Japanese reactor crisis

[AtLast]

http://www.npr.org/2011/03/18/134658...clear-Reactors

There is a podcast as well as the transcript.

Guests-

David Lochbaum, director, Nuclear Safety Project, Union of Concerned Scientists, Cambridge, Mass.

David J. Brenner, director, Center for Radiological Research, Columbia University, New York, N.Y.

Charles D. Ferguson, president, Federation of American Scientists, Washington, D.C.

Joe Palca, science correspondent, NPR, Washington, D.C.

[Gayla]

Listening to ABC News on the radio on the way home yesterday and the lead story at the top of the hour was, "Radiation to hit the West Coast within 48 hours!"

They had a reporter talking to a radiation expert something or other here in Seattle who said - yes, there is a small possibility that some type of radiation may arrive on the west coast within the next two days but it's highly unlikely that the amount will be any larger than what we are exposed to every day.

Then they went back to the anchor guy who said - that was so and so at the Univ. of Washington, confirming that radiation from Japan will arrive on the West Coast in 48 hours!

While listening to that, I realized that even if large amounts of radiation come flying across the water, there really isn't anything I can do anyway. I refuse to live, the way I did for a few days, as if the sky is falling. I will pay attention to the people who know things and if they say to panic, I'll panic. In the mean time, I'm much more interested in the other news coming out of Japan right now.

[AtLast]

http://articles.latimes.com/2011/mar...e-nrc-20110318

Japan nuclear crisis could last for weeks, U.S. nuclear official says

[AtLast]

http://www.huliq.com/12079/radiation...e-including-us

The big news coming from Japan is the tainted food supply from high radiation levels found in farm products in the area around the damaged nuclear power plant. The threat of radiation contamination to food supplies is not only prompting testing in Japan, but around the world testing for radiation is going on, including here in the US.

Japanese officials have confirmed that some of their farm products around the area of the nuclear power plant have been contaminated with radiation. Yukio Edano, the Chief Cabinet Secretary is considering limiting shipments of farm products from the affected areas, and reports there is no immediate health risks.

Lam ching-wan, a chemical pathologist at the University of Hong Kong School of Medicine said that Japan should seriously think about restricting any shipments of agricultural products in the area of the nuclear power plants in Japan, according to an article on the Bloomberg website.

Radiation has been discovered in tap water in Tokyo and other areas of Japan that are over 100 miles away from the nuclear power plant, according to Fox News this morning. Milk and spinach are the first two farm products in Japan discovered with high levels of radiation in them today, with the testing continuing around the region of the nuclear plant.

California officials are screening milk from grass eating cows in the state for signs of radiation contamination. Officials continue to stress that there is no health risk from the radiation that drifted into California from Japan’s faltering nuclear power plants.

Food imports from Japan are being screened for possible radiation in South Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, and Singapore. In the US, anything coming from Japan is being screened for radiation today, according to Fox News.

Airline passengers are also being screened for radiation with some small amounts found on passengers landing in two US airports yesterday.

L.A. is seeing a surge in people buying up supplies of food, water purification tablets and iodine pills. Another item that is flying off the shelves at health food stores is kelp. People are buying this believing that its iodine content will help protect the thyroid from radiation exposure.

The threat of radiation exposure frightens many people because it is something that is invisible. Other than using a radiation detecting instrument, there is no way to know where the radiation is going or where it has been. The US imports goods from all over the world, including from Japan, and this just adds to the worries of the public that radioactive products will make its way into the food chain.

The FDA is screening not only the food, but anything that comes from Japan today and is still assuring Americans that there is no public health risk. US officials do not expect any radiation in high levels to come into the United States, whether it be from the air or anything imported into the country for consumers.

[Linus]

[AtLast]

My next door neighbor is a retired structural engineer (not nuclear) from PG&E (retired about a year after 35 years). Handy guy to have around. Anyway, he has worked on several nuclear reactors through the years and has been to Japan to see their reactors and attend conferences, etc. in his field while doing structural work on CA reactors. His areas of expertise are in metallurgy compounds and elemental structures (yup, sometimes, i just listen with my mouth open).

I ran into him this AM and asked him quite a few things, but the convo about how good it is that power is being returned to the plants and ER workers was interesting. he said if even some of the intrumentation in the plant control centers is working or can be fixed, so many of our questions could answered in terms of the actual damage inside the reactors- the containment vessels, especially. They have cameras throughout them. Other data could also finally be collected that can't be without the electrical systems working.

Then, TEPCO would have so much more info to put plans together- well, as long as the cooling continues to work.

He had lots to say about how newer plants designed after these (built in 1979) plants went online had many, many changes in those designs as well as how they are built- right down to cement mixing and rebar!! Obviously, the spent fuel arrangement at the Japan plants would not be done in the same way any longer.

Interesting conversation- Frank is super as a neighbor- has given me lots of tips for landcape and deck projects, plus helped me with getting my house's foundation (1940 bungalow) retro-fitted for earthquakes here in the SF Bay area.

just thought I'd share this. Aj has more of the goods on radiation- and Linus posted a chart. Thank!

[AtLast]

As always, media coverage is conflicting- re- CNN (Situation Room) just said Japanese governemnt widing evacuation zone- also might inpose mandatory evacuations in some areas. Yet, the continued down-play of radiation levels even with the mox mix.

NPR has blurb on why we we may never get full details.

http://www.npr.org/2011/03/25/134844...ed?ft=1&f=1001

March 25, 2011
The operators of the damaged Fukushima Dai-ichi power plant say it's likely that radiation detected in water pooling in the basement of a Unit 3 building came from the reactor's main vessel. This reactor has been the source of major concern since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that devastated northern Japan, and led to the current crisis at the power facility.

Friday marks the two-week anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami that killed more than 10,000 people, and led to the crisis at the nuclear plant.

The announcement of the water leak raised concerns that the reactor core may have been breached. Officials later insisted that they have found no evidence of an actual breach in the reactor. There are many pipes and connections leading from the main vessel to the turbine building that could be the source of leaking water.

The water found in the turbine building of Unit 3 showed extremely high levels of radiation, and also contained isotopes that are not ordinarily present in cooling water.Since the accident began, there's been considerable speculation as to whether radiation leaks are coming from the reactors themselves or from spent fuel stored in pools that may have been damaged. This latest announcement is another indication that a leak is coming from the reactor itself. Highly radioactive water has also been found in the turbine buildings of Unit 1.

Japan Self-Defense Force officers in radiation protection suits hold a blue sheet over patients who were exposed high levels of radiation at the the Fukushima nuclear power plant as they are transferred to a hospital Thursday.

Japan Self-Defense Force officers in radiation protection suits hold a blue sheet over patients who were exposed high levels of radiation at the the Fukushima nuclear power plant as they are transferred to a hospital Thursday.

Injured Workers

The news of the leak comes a day after three workers were exposed to high levels of radioactivity while laying electrical cable in the basement of Unit 3's turbine building. Two of the men were taken to a local hospital for treatment of possible radiation burns. All three men were then brought to Japan's National Institute of Radiological Sciences in the Tokyo area.

The men worked for Kandenko Co, a electrical engineering firm doing subcontracting work for Tokyo Electric Power Co., or TEPCO. They are reported to be in good condition, and are expected to be released next week.

In a statement Friday, TEPCO, which runs the plant, indicated that the workers had ignored high readings on their dosimeters, which measure the presence of radiation.

The Nuclear Safety Commission of Japan also widened a voluntary evacuation area around the plant to a radius of about 18 miles from the nuclear plant. Since March 15, residents living within 12 miles have been urged to leave the area, and those living within the 18-mile range had been told to remain indoors.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano says local governments are being told to call for voluntary evacuations 18 miles out. The government said that the main concern was not radiation exposure, but that services in the area had been severely disrupted by the earthquake, tsunami and the nuclear crisis.

Mothers receive bottled water at a ward office in Tokyo, Friday, March 25, 2011 as the Tokyo Metropolitan Government started on Thursday to distribute three small bottles of water each to an estimated 80,000 families with babies of 12 months or younger

Mothers receive bottled water at a ward office in Tokyo, Friday, March 25, 2011 as the Tokyo Metropolitan Government started on Thursday to distribute three small bottles of water each to an estimated 80,000 families with babies of 12 months or younger.
The U.S. government previously had told its citizens to stay 50 miles away from the plant.

Food And Water Concerns

Radiation leaks have contaminated some food and water around the plant. Tokyo residents were warned on Wednesday that tap water had tested high for radioactivity, and that they should not allow infants to drink the water.

That order was rescinded the next day when readings dropped. But water systems in a number of cities continue to test above the levels considered safe for small children.

Japan has restricted the sale and consumption of vegetables, fruit and milk produced around the plant. And the United States and other countries have banned the import of some food products from the affected area.

Damage To Reactor Buildings

Japan's Self-Defense Forces released a video of the damaged reactor buildings, shot from a military helicopter. The film shows extensive damage to many of the buildings.

Despite these problems, officials continue to insist they are making progress in getting control of the six reactors at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant. Work to revive the cooling equipment that lost power continues, officials say. External power has been restored to all six reactors. And the lights are coming back on in control rooms that have been dark and deserted for two weeks.

Technicians are also beginning to pump fresh water, instead of seawater, into Unit 1. TEPCO has been injecting seawater into some of the reactors to keep nuclear fuel from overheating, but there's concern that salt deposits from the seawater could make it more difficult to cool the fuel inside the reactors. The company plans to replace seawater with fresh water at Units 2 and 3, which have also suffered fuel damage.

Relief officials now say the confirmed death toll from the earthquake and tsunami has reached 10,000, with more than 17,000 people still missing. Hundreds of thousands of people are believed to be homeless, and the number of evacuees will now increase, with the government's decision to expand the safety zone around the plant.

With reporting from NPR's Jon Hamilton and Greg Dixon in Tokyo. Material from The Associated Press was also used in this report.