BREAKING (3/11/2011): Major Earthquake - Japan, Tsunami Warning - HI

[BRVoice]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=Ck_KEILBLlU
LIVE webcam of Fukushima Nuclear Plant

[BRVoice]

http://enenews.com/japan-prime-minis...way-from-tokyo


Japan Prime Minister to study setting up “alternative capital” away from Tokyo
May 1st, 2011 at 06:07 PM

NHK is reporting that at Sunday’s Upper House Budget Committee meeting, Japan’s Prime Minister Naoto Kan “suggested that he will study the possibility of setting up an alternative capital to take over Tokyo’s role in an emergency, saying that measures must be taken to secure the continuity of the capital’s central functions.”

[BRVoice]

http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2011/05/89154.html


URGENT: Seabed radiation 100-1,000 times normal level off Fukushima plant: TEPCO
TOKYO, May 3, Kyodo

Radiation readings have risen to 100-1,000 times the normal level on the Pacific seabed near the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, the operator said Tuesday.

The high levels of radioactive materials were detected from samples taken Friday from the seabed at points 20-30 meters deep, according to Tokyo Electric Power Co.

==Kyodo

[American Patriot]

1000 times? Ouch

[samizdat]

I hope somehow this thread & radioactive soup can somehow be "WELL" integrated since there is great info in both threads. Perhaps FUKUSHIMA?

[BRVoice]

More details on the rising levels in the sea. Fair use:

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/...dm009000c.html


Seabed radiation 100-1,000 times normal level off Fukushima plant

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Radiation readings have risen to 100-1,000 times the normal level on the Pacific seabed near the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, the operator said Tuesday.

The high levels of radioactive materials were detected in samples collected Friday from the seabed at two points 20-30 meters deep in the first contamination probe of the seabed by Tokyo Electric Power Co., it said.

The seabed samples collected 3 kilometers from Minamisoma and 3 km from Naraha, both in Fukushima Prefecture, contained 98-190 becquerels of radioactive iodine per kilogram and 1,200-1,400 becquerels of radioactive cesium.

The normal readings for the materials can be up to several becquerels, the utility said.

TEPCO said it believes the radioactive substances may have fallen into the sea after being released into the air from the plant or may have been carried by contaminated water that seeped from the plant.

Meanwhile, the science ministry said it had not detected radioactive substances in samples collected Friday from the seabed at a depth of 117 meters at a point 10 km from a spot on the coast 50 km south of the Fukushima plant.

(Mainichi Japan) May 4, 2011

[BRVoice]

http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2011/05/89922.html


Fukushima's No. 1 reactor building radiation up to 700 millisieverts
TOKYO, May 9, Kyoto

The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant found that the radiation level of the building housing the troubled No. 1 reactor stood at up to 700 millisieverts per hour, the government's nuclear agency said Monday, citing the need for radiation shielding to proceed with work to bring an end to the nuclear crisis.

The radiation level, which was around 10 millisieverts per hour at its lowest, was measured as Tokyo Electric Power Co. workers and agency officials entered into the No. 1 reactor building early Monday as part of preparations to start full-scale work to create a system to stably cool the damaged nuclear fuel inside.

''An area with a double-digit millisievert level, let alone three-digit figures, is quite tough as a working environment. So we have to do the work by using some shielding,'' Hidehiko Nishiyama, a spokesman for the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, told a press conference.

[BRVoice]

http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2011/05/89970.html


Chubu Electric agrees to shut Hamaoka nuke plant
NAGOYA, May 9, Kyodo

Chubu Electric Power Co. agreed Monday to suspend operation of the Hamaoka nuclear power station in Shizuoka Prefecture, as requested by Prime Minister Naoto Kan for safety reasons, its president said.

The utility serving central Japan around Nagoya made the decision at an extraordinary board meeting, the second of its kind since Saturday's inconclusive one, after discussing ways to ensure a stable supply of power in summer in the event the company fulfills the request.

''We decided at today's extraordinary board meeting to suspend operation of the Nos. 4 and 5 reactors and postpone restarting of the No. 3 reactor,'' Chubu Electric President Akihisa Mizuno said at a news conference.

[BRVoice]

Fukushima Daiichi Possible Reactor Fires - May 7th 2011

[BRVoice]

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/10_04.html


Aerial fallout map confirms soil radiation levels

Japan's Nuclear Safety Commission says a new aerial map of radioactive fallout contamination has confirmed the radiation levels in the area near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

The commission's chairman, Haruki Madarame, told reporters on Monday that the map will reinforce the agency's system to monitor contamination and will help find ways to lower radiation levels.

The Japanese Science Ministry and the US Energy Department conducted a joint aerial survey from April 6th to the 29th of the area within an 80-kilometer radius of the plant.

The map shows the density of radioactive cesium in red or yellow, depending on the concentration in the soil.

The high density area lies northwest of the plant, coinciding with data collected on the ground.

Madarame also said the situation at the power plant is stabilizing and that it is about time to review ways to carry out daily surveys on the ground. He said the soils could be tested fewer times but more meticulously with the aid of aerial mapping.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011 07:43 +0900 (JST)

[BRVoice]

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/09_28.html


Govt to monitor radioactive strontium levels

An advisor to Japan's prime minister says there needs to be close monitoring of radioactive strontium levels around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

Goshi Hosono made the remark to reporters on Monday, one day after Tokyo Electric Power Company detected high concentrations of strontium-90 in soil samples taken on April 18th inside the plant's compound. The amount is about 130 times higher than the maximum level observed within Fukushima Prefecture after past foreign atmospheric nuclear tests.

Hosono serves as the secretary general of a joint nuclear accident task force set up by the government and the operator of the plant.

Noting the danger of strontium to human health, he said a detailed investigation is needed, including analysis of past data, to determine how the radioactive substance was scattered.

Once inhaled, radioactive strontium accumulates in bones, like calcium, and could cause cancer.

On April 13th, the science ministry announced that 3.3 to 32 becquerels per kilogram of strontium-90 was detected in soil samples from 3 locations in Namie Town and Iitate Village, 30-kilometers from the Fukushima plant. It also said an extremely small amount of strontium was found in plants taken from Motomiya city, Ono Town and Otama and Nishigo Villages, which are 40 to 80 kilometers from the Fukushima plant. The samples were taken on March 16th and 19th, 5 to 8 days after the accident at the plant.

Until now, the government has not checked strontium levels regularly or in wide areas as it's not easy to distinguish from other radioactive materials and takes time and labor to measure.

The science ministry plans to determine the best method for monitoring strontium.

Monday, May 09, 2011 21:05 +0900 (JST)

[BRVoice]

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/10_02.html


High radiation may slow down TEPCO's repairs

The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says it may need to slow down some repairs at the Number one reactor due to elevated radiation levels.

Tokyo Electric Power Company measured the levels at several spots in the reactor building on Monday as part of its preparation to fill the containment vessel with water and restore a circulating cooling system.

The company is concerned that the reactor's pipes are leaking radioactive water, contaminating the area.

The tests yielded a maximum of 700 millisieverts per hour, thus workers can only stay in the vicinity for around 20 minutes.

However, employees spent half an hour doing the tests and were exposed to as much as 10.56 millisieverts of radiation.

TEPCO says the figures are higher than acceptable for worker safety.

On Tuesday the firm will attempt measures to reduce radiation levels, including laying down sheets containing lead to insulate the radioactive substances.

It will continue checking the levels but is worried that it may need to change plans depending on the results.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011 07:43 +0900 (JST)

[BRVoice]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/...74803G20110509


Japan to shut nuclear plant on quake fears
By Chikako Mogi and Risa Maeda
NAGOYA/TOKYO, Japan | Mon May 9, 2011 4:00pm EDT

(Reuters) - Japanese power firm Chubu Electric on Monday agreed to shut a nuclear plant until it can be better defended against the type of massive tsunami that in March triggered the worst atomic crisis in 25 years.

The temporary shutdown of Hamaoka, which supplies power to central Japan -- home to many manufacturers including Toyota Motor Corp -- has added to concerns about power shortages following the crisis at another plant in northeast Japan that was crippled by the March 11 quake and tsunami.

Chubu's decision was in response to an unprecedented request by Prime Minister Naoto Kan last week to halt all reactors still operating at Hamaoka, citing the high risk that a powerful earthquake would hit the region in coming years.

In an announcement that could add to public concern in the quake-prone country, another operator -- Japan Atomic Power -- said it had plugged a tiny radiation leak at its Tsuruga plant on the west coast, the first since it started operations in 1987. It said the leak had no impact on the environment.

Japan's trade and industry minister Banri Kaieda said the shutdown of Hamaoka, 200 km (120 miles) from Tokyo, was a special case because of its location, and reiterated that other plants would not be singled out for closure.

A close aide to Prime Minister Naoto Kan -- who pushed for the shutdown -- said further action would be taken if other plants were judged to pose immediate risk, but added the government had yet to review its long-term energy policy.

"We stood on the safe side and decided to seek a halt at Hamaoka," Goshi Hosono, told reporters. "Long-term debate on nuclear power and energy policy will take place after this."

Officials have acknowledged that the nuclear crisis at Tokyo Electric Power Co's (TEPCO) Fukushima Daiichi plant requires a review of a target to increase nuclear power's share of electricity to 50 percent by 2030 from about 30 percent now.

The reactors at the Hamaoka plant, including the new reactor under construction, were designed by U.S. multinational conglomerate General Electric, just like those at the Fukushima Daiichi plant.

Chubu Electric said the shutdown, which could last about two years until safety steps are completed, would cause short-term trouble for both customers and shareholders. It canceled its annual profit forecast and warned that it could fall the red due to the cost of procuring alternative fuels.

"But firmly implementing measures to strengthen safety would become the cornerstone to continue safe and stable nuclear power in the long-term and in the end lead to the benefit of our customers," Chubu President Akihisa Mizuno told a news conference in Nagoya, where Japan's third-biggest utility is based.

Chubu Electric said it would look to buy more liquefied natural gas and oil to make up for lost capacity, and would make efforts, including procuring energy from another utility in western Japan, to avoid disruptions to its power supply.

AFTER SUMMER

While any power shortfalls may not be large enough to delay Japan's expected economic recovery later this year, the failure of the government to articulate a clear plan for energy policy could exacerbate a hollowing out of the manufacturing sector, analysts said.

The Hamaoka plant provides power to half of the 18 plants that make Toyota vehicles in Japan and all four of Suzuki Motor Corp's domestic car and motorcycle factories.

The coverage area also includes auto plants of Honda Motor Co and Mitsubishi Motors Corp as well as Sharp Corp's Kameyama LCD factory and Toshiba Corp's Yokkaichi semiconductor plant.

The power issues could give exporters another reason -- in addition to a strong yen and cheaper labor abroad-- to shrink production volumes in Japan.

"We can rely on thermal power in the short term, but this raises costs and emissions," said Yasuo Yamamoto, senior economist at Mizuho Research Institute.

"In the future, we're not sure what the government wants to do. The longer that uncertainty about the power supply continues, the more companies will start thinking about manufacturing overseas."

Experts questioned whether the Hamaoka closure marked a turning point in Japan's nuclear power policy following the March 11 disasters, which left nearly 26,000 people dead or unaccounted for and triggered the world's biggest nuclear crisis since Chernobyl in 1986. The plant is still leaking radiation.

The nuclear power industry has considerable political clout with most political parties, including Kan's Democratic Party and its biggest rival, the Liberal Democrats.

"The decision to halt the Hamaoka plant is not based on a clear or legal standard and thus raises concerns about the risk of other plants being asked to halt operations," said Tomomichi Akuta, senior economist at Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting Co in Tokyo.

"The central Japan area has long been said to be prone to big earthquakes but will the government do the same if it finds another location as equally quake-prone? That is not clear. Kan's decision lacked a decision-making process to call it a policy turning point," he added.

Government experts put the chance of a magnitude 8.0 quake hitting the Hamaoka area in the next 30 years at 87 percent, which has raised questions over why it was built there in the first place.


(Additional reporting by Ayai Tomisawa, Chang-Ran Kim, Stanley White and Linda Sieg in Tokyo, and Scott DiSavino in New York; Editing by Jonathan Thatcher and Nathan Layne)

[samizdat]

Well! Bury it!

t will continue checking the levels but is worried that it may need to change plans depending on the results.

[BRVoice]

Heads up!

“Very, Very Serious”: Unit No. 4 leaning, in danger of falling — Gov’t confirms stabilization efforts underway

http://enenews.com/very-very-serious...underway-video

[samizdat]

a toxic asset?
TEPCO has sought a 2 trillion yen ($24.8 billion) loan to tide it through the initial emergency period. It also expects to pay 50 billion yen ($620 million) in initial compensation to nearly 80,000 residents evacuated from around the plant, which was hit by a giant tsunami after Japan's massive March 11 earthquake. Overall damages are expected to be much higher.

TEPCO can also receive up to 120 billion yen ($1.5 billion) in insurance from the government under an existing nuclear accident compensation law.

[BRVoice]

Anyone know how one wipes away radiation? Fair use:

http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201105100133.html


Workers enter nuclear reactor building to begin repairs
2011/05/11

Workers entered the No. 1 reactor building at the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant on May 10 to begin the process of cooling the reactor.

The workers' first task was repairing monitoring equipment within the reactor to give officials of Tokyo Electric Power Co., the plant's operator, a more accurate picture of the situation inside the building.

In order to cool the reactor core to below 100 degrees, workers have been pumping water into the pressure container itself as well as trying to submerge the containment vessel surrounding the pressure container.

A total of 9,911 tons of water had been pumped into the No. 1 reactor as of midnight May 9, but TEPCO officials said they did not know how much water had actually entered the pressure container or the surrounding containment vessel because gauges had been damaged in the crisis following the March 11 quake.

The workers in the No. 1 reactor building on May 10 started by fixing the water gauge on the pressure container. A display was installed to allow workers in the building to confirm measurements.

A TEPCO official said: "In order to confirm whether work is being carried out under safe conditions, having the water and pressure gauges operating properly and accurately knowing the condition of the core, is indispensable."

TEPCO officials also began inspecting piping that will be connected to the cooling mechanism.

A major problem for personnel working within the reactor building is the high level of radiation.

Some parts of the reactor building have levels of radiation between 600 and 700 millisieverts per hour, much higher than the maximum limit of 250 millisieverts of radiation that workers can be exposed to.

Before allowing workers within the reactor building, ventilation equipment was used to reduce the radiation levels. While there were some areas with radiation levels of 280 millisieverts per hour, most other areas within the reactor building had radiation levels between 10 to 100 millisieverts.

Workers had also found rubble within the reactor building, likely the result of hydrogen explosions. The building itself and the main equipment did not appear to be greatly damaged. No water leaks were found.

The ventilation equipment removed some of the dust within the building, but rubble, surfaces, pipes and equipment have been contaminated with radiation.

TEPCO officials had hoped to reduce radiation levels to 1 millisievert per hour.

After sources of radiation are determined, TEPCO officials are considering using lead mats or sheets to contain the radiation. Consideration is also being given to removing the rubble or wiping away radiation.

A TEPCO official said they were not planning to push back the timetable for cooling the reactors, but the company may change where piping is installed and reconsider the number of workers needed to do the work depending on the progress made.

(This article was written by Takashi Sugimoto and Eisuke Sasaki.)

[BRVoice]

video inside the number 4...

[BRVoice]

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/12_04.html


TEPCO: Highly radioactive water flowed into sea

Highly radioactive water has been found seeping into the ocean near one of the reactors at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Workers found that contaminated water was flowing from a pipe into a pit near the Number 3 reactor's water intake on Wednesday morning.

The workers then used a camera to film near the water intake pipe. They found contaminated water was also leaking from the wall of the pit into the ocean.

Tokyo Electric Power Company says that water in the pit contained 37,000 becquerels of cesium-134 per cubic centimeter. That represents 620,000 times above the safety limit set by the government.

TEPCO also found that seawater between the intake and a nearby special barrier had the same radioactive substance at 32,000 times the limit. The barrier was set up to prevent radioactive water from spilling into the ocean.

The firm says it managed to stop the leak later in the day after it blocked the pipe and buried the pit in concrete.

TEPCO is looking into the possibility that radioactive water in the reactor's turbine building may have leaked through a tunnel connecting to the pipe because water levels in the turbine building had fallen since Tuesday.

Last month, TEPCO confirmed that radioactive water had leaked into the ocean from a crack in a pit outside the No.2 reactor. It later stopped the leak.

Thursday, May 12, 2011 07:57 +0900 (JST)

[BRVoice]

http://ex-skf.blogspot.com/2011/05/f...medium=twitter


Fukushima I Nuke Plant: Reactor 1's RPV Has Hardly Any Water
Wednesday, May 11, 2011


Murphys have never left Fukushima I Nuke Plant, and they are coming out from their hiding places.

After the workers braved the very high radiation inside the Reactor 1 reactor building and repaired the pressure gauge and the water gauge inside the Containment Vessel and the Reactor Pressure Vessel (RPV), TEPCO is finding out that the number they've been reporting on the level of water inside the RPV that houses the nuclear fuel rods was very, very wrong, and there's hardly any water inside the RPV.

It also turns out that there is little water in the Containment Vessel that houses the RPV.

There goes the "water entombment" scheme. All the water that has been poured into the reactor has gone somewhere. Both the RPV and the Containment Vessel of the Reactor 1 have been breached.

From MBS Mainichi News

JNN's investigation has revealed that there is hardly any water inside the Reactor Pressure Vessel (RPV) and the Containment Vessel of the Reactor 1 at Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant. The planned "water entombment" to cool the reactor would have to be vastly revised.

Workers entered inside the Reactor 1's reactor building this week, and repaired the water gauge and the pressure gauge. The water level inside the RPV had shown that more than half the height of the fuel rods (4 meters) was under water. However, when the water gauge was repaired, the actual water level turned out to be so much lower that there was hardly any water in the RPV, according to the JNN's interview with a government source.

If the fuel rods are exposed, there is an increased danger of hydrogen explosion. However, the condition of the reactor seems stable, so it is possible that the fuel rods have melted to the bottom of the RPV, and the molten mass is being cooled by the water at the bottom, according to the source. There was hardly any water in the Containment Vessel, the source also revealed.


The "water entombment" that was planned for the Reactor 1, in which the Containment Vessel would be filled with water to cool the reactor, will have to be revised now that the Containment Vessel is likely to be broken and leaking water. (May 12, 2:29AM)