Entire post from NHK below- with not one single mention of the ice wall. Instead- the regulators think TEPCO really should DO something about the problem - since - they haven't. They are doing a study, though! Thank goodness. Oh, and this press release points out they are still pumping water into the melted down reactors to cool them. And the water then goes - where? They're not sure.
"TEPCO urged to cut risk of radioactive water leak
"Japan's nuclear regulator has urged the operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant to reduce the risk of leaking of highly radioactive water from the facility into the sea, in case of another tsunami.
"About 60,000 tons of such water is believed to have pooled in reactor buildings at the plant. The operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, is injecting water into the buildings to cool melted nuclear fuel, and groundwater is flowing into their basements.
"The Nuclear Regulation Authority instructed TEPCO at a meeting on Tuesday to urgently study measures to lower the amount and radiation levels of the water.
"The authority proposed 2 measures to TEPCO. One is building more tanks to store the water, even though the plant has about one thousand tanks. The other is treating the water using a system designed to filter out radioactive material, and circulating the water in a cooling system.
"NRA member Toyoshi Fuketa said the utility cannot keep the water in the buildings forever. He said TEPCO should handle the water problem either along with that of other radioactive water or first of all.
"Following the NRA's instruction, TEPCO is to report the results of its study at a meeting next month or later."
Showing posts with label nuclear power. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nuclear power. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 19, 2016
Monday, June 6, 2016
"Oh, you mean THAT ice wall. Well..."
"Since the ice isn't stopping the water, now we're going to pump cement into the leaks."
Um. Hey, if cement was going to work, wouldn't it have been cheaper to just pump cement in the first place?
Nope, not going to work, either. If water flow is reduced here- the pressure, and flow rate, will go up there- making a new leak in a place where the ice was - sort of- working.
Which is why they didn't try cement in the first place. It's a game of whack-a-mole; where the moles dig new holes as fast as you whack. But hey- we're doing something!
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20160606_28/
"TEPCO on Monday began injecting a liquid refrigerant into more pipes that make up the 1,500-meter wall surrounding 4 damaged reactor buildings. The operation now covers 95 percent of the wall.
"Groundwater flows into the buildings and becomes tainted with radioactive substances. Reducing its volume is a key to decommissioning the reactors.
"The operation started in March on the downstream side of the wall because lowering the water levels too much could cause tainted water to leak from the buildings.
"Workers began freezing the upstream side after making sure there were no leaks.
"The ice wall project still faces challenges. Ground temperatures have not fallen in some places, and groundwater levels outside the wall have not gone down.
"Also on Monday, workers began injecting cement into the ground where temperatures have not fallen."
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Particularly fun is this bit:
"Workers began freezing the upstream side after making sure there were no leaks.
"The ice wall project still faces challenges. Ground temperatures have not fallen in some places, and groundwater levels outside the wall have not gone down."
Translation: They started freezing the other side after making sure there were no leaks. But there are leaks - with no measurable effect on water levels anywhere.................
Um. Hey, if cement was going to work, wouldn't it have been cheaper to just pump cement in the first place?
Nope, not going to work, either. If water flow is reduced here- the pressure, and flow rate, will go up there- making a new leak in a place where the ice was - sort of- working.
Which is why they didn't try cement in the first place. It's a game of whack-a-mole; where the moles dig new holes as fast as you whack. But hey- we're doing something!
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20160606_28/
"TEPCO expands ice wall operations at Fukushima
"Tokyo Electric Power Company has expanded operations to create an underground ice wall at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant to stop the volume of contaminated groundwater from increasing."TEPCO on Monday began injecting a liquid refrigerant into more pipes that make up the 1,500-meter wall surrounding 4 damaged reactor buildings. The operation now covers 95 percent of the wall.
"Groundwater flows into the buildings and becomes tainted with radioactive substances. Reducing its volume is a key to decommissioning the reactors.
"The operation started in March on the downstream side of the wall because lowering the water levels too much could cause tainted water to leak from the buildings.
"Workers began freezing the upstream side after making sure there were no leaks.
"The ice wall project still faces challenges. Ground temperatures have not fallen in some places, and groundwater levels outside the wall have not gone down.
"Also on Monday, workers began injecting cement into the ground where temperatures have not fallen."
------------------------------------------------------
Particularly fun is this bit:
"Workers began freezing the upstream side after making sure there were no leaks.
"The ice wall project still faces challenges. Ground temperatures have not fallen in some places, and groundwater levels outside the wall have not gone down."
Translation: They started freezing the other side after making sure there were no leaks. But there are leaks - with no measurable effect on water levels anywhere.................
Sunday, June 5, 2016
"Ice wall? What ice wall?"
You can learn a huge amount about how to obfuscate everything using Public Relations, just by reading, sequentially, the press releases about the Fukushima "incident".
Today, from NHK (as usual, copied in toto here) "They believe that water is leaking from a hole near the cooling system. .. Water injected to cool the melted nuclear fuel continues to leak into the reactor building."
And there is not a peep here, in this article about water leaking, about any ice wall, intended to stop water from leaking...
What they are not explicit about is that they are still pumping water directly on to the melted reactor core; in order to keep it from reaching "prompt criticality" - as soon as it's hot enough. That's a little mini-nuclear explosion; not a bomb, but an actual chain reaction fission event powerful enough to blow the melted core all over the prefecture (and into the ocean).
So, we don't want that, do we, so, we keep pumping water in- and it keeps disappearing somewhere (i.e. leaking out- after having been in the reactor core... and not just "into the reactor building".
Oh, and, in the following story they neatly avoid mentioning that THREE reactor cores melted down entirely- they just want to talk about #2 here. Oh, and, it wasn't really their fault; the reactor, and all its safety devices, didn't work right. Can't blame us for a bad machine, now really.
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20160605_02/
"The plant lost power following a massive earthquake and tsunami on March 11th 2011.
"The emergency cooling system began operating right away, driven by steam generated in the reactors. The system's pumps were designed to inject coolant into the reactors during an emergency.
"The number 2 reactor's emergency cooling equipment lost its function on March 14th, 3 days after the disaster.
"The exact cause of the failure remains unknown more than 5 years after the accident.
"Workers tried to inject water from outside, but were unsuccessful in cooling it down. This led to the nuclear fuel meltdown and release of radioactive substances into the air that spread across the region.
"Experts at Tokyo Electric Power Company analyzed the level of contaminated water inside the number 2 reactor, as well as the amount of leaked water.
"They believe that water is leaking from a hole near the cooling system.
"The experts suspect that cooling water began leaking from the system after the pumps had operated beyond the 8 hours for which they were designed.
"They believe the water leakage was the major cause of the reactor heating up.
"Water injected to cool the melted nuclear fuel continues to leak into the reactor building. This contaminated water is hampering decommissioning work at the plant."
---------------------------------------------------------------
We can all be grateful they continue to work so diligently on the "problems".
And actually; if you read the above in one particular way, what it says is: "The meltdown caused the emergency cooling system to break down, which caused the meltdown." Yeah, it can be read differently; but.
The experts suspect.
Today, from NHK (as usual, copied in toto here) "They believe that water is leaking from a hole near the cooling system. .. Water injected to cool the melted nuclear fuel continues to leak into the reactor building."
And there is not a peep here, in this article about water leaking, about any ice wall, intended to stop water from leaking...
What they are not explicit about is that they are still pumping water directly on to the melted reactor core; in order to keep it from reaching "prompt criticality" - as soon as it's hot enough. That's a little mini-nuclear explosion; not a bomb, but an actual chain reaction fission event powerful enough to blow the melted core all over the prefecture (and into the ocean).
So, we don't want that, do we, so, we keep pumping water in- and it keeps disappearing somewhere (i.e. leaking out- after having been in the reactor core... and not just "into the reactor building".
Oh, and, in the following story they neatly avoid mentioning that THREE reactor cores melted down entirely- they just want to talk about #2 here. Oh, and, it wasn't really their fault; the reactor, and all its safety devices, didn't work right. Can't blame us for a bad machine, now really.
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20160605_02/
TEPCO:Cooling water leakage likely caused meltdown
"The operator of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says a water leak in the number 2 reactor emergency cooling system may have contributed to its meltdown."The plant lost power following a massive earthquake and tsunami on March 11th 2011.
"The emergency cooling system began operating right away, driven by steam generated in the reactors. The system's pumps were designed to inject coolant into the reactors during an emergency.
"The number 2 reactor's emergency cooling equipment lost its function on March 14th, 3 days after the disaster.
"The exact cause of the failure remains unknown more than 5 years after the accident.
"Workers tried to inject water from outside, but were unsuccessful in cooling it down. This led to the nuclear fuel meltdown and release of radioactive substances into the air that spread across the region.
"Experts at Tokyo Electric Power Company analyzed the level of contaminated water inside the number 2 reactor, as well as the amount of leaked water.
"They believe that water is leaking from a hole near the cooling system.
"The experts suspect that cooling water began leaking from the system after the pumps had operated beyond the 8 hours for which they were designed.
"They believe the water leakage was the major cause of the reactor heating up.
"Water injected to cool the melted nuclear fuel continues to leak into the reactor building. This contaminated water is hampering decommissioning work at the plant."
---------------------------------------------------------------
We can all be grateful they continue to work so diligently on the "problems".
And actually; if you read the above in one particular way, what it says is: "The meltdown caused the emergency cooling system to break down, which caused the meltdown." Yeah, it can be read differently; but.
The experts suspect.
Sunday, May 29, 2016
It's Official. The Ice Wall Isn't Working.
I'm going to just paste the entire article from NHK below, since they disappear so regularly and the links expire.
There was another TEPCO press release a week ago, which I did not repeat here; with the (approximate) headline "Ice Wall Is Proving Effective". Actually, nothing in the article supported that headline; they were reporting that around 80% of measurements showed soil now at 0° C - ignoring all kinds of stuff like - 20% unfrozen is equal to - total failure.
"More measures needed for Fukushima ice wall
"The operator of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant is considering conducting additional work to help freeze the ground around the crippled reactors."Tokyo Electric Power Company began freezing the soil in late March to build a 1.5-kilometer underground ice wall around the 4 reactors. The utility wants to reduce the amount of groundwater flowing into the reactor buildings, because it becomes contaminated with radioactive substances.
"TEPCO says the ground at multiple locations along the barrier has yet to reach below zero degree Celsius and one checkpoint remain at around 10 degrees.
"It says those areas contain more gravel and that the accumulated groundwater may be hampering the freezing process.
"It is studying additional measures, such as pouring chemical compounds to solidify the ground, and will discuss its ideas with Nuclear Regulation Authority.
"TEPCO had hoped to expand by this month the areas to be frozen but say it will examine the timing carefully, taking into consideration the problem facing the project."
-------------------------------------------------------------------
One specific point: "TEPCO says the ground at multiple locations along the barrier has yet to reach below zero degree Celsius and one checkpoint remain at around 10 degrees."
That would be where water is running fast through gravel, keeping the temp high- inevitable, as I predicted. The more the water is constricted elsewhere; the faster this water will flow. And there are multiple other factors that also still make this pointless.
Monday, February 3, 2014
Fukushima- soon dumping in the ocean.
I haven't been posting all the stuff on Fukushima for a good while- it's mostly just too depressing, and there's nothing we can do about it in any case.
But today they're getting ready to cross a new line- and no, it's not in the news. Unless you're a Japanese fisherman in the area. The "government" (no longer "Tepco", since they've gotten nothing done) is asking local fishermen to agree to them - dumping radioactive groundwater, directly in the ocean. They just can't handle the 400 tons a day, in any other way. Here's the entire story, from NHK, Japan National TV English news feed. Note that for PR purposes, this is a "bypass plan" - not "ocean dumping". As always, their PR advisors are earning their keep, bigtime.
Government explains groundwater bypass plan
"The Japanese government has sought the understanding from the nation's fisheries industry to release groundwater into the sea at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
"The government presented measures under a new policy to fisheries industry representatives on Monday.
"At the Fukushima plant, groundwater flowing into reactor buildings coming into contact with water used to cool nuclear fuel continues to increase the amount of contaminated water.
"The central government and the Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, which operates the plant want to introduce a bypass plan for the groundwater.
The measure is aimed at reducing the amount of water flowing into the reactor buildings by altering the flow of groundwater.
"The groundwater will be pumped up at the mountain side of the compound before it reaches the reactor buildings, where radioactive water has been accumulating, to reduce the amount that flows in. Then, the groundwater will be discharged into the sea. (italics mine)
"But the government and TEPCO have yet to obtain consent from local fishermen following a string of leaks into the sea of contaminated water, which has raised concerns over harmful rumors.
"Senior vice economy and industry minister Kazuyoshi Akaba met Chairman Hiroshi Kishi of the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Associations on Monday.
"Akaba explained the measures to reduce the amount of contaminated water and new policies the government has been studying since last fall. Akaba reportedly told Kishi the radioactive levels of the water in the bypass plan will be set lower than the standard set by the state for releasing water into the sea. He also said the government will release information to the public to prevent harmful rumors.
"After the meeting, Kishi said he acknowledges the need for the bypass plan, but it can't move ahead without the understanding of local fishermen. He also said he plans to make a final decision after carefully examining how the bypass process will be monitored, and measures to prevent harmful rumors.
"Currently, 400 tons of groundwater is flowing into reactor buildings every day. The groundwater bypass plan is expected to reduce the amount by about 100 tons.
Feb. 3, 2014 - Updated 11:58 UTC"
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20140203_29.html
So - they're asking the local fishermen for permission. Not you, nor I, nor the world community- nor the Pacific Islanders... And, what do you suppose they'll do if the local fishermen say "no"? That's right- they'll dump it anyway.
This story avoids addressing what's in that "groundwater" - that "has been in contact" with water leaking directly from the reactor cores - but it's the bad stuff; radio-strontium and tritium along with the normal cesium stuff. Might even be some radio-iodine, depending on how long it's been "in the ground"- that's short lived, but the reactor cores are making new, all the time.
Troll in the dungeon. Thought you ought to know.
But today they're getting ready to cross a new line- and no, it's not in the news. Unless you're a Japanese fisherman in the area. The "government" (no longer "Tepco", since they've gotten nothing done) is asking local fishermen to agree to them - dumping radioactive groundwater, directly in the ocean. They just can't handle the 400 tons a day, in any other way. Here's the entire story, from NHK, Japan National TV English news feed. Note that for PR purposes, this is a "bypass plan" - not "ocean dumping". As always, their PR advisors are earning their keep, bigtime.
Government explains groundwater bypass plan
"The Japanese government has sought the understanding from the nation's fisheries industry to release groundwater into the sea at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
"The government presented measures under a new policy to fisheries industry representatives on Monday.
"At the Fukushima plant, groundwater flowing into reactor buildings coming into contact with water used to cool nuclear fuel continues to increase the amount of contaminated water.
"The central government and the Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, which operates the plant want to introduce a bypass plan for the groundwater.
The measure is aimed at reducing the amount of water flowing into the reactor buildings by altering the flow of groundwater.
"The groundwater will be pumped up at the mountain side of the compound before it reaches the reactor buildings, where radioactive water has been accumulating, to reduce the amount that flows in. Then, the groundwater will be discharged into the sea. (italics mine)
"But the government and TEPCO have yet to obtain consent from local fishermen following a string of leaks into the sea of contaminated water, which has raised concerns over harmful rumors.
"Senior vice economy and industry minister Kazuyoshi Akaba met Chairman Hiroshi Kishi of the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Associations on Monday.
"Akaba explained the measures to reduce the amount of contaminated water and new policies the government has been studying since last fall. Akaba reportedly told Kishi the radioactive levels of the water in the bypass plan will be set lower than the standard set by the state for releasing water into the sea. He also said the government will release information to the public to prevent harmful rumors.
"After the meeting, Kishi said he acknowledges the need for the bypass plan, but it can't move ahead without the understanding of local fishermen. He also said he plans to make a final decision after carefully examining how the bypass process will be monitored, and measures to prevent harmful rumors.
"Currently, 400 tons of groundwater is flowing into reactor buildings every day. The groundwater bypass plan is expected to reduce the amount by about 100 tons.
Feb. 3, 2014 - Updated 11:58 UTC"
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20140203_29.html
So - they're asking the local fishermen for permission. Not you, nor I, nor the world community- nor the Pacific Islanders... And, what do you suppose they'll do if the local fishermen say "no"? That's right- they'll dump it anyway.
This story avoids addressing what's in that "groundwater" - that "has been in contact" with water leaking directly from the reactor cores - but it's the bad stuff; radio-strontium and tritium along with the normal cesium stuff. Might even be some radio-iodine, depending on how long it's been "in the ground"- that's short lived, but the reactor cores are making new, all the time.
Troll in the dungeon. Thought you ought to know.
Saturday, August 10, 2013
Yep, they knew.
TEPCO knew about water flow two years ago
That's the headline today on NHK."A spokesperson for Tokyo Electric Power Company says the company has known for the past 2 years that a massive amount of groundwater was flowing beneath the Fukushima Daiichi power plant.
"Masayuki Ono said on Friday that TEPCO experts estimated hundreds of tons of the water could reach the ocean daily.
"Ono said the estimate was based on rough records of groundwater that TEPCO workers had collected.
"Until last month, TEPCO officials had denied the possibility that contaminated groundwater was leaking into the ocean.
"Ono said he is unable to explain why it took two years to disclose this fact.
Aug. 10, 2013 - Updated 07:48 UTC"
The URL, which will only work for a few hours:
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20130810_99.html
-------------------------------------------
In case you missed it- I told you here I knew this- 2 years ago. How? Based on published information about where what kinds of radioactive materials were found. Tinkerbelle does not go about creating Cesium 137 just for the fun of it- it had to come from someplace. There is no "well, we're not sure" possible.
The greater question, still unasked by the media- why are our own nuclear scientists silent on this point? I'm not one; I'm an evolutionary ecologist, which means with some training in chemistry and geology and weather. But- the physicist in your university has to have known this- or is an idiot, take your pick.
What else do we know? Three reactors have melted entirely through their containers, and are likely to be still melting their way to the earth's core- or will as soon as they quit pumping sea water in to cool - and leak.
And? "Plausible deniability" is obsolete. "Implausible deniability" is now quite adequate for government purposes. Other world governments will back you up.
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Rats! AND - Fukushima.
Boy, I tell ya, the blogging just doesn't get any better than when two of your topics suddenly merge.
The BBC news feed today is carrying this story; about rats and Fukushima; simultaneously.
Did you know? That the power was cut to the crippled nuclear power plants at Fukushima a couple of days ago? It barely hit the news- but, yes; it was a problem; the power loss meant all the old nuclear fuel waste in the "storage pools" - wasn't getting any cooling. Yes, if that continues long enough, the water will evaporate, and the rods melt- eventually with the potential for going "critical." It's really not a good thing. But why clutter up the news?
You didn't hear about the fish they caught in the bay off the Fukusima plant a couple days ago either- the one more than 7,000 times more radioactive than the limits for consumption. A record, in fact, for radio-cesium contamination. Which biologically- could only happen if the nukes are still very actively leaking extreme radioactivity into the bay, every day. Which TEPCO denies, and no one else is inspecting. We'd rather not know.
Cesium from the original disaster could not be that hot, two years out. The real puzzle, to me- your friendly local Physics professors - KNOW this- and remain silent. I don't like that fact very much.
The rat? Chewed through some electrical connections, and got fried- and shut down the power.
Murphy's Laws are the reason why nuclear power cannot be made safe enough. And here we are. I will bet you the farm- if any engineer ever included specs on rat-proofing nuclear power plants- it was long ago, and long forgotten- and nobody in Japan was worrying about rats in the wires. And they should have been.
Happy Spring! We hit -1°F last night here; with about 10 inches of hard packed frozen snow to fight through. Keep it in mind- "global warming" does not mean "uniform"- it means bigger storms and weather excursions. There's still nothing between us here on the Iowa-Minnesota border and - the North Pole. Nothing to stop polar air from wandering down here, when it's in the mood.
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
It ain't that there's nothing else to talk about...
And it's far from my favorite topic; but I just don't see anyone else really passing this information, and a couple of you guys have said you appreciate it- so; from NHK; again:
S.Korea nuclear plant officials indicted for graft
"South Korean prosecutors say they have indicted dozens of senior officials at a state-run utility for taking bribes in return for business favors. The Ulsan District Prosecutors' Office said on Tuesday it indicted 22 officials at Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power, along with 9 others who worked for suppliers or as brokers.
"Prosecutors said the bribes amounted to about 1.9 million dollars in total. They said officials at the utility's nuclear plant in Gori in the southern region received bribes in return for tolerating delivery of supplies that did not meet safety standards. They said other officials instructed suppliers to pad their bills and then pocketed some of the excess.
"The safety of nuclear power plants has drawn attention in South Korea following the explosion at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan last year.
"The revelation of systemic corruption while compromising nuclear safety could severely undermine public trust in South Korea in nuclear power generation.
Jul. 11, 2012 - Updated 07:03 UTC (16:03 JST)"
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Yeah, I think that's news. And powerful ammunition for those combating nukes around the world. Anybody wanna bet what's hiding under the rug in France? Maybe the new proprietors there will take a look now; after this incident of "dozens" of "senior officials" taking bribes for installing sub-standard materials- in a nuclear facility.
It will not turn out well. There will be another Fukushima event in our future, of course. My guess is, we'll see little real action on shutting down nukes until that happens. My best two candidates- France, which is incredibly arrogant about their nuclear technology, inspite of their actual record not being that good, and the USA- likewise. Plenty of chances for things to go wrong, in both places. And- do you think the chances of corruption are increasing, or decreasing, as the years go by? It's been a long time since I've seen a headline saying "Investigators find (x) to be squeaky clean."
----------------------------
UPDATE: Roz, in the comments, pointed out the NHK link no longer works (which is why I quote it in toto; they usually quit working in 24 hrs.) But- doing a little Google search, I was able to find the story again. Not on any big international news feeds; of course. On a South Korean news feed. I haven't been to that site before, so not sure how long it will work, but longer than NHK, apparently. Do take a look; there are more details. And isn't it just amazing that no one else in the journalistic world has picked this up? My, my.
S.Korea nuclear plant officials indicted for graft
"South Korean prosecutors say they have indicted dozens of senior officials at a state-run utility for taking bribes in return for business favors. The Ulsan District Prosecutors' Office said on Tuesday it indicted 22 officials at Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power, along with 9 others who worked for suppliers or as brokers.
"Prosecutors said the bribes amounted to about 1.9 million dollars in total. They said officials at the utility's nuclear plant in Gori in the southern region received bribes in return for tolerating delivery of supplies that did not meet safety standards. They said other officials instructed suppliers to pad their bills and then pocketed some of the excess.
"The safety of nuclear power plants has drawn attention in South Korea following the explosion at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan last year.
"The revelation of systemic corruption while compromising nuclear safety could severely undermine public trust in South Korea in nuclear power generation.
Jul. 11, 2012 - Updated 07:03 UTC (16:03 JST)"
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Yeah, I think that's news. And powerful ammunition for those combating nukes around the world. Anybody wanna bet what's hiding under the rug in France? Maybe the new proprietors there will take a look now; after this incident of "dozens" of "senior officials" taking bribes for installing sub-standard materials- in a nuclear facility.
It will not turn out well. There will be another Fukushima event in our future, of course. My guess is, we'll see little real action on shutting down nukes until that happens. My best two candidates- France, which is incredibly arrogant about their nuclear technology, inspite of their actual record not being that good, and the USA- likewise. Plenty of chances for things to go wrong, in both places. And- do you think the chances of corruption are increasing, or decreasing, as the years go by? It's been a long time since I've seen a headline saying "Investigators find (x) to be squeaky clean."
----------------------------
UPDATE: Roz, in the comments, pointed out the NHK link no longer works (which is why I quote it in toto; they usually quit working in 24 hrs.) But- doing a little Google search, I was able to find the story again. Not on any big international news feeds; of course. On a South Korean news feed. I haven't been to that site before, so not sure how long it will work, but longer than NHK, apparently. Do take a look; there are more details. And isn't it just amazing that no one else in the journalistic world has picked this up? My, my.
Monday, July 9, 2012
Only an "oops"
Hey, it's not hot! My brain is functioning again. Fingers, too, apparently.
In skimming the news today, this one hit me as beautifully relevant to all our considerations of Life, The Universe, and Everything.
From NHK, again, (remember these links only work for about 12 hours) one more little problem not in the original design specs:
"Jellyfish problem at nuclear plants
"Operators of Japanese nuclear power plants have experienced power reductions at times, caused by a swarm of jellyfish being sucked into water intakes.
"Electricity at the plants is generated by steam-driven turbines. The steam is then sent to condensers to be cooled down with pipes in which seawater flows.
"An influx of jellyfish to the intakes sometimes disrupts the supply of cooling water, forcing operators to reduce power output to curb heat generation.
"Many plants now have filters or equipment to remove sea creatures at the intakes. But these measures do not work perfectly when a massive bloom occurs.
"Thermal plants have been affected too. Kansai Electric Power Company says jellyfish problems have forced it to reduce power output in 17 of its generators from April to June, the largest number of affected plants for the utility in the past 5 years.
"The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency says reports on jellyfish trouble have been made from spring through fall, mainly at plants on the Sea of Japan coast.
"But the agency says no reports have been made that jellyfish have completely blocked water intakes. The agency says that safety can be ensured by measures such as monitoring the flow of seawater.
Jul. 9, 2012 - Updated 10:50 UTC (19:50 JST)"
-----------------------------------------------------------
So - nothing has blown up yet, so it's all ok, no worries. Yep, monitoring will make it safe. When the big surprise upwelling from the abyss of unanticipated ctenophores arrives next month, totally blocking all intakes, we'll be able to monitor the shut-downs as they happen. Fabulous.
Irony aside- this is what is going to bite us, as a species, on our collective butt. The utterly unforeseen consequences of global change, that our technologies simply have no ability to cope with.
With thanks to T.S. Eliot:
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
With neither a bang nor a whimper;
But with only a soft spoken- "oops."
------------------------------------------------------
UPDATE: HOLY CRAP - IT'S FOR REAL- NHK news update:
"Jellyfish cause problem at Ohi plant
"The operator of the Ohi nuclear complex in central Japan says it will strengthen the plant's defenses against jellyfish plagues.
"Kansai Electric Power Company was forced to reduce the power output of a generator on Sunday after a mass of jellyfish was sucked into a water intake of reactor 3.
"The utility said that conveyer-like equipment used to remove objects that had slipped through a mesh filter at the intake was overwhelmed by the volume of jellyfish.
"The invasion disrupted the supply of seawater that cools the reactor, forcing the utility to power down a generator.
"Last month, the same problem forced Kansai Electric to reduce the power output of a generator at one of its thermal plants.
"Jellyfish are a considerable risk for power plant operators. But predicting an infestation is notoriously difficult and a solution has proved elusive.
"Jul. 9, 2012 - Updated 11:52 UTC (20:52 JST)"
------------------------------------------------
That's the nuclear power plant in Japan that they just restarted- the only one now actually operating, since 2 days ago- and they've already had to cut output, because of a "notoriously difficult" problem, where the "solution has proved elusive."
Fascinating that the announcement of an actual power reduction event at a nuclear plant followed a previous "theoretical" announcement by about 6 hours or so, isn't it? An amazing coincidence.
In skimming the news today, this one hit me as beautifully relevant to all our considerations of Life, The Universe, and Everything.
From NHK, again, (remember these links only work for about 12 hours) one more little problem not in the original design specs:
"Jellyfish problem at nuclear plants
"Operators of Japanese nuclear power plants have experienced power reductions at times, caused by a swarm of jellyfish being sucked into water intakes.
"Electricity at the plants is generated by steam-driven turbines. The steam is then sent to condensers to be cooled down with pipes in which seawater flows.
"An influx of jellyfish to the intakes sometimes disrupts the supply of cooling water, forcing operators to reduce power output to curb heat generation.
"Many plants now have filters or equipment to remove sea creatures at the intakes. But these measures do not work perfectly when a massive bloom occurs.
"Thermal plants have been affected too. Kansai Electric Power Company says jellyfish problems have forced it to reduce power output in 17 of its generators from April to June, the largest number of affected plants for the utility in the past 5 years.
"The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency says reports on jellyfish trouble have been made from spring through fall, mainly at plants on the Sea of Japan coast.
"But the agency says no reports have been made that jellyfish have completely blocked water intakes. The agency says that safety can be ensured by measures such as monitoring the flow of seawater.
Jul. 9, 2012 - Updated 10:50 UTC (19:50 JST)"
-----------------------------------------------------------
So - nothing has blown up yet, so it's all ok, no worries. Yep, monitoring will make it safe. When the big surprise upwelling from the abyss of unanticipated ctenophores arrives next month, totally blocking all intakes, we'll be able to monitor the shut-downs as they happen. Fabulous.
Irony aside- this is what is going to bite us, as a species, on our collective butt. The utterly unforeseen consequences of global change, that our technologies simply have no ability to cope with.
With thanks to T.S. Eliot:
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
With neither a bang nor a whimper;
But with only a soft spoken- "oops."
------------------------------------------------------
UPDATE: HOLY CRAP - IT'S FOR REAL- NHK news update:
"Jellyfish cause problem at Ohi plant
"The operator of the Ohi nuclear complex in central Japan says it will strengthen the plant's defenses against jellyfish plagues.
"Kansai Electric Power Company was forced to reduce the power output of a generator on Sunday after a mass of jellyfish was sucked into a water intake of reactor 3.
"The utility said that conveyer-like equipment used to remove objects that had slipped through a mesh filter at the intake was overwhelmed by the volume of jellyfish.
"The invasion disrupted the supply of seawater that cools the reactor, forcing the utility to power down a generator.
"Last month, the same problem forced Kansai Electric to reduce the power output of a generator at one of its thermal plants.
"Jellyfish are a considerable risk for power plant operators. But predicting an infestation is notoriously difficult and a solution has proved elusive.
"Jul. 9, 2012 - Updated 11:52 UTC (20:52 JST)"
------------------------------------------------
That's the nuclear power plant in Japan that they just restarted- the only one now actually operating, since 2 days ago- and they've already had to cut output, because of a "notoriously difficult" problem, where the "solution has proved elusive."
Fascinating that the announcement of an actual power reduction event at a nuclear plant followed a previous "theoretical" announcement by about 6 hours or so, isn't it? An amazing coincidence.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
A Second Whisper from Japan?
Once again, from the NHK news feed- the headline reads: "Review of Japan's nuclear policy suspended." And my immediate expectation was that this major government review was being suspended because it was giving too much attention to anti-nuclear views; like those of ex-Prime Minister Kan. The "nuclear village" still has plenty of clout; enough to pull that off, I'd bet my boots.
But- it turns out- the reasons (given to the public, anyway) - are exactly the opposite. The head of the review is concerned that the nuclear industry has too much presence on the panel. The story, in toto:
"Review of Japan's nuclear policy suspended
"The Japan Atomic Energy Commission has decided to suspend a review of the country's nuclear policy guidelines currently being conducted by an expert panel.
"In a meeting on Tuesday, some of the panelists expressed concerns over the selection of some of the panel, which includes members from power companies and research institutes that are promoting nuclear power.
"The experts also criticized a working group set up by the commission. The working group compiled a report on the country's nuclear recycling policy in mid-May following the nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant. It later came to light that the unreleased draft report was distributed in closed door sessions to people involved in the government and in the power companies who were promoting nuclear power.
"The expert panel said it is still not clear why the working group distributed the draft, and called for an investigation by a third-party. The panel strongly criticized the atomic energy commission.
"The panel plans to come up with a review of the guidelines by this summer. The commission decided to temporarily halt its review of the guidelines and exclude from the panel any persons from the nuclear industry and research institutes promoting nuclear power.
"The head of the commission, Shunsuke Kondo, said he plans to rethink the commission from scratch following the nuclear accident and try to recover public trust in the commission. The commission plans to draw up concrete proposals by the next meeting of the expert panel.
May 29, 2012 - Updated 12:01 UTC (21:01 JST)"
------------------------------------------------
Wow. Again. In fact; that's what Kan recommended- that only a panel of entirely outside experts should be consulted; no representation from nuclear industry insiders whatsoever.
If they can pull that off- it will be a huge, huge, change in the process.
But- it turns out- the reasons (given to the public, anyway) - are exactly the opposite. The head of the review is concerned that the nuclear industry has too much presence on the panel. The story, in toto:
"Review of Japan's nuclear policy suspended
"The Japan Atomic Energy Commission has decided to suspend a review of the country's nuclear policy guidelines currently being conducted by an expert panel.
"In a meeting on Tuesday, some of the panelists expressed concerns over the selection of some of the panel, which includes members from power companies and research institutes that are promoting nuclear power.
"The experts also criticized a working group set up by the commission. The working group compiled a report on the country's nuclear recycling policy in mid-May following the nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant. It later came to light that the unreleased draft report was distributed in closed door sessions to people involved in the government and in the power companies who were promoting nuclear power.
"The expert panel said it is still not clear why the working group distributed the draft, and called for an investigation by a third-party. The panel strongly criticized the atomic energy commission.
"The panel plans to come up with a review of the guidelines by this summer. The commission decided to temporarily halt its review of the guidelines and exclude from the panel any persons from the nuclear industry and research institutes promoting nuclear power.
"The head of the commission, Shunsuke Kondo, said he plans to rethink the commission from scratch following the nuclear accident and try to recover public trust in the commission. The commission plans to draw up concrete proposals by the next meeting of the expert panel.
May 29, 2012 - Updated 12:01 UTC (21:01 JST)"
------------------------------------------------
Wow. Again. In fact; that's what Kan recommended- that only a panel of entirely outside experts should be consulted; no representation from nuclear industry insiders whatsoever.
If they can pull that off- it will be a huge, huge, change in the process.
Monday, May 28, 2012
A whisper of hope from Japan.
More than a whisper, perhaps, though one needs to be careful, hoping, these days.
The former Prime Minster of Japan, the man who was in power when the Fukushima reactors melted through, and who lost power partly because of that- has come out publicly and clearly to say: Japan should end all use of nuclear power. It's simply impossible to make it safe, in his opinion. (Mine too, as you know.)
And, this is being repeated via the Japanese news feed; here's the NHK story today:
"Former PM calls for Japan to end nuclear power
"Former Japanese prime minister Naoto Kan says the nuclear accident at Fukushima convinced him that, for safety's sake, Japan must end its dependence on nuclear energy.
"Kan on Monday attended a hearing of a panel appointed by the Diet to investigate the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant that began on March 11th of last year.
He blamed the government for promoting nuclear power as a national policy. He apologized for failing to prevent the accident as the head of government at the time.
"Kan said a nuclear safety agency said nothing about what would happen in such an accident, nor did the government receive information from other sources. He added that he feared the situation could get out of control. Kan acknowledged that the plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, consulted the government about evacuating plant workers.
"He said that when the industry minister informed him of the workers' possible withdrawal, he thought it was out of the question.
"Kan said that he told Tokyo Electric President Masataka Shimizu that the government would not allow the workers to leave, and Shimizu complied.
"The former prime minister criticized what he calls an inner circle of nuclear policymakers, experts and businesses for trying to hold on to their power without doing any soul-searching after the accident.
"He said disbanding the circle is the first step in a comprehensive reform of nuclear policy.
"He also said the accident could have jeopardized state functions, and that he is convinced that the safest way forward for Japan is to end its nuclear power generation.
"The panel plans to compile a report on its investigation by next month at the earliest, and submit it to the heads of both chambers of the Diet.
May 28, 2012 - Updated 10:23 UTC (19:23 JST)"
------------------------------------------------------
You have to think- "wow!", reading that. Absolutely extraordinary for the top politician to - change his mind, and speak straight out like that. Hopeful, I would have to say.
It will be interesting to see how much that statement penetrates in Japan. It's getting coverage internationally, at least; the NYT has picked it up.
The NYT article adds several points not covered by the NHK; perhaps as a matter of differing translations. My favorites:
"the country should discard nuclear power as too dangerous, saying the Fukushima accident had pushed Japan to the brink of 'national collapse.' "
"In his testimony, Mr. Kan said that Japan’s plant safety was inadequate because energy policy had been hijacked by the “nuclear village” — a term for the power companies and pro-nuclear regulators and researchers that worked closely together to promote the industry."
“It is impossible to ensure safety sufficiently to prevent the risk of a national collapse,” Mr. Kan said. “Experiencing the accident convinced me that the best way to make nuclear plants safe is not to rely on them, but rather to get rid of them.”
The current Prime Minister is still intending to restart the now 100% off-line nuclear plants, and keeps pushing. The people of Japan are resisting- but that "nuclear village" has huge power. Perhaps Mr. Kan's speaking out so clearly can help. There is international momentum now that the people of Japan can point to - Switzerland and Germany are now committed to total shutdown of their nuclear generators. So the voices of sanity in Japan don't have to go it alone.
The former Prime Minster of Japan, the man who was in power when the Fukushima reactors melted through, and who lost power partly because of that- has come out publicly and clearly to say: Japan should end all use of nuclear power. It's simply impossible to make it safe, in his opinion. (Mine too, as you know.)
And, this is being repeated via the Japanese news feed; here's the NHK story today:
"Former PM calls for Japan to end nuclear power
"Former Japanese prime minister Naoto Kan says the nuclear accident at Fukushima convinced him that, for safety's sake, Japan must end its dependence on nuclear energy.
"Kan on Monday attended a hearing of a panel appointed by the Diet to investigate the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant that began on March 11th of last year.
He blamed the government for promoting nuclear power as a national policy. He apologized for failing to prevent the accident as the head of government at the time.
"Kan said a nuclear safety agency said nothing about what would happen in such an accident, nor did the government receive information from other sources. He added that he feared the situation could get out of control. Kan acknowledged that the plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, consulted the government about evacuating plant workers.
"He said that when the industry minister informed him of the workers' possible withdrawal, he thought it was out of the question.
"Kan said that he told Tokyo Electric President Masataka Shimizu that the government would not allow the workers to leave, and Shimizu complied.
"The former prime minister criticized what he calls an inner circle of nuclear policymakers, experts and businesses for trying to hold on to their power without doing any soul-searching after the accident.
"He said disbanding the circle is the first step in a comprehensive reform of nuclear policy.
"He also said the accident could have jeopardized state functions, and that he is convinced that the safest way forward for Japan is to end its nuclear power generation.
"The panel plans to compile a report on its investigation by next month at the earliest, and submit it to the heads of both chambers of the Diet.
May 28, 2012 - Updated 10:23 UTC (19:23 JST)"
------------------------------------------------------
You have to think- "wow!", reading that. Absolutely extraordinary for the top politician to - change his mind, and speak straight out like that. Hopeful, I would have to say.
It will be interesting to see how much that statement penetrates in Japan. It's getting coverage internationally, at least; the NYT has picked it up.
The NYT article adds several points not covered by the NHK; perhaps as a matter of differing translations. My favorites:
"the country should discard nuclear power as too dangerous, saying the Fukushima accident had pushed Japan to the brink of 'national collapse.' "
"In his testimony, Mr. Kan said that Japan’s plant safety was inadequate because energy policy had been hijacked by the “nuclear village” — a term for the power companies and pro-nuclear regulators and researchers that worked closely together to promote the industry."
“It is impossible to ensure safety sufficiently to prevent the risk of a national collapse,” Mr. Kan said. “Experiencing the accident convinced me that the best way to make nuclear plants safe is not to rely on them, but rather to get rid of them.”
The current Prime Minister is still intending to restart the now 100% off-line nuclear plants, and keeps pushing. The people of Japan are resisting- but that "nuclear village" has huge power. Perhaps Mr. Kan's speaking out so clearly can help. There is international momentum now that the people of Japan can point to - Switzerland and Germany are now committed to total shutdown of their nuclear generators. So the voices of sanity in Japan don't have to go it alone.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Sigh. Why me?
Again- news from the Japanese Public TV feed- which is NOT being repeated elsewhere.
This one is a real corker. Watch the video while you can; it could disappear.
So- how's the security at French nuclear power plants? Here's the answer. You can just walk in.
YouTube link here. The version at NHK has a bit of an interview, too; in French-
Update 5/3; ok, we're getting a little mainstream media penetration; this article in Bloomberg Businessweek adds considerable detail, and was cited in the NYT Green Blogs section.
I love the public response of the French top nuke guy:
“Safety at the installation was never called into question,” Dominique Miniere, director of French nuclear production, told reporters today. “What is clear is that safety measures put in place at the end of 2011 allowed the detection and immediate arrest of the intruder. The whole thing was over in less than 10 minutes.”
Uh. Right. So if this guy had actually been a terrorist, carrying a nice shoulder launched missile, for example, they definitely would have seen him, and caught him... AFTER he'd delivered his ordnance. No problem!
This one is a real corker. Watch the video while you can; it could disappear.
So- how's the security at French nuclear power plants? Here's the answer. You can just walk in.
YouTube link here. The version at NHK has a bit of an interview, too; in French-
Update 5/3; ok, we're getting a little mainstream media penetration; this article in Bloomberg Businessweek adds considerable detail, and was cited in the NYT Green Blogs section.
I love the public response of the French top nuke guy:
“Safety at the installation was never called into question,” Dominique Miniere, director of French nuclear production, told reporters today. “What is clear is that safety measures put in place at the end of 2011 allowed the detection and immediate arrest of the intruder. The whole thing was over in less than 10 minutes.”
Uh. Right. So if this guy had actually been a terrorist, carrying a nice shoulder launched missile, for example, they definitely would have seen him, and caught him... AFTER he'd delivered his ordnance. No problem!
Thursday, April 19, 2012
A little more nuclear, alas
Hi folks; I'm actually away from the farm at the moment; doing "meetings" stuff; making things more hectic.
So- not very thoughtful material here; but by way of keeping the news channels open re: Fukushima; two bits from NHK, in toto:
"Why containment vessels must be examined
"An examination of the reactor containment vessels is essential for decommissioning the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
"The biggest challenge in the decommissioning process is finding a way to remove the melted nuclear fuel inside the reactors and on the floor of the containment vessels.
"Melted nuclear fuel is too radioactive even for robots to handle. So workers are considering filling the containment vessels with water, which shuts in the radiation.
"But highly radioactive wastewater continues to leak out of the No.1 to No.3 reactor containment vessels.
"Wednesday's examination aimed to pinpoint damages to the No 2. vessel for repair.
The No.2 unit was the first to be inspected because its reactor building is less damaged compared to that of the No.1 and No.3 units, and workers have been able to open the door leading to the suppression chamber at the bottom of the containment vessel.
"That door on the No.3 unit had been damaged by an explosion. Inspection at the No.1 unit is being hampered by high levels of radioactive wastewater.
"Wednesday, April 18, 2012 21:41 +0900 (JST)"
-------------------------------------------------------
We had earlier bits indicating how incredibly radioactive #2 is; and here they tell is- it's the least damaged of them. Oy.
-------------------------------------------------
"PM names lawyer Tokyo Electric's new chairman
"The chairmanship of the troubled Tokyo Electric Power Company will be taken over by a lawyer brought in from outside the utility. Kazuhiko Shimokobe will formulate a plan to rescue the utility, which has been limping since last year's Fukushima nuclear disaster.
"Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda asked Shimokobe to take the job. The government had been struggling to fill the post for months.
"Shimokobe, who currently chairs the steering committee of a state-backed nuclear compensation fund, said he will do all he can to lead the company with its employees.
"A former vice president of the federation of bar associations, Shimokobe is an expert in corporate compliance issues. In 2006, he helped investigate a high-profile window dressing case involving Internet firm Livedoor.
"He later headed a third-party panel vetting TEPCO's management and finance after the nuclear accident.
"The new chairman will play a crucial role in drawing up TEPCO's business turnaround plan by mid-May. The plan comes with an injection of 12 billion dollars in public funds.
"After the nomination, Shimokobe said he will first replace TEPCO's president to give the company a fresh start.
"Thursday, April 19, 2012 20:11 +0900 (JST)"
---------------------------------------------------------------
The not quite obvious bits: TEPCO was unable to find anyone who would take the job of chairman. They'd been trying for months; no one would take it. So- the Prime Minister of Japan has appointed one; along with putting in $12,000,000,000 in public funds- to pay off the public fines and compensations... um, how's that? "We're fining you a billion dollars! Here; use this billion, that'll work."
TEPCO, as a private corporation, is toast; which ought to be a warning of sorts to other companies wanting to get into nuclear power- but- the real accountability thing is mostly being bypassed, again.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Polka Dot Gallows! - 6/23/11
I have started new posts several times in the past weeks- and never managed to get them finished to the point where they were ready to put up. Too many interruptions from the Universe, which seems sometimes to be looking to change its name to the OmniPerverse.
Besides that big storm which tracked all across our county, which tossed oak branches through the potty house roof, and which incidentally turned out to be a genuine tornado- we're having a very cool, soaking wet year so far. Making most of the processes on any farm slow and difficult; when not impossible.
The other reason for not finishing the posts- they're serious ones; and I really want to do them right, and well. Still working there.
Meanwhile. When I bump into some news that is just mind-bogglingly mind boggling, I do get the urge to share. The Polka Dot Gallows concept is related to the German phrase for mordant humor, often called "dark" humor in English. They call it "galgenhumor", literally "gallows humor". I figured as long as so much of our humor these days is coming from the gallows- we might as well go ahead and make the gallows a fun place. Hence my polka dots.
As you might guess, today's Polka Dot Gallows entries are from Japan. So much of the news there has just been purely horrifying, that I figure a little lightening up will be useful.
You'll be glad to know that Japan is now Safe To Visit! We know for sure!
Our Primary Source of Truth And Expertise has proclaimed it. Lady Gaga. Of course.
"Pop singer Lady Gaga has assured the world that Japan is safe to visit following the March 11th earthquake and nuclear accident."
Thank goodness, we can relax at last. If you find it a bit peculiar that the Japanese government is relying on pop singers for public relations expertise, you may want to consider Item Two for the Polka Dot Gallows today:
If you're wondering if Homer Simpson is actually in charge of nuclear power oversight in Japan, wonder no more. They've fired him; and replaced him with The Three Stooges. (And yes, you're correct, they're dead.)
See, Tepco has installed a nifty new "American made" filtering system, so they can filter out some of the incredibly radioactive crud in the water in their basements, and then, maybe, reuse that water to "cool" the corium still melting its way through their reactor floors.
Except, after several days; the nifty new filters are not working.
They think, today, they may have finally figured out why.
Basically - they hadn't turned it on. That was the "American built" system. Just incidentally, for more fun, they add "The test-run was interrupted on Tuesday after a pump to send water into French-made decontamination equipment stopped, also due to the wrong setting of a valve."
So we're in good hands, folks. Lady Gaga and The Three Stooges.
Hopefully there's someone a little more adept in charge in Nebraska right now. They're close enough to us that I am, in fact, worried. Although the Nuclear Regulatory Commission now has 6 people on site, instead of the normal 2; and are putting out press releases that they've "made extensive preparations" - I have yet to see any statement that the cooling systems of these plants were designed to run under water, with no electricity.
And do remember how forthcoming all the world governments have been, and the power companies, and the press, with information about malfunctioning reactors.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Education for the future.
This is not fun. Nobody wants to still be thinking about leaking reactors. But; you really, really, need to know this.
I'm going to simply include all of it here, since there is a very high probability that in a few days, you won't be able to find the information easily; or perhaps not at all.
--------------------------------------------------------
Gov't didn't release radiation data after accident
The Japanese government has expressed regret for not disclosing some important results of the radiation monitoring conducted near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant soon after the accident.
The central and Fukushima prefectural governments collected the data to determine evacuation measures as well as food and water restrictions for residents.
A reading on March 12th, one day after the massive earthquake and tsunami hit the plant, shows that radioactive tellurium was detected 7 kilometers away. Tellurium is produced during the melting of nuclear fuel.
Three hours before the data was collected, the government expanded the radius of the evacuation area around the plant from 3 kilometers to 10 kilometers.
But the government's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency reported at a news conference several hours later that the nuclear fuel was intact.
The government also failed to disclose the high radiation levels in weeds 30 to 50 kilometers from the plant. On March 15th, 123 million becquerels of radioactive iodine-131 per kilogram were detected 38 kilometers northeast of the plant.
The nuclear safety agency says it deeply regrets not releasing the data.
Professor Yasuyuki Muramatsu of Gakushuin University says radioactive iodine has a high effect on children. He says that if the data had been released earlier, more measures could have been taken to protect them from exposure.
Saturday, June 04, 2011 15:27 +0900 (JST)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
There is hardly any comment needed; but I'll summarize. Yes, the Japanese government- and ours- knew; for certain; that a reactor had melted down completely; and exploded- one day after the tsunami-quake. That's the only way to get tellurium seven kilometers away. Nothing else could possibly have been responsible.
And- 123 MILLION becquerels of radio Iodine per kilo????? 38 kilometers NW? That's a number you only expect to find INSIDE a reactor core.
And- just like in all the disaster movies- they elected to NOT TELL THE PUBLIC. And the other world governments; with scientists all advising, and seeing what was going on from satellites I do assure you- went right along with it. Gosh, we don't want to scare anyone. Even though their kids are now playing in the spewed out guts of a nuclear reactor.
Apparently though, they believe in "Trickle Down Truth" - because they are quietly telling us now, and oh, yes, gosh, they are sorry about that.
You are really, really, going to want to remember this example in the future.
No "conspiracy theory" delusions here; just the hot, melted facts.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Maybe, for you - it's time to unplug.
Unplug what? Unplug - everything.
Yes, that's a drastic suggestion; but if you aren't feeling drastic today, you never will.
Nuclear power - is a thing of the past. But it's not going to die an easy death; the nuke profiteers will fight for their profits; which come, please note, never from actual profits made selling energy; but from subsidies paid by taxpayers. They fight to the death. Literally. So long as the deaths are not their own, they are already writing about how happy they are to see a few people die for their nukes. "Everything is dangerous!" they now cry; after paying expert pontificators for decades to pound home the idea that nukes are "totally safe!"
They're not; they never were, and those who said so (me, quietly, Nicole Foss with vast expertise) have been ignored (at best).
And let me say this, too - I'm of the opinion that safe nuclear power might have been a possibility, at one time. But at the outset, engineers who pushed for greater intrinsic safety were ignored because safer designs were also more expensive, up front. As recently as last week- while pushing "third generation" nuclear reactors, the industry once again chose to ignore- and ridicule- engineers pointing out safety flaws.
What's going on in Japan right now is much, much worse than the mainstream media is saying it is. That's partly because the news coming out of Japan is being specifically toned down to slow panic, and because the media feels compelled to repeat bs like "The outer building was destroyed in the explosion, and the inner concrete secondary containment vessel has collapsed - but the primary steel reactor vessel inside was not damaged, and there is no serious danger to the public at this time."
What leaks out, in dribs and drabs, are little bits of information like "we've found cesium outside"... and "US helicopter pilots flying 60 miles away were contaminated with radioactive particulate matter"...
The only way to get cesium outside is if the core of the reactor has melted, and the core is leaking incredibly hot vaporized metal into the outside world. No, it's not Chernobyl- but that really shouldn't comfort anyone. It's not Three Mile Island, either, it's vastly worse. (By far the best whole-problem analysis I've seen is from Nicole Foss, here.)
Public reaction against nuclear power is going to be huge. The push to develop nuclear anyway, will also be huge- and very powerful. In case you haven't noticed- powerful people are currently increasingly convinced they can and should ignore public wishes, "for our own good".
So. You feel you don't want any new nuclear power plants built around you? What can you do about it?
Yeah, sure; write to your Congress people. Call them. Go to the demonstrations; carry a sign. As all the public employees in Wisconsin will tell you - they're not listening much.
Something you could do- that would actually force them to pay at least a tiny bit of attention to you- is unplug. Quit using their electricity. Stop.
Yes; you could. I can tell you that with a little credibility; because I did; more than 30 years ago- and actually; for exactly this reason; nuclear power (as it exists) is an incredibly bad idea. It was the 3rd post I made on this blog. And I'm not dead, I've raised 2 children entirely this way, one of whom has moved back with his PhD in engineering to work with me, one of whom lights his house with LEDs; and am raising another.
Now; before you quit listening altogether, because 99% of you are thinking "sure, he could, but I really can't... just physically cannot." - you could actually make a difference if you just unplugged some of your "stuff".
Long ago, a very nice lady was writing on Dot Earth, Andy Revkin's blog on the NYT, and made the very common statement that "she'd really like to 'go solar', but she just couldn't afford it." Most people believe that, and repeat it so often it becomes "common knowledge", aka; "reality".
So I commented there that actually she could; anyone can; at any time. Here's how you go solar, on any budget. You go out and buy the solar system you can afford, no matter how small. Then- you only plug in the appliances that you have power for. If you don't have the power- then you can't use it. (A big part of why I have no refrigerator.) When you can afford more solar- you add it on. Then you can run more stuff. Not before. (And sure, solar is not the only game in town; just pay attention to the principle here.)
She did not, alas, go out and do as I suggested.
But just maybe- it's time for people to take that a bit more seriously.
So- if you find yourself concerned, and wanting to do something; think about actually, seriously and permanently, reducing your electricity consumption. That way; when the nuke pushers start saying "we must have them, or we will have no civilization"; they will have a little more trouble making that argument stick.
Over all electric consumption is down, in the "developed world". Most of the world has excess generating capacity, right now. But; the pushers are already pushing; claiming it's desperately essential to have more. If, however, civilized people are simply doing with less; one way or another; and general consumption fails to rise- it will be hard to make that stick.
How many electric clocks do you have in your house? How many do you actually need?
Do clocks use a lot of power? Hell, no; but they are the perfect example of our habits, which have resulted in the endless growth in demand. No, the clock uses "almost nothing"- but how many clocks that no one ever looks at do you suppose are running right now in New York City? I'd have to guess hundreds of thousands, since nice clocks, and clock radios, and an extra clock radio for the den, and the one your uncle gave you for college that is running in the baby's room- are a favorite gift, which we cheerfully give and receive and - plug in, somewhere. And never look at.
Ok; only an example of consumption that happens below our radar- and which adds up, over our 100's of millions of people; so that we probably need one whole power plant in the USA - just to run clocks no one looks at. Another example - just the "standby" features of all our gizmos are estimated to add up to 108 Billion Kilowatt-hours per year, just in the USA. If my math is right, that's more than ten 1,000 Megawatt power plants.
And how about the kids' Wii, that's never unplugged. The extra old fridge still running in the garage, that keeps fish bait and beer cool in the summer; but runs all year?
Truthfully; the easiest way to tackle the problem, if you are one who wants to, is to just unplug everything. Then plug things back in- only when you find you need them.
There's a million ways to cut your use. Put motion detectors in each room that control room lights. Etc.
And for a few. Go ahead. Unplug permanently. Go off-grid.
There are millions in Japan who just went off grid; the hard way. And millions more are cutting back; the hard way. It could go better for your household if you were making your own choices; not having them imposed by forces beyond all control.
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