*** Fukushima *** and other nuclear-----updates and links | |
Waterbug (OP) User ID: 34388912 United States 08/15/2013 10:51 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | [link to enenews.com] |
Waterbug (OP) User ID: 34388912 United States 08/15/2013 10:52 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Bloomberg: Tepco now in talks to cover Fukushima reactors with concrete for next 75 years — Officials reviewing plan in U.S. [link to enenews.com] [... Tepco] has sent engineers on visits to the Hanford site in Washington state this year to learn from decades of work treating millions of gallons of radioactive waste. Hanford also has a method to seal off reactors known as concrete cocooning that could reduce the 11 trillion yen ($112 billion) estimated cost for cleaning up Fukushima. [...] |
Waterbug (OP) User ID: 34388912 United States 08/16/2013 11:03 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Asahi: Radioactive cesium in Fukushima water now 8 times higher than when disaster began [link to enenews.com] |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 38176253 Sweden 08/16/2013 12:42 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | What an exciting future ahead... hold your breath and pray... The deadliest part of Fukushima's nuclear clean-up: Removing fuel rods TOKYO — The operator of Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear plant is preparing to remove 400 tons of highly irradiated spent fuel from a damaged reactor building, a dangerous operation that has never been attempted before on this scale. Containing radiation equivalent to 14,000 times the amount released in the atomic bomb attack on Hiroshima 68 years ago, more than 1,300 used fuel rod assemblies packed tightly together need to be removed from a building that is vulnerable to collapse, should another large earthquake hit the area. Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) is already in a losing battle to stop radioactive water overflowing from another part of the facility, and experts question whether it will be able to pull off the removal of all the assemblies successfully. “They are going to have difficulty in removing a significant number of the rods,” said Arnie Gundersen, a veteran U.S. nuclear engineer and director of Fairewinds Energy Education, who used to build fuel assemblies. The operation, beginning this November at the plant’s No. 4 reactor, is fraught with danger, including the possibility of a large release of radiation if a fuel assembly breaks, gets stuck or gets too close to an adjacent bundle, said Gundersen and other nuclear experts. That could lead to a worse disaster than the March 2011 nuclear crisis at the Fukushima plant. No one knows how bad it can get, but independent consultants Mycle Schneider and Antony Froggatt said recently in their World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2013: “Full release from the No. 4 spent fuel pool, without any containment or control, could cause by far the most serious radiological disaster to date.” [link to www.japantoday.com] . |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 38176253 Sweden 08/16/2013 01:06 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Standard operating procedure all over the world... unknown to most people... Release of nuclear plant ‘effluents’ into lake described as part of normal cycle COVERT — The May 5 release of about 80 gallons of slightly radioactive water from the Palisades nuclear power plant into Lake Michigan was unusual because it wasn’t planned. But the incident brought into focus what many Southwest Michigan residents likely didn’t realize: The region’s two nuclear power plants (Palisades and the Donald C. Cook Plant in Lake Township) routinely discharge radioactive material into the air and into Lake Michigan. In the nuclear industry, it’s called effluents. The federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission allows such releases, as long as they are closely monitored and do not exceed federal radiation release standards set in place by the NRC. “Plants need to discharge small amounts of radioactive materials to operate,” said Jack Geissner, branch chief for the regional NRC office. [link to www.harborcountry-news.com] . |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 38176253 Sweden 08/16/2013 01:07 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | At 1824 PDT on August 15, 2013, Unit 1 experienced a loss of startup power due to a failure of Startup Transformer 1-1 load tap changer. This loss caused a valid auto-start signal to all three emergency diesel generators and they all started successfully. At 1921, all EDGs were shutdown and returned to standby per plant procedures." As a result of the loss of startup power, power was also lost to site service buildings. ERDS was lost but compensatory measures are in place to transmit required data via the ENS line if required. The plant is in a 72-hr. shutdown LCO action statement under T.S. 3.8.1 for the loss of one of three qualified circuits. The two other qualified circuits (vital power via auxiliary transformers and the EDGs) remain operable. [link to www.nucpros.com] . |
Waterbug (OP) User ID: 34388912 United States 08/16/2013 02:38 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 19524506 United Kingdom 08/16/2013 04:19 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | What an exciting future ahead... hold your breath and pray... Quoting: Anonymous Coward 38176253 The deadliest part of Fukushima's nuclear clean-up: Removing fuel rods TOKYO — The operator of Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear plant is preparing to remove 400 tons of highly irradiated spent fuel from a damaged reactor building, a dangerous operation that has never been attempted before on this scale. Containing radiation equivalent to 14,000 times the amount released in the atomic bomb attack on Hiroshima 68 years ago, more than 1,300 used fuel rod assemblies packed tightly together need to be removed from a building that is vulnerable to collapse, should another large earthquake hit the area. Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) is already in a losing battle to stop radioactive water overflowing from another part of the facility, and experts question whether it will be able to pull off the removal of all the assemblies successfully. “They are going to have difficulty in removing a significant number of the rods,” said Arnie Gundersen, a veteran U.S. nuclear engineer and director of Fairewinds Energy Education, who used to build fuel assemblies. The operation, beginning this November at the plant’s No. 4 reactor, is fraught with danger, including the possibility of a large release of radiation if a fuel assembly breaks, gets stuck or gets too close to an adjacent bundle, said Gundersen and other nuclear experts. That could lead to a worse disaster than the March 2011 nuclear crisis at the Fukushima plant. No one knows how bad it can get, but independent consultants Mycle Schneider and Antony Froggatt said recently in their World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2013: “Full release from the No. 4 spent fuel pool, without any containment or control, could cause by far the most serious radiological disaster to date.” [link to www.japantoday.com] . This is the biggest news story in the history of the world, at least in this age, and to say the story is being "ignored" is a vast understatement. It's barely being noticed. What is going on? |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 38176253 Sweden 08/16/2013 05:04 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Gracias bug... interesting article with interesting links... he forgot to mention that we're also building another 4 AP1000 in China... testing... lol... "Worse yet, no one ever built a demonstration AP1000 nuke plant to prove they really are passively safe. Small demo plants often reveal design errors that can then be corrected before full-size plants are built. Without one, we’re investing $24 billion without knowing whether these four plants will ever work as promised. How rational is that?" The show must go on... a lot of people are depending on it... "Empty spaces - what are we living for? Abandoned places - I guess we know the score.. On and on! Does anybody know what we are looking for? Another hero - another mindless crime. Behind the curtain, in the pantomime. Hold the line! Does anybody want to take it anymore? The Show must go on! The Show must go on! Inside my heart is breaking, My make-up may be flaking, But my smile, still, stays on!" [link to www.youtube.com] . |
Waterbug (OP) User ID: 34388912 United States 08/16/2013 05:08 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Gracias bug... interesting article with interesting links... he forgot to mention that we're also building another 4 AP1000 in China... testing... lol... "Worse yet, no one ever built a demonstration AP1000 nuke plant to prove they really are passively safe. Small demo plants often reveal design errors that can then be corrected before full-size plants are built. Without one, we’re investing $24 billion without knowing whether these four plants will ever work as promised. How rational is that?" The show must go on... a lot of people are depending on it... "Empty spaces - what are we living for? Abandoned places - I guess we know the score.. On and on! Does anybody know what we are looking for? Another hero - another mindless crime. Behind the curtain, in the pantomime. Hold the line! Does anybody want to take it anymore? The Show must go on! The Show must go on! Inside my heart is breaking, My make-up may be flaking, But my smile, still, stays on!" [link to www.youtube.com] . Amen, brother.. |
Waterbug (OP) User ID: 34388912 United States 08/16/2013 05:10 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | This is the biggest news story in the history of the world, at least in this age, and to say the story is being "ignored" is a vast understatement. It's barely being noticed. Quoting: Anonymous Coward 19524506 What is going on? [youtube] [link to www.youtube.com] Yeah. We've noticed that, too. Amazing, innit..? |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 19524506 United Kingdom 08/16/2013 05:18 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | This is the biggest news story in the history of the world, at least in this age, and to say the story is being "ignored" is a vast understatement. It's barely being noticed. Quoting: Anonymous Coward 19524506 What is going on? [youtube] [link to www.youtube.com] Yeah. We've noticed that, too. Amazing, innit..? Have you noticed that humanity collectively seems to have lost its self-preservation instinct? The story about moving the fuel rods is a perfect example. We're going to let a company that's proven to be completely incompetent take the lives of all of us into their hands where one mistake could lead to a quick ELE. And what's the reaction to that? Essentially nothing, humanity is ignoring it almost completely. Why do you think that is? Why has humanity collectively lost its self-preservation instinct? |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 17938575 Canada 08/16/2013 05:32 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | What an exciting future ahead... hold your breath and pray... Quoting: Anonymous Coward 38176253 The deadliest part of Fukushima's nuclear clean-up: Removing fuel rods TOKYO — The operator of Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear plant is preparing to remove 400 tons of highly irradiated spent fuel from a damaged reactor building, a dangerous operation that has never been attempted before on this scale. Containing radiation equivalent to 14,000 times the amount released in the atomic bomb attack on Hiroshima 68 years ago, more than 1,300 used fuel rod assemblies packed tightly together need to be removed from a building that is vulnerable to collapse, should another large earthquake hit the area. Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) is already in a losing battle to stop radioactive water overflowing from another part of the facility, and experts question whether it will be able to pull off the removal of all the assemblies successfully. “They are going to have difficulty in removing a significant number of the rods,” said Arnie Gundersen, a veteran U.S. nuclear engineer and director of Fairewinds Energy Education, who used to build fuel assemblies. The operation, beginning this November at the plant’s No. 4 reactor, is fraught with danger, including the possibility of a large release of radiation if a fuel assembly breaks, gets stuck or gets too close to an adjacent bundle, said Gundersen and other nuclear experts. That could lead to a worse disaster than the March 2011 nuclear crisis at the Fukushima plant. No one knows how bad it can get, but independent consultants Mycle Schneider and Antony Froggatt said recently in their World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2013: “Full release from the No. 4 spent fuel pool, without any containment or control, could cause by far the most serious radiological disaster to date.” [link to www.japantoday.com] . This is the biggest news story in the history of the world, at least in this age, and to say the story is being "ignored" is a vast understatement. It's barely being noticed. What is going on? I think that most people do not realize just how potentially bad a situation could develop with these rods. A worst case scenario would be somehow re-initiating a critical nuclear reaction in the rods, resulting in an unshielded fission reaction. Secondary, but still incredibly bad, would be the chance of the rods burning and releasing particulates in the form of smoke into the atmosphere. Thankfully it looks like they have spent the last two years building a new crane system and structure for this job. For all our sakes I hope that it all works perfectly. |
Waterbug (OP) User ID: 34388912 United States 08/16/2013 05:34 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | This is the biggest news story in the history of the world, at least in this age, and to say the story is being "ignored" is a vast understatement. It's barely being noticed. Quoting: Anonymous Coward 19524506 What is going on? [youtube] [link to www.youtube.com] Yeah. We've noticed that, too. Amazing, innit..? Have you noticed that humanity collectively seems to have lost its self-preservation instinct? The story about moving the fuel rods is a perfect example. We're going to let a company that's proven to be completely incompetent take the lives of all of us into their hands where one mistake could lead to a quick ELE. And what's the reaction to that? Essentially nothing, humanity is ignoring it almost completely. Why do you think that is? Why has humanity collectively lost its self-preservation instinct? I think the herd is distracted by electronics and MSM redirection. And some are just brain-dead. |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 19524506 United Kingdom 08/16/2013 05:40 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | What an exciting future ahead... hold your breath and pray... Quoting: Anonymous Coward 38176253 The deadliest part of Fukushima's nuclear clean-up: Removing fuel rods TOKYO — The operator of Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear plant is preparing to remove 400 tons of highly irradiated spent fuel from a damaged reactor building, a dangerous operation that has never been attempted before on this scale. Containing radiation equivalent to 14,000 times the amount released in the atomic bomb attack on Hiroshima 68 years ago, more than 1,300 used fuel rod assemblies packed tightly together need to be removed from a building that is vulnerable to collapse, should another large earthquake hit the area. Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) is already in a losing battle to stop radioactive water overflowing from another part of the facility, and experts question whether it will be able to pull off the removal of all the assemblies successfully. “They are going to have difficulty in removing a significant number of the rods,” said Arnie Gundersen, a veteran U.S. nuclear engineer and director of Fairewinds Energy Education, who used to build fuel assemblies. The operation, beginning this November at the plant’s No. 4 reactor, is fraught with danger, including the possibility of a large release of radiation if a fuel assembly breaks, gets stuck or gets too close to an adjacent bundle, said Gundersen and other nuclear experts. That could lead to a worse disaster than the March 2011 nuclear crisis at the Fukushima plant. No one knows how bad it can get, but independent consultants Mycle Schneider and Antony Froggatt said recently in their World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2013: “Full release from the No. 4 spent fuel pool, without any containment or control, could cause by far the most serious radiological disaster to date.” [link to www.japantoday.com] . This is the biggest news story in the history of the world, at least in this age, and to say the story is being "ignored" is a vast understatement. It's barely being noticed. What is going on? I think that most people do not realize just how potentially bad a situation could develop with these rods. A worst case scenario would be somehow re-initiating a critical nuclear reaction in the rods, resulting in an unshielded fission reaction. Secondary, but still incredibly bad, would be the chance of the rods burning and releasing particulates in the form of smoke into the atmosphere. Thankfully it looks like they have spent the last two years building a new crane system and structure for this job. For all our sakes I hope that it all works perfectly. I read what you're saying in the MSM, people have no excuse. BTW, what probability do you think TEPCO has of pulling off this operation successfully? |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 19524506 United Kingdom 08/16/2013 05:43 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | This is the biggest news story in the history of the world, at least in this age, and to say the story is being "ignored" is a vast understatement. It's barely being noticed. Quoting: Anonymous Coward 19524506 What is going on? [youtube] [link to www.youtube.com] Yeah. We've noticed that, too. Amazing, innit..? Have you noticed that humanity collectively seems to have lost its self-preservation instinct? The story about moving the fuel rods is a perfect example. We're going to let a company that's proven to be completely incompetent take the lives of all of us into their hands where one mistake could lead to a quick ELE. And what's the reaction to that? Essentially nothing, humanity is ignoring it almost completely. Why do you think that is? Why has humanity collectively lost its self-preservation instinct? I think the herd is distracted by electronics and MSM redirection. And some are just brain-dead. The herd is pretty brainless but... We're talking about 99.9% of humanity including almost all the world leaders! Almost all of academia, almost all of the MSM, almost all of the militaries, everyone! That's not all the herd you know! The herd is not the entire human race! |
Citizenperth User ID: 44396812 Australia 08/16/2013 07:15 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Have you noticed that humanity collectively seems to have lost its self-preservation instinct? The story about moving the fuel rods is a perfect example. We're going to let a company that's proven to be completely incompetent take the lives of all of us into their hands where one mistake could lead to a quick ELE. And what's the reaction to that? Essentially nothing, humanity is ignoring it almost completely. Why do you think that is? Why has humanity collectively lost its self-preservation instinct? I think the herd is distracted by electronics and MSM redirection. And some are just brain-dead. The herd is pretty brainless but... We're talking about 99.9% of humanity including almost all the world leaders! Almost all of academia, almost all of the MSM, almost all of the militaries, everyone! That's not all the herd you know! The herd is not the entire human race! here are some cows Last Edited by CitizenPerth™ on 08/16/2013 07:15 PM It's life as we know it, but only just. [link to citizenperth.wordpress.com] sic ut vos es vos should exsisto , denego alius vicis facio vos change , exsisto youself , proprie |
Southern OR User ID: 20471008 United States 08/16/2013 09:39 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Ignoring this won't make it go away.. Quoting: Waterbug TV: Many U.S. sailors are suffering serious symptoms of radiation sickness after being contaminated during Fukushima nuclear disaster — USS Ronald Reagan was as close as a mile away as reactors melted down (VIDEO) [link to enenews.com] Jed Boal, KSL 5 News Reporter: [The USS Ronald Reagan] sat off the shore, as close as a mile away, as the Fukushima nuclear reactors melted down […] Navy Lt. j.g. Steve Simmons, served on board the USS Ronald Reagan during 3/11 response: I just want somebody to acknowledge that there is an issue, that maybe we did do something wrong. [...] This really pisses me off. I can see the Navy fighting against any benefits. They did the same thing after the first desert storm. It will take many years for it all to get sorted out and that won't help the folks dealing with it now. "Well-behaved women seldom make history." —Laurel Thatcher Ulrich I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do. ~Edward Everett Hale |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 8736872 Canada 08/16/2013 11:43 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 8736872 Canada 08/16/2013 11:46 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | |
Citizenperth User ID: 44396812 Australia 08/16/2013 11:48 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | birds AND THE BEES... already happened, doom mega hit.... It's life as we know it, but only just. [link to citizenperth.wordpress.com] sic ut vos es vos should exsisto , denego alius vicis facio vos change , exsisto youself , proprie |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 44038123 United States 08/17/2013 11:20 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Fukushima is a veil, a smoke screen for the global radiation increases which are actually from the incoming celestial bodies. It was intentionally damaged via either an EQ weapon, a tsunami weapon, or some other diabolical plan in order to have a plausible explanation for the radiation increases globally. Additionally, the shut downs of the space fence, various satellite arrays, and other viewing projects is not for lack of need or funding. It is because ALL of that equipment is being inundated with radiation, matter, and other unknown space particles, causing them to malfunction, fail, and/or be rendered useless. These evil bastards won't ever tell us the truth, but it will come... VERY soon. peace to all. be love. |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 38176253 Sweden 08/17/2013 11:43 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | TEPCO faces delay in work to pump up radioactive groundwater The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant said Saturday that the installation of pipes to pump up contaminated groundwater that has been flowing into the ocean will take longer than earlier expected. Tokyo Electric Power Co. had planned to complete the installation on Sunday, but an excavator was damaged while digging on Saturday. TEPCO now expects to finish the work on Monday or later after procuring another excavator. TEPCO plans to sink a total of 28 4.6-meter-long pipes into the ground at 2-meter intervals along the coast, and to use them to pump up groundwater. [link to english.kyodonews.jp] . |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 38176253 Sweden 08/17/2013 11:45 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Saving the world at Plutonium Mountain Last October, at the foot of a rocky hillside near here, at a spot known as Degelen Mountain, several dozen Kazakh, Russian and American nuclear scientists and engineers gathered for a ceremony. After a few speeches, they unveiled a three-sided stone monument, etched in English, Russian and Kazakh, which declared: “1996-2012. The world has become safer.” The modest ribbon-cutting marked the conclusion of one of the largest and most complex nuclear security operations since the Cold War. The secret mission was to secure plutonium — enough to build a dozen or more nuclear weapons — that Soviet authorities had buried at the testing site years before and forgotten, leaving it vulnerable to terrorists and rogue states. The effort spanned 17 years, cost $150 million and involved a complex mix of intelligence, science, engineering, politics and sleuthing. This account is based on documents and interviews with Kazakh, Russian and U.S. participants, and reveals the scope of the operation for the first time. The effort was almost entirely conceived and implemented by scientists and government officials operating without formal agreements among the nations involved. Many of these scientists were veterans of Cold War nuclear-testing programs, but they overcame their mistrust and joined forces to clean up and secure the Semipalatinsk testing site, a dangerous legacy of the nuclear arms race. They succeeded, but what they accomplished here may have to be done all over again if the walls of secrecy ever come down and reveal security vulnerabilities in other states that have developed the atomic bomb, including North Korea, Pakistan, China, India and Israel, or in countries that may develop weapons in the future, such as Iran. [link to www.washingtonpost.com] . |
Citizenperth User ID: 44396812 Australia 08/17/2013 10:38 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Thread: 'The MSM, governments, nuclear agencies, health, weather, and the health care industry has ignored tripple melt downs Full RT interview with perm [link to www.godlikeproductions.com] Thread: Decontamination of Fukushima hotspots costly and complex: Japan today It's life as we know it, but only just. [link to citizenperth.wordpress.com] sic ut vos es vos should exsisto , denego alius vicis facio vos change , exsisto youself , proprie |
Fishy User ID: 23648161 United States 08/18/2013 12:14 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | What an exciting future ahead... hold your breath and pray... Quoting: Anonymous Coward 38176253 The deadliest part of Fukushima's nuclear clean-up: Removing fuel rods TOKYO — The operator of Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear plant is preparing to remove 400 tons of highly irradiated spent fuel from a damaged reactor building, a dangerous operation that has never been attempted before on this scale. Containing radiation equivalent to 14,000 times the amount released in the atomic bomb attack on Hiroshima 68 years ago, more than 1,300 used fuel rod assemblies packed tightly together need to be removed from a building that is vulnerable to collapse, should another large earthquake hit the area. Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) is already in a losing battle to stop radioactive water overflowing from another part of the facility, and experts question whether it will be able to pull off the removal of all the assemblies successfully. “They are going to have difficulty in removing a significant number of the rods,” said Arnie Gundersen, a veteran U.S. nuclear engineer and director of Fairewinds Energy Education, who used to build fuel assemblies. The operation, beginning this November at the plant’s No. 4 reactor, is fraught with danger, including the possibility of a large release of radiation if a fuel assembly breaks, gets stuck or gets too close to an adjacent bundle, said Gundersen and other nuclear experts. That could lead to a worse disaster than the March 2011 nuclear crisis at the Fukushima plant. No one knows how bad it can get, but independent consultants Mycle Schneider and Antony Froggatt said recently in their World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2013: “Full release from the No. 4 spent fuel pool, without any containment or control, could cause by far the most serious radiological disaster to date.” [link to www.japantoday.com] . This is the biggest news story in the history of the world, at least in this age, and to say the story is being "ignored" is a vast understatement. It's barely being noticed. What is going on? I think that most people do not realize just how potentially bad a situation could develop with these rods. A worst case scenario would be somehow re-initiating a critical nuclear reaction in the rods, resulting in an unshielded fission reaction. Secondary, but still incredibly bad, would be the chance of the rods burning and releasing particulates in the form of smoke into the atmosphere. Thankfully it looks like they have spent the last two years building a new crane system and structure for this job. For all our sakes I hope that it all works perfectly. I read what you're saying in the MSM, people have no excuse. BTW, what probability do you think TEPCO has of pulling off this operation successfully? People are in denial because this is a catastrophic nightmare beyond comprehension. Certainly the most tragic thing we will witness on earth in our lifetime. Sounds melodramatic doesn't it? |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 38176253 Sweden 08/18/2013 10:48 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Decontamination of Fukushima hotspots costly and complex KAWAUCHI — The most ambitious radiation clean-up ever attempted has proved costly, complex and time-consuming since the Japanese government began it more than two years in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear meltdown. It may also fail. Doubts are mounting that the effort to decontaminate hotspots in an area the size of Connecticut will succeed in its ultimate aim - luring more than 100,000 nuclear evacuees back home. If thousands of former residents cannot or will not return, parts of the farming and fishing region could remain an abandoned wilderness for decades. In many areas, radiation remains well above targeted levels because of bureaucratic delays and ineffective work on the ground. As a result, some experts fears the $15 billion allocated to the scheme so far will be largely squandered. In Kawauchi, a heavily forested village in Fukushima Prefecture, decontamination crews have finished cleaning up houses, but few of their former inhabitants are prepared to move back. Just over 500 of the 3,000 people who once lived here have returned since the March 2011 meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant 25 km to the east. Even after being deemed safe enough for people to return, Kawauchi has no functioning hospital or high school. The mushrooms that used to provide a livelihood for foragers are now steeped in dangerous levels of cesium. The only jobs on offer in town are menial. Some houses are so mildewed after three summers of abandonment that they need to be torn down. Some experts are doubtful about the payback of that effort. First, there is a risk that radioactive isotopes can return to decontaminated areas via wind and rain. Officials in the village of Yugawa found snowfall earlier this year caused radiation levels to spike. There is also the problem of storage. Most of the contaminated soil and leaves remain piled up in driveways and empty lots because of fierce opposition from local communities to storing it in one place until the Ministry of Environment secures a central site that could hold it for the longer term. “Decontamination in the true sense of the word is not being carried out,” said Tomoya Yamauchi, a professor of radiation physics at Kobe University. Yamauchi said he found that some decontaminated road surfaces in Fukushima had readings 18 times the target level because caesium had accumulated in cracks in the asphalt. “I think the government recognizes that Fukushima cannot be returned to how it was.” [link to www.japantoday.com] . |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 38176253 Sweden 08/18/2013 11:21 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Crews struggle to restore former nuke lab site in Calif. Deadline to remove toxic mess is 2017, which some say is too ambitious SIMI VALLEY, Calif. — The sun was barely up at a former Cold War rocket test site when crews in hard hats, neon vests and steel-toe boots collected jars of dirt as part of a massive effort to clean up from a partial nuclear meltdown a half century ago. Parties that inherited the toxic mess face a 2017 deadline to restore the sprawling hilltop complex on the outskirts of Los Angeles to its condition before chemical and radioactive wastes leached into the soil and groundwater. For residents living downhill from the Santa Susana Field Laboratory, it would seem like a conclusion to a protracted fight. But many remain dissatisfied that a large portion of the land won’t be cleaned to the highest standards. “I don’t care how long it takes, I just want it cleaned,” said 62-year-old Holly Huff, whose family moved into the area a month before the 1959 nuclear accident. The road to decontamination has been long and costly, as winding as the two-lane path to the lab entrance 30 miles northwest of downtown LA. Decades in the works, the cleanup has been complicated by the web of owners and responsible parties at the nearly 2,900-acre site. Founded in 1947 by North American Aviation, Santa Susana quickly became an aerospace hub. For four decades, workers tested thousands of rocket engines that later flew on missions that included Apollo. The site also hummed with nuclear research and was once home to 10 reactors. In 1959, a reactor partially melted, belching radioactive gases. The reactor was shut down but later restarted. The government at the time said there was no dangerous radioactive release. Full details of the meltdown were not made public until two decades later by a group of University of California, Los Angeles, students. Since the 1980s, NASA has spent about $100 million on cleanup and estimated it would cost another $250 million to $300 million to fully restore its section. The Energy Department has spent about $90 million in the past decade. Boeing declined to disclose its costs. Some residents who have developed leukemia, breast cancer or serious thyroid conditions blame their health problems on their proximity to Santa Susana. Even if the bulk of contaminated soil is scooped up and hauled away, the groundwater problem persists. The state estimates it would take many decades to complete that part of the cleanup. For residents like Huff, who was diagnosed with leukemia in 2009, the cleanup has dragged so long that she hopes there’s no more drama. “To be honest, sometimes I try not to think about it,” she said. “It’s just depressing.” [link to psdispatch.com] . |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 38176253 Sweden 08/19/2013 01:59 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | S.Korea demands info on Fukushima wastewater South Korea has asked Japan to provide detailed information about radioactive groundwater leaking from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the ocean. Japan's industry ministry estimates 300 tons of tainted groundwater is flowing into the Pacific Ocean every day. South Korean officials said on Monday that they made a request for data on the amount of leaked water, radiation levels and an impact on the ecosystem. [link to www3.nhk.or.jp] . |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 38176253 Sweden 08/19/2013 01:59 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | 2 more workers at Fukushima Daiichi irradiated Two more workers at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant were found exposed to radiation above the safety limit. This is the second incident in a week. Tokyo Electric Power Company, the plant operator, is looking for a cause. Last week, 10 workers waiting for a bus at the same spot were found to have unusually high radioactivity levels. Some blamed a mist-generating machine designed to prevent heatstroke. But this time the machine was not in use. [link to www3.nhk.or.jp] . |