Meltdown Likely Under Way At Japan Nuclear Reactor

[Chopperboy]

TOKYO — The operator of Japan’s crippled nuclear plant laid out a blueprint Sunday for stopping radiation leaks and stabilizing damaged reactors within the next six to nine months.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2011/04/17/AFRfOpwD_story.html?wprss=rss_world

The timetable’s first step focuses on cooling the reactors and spent fuel pools, reducing radiation leaks and decontaminating water that has become radioactive, within three months. The second step, for within six to nine months, is to bring the release of radioactive materials fully under control, achieve a cold shutdown of the reactors and cover the buildings, possibly with a form of industrial cloth.

Nuclear safety officials described the plan as “realistic,” but acknowledged there could be setbacks.

“Given the conditions now, this is best that it could do,” said Hidehiko Nishiyama of the government’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, adding that conditions at the facility remain unstable.

Edited April 18, 2011 by Chopperboy

[Chopperboy]

TOKYO — Readings Monday from a robot that entered two crippled buildings at Japan's tsunami-flooded nuclear plant for the first time in more than a month displayed a harsh environment still too radioactive for workers to enter.

The robot, called a Packbot, haltingly entered the two buildings Sunday and took readings for temperature, pressure and radioactivity. More data must be collected and radioactivity must be further reduced before workers are allowed inside, said Hidehiko Nishiyama of Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency.

The robots being used inside the plant are made by Bedford, Massachusetts company iRobot. Traveling on miniature tank-like treads, the devices opened closed doors and explored the insides of the reactor buildings, coming back with radioactivity readings of up to 49 millisieverts per hour inside Unit 1 and up to 57 millisieverts per hour inside Unit 3.

Edited April 18, 2011 by Chopperboy

[elcent]

<H2>Merkel Takes First Steps toward a Future of Renewables

DPA

Chancellor Merkel and German state governors held a summit in Berlin on Friday.

When Angela Merkel declared a moratorium on nuclear energy after the recent disaster in Japan, critics accused her of playing politics. Now she appears to be serious. A national summit in Berlin has laid out a six-point plan to move Germany away from nuclear power.

Merkel's broad six-point plan, presented at the meeting on Friday, includes:

• Expanding renewable energy. Investing in more wind, solar, and biomass energies will try to raise the renewable-energy share of Germany's total energy use -- from a baseline of 17 percent in 2010.
• Expanding grids and storage. Building a much larger storage and delivery network for electricity -- particularly wind energy, which can be generated in the north but must be carried to the south -- will be a main focus.
• Efficiency. The government hopes improve the heating efficiency of German buildings -- and reduce consumption -- by 20 percent over the next decade.
• "Flexible power." The government wants to build more "flexible" power plants that can pick up slack from wind or solar energy when the weather fails to generate enough electricity during peak demand. The obvious source of "flexible power" for now, besides nuclear energy, is natural gas.
• Research and development. The government will increase government support for research into better energy storage and more efficient grids to a total of €500 million between now and 2020.
• Citizen involvement. The government wants to involve its sometimes-recalcitrant citizenry due to ongoing resistance against wind generators and the installation of an efficient new power line grid in some regions.
  http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,757371,00.html

... - the way to go ...</H2>

[powderpuff]

I would report the above post as wildly off topic but I don't care. You all sing from the same songbook. I hope you get your energy from fairy dust. Disconnect from the grid. Now.

[elcent]

I would report the above post as wildly off topic but I don't care. You all sing from the same songbook. I hope you get your energy from fairy dust. Disconnect from the grid. Now.

yes, it's a big chorus, based on realities and ever increasing

[elcent]

Robots detect high levels of radiation

Remote-controlled robots have detected high levels of radiation inside the reactor buildings at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

The plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, on Monday released radiation data and photos taken by the US-made robots. The company conducted the survey using the robots on Sunday and Monday.

This is the first time the situation inside the buildings has been made public since the March 11th disaster triggered a series of nuclear accidents. Workers have been unable to approach the buildings due to high radiation levels.

TEPCO said the robots surveyed the first floor of the No.1 reactor for about 50 minutes and detected maximum radiation readings of 49 millisieverts per hour.

A person staying in such an environment for 5 hours would be exposed to 250 millisierverts of radiation -- the legal limit for nuclear workers in emergency situations.

The survey inside the No. 3 reactor lasted for about 2 hours, but the plant operator says the robots had difficulty moving around because of the debris. The maximum radiation reading was 57 millisieverts per hour.

The power company says it hopes to find locations where workers can go to carry out decontamination tasks so it can implement its schedule for bringing the troubled plant under control.

On Sunday, the utility presented a schedule for cooling down the reactors and significantly reducing radiation leaks within 6 to 9 months.

Monday, April 18, 2011 18:58 +0900 (JST) http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/18_27.html

more to come soon ...

[elcent]

http://www.seattlepi...ant-1339627.php

But the government said Saturday that radioactivity in the seawater has risen again in recent days. The level of radioactive iodine-131 spiked to 6,500 times the legal limit, according to samples taken Friday, up from 1,100 times the limit in samples taken the day before. Levels of cesium-134 and cesium-137 rose nearly fourfold.

The new rise in radioactivity could have been caused by the installation Friday of steel panels intended to contain radiation which may have temporarily stirred up stagnant waste in the area, Hidehiko Nishiyama of the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency told reporters. However, the increase in iodine-131, which has a relatively short eight-day half life, could signal the possibility of a new leak, he said.

Conclusion

Potentially cancer-causing radiation from Fukushima has been encircling the world, traveling quickly on jet streams high in the atmosphere and falling with precipitation like rain and snow. It is already being detected in air, water and milk in some parts of the United States by local and state agencies. For example, San Francisco rain water radiation levels exceeded federal drinking water thresholds by as much as 181 times recently. A radioactive isotope, such as iodine-131, is supposed to have a half-life of eight days. This is inferred to mean that it breaks down quickly, and it quickly dissipates in the environment. However, the 8 day half-life can be a misnomer because radioactive iodine can really persist in the environment for many months and has a 100 day biological half-life once inside the human body.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/san-francisco-rainwater-radiation-181-times-above-us-drinking-water-standard-2011-4#ixzz1JsRDP7le

This from a link someone posted earlier here today ...

[elcent]

Kan urges thorough nuclear policy review

Prime Minister Naoto Kan has pledged a thorough review of the government's nuclear energy policy in the wake of Japan's nuclear emergency.

Speaking in a Diet committee meeting on Monday,

Kan said a thorough and fundamental examination is needed to determine why an accident like the one at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant could have happened.

Kan said he had previously been in favor of nuclear power generation, believing that multilayered safety measures were in place at power plants. But he said all such preconceived, conventional views should be put aside for a review of the nation's nuclear administration.

The March 11th earthquake and tsunami knocked out the Fukushima plant's emergency power supply equipment, which was needed to cool its reactors and spent fuel storage pools.

During the same Diet committee meeting, Kan said the government should also consider a permanent disposal site for spent nuclear fuel.

He spoke of the need for a final disposal site for spent fuel, pointing out that spent fuel at the plant was stored inside the reactor buildings because of the lack of such a disposal site.

On Sunday, Tokyo Electric Power Company disclosed a schedule for stabilizing the plant and curbing the release of radioactive substances within 6 to 9 months. Kan told the committee that the government will do all it can to ensure that TEPCO sticks to this schedule.

Monday, April 18, 2011 12:55 +0900 (JST http://www3.nhk.or.j...lish/18_16.html

He'd better off to talk with Germany now ...

Edano: evacuees may return home in 6 months

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary says residents around the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, who are currently displaced, may be able to return to their homes in 6 months at the earliest.

Yukio Edano was speaking on Monday, one day after the plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company unveiled a plan to get the plant under control.

.

The plan aims to achieve a steady reduction of radiation in the first 3 months and, in the next stage, to get the release of radioactive materials under control 6 to 9 months from now.

Edano said the timetable was compiled by experts and he believes it is feasible.

He added that the government will closely monitor the situation because it is still too early to relax with continuing aftershocks.

Edano said the completion of the second stage of the plan will serve as a target after which some residents may be able to return to their homes.

Monday, April 18, 2011 13:28 +0900 (JST) http://www3.nhk.or.j...lish/18_17.html

I doubt that. We're now approx. 1 month after the accident and haven't even received a real fact finding and real radiation reports yet.

I guess plutonium and other highly dangerous nuclear substances will close the area for the next couple of thousand of years.

Are they day-dreaming over there?

Edited April 18, 2011 by elcent

[elcent]

here are some related links I found in a quick search

http://www.roe.com/n...p?ArticleID=155 - Bangkok office opening

http://www.recruit.n...A68915C11B1A218 looking for mechanical engineer - power plant design

other jobs Power Consulting Senior Resident Executive Director (Thailand) http://www.roe.com/c...ings.asp?ID=178

http://investing.bus...ivcapId=4773296 - bloomberg link

http://investing.bus...ivcapId=4773296 people to look for.

I can imagine what the job description for "Power Consulting" would be: Show your degree. We'll show you the text that EGAT wants in the Feasibility Report. You copy the text, and make it look important. We hand it to EGAT. They pay us 175 million baht, everybody's happy.

Addendum: It's rare for a Thai corp to use an odd number like 175 for a big ticket item. It's possible the actual price for the feasibility report was a round number like 200, and it may have happened that 25 million baht somehow got misplaced in the shuffling of papers.

If you don't believe me, try something like this next time you happen to sell something to a Thai person (or anyone, for that matter). Let's say you have an item you're selling that's worth roughly Bt.200,000. You tell the buyer you want 214,000 baht for it. He's going to look at you askance and say, 'how about I pay you 200,000.' It can work the other way. If a Thai wants to sell a bit ticket item to you without a marked price. You offer 188,000 baht, he's surely going to think you're weird, and come back with a round number like 200,000 or 250,000.

All kidding aside, here are actual excepts of the requirements for whomever got the job to write the Feasibility Report.

"The Senior Resident Executive Director in Bangkok, Thailand is responsible for completing the Burns and Roe Feasibility Study Project for EGAT."

Given that Burns and Roe has defined the Southeast Asia region, including Thailand as a core business source with strategic clients such as the Vietnamese Govt, Malaysian Govt and Thai Government and EGAT, the Senior Resident Executive Director in Bangkok is responsible for nuclear power business development in Thailand. He is expected to develop marketing strategies for nuclear and fossil power projects in Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia based on program plans of the Thai, Vietnamese and Malaysian Governments defining specific business opportunities for Burns and Roe.

He will coordinate the proposal follow-on negotiations leading to new projects contracts for Burns and Roe.

He will provide new project oversight to ensure the objectives of Burns and Roe management and the Client are met and that the profitability and Client satisfaction objectives are also met.

BB's comment: is it just me, or is there a conflict of interests in the job description. On the one hand, the person is to write the Feasibility Report which, one would assume, should be an objective report designed to gauge the feasibility of Thailand going nuclear.

In the following paragraphs, the job description for the same person goes on and on describing how to gain contracts and maximize profits for Burns and Roe, which is in the business of engineering nuclear power plants.

I've seen the feasibility study combined with the MOU for a hydro power plant here(many years ago, the one that comes now in Laos). It's all a joke, even the study was very detailed, but a copy - paste and figures changed. Nobody has ever been at the site and at this time.

It can also be that this is part of the innovative business model as proposed a couple of days ago.

Furthermore, bribery in this regard and with the USA functions often this way. - Some locals move to the States like some relatives, children (for study) of the contract partner or even trusted friends and friends of friends. Cover businesses will be set-up and then these people send money on demand. It has a long tradition and was/is widely practiced..

Edited April 18, 2011 by elcent

[unblocktheplanet]

I would report the above post as wildly off topic but I don't care. You all sing from the same songbook. I hope you get your energy from fairy dust. Disconnect from the grid. Now.

powderpuff is quite right about this. How do we source our electricity? A few of us may live rather lightly on the grid but it would be an unrealistic expectation for most of human society.

I have some expertise in geothermal resources, in several countries. I used to think geothermal was a great solution for places with volcanic activity. However, Lhasa's power is exclusively generated from geothermal which has contaminated a vast plain and its groundwater by mineralisation. It's a wasteland.

A lot of people don't like wind generation because of noise and disruption of wildlife corridors.

Solar creates toxic industrial waste both from its manufacture and decommissioning.

Tidal power is thought to be unreliable but, in any case, has been insufficiently researched. The most efficient tidal system I've seen is at Manzanillo on Mexico's west coast.

I think that all these resources are appropriate to certain locations with the right conditions. However, they remain underexplored and -financed. What we can say for sure is that nuclear power and weapons testing have cancerised the entire planet. And natural gas, oil and coal generation unquestionably pollute the atmosphere and may be affecting negative climate change as well as being an exhaustible resource within our lifetimes, or sooner.

It's unrealistic to think anyone, anywhere is going to give up their big screen TVs or air conditioners. Govt and industry have been sitting on this problem for decades trying to generate the most profit rather than exercise some forward thinking.

I hope further research will not be too little, too late. For now, most of us can only concentrate our efforts negatively, on the worst offenders. For me, that means nukes.

Incidentally, my house in Canada, where I lived full-time raising my family for 15 years, has no electricity save for a single solar panel and a truck battery, mostly used to charged cellphones and computers. We had a generator but used it so seldom, we gave it away! Nowadays we only go there for summers but it is possible to live off the grid...anywhere.

[elcent]

I would report the above post as wildly off topic but I don't care. You all sing from the same songbook. I hope you get your energy from fairy dust. Disconnect from the grid. Now.

powderpuff is quite right about this. How do we source our electricity? A few of us may live rather lightly on the grid but it would be an unrealistic expectation for most of human society. 20% and more can be saved by each and all of us without losing any convenient gadjets in our life. +|- 20% is the average of nuke plants coverage worldwide. Industries are the driving force using sophisticated propaganda technics to seduce us and of course try to implement a wrong ideology. You can find an answer in the link below.

(Story of stuff))

I have some expertise in geothermal resources, in several countries. I used to think geothermal was a great solution for places with volcanic activity. However, Lhasa's power is exclusively generated from geothermal which has contaminated a vast plain and its groundwater by mineralisation. It's a wasteland.

A lot of people don't like wind generation because of noise and disruption of wildlife corridors.- sonic sounds could be helpful for wildlife. How many decibils do they create? Louder than any airport?

Solar creates toxic industrial waste both from its manufacture and decommissioning. The one that is recently built is not technical but political. The power of 100 nuke plants are genereated there. Through new technology only 3% of power will be lost during ransport/per 1000km. The problems lies with the power lines from the desert through the country. Most refuse and don't want to see this power-lines. They haven't seen the Spagetties hanging around in Thailand yet.

Tidal power is thought to be unreliable but, in any case, has been insufficiently researched. The most efficient tidal system I've seen is at Manzanillo on Mexico's west coast.

I think that all these resources are appropriate to certain locations with the right conditions. However, they remain underexplored and -financed. What we can say for sure is that nuclear power and weapons testing have cancerised the entire planet. And natural gas, oil and coal generation unquestionably pollute the atmosphere and may be affecting negative climate change as well as being an exhaustible resource within our lifetimes, or sooner. - Underexplored and - financed is the truh.

.

It's unrealistic to think anyone, anywhere is going to give up their big screen TVs or air conditioners. Govt and industry have been sitting on this problem for decades trying to generate the most profit rather than exercise some forward thinking. Future oriented thinking is not very wide spread. There are great studies about that. watch The Secret Powers of Time (answers are to find there) - also about the wrong ideologies (the story of stuff)

I hope further research will not be too little, too late. For now, most of us can only concentrate our efforts negatively, on the worst offenders. For me, that means nukes. - There lies the problem. Research was and is neglected for alternatives that 100% exist and which are much cleaner than anything else known yet.

Incidentally, my house in Canada, where I lived full-time raising my family for 15 years, has no electricity save for a single solar panel and a truck battery, mostly used to charged cellphones and computers. We had a generator but used it so seldom, we gave it away! Nowadays we only go there for summers but it is possible to live off the grid...anywhere. - I know a couple of people who live in the mountains and where there is water running down the mountains constantly. They just put a little turbine and a transformer there and even get paid for the electric they don't use.

Edited April 18, 2011 by elcent

[elcent]

The one that is recently built is not technical but political. The power of 100 nuke plants are genereated there. Through new technology only 3% of power will be lost during ransport/per 1000km. The problems lies with the power lines from the desert through the country. Most refuse and don't want to see this power-lines. They haven't seen the Spagetties hanging around in Thailand yet.

the post above should read "The one that is recently built has no technical problems but politcal ones.

Edited April 18, 2011 by elcent

[elcent]

EGAT's THAITANIC: written spring 2009, this 75 page 'white paper' articulates why Thailand should not go forward with plans to build several nuclear power plants. Lists 18 recent environmental activists who have been killed by mysterious 'powers that be' for speaking out. Also includes list of illustrated contacts for viable alternative energy providers, with particular focus on 'concentrated solar.' Other chapters include specific ideas for conserving power use, and suggested ways Thailand could sensibly deal with its energy challenges for the 21st century. http://adventure1.com/#EGAT’s_THAITANIC

Lol, and I just heard some strange voices outside my house last night and I thought I was fantasizing. "You are d**d". Did angels warn me? I'm not even an activist yet.

I also heard that there will be some bold opposition coming from Chulalongkorn University professors.

Edited April 18, 2011 by elcent

[elcent]

This is one of the robots used to check the radiation inside the reactior buildings which is now 6000 times higher than under normal function..

this an image made from a drone on April 15th

This was made from a pump

the rest of unit building 2

[elcent]

unit one with the collapsed roof. It's planned to fix that within 3 months.

unit 3

containers for temporary storage were setup

unit 4 from the air. Hence the smoke, What will that be?

reactor protection in unit 4

All images from DPA/AFP/Tepco

[unblocktheplanet]

Thank you, elcent, for putting some perspective on my negative future energy comments. If there is both political will and govt finance, new potentials will emerge.

Forcing politicians to bend to the will of the citizenry is our job!

Might you please post a link to "The Secret Powers of Time"?

I have been watching the long but very informative YouTube videos by independent American scientist and whistleblower Lueren Moret. I am not quite as much into the conspiracy but she raises many points most of us have not considered. Her 2004 article, "Japan's Deadly Game of Nuclear Roulette", for example, shows the possibility of converting nuke plants to natural gas and cites some plants which have been successfully converted.

[midas]

Bioaccumulation of radiation in migratory fish?.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/canada/1505564/Tunas-25000-mile-swim-down-marine-highway.html

[ronz28]

Radiation over Tokyo

http://www.zamg.ac.at/pict/wetter/sonderwetter/fuku/20110418_I-131_FUKU.gif

More info info in German at

http://www.zamg.ac.at/wetter/fukushima/

You can use Google chrome to translate to English.

[JetsetBkk]

I would report the above post as wildly off topic but I don't care. You all sing from the same songbook. I hope you get your energy from fairy dust. Disconnect from the grid. Now.

By "you all sing", I guess you mean the 5 posters who are posting 95% of the posts in this thread. It's a very cozy little chorus.

Me, I like to drop in occasionally just to see how far off the wall the posts have got and try to bring these guys back to reality.

Hasn't worked so far.

[elcent]

Thank you, elcent, for putting some perspective on my negative future energy comments. If there is both political will and govt finance, new potentials will emerge.

Forcing politicians to bend to the will of the citizenry is our job!

Might you please post a link to "The Secret Powers of Time"?

I have been watching the long but very informative YouTube videos by independent American scientist and whistleblower Lueren Moret. I am not quite as much into the conspiracy but she raises many points most of us have not considered. Her 2004 article, "Japan's Deadly Game of Nuclear Roulette", for example, shows the possibility of converting nuke plants to natural gas and cites some plants which have been successfully converted.

Use this link and scroll down to the video clip with this title. "The secret powers of time" A great presentation. Explains about the attitude in various regions.

[Chopperboy]

The U.S.-built robot probes measured radiation doses found levels between the double doors of the airlocks of the reactor buildings were much higher -- 270 millisieverts in the case of reactor No. 1 and 170 millsieverts in No. 3, the agency said.

There was no immediate explanation for the much-higher radiation levels recorded in the airlocks, said Hidehiko Nishiyama, the safety agency's chief spokesman.

Nishiyama said running the "Packbots" in reactor No. 3 was difficult because of the amount of debris scattered around the building, but engineers found the building was dry and the temperatures were normal. In unit 1, the robot found a high level of humidity, the explanation for which was not known.

[Chopperboy]

In Tokyo, meanwhile, Japan's government took a step toward slowing what critics have called a revolving door between the nuclear industry and the ministry that regulates it. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said the government is urging officials of the Ministry of the Economy, Trade and Industry to stop taking jobs with companies that run nuclear plants upon retirement.

"I have consulted with METI and decided to request that government officials to voluntarily refrain from seeking re-employment at electricity companies, and asked electricity companies for their cooperation," Edano told reporters. But he said the ruling Democratic Party of Japan lacks the votes in parliament to make his call a law at this point.

Critics say the practice -- known in Japanese as amakudari, or "descent from heaven" -- creates cozy ties between the government and the nuclear industry at the expense of the public interest. Edano's declaration was "a necessary step but it's not enough," said Tetsunari Iida, a former nuclear engineer who now runs an alternative energy think-tank.

Tokyo Electric is one of the companies that has come under fire for the practice. Company spokesman Hiro Hasegawa told CNN that the company tries to keep some "distance" between itself and the government, but added, "The nuclear industry is a group of specialists. We cannot deny there is close communication."

And Eisaku Sato, a former governor of Fukushima Prefecture and a longtime critic of Japan's largest utility, said the nuclear safety agency should be independent and the government needs "to create a sense of safety built on trust."

"This is a test of Japanese democracy," said Sato, who has been battling corruption charges he says are retribution for his criticism of the industry. "We must make a flawless framework for operating Japan's nuclear power plants, one that the people of the world can feel safe about."

Sato told reporters Monday that Tokyo Electric missed a warning signal at the plant less than a year ago. He said emergency generators failed to start when a power failure in June 2010 cut off cooling systems at reactor No. 2, forcing workers to start the diesel-powered backups manually.

[Chopperboy]

TOKYOa - A Japanese former bureaucrat will resign as an adviser to nuclear plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co., the government said Tuesday, amid criticism of cozy ties between utilities and regulators.

Toru Ishida, the former director of the Natural Resources and Energy Agency, will quit his senior advisory post with TEPCO, the embattled operator of the tsunami-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, the government said.

The measure was intended "to avoid causing public suspicion" about unhealthy ties between the companies and their watchdogs, Edano said Monday.

Ishida's career move, although legal, has been criticised as an example of a practice dubbed "amakudari" or "descent from heaven" in which retiring officials take well-paid posts at companies they previously supervised.

Concerns have been raised by Japanese media about close ties between TEPCO, which has been accused of safety breaches and cover-ups in the past, and other ex-bureaucrats who have taken posts with the company.

Ishida, who retired from the agency in August of last year, was hired by Japan's largest power utility firm in January.

http://www.asiaone.com/News/Latest+News/Asia/Story/A1Story20110419-274430.html

[Chopperboy]

The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency of Japan has reported to a Cabinet Office safety panel that nuclear fuel pellets in the No. 1 to 3 reactors at the quake-hit Fukushima power station are believed to have partially melted.

The report was the first time the agency, an organ of the economy, trade and industry ministry, has acknowledged that nuclear fuel has melted at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.

Hidehiko Nishiyama, a spokesman for the agency, told a press conference about the agency's report to the Nuclear Safety Commission. The agency had previously only described the nuclear fuel as having been at least 3 per cent "damaged".

According to Nishiyama, damage to reactors can be described in three phases of increasing severity. In the first phase of initial damage to a reactor's core, the metallic casing surrounding the fuel pellets are damaged but the pellets remain intact. The second phase involves some melting of nuclear fuel. In the third phase, what is known as a meltdown, all the fuel pellets melt and accumulate at the bottom of the containment vessel.

The agency said it now believes the fuel pallets have melted because of the high levels of radiation detected at No. 2 and 3 reactors. Melting fuel pellets also likely led to a hydrogen explosion at the No. 1 reactor, Nishiyama said.

http://www.asianewsnet.net/home/news.php?id=18519

[Chopperboy]

Air lock at 3-Mile Island

Warning on second door

Position of air locks

[JetsetBkk]

Air lock at 3-Mile Island

Warning on second door

Position of air locks

Your point being?

[Robby nz]

Read the bit about the use of tidal power and thought I would post this that I got today from NZ.

Kaipara Harbour tidal turbine project approved

Media contact:

Christian Bonnevie: +64 4 817 8266 or 021 243 8266

Date: 17 March 2011

Source: Office of the Minister of Conservation

Minister of Conservation Kate Wilkinson has today granted approval to Crest Energy for the staged installation of up to 200 tidal turbine power generators in the Kaipara Harbour as a restricted coastal activity under the Resource Management Act.

The Environment Court last month ruled the renewable energy project could proceed, with a number of conditions attached.

“The Environment Court carefully studied the project and I agree with its report,” Ms Wilkinson says.

“This is the first large-scale commercial approval for tidal power generation and it has the potential to play a significant role in the development of a new source of renewable energy in New Zealand.

“The potential environmental impacts of this development have been carefully worked through during a robust four-year consent process, during which the Department of Conservation had its concerns addressed in the Environment Court.

“I am aware of concerns raised by submitters and believe the conditions set out would ensure any possible negative impacts can be properly monitored and accounted for.”

A publicly notified review process would occur after each stage of installation and the development can be halted – and turbines ordered to be removed - if significant environmental impacts are detected.

The installation of the turbines would be deliberately staged as part of an approach to allow for ongoing monitoring of effects, clear reporting and enforceable consent conditions.

The first installation would involve three turbines.

Northland Regional Council would be tasked with monitoring the environmental impact on a wide range of marine wildlife such as sharks, rays, marine mammals and fish, including snapper.

If fully implemented, it is estimated the development could generate enough electricity to power the whole region from Albany to Cape Reinga.

Environmentalist comment

The impacts on the marine specie that spawn in this harbour will be massive and DOC has once again failed to protect the food sources of sea birds and hector dolphins.

DOC = Department of conservation

[Chopperboy]

Your point being?

From the earlier post:

"The U.S.-built robot probes measured radiation doses found levels between the double doors of the airlocks of the reactor buildings were much higher -- 270 millisieverts in the case of reactor No. 1 and 170 millsieverts in No. 3, the agency said."

This indicates very high levels of radiation are present on the reactor side of the secondary door likely breach of containment.

[elcent]

some good news

US power company abandons reactor construction

A US power company says it will abandon plans to build nuclear reactors in Texas, amid the crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan.

NRG Energy, which operates the South Texas Project nuclear station, planned to build the 2 reactors with Japan's Toshiba Corporation.

The company said on Tuesday that it will write off its investment in the project, citing extraordinary challenges facing US nuclear development due to present circumstances.

The firm also said justifying to its shareholders any further financial participation in the project would be impossible.

The firm is the first in the US to decide to withdraw from nuclear expansion since the start of the Fukushima crisis.

NRG Energy will record a pretax charge of 481 million dollars in the first quarter of this year for impairment of net assets.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011 16:35 +0900 (JST)

Italy freezes nuclear plant construction

The Italian government has frozen a plan to build new nuclear power plants in the country.

On Tuesday, the administration of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi submitted a bill to the Senate that indefinitely shelves the construction of new plants.

The bill says the plan was frozen in order to obtain further scientific proof about the safety of nuclear plants.

After the 1986 Chernobyl accident, Italy shut down all its nuclear power stations and abandoned nuclear power generation.

But the Berlusconi administration had come up with a plan to build new plants as a way to resolve the country's energy shortages.

Following the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant due to the March 11th earthquake and tsunami, Italy announced a one-year moratorium on site selection and plant construction.

The latest move is apparently in response to rising public opposition to nuclear power generation.

A referendum had been scheduled for June on whether to resume nuclear power generation in Italy.

But the Italian media say the referendum is not likely to be held in view of the latest decision.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011 10:27 +0900 (JST)

Below, ... a little too late ... what were they doing all the time?

IAEA to send fact-finding team to Japan

The UN nuclear watchdog says it will send a team of experts to Japan to investigate the cause of the nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant.

The Deputy Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Denis Flory, held a news conference at the organization's headquarters in Vienna on Tuesday.

He said a team of experts will investigate the cause of the accident and the safety measures that were taken after the March 11th earthquake and tsunami that crippled the plant.

The IAEA will consult with the Japanese government to decide when to conduct the investigation. It hopes to release the results at a ministerial-level meeting in June.

Flory expressed the IAEA's hope that the fact-finding team will make proposals to improve the situation so that people evacuating from the exclusion zone can return home as soon as possible.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011 07:56 +0900 (JST)

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/index.html

Edited April 20, 2011 by elcent

[Chopperboy]

Radiation exposure fears

Tokyo - Authorities were considering restricting access to the evacuation zone around Japan's crippled nuclear plant on Wednesday to limit radiation exposure to residents who may want to return to their homes.

“We are considering setting up 'caution areas' as an option for effectively limiting entry” to the zone, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said.

It was unclear when the ban might be imposed.

About 70 000-80 000 people were living in the 10 towns and villages within 20 kilometres of the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant, which has been leaking radiation after a March 11 earthquake and tsunami wrecked its power and cooling systems.

April 20 2011

By MARI YAMAGUCHI and ELAINE KURTENBACH