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

Burglary ring composed of nearly all Fujian people busted in Japan

Chiba Prefectural Police began investigating the string of burglaries in December 2008. They discovered the identities of almost the entire crime group membership following the arrest of 22-year-old student Chen Didi after two computers were stolen from a home in Abiko, Chiba Prefecture, on Oct. 2 this year.

Others involved with groups that fenced the stolen articles or illicitly sent money back to China have also been arrested. Police say around 70 percent of the suspects had come into Japan on student visas to study at Japanese language schools.
[link to www.whatsonxiamen.com]

Sept. 13

1 dead after fire at French nuclear waste site
[link to articles.boston.com]

Hanford Reservation and nuclear plant may lie on faults

[link to www.eastoregonian.com]

Energy Dept. Accuses Bechtel of Botching Nuclear Cleanup in Washington

Complicating the cleanup project are accusations that Bechtel National Inc. has failed to do its job properly while implementing the tasks of removing radioactive soil and man-made materials. Some workers have turned into whistleblowers to draw attention to scientific assessments that have been dismissed and managers who have allegedly abused their power. Bechtel also has been accused of rushing procedures in order to get paid quicker.
[link to www.allgov.com]

Science Fiction-Style Sabotage a Fear in New Hacks

When a computer attack hobbled Iran's unfinished nuclear power plant last year, it was assumed to be a military-grade strike, the handiwork of elite hacking professionals with nation-state backing.

Yet for all its science fiction sophistication, key elements have now been replicated in laboratory settings by security experts with little time, money or specialized skill. It is an alarming development that shows how technical advances are eroding the barrier that has long prevented computer assaults from leaping from the digital to the physical world.

The techniques demonstrated in recent months highlight the danger to operators of power plants, water systems and other critical infrastructure around the world.

[link to abcnews.go.com]

Crack at OH nuclear plant spurs nuclear opponents

Anti-nuclear activists have stepped up their opposition to renewing the license of an Ohio atomic energy plant after a 30-foot hairline crack was discovered in concrete at the facility.

[link to www.wfmj.com]

Govt to check Fukushima pollen / Cedar pollen may carry cesium on the wind, but at 'harmless' levels

There is very little data in Japan or elsewhere in the world about pollen from plants grown in areas with high levels of radiation. If high levels of pollen-borne radiation are found, the Environment Ministry plans to release the data at the end of this year together with its forecast of the expected amount of cedar pollen to be dispersed in the air next spring.

[link to www.yomiuri.co.jp]

“Fairewinds’ Chief Engineer Arnie Gundersen testifies to the NRC Petition Review Board detailing why the 23 BWR Mark 1 nuclear power plants should be shut down following the accidents at Fukushima. True wisdom means knowing when to modify something and knowing when to stop. Sometimes, all the King’s horses and all the King’s men should not try to put Humpty Dumpty together again,” states the Fairewinds website’s description for this video that was filmed on Oct. 7.

At 3:15 in [Transcript Excerpt]:

“Control rods enter through holes in bottom of reactor vessel. This presents a myriad of opportunities for melted core material to leak directly out of the reactor onto the containment floor. I believe this is exactly what occurred at Fukushima.”
[link to fairewinds.com] ... -kings-men

Ok, isn't this the ablation that Monkeyfister & I kicked around way back in March? Ablation is the melt through of the concrete floor. At that time we figured about 8 days.

Yes. I remember the ablation discussion. The reaction of corium and concrete.

Arnie is saying that the corium could have passed unimpeded through the holes allowing ablation to commence immediately thereafter.

What makes the most sense to me is that the corium gathered enough impurities on its way through to the ground to cool.
If so, and with the assumption of a crust forming in the cooling process, the temp may have fallen enough to avoid the 'steam explosion' we were worried about.

Assuming I'm on the right track, the corium at present is sitting in the ground about 16 feet below the concrete and steaming away merrily like a teapot.

NRC to implement Fukushima lessons ‘without delay’


Rep. Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., has added his voice to the call for the implementation of the recommendations and chastised the four NRC commissioners he said were stalling.

“It is time for the four commissioners who have yet to embrace their own staff’s recommendations to stop stalling and start leading,” Markey said. “I call upon these four foot-draggers to rapidly move to adopt the safety recommendations of the Fukushima task force as well as begin action on the additional measures that will protect the American people.”

The initial report of the Japan Task Force recommended improvements in the ability of all nuclear power plants to respond to loss of power after earthquakes and floods, to make changes in spent fuel pools, and to address concerns with venting and overall emergency preparedness.



Read more: NRC to implement Fukushima lessons ‘without delay’ - Plymouth, MA - Wicked Local Plymouth [link to www.wickedlocal.com]

Tsunami steps saved Tokai from meltdown

Revised wave forecast led to higher sea wall, unlike Fukushima


The tsunami that hit the Tokai plant on March 11 were 5.3 to 5.4 meters in height, exceeding the company's earlier estimate but coming in around 30 to 40 cm lower than its revised projection.

After the tsunami hit, the Tokai plant lost external power just like Fukushima No. 1 did, because the sea wall was overrun, knocking out one of its three seawater pumps.

But its reactors succeeded in achieving cold shutdown because the plant's emergency diesel generator was being cooled by the two seawater pumps that survived intact.

[link to www.japantimes.co.jp]

Forests to be used to store radioactive soil / Agency to let local govts open temporary sites

The Forestry Agency has decided to allow local governments to use plots of land in state-owned forests to temporarily store soil and rice straw contaminated with radioactive substances from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.

Local governments will be responsible for preparing the land for the temporary storage sites, while the central government will shoulder the cost using its reserve fund for reconstruction.

[link to www.yomiuri.co.jp]

Nelle's Last Fukushima Meltdown Update Oct. 23, 2011

[link to www.pacificfreepress.com]


- list of sources. I also have used all of them except the new one.

Use of own eyes, ears and legs important to see truth amid disaster

[link to mdn.mainichi.jp]

The LED-equipped sushi platter that tells you if your dinner's radioactive

Read more: [link to www.dailymail.co.uk]


- wonder if they have these at wally world yet?

Japan urged to strengthen food screening, labelling in view of radiation

[link to www.fnbnews.com]

Where Occupy and No Nukes Merge and Win

Atomic energy, the so-called “Peaceful Atom”, has failed on all fronts.

Once sold as “too cheap to meter,” it’s now the world’s most expensive electric generator.

Once embraced as a corporate bonanza, it cannot obtain private liability insurance.

Once hyped as the world’s energy savior, it cannot attract private investment.

Once worshipped as a technology of genius, it cannot clean up its own radioactive messes.

Once described as the “magic bullet” that could power the Earth, it’s now the lethal technology threatening to destroy it

For decades, the No Nukes campaign has conducted hundreds of demonstrations involving thousands of arrests in dozens of countries. Violence has been renounced and almost entirely avoided. Injuries have been present but minimal. There’s been at least one murder, that of the anti-nuclear activist Karen Silkwood. But overall, given the magnitude of the movement over more than 40 years of confrontation, individual casualties have been slight.

And the accomplishments have been historic. Whereas Richard Nixon once promised 1000 US reactors by the year 2000, there are now 104. These dangerous relics are now under attack, especially at Vermont Yankee and Indian Point, New York.

[link to www.indypendent.org]

Karen Silkwood

[link to www.pbs.org]

Radioactive "nuclear refrigerator" found near Illinois roadside. Radiation was detected and the bomb squad was called to deal with it. Farmer says it's been lying in a ditch by the road for at least two weeks. WTF !!!???





[link to www.morrisdailyherald.com]

Odd as hell.

I agree, I believe it's through the concrete floor. Wonder how long it will take for them to admit that one?

Fukushima Fallout Was Almost Twice as Bad as Official Estimates, New Study Says

This spring’s nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant released almost double the amount of radiation the Japanese government has claimed, according to a new analysis. The authors say the boiling pools holding spent fuel rods played a role in the release of some of the contaminants, primarily cesium-137 — and that this could have been mitigated by an earlier response.

[link to www.popsci.com]



- Tepco et al have shown a continuing pattern of misreporting.

Fukushima Nuclear Plant Released Far More Radiation than Government Said

Global radioactivity data challenge Japanese estimates for emissions and point to the role of spent fuel pools


The study also suggests that, contrary to government claims, pools used to store spent nuclear fuel played a significant part in the release of the long-lived environmental contaminant caesium-137, which could have been prevented by prompt action. The analysis has been posted online for open peer review by the journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

[link to www.scientificamerican.com]




- The scientific community is now questioning the information released by tepco and the Japanese. About damned time.

Tokyo Cites Rain for 'Hot Spots' .

The likely link to the nuclear accident came after a map based on the government's aerial surveys singled out Kashiwa as among a few notable hotspot areas in the metropolitan area. The discovery also offers new insights in how radioactive material has spread, with experts saying contamination in these areas occurred as rain and snow captured and then brought down radioactive particles from the plant in the days after the March 11 accident.

[link to online.wsj.com]



Next year's spring thaw could be problematic for many.

Decontamination experts outline the basics

[link to www.japantimes.co.jp]

A bigger threat than radiation in Fukushima

[link to www.abc.net.au]


- interesting aside.

Plant Status of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station

[link to www.4-traders.com]

Radioactive Used Cars Being Sold Illegally in Japan


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

Tepco manuals point to critical safety lapses

Newly disclosed manuals for workers at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant highlight the utility's lack of preparedness for an emergency, a major factor leading to the meltdowns after the March 11 quake-tsunami, a review by The Japan Times showed Tuesday.

[link to www.japantimes.co.jp]

Pennsylvania DEP Releases Impact Report on Fukushima Nuclear Accident

[link to www.prnewswire.com]