Tag Archives: japan

Fukushima

U.S. Military warns Japanese Military of Cesium contamination, a lesson for everyone

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.

Fukushima

Radioactive Pit in worse condition than first reported, concrete not working!

Once again, Tokyo Electric Power Company downplayed how bad the situation is. A crack in a large pit, at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, is much worse than first reported. TEPCo said they could stop leaking radioactive water by using concrete on the crack.

The crack is very large, and the water isn’t just ‘leaking’, it’s pouring into the Pacific Ocean. The concrete is not solidifying because of the huge amount of water flowing into the pit.  Remember, each reactor holds hundreds of tons of water.

The pit is connected to Reactor 2 turbine room via a trench.  It has become clear that most of the water that’s been pumped, and sprayed, into the reactors over the last few weeks, is just running out the bottom of the structures, into their basements and into their turbine/cooling buildings.  Now, it’s known that the highly contaminated water is pouring into the Pacific Ocean.

TEPCo officials say they will try using a polymer to seal the large crack in reactor 2’s pit.

Business/Economics, International

Insurance companies abandon survivors of Japan disaster

Because survivors of the March 11 tsunami lost everything, including any insurance documentation, many insurance companies are giving them the cold shoulder.

Most survivors are made up of the elderly, who lost all documentation in the tsunami. They are extremely concerned about their future, one man pointed out that all he has is his retirement income, which is set to be reduced.

Japanese attorneys are now going to disaster shelters, offering free legal counseling concerning lost documents.

Fukushima

Suzuki warns that it may close plants as well

The president of Suzuki announced that if parts supply problems persist, they too will close plants.

Suzuki is working to find other sources of parts, outside of Japan.

Suzuki has operations all over the world, including Canada and the United States. They are partners with General Motors.

Fukushima

What to do with Radioactive Water? Put it in Ships?

The Japanese government is thinking about using ships from the U.S., and giant floating platforms, to store the deadly water.

Efforts to bring the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant under control are being held up because of highly radioactive water, that is now leaking in the reactors.

The water can not be flushed away, it is nuclear waste. Several Japanese deep sea fishing companies have offered their ‘mega-floats’, used as deep seas fishing ‘parks’, to be filled with the contaminated water. The mega floats are 136 meters (446 feet) long and 46 meters (150 feet) wide.

Also, U.S. military barges might be used to store the deadly water, after they unload their cargo of fresh water.