Tag Archives: fukushima

Fukushima

One Year Later: Local officials expand nuclear disaster zone, after meeting with military leaders

Officials with Shiga Prefecture have extended their nuclear disaster preparedness zone, around local nuclear power plants, beyond the 30 kilometer (18.64 miles) radius recommended by the central government.

They made their decision after meeting with officials from Japan’s Self Defense Forces.  The JSDF is actually the best trained for nuclear accidents, because of their NBC (Nuclear Biological Chemical) warfare training.

In the days immediately following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, the JSDF were brought in because it became clear they were the only ones who had the specific training to get close enough to the GE designed disaster reactors.

They were the ones that said Fukushima Daiichi was a Chernobyl level disaster, especially after one of the reactors blew up as the JSDF NBC teams moved in.  One of their vehicles was destroyed, luckily the crew got out.

They then tried dropping water by helicopter, but the radiation levels blasting straight up into the sky was too much, and they called off the water drops. The JSDF had learned from the Chernobyl disaster, and tried bolting extra metal plates to the bottom of their helicopters, but it wasn’t enough.

It was then the firefighters were sent in, essentially as suicide teams, to get water pouring onto the exposed spent fuel pools.

So, when Shiga prefectural leaders talked to the JSDF about how big a nuclear disaster zone should be, they were talking to people who know first hand.  Not like those BS artist corporate officials.

Their disaster zone is now 43 km (26.7 miles) radius.  They’ve also changed their policy regarding the distribution of iodine. Before, it was to be distributed to people within 50 km (31 miles) of the nuclear reactors.  Now it will be distributed to the entire Prefecture!

Fukushima

One Year Later: Japan down to just 1 operating nuclear reactor. Domestic economy threatened by lack of electricity!

Since the March 11, 2011, natural disasters led to the nuclear disaster at Fukushima Daiichi, 53 of Japan’s 54 nuclear reactors are now off line.

On March 25, 2012, Reactor 6 in Niigata Prefecture was shut down for regular inspections.  The next, and last reactor to shut down will be Tomari in Hokkaido.

Reactor 3 at Tomari nuclear power plant was supposed to be shut down permanently in April, but the operator, Hokkaido Electric Power Company, decided to delay until May 5, 2012.

While the Tomari reactor is not scheduled for re-start, those that are have been blocked by local governments.  In Japan the local governments have the final word on reactor re-start, and because of the on going disaster reactors at Fukushima Daiichi, the majority of people in Japan are against re-starting any reactors.

For the summer of 2011 Japan’s domestic industries suffered greatly because of an electrical power shortage, even with only about 37 reactors operating.  Attempts were made at other sources of electricity, but it wasn’t enough with such short notice.

Individuals, as well as industries had to deal with power black outs.  This caused many industries to close up, since they needed at least eight continuous hours of electricity (or longer).   As an example, a bread factory needs at least eight hours of electricity to make bread on an industrial scale.  The power black outs took place about every six hours.

Some individuals say they handled the summer without air conditioning well, because it didn’t get that hot (what was that about global warming?).

Now Japan is heading into summer 2012, with not one nuclear reactor up and running.  Officials are scrambling to find ways to convince the local governments to re-start reactors, even bringing in international inspectors to reassure local leaders.

This is one reason the Obama Administration recently exempted Japan from the U.S. oil sanctions against Iran.  Japan will be using a lot more oil to run petroleum fired power generators.

There has been a push for wind power, but, just like here in the United States, there’s been a backlash of people who are against it because those windmills are “eyesores” and reduce property value.

It just doesn’t look good for Japan going into the summer of 2012.

 

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

One Year later: Japanese fishing boat found off coast of Canada, first of 3 million tons of debris still heading for North America

“The vessel is considered an obstruction to navigation.”-Transport Canada statement

A 65 meter (210 feet) long fishing boat from Japan was found off Haida Gwaii islands (some reports say Queen Charlotte Islands), about 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) north of Vancouver, Canada.

The fishing boat was washed away from Japan by the March 11, 2011 tsunami.  Senator Maria Cantwell, of the U.S. state of Washington, estimates another 50 days before the ship hits land, and warns it is the first of many more to come: “This 150 feet fishing vessel is the first major West Coast tsunami debris confirmed by Japanese officials. And now, we’ve learned that larger debris could reach our coastlines sooner than expected. With some debris already moving towards the West Coast, we need more data and better science to track and respond to tsunami debris….Coastal residents need to know who is in charge of tsunami debris response, and we need clearer answers now.”

Japan’s Coast Guard has identified the boat as coming from Aomori Prefecture.

Also, Russians found a 20 foot Japanese fishing boat near Midway Atoll.

 

 

 

 

Fukushima

Government Hypocrisy: Japan drags feet on Fukushima Daiichi, yet scrambles to shoot down Korean communications satellite, even cancels flower festival!

It has been proven by independent investigations in Japan, that government and corporate leaders not only dragged their feet in responding to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident, they’re still dragging their feet!

Yet, when North Korea announced they were going to launch a harmless communications satellite, Japanese leaders went into overdrive!

Earlier in the month Japanese defense officials said they were moving U.S. supplied Patriot missiles into position to shoot down the satellite.  U.S. officials came out and said they were going to back up Japan in defending itself against the satellite (note that U.S. and other western media keep referring to the satellite as a “ballistic missile”).

Now Chief Cabinet Secretary, Osamu Fujimura, announced they have canceled the annual Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden flower viewing in Tokyo.  He blames it on North Korea’s planned launch of a communications satellite!

Japanese officials scrambling over a communications satellite launch, even shutting down a flower show?  Where was the concern when Fukushima Daiichi was blowing up?  Where is the concern now that it’s obvious Fukushima Daiichi is still spewing massive amounts of radiation?  But oh no, we can’t have any North Korean communication satellites being launched, better cancel that flower show!

Fukushima

One Year Later: Japan develops their first ever mobile pet clinic, to help the hundred of animals still suffering in Iwate

Iwate University, along with a pet food company in Tokyo, have developed a mobile pet clinic specifically to try and help the more than 450 pets still suffering in Iwate Prefecture.

Iwate was hit hard by the March 11, 2011, Mega Quake and tsunami.  It’s also near Fukushima prefecture, and has been affected by radiation from the destroyed Fukushima Daiichi nuke power factory.

The mobile clinic will allow veterinarians to even conduct surgeries.  Director of Iwate University Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Reeko Sato, says hundreds of pets have gone a full year without any treatment for their injuries, or radiation related illnesses.  Most veterinarian services were destroyed on March 11, 2011.

It’s hoped more mobile pet clinics are created, in Fukushima Province there are even more animals who need attention.

ONE YEAR LATER: WHAT HAPPENED TO THE FARM ANIMALS & PETS OF TSUNAMI HIT JAPAN?

Fukushima

Corporate Incompetence: One Year Later it’s revealed that another Japanese nuclear plant is in trouble, massive leaks!

Fukushima Daiichi was not the only nuclear plant in Japan shut down as a direct result of the March 11, 2011 disasters.

The Japan Atomic Power Company (JAPCo) revealed that their Tokai nuclear plant has leaked more than 20 tons of radioactive water since October 2011!

The radioactive water has been leaking into one of the buildings.  The current leak was detected after water used to hose down employees was testing positive for high levels of radiation. Somehow the radioactive water got into the rinse water for employees.

JAPCo says they don’t know where the radioactive water is coming from! They have yet to pump out the building where it has been flooded with the contaminated water.  Gee this sounds familiar?  TEPCo? Fukushima Daiichi?

But wait, there’s lots more tales of incompetence regarding the Tokai nuclear power plant.

It turns out that Japan’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency discovered leaks last year!  After an inspection the government agency warned JAPCo that the building housing reactor 2 was filling with radioactive water.

On top of that, JAPCo’s own employees said an alarm went off at 10:20 on October 26, 2011.  Water was pouring from a pipe at the bottom of the reactor’s pressure vessel.  JAPCo blew it off saying it was a minor leak easily fixed.  That minor leak ended up being 22.4 tons (according to media source Japan Today)!

Since then another 2.2 tons of radioactive water went ‘missing’.  That’s how much contaminated water disappeared between the October 2011 leak and March 16, 2012.  Then on Saturday, March 17, workers discovered their rinse water was now radioactive.

On closer inspection they realized that 1.2 tons of radioactive water somehow got into their rinse water tanks!  Upon inspection of reactor 2 building, they found it is flooded with contaminated water (just like the buildings at Fukushima Daiichi).

Can’t blame GE on this one, the Tokai nuclear plant is Japan’s first nuke power factory, and it was built by the British.

Immediately after the March 11, 2011 Mega Quake and tsunami, it was being reported that the Tokai nuke plant survived the tsunami because the sea wall had been raised.  It was also reported that Tokai didn’t rely on cooling systems like at Fukushima Daiichi.  Both reports have proven to been a little misleading.

On March 13, 2011, Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency reported that one of three seawater cooling pumps quit working.  Tokai was lucky in that the other two pumps were still working, as well as their diesel generators.

Regarding the raised sea wall.  It was still overrun by the tsunami, one reason being that there were cable holes in the new wall that still needed to be plugged.

Tokai failed a recent stress test because its electrical systems are unable to survive future earthquakes.

But to make matters more confusing, Japanese media is not being very specific when reporting on the Tokai nuclear power plant.  You see there are two nuclear reactors one called Tokai I, the other called Tokai II.

In 1998 Tokai I (reactor 1) was shut down and was supposed to have been dismantled by 2011, yet the way Japanese media is talking the dismantling is still on going.

Tokai II (reactor 2) was still operational when the 2011 tsunami hit.  It is the one that is currently flooding with radioactive water from a mystery source!

 

 

 

Fukushima

One Year Later: TEPCo finally looks inside Reactor 4 Fukushima Daiichi, strange white objects in reactor & spent fuel pool!

Tokyo Electric Power Company has finally looked inside GE designed reactor 4, using an underwater camera.

All they could see was “wreckage” and strange “floating white objects”.

Those same “floating white objects” have been observed in reactor 4’s spent fuel pool.  TEPCo said visibility in the spent fuel pool has decreased in the past month.

Visibility is down to one meter (about 3 & half feet), the month prior it was five meters (16 feet)!

Business/Economics, International, Technology

One Year Later: Cell Phones proved useless in Tsunami hit areas, news media critical for getting information out

An international telecommunication symposium was held in the quake/tsunami hit Japanese city of Sendai. The goal was to discover which form of telecommunications works best in a tsunami disaster.

Cells phones proved to be useless, as there was no way to charge the batteries.  Use of pay phones was limited because of tsunami damage.

It turns out that the best way to communicate with disaster victims is still the tried and true Radio!  A study found that most survivors, who knew what was going on, were listening to portable radios.

The boss of Japan’s NHK broadcaster (NHK actually won awards for their reporting on the disaster), said in the next disaster they will focus even more on getting useful information out for those survivors who might be listening on portable radios.

 

Fukushima

Japan Modern Day Atlantis round 12: Land continues to shift, slow moving landslide devouring houses

A slow moving landslide, in Niigata Prefecture, has devoured eleven homes, so far.  Locals are trying to stop the Earthly sloth by building a mound of dirt.

The landslide is 150 meters (492 feet) wide and 750 meters (2,460 feet) long, and is moving at only 17 centimeters (6.7 inches) per hour! The next victims in its path are a hamlet of 20 people.

Niiagata Prefecture was hit with heavy snow recently, and officials say the landslide is being cause by melt-water deep in the ground.

They’re building a 5 meter (16 feet) high mound of dirt, and trying to pump out melt-water from the ground.  They think the landslide sloth will gain in size and speed as more snow melts.  At least 80 people have been evacuated.

JAPAN MODERN DAY ATLANTIS ROUND 11: MORE THAN 10,000 EARTHQUAKES HIT JAPAN IN THE PAST YEAR! JAPAN ISLANDS SHIFT EASTWARD!

Fukushima

Government Incompetence: Japan refused to co-operate with IAEA safety guidlines!

It’s been revealed that six years ago the Japanese Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) was asked to adopt the safety guidelines of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

The request was made in 2006 by Japan’s Nuclear Safety Commission.  Top NISA officials refused, saying things such as evacuation areas as recommended by the IAEA, would cause undue anxiety among the masses!

Hideaki Tsuzuku, of the Nuclear Safety Commission, blasted NISA, saying if they had followed the IAEA’s guidelines evacuations would have taken place sooner, and faster!

NISA official Yoshinori Moriyama, admitted they never thought such a nuclear accident, as Fukushima Daiichi, could happen!