175 replies to this topic

[Bob-C]

Hi everyone, according to a report from enenews.com, "60 million curies of radiation released from Fukushima — 50 million curies at Chernobyl June 13th, 2011 at 07:14 PM." The report explains:

Japan Admits 3 Nuclear Meltdowns, More Radiation Leaked into Sea; U.S. Nuclear Waste Poses Deadly Risks, Democracy Now, June 10, 2011:

Emphasis Added

ROBERT ALVAREZ [former senior policy adviser to the U.S. Secretary of Energy]: Yes. As you know, the Japanese government, in its report to the IAEA, said it had underestimated the amount of radioactivity released to the atmosphere during the first week and that it amounts to roughly 40 million curies of radioactivity. What they failed to mention is that they discharged an equally large amount into the ocean, about 20 million curies, and that the—what they're counting here is the radioactive iodine and radioactive cesium. [...]

[T]he Soviet Union and Russia basically have claimed that about 50 million curies of radioactivity were released to the environment [...]

Bob-C

[Bob-C]

Hi everyone, according to a report from enenews.com, "Radiation 1,000 times safe levels far outside no-go zone — 'Very, very dangerous levels' (VIDEO) June 13th, 2011 at 07:38 PM." The report states:

Radiation 1000 times over normal outside no-go zone, Russia Today, June 13, 2011:



At :45 in

• Rain and winds bringing radiation into Fukushima City [60 km from plant]
• We were at a spot with 1,000 times safe dosage… Very, very dangerous levels
• Area considered safe by authorities
• Hot spots where radiation is off the charts

Bob-C

[Bob-C]

Hi everyone, according to a report from enenews.com, "Scientific experts believe Fukushima crisis is far worse than gov'ts are revealing publicly — Equivalent of 20 nuclear cores exposed June 16th, 2011 at 11:33 AM." The report states:

Fukushima: It's much worse than you think, Dahr Jamail, June 16, 2011:

Scientific experts believe Japan's nuclear disaster to be far worse than governments are revealing to the public.

"Fukushima is the biggest industrial catastrophe in the history of mankind," Arnold Gundersen, a former nuclear industry senior vice president, told Al Jazeera. [...]

Gundersen, a licensed reactor operator with 39 years of nuclear power engineering experience, managing and coordinating projects at 70 nuclear power plants around the US, says the Fukushima nuclear plant likely has more exposed reactor cores than commonly believed.

"Fukushima has three nuclear reactors exposed and four fuel cores exposed," he said, "You probably have the equivalent of 20 nuclear reactor cores because of the fuel cores, and they are all in desperate need of being cooled, and there is no means to cool them effectively." [...]

"We have 20 nuclear cores exposed, the fuel pools have several cores each, that is 20 times the potential to be released than Chernobyl," said Gundersen. [...]

Bob-C

[Bob-C]

Hi everyone, according to a report from enenews.com, "Units No. 1, 2, and 3 'have nuclear waste on the floor' from melted cores June 16th, 2011 at 02:14 PM." The report states:

Fukushima: It’s much worse than you think, Dahr Jamail, June 16, 2011:

[A licensed reactor operator with 39 years of nuclear power engineering
experience, managing and coordinating projects at 70 nuclear power
plants around the US, Arnold] Gundersen’s assessment of solving this crisis is grim.

'Units one through three have nuclear waste on the floor, the melted core, that has plutonium in it, and that has to be removed from the environment for hundreds of thousands of years,' he said. 'Somehow, robotically, they will have to go in there and manage to put it in a container and store it for infinity, and that technology doesn’t exist. Nobody knows how to pick up the molten core from the floor, there is no solution available now for picking that up from the floor.'

Bob-C

[Bob-C]

Hi everyone, according to an article from enenews.com, "WSJ: Airborne radiation 40 times usual average detected 60 km from Fukushima plant on Wednesday June 16th, 2011 at 06:24 PM." The article states:

Moms Turn Activists in Japanese Crisis, Wall Street Journal by MARIKO SANCHANTA And MITSURU OBE, June 16, 2011:

[T]he city of Fukushima, 60 kilometers from the stricken plant, which on Wednesday had airborne radiation levels of about 1.5 millisieverts microsieverts per hour, 30 to 40 times the usual average. [...]

Kashiwa, which has higher-than-normal airborne radiation levels that hover around 0.3 to 0.4 microsieverts per hour, according to city officials, one of the highest in the Tokyo metropolitan region.

UPDATE: The WSJ has changed its report to say 1.5 microsieverts, instead of 1.5 millisieverts, but does not make note of the original error. Here is Google's cache that says millisieverts:

Bob-C

[Bob-C]

Hi everyone, according to a report from enenews.com, "Omaha World-Herald: 'Lots of questions today about the safety of the Fort Calhoun nuclear power plant. Check out this photo!' June 17th, 2011 at 08:51 AM." The report states:

Omaha World-Herald's Photos, Facebook, June 16, 2011:

Lots of questions today about the safety of the Fort Calhoun nuclear power plant. Check out this pho

This photo was taken today by the World-Herald's Matt Miller. That's the power plant near the bottom.

Bob-C

[Bob-C]

Hi everyone, according to a report from enenews.com, "‘Event’ reported at Ft. Calhoun nuke plant: 'Potential flooding issue in the Intake Structure' — 'There is one penetration of concern' that could impact water pumps June 17th, 2011 at 11:56 AM." The report explains:

Event Number: 46965, Current Event Notification Report for June 17, 2011, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, June 17, 2011:

Facility: FORT CALHOUN
Notification Date: 06/16/2011
Notification Time: 14:46 [ET]
Event Date: 06/16/2011
Event Time: 12:30 [CDT]

Event Text: ADDITIONAL PENETRATION IDENTIFIED FOR MITIGATION DURING WALKDOWN

“Operations identified a potential flooding issue in the Intake Structure 1007 ft. 6 in. level. The area of concern is a the hole in the floor at the 1007 ft. 6 in. level where the relief valve from FP-1A discharge pipe goes through the raw pump bay and discharges into the intake cell. There is one penetration of concern. Flooding through this penetration could have impacted the ability of the station’s Raw Water (RW) pumps to perform their design accident mitigation functions.

“Efforts are in progress to seal the penetration.

“This eight-hour notification is being made pursuant to 10 CFR 50.72 ((3)(v).”

The licensee notified the NRC Resident Inspector.

Bob-C

[Bob-C]

Hi everyone, according to a report frm enenews.com, "Another Nebraska nuke plant declares 'Notification of Unusual Event' — Made at 4:02 am CDT this morning June 19th, 2011 at 08:21 AM." The report explains:

Declaration at Cooper Nuclear Station, WOWT-TV, Jun 19, 2011:

As the Missouri River rises, the Nebraska Public Power District has declared a “Notification of Unusual Event” for the Cooper Nuclear Station. The notification was made at 4:02am Sunday. It is part of the safety and emergency preparedness plan that the station follows when certain flooding conditions are present. [...]

A Notification of Unusual Event is the lowest and least serious of four emergency classifications established by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for nuclear power plants.

The Cooper Nuclear Station is three miles southeast of Brownville, Nebraska along the Missouri River.

Bob-C

[Bob-C]

Hi everyone, according to a report from enenews.com, "AP Investigation: At aging US nuke plants Feds are repeatedly weakening safety standards or simply failing to enforce them June 20th, 2011 at 12:28 PM." The report explains:

As nuclear plants age, NRC loosens safety regulations, Associated Press By Jeff Donn, June 20, 2011:

Federal regulators have been working closely with the nuclear power industry to keep the nation’s aging reactors operating within safety standards by repeatedly weakening those standards or simply failing to enforce them, an investigation by the Associated Press has found. [...]

The result? Rising fears that these accommodations by the NRC are significantly undermining safety and inching the reactors closer to an accident that could harm the public and jeopardize the future of nuclear power in the United States.

Examples abound. When valves leaked, more leakage was allowed — up to 20 times the original limit. When rampant cracking caused radioactive leaks from steam generator tubing, an easier test of the tubes was devised so plants could meet standards.

Failed cables. Busted seals. Broken nozzles, clogged screens, cracked concrete, dented containers, corroded metals, and rusty underground pipes — all of these and thousands of other problems linked to aging were uncovered in the AP’s yearlong investigation. [...]

Bob-C

Edited by Bob-C, 21 June 2011 - 06:40 AM.

[Bob-C]

Hi everyone, according to a report from enenews.com, "Sandia Labs: Similarities between Fukushima Dai-Ichi and reactors like Nebraska's Cooper nuke plant pose significant problem — Loss of electricity could cause meltdown June 21st, 2011 at 12:59 PM." The report explains:

NPPD: Nuke Plant Could Be Shut Down "In Three Seconds", Critics Still Worry, Missouri News Horizon, June 21, 2011:

[... T]he Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) insists the 37-year-old Cooper Nuclear Station in Brownville, which sits on the raging Missouri River, is as secure as they come.

On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the safest, Alan Dostal who is NPPD's nuclear expert says, "We are an absolutely safe plant, that's a 10."

Dostal's comments came during an interview with Nebraska Watchdog on March 29, five days before three workers at Cooper were exposed to radiation. According to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) a fuel rod accident triggered alarms that are worn by the workers. NPPD says the incident which is still under investigation did not cause any apparent injuries but was "unacceptable." The NRC wants "to understand why normal work practices were not followed." [...]

[T]he federal government's own Sandia National Laboratories has concluded that similarities between the Dai-Ichi plant and reactors like Cooper pose a significant problem: specifically that a lengthy loss of electrical power could cause a nuclear meltdown. [...]

Bob-C