175 replies to this topic

[Bob-C]

Hi everyone, according to a report from enenews.com, "Japan gov't worried reactor buildings are in danger of collapse — 'We must devise some ways' to reinforce structures despite high radiationApril 13th, 2011 at 09:57 AM." The report explains:

TEPCO confirms damage to part of No. 4 unit's spent nuke fuel, Kyodo, April 13, 2011:

… The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency told the utility to immediately examine the [reactor] buildings and consider reinforcement work if they are judged as not sufficiently quakeproof. …

"As strong aftershocks occur almost daily, we have to consider what will happen to buildings already damaged by blasts," said Hidehiko Nishiyama, a spokesman for the nuclear agency.

He acknowledged the difficulties involved in the work to reinforce the quake resistance of the buildings, where radiation levels are high, but said, "We must devise some ways." The agency urged TEPCO to report back to it on the matter as soon as possible. …

Read the report here.

Bob-C

Edited by Bob-C, 14 April 2011 - 01:16 AM.

[Bob-C]

Hi everyone, according to a report from enenews.com, "TEPCO: Nuclear fuel rods in No. 4 spent fuel pool are 'confirmed to be damaged' — First time damage revealed at any poolApril 13th, 2011 at 09:28 AM." The report further explains:

TEPCO confirms damage to part of No. 4 unit’s spent nuke fuel, Kyodo, April 13, 2011:

Some of the spent nuclear fuel rods stored in the No. 4 reactor building of the crisis-hit Fukushima Daiichi power plant were confirmed to be damaged, but most of them are believed to be in sound condition, plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Wednesday.

The firm known as TEPCO said its analysis of a 400-milliliter water sample taken Tuesday from the No. 4 unit’s spent nuclear fuel pool revealed the damage to some fuel rods in such a pool for the first time, as it detected higher-than-usual levels of radioactive iodine-131, cesium-134 and cesium-137.

The No. 4 reactor, halted for a regular inspection before last month’s earthquake and tsunami disaster, had all of its fuel rods stored in the pool for the maintenance work and the fuel was feared to have sustained damage from overheating.

The roof and the upper walls of the No. 4 reactor building have been blown away by a hydrogen explosion and damaged by fires since the disaster struck the plant. The water level in the spent fuel pool is believed to have temporarily dropped. …

Read the report here.

Bob-C

[Bob-C]

Hi everyone, according to a report from enenews.com, "Extreme spike in I-131, Cs-137 levels 100 miles from Fukushima after radiation skyrocketed off the chart at No. 1 reactor following recent quake (CHARTS) April 13th, 2011 at 11:02 AM." The report states:

Slideshow: Fukushima Radiological Monitoring and Consequences; Pages 4 & 5, International Atomic Energy Agency, April 12, 2011:





See the IAEA’s slideshow here.

Distance between Ibaraki and Fukushima Daiichi here.

See April 9 report: Radiation skyrockets to 100 Sv/hr at Fukushima reactor No. 1, along with sudden rise in temperature immediately after 7.4 quake

TEPCO had claimed the the 100 SV/hr reading was caused by a gauge that was “most likely” broken.

Japan Orders Nuclear Plant Operators to Obtain More Emergency Generators, New York Times, April 9, 2011:

Radiation readings spiked sharply in one reactor at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant after a powerful aftershock late Thursday, according to data released by the government, a development that might indicate new damage to the already compromised reactor.

But the plant owner, the Tokyo Electric Power Company, said the gauge used to measure radiation was most likely broken. …

Read the report here.

Bob-C

[Bob-C]

Hi everyone, according to a report from enenews.com, "Nuclear engineer: Enormous amount of plutonium at No. 4 spent fuel pool in danger of catching fire; Pool is cracked and leaking (VIDEO)April 13th, 2011 at 12:18 PM/" The report states:

Worst-case scenario: Fukushima fuel pool with plutonium catches fire', Russia Today, April 13, 2011:Transcript summary of interview with Arnold Gundersen, nuclear engineer

• Worst case is unit 4 fuel pool
• Enormous amount of plutonium and depleted uranium
• If that catches fire it could devastate a large area
• Still a danger, they don't have power to the fuel pool cooling systems
• Unit 4 is the worst because it has the freshest fuel, the most physically hot
• In addition unit 4 has a crack in the side, so even if they had water it would run out the crack
• That is the toughest problem on site right now

See associated video ---> http://enenews.com/n...d-leaking-video

Bob-C

Edited by Bob-C, 14 April 2011 - 01:39 AM.

[Bob-C]

Hi everyone, according to a report from enenews.com, "Japan TV: Temperature in spent fuel pool at No. 4 “much higher than the normal level” — “May be boiling” (VIDEO)April 13th, 2011 at 02:42 PM." The report explains:

Temperatures rise at No.4 spent fuel storage pool, NHK, April 13, 2011:

[Emphasis Added]

The Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, says the water temperature in the spent fuel storage pool at the No. 4 has risen to about 90 degrees Celsius. It fears the spent fuel rods may be damaged.

TEPCO took the temperature on Tuesday using an extending arm on a special vehicle. It found the temperature was much higher than the normal level of under 40 degrees. …

TEPCO says high levels of radiation at 84 millisieverts per hour were detected above the water surface, where radiation is rarely detected. …

University of Tokyo Professor Koji Okamoto says… some of the water in the pool may be boiling. Okamoto says high radiation indicates the possibility of radiation leaks from damaged fuel…

Read the report here.

Bob-C

[Bob-C]

Hi everyone, according to a report from enenews.com, "Japan’s nuclear commission reveals Fukushima may have emitted more radioactive material than official Chernobyl totalsApril 13th, 2011 at 06:17 PM." The report states:

Japanese Officials on Defensive as Nuclear Alert Level Rises, New York Times, April 12, 2011:

… A senior executive said in a telephone interview on April 4 that he had been told that the Speedi [System for Prediction of Environmental Emergency Dose Information] model suggested that radioactive materials escaping the Daiichi complex were much higher than Japanese officials had publicly acknowledged…

[Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency] appears to have assumed that true emissions from Chernobyl were twice the official figure, and so calculated that the current nuclear accident had released 10 percent as much as Chernobyl. …

Although [Seiji Shiroya, a commissioner of Japan’s Nuclear Safety Commission] did not provide a comparison to Chernobyl, [a release of 630,000 terabecquerels] works out to 34 percent of the official Soviet estimate of emissions and 17 percent of the unofficial higher estimate.

Mr. Shiroya also said there was a threefold margin for error involved. The outside estimates of total releases would range from as low as 6 percent to as high as 51 percent of the unofficial totals from Chernobyl. …

Read the report here.

The “34 percent of the official Soviet estimate of emissions from Chernobyl”, with “a threefold margin of error” makes the high end Fukushima estimate equal to 102% of Chernobyl’s official total.

Bob-C

[Bob-C]

Hi everyone, according to a report from enenews.com, "Japan official says delay in raising Fukushima to a Level 7 was to prevent 'panicked reaction'April 13th, 2011 at 08:15 PM." The report further explains:

Japanese Officials on Defensive as Nuclear Alert Level Rises, New York Times, April 12, 2011:

… Seiji Shiroya, a commissioner of Japan’s Nuclear Safety Commission, an independent government panel that oversees the country’s nuclear industry… suggested a public policy reason for having kept quiet.

“Some foreigners fled the country even when there appeared to be little risk,” he said. “If we immediately decided to label the situation as Level 7, we could have triggered a panicked reaction.” …

Read the report here.

Bob-C

[Bob-C]

Hi everyone, according to a report from enenews.com, "Latest UCB test results: First time radioactive cesium found in spinach, arugala, and kale around San Francisco Bay areaApril 13th, 2011 at 09:11 PM." The report states:

UCB Food Chain Sampling Results, University of California, Berkeley Department of Nuclear Engineering:

• Arugula, purchased 4/7/2011, Cs134 @ .49 Bq/kg
• Kale, purchased 4/6/2011, Cs134 @ .5 Bq/kg
• Spinach, purchased 4/7/2011, Cs134 @ 1 Bq/kg, Cs137 @ 1.3 Bq/kg

Read the report here.

Bob-C

[Bob-C]

Hi everyone, according to a report from enenews.com, "Nuclear expert: Fukushima about 1,000 times worse than ever anticipated by the nuclear planners (VIDEO) April 13th, 2011 at 10:30 PM."

Bob-C

[Bob-C]

Hi everyone, according enenews.com, "Report: Japan considering moving capital away from TokyoApril 14th, 2011 at 09:09 AM." The report explains:

Japan Mulls to Move Capital over Disaster Worries, Sofia News Agency, April 14, 2011:

As powerful earthquakes continue to jolt Japan and radiation levels near Tokyo are rising, the Asian country’s authorities are considering moving the capital to another city.

The most probable location for a new capital are Osaka and Nagoya, according to ITAR-TASS. …

Read the report here.

Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency), Wikipedia:

Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency) is Bulgaria’s largest English-language news provider. “Novinite” (Bulgarian: “Новините“) means “The News” in Bulgarian.

Information Telegraph Agency of Russia, Wikipedia:

The Information Telegraph Agency of Russia (Russian: Информационное телеграфное агентство России, Informatsionnoye telegrafnoye agentstvo Rossii; abbr. ИТАР-ТАСС, ITAR-TASS), is the major news agency of Russia. It is headquartered in Moscow.

Bob-C