Fukushima

[blackchisel97]

Japanese gov’t report on Fukushima: “The situation has become extremely severe”

Researchers call for nuclear data release

[...] Within 72 hours, scientists had analyzed samples taken from the air and transmitted their analysis to Vienna, Austria — the headquarters of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), an international body set up to monitor nuclear weapons tests. [...]

[...] At a meeting held in Vienna from 8-10 June, scientists working with the CTBTO took a moment to reflect on the network’s performance [...] Were ratios of xenon isotopes unusual because reactor physics are poorly understood, or because of equipment being miscalibrated? [...]

[....]Detection stations tracked the radiation from the accident, and atmospheric models worked well; yet questions remained. Why did the radiation spread so quickly to the Southern Hemisphere? [...]

Researchers call for nuclear data release : Nature News

Cesium-134 reappears in test results of Bay Area milk

http//www.nuc.berkeley.edu/node/4227

Japanese government compiled report on Fukushima nuclear accident, Denki Shimbun, June 14, 2011:

The Japanese government prepared a report on the accident at the Fukushima I nuclear power station (NPS) of Tokyo Electric Power Co., Inc. (TEPCO) and submitted it to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on June 7. The findings will be reported at the IAEA ministerial conference due to start on June 20.

[...]The report consists of 13 themes. In the introduction, it points out that “the situation has become extremely severe” in dealing with the Fukushima I accident, due to the circumstances where the accident had to be dealt with in parallel with reconstruction work following the disaster caused by the great earthquake and tsunami. [...]

http://www.kantei.go.jp/foreign/kan/.../chapter_i.pdf - PDF

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[blackchisel97]

Osaka detects radioactive substances in sewage sludge

Radioactive material in sludge at 16 prefectures, NHK, June 14, 2011:

[...] NHK has found through interviews that at least 22 of Japan’s 47 prefectures have been testing sludge for radioactive material. 16 of them, ranging from Hokkaido to Osaka, have actually detected radioactive substances.

The level of radioactive cesium was highest in Fukushima city, at 447,000 becquerels per kilogram. This was followed by Tokyo at 55,000 becquerels and Maebashi, north of Tokyo, at 42,800 becquerels.

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[thepatrickblack]

Radioactive material in sludge at 16 prefectures, NHK, June 14, 2011:

[...] NHK has found through interviews that at least 22 of Japan’s 47 prefectures have been testing sludge for radioactive material. 16 of them, ranging from Hokkaido to Osaka, have actually detected radioactive substances.

The level of radioactive cesium was highest in Fukushima city, at 447,000 becquerels per kilogram. This was followed by Tokyo at 55,000 becquerels and Maebashi, north of Tokyo, at 42,800 becquerels.

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You've posted quote a bit of scary information about the incident so here is something uplifting. After studying the Fukushima incident, Ontario concludes that such an event is impossible there.
Can Fukushima Happen In Ontario? (For Dummies) | E N V I R O G Y

[blackchisel97]

You've posted quote a bit of scary information about the incident so here is something uplifting. After studying the Fukushima incident, Ontario concludes that such an event is impossible there.
Can Fukushima Happen In Ontario? (For Dummies) | E N V I R O G Y

Well, I don't manufacture facts, only post what can be found. Indeed, this is disturbing, especially lack of credible information.
As far as Ontario goes, they had water leak earlier this year into the Lake Ontario. According to their announcement there was nothing to be concerned about and it was only demineralized water.
Such conclusion made by officials in regards to any nuclear plant is irresponsible and a tragedy of Titanic could serve as a grim reminder. Serious incident can and did happen anywhere and in any plant at any given time.
Operators of Chernobyl or Three Mile Island were just as confident until something went wrong.

Thanks
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[blackchisel97]

Curium-244 detected for first time...

Curium-244 detected for first time outside Fukushima plant – Requires lead shield 20 times thicker than Plutonium-238

Curium: As compared to a competing thermoelectric generator isotope such as 238Pu [Plutonium-238], 244Cm [Curium-244] emits a 500 time greater fluence of neutrons, and its higher gamma emission requires a shield that is 20 times thicker — about 2 inches of lead for a 1 kW source, as compared to 0.1 in for 238Pu.

TEPCO Press Release, June 11, 2011:

[...] Since plutonium and uranium were detected from the samples at the 3 periodic sampling spots collected on April 11 and 25, we conducted americium and curium analyses. As a result, americium 241, curium 242, 243, and 244 were detected as shown in the attachment 3.

Today, we informed the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency and the government of Fukushima Prefecture of the results.

- "Low concentrations of curium were found in soil samplings in Okuma town 2 or 3 km away from the plant. This is the first time curium is found outside of the plant. It is a by-product of plutonium. The Education and Science ministry says it is a concern for internal exposure".


And another warning from Nebraska - No-fly zone remains over troubled nuclear plant near Omaha — “In effect for flood relief efforts”

FAA NOTAM text:

- "FDC 1/6523 ZMP FLIGHT RESTRICTIONS FORT CALHOUN NUCLEAR POWER PLANT BLAIR,NE EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. PURSUANT TO 14 CFR SECTION 91.137(A)(3) TEMPORARY FLIGHT RESTRICTIONS ARE IN EFFECT FOR FLOOD RELIEF EFFORTS WITHIN A 2 NAUTICAL MILE RADIUS OF 413113N/0960438W OR THE OMAHA /OVR/ VORTAC 316 DEGREE RADIAL AT 26.1 NAUTICAL MILES AT AND BELOW 3500 FEET MSL. NEBRASKA STATE PATROL, LT. FRANK PECK TELEPHONE 402-450-1867 IS IN CHARGE OF THE OPERATION. MINNEAPOLIS /ZMP/ ARTCC TELEPHONE 651-463-5580 IS THE FAA COORDINATION FACILITY".

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[blackchisel97]

Radiation screening in high demand in Fukushima, Asahi, June 17, 2011:

- "The Iitate village government had displayed the results of radiation measurements in front of the government building but had to temporarily stop the announcements because the results were different from tests conducted by the prefectural government.

According to officials of K.K. Alpha Tsushin, the Tokyo-based company that provided the radiation testing equipment to Iitate, radiation levels on May 30 were about 8.9 microsieverts per hour. The results released by the prefectural government for that area had levels of 2.8 microsieverts.

Company officials reduced the number of radiation types tested and raised the height of the counter to the 1-meter level used in testing by the prefectural government. That produced a result of 3.8 microsieverts per hour".


Radiation in Japan: Nosebleed, Diarrhea, Lack of Energy in Children in Koriyama City, Fukushima, EX-SKF, June 15, 2011:

Tokyo Shinbun (paper edition only, 6/16/2011) reports that many children in Koriyama City in Fukushima Prefecture, 50 kilometers from Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, are suffering inexplicable nosebleed, diarrhea, and lack of energy since the nuke plant accident. [...]

What’s happening to children in Koriyama City in Fukushima right now? Nosebleed, diarrhea, lack of energy – “Effect of radiation unknown” says the doctor
Report by Ao Ideta, Tokyo Shinbun, June 16, 2011 [...]

-" A 39-year-old mother of two told the doctor that her 6-year-old daughter had nosebleed everyday for 3 weeks in April. For 1 week, the daughter bled copiously from both nostrils. The mother said their doctor told her it was just a seasonal allergy from pollen. Her other child, 2-year-old son, had nosebleed from end of April to May".


Radioactive tea from Japan detained in France, Voice of Russia, June 18, 2011:

- A consignment of radioactive tea from Japan was detained by customs officials in France. The cesium content exceeded the permitted norm twofold. Reportedly, the tea was en route from Shizuoka Prefecture, central Japan.


Japan Strains to Fix a Reactor Damaged Before Quake, New York Times By HIROKO TABUCHI, June 17, 2011:

- Prefecture and city officials found that the operator [of a nuclear plant in Tsuruga, Japan] had tampered with video images of the fire to hide the scale of the disaster.


Japan Strains to Fix a Reactor Damaged Before Quake, New York Times By HIROKO TABUCHI, June 17, 2011:

Three hundred miles southwest of Fukushima, at a nuclear reactor [60 miles from Kyoto, a city of 1.5 million people] engineers are engaged in another precarious struggle. [...]

[A] 3.3-ton device crashed into the reactor’s inner vessel, cutting off access to the plutonium and uranium fuel rods at its core. [...]

[C]ritics warn that the recovery process is fraught with dangers because the plant uses large quantities of liquid sodium, a highly flammable substance, to cool the nuclear fuel. [...]


And from own own backyard -

Two-thirds of hot nuclear fuel remains in reactor core at Calhoun plant even though media claims it was ‘shut down’ for refueling and maintenance


Rising water, falling journalism, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists by Dawn Stover, June 16, 2011:

- "Virtually every article about the flooding mentions that the Fort Calhoun plant was shut down on April 9. On May 27, the Omaha World-Herald reported, “The Omaha Public Power District said its nuclear plant at Fort Calhoun, which is shut down for maintenance, is safe from flooding.” The implication is that being shut down makes a plant safe. But as the ongoing crisis in Fukushima demonstrates, nuclear fuel remains hot long after a reactor is shut down. When Fort Calhoun is shut down for maintenance and refueling, only one-third of the fuel in the reactor core is removed".

June 16 NRC event report: Ft. Calhoun nuke plant: “Potential flooding issue in the Intake Structure” — “There is one penetration of concern” that could impact water pumps

Operations identified a potential flooding issue in the Intake Structure 1007 ft. 6 in. level. The area of concern is a the hole in the floor at the 1007 ft. 6 in. level where the relief valve from FP-1A discharge pipe goes through the raw pump bay and discharges into the intake cell. There is one penetration of concern. Flooding through this penetration could have impacted the ability of the station’s Raw Water (RW) pumps to perform their design accident mitigation functions.

Licensee Event Report 2011-003, Revision 1, for the Fort Calhoun Station, NRC, May 16, 2011:

As a result of a Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) inspection conducted from January 1 to June 21, 2010, the NRC determined that Fort Calhoun Station (FCS) did not have adequate procedures to protect the intake structure and auxiliary building against external flooding events. [...]

During identification and evaluation of flood barriers (condition report (CR) 2010-2387), in response to NRC findings previously noted, unsealed through wall penetrations in the intake structure were identified that are below the licensing basis flood elevation. These penetrations were installed during the installation of upgrades to the plant fire protection system. As a result of the penetrations not being sealed, the intake structure was vulnerable to water inflow during an extreme flooding event. This inflow had the potential to affect the operability of both trains of safety related raw water pumps (ultimate heat sink).

On February 4, 2011, an eight (8) hour report was made under 10 CFR 50.72 (b)(3)(v)(D) to the NRC Headquarters Operation Office (HOO) at 1717 CST (Event Number (EN) 46594). The report should have been made on September 9, 2009. [...]

SAFETY SIGNIFICANCE

The Fort Calhoun Station is required to be protected from flooding within the station’s licensing basis. The safety related equipment required to mitigate the consequences of an accident were affected by these findings. The openings could have jeopardized the ability of the safety related equipment to perform their design basis function during an accident. [...]

Therefore, this external flooding concern has substantial importance to safety as indicated by the Yellow Finding issued for this event.

NRC: The ultimate heat sink (UHS) is the source of cooling water provided to dissipate reactor decay heat and essential cooling system heat loads after a normal reactor shutdown or a shutdown following an accident, including a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA).

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[blackchisel97]

5. 9 MAGNITUDE EARTHQUAKE SHAKES EAST OF JAPAN, AGI News, June 18, 2011:

A quake with a magnitude of 5,9 on the Richter scale was recorded in East Japan [...]

This time the epicenter was located at 110 kilometers East of the Fukushima power plant [...]

Pasture grass contaminated with cesium above safety standard 200 km from Fukushima plant — Radiation levels are exceeding acceptable safety limits in many locations

Elevated radiation levels widespread in eastern Japan, Smart Planet by David Worthington, June 17, 2011:

- Science Magazine cites data from the prefectural government of Iwate revealing radioactive cesium has traveled over 100 miles away from Fukushima. Pastoral grasses are contaminated beyond safety standards

Japanese scientists have begun to track background radiation levels independently, according to the magazine’s report. Levels are exceeding acceptable safety limits in many locations.

Radioactive material detected in Iwate pastures, NHK, June 16, 2011:

The Iwate Prefectural Government has again detected a radioactive substance above the state limit in pasture grass in several areas in the prefecture. [...]

The areas are located about 150 to 200 kilometers north of the Fukushima nuclear power plant.

Radiation hot spots found in Tokyo — 3.5 times limit set by Japanese law (MAP)

eSci: Unsafe Radiation Found Near Tokyo, Vast Area of Japan Contaminated, Japan Nuclear Incident Liveblogs, June 16, 2011:

Science Magazine reports that Japanese scientists have become so concerned about the health of their children that they have initiated their own radiation monitoring program and made their own maps. The results are shocking.

Parents in Tokyo’s Koto Ward enlisted the help of Tomoya Yamauchi, a radiation physicist at Kobe University, to measure radiation in their neighborhood. Local government officials later joined the act, ordering radiation checks of schoolyards and other public places and posting the results on their Web sites. An anonymous volunteer recently plotted the available 6300 data points on a map. And Yukio Hayakawa, a volcanologist at Gunma University, turned that plot into a radiation contour map.

It shows one wide belt of radiation reaching 225 kilometers south from the stricken reactors to Tokyo and another extending to the southwest. Within those belts are localized hot spots, including an oval that encloses northeast Tokyo and Kashiwa and neighboring cities in Chiba Prefecture.

Radiation in this zone is 0.4 microsieverts per hour, or about 3.5 millisieverts per year. That is a fraction of the radiation found throughout much of Fukushima Prefecture, which surrounds the nuclear power plant. But it is still 10 times background levels and even above the 1-millisievert-per-year limit for ordinary citizens set by Japanese law. The health effects of such low doses are not clear and are passionately debated. But it is known that children are more susceptible to radiation than adults, and few parents want to take chances with a child’s health. Besides, “The law should be observed,” Yamauchi says. Kyo Kageura, an information scientist at the University of Tokyo, says there should be a public discussion of the issue, “based on a scrupulous presentation of the data, including to what extent the 1-millisievert limit can be achieved.”

Elevated radiation levels widespread in eastern Japan, Smart Planet by David Worthington, June 17, 2011:

A “citizens’ map” of radiation levels is being maintained by a group of Japanese bloggers. Levels appear highest near Fukushima and toward its northwest. The vicinity around immediate southwest of the reactors shows elevated radiation, and a large pocket of contamination has settled further south in the outskirts of Tokyo.

http://enenews.com/wp-content/upload.../06/mapTKO.jpg

And from Nebraska -

Army Corps worried they are running out of space in dams on Missouri River, forcing even more releases: “At this point, we have very little flexibility remaining”

Floodwaters might hit KC by midweek, Kansas City Star, June 17, 2011:

Heavy rainfall expected over the Dakotas in coming days, combined with rains from the past few weeks, have officials worried they’re running out of space in upstream dams, potentially forcing them to release even more pent-up water downstream [the Missouri River] …]

One of the Army Corps’ biggest tools is the Gavins Point Dam, the last stop for the Missouri River in South Dakota, which will blast out a record 150,000 cubic feet of water per second through at least mid-August.

Officials now think they might have to boost the amount to 160,000 cubic feet, saying they’re running out of options to manage all the water upstream.

“At this point, we have very little flexibility remaining,” Farhat said.


Corps bumps up releases at Oahe Dam at Pierre, KTIV, June 18, 2011:

[I]n Pierre, South Dakota, the Army Corps announced it’ll raise releases at the Oahe Dam another 10,000 cubic feet per second this weekend. That will bring it to 160,000 by Sunday.

“We are transferring flood storage from Oahe and Big Bend to Fort Randall, which has more storage available at this time,” said Jody Farhat, chief of Water Management, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Northwestern Division. “The amount of rain has nearly filled the reservoirs, doing away with most of the flexibility we had built into our operations for this year,” said Farhat. [...]

Top Ft. Calhoun nuke plant official: To get to a disaster level floodwater would have to rise 3.5 feet above current levels — No one has a model of what river is going to do, says NWS hydrologist

OPPD Says Fort Calhoun Station Rumors Untrue, WOWT, June 17, 2011:

There has been a lot of rumors recently concerning flooding. OPPD, which operates the Fort Calhoun Nuclear Power Station just north of Omaha, addressed some of those rumors saying they are not factual. [...]

[Fort Calhoun Nuclear Power Plant's chief nuclear officer, Dave Bannister] said for the plant to get to a disaster level, floodwater would have to rise three and a half feet above where it stands now. [...]

Floodwaters might hit KC by midweek, Kansas City Star, June 17, 2011:

The endless complexities have made prediction a tough task, said
Ross Wolford, a hydrologist working long days for the National Weather
Service in order to try to predict the river’s flow.

“We don’t have, nor does the Corps or anyone else have, a hydraulic model of what the [Missouri] river’s going to do,” Wolford said. “There’s a lot of art in the way we estimate.”

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[mbrownn]

How do we get this info into the skulls of the dummed down public?

I have worked in nuclear power plants, spacifically British Energy - Hartlepool British Energy - Heysham 1 Sellafield Ltd and on one occasion at the atomic weapons establishment at Aldermaston Welcome to AWE

I have manufactured and supplied into these and other nuclear sites and in my opinion we are incapable of working with these materials without leaking them into the environment, we are unable to provide containment that can hold a fission reaction and there is no way of making these devices fail to safety.

Its time to phase out this industry.

[blackchisel97]

Japan pumps water into reactor to contain radioactivity, Deutsche Presse-Agentur, June 20, 2011:

- Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), which runs the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, started Sunday to pour water into a pool on the top floor of reactor 4 of the six-reactor plant after it discovered the water level had dropped to about one-third of its capacity, public broadcaster NHK reported.

The drop caused equipment in the pool to be exposed, releasing high levels of radiation, officials said. [...]

The radiation levels at reactor 4 have been preventing workers from entering the structure to conduct repairs.

Contaminated Water Processing at #Fukushima: The Water Was Simply Too “Hot”, EX-SKF, June 19, 2011:

[...] Well, over 100,000 tonnes of highly contaminated water at Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant are estimated to contain 720,000 terabecquerels of radioactive materials.

If Kurion’s vessel absorbed enough radioactive materials in 5 hours and it should have taken 30 days, as I wrote in my previous post, the water was 144 times as radioactive as the system had anticipated.

If the water actually turns out to be 144 times as radioactive, the Fukushima accident would need a new INES category and should not be placed in the same category (Level 7) as the Chernobyl accident which released only 5.6 million terabecquerels of radioactive materials. Maybe it should be simply called “Level Fukushima”.

Preventing radiation contamination more important than TEPCO’s stock prices, Mainichi, June 20, 2011:

[...] The crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant is still not over. Far from it, there are signs that it is getting worse. [...]

In a TV Asahi program on June 16, [Hiroaki Koide, an assistant professor at the Kyoto University Research Reactor Institute] made the following comment:

“As far as I can tell from the announcements made by Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), the nuclear fuel that has melted down inside reactors at the Fukushima nuclear plant has gone through the bottom of the containers, which are like pressure cookers, and is lying on the concrete foundations, sinking into the ground below. We have to install a barrier deep in the soil and build a subterranean dam as soon as possible to prevent groundwater contaminated with radioactive materials from leaking into the ocean.”

His comment captured public interest and when I asked a high-ranking government official about it, the official said that construction of an underground dam was indeed being prepared. But when I probed further, I found that the project was in limbo due to opposition from TEPCO.

Sumio Mabuchi, an aide to Prime Minister Naoto Kan who is dealing with nuclear power plant issues, holds the same concerns as those expressed by Koide and has sought an announcement on construction of an underground dam, but TEPCO has resisted such a move. [...]

Fukushima workers speak out, Al Jazeera, June 19, 2011:

Fukushima worker: “We are Kamikaze” — Public needs to realize that a very real danger remains at plant...
YouTube - ‪Fukushima workers speak out‬‏


And from US -

Levees in northern Missouri breached, Associated Press, June 20, 2011:

Several levees in northern Missouri [Holt and Atchison counties] were failing to hold back the surge of water being released from upstream dams, and officials and residents braced themselves Sunday for more breaches as the Missouri River dipped but then rose again.

A hole in the side of a Holt County levee continued to grow, deluging the state park and recreational area in Big Lake, a community of about 200 people located 78 miles north of Kansas City. [...]

In Nebraska, a flooding alert was issued for a second nuclear power plant [...]

[Jud Kneuvean, chief of emergency management for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Kansas City district] said whenever a levee was being overtopped to the extent occurring in Atchison County, the best-case scenario was that it would stay intact for 12 hours. After that, he said, “all bets are off.”

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[blackchisel97]

Health Canada says no worries....

Canadian newspaper tries to get soil tested for radiation — Private companies, gov’t agencies, and universities all refused to get involved

- In the June 2 edition of The Beacon, it was discussed how the release of radiation from the Fukushima plant in Japan could potentially be poisoning Canadian soil, and possibly central Newfoundland. Evidence from various radiation monitors and news reports have shown that it has become a worldwide issue, and given that the airspace is shared, Canada and the U.S. have been directly affected as well.

Even though local farmers have not tested their soil and water, Nita Abbott of LA Farms, near Gambo, expressed an interest in having her land tested to ensure they’re selling a safe product. The newspaper contacted private testing companies, government agencies, and universities to inquire if they would consider testing local farms. All of them said they were not interested in getting involved at any level. Health Canada also reported that everything is normal. [...]

Can someone kindly define a "normal" for me? I'm more and more confused.....

One more live site being produced as part of an individual earthquake volunteers - 県別ガイガーカウンター���
You may need to select English Translation.

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[blackchisel97]

US nuclear "Baby valley of death"

Prestigious doctor: US nuclear 'Baby valley of death,' Millions to die (video) - National Human Rights | Examiner.com

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[blackchisel97]

They lied to us....

Fukushima ‘still a ticking time bomb’, CNN, June 21, 2011

Transcript Excerpts [Emphasis Added]

ROMANS [CNN HOST]: Then Fukushima. The disaster that won’t go away. Nobody is paying attention. But is the nuclear meltdown more dangerous than ever? [...] Michio Kaku on the biggest industrial catastrophe in history. [...]

KAKU: In the last two weeks, everything we knew about that accident has been turned upside down. We were told three partial melt downs, don’t worry about it. Now we know it was 100 percent core melt in all three reactors. Radiation minimal that was released. Now we know it was comparable to radiation at Chernobyl. [...]

ROMANS: In your view, did they not know how bad it was or they knew and didn’t tell [...]

KAKU: [...] We knew it was much more severe than they were saying, because radiation was coming out left and right. So in other words, they lied to us. [...]

ROMANS: [...] within hours not even a day, there were already statements from the company and International Atomic Energy Association saying there had been safe shut down of all reactors. [...]

KAKU: [...] in New York City, you can actually see it in the milk. You can actually see it has iodine, 131, actually spiked a little bit in our milk in New York City, but it is very small.

ROMANS: Just even hearing that, though, even hearing that you can detect it, that there’s a catastrophe, worst industrial catastrophe in history, we can see it in milk in New York, that’s frightening. [...]

KAKU: [...] Realize Chernobyl was one core’s worth radiation causing a $200 billion accident and it is still on- going. Here we have 20 cores worth of radiation. Three totally melted, one damaged and the [rest in] spent fuel pumps, 20 cores worth of highly radioactive materials. [...]

TEPCO: Excessively high radiation at Reactor No. 2 — Abrupt jump may be from leaking pressure chamber

Radiation levels in Fukushima basement too high – TEPCO, Voice of Russia, June 22, 2011:

[...] TEPCO, says in a statement that radiation levels in the basement of the second reactor is excessively high, with the level of accumulated water exceeding 6 metres.

According to experts, the abrupt jump in radiation may have been prompted by radioactive substance leaks from the lower pressure maintenance chamber. [...]

Work begins inside No.2 reactor building, NHK, June 22, 2011:

[...] Wastewater contaminated with nuclear material was 6.1 meters deep in the basement, with surface radiation levels between 388 and 430 millisieverts per hour.

Work on the second floor was scheduled to start on Thursday but was postponed because of the high radiation levels there.

Wind carried radiation to Europe from Japan, researchers say, Deutsche Presse-Agentur, June 22, 2011:

Radioactive substances spewed from a damaged Japanese nuclear plant were carried to Europe through the United States by a jet stream, Japanese researchers said, Jiji news agency reported Wednesday.

A Japanese research group led by Toshihiko Takemura, associate professor at Kyushu University, tracked the flow of leaked radiation from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant through a computer simulation. [...]

Radioactive substances rose to about 5 kilometres when a low pressure system passed over eastern Japan on March 14-15, the researchers said.

The substances were blown eastward by a jet stream traveling at a speed of some 3,000 kilometres a day, arriving on the US West Coast on March 18, in Iceland on March 20, and many other European countries on March 22, the researchers said. [...]

Plant decontamination not working, NHK, June 22, 2011:

The Tokyo Electric Power Company is looking into why a system for decontaminating radioactive water at the Fukushima Daiichi plant is not working as expected, delaying resumption of the system’s full-scale operation. [...]

The data show that density of Cesium-13 [sic?] and Cesium-137 dropped to only one-100th of initial levels.

An earlier test run using water with a lower density of radioactivity showed a drop to about one-1000th. [...]

IAEA closed door session: Group was unable to obtain necessary information from Japan about Fukushima — Led to difficulties projecting how radioactive materials would spread around world

IAEA criticizes Japan’s nuclear data sharing. NHK, June 22. 2011:

Participants at a closed door session of the International Atomic Energy Agency have agreed to set up an international mechanism to share information in the event of nuclear emergencies. [...]

A Japanese official quoted an expert from the World Meteorological Organization as saying the group was unable to obtain necessary information from Japan. He said this led to difficulties in projecting how radioactive materials would spread around the world. [...]

Going gaga, Japan Today, June 23, 2011:

Lady Gaga [...] promised to promote Japan as a safe destination. “I’m going to run around Tokyo and enjoy the beautiful city and kiss all the beautiful little monsters,” she said, referring to the pet name she gives to her fans. “I will scream at the top of my lungs that everyone should come to Japan and visit this beautiful place.”

City in Chiba Prefecture sets independent radiation dose standard for children, Mainichi Japan, June 23, 2011:

NODA, Chiba — The municipal government here independently set a 1.0 millisievert maximum annual radiation dose for children [...]

The new maximum dose breaks down to an hourly dose of 0.19 microsieverts, presupposing that a child spends eight hours a day outside. [...]

Parts of the playground, where radiation of 0.25 microsieverts per hour has been detected, have been declared off-limits, while staff and children at the school must wear hats and wash their hands and gargle regularly. [...]

Sirens Blare as Flooding Hits North Dakota, ABC News, June 22, 2011:

[...] Although the Fort Calhoun plant [...] is surrounded by an eight foot tall and 16 foot wide protective berm, two feet of water have already made its way to several areas of the Fort Calhoun plant, but authorities say there is no immediate danger at either plant. [...]

Officials Monitoring Rising Floodwaters At Nebraska Nuclear Plants, CNN, June 23, 2011:

[...] Nebraska utility officials have erected barriers to protect buildings at the plant from flooding and have installed a berm around the facility’s electrical switchyard. The Cooper plant is located about 80 miles south of Omaha.

“The licensee does not expect floodwaters to impact vital plant equipment,” the NRC stated.

However, CNN affiliate KETV reported Wednesday that, as a precautionary move, the facility is keeping dozens of staff members onsite around the clock. The station reported that about 60 people are sleeping on cots at the plant and that the staffers are being rotated out every two days. [...]

The latest on flooding: June 23, Omaha World-Herald, June 23, 2011:

[...] On Tuesday, the Army Corps of Engineers announced that releases from Gavins Point would increase another 7 percent to 160,000 cubic feet per second.

That will add about 4 to 5 inches in the river’s level at Fort Calhoun and Cooper Nuclear Stations, according to information from the corps and the National Weather Service. [...]

The NRC has added two inspectors and a branch chief to the permanent two-person inspection crew at Fort Calhoun station, said Lara Uselding, spokeswoman. They are providing around-the-clock oversight there. [...]

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[blackchisel97]

Unmanned helicopter crash lands at nuke plant, NHK, June 24, 2011:

The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says it lost control of an unmanned helicopter during a flight near the No. 2 reactor building, forcing the controller to make an emergency landing on a roof there.

Tokyo Electric Power Company says the remote-controlled light helicopter took off from an observatory south of the Fukushima plant just past 6:30 AM on Friday. Its mission was to collect airborne radioactive substances around the No. 2 reactor building. [...]

High level of radiation exposure estimated, NHK, June 24, 2011:

A group of doctors has found that the estimated level of accumulated internal radiation exposure for people living in Fukushima Prefecture has exceeded 3 millisieverts.

The researchers, including doctors who have provided medical care to A-bomb survivors, conducted analysis on the food and urine of 15 residents in Iitate Village and Kawamata Town in Fukushima Prefecture. These areas are about 40 kilometers from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

They estimate that residents have been internally exposed to up to 3.2 millisieverts for about 2 months, measuring from the date of the accident in March until early May. [...]

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[mbrownn]

Unmanned helicopter crash lands at nuke plant, NHK, June 24, 2011:


High level of radiation exposure estimated, NHK, June 24, 2011:

A group of doctors has found that the estimated level of accumulated internal radiation exposure for people living in Fukushima Prefecture has exceeded 3 millisieverts.

The researchers, including doctors who have provided medical care to A-bomb survivors, conducted analysis on the food and urine of 15 residents in Iitate Village and Kawamata Town in Fukushima Prefecture. These areas are about 40 kilometers from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

They estimate that residents have been internally exposed to up to 3.2 millisieverts for about 2 months, measuring from the date of the accident in March until early May. [...]

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3.2 in 2 months that is equal to 19.2 per year, I would expect that many people at that dose will be showing signs of radiation sickness, we will start to see people dying soon.

[blackchisel97]

Cargo from Japan

Australia’s nuclear safety regulator decided there is no need to screen any more sea or air cargo arriving from Japan — Dock workers concerned about radiation exposure

[...] Two Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) inspectors boarded the Trans Future 7 yesterday morning to test 102 of the ship’s 800 new and used vehicles.

The tests were conducted only after Port Kembla dock workers raised concerns they could be exposed to radiation from the earthquake and tsunami-ravaged Fukushima nuclear plant. [...]

The nuclear safety regulator has decided there is no need to screen any more sea or air cargo arriving from Japan, including that aboard another ship due in Port Kembla today. [...]

Maritime Union of Australia assistant national secretary Warren Smith [...] said he had reservations about the rigour of yesterday’s tests.


High-tech equipment is malfunctioning around Reactor No. 2

Robot, drone fail on Japan nuke-plant missions, AP, June 24, 2011:

[...] The Quince robot [...] had ventured out into the Unit 2 reactor building to set up a gauge to measure the contaminated water pooling in the basement. Radioactivity inside the reactor buildings is too high for workers to take measurements there.

The machine got stuck at a staircase landing and failed to go downstairs, TEPCO spokesman Junichi Matsumoto said. A cable that was supposed to drop a gauge into the basement also malfunctioned. [...]

The drone developed engine trouble during a radiation sampling flight and made a remote-controlled emergency landing on the roof of Unit 2 [...]

During the Chernobyl event, the radiation levels were toasting the electronics in robots sent on the roof to sweep debris off the building. They decided to use "Biorobots" instead. 10 minutes exposure was underestimated.

V