Source: New York Times
Date: 7/16/2011
by: Hiroko Tabuchi
TOKYO — Japan’s second-largest nuclear operator said Saturday that it was manually shutting down a reactor in central Japan after a technical malfunction.
No radiation had leaked from the No. 1 Reactor at the Oi Nuclear Power Plant, on the Japan Sea coast, about 250 miles west of Tokyo, said Yoshihiko Kondo, a spokesman for the plant’s operator, Kansai Electric Power.
Mr. Kondo said that a loss of pressure had been detected late Friday in an accumulator tank needed to cool the reactor core in an emergency, forcing the utility to shut down the reactor. Workers will begin the shutdown at 1 p.m. Saturday in Japan, and shutdown will be complete by 9 p.m., he said.
The shutdown at Oi just four months after the devastating accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant comes as a blow to an industry struggling to regain public confidence. It also worsens an electricity shortage that has forced several utilities in Japan to require companies to reduce their use by at least 15 percent.
Only 19 of Japan’s 54 nuclear reactors are operating, because units shut down for regular maintenance have not been given permission by local governments to restart after the disaster at Fukushima, operated by Japan’s largest nuclear operator, Tokyo Electric Power. In the meantime, more reactors have been closing for scheduled maintenance, reducing the number in service across the country.
The 1.17-million-kilowatt Oi No. 1 Reactor, built in 1979, had been in the last stages of a trial run at full output after undergoing scheduled maintenance this year. At Kansai Electric, only four of its 11 reactors are now operating.
Editor's Note: Oi Nuclear Power Plant shown in map below
View Live Ustream Radiation Detectors in a larger map
Provide radiation related news regarding the Japan Fukushima nuclear plant disaster and global radiation levels and environmental contamination.
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Saturday, July 16, 2011
Thursday, July 14, 2011
7/12/2011 "During April, The People In Seattle Could Have Just As Easily Been In Tokyo For The Amount Of Hot Particles That Were There"
Source: Washington's Blog
Date: 7/12/2011
Nuclear expert Arnie Gundersen said recently:
Of course, radiation monitoring in Seattle may be kept secret. As that Washington Department of Health notes:
But isn't the amount of radiation Seattle residents are being exposed to safe? No, say many top experts. See this, this, this, this, this and this.
As David J. Brenner, a professor of radiation biophysics and the director of the Center for Radiological Research at Columbia University Medical Center, wrote recently in The Bulletin of The Atomic Scientists:
Date: 7/12/2011
Nuclear expert Arnie Gundersen said recently:
During April, the people in Seattle could have just as easily been in Tokyo for the amount of hot particles that were there.(For background on "hot particles", see this and this.)
Of course, radiation monitoring in Seattle may be kept secret. As that Washington Department of Health notes:
A helicopter flying over some urban areas of King and Pierce counties will gather radiological readings July 11-28, 2011. [Seattle is in King County.] The U.S. Department of Energy’s Remote Sensing Laboratory Aerial Measurement System will collect baseline levels of radioactive materials.Indeed, the EPA has drastically reduced its radiation reporting to the public (which was never great), and has tried to raise acceptable radiation standards.
**
Some of the data may be withheld for national security purposes.
But isn't the amount of radiation Seattle residents are being exposed to safe? No, say many top experts. See this, this, this, this, this and this.
As David J. Brenner, a professor of radiation biophysics and the director of the Center for Radiological Research at Columbia University Medical Center, wrote recently in The Bulletin of The Atomic Scientists:
Should this worry us? We know that the extra individual cancer risks from this long-term exposure will be very small indeed. Most of us have about a 40 percent chance of getting cancer at some point in our lives, and the radiation dose from the extra radioactive cesium in the food supply will not significantly increase our individual cancer risks.Hat tip: ENE News and Forbes' Jeff McMahon, two of the best energy-related news sources on the web.
But there’s another way we can and should think about the risk: not from the perspective of individuals, but from the perspective of the entire population. A tiny extra risk to a few people is one thing. But here we have a potential tiny extra risk to millions or even billions of people. Think of buying a lottery ticket — just like the millions of other people who buy a ticket, your chances of winning are miniscule. Yet among these millions of lottery players, a few people will certainly win; we just can’t predict who they will be. Likewise, will there be some extra cancers among the very large numbers of people exposed to extremely small radiation risks? It’s likely, but we really don’t know for sure.
7/14/2011 Los Alamos National Lab prepares for monsoon flash flooding
Date: 7/14/2011
Los Alamos National Lab, America's premier nuclear weapons research and development facility/factory, seemed to weather the Las Conchas wildfire without a major nuclear incident (e.g. the potential threat of fire releasing dangerous levels of radiation in to the air from various Material Disposal Areas or lab facilities). A new threat exists now, but this time from flash floods potentially washing contaminated soil in to the Rio Grande river, the source of drinking water for many New Mexico communities including the capital Sante Fe. [1] According to a July 11, 2011 article by Reuters:
PressTV: 'Monsoon rain could flood Los Alamos with contaminants'
Some key points were raised in the interview. Approximately 4 minutes in to the interview Malten states that a year long Associated Press investigation has found that the NRC (Nuclear Regulator Commission) has allowed aging nuclear power plants to run beyond their natural lifespan by relaxing previously set safety standards. Also of note is the segment of the interview starting at 7 minutes 7 seconds. Here Malten says that there has been "too cozy of a relationship between the nuclear industry, regulators and politicians for too long." The Obama administration received $210,000 in campaign contributions from the nuclear industry according to Malten.
Sources:
[1] Contaminated soil a concern at Los Alamos lab, Reuters
[2] 'Monsoon rain could flood Los Alamos with contaminants', PressTV
Los Alamos National Lab, America's premier nuclear weapons research and development facility/factory, seemed to weather the Las Conchas wildfire without a major nuclear incident (e.g. the potential threat of fire releasing dangerous levels of radiation in to the air from various Material Disposal Areas or lab facilities). A new threat exists now, but this time from flash floods potentially washing contaminated soil in to the Rio Grande river, the source of drinking water for many New Mexico communities including the capital Sante Fe. [1] According to a July 11, 2011 article by Reuters:
...In a recent PressTV interview (below), Willem Malten of the Los Alamos Study Group states "there is a frantic community effort under way with mainly Native Americans sandbagging their own homelands while the [The Los Alamos National] Laboratory just removed 12,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil from the canyons."
The soil in the canyons above Los Alamos National Laboratory, the linchpin of American's nuclear weapons industry, contains materials with trace amounts of radiation and hazardous chemicals such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) that were dumped there decades ago, said Fred deSousa, spokesman for the lab's environmental control division.
Over the weekend, about 1,200 cubic yards of contaminated soil was removed primarily from two canyons -- Los Alamos and Pajarito -- that run through lab property, deSousa said.
The erosion control effort, which included the installation of 600 feet of water diversion barriers, will continue this week, he said.[1]
...
PressTV: 'Monsoon rain could flood Los Alamos with contaminants'
Some key points were raised in the interview. Approximately 4 minutes in to the interview Malten states that a year long Associated Press investigation has found that the NRC (Nuclear Regulator Commission) has allowed aging nuclear power plants to run beyond their natural lifespan by relaxing previously set safety standards. Also of note is the segment of the interview starting at 7 minutes 7 seconds. Here Malten says that there has been "too cozy of a relationship between the nuclear industry, regulators and politicians for too long." The Obama administration received $210,000 in campaign contributions from the nuclear industry according to Malten.
Sources:
[1] Contaminated soil a concern at Los Alamos lab, Reuters
[2] 'Monsoon rain could flood Los Alamos with contaminants', PressTV
7/13/2011 Missouri River Flood: Alert Lifted at Cooper Nuclear Power Plant
Source: Gather News (gather.com)
Date: July 13, 2011 07:45 PM EDT
by: Angela Tague
On July 12, the Nebraska Public Power District lifted the "notification of unusual event" put in place at the Cooper Nuclear Station south of Omaha, Nebr. just last month. The Missouri River flood waters are finally starting to recede, causing plant workers to breathe a bit easier this week.
...
Read full article here
Editor's Note: Here is the current action plan at Cooper Nuclear Station.
Date: July 13, 2011 07:45 PM EDT
by: Angela Tague
On July 12, the Nebraska Public Power District lifted the "notification of unusual event" put in place at the Cooper Nuclear Station south of Omaha, Nebr. just last month. The Missouri River flood waters are finally starting to recede, causing plant workers to breathe a bit easier this week.
...
Read full article here
Editor's Note: Here is the current action plan at Cooper Nuclear Station.
7/14/2011 Typhoon Ma-On Targeting Japan
Source: AccuWeather.com
Date: Jul 14, 2011; 11:20 AM ET
by: Jim Andrews, Senior Meteorologist
A powerful typhoon is on track to strike mainland Japan early next week.
...
Read full article here
Date: Jul 14, 2011; 11:20 AM ET
by: Jim Andrews, Senior Meteorologist
A powerful typhoon is on track to strike mainland Japan early next week.
...
Read full article here
DHS's First Patent: A Citizen's Dosimeter!
Source: Department of Homeland Security (dhs.gov)
Date: June 27, 2011
It fits in your wallet and can save your life.
No matter how many plastic cards currently crowd your wallet, one day you may wish to make room for one more. The Department of Homeland Security(DHS)’s Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) has developed a miniaturized version of a dosimeter, a portable device used for measuring exposure to ionizing radiation, which can provide life-saving early detection in the unlikely event of a nuclear accident or dirty bomb.
...
Read full article here
Date: June 27, 2011
It fits in your wallet and can save your life.
Adam Hutter, Director of NUSTL, presents Cecilia Murtagh (center) and Gladys Klemic with plaques commemorating DHS’s first patent. Not pictured: co-investigator Paul Bailey, now at the University of Maryland. (Jenny May)
...
Read full article here
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
7/13/2011 Fukushima workers brave radiation and heat for £80 a day
Source: UK Guardian
Date: Wednesday 13 July 2011 19.20 BST
Fears grow for inexperienced contractors working in Japanese heatwave to bring stricken nuclear reactors under control
Workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Photograph: Ho/AFP/Getty Images
Hundreds of inexperienced contractors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant are working in searing heat and high radiation levels for as little as 10,000 yen (£80) a day.
...
Read full article here
Date: Wednesday 13 July 2011 19.20 BST
Fears grow for inexperienced contractors working in Japanese heatwave to bring stricken nuclear reactors under control
Workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Photograph: Ho/AFP/Getty Images
Hundreds of inexperienced contractors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant are working in searing heat and high radiation levels for as little as 10,000 yen (£80) a day.
...
Read full article here
7/13/2011 (Video) High levels of Cesium-134 (23663 Bq/Kg) and Cesium-137 (28884 Bq/Kg) found in Tokyo metro playground
Source: AustralianCannonball YouTube channel
Date: 7/13/2011 upload date
The video below goes over the shocking lab radionuclide test results of soil taken from a Tokyo playground which a private Japanese citizen payed for with their own money:
Results
Iodine-131: < 20 becquerels/kg
Cesium-134: 23663 becquerels/kg
Cesium-137: 28884 becquerels/kg
For reference, the following chart taken from Bloomberg shows safe food and water limits set by the Japanese government:
Also, the above video illustrates that when placing a personal dosimeter (Geiger counter) right on the ground in Kashiwa, which is 23 km from the center of Tokyo, the measurement is astonishingly high showing a peak of 6.59 ÎĽSv/hr (microsieverts/hour). For reference, there is only one personal dosimeter shared on Ustream (that I could find), which consistently shows values in whole numbered ÎĽSv/hr. This is the GM-fukushima Geiger counter, which normally displays the outdoors levels of an open air cafe in Iitate Village, Fukushima Prefecture. This is the closest Geiger counter in the Live Streaming Radiation Meters collection to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
Date: 7/13/2011 upload date
The video below goes over the shocking lab radionuclide test results of soil taken from a Tokyo playground which a private Japanese citizen payed for with their own money:
Results
Iodine-131: < 20 becquerels/kg
Cesium-134: 23663 becquerels/kg
Cesium-137: 28884 becquerels/kg
For reference, the following chart taken from Bloomberg shows safe food and water limits set by the Japanese government:
================================================================
Prescribed safe limits for radioactive Iodine-131:
================================================================
300 Becquerel per kilogram Drinking water
300 (Bq/kg) Milk, dairy products
2,000 (Bq/kg) Vegetables*
(*Except root vegetables and
tubers)
================================================================
================================================================
Prescribed safe limits for radioactive cesium:
================================================================
200 Becquerel per kilogram Drinking water
200 (Bq/kg) Milk, dairy products
500 (Bq/kg) Vegetables
500 (Bq/kg) Grains
500 (Bq/kg) Meat, eggs, fish, etc.
================================================================
Prescribed safe limits for uranium:
================================================================
20 Becquerel per kilogram Infant foods
20 (Bq/kg) Drinking water
20 (Bq/kg) Milk, dairy products
100 (Bq/kg) Vegetables
100 (Bq/kg) Grains
100 (Bq/kg) Meat, eggs, fish, etc.
================================================================
================================================================
Prescribed safe limits for alpha-emitting nuclides of plutonium
and transuranic elements:
================================================================
1 Becquerel per kilogram Infant foods
1 (Bq/kg) Drinking water
1 (Bq/kg) Milk, dairy products
10 (Bq/kg) Vegetables
10 (Bq/kg) Grains
10 (Bq/kg) Meat, eggs, fish etc.
================================================================Also, the above video illustrates that when placing a personal dosimeter (Geiger counter) right on the ground in Kashiwa, which is 23 km from the center of Tokyo, the measurement is astonishingly high showing a peak of 6.59 ÎĽSv/hr (microsieverts/hour). For reference, there is only one personal dosimeter shared on Ustream (that I could find), which consistently shows values in whole numbered ÎĽSv/hr. This is the GM-fukushima Geiger counter, which normally displays the outdoors levels of an open air cafe in Iitate Village, Fukushima Prefecture. This is the closest Geiger counter in the Live Streaming Radiation Meters collection to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
7/13/2011 52,547 Bq/Kg Of Cesium Radiation Found In Soil Just Outside Tokyo
Source: examiner.com
Date: 7/13/2011
by: Alexander Higgins
52,547 Bq/Kg of of Cesium radiation measured in soil samples collected just outside of Tokyo over 135 miles south of the Fukushima nuclear power plant.
A reader from Japan has sent me a copy of his official Lab results for nuclear radiation soil samples collected in Kashiwa, Japan, which is on the outskirts of Tokyo and over 135 miles south of the Fukushima nuclear reactor. The lab results show that 52,547 Becquerels Per Kilogram Of Cesium Radiation was found in the sample. 23,663 Bq/Kg of Cesium 134 radiation was found. 28,884 Bq/Kg of Cesium 137 was detected.
...
Read full article here
Date: 7/13/2011
by: Alexander Higgins
52,547 Bq/Kg of of Cesium radiation measured in soil samples collected just outside of Tokyo over 135 miles south of the Fukushima nuclear power plant.
A reader from Japan has sent me a copy of his official Lab results for nuclear radiation soil samples collected in Kashiwa, Japan, which is on the outskirts of Tokyo and over 135 miles south of the Fukushima nuclear reactor. The lab results show that 52,547 Becquerels Per Kilogram Of Cesium Radiation was found in the sample. 23,663 Bq/Kg of Cesium 134 radiation was found. 28,884 Bq/Kg of Cesium 137 was detected.
...
Read full article here
7/13/2011 Fukushima plant site originally was a hill safe from tsunami
Source: The Japan Times
Date: 7/13/2011
by: REIJI YOSHIDA and TAKAHIRO FUKADA
Ground zero: Bulldozers (top) take the top off a 35-meter bluff to prepare the site for the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant in
the late 1960s in this image taken from the documentary "Reimei" ("Dawn"). Left: The construction site is seen after the leveling
work. Right: An excavated area where the emergency diesel generators were installed is seen at the construction site.
TOKYO ELECTRIC POWER CO.
First of Two Parts
The March 11 monster tsunami that hit the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant destroyed the critical backup power system and triggered the meltdown of hundreds of fuel rods in reactors 1, 2 and 3.
Video of the appalling damage and reactor building explosions led many — from regular people to nuclear and quake experts — to ask: Why wasn't the coastal nuclear plant built in a location safe from all tsunami threats?
...
Read full article here
Date: 7/13/2011
by: REIJI YOSHIDA and TAKAHIRO FUKADA
Ground zero: Bulldozers (top) take the top off a 35-meter bluff to prepare the site for the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant in
the late 1960s in this image taken from the documentary "Reimei" ("Dawn"). Left: The construction site is seen after the leveling
work. Right: An excavated area where the emergency diesel generators were installed is seen at the construction site.
TOKYO ELECTRIC POWER CO.
First of Two Parts
The March 11 monster tsunami that hit the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant destroyed the critical backup power system and triggered the meltdown of hundreds of fuel rods in reactors 1, 2 and 3.
Video of the appalling damage and reactor building explosions led many — from regular people to nuclear and quake experts — to ask: Why wasn't the coastal nuclear plant built in a location safe from all tsunami threats?
...
Read full article here
7/13/2011 (Video) World Cup heroine brings hope to embattled Japan nuclear workers
Source: Reuters
Date: Wed Jul 13, 2011 11:24am GMT
TOKYO, July 13 (Reuters Life!) - A substitute on the Japanese women's national soccer team who led her country to its first ever World Cup semi-final appearance counts among her supporters workers battling to bring under control the world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 years.
Not surprising, perhaps -- some are former colleagues from when Karina Maruyama herself worked at Tokyo Electric Power Co(Tepco), the operator of the nuclear plant crippled by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
The 28-year-old Maruyama has become a national heroine after coming off the bench to score an extra-time winner against the heavily favoured defending champion Germany on Saturday.
Her dramatic 108th minute goal gave Japan a 1-0 win over Germany and brought an outpouring of praise and gratitude on her blog, but it was a former colleague now working to contain damage at the Fukushima Daiichi plant 240 km (150 miles) from Tokyo who really moved her.
...
Read full article here
Here is the goal made by Karina Maruyama, former TEPCO employee
Date: Wed Jul 13, 2011 11:24am GMT
TOKYO, July 13 (Reuters Life!) - A substitute on the Japanese women's national soccer team who led her country to its first ever World Cup semi-final appearance counts among her supporters workers battling to bring under control the world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 years.
Not surprising, perhaps -- some are former colleagues from when Karina Maruyama herself worked at Tokyo Electric Power Co(Tepco), the operator of the nuclear plant crippled by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
The 28-year-old Maruyama has become a national heroine after coming off the bench to score an extra-time winner against the heavily favoured defending champion Germany on Saturday.
Her dramatic 108th minute goal gave Japan a 1-0 win over Germany and brought an outpouring of praise and gratitude on her blog, but it was a former colleague now working to contain damage at the Fukushima Daiichi plant 240 km (150 miles) from Tokyo who really moved her.
...
Read full article here
Here is the goal made by Karina Maruyama, former TEPCO employee
7/12/2011 Radiation Coverups And Dangers Exposed Worldwide
Source: The Intel Hub
Date: 7/12/2011
by: Alex Thomas
King 5 News: High levels of radiation detected in Northwest rainwater
The data is not new, but what this report illustrates is the under-reporting (or non-reporting) of dangerous radiation levels.
The nuclear industry and nuclear regulators worldwide, as well as specifically in the United States, have continually covered up disasters and radiation releases as if they never happened or posed no danger to the public.
To begin to understand the corruption of the nuclear power industry and the danger we are in because of it, you must first realize that they actually fund their regulators, The NRC in the United States and the IAEA for the world.
...
Read full article here
Date: 7/12/2011
by: Alex Thomas
King 5 News: High levels of radiation detected in Northwest rainwater
The data is not new, but what this report illustrates is the under-reporting (or non-reporting) of dangerous radiation levels.
The nuclear industry and nuclear regulators worldwide, as well as specifically in the United States, have continually covered up disasters and radiation releases as if they never happened or posed no danger to the public.
To begin to understand the corruption of the nuclear power industry and the danger we are in because of it, you must first realize that they actually fund their regulators, The NRC in the United States and the IAEA for the world.
...
Read full article here
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