Tag Archives: fukushima

Fukushima

More Fukushima Fallout: Radiation contamination levels double in just one day!!!

11 September 2013 (17:23 UTC-07 Tango)/06 Dhu ‘l-Qa’da 1434/20 Shahrivar 1392/07 Xin-You (8th month) 4711

Tokyo Electric Power Company reporting that radiation levels at a monitoring well, near the slowly melting down GE designed reactors at Fukushima Daiichi, has doubled since yesterday!

On 10 September, TEPCo reported 32-thousand becquerels per liter of contamination at a well 20 meters (65 feet) north of a leaking water storage tank (the reading was taken on 09 September).  Today, TEPCo says that same well is contaminated with 64-thousand becquerels per liter of tritium (from reading taken on 10 September)!

Also, soil samples around the well are emitting 0.1 millisieverts per hour of radiation.  This is significant because TEPCo claims they already removed contaminated soil from that area!

TEPCo also points out that the water test well is not located near any known groundwater source!

Another concern is that new testing of groundwater is revealing that the water is already contaminated before it reaches the failed nuke plant.  This negates TEPCo’s plans to build an underground dyke to block what they thought was clean groundwater.  (I’ve already written about independent testing that shows there is airborne contamination ongoing, which is ending up in lakes, rivers and canals, and eventually the groundwater)

More and more independent nuclear experts in Japan are concluding that massive radiation contamination of the environment has been ongoing since March 2011.  They are specifically concerned with spiking radiation levels in soil and test wells near Reactor 2.

Fukushima

More Fukushima Fallout: Radiation contamination levels skyrocket! 80-thousand becquerels of Tritium!

10 September 2013 (22:45 UTC-07 Tango 09 September 2013)/05 Dhu ‘l-Qa’da 1434/19 Shahrivar 1392/06 Xin-You (8th month) 4711

A week after reporting spikes in radiation contamination in test wells, a different groundwater test well shows beta ray contamination, including strontium, skyrocketing.

Tokyo Electric Power Company revealed that on 05 September 2013 they detected 80-thousand becquerels per liter of tritium in a well on the Pacific Coast side of Fukushima Daiichi Reactor 1.  The well is not a new test well, but has been there before the 11 March 2011 disasters.  TEPCo also admitted the radiation levels have increased from levels detected in the same well last year.

TEPCo also detected 32-hundred becquerels per liter of contamination at a well 20 meters (65 feet) north of a leaking water storage tank!  The week prior 650 becquerels per liter of beta contamination was found at a well 10 meters (32.8 feet) to the south of the same leaking storage tank.

Fukushima

More Fukushima Fallout: Japan misleads with latest radiation report! TEPCo so incompetent it must be ‘taught’ how to measure radiation!!!

06 September 2013 (12:40 UTC-07 Tango)/01 Dhu ‘l-Qa’da 1434/15 Shahrivar 1392/02 Xin-You (8th month) 4711

“Technical advisors employed by the NRA have been working on teaching TEPCo the way of radiation monitoring and advising TEPCo to map an on-site radiation distribution.”-Nuclear Regulation Authority report, 05 September 2013

Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) announced that it has finally begun to take part in regular safety inspections at Fukushima Daiichi, on 04 September 2013, more than two years after the nuke melt downs began!

The NRA has also released Pacific Ocean contamination data, collected by Tokyo Electric Power Company over the past six months.  However, when you realize how the two major North Pacific Ocean currents work, you’ll realize the collection points are fallacious.

TEPCo collects ocean water samples at two dubious points; along the coastline north of Fukushima Daiichi, and along the coastline south of Fukushima Daiichi.

Collection point north data shows cesium 137 (Cs-137) hit 3.3 becquerels per liter in June, and tritium (H-3) hit 8.6 becquerels per liter, also in June.  Collection point south data is considered “under limit of detection”, which does not mean there is no radiation, it means it’s at a level officials believe is safe.

Collection point north is 30 meters (98 feet) from the cooling water outlet for Reactors 5 and 6.  Back in 2011 the public was told those reactors were OK, but, they were suffering cooling problems as well.

Collection point south is 1.3 kilometers (0.8 mile) from the cooling outlet for Reactors 1, 2, 3 and 4.  Reactors that are in slow burn melt down.

These reported radiation levels are perplexing to me because it seems the groundwater under Fukushima Daiichi is reported to have much higher levels of contamination, and it’s pouring right into the Pacific Ocean.  This brings me to my point: TEPCo’s collection points are bogus.

The collection points are north and south of the reactors, but, the contaminated groundwater flows out northward at first, then eastward to Canada and the United States.   This is due to the convergence of the North Pacific Ocean’s main current called Kuroshio (Black Current or Black Tide) coming up from the south, and the Oyashio (Parental Current or Parental Tide, aka Kurile Current) coming from the north.  They converge, conveniently, at Hokkaido and the north eastern end of Honshu (where Fukushima Daiichi is).

This northward then eastward flow of water, from Fukushima Daiichi, could explain why radiation levels at the southern collection point are lower than the northern collection point.  Also, collection point south is too far away from the disaster site to affected by the contaminated groundwater anyway!

Collection point north, while almost 100 feet from the site, could still be far enough away from where the aquifer is entering into the ocean.  Both northern and southern collection points are outside the man made breakwaters along Fukushima Daiichi’s Pacific front.  The northern collection area is actually blocked by the northern breakwater.

Independent testing done by individuals and NGOs, at places like the mouths of rivers flowing into the ocean, and further out to sea, shows radiation levels are much higher than what TEPCo has been reporting.   Now that the NRA is in charge will we get more accurate reports?

 

 

Fukushima

More Fukushima Fallout: Korea enacts Japanese fish ban! Demands testing on other food products!

06 September 2013 (02:06 UTC-07 Tango)/01 Dhu ‘l-Qa’da 1434/15 Shahrivar 1392/02 Xin-You (8th month) 4711

“The measure comes as our people’s concerns are growing over the fact that hundreds of tonnes [metric tons] of radiation contaminated water leak every day from the site of Japan’s nuclear accident in Fukushima. The government has concluded that the information provided by Japan so far has failed to make it clear how the incident will develop in the future. Under the new measure, all fisheries products from this region will be banned regardless of whether they are contaminated or not!”-South Korea’s Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries

Republic of Korea has banned fish from eight of Japan’s Pacific coast prefectures: Fukushima, Ibaraki, Gunma, Miyagi, Iwate, Tochigi, Chiba and Aomori.

Korea is also asking for radiation test certificates on not just fish products, but dairy and other food products from Japan.

Fukushima

More Fukushima Fallout: More confirmation groundwater pouring into Pacific Ocean is radioactive!

05 September 2013 (10:16 UTC-07 Tango)/29 Shawwal 1434/14 Shahrivar 1392/01 Xin-You (8th month) 4711

Tokyo Electric Power Company says a monitoring well dug 10 meters (32.8 feet) from a contaminated water tank farm, is contaminated with deadly beta rays.

A water sample was taken at 7 meters (22.9 feet) depth, which means it is at the level of the aquifer that flows under Fukushima Daiichi (amazing; they built a nuke plant over such an aquifer).  The sample contained 650 becquerels per liter of beta contamination, including strontium.  The aquifer flows into the Pacific Ocean at a rate of at least 300 to 1-thousand metric tons per day.

The Black Tide (Kuroshio) of the Pacific Ocean flows from Northern Japan across to British Columbia/Washington/Oregon.  As I warned in April 2011.

Fukushima

More Fukushima Fallout: Korea considers banning all food imports from Japan! Why isn’t U.S. media reporting 6.6 million pounds of contaminated fish?!?

04 September 2013 (10:11 UTC-07 Tango)/28 Shawwal 1434/13 Shahrivar 1392/29 Xin-You (7th month) 4711

Japan’s NHK (Nippon Housou Kyoukai/Japan Broadcasting Corporation) reporting that the boss of Republic of Korea’s (aka South Korea) dominant political party, Hwang Woo-yea, wants the RoK government to ban all food products from Japan.

RoK fish mongers have already reduced the amount of fish they get from Japan, as well as testing the fish for radiation contamination.  Two weeks ago Korean news media reported massive amounts of Japanese caught fish brought for sale in Korea as being contaminated with radiation.

RoK’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety reported that since 11 March 2011, 3-thousand metric tons (6.6 million pounds) of fish from Japan contained cesium contamination!  However, they also claim the cesium levels were under RoK’s maximum safe limit of 100 becquerels per one kilogram.

Revelations from subcontracted Tokyo Electric Power Company employees show that no progress has been made on stopping the slow burn nuke melt downs of the GE designed reactors of Fukushima Daiichi.  Early today, Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority reported the discovery of another deadly leak of radiation, which is ending up in the Pacific Ocean.

The revealed ongoing and increasing leaks into the ocean has destroyed Japan’s Pacific coast fishing industry.  It’s that revelation that has RoK leaders wanting an outright ban on not just fish products from Japan, but all food products.

Japan’s NHK has been reporting that more than 60% of farm land in north eastern Honshu are still unusable, two and a half years later.

Fukushima

More Fukushima Fallout: Killer Beta Radiation Spikes Again! Too late to stop catastrophe! More incompetence revealed by whistleblowers!

04 September 2013 (02:10 UTC-07 Tango)/28 Shawwal 1434/13 Shahrivar 1392/29 Xin-You (7th month) 4711

“It is too little, too late!”-Koide Hiroaki, Kyoto University Research Reactor Institute, commenting on new efforts to stop the ongoing slow burn nuke melt down at Fukushima Daiichi

Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority reporting that deadly beta radiation from the Fukushima Daiichi nuke plant has spiked to 2200 millisieverts per hour!  Just days ago a leaking water tank was emitting 1800 millisieverts per hour, which can kill you within 4 hours of exposure.

The latest radiation ‘leak’ was found in a third tank farm.  The tank farms sit on top of a hill, above the nuclear plant.  The latest radiation readings were taken just above ground level.  There are at least 900 1-thousand metric tons capacity water storage tanks around Fukushima Daiichi, all were hastily assembled by bolting together panels.  The panel seams were sealed with a resin, but over the weekend it was discovered the resin is breaking down and coming through the seams.

The contaminated water is flooding into the Pacific Ocean.

On the PBS Newshour, Arjun Makhijani of the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research, explained why after two and a half years Tokyo Electric Power Company is only now detecting such high levels: “….the first measurement was done with an instrument that only went up to a hundred millisieverts and maxed out!”  

In other words TEPCo was using inadequate radiation detectors!

Another PBS Newshour guest revealed that the general public is hearing about the catastrophe only because subcontracted TEPCo employees are whistleblowing: “…..some of the media reports coming from Japan are saying things like subcontractors are….literally leaking information that the tanks….put together, in great haste, under severe cost pressure from TEPCo….these subcontractors are saying, well, in the long run, even medium run, you would expect them to start springing leaks. So, clearly, the operator hasn’t been on top of the situation and people are getting fairly nervous about that.”-Kenji Kushida, Stanford University

 

Fukushima

More Fukushima Fallout: Water tank seals degraded by radiation! Another killer leak discovered!

03 September 2013 (21:18 UTC-07 Tango 02 September 2013)/27 Shawwal 1434/12 Shahrivar 1392/28 Xin-You (7th month) 4711

Workers at Fukushima Daiichi discovered the reason for the massive leaks of highly contaminated water from the tanks farms.  The soft resin used to seal the bolted together tanks is degrading and being pushed out by the pressure of the water.

Over the weekend TEPCo contracted workers discovered high levels of radiation emitting from three 1-thousand metric tons capacity tanks, within the same tank farm.  One had enough radiation to kill a human after 4 hours of exposure (1800 millisieverts per hour of beta rays)!   The workers also found the degraded resin seals coming out of the seams on the tanks.

Today, inspectors discovered another water tank leaking killer radiation, at a different tank farm.  This one will take more time to kill you as it was emitting only 100 millisieverts per hour of deadly beta rays!

Fukushima

More Fukushima Fallout: Radiation levels so high now, it will kill you in 4 hours!!!

01 September 2013 (02:35 UTC-07 Tango)/25 Shawwal 1434/10 Shahrivar 1392/26 Xin-You (7th month) 4711

Radiation levels continue to skyrocket at the deadly Fukushima Daiichi nuke plant.  Tokyo Electric Power Company officials say there has been a huge increase, about 18 times greater, in radiation readings coming from a leaky water tank.

The tank was last checked on 22 August 2013.  Today it is reading 1800 millisieverts per hour, TEPCo officials say this level can kill a person in 4 hours!

TEPCo also reported a leaky pipe, connecting storage tanks.  The puddle of water under the pipe has 230 millisieverts per hour of contamination.  This is more evidence that there are many unaccounted for leaks still to be discovered (there are more than 900 storage tanks, and growing since they have to build new ones to store the ongoing water leaks from the reactors).

Fukushima

More Fukushima Fallout: TEPCo says radiation levels continue to increase! Inspectors say quake did not cause reactor damage!

31 August 2013 (22:06 UTC-07 Tango 30 August 2013)/24 Shawwal 1434/09 Shahrivar 1392/25 Geng-Shen (7th month) 4711

Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) concluded that the 11 March 2011 earthquake did not damage the cooling system for the GE designed reactors at Fukushima Daiichi.  Investigations as to why the General Electric designed reactors melted down are ongoing.

Tokyo Electric Power Company officials revealed that radiation levels continue to increase, especially since 27 August 2013.  They said higher concentrations of strontium and other beta ray isotopes are being detected in water flowing through runoff ditches around the nuke plant.  Officials with NRA say it’s a sign there are more leaks that have yet to be discovered!