President Medvedev has ordered the creation of a multi-use card, that will act as ID, passport, insurance, drivers license and debit card.
The cards will contain micro-chips. It’s part of a plan for a “…better digital culture…”. A new national payment system will be created, so people can use the IDs for bill payments.
The system could cost Russia $5 billion, and it’s hoped to get it up and running by January 2012.
Believe it or not, there are still hospitals full of patients, in the tsunami hit areas.
A doctor at one hospital said he is physically exhausted. After struggling to survive the tsunami, he has been working non stop at the local hospital. The first floor of his hospital is useless, being covered in mud. Medications are running out. Only now are rescue volunteers reaching his hospital.
In other areas, where people had to be taken out of their hospitals, there have been deaths, due to hypothermia. Elderly patients, who were soaking wet from the flood, and cold, died in an emergency shelter (2 one the evacuation bus, 12 in the shelter). Shelter officials say they could not keep them warm. A chronic problem with the emergency shelters is that they do not have sufficient heating. It is apparent that they were relying on outside electrical power, which is gone. This is another example that contradicts the international belief in Japan being the best prepared for natural disaster. Other “shelters” are nothing more than schools.
Shelter officials, and hospital personnel, say the most critical problem now is lack of medication, especially for people with chronic medical problems, like diabetes.
Japanese government just announced that Tokyo, and surrounding area, to be subject to power outage. Also, rail service is to be reduced, with some lines shut down.
Japan, and other Asian nations might be spared from radiation contamination, for now. Winds are currently blowing towards the southeast. Over the next couple of days it’s expected to blow easterly. This will take radiation out over the Pacific Ocean.
Stock markets in Japan closed down again. Blame being put on the increase in the Yen’s value. Bank of Japan injected more cash, for the 4th day. Japanese investors are becoming disheartened with what seems like futile efforts to stop a nuclear disaster. It is predicted that trading in Japanese stock markets will become more volatile in the days to come. There are signs that Japanese authorities will intervene in the currency market.
There have been reports of many people trying to get away from Japan’s disaster area. But, there are others who’re trying to get to the disaster area, volunteers.
Japanese are volunteering to help clean up the quake/tsunami stricken areas. Also, many Japanese small businesses are helping out as well. A Japanese ski resort is giving all its rental ski wear to survivors who are stuck in shelters, many of which are low on heating oil. Outside temperatures are freezing in northern Honshu.
Local governments are frustrated by the national government response. Not only are local governments dealing with the aftermath of the quake/tsunami, they are also struggling to find ways to deal with the nuclear disaster.
Earlier press conference it was disclosed that reactor 3, Fukushima Daiichi plant, had reached its “limits”. Gamma radiation detected.
Officials have also stated that the use of sea water had damaged cooling pumps, which is why they had to replace them.
Reactors 5 & 6 spent fuel rod pools are showing increasing temperature. At the current rate of heat build up, they believe the pools could hit boiling within a week. This is why they are trying to connect new power lines to the plant, in order to restart coolant pumps.
17MAR2011
The situation in Japan, with Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, is similar to the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, in that nuclear fuel was exposed. The Japanese are trying to deal with the situation by dumping water onto the reactors and spent fuel pools. At this point only partial melting of fuel rods have occurred. How did the Soviets deal with Chernobyl, where full melt down of the entire reactor took place?
CNES SPOT/EOSAT satellite image, 1986.
After a series of attempts to restrain the nuclear melt down failed, resulting literally in melting of the reactor (in the U.S. it’s called China Syndrome, because jokingly it was said it would melt it’s way to China), the Soviets began to air drop sand, lead and boric acid. 5,000 metric tons worth in one week! The reactor was eventually sealed in a concrete coffin.
Most people working to fight the Chernobyl disaster died from radiation exposure. One firefighter said it felt like pins & needles on his face, and the air tasted like metal, then he died. Most of the vehicles used are still parked at the Chernobyl compound.
Soviet scientist were concerned with the melting reactor reaching ground water. They decided to pour huge amounts of concrete in the bottom of the reactor building, which seems to have worked.
For perspective: Chernobyl was ONE reactor, no spent fuel pools. Japan is dealing, officially, with SIX reactors & their spent fuel pools (1,000+ fuel rods).
Fukushima 2011: JAPAN DISASTER START OF GLOBAL GREAT DEPRESSION
IDAHO NATIONAL LABRATORY WATCHING EVENTS IN JAPAN, SEA WATER MAY NOT WORK
JAPAN QUAKE = NO ECONOMIC RECOVERY
The U.S. dollar has fallen in value against the Japanese Yen. This is because Japanese government and corporations are cashing in their chips. They are cashing in the foreign bonds they hold, in order to raise cash to help deal with the disasters. Corporations, including insurance companies which expect pay out huge claims, are trying to acquire as much Japanese Yen as they can. This is called “repatriation” in the financial markets.
The Bank of Japan will take advantage of the rising value of the Yen, by selling Yen to foreign buyers in order to bring in foreign cash to the national bank.
Japan has been one of the most prolific buyers of U.S. debt, in the form of U.S. bonds. Japan itself is in huge debt, but until now was able to continue buying U.S. bonds, helping the U.S. government. The disasters have forced Japan to sell back bonds in order to raise cash to help deal with ongoing crisis, and for rebuilding. Japanese corporations have to raise cash due to the fact that most factories have shut down, which means they’re not making anything to sell. So Japanese corporations have to sell the foreign bonds they hold.
This is the beginning of a possible economic dominoes affect on the World Economy.
To put the cooling situation in perspective, an analyst in Japan pointed out that each water drop by helicopter, drops about 7 tons of water.
The spent fuel pools/ponds use up to 2000 tons of water (yes, 2000 tons). It is clear that even with several drops, it is not enough. Plant officials reported that most coolant had evaporated or boiled off. This means the ponds are dry.