Tag Archives: soviet

Technology

Cold War Vehicle I-D: Tu-95 ‘Bear’

Video

Tupolev 95, NATO reporting name Bear, in the mid-1950s the prototype/early production was called Tupolev 20. From official Soviet silent film, Tu-20s make a quick overfly of a parade in Moscow (the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics did not like publicly displaying their bombers, especially new bombers), 1957:

Bear-As were bombers and did not have refueling probes.  Bear-B/Cs were bombers with refueling probes and could carry early style cruise missiles. Bear Ds were long rang maritime reconnaissance aircraft with radar bulges under chin and belly.  Bear Es were also recon aircraft, with the tail gun replaced by electronic sensors. Bear-G/H carried cruise missiles and had a differently shaped radar bulge under its chin.

Silent U.S. Air Force film, ‘Bear-D’ South East of Iceland, 21NOV1967:

Silent USAF film, ‘Bear D’ East of Iceland, 16JAN1968:

Silent USAF film, ‘Bear B’ (while the film’s slate says Bear B, the shape of the radome indicates a Bear G/H, definitely not a Bear-B) escorted by F-102 Delta Dagger, South East of Iceland, 20FEB1968:

Silent USAF film, ‘Bear-C’ (as above, the shape of the chin radome indicates a Bear-G/H, not a Bear-C) escorted by F-102 Delta Dagger, 20FEB1968:

Silent U.S. Navy film, ‘Bear Ds’ buzz USS Essex (CVS-9), May 1968:

Silent USN film from May 1971, F-4Js ‘escort’ a Tu-95:

‘Bear A’ near Iceland, March 1972.

F-8 Crusader escorts ‘Bear-D’, 25MAY1974, photo by Lieutenant Fessenden.

USN photo dated 15MAY1974.

F-106 Delta Dart escorts Bear-D.

Bicentennial F-4C/D escorts Bear-D.

F-14A escorts ‘Bear-D’, 15OCT1979.

F-4E escorts ‘Bear-A(?)’, 28SEP1980, photo by Master Sergeant Richard Diaz.

Somewhere over the North Atlantic, F-4Es escort ‘Bear-D’, September 1980, photo by Master Sergeant Richard Diaz.

There is also a gun turret under the rear fuselage, September 1980, photo by Master Sergeant Richard Diaz.

Texas Air National Guard F-4C escorts Bear-D, August 1981.

1982, ‘Bear-A’.

‘Bear-D’ over the Mediterranean Sea, May 1983.

U.S. Navy photo, published January 1984.

‘Bear-E’ (notice the fairing where the tail gun would be), August 1985.

Pukin Dogs F-14s escort Bear-D.

‘Bear-E’ with F-14D, August 1985. You can see the tail gun position is faired over, but there is still a gun turret underneath the rear fuselage.

A-7E escorts Bear-D, September/October 1985.

‘Bear E/G/H(?)’, U.S. Navy photo published July 1987.

‘Bear G/H(?)’, USN photo published August 1988.

Cold War Vehicle I-D: B-47 STRATOJET

Modern Vehicle I-D: SUKHOI 24

Technology

Zombie ‘Copter: How the Hind returned to Afghanistan, and why it won’t die

Video

The first time the Afghan military used the NATO-reporting-name Hind was during the Soviet occupation (1979-1989).  It was during that occupation that Mujaheddin on the receiving end of the Mi-24D nicknamed it Satan’s Chariot.  After the Soviets left, Afghanistan managed to operate a few Mi-24s (NATO reporting-name Hind-D), some sources say right up until the 2001 U.S. invasion.

Apparently the Mil 35 is the export version of the Mil 24V (NATO reporting-name Hind-E), and apparently there’s wasn’t much difference between the Soviet version and the export version.   However, don’t confuse a Mi-35 with the newer Mi-35M (prototype Mi-24VM).  Along with many internal upgrades the basic visual differences between Mi-24/25 (another ‘export’ designation)/35 and a true Mi-35M are the landing gear, wings and chin-gun.  The Mi-35M has fixed landing gear (apparently in an effort to reduce weight and keep production costs down), shorter span wings and a twin barreled 23mm chin-gun.

Kabul International Airport/Air Base. U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sergeant Cecilio Ricardo, 02APR2007.

In December 2008, Czech Republic started deliveries of at least six refurbished Mi-24Vs (NATO Mi-35 Hind-E), along with several Mi-17s, to help build Afghanistan’s air power.

The push to build Afghan government controlled air power was seen as a way of reducing reliance on U.S./NATO forces, a way of avoiding getting stuck in a ‘Tar Baby’ the way the Soviets did in the 1980s.

U.S. Air Force photo by Technical Sergeant Edward Gyokeres, 27MAY2009.

Live fire at East River Range Complex near Bagram Air Base, May 2009.

June 2009 video of Czech technicians training Afghans for live fire exercise:

According to the exalted Wikipedia, it states the Czech Hinds were “purchased” by Afghanistan and training was done by technicians from India. Wrong!  Here’s an official NATO report from July 2009:

USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Thomas Dow, 09SEP2009.

2009, U.S. Air Force video report explaining what the plan is for the Afghan Hinds:

USAF photo by Airman Brian Ybarbo, 15DEC2009.

USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Manuel J. Martinez, 11MAY2010.

USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Oshawn Jefferson, 15MAY2010.

Quick live fire video from June 2010:

USAF photo, 26JAN2011.

Photo by Vladimir Potapenko, 05MAR2011.

USA photo by Staff Sergeant Elvis Umanzor, 18SEP2013.

In 2014, it was revealed that the United States supplied Afghanistan with 30 Russian built new model Mi-17B-5 helicopters. But the affair with Russia ended over the shenanigans in Ukraine and Crimea.  U.S. officials instead pushed for U.S. made helicopters to be given to Afghanistan.

In a 2015 New York Times article an Afghan colonel criticized the U.S. for forcing Afghanistan to accept MD 530F scout helicopters (at U.S. taxpayer expense).  The colonel pointed out the MD 530Fs were easily shot down saying “This plane is a total mess”, and expressed a desire to get more Hinds.

In 2019, the arrogant U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) stated the Czech gifted “…Mi-35s were removed from the authorized fleet in 2015, but the Afghans continue to attempt to sustain them. DoD has advised them against doing so….”, and seemed perplexed at Afghan military leaders wanting a more reliable and survivable gunship like the Mi-24.

Sensing an opportunity to make points with the Afghan government, India gifted four refurbished Hinds (originally purchased from Belarus) between 2015 and the end of 2019.  The Indian Hinds were denoted as Mi-25s and Mi-24Vs by the Indian news media and even Jane’s Defence Weekly, U.S. news sources refer to the Indian gifted Hinds as Mi-35s.

Moral of the story is; if you want to make Afghans happy just give them more Satan’s Chariots!

Update, 11AUG2021, Taliban capture Mil 24V (Mil 35):

VEHICLE I-D: ZOMBIE TANK T-55, THEY’RE EVERYWHERE!

Kit Bashing, Technology

Soviet Great Patriotic War ‘Bat’ to be resurrected from the dead!

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“For the first time in the world, a Tu-2 bomber will be reconstructed to its operational condition on the premises of the Novosibirsk State Technical University. The reconstruction work will be carried out by Aviarestavratsiya. This work will take three years.”-Science and Higher Education Ministry

The Tupolev 2 bomber of World War Two fame is being brought back to life in Russia.

A Tupolev TU 2 WWII Soviet front line bomber (NATO reporting name Bat) on static display at Monino Museum, Russia. TASS photo by Marina Lystseva.

According to TASS, the resurrection was supposed to start on 21AUG2019.  The specific plane to be restored to flying condition had a long history, first flying with the Soviet forces during World War Two, then flying with Chinese forces until the 1980s(!), and then ending up in the United States in the hands of the War Eagles Air Museum in New Mexico (read a description of the plane and how the Chinese used it, here).

War Eagles Air Museum, before restoration. Photo via David and Paula Barnett.

War Eagles Air Museum, after restoration.

The U.S. museum restored the Tu-2 to the point it could be used as a static display.  In 2019, the Russia based Aviarestavratsiya (air restoration)/Winged Victory Memorial supposedly acquired the plane and will bring it back to Russia: “This is not a plane that was shot down or was broken. We have not yet studied its series numbers and have not yet tracked its exact history. The plane will be studied and analyzed in detail. Each element will be reconstructed or restored.”-Boris Osyatinsky, Aviarestavratsiya/Winged Victory Memorial

However, as of 2022 the War Eagles Air Museum in New Mexico still lists the Bat as part of their displays.

By the way, China still has several Tu-2 bombers on display:

Photo via Military Museum of the Chinese People’s Revolution.

Photo via Military Museum of the Chinese People’s Revolution.

For kit builders there are several brands to choose from:

The ‘Bat’ served with many countries in many wars.

The old East German VEB-Plastikart (now known as adp Master Modelle) kit.

More info: https://alchetron.com/Tupolev-Tu-2

Tupolev TU-2 – Photos & Video

VEHICLE I-D: RF-84F THUNDERFLASH & YRF-84F, AN APPEAL TO MONOGRAM!

Kit Bashing, Reviews

1:600 Moskva: Aurora vs Airfix

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One of the first ship kits I built was the 1:600 scale Aurora Moscow helicopter anti-submarine ship (not to be confused with the Moskva of the Atlant class of missile cruisers, aka Project 1164).  I also built the Airfix version, and there are differences.

Back then it was the final two decades of the Cold War (unbeknownst to both NATO and Warsaw Pact) and we average kit builders in the United States didn’t have access to reliable information on Warsaw Pact vehicles.  Most publications in English would only say that what we now know was Project 1123 Kondor couldn’t handle rough seas, and that production was halted after only two ships were launched.  I always doubted such NATO propaganda because if the ships were so bad why were they in use until the mid-1990s?

Today we do have access to reliable info (including Kagero Top Drawings #55 book, with detailed scale drawings of things like missile launchers, for those of us who read English), and we have at least one aftermarket detailing set for the 1:600 scale Moskva.  I spent a lot of money on a Russian magazine supplement before learning about the Kagero book.  I also got a hold of the photo etched set #618 by White Ensign.

The Aurora Moscow was first issued in 1969, and for some reason last issued in 1972.  Airfix issued their Moskva in 1973, and as far as I know last issued it in the late 1990s.  In the early 1980s it was issued in the U.S. under the MPC brand.

The Aurora and Airfix hulls are just short of 13 inches (33cm) long, the Aurora being slightly shorter than Airfix.  The Aurora hull is also taller and skinnier than the Airfix hull.  The anchors are molded onto the Aurora hull and both kits have different shaped hull openings and portholes.

Both kits have chunky plastic for the radar antennae. Both kits do not come with missiles for the missile launchers.  Both kits do not have the massive retractable sonar dome located towards the front of the bottom of the hull.  It was this massive dome that was probably the reason the tall ship reportedly nose dived into the water during rough seas.  Apparently NATO was unaware of this dome during the Cold War, or for some reason it was never mentioned in publications made available to the general public.

The Airfix Kamov helicopters are molded in two halves and don’t look good.  The Aurora helicopters are molded in one piece, they look good but not quite like Kamovs (more like Kamovs than Airfix).  The plus with the Aurora kit is you get optional retracted/folded rotor blades.  The Aurora deck is one piece with more detailing than Airfix, and even has optional position hanger doors and space in the superstructure/funnel (molded in two pieces) area.  The Airfix deck is in three pieces, it has optional position hanger doors but the space in the superstructure/funnel (molded in three pieces) is blanked off.  The Airfix helicopter deck has recessed spaces to represent elevators.

The big open ass, I mean aft end, I mean stern of the ship is plane Jane in the Aurora kit, with two life boats.  There’s some kind of blocky details in the Airfix kit.  Aurora gives you davits to hang the life boats on, while Airfix gives you upside down ‘U’s to set them on.  The propellers, I mean screws are different in shape and size between the two kits.

The ship has two large cranes, Aurora uses chunks of plastic to represent them while Airfix gives you a better looking multi-part system.

Click on the pics to make them bigger:

The White Ensign photo etched set has thin brass parts for the radars, railings, davits, cranes, hanger doors, missile launcher detailing, much better details for the ass end, ship name plates (Moscow & Leningrad) and parts for the Airfix helicopters (including tini-tiny landing gear parts which’l probably bend under the weight of the plastic).  A major problem with White Ensign’s instructions is that they leave out where to use the differently shaped hand rails.  Also, you get PE rotor blades in the extended position, but not retracted.

If you love 1:600 scale ships the best way to get a good looking and close to accurate Moskva/Leningrád is to kit bash the Airfix and Aurora kits, use the White Ensign Models PE set, and scratch build missiles, as well as the sonar domes under the hull.

Note: Research is also key to making as accurate a Project 1123 as you can.  The ships had numerous different hull numbers and even different ‘paint jobs’ over the decades.  You’ll need to find color photographs of a specific hull number, especially overhead views which’l reveal what color/colors the decks were painted.

 MOSKVA CLASS SUBMARINE HUNTERS, STOP CALLING THEM AIRCRAFT CARRIERS!

1:600 USS IOWA CLASS KITS: AURORA, MONOGRAM, OTAKI, REVELL. AN APPEAL TO AIRFIX!

1:72 HEINKEL HE-51: HASEGAWA VS. ICM

Fukushima

Fukushima – WIPP – Radiation Fallout: INL admits “nobody really knows what’s going on.” Radioactive trash dump in U.S. on fire?

19 September 2015 (12:24 UTC-07 Tango 01)/28 Shahrivar 1394/05 Dhu l-Hijja 1436/07 Yi-You (8th month) 4713

“The Agency has for many years made a major contribution to development by making nuclear science and technology available in areas such as food production, water management and agriculture. Our work deserves greater recognition.”-Amano Yukio, UN IAEA

India: “Over the past four months, sporadic rainfall saw Mumbai’s UV Index (UVI) levels touch the ‘high risk’ category. Their immediate effect can be seen in form of sun burns, long-term exposure can lead to skin cancer and cataract.  ‘The sporadic rain pattern is responsible for the high UV radiations in the city this monsoon,’ said Gufran Beig, project director, System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), IITM. ‘When (the number of) rainy days are less followed by a long period of sunny days, UV radiation levels peak.’”

Ukraine: “International heavy lift company Mammoet and its client Novarka have successfully connected the two halves of the New Safe Confinement (NSC) structure at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine. This was needed following the catastrophic nuclear accident in 1986.”

United States: “Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.), ranking member of the House Communications Subcommittee, are accusing the FCC of failing to enforce safety guidelines on cell tower worker exposure to radiofrequency radiation, saying they are putting the health and safety of a quarter of a million workers at risk.”

“Exposure to high doses of radiation triggers a number of potentially lethal effects. Among the most severe is the gastrointestinal (GI) toxicity syndrome caused by the destruction of the intestinal barrier, resulting in bacterial translocation, systemic bacteremia, sepsis, and death….   ….TP [Thrombin-derived Peptide] 508 may be an effective emergency nuclear countermeasure that could be delivered within 24 h post exposure to increase survival and delay mortality, giving victims time to reach clinical sites for advanced medical treatment.”

“Scientists have recently developed a new hybrid solar energy system that harnesses all of the sun’s radiation…..”

Idaho:  Researchers at the INL are on the verge of creating a system to track nuclear waste from the oil industry.  The oil industry uses radioactive material as part of its oil extraction process.  The new system will be tested in North Dakota because “It’s the Wild West out there. Waste sites are taking the wrong stuff, or they’re dumping it in fields. Nobody really knows what’s going on.”-Doug Akers, Idaho National Laboratory

Massachusetts: “As a resident of Plum Island, Newbury, I are deeply concerned about the threat posed by Seabrook Station — the threat of radiation release. If a radiation release were to occur, evacuating this area would be impossible.”

“…parents filed a lawsuit claiming that the Fay School in Southborough has ‘high-intensity Wi-Fi emissions’ that have harmed their son……he has a condition called Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity Syndrome (EHS)”

Missouri: “…radiation from the West Lake Landfill in Bridgeton has spread to neighboring properties. The reports also suggested that an underground fire at the neighboring Bridgeton Landfill is moving toward radioactive waste and could reach it as soon three to six months. The landfills’ owner, Republic Services, has vehemently maintained that the situation at the landfills is under control.”

“Loretta Copeland is shutting the doors on her dog grooming business on Natural Bridge Road, near McKelvey Road, about a mile from the landfill. She says she’s afraid of getting cancer.  ‘…it just seems like everybody you talk to they either have cancer or they know somebody……..Who wants to buy a grooming shop sitting within one mile from the landfill?’”

New Mexico: “The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant simulated a full-scale emergency response on Wednesday to prepare the facility and community in case an emergency occurred again.”

“The Underground Ventilation System at Waste Isolation Pilot Plant is being upgraded to provide additional airflow into the facility’s underground.”

“…burying 34 tons of weapons-grade plutonium would be far cheaper and more practical than completing a multibillion-dollar plant that would turn the radioactive material into commercial reactor fuel.”

New York: “The studies found that 50 percent to 75 percent of the animals who were exposed to a potentially lethal dose of radiation died without any treatment. Using Cleveland BioLabs’ Entolimod drug, less than a third of all animals that received the drug died, even when the drug was administered as much as 48 hours after exposure.”

“An upstate New York man faces life in prison after he became the first person ever convicted in the U.S. of trying to acquire a radiation weapon for mass destruction…”

Washington: Hanford to remain Undeclared Interim Storage site “By early 2007 the decision was made to construct a mox fuel plant at the Savannah River Site (SRS), in South Carolina. Construction is 70 percent complete, and some $4.5 billion has been spent.  ……DOE-Headquarters is now considering major/arbitrary changes to the final disposition of MOX, and stopping construction the mos facility at SRS!    DOE’s new path is considering ‘downblending’ (diluting) the weapons grade plutonium and adding it to waste going to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico. DOE reports shutting down the SRS mox plant could cost a billion dollars.”

“In the near term the cost of dealing with the solid waste would be about $20 million from the DOE Richland Operations Office annual budget, which is about $1 billion a year, according to the state of Washington.”

Washington DC: “In 1981, anthropologists, engineers, nuclear physicists, and others assembled to form the Human Interference Task Force, at the behest of the U.S. Department of Energy and Bechtel Corp. The impetus of the task force, according to a technical report issued a few years later, was to ‘reduce the likelihood of future humans unintentionally intruding on radioactive-waste isolation systems.’”

Japan:  Off the coast of Hokkaido a fish called a Wolffish was caught. The man who caught it says it’s one of the largest Wolffish ever caught.  See internet ‘TV’ news report here.

Proof of arrogant incompetence: “…there was a basic assumption in Japan that the design of nuclear power plants and the safety measures that had been put in place were sufficiently robust to withstand external events of low probability and high consequences….there was a tendency for organizations and their staff not to challenge the level of safety……resulted in a situation where safety improvements were not introduced….”

More proof of government incompetence: “…a team of Japanese researchers report that evacuation following the Fukushima nuclear accident may have been much worse for Japanese citizen’s health than nuclear radiation.”

“Authorities in the small city of Nikko in Japan’s Tochigi Prefecture, some 175 km away from the Fukushima nuclear power plant, have said that at least 334 bags containing radioactive soil have been swept into a tributary of the Kinugawa river, The Asahi Shimbun reports.

According to the city’s authorities, the washed-away waste was only part of hundreds of bags being stored at the Kobyakugawa Sakura Koen park alongside the river. Another 132 bags of waste reportedly rolled down the slopes.” 

‘Black’ helicopters return to California! U.S. will increase radiation contamination limits! 

International

World War 3, North American Front: Russia returns to Cuba, in force!

05 August 2013 (13:48 UTC-07 Tango)/28 Ramadan 1434/14 Mordad 1391/29 Geng-Shen (6th month) 4711

The Military-Maritime Fleet of the Russian Federation has arrived in Havana, Cuba, exchanging 21 gun artillery salutes with Cuban port batteries.  Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Russian ships have visited Cuba only a few times.

This time three Russian military ships are in port for five days, and the Moskva is open to public viewing today.  The Russians will visit historical sites, and their comrades in the Cuban navy.  Officials say this is a step in rebuilding military and political ties with the former Soviet state known as Russia, and Cuba.

International, U.S.

World War 3: Former Soviet leader says United States about to collapse

On 13 December 2012, the first and last president of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, warned that the United States is about to follow the same path as the Soviet union; total collapse!

He made the statements at a conference in Turkey.  The conference is about the future of the Middle East and Black Sea areas.

Gorbachev said if the U.S. does not stop hegemonic policies it will collapse.  On 26 December 1991 the Union of soviet Socialists Republic collapsed into 15 independent republics.  Gorbachev said the collapse of the Soviet Union was mainly due to the costs of fighting wars, especially the Soviet occupation of  Afghanistan.

Note: The office of President of the U.S.S.R. (CCCP) was not created until March 1990, as part of their feeble attempt to reform their system, which is how Gorbachev became the “first and last” President of the USSR.

Fukushima, International

26 years later: Chernobyl expected to remain a threat for the next 100 years, at least! Warning for worse things to come from Fukushima Daiichi!

29 November 2012, two days ago workers in Ukraine raised steel arches over the entombed Chernobyl reactor: “This is a very significant milestone, which is a tribute to the ongoing commitment of the international donor community, and an important step towards overcoming the legacy of the accident.”-Suma Chakrabarti, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

Those new steel arches weigh 5000 metric tons (5,511.5 tons), and are 22 meters (72 feet) tall!  The steel container won’t be finished until 2015.  It’ll weigh 20000 metric tons (22,046 tons) and is designed to allow ongoing decontamination work for the next 100 years!

26 years ago the Soviet designed reactor melted down, and it’s still spewing radiation.

The Soviets slammed Chernobyl with tons of concrete, sand and boric acid.  The impromptu concrete tomb was breaking down and a new one was built.  But even that one is breaking down, so a new massive steel tomb is being built, hopefully to contain the radiation for the next century.

Now realize that Chernobyl is only one reactor, with no spent fuel storage, and Japan’s General Electric designed Fukushima Daiichi melt down disaster involves at least four damaged reactors with four spent fuel pools that contained hundreds of fuel rods, each.

Initially Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCo) said they could have Fukushima Daiichi cleaned up by July 2011!!!  In December 2011 the Japanese government published their own report, saying cleanup will take at least 40 years, TEPCo downplayed the government report.  Then in March 2012, TEPCo admitted that reactors actually melted down.  Now, at the beginning of November 2012, TEPCo is admitting that clean up will take much longer, and they’ve even doubled their estimated cleanup and compensation costs from $62.5 billion USD to $125 billion!

Fukushima

One Year later: TEPCo Fukushima Daiichi radiation level Press Release 24 May 2012

Due to the Tohoku-Chihou-Taiheiyou-Oki Earthquake which occurred on 11 March 2011, TEPCo’s facilities including our nuclear power stations have been severely damaged. We deeply apologize for the anxiety and inconvenience caused.

With regard to the accident at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, on 17 April 2011, we have compiled the roadmap towards restoration from the accident and on 19 July  we accomplished the Step1 target “Radiation dose is in steady decline”. Then on 16 December we confirmed the accomplishment of the Step 2 target “Release of radioactive materials is under control and radiation doses are being significantly held down”. In addition, on 21 December 2011, we have compiled the “Mid-to-long-Term Roadmap toward the Decommissioning of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Units 1-4, TEPCO”, for which we’re currently working towards.

Along with the roadmaps mentioned above, we have been evaluating the amount of radioactive materials released into the air and the ocean as a result of the accident. The evaluation result (as of May 2012) is provided below.

As for the amount of radioactive materials released into the air, the evaluation was done from March 12 to 31, 2011. The estimated release amounts are as follows.
Noble gas: Approx. 5×1017 Bq
Iodine 131: Approx. 5×1017 Bq
Cesium 134: Approx. 1×1016 Bq
Cesium 137: Approx. 1×1016 Bq

The amounts of radioactive materials released in April and later in 2011 are not taken into account in this evaluation result as the released amounts were less than 1% of that in March 2011, which are considered to be insignificant.

As for the amount of radioactive materials released into the ocean, the evaluation was done from March 26 to September 30, 2011. The estimated release amounts are as follows.
Iodine 131: Approx. 1.1×1016 Bq
Cesium 134: Approx. 3.5×1015 Bq
Cesium 137: Approx. 3.6×1015 Bq

As the equipments to directly measure the density of radioactive materials (such as the exhaust stack monitor) were unavailable due to the accident, the amount of radioactive materials released into the air was estimated by entering the measurement data (air dose rate, wind direction and wind speed) acquired by the monitoring cars in the power station and the observed values provided by the Japan Meteorological Agency into a program which calculates the amount of radioactive materials diffused into the air, with an assumption that the release rate of radioactive nuclides remains consistent. The evaluation result was then compared with the contamination density measurement result of soil provided by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, and our evaluation result has been validated.

However, further data still needs to be collected to review the validity of our evaluation result, considering that the data was acquired only in a limited area (in the power station site) and that the evaluation was done under the assumption that the release rate of radioactive nuclides is consistent though it should actually vary for each nuclide and depending on the status of reactors (the release rate was estimated based solely on the small amount of data obtained during the evaluation period).

The amount of radioactive materials released into the ocean was estimated based on the monitoring data of radioactivity density of materials included in the seawater near the north/south water discharge channels at the power station. The evaluation was done at the Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry by utilizing a program which calculates the diffusion of radioactive materials into the ocean.

However, further data still needs to be collected to review the validity of our evaluation result, considering that the evaluation was done based on a small amount of data acquired in a limited area (monitoring data of radioactivity density of materials included in the seawater near the north/south water discharge channels at the power station), and that individual evaluation was not done for each release factor (radioactive materials directly released from the power station, fallouts from the air, rainwater inflow, etc.).

We will continue our utmost efforts in maintaining the stable condition of our nuclear power stations and implementing the measures to decommission Units 1-4.

< Attachment >
–Estimated Amount of Radioactive Materials Released into the Air as a Result of the Accident Occurred at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (PDF 115KB)
–Estimated Amount of Radioactive Materials Released into the Ocean (Near the Port) (PDF 88.2KB)

< Reference >
–Methods Used to Estimate the Radioactive Materials Released into the Air [Outline] (PDF 240KB)
–Estimation Result of the Amount of Radioactive Materials Released into the Ocean (Near the Port) (PDF 334KB)
–Estimated Amount of Radioactive Materials Released into the Air as a Result of the Accident Occurred at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station [Report] (PDF 4.30MB)

English version of “Estimated Amount of Radioactive Materials Released into the Air as a Result of the Accident Occurred at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station” , “Estimated Amount of Radioactive Materials Released into the Ocean (Near the Port)” , “Methods Used to Estimate the Radioactive Materials Released into the Air [Outline]” , “Estimation Result of the Amount of Radioactive Materials Released into the Ocean (Near the Port)” is now being developed.
We will post the translated material one by one when it is prepared.

The attached file titled “Estimated Amount of Radioactive Materials Released into the Air as a Result of the Accident Occurred at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station [Report]” is only available in Japanese.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Business/Economics, International, Technology

Government Incompetence: Japan will now study 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident

In a classic example of too little too late, Japan will now spend big money to study the effects of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident!

Japan will expand its Ukrainian embassy staff to include two nuclear specialists and three translators.  The staff will also be equipped with gear for dealing with radiation.  They will interview Ukrainian and former Soviet officials, and residents about the effects of radiation contamination, and how to deal with a nuclear disaster.

The Japanese government said they will spend about U.S.$2 million on the project.  You’d think a country that got so involved with nuclear power would have included, as part of its nuclear disaster preparedness, a detailed study of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster!