SNAFUkushima: Updating Meltdowns, Still FUBAR and Deteriorating
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SNAFUkushima: Updating Meltdowns, Still FUBAR and Deteriorating
by William Boardman / May 30th, 2014
Fallout from Fukushima? A re-make of ! That’s the good news
There’s not much new to say about Fukushima. It remains an out of control disaster with as yet unmeasurable dimensions that continue to expand. Or perhaps it’s more accurate to say that everything new about Fukushima is just the same-old same-old getting worse at an uneven and unpredictable rate. Either way, it’s not good and, while it’s worse in degree, it’s not yet apparently worse in kind, so that’s one reason you don’t hear that much about it in the news these days.
Whatever the full truth is about Fukushima, it’s
at present. And it might remain unknowable even if there was total transparency, even if there were no corporate, institutional, governmental, and other
protecting such enemies of the common good as profit, capital investment, and .
Secrecy and false reassurance have always been an integral part of the nuclear industry in all its manifestations.
In January 2014,
reported yet another example of nuclear opposition to honesty: the
government and the government-run
signed a secrecy agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency , a United Nations agency that “is committed to applying the highest ethical standards in carrying out its mandate,” or so . The IAEA’s
about the agreement is bland and inoffensive. According to , each party to
has the right to designate any information as confidential, specifically mentioning data about thyroid cancer in children or other facts that might “stir up anxiety of residents.”
Here are some other elements of SNAFUkushima that might stir up anxieties of residents and non-residents alike:
Radioactive Water is Beyond Control and Unmeasured
Clean groundwater has been flowing into the Fukushima nuclear plant complex since before the earthquake/tsunami of March 11, 2011, led to the meltdown of three of the four reactors at Fukushima Daiichi and the cold shutdown of the two reactors at Fukushima Daini at the same site. Once clean groundwater enters the site, some portion (or perhaps all) of it is contaminated by radioactivity, primarily from the three melted down reactors.
Additional clean water is pumped into the site to keep the melted down reactors from further melting down, as well as to keep the nuclear fuel stored in fuel pools from starting to melt down. All of this water is radioactively contaminated.
The Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) and the Japanese government, essentially co-owners of the Fukushima complex, together with their subcontractors, have been collecting some of the radioactive water in steel tanks on site. Some, perhaps hundreds, of the 1,000-plus tanks have leaked.
has flowed from the
into the Pacific Ocean continuously since March 11, 2011. The flow rate varies, most likely, but no one knows what the rate is and there is no reliable system in place to measure the flow. There is also no reliable system in place to measure the intensity of , which also most likely varies.
since 2013 has been to use an Advanced Liquid
(ALPS) to treat the water in the holding tanks before releasing it into the Pacific. The processing system reduces the water’s radioactivity, but does not remove it all. After treatment, 62 nuclides, including Strontium and Plutonium, are supposed to be removed, but the water retains high levels of Tritium. As of May 2014, the ALPS treatment plan has not been implemented, has suffered several breakdowns, and is now more than six months behind schedule.
Radioactive Water Dumping Began at Fukushima on May 21
TEPCO, in a , said “we have commenced operation of the groundwater bypass.” TEPCO said it was releasing
(more than 150,000 gallons) of groundwater that is within “safe” radiation levels directly into the Pacific. TEPCO hopes to divert and release 100 tons (26,900 gallons) of groundwater every day.
reported that:
TEPCO said the levels of radioactivity of the groundwater being released were within legal radiation safety limits and will follow the World Health Organizations guidelines that groundwater for such releases should contain less than 1 becquerel per liter of cesium-134 and cesium-137, 5 becquerels of beta ray-emitting radioactive material.
Groundwater flowing into the disabled reactor buildings is estimated at 400 tons (over 107,000 gallons) per day.
TEPCO and Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA)
bypass release process less dangerous than collecting contaminated water in tanks that leak. Despite approving the start of TEPCO’s plan, the chairman of the Nuclear Regulation Authority, Sunichi Tanaka, has
TEPCO for incorrectly measuring levels of radioactive materials in groundwater at its Daiichi facility. Tanaka has said that even though three years has passed since the reactor meltdowns at the plant, TEPCO is still “utterly inept” when it comes to taking accurate readings of radioactivity at and around its facilities and “lacks a basic understanding of measuring and handling radiation.”
The Unit 4 Spent Fuel Pool Still has Disaster Potential
In March 2011, the
didn’t melt down because all its nuclear fuel rod assemblies had been removed for re-fueling, so they were stored in the unit’s spent fuel pool. But the fuel pool was about 100 feet above the ground and the earthquake/tsunami and subsequent explosions at the Fukushima left the fuel pool’s 1535 fuel assemblies in a precarious situation in an unstable building. An accident as bad as a meltdown, or worse, hasn’t happened yet, but remains possible as long as the fuel pool holds a substantial number of fuel assemblies.
TEPCO started to remove fuel assemblies in late 2013, moving them to safer fuel pools on the ground. Removal is scheduled to be complete before the end of 2014. But TEPCO
it had removed only 9 percent of the spent fuel so far and the delicate, dangerous process continues.
[On May 20-21, the internet was rife with reports of
and fire at unit 4 on May 20, a claim that was based on a less than persuasive video. As of this writing, there seems to be no credible confirmation of an explosion or fire at unit 4.]
Radioactive Contamination Spreads, But Threat Level Uncertain
Reports of radioactively contaminated fish have increased during the past two years, but there is as yet no
by any government or corporate or even no-profit program that comprehensively measures the threat in any reliable manner (hardly an easy task since
in the Pacific are in motion all the time). Anecdotal reports of Fukushima fish and other anomalies include:
o ALBECORE TUNA caught off Oregon and Washington state from 2008 to 2012 suggested a tripling of
in post-Fukushima fish, according to an April 30, 2014, report. But one researcher said that even the elevated level was only one-tenth of one per cent of the level for concern set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
o CALIFORNIA
issued a report April 30 that both minimized the current threat of radiation from Fukushima and also called for further research into the effects of low level radiation on humans and for reliable radiation monitoring supported by government.
The report noted that the release of radiation from Fukushima continues with no end in sight. The report also said, without apparent irony, that people on the west coast were still in less danger from Fukushima radiation than from the residual radiation from nuclear weapons testing in the Pacific 50 years and more ago.
o MUTATION AND PREMATURE DEATH in butterflies caused by Fukushima levels of residual radiation was demonstrated by Japanese researchers, in a report
by Nature,
May 15 by . The researchers wrote: “We conclude that the risk of ingesting a polluted diet is realistic, at least for this butterfly, and likely for certain other organisms living in the polluted area.” A field study around Fukushima has shown a decrease in the population of these butterflies and other insects.
o THYROID CANCER
from Fukushima has reached a higher than normal level. A May 19 story reported that 50 newly documented thyroid cancer cases represented about a
* DENIAL IN JAPAN surfaced in the form
a food-oriented comic that included a storyline in which characters, who are culinary writers, visited the Fukushima complex and then fell ill and developed nosebleeds. According to
on May 19, the food comic editor said the story “was a well-meaning attempt to highlight the fact that parts of Fukushima were dangerous, and that people were reluctant to complain themselves.” Criticism of the story was based on the fear that it would damage the Fukushima region’s people and products, food products especially. The , Shogakukan Inc., has suspended the comic series indefinitely.
reports on a nuclear researcher:
Hiroaki Koide, an assistant professor at the Kyoto University Research Reactor Institute, says that from a medical point of view the connection between
exposure can’t be entirely ruled out…. He adds: “The government is not only indifferent to taking responsibility for the accident, but determined to erase it from people’s memory.” Such irresponsibility, he insists, is “almost criminal.”
Meanwhile, municipalities including Osaka and Fukushima prefectures and the town of Futaba have lodged complaints with the publisher.
o HONESTY IN JAPAN appeared in
May 20, with a previously suppressed, 400-page report that some 650 workers at Fukushima Daiichi fled the complex in the midst of the crisis. These 650 workers represent about 90 per cent of the workforce. Prior to this revelation, the official story, promulgated by media worldwide, had created the impression that workers at Fukushima remained on site, showing great personal courage during the crisis. Even after the official story was exposed as 90% false, TEPCO refused to criticize any of its workers.
Commenting on this story May 21, a Shimbun columnist noted that: “If the facts are hidden and treated as if they never happened, the Fukushima crisis will never be understood in its entirety, and no real lessons can be learned from the disaster.” The same day, a
ruled against re-starting two nuclear reactors at Fukui in western Japan. The court ruled that the two reactors represented a serious risk to the public in the event of an earthquake. The power company said it would appeal the ruling. The prime minister said the ruling would not change his plans to re-start all Japan’s nuclear reactors.
Who actually wants to learn any “real lessons” from Fukushima?
The struggle between lying and telling the truth about SNAFUkushima seems likely to continue for a long time, especially with the
pressing to re-start its nuclear reactors and with few countries or world organizations willing to close the curtain on the nuclear age.
But truth still has a constituency. In April, Katsutagka Idogawa, former mayor of Futaba in Fukushima prefecture,
against the government’s efforts to force former residents to return home despite radiation contamination:
Fukushima Prefecture has launched the Come Home campaign. … Air contamination decreased a little, but soil contamination remains the same. And there are still about two million people living in the prefecture, who have all sorts of medical issues. The authorities claim this has nothing to do with the fallout….
I remember feeling so deeply for the victims of the Chernobyl tragedy that I could barely hold back the tears whenever I heard any reports on it. And now that a similar tragedy happened in Fukushima, the biggest problem is that there is no one to help us. They say it’s safe to go back… while in reality the radiation is still there. This is killing children. They die of heart conditions, asthma, leukemia, thyroiditis… Lots of kids are extremely ex others are simply unable to attend PE classes. But the authorities still hide the truth from us, and I don’t know why. Don’t they have children of their own?
Idogawa described his own symptoms, consistent with radiation poisoning, symptoms that persist even though he’s moved to another prefecture. He says he’s not getting treatment now and there’s no place to go for help: “The nearest hospital refused to treat me. So I’m trying to restore my health through nutrition.”
The Japanese government allowed Fukushima residents to start returning to their homes as of April 1, saying that .
It was not safe. The government lied. On April 16,
reported some of the that put people at risk.
“The same thing happened with Hiroshima and Nagasaki,” Idogawa said: “The authorities lied to everyone. They said it was safe. They hid the truth…. Japan has some dark history.” And so does the rest of the world.
William M. Boardman has over 40 years experience in theatre, radio, TV, print journalism, and non-fiction, including 20 years in the Vermont judiciary. He has received honors from Writers Guild of America, Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Vermont Life magazine, and an Emmy Award nomination from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. This article was first published in . .
This article was posted on Friday, May 30th, 2014 at 6:56pm and is filed under , .刚放学一看新闻日本核危机变为6级，立马上法国核安全国家机构ASN发现于法国时间3月15日19时发布的第九号新闻稿，现翻译给大家，希望对需要的人有所帮助。ANS密切关注位于Fukushima Daiichi, Fukushima Daini, Onagawa et Toka 的核电站本号新闻稿显示Fukushima Daiichi的4号反应堆燃料池令人担忧情况　　　　1.Fukushima Daiichi核电站　　当地时间日 14点46分 地震袭击了位于Fukushima Daiichi的核电站使后者自动停止日常作业　　地震同时引起：　　两处外部供电系统停止工作且备用供电系统没有激活，至时，原因不清。　　海啸影响了核电站的泵送系统站后者用于反应堆的冷却。　　3月15日，政府下令疏散以核电站为中心方圆20公里的居民且要求方圆30公里内的居民呆在有遮蔽物的地方。同时这片区域被列为禁飞区　　　　现对核包壳进行的减压活动会抛射出放射性物质，核标探测器清单探测到在2号反应堆及3号反应堆附近的放射性流量异常高，现只有50名工作人员在此区域内保证必须的操作。现风向往西南即东京城郊方向，但几小时后风向应该会转向太平洋方向。据东京附近的核标探测器显示到目前为止该地区的放射性物质暂时对身体没有严重影响。　　　　2号反应堆的情况　　2号反应堆目前情况最需注意　　堆芯融化已被确认，以海水进行冷却的计划是可行的，此操作因一阀门被堵而受阻。　　连续2次爆炸于当地时间6时10分及10时可能引起核密封壳由内向外的严重损坏这将导致更多的放射性物质溢出。　　　　前面已提到，2号反应堆在地震时已停止工作，已连续几小时没有被冷却。　　　　4号反应堆情况　　于当地时间9时30分左右，4号反应堆泛燃料池内起火，而储存在此池子里的已用核燃料有已被火触及的可能性，现在还不能确定。　　火已于当地时间12时扑灭，日本当局指出不排除外泄的反射性物质直接传播向大气层的可能性。一部分存放的核燃料已暴露出来，TEPCO及日本当局正在寻找合适的方式使之浸在水里。　　　　此反应堆于2010年11月因维修原因已停止运行。　　　　1号及3号反应堆的情况　　部分堆芯已融化以被确认。注入海水对此1，2反应堆进行冷却正在进行，此方法有其可行性。这两反应堆在突然的爆炸后，核密封壳还保持着其完整性。　　　　对其密封壳主动减压操作正有条不紊的进行。这些操作会导致放射性物质的溢出。　　　　5号及6号反应堆的情况---燃料池的温度在升高　　地震发生时，这两个反应堆已被关闭维修。　　存放有核燃料的燃料池的温度正在升高。　　　　　　有时间会定期更新法核安全机构的最新新闻稿，可关注微波.cn/rruiqi　　　　　　PS，附上法文原版　　Communiqué de presse n°9 du mardi 15 mars 2011 à 19h00　　　　Séisme au Japon 　　L’ASN fait le point sur la situation de la centrale nucléaire de Fukushima Daiichi 　　Evolution préoccupante de la piscine de stockage du combustible du réacteur n°4　　　　Paris, le 15/03/ 　　Le 11 mars 2011 à 14h46 (heure locale), un séisme a frappé la centrale de Fukushima Daiichi entra?nant son arrêt automatique.　　　　Le séisme a également provoqué :　　　　la perte des deux alimentations électriques externes de la centrale qui n’a pas été compensée par les groupes électrogènes de secours pour des raisons act　　un tsunami qui a affecté la station de pompage de la centrale nucléaire nécessaire au refroidissement du réacteur (source froide).　　Le 15 mars les mesures d’évacuation de la zone des 20 km autour de la centrale ont été pratiquement achevées et les autorités japonaises ont demandé la mise à l’abri de la population dans un rayon de 30km. Le survol de cette zone est désormais interdit.　　　　Les opérations de décompression volontaire des enceintes conduisent à des rejets radioactifs. Les balises de villes localisées entre la centrale et Tokyo, le long des cotes, relèvent une élévation des débits de dose mesurés. De même pour les balises situées à proximité de l’agglomération de Tokyo. Toutefois, à Tokyo, cette élévation des mesures des balises ne nécessite pas de mesure particulière de protection des populations.　　　　La radioprotection des travailleurs sur le site devient pré le gouvernement a relevé le seuil de dose maximale des travailleurs, il y aurait des difficultés au niveau de l’habitabilité des salles de commande.　　　　I – Point de la situation sur le réacteur n°2　　　　La fusion partielle du c?ur est confirmée, l’exploitant poursuit l’opération de refroidissement du c?ur par injection d’eau de mer autant que possible.　　　　Deux explosions successives, à 06h10 et 10h (heure locale), ont probablement entrainé une dégradation de l’enceinte de confinement en sa partie inférieure. Cette perte de l’intégrité de l’enceinte serait à l’origine de l’augmentation significative des rejets radioactifs détectés de manière ponctuelle en limite du site.　　　　Pour rappel, le réacteur n°2 avait été automatiquement mis à l’arrêt lors du séisme.　　　　II – Point de la situation sur la piscine de stockage du combustible du réacteur n°4　　　　Un incendie s’est déclaré au niveau de la piscine d’entreposage du combustible usé du réacteur n°4 aux alentours de 09h30 (heure locale); l’état du combustible stocké dans cette piscine, potentiellement affecté par l’incendie, n’est pas déterminé.　　　　Le feu a été éteint vers 12h00 (heure locale) ; les autorités japonaises précisent cependant que des rejets radioactifs sont susceptibles d’être émis directement à l’atmosphère. Une partie des assemblages de combustible stockés serait désormais dé TEPCO et les autorités japonaises recherchent des moyens d’appoint en eau.　　　　Ce réacteur était à l’arrêt pour maintenance lors du séisme depuis novembre 2010.　　　　III – Point de la situation des réacteurs n°1 et 3　　　　La fusion partielle des c?urs de ces deux réacteurs est confirmée. Le refroidissement de chacun des réacteurs par injection d’eau de mer se poursuit autant que possible. Chaque enceinte de confinement est restée intègre après les explosions survenues sur ces réacteurs.　　　　Les opérations de décompression volontaire de l’enceinte sont effectuées réguliè elles peuvent conduire à des rejets radioactifs.　　　　IV - Point de la situation sur les réacteurs n° 5 et 6 – élévation de la température des piscines　　　　Les réacteurs n°5 à 6 étaient à l’arrêt pour maintenance lors du séisme.　　　　Une augmentation de la température de l’eau des piscines stockant le combustible est observée.
楼主发言：1次 发图：0张
　　这个日本人真玩大了。
　　如果是6级了，东京就保不住了吧？即使以后勉强做首都，以后谁还傻到去那里。旅游购物带孩子去玩迪士尼。。。。？
　　上面漏了几个字，首都后面+影响力也会大大削减。
　　第6级核事故标准： 　　一部分核污染泄漏到工厂外，需要立即采取措施来挽救各种损失。这一级别历史上仅有一例，为1957年前苏联Kyshtym核事故。事故当时造成70-80吨核废料发生爆炸并散播至800平方公里的土地上。
　　101讲坛坛主原创分析博文·连载详见“天星来推步”新浪博客～～～　　
呵呵，日13时46分，日本发生8.8级地震，震中位于日本本州岛仙台港东130公里处，震源深度24千米，东京有强烈震感，地震引发海啸。核电站爆炸。　　
震惊吗？这个有什么？　　
问：地震发生在哪里，你不害怕？答：外国。。。。呵呵～～～～　　　　
说正题，地球与人一样的道理。　　
人有经脉穴位，地有龙脉城市。　　
人有抖动战栗，地有震陷崩裂。　　
人之疾病根于丹田脏腑，地之祸患源于岩浆板块。　　
未知天地，先明人身。　　
气血恶疾败发于内，则不可遏制！营卫气血久有哗变，而普济无门。　　
事发百端，在于举一反三。天垂万象，贵乎触类旁通。　　
岛国一震，无所谓惊与不惊。两点可见，一为大震，二为核爆。　　　　
圣人早制历法，星宿条陈。　　
2011辛卯·昴日鸡之年，元日己丑·斗木獬值日，己丑霹雳横火首当其冲，斗木獬有一象，为水中蟹族，隐喻海国，二者联卦解读，斗牛分野历历在目，霹雳杀蟹，海国之忧，东北当之。点到为止，不可生套。呵呵！！！！　　
辛卯·亢金龙流月，元日己未·女土蝠值日，流日乙丑·娄金狗，流时癸未·井木犴，地震爆发。　　
细心朋友，当然可以洞察己丑·己未·乙丑·癸未其中的奥秘，何必赘述！若再辅参太乙飞城大煞更为昭然！！！　　
2011年日本本位当值庚寅·角木蛟，卦语“同室操戈，暴卷钱塘”；　　
2011年日本年运值卦癸巳·斗木獬，卦语“一线求生”；　　
日流日乙丑·娄金狗；　　
日未时癸未·井木犴。　　
庚寅·癸巳·乙丑·癸未，观此四位成象，各位斟酌；　　
角木蛟·斗木獬·娄金狗·井木犴，而此四位流星，本位分别布于辰·丑·戌·未，此大格何必强解！
地之经脉，绳索断然拆变，意会言传，无言而胜万言！！！　　
　　楼上直接用英文写一边，我看的容易些
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