TSUNAMI WARNING ISSUED FOR JAPAN, RUSSIA AND OTHER REGIONS

[jfchandler]

You guys been sleeping while I was gone???

So they're saying the walls of the reactor building blew off, but not the reactor itself.

Explosion did not occur at reactor: Japan gov't spokesman

TOKYO, March 12, Kyodo

Japanese authorities have confirmed there was an explosion at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant Saturday afternoon but it did not occur at its troubled No. 1 reactor, top government spokesman Yukio Edano said.

The chief Cabinet secretary also told an urgent press conference that the operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., has confirmed there is no damage to the steel container housing the reactor.

Edano said the 3:36 p.m. explosion caused the roof and the walls of the building housing the reactor's container to be blown off. He said there has been no serious damage to the steel container of the reactor.

The blast occurred as vapor from the container turned into hydrogen and mixed with outside oxygen, he added.

The top government spokesman said Tokyo Electric Power has begun operations to fill the reactor with sea water and pour in boric acid to prevent an occurrence of criticality, noting it may take several hours to inject water into the reactor. In addition, it will take about 10 days to fill the container with sea water, he said.

The incident came after the plant lost its cooling functions after it was jolted by a magnitude 8.8 earthquake Friday and radioactive cesium and iodine were detected near the facility Saturday.

The detection of the materials, which are created following atomic fission, led Japan's nuclear safety agency to admit the reactor had partially melted -- the first such case in Japan.

More: http://english.kyodo...1/03/77171.html

Edited March 12, 2011 by jfchandler

[ETatBKK]

according to TEPCO, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant unit 1 explosion was caused by hydrogen in the building.

after the earthquake, the fuel assembly exposed in low cooling water level. while pouring in additional water the steam and water vapor reacted with the exposed fuel assembly in the furnace and this produced excessive hydrogen. the hydrogen gas accumulated in the building and triggered this explosion.

TEPCO is taking measure to remove hydrogen in the furnace.

source : www.asahi.com Mar 12, 2011 at 23.23h Japan time

[sandmike]

That was a biggie ....

note the shock wave at 4 seconds in.

I'm suprised there were only 4 people 'injured'

[jfchandler]

So basically, what they're saying is the Plant No. 1 reactor had a partial meltdown, and from that and/or the radioactive steam releases, the radiation levels around the area were elevated.

However, the explosion wrecked the external walls of the reactor building, but didn't (allegedly) rupture the reactor's containment vessel.

The final pghs of the Kyodo News report...

The nuclear safety agency said as a result of reducing the container's pressure at the No. 1 plant, radioactive levels at the plant briefly went up. It denied that the radiation amount will pose an immediate threat to the health of nearby residents, as wind was blowing toward the sea in the Pacific coast town in northeastern Japan.

At the Fukushima plant, the amount of radiation reached around 1,000 times the normal level in the control room of the No. 1 reactor, and 140 times the normal level near the main gate of the plant at one point. It was the first time an external radioactive leak had been confirmed since the disaster.

[jfchandler]

TEPCO's late afternoon announcements...

Today at approximately 3:36PM, a big quake occurred and there was a big sound around the Unit 1 and white smoke. Our two employees and two subcontract workers working for the safety of the plant were injured and transported to the hospital.

We are presently checking on the site situation of each plant and effect of discharged radioactive materials.

We will endeavor to restore the units and continue monitoring the environment of the site periphery.

AND

After the shut down, the values of radioactive materials (iodine, etc) measured by the monitoring car have been increasing. Increase in the measured value has also been recognized in one of the monitoring posts.

Furthermore, today at 3:29PM, radiation dose measured at site boundary has exceeded the limiting value. Therefore, at 4:17PM, it was determined that a specific incident stipulated in article 15, clause 1 has occurred.

We will endeavor to secure the safety and alongside, continue monitoring the environment of the site periphery.

http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/index-e.html

Edited March 12, 2011 by jfchandler

[jfchandler]

Key elements of the latest Reuters report:

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano told reporters the nuclear reaction facility was surrounded by a steel storage machine, which was itself surrounded by a concrete building.

"This concrete building collapsed. We learnt that the storage machine inside did not explode," he said.

Edano initially said an evacuation radius of 10 km (6 miles) from the stricken 40-year-old Daiichi 1 reactor plant in Fukushima prefecture was adequate, but then an hour later the boundary was extended to 20 km (13 miles). TV footage showed vapor rising from the plant.

Japanese officials told the U.N.'s atomic watchdog they were making preparations to distribute iodine to people living near nuclear power plants affected by the quake, the Vienna-based agency said. Iodine can be used to help protect the body from radioactive exposure.

The wind at the disabled plant was blowing from the south, which could affect residents north of the facility, Japan's national weather forecaster said, adding the direction may shift later so that it blows from the north-west toward the sea.

The direction of the wind is a key factor in judging possible damage on the environment from radiation.

Radiation leaks from Japan's quake-hit nuclear plant

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/12/us-japan-quake-idUSTRE72A0SS20110312

[jfchandler]

Japan may hand out iodine near nuclear plants - IAEA

Reuters March 13, 2011, 12:53 am VIENNA (Reuters) - Japanese authorities have told the U.N.'s atomic watchdog they are making preparations to distribute iodine to people living near nuclear power plants affected by Friday's earthquake, the Vienna-based agency said.

Iodine can be used to help protect the body from radioactive exposure.

In Japan on Saturday, radiation leaked from a damaged nuclear reactor after an explosion blew the roof off in the wake of the massive earthquake, but the government insisted that radiation levels were low.

Japan's Jiji news agency later said three workers suffered radiation exposure near the Fukushima nuclear plant.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the U.N. nuclear body, said Japanese authorities had informed it of the explosion and that they were "assessing the condition of the reactor core."

Japan expanded the evacuation zone around the plant, Fukushima Daiichi, and also that of the nearby Fukushima Daini nuclear power plant.

"The authorities also say they are making preparations to distribute iodine to residents in the area of both the plants," the IAEA said in a statement.

"The IAEA has reiterated its offer of technical assistance to Japan, should the government request this," it said.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/christchurch-earthquake/a/-/article/9000806/japan-may-hand-out-iodine-near-nuclear-plants-iaea/

[ETatBKK]

not only 3 injury, in the latest news line there were another 87 staff were exposed to the radioactive !! they are also under observation.

source : www.asahi.com Mar 13, 2011 at 00.26h Japan time

[ETatBKK]

this is the after blew Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant unit 1 reactor building, half naked :-(

check the link here :

http://www.asahi.com/special/10005/images/TKY201103120574.jpg

source : www.asahi.com Mar 13, 2011 at 00.26h Japan time

[jfchandler]

An interesting graphic from the U.S. Geological Survey... shaking intensity map for Japan EQ.

Tokyo and Sendai got hit hard, among other areas, because they are located along the coastal area closest to the offshore quake epicenter.

http://earthquake.us...sc0001xgp/#maps

Edited March 12, 2011 by jfchandler

[animatic]

According to the town hall of Sanriku Minami

earthquake in Miyagi Prefecture in eastern Japan was devastated,

not knowing the whereabouts of 9,000 people out of about 18,000 residents in 12 Sun 3:00 pm.

Auto translate from asahi.com

[jfchandler]

Great photo... so that's what they meant by saying the explosion blew the "roof" off the reactor building.

[jfchandler]

This list, truly amazing, is the USGS's list of 6 or greater magnitude earthquake that have occurred in Japan since the original one... Their actual list started out with 5 magnitude quakes, but it would have been far too long to post here. All times are UTC.The colums are magnitude, date and time, latitude and longitude, depth in Kms, and location.

Update time = Sat Mar 12 16:09:18 UTC 2011

MAP 6.4 2011/03/12 13:15:42 37.261 141.175 37.5 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 6.1 2011/03/12 10:53:31 39.075 142.352 24.9 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 6.8 2011/03/12 01:47:16 37.588 142.682 24.8 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 6.2 2011/03/12 01:46:21 37.354 141.998 25.4 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 6.0 2011/03/12 01:34:10 38.748 142.853 24.5 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 6.3 2011/03/11 20:11:23 39.025 142.645 8.7 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 6.6 2011/03/11 19:46:49 40.472 139.070 10.0 NEAR THE WEST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 6.1 2011/03/11 19:02:59 39.372 142.900 24.8 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 6.2 2011/03/11 18:59:15 37.037 138.355 10.0 NEAR THE WEST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 6.2 2011/03/11 15:13:15 35.997 141.796 18.9 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 6.5 2011/03/11 11:36:39 39.276 142.521 11.6 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 6.0 2011/03/11 10:10:35 39.248 142.779 28.9 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 6.1 2011/03/11 08:31:08 37.428 141.200 25.0 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 6.5 2011/03/11 08:19:24 36.200 142.000 19.9 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 6.2 2011/03/11 08:15:41 37.034 144.612 27.8 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 6.2 2011/03/11 08:12:05 36.606 141.557 19.8 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 6.1 2011/03/11 07:28:12 36.802 141.911 24.0 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 6.1 2011/03/11 07:25:33 37.916 144.621 15.0 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 6.3 2011/03/11 07:14:59 36.648 141.811 25.0 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 6.3 2011/03/11 06:57:15 35.758 140.992 30.2 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 6.3 2011/03/11 06:48:47 37.993 142.764 22.3 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 7.1 2011/03/11 06:25:51 38.106 144.553 19.7 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 6.8 2011/03/11 06:15:40 36.186 141.192 35.0 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 6.4 2011/03/11 06:07:22 36.401 141.862 35.4 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 6.4 2011/03/11 06:06:11 39.025 142.316 25.1 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 8.9 2011/03/11 05:46:24 38.322 142.369 24.4 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

[elcent]

eye-witnesses are reporting of shocking scenes.

More than 11 000 people are missing just from one area.

TEPCO accused of faslifying reports, repairs, faking documents, deadly accidents and more ...

There's a series of scandals from the past.

How reliable are they now?

The reactor was due to be clossed this month.

The German suspects a meltdown is developing.

I myself wonder of how the explosion could not have damaged the attached cooling system. Think about, The whole building got peeled off and the roof blown up and this should not affect the attqched cooling system?

[elcent]

Now TEPCO and NISA admit a high probability of a meltdown.

[Lopburi99]

Thanks JFChandler and others. I am in the states currently, but I am learning more from ThaiVisa than from any source here!

[jfchandler]

Elcent, when you are posting info or developments here, it would be good if you'd provide the source for your info and the corresponding link...That way everyone knows where the info is coming from and can judge it accordingly.

[jfchandler]

And I was just turning to watch CNN USA online... NHK Japan has been rerunning the same stale, hours old reports for many hours now... But you've got to remember, that's it's almost midnight BKK time now and, I believe, that means 2 am Japan time...

The best sources for up to date info, which we've been using here, have been NHK, Kyodo News and Reuters.... Links to all of their sites appear repeatedly above...

Thanks JFChandler and others. I am in the states currently, but I am learning more from ThaiVisa than from any source here!

[elcent]

Indonesia and Papua New Guinea were hit by two-meter waves. Papua New Guinea canceled the tsunami warning hours before it was hit. One died in Indonesia and many houses destryoed.

[elcent]

Elcent, when you are posting info or developments here, it would be good if you'd provide the source for your info and the corresponding link...That way everyone knows where the info is coming from and can judge it accordingly.

Most are from Der Spiegel - in German language, Aljazeera, CNN, IAEA and others.

[elcent]

A series of video clips from the tsunami, also from the West Coast, Hawai and other http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/0,1518,750473,00.html

[jfchandler]

That's great... Just as you did below... Thank you.

A series of video clips from the tsunami, also from the West Coast, Hawai and other http://www.spiegel.d...,750473,00.html

[elcent]

The info we get from TEPCO and the Govt in Japan is very vague. No details mentioned. I was optimistic before, but that has changed. My guess is they tried a controlled release of radio active steam after things got to hot and the batteries, the last resource to cool lasts only for max of 8 hours, were/are not working probperly either . Wonder if they were damaged by the explosion.

[elcent]

LATEST!

The cooling water is at 1,7 meters, the fuel rods have a length of 4 meters which means they lay open with more than half of their length according to Asahi News). Temeperature is reported to sink the pressure still to high.

+++ Brennstäbe liegen zur Hälfte frei +++ [17.40 Uhr] Der Kühlwasserspiegel im Problemreaktor ist auf einen Stand von 1,7 Metern gesunken - die Brennstäbe sind etwa vier Meter hoch, liegen somit zur Hälfte frei, meldet die japanische Tageszeitung Asahi. Kernkraftbetreiber Tepco hatte angekündigt, den Reaktor mit Meerwasser runterkühlen zu lassen. Der Druck im Behälter ist der japanischen Atomaufsicht zufolge noch immer relativ hoch, die Temperatur nimmt den Angaben zufolge aber ab. http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/0,1518,750472,00.html

Lets hope and pray.

[Lopburi99]

Is anybody aware of a source which reports the best/latest measurement of radiation levels other than CNN, Reuters, etc?

[Lopburi99]

Never mind. Elcent and JFC will keep us informed.....

[jfchandler]

As a veteran of these kinds of things, there is a variety of very careful language and words being used by the various authorities and media outlets...

The Cabinet secretary says there was no huge release of radiation in the explosion. But that isn't saying there was none...

NHK, for some weird reason, keeps saying the walls of the reactor building "fell down." How about, they were blown off in the explosion.

Clearly, earlier on Sat., TEPCO acknowledged on its own web site and announcements that radiation levels at the main entrance to the No. 1 plant during afternoon had exceeded regulatory levels.... So there definitely has been radiation released into the environment around the plant.

What's not being made clear, publicly, is whether all of that release came from the steam venting that was done to release pressure in the reactor vessel, and/or whether the reactor containment unit has been breached in any way.

There's been a number of backhand indications that nuclear fision products have been released into the environment - cesium and iodine being found outside the plant. But where is it coming from, and how did it get there. That's what not being said.

[jfchandler]

This is part of TEPCO's 8 pm Japan time status report on the Daichi No. 1-3 reactors:

Unit 1(Shut down)

- Reactor has been shut down. However, the unit is under inspection due to the explosive sound and white smoke that was confirmed after the big quake occurred at 3:36PM. 4 workers were injured due to this incident and they were transported to the hospital.

Unit 2(Shut down)

- Reactor and Reactor Core Isolation Cooling System have been shut down.

Current reactor water level is lower than normal level, but the water level is steady. After fully securing safety, we are preparing to implement a measure to reduce the pressure of the reactor containment vessels under the instruction of the national government.

Unit 3(Shut down)

- Reactor has been shut down and we continue injecting water by High Pressure Core Injection System. After fully securing safety, we are preparing to implement a measure to reduce the pressure of the reactor containment vessels under the instruction of the national government.

- Currently, we do not believe there is any reactor coolant leakage inside the reactor containment vessel.

Currently, we are implementing a measure to reduce the pressure of the reactor containment vessels of Unit 1. We have confirmed that

the radiation exposure of 1 TEPCO employee, who was working inside the reactor building, exceeded 100mSv (106.3mSv). Because of the absence of industrial physician, we were scheduling diagnosis later. However,

we have transported him to the hospital because of the deconditioning.

We measured radioactive materials inside of the nuclear power station area (outdoor) by monitoring car and confirmed that radioactive materials level is higher than ordinary level. Also, the level at monitoring post is higher than ordinary level.

We will continue to monitor in detail the possibility of radioactive material being discharged from exhaust stack or discharge canal.

The national government has instructed evacuation for those local residents within 20km radius of the periphery because it's possible that

radioactive materials are discharged.

Two workers of a cooperative firm were injured in the nuclear power station premise. One with a broken bone was transported to the hospital

by an ambulance and the other by a company car. Further, there are 2 TEPCO employees whose presence has not been confirmed. In addition, one subcontract worker standing near important earth quake-proof building was unconscious and transported to the hospital by

an ambulance.

We will continue to take all measures to restore the security of the site and to monitor the environment of the site periphery.

http://www.tepco.co....11031229-e.html

Edited March 12, 2011 by jfchandler

[jfchandler]

TEPCO's 9 pm Japan time update contained a bit more info:

* The value of radioactive material (iodine, etc) is increasing according to the monitoring car at the site (outside of the site). One of the monitoring posts is also indicating higher than normal level.

* Since the amount of radiation at the boundary of the site exceeds the limits, we decide at 4:17PM and we have reported and/or noticed the government agencies concerned to apply the clause 1 of the Article 15 of the Radiation Disaster Measure at 5PM.

* In addition, a vertical earthquake hit the site and big explosion has happened near the Unit 1 and smoke breaks out around 3:36PM. Our two employees and two cooperation workers who had been working for the foundation of safety are suffered and they are all sent to the hospital.

* We started injection of sea water into the reactor core of Unit 1 at 8:20pm and then boric acid subsequently.

* We continue endeavoring to secure the safety that all we can do and monitoring the periphery.

The company also appears to be reporting a worker death at its nearby Daini plant...which I haven't heard reported in the news media at all.

Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power Station:

Units 1 to 4: shutdown due to earthquake

* The national government has instructed evacuation for those local residents within 10km radius of the periphery.

* At present, we have decided to prepare implementing measures to reduce the pressure of the reactor containment vessel (partial discharge of air containing radioactive materials) in order to fully secure safety.

These measures are considered to be implemented in Units 1, 2 and 3 and accordingly, we have reported and/or noticed the government agencies concerned.

* Unit 3 has been stopped and being "nuclear reactor cooling hot stop" at 12:15PM.

* The operator trapped in the crane operating console of the exhaust stack

was transferred to the ground at 5:13PM and confirmed the death at 5:17PM.

Edited March 12, 2011 by jfchandler

[elcent]

Is anybody aware of a source which reports the best/latest measurement of radiation levels other than CNN, Reuters, etc?

At the moment it seems not to much of radioactivity, but that can change very quickly, some of it is travelling in the air already. Nobody knows how much. If the report of half empty cooling water in the system inside proofs to be true means pressure will increase until to the point of no return. It seems they can't get enough (sea)-water inside. I guess they don't dare a second "controlled release of steam" as it may cause another bang.

I wish the report was wrong, but ... .