.8  million years
• Uranium-238  ~ 4.468 billion years

Source: Various

TEPCO UPDATE

The most ridiculous news out of Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO): Chairman Tsunehisa Katsumata has told reporters that he thinks Fukushima Reactors 1 to 4 MAY HAVE TO BE SHUT DOWN PERMANENTLY!

[REALLY?]

Also, is he implying that Reactor 5 and 6, or any part of the Fukushima Dai-ichi for that matter, are still safe?

Death Toll

The number of people dead or missing from the megaquake and tsunami on March 11 stands at about 28,000 people.

Aftershock

Meanwhile another strong aftershock measuring 6.0Mw struck off the east coast of Honshu about 246 km (152 miles) ENE of Tokyo, USGS/EHP reported.

Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) had not reported this quake, as of posting.

Related Links

• M6.4 Shock Strikes Off Fukushima Coast
• TOKYO AREA QUAKE WARNING
  Large Earthquake Could Strike Tokyo Area – Megaqauke measuring up to 9.2Mw could strike Tokyo / Chiba Area:  FIRE-EARTH Forecast

• FIRE-EARTH Forecasts: Japan Earthquakes
  As Many as 4 Large Earthquakes [Megaquakes measuring ≥8.0] Could  Strike Japan Region by 2015

• M6.5 Aftershock Strikes Offshore Miyagi
• Significant Seismicity in Tohoku Region, Japan
• Japan Earthquakes: FIRE-EARTH Forecasts and Recent History

10,000 times the normal radiation at Fukushima R3

Fukushima Nuclear Disaster Continues to Unfold

Dangerously high radiation levels detected in water at Reactor 3: TEPCO

Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) says it has detected dangerously high radiation levels of radiation at Fukushima NPP Reactor 3, which could mean the core has been damaged.

Japanese government says it’s doing all it can to establish the cause of radiation leak at the stricken nuclear complex, and have asked residents living within 20-30km (12-18 miles) of the nuclear plant to leave voluntarily. Until today, residents had been asked to stay indoors.

Two workers at the nuclear facility who were exposed to dangerous levels of radiation remain in hospital. Apparently they had not been wearing protective boots and had ignored a radiation alarm, according to Kyodo news agency.

“As of 24 March, 19:30 Japan time, the number of workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant found to have received more than 100 millisieverts of radiation dose totalled 17 including the three contract workers. The remaining fourteen are TEPCO’s employees.” IAEA said.

Meanwhile, two Japanese tourists from Tokyo who arrived in China were taken to a hospital after being found contaminated with high radiation levels, Xinhuanet said.

Mystery surrounds the case as to how the two men became contaminated as neither of them had been within 240km radius of the Fukushima NPP, BBC said.

This news came amid an earlier report that  higher than normal radiation had been detected on a Japanese merchant ship entering the Xiamen port in Fujian province, Xinhua news reported.

Japanese Government has confirmed that levels of radioactive iodine detected in Tokyo’s tap water earlier this week  have since dropped to about normal levels, however radiation levels are still high in various areas of northern Japan.

Decommissioning of older nuclear plants big problem: IAEA

Many of the 441 nuclear reactors operating worldwide were built in the 1970s and 1980s, with an average lifespan of about 35 years (including those at Fukushima plant).

“Their decommissioning peak will occur from 2020 to 2030 which will present a major managerial, technological, safety and environmental challenge to those states engaged in nuclear decommissioning,”  according to a draft safety report by IAEA.

Is it Safe?

Construction of 4 pressurized water reactors at Cattenom Nuclear power plant in France began in 1979. CC-License.

Countries with 10 or more nuclear reactors:

The United States: 104  (Highest number of operational units)
France: 58
Japan: 54
Russia: 32
S. Korea: 21
India: 20
UK: 19
Canada: 18
Germany: 17
Ukraine: 15
China: 13
Sweden: 10

The Basic Points that are Overlooked by the International Atomic Energy Clan

1. Earth is a seismic planet and earthquakes regularly strike various regions.

2. The Pacific Ring of fire is particularly prone to earthquakes, some of them large earthquakes [Megaquakes.]

3. Larger quakes  can and do rip through ALL structures.

4. Offshore megaquakes are invariably followed by large tsunamis.

5. Large tsunamis invariable inundate vast areas, starting with coastal areas.

6. Nuclear power plants use electrical devices to operate vital cooling systems.

7. When inundated, electrical systems invariably fail.

All of the above, of course, is academic.

Related Links

• Tokyo Water Radiation “TOO HIGH” for Infants
• Significant Seismicity in Tohoku Region, Japan
• Japan Earthquakes: FIRE-EARTH Forecasts and Recent History

Japan’s Triple Disaster Update Mar 20

UPDATED 12:00UTC

TEPCO FALSIFIED SAFETY RECORDS

Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) the operator of Fukushima Daiichi NPP has admitted faking repair reports.

TEPCO submitted a report to the Japan’s nuclear watchdog on 28 February, 11 days before the Tohoku Megaquake, admitting it had not  inspected 33 pieces of equipment in the plant’s six reactors.

‘Long-term inspection plans and maintenance management were inadequate,’ the nuclear safety agency concluded in its follow-up report two days later.

The company also admitted that the voluntary inspections didn’t cover substantial section of the cooling systems, including water pumps and diesel generators.

In 2002, TEPCO again admitted to falsifying safety reports, prompting the nuclear safety authorities to shut down all 17 of its boiling-water reactors for  inspection, including Fukushima.

In 2007,  after an earthquake struck the Kashiwazaki Kariwa NPP, the world’s largest, TEPCO submitted false reports concerning the amount of radioactive leak.

• Another fire at TEPCO nuclear plant Posted on December 9, 2008
• Japan’s Nuclear Cowboys Posted on October 10, 2008
• Radioactive Leak at TEPCO Unit Near Tokyo Posted  on May 8, 2008

Radioactive contamination found in food products from Fukushima prefecture: Officials

Radioactive iodine has been found in milk samples and spinach produced in the Fukushima and could be harmful to human health if ingested, Japan’s science and technology ministry reported.

Minute amounts of radioactive iodine have also been detected in tap water in Tokyo and five other prefectures neighboring Fukushima: Gunma, Tochigi, Niigata, Chiba and Saitama.

In addition to the iodine, traces of radioactive cesium have also been found in tap water in Gunma and Tochigi prefectures, the ministry added.

The radioactive traces fall within the government safety limits, but tests don’t normally show iodine contamination, AP reported.

Radioactive iodine has a short half-life of eight days, but it can poses short-term risk to human health if ingested. It can also cause damage to the thyroid gland, IAEA health experts say.

“Progress”

“We are making progress … (however) we shouldn’t be too optimistic,” the deputy-general at Japan’s Nuclear Safety Agency has said.

Fukushima Reactor 3, which contains plutonium, a highly radioactive element, has bee stabilized after being doused for a day with large volumes of  seawater.

UPDATE: Shortly after announcing Reactor 3 had been stabilized, the authorities said pressure was again building up in the reactor’s containment vessel.

Aftershocks

A magnitude 6.1 aftershock struck Ibaraki prefecture south of Fukushima on Saturday at 06:57 PM local time. However, no significant aftershocks were reported Sunday (local time), as of posting. But the “fireworks” are by no means over, FIRE-EARTH believes.

UPDATE: Magnitude 6.1 Strikes Near the East Coast of Honshu

Magnitude: 6.1
Date-Time: Sunday, March 20, 2011 at 12:03:48 UTC
Location: 39.365°N, 142.105°E
Depth: 53.1 km (33.0 miles)
Region: NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
Distances:

• 90 km (55 miles) ESE of Morioka, Honshu, Japan
• 139 km (86 miles) SSE of Hachinohe, Honshu, Japan
• 162 km (100 miles) NE of Sendai, Honshu, Japan
• 458 km (284 miles) NNE of TOKYO, Japan

Source: USGS

RADIATION RISKS TO HEALTH

A Joint Statement from the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, the American Thyroid Association, The Endocrine Society, and the Society of Nuclear Medicine

The recent nuclear reactor accident in Japan due to the earthquake and tsunami has raised fears of radiation exposure to populations in North America from the potential plume of radioactivity crossing the Pacific Ocean. The principal radiation source of concern is radioactive iodine including iodine-131, a radioactive isotope that presents a special risk to health because iodine is concentrated in the thyroid gland and exposure of the thyroid to high levels of radioactive iodine may lead to development of thyroid nodules and thyroid cancer years later. During the Chernobyl nuclear plant accident in 1986, people in the surrounding region were exposed to radioactive iodine principally from intake of food and milk from contaminated farmlands. As demonstrated by the Chernobyl experience, pregnant women, fetuses, infants and children are at the highest risk for developing thyroid cancer whereas adults over age 20 are at negligible risk.

Radioiodine uptake by the thyroid can be blocked by taking potassium iodide (KI) pills or solution, most importantly in these sensitive populations. However, KI should not be taken in the absence of a clear risk of exposure to a potentially dangerous level of radioactive iodine because potassium iodide can cause allergic reactions, skin rashes, salivary gland inflammation, hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism in a small percentage of people. Since radioactive iodine decays rapidly, current estimates indicate there will not be a hazardous level of radiation reaching the United States from this accident. When an exposure does warrant KI to be taken, it should be taken as directed by physicians or public health authorities until the risk for significant exposure to radioactive iodine dissipates, but probably for no more than 1-2 weeks. With radiation accidents, the greatest risk is to populations close to the radiation source. While some radiation may be detected in the United States and its territories in the Pacific as a result of this accident, current estimates indicate that radiation amounts will be little above baseline atmospheric levels and will not be harmful to the thyroid gland or general health.

We discourage individuals needlessly purchasing or hoarding of KI in the United States. Moreover, since there is not a radiation emergency in the United States or its territories, we do not support the ingestion of KI prophylaxis at this time. Our professional societies will continue to monitor potential risks to health from this accident and will issue amended advisories as warranted.
______________________________________________________________________
For additional information, please contact Stephanie Kutler, Director of Government and Public Affairs, at skutler@endo-society.org.

Related Links

• Japan Earthquakes: FIRE-EARTH Forecasts and Recent History

Fire Follows 4th Explosion at Doomed Fukushima NPP

BREAKING NEWS

Large plume of white smoke seen spewing out of Reactor 3

At about 8:30 am today large plume of white smoke was obs3rved spewing out of Reactor 3 at Fukushima NPP, Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary, Mr Yukio Edano has just announced at a press conference.

Various radiation levels of up to 1,000 millisivert (mSv, or 1Sv) have been detected at various parts of Fukushima NPP, he added.

[NOTE: The above radiation leak quotes at Fukushima NPP were translated to English during a live broadcast. While they may be accurate, it’s also possible that translation error may have occurred.]

.

Dai-ichi Reactor 4 on Fire After Fourth Blast at Fukushima Plant Damages Encasement Building

A large fire at Reactor 4 encasement building followed a fourth blast at the doomed nuclear power early Wednesday, which damaged the  reactor.

Fukushima Dai-ichi NPP Satellite Image. DigitalGlobe handout dated March 14, 2011. Reactors 1 to 4 can be seen from bottom to top, with the smoke plume rising from Reactor 3.

Details of the explosion and ensuing fire are sketchy because large releases of radioactive radiation has prevented the fire crews from getting close to the reactor building.

The authorities have also revealed that the cooling system at Reactor 5 was in trouble and the coolant levels in that reactor was running low. However, they are using the auxiliary cooling system in Reactor 6 to cool down No 5.

The latest blast follows a third explosion at Reactor 2, and another major fire at Reactor 4 on Tuesday, when a fire has broken out at the No. 4 Reactor at Fukushima No.1 Nuclear Power Plant and radiation levels are rising considerably as a result of a leak, Japanese PM Naoto Kan has just announced.

Mr Kan has advised people within the 30-km of the doomed nuclear power plant to stay indoors and await further instructions.

He has also asked anyone who has not already been evacuated from the 20-km radius of the two nuclear plants to leave the danger zone.

“I sincerely ask all citizens within the 20-km distance from the reactor to leave this zone,” he said in a televised bulletin.

The fire was reportedly caused by an explosion near a containment pool where spent fuel rods were kept.

Japanese govt then imposed a 30-km NO-FLY ZONE over the doomed Fukushima NPP.

Radiation Reports Tuesday

• About 400 milisievert detected near Fukushima NPP No1 reactor
• 100 milisivert near No 4 reactor
• 30 milisievert near No 2 and 3 reactors

Notes:

1. Exposure to 400 milisievert over a 1.5 to 2-hr period burns the skin and makes the victim very sick.
2. The average background radiation is about 2.2 milisievert per YEAR.

Rolling Blackouts

Meanwhile, the  rolling blackouts are implemented in the Tokyo area for third consecutive day because of major power shortages. Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the company that operates the doomed Fukushima Daiichi plant, says the outages will last for at least three hours in the area.

The Basic Points that are Overlooked by the International Atomic Energy Clan

1. Earth is a seismic planet and earthquakes regularly strike various regions.

2. The Pacific Ring of fire is particularly prone to earthquakes, some of them large earthquakes [Megaquakes.]

3. Larger quakes  can and do rip through ALL structures.

4. Offshore megaquakes are invariably followed by large tsunamis.

5. Large tsunamis invariable inundate vast areas, starting with coastal areas.

6. Nuclear power plants use electrical devices to operate vital cooling systems.

7. When inundated, electrical systems invariably fail.

All of the above, of course, is academic.

Other News:

• Several significant aftershocks have struck the eastern Honshu area in the past 12 hours, including one measuring 6.2Mw(USGS), which struck  about 116 km (72 miles) WSW of Tokyo. (Tuesday, March 15, 2011 at 10:31:46 PM — time at epicenter).

• Gasoline rationing throughout Japan continues.
• There’s a shortage of paper and other stationery previously manufactured in the Sendai area.
• “120 maguro tuna at an experimental fish farm in Wakayama mysteriously died suddenly yesterday. Experts suspect it was related to the tsunami.” Said a tweet by The Daily Yomiuri.

Related Links:

• FUKUSHIMA NPP: No 4 REACTOR ON FIRE, NEW EXPLOSION ROCKS No 2 Posted by feww on March 15, 2011
• Worst Disaster since WWII: Japan PM Posted by feww on March 14, 2011
• Meltdown Threat at a Sixth Fukushima Reactor Posted by feww on March 13, 2011
• Meltdown Confirmed at Fukushima Nuke Power Reactors Posted by feww on March 12, 2011
• Radiation Leak at Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Posted by feww on March 12, 2011
• Threat of Nuclear Leak at Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Posted by feww on March 11, 2011

Other Links:

• 2010 Disasters
• 2011 Disaster Calendar

Worst Disaster since WWII: Japan PM

WARNING: SEISMIC CHAIN REACTIONS MAY OCCUR IN JAPAN REGION

CONTINUED OCCURRENCES OF SIGNIFICANT AFTERSHOCKS COULD LEAD TO A SEISMIC CHAIN REACTION UNLEASHING MORE MEGA QUAKES IN JAPAN REGION AND/OR SURROUNDING REGIONS: FIRE-EARTH

[Time Period: Up to 18 months from now; probability ≥0.6]

March 14, 2011 at 00:48 UTC

The Aftermath of Japan’s Megaquake and the Unfolding Nuclear Crisis is Japan’s Worst Calamity since World War II:  Prime Minister Naoto Kan

This Page would be updated throughout today, as new information becomes available.

Japan’s  Nuclear Crisis:

The cooling system has failed at a third nuclear facility in Japan, following the M9.0 Mega Quake near Sendai.

The Tokai Nuclear Plant in Ibaraki prefecture is causing great concern. Two of its three diesel generators used to operate the cooling system have failed. The plant is located about 120km north of Tokyo.

Tokai 1 and 2 Nuclear Power Plants. Click image to enlarge and view licensing details.

Built in 1962, 1 was Japan’s first nuclear power plant. Having generated electricity for about 32 years it was decommission in 1998.  Tokai 2 was built in 1973 and commissioned in 1978,  Japan’s largest at the time with a generating capacity of  1,060 MW.

Meanwhile, a state of emergency has been declared at the Onagawa plant, where radiation readings have exceeded allowed limits, said Japan’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency.

Onagawa Nuclear Power Plant is located in  Ishinomaki city, Miyagi Prefecture, and is operated by the Tohoku Electric Power Company.  Click image to enlarge and view licensing details.

The latest declaration is the third to be issued by the agency, with the first two still in force at Fukushima plant Nos 1 and 2.

• At Fukushima Plant No.1, at least two reactors may be experiencing partial meltdown.   As a last option, sea water is being pumped into reactors 1 and 3 to prevent them from total core meltdown.
• On May 12 an explosion said to have been caused by hydrogen buildup tore through the walls of containment building of reactor 1.
• Up to 4 other reactors face the threat of explosion, due to excessive pressure, and possibly meltdown.
• As of 10:00UTC Saturday  May 12,  up to 300 people had received varying degrees of radiation, including 60 students at high school in Fukushima located about 3.5km from Plant No. 1, who were waiting to be evacuated.
• UPDATE: Radiation at Onagawa plant has returned to operating background levels, Japan’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency has announced.
• Up to 170,000 people have been evacuated from a 20-km radii of Fukushima Plants 1 and 2.
• Tens of thousands of people were due to be evacuated from a 20-km radius of  the Tokai plant.

People throughout Japan have been asked tio save electricity. About 1.8 million customers are currently without power.

In Tokyo area there’s a sever shortage of electricity, with only 75 percent of the demand currently being met. [Demand: 41 gigawatt;  supply: 31 gigawatt]

Second Round of Tsunami Warnings

Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA)  issued a new round of Tsunami Warnings for Japan Region at 03:20 JST, Saturday March 12. A Major Tsunami Warning covered the entire eastern seaboards of Honshu and Hokkaido islands.

See below for tsunami map and list of the prefectures under TSUNAMI WARNING.

Source: JMA. Click image to enlarge.

Maximum Tsunami Observation

The following Tsunami Observation Map (NUMBER 64) was issued at 18:05 JST 13 Mar 2011.

The Surviving Victims of the Mega Quake and Tsunami

The surviving victims are well and truly trapped. There are  severe shortages of water, food and fuel, as well as clothes, sanitation and other basic amenities. Large areas have had no electricity sine the Megaquake struck about 70 hours ago. Many people are attempting to leave the disaster zones; however, there are no plains, trains or any other form of transport.  Automobiles are not going anywhere, anytime soon.  There are long lines of vehicles outside gas stations waiting to be filled, some reportedly as long as 10-mile. Many people are sleeping in their car in order not to miss their turn.

Many roads have been destroyed or severely damaged in Miyagi prefecture, as far as in the Tokyo area, in northern Japan, and in the far-northern Iwate prefecture. The toll road highways are restricted to emergency vehicles only, according to reports.

The Aftershocks

As expected, the aftershock, some of them powerful quakes in their own right, continue to rattle the eastern seaboard of Japan’s main island of Honshu.

10-degree Map Centered at 40°N,140°E

Earthquake Location Map. Source: USGS. Click image to enlarge.

List of Significant Aftershocks (≥M5.0)

March 14 UTC

March 13 UTC

March 12 UTC

March 11 UTC

Source: USGS.  Click images to enlarge.

The Death Toll and the Number of Missing

More than 2,000 bodies have been found this morning on the shores of Miyagi prefecture, the area worst affected by the tsunami,  Kyodo news agency has just reported. The latest gruesome discovery brings the total death toll so far to about 4,000. At least 10,000 others are believed to be missing.