The following is from Kyodo News.
Radioactive iodine-131 has a half-life of eight days, meaning that its effect will be reduced to half in eight days, one-fourth in 16 days and one-sixteenth in 32 days.
Half life for cesium-137 is 30 years.
Tag Archives: disaster
TEPCo employee says company policy will not allow him to reveal true radiation levels!
A Tokyo Electric Power Company employee refused to reveal how much radiation he’s been exposed to in the past three and a half weeks.
”I can’t tell you. It’s private information as well.”-Murata Yasuki
Recently Murata was allowed to take one day off to visit his wife and son.
Workers at the critical Fukushima Daiichi plant live in a building designed to withstand a 7.0 quake. It is also lead lined, but workers there say the radiation shielding has been compromised.
TEPCo claims Nitrogen is working
Tokyo Electric Power Company says there are signs that the injection of nitrogen into Reactor 1 is working to prevent an explosion. But it might be too soon to tell, the nitrogen injection operation will take six days.
Fukushima Daiichi’s Reactor 1 core began build up of hydrogen gas, probably caused by the melting of the outer casing of partially exposed fuel rods. In normal circumstances reactor cores have nitrogen in them to counteract any hydrogen build up, but TEPCo officials think Reactor 1’s core is breached, leaking out the nitrogen.
If that’s true then the six day nitrogen injection operation could be only temporary.
Honda announces more cut backs
Honda will cut back production in the United Kingdom. Due to lack of parts Honda will reduce production at its Swindon, England, plant by 50%.
Nuke Analyst says just ’cause readings are within safe limits doesn’t mean it’s “OK”
NHK interviewed a nuclear analyst, who pointed out that just because contamination readings are within safe limits does not mean that it’s ‘OK’.
He said officials are mistaken for telling people that it does not pose a threat to health. What it means is that you must begin “…limiting your exposure…” to radiation contamination, because it builds up in your body, it doesn’t go away.
It is referred to as cumulative exposure to radiation.
Coast Guard says Sea Floor moved and rose
The Geospatial Information Authority of Japan said their survey of the sea floor, between 40km to 130km off Miyagi Prefecture, moved 5.6 meters to 15 meters towards the east-southeast.
The Japanese Coast Guard says they confirmed sea floor movement with their seabed observation points. They say the sea floor moved 23 meters (75 feet) east-southeast, and it rose by 3 meters (9.8 feet).
Temporary housing for survivors being held up
Japanese home builders are facing the same problems that car makers and electronics industries are facing; lack of parts, lack of power.
Temporary housing is being built for the survivors who lost their homes due to the March 11 tsunami, or those who evacuated the government’s 20km nuclear danger zone.
Contractors say they are running into problems getting the materials needed to complete the mobile homes. Also, they are working without external electrical power supply, and they are running out of fuel for their portable generators.
Contractors say they will do their best for the survivors.
Reactor 4 fuel pool critical, U.S. UAV to begin monitoring! North America to be hit with massive radiation!
Add to the potential for reactor 1 core explosion the Reactor 4 fuel pool crisis.
Fukushima Daiichi’s Reactor 4 fuel pool was damaged after an explosion several weeks ago (many main stream media report only two explosions, but there were three; reactors 1, 3 & 4 buildings). The problem is that it is now apparent that Reactor 4 fuel pool is leaking water faster than they can pour in (maybe this is the source of the leaks into the ocean?).
If spent fuel rods are exposed too long they will break down and spew radiation.
Japanese media now saying that the main reason for United States interest in the nuclear crisis is because the U.S. is in the path of most radiation contamination. The U.S. is going to start using an UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) to monitor airborne radiation levels above Fukushima Daiichi, especially Reactor 4 fuel pool.
There are more than 10,000 spent fuel rods at Fukushima Daiichi, according to Hosono Goshi, a special adviser to Japanese Prime Minister Kan Naoto.
TEPCo admits plugged leak will cause new leaks!
After Tokyo Electric Power Company reported that they had stopped the leak in Reactor 2’s pit, an NHK helicopter took video of the Fukushima Daiichi plant, showing not only smoke coming from the reactors, but water still pouring into the ocean.
Today, TEPCo admits that plugging the leak in the pit will only cause new leaks to show up. That’s because they don’t know exactly where the leaking water is coming from, or how it made its way to the pit.
Japanese government says current evacuation plans are faulty, apologies
Japanese central government officials are now saying that they goofed on the evacuation zone currently in place.
Officials say the current evacuation zone is based on a short term, low level, nuclear emergency. They did not expect the current situation to have lasted so long.
Japanese officials say they will revise evacuation plans to take into account long term exposure to high levels of radiation.
Many local governments have given up relying on central government data, and have started their own evacuation plans.
”I feel very sorry that a local government had to decide on its own. As soon as possible, the government and…nuclear experts working together must present clear guidelines on from where to where is safe.”-Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano