First the concrete failed, now the disposable diaper absorbent fails.
Workers combined 8 kilograms (17.6 pounds) of polymeric absorbent with 60 kilograms of sawdust and three bags of shredded newspaper into pipes leading to a pit connected to Reactor 2, at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. It failed.
Highly contaminated water continues to pour into the Pacific Ocean.
Hosono Goshi, special adviser to Japanese Prime Minister Kan Naoto, said attempts to control Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant will take “several months”. Hosono also said that the plant is still “critical”.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Edano Yukio, admitted that the government, and Tokyo Electric, have not been forthright with the public about how bad the situation really is. Edano said that it was time for a “highly independent” panel to review the situation at the damaged nuclear plant.
Jeffrey Immelt, CEO of General Electric, met with Tokyo Electric chairman Katsumata Tsunehisa on Sunday.
TEPCo officials said GE’s Immelt offered ‘maximum’ support for dealing with the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, which GE designed.
According to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, there are 23 nuclear plants in the United States that are similar in design as Fukushima Daiichi.
Immelt will meet with the Japanese Economy Minister on Monday. Under Japanese regulations, if the design of the plant is proven faulty then GE can be sued.
Immelt has also been pushing for taxpayer supported nuclear plant development in the U.S. The Guardian newspaper recently reminded people that Immelt once said that investors are not willing to take on the risks of nuclear power, and that those risks should be handled by the government (taxpayers). In other words, capitalist investors know nuclear power is a bad bet.
According to former Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold, General Electric paid no U.S. taxes in 2010. He also wants Jeffery Immelt to resign from President Barack Obama’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness.
‘‘Can’t you increase the number of examiners? The lives of farmers are at stake! It’s a matter of whether they can live tomorrow!’’-Sato Yuhei, Governor of Fukushima
The governor of Fukushima Prefecture is blasting the government for dragging its feet with the ongoing nuclear crisis. Especially when it comes to the safety of farm goods.
In response to the governor’s complaints, national government officials simply confirmed that they are short on staffing and equipment, for use in this specific nuclear crisis. Another way of admitting that the government was not prepared.
Tokyo Electric Power Company officials are concerned that Reactor 1, Fukushima Daiichi, could still build up explosive hydrogen gas.
To counter the problem they plan on injecting nitrogen into the containment vessel on Tuesday.
Another case of relatively low tech coming to the rescue. Tokyo Electric Power Company now using a type of polymeric powder to soak up contaminated water at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
The poly kitty litter, which is used in disposable diapers, can soak up to 50 times its weight.
Workers are using it in the cracked pit connected to Reactor 2.
A nuclear plant in Mexico, with a bad history might be leaking radiation, including cesium-137. Laguna Verde nuclear power plant is 290 kilometers southeast of Mexico City, and residents in a near by town have been dying of cancers and tumors since the plant became operational.
Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE) runs the plant, and has a long list of complaints, including deaths of employees, and a whistle blower that was fired. Laguna Verde has been in operation since 1990.
Vega de Alatorre, a town with about 18,500 residents, has reported unusual amounts of deaths from rare cancers. Just since 2008, 33 people have died of various kinds of cancers and tumors; brain cancer, renal cancer, pulmonary fibrosis, tuberous sclerosis. Most of the people in the area have no family history of cancer. Two of the deaths include workers at the nuke plant.
In 1999 the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) found there had been a high number of shutdowns that weakened the operating systems. Also, inadequate training, lack of proper management and obsolete equipment.
Bernardo Salas was fired from CFE recently, after he went public with information about Laguna Verde. He reported that reactor 2 almost experienced melt down, because of an electrical fault in 2006. Also, Salas reported that he found cesium-137 and cobalt-60 at three locations outside the plant, between 2006-2009.
The ongoing disaster at Fukushima Daiichi, in Japan, is forcing officials in Mexico to finally listen to complaints about Laguna Verde. A group of Mexican Senators will visit the plant on April 6.
The lack of electricity in Japan is due to several nuclear power plants being shut down since the 11 March disasters. They were planning on restarting this month, but, because of the ongoing disaster at Fukushima Daiichi, they will delay longer.
Hamaoka nuclear plant in Shizuoka Prefecture, Shika nuclear power plant in Ishikawa Prefecture, and, Genkai nuclear power plant in Saga Prefecture, have all delayed their planned restarts. This will make the problem of international parts supplies even worse.
Nuclear plant officials say it’s not just the ongoing disaster at Fukushima Daiichi, but the fact that the Japanese government has ordered nuke plants to increase structural protection against natural disasters. That will take time.
Tokyo Electric Power Company officials say they have found the bodies of two Fukushima Daiichi workers missing since the 11 March tsunami.
They had to remove radioactive debris in order to recover the bodies. The two men bled to death, from injuries caused by the tsunami.
U.S. military forces in Japan has warned of cesium contamination on helicopters.
Yesterday, the Japanese Self Defense Forces announced that some of their helicopters are contaminated with high levels of radiation, even after going through a decontamination process.
U.S. Navy personnel trying to decontaminate the deck of the USS Ronald Reagan
NHK reported that the U.S. military has told the JSDF that the contamination is probably cesium. Cesium sticks to paint, and is not easily removed.
The JSDF says they will try vacuuming the contamination off their helicopters.
This is something for everyone to think about regarding personal vehicles, homes, even your vegetable gardens. Cover everything outside with thick tarps (or several layers of tarps) in a nuclear disaster. Those tarps will become radioactive waste, which will present another problem, but better the tarps than anything you value. Just another reason why nuclear power is so dangerous.