Tag Archives: chernobyl

International, Technology

Vehicle I-D: What happens when both sides use the same weapons?

Video

Ukraine is the birthplace of Russia.  Today’s larger Russia expanded out of Ukraine.  In the 20th Century the new Union of Soviet Socialist Republics allowed the creation of a separate Soviet Republic of Ukraine. It was during the time of the Soviet Union that Ukraine became a major manufacturer of weapon systems for the U.S.S.R.  In 1991, Ukraine lead the collapse of the Soviet Union by declaring independence.  Then there was the creation of the European Union (EU).  Both the EU and NATO have been actively involved in ‘behind-the-scenes’ influence of the Ukrainian government, for decades now.  Despite that, even today Russia and Ukraine use the same type of major weapon systems.  How do you tell them apart during combat?

This T-64BV is not marked, but carries large Russian and Donbas militia flags.

Russia has obviously thought about that because their ground vehicles, along with the military ground vehicles of Donetsk Republic and Lugansk (Luhansk) Republic have been given unique operational markings.  They look like Latin alphabet letters but are not.  They also indicate the Area of Operation (AO); North in Kiev Oblast, or South in Donbas.

Video from the end of February 2022, Donbas-Lugansk Republic militia and their trucks, BMP-1s and 2S1 SP Guns, all marked with ‘Z’, waiting for orders to move-out:

Somewhere in Donbas.

In the Southern, Donbas area of operation (AO), Russian, Lugansk and Donetsk tracked and wheeled vehicles are marked with a ‘Z’.

Ukrainian made KrAZ armored car, in use by local Donbas forces.

Video of Russians meeting with Lugansk Republic troops, 03MAR2022:

T-64BV somewhere in Donbas.

Video report, posted on 03MAR2022, Ukrainian Ground Forces abandoned a T-64BV, Lugansk Republic forces quickly claimed it by spraying ‘Z‘ symbols on it, and working to repair it for their own use (it was one of two abandoned T-64BVs, the video also shows an abandoned BRDM-2):

Abandoned Ukrainian T-64BV, now in the hands of the Donbas militias as indicated by the ‘Z’ painted on the skirts.

In the Northern Kiev Oblast AO the vehicles are marked with a ‘V’. Video of ‘V‘ marked Russian BMPs, BRTs and T-72B3s entering the Kiev Oblast of Ukraine from Belarus, the road sign gives the location away as the Gomel (Homiel) Oblast, Belarus-Kiev Oblast, Ukraine border crossing (heading towards Chernobyl Exclusion Zone?), 03MAR2022:

When you see a Western news report about Russian activities, if they are talking about Kiev AO (Area of Operation), but the images show vehicles with ‘Z‘ on them then the images are actually from the Donbas AO.

New Cold War 2022: RUSSIAN T-72B3M LIVE FIRE CRIMEA!

UKRAINE ABANDONS THEIR BTR-4ES WITHOUT A FIGHT!

Vehicle I-D:

2S1, FROM COLD WAR TO UKRAINIAN BORDER CRISIS!

Fukushima

Fukushima – WIPP – Radiation Fallout: INL admits “nobody really knows what’s going on.” Radioactive trash dump in U.S. on fire?

19 September 2015 (12:24 UTC-07 Tango 01)/28 Shahrivar 1394/05 Dhu l-Hijja 1436/07 Yi-You (8th month) 4713

“The Agency has for many years made a major contribution to development by making nuclear science and technology available in areas such as food production, water management and agriculture. Our work deserves greater recognition.”-Amano Yukio, UN IAEA

India: “Over the past four months, sporadic rainfall saw Mumbai’s UV Index (UVI) levels touch the ‘high risk’ category. Their immediate effect can be seen in form of sun burns, long-term exposure can lead to skin cancer and cataract.  ‘The sporadic rain pattern is responsible for the high UV radiations in the city this monsoon,’ said Gufran Beig, project director, System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), IITM. ‘When (the number of) rainy days are less followed by a long period of sunny days, UV radiation levels peak.’”

Ukraine: “International heavy lift company Mammoet and its client Novarka have successfully connected the two halves of the New Safe Confinement (NSC) structure at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine. This was needed following the catastrophic nuclear accident in 1986.”

United States: “Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.), ranking member of the House Communications Subcommittee, are accusing the FCC of failing to enforce safety guidelines on cell tower worker exposure to radiofrequency radiation, saying they are putting the health and safety of a quarter of a million workers at risk.”

“Exposure to high doses of radiation triggers a number of potentially lethal effects. Among the most severe is the gastrointestinal (GI) toxicity syndrome caused by the destruction of the intestinal barrier, resulting in bacterial translocation, systemic bacteremia, sepsis, and death….   ….TP [Thrombin-derived Peptide] 508 may be an effective emergency nuclear countermeasure that could be delivered within 24 h post exposure to increase survival and delay mortality, giving victims time to reach clinical sites for advanced medical treatment.”

“Scientists have recently developed a new hybrid solar energy system that harnesses all of the sun’s radiation…..”

Idaho:  Researchers at the INL are on the verge of creating a system to track nuclear waste from the oil industry.  The oil industry uses radioactive material as part of its oil extraction process.  The new system will be tested in North Dakota because “It’s the Wild West out there. Waste sites are taking the wrong stuff, or they’re dumping it in fields. Nobody really knows what’s going on.”-Doug Akers, Idaho National Laboratory

Massachusetts: “As a resident of Plum Island, Newbury, I are deeply concerned about the threat posed by Seabrook Station — the threat of radiation release. If a radiation release were to occur, evacuating this area would be impossible.”

“…parents filed a lawsuit claiming that the Fay School in Southborough has ‘high-intensity Wi-Fi emissions’ that have harmed their son……he has a condition called Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity Syndrome (EHS)”

Missouri: “…radiation from the West Lake Landfill in Bridgeton has spread to neighboring properties. The reports also suggested that an underground fire at the neighboring Bridgeton Landfill is moving toward radioactive waste and could reach it as soon three to six months. The landfills’ owner, Republic Services, has vehemently maintained that the situation at the landfills is under control.”

“Loretta Copeland is shutting the doors on her dog grooming business on Natural Bridge Road, near McKelvey Road, about a mile from the landfill. She says she’s afraid of getting cancer.  ‘…it just seems like everybody you talk to they either have cancer or they know somebody……..Who wants to buy a grooming shop sitting within one mile from the landfill?’”

New Mexico: “The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant simulated a full-scale emergency response on Wednesday to prepare the facility and community in case an emergency occurred again.”

“The Underground Ventilation System at Waste Isolation Pilot Plant is being upgraded to provide additional airflow into the facility’s underground.”

“…burying 34 tons of weapons-grade plutonium would be far cheaper and more practical than completing a multibillion-dollar plant that would turn the radioactive material into commercial reactor fuel.”

New York: “The studies found that 50 percent to 75 percent of the animals who were exposed to a potentially lethal dose of radiation died without any treatment. Using Cleveland BioLabs’ Entolimod drug, less than a third of all animals that received the drug died, even when the drug was administered as much as 48 hours after exposure.”

“An upstate New York man faces life in prison after he became the first person ever convicted in the U.S. of trying to acquire a radiation weapon for mass destruction…”

Washington: Hanford to remain Undeclared Interim Storage site “By early 2007 the decision was made to construct a mox fuel plant at the Savannah River Site (SRS), in South Carolina. Construction is 70 percent complete, and some $4.5 billion has been spent.  ……DOE-Headquarters is now considering major/arbitrary changes to the final disposition of MOX, and stopping construction the mos facility at SRS!    DOE’s new path is considering ‘downblending’ (diluting) the weapons grade plutonium and adding it to waste going to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico. DOE reports shutting down the SRS mox plant could cost a billion dollars.”

“In the near term the cost of dealing with the solid waste would be about $20 million from the DOE Richland Operations Office annual budget, which is about $1 billion a year, according to the state of Washington.”

Washington DC: “In 1981, anthropologists, engineers, nuclear physicists, and others assembled to form the Human Interference Task Force, at the behest of the U.S. Department of Energy and Bechtel Corp. The impetus of the task force, according to a technical report issued a few years later, was to ‘reduce the likelihood of future humans unintentionally intruding on radioactive-waste isolation systems.’”

Japan:  Off the coast of Hokkaido a fish called a Wolffish was caught. The man who caught it says it’s one of the largest Wolffish ever caught.  See internet ‘TV’ news report here.

Proof of arrogant incompetence: “…there was a basic assumption in Japan that the design of nuclear power plants and the safety measures that had been put in place were sufficiently robust to withstand external events of low probability and high consequences….there was a tendency for organizations and their staff not to challenge the level of safety……resulted in a situation where safety improvements were not introduced….”

More proof of government incompetence: “…a team of Japanese researchers report that evacuation following the Fukushima nuclear accident may have been much worse for Japanese citizen’s health than nuclear radiation.”

“Authorities in the small city of Nikko in Japan’s Tochigi Prefecture, some 175 km away from the Fukushima nuclear power plant, have said that at least 334 bags containing radioactive soil have been swept into a tributary of the Kinugawa river, The Asahi Shimbun reports.

According to the city’s authorities, the washed-away waste was only part of hundreds of bags being stored at the Kobyakugawa Sakura Koen park alongside the river. Another 132 bags of waste reportedly rolled down the slopes.” 

‘Black’ helicopters return to California! U.S. will increase radiation contamination limits! 

Fukushima

False Flag: Radioactive forest bursts into flames, weeks after new study warns of just such a scenario!

28 April 2015 (13:40 UTC-07 Tango 01)/08 Ordibehesht 1394/09 Rajab 1436/10 Geng Chen (3rd month) 4713

“The fire is at a distance of 15 to 20 kilometers [9 to 12 miles] from Chernoby!“-Maya Rudenko, employee at the still deadly Chernobyl

Just weeks after a new study warns of a potential nuclear disaster, a forest fire is now spreading deadly radiation across north eastern Europe, before eventually turning to blow across Russia before crossing the Pacific.   A forest fire has erupted inside the no go zone (exclusion zone) around the ongoing nuclear disaster known as Chernobyl.

Chernobyl is located in Ukrainian territory and has been highly radioactive ever since a catastrophic nuclear accident in 1986.  The forest around the entombed nuclear reactor is so large it extends into Belarussian territory, and now consists of trees that grew up absorbing high doses of radiation, now they’re burning out of control!

At the beginning of April the Ecological Society of America published the results of their study, Fire evolution in the radioactive forests of Ukraine and Belarus: future risks for the population and the environment, which warns of just such a scenario:  “…..Eastern Europe are characterized by large, highly fire-prone patches that are conducive to the development of extreme crown fires. Since 1986, there has been a positive correlation between extreme fire events and drought in the two contaminated regions. Litter carbon storage in the area has doubled since 1986 due to increased tree mortality and decreased decomposition rates; dead trees and accumulating litter in turn can provide fuel for wildfires that pose a high risk of redistributing radioactivity in future years. Intense fires in 2002, 2008, and 2010 resulted in the displacement of 137Cs [cesium 137] to the south; the cumulative amount of 137Cs re-deposited over Europe was equivalent to 8% of that deposited following the initial Chernobyl disaster. However, a large amount of 137Cs still remains in these forests, which could be remobilized along with a large number of other dangerous, long-lived, refractory radionuclides. We predict that an expanding flammable area associated with climate change will lead to a high risk of radioactive contamination with characteristic fire peaks in the future. Current fire-fighting infrastructure in the region is inadequate….”

This latest disaster involving Chernobyl should be proof enough to the nuclear nabobs in Japan who still think nuclear power is safe.  The trees around Fukushima are contaminated for decades to come.  But wait there’s more!

Despite the billions of USD spent building a new tomb around the Chernobyl reactor number 4 the Chornobyl Shelter Fund, Group of Seven and and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development today revealed that the new tomb is not complete, and is especially vulnerable to fire.  Yep, a forest fire!

The project to encase Chernobyl #4 in new stronger concrete and steel was supposed to be completed this year, but administrators now say they need another $674-million to complete.

There are three other reactors at Chernobyl, all are supposed to be shutdown or undergoing shutdown.  It was revealed three years after Reactor 4’s explosion that Reactor 1 also suffered meltdown, back in 1982!

 

Fukushima, Idaho

Fukushima – WIPP – Radiation Fallout: Why does Rudolph’s nose glow? Because Santa’s Reindeer are radioactive! Why is Japan getting hit with so many hurricanes + earthquakes? EPA confirms airborne radiation at the WIPP! Nuke waste shipments on hold for two more years, or more!

11 October 2014 (16:40 UTC-07 Tango)/16 Dhu l-Hijja 1435/19 Mehr 1393/18 Jia-Xu 4712

United States: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) confirmed that some radiation escaped into the air around the failed Waste Isolation Pilot Project (WIPP) in New Mexico, but claims “The public doses were well below EPA’s standards.”

EPA also criticized the Department of Energy’s (DoE) air monitoring system: “EPA identified a number of areas needing improvement regarding DOE’s ambient environmental air sampling network, laboratory procedures and incident response protocols.”

More revelations out of WIPP.  DoE has revealed that one reason why the investigation and clean up is taking so long is that the main means of transportation down the 655 meter (2150 feet) shaft is broken!   DoE officials are trying to make it sound like it had nothing to do with the salt truck fire back on 05 February 2014, but that just happens to be the day the massive elevator stopped working.

DoE officials claim the hoist system stopped working because of soot accumulation on the electrical components.  Just more proof it was a massive fire.

WIPP is now affecting the state of South Carolina.  The Savannah River Site (SRS) has been told that nuclear waste shipments to the WIPP are on hold until at least 2016, or even longer: “Resumption of full scale operations at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant may not occur until 2019 and could cost up to $551 million, though initial operations are slated for resumption in early 2016 at a cost of about $242 million.”-DoE report

I assume this delay in nuke waste shipments also applies to LANL in New Mexico, INL in Idaho and other nuclear laboratories around the United States.

Japan:  I’ve written many times before about how heavy rain floods through the failed Fukushima Daiichi nuclear energy factory, getting contaminated and then flooding into the Pacific Ocean.  Anybody notice how many typhoons have hit Japan this year?  So far there have been 19 western Pacific typhoons, at least four hit Japan directly, and at least two came close enough to cause flooding in Japan.

Now, this years largest typhoon Vongfong (now rated category 6 supertyphoon) is heading to the big islands of Japan.  The current expected track of the supertyphoon will take it right over Fukushima Daiichi, it is expected to be downgraded by then.  On top of that, northeastern Japan was just hit by yet another 6.3 earthquake (followed by a 5.5 quake), in Amoroi Prefecture 400km (248.5 miles) north of Fukushima Daiichi!

About a week prior, Iwate Prefecture (also north of Fukushima Daiichi) got hit with a 5.3 quake.  About two weeks ago Fukushima Prefecture got hit with 5 and 5.1 quakes. About one month ago Iwate Prefecture got hit with a 5.1 quake.  That same month Fukushima Prefecture got hit with multiple 4 magnitude quakes.  About two months ago Fukushima and Iwate prefectures got hit with multiple 4 magnitude quakes.  Three months ago Fukushima Prefecture suffered a 6.5 quake and Iwate a 5.7 quake, on top of numerous 4 magnitude quakes.    There hasn’t been a month in 2014 when Fukushima or Iwate prefectures hadn’t experienced a single 4 to 6 magnitude earthquake.   In fact, the big island of Honshu has been racked by 4 to 6 magnitude quakes all year.

The German news source DW interviewed Michael Maqua, who works for pro-nuke GRS (Gesellschaft für Anlagen und Reaktorsicherheit).  He gave typical assurances that nothing will happen at Fukushima Daiichi when Vanfong hits, but gave this warning: “Apart from physical damages to construction equipment, we could expect radioactive isotopes from contaminated surfaces being washed away and transported into the groundwater or the sea. Over the past days, the concentration of radioactive substances in the groundwater has increased significantly at some of the plant’s measuring points and, according to TEPCo, this was caused by the recent heavy rains.” 

Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCo) has run out its latest unsecured debt financing, and hasn’t paid it off.  No problem, the Japanese government convinced the three banks to simply refinance TEPCo for another six months.  Those Too Big to Jail banks are Sumitomo Mitsui Banking, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, and Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking.

It was revealed that not only has TEPCo failed to pay many of their throwaway workers promised hazard pay, but some of those that did get paid got a whopping $36 USD!  TEPCo had promised $180 per day in hazard pay.

Canada: The Canadian national government has ordered nuclear power plant operators to provide all residences, businesses and institutions living within 16km (10 miles) radius of nuke factories potassium iodide pills.   The decision was made by the Nuclear Safety Commission.  Back in June the NSC advised Canadians to stockpile iodide pills.

Norway: Scientists are alarmed over a sudden 5 times increase in radiation levels contaminating reindeer!

In September the reindeer had 82-hundred becquerels of celsium-137 per kilo.  Compare that to 2012 when they had 1500bq.

It’s not just reindeer but sheep as well, some have tested out at 4500bq!  600bq is the max limit considered safe to eat.  But Norway isn’t blaming Fukushima Daiichi, they’re blaming the 30 years old Chernobyl disaster.

Scientists claim that the gypsy mushroom is soaking up radiation contamination caused by Chernobyl after the 1986 meltdown: “This year, there has been extreme amounts of mushroom. In addition, the mushroom season has lasted for a long time. And the mushroom has grown very high up on the mountains.”-Lavrans Skuterud

Norway is 1686.5km (1048 miles) by air from Chernobyl.  This proves that nuclear accidents never go away!

“…you are killing us…!”

Fukushima, U.S.

More Fukushima WIPP Fallout: Tactical nuke threatens Texas? “God made” rad leak in New Mexico city? Fire threatens New Mexico & Chernobyl! Radiation spikes in areas previously “decontaminated” in Japan! False Flag scare in New York?

21 March 2014 (10:25 UTC-07 Tango)/19 Jumada l-Ula 1435/01 Farvardin 1393/21 Ding-Mao 4712

There is a mystery cloud of radiation traveling across New Mexico.  It was spotted by weather radar.  Reports in the British empire news media say the U.S. National Weather Service in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and El Paso, Texas, have confirmed it.

On 18 March local New Mexican news sources reported a huge increase in airborne radiation in the city of Carlsbad.  The city is located near the U.S. Waste Isolation Pilot Plant.  Six of seven air sampling rad monitoring stations indicated higher rad levels than in February.  Department of Energy officials say the levels are of no concern, and they swear the radiation in the city is not coming from the damaged WIPP.  It’s being blamed on “god made stuff”.

Four more WIPP workers found contaminated with radiation, so far 17 employees have been contaminated.

On 11 March, the Associated Press reported a second rad leak at WIPP.   Detectors at the WIPP site picked up airborne radiation that engineers believe is coming from WIPP’s exhaust ducts.  They admitted that “occasional” low level radiation leaks are actually expected at WIPP.

There are unconfirmed rumors circulating that WIPP radiation has reached West Texas.  Those rumors are getting help by the fact that the first emergency preparedness 10 kiloton nuke explosion exercise in the U.S. just took place in El Paso.

Speaking of Texas: Despite repeatedly stating that the WIPP nuke leaks are of no danger, the U.S. Department of Energy is re-directing nuclear weapons waste from Los Alamos, New Mexico, to Andrews, Texas.   WIPP does not store nuclear waste from non-weapons programs, just the waste from the manufacture of military nukes.  The recent supposedly non-threatening radiation leaks from WIPP has resulted in a halt to further weapons waste storage in that location.

What has also been revealed is that there is a rush to get rid of the nuke weapons grade waste at Los Alamos: “Removing waste from the mesa in Los Alamos before fire season is critical to ensure safety in the greater Los Alamos community.  The state’s June 2014 deadline was firm and nonnegotiable, as I made clear in repeated conversations with Energy Secretary Moniz since the February 14 accident at WIPP.”-Tom Udal, Senator from New Mexico

Speaking of wildfire: A new study shows Chernobyl, Ukraine, is under massive fire threat because of the radiation contamination since 1986!  It turns out that long term low level radiation exposure increases plant growth and reduces the decomposition of dead plants.

Recently scientist realized they were walking on dead trees, killed by the initial blast back in 1986, and they were not decomposing!  They’ve theorized that the radiation has killed off the microbes responsible for decomposition.  The result is that the Red Forrest surrounding Chernobyl is now a giant fire trap.

In Mattituck, New York, rumors of a radiation spike caused a stir.  The rumors were blamed on privately funded  Nuclear Emergency Tracking Center, which denied they issued such a statement.  If you check their rad map of the U.S. you’ll see there is no indication of a radiation spike in that area.  However, the main streamer news media blames them because the Turner Radio Network cited the NETC in its detailed report about the spike.  Even though NETC denied they issued the alert, the U.S. EPA revealed how pig headed it is by giving the following reason for not believing the report: “It is not a government source.”

But wait, the plot thickens.  It turns out that the ‘owner’ of Turner Radio Network (Hal Turner) under court order “divested himself of ownership and control” of the radio station’s website in 2010!  So who’s running the website that wrote the story?

In Japan it’s been revealed that villagers and city dwellers living near the melting down Fukushima Daiichi nuke plant are reporting that their own radiation tests show that so called “decontaminated” areas are spiking with radiation!   Japan’s Ministry of the Environment has poo-pooed the people’s claims, but has agreed to do their own radiation monitoring  and if they find similar results they will consider a second decontamination.

The highly fragile experimental water filtration system at Fukushima Daiichi has failed again.  This time the system turned itself off.  This is because radiation filters were failing to filter out isotopes.  It seems the Advanced Liquid Processing System hasn’t been able to operate for one or two months without being shut down, mainly for leaks.  Inspections conducted after this latest shutdown revealed more leaks.  ALPS is now indefinitely shutdown  as Tokyo Electric Power Company tries to figure out why the filters stopped working, and why the system continues to suffer major leaks.

Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority has criticized TEPCo officials for not focusing on the crisis at Fukushima Daiichi, they even accused TEPCo of being more concerned about money than about stopping the ongoing disaster.  TEPCo officials told Japanese news media, after the scolding, that they are not focused on money, but did admit they’ve been slow to react to the situation.

“The damage caused by radiation is twofold:  direct damage leading to illness, death or reduced life expectancy, and genetic effects.”-Henry Kissinger, 1957, Bildeberger, zionist and former U.S. Secretary of State

 

Fukushima

More Fukushima Fallout: Korea cancels airline flights! Japanese turning to lawsuits for justice! Hint that airborne radiation spread worse than we’re being told!

20 August 2013 (13:37 UTC-07 Tango)/13 Shawwal 1434/29 Mordad 1392/14 Geng-Shen (7th month) 4711

A Republic of Korea (RoK, aka South Korea) airline infamous for runway accidents, Asiana Airlines, has canceled all flights to Fukushima Prefecture from now until October.  They blame the ongoing radiation leaks from Fukushima Daiichi.

A woman, whose husband died while working on the damaged nuclear plant, is suing after failing to get compensation for his death.  In February 2012 a regional labor standards inspection office declared the death work related and that compensation to the window was in order.  The nuclear facility also lacks proper medical facilities, according to the inspection report. Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCo) and two subcontractors have so far refused to compensate.

People living outside the no go radiation dead zone around Fukushima Daiichi are now suing the Japanese government.  Last year the government passed a law that said people living outside the no go zone are being affected by the radiation and deserve government medical, housing and other aid.  This because radiation levels outside the no go zone are still too high to be safe.  So far the government has not lived up to its own law!

Prefectural Governor, Satō Yūhei, continues his demands on the Japanese government to get serious about stopping the ongoing massive radiation leaks at Fukushima Daiichi.

Once again, Japanese officials are turning to Ukraine for advise on dealing with nuclear disasters.  The entombed Chernobyl nuke plant is located in Ukraine.  This time Japan is asking Ukraine to help launch a satellite to monitor the spread of airborne radiation from Fukushima Daiichi.  This is a sign to be concerned as Japaneses officials say the satellite will monitor the effects of radiation contamination on vegetation over a large area.  It must be big if they think the contamination can be seen from about 800km (about 500 miles) above Earth!  (most observation satellites orbit at altitudes between 480 to 970 kilometers)

Fukushima, International

26 years later: Chernobyl expected to remain a threat for the next 100 years, at least! Warning for worse things to come from Fukushima Daiichi!

29 November 2012, two days ago workers in Ukraine raised steel arches over the entombed Chernobyl reactor: “This is a very significant milestone, which is a tribute to the ongoing commitment of the international donor community, and an important step towards overcoming the legacy of the accident.”-Suma Chakrabarti, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

Those new steel arches weigh 5000 metric tons (5,511.5 tons), and are 22 meters (72 feet) tall!  The steel container won’t be finished until 2015.  It’ll weigh 20000 metric tons (22,046 tons) and is designed to allow ongoing decontamination work for the next 100 years!

26 years ago the Soviet designed reactor melted down, and it’s still spewing radiation.

The Soviets slammed Chernobyl with tons of concrete, sand and boric acid.  The impromptu concrete tomb was breaking down and a new one was built.  But even that one is breaking down, so a new massive steel tomb is being built, hopefully to contain the radiation for the next century.

Now realize that Chernobyl is only one reactor, with no spent fuel storage, and Japan’s General Electric designed Fukushima Daiichi melt down disaster involves at least four damaged reactors with four spent fuel pools that contained hundreds of fuel rods, each.

Initially Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCo) said they could have Fukushima Daiichi cleaned up by July 2011!!!  In December 2011 the Japanese government published their own report, saying cleanup will take at least 40 years, TEPCo downplayed the government report.  Then in March 2012, TEPCo admitted that reactors actually melted down.  Now, at the beginning of November 2012, TEPCo is admitting that clean up will take much longer, and they’ve even doubled their estimated cleanup and compensation costs from $62.5 billion USD to $125 billion!

Fukushima

One Year Later: Japanese official says some areas of Japan will be radioactive forever. Duh, just ask the people of Prypiat, if you can find them!

About one year ago, Japanese government officials swore to the refugees fleeing the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, that they’d be returning home soon.

Not only did that turn out to be a lie, but one official now says some towns will never be inhabitable.

On April 4, 2012, Japan’s reconstruction minister, Hirano Tatsuo, told the Governor of Fukushima Province, and the Mayor of Futaba Town, that because of the storage of highly radioactive waste coming from Fukushima Daiichi, the areas around that waste can never be lived in.

There are areas of Fukushima Province, being used to store hundreds of tons of contaminated water (left over from trying to keep the disaster reactors cool), that are being irradiated by the deadly levels of radiation in the water.

The Japanese media is pointing out that Hirano’s opinion runs counter to the official statements of the government.  The Japanese government continues to promise the nuclear refugees that they will be able to return to all their homes.

Here’s a thought: It’s been proven that Fukushima Daiichi is worse than Chernobyl, and yet, how many people have been allowed to return to Prypiat, the town next to the Chernobyl nuclear plant, 26 years later?  Zero!

Prypiat had nearly 50,000 people prior to the Chernobyl explosion in 1986.  Now it’s a city full of vacant and ghostly skyscrapers.

Business/Economics, International, Technology

Government Incompetence: Japan will now study 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident

In a classic example of too little too late, Japan will now spend big money to study the effects of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident!

Japan will expand its Ukrainian embassy staff to include two nuclear specialists and three translators.  The staff will also be equipped with gear for dealing with radiation.  They will interview Ukrainian and former Soviet officials, and residents about the effects of radiation contamination, and how to deal with a nuclear disaster.

The Japanese government said they will spend about U.S.$2 million on the project.  You’d think a country that got so involved with nuclear power would have included, as part of its nuclear disaster preparedness, a detailed study of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster!

Fukushima

Government & Corporate Incompetence: Fukushima exceeds radiation levels at Chernobyl!

Six towns in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, have soil that is contaminated with Cesium levels far higher than those at Chernobyl.  The levels exceed that which forced mandatory evacuations around Chernobyl back in the 1980s.  Some areas around Chernobyl are still off limits.

Japan’s Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry put together a soil contamination map.  Six municipalities recorded more than 1.48 million becquerels per square meter of Cesium 137.

The Cesium hot spots are in no-entry and expanded evacuation zones around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, which was damaged by the 11 March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.