Tag Archives: GE

Fukushima

Government Incompetence: Radiation cleanup a big fail in Japan!

17 May 2013 (09:51 UTC-07 Tango)/07 Rajab 1434/27 Ordibehest 1392/08 Ding-Si (4th month) 4711

More than two years after the GE designed Fukushima Daiichi reactors melted down, radiation cleanup by national and local governments has proven to be a failure.

NHK (Nippon Housou Kyoukai/Japan Broadcasting Corporation) conducted their own research and they were disappointed with the results.

Only 5% of contaminated homes have been decontaminated by local governments.  Only 4% of contaminated land has been cleaned up by the national government.

The research also revealed that in 77% of the areas considered ‘cleaned up’, the radiation levels are still above government safe limits.

Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology is calling for an investigation into how the ‘cleanup’ operations are being conducted.

Fukushima

Corporate Incompetence: A 4th radioactive leak at Fukushima Daiichi!

11 April 2013 (09:29 UTC-07 Tango)/30 Jumada l-Ula 1434/22 Farvardin 1392/02 Bing-Chen (3rd month) 4711

Now there is a fourth leak at another waste water pond in use at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Tokyo Electric Power Company reported a pipe connected to a pond leaked 22 liters (6 gallons) before workers discovered it.  They were trying to transfer contaminated water from another pond (in-ground open-air storage tank) that was leaking.

22 liters might not seem like much, but according to TEPCo that 22 liters contained 6.3 billion becquerels of radioactivity!

A couple of days ago TEPCo was ordered to stop using the ponds, after three leaks were discovered.  But, TEPCo pointed out that there is not enough above ground steel tanks in Japan to contain all the radioactive water being generated at Fukushima Daiichi.

Fukushima

Cesium levels drop in children, it pays to watch what you eat!

11 April 2013 (22:42 UTC-07 Tango 10 April 2013)/30 Jumada l-Ula 1434/22 Farvardin 1392/02 Bing-Chen (3rd month) 4711

Researchers at the University of Tokyo, Japan, have been tracking about 1400 grade school kids in Fukushima Prefecture.  They want to track radiation contamination as a result of the melt downs at the GE designed Fukushima Daiichi reactors.

Two years later the researchers report cesium levels in children have dropped, but not because of efforts to contain the disaster reactors, but because the residents have been careful about what they eat.

Almost a year after the nuke melt down, a system was in place for Japanese food sellers to test and report radiation contamination of food.  This came at the grass roots level, not at the national government level.  It was pushed by consumers demanding to know if the food they were buying was safe.  Local governments, and even grocery store chains obliged, and it was discovered that indeed many sources of food stuffs were contaminated, despite the national government telling people everything was OK.

The researchers at the University of Tokyo credit the grass roots efforts to identify and avoid contaminated food to the drop in cesium levels in children still living in Miharumachi, which is only 50 kilometers (31 miles) from Fukushima Daiichi.

Fukushima

Corporate Incompetence: Leaking inground ponds at Fukushima Daiichi versus above ground sealed tanks

10 April 2013 (02:13 UTC-07 Tango)/29 Jumada l-Ula 1434/21 Farvardin 1392/01 Bing-Chen (3rd month) 4711

Tokyo Electric Power Company has been ordered to stop using in-ground waste water ponds to store radiative water.  Three ponds are now leaking (several hundreds of tons so far) and some of the contamination includes strontium.

TEPCo said they used the in-ground ponds because they are not enough above ground steel tanks available to hold the massive amount of contaminated water coming from the damaged GE designed reactors.

TEPCo hopes to have new steel tanks delivered in the next few days.

 

 

 

Fukushima

Corporate Incompetence: For the third time in four days, another radiation leak at Fukushima Daiichi!

09 April 2013 (02:26 UTC-07 Tango)/28 Jumada l-Ula 1434/20 Farvardin 1392/29 Yi-Mao (2nd month) 4711

Tokyo Electric Power Company has just discovered another contaminated water leak in a third waste water pond. This is the pond they’ve been transferring radioactive water (including strontium) into, from two other ponds that are leaking.

TEPCo had also testified before government officials as to why the ponds/in-ground open air tanks were leaking, before they discovered the third leak.  TEPCo officials told the Japanese government they were creating an emergency task force to investigate the growing number of accidents and incidents.  They don’t know why the massive in-ground tanks are leaking.

Between all the leaks more than 120 tons of contaminated water has spilled out.  The third pond was only 55% full when it started leaking.

 

Fukushima

Corporate Incompetence: More radiation water leaks at Fukushima Daiichi!

07 April 2013 (01:20 UTC-07 Tango)/26 Jumada l-Ula 1434/18 Farvardin 1392/27 Yi-Mao (2nd month) 4711

Just one day after finding a massive water leak, contaminated with strontium, Tokyo Electric Power Company reporting another one!

The newest leak is coming from another in-ground waste water holding tank/pool.  It’s a smaller pool, holding about 10000 tons of radioactive water.

Now TEPCo has to transfer water from two leaking pools.  They do not know why the pools are leaking.

Fukushima

Radiation contamination continues in Japan, proof is in the pudding of sewage treatment plants!

06 April 2013 (13:12 UTC-07 Tango)/25 Jumada l-Ula 1434/17 Farvardin 1392/26 Yi-Mao (2nd month) 4711

The prefecture of Fukushima is revealing that the sludge generated at their sewage treatment plants continue to show radiation contamination.

At this point they have 68000 tons of radioactive sludge built up.  Other prefectures are reporting similar radioactive sludge.

This is proof the GE designed reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant are still spewing radiation.

Fukushima Prefecture, along with Japan’s Environment Ministry, has installed an experimental sludge dryer, to speed up the evaporation of liquid from the sludge.
This will make it easier to store the dried hazardous material.

Fukushima

Corporate Incompetence: Strontium leaking in Japan!

06 April 2013 (02:00 UTC-07 Tango)/25 Jumada l-Ula 1434/17 Farvardin 1392/26 Yi-Mao (2nd month) 4711

Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCo) reports a strontium leak around the GE designed disaster reactors at Fukushima Daiichi.

TEPCo says they discovered a large inground waste water holding tank/pool is leaking.  The water is contaminated with deadly strontium.  So far 120 tons of water has leaked out.

They are now transferring the water into other tanks.  As usual, TEPCo does not know why the tank is leaking.

Fukushima

Mother Nature strikes Fukushima Daiichi, with plague of rats?

20 March 2013/08 Jumada l-Ula 1434/30 Esfand 1391/09 Yi-Mao (2nd month) 4711

Tokyo Electric Power Company has found the cause of the power outage, which stopped cooling of spent fuel pools a few days ago.

In one of three high voltage distribution panels they found burn marks, along with a dead rat.  It’s very likely the rat touched the panel causing a short circuit, which could have led to another nuclear disaster.

A former inlaw of mine, in Texas, lost a home to a fire that was caused by a rat that got into a circuit breaker panel that was part of a recent room extension on the house.

Fukushima

TEPCo restores cooling at Fukushima Daiichi

20 March 2013/08 Jumada l-Ula 1434/30 Esfand 1391/09 Yi-Mao (2nd month) 4711

Tokyo Electric Power Company claims they’ve restored cooling to spent fuel pools.  They still are not sure what caused the outside electric supply to stop.  They suspect a surge tripped three high voltage distribution panels.  After replacement and inspection they could find no signs of damage on the panels.