Date: 7/27/2011
A failed gasket caused a toxic gas leak at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant near Paducah, Kentucky. The non-radiological chlorine trifluoride (ClF3) gas was released on Wednesday 7/27/2011 04:15 AM CDT when an "Alert" level (second lowest severity on a four tier scale) emergency event was issued by USEC (United States Enrichment Corporation) who runs the Uranium enrichment plant near Paducah, Kentucky.[1] The emergency status lasted several hours before being terminated by the USEC. For the full text of the NRC event notification report read here.
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Sources:
[1] Industrial gas leak prompts onsite alert at PGDP
[2] NRC Event notification Report #47099, Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Provide radiation related news regarding the Japan Fukushima nuclear plant disaster and global radiation levels and environmental contamination.
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Sunday, July 31, 2011
7/30/2011 Flood damage in North Korea
Source: NHK World
Date: Sunday, July 31, 2011 09:00 +0900 (JST)
North Korea's state-run media have reported that heavy rain which brought serious damage to South Korea also caused flooding in the North.
The state-run Korean Central News Agency reported on Friday that in Hwanghae Pukdo in the southern part of the country, more than 650 hectares of farmland was inundated, and roads and public facilities were destroyed.
Korean Central Television aired video of flood damage, which is said to have been shot between Tuesday and Friday.
In the video, which is believed to have been taken in the city of Kaesong, close to the border with South Korea, people were walking with umbrellas in water up to their knees and moving cars were splashing water.
Other video footage, said to have been taken in Hwanghae Pukdo, showed farmland covered with mud, a destroyed bridge, and a tilted and stalled bus on the road side.
North Korea reportedly suffered from a serious shortage of food last summer due to flooding in a wide area. This summer's flooding may cause a further shortage of food.
Date: Sunday, July 31, 2011 09:00 +0900 (JST)
North Korea's state-run media have reported that heavy rain which brought serious damage to South Korea also caused flooding in the North.
The state-run Korean Central News Agency reported on Friday that in Hwanghae Pukdo in the southern part of the country, more than 650 hectares of farmland was inundated, and roads and public facilities were destroyed.
Korean Central Television aired video of flood damage, which is said to have been shot between Tuesday and Friday.
In the video, which is believed to have been taken in the city of Kaesong, close to the border with South Korea, people were walking with umbrellas in water up to their knees and moving cars were splashing water.
Other video footage, said to have been taken in Hwanghae Pukdo, showed farmland covered with mud, a destroyed bridge, and a tilted and stalled bus on the road side.
North Korea reportedly suffered from a serious shortage of food last summer due to flooding in a wide area. This summer's flooding may cause a further shortage of food.
7/30/2011 Xinhua: Operating software has serious flaw
Source: NHK World
Date: Sunday, July 31, 2011 01:19 +0900 (JST)
An official of China's Railways Ministry says faulty software at a rail network operation center led to the fatal high-speed train crash in Wenzhou in Zhejiang Province on July 23rd.
The state-run Xinhua news agency aired an interview with the anonymous ministry official on Saturday.
The official said a signaling system near Wenzhou South Station broke down due to a lightning strike, forcing a train to stop. The official said the train was rear-ended by another after starting to move slowly.
The official said a serious flaw in the design of software used to collect data at a railway operation center caused a signaling system to display green, instead of red.
This caused an automatic train control system not to work, allowing the second train to continue running and ram into the first one.
The official also confirmed that the second train should have run ahead of the first, but disruptions in train services changed the order. The official said rail workers failed to deal with the situation properly.
At least 40 people died in the crash. Local residents visited the accident site on Saturday, laying flowers and praying for the souls of the dead.
The Chinese government has nearly doubled the amount of compensation to families of the victims from the sum it initially proposed. It is asking the families to give an answer on whether to accept the compensation by Sunday.
However, the government's apparent efforts to bring an early resolution to the accident are stirring public anger.
Meanwhile, it has been revealed that on Friday night, the governing Communist Party re-issued a ban on independent reporting on the accident by domestic media. This apparently shows that the government is desperate to stem discontent among the bereaved families and calm public criticism.
Date: Sunday, July 31, 2011 01:19 +0900 (JST)
An official of China's Railways Ministry says faulty software at a rail network operation center led to the fatal high-speed train crash in Wenzhou in Zhejiang Province on July 23rd.
The state-run Xinhua news agency aired an interview with the anonymous ministry official on Saturday.
The official said a signaling system near Wenzhou South Station broke down due to a lightning strike, forcing a train to stop. The official said the train was rear-ended by another after starting to move slowly.
The official said a serious flaw in the design of software used to collect data at a railway operation center caused a signaling system to display green, instead of red.
This caused an automatic train control system not to work, allowing the second train to continue running and ram into the first one.
The official also confirmed that the second train should have run ahead of the first, but disruptions in train services changed the order. The official said rail workers failed to deal with the situation properly.
At least 40 people died in the crash. Local residents visited the accident site on Saturday, laying flowers and praying for the souls of the dead.
The Chinese government has nearly doubled the amount of compensation to families of the victims from the sum it initially proposed. It is asking the families to give an answer on whether to accept the compensation by Sunday.
However, the government's apparent efforts to bring an early resolution to the accident are stirring public anger.
Meanwhile, it has been revealed that on Friday night, the governing Communist Party re-issued a ban on independent reporting on the accident by domestic media. This apparently shows that the government is desperate to stem discontent among the bereaved families and calm public criticism.
7/30/2011 Tepco test-runs No.4 reactor cooling device
Source: NHK world
Date: Sunday, July 31, 2011 12:51 +0900 (JST)
The operator of the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has begun a test-run of a device to cool a spent fuel storage pool where water temperature remains high.
The Tokyo Electric Power Company began test-running the cooling device at the No.4 reactor spent fuel pool on Sunday morning. The water temperature remained high there at 86 degrees Celsius on Sunday morning.
The pool holds 1,535 fuel rods, the most for any of the plant's reactors.
The wall supporting the pool was damaged in a blast on March 15th. TEPCO has reinforced the wall with steel pillars and concrete.
Workers then installed a cooling device with a heat exchanger to establish a circulatory cooling system that cools the water from the pool and returns it there.
TEPCO says it will gradually increase the volume of water flowing into the device. If no problems are found, the company plans to lower the water temperature to around 55 degrees within a month.
TEPCO is already cooling the water at the spent fuel pools at the No. 2 and 3 reactors. The utility is planning to do the same for the No. 1 reactor soon.
Date: Sunday, July 31, 2011 12:51 +0900 (JST)
The operator of the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has begun a test-run of a device to cool a spent fuel storage pool where water temperature remains high.
The Tokyo Electric Power Company began test-running the cooling device at the No.4 reactor spent fuel pool on Sunday morning. The water temperature remained high there at 86 degrees Celsius on Sunday morning.
The pool holds 1,535 fuel rods, the most for any of the plant's reactors.
The wall supporting the pool was damaged in a blast on March 15th. TEPCO has reinforced the wall with steel pillars and concrete.
Workers then installed a cooling device with a heat exchanger to establish a circulatory cooling system that cools the water from the pool and returns it there.
TEPCO says it will gradually increase the volume of water flowing into the device. If no problems are found, the company plans to lower the water temperature to around 55 degrees within a month.
TEPCO is already cooling the water at the spent fuel pools at the No. 2 and 3 reactors. The utility is planning to do the same for the No. 1 reactor soon.
7/30/2011 Torrential rain hits Niigata, Fukushima
Source: NHK World
Date: Sunday, July 31, 2011 01:07 +0900 (JST)
Torrential rain has caused rivers to overflow in Niigata and Fukushima prefectures in northern Japan.
About 207,000 people in 15 municipalities of the 2 prefectures are taking shelter, as of 8 PM on Saturday, following authorities' evacuation orders or advisories.
At least 3,000 houses have been flooded in the prefectures.
In Niigata's Sanjo City, more than 10,000 people were ordered to evacuate after a dike collapsed.
2 men in Niigata Prefecture was found dead. 4 people are missing in the region.
NHK's aerial footage shows a destroyed bridge of East Japan Railway's Tadami Line, which connects Fukushima and Niigata prefectures. Only the bridge's columns can be seen in the overflowing river.
680 millimeters of rain has been recorded in Fukushima's Tadami Town in the 72 hours since Wednesday, while more than 620 millimeters fell on Kamo City, Niigata. Sanjo City in Niigata has gotten more than 1,000 millimeters.
These points have recorded more than double the amount of rain it gets in an average July in just 3 days.
The rain has been gradually easing, but some parts of northern Japan are still seeing showers.
The Meteorological Agency says the amount of rainfall in the 2 prefectures has exceeded a downpour 7 years ago that killed 16 people there.
Date: Sunday, July 31, 2011 01:07 +0900 (JST)
Torrential rain has caused rivers to overflow in Niigata and Fukushima prefectures in northern Japan.
About 207,000 people in 15 municipalities of the 2 prefectures are taking shelter, as of 8 PM on Saturday, following authorities' evacuation orders or advisories.
At least 3,000 houses have been flooded in the prefectures.
In Niigata's Sanjo City, more than 10,000 people were ordered to evacuate after a dike collapsed.
2 men in Niigata Prefecture was found dead. 4 people are missing in the region.
NHK's aerial footage shows a destroyed bridge of East Japan Railway's Tadami Line, which connects Fukushima and Niigata prefectures. Only the bridge's columns can be seen in the overflowing river.
680 millimeters of rain has been recorded in Fukushima's Tadami Town in the 72 hours since Wednesday, while more than 620 millimeters fell on Kamo City, Niigata. Sanjo City in Niigata has gotten more than 1,000 millimeters.
These points have recorded more than double the amount of rain it gets in an average July in just 3 days.
The rain has been gradually easing, but some parts of northern Japan are still seeing showers.
The Meteorological Agency says the amount of rainfall in the 2 prefectures has exceeded a downpour 7 years ago that killed 16 people there.
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