Fukushima
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It is a disaster - Unless we are all a lot more careful, the people who have suffered from the accident so far will be just the tip of the iceberg.
Japan has not been done much solving the accident (just creating more problems by doing something unintelligent), leaving this planet's fate to destiny.
Japan has not been done much solving the accident (just creating more problems by doing something unintelligent), leaving this planet's fate to destiny.
Foxx
The Living Force
Yeah I've been wondering how bad it is exactly for a little while now. I'm curios why they're not sure if it's MOX fuel and whether that can be confirmed. I don't know how much deadlier than other forms of fuel (or what the other forms of fuel are) MOX fuel is. I'm also not sure how they decided one MOX fuel rod could kill nearly 3 billion people and how that's related to its expected dispersion method (as in, I imagine a MOX rod could be divided into 2.89 billion lethal doses if directly ingested, but how does that relate to them burning and entering the atmosphere?).
What a mess with the near certainty for a significant global disaster that no one's really doing anything about.
What a mess with the near certainty for a significant global disaster that no one's really doing anything about.
Muxel
Dagobah Resident
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.Foxx said:
Oh, and Clif High talked about a possible "Japanese exodus" in his latest Wujo.
A nuclear winter maybe?
Foxx
The Living Force
Muxel said:
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.
I was expressing my primary fear when it comes to nuclear accidents: kids getting leukemia or born malformed due to radiation poisoning. :(
Not quite sure where to post this story on Fukushima, as the Fukushima disaster is mentioned in a dozen threads. So if there is a more appropiate thread feel free to move it.
https://sputniknews.com/asia/201611291047943325-fukushima-nuclear-clean-up-costs/
The cost is simply staggering and will undoubtedly increase as there are many unresolved issues. In that cost, I wonder if the loss of real estate value of the land around Fukushima is included. It will not be habitable for x thousand years. Not to forget the human cost, cancers, mental and physical health and the emotional costs associated with the disaster. A pandoras box was opened
https://sputniknews.com/asia/201611291047943325-fukushima-nuclear-clean-up-costs/
The cost is simply staggering and will undoubtedly increase as there are many unresolved issues. In that cost, I wonder if the loss of real estate value of the land around Fukushima is included. It will not be habitable for x thousand years. Not to forget the human cost, cancers, mental and physical health and the emotional costs associated with the disaster. A pandoras box was opened
horse
Jedi
Foxx said:
It was bad when the 3-11 EQ caused the Dai-ichi reactors 1, 2, and 3 to meltdown out of containment and the reactor 4 spent fuel pool to burn. After the initial pulse of radioactivity from the reactors melting, sfp4 continued to burn for months. The fuel used in 3 and 4 was MOX fuel, uranium fuel enriched with plutonium to get more burn out of the fuel and to reduce stockpiles of plutonium. Uranium fuel was bad enough containing small amounts of plutonium created in the burn process but plutonium enriched fuel certainly adds to the amount that was released by the disaster. Plutonium is considered some thousand times more toxic than uranium. The core of a reactor is a number of fuel rod assemblies, but the sfps can contain many cores worth of fuel rod assemblies. Fuel rods must be kept from getting close to another to prevent a criticality accident. The thermal heat of used rods must be kept cool for about five years to prevent the zirconium cladding on the rods from burning and bulging the rods too close to another for a nuclear event, a criticality accident. Might sound safe now after five years but the recent earthquake shows how vulnerable the spent fuel pools are to another catastrophic release should one or more spill its fuel rod assemblies into a big pile. Five years ago we were all dosed as the radioactive particulate circled the globe every 40 days falling out in patches of rain and snow. We should have at least sheltered in place but that might cause panic since modern civilization can't take a few weeks or months off work. Your cancer will take anywhere from 2 to 20 years to develop depending on how well your body can repair the damages before it fails. Cesium heart attacks, strontium leukemia, over a thousand different radionuclides released adding to cases of diabetes, cfs, autism, brain tumors, nerve damage, and polio like paralysis. Tritium is extremely toxic to aquatic life and tanks of concentrated tritium are being diluted into the ocean. It's a slow ELE, the next generation will show even more mutations and infant mortality. Nuclear winter started in the fifties when bomb testing released large amounts of krypton and xenon into the upper atmosphere, destroying the ozone over the south pole. Dai-ichi released more and an ozone hole developed over the north pole. Now there's less protection from the solar wind and more extreme storms and weather events in the forecast. A few men wanted the power of the atom to dominate everyone else and they control the information so no one will think to stop them. A lesson, I think, for those hoping to graduate to a better existence.
angelburst29
The Living Force
I'm glad to hear of this development, that Russia has stepped in to work with Japan, to help with the problems involved with Fukushima. Russia does have experience in the nuclear sector, having to deal in the past, with their own accidents.
Russia and Japan are about to approve joint actions to overcome the consequences of the 2011 accident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant.
Russia, Japan to Act Further on Overcoming Fukushima Accident Results - Rosatom
https://sputniknews.com/asia/201612161048632878-russia-japan-fukushima-rosatom/
Russia and Japan intend to approve in the nearest future a specific list of joint actions to overcome the consequences of the 2011 accident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, CEO of Russia's Rosatom nuclear corporation Alexey Likhachev said on Friday.
Earlier in the day, Russia and Japan signed a memorandum on cooperation in the sector of peaceful nuclear energy. "The government [of Japan] and TEPCO [Fukushima operator] have asked us … The work is expected to take several decades, and is rather costly for the Japanese budget. We shall use the technologies we have today. In the nearest future we shall approve the specific list of actions to implement jointly," Likhachev told reporters.
Russia, Japan to Cooperate in Closed Nuclear Fuel Cycle Technologies - Rosatom
https://sputniknews.com/world/201612161048633440-nuclea-fuel-cycle-russia/
Russia and Japan could establish cooperation on the closed nuclear fuel cycle technologies and on fast neutron reactors, Alexey Likhachev, CEO of Russia’s Rosatom nuclear energy corporation, said Friday.
"What [the memorandum] is all about? First of all about development of the so-called closed [nuclear] fuel cycle, in practice it means minimization of nuclear power plants' waste and multiple use of spent nuclear fuel," Likhachev told reporters, adding that the closed nuclear fuel cycle could be used in light water reactors and in fast neutron reactors. Earlier in the day, Russia and Japan signed a memorandum on cooperation in the sector of peaceful nuclear energy.
Peace Treaty, Kurils, Syria: Second Day of Putin's Breakthrough Visit to Japan
https://sputniknews.com/politics/201612161048648506-second-day-putin-japan/
The official Russian delegation headed by Putin is visiting Japan on December 15-16. The visit is widely seen as a breakthrough in the Russian-Japanese relations, taking into account that it had been postponed since 2014.
On Thursday, Putin and Abe held talks in the city of Nagato in the Yamaguchi Prefecture. On Friday, both leaders continued the negotiations in Tokyo and then held a joint press conference.
Is Peace Treaty Possible?
Ahead of Putin's visit to Japan, the Russian leader gave an interview to Japanese media outlets, saying that the absence of the peace treaty between the two states after the World War II was an "anachronism," which should be removed. The sides have no treaty due to a disagreement over the group of islands, which Russia calls the Southern Kurils and Japan the Northern Territories, encompassing Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and Habomai.
Speaking at the press conference, after the negotiations, Abe said that on Thursday the two leaders discussed the peace treaty for five hours and were able to understand each other, adding that Tokyo and Moscow were approaching the situation to solve the crisis.
"Now, after 71 years of absence of the peace treaty we are approaching the period when we will be able to, step by step, with our own hands implement the actions which would make the dream of former and current residents of the [Kuril] islands come true," Abe said, adding that the sides had a lot of to do on the issue yet.
The prime minister proposed to create a zone of cohabitation of Russians and the Japanese on the Kuril Islands.
"I would like to ensure that those who used to live on the islands and those who live on the islands now are able on the basis of trust to develop ties and cooperation and creation of conditions where they could cohabitate, work and think of the future of these islands," Abe said, adding that the two leaders agreed to create a special regime to establish joint economic actions that should not be at anyone’s expense. His words were echoed by Putin, who said that the peace treaty was important and cooperation of Tokyo and Moscow on the Kuril Islands would contribute to create a favorable atmosphere for talks on a peace treaty between the countries. "Resolving this issue requires painstaking work to build mutual trust and all-round development of the entire range of Russian-Japanese relations. In this context, Mr Abe and I supported an initiative of establishing joint economic activities on the Southern Kurils. We hope that such cooperation will contribute to creating a favorable atmosphere for the continuation of negotiations on the conclusion of a peace treaty," the Russian leader said.
At the same time the president said that Russia should know what to expect in talks with Japan on the peace treaty issue, taking into account Tokyo’s special relationship with the United States.
Economic Cooperation
At the press conference, the Russian leader said that the signing of the peace treaty between Russia and Japan was more important than economic issues, but the economic relations between the countries had also been on the agenda of the talks.
Putin said that both the Russian and the Japanese government agencies would work out new agreements in investment, tax and labor spheres. "We also tasked the relevant ministries to work out a range of new agreements in the investment, tax and labor sectors," the president said.
Syria Issues
The Syrian crisis and the recent liberation of Aleppo were also discussed during the negotiations.
During the press conference, the Russian president spoke about Turkey's role in the withdrawal of militants from Aleppo, as well as about negotiations with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on offering the rival sides of the crisis to continue peace talks on a new platform. "We agreed with President Erdogan that we would offer to the conflicting sides, we from our side to the Syrian government, while the Turkish president to the representatives of the armed opposition, to continue the process of peace talks on a peaceful platform. Kazakhstan capital of Astana could become such a platform," Putin told a press conference. He added that the talks on ceasefire in Syria, as well as the withdrawal of militants from Aleppo were taking place with Ankara's mediation. Putin also expressed hope that the Syrian army would manage to gain a foothold in Aleppo. "I very much hope that the Syrian army will be able to gain a foothold in Aleppo after successful combat actions, and that the civilians will be able to return to normal life," the Russian leader said.
He added that the recent developments in Syria’s ancient city of Palmyra were the result of lack of coordination between the US-led anti-terrorism coalition, the Syrian authorities and Russia during their operations and expressed hope that the anti-terror struggle would be carried out by joint efforts of many sides.
"Everything that is happening in Palmyra is a result of uncoordinated actions of the so-called international coalition, the Syrian authorities and Russia… I have said many times that in order to be effective in the fight against terrorism, it is necessary to join forces," the president said.
Future Visits
During the press conference, Putin thanked the Japanese side for acceptance of the Russian delegation and invited Abe to visit Russia.
"In conclusion, I would once again like to thank Japanese colleagues and Mr. Abe personally for the hospitality, the productive work and the constructive approach to all the issues discussed. I would like to invite the prime minister to visit Russia at a time convenient for him, meaning the Eastern Economic Forum or any other events which will be taking place in Russia," the president said. In return, the Japanese head of government accepted an invitation and promised to visit Russia in 2017. "As I've promised Vladimir, I will be ready to come to the Eastern Economic Forum next year and to review the implementation of the issues we have agreed on," Abe said following the talks with Putin.
Russia and Japan are about to approve joint actions to overcome the consequences of the 2011 accident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant.
Russia, Japan to Act Further on Overcoming Fukushima Accident Results - Rosatom
https://sputniknews.com/asia/201612161048632878-russia-japan-fukushima-rosatom/
Russia and Japan intend to approve in the nearest future a specific list of joint actions to overcome the consequences of the 2011 accident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, CEO of Russia's Rosatom nuclear corporation Alexey Likhachev said on Friday.
Earlier in the day, Russia and Japan signed a memorandum on cooperation in the sector of peaceful nuclear energy. "The government [of Japan] and TEPCO [Fukushima operator] have asked us … The work is expected to take several decades, and is rather costly for the Japanese budget. We shall use the technologies we have today. In the nearest future we shall approve the specific list of actions to implement jointly," Likhachev told reporters.
Russia, Japan to Cooperate in Closed Nuclear Fuel Cycle Technologies - Rosatom
https://sputniknews.com/world/201612161048633440-nuclea-fuel-cycle-russia/
Russia and Japan could establish cooperation on the closed nuclear fuel cycle technologies and on fast neutron reactors, Alexey Likhachev, CEO of Russia’s Rosatom nuclear energy corporation, said Friday.
"What [the memorandum] is all about? First of all about development of the so-called closed [nuclear] fuel cycle, in practice it means minimization of nuclear power plants' waste and multiple use of spent nuclear fuel," Likhachev told reporters, adding that the closed nuclear fuel cycle could be used in light water reactors and in fast neutron reactors. Earlier in the day, Russia and Japan signed a memorandum on cooperation in the sector of peaceful nuclear energy.
Peace Treaty, Kurils, Syria: Second Day of Putin's Breakthrough Visit to Japan
https://sputniknews.com/politics/201612161048648506-second-day-putin-japan/
The official Russian delegation headed by Putin is visiting Japan on December 15-16. The visit is widely seen as a breakthrough in the Russian-Japanese relations, taking into account that it had been postponed since 2014.
On Thursday, Putin and Abe held talks in the city of Nagato in the Yamaguchi Prefecture. On Friday, both leaders continued the negotiations in Tokyo and then held a joint press conference.
Is Peace Treaty Possible?
Ahead of Putin's visit to Japan, the Russian leader gave an interview to Japanese media outlets, saying that the absence of the peace treaty between the two states after the World War II was an "anachronism," which should be removed. The sides have no treaty due to a disagreement over the group of islands, which Russia calls the Southern Kurils and Japan the Northern Territories, encompassing Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and Habomai.
Speaking at the press conference, after the negotiations, Abe said that on Thursday the two leaders discussed the peace treaty for five hours and were able to understand each other, adding that Tokyo and Moscow were approaching the situation to solve the crisis.
"Now, after 71 years of absence of the peace treaty we are approaching the period when we will be able to, step by step, with our own hands implement the actions which would make the dream of former and current residents of the [Kuril] islands come true," Abe said, adding that the sides had a lot of to do on the issue yet.
The prime minister proposed to create a zone of cohabitation of Russians and the Japanese on the Kuril Islands.
"I would like to ensure that those who used to live on the islands and those who live on the islands now are able on the basis of trust to develop ties and cooperation and creation of conditions where they could cohabitate, work and think of the future of these islands," Abe said, adding that the two leaders agreed to create a special regime to establish joint economic actions that should not be at anyone’s expense. His words were echoed by Putin, who said that the peace treaty was important and cooperation of Tokyo and Moscow on the Kuril Islands would contribute to create a favorable atmosphere for talks on a peace treaty between the countries. "Resolving this issue requires painstaking work to build mutual trust and all-round development of the entire range of Russian-Japanese relations. In this context, Mr Abe and I supported an initiative of establishing joint economic activities on the Southern Kurils. We hope that such cooperation will contribute to creating a favorable atmosphere for the continuation of negotiations on the conclusion of a peace treaty," the Russian leader said.
At the same time the president said that Russia should know what to expect in talks with Japan on the peace treaty issue, taking into account Tokyo’s special relationship with the United States.
Economic Cooperation
At the press conference, the Russian leader said that the signing of the peace treaty between Russia and Japan was more important than economic issues, but the economic relations between the countries had also been on the agenda of the talks.
Putin said that both the Russian and the Japanese government agencies would work out new agreements in investment, tax and labor spheres. "We also tasked the relevant ministries to work out a range of new agreements in the investment, tax and labor sectors," the president said.
Syria Issues
The Syrian crisis and the recent liberation of Aleppo were also discussed during the negotiations.
During the press conference, the Russian president spoke about Turkey's role in the withdrawal of militants from Aleppo, as well as about negotiations with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on offering the rival sides of the crisis to continue peace talks on a new platform. "We agreed with President Erdogan that we would offer to the conflicting sides, we from our side to the Syrian government, while the Turkish president to the representatives of the armed opposition, to continue the process of peace talks on a peaceful platform. Kazakhstan capital of Astana could become such a platform," Putin told a press conference. He added that the talks on ceasefire in Syria, as well as the withdrawal of militants from Aleppo were taking place with Ankara's mediation. Putin also expressed hope that the Syrian army would manage to gain a foothold in Aleppo. "I very much hope that the Syrian army will be able to gain a foothold in Aleppo after successful combat actions, and that the civilians will be able to return to normal life," the Russian leader said.
He added that the recent developments in Syria’s ancient city of Palmyra were the result of lack of coordination between the US-led anti-terrorism coalition, the Syrian authorities and Russia during their operations and expressed hope that the anti-terror struggle would be carried out by joint efforts of many sides.
"Everything that is happening in Palmyra is a result of uncoordinated actions of the so-called international coalition, the Syrian authorities and Russia… I have said many times that in order to be effective in the fight against terrorism, it is necessary to join forces," the president said.
Future Visits
During the press conference, Putin thanked the Japanese side for acceptance of the Russian delegation and invited Abe to visit Russia.
"In conclusion, I would once again like to thank Japanese colleagues and Mr. Abe personally for the hospitality, the productive work and the constructive approach to all the issues discussed. I would like to invite the prime minister to visit Russia at a time convenient for him, meaning the Eastern Economic Forum or any other events which will be taking place in Russia," the president said. In return, the Japanese head of government accepted an invitation and promised to visit Russia in 2017. "As I've promised Vladimir, I will be ready to come to the Eastern Economic Forum next year and to review the implementation of the issues we have agreed on," Abe said following the talks with Putin.
Esote
Dagobah Resident
Scientists Measure Highest Radiation Levels Yet Inside Fukushima's Damaged Reactors
The latest measurements are over seven times the previously measured high—enough to fry a robot in two hours :
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/fukushima-reactor-shows-highest-radiation-level-initial-meltdown-180962050/
The latest measurements are over seven times the previously measured high—enough to fry a robot in two hours :
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/fukushima-reactor-shows-highest-radiation-level-initial-meltdown-180962050/
horse
Jedi
Sow said:
Only the one reading, so far as we know, from the inside of the pcv. "The 530 sieverts was lower than expected" so the new measurement is still some distance from the melted reactor fuel core; they haven't found it yet.
Fukushima Unit 2 New Radiation Readings From TEPCO
http://www.fukuleaks.org/web/?p=16105
No, Fukushima Daiichi Did Not See A Radiation Spike
http://www.fukuleaks.org/web/?p=16094
TEPCO wanted to find the fuel melt in the bottom of the rpv. Read that they think roughly half is still in the rpv and the other half melted and pooled in the basemat. I don't think much is left in the rpv. I would guess what pooled in the basemat would start corium building as it ate thru the basemat. From other studies done on corium/concrete interactions, I don't think much is left in the pcv basemat. Are we in the basement yet? Cracked foundations; water leaks like a sieve; and, for over a year and a half there's been continuous 'beta increased' reported by TEPCO of radioactivity measured in the wells located between the reactor basements and the Ocean. Is the corium blob under the basement and growing bigger? Well, now, that's a deep subject. If it melted below the basemat the underground river of water would be transporting the 'beta increased' radiation out to sea.
It appears that something has finally come of this...2 years after the initial talks and close to 8 years after the accident.
Russian nuclear firm wins contracts to clean up Fukushima
Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom will help Japan in handling the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant (NPP) and will be engaged in the nuclear control plan, according to the company’s CEO Aleksey Likhachev.
“We have been engaged by Japan to implement the nuclear accident management plan at the Fukushima NPP. We have won two tenders and are going ahead,” Likhachev told Russia-24 news channel.
In September 2017, Rosatom’s First Deputy CEO Kirill Komarov said that Rosatom offered their Japanese counterparts assistance in cleaning up at the Fukushima NPP and in decommissioning other unsafe nuclear power plants.
That followed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s announcement that Russia and Japan will start joint efforts to clean up after the accident.
The decommissioning of the wrecked Fukushima reactors could take several decades and cost $200 billion. Japan plans to restart 16 out of the 45 Fukushima-type reactors, while the others will be mothballed. The country intends to reduce the share of nuclear energy from 29 percent in 2011 to 21-22 percent by 2030.
