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

Scosche RDTX pro Portable Radiation Detector for iPhone Heads to Japan

[link to technabob.com]

Japanese caught in a blizzard of conflicting information

Caught in a blizzard of often conflicting information, many Japanese instinctively grope for the beacons they know. Ichida and his colleagues say they no longer trust the nuclear industry or the officials who assured them the Fukushima plant was safe. But they have faith in government radiation testing and believe they will soon be allowed back to sea. “All we can do is wait,” says Shoichi Abe, a manager with the Soma-Futaba Fisheries Co-operative, which represents over 1,000 fishermen living close to the plant.

That’s a mistake, say sceptics, who note a consistent pattern of official lying, foot-dragging and concealment. Last week, officials finally admitted something long argued by its critics: thousands of people whose homes are near the crippled nuclear plant may not be able to return for a generation or more. “We can’t rule out the possibility that there will be some areas where it will be hard for residents to return to their homes for a long time,” said Yukio Edano, the government’s top spokesman. “We are very sorry.”

[link to www.irishtimes.com]

Worker’s Eerie Show on Fukushima Daiichi Webcam

The person appeared to stare at something in his hands — a note? a cellphone? – before very deliberately, slowly raising an arm and pointing a finger toward the lens. And stood there.

After nearly 20 minutes in that position, the figure lumbered closer, right up to the camera under a face obscured by a protective mask nearly pressed against the lens. Soon after, the figure disappeared, leaving the camera once again neutrally filming the backdrop of the damaged reactor buildings.

[link to blogs.wsj.com]

2 workers showered with highly radioactive water

The accident occurred on Wednesday morning.
The two subcontracting workers were suddenly splashed with water leaking from a container whose valve was not shut. The container was part of the contaminated water processing system.

TEPCO says one of the 2 workers was found to be exposed to 0.16 millisievelts of radiation, which is higher than the safety limit, and was decontaminated.

The other, who was wearing a raincoat, was exposed to 0.14 millisievelts of radiation, a slightly smaller dose than the other man.
[link to www3.nhk.or.jp]

80% of Japan's reactors out of service

Another nuclear reactor in Japan will soon be shut down for regular inspections, leaving nearly 80 percent of the country's reactors out of service.

Kyushu Electric Power Company says it will begin work on Wednesday to halt operations at the No.2 reactor at the Sendai nuclear power plant. The reactor will be shut down by Thursday morning.

After the Sendai No.2 reactor is shut down, 42 nuclear reactors among 54 in Japan will be out of service.
[link to www3.nhk.or.jp]

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TEPCO presents plan to extract melted rods

Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, has announced a plan to extract melted nuclear fuel rods at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

TEPCO presented the 9-stage plan on Wednesday to an expert panel of the Atomic Energy Commission, which is discussing a process to decommission the plant's reactors.

Extraction of fuel rods that have leaked outside of reactors has never been performed at any nuclear plant.

TEPCO faces the tough challenges of coping with high levels of radiation and developing highly efficient robots.
[link to www3.nhk.or.jp]

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Somewhere in between stage 3 and the final stage they are going to have to figure out how to repair the vessels if they expect them to hold water. They are also going to need technology that doesn't exist yet. Massive radiation is going to be a huge problem.

No no no, you should know Tepco by now.

No problems, eeeeeverything is under control. Somewhere around 2025-2030...



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Radioactive ash to be solidified with cement under gov't plan

Ash left after the incineration of radioactive earthquake and tsunami debris should be solidified with cement and stored at a waterproof disposal site, according to a government notification sent to municipalities on Aug. 31.

The Environment Ministry notification applies to ash with radiation levels of between 8,000 and 100,000 becquerels -- a byproduct of incinerating disaster debris contaminated during the ongoing Fukushima nuclear crisis -- and stored by municipal governments at temporary disposal sites.

[link to mdn.mainichi.jp]

oh i'm so happy they didn't quake everything.

Fukushima exceeds Chernobyl in radiation level

BEIJING, Sept. 1 (Xinhuanet) --A map drawn up by the Japanese Government shows, that soil at 34 spots in six Prefecture municipalities around the Fukushima power plant, are contaminated with radioactive cesium. These levels are higher than the Chernobyl disaster standard used for forcible evacuations.

A soil contamination map released by Japan's Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry, shows six municipalities have more than 1.48 million becquerels of cesium 137, per square meter. Most highly contaminated spots are mainly 40 kilometers northeast of the nuclear plant.

[link to news.xinhuanet.com]

Fukushima students back to school, with dosimeters


During the ceremony at the city-run Fukushima No. 4 Primary School, principal Manabu Tanno said to students, "Please study hard in the safe school buildings, where the radiation level has decreased."

Sixth-grade student Kozue Sato, 12, gave a speech on behalf of the school's 177 students. "We want the new term to be full of smiles, " she said.

[link to www.yomiuri.co.jp]

Evacuated communities scrambling to open temporary schools, keep kids together

As the staff and students of schools closed by the Fukushima nuclear crisis start classes in temporary quarters far from home, some teachers are openly wondering if children will ever return to their previous classrooms in the exclusion and evacuation standby zones around the stricken plant even if the zones are lifted.

[link to mdn.mainichi.jp]

Heart-breaking.

Nuclear Operators Told to Reassess Quake Risk .

Nuclear regulators said Thursday they want the operators of all 104 U.S. commercial reactors to conduct new assessments of their facilities' vulnerability to earthquake damage.

The decision was motivated by the increased awareness that seismic risks may have been underestimated by nuclear-power industry and regulators in the past, especially for the central and eastern U.S.

[link to online.wsj.com]

Niigata-Vladivostok flights halted due to concern over nuclear crisis

NIIGATA, Japan (Kyodo) -- Russia's Vladivostok Air has again suspended regular flights between Vladivostok and the city of Niigata on the Sea of Japan coast due to the Japanese government's handling of the Fukushima nuclear crisis, Niigata Gov. Hirohiko Izumida said Wednesday.

"The Russian airline attributes its decision to the nuclear accident...showing its distrust of steps taken by Japan to address the crisis," Izumida told a news conference.

[link to mdn.mainichi.jp]

WikiLeaks: U.S. fears unsafe nuclear reactors in China

China is “vastly increasing” its risk of a nuclear accident by choosing older nuclear technology that lacks advanced cooling systems, according to U.S. diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks and reported by Britain’s Guardian newspaper.

[link to www.smartplanet.com]

- That's just great.

Nuclear Energy Institute Report on Japan's Nuclear Reactors, August 31, 2011 .

[link to www.enewspf.com]

Not yet.

Very sad.

In Japan, recovery is clouded by skepticism

Along the sawtooth Sanriku coastline of Japan’s main Honshu island, however, a quick recovery seems impossible. Fish processing facilities on which the seafood industry relies have not been rebuilt. Towering mounds of debris cleared from wrecked communities are rising on the outskirts of many towns. It may take years to dispose of the more than 22 million tons of rubble, Japanese authorities say.

A half-mile from Onagawa’s flattened town center, a group of boat repairmen, working in a tent since the tsunami took their workshop, have doubts about the mayor’s hopes for recovery.

“The Japanese government is no good, and our mayor isn’t even from here,” complains Motomu Endo, 68, a welder. “Officials say it will take eight years to elevate the damaged area and rebuild, but what will we do until then? Soon there’ll only be old men and women left in this town.”

[link to tucsoncitizen.com]

Tepco urges clarity on nuclear issues

We want clear and open safety standards with which we can decide whether it’s safe and whether we can reactivate the plants,” said Nishizawa, who was named in May to head the utility that operates the tsunami-stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear facility. “It’s going to be very unfortunate for the Japanese people if the standards are unclear and equivocal.” [link to www.washingtonpost.com]

As if it isn't already devastating. What a fucking arrogant statement.

Rough road ahead for work to decommission Fukushima nuclear reactors

The experts' taskforce is to work out and release a roadmap for reactor decommissioning by mid-January next year. Koji Okamoto, professor of nuclear engineering at the University of Tokyo, said, "In order to decommission the reactors, we must identify the places of water leaks in the containment vessels and seal them and fill them with water and shield radiation. To that end, we must prepare maps of contamination of nuclear reactors and remove radioactive substances." TEPCO did not disclose a timeframe for removing nuclear fuel, but Okamoto said, "It will probably take at least 10 years."

[link to mdn.mainichi.jp]

- brilliant.

In Japan, Evacuees Weigh Risks of Return After Nuclear Disaster


Read more: [link to www.sfgate.com]

X-ray technician overdosed children with radioactive agent

According to guidelines set by the society, doctors should decide the amount of the test agent to be administered. However, a male medical radiographer at Kofu Municipal Hospital had been determining the amount without consulting with other staff, hospital officials explained.

The radiographer reportedly told the hospital he knowingly gave higher doses of the test agent to the children so clear images could be taken as quickly as possible.

Prof. Norinari Honda, department of radiology and radiology service at Saitama Medical Center, Saitama Medical University, said: "While it is sometimes necessary for doctors to conduct these types of examinations, it is a basic principle that patients are subjected to the minimum amount of radiation possible."

[link to www.yomiuri.co.jp]

Photo Of The Day: The Aftermath Of The Evacuation

[link to www.foodmanufacturing.com]

Iran Moves to Shelter Its Nuclear Fuel Program

Iran is moving its most critical nuclear fuel production to a heavily defended underground military facility outside the holy city of Qum, where it is less vulnerable to attack from the air and, the Iranians hope, the kind of cyberattack that crippled its nuclear program, according to intelligence officials.

[link to www.nytimes.com]

Pilgrim nuclear plant cited for multiple safety failures

The report blames Entergy Corp., the Louisiana-based company that has run the 39-year-old plant since 1999 and is seeking to renew its operating license, which expires next year.

“Entergy did not adequately enforce human error prevention techniques, such as procedural adherence, holding pre-job briefs, self and peer checking, and proper documentation of activities during a reactor startup,” according to the report.

Entergy officials said they are reviewing the report and have yet to decide whether to appeal the findings before they take effect in three months. If the findings are not overturned, the plant will have to submit to additional inspections, training, and new safety procedures.

[link to www.boston.com]

Is a nuclear-powered car in our future?

[link to news.cnet.com]

i didn;t liked that w island anyway.