2 Japanese nuclear reactors may be in meltdown

[gary]

Originally Posted by Sylvain

Gary,

Thanks for the great links! Especially the reactor status is very useful and informative.

Thanks Sylvain,

This Reuters link may also be of interest to you.
http://live.reuters.com/Event/Japan_...ShowComments=0

It provides "live updates of developments after the earthquake and tsunami" including
news on the Fukushima plant, "selected by Reuters.com editors and readers.
To see updates from Reuters only, click Options and turn off comments".

The page updates automatically.

[gary]

Originally Posted by CraigS

More not-so-good news:

"The substances were detected in seawater which was sampled Monday about 100 kilometres (60 miles) south of the Fukushima No.1 plant, a TEPCO official said."

Radioactive substances in seawater near Japan nuke plant

Its probably authentic information, given the quantitative nature of the information.

Hi Craig,

Thanks for the link to the story.

When I read the same syndicated AFP story in this morning's Sydney Morning
Herald, the numbers reported at that distance at sea were so high compared to
equivalent reported readings at similar distances on the land, that it gave me
reason to wonder if the AFP story had made an error.

Googling about, as best as I can ascertain so far, many news outlets sourced a
story from the Kyodo News Agency in Japan.
See http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2011/03/80024.html

Originally Posted by Kyodo News Agency, Tokyo, March 22 2011

According to TEPCO, radioactive iodine at levels 126.7 times higher than the legal concentration limit and radioactive cesium 24.8 times higher were detected in seawater near the water discharging outlets of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

Since no radioactive substances had been recently detected in seawater before the disaster, the latest detection is believed to have been caused by the nuclear accident, company officials said.

The iodine and cesium could have leaked into seawater after being washed out by rain or seeped into underground as a result of water-dousing operations to cool down the stricken reactors at the plant, the officials said.

So perhaps the 100km is a typo error made by a journalist somewhere in the chain
and perhaps it was meant to be, say, 100m?

The best source might be the original TEPCO briefing itself which was probably
broadcast on NHK TV this morning but I have not had the opportunity to watch yet.

When watching the broadcasts over the past week or so, it has often given
me reason to pause to ponder the skill of professional translators who can listen
to a conversation, translate and speak themselves in real time. But in this instance,
another possibility is perhaps something may have got Lost In Translation somewhere?

I am confident one of us will be able to find the original source soon to verify the
numbers.

Nevertheless, irrespective of the distance from the plant, for a nation that can readily
consume fish for breakfast, sushi for lunch and sea slug for dinner, any radioactive
poisoning of the food chain in the surrounding waters is bad news.

As we witnessed on television, many of the worse affected areas in the tsunami
were fishing villages.

Postscript:

Found this -

Press Release on TEPCO web site here -
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp...1032201-e.html

Originally Posted by TEPCO News

Press Release (Mar 22,2011)
Detection of radioactive materials from the seawater around the discharge canal of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station


On March 21st 2011, radioactive materials were detected from the seawater
around the discharge canal (south) of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power
Station which was damaged by the 2011 off the Pacific coast of Tohoku
earthquake as a result of the sampling survey of radioactive materials in
the seawater which was implemented as a part of monitoring of surrounding
environment.
TEPCO had informed the result to Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency
(NISA) and Fukushima prefecture.
Details are as follows;
Re-sampling survey is scheduled tomorrow in the morning.
Same kind of sampling survey is scheduled at Fukushima Daini Nuclear
Power Station to examine radioactive materials spread into the sea in the
future.

Here is a link to a PDF of the TEPCO analysis -
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp...s/110322e1.pdf
Dated 14:39 March 21st 2011 it shows the place as "southern discharge canal (about 100 meters south
from 1_4u discharge canal)."

[wavelandscott (Scott)]

From Gary: " When watching the broadcasts over the past week or so, it has often given me reason to pause to ponder the skill of professional translators who can listen to a conversation, translate and speak themselves in real time. But in this instance, another possibility is perhaps something may have got Lost In Translation somewhere?"


This is normal and Japanese is hard to translate...their language is very indirect and I notice my colleagues often struggle with terms that represent degrees of something...may, could, should, must...and related

[CraigS]

Gary;
Thanks for the 'heads-up' on the 100m vs 100km. I look at all this news with some degree of skepticism.

It may only be 100 m, but 'iodine at levels 126.7 times higher than the legal concentration limit and radioactive cesium 24.8 times higher', is the real worry.

And, it seems there were 'no radioactive substances recently detected in seawater before the disaster', also.

I presume the iodine problem will be short-lived, but the Caesium contamination, isn't good.

Hi Scott;
I see your point about the translation side of things, also. Thanks for your input … 'tis always good to have input from someone who may have to deal with it on a day-to-day basis.
Thanks kindly,
Craig.

[casstony]

Article in the Telegraph about China pursuing thorium based reactors; apparently much safer than current reactors but not pursued by the major powers since you can't make plutonium for bombs: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/c...h-thorium.html

[xelasnave]

Originally Posted by casstony

Article in the Telegraph about China pursuing thorium based reactors; apparently much safer than current reactors but not pursued by the major powers since you can't make plutonium for bombs: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/c...h-thorium.html

I have often wondered why not thorium... there is material suggesting it is the go but I felt there must have been something holding it back... now its clear ..no military application... there is plenty of thorium available so why not.
It could be the answer.

alex

[xelasnave]

With the spinach and bok choi getting radiation I wondered this today.... say the farmers gathered up their contaminated harvests and sort to compost them (compost is the practice of heaping your vegetable wastes and letting them break down via biological/bacterial action so as to produce a nutriment rich material called compost..it can be used as one would use fertilizer... I ask would the compost heap go critical if large enough?... I have a feeling it could...any thoughts?

alex

[gary]

Free to air TV station 7mate have a one hour documentary
tonight 26 March 2011 at 20:30 AEDT entitled "Zero Hour - Disaster
at Chernobyl".

[CraigS]

Yes Gary .. I've been up to other things lately, but looks like they've gotten things at Fukushima Daiichi back under control.

Unfortunate accident for these guys, though ..

At Unit 3, radiation exposure of three TEPCO subcontracting workers has been confirmed. They were working in the basement, with contaminated water on the floor. Two of them were transferred to hospital with contamination of their feet.

Reference: IAEA

Also the radioactive plume off the coast has spread further, I believe.

Better news than over the last couple of weeks, though.

The main issue I guess, is the clean-up work ahead of them.

Cheers

[gary]

Originally Posted by CraigS

Unfortunate accident for these guys, though ..

Reference: IAEA

Hi Craig,

It was bad news to hear about the workers who were exposed to the high
levels of radiation and who may need to have treatment for burns over the
coming weeks.

Japan Broadcasting Corporation, NHK, have a story about them here, including
a video segment -
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/26_03.html

Originally Posted by NHK Saturday, March 26, 2011 04:22 +0900 (JST)

Medical radiation experts say 2 of the 3 workers exposed to high levels of radiation at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant may need to receive treatment for burns.

The 3 workers underwent close examination at the National Institute of Radiological Sciences in Chiba Prefecture.

At a news conference on Friday, doctors from the institute said that 2 of the workers were standing in radioactive water for about 2 hours and were partially exposed to strong radiation, between 2,000 and 6,000 millisieverts.

The doctors said the workers' skin show no signs of injury but they fear that symptoms may develop within 3 weeks' time. If this occurs, the workers will receive the same treatment used for burns.

The doctors also indicated that so far, the internal symptoms are not serious enough to require special treatment.

As for the other worker, who was wearing waterproof boots and has no symptoms of internal radiation exposure, the doctors say he will not likely develop a skin disorder.

The director of the institute, Makoto Akashi, says the 2 workers should be able to carry on with their daily lives without discomfort. He added the 3 workers will be discharged early next week.

[CraigS]

Hmm .. they were exposed somewhere in the range of 170 to 180 millisieverts, eh ?

The bigger problem is the spreading Caesium isotopes …

How do you avoid the stuff, if you're living there ?

Buy a Geiger counter ...?…
(They're probably as rare as hen's teeth over there at the moment).

Cheers
PS: Oops !! Sorry I was just reading the IAEA report of 24th March. They said that the workers got a dose of 170 - 180 mSv. A huge difference from 2,000 to 6,000 mSv !!
They stood in it for 2 hours !!???!!! Are these guys nuts ??

[CraigS]

IAEA report for the 25th March says:

As of 24 March, 19:30 Japan time, the number of workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant found to have received more than 100 millisieverts of radiation dose totalled 17 including the three contract workers. The remaining fourteen are TEPCO's employees.

This NHK report sounds a little suspect, methinks ..

Cheers

[Sylvain (Jon)]

The situation isn't improving much, on the contrary I'm afraid
Do you guys have any information as to why they cooling systems can't be turned back on? Is it that the pumps are dead? or they can't access them? or what?
I fear it might escalate...

[Analog6 (Odille)]

I'm very worried by the reports of levels 1000x normal in the sea off japan, and 80x for cesium 1437, with a 30 year half life, carcinogenic and accumulates in the food chain. That is the Pacific Ocean where our seafood comes from, after all. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2...27/3174814.htm

The thorium piece is extremely interesting - if Australia wants to pursue nuclear power why not this type of reactor?

And I suspect the pumps were damaged in the initial tsunami impact and/or when the power died and/or by later explosions.

And this from http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/27_11.html

"Higher level of iodine 131 detected in seawater
The Japanese government says radioactive iodine in excess of 1,850 times regulated standards was found in seawater collected near the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant on Saturday.

On Friday, iodine 131 at a then-record 1,250 times regulated standards was detected in seawater collected in the same place 330 meters south of a plant water outlet.

The nuclear safety agency says there is no immediate threat to people within the 20-kilometer evacuation zone from the nuclear power plant.

The agency adds that seawater is dispersed by ocean currents and the contamination level will decline."

[gary]

Originally Posted by CraigS

Buy a Geiger counter ...?…

Hi Craig,

Some certainly are.

An independent blog entry by Rachel Courtland entitled "Radiation Monitoring in Japan Goes DIY" on the
Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) "Spectrum" web site discusses
how some resourceful members of the general public in Japan are digitizing their
own Geiger counter readings and uploading them to the Pachube server.

The readings from various points across the country are then aggregated onto
maps which can be found on the Pachube web site here -
http://community.pachube.com/node/611

Originally Posted by Pachube

There are now hundreds of radiation-related feeds from Japan on Pachube, monitoring
conditions in realtime and underpinning more than half a dozen incredibly valuable
applications built by people around the world. They combine 'official' data, 'unofficial'
official data, and, most importantly to us, realtime networked geiger counter
measurements contributed by concerned citizens.

As Courtland reports in her blog -

Originally Posted by Rachel Courtland

Pachube’s data is available in real-time, but it is likely not as precise. NPR notes that
contamination, poor calibration, and varying levels of background radiation can make it
difficult to interpret Geiger counter readings.

Borden [of Parchube] says that aggregating radiation data from a number of
sensors will allow people to cross-check readings for accuracy and may also inspire a
healthy dose of skepticism when it comes to the numbers.

Courtland's blog story can be found here -
http://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/e...japan-goes-diy

[CraigS]

Ha ! Fascinating, Gary !

Thanks for that .. who would've thought anyone would do that ?

Amazing !
(And a bit scary, too, I suppose )

Cheers

[CraigS]

Gotta chuckle (wryly) ... this one turned up this morning ..
Nuclear fears spark rush for radiation detectors

A scare over irradiated food from Japan has sparked a global rush to buy radiation detectors, US dealers said Tuesday, with most reporting they have no more stock to sell.
Buyers, especially from Pacific rim countries, are snapping up geiger counters amid worries that radiation from the hobbled Fukushima nuclear power plant is spreading around the world.
"Sales are through the roof. We had to suspend orders on our site more than a week ago," said Tim Flanagan, owner of GeigerCounter.com -- which sports a banner, "We are SOLD OUT."

Very predictable, I guess.

Cheers

[Octane (Humayun)]

Sounds like bad news this morning. From what I understand, a meltdown has occurred.

H

[gary]

Yesterday, March 29th 2011, Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) made their 9th release
of documents entitled "Detection of radioactive materials from the seawater
around the discharge canal of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station".

They can be found here -
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp...1032906-e.html

Here are some salient figures extracted from the reports -

In samples collected at 8:40 on 28th March -

30km north of the discharge canals of Units 5 and 6 -
Iodine 131 levels are 816 times the statutory limits.
Cesium 134 levels are 110.2 times times the statutory limits.
Cesium 137 levels are 73.9 times times the statutory limits.

In samples collected at 14:40 on 28th March -

30km north of the discharge canals of Units 5 and 6
Iodine 131 levels are 665.8 times the statutory limits.
Cesium 134 levels are 93.8 times times the statutory limits.
Cesium 137 levels are 63.5 times times the statutory limits.

Levels south of the plant are lower, but, for example -

10km south of the discharge canals for Units 3 & 4 -
Iodine 131 levels are 85.5 times the statutory limits.
Cesium 134 levels are 10.1 times the statutory limits.
Cesium 137 levels are 6.9 times the statutory limits.

For further numbers, interested readers should refer to the original reports.

Japan's national broadcaster, in a news story today, March 30th report -

Originally Posted by NHK March 30th

The science ministry says levels of radiation in seawater near the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant are on the decline.

....

The ministry said 1.5 to 3.9 becquerels of radioactive cesium-137 per liter were found in seawater samples taken on Sunday. The amounts represent 1,000 to 2,600 times the levels measured in the same area 2 years ago.

But the current levels are only one-fifth to one-tenth of those detected on March 23rd.

....

Cesium-137 is said to remain in the environment for a longer time than other substances as it takes roughly 30 years to lose half of its radioactive intensity.

The Marine Ecology Research Institute says cesium-137 will not be directly absorbed into fish through gills but some species can accumulate the element by eating plankton and smaller fish.

It's believed that through this process, the density of cesium in fish can increase 10 to 100 times the level in the seawater.

It usually takes some time for radioactive material to be detected in fish after it flows into the sea. In many cases, such substances are found in flatfish and Japanese seaperch 2 to 3 months after a confirmed leak into the sea.

However, unlike mercury, such elements are eliminated from fish in several weeks.

That story and a video clip here -
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/30_01.html


Meanwhile, inside the plants themselves, NHK report today, March 30th -

Originally Posted by NHK

Radioactive water found in and outside reactor buildings is delaying work to restore the cooling functions of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

....

The plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, believes it is highly likely that the water in an underground tunnnel next to the No.2 reactor's turbine building has the same source as a puddle in the basement.

The firm says the radioactive levels on the surface of the tunnel water are almost as high as those for the water in the basement.

The utility says water in the No.1 reactor's trench may have been brought in by tsunami waves. The firm says it is almost unthinkable that the water in the basement of the turbine building leaked into the trench because the tunnel is connected to the first floor.

Little progress has been made in removing the radioactive water from the basements of the turbine buildings of the first three reactors.

The water is thought to have come from the reactors' containment vessels. The amount may increase until workers determine the source of the leak.

The company is studying where to store the polluted water and how to remove the radioactive substances. But the firm says it is not sure if conventional methods can effectively treat the highly contaminated water.

That story and video clip here -
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/30_07.html

NHK also have a story dated March 29th that includes a video clip with graphics showing the trenches
that are filled with radioactive water that is of a concern to authorities.
See http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/29_18.html

[CraigS]

Hi Gary (& all);

It seems that the pumping situation has not yet brought the temperatures across the reactors, fully under control at Units 2, 3 and 4 yet, either.

IAEA says:

Unit 1:
The indicated temperature at the feed water nozzle of the RPV {Reactor Pressure Vessel} of Unit 1 has decreased from 323 oC to 281 oC and at the bottom of RPV remained stable at 134 oC. There is a corresponding decrease in Drywell pressure.

Unit 2:
At Unit 2 the indicated temperature at the feed water nozzle of the RPV has increased from 154 oC to 177 oC and at the bottom of RPV has increased from 78 oC to 88 oC. Indicated Drywell pressure remains at atmospheric pressure.
The temperature of the spent fuel pool is 46o C as of 19:00 UTC 29 March.

Unit 3: the indicated temperature at the feed water nozzle of the RPV is about 75 oC and at the bottom of RPV is about 116 oC. The validity of the RPV temperature measurement at the feed water nozzle is still under investigation.

Unit 4:
For Unit 4 it was planned to commence pumping freshwater into the spent fuel pool on March 29. The IAEA has not received information on implementation of spraying activities in units 1 and 4.

Units 5 and 6: remain in cold shutdown

Tricky to interpret what al this means in terms of the criticality level.

IAEA says:

Overall at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, the situation remains very serious.

..and all this is apart from the worker casualties which have occurred, and the contamination of the water table and the offshore environment.