Meltdown Likely Under Way At Japan Nuclear Reactor

[Lite Beer]

TEPCO workers not warned of radiation risk

Tokyo Electric Power Co. knew of the possibility of highly concentrated radioactive leakage at its Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant's No. 3 reactor, but it failed to alert workers before three of them were exposed to radiation Thursday, it was learned Saturday.

The worker's exposure to highly radioactive ankle-deep water in the turbine building connected to the No. 3 reactor was most likely due to TEPCO's failure to share information about the leakage of radioactive materials with the workers, the company admitted.

Another cause of the mishap was the failure on the part of the workers to pay attention to the pool of radiation-polluted water while laying power cables in spite of radiation alarms sounding, according to TEPCO.

The company had detected 200 millisieverts per hour of radiation leaking from the first basement of the turbine building of the No. 1 reactor on March 18, six days before the accident.

TEPCO acknowledged on Saturday it had been aware that the pool of water in question at the No. 3 reactor's turbine building could contain a high concentration of radioactive materials.

The information about measurement findings at the No. 1 reactor's turbine building, however, was not conveyed to the workers before they started the task of laying cables Thursday morning, the company said.

If the workers had been told of the possibility that a pool of water in the building contained high concentrations of radiation, their radiation exposure probably would have been averted, analysts said.

Working with their feet submerged in the water up to their ankles, the three continued working even when the dosimeters they were wearing began sounding alarms. The workers later said they thought the dosimeters might be malfunctioning.

Hirota Koyama, deputy chief of TEPCO's Fukushima office, said: "If a system of information sharing [about the radiation exposure risks] had been properly in place, the accident might have been averted at the No. 3 reactor. We deeply regret that it wasn't."

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T110326003217.htm

[Lite Beer]

Radiation levels in seawater off Japan 1,850 times above normal

By The Nation.

Tokyo (dpa) - Levels of radioactive materials detected in the sea near a stricken nuclear power station in north-eastern Japan rose to 1,850 times above normal, the government said Sunday.

That level of radioactive iodine-131 concentration was measured in sea water sample taken Saturday off the coast of the Fukushima 1 power plant that was damaged by the March 11 earthquake and resulting tsunami, the government's nuclear safety commission said.

Levels of radioactive iodine-131 had reached 1,250 times above normal in a sample taken Friday.

After the level had stayed around 100 times over the legal limit, it climbed to its highest since the survey began this week, Kyodo News reported.

But the commission said Saturday that it would not have a significant impact on fishery products as fishing is not conducted within20 kilometres of the plant.

Radioactive materials "will significantly dilute" by the time they would be consumed by marine species, the commission said.

Radiation-contaminated water was found near four of the six reactors at the plant, possibly having seeped from damaged reactor cores or spent-fuel pools.

Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co vowed to clear the water as quickly as possible to allow workers access to the overheating reactors as they attempt to restore key cooling systems.

On Thursday, three engineers working on the cable system at reactor 3 were exposed to radiation levels in water that were 10,000 times above normal. Two were hospitalized with burns to their legs.

The death toll from the 9.0-magnitude quake and tsunami stood at 10,489 on Sunday, while 16,621 people were listed as missing, the National Police Agency said.//DPA

-- The Nation 2011-03-27

[elcent]

Radiation levels in seawater off Japan 1,850 times above normal

Tokyo (dpa) - Levels of radioactive materials detected in the sea near a stricken nuclear power station in north-eastern Japan rose to 1,850 times above normal, the government said Sunday.

That level of radioactive iodine-131 concentration was measured in sea water sample taken Saturday off the coast of the Fukushima 1 power plant that was damaged by the March 11 earthquake and resulting tsunami, the government's nuclear safety commission said.

Levels of radioactive iodine-131 had reached 1,250 times above normal in a sample taken Friday.

After the level had stayed around 100 times over the legal limit, it climbed to its highest since the survey began this week, Kyodo News reported.

But the commission said Saturday that it would not have a significant impact on fishery products as fishing is not conducted within20 kilometres of the plant.

Radioactive materials "will significantly dilute" by the time they would be consumed by marine species, the commission said. - does the water stand still there? Some of their statements are outrageous. What about other hazardous radiations and not just iodine 131?

Radiation-contaminated water was found near four of the six reactors at the plant, possibly having seeped from damaged reactor cores or spent-fuel pools.

Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co vowed to clear the water as quickly as possible to allow workers access to the overheating reactors as they attempt to restore key cooling systems.

On Thursday, three engineers working on the cable system at reactor 3 were exposed to radiation levels in water that were 10,000 times above normal. Two were hospitalized with burns to their legs.

The death toll from the 9.0-magnitude quake and tsunami stood at 10,489 on Sunday, while 16,621 people were listed as missing, the National Police Agency said.//DPA

-- The Nation 2011-03-27

Sounds like a full meltdown in progress now. Wish I was wrong though.

They wont reveal the level of more dangerous radiation? Why's that?

How much of the radiation has been released to the air? I bet not all of it was/is in the water.

Edited March 27, 2011 by elcent

[Lite Beer]

REU: JAPAN PLANT OPERATOR CONFIRMS HIGH RADIATION, EVACUATES WORKERS FROM REACTOR'S TURBINE BUILDING/RT@mpoppel

[elcent]

REU: JAPAN PLANT OPERATOR CONFIRMS HIGH RADIATION, EVACUATES WORKERS FROM REACTOR'S TURBINE BUILDINGRT/@mpoppel

Thanks for the update.

What we're observing now is less info in general due to the immediate extremely dangerous meltdown I think. Before they had hope and even sometimes they gave the real figures. Now almost silence everywhere. Only a few foreign media stations get a hint of reality there. The more silent they become the more dangerous it will be.

[Crushdepth]

But the commission said Saturday that it would not have a significant impact on fishery products as fishing is not conducted within20 kilometres of the plant.

Radioactive materials "will significantly dilute" by the time they would be consumed by marine species, the commission said.

Well maybe it won't kill the fish, but some of these materials accumulate and concentrate in the food chain. Have they forgotten Minamata disease already?

I know a guy who used plutonium residues in the growth rings of fish bones to estimate the age of tuna. He was using specific nuclear testing events in the Pacific as markers.

[Lite Beer]

China detects low levels of radioactive iodine in air http://bit.ly/e7AVHl/RT@cnalatest

[midas]

If I may ask, JetsetBkk, with respect to which specific issues (other than tapwater) do you feel they are being unduly pessimistic?

based on the " performance " of big government with the BP Gulf oil disaster

i think everyone has the right to be pessimistic

[Lite Beer]

Japan nuke workers grapple with radioactive water

By ERIC TALMADGE, Associated Press

YURI KAGEYAMA, Associated Pres

SENDAI, Japan (AP) — Nuclear workers grappled Sunday with how to remove and store highly radioactive water pooling in three troubled units at a power plant in northeastern Japan that has been leaking radiation making its way into food and water.

The discovery of puddles with radiation levels 10,000 times the norm sparked a temporary evacuation of the Fukushima Dai-ichi power plant on Thursday. Two workers who stepped into the water were hospitalized with possible burns.

The development set back feverish efforts to start up a crucial cooling system knocked out in a massive March 11 earthquake and tsunami, but has helped experts get closer to determining the source of the dangerous leak.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano, speaking Sunday on TV talk shows, said the radioactive water is "almost certainly" seeping from a reactor core.

Workers were focusing Sunday on extracting the contaminated water from three of the plant's six reactors and trying to find a safe place to store or dispose of it, said officials from the plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co.

Officials were also aiming to get the lights on in a fourth unit, TEPCO said.

It has been more than two weeks since the magnitude-9 quake erupted off the coast, triggering a tsunami that swallowed up cities and left a swath of devastation along Japan's northeast.

The wave also engulfed and damaged the Fukushima power plant, creating a nuclear crisis that has threatened to overshadow efforts to care for hundreds of thousands of homeless and address the global economic fallout created by the twin disasters.

Continued. http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/a227c868771a4f9a96b85fd8199d46b3/Article_2011-03-26-AS-Japan-Earthquake/id-70892fee26d647d08d4e4572a957c18e

-- (c) Associated Press 2011-03-27

[elcent]

Extreme radiation detected at No.2 reactor - 10-million-times more than normal

Tokyo Electric Power Company says it has detected radioactive materials 10-million-times normal levels in water at the No.2 reactor complex of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

The plant operator, known as TEPCO, says it measured 2.9-billion becquerels of radiation per one cubic centimeter of water from the basement of the turbine building attached to the Number 2 reactor.

The level of contamination is about 1,000 times that of the leaked water already found in the basements of the Number 1 and 3 reactor turbine buildings.

The company says the latest reading is 10-million times the usual radioactivity of water circulating within a normally operating reactor.

TEPCO says the radioactive materials include 2.9-billion becquerels of iodine-134, 13-million becquerels of iodine-131, and 2.3-million becquerels each for cesium 134 and 137.

These substances are emitted during nuclear fission inside a reactor core.

The company says the extremely contaminated water may stem from a damaged reactor core, and are trying to determine how the leakage occurred.

University of Tokyo graduate school professor Naoto Sekimura says the leak may come from the suppression chamber of the Number 2 reactor, which is known to be damaged. The chamber is designed to contain overflows of radioactive substances from the reactor.

Sunday, March 27, 2011 13:44 +0900 (JST) http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/27_12.html

[geriatrickid]

If I may ask, JetsetBkk, with respect to which specific issues (other than tapwater) do you feel they are being unduly pessimistic?

I believe his concern is directed at the large number of claims that border on hysteria. The wild allegations of GE malfeasance is one example. There is no argument that this a deadly serious situation and that this is an ongoing public safety crisis. Part of the problem is that no one knows what the actual extent of damage is. It is a genuine ignorance that arises due to the nature of the disaster. An assumption is made by some of an overt coverup, when the reality is incompetence and being overwhelmed by the sheer size of the catastrophe. What is being posted in some cases are personal opinions tainted by personal bias.

I had to fly in close proximity to Japan last week and I was concerned. I have to make a few more flights in a couple weeks which will pass within 500km of the nuclear crisis zone and I am even more concerned. So please do not interpret my comments as dismissing some of the very valid concerns expressed in this thread. However, the thread is being contaminated with wild claims and nonsense, particularly the falsehoods made about CANDU reactors and nuclear safety in other countries. As an aside, when events are reviewed in a few months, one of the untold stories will be how the presence of the US military in Japan provided vital time and resources to have bought Japan some time.

[atsiii]

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-03-27/japan-radiation-levels-surge-in-water-at-stricken-nuclear-plant.html

"The water in the Fukushima Dai-Ichi No. 2 reactor’s turbine building was measured at more than 1,000 millisieverts per hour, Japan’s nuclear safety agency said today. That’s higher than the dose that would cause vomiting, hair loss and diarrhea, according to the World Nuclear Association. "

“That’s very high -- the normal radiation level that we receive over a year is about four millisieverts,” said Stephen Lincoln, a nuclear power and uranium specialist at the University of Adelaide. “When you’re getting up to a 1,000 millisieverts this is a really rather large leakage.”

The "temporary" workers (meaning the homeless and jobless Tepco has been sending in without warning them about the dangers) have now been evacuated from reactor #2. Not wanting to sound like a "doom-sayer," but If the workers are not in there trying to cool it down, how can they avoid a complete meltdown?

[elcent]

Here you can find the Fukushima Nuclear Accident Update Log from the IAEA, the watchdog agency for nuclear issues.

Unfortunately nothing there. http://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/tsunamiupdate01.html

They updated today from two days ago. I'd kill my (watch)-dog if it would report a thief after two days.

[elcent]

"We are examining the cause of this, but no work is being done there because of the high level of radiation," said a spokesman for the plant's operator Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco).

"High levels of caesium and other substances are being detected, which usually should not be found in reactor water. There is a high possibility that fuel rods are being damaged," the spokesman added.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12872707

[atsiii]

http://english.aljaz...1147837280.html

Contradictions anyone?

The government has said, "...the situation was nowhere near to being resolved, although it was not deteriorating. We are preventing the situation from worsening - we've restored power and pumped in fresh water - and making basic steps towards improvement but there is still no room for complacency," Yukio Edano, the chief cabinet secretary told a news conference on Saturday.

But...

Workers were evacuated on Sunday from the reactor building in Fukushima to prevent exposure, the plant's operator said. The high radiation levels were detected at reactor number 2 in water that had accumulated in the turbine housing unit, Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), the plant's operator, said. Officials said the high levels of radiation was probably caused by leakage from reactor vessels.

Meanwhile, tests (Sunday) by the Japanese nuclear safety agency revealed levels of radioactivity up to 1,850 times the usual level in seawater offshore the crippled plant, compared to 1,250 measured on Saturday.

On Thursday, three workers were taken to hospital from reactor number 3 after stepping into water with radiation levels 10,000 times higher than normal. TEPCO said "the radiation exposure on Thursday occured because there was bad sharing of information". (Read--we didn't tell them about the danger, as was independently confirmed later at the hospital) On Saturday, TEPCO admitted that it had failed to adequately warn workers about dangerous radioactive water at the plant. "We have to apologise. We want to make efforts to share information within the company."

Radiation levels 40% higher than the yearly limit for the general public have been detected just over 30km from the Fukushima plant. The science ministry says a reading of 1.4 millisieverts was taken on Wednesday morning in Namie Town northwest of the plant.

Yukiya Amano, (Japanese) head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told the New York Times that the emergency, "is a very serious accident by all standards" and could go on for weeks."

Perhaps he meant years?

Leaked water in Unit 2 of the plant measured 10 million times higher than usual radioactivity levels when the reactor is operating normally, Tokyo Electric Power Co. spokesman Takashi Kurita told reporters in Tokyo. Radioactivity in the air of Unit 2 measured at 1,000 millisieverts per hour -- four times higher than the occupational limit of 250 millisieverts set by the government, he said.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano, speaking Sunday on TV talk shows, said the radioactive water is "almost certainly" seeping from a reactor core.

How does this sound like a situation that is not worsening?

Edited March 27, 2011 by atsiii

[Lite Beer]

Radiation levels soar at Japan nuclear plant http://bit.ly/fsGFPX/RT@cnalatest

[animatic]

Not looking good, regardless of how fast it decays, if it leaks faster....

Radiation in reactors building tests 10 million times above normal CNN

"Radiation levels in pooled water tested in the No. 2 nuclear reactor's turbine building at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant are 10 million times above normal, utility company and government officials said Sunday....

The 10-million-times normal reading applies to radioactive iodine-134 found in the No. 2 building's pooled water, according to the nuclear safety agency. This isotope loses half its radioactive atoms every 53 minutes, compared to a half-life of every eight days for radioactive iodine-131 that has also been detected in recent days."

Edited March 27, 2011 by animatic

[slapout]

If the radioactive substance has a half life of 52 minutes, give the people a 24 hour rest and have another reading taken. The 10 million times above normal may not even be an accurate number, but the number gets attention. Time and distance are 2 items that you hope can be controlled in this mess.

[atsiii]

If the radioactive substance has a half life of 52 minutes, give the people a 24 hour rest and have another reading taken. The 10 million times above normal may not even be an accurate number, but the number gets attention. Time and distance are 2 items that you hope can be controlled in this mess.

That might be true if there was no source, but the contaimination must be coming from somewhere (ergo, many experts and government officials suspecting a breach of one or more containment vessels). Without determining and stopping the source, how can the readings go down? In addition, readings of 1000 milliserverts were measured in the air of of reactor building #2, which is 4 times the legal limit for workers to enter and take measurements. There is also the question of what does one do with the highly radioactive water even if you could get in to pump it out? Into what can you put tons of highly radioactive water?

[eyeofskye]

If the radioactive substance has a half life of 52 minutes, give the people a 24 hour rest and have another reading taken. The 10 million times above normal may not even be an accurate number, but the number gets attention. Time and distance are 2 items that you hope can be controlled in this mess.

Considering how long it is since the reactor shut down it seems to me that EITHER there was a staggering amount of this short lived isotope of iodine present when the reaction stopped OR it is continuously being created by and escaping from a process that is still going on.

[eyeofskye]

There is also the question of what does one do with the highly radioactive water even if you could get in to pump it out? Into what can you put tons of highly radioactive water?

I suppose you could always use it to make your first batch of concrete...

[atsiii]

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/03/27/japan.nuclear.status/

Unit by unit summary of the (reasonably) current status of Fukushima's reactors...

[Lopburi99]

If I may ask, JetsetBkk, with respect to which specific issues (other than tapwater) do you feel they are being unduly pessimistic?

I believe his concern is directed at the large number of claims that border on hysteria. The wild allegations of GE malfeasance is one example. There is no argument that this a deadly serious situation and that this is an ongoing public safety crisis. Part of the problem is that no one knows what the actual extent of damage is. It is a genuine ignorance that arises due to the nature of the disaster. An assumption is made by some of an overt coverup, when the reality is incompetence and being overwhelmed by the sheer size of the catastrophe. What is being posted in some cases are personal opinions tainted by personal bias.

I had to fly in close proximity to Japan last week and I was concerned. I have to make a few more flights in a couple weeks which will pass within 500km of the nuclear crisis zone and I am even more concerned. So please do not interpret my comments as dismissing some of the very valid concerns expressed in this thread. However, the thread is being contaminated with wild claims and nonsense, particularly the falsehoods made about CANDU reactors and nuclear safety in other countries. As an aside, when events are reviewed in a few months, one of the untold stories will be how the presence of the US military in Japan provided vital time and resources to have bought Japan some time.

I see. With the heavy science in many posts it wasn't clear to me where the factual basis for optimism may exist. I had convinced myself the semi-stablization obtained a few days back indicated we had finally turned the corner and just might of had control of this monster. Sadly I convinced myself on the basis of being hopeful and optimistic and a few tidbits of actual progress. JFChandler I believe said some time back the downward spiral was relentless (or similar wording) -- and that I guess is the truth of the matter. There are differences of opinions on how the "worst case scenario" is defined, but I (with a heavy heart) have concluded in my untrained mind it is almost certain at this point that one form of a worst case scenario is about to happen. I had prayed for better news upon awakening this sunny Michigan Sunday morning.

[atsiii]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/radiation-levels-reach-new-highs-as-conditions-worsen-for-workers/2011/03/27/AFsMLFiB_story.html

...the latest contamination measurements in water from the No. 2 unit turbine building — adjacent to the reactor building — suggests that there is a rupture in either the containment vessel or in pipes connecting to the reactor, according to nuclear experts. NISA deputy director Hidehiko Nishiyama said there is a “strong possibility” that the water is leaking from the reactor core.

“High levels of cesium and other substances are being detected, which usually should not be found in reactor water,” a Tepco spokesperson said. “There is a high possibility that fuel rods are being damaged.”

“To a layman, you’d be scared to death,” said Lake Barrett, a nuclear engineer who directed the cleanup of Three Mile Island. “You’re working with saltwater around your feet. This is not the way electricians usually work.” Barrett added that cleanup of the radioactive water will eventually require Japanese authorities to use mineralizers or ion exchange columns, used in decontamination. Barrett said there could be 1 million gallons of radioactive water pooling in the Fukushima facility — the result of days of spraying thousands of tons of seawater.

“It will take them years, probably, to get rid of all that water,” Barrett said. “The science is known. But it is a Herculean task.”

[atsiii]

http://www.mercuryne...?nclick_check=1

Measurement a mistake?

The apology came after employees fled the complex's Unit 2 reactor when a reading showed radiation levels had reached 10 million times higher than normal in the reactor's cooling system. Officials said they were so high that the worker taking the measurements had withdrawn before taking a second reading. On Sunday night, though, plant operators said that while the water was contaminated with radiation, the extremely high reading was a mistake.

"The number is not credible," said Tokyo Electric Power Co. spokesman Takashi Kurita. "We are very sorry." He said officials were taking another sample to get accurate levels, but did not know when the results would be announced.

Edited March 27, 2011 by atsiii

[midas]

I believe his concern is directed at the large number of claims that border on hysteria. The wild allegations of GE malfeasance is one example. There is no argument that this a deadly serious situation and that this is an ongoing public safety crisis. Part of the problem is that no one knows what the actual extent of damage is. It is a genuine ignorance that arises due to the nature of the disaster. An assumption is made by some of an overt coverup, when the reality is incompetence and being overwhelmed by the sheer size of the catastrophe. What is being posted in some cases are personal opinions tainted by personal bias.

I had to fly in close proximity to Japan last week and I was concerned. I have to make a few more flights in a couple weeks which will pass within 500km of the nuclear crisis zone and I am even more concerned. So please do not interpret my comments as dismissing some of the very valid concerns expressed in this thread. However, the thread is being contaminated with wild claims and nonsense, particularly the falsehoods made about CANDU reactors and nuclear safety in other countries. As an aside, when events are reviewed in a few months, one of the untold stories will be how the presence of the US military in Japan provided vital time and resources to have bought Japan some time.

And for you to say that any criticism of GE is a only a " wild allegation " is also nothing more than

your opinion, unless you have proof to the contrary

Just as BP did in the Gulf of Mexico disaster and Toyota with accelerator problems GE' only concern has been profits over safety.

I believe GE was fully aware of the problems and the near total certainty of a disaster in the event of cooling system failure to the extent that three of their engineers resigned in protest regarding what is now known beyond any shadow of doubt is a very flawed design.

Edited March 27, 2011 by midas

[powderpuff]

The design was declared unsafe in 1972.

It was up to the owner TEPCO to decide to shut them down safely or to continue to operate.

This nanny state stuff makes me sick. Always shifting blame.

Grow a pair & accept responsibility. Stop looking for others to scapegoat.

[eyeofskye]

http://www.mercuryne...?nclick_check=1

Measurement a mistake?

The apology came after employees fled the complex's Unit 2 reactor when a reading showed radiation levels had reached 10 million times higher than normal in the reactor's cooling system. Officials said they were so high that the worker taking the measurements had withdrawn before taking a second reading. On Sunday night, though, plant operators said that while the water was contaminated with radiation, the extremely high reading was a mistake.

If it is a mistake there's a long list to add it to. It just reduces their credibility further. They have got to get a handle on this and start releasing information that is considered and true. If they wanted to create blind panic they are going the right way about it. There needs to be one authority only that makes public statements and it needs to be trustworthy.

[atsiii]

http://www.mercuryne...?nclick_check=1

TEPCO says the measurement is not credible, but...

Officials say they still don't know where the radioactive water is coming from, though government spokesman Yukio Edano has said some is "almost certainly" seeping from a cracked reactor core in one of the units.

While the discovery of the high radiation levelsand the evacuation of workers from one reactor unitagain delayed efforts to bring the deeply troubled complex under control, Edano insisted the situation had partially stabilized. "We have somewhat prevented the situation from turning worse," he told reporters Sunday evening. "But the prospects are not improving in a straight line and we've expected twists and turns. The contaminated water is one of them and we'll continue to repair the damage."

On Sunday night, Minoru Ogoda of Japan's nuclear safety agency said each unit could have hundreds of tons of radioactive water. A top TEPCO official acknowledged Sunday it could take a long time to completely clean up the complex. "We cannot say at this time how many months or years it will take," TEPCO Vice President Sakae Muto said, insisting the main goal now is to cool the reactors.

Edited March 27, 2011 by atsiii

[elcent]

hardly anything credible what comes from TEPCO and this industry as a whole. This is known for years.

Greenpeace set up its' own teams to measure radiation in Japan. IAEA says it will send two more teams to help.

Wonder if this was the only "mistake" they made. I doubt that strongly.

Where are the new readings and when will the world know? As long as they don't come up with the figures, the previous "wrong" reading is valid. Make no mistakes and don't get blinded by their tricks.

It could also be that the pressure against nuclear plants from within Japan is the reason to change their statement. Very professional, isn't it?

TEPCO team must be replaced..

Edited March 27, 2011 by elcent