19 September 2013 (20:26 UTC-07 Tango 18 September 2013)/14 Dhu ‘l-Qa’da 1434/28 Shahrivar 1392/15 Xin-You (8th month) 4711

Tokyo Electric Power Company revealed that more melt down related explosions could have occurred in 2011, if it had not been for venting of the damaged reactor containment vessels.  Now one of those massive vent pipes could be damaged.

Workers say they’ve found cracks in the support bracing for the 120 meters (393 feet) tall pipe.  The pipe is located between Reactor 1 and Reactor 2 buildings.

They suspect an earthquake last year caused the damage and are concerned another earthquake could bring it down.  It is difficult to inspect the structure closely because it is emitting 10 sieverts per hour of radiation!  According to the International Commission on Radiological Protection, exposure to just one sievert per hour can increase the chance of developing cancer by  5.5%.

Also, the anti-imperialist Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) revealed that TEPCo failed to fulfill its promise to build shield walls around the GE designed reactors.

In 2011 the DPJ was in charge of Japan’s government.  They revealed on 18 September 2013 that TEPCo promised to build barrier walls, but then ran into financial trouble.  TEPCo officials told the DPJ they could not build the walls because it would cost at least $1 billion USD.  Current DPJ officials say TEPCo also asked the DPJ to keep their failure to keep its promise a secret!