The Japanese fishing industry is demanding compensation from Tokyo Electric, after most fishermen report that ALL their catches are being refused by fish markets. The reason is the high level of radiation in the water, and the fact that sand lances (a type of eel fish) have test positive for cesium-137.
NHK reporting that one of their helicopter news crews took video of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, after Tokyo Electric Power Company announced that they stopped the contaminated water leak from Reactor 2 pit.
Not only does the video show water still pouring into the ocean, but it shows smoke coming from reactors 2, 3 & 4.
An analyst interviewed by NHK said the water still pouring out could be from other leaks not yet discovered.
TEPCo admitted that the smoke might be caused by continued build up of hydrogen gas inside the containment vessels. They are going to try to inject nitrogen into Reactor 1, to prevent an explosion by hydrogen gas. If another explosion happens, this time it will rupture the reactor’s containment vessel.
In a joint report between The Washington Post and Foreign Policy, it’s been revealed that while Rome burned Tokyo Electric Power Company fiddled.
Apparently, instead of trying to figure out what to do after two of their reactors suffered hydrogen gas explosions, and continued to spew radiation, TEPCo officials were trying to figure out how to build two new reactors!
On March 26 they presented the Fukushima Prefectural government with their plan for new reactors. “It was just unbelievable.”-Nozaki Yoichi, Fukushima Prefectural Planning and Coordination Department
After getting the cold shoulder from local authorities, TEPCo submitted the plan to the Japanese central government on 31 March. They got the same reaction.
TEPCo is so hated now, in Fukushima Prefecture they’ve covered up their signs for their offices, because they’ve been getting threatening phone calls, and employees are being harassed.
Fukushima Prefectural officials told TEPCo “…to sort out problems on the ground first and stop thinking about new reactors.”
TEPCo officials now say they made a mistake in asking for the new reactors now, and they claim the plan was made before the 11 March disasters. If that’s so, why did they wait until 26 March to present the plan?
What corporate arrogance, to ask for government backing for two new reactors while the ones you have are blowing up and spewing radiation. Baka!
It might be due to the bad world economy, or the fact that the rest of the World thought Japan was the best prepared for disasters, but donations are still lagging behind the Haiti quake, and Hurricane Katrina.
According to the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s count, U.S.$161 million has been raised, in the past three weeks. Compare that to the first two weeks after last year’s Haiti quake; $528 million, and Hurricane Katrina; $1 billion.
The Los Angeles Times is also reporting that the Japanese Red Cross is dragging its feet on getting help to people. Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano blasted the Japanese Red Cross for not handing out any of the $1 billion they claim to have raised. Edano ordered the Japanese Red Cross to get busy on handing out help this past Sunday.
Is it me, or does it seem that every organization is just one big failure after another, when it comes to dealing with the Japanese disasters?
Research firm IBISWorld is revealing ten declining U.S. industries, saying their deaths are irreversible. And for some it will be a painfully slow death, lasting until 2016.
The three main reasons: new technology, foreign competition (including shipping off jobs overseas) and industry stagnation (why build new factories when your shipping the jobs off overseas?).
As an example; the number three ranked dying industry is manufactured homes. According to the report, in the last ten years more than 50% of manufactured homes dealers have gone out of business. And those that are still open have seen revenue (not to be confused with profit) fall by 77%.
Here’s the list; 1: Apparel Manufacturing 2: Record Stores 3: Mobile Home dealers 4: Photo finishing (remember the old film cameras) 5: Wired Telecommunications (Landlines) 6: Mills 7: Newspapers 8: DVD, Game & Video rentals 9: Formal Wear/Costume rentals 10: Video Post Production
For several days the Japanese government, and Tokyo Electric Power Company officials, have been talking about using specially coated sheeting to wrap the Fukushima Daiichi nuke plant in. Now they’ve announced when that will happen: September!
Hello, I think that’s too late guys! How much radiation will have spewed in that amount of time? And it doesn’t even address water leakage.
The Japanese government has already commissioned a contractor to do the job. According to Kyodo News, that contractor says they hope to start work by June (June!). The reason, same as always, radiation levels are too high to do any truly productive work.
This is a vicious circle: They have to do work to get radiation levels down, but the radiation levels are so high that the amount of time a worker can be at the job is limited to less than 15 minutes, with full protective gear. This has been stated by many TEPCo employees interviewed by Japanese media. Even Japanese nuke analysts have said as much. In other words this has become a “sit & spin” operation!
Let me ask again: Why don’t they dump concrete on it!?
The U.S. Navy has withdrawn 10 ships from Japan. They say it’s because they are no longer needed for supply efforts, now that more roads have been cleared.
Most roads and rail systems in the north east of Honshu were destroyed in the 11 March disasters.
The U.S. still has plenty of troops in the area, including a special nuke team sent to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
CNN interviewed Bill Nye about the water leaking out of reactor 2, at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. He said he wasn’t worried “yet”, and then pointed out that debris from the three week old tsunami has already reached the Pacific Northwest of North America.
CNN downplayed the water leak by stressing that is is low level contamination. That is not true. When I watch the Japanese media, they continually point out that the water coming from the cracked pit, connected to Reactor 2, is high level contamination, including cesium. In fact cesium-137 levels, off the Pacific Coast of Japan, are now millions of times above safe limits. It is the water that is intentionally dumped from the other reactors, for operational safety, which is the low level stuff.
Bill Nye pointed out that stuff will eventually get to North America. I wrote a little piece, a couple of days ago, about the Black Current, explaining which way the contamination will flow.
Nye went on to say that people need to put pressure on TEPCo to “…pave the thing over.” He doesn’t understand why they’re taking so long with this disaster. Perhaps he hasn’t read some of my posts which explain that, THEY DON’T KNOW WHAT THEY’RE DOING! Even TEPCo contracted employees are saying, in recent interviews on Japanese TV, and with Japanese newspapers, that they have yet to start getting serious with this thing.
NHK has interviewed a worker from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. The worker agreed to the interview if his identity was hidden. He says Tokyo Electric Power Company is just at the beginning of their efforts to control the critical plant.
He says what has been done at the plant so far is just prep work: “We have not yet begun to climb the mountain.” Meaning efforts to secure Fukushima Daiichi haven’t even started.
He says radiation levels at the plant are too high to safely work. Radioactive water has been leaking ever since the first hydrogen gas explosions at least three weeks ago. Radioactive debris, including sections of pipes that carry highly radioactive water, are spread all over the plant’s compound.
In Otsuchi, Japan, residents honored one of their long time firefighters, after he saved their lives, but lost his.
Otsuchi is far north of the epicenter of the March 11, 9.0 earthquake. Yet they got hit just as hard by the resulting tsunami. In fact the quake caused the coastal town to lose electric power instantly. That’s when 57 year old Fujio Koshita decided to use an old bell at his fire station, to warn residents of the approaching tsunami.
Fellow firefighters said he ordered them to leave as well. Being the senior firefighter, by age, he had the authority. Toru Suzuki, also a firefighter, said Koshita climbed onto the roof of the fire station and began ringing the old bell as hard as he could.
“It was really loud. The fireman was brave. I’m proud of him.”-16 year old Kaito Yamasaki
Akira Sasaki, another fire fighter who helped factory workers get to higher ground, said he apologized to Koshita. He said Koshita responded by saying “It’s all right. I will take care of it here.”
The sound of Koshita’s bell ringing echoed across the village until the giant waves swept away the fire station, and Koshita.
Fujio Koshita was not the only firefighter in Otsuchi who died. Seven other firefighters are dead or missing. Most were helping seniors and disabled people get to higher ground, some were trying to close the 12 flood gates on the town’s sea wall.
Otsuchi had a population of 15,000, now they are missing at least 10% of their residents.
Fujio Koshita must’ve known how bad the tsunami was, because, according to other firefighters, he violated his own rule about rescue workers; “Don’t die. Rescuers must stay alive” because your job is to help other people.
Koshita’s body, as well as others, have not been found.