LIVE thread & Breaking News ~ Japan

Various | 15 March 2011

[SE Mom]

Latest news from Japan:

From the BBC-

1456: Tepco says it may start pouring water from a helicopter over Fukushima Daiichi's reactor four in the next few days, to cool the spent-fuel pool.

1439: A 30km (18 mile) no-fly zone is in place around Fukushima, says the IAEA.

1436: The IAEA says Monday's blast at Fukushima may have affected the integrity of the containment vessel - there are fears of more serious radioactive leaks if happen.

1435: Following earlier reports, it appears there has been more than one strong aftershock in Japan - AP reports two tremors measuring over 6.0 within three minutes of each other.

Twitter-

-US Geological Survey counts 451 aftershocks since the initial earthquake struck Japan Friday. 238 of them registered magnitude 5.0 or more.

-Despite situations in Japan & Libya, spksmn Jay Carney says Pres Obama's 5-day trip to Brazil, Chile & El Salvador starting Fri night is on.

-FLASH: More U.S. military personnel in Japan testing positive for low-levels of radiation, relief missions to continue - Navy 18 minutes ago via web

[PghBaldy]

NONE of them are doing a great job, but Alex Jones and Drudge have been idiotic on this. There is probably ZERO percent chance of deaths or sickness in the US due to this. It is good marketing for them to fearmonger, as all the media has, but these two in particular have been horrible.

[mrsmith]

18 workers?

http://www.nisa.meti.go.jp/english/files/en20110317-1.pdf
From NISA:
“...Exposure of workers
(1) As for the 18 workers conducting operations in Fukushima Dai-ichi NPS, results of measurements are as follows;
One worker; 106.3 mSv. At the level of exposure no internal exposure and medical treatment was not required.
Other workers: No threat of internal exposure and no medical treatment needed.
(2) The 6 out of 7 people working at the time of explosion at the Unit 3 of Fukushima Dai-ichi NPS injured and were conscious. The detailed measurement data are not available.”

[prairiebreeze]

Thanks for the link I’ll check it out. I don’t understand much about it either.

[Drill Thrawl]

Here's a little more about Dr. Jaczko:

Based on what you posted I would say that the head of the NRC is an anti-nuke obamite punk.

[AwesomePossum]

Thanks for the info.........

It is only 7% Pu, which is comparable or less than the Pu in ordinary uranium fuel near the end of a fuel cycle.

Say, seven percent going into #3 reactor as new fuel........how about when it comes out as spent fuel..........is it still pu comparable with the spent fuel of the other non-MOX fuel reactors?

:}

[HeartlandOfAmerica]

At this stage, we're both guessing. We have to choose carefully what information we believe and what we don't believe.

I believe that the water has burned off of the spent rods in #4 and they're releasing an extreme amount of radiation.

And I don't care if you like it or not.

[mrsmith]

http://tsukubanews.wordpress.com/2011/03/16/radiation-monitoring-updates/

Dosimetry from all around Japan, inc Fuku prov.

[SE Mom]

Sorry I didn’t get back to you on your question. Jaczko said- I think it was on CNN- that he has people on the ground- someone else mentioned at the site itself- and he’s getting his info from them.

I posted on another thread that I’d found a site by pro-nuke Dems and they had a video of him (Jaczko) giving a talk at Stanford (cough-cough) last summer. I know politics seeps into everything- but I guess I was thinking this guy’s reputation and credibility are on the line and if he’s making facts up out of thin air he’s going to get found out eventually...so I was giving him the benefit of the doubt.

[freebird5850]

Day after day Obama reasserts that NOTHING he says has any truth to it.

[WestCoastGal]

NRC chief: “We believe secondary containment destroyed” at #Japan nuclear plant http://on.cnn.com/hi8GVs

Reuters

FLASH: Tokyo Electric says getting ready to inject water into reactor No.3 at Fukushima Daiichi

[freebird5850]

I wonder if that water will come from the fire trucks proposed or did they get the powerline connected?

[SE Mom]

I KNEW it! Well, I guess we all knew it ;)

[SE Mom]

Whoa- I missed that- SECONDARY containment destroyed?

[mrsmith]

The water canons have arrived at Fukushima! NHK reports just now
comment by Pokas at 3/17/2011 12:31:01 AM8:31 PM

Hope a path has been cleared and plenty of clean water ready.

[Springfield Reformer]

IMHO, it’s mainly political. The NRC is big on CYA. You can think of this as an earthly version of Pascal’s Wager. If NRC brass gets out there and pushes the most pessimistic view, and things turn out OK, there’s no political downside. If they get out there and put out an optimistic view, but things actually come out even a little bit worse, they lose, and that will cost them dearly in the magic kingdom of the federal nuke bureaucracy. Thus, the “precautionary” approach was entirely predictable, and oh so European of them.

[bvw]

I’d like to know spectra and type of radiation in those spikes. FWTW.

[WestCoastGal]

W7VOA

This really defines at what stage we are: for first time ever NHK is scrolling across top of TV screen mSv/h readings for different cities.

[meyer]

Secondary containment, I believe, means the outer concrete building. Primary is on the inside, surrounding the reactor vessel.

Someone correct me if I’m wrong.

[WestCoastGal]

Conflicting statements

W7VOA

TEPCO: Admits rad levels very high at Fukushima-1 nuke plant.

Japan nuclear agency says radioactivity levels continue to decline at Fukushima nuclear plant ??

[lonevoice]

That’s kind of my take on it as well. At the very least, this Jaczko guy has risked precipitating a diplomatic crisis with one of our closest allies. With the complex rules of public civility engaged by the Japanese, we may never know or hear of it, at least not overtly. But we will know it when we suffer the consequences. It sure fits Ozero’s agenda to alienate our allies as much as possible.