Tag Archives: nuclear

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Japanese on welfare at record numbers, the last Japanese TV factory to shut down, Japan is the second largest foreign holder of U.S. debt

The number of households getting welfare in Japan hit a record number of 1.46 million.  That’s households, not individuals.

The Japanese Welfare Ministry say it’s a rising trend, no thanks to the never ending nuclear disaster.

To make matters worse, Japan’s only domestic television maker, Hitachi, announced they will close up shop and move their factory to Taiwan.  Of course this means more Japanese out of work.  Hitachi officials say they had to make the move in order to compete with South Korean companies.

Other big name Japanese electronics makers, like Panasonic, Sony and Toshiba, all reported big loses in the past quarter. And it can’t be blamed on the nuclear disaster.  The Japanese companies are having a hard time competing with other Asian nations.

This brings us to an important, and over looked fact: Japan is the second largest foreign holder of U.S. government debt (after China).  Japan’s main market is the United States, yet has been losing out to companies from China and South Korea.

If things get bad enough for Japan, they will be forced to off load their U.S. bonds in order to make some money for their struggling systems.  This could be why the U.S. has given Japan so much help battling the nuclear disaster at Fukushima Daiichi.

 

Fukushima

Government Incompetence: More proof radiation spreading across Japan, rice feed for cows 440 miles away contaminated!

Yet another prefectural government announced they will begin radiation checks of their cows, after they discovered their cattle feed is contaminated with cesium.

That prefecture is Shimane, and it’s 708 kilometers (440 miles) south west of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant!

Shimane officials say they will begin blanket tests of their cattle starting next week.

Tests of cattle feed, at the end of July, came back showing high levels of contamination.  As a result prices for cows from Shimane crashed.  Officials are hoping their cows are not contaminated, because cattle farming is an important business for them.

Fukushima

Government Incompetence: Japan government cannot logistically conduct radiation monitoring, must rely on local governments and NGOs

Another example of the lack of preparedness of the Japanese government; promised increases in radiation monitoring have not materialized, because the government can’t handle it logistically.

02 August 2011, the Japanese government announced that in order to increase radiation monitoring they will now rely on non governmental groups, many of which have already been conducting their own radiation monitoring.

Many of Japan’s citizens have complained about the lack of response from the national government.  Official government reports concerning radiation levels have been contradicted, and even proven wrong, by local governments, as well as the NGOs.

Many of the national government reports relied on data from Tokyo Electric Power Company, and it’s obvious TEPCo is totally unreliable.

Agencies of the Japanese government are now going to work with the NGOs, and local governments, to set up a large network of 250 radiation monitoring sites, which will include schools and libraries.  They will check air, ground, water, plants and food for radiation contamination.  The government hopes to have a web site set up by mid August, so that everyone in Japan can see the results.

Fukushima

Government Incompetence: Ban on fertilizers used for farming, ban on livestock feed, radioactive, finally establish standards

The Japanese government established radiation contamination guidelines for determining whether fertilizers, and livestock feed, contaminated with radiation are safe to use, or not.

The new safe limit for contaminated fertilizer is 400 becquerels of cesium per kilogram.  Farmers are asked to use humus and compost that contains less than that.

The new standard for fertilizer comes after it’s become clear that many crops around Honshu are contaminated, internally, with radiation.  Many of those crops are fed to cows, which in turn become internally contaminated.

Also, the government established, for the first time, safe limits on cattle and fish feed.  300 becquerels of cesium per kilogram in cattle feed is the max, and 100 becquerels for fish feed.

Government officials say they will start explaining, by next week, how farmers can check for such levels.

Fukushima

Corporate Incompetence: Highest INDOOR radiation levels found in Reactor 1 building!

On 01 August 2011, Tokyo Electric Power Company revealed that a venting pipe coming off Fukushima Daiichi’s Reactor 1, was emitting 10 sieverts per hour of radiation.  According to government officials that can kill you in one to two weeks, after one hour of exposure!

Now TEPCo says they’ve conducted radiation checks inside Reactor 1 building, and bingo…5,000 millisieverts (5 sieverts) per hour, the highest indoor reading yet!

The readings were taken on the second floor of the reactor building.  TEPCo has ordered the area blocked off.  They say the high radiation readings in that area are because the venting pipe, that’s emitting 10 sieverts per hour, runs through that room.

 

Fukushima

Fourth Prefecture makes cesium cattle ban list, within 24 hours of the third Prefecture!

Within 24 hours of banning cattle from two locations in Iwate Prefecture, the Japanese government is also banning cows from Tochigi Prefecture.

Just like Iwate, the ban affects two areas within Tochigi Prefecture, after cesium contamination was found in cows and plants.  Tochigi has a much bigger cattle industry than Iwate.  As many as 55,000 head of beef cattle are shipped from Tochigi, and they process (slaughter) another 30,000 per year.

The national government is asking Tochigi officials to step up voluntary cesium inspections with the farms that are not in the two cesium affected areas.

The prefectures that are now under beef bans are Fukushima, Miyagi, Iwate and Tochigi.

Fukushima

Government Incompetence: More cesium contaminated beef!

The Japanese government has made it official, and banned beef from Iwate Prefecture.  Iwate is the third prefecture to have its cattle banned from market.  Fukushima and Miyagi are the other two prefectures.  Iwate normally ships out 36,000 head of beef cattle every year.

The ban doesn’t affect all cattle from Iwate, just those from farms in two areas that have already tested positive for cesium contamination.  Other cattle farms, in Iwate, are being asked to step up cesium inspections.

The problem with the Japanese government’s response to the contaminated cattle, is that it is reactive.  They only take action after contaminated beef has made it to market.

It’s so obvious that massive cesium contamination has spread over a large area of Honshu.  It’s time to become pro-active and stop all agriculture shipments now!  Do contamination inspections on everything coming from farms.

I know for most agriculture products time is important because they can spoil, but spoiled food is better than letting highly contaminated food make it to market.  Again, it is so obvious that massive radioactive contamination has occurred.

 

 

 

Fukushima

Corporate Incompetence: TEPCo thinks there are more radiactive Hot Spots, can kill a person within one week!

On 01 August 2011, Tokyo Electric Power Company detected a massive radiation leak from a pipe between reactors 1 and 2.  It’s emitting 10 sieverts (10,000 millisieverts) per hour.  The Japanese Science Ministry says anyone who is exposed to such levels can die in one to two weeks!

Now TEPCo says it’s possible there are other radioactive hot spots within the Fukushima Daiichi compound.  They claim they will check for more hot spots.  The amazing thing is that time after time, whenever a massive amount of radiation is detected, TEPCo says they will conduct better monitoring, yet it’s starting to look like they lie about it.

This latest radiation hot spot was found by a gamma ray camera, but apparently the pipe has been emitting the deadly levels for months.  TEPCo now speculates that the pipe is full of material from melted active nuclear fuel rods from Reactor 1.  Reactor 1 melted down just hours after the 11 March 2011 quake and tsunami.  TEPCo says the pipe was used to vent the reactor after the melt down.

Fukushima

Corporate Incompetence: Highest radiation levels yet coming from Fukushima Daiichi, higher than what instruments can read!

01 August 2011, Tokyo Electric Power Company reporting that they’ve recorded the highest radiation levels yet at their damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

A pipe located between reactors 1 and 2, is emitting more than ten sieverts (not millisieverts but the larger measurement of sieverts) per hour of radiation!

Most measurements have been given in the much smaller millisieverts range.  One millisievert equals 0.001 sievert.   One microsievert equals 0.000001 sievert.  So you can see a reading of ten sieverts is huge!  It is so huge, that the Geiger counters used to take the measurements max out at ten sieverts, which means the level of radiation being emitted could be higher.

As usual, TEPCo officials don’t understand why they’re getting such high radiation readings!  TEPCo sent workers to inspect the pipe, after a gamma camera detected extreme radiation.  The workers could not stay long, leaving after being exposed to 4 millisieverts per hour of radiation.  TEPCo says the area around the pipe is now a No Go area.

 

 

Fukushima

Farmer Incompetence: Japanese planted rice in radioactive fields

In several postings (back in March) I warned that Japanese farmers should not plant their crops because of the radiation contamination…they planted their crops anyway, now it’s a mess.

Prefectural governments, and the national government of Japan, are now telling farmers not to ship their upcoming rice harvest, because of cesium contamination.

It’s not just rice that’s contaminated.  For months now tea crops have been coming up with radiation, and what’s amazing is that the Japanese tea industry has spent money promoting their tea around the world, even holding tea drinking demonstrations.  Many vegetables are contaminated, and even compost is proving to be contaminated.  And, they’re still dealing with the massive beef cesium contamination.

Did anybody learn anything from Chernobyl?