Tag Archives: debt

Bill Nye the Science Guy says “Pave the thing over”!

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.

 

“Not yet begun to climb the mountain”: Nuke plant worker

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.

 

Taxpayers will be burdened with Corporation’s nuclear failure

”The state will take on the responsibility of providing support for renewal.”-Kan Naoto, Prime Minister

Japan’s Prime Minister Kan Naoto said Japan’s government (meaning taxpayers) will take responsibility in recovery and rebuilding efforts after the nuclear disaster at Fukushima Daiichi.

Many evacuees told Kan, in a written statement, that nothing is being done to help them with health care, education for evacuated children, daily expenses and employment. But, Kan said Japan must first bring the still critical situation at Fukushima Daiichi under control.

Liquid Glass seems to be working to stop Radioactive Water Leak

Tokyo Electric Power Company is using a chemical they call “liquid glass” to try and stop the leak of highly radioactive water from Reactor 2 pit, at Fukushima Daiichi.

TEPCo thinks the leak is coming from pipes under the reactors. They injected liquid glass (sodium silicate) into the gravel under the pit for Reactor 2. At this point the water flow has actually decreased, but it’s not known for sure if it’s from the liquid glass or that the source is finally running dry.

TEPCo will also use silt barriers in the water, in front of Reactor 2’s water intake. Radiation is also leaking from the intake, and they hope the silt barriers will block the radiation from spreading in the ocean.

Evacuees demand to be allowed to return to their homes within Radiation Zone!

People have petitioned the Japanese government to let them go back to their contaminated homes, to take care of things like livestock and pets.

After the 11 March disasters that damaged the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, the government ordered people within a 20 kilometers radius from the plant to evacuate, and those within 20-30km to stay indoors.

One man, who went back in violation of evacuation orders, said livestock and pets are wandering through the streets of towns.

Prime Minister Kan Naoto told the people that the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant disaster must be brought under control first. Many of the evacuees say they were led to believe they would be returning home by now.

Cesium-137 found in fish off Ibaraki, Japan!

Kyodo News reporting that cesium-137 has been found in young sand lance fish. The levels are above government safe limits.

The young sand lance is an eel like fish.

Local government officials ordered a stop to the fishing. Ibaraki Prefecture is just south of Fukushima Prefecture.

High Tides to hit nuke disaster area, double whammy!

NHK weather report just said that the coast line, north and south of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, will experience high tides. A high tide advisory in effect.

The double whammy is that the land has sunk due to the 9.0 quake, and there is now huge amounts of cesium-137 in the water.

That means when the high tides hit, they’ll go further inland, and take cesium-137 inland as well. The land, along the coast, is already getting hit with airborne radiation, now it’ll be flooded with radioactive water.

Cesium-137 1.1 million times more than Japanese limits in the Pacific Ocean!

Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant operator, TEPCo, says iodine-131 has hit 7.5 million times the set limits in the Pacific Ocean!  But even worse, cesium-137 is at 1.1 million times set limits!

Iodine-131 has a half life of eight days.  Cesium-137 has a half life of 30 years!

The report was made by Japan’s NHK TV.  Tokyo Electric Power Company has been in trouble before for faulty radiation data.  Later this month radiation readings are going to be handled by third party organizations, not TEPCo.

EPA says Iodine-131 in Idaho Drinking water

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says they have found trace amounts of iodine-131 in drinking water in the states of Washington and Idaho.

The samples were taken last week, at Boise, Idaho and Richland, Washington. The results were just released.

The EPA also says they picked up trace amounts of radiation in rain water.

I checked the Idaho RadNet site and, so far, there is no mention of the water tests by the EPA.  The information is in the most recent EPA press release.

“Default by the United States is unthinkable.” but we’re getting really close

Timothy Geithner is warning the U.S. Congress that if they don’t get their act together soon, the United States government will hit its legal limit on debt.

That could mean defaulting on loans owed to the rest of the world.  The Treasury Department is forecasting that the debt limit will be reached between April 15 and May 31.

Some politicians want to reduce spending to prevent default. Others want to legally increase the debt limit.

Surprisingly, Geithner and Ben Bernankie want the debt limit raised.  That would only mean getting taxpayers deeper in debt.

Geithner said the Treasury has some actions it can take, until Congress figures out what it’ll do, but that will only delay the debt crisis until July 8.

Some Congressmen have asked if selling off the country’s Federal Student Loans, or selling off gold reserves, would help.  Geithner basically said no way: “To attempt a fire sale of financial assets in an effort to buy time for Congress to act would be damaging to financial markets and the economy and would undermine confidence in the United States.”

In other words: Time to get your rear in gear, Congress!