*** Fukushima *** and other nuclear-----updates and links

Genkai reactor shuts down for regular checkup
The operator of the Genkai nuclear power plant in Saga Prefecture says it has shut down its only operating reactor for a regular inspection.

Kyushu Electric Power Company says at around 4:30 PM on Sunday, it began work to curb nuclear fission in reactor number 4. The reactor came to a halt shortly after 1:00 AM on Monday for a nearly 4-month inspection.

The utility says all of its 6 reactors in Kyushu, southwestern Japan, are now out of operation.

Of the country's 54 reactors, 48 reactors, or nearly 90 percent, have now been shut down.

[link to www3.nhk.or.jp]
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nice isn't it when people understand they only supply 20% max of all power and 100% of nuclear weapon fuel.... nice....

Panel compiles interim report on nuclear accident
A panel looking into the disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has severely criticized both the operator and the government for mishandling the accident.

The government panel released an interim report on Monday. Its investigations were based on interviews with about 450 people, including workers at the Tokyo Electric Power Company and government officials.

The report says that the utility itself predicted in 2008 that a tsunami larger than 10 meters high could hit the plant but that it failed to take preventive measures.
[link to www3.nhk.or.jp]
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Gov't to rezone evacuation zones
The Japanese government has decided to change the demarcation of no-entry and evacuation zones near the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant within 3 months.

The decision was made at a meeting of a government nuclear disaster task force on Monday. It follows a government declaration on December 16th that the reactors at the plant are once again stable.

The task force agreed to divide the districts near the plant into 3 zones based on the amount of radioactive exposure. In areas where cumulative radiation exposure is less than 20 millisieverts per year, the government says it will help residents return home as soon as possible.

In areas where radiation exposure is certain to exceed 20 millisieverts, the government will ask residents to keep away.

And in areas where exposure levels are higher than 50 millisieverts, residents will have to keep away indefinitely.
[link to www3.nhk.or.jp]
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Kyushu Electric calls for saving energy
Japan's government and Kyushu Electric Power Company have begun asking households and firms in the southwestern region to cut their energy use by at least 5 percent from a year ago.

Monday's request came hours after Kyushu Electric shut down its only operating nuclear reactor for a regular inspection. All 6 of the utility's reactors in Kyushu are now offline.
[link to www3.nhk.or.jp]
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Got rads?
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Results of ACRO's monitoring in Japan (15th of December 2011 update)

[link to www.acro.eu.org]

Less than 50%.

derp I think I've/we've touched on most of these points in the past. The shillmeter was pegged.
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Fukushima Disaster Probe Places Regulator, Cellphones on List of Failures

The preliminary conclusions by Hatamura, who specializes in studies of industrial accidents caused by design flaws and human error, includes a slew of planning failures, breakdown in communication and operational mistakes by Tokyo Electric and the government before and after the earthquake and tsunami.



-NISA officials left the Dai-Ichi nuclear plant after the March 11 earthquake and when ordered to return by the government provided little assistance to Tokyo Electric Power Co. (9501) staff struggling to gain control of three melting reactors, according to the report.

-No Power
While the utility supplied the electricity that kept homes, factories and offices running in metropolitan Tokyo, the world’s biggest city, lack of preparation for power failure in the Fukushima station left workers reduced to flashlights at the 864-acre plant site, the size of about 490 soccer fields.

-Fractured Communications
Communications became so fractured that plant manager Masao Yoshida, stationed in the emergency bunker, didn’t know what some workers were doing. The high pressure coolant injection system at the No. 3 reactor was stopped by a worker without authority from plant managers, according to the report.

-Withholding Information
The government also erred in keeping data on the spread of radiation from the public. “Information on urgent matters was delayed, press releases were withheld, and explanations were kept ambiguous,” the report concluded.

-Running Away
Interviewing Kan may be necessary to reach a conclusion on media reports that former Tepco President Masataka Shimizu requested to evacuate all employees from the plant following the disaster.

Tepco has denied it made that request, while Hatamura’s report said the company was planning a “partial evacuation.”

[link to www.bloomberg.com]



REPORT is here:
[link to icanps.go.jp]

from Hatamura's report
(snip)



In other words, the Off-site Center lost its functions because:
i. It was not assumed that nuclear disasters may strike simultaneously with
outbreak of earthquake; and
ii. Its building structure was not designed to withstand elevated radiation
levels, although it was intended for use in nuclear emergencies.


How smart do you have to be?
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Also:

These incidents in sequence indicate that not only the
shift operators on duty but also the NPS emergency response headquarters as well as
Provisional TEPCO head office in Tokyo did not fully understand the function of IC operation.
Such situation is quite inappropriate for nuclear operators.


No shit.
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(snip)

Furthermore, in the initial stage of responses to the Accidents, there were
confusions over utilization of monitoring data. In particular, the government lacked
an attitude of making the monitoring data promptly available to the public. Even
when some data were made public, they were only partial disclosure.



- that disclosure thang, again.
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(snip)

The System for Prediction of Environmental Emergency Dose Information
(SPEEDI) is also to play an important role in planning prevention of radiation
exposure and evacuation of local population. However, the system was not utilized
at the time of issuing instructions to evacuate.[/i]



- well, waste of time having it, then.
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The government instructions for evacuation did not reach promptly all the
relevant local governments subject to Evacuation Areas. Moreover, the
instructions were not specific nor in detail. The local governments had to, with
insufficient information, make decisions to evacuate, locate evacuation destination, and evacuation procedures. One major reason for such confusion is
considered to be that the government and electric power companies had not
tackled fully the issue of evacuation once a nuclear disaster occurs.

- wasn't in the budget..
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SDF to end Fukushima relief operations, complete post-disaster mission
[link to mdn.mainichi.jp]

...these are just notes on spikes based on 1 min samplings...over christmas...2457km road trip

.428 uSv/hr spike in Jasper park Can. Sun.

most edmonton to calgary running .21* - .31*...378(highest)uSv/hr over 4 days travel

about the same as in june when i was there
.. most of the interior is in the .25*...to .35* uSv/hr very steady now..was more spotty in june

still find pockets in the .09* area mostly small valleys
consider if this was now 24/365..

multiply those numbers by 24 hrs and 365 days to get a yearly exposure level
...then do some research on Chernobyls evacuation levels see how you feel about your exposure levels..

Just got back to van will post once i get some base line readings again...
for anyone that cares

Silver

same readings in n mighigan

and they said they were pulling them out..... "confushion-slash-stupid bomb" hits JP government.....

The University of Alaska Fairbanks' Institute of Marine Sciences is launching an investigation into whether radiation, including possibly from the Fukoshima Daiichi nuclear power-plant disaster in Japan, has harmed or killed more than 100 ringed seals off Alaska's coasts.
[link to www.alaskadispatch.com]

I got this from the House of Foust Group:

I sent a few emails to some of the veterinary officials involved in this in Alaska and urged them to look closer at radiation, hydrazine toxicity and ph issues potentially caused by boron concentrations.

TEPCO is estimating they will begin the process in about two weeks to bore a small hole and insert an endocope type camera into the containment vessel of unit 2. The work will be on the North-West side. The work would likely be done inside the reactor building ground level hallways so it would not be visible on either live cameras watching the plant.
[link to www.simplyinfo.org]

good work :) keep us posted

oh it was after the north korean nuke test hes dead now and blahbah

oh aha okey ..

Possible.

Essential information for GLPers posted on Dec 20th
Thread: 911 WAS AN INSIDE JOB, THIS THREAD IS FOR EVIDENCE AND PROOF!! (Page 7)

OK, but unrelated to fuku or nuclear issues.

yup

I just tried to post something...doesn't show? Strange

In a nutshell, Physics Forum has deleted a thread about the explosion at #3. Still shows on google cache though.

The thread has been placed in moderation pending cleanup, i.e., removal of misinformation and nonsense, which goes back nearly two weeks.

Ah, the cleansing continues. Wonder who decides what is 'misinformation' and what is the criteria?
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