Japan upgrades Fukushima radiation leak to level three 'serious incident'

[webfact]

Japan upgrades Fukushima radiation leak to level three 'serious incident'

TOKYO: -- Japan's nuclear regulator on Wednesday upgraded its evaluation of a radioactive water leak at the crippled nuclear plant in Fukushima to a level three "serious incident".

The assessment, on an international scale of zero to seven with seven being the worst, came after operator Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) said some 300 tonnes of radioactive water was believed to have leaked from a tank at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

It was the worst such leak since the crisis began in March 2011 when a quake-generated tsunami knocked out reactor cooling systems and sparked meltdowns.

Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority raised the evaluation from level one, which means "anomaly" on the UN's International Nuclear Event Scale (INES).

Level three cases on the INES scale are described as "serious incidents" with "exposure in excess of ten times the statutory annual limit for workers".

The nuclear crisis at Fukushima two years ago is one of only two events classified as level seven - the other being the Chernobyl disaster.

Source: http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2013_08_21/Japa-upgrades-Fukushima-radiation-leak-to-level-three-serious-incident-6756/

-- THE VOICE OF RUSSIA 2013-08-21

[borisloosebrain]

Ironic. The only nation ever to feel firsthand the effects of nuclear war now gets to share that warm feeling of being radiated with the rest of the old via the the oceans the and food chain .

[MaxLee]

And the soon to come answer byt TIT is,... It will or will not affect tourism

[midas]

_{Dr. Helen Caldicott is the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize and a world renowned campaigner against nuclear weapons}

Nuclear power and radiation – Contamination from a single failure at Chernobyl spread right across Europe. The struggle to keep the lethal emissions at bay is going on still, 27 years later. At Fukushima three complete meltdowns of reactor cores have been emitting radioactive material for over two years and nobody knows how to stop it. If the wind had been blowing the other way when the disaster started Tokyo would have had to be evacuated and a large part of Japan would have become uninhabitable for 300 hundred years³. If another earthquake occurs the cooling ponds of reactor 4 (loaded with fuel rods) could lose their coolant releasing sufficient radiation to pollute the entire northern hemisphere³. Two and half years after the triple meltdowns started the general manager of TEPCO, the responsible corporation, announced, referring to the discharge of radioactive cooling water into the sea, “We understand that this discharge is beyond our control and we do not think the current situation is good.”⁴

Humanity is refusing to abandon a technology which can, through a single accident, pollute countries and continents. Is this sane?

http://www.globalresearch.ca/military-madness-has-our-species-become-insane/5346201

Edited August 21, 2013 by midas

[F430murci]

Wow. This is an unbelievably bad situation.

[pacovl46]

Leak??? They've been using seawater to cool the reactors ever since the disaster happened and this seawater runs straight back into the sea. Fukushima has been polluting the ocean with radioactive water for 2.5 years now. On top of that the fission is still going on, polluting the air with radioactive particles. If the spent fuel rod pond in reactor 4 collapses it will be the end of the world as we know it. And what are the Japanese doing about it? *&^% all!!!

Edited August 21, 2013 by pacovl46

[midas]

Wow. This is an unbelievably bad situation.

I posted this in the other thread a few weeks ago and I hope the moderator Scott won't mind me doing so again because it emphasises the extent of the cover-up that has been going on for two years and how serious it is.

This is Mr Kohei Murata , who was the former Japanese Ambassador to Switzerland

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LCTv65aqgA&feature=player_embedded

[SOTIRIOS]

...according to other sources it has been a 7 for over a year at least...

[F430murci]

http://m.nbcnews.com/science/leaky-fukushima-nuclear-plant-raises-seafood-poisoning-concerns-6C10963427

[zydeco]

_{Dr. Helen Caldicott is the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize and a world renowned campaigner against nuclear weapons}

Nuclear power and radiation – Contamination from a single failure at Chernobyl spread right across Europe. The struggle to keep the lethal emissions at bay is going on still, 27 years later. At Fukushima three complete meltdowns of reactor cores have been emitting radioactive material for over two years and nobody knows how to stop it. If the wind had been blowing the other way when the disaster started Tokyo would have had to be evacuated and a large part of Japan would have become uninhabitable for 300 hundred years³. If another earthquake occurs the cooling ponds of reactor 4 (loaded with fuel rods) could lose their coolant releasing sufficient radiation to pollute the entire northern hemisphere³. Two and half years after the triple meltdowns started the general manager of TEPCO, the responsible corporation, announced, referring to the discharge of radioactive cooling water into the sea, “We understand that this discharge is beyond our control and we do not think the current situation is good.”⁴

Humanity is refusing to abandon a technology which can, through a single accident, pollute countries and continents. Is this sane?

http://www.globalresearch.ca/military-madness-has-our-species-become-insane/5346201

Oh, heck. Let 'er rip. Let's just get it all over with. Enough with this slow motion dance of death.

[Cuban]

Why have a 1-7 system, generally 7 is considered a lucky number, I would much more understand a 1-4 or 1-9 system in Japan as they are bad numbers.

Surely a 1-10 scale makes more sense to the general public ?

Edited August 22, 2013 by Scott
Graphic removed

[midas]

Why have a 1-7 system, generally 7 is considered a lucky number, I would much more understand a 1-4 or 1-9 system in Japan as they are bad numbers.

Surely a 1-10 scale makes more sense to the general public ?

Because it was introduced by the IAEA to be used internationally, not just in Japan

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Nuclear_Event_Scale

[midas]

The North Pacific Gyre is located in the northern Pacific Ocean, is one of the five major oceanic gyres. An animated graphic from the University of Hawaii’s International Pacific Research Center shows the projected dispersion of debris from Japan:

The operator of the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant has been dumping something like a thousand tons per day of radioactive water into the Pacific ocean.

Remember, the reactors are “riddled with meltdown holes”, building 4 – with more radiation than all nuclear bombs ever dropped or tested – is missing entire walls, and building 3 is a pile of rubble.

The floating debris will likely be carried by currents off of Japan toward Washington, Oregon and California before turning toward Hawaii and back again toward Asia,

Previously-Secret 1955 Government Report Concluded that Ocean May Not Adequately Dilute Radiation from Nuclear Accidents

http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2012/06/why-the-ocean-may-not-adequately-dilute-the-radiation-from-fukushima.html

Edited August 22, 2013 by midas

[jackr]

This is Mr Kohei Murata , who was the former Japanese Ambassador to Switzerland

I find it very hard to believe that the US is the 'main reason' why this is not made out to be more urgent than it is. In fact, the way the Japanese operate--image all important, blah blah--having any other country attempt to keep any affairs within Japan quiet would be the last thing.

This is a 100% Japanese before and after the fact failure.

[boomerangutang]

Message to headline writer: How is a worsening situation an 'UPGRADE' ?

When something degrades or devolves, we can use the word; 'DOWNGRADE'

Nuke rods, whether new or spent, need to be refrigerated 24/7. If the water covering them is less than cold, then they can start fissioning. It's quite possible a sort of 'dirty bomb' ensues, where clouds of radiation are broadcast far and wide.

As Dr. Caldicott mentioned, another tsunami could exacerbate the already grave problem there. I would add that if, for any reason, the refridgeration units cooling the water were impaired (break down or unfueled, etc), that would be grave. Similarly, if the water pumps break down. I wouldn't want to have the job of inspecting those refridgerated toxic pools.

parting shot: Thailand's EGAT has still not quit their campaign to get Thailand to go nuclear. They're being coy, but they haven't come out and made any clear statement such as: 'EGAT has killed any plans to build one to five nuclear plants in Thailand.'

[midas]

This is Mr Kohei Murata , who was the former Japanese Ambassador to Switzerland

I find it very hard to believe that the US is the 'main reason' why this is not made out to be more urgent than it is. In fact, the way the Japanese operate--image all important, blah blah--having any other country attempt to keep any affairs within Japan quiet would be the last thing.

This is a 100% Japanese before and after the fact failure.

You are right and this point has been raised before. It just seems so pathetic when the government of Japan has appeared to be subservient to TEPCO instead of the other way around?

[easybullet3]

Leak??? They've been using seawater to cool the reactors ever since the disaster happened and this seawater runs straight back into the sea. Fukushima has been polluting the ocean with radioactive water for 2.5 years now. On top of that the fission is still going on, polluting the air with radioactive particles. If the spent fuel rod pond in reactor 4 collapses it will be the end of the world as we know it. And what are the Japanese doing about it? *&^% all!!!

the amount of lies adn cover-ups that the Japanese Government and Daiichi-TEPCO are doing is incredible!!

this is way higher than a LEVEL -3 incident!!!

also: is this [under-exaggerated] 300 tonnes of radioactive water refering to the events of 2.5 years ago? or current events?

why cant they just fix the problem?

[Credo]

Fix the problem? That is a little like trying to un-ring a bell.

I think the problem is very, very complex and I don't know if anyone has a solution.

It would be a wise idea to get as many experts together to start figuring out a solution, though.

[midas]

Fix the problem? That is a little like trying to un-ring a bell.

I think the problem is very, very complex and I don't know if anyone has a solution.

It would be a wise idea to get as many experts together to start figuring out a solution, though.

I'm sure if those in power could spend as much money, time and brainpower on this emergency as they are to their program of regime change in so many countries that we could have been at least part of the way towards finding a solution by now

[midas]

Media now exposing Fukushima cover-up: “So many terrible things are not being reported” — Official radiation figures cannot be trusted — Regulator suspects Tepco giving false data — Problems much worse than officials claim

http://enenews.com/media-now-exposing-fukushima-cover-up-so-many-terrible-things-are-not-being-reported-official-radiation-figures-cannot-be-trusted-regulator-suspects-tepco-giving-govt-false-data-proble

[TheWalkingMan]

Notice how all this is coming fast and furious after the latest election.

[midas]

Notice how all this is coming fast and furious after the latest election.

yeah well , the Japanese government has been just as bad as TEPCO at fiddlin' a round as Rome burns.

Radioactive groundwater under Fukushima nears sea

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe earlier this month announced the government would intervene and provide funding for key projects to deal with the contaminated water problem.

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/radioactive-ground-water-under-fukushima-nears-sea

But in the financial media, we are reminded of how fragile the Japanese economy also is and it is simultaneously approaching crisis point as the Fukushima disaster also gets worse. I really question where they are going to get the money?

Due to its foolish embracement of Abenomics, Japan will also have to fear a collapse of its debt market from rising inflation in the near future .

Japan's finance ministry released data Friday showing that the country's debt burden has topped 1 quadrillion yen for the first time.

Yes, more than 1 quadrillion. If you want to get specific, Japan's central government debt at the end of June was 1,008,628,100,000,000 yen.

Here's another way to write that: 1,008.6 trillion yen. In U.S. dollars, it's $10.5 trillion.

While one quadrillion is largely a symbolic level, the eye-popping number underscores a real challenge for Japan, which has more debt as a percentage of GDP than any other developed nation.

Tokyo has now issued 830 trillion yen in government bonds, and the country's revenue collection has never kept pace. Japan's gross public debt is projected to hit 230% of GDP by 2014 after years of sustained deficits.

http://money.cnn.com/2013/08/09/news/economy/japan-debt-quadrillion/index.html

Edited August 23, 2013 by midas

[boomerangutang]

Now that Thailand has dozens of useless black boxes which it paid $23,000 each for. If the Japanese are as gullible and superstitious as the Thais, perhaps some unscrupulous shyster can sell the devices to TEPCO as magic wands which dispel radioactivity.

[midas]

Steve Herman @W7VOA

#TEPCO: "It can't be denied" there could be several fresh radioactive water leaks at #Fukushima-1. Doses up to 1800 mSv/hr detected on site.

12:38 AM - 1 Sep 2013

62 Retweets 6 favorites

Steve Herman @W7VOA

Kyodo: #TEPCO says very high radiation levels Sat. at #Fukushima-1 NPP tanks & a connecting pipe may indicate fresh radioactive water leak.

12:27 AM - 1 Sep 2013

[midas]

we have radiation levels spiking and they don’t appear to be coming from tank leaks and we have strange flashes on the cam. Meanwhile, the Japanese government is freaking out asking for assistance, yet nothing appears to be happening by way of a response.

I have not been this worried since the rad levels spiked in November of 2011. I honestly think the Daiichi site could possibly explode, and if it does it will be very large and very bad for life. The fallout would be intense and Daini and Tokai might have to be abandoned

Circumstantial evidence drawn from the webcam suggests changes have occurred over the last 3 months at the plant. Daiichi has looked unstable since mid-June, when the massive steam eruptions became longer, more regular, more voluminous, and more ‘smoky’ looking.

http://majiasblog.blogspot.com/2013/08/awareness-and-preparation-risk.html

Edited September 1, 2013 by midas

[midas]

The world has gone totally bonkers !!

There are more and more signs that the Fukushima plant is becoming completely unstable,

but meanwhile, the main priority of the Japanese government is ...................................

concentrating on drumming up support for their 2020 Olympic Games bid! <deleted> ???!!

Radioactive water may contaminate entire Pacific Ocean in 6 years

http://www.arirang.co.kr/Player/News_Vod.asp?code=News&nSeq=150718

[F430murci]

This is not good.

Fukushima's radioactive ocean plume due to reach US waters in 2014

http://m.nbcnews.com/science/fukushimas-radioactive-ocean-plume-due-reach-us-waters-2014-8C11050755

[jombom]

Looks like they don't know what to do ------ pathetic ----- after 2 years. It's basic stuff, and many countries have had similar problems in the past. Yikes.

[Scott]

Off-topic post removed.

[midas]

Naoto KAN, Member of the House of Representatives of the Japanese Diet, Former Prime Minister of Japan:

Mr. Kondo, who was Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission of Japan, pointed out to me that, in a worst case scenario, people within a radius of 155 miles might have to evacuate, and they might not be able to go home for 10, 20, 30, years.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Area is within this 155 mile zone. 50 million, almost one half of the entire population of Japan live there. […]

Japan would not be able to function fully as a nation for a long time. Japan was close to this extremely grave scenario. […]

Needless to say, if we think about the extraordinary risk of losing half our land and having 50% of the population have to evacuate, this problem cannot be solved technologically.’

see video here