Japan - 8.9 Earthquake - Fukushima Meltdown

pstott said:

I recall that after the Chernobyl incident steps were taken to seal the site with concrete. Why are they not attempting to seal up the Fukushima plants to prevent the escape of additional radiation?

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General Plan and Start of Main Work of the Cover for Fuel Removal of Unit 4 in Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station

Based on "Mid-to-Long-Term Roadmap towards the Decommissioning of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station Unit 1-4" which was announced on Dec. 21, 2011, we started the preparation work for the installation of the cover for fuel removal of Unit 4 on Mar. 23, 2012.

We would like to inform that we will start the main work for the installation of the cover for fuel removal on Apr. 17.

As the first step of the main work, we will conduct the foundation improvement work in order to strengthen the foundation which supports the foundation of the frame for supporting the crane which is a part of the cover for fuel removal.

At the same time, we will conduct the countermeasure to prevent rainwater from penetrating into Unit 4 Reactor Building.

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If it wasn’t for a metallic taste and strange, powdery sensation on her skin, Sato Sachiko could have almost believed nothing changed in “beautiful Fukushima” after March 11.

The vegetable farmer and slow-food guru, who went from self-sufficient to homeless over night, saw the same azure skies — famously described by 19th century Japanese poet Kotaro Takamura as Japan’s “True Sky”.

“The view in Fukushima remained the same; the mountains, the coast, and the many different types of trees and flowers which transform with Japan’s distinct seasons. And of course, the clear, blue sky, or Honto-no-Sora, in the words of Takamura.”

As a schoolgirl, Sachiko was moved by the poet’s depictions of nature in Japan’s thriving food bowl.

“Living here, with such beauty all around, it was easy to love nature and feel close to it,” says the 53-year-old, who has spent her adult life honing and teaching others the skills of traditional Japanese food preparation and organic farming in Kawamata — now part of the voluntary evacuation zone around the wrecked nuclear plant. In these familiar surroundings, the shock of losing her farm to 6000 becquerels per kilogram of Cesium was all the more surreal.

“There was no visible sign of radiation. But I knew there was nuclear fallout, because I could taste it, and I could feel it. Until June, every time I returned home to feed my cat, I had that metallic taste again and sometimes I had a strange sensation on my skin like a very fine powder.”

Similar descriptions have surfaced in a survey of the local population by NGO Green Action Kyoto, which along with a local newspaper in Koriyama City, also reported clusters of children with nose-bleeding and diarrhoea.

Meanwhile, one in three Fukushima children in a survey of 3000 developed thyroid lumps last year — possibly due to the huge releases of Iodine131, which attracts to young thyroids. The government and Japan’s mainstream medical fraternity deemed the majority of these too small to warrant future monitoring.

While Iodine has a short half-life, cancer-linked Cesium lingers in the environment and the food cycle for generations. Provided there is no further contamination, it will take seven years before the cesium level in Sachiko’s property is deemed “safe” for growing food, but she has no plans to return.

“Even when it gets to what the government deems ‘safe’ levels of radiation, it will never be the same,” she says. “If only 1% of the population develops illness or cancer from exposure to internal radiation through the food, that’s a 100% impact on that person. You wouldn’t accept that risk for your own child, so why accept it for others?”

Levels of Cesium exceeding the government’s 500-becquerels-per-kilogram limit have been found in rice, beef, baby products, vegetables and fish. While shipment is stopped in many cases, some of this food has reached restaurants and supermarkets even as far as Okinawa. Packaging is not always clear, making it difficult to trace the origin of food products.

“The most important thing right now is making sure people, especially young kids, can get access to radiation-free food,” says Sachiko.

After evacuating to a temporary rental property in the neighbouring prefecture of Yamagata, Sachiko set up Fukushima Network, a non-profit café and vegetable market in Fukushima City sourcing food from South and West Japan.

“Parents are extremely worried about their children and food,” she says. “We try to help by providing food products that have been screened for radiation, and informing people about contamination in areas that would have been evacuated under post-Chernobyl limits.”

But not everyone wants to know about radiation. “More and more people are starting to demand information,” she says. “But there is still division in the community on the level of risk, and some people feel guilty if they don’t support the local economy.

“In my family people reacted differently to the crisis and disagreed, with some quite angry about the level of panic around radiation. But I cannot hide this information — I must share it so that individuals can make their own informed decisions.”

It is testament to the sense of unity among Japanese that people often speak about the “guilt” they feel for friends, family and even strangers affected by the nuclear disaster.

“I feel bad because even though my husband and I could afford to evacuate, we can’t help all our family and neighbours do the same, so many remain in contaminated areas in the voluntary evacuation zone,” says Sachiko.

It is unclear when any of them will be compensated by Tokyo Electric Power Company, which is slowly dealing out ¥1.7 trillion in government bail-out compensation funds. “It’s a long and convoluted process and we’re not yet sure what we’re eligible for and how much we would get,” Sachiko says.

Sachiko and her husband are now looking for land in northern Honshu, where they plan to retire and again live off their own produce.

“We’ll manage OK,” she says. “I’m more worried about others who were hit harder by the loss of income. These financial circumstances exacerbate the stress of being physically separated from what was a very bonded community.”

As though trying to shoulder the national burden, some people even choose Tohoku products to support farmers. A woman in her mid-20s, who evacuated with her sister and niece to Okinawa, looks saddened when asked about food products in her former home town of Okuma. It reminds her of Fukushima’s former farming glory.

“I rarely went to the supermarket because people were so generous with their produce,” she says. “We didn’t have a farm, but our neighbours gave us rice and vegetables and lots of seafood. It was a very happy, thriving community.”

Like Sachiko and many Fukushima residents, this evacuee longs for the “simple things” she used to enjoy in an abundant environment. “When you are suddenly no longer able to carry out the basic human practice of growing food, that is a profound loss,” adds Sachiko.

She fears the international community will lose interest in the ongoing crisis, which she says is not Japan’s problem alone. Five out of six reactors at TEPCO’s Daiichi plant contained Australian uranium.

“It is no co-incidence that Aboriginal landowners previously warned of the dangers of exporting uranium to other countries. It is not just our economies that are linked, but our environments too,” she says, referring to a letter of solidarity from the Mirrar — the traditional owners of land around Ranger and Jabiluka uranium mines — to the people of Fukushima. “The damage to livelihoods here is immeasurable, let alone potential health impacts.”

At an anniversary concert for evacuees in Okinawa, Japan’s largest district without any nuclear plants, the anti-nuclear message echoed Sachiko. With some local governments here considering accepting radioactive tsunami debris, people are stressed about the dispersal of March 11’s impact.

Dressed in brightly sequined body suits, one satirical band got the crowd chanting: “We don’t want nuclear, we just want to drink milk.”
_http://www.crikey.com.au/2012/03/12/japan-and-the-battle-to-find-radiation-free-food/

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A leak discovered earlier this year in a steam generator pipe at the San Onofre nuclear plant has lead to two unanimous City Council decisions to send letters of concern to the NRC. Fairewind's Arnie Gundersen presented at both council meetings. In this video Gundersen talks with KPBS's Peggy Pico about the steam generator leak, the city council decisions and the licensing status of San Onofre.

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Tohoku Regional Agricultural Administration Office and Fukushima prefectural government conducted radiation measurement for the ground soil of 14 storage reservoirs in Fukushima from 3/26 to 4/6/2012. Sample is dried soil from ground of storage reservoir (5 ~ 7cm deep).

Cesium134 and 137 were measured from all of those samples.



(Cesium 134 (Bq/Kg), Cesium 137 (Bq/Kg) )

Sudori, Fukushima city 13,000 18,000
Numata, Date city 25,000 37,000
Tanichitamei, Date city 7,400 11,000
Shinnuma, Date city 43,000 62,000
Matsuzawakamiike, Kawamata machi 15,000 21,000
Higashi sasataike, Motomiya city 70,000 100,000
Kajika, Tamura city 12,000 17,000
Akatsuchi 1, Tamura city 77 76
Akatsuchi 2, Tamura city ＜10 11
Tamano, Soma city 7,600 11,000
Mukaihara 1, Kawauchi mura 2,200 3,300
Nishinosawa, Hirono machi 1,700 2,500
Higashihara, Hirono machi 880 1,200
Teichiike, Yabuki machi 680 1,200



They also conducted radiation measurement for 86 storage reservoirs in Fukushima.

Cesium was measured at 8 locations as well.

Cesium 134 : <1Bq/L ~ 5.7Bq/L

Cesium 137 : 1.3 Bq/L ~ 7.9 Bq/L

Total : 1.8 Bq/L ~ 13.6 Bq/L

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Caesium or cesium is the chemical element with the symbol Cs and atomic number 55. It is a soft, silvery-gold alkali metal with a melting point of 28 °C (82 °F), which makes it one of only five elemental metals that are liquid at (or near) room temperature. Caesium is an alkali metal and has physical and chemical properties similar to those of rubidium and potassium. The metal is extremely reactive and pyrophoric, reacting with water even at −116 °C (−177 °F). It is the least electronegative element having a stable isotope, caesium-133. Caesium is mined mostly from pollucite, while the radioisotopes, especially caesium-137, a fission product, are extracted from waste produced by nuclear reactors.

Two German chemists, Robert Bunsen and Gustav Kirchhoff, discovered caesium in 1860 by the newly developed method of flame spectroscopy. The first small-scale applications for caesium have been as a "getter" in vacuum tubes and in photoelectric cells. In 1967, a specific frequency from the emission spectrum of caesium-133 was chosen to be used in the definition of the second by the International System of Units. Since then, caesium has been widely used in atomic clocks.

Since the 1990s, the largest application of the element has been as caesium formate for drilling fluids. It has a range of applications in the production of electricity, in electronics, and in chemistry. The radioactive isotope caesium-137 has a half-life of about 30 years and is used in medical applications, industrial gauges, and hydrology. Although the element is only mildly toxic, it is a hazardous material as a metal and its radioisotopes present a high health risk in case of radiation leaks.

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Pashalis said:

a recent interview with Gunderson:
http://www.fairewinds.org/content/lmh-interview-title-coming-soon

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Second explosion at Mitsui plant — FNN confirms depleted uranium — Kyodo: 3,400 drums with radioactive materials — “Did not appear to have any effect on radiation levels” (VIDEOS)
http://enenews.com/second-explosion-at-mitsui-plant-kyodo-3400-drums-with-radioactive-materials-fnn-confirms-depleted-uranium-at-plant-did-not-appear-to-have-any-effect-on-radiation-levels-videos

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The Mitsui petrochemical plant has been rocked by a second explosion as the plant owner is now claiming the radioactive agents are harmless to people.

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3400 barrels of depleted uranium were reported to be at this facility.. clearly.. the buildings are destroyed.. and for SURE some form of cloud released —- how much? what was destroyed? well, we’re left with mainstream reports that give conflicting accounts.

Keep in mind.. LAST YEAR when “they” (over in Japan and the MSM) told us NOTHING OF CONCERN blew at Fukushima.. and it was quote “nothing to worry about”.. then move forward a few months into 2011 … the very same MSM was calling Fukushima the worst nuclear disaster ever.

So , when I see a factory destroyed… and see reports of depleted uranium being exploded into vaporized clouds … and then see the news “fall off the map”… that raises my suspicions.

Whatever type of cloud blew off.. its now coming across the pacific ocean as of FIVE days ago (april 22, 2012).. putting the current “projected” path of this cloud to be somewhere just northwest of Hawaii.. heading east across the pacific ocean towards the west coast USA.

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Dead body of the nightingale I've been taken in December last year in the village Iidate.
Still had much exposure.

I used to visualize the status of the exposure of the nightingale.
Color picture of a sample.
Autograph radio is something like the X-ray photo of black and white.
Blackened for those black dots and radiation of Cs137 has gone out.
Part of the wings were attached to the surface, where the blackened parts of the belly is that radiation is from the inside of the stomach.
Seems to be concentrated in the food chain has been eaten by, such as contaminated insects.

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Kaigen said:

As I mentioned in this post

http://cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php/topic,27520.0.html

It could be fear mongering. Talking about cloud of depleted uranium heading towards Hawaii is pure nonsens in my opinion. In this video guy is talking about explosion about depleted uranium factory. This is petrochemical complex storing depleted uranium drums not depleted uranium factory. little truth sandwich with lies, you remember? Those bloggers are just waiting for such news to spread more fear.

The fire fighters of this area are also aware of this danger. I heard at that night only 3 cars with sirens comming from this area. It could be more, but the days after the situation stabilized and more reporter are gone to the area, talking to the people about the accident. There is no future action seen as in Fukushima.

Going back today to Iwakuni and will try to find out more.

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Things change [...] 2003 - 2005 our local background radiation here at 47.0381° N, 122.8994° W (West Coast US) was consistently one click per 7 or 8 minutes.

Post Fukushima nuclear disaster we are now at 72 clicks per minute on a light rads day.

Examining the data sets for the upcoming report suggests that July 10th will see a major increase in nuclear problems across the northern hemisphere.

Anticipating this, and acknowledging the reality of our current nuclear contamination problem, it becomes necessary to drop less than vital activities.[...]

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Foxx said:

Muxel said:

Yeah, real life is messier. There's the jet stream, fishes eating radioactive algae, containment attempts by humans, etc. But with near-eternal half-lives, there's plenty of time for radiation to get to everyone eventually. We're lucky the Wave is coming. Then we don't have to see an alternate future where Japan's full of deformed children with leukemia.

Oh, and Clif High talked about a possible "Japanese exodus" in his latest Wujo.
A nuclear winter maybe?

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Who knows what we'll see. It does seem quite reasonable to me that we'll wake up one morning and hear about another earthquake in the same region and uncontrollably burning fuel rods.

I also don't take anything Clif High says seriously and stopped following him a while ago. Considering his relation with Jay Weidner, his propaganda for vegetarianism, his numerous predictions that didn't manifest, his strange barely or completely nonsensical ramblings, and other nonsense I don't consider him to be a remotely reliable source, FWIW.

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EnviroReporter.com's detection of high radiation from sea mist-infused rain as covered in 'L.A. Rain Radiation Over Five Times Normal,' brought the Fukushima investigation to the show producers' attention[...]

[...]I soon moved over to the table where I briefly tested HEPA filter dust just collected[...]

That dust was tested just before showtime and came in at an astounding 746% of norma[...]"

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Though I expected that, I couldn’t help thinking that was too ridiculous for a doctor to say stress causes diabetes. (6 in 10 children under 12 have diabetes in Fukushima)

They will say everything is because of stress soon, even leukemia is.

The doctor in this article asserts children are sick from mental instability. The doctors prescribed mental drug.

To keep children active, not to cause “harmful rumor”, they will prescribe stronger medicines to kids, I guess.

They say, Fukushima children need more Psychosomatic Medicine doctor and affection of the parents.

but what they really need is EVACUATION, not “mental care” because the matter is not mental, it’s radiation, which is the real matter.

and I think children’s depression is just a natural reaction, and it’s very rational.

Eat less, move less, and hardly go out. This is the only way for them to protect themselves. Children can not evacuate by themselves.

Being afraid of losing the job, house, car, social status, adults keep their own children stuck in the contaminated area.

This is the worst child abuse / murder.

I think the children already know that they won’t live long.

If they have some mental disorder, that would be the conflict of love and the sense of urgency to evacuate by “betraying” their parents.

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