Japan Disaster
gregladen | March 21, 2011Continued from here ...
Ana's feed starting Friday 8 PM
TEPCO has raised the occupational limit of radiation for its workers to 150mSv/hr. Some workers have already been exposed in excess the old limit of 100mSv/hr. Workers who have been exposed to the limit will not be sent back in. -NHK morning broadcast
Saturday:
Those in the 20-30km evacuation zone have been advised that if they need to move, they should do so in vehicles, rather than on foot, they should cover their mouths, cover their bodies, and stay out of the rain. This new advisory was issued when it was learned that people thought…
gregladen | March 20, 2011So that Japanese children can be traumatized by the Fukushima in a more appropriately Freudian way and never really learn to love properly:
Personally, I think this would be more accurate if Nuclear Boy was sitting next to three or four Diaper Genies on fire.
See also this post at Class:M ... "At first glance, the cartoon does an exemplary job explaining the situation to Japanese schoolchildren too young to understand half-lives and the role of water as a coolant and moderator in boiling-water reactors. But there's a gaping omission right at the beginning...."
Hat Tip Ana and The…
gregladen | March 19, 2011One day I was walking along a path dedicated to philosophers in Kyoto, Japan, with my friend Hitomi. It was interesting that there even was a path dedicated to philosophers. It made me think deeply about paths, which at the time was the subject of my PhD Thesis. Suddenly, earning a Doctorate of Philosophy with a specialization in Paths made sense. But that feeling wore off quickly enough when we something rather unusual unexpectedly appeared in the sky.
First, we heard it. A thump thump thump sound. Then we noticed other people looking up and in one direction, so we looked too. We…
gregladen | March 18, 2011... continued ...
Ana's Feed
Starting about midnight, March 17th
Today's chopper missions over Daiichi have been canceled.
The IAEA has asked Japan to cooperate with the international community. Kan says he will do the utmost to overcome the crisis - vows to disclose more info to the int'l community. -kyodo news
The new electrical cables are on site, but radiation may prevent the workers from connecting them. Readings of 20mSv/hr. are regular. - NHK
2 more fire trucks and 1 borrowed US pump truck have cycled through . -NHK
4AM March 18th
"High radiation detected 30km from nuke plant" - NHK
"…
gregladen | March 18, 2011Nine of ten nuclear reactors at two locations at Fukushima, Japan, have problems ranging from damaged cooling systems to partial meltdowns, and spent fuel storage facilities at several of these reactors are severely damaged. In some cases, facilities seem to have been shut down safely. In other cases, there is a strong suspicion of serious damage but the degree of damage is uncertain.
Executive summary: The current most likely worst-case scenario is that the spent fuel rods in the storage pool at Reactor Number 4 will undergo a renewed chain reaction. However, two reactors, Number 1 and 3…
gregladen | March 17, 2011... continuing ..
Good news and bad news, mostly just uncertain news. A cable needed to power equipment has been installed. It turns out that one of the reactors uses Plutonium. Ooops.
Cable reaches Japan nuclear plant
Fukushima on Thursday: Prospects starting to look good 'Worst probably over'
The story of the quake- and tsunami-stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear powerplant continues to unfold, with reports suggesting that the situation with respect to the three damaged reactors at the plant may soon be stabilised without serious consequences. The focus of attention has now moved to…
gregladen | March 17, 2011The quake, which was centered under the sea, did considerable damage to undersea communications cables. Originally the damage was thought to be minimal but it is apparently rather significant. At least five major cables have been damaged. Details here. Meanwhile, the US military has blocked several websites that are eating up bandwidth that is needed to facilitate Japan recovery efforts. These blockages affect users accessing the Internet from military facilities. "The sites -- including YouTube, ESPN, Amazon, eBay and MTV -- were chosen not because of the content but because their…
gregladen | March 17, 2011Japan needs your help after the earthquake, tsunami, and complex nuclear accident.
George Takei on the Japan Quake and Tsunami. Hat tip: Claudia Sawyer
I don't think the amount of heart makes as much difference as the amount of the donation, but it's a nice sentiment.
The truth is, Haiti needs your help more. A very large percentage of the people of Haiti who were rendered homeless from the earthquake there are still homeless, and the situation in that region is probably worse in many ways than it was the day after the quake. Missionaries are in there picking up the slack, which of…
gregladen | March 17, 2011... continuing from earlier news
News, blog, and other items:
Singaporeans in Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures told to evacuate
Language used to describe atomic meltdown borders on reckless hyperbole
Know Nukes: The Japanese Earthquake & Anti-Nuclear Hysteria: Explaining how the Japan Nuke Disaster is not melt down, there will be no radiation leaks, and it is not Chernobyl.
Japan tries air, land tactic to quell nuclear disaster
Northrop Drone Set to Overfly Japan Reactor, Seek Data on Damage
Japanese choppers dump water on stricken reactor
Japan relies on the Fukushima 50's bravery…
gregladen | March 16, 2011As I write this, I'm told that there are eleven water cannon vehicles heading to the disaster-stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, to attempt to cool down nuclear material that is exposed and exuding (I dare not use the word "leaking" lest I be thought an alarmist) radiation at a rate that seems to be as alarming to the engineers and nuclear experts on the scene as it is assuaging to the arm-chair nuclear engineers in the US and elsewhere who are telling us that Fukushima is no more dangerous than eating a seedless grape.
The following conversation was heard in the Japanese Police…
gregladen | March 16, 2011I assume by now you've seen this: "You Can Stop Worrying About A Radiation Disaster In Japan -- Here's Why".
I repeat, there was and will *not* be any significant release of radioactivity from the damaged Japanese reactors.
By "significant" I mean a level of radiation of more than what you would receive on - say - a long distance flight, or drinking a glass of beer that comes from certain areas with high levels of natural background radiation....
I'm so glad to hear the situation is under control. And that Business Insider, an online journal, is getting us this important information in a…
gregladen | March 16, 2011Whenever someone starts with "I'm Confused" you know what kinds of crap is coming next.
For more information and essays about the Earthquake, Tsunami and Nuclear Reactor problems in Japan CLICK HERE.
gregladen | March 15, 2011I honestly think that it is too early to have this conversation, but alas, the conversation has been forced.
I have yet to express my opinion about the efficacy or safety of the future use of nuclear power, or any way in which that opinion may be affected by the current tragic events in Japan. I did report (link to, really) with little comment on the current failings of the Fukushima nuclear plants (very much underway at this time), and when commenters took the opportunity to explain how nuclear power is totally safe and that this was demonstrated by how nicely things are working out at…
gregladen | March 15, 2011Another sequence of headlines and news reports, continuation of THIS POST:
Fukushima update: No chance cooling fuel can breach vessels: Still nothing to get in a flap about
The story of the three quake- and tsunami-hit reactors at Japan's Fukushima plant continues, with indications that one of the three worst-hit reactors has sustained further damage. A fire also broke out at another reactor, shut down at the time of the quake and not previously thought to be a problem, but this has now been put out. None of this suggests that the reactors' crucial containment vessels could be breached,…
gregladen | March 14, 2011A second hydrogen explosion rocked a crippled Japanese nuclear reactor Monday, spewing a giant cloud of smoke into the air and injuring 11 workers, officials said.
The blast was so large it could be felt 25 miles away.
The plant's operator, however, insisted that radiation levels around the facility remained within legal limits.
source
Video:
For more information and essays about the Earthquake, Tsunami and Nuclear Reactor problems in Japan CLICK HERE.
gregladen | March 14, 2011The ABC News web site has a remarkable set of images that use javascript and your mouse cursor to compare before and after. Here. Hat Tip: Joe
For more information and essays about the Earthquake, Tsunami and Nuclear Reactor problems in Japan CLICK HERE.
gregladen | March 12, 2011News about the Nuke Plants:
Meltdown "most unlikely," nuke industry rep says
The explosion at a nuclear plant in Fukushima, Japan destroyed a building that houses a reactor Saturday, triggering a radiation leak and fears of a nuclear meltdown.
But a representative of the global nuclear power industry asserts the possibility of a meltdown is "diminishing by the hour," making a meltdown "most unlikely."
News about the death toll
Hundreds dead in tsunami after massive 8.9 quake devastates Japan
Police said 200 to 300 bodies were found in the northeastern coastal city of Sendai. Another 88 were…