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Japan warns of China's military might
17 December 2010
Japan has unveiled sweeping changes to its national defence polices, boosting its southern forces in response to neighbouring China's military rise.
Japan, which shares a maritime border with China, said Beijing's military build-up was of global concern.
Japan will also strengthen its missile defences against the threat from a nuclear-armed North Korea.
China has responded saying it is a force for peace and development in Asia and threatens no-one, no country had the right to make irresponsible comments on China's development.
Japan is changing its defence policy in response to the shifting balance of power in Asia.
Defences will be scaled down in the north, where they have been deployed since the Cold War to counter potential threats from the former Soviet Union.
The military focus will now be in the south of Japan, closer to China and remote flashpoint islands near Taiwan.
Japan is concerned by China's growing military spending, modernisation of its armed forces, and increased naval assertiveness in the East China and South China seas.
Relations between Japan and China deteriorated sharply in September, after collisions between a Chinese trawler and Japanese patrol boats near a chain of disputed islands in the East China Sea.
The review paper outlines a shift in resources from the army to the air force and navy.
Japan's submarine fleet will be expanded from 16 to 22 and fighter jets upgraded, while the number of tanks will be cut by a third to 400.
Fukushima NUCLEAR
threats after 9.0 Earthquake
JAPAN 9.0 Earthquake, tsunami March 11, 2011
This is posted in EARTH section here
Radiation, signs, detox, survival
FOODS that Detox Radiation, signs of radiation poisoning, SURVIVAL Information
Radiation in USA, Canada, from Japan
America NEWS, 5 pages
Radiation threat to USA, earth after Japan 2011 Earthquake
- 13 pages
I believe we are living in the Revelation now.
Matthew 24 is in daily news - for everyone who is online.
JAPAN earthquakes, volcanoes
California and Japan Fall into the Sea
1937 Vision - its coming to pass NOW 2015
Posted <*))))>< by
ZionsCRY NEWS
with Prophetic Commentary
Japan Refocuses Its Defense With an Eye Toward China
Dec 2010
TOKYOJoining other neighbors that are adjusting their policies in response to China's rapid military buildup, Japan on Friday unveiled a new set of national-security guidelines, refocusing its defense toward the oceans and skies in the south and west of the nation.
Tokyo's new National Defense Program Guidelines feature modernizing its self-defense capabilities to reflect the geopolitical changes in recent years, including China's growing naval presence in the northern Pacific and North Korea's aggressive military provocations. The document, which replaces the one adopted in 2004, lays out the basic policies and concepts for the nation's defense strategies and capabilities for the ...
Japan - USA war games
January 27, 2011
Camp Kengun, Japan
Several thousand American and Japanese troops simulated missile attacks, guerrilla warfare and a full-scale invasion of Japan as part of a major war games.
The exercises called Yama Sakura run through Feb. 3 on the island of Kyushu.
They are not directed at any particular threat, but contribute to Japan's overall ability to deter an attack and defend its territory.
Japan has grown increasingly concerned about its defenses, particularly around the Okinawan islands, because of a number of incursions into its sea lanes by Chinese warships and possible aggression from North Korea.
Why the mounting energy crisis and debt-bomb will lead to the meltdown of Japan
November 17, 2011
The International Energy Agency has estimated that Japan would need to spend $3 billion per month on additional oil and LNG in 2012 if the countrys nuclear power output falls to zero next year, the executive director of the International Energy Agency, Maria van der Hoeven, told reporters Wednesday.
Speaking to Platts in Tokyo, van der Hoeven said that Japan would need an extra 460,000 b/d of oil and 30 billion cubic meters of gas in 2012 if the country had no nuclear power output. When asked about Japans winter oil and gas demand outlook, Van der Hoeven declined to comment as the countrys actual demand situation would depend on the countrys nuclear output situation, which remained uncertain. Japan is about to enter its winter power demand season, which normally runs through December-March, and the weather and nuclear utilization rates have a direct impact on crude, fuel oil and LNG consumption for thermal power generation.
Japanese power utilities have hiked their oil and LNG consumption to make up for their shortfall in nuclear output in the wake of the devastating March 11 earthquake, and subsequent nuclear outages across the country amid safety concerns. Only 11 nuclear reactors are currently operating in Japan with a combined capacity of 9.864 GW, representing 20% of the countrys total installed capacity of 48.96 GW spread over 54 reactors, according to Platts calculations. It is widely expected that none of the nuclear plants shut for scheduled maintenance would be allowed to restart any time soon because of stress test conditions imposed by the government in July. If none of the nuclear reactors are allowed to restart in the coming months, Japan is scheduled to lose its nuclear output completely in April or May 2012 because of the Japanese regulation that requires nuclear power plants to carry out scheduled maintenance at their reactors at least once every 13 months.
If this happens, it would be the first time Japanese nuclear power production has fallen to zero since it commenced in 1966. Speaking at a press conference in Tokyo, van der Hoeven expressed her concern over rising crude oil prices that will have negative impact on ailing economies in Europe and poor developing countries. -Platt
JAPAN * Massive hydrovolcanic explosion possible
November 21, 2011
Architect of Fukushima Reactor warns of massive hydrovolcanic explosion. He said the China syndrome is inevitable.
Melted fuel went out of the container vessel and sank underground, (China syndrome).
If fuel has reaches a underground water vein, it will cause contamination of underground water, soil contamination and sea contamination.
Moreover, if the underground water vein keeps being heated for long time, a massive hydrovolcanic explosion will be caused.
He also warned radioactive debris is spreading in Pacific Ocean. Tons of the debris has reached the
Marshall Islands
Korea-Japan Military Pact
June 29, 2012
Korea and Japan sign their first military cooperation pact since 1945, perhaps to keep China in check.
The sensitive pact allows Seoul and Tokyo to exchange classified military intelligence on North Korea and China.
I report, but pray and discern and obey GOD.
China-Japan standoff, both claim Diaoyu islands
Excellent article and photos and MAP, November 2012
Pentagon chief calls for calm in Japan-China territorial spat
Sept 2012
TOKYO US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta called for diplomatic efforts to resolve a worsening territorial spat between Japan and China on Monday, the day after warning disputes could draw East Asia into war.
Speaking after meetings in Tokyo with senior Japanese figures, Panetta urged calm and restraint on all sides in a row over disputed islands that has rapidly escalated in the last week into sometimes violent protests in China.
Obviously were concerned by the demonstrations and the conflict over the Senkaku islands, Panetta said, referring to the Japanese-administered archipelago that China claims and calls
It is extremely important that diplomatic means on both sides be used to try to constructively resolve these issues, he said, adding a resolution of the dispute has to be based on clear principles and international law.
Its in everybodys interest for Japan and China to maintain good relations and to find a way to avoid further escalation, said Panetta, pounding the podium for emphasis.
Panetta arrived in Tokyo on Sunday evening after days of anti-Japanese protests had rocked cities across China, with diplomatic missions being targeted in some instances.
50 Taiwanese boats intrude near Senkakus
Coast guard cutters deploy water cannons.
About 40 Taiwanese fishing boats and 12 patrol ships intruded into Japanese territorial waters near the
Senkaku Islands
to assert Taipei's claim to the Japan-controlled chain.
The armada further intensified the territorial dispute that has already seen ties between Japan and China deteriorate.
It was the first time such a large number of foreign vessels has intruded into the territorial waters since the diplomatic row over Japan and China broke out last month.
The Taiwanese fishing ships started entering waters near the islands around 7:40 a.m., and had left the area by midday, according to Japan Coast Guard officials.
Japan PM dissolves parliament, planning Dec. vote
11/16/12 Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda dissolved the lower house of parliament Friday, paving the way for elections in which his ruling party will likely give way to a weak coalition government divided over how to solve Japan's myriad problems.
Noda followed through on a pledge to call elections after the opposition Liberal Democratic Party agreed to back several key pieces of legislation, including a deficit financing bill and electoral reforms. The Cabinet was expected to quickly announce elections for Dec. 16.
Noda's Democratic Party of Japan has grown unpopular thanks to its handling of the Fukushima nuclear crisis and especially its recent doubling of the sales tax. The elections will probably end its three-year hold on power.
The LDP, which led Japan for most of the post-World War II era, may win the most seats in the 480-seat lower house, though polls indicate it will fall far short of a majority. That could force it to cobble together a coalition of parties with differing policies and priorities.
A divided government could hinder decision-making as Japan wrestles with a two-decade economic slump, cleanup from last year's nuclear disaster, growing national debt and a rapidly aging population not to mention a festering territorial dispute with China that is hurting business ties with its biggest trading partner. Japan must also decide whether it will follow through with plans to phase out nuclear power by 2040 a move that many in the LDP oppose.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -
The United States and Japan on Friday agreed on language aimed at giving Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe political cover to bring the world's third-largest economy into negotiations on a U.S.-led free trade agreement in the Asia Pacific region
In a carefully worded statement following Abe's meeting with President Barack Obama, the two countries reaffirmed that "all goods would subject to negotiation"
if Japan joins the talks with the United States and 10 other countries
At the same time, the statement leaves open a possible outcome to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, talks where the Japan could still protect its rice sector and the United States could keep duties on Japanese autos.
"Recognizing that both countries have bilateral trade sensitivities, such as certain agricultural products for Japan and certain manufactured products for the United States, the two governments confirm that, as the final outcome will be determined during the negotiations, it is not required to make a prior commitment to unilaterally eliminate all tariffs upon joining the TPP negotiations," the statement said.
Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant leaking contaminated water
As much as 120 tons of radioactive water may have leaked from a storage tank at Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, contaminating the surrounding ground, Tokyo Electric Power Co said on Saturday.
The power company has yet to discover the cause of the leak, detected on one of seven tanks that store water used to cool the plants reactors, a spokesman for the company, Masayuki Ono, said at a press briefing.
The company plans to pump 13,000 cubic meters of water remaining in the tank to other vessels over the next two weeks.
The facility was the site of the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in March 2011 when a magnitude 9.0 earthquake triggered a tsunami that destroyed back-up generators and disabled its cooling system. Three of the reactors melted down.
The storage tanks, pits excavated at the site in the wake of the disaster, are lined with water proof sheets meant to keep the contaminated water from leaking into the soil
Work to decommission the plant is projected to take decades to complete.
Japan PM warns China of force over islands landing
23 Apr 2013 Japan would respond with force if any attempt is made to land on disputed islands, PM Shinzo Abe has warned. His comments came as eight Chinese government ships sailed near East China Sea islands that both nations claim. A flotilla of 10 fishing boats carrying Japanese activists was also reported to be in the area, as well as the Japanese coastguard. Mr Abe was speaking in parliament hours after dozens of lawmakers visited a controversial war-linked shrine. A total of 168 lawmakers paid their respects at the Yasukuni Shrine, which commemorates Japan's war dead, including war criminals, in a move likely to anger regional neighbours who say the shrine is a reminder of Japan's military past.
NIKKEI 225 Futures falling
Maybe it may change when I wake up tomorrow, but from the way it looks now, it's not looking good at all. It has a change of around
We may be seeing the beginning of a major event. As in devaluation of the yen, possible economic crash of Japan's economy. You just can't lose 8% or your market's value too many times before the world takes notice.
Japan Stock Market Crash Leads To Global Sell Off
23 May 2013
We had no idea how right we would be because the second Japan opened, its bond futures market was halted on a circuit breaker as the 10 Year bond plunged to their lowest level since early 2012, hitting 1% and leading to massive Mark to Market losses for Japanese banks, as we also warned would happen. That was just the beginning, and suddenly the realization crept in that the plunging yen at this point is not only negative for banks, but for the entire stock market, leading to what until that point was a solid up session for the Nikkei to the first rumblings of a ris-off.
Shortly thereafter we got the distraction of the Chinese Mfg PMI which dropped into contraction territory for the first time since late 2012, and which set the mood decidedly risk-offish, although the real catalyst may have been a report on copper from Goldman's Roger Yan (which we will cover in depth shortly) and whose implications may be stunning and devastating and may have just popped the Chinese credit bubble (oh, btw, short copper).
And then all hell broke loose, with the Nikkei first rising solidly and then something snapping loud and clear, and sending the index crashing a massive 1,143 an intraday swing of 9% high to low, leading to an over 200 pips move lower in the USDJPY, and leading to a global risk off across the world. Looks like Mrs Watanabe's infatuation with the "get rich scheme" known as the stock market is once again over, and it is time to start from scratch for Kuroda and Goldman proxy company.
Goldman-Sachs is an
company - Evil - NWO
Markets Are Lower After Another Insane Day In Japan
On Thursday, Japan crashed 7%.
On Friday the market gained, but it was very strange.
Check out the intraday chart of the Nikkei
The index surged by 3% in early going.
Then at one point it was down nearly 500 points on the day. Then in the end it scraped out a mediocre gain.
This is going to shake the world seeing this.
Meanwhile, Australia lost another 1.6%.
Europe is mixed, and US futures are currently lower.
Nikkei Drops Fast After Bank Of Japan Minutes
After Nikkei futures rose as high as 13,225 earlier (up 6.3% from Thursday's close), they have taken a sharp turn lower following the release of the minutes from the Bank of Japan's May 21-22 policy meeting.
Right now, the Nikkei is trading around 12,995, up *only* 4.4%.
Part of the minutes focuses on the volatility in the Japanese government bond (JGB) market that has spilled into equity and currency markets as well in recent weeks.
In early April, the Bank of Japan launched the largest central bank bond buying program ever (relative to the size of its economy).
The size of the bond purchases the Bank of Japan is making, combined with the infrequent and sporadic nature of the purchase schedule, has overwhelmed the JGB market.
"Although the BoJ's easing measures were aimed at absorbing duration and keeping yields stabilized at low levels, at this point, all they are doing is injecting volatility into the market ," said BofA Merrill Lynch interest rate strategists Shogo Fujita and Shuichi Ohsaki last month.
Here are the key paragraphs from the minutes:
Members next discussed developments in the bond market. They agreed that the recent rise in long-term interest rates in Japan was attributable to such factors as the increase in U.S. and European long-term interest rates, the rise in Japanese stock prices, and the further depreciation of the yen. A few members noted that, reflecting speculation that the Federal Reserve would reduce the pace of its asset purchases earlier than expected, the responsiveness of U.S. long-term interest rates to economic indicators was increasing, and therefore due attention should be paid to how these developments would affect Japan's long-term interest rates. On this basis, members shared the recognition that the Bank's massive JGB purchases, through the reduction in risk premia, were restraining upward pressure on interest rates that stemmed from an improvement in perceived business conditions and a pick-up in expected inflation rates. Some members added that the effects of compressing risk premia were likely to strengthen as the Bank proceeded with JGB purchases, and therefore it was difficult to expect a surge in long-term interest rates for the time being. Meanwhile, many members pointed out that, if the bond market remained highly volatile, this could increase the amount of interest rate risk incurred by banks and other financial institutions, thereby further boosting sales of JGBs. These members then expressed the opinion that it was appropriate for the Bank to make various operational adjustments, with a view to encouraging the stable formation of long-term interest rates by suppressing an increase in volatility and an excessive rise in interest rates. Some of these members added that, in deciding quantitative and qualitative monetary easing on April 4, the framework for the Bank's JGB purchases was designed to allow for flexible operations; for example, by allowing the average remaining maturity of its JGB purchases to be in the range of about six to eight years. Based on this discussion, members shared the view that, as for JGB purchases, it was important for the Bank to conduct operations flexibly to promote the permeation of policy effects by adjusting -- as necessary -- the parameters of its JGB purchases, such as frequency, pace, and allocation of purchase amounts by maturities, while continuing to carefully monitor developments in the bond market and maintaining a close dialogue with market participants.
With regard to the relationship between the government's fiscal conditions and long-term interest rates, one member noted that it was essential that fiscal discipline be firmly maintained with a view to ensuring stability in the bond market. In relation to this point, a different member said that it was also important for the Bank to continue to explain thoroughly that its JGB purchases were not conducted for the purpose of financing the fiscal deficit.
Meanwhile, some members pointed out that the recent rise in long-term interest rates in Japan might be attributable to the possibility that the expected period for which short-term interest rates remained virtually zero would shorten to some extent, as the rise in stock prices and the depreciation of the yen progressed and positive developments in economic activity and prices came to be observed. One member added that it was not desirable to shorten the policy duration in a premature manner. A few members, including this member, expressed the view that it was vital for the Bank to firmly anchor short-term interest rates at low levels by clearly communicating that it was providing the monetary base on a large scale through various short-term funds-supplying operations, in addition to JGB purchases. A different member noted that the Bank's communication regarding the timing at which the price stability target would be achieved and the time frame for continuing quantitative and qualitative monetary easing might be destabilizing expectations for the bond market, and this in turn seemed to be increasing volatility. This member continued that, if the Bank were to change the expression representing its commitment by stating that the time frame for continuing quantitative and qualitative monetary easing should be restricted to about two years, and that thereafter it would review the monetary easing measures in a flexible manner, this would contribute to the restoration of stability in the bond market.
Click here for the full release >
Fujita and Ohsaki delved into why the BoJ's new bond purchase program was wreaking such havoc in May (emphasis added):
The problems with its purchases are that (1) the large amounts have taken away market liquidity, (2) they have been surrounded with uncertainty because no schedule of operations has been announced, and (3) they are not frequent enough.
A regime of monetary easing large enough to control the market has made the secondary market dysfunctional. The market has changed from being a platform for managing portfolios to being a mechanism for managing JGB inventory in the interim between the MOF's auctions and the BOJ's buying operations. Such an inventory management mechanism cannot function without knowledge of the specific schedule of operations as well as the amounts to be bought in each maturity sector (i.e., of each product type). Now that there is no assurance of liquidity in the secondary market, no institution wants to engage in the inventory management business without knowing the timing and amount of the operations. The hedge market is also becoming less functional, and liquidity in the swap and JGB futures markets is declining. Of course, shifting toward not holding positions is the best inventory management hedge of all.
Morgan Stanley MUFG's Le Ngoc Nhan and Miho Ohashi described it similarly.
"While bond dealers normally play an important part as market stabilizers via risk facilitating and efficient price discovering, they have been rendered increasingly irrelevant by the existence of a single big buyer (the central bank) and a single big seller (the Ministry of Finance), with uncertainty surrounding the timing of BOJ operations also impeding their risk-taking capacity," wrote the pair. "This increase in volatility has also triggered a vicious cycle in which VaR-driven selling by investors catalyzes further rises in JGB yields."
Clearly, it's got the Bank of Japan's attention.
Radiation From Japan Is Already Killing North Americans Posted by admin on July 14, 2013
This isnt a conspiracy theory, this is happening and its happening right now.
The fancy little picture at the top of the article isnt showing you the flow of happy fun time thoughts from Japan back in March of 2012, its showing you the flow of radiation from the Fukushima nuclear plant after the devastating earthquake and tsunami of 2011. Yes, that sharp pain you just felt in your chest is the sudden realization that the image shows the radiation reaching almost past Hawaii more than a year ago.
Do the math If that radiation screamed across the Pacific Ocean that far in one year, just how far do you think it has gotten since then? Look at what World Truth TV is saying and then you decide.
Samples of milk taken across the United States have shown radiation at levels 2000 percent higher than EPA maximums. The reason that milk is so significant is that it is representative of the entire food supply. According to an article published on Natural News, Cows consume grass and are exposed to the same elements as food crops and water supplies. In other words, when cows milk starts testing positive for high levels of radioactive elements, this is indicative of radioactive contamination of the entire food supply.
The Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Deception Protection Agency, instead of refusing to prohibit the sale of tainted foods and mandatory testing of foods produced and harvested from the Pacific Coast, have simply raised the acceptable levels of radioactive material in foods.
If that doesnt scare the ever-living crap out of you, then take a look at the list of foods you are now supposed to be wary of, you know, for only the next 30,000 years.
How can we protect ourselves? First, be aware of what items are likely to be highly tainted.
: Question the origin of ALL seafood. Fish and crustaceans from the Pacific Ocean should all be considered to be poisoned with radiation.
: The rainfall and snowfall are all radiated. Do not drink any water that has not been filtered. The tap water that flows from your faucet has NOT been treated to rid it of radioactive particles. A recent report from the NY Times stated, A rooftop water monitoring program managed by UC Berkeleys Department of Nuclear Engineering detected substantial spikes in rain-borne iodine-131 during torrential downpours
: Milk and milk products from the West Coast states currently have the highest levels of radiation in North America.
: Leafy Vegetables, Wines, Tomatoes, Strawberries .all produce from California or any other West Coast State are also likely to be tainted.
: If an animal eats any leafy vegetable all along the West Coast, that animal has consumed radiation, and is poisoned. This is any animal from cows, pigs, goats, sheep to wild deer and other game.
If you eat the above foods from areas with high radiation levels, you are eating radiation and feeding it to your children. Slowly the radiation levels within your body will build up. This is PERMANENT.
Infant mortality rates across the United States have increased by more than 35% since the nuclear disaster, according to a court statement by Dr. Sherman with independent scientist Leuren Moret, MA, PhD. A study published in The International Journal of Medicine indicates that more than 20,000 deaths right here in North America can be directly attributed to the release of radioactive material from Fukushima.
Radioactive isotopes of the type released from Fukushima have a half-life of 30,000 years. This means that we must permanently change the way we prepare our food.
Wash your food with soap and rinse it in filtered water.
Be aware of the origins of your vegetables, fish, game and seafood.
Keep abreast of radiation levels to help monitor where your food is acquired.
Use only filtered water for drinking, cooking and ice.
Radiation scare sweeps S. Korea
25 Jul 2013
In light of a recent report that Japans crippled Fukushima nuclear had emitted radioactive steam, many South Koreans are expressing concern about the health risk that may stem from the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl.
Japanese media on Tuesday reported that steam containing high levels of radiation was detected near the No. 3 reactor building of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, which was stricken by the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011.
According to Asahi Shimbun, plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. measured the levels of dosages to be up to 2,170 millisieverts per hour. Several hours of exposure to such a high dosage is fatal.
The news alarmed many South Koreans who had suspected the Japanese government of attempting to play down the dangers of the nuclear meltdown in Fukushima Prefecture.
Why are they (Japan) telling us after all this time? There might be more things they are keeping under wraps about the incident. The situation in Japan is SERIOUS, said an unnamed netizen. Others said the government must move to ban imports of all foods and marine products from Japan.
As of Thursday morning, Japan radiation, and Fukushima were among the most popular searched keywords on Naver, the nations biggest and most influential web portal.
Nuclear-contaminated Pacific Ocean may become a global threat
It has been officially confirmed. The crippled Fukushima Nuclear Plant in Japan is leaking highly contaminated water into the Pacific Ocean. This is continuing by the minute causing great concern not only for Japan, but for all nations bordering on the Pacific Ocean, including the United States, Canada, Russia and most Pacific Island nations. Officials finally admitted this alarming news for the first time.
Earlier this month the tourism industry in this Japanese regions seemed to be doing fine. A new scheduled Asiana Airlines Charter Flight arrived with Korean tourists at Fukushima Airport on July 13.
Tourists are supposed to enjoy playing golf and participants in the Oze trekking tour.
In the meantime there are more serious worries reported for this region and beyond.
The Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant,
admitted the leakage to the ocean for the first time since a catastrophic earthquake and tsunami damaged the plants reactors in 2011
The operator made the acknowledgement after steam was seen at one of the plant's reactors on Tuesday.
TEPCO has come under criticism for its delay in the announcement,
since experts had harbored strong suspicions about a possible leak for a long time.
Previously, the company had denied reports suggesting that contaminated water was leaking into the ocean
TEPCO spokesman Masayuki Ono said that
radioactive water leaking from the wrecked reactors is likely to have run into the underground water system, before joining the ocean, and might therefore be the result of initial leaks to the underground system spotted in 2011
Ono added that officials believe a leak is possible as underground water levels fluctuate in accordance with tide movements and rainfall.
Meanwhile, the operator said the number of plant workers with thyroid radiation exposures exceeding threshold levels for increased cancer risks was noticeably higher than earlier reports.
Exclusive: Japan nuclear body says radioactive water at Fukushima an 'emergency'
(Reuters) - Highly radioactive water seeping into the ocean from Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear plant is creating an "emergency" that the operator is struggling to contain, an official from the country's nuclear watchdog said on Monday.
This contaminated groundwater has breached an underground barrier, is rising toward the surface and is exceeding legal limits of radioactive discharge, Shinji Kinjo, head of a Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NRA) task force, told Reuters.
Countermeasures planned by Tokyo Electric Power Co are only a temporary solution
, he said.
Tepco's "sense of crisis is weak," Kinjo said. "This is why you can't just leave it up to Tepco alone" to grapple with the ongoing disaster.
"Right now, we have an emergency
," he said.
Tepco has been widely castigated for its failure to prepare for the massive 2011 tsunami and earthquake that devastated its Fukushima plant and lambasted for its inept response to the reactor meltdowns. It has also been accused of covering up shortcomings.
It was not immediately clear how much of a threat the contaminated groundwater could pose. In the early weeks of the disaster, the Japanese government allowed Tepco to dump tens of thousands of metric tons of contaminated water into the Pacific in an emergency move.
The toxic water release was however heavily criticized by neighboring countries as well as local fishermen and the utility has since promised it would not dump irradiated water without the consent of local townships.
"Until we know the exact density and volume of the water that's flowing out, I honestly can't speculate on the impact on the sea," said Mitsuo Uematsu from the Center for International Collaboration, Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute at the University of Tokyo.
"We also should check what the levels are like in the sea water. If it's only inside the port and it's not flowing out into the sea, it may not spread as widely as some fear."
Tepco said it is taking various measures to prevent contaminated water from leaking into the bay near the plant. In an e-mailed statement to Reuters, a company spokesman said Tepco deeply apologized to residents in Fukushima prefecture, the surrounding region and the larger public for causing inconveniences, worries and trouble.
The utility pumps out some 400 metric tons a day of groundwater flowing from the hills above the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant into the basements of the destroyed buildings, which mixes with highly irradiated water that is used to cool the reactors in a stable state below 100 degrees Celsius.
Tepco is trying to prevent groundwater from reaching the plant by building a "bypass" but recent spikes of radioactive elements in sea water has prompted the utility to reverse months of denials and finally admit that tainted water is reaching the sea.
In a bid to prevent more leaks into the bay of the Pacific Ocean, plant workers created the underground barrier by injecting chemicals to harden the ground along the shoreline of the No. 1 reactor building.
But that barrier is only effective in solidifying the ground at least 1.8 meters below the surface
By breaching the barrier, the water can seep through the shallow areas of earth into the nearby sea
. More seriously, it is rising toward the surface - a break of which would accelerate the outflow
"If you build a wall, of course the water is going to accumulate there. And there is no other way for the water to go but up or sideways and eventually lead to the ocean," said Masashi Goto, a retired Toshiba Corp nuclear engineer who worked on several Tepco plants. "So now, the question is how long do we have?"
Contaminated water could rise to the ground's surface within three weeks, the Asahi Shimbun said on Saturday. Kinjo said the three-week timeline was not based on NRA's calculations but acknowledged that if the water reaches the surface, "it would flow extremely fast."
A Tepco official said on Monday the company plans to start pumping out a further 100 metric tons of groundwater a day around the end of the week.
The regulatory task force overseeing accident measures of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station, which met Friday, "concluded that new measures are needed to stop the water from flowing into the sea that way," Kinjo said.
Tepco said on Friday that a cumulative 20 trillion to 40 trillion becquerels of radioactive tritium had probably leaked into the sea since the disaster. The company said this was within legal limits.
Tritium is far less harmful than cesium and strontium, which have also been released from the plant. Tepco is scheduled to test strontium levels next.
The admission on the long-term tritium leaks, as well as renewed criticism from the regulator, show the precarious state of the $11 billion cleanup and Tepco's challenge to fix a fundamental problem: How to prevent water, tainted with radioactive elements like cesium, from flowing into the ocean.
Wrecked Fukushima nuke plant leaking 330 tons of contaminated water a day
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday ordered increased efforts to stop radiation-contaminated water from spilling into the Pacific Ocean from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant.
A government official told reporters Wednesday that an estimated 300 metric tons (330 tons) of contaminated water was leaking into the ocean every day from the Daiichi plant, which was devastated by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, Reuters reported.
The official also said the government believed the leaks had been happening for two years
The plants operators Tokyo Electric Power Company has been building an underground wall by injecting liquid glass into the ground in an attempt to contain the contaminated water
TEPCO has insisted that so far the level of contamination in the ocean does not pose a risk to health.
But some of the contaminated water has made its way through parts of the underground barrier and started to rise above ground
In response, TEPCO announced that it would begin pumping out the contaminated underground water at a rate of 100 metric tons (110 tons) a day starting this week.
The main government spokesman, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, told the press that the government was considering providing financial assistance to help with the project.
The cleanup operation is expected to take more than 40 years and cost $11 billion
, Reuters reported.
Radioactive Water From Fukushima Is Systematically Poisoning The Entire Pacific Ocean
12 Aug 2013
Right now, a massive amount of highly radioactive water is escaping into the Pacific Ocean from the ruins of the destroyed Fukushima nuclear facility in Japan. This has been going on all day, every day for more than two years. The enormous amounts of tritium, cesium and strontium that are being released are being carried by wind, rain and ocean currents all over the northern Hemisphere. And of course the west coast of the United States is being hit particularly hard. When you drink water or eat seafood that has been contaminated with these radioactive particles, they can stick around for a very long time. Over the coming years, this ongoing disaster could potentially affect the health of millions upon millions of people living in the northern hemisphere, and the sad thing is that a lot of those people will never even know the true cause of their health problems.
For a long time, the Japanese government has been trusting Tepco to handle this crisis, but now it has become abundantly clear that Tepco has no idea what they are doing. In fact, the flow of radioactive water has gotten so bad that authorities in Japan are now calling it an emergency
Highly radioactive water seeping into the ocean from Japans crippled Fukushima nuclear plant is creating an emergency that the operator is struggling to contain, an official from the countrys nuclear watchdog said.
This contaminated groundwater has breached an underground barrier, is rising toward the surface and is exceeding legal limits of radioactive discharge, Shinji Kinjo, head of a Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NRA) task force, told Reuters.
The amount of water that we are talking about is absolutely enormous. According to Yahoo, 400 metric tons of water is being pumped into the basements of destroyed buildings at Fukushima every single day
The utility pumps out some 400 metric tons a day of groundwater flowing from the hills above the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant into the basements of the destroyed buildings, which mixes with highly irradiated water that is used to cool the reactors in a stable state below 100 degrees Celsius
Tepco is trying to prevent groundwater from reaching the plant by building a bypass but recent spikes of radioactive elements in sea water has prompted the utility to reverse months of denials and finally admit that tainted water is reaching the sea.
And of course all of that water has to go somewhere. For a long time Tepco tried to deny that it was getting into the ocean, but now they are finally admitting that it is
Tepco said on Friday that a cumulative 20 trillion to 40 trillion becquerels of radioactive tritium had probably leaked into the sea since the disaster. The company said this was within legal limits.
Tritium is far less harmful than cesium and strontium, which have also been released from the plant. Tepco is scheduled to test strontium levels next.
40 trillion becquerels of radioactive tritium have gotten into the Pacific Ocean?
And that is what they are publicly admitting. The reality is probably far worse
And all of that tritium is going to be around for a very long time. You see, the truth is that tritium has a half-life of about 12 years.
But strontium is even worse
. Strontium can cause bone cancer and it has a half-life of close to 29 years
And now Tepco is admitting that extremely dangerous levels of strontium have been escaping from Fukushima and getting into the underground water. And of course the underground water flows out into the Pacific Ocean
Tepco said in late June that it had detected the highly toxic strontium-90, a by-product of nuclear fission that can cause bone cancer if ingested, at levels 30 times the permitted rate
The substances, which were released by the meltdowns of reactors at the plant in the aftermath of the huge tsunami of March 2011, were not absorbed by soil and have made their way into underground water
Subsoil water usually flows out to sea, meaning these two substances could normally make their way into the ocean, possibly affecting marine life and ultimately impacting humans who eat sea creatures.
Cesium has an even longer half-life than strontium does
. It has a half life of about 30 years, and according to samples that were taken about a month ago levels of cesium at Fukushima have been spiking dramatically
Samples taken on Monday showed levels of possibly cancer-causing caesium-134 were more than 90 times higher than they were on Friday, at 9000 becquerels per litre, Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) revealed.
Levels of caesium-137 stood at 18 000 becquerels per litre, 86 times higher than at the end of last week, the utility said.
We still dont know why the level of radiation surged, but we are continuing efforts to avert further expansion of contamination, a Tepco spokesperson stated.
When cesium gets into your body, it can do a tremendous amount of damage. The following is an excerpt from a NewScientist article that described what happens when cesium and iodine enter the human body
Moreover the human body absorbs iodine and caesium readily. Essentially all the iodine or caesium inhaled or swallowed crosses into the blood, says Keith Baverstock, former head of radiation protection for the World Health Organizations European office, who has studied Chernobyls health effects
Iodine is rapidly absorbed by the thyroid, and leaves only as it decays radioactively, with a half-life of eight days. Caesium is absorbed by muscles, where its half-life of 30 years means that it remains until it is excreted by the body. It takes between 10 and 100 days to excrete half of what has been consumed.
And it is important to keep in mind that it has been estimated that each spent fuel pool at the Fukushima nuclear complex could have 24,000 times the amount of cesium that was produced by the nuclear bomb that the U.S. dropped on Hiroshima at the end of World War 2
Overall, the
Fukushima nuclear facility originally contained a whopping 1760 tons of nuclear material
That is a massive amount of nuclear material. Chernobyl only contained 180 tons.
And of course the crisis at Fukushima could be made even worse at any moment by a major earthquake. In fact, a magnitude 6.0 earthquake hit northern Japan on Sunday.
This is a nightmare that has no end. Every single day, massive amounts of highly radioactive water from Fukushima is systematically poisoning the entire Pacific Ocean. The damage that is being done is absolutely incalculable.
Radioactive water overruns Fukushima barrier
August 9, 2013
An aerial view shows workers wearing protective suits and masks work at a construction site (C) of the shore barrier to stop radioactive water from leaking into the sea at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
Contaminated groundwater accumulating under the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant has risen 60cm above the protective barrier, and is now freely leaking into the Pacific Ocean, the plants operator TEPCO has admitted.
The Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), which is responsible for decommissioning the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, on Saturday said the protective barriers that were installed to prevent the flow of toxic water into the ocean are no longer coping with the groundwater levels, Itar-Tass reports
The contaminated groundwater, which mixes with radioactive leaks seeping out of the plant, has already risen to 60cm above the barriers the fact which TEPCO calls a major cause of the massive daily leak of toxic substances.
Earlier on Friday, the company announced it started pumping out contaminated groundwater from under Fukushima, and managed to pump out 13 tons of water in six hours on Friday. TEPCO also said it plans to boost the pumped-out amount to some 100 tons a day with the help of a special system, which will be completed by mid-August. This will be enough to seal off most of the ongoing ocean contamination, according to TEPCOs estimates.
However, Japans Ministry of Industry has recently estimated that some 300 tons of contaminated groundwater have been flowing into the ocean daily ever since the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami that triggered the disaster
TEPCO also promised it will urgently reinforce the protective shields to keep radioactive leaks at bay. The company has repeatedly complained it is running out of space and has had to resort to pumping water into hastily-built tanks of questionable reliability, as more than 20,000 tons of water with high levels of radioactive substances has accumulated in the plants drainage system.
Water samples recently taken at an underground passage below the Fukushima nuclear plant showed extreme levels of radiation comparable to those taken immediately after the March 2011 catastrophe. The tested water, which had been mixing with ground water and flowing into the ocean, contained 2.35 billion Becquerels of cesium per liter some 16 million times above the limit.
Water leaks at Fukushima nuclear plant could contaminate entire Pacific Ocean
August 9, 2013
Japanese officials have admitted a leak at Fukushima has been happening for two years and is worse than earlier thought. Why did it take so long to evaluate the actual repercussions of the tragedy and take decisive measures to tackle them?
The Japanese authorities have been covering up the true depth of the disaster because they dont want to embarrass themselves and the global nuclear industry and they are trying to open up another nuclear plant in Japan. When the Japanese people now find out that the accident is worse than we thought and they have been leaking many tons of radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean for almost two and a half years, this is a catastrophe. Tokyo Electric has no idea how to control this accident. This is absolutely terrifying after two and a half years. To find out that these reactors have been out of control, now that they cant control this they dont know whats going on. This is not a primitive backward country; this is Japan with advanced technology. It has very serious implications for nuclear power all over the world.
How much have you heard on TV news about this? I have heard NOTHING.
Dangerous Operation at
Fukushimas Reactor No. 4 Could Ignite Atomic Chain Reaction
August 14, 2013
Attempt to remove fuel rods from crippled building could cause unprecedented disaster. Threatening to trigger a newand possibly more devastatingnuclear disaster than the original or ongoing one at the Fukishima plant in Japan, a risky plan to remove fuel rods from a damaged reactor building could unleash an unprecedented level of radiation, according to experts, if things go wrong.
The radioactive material within the fuel rods slated for removal are equivalent to 14,000 times the amount released in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and the plan to move them has never been attempted before on this scale.
The 400 tons of highly irradiated spent fuel and other nuclear materials will be taken from the crippled building and moved to a safer location, but the manner of the operation should be put in serious doubt, say the experts.
They are going to have difficulty in removing a significant number of the rods, said Arnie Gundersen, a veteran U.S. nuclear engineer and director of Fairewinds Energy Education. The fuel rods are being stored in a cooling pool, but if a reaction begins, Gundersen expressed serious concern to Reuters about the companys ability to respond.
To jump to the conclusion that it is going to work just fine, said Gundersen, is quite a leap of logic.
There is a risk of an inadvertent criticality if the bundles are distorted and get too close to each other, Gundersen continued.
The problem with a fuel pool criticality is that you cant stop it. There are no control rods to control it, he said. The spent fuel pool cooling system is designed only to remove decay heat, not heat from an ongoing nuclear reaction.
A full release from the Unit-4 spent fuel pool, without any containment or control, could cause by far the most serious radiological disaster to date
The sites operator Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) has been mired in crisis ever since an earthquake and tsunami severely damaged the plant 2011. Most recently it was discovered that as much as 300 tons of highly radioactive water has been pouring into the Pacific Ocean on a daily basis from the plant, with no promising remedy offered by either the plants owner TEPCO or the Japanese government.
Fukushima Reactor 3 on fire and smoking besides Gulf Oil Platform burning
The media of course is silent and most people believe Fukushima problems are history.
Here is a video from overnight at Fukushima. You can see the glowing fire and smoke coming from Reactor 3. That is of course the MOX fuel reactor. Here is my original post about MOX fuel.
A huge amount of radiation has been detected on the West Coast and other areas. Also the amount of radiated water that has gone into the Pacific has been in the millions of gallons.
Here is the live camera for the reactors. It does not show a fire any more.
Besides this there is a platform in the Gulf on fire and leaking oil at an estimated 6000 gallons a day besides natural gas.
Radiation levels in Fukushima bay highest since measurements began - reports
Readings of tritium in seawater taken from the bay near the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant has shown 4700 Becquerels per liter, a TEPCO report stated, according to Nikkei newspaper. It marks the highest tritium level in the measurement history.
Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) has detected the highest radiation level in seawater collected in the harbor of the crippled nuclear plant in the past 15 days, Nikkei reports. The last measurement showed tritium levels at 3800 becquerels per liter.
The concentration of tritium in the harbors seawater has been continuously rising since May, according to Nikkei.
Earlier, Tepco admitted that an estimated 20 to 40 trillion Becquerels of tritium may have flowed into the Pacific Ocean since May 2011.
Tritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen which is produced by nuclear reactors. It is potentially dangerous if inhaled or ingested. The legal limits for Tritium in terms of becquerels per liter vary from country to country. The World Health Organization has a limit of 10,000 bq/l, but the European Unions limit is much lower, at 100 bq/l.
Crippled Fukushima nuclear plant: 300 tons of radioactive water spilled
TOKYO - The operator of Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear plant said an ongoing leak had spilled some 300 tons of radioactive water into the ground - the latest in a series of embarrassing revelations involving the tsunami-struck power station.
"We believe it is still leaking at this moment," Tokyo Electric Power Company General Manager Masayuji Ono told reporters at press conference in Tokyo Tuesday.
High levels of radiation were detected at several hot spots along the hillside section of the plant where the water was thought to have spilled onto the ground, the company said.
These areas were emitting a radiation dose of 100 millisieverts an hour measured about 1.6 feet above the surface, it added.
That is equivalent to the limit for accumulated exposure over five years for Japanese nuclear workers
, Ono said. Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority classified the leak as a level 1 incident, the second lowest, on an international scale for radiological releases.
Officials at Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, said they had not discovered any high radiation levels in the nearby water trench and because of the tank's distance from the harbor, did not believe the contamination has reached the ocean.
Workers at TEPCO had started to pump out the remaining water from the defective tank as well as collect the surrounding soil which is thought to have absorbed the radioactive material, TEPCO said.
"We'd like to apologize for the concern we've caused people due to this problem," Ono added.
On April 5, a cooling system at the plant failed for the second time in a month after an outage caused by construction work to keep out rats suspected of setting off the earlier blackout. The following day, the company announced that as much as 120 tons of radioactive water may have leaked from a storage tank.
On June 19, TEPCO said high levels of toxic Strontium-90 were been found in groundwater Fukushima.
Two weeks ago, the nation's nuclear regulator reprimanded the utility for its poor handling of containing contaminated underground water from seeping into the ocean. And on Aug. 7, the government estimated that the damaged plant was leaking about 300 tons of contaminated water into the ocean every day.
Meanwhile, TEPCO has dug a well and inserted over 26 pipes to pump out 100 tons of contaminated water a day, in addition to erecting an underground barrier.
A much larger plan has also been proposed, involving creating an underground wall to surround the crippled reactor, but the project is still in its planning stage and is expected to take several years to build.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
At the Very Least, Your Days of Eating Pacific Ocean Fish Are Over
Opinion by Gary Stamper
The heart-breaking news from Fukushima just keeps getting worse a LOT worse it is, quite simply, an out-of-control flow of death and destruction. TEPCO is finally admitting that radiation has been leaking to the Pacific Ocean all along. and its NOT over .
I find myself moving between the emotions of sorrow and anger.
It now appears that anywhere from 300 to possibly over 450 tons of contaminated water that contains radioactive iodone, cesium, and strontium-89 and 90, is flooding into the Pacific Ocean from the Fukushima Daichi site everyday.
To give you an idea of how bad that actually is, Japanese experts estimate Fukushimas fallout at 20-30 times as high as as the Hiroshima and Nagasaki nuclear bombings in 1945
Theres a lot youre not being told. Oh, the information is out there, but you have to dig pretty deep to find it, and you wont find it on the corporate-owned evening news.
◦An MSNBC article in April of 2012 reported that seals and polar bears were found to have external maladies that consisted of fur loss and open sores, obvious signs of radiation burns from the Fukushima meltdown, despite the conclusions of the article.
◦Fukushima radiation appears to be causing an epidemic of dead and starving Sea Lions in California and the FDA has refused to test for radiation
◦Since the summer of 2011, U.S. scientists have observed several dozen living and dead Pacific Ocean marine mammals with a strangely similar condition of skin sores and hair loss. These animals may be suffering from beta burns, which are caused by significant external exposure to beta emitters such as radiostrontiums, which were released in copious quantities to the Pacific Ocean at Fukushima Daiichi in 2011
Almost a third more US West Coast newborns may face thyroid problems after Fukushima nuclear disaster
◦Contaminated water from Fukushima reactors could double radioactivity levels of US coastal waters in 5 years
We were surprised at how quickly the tracer spread
IS THE PACIFIC OCEAN FOOD CHAIN DOOMED? May 2013
Incredibly worrisome levels of cesium, including short-lived radioactive cesium-134,
have been found near Hawaii in the LOWEST part of the marine food chain: plankton
. Levels up the food chain, i.e. fish, whales, seals, due to bioaccumulation, MUST be magnitudes higher in contamination now or soon stop eating Pacific wild seafood now Researchers find high cesium in some Pacific plankton
SEAFOOD LOVERS ACROSS THE WORLD The levels of radiation in the seafood you are eating now and in the future certainly contain Fukushima radiation but will be considered safe by government scientists.
Lets boil it down quickly: Scientists say the only safe level of radiation is zero
YET, governments set limits for radiation in food well above zero. These limits actually increase every decade or so
. If you love nuclear power and nuclear weapons complexes, then you should accept these limits as well as the fact that a fraction of our cancer epidemic is blamed on nuclear emissions.
If you dont want people (or yourself) to die of cancer to preserve nuclear power and nuclear weapons, then you should heed the scientific consensus conclusion that the safe level of radiation is zero becquerels of anything
. Unless you are a nuclear nut, please protect your own health and regulate your genetic stability for the sake of your children, grandchildren, etc by NOT EATING SEAFOOD OR CONSUMING ANYTHING MADE IN THE SEA. Learn more about food safety.
Bluefin tuna will grow in radioactivity over years with each migration back to West Pacific; older caught fish will be hotter
Media is neglecting March (2012) lab study find that North Pacific albacore tuna fish has same Fukushima cesium contaminant
All Pacific migratory fish are probably Fukushima contaminated
why isnt this all over Twitter
Alaska Halibut also found with same Fuku-cesium contaminant but did not migrate to Japans waters. How did cesium-134 get into Alaska halibut?
Bluefin tuna in 2012 study arent all equally radioactive; sample #8 contained 50% higher cesium concentrations than the average of the 15 samples
Bluefin scientists did a most non-stellar job. They cherrypicked isotopes for dose comparison.
FDA is telling media and consumers it is testing fish.
It is testing imports and not testing U.S.-caught wild seafood (billions of pounds caught annually in U.S.)
Cesium-134 is marker for strontium-90 causes bone cancer and immune-disorders;
babies are sponges for calcium and strontium
Levels in bluefin tuna are similar to record food concentrations in 1960s
ECRR (Busby) predicts 61,600,000 deaths from cancer (and 3.5 million baby deaths) from the nuclear project since 1945, mostly the 1960s
Bulk of 1960s exposure was internal, largely from ingested FOOD made radioactive from hydrogen bomb test fallout.
FDA saying levels are safe is a lie. FDA says its intervention levels will kill people. Downplays risk as small compared to our ~40-50% cancer rate. But much of that rate is prolonged fallout effects from 1960s.
Baseline levels of manmade-radionuclides
in Pacific seafood pre-Fukushima caused some genetic defects and cancers in world population
FDA uses faulty dose calculations that lowball rate of cancer carnage by several magnitudes. Genetic harm from cesiums gamma rays ignored in dose models
Alvarez asks would a 1950′s NPR trivialize impacts of open-air hydrogen bomb testing? You bet. Our government and media is herding us into rail-cars destined for another radioactive holocaust.
Dr. Helen Caldecott Warns West Coast Americans of Contaminated Fish and Surf
- from video of her speaking on March 22, 2012 see Youtube video segment beginning at about 1 minute 20 seconds .and this video:
Theres a hell of a lot [of debris] coming towards you. Huge, huge amounts. Because you saw the tsunami come in and take it out. And, of course, some radioactive fallout will have fallen on that, but Im much, much more worried about the radiation in the ocean.
Woods Hole has said that
its far more than Chernobyl ever was; [they've] never seen or contemplated anything like this
and it will be reaching you quite soon I think in the ocean currents and the fish
And the fish swim 1000s of miles. The EPA is not testing your fish caught on the West Coast. You should be testing your fish routinely.I would be very cautious about I dont know how long it takes for the fish to get here. Its already been a year.
The fish will be radioactive and I dont think Id be surfing.
What is the greatest threat to humanity? We are, of course .and our technology.
Like a dangerous weapon in the hands of a child, technology has overtaken our capacity to control potential consequences
. Oxford Universitys Future of Humanity Institute, led by director Nick Bostrom, says we have entered this new kind of technological era that we have no track record of surviving.
Our technological intelligence may have the potential for creating a better world, but so far, in areas of the economy, genetics and biologics, arms and warfare, security and surveillance, as well as the environment and energy, technology is also completely indifferent to the law of unintended consequences.
Fukushima is what happens when we have the moral responsibility of infants and the technology of adults
Japan nuke watchdog may raise leak to 'serious'
TOKYO (AP) The Japanese nuclear watchdog on Wednesday said they are taking the leakage of highly radioactive water at the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant seriously, and proposed raising the rating to describe it from "an anomaly" to a "serious incident."
The operator of the plant said about 300 tons (300,000 liters, 80,000 gallons) of contaminated water has leaked from one of hundreds of steel tanks around the wrecked Fukushima Dai-ichi plant. Tokyo Electric Power Co. hasn't figured out how or where the water leaked, but suspects it did so through a seam on the tank.
The leak, the fifth since last year involving tanks of the same design, also raised concerns that this could be the beginning a new disaster
contaminated water leaking from storage tanks one after another
"That's what we fear the most. We must remain alert. We should assume that what has happened once could happen again, and prepare for more," watchdog chairman Shunichi Tanaka told a news conference. "We are at a situation where there is no time to waste."
The watchdog proposed at a weekly meeting Wednesday to raise the rating of the leak to level 3 from an earlier level 1 on an International Nuclear and Radiological event scale of eight. The watchdog, however, plans to consult with the U.N. nuclear regulatory agency over whether it is appropriate to use the INES evaluation scale on the already wrecked Fukushima plant.
The watchdog urged TEPCO to step up monitoring for leaks and take precautionary measures.
During the meeting, officials also revealed that plant workers apparently have overlooked several signs of leaks, suggesting that their twice-daily patrols were largely just a walk. They have not monitored water levels inside tanks, obviously missed a puddle forming at the bottom of the tank earlier, and kept open a valve on the anti-leakage barrier around the tanks
TEPCO spokesman Masayuki Ono said the leaked water seeped into the ground after largely escaping piles of sandbags added to a concrete barrier around the tank. He said that because the tank is about 500 meters (1,650 feet) from the coastline, the leak does not pose an immediate threat to the sea.
But watchdog officials have cautioned that water could reach the sea via a drain gutter, urging the plant to step up water sampling
Four other tanks of the same design have had similar leaks since last year. The incidents have shaken confidence in the reliability of hundreds of tanks that are crucial for storing water that has been funneled into the broken reactors to keep melted radioactive fuel cool.
The plant suffered multiple meltdowns following a massive earthquake and tsunami in March 2011 a level 7 "major accident," the highest on the INES rating and the worst since Chernobyl in 1986.
About 350 of some 1,000 steel tanks built across the plant complex containing nearly 300,000 tons (300 million liters, 80 million gallons) of partially treated contaminated water
are less-durable ones with rubber seams
TEPCO says the tanks that have leaked use rubber seams that were intended to last about five years. Ono said TEPCO plans to build additional tanks with welded seams that are more watertight, but will still have to rely on ones with rubber seams.
Figuring out what to do with the radioactive water is among the most pressing issues affecting the cleanup process, which is expected to take decades.
"The growing contaminated water has been one of our biggest concerns since the March 11 accident," said Zengo Aizawa, TEPCO's executive vice president. "The contaminated water remains a problem that could lead to a crisis."
The leaked water's radiation level, measured about 50 centimeters (2 feet) above the puddle, was about 100 millisieverts per hour
the maximum cumulative exposure allowed for plant workers over five years
, Ono said
Contaminated water that TEPCO has been unable to contain continues to enter the Pacific Ocean at a rate of hundreds of tons per day. Much of that is ground water that has mixed with untreated radioactive water at the plant.
Workers were pumping out the radioactive puddle on the plant and the remaining water in the tank and will transfer it to other containers. By Tuesday afternoon they had captured only about 4 tons (4,000 liters, 1,000 gallons), Ono said.
New Fukushima radioactive leak 'serious'
More than two years after a massive earthquake and tsunami caused a nuclear disaster at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, the embattled operator is stuck in damage-control mode.
Japans watchdog Nuclear Regulation Authority announced Wednesday that a radioactive water leak at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear power plant was magnitudes more severe than previously thought, further eroding faith in the capacity of the plant owners and government to deal with safety breaches in the aftermath of a disaster there two years ago.
The NRA increased the severity level of the crisis which began when a leak was discovered in a storage tank Monday from a level 1 anomaly to a level 3 serious incident on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale.
Each number on the scale represents a 10-fold increase in severity, with a level 3 event signaling exposure that exceeds ten times the limit for workers
, according to the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency.
"I don't know if describing it this way is appropriate, but [Fukushima] is like a haunted house and, as I've said, mishaps keep happening one after the other," NRA Chairman Shunichi Tanaka said to reporters, according to Reuters. "We have to look into how we can reduce the risks and how to prevent it from becoming a fatal or serious incident."
The announcement came as workers at the plant frantically hauled sandbags to the site of the leak to stem the flow of contaminated water. But Tokyo Electric Power, or Tepco, which runs the hobbled plant, acknowledged to The New York Times that much of the leaked water had already found its way into the surrounding soil, and could eventually reach the ocean.
This is the latest in a series of major crises that have befallen Fukushima since March 2011, when an earthquake and tsunami caused a nuclear meltdown at the plant the worst disaster of its kind since the 1986 incident at Chernobyl.
Last month, the NRA declared an emergency at the plant after it was discovered that hundreds of tons of radioactive groundwater were leaking into the ocean from the plant each day.
And last week, the plant announced that 10 workers had been unwittingly sprayed with a mist used to cool parts of the building that had high levels of radiation.
Tepco has been repeatedly criticized for its bungled handling of these crises, and many observers worry the latest leak is a harbinger of further disasters to come. As the Times reports,
Tepco had assumed the tanks would last at least five years. But the tank that leaked could have been in place no more than two, and workers previously found smaller leaks from similar tanks at least four times
. And Hiroshi Miyano, an expert in nuclear system design at Hosei University in Tokyo, said that the tanks would be vulnerable to earthquake or tsunami, with the potential for a huge spill
Meanwhile, the company has not yet identified the precise source of Mondays leak, which was uncovered when workers found large puddles near a 1,000 ton tank.
By the time they identified the problem, some 300 tons of water had already spilled out
As Fox News reports, the spill will contribute to a cleanup effort that is already projected to take decades, and that has left the area around the plant devastated.
The Japanese government recently allowed international media to travel inside the uninhabited zone around the plant, on the nation's northeastern coast. Villages appear frozen in time, deserted, with everything left as it was when residents were evacuated. The crippled nuclear plant, whose reactors have still not cooled, is situated on a hill overlooking what were once beautiful beaches now littered with vehicles and debris from the tsunami.
Former residents are allowed to visit sometimes their former homes, but can't stay long and face a vigorous radiation checking procedure every time they leave.
The sea, was once famous across Japan for the fish it provided, is bereft of fishing boats.
Recent tests of water from wells in the area show that radioactivity is still hundreds of times above safe drinking levels.
New high-radiation spots found at quake-hit Fukushima plant
TOKYO (Reuters) - The operator of Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear plant said on Thursday new spots of high radiation had been found near storage tanks holding highly contaminated water, raising fear of fresh leaks as the disaster goes from bad to worse.
The announcement comes after Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco) said this week contaminated water with dangerously high levels of radiation was leaking from a storage tank.
A tsunami crashed into the Fukushima Daiichi power plant north of Tokyo on March 11, 2011, causing fuel-rod meltdowns at three reactors, radioactive contamination of air, sea and food and triggering the evacuation of 160,000 people.
It was the world's worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl in 1986 and no one seems to know how to bring the crisis to an end.
In an inspection carried out following the revelation of the leakage, high radiation readings - 100 millisieverts per hour and 70 millisieverts per hour - were recorded
at the bottom of two tanks in a different part of the plant
, Tepco said.
Although no puddles were found nearby and there were no noticeable changes in water levels in the tanks, the possibility of stored water having leaked out cannot be ruled out, a Tokyo Electric spokesman said.
The confirmed leakage prompted Japan's nuclear watchdog to say it feared the disaster was "in some respect" beyond Tepco's ability to cope
The U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Wednesday it viewed the situation at Fukushima "seriously" and was ready to help if called upon.
China said it was "shocked" to hear contaminated water was still leaking from the plant, and urged Japan to provide information "in a timely, thorough and accurate way".
(Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Nick Macfie)
Radioactive groundwater under Fukushima nears sea
TOKYO (AP) Deep beneath Fukushima's crippled nuclear power station a massive underground reservoir of contaminated water that began spilling from the plant's reactors after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami has been creeping slowly toward the sea.
Now, 2 1/2 years later, experts fear it is about to reach the Pacific and greatly worsen what is fast becoming a new crisis at Fukushima: the inability to contain vast quantities of radioactive water.
The looming crisis is potentially far greater than the discovery earlier this week of a leak from a tank used to store contaminated water used to cool the reactor cores. That 300-ton (80,000 gallon) leak is the fifth and most serious since the disaster of March 2011, when three of the plant's reactors melted down after a huge earthquake and tsunami knocked out the plant's power and cooling functions.
But experts believe the underground seepage from the reactor and turbine building area is much bigger and possibly more radioactive, confronting the plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., with an invisible, chronic problem and few viable solutions.
Many also believe it is another example of how TEPCO has repeatedly failed to acknowledge problems that it could almost certainly have foreseen and taken action to mitigate before they got out of control
It remains unclear what the impact of the contamination on the environment will be because the radioactivity will be diluted as it spreads further into the sea. Most fishing in the area is already banned, but fishermen in nearby Iwaki City were hoping to resume test catches next month following favorable sampling results. Those plans have been scrapped after news of the latest tank leak.
"Nobody knows when this is going to end," said Masakazu Yabuki, a veteran fisherman in Iwaki, just south of the plant where scientists say contaminants are carried by the current. "We've suspected (leaks into the ocean) from the beginning ... TEPCO is making it very difficult for us to trust them."
To keep the melted nuclear fuel from overheating, TEPCO has rigged a makeshift system of pipes and hoses to funnel water into the broken reactors. The radioactive water is then treated and stored in the aboveground tanks that have now developed leaks. But far more leaks into the reactor basements during the cooling process then through cracks into the surrounding earth and groundwater.
Scientists, pointing to stubbornly high radioactive cesium levels in bottom-dwelling fish since the disaster, had for some time suspected the plant was leaking radioactive water into the ocean.
TEPCO repeatedly denied that until last month, when it acknowledged contaminated water has been leaking into the ocean from early in the crisis
Even so, the company insists the seepage is coming from part of a network of maintenance tunnels, called trenches, near the coast, rather than underground water coming from the reactor area
"So far, we don't have convincing data that confirm a leak from the turbine buildings. But we are open to consider any possible path of contamination," said TEPCO spokesman Yoshimi Hitosugi.
The turbine buildings at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant are about 150 meters (500 feet) from the ocean. According to a Japan Atomic Energy Agency document,
the contaminated underground water is spreading toward the sea at a rate of about 4 meters (13 feet) a month.
At that rate, "the water from that area is just about to reach the coast," if it hasn't already
, said Atsunao Marui, an underground water expert at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology who is on a government committee studying the contaminated water problem. "We must contain the problem as quickly as possible."
TEPCO, nationalized and burdened with the astronomical cleanup costs, has been criticized for repeatedly lagging in attempts to tackle leakage problems. As a precautionary step, it has created chemical blockades in the ground along the coast to stop any possible leaks, but experts question their effectiveness. After a nearly two-year delay, construction of an offshore steel wall designed to contain contaminated water has begun.
The utility has also proposed building frozen walls upside down comb-shaped sticks that refrigerate surrounding soil into the ground around the reactor areas,
but that still has to be tested and won't be ready until 2015 if proved successful
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe earlier this month announced the government would intervene and provide funding for key projects to deal with the contaminated water problem.
"This is a race against the clock," said Toyoshi Fuketa, a commissioner on the Nuclear Regulation Authority.
Compounding TEPCO's problems is the new leak discovered this week. Most of the 300 tons is believed to have seeped into the ground, but some may have escaped into the sea through a rainwater gutter, said Zengo Aizawa, the company's executive vice president.
That, too, may be a harbinger of more problems ahead.
Some 1,000 steel tanks built across the plant complex contain nearly 300,000 tons (300 million liters, 80 million gallons) of partially treated contaminated water. About 350 of them have rubber seams intended to last for only five years. Company spokesman Masayuki Ono said it plans to build additional tanks with welded seams that are more watertight, but will have to rely on rubber seams in the meantime.
Shinji Kinjo, a regulatory official in charge of the Fukushima disaster, said
the rubber-seam tanks are mostly built in a rush when the contaminated water problem started, and often lacked adequate quality tests and require close attention
Workers have already spotted two more questionable tanks during inspection Thursday.
"It's like a haunted house, one thing happening after another," said Nuclear Regulation Authority Chairman Shunichi Tanaka, referring to the spate of problems at the plant. "But we must take any steps that would reduce risks to avoid a fatal accident."
Leaks of highly contaminated water from the aboveground tanks aggravate the groundwater problem.
"Any contamination in the groundwater would eventually flow into the ocean. That is very difficult to stop even with barriers," said Ken Buesseler, a marine chemist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts.
He found that radioactive cesium levels in most fish caught off the Fukushima coast hadn't declined in the year following the March 2011 disaster, suggesting that the contaminated water from the reactor-turbine areas is already leaking into the sea
But TEPCO hasn't provided the details he and other scientists need to further assess the situation.
JAPAN Fukushima radioactive leak serious
August 24, 2013
New high-radiation spots found at quake-hit Fukushima plant.
The operator of Japans crippled Fukushima nuclear plant said new spots of high radiation had been found near storage tanks holding highly contaminated water.
Dangerously high levels of radiation are leaking from a storage tank.
The disaster is beyond Tepco ability to cope. China is shocked to hear contaminated water was still leaking.
Fukushima in freefall: radioactive water filters taken offline, Tepco in desperation as leaks just won't stop
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
NaturalNews) After a 29-month cover-up, the Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco) is now calling for international help and has all but admitted Fukushima's radiation leaks are spiraling out of control.
In addition to the leaking water storage units that are unleashing hundreds of tons of radioactive water each day,
Tepco now says 50% of its contaminated water filtration capability has been taken offline due to corrosion
The result is that radiation leaks are escalating out of control and attempted remediation efforts are faltering. This is in addition to the fact the Japanese government's attempted brainwashing propaganda campaign has also been exposed. It attempted to convince people that if they drank beer or smiled, they would be immune to radiation poisoning. (Yes, this is how desperate they've become...)
From day one, the Fukushima fiasco has been all about denial: Deny the leaks, shut off the radiation sensors, black out the news and fudge the science. Yet more than two years later, the denials are colliding with the laws of physics, and Tepco's cover stories are increasingly being blown wide open.
As Businessweek.com now reports, Japan seems to have no practical interest in solving this problem:
Russia's nuclear company, Rosatom, of which Rosenergoatom is a unit, sent Japan a 5 kilogram (11 pound) sample of an absorbent that could be used at Fukushima almost three years ago, Asmolov said.
It also formed working groups ready to help Japan on health effect assessment, decontamination, and fuel management, among others, Asmolov said.
The assistance was never used, he said
That's because for Tepco to welcome any assistance, it would first have to admit it has a problem. And that's unacceptable in a business culture where egos run rampant and the idea of taking responsibility for your actions is considered abhorrent.
To save their own careers, Tepco experts would gladly sacrifice the health of millions of Japanese citizens.
27 families file suit against TEPCO
The problem with denial in the face of a world-class radiation disaster is that sooner or later the body bags start to pile up. Now, 74 people from 27 families are filing suit in the Osaka District Court, seeking 15 million Yen each for psychological and physical damage. (And they are the lucky ones who are still living.)
As Japan Times reports:
The group will argue that Tepco should have taken stronger measures to protect the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant from earthquakes and tsunami after the government's Headquarters for Earthquake Research Promotion warned in 2002 that there was a 20 percent chance of a magnitude 8 or so quake occurring in the Japan Trench in the Pacific Ocean within 30 years.
Fishing ban reinstated
Part of the Fukushima denial was the claim that fish were somehow not being irradiated by the numerous leaks of highly radioactive water. This cover-up was further enforced by lifting a fishing ban that had been announced in the days following the original Fukushima meltdown event in 2011.
Now that fishing ban has been reinstated. Australian reporter Mark Willacy visited the fishermen to get their reaction to the news, and what he reported sounds right in line with what we're seeing, too:
[The fishermen] are very angry. They've obviously believed that Tepco has been lying to them for weeks, if not months. You know, they seem to suggest that that the cover-ups get worse... They believe Tepco's probably sitting on more secrets that they don't want anyone to know about. So there's a feeling that Tepco just cannot be trusted and that these fisherman probably don't really feel like they have a future anymore.
Tepco lying? Say it isn't so!
Zeolites to the rescue?
In desperation, Tepco is now trying to figure out how to stop thousands of tons of radioactive water from leaking into groundwater supplies (and ultimately into the ocean).
Those ideas, according to CTV News in Canada, include things like "freezing" the soil around the leak, creating an underground ice barrier that would require ongoing freezing, presumably for hundreds of thousands of years. You'd probably need to build another nuclear power plant to power the freeze cores, come to think of it.
Another idea, put forth by Arnie Gundersen, arguably the most sane observer in all this, involves digging a 2-meter-wide trench all the way down to bedrock, then filling the trench with zeolites which scientists now reluctantly admit trap radioactive isotopes. Note carefully that when people talk about consuming zeolites as a detox liquid, many modern-day doctors call it "quackery." But when push comes to shove, even they have to admit zeolites absorb radioactive elements. (You can't argue with the laws of physics. Zeolites work!)
Tepco answers to no one
Tepco "...does not directly answer to any regulatory bodies, including the country's nuclear watchdog
," reports CTV. Sounds a lot like Big Pharma and the FDA, doesn't it? Industry is running the regulators.
Gunderson goes on to explain in that same CTV article:
The Japanese government under Abe doesn't want to admit (to the cost) because they are trying to restart a nuclear energy program and the last thing they need to do is tell the Japanese people that 'oh by the way, you're on the hook for another half trillion dollars.'
The article goes on to reveal something rather startling:
Some experts believe some of the radioactive material from the damaged core has moved into the earth. The recent spike in radiation levels in the water may therefore be coming from groundwater coming into contact with the melted cores
Finally acknowledging over two years of utter bureaucratic failure and delusional propaganda, the Japanese government is now taking over the Fukushima cleanup effort. Today, Trade Minister Toshimitsu Motegi told the international press, "We've allowed Tokyo Electric to deal with the contaminated water situation on its own and they've essentially turned it into a game of 'Whack-a-Mole,'" reports Business Week
What's wrong with Whack-a-Mole? It's the wrong game, of course, Tepco would prefer we all played Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) instead so that everyone hops around like maniacs to avoid all the radiation.
Or better yet, how about the game of Hide-and-Seek? Where did all the radiation go? It's hiding! Oh, that's so much better, thank you!
"From now on, the government will move to the forefront," uttered Motegi, not realizing he was paraphrasing the anti-government derogatory phrase used in the USA: "We're from the government, and we're here to help."
Because when industry reaches a point of total bureaucratic failure resulting in a global disaster that threatens all life on the planet, everybody knows the obvious solution is to put the government in charge!
The government, you see, can simply pass a new law that says radiation is no longer considered dangerous. In an instant, the entire problem is solved and Japan saves hundreds of billions of dollars in cleanup costs
. After all, if Obama can declare America's jobs disaster to be a "success," and if doctors can declare methyl mercury injected into children a "vaccine treatment," then why not allow the Japanese government to declare Fukushima solved?
Better yet, Japan should turn Fukushima into a cancer radiotherapy clinic where Americans can receive "radiation treatments" for cancer, because we all know that radiation prevents cancer, right? That's what the cancer clinics tell us, anyway.
Fukushima can become the world's newest medical tourism hot spot for cancer patients. Walk in with cancer and you'll walk out with so many other symptoms that you won't even notice the cancer anymore! That's the miracle of modern medical science. Sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline, of course.
"We have to stop calling these events nuclear disasters," I'd imagine a Japanese government official uttering any day now. "They are actually nuclear opportunities for job creation," he'll probably explain.
Fukushima Mystery? TV: Japan expert says radiation levels in ocean too high to be explained by groundwater flow alone Must be coming from other contamination routes entering Pacific Devastating impact to come?
Yoichiro Tateiwa, NHK reporter: [Professor Jota] Kanda argues government statistics dont add up. He says a daily leakage of 300 tons doesnt explain the current levels of radiation in the water.
Jota Kanda, Tokyo University professor: According to my research there are now 3 gigabecquerels [3 billion becquerels] of cesium-137 flowing into the port at Fukushima Daiichi every day.
But for the 300 tons of groundwater to contain this much cesium-137,
one liter of groundwater has to contain 10,000 becquerels of the radioactive isotope
Kandas research and monitoring by Tepco puts the amount of cesium-137 in the groundwater around the plant
at several hundred becquerels per liter at most
. Hes concluded that radioactive isotope is finding another way to get into the ocean. Hes calling on the government and Tepco to identify contamination routes other than groundwater.
Kanda: If we focus on groundwater too much without contemplating other causes, the situation wont be resolved. There must be routes other than groundwater that are contaminating the ocean. So what we have to do now is consider all possibilities as we figure out a solution to the problem.
NHK: Professor Kanda says the volume of radioactive particles discharged into the ocean is much smaller than the volume released immediately after the accident. But, he says there may be other sources of contaminated water stored up inside the plants infrastructure. He says that water is highly contaminated, and if it gets into the ocean it will again have a devastating impact.
See also: Japan Expert: Contamination from Fukushima flowing beneath seafloor? "Could spring up outside the port"
National Geographic reported on August 7, 2013 that Professor Kanda
calculated 10 billion becquerels a day of cesium-137 was flowing into the Pacific from Fukushima Daiichi, not 3 billion becquerels a day as he says in NHKs broadcast
In a 2012 study, Jota Kanda, an oceanographer at Toyko University of Marine Science and Technology, calculated that the plant is leaking 0.3 terabecquerels [300 billion Bq/month = 10 billion Bq/day] of cesium-137 per month and a similar amount of cesium-134.
Fukushima's Radioactive Ocean Plume to Reach US Waters by 2014
8/31/13 A radioactive plume of water in the Pacific Ocean from Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant, which was crippled in the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, will likely reach U.S. coastal waters starting in 2014, according to a new study. The long journey of the radioactive particles could help researchers better understand how the oceans currents circulate around the world.
Ocean simulations showed that the plume of radioactive cesium-137 released by the Fukushima disaster in 2011 could begin flowing into U.S. coastal waters starting in early 2014 and peak in 2016. Luckily, two ocean currents off the eastern coast of Japan the Kuroshio Current and the Kuroshio Extension would have diluted the radioactive material so that its concentration fell well below the World Health Organizations safety levels within four months of the Fukushima incident. But it could have been a different story if nuclear disaster struck on the other side of Japan.
The environmental impact could have been worse if the contaminated water would have been released in another oceanic environment in which the circulation was less energetic and turbulent, said Vincent Rossi, an oceanographer and postdoctoral research fellow at the Institute for Cross-Disciplinary Physics and Complex Systems in Spain.
Fukushimas radioactive water release has taken its time journeying across the Pacific. By comparison, atmospheric radiation from the Fukushima plant began reaching the U.S. West Coast within just days of the disaster back in 2011. [Fukushima Radiation Leak: 5 Things You Should Know]
Radiation spikes to lethal levels at Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant
TOKYO Radiation readings near water tanks at the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant have risen dramatically, with one test registering lethal levels, the plant's operators reported Sunday.
The Tokyo Electric Power Co., or TEPCO, said the high readings were discovered at four new locations on Saturday, near the joints at the bottom of storage tanks that are holding highly contaminated water.
One of the readings reached 1,800 millisieverts per hour, which is considered enough to kill an exposed person in four hours, the company said. Previous readings around the same tank registered a dose of 100 millisieverts per hour
Other locations registered readings that ranged from 70 to 230 millisieverts, TEPCO said. The typical American receives a background radiation dose of 6.2 millisieverts per year, and Japanese law sets an annual exposure limit of 50 millisieverts for nuclear plant workers during normal hours.
Radioactive water is being stored in hundreds of tanks at the Fukushima site, in the wake of the plant's catastrophic failure in 2011 during Japan's magnitude-9 earthquake and tsunami. Additional contaminated groundwater is being pumped into the tanks from the plant's ruins every day.
Last month, TEPCO said 300 tons of water was found leaking from one of the tanks. That prompted nuclear regulators in Japan to classify the leak's severity as a Level 3 "serious incident" on the international scale for radiation releases
TEPCO has increased its surveillance of the facility and says it will begin removing the contaminated soil around the storage tanks. On Sunday, the company said inspectors have not detected any significant changes in the water level inside the vessels where the latest readings were taken. That led them to believe that the newly detected contamination has not spread beyond the concrete barriers surrounding the tanks.
A TEPCO spokesman told Reuters that "we are investigating the cause" of the rise in radiation levels. He said one factor behind the higher readings was that investigators used an instrument capable of registering greater amounts of radiation. Instruments used previously had been capable of measuring radiation only up to 100 millisieverts, but the new instruments were able to measure up to 10,000 millisieverts, the spokesman told Reuters.
The company said the radiation measured was beta rays, which would be easier to protect against than gamma rays.
First time any of the MSM outlets has said anything about this...
NBC Nightly News: Concerns are growing tonight, especially out West, about the continuing radiation threat from Fukushima Japanese Diplomat: U.S. food supply stands to be contaminated (VIDEO)
NBC Nightly News, September 3, 2013 Brian Williams, Anchor: Concerns are growing tonight especially out West about the continuing radiation threat from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan. Theres this, the Japanese government said it will spend almost half a billion dollars, much of it to build a giant wall of ice underground to try to stop the flow of radioactive water leaking into the ocean.
Akio Matsumura, Japanese Diplomat, September 3, 2013: Japan is an island nation, connected to the rest of the world through the Pacific Oceans currents. For thousands of years those waterways have carried Japanese sailors to distant shores. Now they carry radioactivity to our coasts. Japans reluctance to ask for international help in managing Fukushimas cleanup would be one thing if it put only its own people at risk. But with the rest of the world facing health risks, Japans mismanagement of its nuclear crisis is irresponsible and should not be accepted by other governments, especially the United States, whose food supply stands to be contaminated.
Japan Plans To Build An 'Ice Wall' In Attempt To Stem Radioactive Water Leaks At Fukushima
Contamination now spiking in seawater off Fukushima plant Asahi reports up to 18-fold increase in a week
8/24/13 - High-level radioactive tritium found in seawater at Fukushima plant port
Concentrations of radioactive tritium in seawater from the port of the stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant have risen between eight and 18 times in one week, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Aug. 23.
[...] On Aug. 12, the concentration in the same area was lower than the limit for detection
contaminated groundwater around the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 reactors [is] flowing into the sea. The government estimates that about 300 tons of groundwater is flowing daily to the sea.
TEPCO also said it is likely that of the highly contaminated water that has accumulated in pits, about 10 liters are flowing into the sea every day.
S.Korea bans fishery products from 8 Japanese prefectures over anxiety about radiation from Fukushima plant - @Reuters
Fukushima Disaster Leaves Hundreds of Whales Radiated to Death
<National Report> On August 31st, four days ago the National Report ran the story Fukushima Crisis Escalates Tons of Radioactive Waste Released into the Pacific Causes Ocean to Boil
Since then we have been taking calls and emails from people all over the world wanting to confirm our story.
Two days after running the story we received an email from the World Nuclear Association, the mouthpiece of the nuclear industry who runs the website:
demanding we remove the story as it had resulted in a rush of people contacting this organization for more information. Per our policy however we refused to comply.
Workers at Fukushima Look at Leaking Nuclear Waste Escaping into Pacific Ocean
Due to the great deal of concerns and questions people have since the story broke and the fact that the world now knows that Japan has been anything but forthcoming with the truth the National Report sent its Editor-in-Chief Nigel Covington, to Fukushima to get to the bottom of the real Fukushima story.
New revelations coming out of Japan just days ago after the government took charge of this global emergency two years after the March 11, 2011 nuclear plant catastrophe it is clear that the government has intentionally failed to report the extent of the disaster to the people of the world. Nigel is in Fukushima now and we have received his first report on the disaster which follows.
<Fukushima> Reporting from the village of Fukushima I was shocked to find on my arrival that hundreds of whale carcasses were found along the beach early this morning which now extend up and down the shore as far as I can see.
The Scene Near Fukushima Today Killed by Nuclear Radiation
The scene is absolutely devastating especially since no word of this latest crisis has been reported to the Japanese people or to the rest of the world. In fact the Japanese government has remained silent about todays latest events
Local residents claim they were told not to worry as the nuclear plant was brought under control shortly after the March 11, 2011 incident and there was little to no radiation concerns.
But what Im hearing from experts and scientist here today is that they estimate 219,000 tons of nuclear waste has leaked into the Pacific Ocean over the past two years which up until 14 days ago TEPCO had kept a secret. After it was reported that at 300 tonnes (300 long tons; 330 short tons) of heavily contaminated water has been leaking from a storage tanks into the ocean daily. They also state the ground water in the region has been contaminated with high levels of radiation, but since the government stepped in to take control of the site relieving TEPCO the government has said little about the events taking place here.
It is an outrage for the government to remain silent. Two scientist I spoke to on the beach tell me maybe the government has been silent because no one can yet begin to image the impact this debacle will have locally as well as globally. Scientist on the site admit this is a major event but they too can only speculate on what will come tomorrow.
Tritium levels spiked more than 15 times in groundwater near a leaked tank at the Fukushima nuclear plant this week, Tepco says - @Reuters
Typhoon hits Japan as Fukushima operator releases water
Typhoon Man-yi hit Japan Monday, leaving two people dead and
forcing the operator of the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant to release rainwater with low levels of radiation into the ocean
The powerful typhoon made landfall in Toyohashi, Aichi prefecture, shortly before 8:00 am (2300 GMT Sunday), packing gusts of up to 162 kilometres (100 miles) per hour, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
Public broadcaster NHK said a 71-year-old woman was found dead as a landslide engulfed her house in Shiga prefecture, while a 77-year-old woman was also confirmed dead in a separate mudslide in Fukui prefecture, near Shiga.
Four people were still missing while 128 others were injured with more than 4,000 houses flooded and at least 270 houses damaged by strong wind or landslides, NHK said.
The typhoon, losing strength slightly, left Japan's main island by Monday evening after the eye of the storm passed within 50 kilometres north of the capital at around noon.
Workers were pumping out water from areas near tanks storing radioactive water, from which leaks are believed to have seeped into groundwater
But we decided to release the water into sea as we reached a conclusion that it can be regarded as rainfall after we monitored levels of radiation
," TEPCO spokesman Yo Koshimizu said.
According to the spokesman, one litre of the water contained up to 24 becquerels of strontium and other radioactive materials -- below the 30 becquerel per litre safety limit imposed by Japanese authorities for a possible release to the environment.
However, it was unknown how much water was released to sea under the "emergency measure," Koshimizu said
Around 300 tonnes of mildly contaminated groundwater is entering the ocean every day having passed under the reactors, according to TEPCO.
Earlier in the day, the meteorological agency issued the highest alert for "possibly unprecedented heavy rain" in Kyoto and neighbouring prefectures, while Kyoto and other local authorities advised some 340,000 households to evacuate.
Television footage showed the banks of the Katsura river in the ancient capital's scenic tourist area of Arashiyama overflowing and inundating nearby hotels and souvenir shops.
Rescue workers and hotel employees were towing a small rowboat with four tourists on board in knee-deep water.
The Kyoto prefectural government requested the Self-Defence Forces to deploy troops to join sandbagging and rescue operations.
In Saitama prefecture, north of Tokyo, strong winds ripped off roofs and overturned cars.
About 600 domestic flights scheduled for Monday, a public holiday, were cancelled, mainly those departing Tokyo, NHK reported.
Railway companies temporarily suspended services on many lines in central and eastern Japan, including the Shinkansen bullet trains between Shizuoka and Mishima.
Fukushima Dumps Typhoon-soaked, Radiated Water
Sep 17, 2013 12:15 AM ET // by AFP
The operator of the leaking Fukushima nuclear plant said Tuesday that it dumped more than 1,000 tons of polluted water into the sea after a typhoon raked the facility.
Typhoon Man-yi smashed into Japan on Monday, bringing with it heavy rain that caused flooding in some parts of the country, including the ancient city of Kyoto.
The rain also lashed near the broken plant run by Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO), swamping enclosure walls around clusters of water tanks containing toxic water that was used to cool broken reactors.
Some of the tanks were earlier found to be leaking contaminated water.
"Workers measured the radioactive levels of the water collected in the enclosure walls, pumping it back into tanks when the levels were high," said a TEPCO official.
"Once finding it was mostly rain water they released it from the enclosure, because there is a limit on how much water we can store."
The utility said about 1,130 tons of water with low levels of radiation -- below the 30 becquerels of strontium per liter safety limit imposed by Japanese authorities -- were released into the ground.
But the company also said at one site where water was found contaminated beyond the safety limit workers could not start the water pump quick enough in the torrential rain, and toxic water had leaked from the enclosure for several minutes.
Strontium is a potentially cancer-causing substance that accumulates in bones if consumed
Thousands of tonnes of water that was poured on the reactors to tame meltdowns is being stored in temporary tanks at the plant, and TEPCO has so far revealed no clear plan for it.
The problem has been worsened by leaks in some of those tanks that are believed to have seeped into groundwater and run out to sea.
Separately, around 300 tonnes of mildly contaminated groundwater is entering the ocean every day having passed under the reactors, TEPCO says
Nuclear explosion
may occur at Fukushima
Sept. 18, 2013
I have said several times since 2011 the entire island of Japan is a death trap.
In one vision I read - the island
They admitted that all the boron has disintegrated in between spent fuel at Fukushima.
It can cause a
nuclear chain reaction
if rods get too close together in pool.
Tokyo Electric has admitted that the boron between these fuel cells theres a boron wafer in between the fuel to prevent something called an inadvertent criticality, you can have a nuclear chain reaction in the fuel pool, and thats not a good thing but they have admitted that all the boron has disintegrated.
So the only thing preventing a chain reaction from occurring [ ] in the fuel racks themselves, is the fact they put all sorts of boron in the water.
But if the rods get too close to each other, they can still fire up again and create a chain reaction in the nuclear fuel pool.
5.3-magnitude earthquake hits Japan's Fukushima
DENVER (AP) A 5.3-magnitude earthquake has hit the Japanese prefecture that is home to the nuclear power plant crippled in the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
The U.S. Geological Survey says the quake struck early Friday at a depth of about 13 miles (22 kilometers) under Fukushima Prefecture and about 110 miles (177 kilometers) northeast of Tokyo.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center did not issue an alert.
The Japanese news agency Kyodo News reported that the plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., observed no abnormality in radiation or equipment after the quake.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday ordered TEPCO to scrap all six reactors at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant and concentrate on tackling pressing issues like leaks of radioactive water.
The 2011 disaster caused three reactors to melt and damaged a fuel cooling pool at another. Officials have acknowledged that radiation-contaminated groundwater has been seeping into the Pacific Ocean since soon after the meltdowns.
The region lies on the "Ring of Fire" an arc of earthquake and volcanic zones that stretches around the Pacific Rim. About 90 percent of the world's quakes occur in the region.
Fukushima is an Issue of Human Survival
Sept. 24, 2013
We are within 2 months of crisis at the fuel pool at Fukushima.
The spent fuel rods pool rests on a badly damaged building that is tilting, sinking and could easily come down in the next earthquake, if not on its own.
400 tons of fuel in that pool.
Neither Tepco nor Japan has the resources to handle it.
The situation demands a coordinated worldwide effort of the best scientists and engineers.
Tons of contaminated water are pouring through the Fukushima site, carrying poisonous isotopes into the Pacific.
Tuna irradiated with fallout traceable to Fukushima have been caught off the coast of California.
More than 6,000 fuel assemblies now sit in a common pool just 50 meters from Unit Four. Some contain plutonium.
The pool has no containment over it.
There is 85 times as much lethal
on site as was released at Chernobyl.
Radioactive hot spots continue to be found around Japan. There are heightened rates of thyroid damage among local children.
The rods could be exposed to air and catch fire, releasing radiation into the atmosphere.
If the pool collapses it could fission and possibly explode. The resulting radioactive cloud would threaten the health and safety of the world.
Humankinds Most Dangerous Moment: Fukushima Fuel Pool at Unit 4. This is an Issue of Human Survival.
We are now within two months of what may be humankinds most dangerous moment since the Cuban Missile Crisis.
There is no excuse for not acting. All the resources our species can muster must be focussed on the fuel pool at Fukushima Unit 4.
Fukushimas owner, Tokyo Electric (Tepco), says that within as few as 60 days it may begin trying to remove more than 1300 spent fuel rods from a badly damaged pool perched 100 feet in the air.
The pool rests on a badly damaged building that is tilting, sinking and could easily come down in the next earthquake, if not on its own
Some 400 tons of fuel in that pool could spew out more than 15,000 times as much radiation as was released at Hiroshima.
The one thing certain about this crisis is that Tepco does not have the scientific, engineering or financial resources to handle it. Nor does the Japanese government. The situation demands a coordinated worldwide effort of the best scientists and engineers our species can muster
Why is this so serious?
We already know that thousands of tons of heavily contaminated water are pouring through the Fukushima site, carrying a devils brew of long-lived poisonous isotopes into the Pacific. Tuna irradiated with fallout traceable to Fukushima have already been caught off the coast of California. We can expect far worse.
Tepco continues to pour more water onto the proximate site of three melted reactor cores it must somehow keep cool.
Steam plumes indicate fission may still be going on somewhere underground.
But nobody knows exactly where those cores actually are
Much of that irradiated water now sits in roughly a thousand huge but fragile tanks that have been quickly assembled and strewn around the site. Many are already leaking. All could shatter in the next earthquake, releasing thousands of tons of permanent poisons into the Pacific.
The water flowing through the site is also undermining the remnant structures at Fukushima, including the one supporting the fuel pool at Unit Four.
More than 6,000 fuel assemblies now sit in a common pool just 50 meters from Unit Four. Some contain plutonium. The pool has no containment over it
. Its vulnerable to loss of coolant, the collapse of a nearby building, another earthquake, another tsunami and more.
Overall, more than 11,000 fuel assemblies are scattered around the Fukushima site. According to long-time expert and former Department of Energy official Robert Alvarez, there is more than 85 times as much lethal cesium on site as was released at Chernobyl.
Radioactive hot spots continue to be found around Japan.
There are indications of heightened rates of thyroid damage among local children
The immediate bottom line is that those fuel rods must somehow come safely out of the Unit Four fuel pool as soon as possible.
Just prior to the 3/11/11 earthquake and tsunami that shattered the Fukushima site, the core of Unit Four was removed for routine maintenance and refueling. Like some two dozen reactors in the US and too many more around the world, the General Electric-designed pool into which that core now sits is 100 feet in the air.
Spent fuel must somehow be kept under water. Its clad in zirconium alloy which will spontaneously ignite when exposed to air. Long used in flash bulbs for cameras, zirconium burns with an extremely bright hot flame.
Each uncovered rod emits enough radiation to kill someone standing nearby in a matter of minutes. A conflagration could force all personnel to flee the site and render electronic machinery unworkable.
According to Arnie Gundersen, a nuclear engineer with forty years in an industry for which he once manufactured fuel rods, the ones in the Unit 4 core are bent, damaged and embrittled to the point of crumbling. Cameras have shown troubling quantities of debris in the fuel pool, which itself is damaged.
The engineering and scientific barriers to emptying the Unit Four fuel pool are unique and daunting, says Gundersen. But it must be done to 100% perfection.
Should the attempt fail, the rods could be exposed to air and catch fire, releasing horrific quantities of radiation into the atmosphere. The pool could come crashing to the ground, dumping the rods together into a pile that could fission and possibly explode. The resulting radioactive cloud would threaten the health and safety of all us.
Chernobyls first 1986 fallout reached California within ten days. Fukushimas in 2011 arrived in less than a week. A new fuel fire at Unit 4 would pour out a continuous stream of lethal radioactive poisons for centuries.
Former Ambassador Mitsuhei Murata says full-scale releases from Fukushima would destroy the world environment and our civilization. This is not rocket science, nor does it connect to the pugilistic debate over nuclear power plants. This is an issue of human survival.
Neither Tokyo Electric nor the government of Japan can go this alone. There is no excuse for deploying anything less than a coordinated team of the planets best scientists and engineers.
TEPCO admits deliberately using radiation detectors that give deceptively low readings; radiation leaks far worse than reported
Sunday, September 01, 2013
(NaturalNews) At the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power plant, radiation isn't the only thing leaking out. Each week, it seems there's another small leak of the truth that has been deliberately hidden from the public. Yesterday, TEPCO finally admitted it has been downplaying the ongoing radiation release levels by a factor of almost twenty.
But the real story here is exactly how TEPCO arrived at the deceptively small numbers it has been reporting since the 2011 accident. It turns out (see below) that TEPCO has been deliberately using radiation detectors that "max out" at relatively low levels (i.e. they don't go higher than 100 mSv). When those detectors are pegged at their max readings, instead of switching to a more capable instrument with a larger detection range, they simply report the maximum detection limit of the smaller detector as the "real" exposure number.
Huh? Yeah. Seriously.
Here's how we discovered this:
Radiation leak 18 times higher than previously disclosed
According to a TEPCO press release covered in Bloomberg Japan, "TEPCO announced high-dose radiation of hourly 1800 mSv from the tank periphery has been observed."
This is highly radioactive water leaking from the now-famous "storage tanks" that were never designed to be long-term storage tanks in the first place. Previously, TEPCO told the public these tanks were only leaking 100 mSv per hour, downplaying the actual radiation leak level by almost 95%.
That same story goes on to say:
Ito Tetsuo Professor of Kinki University (radiation biology) said, regarding the level of hourly 1800 mSv, "There is only a thing called death if you stay exposed to this for four hours. One hundred percent of persons will die within 30 days."
The BBC is also covering this story, just in case you want to see this in English. On the BBC's page, it says:
Radiation levels around Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant are 18 times higher than previously thought, Japanese authorities have warned.
It now says readings taken near the leaking tank on Saturday showed radiation was high enough to prove lethal within four hours of exposure.
The new reading will have direct implications for radiation doses received by workers who spent several days trying to stop the leak last week, the BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes reports from Tokyo.
And that's the understatement of the year. "Direct implications" means the clean-up workers are already dead.
Why the increase from 100 mSv to 1800 mSv? They finally started using a different radiation detector
So how, exactly, did TEPCO get readings of just 100 mSv per hour until recently when they discovered readings of 1800 mSv per hour?
You won't believe this when I tell you: They were using a radiation meter that maxed out at 100 mSv.
Using the same logic, I'm going to patent the "Fukushima weight loss miracle" program that includes a body weight scale which only goes up to 110 lbs. No matter how heavy you are when you step on it, it will only read 110. It's a TEPCO weight loss miracle!
TEPCO, in other words, has been running around measuring radiation using radiation detectors that are, by design, incapable of measuring the full extent of the radiation being released. It then reports the "actual" radiation level as whatever the MAX detection limit is on the low-end detectors.
This is so intellectually dishonest that it borders on criminal.
Not only did TEPCO use "scientific sleight of hand" to deliberately use low-range radiation detectors and thereby mislead the world, the company also used its deceptively low 100 mSv exposure lie to calculate how many hours clean-up workers could safely spend in the facility without being irradiated to death
It turns out those calculations were off by a factor of 18. And that means all the clean-up workers have received 1800% more radiation than they were told. TEPCO, in other words, has condemned these people to die a painful, suffering death by intentionally withholding from them the actual radiation readings.
Caught deliberately downplaying the radiation leaks
It is inconceivable, of course, that the country's largest nuclear power facility company would not possess radiation detectors capable of detecting 1800 mSv per hour. This deceptive strategy to downplay the actual radiation release was clearly deliberate. It's all part of the TEPCO cover-up / conspiracy to lie to Japan, lie to their workers and lie to the world about the true scale of the nuclear disaster that has taken place there.
That has been the TEPCO approach from day one: LIE!
Remember, TEPCO was also behind the Japanese government's bizarro brainwashing propaganda campaign that told people they would be immune to radiation if they just drank beer or smiled a lot.
We also know from news reports in 2011 that TEPCO ran around the Fukushima facility turning off the radiation detectors to prevent alarms from going off. Radiation? What radiation?
And now we find out the company has been deliberately using radiation detectors that max out at just 100 mSv. But even that explanation doesn't hold water, as every person who uses scientific instruments knows that if your measurement maxes out the instrument, get a bigger instrument!
In other words, if your car's speedometer maxes out at 120 mph, but you floor it on the autobahn and keep accelerating far past 120 mph, it doesn't mean you're still only going 120 mph just because that's what the speedometer says. Hopefully this point is obvious. Yet TEPCO was running around with all these pegged radiation detectors, claiming the "max" was the accurate real-time number.
If TEPCO lied about radiation leaks, what else is it lying about?
This brings up the most important point of this article: What else is TEPCO lying about?
Just about everything, it seems. TEPCO still won't admit the plant suffered a fuel core meltdown. They still won't admit the facility is on the verge of collapsing, which would release a huge deadly cloud of radiation that would devastate North America. And of course they won't admit that they need international help to solve the problem.
As a result, thanks to the arrogance and criminal dishonesty of top-level TEPCO managers and bureaucrats, yet another massive radiation release from Fukushima is inevitable.
In fact, it's just one earthquake away.
Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant operator says another tank leaked toxic water
The operator of Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear plant said on Thursday another tank holding highly contaminated water overflowed, probably sending the liquid into the Pacific Ocean, in the second such breach in less than two months.
Recent site mishaps have returned Tokyo Electric Power Co, or Tepco, to the spotlight, calling into question its ability to execute a complex cleanup that could last decades. The company has vowed to monitor the tanks more closely and improve its water management.
Amid mounting international alarm, Japan's government stepped in last month and said it would fund efforts to improvement water management at the plant.
The latest leaks show Tepco's efforts to improve its handling of the contaminated water are not sufficient, Japan's top government spokesman, Yoshihide Suga, told reporters on Thursday. The government will take steps to deal with the water, he said, adding that he thought the situation was under control.
Tepco has been relying on hastily built tanks to hold excess cooling water flushed over damaged reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi site, where three units suffered nuclear meltdowns and hydrogen explosions after a March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
Tepco said the water that leaked contained 200,000 becquerels per liter of beta-emitting radioactive isotopes, including strontium 90. The legal limit for strontium 90 is 30 becquerels per liter.
The breach was discovered in a tank holding area away from where 300 metric tons (1 metric ton = 1.1023 tons) of toxic water escaped in August.
About 430 liters (113 gallons) of water spilled over a period of as much as 12 hours after a worker misjudged how much could be held by the tank, which is tilting because of an uneven location, Tepco spokesman Masayuki Ono told reporters
The company is filling tanks to the brim as it does not have the capacity to accommodate the buildup of contaminated water, Ono said, adding that the water is likely to have flowed into a trench leading to the Pacific Ocean, about 300 m (330 yards) from the tank
It is also pumping out accumulated rainwater in tank holding areas.
After repeated denials, Tepco admitted in July that contaminated water was flowing into the Pacific Ocean from the wrecked reactor buildings at Fukushima.
Measurable radiation from water leaking from the facility is mostly confined to the harbor around the plant, officials have said, and is not an environmental threat to other countries as the radiation will be diluted by the sea.
Tepco has been pumping hundreds of metric tons of water a day over the Fukushima reactors to keep them cool and storing the radioactive wastewater in tanks above ground.
It has also found high levels of radiation just above the ground near other tanks, suggesting widespread structural problems with the tanks.
ALL Bluefin Tuna Caught In California Are Radioactive
Monday, September 30, 2013 18:53
Do NOT eat tuna. Period. ALL the bluefin tuna is radioactive. ALL. A year ago they told us they were surprised to find the fish contaminated after limited exposure to radioactive water. As this article points out, all of the bluefin tuna being caught now have spent their entire lives exposed to radioactive water. If you didnt hear the warning a year ago, please hear it now.
By Ann Werner
Every bluefin tuna tested in the waters off California has shown to be contaminated with radiation that originated in Fukushima. Every single one.
Over a year ago, in May of 2012, the Wall Street Journal reported on a Stanford University study. Daniel Madigan, a marine ecologist who led the study, was quoted as saying, The tuna packaged it up (the radiation) and brought it across the worlds largest ocean. We were definitely surprised to see it at all and even more surprised to see it in every one we measured.
Another member of the study group, Marine biologist Nicholas Fisher at Stony Brook University in New York State reported, We found that absolutely every one of them had comparable concentrations of cesium 134 and cesium 137.
That was over a year ago. The fish that were tested had relatively little exposure to the radioactive waste being dumped into the ocean following the nuclear melt-through that occurred at the Fukushima Daiichi plant in March of 2011.
Since that time, the flow of radioactive contaminants dumping into the ocean has continued unabated. Fish arriving at this juncture have been swimming in contaminants for all of their lives
Radioactive cesium doesnt sink to the sea floor, so fish swim through it and ingest it through their gills or by eating organisms that have already ingested it. It is a compound that does occur naturally in nature, however,
the levels of cesium found in the tuna in 2012 had levels 3 percent higher than is usual.
Measurements for this year havent been made available, or at least none that I have been able to find. I went looking for the effects of ingesting cesium. This is what I found:
When contact with radioactive cesium occurs, which is highly unlikely, a person can experience cell damage due to radiation of the cesium particles. Due to this, effects such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and bleeding may occur. When the exposure lasts a long time, people may even lose consciousness. Coma or even death may then follow. How serious the effects are depends upon the resistance of individual persons and the duration of exposure and the concentration a person is exposed to.
Fukushima worker accidentally switches off the crippled nuclear plant's cooling systems in latest blunder
Worker accidentally pushed button cutting power to water pumps
Hundreds of tonnes of water must be injected into reactors every day
Japan's nuclear regulator said backup system kicked in immediately
Over 300 tonnes of contaminated water have leaked in last three months
That is on top of 300 tonnes of groundwater seeping into Pacific every day
A worker at the Fukushima nuclear plant accidentally pushed a button turning off power to the four badly damaged reactors yesterday.
Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority said that a worker carrying out inspections had turned off pumps injecting cooling water into the unstable reactors.
The plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co, or Tepco, pours hundreds of tonnes of water a day over the reactors to keep them cool after a devastating earthquake and tsunami in March 2011 triggered meltdowns and explosions.
Read more:
State of emergency should now be declared throughout world community over Fukushima Nuclear Expert: Molten corium related leaks into ocean have never stopped
Fukushima radiation worse than feared experts
[...] the situation grows increasingly tense despite all efforts by the government.
[...] expert in nuclear physics and nuclear power generation, Igor Ostretsov, Doctor of Engineering [said] I am absolutely certain that the radioactive water leaks into the ocean have never stopped, because the plant molten corium is continuously cooled. [...]
A state of emergency should now be declared throughout the world community. Japan needs international control, Tokyo cant manage it on its own. Whatever the world nations can offer to cope with the situation should be used, or else the northern part of the Pacific will be contaminated. [...] Japan clearly needs an immediate extraordinary solution.
But the Japanese either failed or chose not to use the experience of Russian liquidators who tackled a similar situation at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986
, says Professor of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, Vladimir Kuznetsov.
Japan has been unsuccessfully trying to get the situation under control for more than two years now, under the supervision of the IAEA.
But the situation is worsening by the week. Neither Japan, nor the International Atomic Energy Agency is capable of controlling the situation
. The decisions made are known to be wrong. We had a concrete cover for the crippled Chernobyl reactor in six months after the accident, while in Japan they still have nothing now that two and a half years have passed since March 11th, 2011.
Background radiation is 400 times the normal levels in towns just 10 kilometres away from the crippled nuclear plant
. [...]
Once-in-a-decade typhoon heads for Japan nuclear plant
Tokyo (AFP) -
A typhoon described as the "strongest in 10 years" closed in on Japan on Wednesday,
on a path that will take it towards the precarious Fukushima nuclear power plant
Tokyo and surrounding areas were hit by violent winds and heavy rains in the early hours of Wednesday morning as Typhoon Wipha moved northeast off the coast of central Japan.
Thousands were evacuated from their homes in the neighbouring prefecture Chiba and power outages were reported.
Record rainfall of around 118.5 millimetres (4.7 inches) per hour was recorded on Izu Oshima Island, which lies in the Pacific, 120 kilometres (75 miles) south of central Tokyo, the Japan Meteorological Agency said, according to Kyodo news agency.
Three homes on the island had been washed away by a swollen river, Kyodo reported, citing police.
State of emergency should now be declared throughout world community over Fukushima Nuclear Expert: Molten corium related leaks into ocean have never stopped
Fukushima radiation worse than feared experts
[...] the situation grows increasingly tense despite all efforts by the government.
[...] expert in nuclear physics and nuclear power generation, Igor Ostretsov, Doctor of Engineering [said] I am absolutely certain that the radioactive water leaks into the ocean have never stopped, because the plant molten corium is continuously cooled. [...]
A state of emergency should now be declared throughout the world community. Japan needs international control, Tokyo cant manage it on its own. Whatever the world nations can offer to cope with the situation should be used, or else the northern part of the Pacific will be contaminated. [...] Japan clearly needs an immediate extraordinary solution.
[...] But the Japanese either failed or chose not to use the experience of Russian liquidators who tackled a similar situation at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986, says Professor of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, Vladimir Kuznetsov.
Japan has been unsuccessfully trying to get the situation under control for more than two years now, under the supervision of the IAEA. But the situation is worsening by the week. Neither Japan, nor the International Atomic Energy Agency is capable of controlling the situation. The decisions made are known to be wrong. We had a concrete cover for the crippled Chernobyl reactor in six months after the accident, while in Japan they still have nothing now that two and a half years have passed since March 11th, 2011.
Background radiation is 400 times the normal levels in towns just 10 kilometres away from the crippled nuclear plant
. [...]
Double whammy drenching in Japan?
10/18/13 Super typhoon Francisco may follow Wiphas path
Just one week following a deadly dousing from Typhoon Wipha, a second typhoon could deluge Japan. On the heels of Wipha comes super typhoon Francisco, about 250 miles west-northwest of Guam, tracking north-northwestward.
Long-term track guidance takes super typhoon Francisco on a course generally towards Japan, with another round of rain and wind possible some time between Wednesday and Friday next week.
Over the last 36 hours, Typhoon Francisco has rapidly strengthened and, with maximum sustained winds around 155 mph,
is the equivalent of a high-end category 4 hurricane. As its peak winds exceed 150 mph, it has earned super typhoon status
Its current satellite presentation exhibits the traits of an extremely powerful cyclone, with a well-defined eye surrounded by heavy thunderstorms.
Francisco is expected to hold its own over the weekend, before steady weakening is forecast next week. By next Wednesday, around the time Francisco may be approaching Japan, peak winds are expected to have decreased to 80-85 mph.
Still, should even a much weakened Francisco make a direct hit on Japan, it would likely bring a second round of torrential rain following up to 33 inches of rain from Wipha
Wiphas rain caused mudslides and flooding, leading to 18 deaths. At the Fukushima nuclear plant, the level of radioactivity spiked after heavy rains may have lifted contaminated soil according to EuroNews.
Japan and China brace for USDollar drama
Oct. 19, 2013
The U.S. Congress dance with default impressed policymakers and investors in China and Japan with just how vulnerable their own economic revival plans are to the next political tantrum on Capitol Hill.
Congress raised the limit on U.S. government borrowing and also averted a default on U.S. Treasury bonds that had threatened the global economy and financial system.
February 7 Congress gets to fight again over a debt ceiling increase.
Japan developed contingency plans that include flooding Japan banking system with cash to keep markets functioning however panicked investors become. And China may step up a push for global acceptance of its currency, the yuan or renminbi, as an alternative to the USDollar in international trade, because the Americans are unreliable.
(With this clown in the whitehouse, thats true!)
Perhaps no two economies outside the United States have more at stake in the Washington drama than Japan and China.
They lend Washington more money than any other single nation. A default would likely have devastated the value of their holdings.
A U.S. default would likely prompt investors to buy yen.
The ocean is broken
Oct. 18, 2013
IT was the silence that made this voyage different from all of those before it. Not the absence of sound, exactly. The wind still whipped the sails and whistled in the rigging. The waves still sloshed against the fibreglass hull. And there were plenty of other noises: muffled thuds and bumps and scrapes as the boat knocked against pieces of debris.
What was missing was the cries of the seabirds which, on all previous similar voyages, had surrounded the boat. The birds were missing because the fish were missing.
Exactly 10 years before, when Newcastle yachtsman Ivan Macfadyen had sailed exactly the same course from Melbourne to Osaka, all he'd had to do to catch a fish from the ocean between Brisbane and Japan was throw out a baited line.
"There was not one of the 28 days on that portion of the trip when we didn't catch a good-sized fish to cook up and eat with some rice," Macfadyen recalled.
But this time, on that whole long leg of sea journey, the total catch was two.
No fish. No birds. Hardly a sign of life at all.
"In years gone by I'd gotten used to all the birds and their noises," he said.
"They'd be following the boat, sometimes resting on the mast before taking off again. You'd see flocks of them wheeling over the surface of the sea in the distance, feeding on pilchards."
But in March and April this year, only silence and desolation surrounded his boat, Funnel Web, as it sped across the surface of a haunted ocean.
North of the equator, up above New Guinea, the ocean-racers saw a big fishing boat working a reef in the distance.
"All day it was there, trawling back and forth. It was a big ship, like a mother-ship," he said.
And all night it worked too, under bright floodlights. And in the morning Macfadyen was awoken by his crewman calling out, urgently, that the ship had launched a speedboat.
"Obviously I was worried. We were unarmed and pirates are a real worry in those waters. I thought, if these guys had weapons then we were in deep trouble."
But they weren't pirates, not in the conventional sense, at least. The speedboat came alongside and the Melanesian men aboard offered gifts of fruit and jars of jam and preserves.
"And they gave us five big sugar-bags full of fish," he said.
"They were good, big fish, of all kinds. Some were fresh, but others had obviously been in the sun for a while.
"We told them there was no way we could possibly use all those fish. There were just two of us, with no real place to store or keep them. They just shrugged and told us to tip them overboard. That's what they would have done with them anyway, they said.
"They told us that his was just a small fraction of one day's by-catch. That they were only interested in tuna and to them, everything else was rubbish. It was all killed, all dumped. They just trawled that reef day and night and stripped it of every living thing."
Macfadyen felt sick to his heart. That was one fishing boat among countless more working unseen beyond the horizon, many of them doing exactly the same thing.
No wonder the sea was dead. No wonder his baited lines caught nothing. There was nothing to catch.
If that sounds depressing, it only got worse.
The next leg of the long voyage was from Osaka to San Francisco and for most of that trip the desolation was tinged with nauseous horror and a degree of fear.
"After we left Japan, it felt as if the ocean itself was dead," Macfadyen said.
"We hardly saw any living things. We saw one whale, sort of rolling helplessly on the surface with what looked like a big tumour on its head. It was pretty sickening.
"I've done a lot of miles on the ocean in my life and I'm used to seeing turtles, dolphins, sharks and big flurries of feeding birds. But this time, for 3000 nautical miles there was nothing alive to be seen
In place of the missing life was garbage in astounding volumes
"Part of it was the aftermath of the tsunami that hit Japan a couple of years ago. The wave came in over the land, picked up an unbelievable load of stuff and carried it out to sea. And it's still out there, everywhere you look
Ivan's brother, Glenn, who boarded at Hawaii for the run into the United States, marvelled at the "thousands on thousands" of yellow plastic buoys. The huge tangles of synthetic rope, fishing lines and nets. Pieces of polystyrene foam by the million. And slicks of oil and petrol, everywhere.
Countless hundreds of wooden power poles are out there, snapped off by the killer wave and still trailing their wires in the middle of the sea.
"In years gone by, when you were becalmed by lack of wind, you'd just start your engine and motor on," Ivan said.
Not this time.
"In a lot of places we couldn't start our motor for fear of entangling the propeller in the mass of pieces of rope and cable. That's an unheard of situation, out in the ocean.
"If we did decide to motor we couldn't do it at night, only in the daytime with a lookout on the bow, watching for rubbish.
"On the bow, in the waters above Hawaii, you could see right down into the depths. I could see that the debris isn't just on the surface, it's all the way down. And it's all sizes, from a soft-drink bottle to pieces the size of a big car or truck
"We saw a factory chimney sticking out of the water, with some kind of boiler thing still attached below the surface. We saw a big container-type thing, just rolling over and over on the waves
"We were weaving around these pieces of debris. It was like sailing through a garbage tip.
"Below decks you were constantly hearing things hitting against the hull, and you were constantly afraid of hitting something really big. As it was, the hull was scratched and dented all over the place from bits and pieces we never saw."
Plastic was ubiquitous. Bottles, bags and every kind of throwaway domestic item you can imagine, from broken chairs to dustpans, toys and utensils.
And something else. The boat's vivid yellow paint job, never faded by sun or sea in years gone past, reacted with something in the water off Japan, losing its sheen in a strange and unprecedented way
BACK in Newcastle, Ivan Macfadyen is still coming to terms with the shock and horror of the voyage.
"The ocean is broken," he said, shaking his head in stunned disbelief.
Recognising the problem is vast, and that no organisations or governments appear to have a particular interest in doing anything about it, Macfadyen is looking for ideas.
He plans to lobby government ministers, hoping they might help.
More immediately, he will approach the organisers of Australia's major ocean races, trying to enlist yachties into an international scheme that uses volunteer yachtsmen to monitor debris and marine life.
Macfadyen signed up to this scheme while he was in the US, responding to an approach by US academics who asked yachties to fill in daily survey forms and collect samples for radiation testing - a significant concern in the wake of the tsunami and consequent nuclear power station failure in Japan.
"I asked them why don't we push for a fleet to go and clean up the mess," he said. "But they said they'd calculated that the environmental damage from burning the fuel to do that job would be worse than just leaving the debris there."
Psalm 37:21 The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous sheweth mercy, and giveth.
Radioactive water leaks at Fukushima as operator underestimates rainfall
Highly radioactive water overflowed barriers into Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, its operating utility said on Monday, after it underestimated how much rain would fall at the plant and failed to pump it out quickly enough.
The utility, Tokyo Electric Power Co, also known as Tepco, has been battling to contain radioactive water at the nuclear complex, which suffered meltdowns and hydrogen explosions following a devastating earthquake and tsunami in March 2011.
Dealing with hundreds of tonnes of groundwater flowing through the wrecked nuclear plant daily is a constant headache for the utility and for the government, casting doubt on Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's promises that the Fukushima water "situation is under control."
After heavy rain on Sunday, water with high levels of radioactive strontium overflowed containment areas built around some 1,000 tanks storing tonnes of radioactive water at the plant, Tepco said. The radioactive water is a by-product of an improvised cooling system designed to keep the wrecked reactors under control in case of further disaster.
Tepco said it had planned to pump out the accumulating rainwater into empty tanks, check it for radioactivity, and if it was uncontaminated, release into the sea. But the company was overwhelmed by the amount of rainwater.
"Our pumps could not keep up with the rainwater. As a result, it flowed over some containment areas," said Tepco spokesman Yoshikazu Nagai. The company had planned for 30 to 40 millimeters of rainfall on Sunday, but by late afternoon the rainfall already stood at around 100 millimeters, he said.
The ongoing crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, 220 km (130 miles) north of Tokyo, highlight the immensity of the task of containing and controlling radioactive water and eventually decommissioning the plant, processes expected to take decades.
Earlier this year, Tepco lost power to cool spent uranium fuel rods at the plant after a rat shorted wiring at the plant.
In the latest incident, containment areas surrounding 12 of 23 groups of tanks overflowed, with one of them containing Strontium-90 as highly concentrated as 710 Becquerels per liter - 71 times higher than the level set by the company as safe for release
Strontium-90 is a by-product of the fission of uranium and plutonium in nuclear reactors as well as nuclear weapons, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says on its website
Tepco said it will prepare some 30 extra pumps and lay additional 10 kilometers of pipes to prevent overflowing from happening again.
The utility has come under increased scrutiny after it found in August that 300 tonnes of highly radioactive water had leaked from one of the hastily built storage tanks at the Fukushima site. Japan stepped up support for the embattled utility in September, pledging half a billion dollars to help contain contaminated water at Fukushima.
Tepco is seeking permission to restart its only remaining viable plant - Kashiwazaki Kariwa, the world's largest nuclear power station, to cut high fuel costs and restore its finances.
UK commits to nuclear power despite Fukushima
A deal to construct a nuclear power plant in Europe is a boost for the global nuclear industry, which has seen projects canceled since the 2011 Fukushima disaster.
LONDON Britain has struck an agreement to build a new nuclear power plant the first such deal in the European Union since the disaster at Fukushima prompted a major rethink of the energy source's merits.
The contract underscores how few options major European economies have if they want to keep households' energy costs from spiking.
The $25.9 billion project, which was agreed on Monday with France's EDF energy and a group of Chinese investors, aims to keep the lights on in Britain amid declining supplies of North Sea gas and rapidly escalating fuel costs.
"If people at home want to be able to keep watching the television, be able to turn the kettle on, and benefit from electricity, we have got to make these investments," Energy Secretary Ed Davey told the BBC. "It is essential to keep the lights on and to power British business."
Birds and Fish Dying from Eating Fukushima Tsunami Debris
28 Signs That The West Coast Is Being Absolutely Fried With Nuclear Radiation From Fukushima
The map above comes from the Nuclear Emergency Tracking Center. It shows that radiation levels at radiation monitoring stations all over the country are elevated. As you will notice, this is particularly true along the west coast of the United States. Every single day, 300 tons of radioactive water from Fukushima enters the Pacific Ocean. That means that the total amouont of radioactive material released from Fukushima is constantly increasing, and it is steadily building up in our food chain. Ultimately, all of this nuclear radiation will outlive all of us by a very wide margin. They are saying that it could take up to 40 years to clean up the Fukushima disaster, and meanwhile countless innocent people will develop cancer and other health problems as a result of exposure to high levels of nuclear radiation. We are talking about a nuclear disaster that is absolutely unprecedented, and it is constantly getting worse. The following are 28 signs that the west coast of North America is being absolutely fried with nuclear radiation from Fukushima
1. Polar bears, seals and walruses along the Alaska coastline are suffering from fur loss and open sores
Wildlife experts are studying whether fur loss and open sores detected in nine polar bears in recent weeks is widespread and related to similar incidents among seals and walruses.
The bears were among 33 spotted near Barrow, Alaska, during routine survey work along the Arctic coastline. Tests showed they had alopecia, or loss of fur, and other skin lesions, the U.S. Geological Survey said in a statement.
2. There is an epidemic of sea lion deaths along the California coastline
At island rookeries off the Southern California coast, 45 percent of the pups born in June have died, said Sharon Melin, a wildlife biologist for the National Marine Fisheries Service based in Seattle. Normally, less than one-third of the pups would die. Its gotten so bad in the past two weeks that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration declared an unusual mortality event.
3. Along the Pacific coast of Canada and the Alaska coastline, the population of sockeye salmon is at a historic low. Many are blaming Fukushima.
4. Something is causing fish all along the west coast of Canada to bleed from their gills, bellies and eyeballs.
5. A vast field of radioactive debris from Fukushima that is approximately the size of California has crossed the Pacific Ocean and is starting to collide with the west coast.
6. It is being projected that the radioactivity of coastal waters off the U.S. west coast could double over the next five to six years.
7. Experts have found very high levels of cesium-137 in plankton living in the waters of the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and the west coast.
8. One test in California found that 15 out of 15 bluefin tuna were contaminated with radiation from Fukushima.
9. Back in 2012, the Vancouver Sun reported that cesium-137 was being found in a very high percentage of the fish that Japan was selling to Canada
73 percent of mackerel tested
91 percent of the halibut
92 percent of the sardines
93 percent of the tuna and eel
94 percent of the cod and anchovies
100 percent of the carp, seaweed, shark and monkfish
10. Canadian authorities are finding extremely high levels of nuclear radiation in certain fish samples
Some fish samples tested to date have had very high levels of radiation: one sea bass sample collected in July, for example, had 1,000 becquerels per kilogram of cesium.
11. Some experts believe that we could see very high levels of cancer along the west coast just from people eating contaminated fish
Look at whats going on now: Theyre dumping huge amounts of radioactivity into the ocean no one expected that in 2011, Daniel Hirsch, a nuclear policy lecturer at the University of California-Santa Cruz, told Global Security Newswire. We could have large numbers of cancer from ingestion of fish.
12. BBC News recently reported that radiation levels around Fukushima are 18 times higher than previously believed.
13. An EU-funded study concluded that Fukushima released up to 210 quadrillion becquerels of cesium-137 into the atmosphere.
14. Atmospheric radiation from Fukushima reached the west coast of the United States within a few days back in 2011.
15. At this point, 300 tons of contaminated water is pouring into the Pacific Ocean from Fukushima every single day.
16. A senior researcher of marine chemistry at the Japan Meteorological Agencys Meteorological Research Institute says that 30 billion becquerels of radioactive cesium and 30 billion becquerels of radioactive strontium are being released into the Pacific Ocean from Fukushima every single day.
17. According to Tepco, a total of somewhere between 20 trillion and 40 trillion becquerels of radioactive tritium have gotten into the Pacific Ocean since the Fukushima disaster first began.
18. According to a professor at Tokyo University, 3 gigabecquerels of cesium-137 are flowing into the port at Fukushima Daiichi every single day.
19. It has been estimated that up to 100 times as much nuclear radiation has been released into the ocean from Fukushima than was released during the entire Chernobyl disaster.
20. One recent study concluded that a very large plume of cesium-137 from the Fukushima disaster will start flowing into U.S. coastal waters early next year
Ocean simulations showed that the plume of radioactive cesium-137 released by the Fukushima disaster in 2011 could begin flowing into U.S. coastal waters starting in early 2014 and peak in 2016.
21. It is being projected that significant levels of cesium-137 will reach every corner of the Pacific Ocean by the year 2020.
22. It is being projected that the entire Pacific Ocean will soon have cesium levels 5 to 10 times higher than what we witnessed during the era of heavy atomic bomb testing in the Pacific many decades ago.
23. The immense amounts of nuclear radiation getting into the water in the Pacific Ocean has caused environmental activist Joe Martino to issue the following warning
Your days of eating Pacific Ocean fish are over.
24. The Iodine-131, Cesium-137 and Strontium-90 that are constantly coming from Fukushima are going to affect the health of those living the the northern hemisphere for a very, very long time. Just consider what Harvey Wasserman had to say about this
Iodine-131, for example, can be ingested into the thyroid, where it emits beta particles (electrons) that damage tissue. A plague of damaged thyroids has already been reported among as many as 40 percent of the children in the Fukushima area. That percentage can only go higher. In developing youngsters, it can stunt both physical and mental growth. Among adults it causes a very wide range of ancillary ailments, including cancer.
Cesium-137 from Fukushima has been found in fish caught as far away as California. It spreads throughout the body, but tends to accumulate in the muscles.
Strontium-90s half-life is around 29 years. It mimics calcium and goes to our bones.
25. According to a recent Planet Infowars report, the California coastline is being transformed into a dead zone
The California coastline is becoming like a dead zone.
If you havent been to a California beach lately, you probably dont know that the rocks are unnaturally CLEAN theres hardly any kelp, barnacles, sea urchins, etc. anymore and the tide pools are similarly eerily devoid of crabs, snails and other scurrying signs of life and especially as compared to 10 15 years ago when one was wise to wear tennis shoes on a trip to the beach in order to avoid cutting ones feet on all the STUFF of life broken shells, bones, glass, driftwood, etc.
There are also days when I am hard-pressed to find even a half dozen seagulls and/or terns on the county beach.
You can still find a few gulls trolling the picnic areas and some of the restaurants (with outdoor seating areas) for food, of course, but, when I think back to 10 15 years ago, the skies and ALL the beaches were literally filled with seagulls and the haunting sound of their cries both day and night
NOW its unnaturally quiet.
26. A study conducted last year came to the conclusion that radiation from the Fukushima nuclear disaster could negatively affect human life along the west coast of North America from Mexico to Alaska for decades.
27. According to the Wall Street Journal, it is being projected that the cleanup of Fukushima could take up to 40 years to complete.
28. Yale Professor Charles Perrow is warning that if the cleanup of Fukushima is not handled with 100% precision that humanity could be threatened for thousands of years
Conditions in the unit 4 pool, 100 feet from the ground, are perilous, and if any two of the rods touch it could cause a nuclear reaction that would be uncontrollable. The radiation emitted from all these rods, if they are not continually cool and kept separate, would require the evacuation of surrounding areas including Tokyo. Because of the radiation at the site the 6,375 rods in the common storage pool could not be continuously cooled; they would fission and all of humanity will be threatened, for thousands of years.
Are you starting to understand why so many people are so deeply concerned about what is going on at Fukushima?
For much more on all of this, please check out the video posted below
Radioactivity level spikes 6,500 times at Fukushima well
Radioactivity levels in a well near a storage tank at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan have risen immensely on Thursday, the plants operator has reported.
Officials of the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) said on Friday they detected 400,000 becquerels per liter of beta ray-emitting radioactive substances - including strontium - at the site, a level 6,500 times higher than readings taken on Wednesday, NHK World reported.
The storage tank leaked over 300 tons of contaminated water in August, some of which is believed to have found its way into the sea through a ditch.
The well in question is about 10 meters from the tank and was dug to gauge leakage.
TEPCO said the findings show that radioactive substances like strontium have reached the groundwater. High levels of tritium, which transfers much easier in water than strontium, had already been detected.
Officials at TEPCO said they will remove any contaminated soil around the storage tank in an effort to monitor radioactivity levels of the water around the well.
The news comes after it has been reported a powerful typhoon which swept through Japan led to highly radioactive water near the crippled nuclear power plant being released into a nearby drainage ditch, increasing the risk of it flowing into the sea.
On Wednesday TEPCO said it had detected high levels of radiation in a ditch leading to the Pacific Ocean, and that it suspected heavy rains had lifted contaminated soil.
Decades-long problems being faced at Fukushima
Robert Jacobs, a professor at Hiroshima Peace University, told RT the compounding problems at Fukushima Daiichi underscore one critical reality: no one really knows what to do.
Nobody really knows how to solve the problems at Fukushima. There is nobody who has solutions. The problems at Fukushima are unprecedented, so even bringing in outside expertise, all that they can try to do is problem solve. There is no solution that other countries have that they can come in and fix the reactors, or rather, shut down the contamination, shut down the leaks.
Experts believe that even a small earthquake could lead to more serious nuclear damage in the area
They have a thousand tanks that are held together with a plastic pipe, so if there is a moderate earthquake the plastic pipes will fail and all that material will run across the ground surface and into the ocean, nuclear power expert Arnold Gundersen told RT.
Facilities themselves, the four reactors that are the most damaged had a series of explosions internally, so it would not take an earthquake as big as the one they had two and a half years ago to potentially do a lot of serious damage there.
He added that the health risks are great and continue to increase every year. Somewhere between 100,000 to 1,000,000 [people] will over the next thirty years get cancer from this accident...1,000 additional cancers a year from eating fish from the Pacific.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abes open request for advanced knowledge from overseas is a welcome step, as this will bring a higher degree of professionalism than Tepco has demonstrated since the crisis first erupted, Jacobs says. But even though, those experts will be at a loss to solve the immense problems theyll be facing for decades at Fukushima.
Even in the one area where Japan could potentially help contain the disaster, the authorities have wavered, Konstantin Simonov from the Moscow-based Fund for Energy Security told RT.
Fukushima should be treated just like Chernobyl as a wreck that must be retired and put in a sarcophagus, with radioactive waste slowly and thoroughly utilized. Why does the problem persist at Fukushima? Because they cant decide whether they want to close it or to keep it going.
Tokyo Electric Power Company in fact seems reluctant to shut down Fukushima for good. Tepco is in fact pushing to reopen its Kashiwazaki Kariwa facility the world's largest nuclear power station which itself was shut down in 2007 following reports of radioactive leaks in the wake of an earthquake.
In September, Japan announced its only operating nuclear reactor had been closed for maintenance, leaving the country with no nuclear power supply for only the second time in four decades.
Atomic power accounted for 30 percent of Japans energy needs prior to the Fukushima disaster, and the country was forced to increase fossil fuel imports to make up for the deficit.
As a result, Japan become the worlds largest importer of liquefied natural gas (LNG), prompting the worlds third-largest-economy to post its first trade deficit since the second oil shock 31 years ago.
Under these circumstances, the crisis gripping Fukushima will not be the only factor in deciding the fate of the countrys nuclear industry.
7.5 Quake Off Coast Of Fukushima, Tsunami Warning Issued
25 Oct 2013
A magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck off the Fukushima region of Japan.
The epicenter was located 231 miles east of Japan's Honshu Island. The tremor was felt 300 miles away in Tokyo.
The Japan Meteorological Agency issued a tsunami warning at 1:14 p.m. EST for Fukushima Prefecture.
"Marine threat is in place," the agency warns. "Get out of the water and leave the coast immediately. As the strong current will continue, do not get in the sea or approach coasts until the advisory is cleared."
The warning has been expanded to include Iwate, Miyagi, Ibaraki, and Chiba Prefectures.
The agency said it expects a slight sea level change in coastal regions, but no tsunami damage.
NOAA's Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the quake was not expected to trigger a Pacific-wide tsunami and that there was no threat to Hawaii.
All but two of Japan's 50 reactors have been offline since the March 2011
magnitude-9.0 earthquake and ensuing tsunami triggered multiple meltdowns and massive radiation leaks at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, about 160 miles northeast of Tokyo. About 19,000 people were killed.
Nothing like this has ever been attempted
Yale Professor: 'All of humanity will be threatened for 1000s of years' if rods in Unit 4 pool touch and have nuclear reaction during removal process
Tepco: 'Not clear' if fuel is already damaged.
Fukushima nuclear plant operators prepare for dangerous procedure Hundreds of radioactive rods must be removed at Fukushima without exposing them to air.
Horses near Fukushima dying
Oct 29, 2013
Fukushima horse breeder braves high radiation levels to care for animals.
Northwest of the Fukushima nuclear power plant foals became unsteady on their feet after birth, and several died within weeks.
Autopsies found no evidence of disease and tests revealed caesium levels 4 times higher than the government-set safety limit.
Something Is Killing Life All Over The Pacific Ocean Could It Be Fukushima?
30 Oct 2013
Why is there so much
death and disease among sea life living near the west coast of North America
right now? Could the hundreds of tons of highly radioactive water that are being released into the Pacific Ocean from Fukushima every single day have anything to do with it? When I wrote my last article about Fukushima, I got a lot of heat for being alarmist and for supposedly scaring people unnecessarily. I didnt think that an article about Fukushima would touch such a nerve, but apparently there are some people out there that really do not want anyone writing about this stuff. Right now, massive numbers of fish and sea creatures are dying in the Pacific Ocean. In addition, independent tests have shown that significant levels of cesium-137 are in a very high percentage of the fish that are being caught in the Pacific and sold in North America. Could this have anything to do with the fact that the largest nuclear disaster in the history of mankind has been constantly releasing enormous amounts of radioactive material into the Pacific Ocean for more than two years? I dont know about you, but to me this seems to be a question that is worth asking.
Since I wrote my last article, major news outlets have reported that large numbers of sea stars living off of the west coast of North America appear to be melting
Divers were out in Puget Sound waters Saturday to see if they can help solve a mystery. Scientists are trying to figure out whats causing one species of starfish to die in parts of Puget Sound and the waters off of Canada.
Seattle Aquarium biologists Jeff Christiansen and Joel Hollander suited up in scuba gear in their search for answers. Were going to look for both healthy and potentially diseased sea stars, Christiansen explained. Weve got some sea stars that look like theyre melting on the bottom.
The same thing is happening in the waters near Canada and nobodys sure why.
If scientists dont know why this is happening, perhaps there is an unusual explanation for this phenomenon.
Could it be Fukushima?
The following is what one invertebrate expert quoted by National Geographic says is happening to the starfish
[The starfish] seem to waste away, deflate a little, and then just disintegrate. The arms just detach, and the central disc falls apart. It seems to happen rapidly, and not just dead animals undergoing decomposition, as I observed single arms clinging to the rock faces, tube feet still moving, with the skin split, gills flapping in the current. Ive seen single animals in the past looking like this, and the first dive this morning I thought it might be crabbers chopping them up and tossing them off the rocks. Then we did our second dive in an area closed to fishing, and in absolutely amazing numbers. The bottom from about 20 to 50 feet [6 to 15 meters] was absolutely littered with arms, oral discs, tube feet, gonads and gills it was kind of creepy.
That certainly does not sound normal to me.
Shouldnt we be trying to figure out why this is happening?
Something is also causing a huge spike in the death rate for killer whales living off of the coast of British Columbia
A Vancouver Aquarium researcher is sounding the alarm over puzzling changes hes observed in the killer whale pods that live off the southern British Columbia coast.
Dr. Lance Barrett-Lennard says he fears changes in the ocean environment are prompting odd behaviour and an unusually high mortality rate.
Barrett-Lennard says the southern resident orca pod, which is found in the Salish Sea between Vancouver Island and the B.C. mainland, has lost seven matriarchs over the past two years, and hes noticed a lack of vocalizations from the normally chatty mammals.
Once again, scientists do not know why this is happening.
Could it be Fukushima? I am just asking the question.
Clearly something unusual is happening to the Pacific. The following is what one Australian discovered as he journeyed across the Pacific Ocean recently
The next leg of the long voyage was from Osaka to San Francisco and for most of that trip the desolation was tinged with nauseous horror and a degree of fear.
After we left Japan, it felt as if the ocean itself was dead, Macfadyen said.
We hardly saw any living things. We saw one whale, sort of rolling helplessly on the surface with what looked like a big tumour on its head. It was pretty sickening.
Ive done a lot of miles on the ocean in my life and Im used to seeing turtles, dolphins, sharks and big flurries of feeding birds. But this time, for 3000 nautical miles there was nothing alive to be seen.
In place of the missing life was garbage in astounding volumes.
Part of it was the aftermath of the tsunami that hit Japan a couple of years ago. The wave came in over the land, picked up an unbelievable load of stuff and carried it out to sea. And its still out there, everywhere you look.
What would cause the Pacific Ocean to be dead?
Could it be Fukushima?
When you consider the evidence presented above along with all of the other things that we have learned in recent months, it becomes more than just a little bit alarming.
The following are some more examples of sea life dying off in the Pacific from my recent article entitled 28 Signs That The West Coast Is Being Absolutely Fried With Nuclear Radiation From Fukushima
-Polar bears, seals and walruses along the Alaska coastline are suffering from fur loss and open sores
Wildlife experts are studying whether fur loss and open sores detected in nine polar bears in recent weeks is widespread and related to similar incidents among seals and walruses.
The bears were among 33 spotted near Barrow, Alaska, during routine survey work along the Arctic coastline. Tests showed they had alopecia, or loss of fur, and other skin lesions, the U.S. Geological Survey said in a statement.
-There is an epidemic of sea lion deaths along the California coastline
At island rookeries off the Southern California coast, 45 percent of the pups born in June have died, said Sharon Melin, a wildlife biologist for the National Marine Fisheries Service based in Seattle. Normally, less than one-third of the pups would die. Its gotten so bad in the past two weeks that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration declared an unusual mortality event.
-Along the Pacific coast of Canada and the Alaska coastline, the population of sockeye salmon is at a historic low. Many are blaming Fukushima.
-Something is causing fish all along the west coast of Canada to bleed from their gills, bellies and eyeballs.
-Experts have found very high levels of cesium-137 in plankton living in the waters of the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and the west coast.
-One test in California found that 15 out of 15 bluefin tuna were contaminated with radiation from Fukushima.
-Back in 2012, the Vancouver Sun reported that cesium-137 was being found in a very high percentage of the fish that Japan was selling to Canada
73 percent of mackerel tested
91 percent of the halibut
92 percent of the sardines
93 percent of the tuna and eel
94 percent of the cod and anchovies
100 percent of the carp, seaweed, shark and monkfish
Is it really so unreasonable to wonder if Fukushima could be causing all of this?
And the total amount of nuclear material in the Pacific Ocean is constantly increasing. According to the New York Times, the latest releases from Fukushima contain much more contaminated water than before, and the flow of contaminated water will not stop until 2015 at the earliest
The latest releases appear to be carrying much more contaminated water than before into the Pacific. And that flow may not slow until at least 2015, when an ice wall around the damaged reactors is supposed to be completed.
And that same article explained that cesium-137 is entering the Pacific at a rate that is about three times as high as last year
The magnitude of the recent spike in radiation, and the amounts of groundwater involved, have led Michio Aoyama, an oceanographer at a government research institute who is considered an authority on radiation in the sea, to conclude that radioactive cesium 137 may now be leaking into the Pacific at a rate of about 30 billion becquerels per year, or about three times as high as last year. He estimates that strontium 90 may be entering the Pacific at a similar rate.
Right now, approximately 300 tons of contaminated water is pouring into the Pacific Ocean from Fukushima every 24 hours.
But apparently we are not supposed to ask any questions about this and we are just supposed to blindly accept that this is not having any significant impact on our environment even though sea life in the Pacific appears to be dying in unprecedented numbers.
I dont know about you, but I really think that the people of the world deserve to know the truth about what is happening out there.
We opened a door to he
at Fukushima plant, and may never be able to close it.
Nov. 1, 2013 Paul Gunter, nuclear power industry watchdog said, we have got 3 reactors, the cores have left the vessel. They have burned through the bottom of the vessel.
We dont really know where they are
, because the radioactive environment even fries robots that Tepcos been trying to send in there. They have been sending very innovative robotic machinery and sensors in there to get a picture, a reading, and they dont return. (anyone hear the theme from Twilight Zone?) We have opened a door to hell that cannot be easily closed if ever. We got those 3 cores of highly radioactive material that are melting, they could be somewhere in the concrete base mat burning their way through, they could have already burned through and entered into the ground.
Host Art Bell: You mean that even with robotic help, they dont know where the cores are?
Gunter: Correct. Weve got 3 molten cores that we dont have a status report on.
5.0 Earthquake Near Fukushima!! Tremors In Tokyo, #Blackout Still In Effect! (Video)
Yet another earthquake has hot near the already crippled Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan, which is already struggling to minimize the radiation leaks and contaminated water flowing into the Pacific ocean.
This 5.0 magnitude earthquake follows the Great earthquake and tsuamni of 2011 which devastated the nuclear plant
and the subsequent 7.2 earthquake that hit near Fukushima last week, which resulted in an Internet blackout of firsthand news from the Japanese people
Sundays tremors were felt as far away as Tokyo, but no casualties or damage reports were released at the time.
The news comes just ahead of one of the most dangerous nuclear cleanup operations ever attempted. Scheduled to start at the beginning of November, it will involve the careful, manual removal of 400 tons of spent nuclear fuel rods from the plants Reactor No. 4 with an atomic yield greater than the Hiroshima bomb. The long and cumbersome operation will not permit even the slightest tremor, or Japan risks a catastrophe greater than Chernobyl.
Nov. 4, 2013 I listened to
Stan Deyo
. He thinks the entire island of Japan will need to be evacuated due to Fukushima poisoning the entire island.
He does
think Fukushima will destroy the whole earth.
Stan Deyo website
Joe Brandt saw Japan go into the sea
I have often said for 2 years, the entire island of Japan is doomed.
Another earthquake: New 4.9 tremor near Fukushima
A 4.9 magnitude earthquake with an epicenter close to Fukushima Prefecture has struck the eastern coast of Japan, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
The tremor was registered at a depth of 20 km. There have not been immediate reports of damage or injuries. No tsunami warning has been issued.
It is the second earthquake to hit Fukushima neighboring prefecture in the past two days. A 5.0 earthquake was registered on Japans east coast, with Sundays tremors felt as far away as Tokyo
The news comes amid preparations for a tough and dangerous cleanup operation to remove fuel rods from Unit 4 at Fukushima Daiichi plant
Scheduled to start in mid-November, it will involve the careful, manual removal of 400 tons of spent nuclear fuel rods.
Should the attempt fail, horrific quantities of radiation
could be released into the atmosphere
, or cause an explosion many times worse than the original disaster
Even the slightest tremor during the operation would risk a catastrophe greater than Chernobyl.
The mid-November fuel removal operation will be just the first step in a decommissioning process that is expected to take decades.
Floating island of rubbish three times size of BRITAIN floating towards California
Nov 5, 2013
Five millions tons of debris made up of devastated property is making its way to the US following the 2011 tsunami in Japan.
A floating island of debris three times the size of BRITAIN is heading for the California coastline sparking huge environmental concerns.
Five millions tons of rubbish made up of devastated homes, boats, cars and businesses is making its way across the Pacific Ocean following the 2011 tsunami in Japan.
Scientists have already discovered debris on the west coast but their latest findings suggest California is expected to be hit with a deluge all at once.
Americas National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released their latest findings showing a huge island of rubbish floating northeast of the Hawaiian Islands.
Boffins have been unable to say for certain when the debris will wash ashore but they have been closely monitoring its movements which stretches from Alaska to the Philippines.
7 months ago
, the first documented debris from the tsunami reached Crescent City, California.
A 20-foot boat belonging to the marine sciences program at Takata High School in the north east city of Rikuzentakata was discovered washed up.
NOAA spokeswoman Keeley Belva said more than 1,600 reports of debris had been firmly traced back to the tsunami.
They included a small boat found in Hawaii, a motorbike washed ashore on the coast of British Columbia and large pieces of a dock in Washington state and Oregon.
A football was also discovered on an Alsakan island still with its owners name it.
The boy was traced to Rikuzentakata.
The tsunami devastated the east coast of Japan in March 2011.
Caused by the massive earthquake it sent a colossal undersea megathrust creating waves up to 41 metres tall crashing on to the shoreline.
The tsunami was so powerful scientists measured it had moved Honshu - the main island of Japan - eight feet.
The Fukushima nuclear power plant was left destroyed sending three of its reactors in to meltdown.
It led to hundreds of thousands of residents being evacuated up to 50 miles away.
However despite the leaking radioactive reactor water from the plant, none of the floating debris has tested positive for radiation.
ABC: Fukushima 3 Exploded Lies At Highest Levels Plutonium Escaped
Despite an ongoing coverup more than 2 1/2 years old, the world continues to get more truth from ENENews today about Fukushima from ABC Australia who shares that even the Prime Minister of Japan was unable to get answers from TEPCO about an explosion that he himself witnessed at Fukushimas reactor #3. We also learn below that plutonium escaped during the explosion which featured an orange flash, suggesting temperatures of thousands of degrees, now being called a nuclear explosion. You can see the explosion of Fukushima #3 in the 2nd video below. The 1st video is entitled, Fukushima: Oceans of the Dead What You Arent Being Told. Is this why much of the Pacific Ocean has now turned into a dead zone and what does this plutonium release mean for humanity?
ABC Australia: Even [Japan's Prime Minister Naoto Kan] cant get answers. Theres one point hes back in his office watching reactor 3 explode, theres black smoke. Whats going on, asks Kan. There was silence. No one had any answer. But then over at Tepco, theyre watching that too. They know whats going on, but the president of Tepco basically says, Well, dont tell them that, tell them something different. Basically tell them it was a hydrogen explosion. So theres willful denial and lying going on here, even at the highest levels. Even the Prime Minister cant get the answers.
Akio Takahashi, a senior Tepco official: We do not know whether it was a hydrogen explosion, but since the governmentthe Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agencyis saying it is a hydrogen explosion, we can just say soa hydrogen explosion, cant we?
Fukushima by ABC correspondent Mark Willacy, published July 1, 2013 (Excerpt): All right. I agree. This is fine, replied [Tepco] President Shimizu. And that was exactly what happened. At a press conference later that day, a TEPCO public-relations official said with utmost confidence, it was a hydrogen explosion. But the exact cause of the Reactor 3 blast has even now not been conclusively determined. Some have speculated it could have been a nuclear explosion just like Chernobyl. I watched video of the Reactor 3 explosion, said veteran Japanese nuclear-reactor designer Setsuo Fujiwara. There was an orange flash, which suggests the temperature must have been thousands of degrees centigrade before the explosion. Then there was black smoke. Fujiwara insisted to me that a hydrogen explosion created white smoke and steam, as witnessed after the Reactor 1 building was torn apart. He continued, The second piece of evidence is that plutonium was scattered about after this blast. Plutonium is consistent with the mixed oxide fuel [used in Reactor 3]. The third point is that the Reactor 3 building was bent like candy, unlike the Reactor 1 building, where the steel framework remained intact. So this could only mean it was a nuclear explosion.
Video #1
Video #2
Fukushima plant readies for dangerous fuel rod removal
Nov 7, 2013
Fukushima Daiichi (Japan) (AFP) - Nuclear engineers in Japan are preparing to move uranium and plutonium fuel rods at Fukushima, their most difficult and dangerous task since the plant's runaway reactors were brought under control two years ago.
Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) is expected this month to begin removing fuel rods from a pool inside a reactor building at the tsunami-hit plant, in a technically challenging operation that will test the utility's expertise after months of setbacks and glitches.
Experts say the operation is a tricky but essential step in the decades-long decommissioning and recovery after the worst atomic accident in a generation.
But, they add, it pales in comparison with the much more complex task that awaits engineers in the future. They will have to remove the misshapen cores of three reactors that went into meltdown, probably relying on technology that has not yet been invented.
More than 1,500 nuclear fuel assemblies - bundles of rods - must be pulled out of the storage pool where they were being kept when a tsunami smashed into Fukushima in March 2011.
The reactor which the pool serves - No. 4 - was not in operation at the time. But hydrogen from Reactor No. 3 escaped into the building and exploded, tearing the roof off and leaving it at the mercy of natural hazards like earthquakes, storms or another tsunami.
TEPCO says it has not yet found any damage to the assemblies at No. 4, which contain a mixture of uranium and plutonium, but will be monitoring for abnormalities.
The removal of fuel is part of regular work at any nuclear power plant, but "conditions are different from normal because of the disaster", said company spokeswoman Mayumi Yoshida.
"It is crucial. It is a first big step towards decommissioning the reactors," she said. "Being fully aware of risks, we are determined to go ahead with operations cautiously and securely."
"This is an operation TEPCO cannot afford to bungle"
Chunks of debris that were sent flying into the pool by explosions have largely been removed and a crane has been installed. A protective hood has been erected over the building's skeleton to contain any radioactive leaks.
A remotely-controlled grabber will sink into the pool and hook onto a fuel assembly, which it will pull up and place inside a fully immersed cask.
The 4.5-metre (15-foot) bundles weighing 300 kilograms (660 pounds) have to be kept in water throughout the operation to keep them cool.
The 91-tonne cask will then be hauled from the pool -- containing as many as 22 fuel assemblies and a lot of water -- to be loaded onto a trailer and taken to a different storage pool, where the operation will be reversed.
Experts warn that any slip-ups could quickly cause the situation to deteriorate. Even minor mishaps will create considerable delays to the already long and complicated decommissioning
If the rods are exposed to the air they would release radiation and could heat up, a process that if left unchecked could lead to a self-sustaining nuclear reaction. TEPCO says that is unlikely, but sceptics say that with so many unknowns in the novel operation, there is potential for a catastrophe.
"This is the first practical milestone for the project," said Hiroshi Miyano, a nuclear systems expert and visiting professor at Hosei University in Tokyo.
"Any trouble in this operation will considerably affect the timetable for the entire project," he said. "This is an operation TEPCO cannot afford to bungle."
Hiroaki Koide, assistant professor at Kyoto University Reactor Research Institute in Kyoto, said success was far from guaranteed.
"It is not easy work," he said.
The comments reflect an increasingly widespread view that the giant utility is not capable of dealing with the mess its nuclear plant has created
Months of setbacks have included multiple leaks from tanks storing the water used to keep reactors cool, and a power outage caused when a rat electrocuted itself on a circuit board.
TEPCO's management of the problems has been criticised as haphazard and uncoordinated, with one government minister saying it was like watching someone playing "whack-a-mole".
The full decommissioning of Fukushima is likely to take decades and include tasks that have never been attempted anywhere in the world.
Meanwhile, villages and towns nearby remain largely empty, their residents unable or unwilling to return to live in the shadow of the leaking plant because of the fear of radiation.
Were In The Most Dangerous Moment Since the Cuban Missile Crisis
Scientists Warn of Extreme Risk
Weve long said that the greatest short-term threat to humanity is from the fuel pools at Fukushima.
The Japanese nuclear agency recently green-lighted the removal of the spent fuel rods from Fukushima reactor 4′s spent fuel pool. The operation is scheduled to begin this month.
The head of the U.S. Department of Energy correctly notes:
The success of the cleanup also has global significance. So we all have a direct interest in seeing that the next steps are taken well, efficiently and safely.
If one of the pools collapsed or caught fire, it could have severe adverse impacts not only on Japan but the rest of the world, including the United States. Indeed, a Senator called it a national security concern for the U.S.:
The radiation caused by the failure of the spent fuel pools in the event of another earthquake could reach the West Coast within days. That absolutely makes the safe containment and protection of this spent fuel a security issue for the United States.
Hiroaki Koide a nuclear scientist working at the University of Kyoto says:
Im worried about whether Tepco can treat all the 1,331 [spent-fuel] assemblies without any problem and how long it will take.
Award-winning scientist David Suzuki says that Fukushima is terrifying, Tepco and the Japanese government are lying through their teeth, and Fukushima is the most terrifying situation I can imagine.
Suzuki notes that reactor 4 is so badly damaged that if theres another earthquake of 7 or above the building could come down. And the probability of another earthquake of 7 or above in the next 3 years is over 95%.
Suzuki says that hes seen a paper that says that if in fact the 4th reactor comes down, its bye bye Japan, and everyone on the West Coast of North America should evacuate. Now if thats not terrifying, I dont know what is.
much more in the link
Well, obviously we're not in the time of Jacob's trouble now - but nonetheless you can't deny this could very well be another piece on the chess board.
Rev 8:7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
Rev 8:8 And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;
Rev 8:9 And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.
Rev 8:10 And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;
Rev 8:11 And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.
Tokyo area hit by magnitude 5.5 earthquake
11/9/13 - An earthquake with preliminary magnitude of 5.5 shook eastern Japan, including the capital Tokyo, on Sunday morning, but there were no immediate reports of damage and no irregularities at the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant.
The earthquake was centered in southwest Ibaraki Prefecture, just northeast of Tokyo. There was no threat of a tsunami.
Tokyo Electric Power Co, operator of the Fukushima nuclear plant 220 km (130 miles) northeast of Tokyo, said there was no apparent impact from the quake.
"We have so far seen no abnormalities in monitoring post figures around the plants or in other parameters," a Tokyo Electric spokesman said.
The Tohoku Shinkansen bullet trains connecting Tokyo with northern Japan were briefly suspended, while Tokyo's two international airports were operating normally and there were no reports of irregularities at the Tokai Daini nuclear facility, public broadcaster NHK said.
Unit 4: Three Fuel Assemblies Deformed or Damaged, says TEPCO
11/13/13 It must be from the explosion! Or from something TEPCO has done since the accident, whatever it is! No.
If TEPCO is to be believed, TEPCO has been hiding the damages for at least 10 years; the oldest damage was from 25 years ago
According to the Yomiuri Shinbun, thats not clear, and you would be excused if you thought the damages were recent (after March 11, 2011).
From Yomiuri Shinbun (11/12/2013):
On November 12, TEPCO disclosed that there were three fuel assemblies out of 1533 fuel assemblies in the Spent Fuel Pool of Reactor 4 at Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant that were deformed and would be difficult to remove. The removal of fuel assemblies from the Reactor 4 SFP will start this month.
The three fuel assemblies has slight deformation or damage caused by the past work [in the SFP].
No leak of radioactive materials has been observed. TEPCO will transport other fuel assemblies first, while they figure out how to remove and transport these three fuel assemblies. Nuclear Regulation Authority has already approved the fuel removal, and the work will start within this month as scheduled.
So, are these fuel assemblies new? used? How long ago was the past work?
I found the answer in Fukushima Minyu, one of the local newspapers in Fukushima Prefecture. It was long before the start of the March 11, 2011 nuclear accident, with the oldest past work 25 years ago
From Fukushima Minyu (11/13/2013; part):
According to TEPCO, one of the damaged fuel assemblies is bent at a 90-degree angle [literal meaning: bent in the shape of a Japanese character "く"; actual angle could be less].
It was bent 25 years ago when a mistake occurred in handling the fuel. The other two were found to be damaged 10 years ago; there are small holes on the outside from foreign objects
TEPCO is investigating whether the damages to the fuel assemblies were made public when they were discovered.
According to Fukushima Minyu, the occasion was a visit by the delegation of the Fukushima Prefectural Council for Decommission Safety Monitoring. The council members include officials from the Fukushima prefectural government, municipalities around Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, and experts.
How do you bend a fuel assembly at a 90-degree angle, handling it in the spent fuel pool?
And how could Yomiuri call a fuel assembly bent at a 90-degree angle slight deformation?
Japan * Fukushima begins fuel rod removal
Nov. 18, 2013
Workers at Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant have begun removing fuel rods from a storage pond at the Unit 4 reactor building.
The delicate operation is seen as a necessary step in stabilising the site.
It will take more over two days to remove the first 22 fuel rod assemblies, plant operator
Overall, more than 1,500 assemblies must be be removed in a
risky and dangerous operation set to take a year
Experts say hydrogen explosions after the earthquake and tsunami in March 2011 have made the current storage facility vulnerable to further tremors.
The fuel rod assemblies are four-metre long tubes containing pellets of uranium fuel, and the fear is that some may have been damaged during the disaster.
Removing fuel rods
The fuel rods - 4m-long tubes containing pellets of uranium fuel - are in a precarious state in the Unit Four storage pool.
The rod assemblies will be lifted out in batches of 22 in casks filled with water, using a crane - each batch will take 7-10 days
Two critical issues are whether the rods were damaged during the disaster and so are likely to leak, and whether the casks remain watertight so the rods have no contact with air
The fuel rods will be deposited into a new "common" pool with a cooling system
Highly Dangerous Fukushima 4 Fuel Removal Begins
The highly dangerous and
removal of the highly radioactive nuclear fuel rods in Fukushima Unit 4 will begin on Monday, November 18.
TEPCO Successfully Removes First Nuclear Fuel Rods
Tokyo Electric Power Co. successfully removed the first nuclear fuel rods today from a cooling pool at the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant, an early milestone in decommissioning the facility amid doubts about whether the rods had been damaged and posed a radiation risk.
The first of the fuel-rod assemblies at the plants No. 4 reactor building was transferred from an underwater rack on the fifth floor to a portable cask just before 4 p.m., the utility known as Tepco said in an e-mailed statement.
Fukushima Radiation
Some news needs to be separate from the main topic. Its hard to know in advance!
I have heard many times this operation is so dangerous that the results are potentially catastrophic for
the entire island of JAPAN
Some people claim for the entire earth.
TEPCO Successfully Removes First Nuclear Fuel Rods
Nov. 18, 2013
Workers at Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant have begun removing fuel rods from a storage pond at the Unit 4 reactor building.
The delicate operation is seen as a necessary step in stabilising the site.
It will take more over two days to remove the first 22 fuel rod assemblies, plant operator Tepco says.
Overall, more than 1,500 assemblies must be be removed in a risky and dangerous operation set to take a year.
I did this on a separate thread because it was said to be so dangerous
Pacific Now A Gigantic Experiment: Amazing How Many People Are In Denial
Saturday, November 16, 2013 6:57
This story from ENENews is enlightening and shows that not only are most Americans and people around the world completely in the dark about whats really unfolding at the stricken Fukushima nuclear power plants but also shows that we are in deep trouble because of it.
Confirming that top of the food chain animals will likely become contaminated, have we forgotten that the top of the food chain is us?
Calling whats happening in the Pacific Ocean a gigantic experiment, experts warn that we really have no idea what is going to happen. A video report is also below.
Arnie Gundersen, Fairewinds Chief Engineer: Unlike a cloud of smoke that passes over, Fukushima continues to spew cesium into the ocean and strontium too, I have to add. So the net effect is that the spigot hasnt been turned off yet, and were contaminating the Pacific Ocean in the process [ ]
Its not heavier than water, its very, very small particles that sort of float almost like dust in air, so that it is moving in the entire water column across the Pacific
. [ ] Weve got contamination of the aquatic chain. [ ]
the top of the food chain animals will likely become contaminated
Steven Starr, Director of the Clinical Laboratory Science Program at the University of Missouri, Senior Scientist at Physicians for Social Responsibility: Were looking at the whole Pacific is full of this stuff, and we have no idea how its going to build up. Its a gigantic experiment, whats going to happen.
John B. Wells, Host: Isnt it amazing how many people are in denial about this? [...] This is a problem, and its not going away.
China new air defence zone move dangerous
Nov. 25, 2013
When you are as powerful as China, you can be bossy, but - not right.
China called Japan reaction groundless and told Japan to stop all moves that undermine Chinas territorial sovereignty.
What China did is the equivalent of your neighbor arbitrarily declaring half your back yard belongs to them.
China-Japan have been spatting over these islands for many years, but this has become more serious now.
Japan PM Abe described China's move as dangerous.
China action has no validity whatsoever on Japan.
Sounds just like Israel v Iran v USA.
China is angry at Japan and US objections.
The zone covers islands claimed by both Japan and China.
Muttonbirds in radiation study
New Zealand muttonbirds are being studied to see if they were affected by radiation from Japan's damaged nuclear power plant.
Samples are being taken from the birds as part of the research into the effects of radiation from the Fukushima plant, which was severely damaged following the earthquake and tsunamis which hit the country in March.
The research aims to determine the degree to which the mutton bird population was exposed to radiation.
Experts have said the Fukushima disaster was responsible for the largest single release of radioactivity into the ocean, threatening wildlife and fisheries in the region.
Millions of the birds, known as sooty shearwaters, come to this country to breed during the summer months before heading north during the colder southern months.
However, it is not thought there would be any radioactivity problems for Stewart Island residents who harvest mutton bird chicks in the autumn.
US Geological Service biologist Josh Adams heads the research and said the chicks' food would come from sub Antarctic waters and waters off New Zealand. Those areas were probably relatively unaffected by the radiation from the Fukushima nuclear power plant, he said.
From his own knowledge, he did not think there should be too much of a problem, Adams told Radio NZ.
But he noted adult birds could be holding onto some radioactive isotopes in their feathers, although it was unlikely they would pass those on to their chicks.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry is responsible for food safety, but said it had no information to suggest mutton birds might be significantly exposed to radioactive contamination.
But it continued to monitor any new information that might cause it to change its advice to people about eating muttonbirds.
Adams said it was planned to take tissue samples from birds in this country in late March or early April.
Sooty shearwaters had been chosen for the research mainly because they were one of the most abundant seabirds in the Pacific.
Part of the research was to determine what portion of the New Zealand birds were spending the southern winter in Japan and the Kamchatka Peninsula in the far east of Russia, rather than at other wintering grounds.
Adams suggested it might be a third of the 21 million birds in this country
Radioactive Japanese wave nears US
Dec 2, 2013
This article minimizes the risk. Its far greater than written here.
A radioactive wave of water from the Fukushima plant is expected to hit the West Coast of North America in 2014.
The nuclear reactor continues to leak radioactive water with unsafe levels of radioactive cesium.
Fukushima locals are seeing cancer at higher rates.
Scientists warn that if an another earthquake or other natural disaster occurs while the Fukushima nuclear plant is still being decommissioned, that could have catastrophic consequences.
U.S. sends sub hunters to Japan
Dec 3, 2013
U.S. sends new submarine-hunting jets to Japan.
Obama takes no position on the sovereignty of the islands.
U.S. Navy advanced P-8A Poseidon patrol aircraft have arrived in Japan, to hunt submarines and other vessels in seas close to China amid tensions.
The Pentagon claims it is routinely flying operations in the region without informing Beijing ahead of time.
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden in Asia to calm military tensions with China and support Japan.
In other words, Uncle Joe is there to lie to everyone
The Boeing P-8As replace the P-3 Orion
P-8A are equipped with the latest radar, torpedoes and anti-ship missiles.
It is the most advanced long-range anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare aircraft in the world.
Biden in Tokyo
VP Joe Biden in Tokyo claiming the United States is concerned about a new Chinese air zone that has provoked fury in Japan.
Japan expects US backing for its opposition to Beijing theft of the East China Sea and islands.
China demands all aircraft obey its orders or else.
I hope Japan doesnt believe a word Biden or Obama say.
This is a VERY HOT situation which could lead to shooting - or worse
John Bolton would have been a wiser choice to send to China.
Fukushima earthquake actually changed Earth's gravity, European Space Agency says - @esa
ESAs GOCE satellite has revealed that the devastating Japanese earthquake of 2011 left its mark in Earths gravity yet another example of this extraordinary mission surpassing its original scope.
GOCE mapped Earths gravity with unrivalled precision for over four years, but nobody really expected the data to show changes over time.
Now, careful analysis shows the effects of the 9.0 earthquake that struck east of Japans Honshu Island on 11 March 2011 are clearly visible in GOCEs gravity data.
Large earthquakes not only deform Earths crust, but can also cause tiny changes in local gravity.
Radioactive Japanese wave nears US
In the wake of the deadly tsunami that hit Japan in 2011 and severely damaged a nuclear reactor, Japanese officials say the levels of radiation are safe for everyone outside the reactor area itself. But as radioactive water from the plant nears the West Coast of North America -- the water is expected to hit in 2014 -- can we be sure it's safe?
The nuclear reactor continues to leak radioactive water due to poor management, while Japanese subcontractors at the plant have admitted they intentionally under-reported radiation and that dozens of farms around Fukushima that were initially deemed safe by the government actually had unsafe levels of radioactive cesium.
Fukushima locals also claim they're seeing cancer at higher rates and the Japanese government is covering up the scale of the problem.
So what do independent estimates say? The first measures come from the U.S. government. The FDA has stepped up its monitoring of radiation in seafood due to the Fukushima incident.
Theyre Going to Dump the Fukushima Radiation Into the Ocean
Washingtons Blog
December 5, 2013
Tepco is planning on dumping all of the radioactive water stored at Fukushima into the ocean.
The industry-controlled nuclear regulators are pushing for dumping the radiation, as well.
As EneNews reports:
Juan Carlos Lentijo, head of IAEAs mission to Fukushima Daiichi, Dec. 4, 2013: Controlled discharge is a regular practice in all the nuclear facilities in the world. And what we are trying to say here is to consider this as one of the options to contribute to a good balance of risks and to stabilize the facility for the long term.
Shunichi Tanaka, chairman of Japans Nuclear Regulation Authority, Dec. 4, 2013: You cannot keep storing the water forever. We have to make choice comparing all risks involved.
Xinhua, Dec. 4, 2013: Lentijo said that TEPCO should weigh the possible damaging effects of discharging toxic water against the total risks involved in the overall decommissioning work process. [...] Tanaka highlighted the fact that while highly radioactive water could be decontaminated in around seven years,
the amount of water containing tritium will keep rising, topping 700,000 tons in two years
. [...] nuclear experts have repeatedly pointed out that [tritium] is still a significant radiation hazard when inhaled, ingested via food or water, or absorbed through the skin. [...] fisherman, industries and fisheries bodies in the Fukushima area and beyond in Japans northeast, have collectively baulked at the idea of releasing toxic water into the sea [...] TEPCO will be duty-bound to submit assessments of the safety and environmental impact [...]
NHK, Dec. 4, 2013: IAEA team leader Juan Carlos Lentijo [...] said it is necessary and indispensable to assess the impact the tritium discharge might have on human health and the environment, and to get government approval as well as consent from concerned people.
Japan Times, Dec. 4, 2013: Of course . . . public acceptance for this purpose is necessary, said Lentijo, adding strict monitoring of the impact of the discharge would also be essential.
AFP, Dec. 4, 2013: [L]ocal fishermen, neighbouring countries and environmental groups all oppose the idea.
See also: Gundersen: They want to dump all Fukushimas radioactive water in Pacific Tepco: It will be diluted, then released Professor suggests pumping it out in deep ocean (VIDEOS)
In the real world, there is no safe level of radiation
And there are alternatives.
Dr. Arjun Makhijani a recognized expert on nuclear power, who has testified before Congress, served as an expert witness in Nuclear Regulatory Commission proceedings, and been interviewed by many of the largest news organizations told PBS in March:
We actually sent a proposal to Japan two years ago, some colleagues of mine and I, saying you should park a supertanker or a large tanker offshore, and put the water in it, and send it off someplace else so that the water treatment and the water management is not such a huge, constant issue.
But [the Japanese declined]
Tepco with no financial incentive to actually fix things
has been insanely irresponsible and has only been pretending to contain Fukushima
. And see this.
Unfortunately, Japan has devolved into crony capitalism and even tyranny.
So instead of doing something to contain the radiation, theyre going to dump it
Postscript: In related news, the Japanese government has embarked on a massive program ofburning radioactive waste throughout Japan instead of encapsulating it in glass or otherwise containing it.
South Korea expands air defence zone
Dec 8, 2013
South Korea has announced it is expanding its air defence zone, which will now partially overlap with a similar zone announced by China.
The two zones will now both include a rock claimed by both countries and controlled by South Korea.
The new parameters are a direct challenge to China, which announced a new Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) in November.
Now China, Japan and South Korea all claim part of the same area.
. See this MAP.
China-Japan War in January
Dec 9, 2013
A war between China and Japan will involve Korea and likely Philippines.
Following China claiming new air defense zone in the East China Sea, overlapping a large expanse of Japan and some Korea territory,
the Japanese media predicts a shooting war to break out in January.
China set off an incident accidentally on purpose, force down a civilian airliner and hold the passengers hostage.
In 2001 China Downed USA spy Plane and held crew hostage.
China may target Japan sea transports.
China order a Japanese civilian airliner to be shot down. Would U.S. Navy come to Japans aid?
The Obama mafia have shown only contempt for U.S. allies.
Japan boosts military
Dec 17, 2013
Japan increased defence spending in a move widely seen as aimed at China.
Japan will buy drones, stealth aircraft and amphibious vehicles.
The military will also build a new marine unit, an amphibious force capable of retaking islands.
The move comes with Tokyo embroiled in a bitter row with Beijing over East China Sea islands that both claim.
Record outdoor radiation level that can kill in 20 min detected at Fukushima
Published time: December 08, 2013 18:29
Edited time: December 09, 2013 08:56
Outdoor radiation levels have reached their highest at Japans Fukushima nuclear plant,warns the operator company.Radiation found in an area near a steel pipe that connects reactor buildings could kill an exposed person in 20 minutes,local media reported.
The plants operator and the utility responsible for the clean-up Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) detected record radiation levels on a duct which connects reactor buildings and the 120 meter tall ventilation pipe located outside on Friday. TEPCO measured radiation at eight locations around the pipe with the highest estimated at two locations - 25 Sieverts per hour and about 15 Sieverts per hour, the company said.
This is the highest level ever detected outside the reactor buildings, according to local broadcaster NHK. Earlier TEPCO said radiation levels of at least 10 Sieverts per hour were found on the pipe.
The ventilation pipe used to conduct radioactive gasses after the nuclear disaster may still contain radioactive substances, TEPCO added.
The earthquake in March 2011 triggered a tsunami that hit Japans coast, damaging the Fukushima Daiichi plant and causing the meltdown of three nuclear reactors. The crippled reactors burnt through the concrete basement while the water used to cool them has been leaking into the soil and contaminating the ground water on the premises of the nuclear facility. The radioactive water stored at the site has been seeping into the Pacific Ocean
The water leakage has raised health concerns among Japans neighbors. For instance, South Korea has been testing fish caught off the country's coast, according to the countrys fisheries ministry
Meanwhile, the chairwoman of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission assured that the radioactive water will reach the US West coast at safe levels.
The highest amount of radiation that will reach the U.S. is two orders of magnitude - 100 times - less than the drinking water standard, Allison Macfarlane said in Tokyo on Friday as cited by Bloomberg. So, if you could drink the salt water, which you wont be able to do, its still fairly low.
Currently 400 tons of contaminated water is being produced at the site on a daily basis. In an attempt to solve the storage problem the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) proposed on Wednesday to consider dumping toxic water into the ocean after lowering the level of radioactive materials.
"Regarding the growing amounts of contaminated water at the site, TEPCO should... examine all options for its further management, including the possibility of resuming controlled discharges (into the sea) in compliance with authorized limits," the IAEA said in a statement.
TEPCO has been testing a high-tech water processing machine called ALPS, which can remove all radioactive materials from the water except tritium. However, the low-energy isotope is considered to be less dangerous than other radioactive isotopes such as caesium and strontium, also contained in the tainted water.
Local Sailors Sue Japanese Utility Over Radiation
Saturday, Dec 29, 2012
Eight U.S. sailors are suing the Tokyo utility that operates the Fukushima nuclear power plant, charging that the company lied about the high level of radiation in the area where they were carrying out a humanitarian mission after the tsunami that triggered the reactor crisis.
The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in San Diego last week against Tokyo Electric Power Co., which is owned by the Japanese government. Plaintiffs include the infant daughter of two of the sailors who was born seven months after the March 2011 disaster.
The sailors served on the San Diego-based aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, which was carrying out "Operation Tomadachi" ferrying food and water to citizens in the city of Sendai in the wake of the earthquake and tsunami.
The sailors claim the Japanese government repeatedly said there was no danger to the carrier crew "all the while lying through their teeth about the reactor meltdowns" so rescuers would "rush into an unsafe area."
The U.S. Navy, the suit said, relied on information from the Japanese government, which only belatedly admitted that radiation had leaked into the atmosphere from the damaged power plant.
An email seeking response from the utility's corporate office in Tokyo was not immediately returned.
The 37-page suit, which cites numerous reports about the Fukushima crisis and response, said that after discovering the truth of how much radiation they were exposed to, the sailors have undergone extensive medical testing and will be required to undergo periodic examination in the future.
They say they are at risk for developing cancer and a shorter life expectancy, and are undergoing considerable mental anguish as a result.
The sailors are suing for more than $200 million in damages. Each sailor is suing for more than $10 million a piece.
Two of the sailors met with their attorney in Encinitas Friday.
Lead plaintiff Lindsay Cooper told NBC 7 she became sick after serving in Japan aboard USS Ronald Reagan.
Cooper says breast cancer runs high in her family and she now believes she has a greater risk of developing cancer herself due to radiation exposure.
She's also been experiencing digestive issues, which are commonly linked to radiation exposure, weight control and thyroid issues and migraines. Cooper says she suffers emotionally too from her time aboard USS Ronald Reagan.
Digestive issues have been coming up. Its frustrating, said Cooper.
Local Kim Gieseking is also one of the plantiffs involved in the lawsuit. She told NBC 7 she's had several health issues stemming from her time serving on USS Reagan's flight deck.
Gieseking was unknowingly pregnant with her daughter, Autumn, while carrying out Operation Tomadachi. The infant is the ninth plaintiff in the lawsuit. Gieseking worries Autumn may develop health issues in the future due to radiation exposure.
The Tokyo Electric Power Co. has not yet issued a statement in response to the lawsuit. NBC 7 reached out to the company for comment, but the company has not yet responded.
Fukushima Warning To Northern Hemisphere
Increasingly Critical Reactor Blocks Are
December 20, 2013
Experts are issuing some dire warnings about Fukushima from real apocalyptic thing would be an earthquake at Fukushima to warnings from German physicist Sebastian Pfugbeil [President of the German Society for Radiological Protection] expressing pessimism that an elementary Fukushima disaster can be averted and asserting without a doubt that the consequences would be felt over the entire northern hemisphere.
Perhaps the most chilling of these revelations is this:
The situation is becoming increasingly critical due to the decay of the buildings.
The fuel rods have not been brought to safety. The reactor blocks are sinking. The ground on which the reactor sits can no longer bear any weight. It is floating
Despite these warnings the MSM and governments across the globe continue to downplay the apocalyptic ramifications of what has happened at Fukushima and what continues to happen every single day since 2011 when the great earthquake and tsunami crippled the nuclear plant causing meltdowns and unprecedented levels of radiation throughout the atmosphere as well and hundreds of tons of radioactive water pouring into the Pacific ocean every single day.
In the video below experts discuss the Fukushima issue in-depth, the Iintroduction takes approx. 4 minutes. So if you already know Dr. Helen Caldicott, Arnie Gundersen, and Harvey Wasserman, just skip to the 4 minute mark.
Judge dismisses sailor radiation case
Door open for follow-on lawsuit; attorney says he will refile with more plaintiffs
A San Diego federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit alleging that U.S. sailors were exposed to dangerous radiation during the humanitarian response to the March 2011 Japanese earthquake and tsunami.
But Judge Janis L. Sammartino left the door open for a follow-on lawsuit, and the attorney representing several sailors from the San Diego-based aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan said he intends to refile.
The judge dismissed the case Nov. 26 on jurisdictional grounds, saying that it was beyond her authority to determine whether the Japanese government had perpetrated a fraud on its American counterpart.
The defendant in the December 2012 case was Tokyo Electric Power Co., operator of Japans Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
The lawsuit argued that power company officials lied about the amount of leakage from the damaged plant, in concert with the government of Japan. It says the Navy used those reports in its own calculations about the safety of U.S. sailors in the relief effort, called Operation Tomodachi.
The carrier Reagan responded to the disaster and for more than three weeks stayed off the coast, launching aircraft to help Japanese survivors.
Two days after the disaster, the Navy repositioned the Reagan after detecting low levels of contamination in the air and on 17 aircrew members.
Sailors represented in the lawsuit were deckhands who washed down the flight deck, and performed over decontamination tasks on the ship.
Paul Garner, the Encinitas lawyer leading the case, said the sailors ailments include rectal bleeding and other gastrointestinal trouble, unremitting headaches, hair loss and fatigue. Some have thyroid and gallbladder cancer. Many are in their 20s.
Garner said he will refile the case without alleging the conspiracy with the Japanese government.
The number of plaintiffs is now at 51 people. Garner said he intends to add at least 20 more when he refiles.
Radiation experts interviewed by U-T San Diego earlier this year said that acute illness such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea usually
comes on quickly in days or weeks
after massive radiation exposure
Unless there are fatalities, people recover within a few months. So, with typical radiation sickness, these former Reagan sailors wouldnt still have symptoms today.
Long-term illnesses, such as cancer, may result from a smaller amount of radiation exposure. But that type of ailment wouldnt typically come on so soon, less than two years after the incident.
Radioactive debris has been hitting the West Coast since 2011.
Dec 28, 2013
Fukushima debris is being tracked by NOAAs ERMA model and US Navy GNOME model. NOAA is fully aware of how dangerous and where radioactive debris is located.
It is really chilling how MUCH radiation is on the west coast of the USA,
as well as in the fishes in the Pacific.
SPECIAL REPORT- Japan's homeless recruited for murky Fukushima clean-up
* Homeless recruited for Fukushima at minimum wages
* Labor brokers skim their pay; charge for food, shelter
* Some say better homeless than going into debt by working
* Little oversight on companies getting clean-up contracts
* Gangsters run Fukushima labour brokers; arrests made
Fuku Radiation Hits San Francisco
January 1, 2014
They say seeing is believing and in the video he films his Geiger counter as he approaches and walks along Pacifica State Beach (Surfers Beach), California, on December 23, 2013.
Chart on link showing low to high radiation readings and what they mean, note the levels considered higher than normal and the descriptions to the right of them, then watch the video below.
For those that claim the amount of radiation traveling in plumes across the Pacific from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant is negligible, then you probably wont be concerned about traveling to California and taking a swim.
A warning to all - stay out of the water and off the beach.
Fuku Warning! US Govt Orders 14 Million Doses Of Potassium Iodide
01 January 2014
On December 6th the US Department of Health and Human Services put a solicitation notice on the Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) website for 14 million 65 mg doses of
Potassium Iodide
, the standard treatment protocol for someone exposed to high levels of
. As a stipulation of this solicitation, which gets bid on by registered contractors, the HHS requires the 14 million doses to be delivered by the end of January. In other words, the HHS needs enough doses of Potassium Iodide to treat 14 million Americans by the end of January!
The primary use for Potassium Iodide is used for treating, as well as minimizing damaging effects from, radiation poisoning.
The area of the human body that are most-sensitive to radiation exposure are the
thyroid gland
. It absorbs the radiation like a wet sponge.
This is intreesting right? While its insane still to think that Fukushima might affect people on the west coast of America enough to use these pills,
its actually quite a sane move by the government to be doing this.
Odd right? None the less, lets hope we dont have to use them.
Whens It Time To Leave West Coast And/Or The Northern Hemisphere Due To Fukushima Radiation?
lots of links and video
Plumes of mysterious steam rise from crippled nuclear reactor at Fukushima
January 02, 2014
Fresh plumes of most probably radioactive steam have been detected rising from the reactor 3 building at the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant.
The steam appeared to be coming from the fifth floor of the mostly-destroyed building housing reactor 3.
The steam was first spotted December 19.
The company has not explained the source of the steam. High levels of radiation have complicated entry into the building and further inspection of the situation.
Reactor 3 ran on mixed core containing both uranium fuel and mixed uranium and plutonium oxide, or MOX nuclear fuel.
The Reactor 3 fuel storage pond still houses an estimated 89 tons of the plutonium-based MOX nuclear fuel composed of 514 fuel rods.
Millions of starfish turning up dead off West Coast
(NaturalNews) All up and down the West Coast of the United States, millions of starfish are turning up dead from a mysterious illness that experts have generally dubbed "starfish wasting disease," which involves the creatures' bodies shriveling up and turning into goo. According to reports, this mass die-off event, which is being recorded as far north as Alaska and as far south as Southern California, and everywhere in between, is the largest ever on record.
The mystery surrounding this inexplicable disease was the subject of a recent NBC Nightly News investigation in Monterey Bay, California, home of the world-renowned Monterey Bay Aquarium.
Two species of starfish that used to thrive in the cove next to the city have completely disappeared, prompting scientists and experts in marine biology to take a closer look at the situation beneath the water's surface
"It's happened so rapidly that some species are just missing," said marine biologist Pete Raimondi, from the University of California, Santa Cruz, (UCSC) Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Raimondi and his team are in the process of collecting and analyzing starfish samples from around the area to look for patterns that might provide some answers to this enigma.
"Our group is looking to try to map the timing of the onset of the disease and locations of the disease up and down the coast so it will help us point to causes."
Researchers tiptoe around Fukushima disaster, the most likely cause of starfish wasting disease
While previous starfish die-offs reportedly occurred in the area back in the 1980s and 1990s,
this latest event, which stretches thousands of miles along the Pacific Coast, is by far the most severe
. Instead of just one species being affected, as was the case during previous outbreaks, every species of sea star is implicated this time around.
"Whatever it is that must be in the water is affecting our animals as well," added Dr. Michael Murray from the Monterey Bay Aquarium, explaining to reporters that some of the starfish being held at the aquarium have also fallen victim to the disease.
At this point, experts are investigating things like warmer water, lower oxygen levels and ocean acidification as potential causes of the strange illness, all of which could be legitimate culprits.
But the biggest elephant in the room, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear catastrophe, remains mostly untouched by the scientists investigating the situation
"I've had probably 100 emails thus far saying, 'What about Fukushima, because of radiation?' ... We haven't ruled that out yet but we're clearly not ruling that in," opined Raimondi in politically correct ambiguity.
Loss of starfish could destroy delicate marine ecosystem, say experts
Regardless of the true cause, there is no denying that starfish wasting disease threatens to obliterate the delicate marine ecosystems of our world's oceans. According to The Sydney Morning Herald,
both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans are now harboring starfish afflicted with the strange illness,
which points to a massive global outbreak
"These kinds of events are sentinels of change," stated Drew Harvell, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at Cornell University. "When you get an event like this, I think everybody will say it's an extreme event and it's pretty important to figure out what's going on."
Why Is Radioactive Snow Falling In Missouri?
If radioactive snow is falling in Missouri, is it safe to assume that much of the snow that is falling on the rest of the country is also radioactive? What you are about to see is absolutely shocking. A highly respected YouTube personality known as DutchSinse has released video of himself measuring radiation levels of the snow falling on St. Louis, Missouri. What he discovered was that he got a reading that was about twice as high as he did on a sunny day when there is no precipitation. So what in the world could be causing this? Could Fukushima be to blame? Is radioactive water originally from Fukushima being picked up in the Pacific and dumped all across the country? If so, there would seem to be no way to stop this from happening. Now that highly radioactive water from Fukushima is spreading throughout the entire Pacific Ocean, it is simply impossible to put the genie back in the bottle again. So could
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Underground Nuclear Explosion
January 2, 2014
Japan Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster now be rated at the highest classification level.
Fukushima had a series of underground nuclear explosions on 31 December 2013.
Fukushima had a catastrophic failure and began releasing radioactive materials.
Two low-level underground atomic explosions occurred at Fukushima on 31 December 2013, the first measuring 5.1 magnitude followed by a 3.6 moments later.
In November 2011 there was a warning that a China Syndrome (Hydrovolcanic Explosion) was inevitable due to the melted atomic fuel that had escaped and now burning through the earth.
The underground nuclear explosions began after mysterious steam plumes were first spotted on 19 December.
The USA had advanced notice of these underground nuclear explosions and purchased potassium iodide, the compound that protects the body from radioactive poisoning.
Radiation was detected in snow in Texas, Colorado and Missouri.
All biological systems from the USA west coast detail the mass deaths of seals, sea lions, polar bears, bald eagles, sea stars, turtles, king and sockeye salmon, herring, anchovies, and sardines due to Fukishima radiation.
Obama regime ordered all mainstream news not to report the danger posed by the Fukushima meltdown.
Fukushima pollution spreads all over Earth. (as large amounts of fish, seaweeds, and everything in ocean has been already been polluted on a massive scale)
Giant squid caught by net fisherman off Japan
Rare capture of fabled sea creature, at a depth of about 300 feet, measures 12 feet and weighs 330 pounds; and this one is no hoax
A story published Thursday about a monstrous radioactive squid discovered on a Southern California beach was an obvious hoax.
But this past week off Japan, an actual giant squid was captured in a fishermans net and died after it was hauled to the surface
The squid in the hoax story was said to be 160 feet long and
its immense size was blamed on radiation being leaked into the Pacific in the aftermath of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster.
Alarms sound over radioactive gigantism, screamed a headline above a story that featured a photoshopped image and quoted experts who do not exist.
Though some believed the story, fabricated by the Lightly Braised Turnip website, it was easily debunked.
But the capture of an actual giant squid Wednesday off Sadogashima Island is more believable, even though squid captures are exceedingly rare.
According to the Japan Times, the male specimen measured about 12 feet and weighed about 330 pounds. The accompanying Japanese-language video shows the creature on display and being measured by scientists (footage of the squid being pulled to the boat begins at the 1-minute mark).
Giant squid are elusive creatures that occupy the dark ocean depths. Theyre believed to have spawned sea monster myths among ancient mariners, and have been featured as predatory beasts in novels and films
They can measure to about 40 feet and weigh nearly a ton.
According to the Smithsonian Ocean Portal, a giant squid was first recorded live in 2006 by Japanese scientists who used a baited hook to haul up a 24-foot squid.
In 2012, scientists from Japans National Science Museum and a Discovery Channel film crew filmed a giant squid in its natural habitat for the first time
It was enticed to within view of a submersible camera by the use of glowing lowers designed to mimic sea jellies, which are said to signal squid that other food is nearby.
The capture on Wednesday was by a fisherman named Shigenori Goto, who told the Japan Times that it was found in a net used to catch buri yellowtail at a depth of 310 feet.
According to the video description, the collosal cephalopod is being studied at the Fisheries Ocean Research Institute in Niigata Prefecture.
Almost assuredly, some people will associate this rare catch with the Fukushima disaster.
Radioactive fish in Pacific
Jan 14, 2014
Nuclear contaminated fish could result in more cancer cases.
Fish testing at 124 times over radiation limit caught off Fukushima.
Fish with deadly levels of radioactive cesium have been caught off the Fukushima coast.
One fish tested at 12,400 becquerels per kilogram of radioactive cesium, making it 124 times deadlier than the threshold considered safe for human consumption.
Just how safe is any food from the Pacific?
Theyre All Gone: Shock as sardines vanish off California Fishermen didnt find a single one all summer Scientist: This is about the entire Pacific coast Canada, Mexico, U.S. NOAA: We dont know why; The young arent surviving
Long Beach Press Telegram, Jan. 13, 2014: Sardine vanish off the coast; squid and anchovy fill the void for fishermen [Larry Derr] has pulled up [Pacific sardines] by the ton since the 1980s [...] it was a shock when he couldnt find one of the shiny silver-blue coastal fish all summer [...] anchovies have proven a poor replacement since sardines became scarce. Fortunately, a boom in market squid has propelled Derr and other coastal pelagic fishers. [...] Some have attributed recent rashes of sea lion pup and pelican deaths to the sardine population decline, which began a few years ago and was officially recognized in December [...] Everybodys calling me every day for sardines, Derr said. Theyre all gone. Even Monterey Bay Aquarium is still waiting for some to restock one of their exhibits. [...]
Kerry Griffin, NOAA: Is it El Nino? Pacific Decadal Oscillation? El Nina? Long-term climate change? More marine mammals eating sardines? Did they all go to Mexico or farther offshore? We dont know.
Russ Vetter, NOAA: They havent had a good recruitment [...] You have to have adults that produce the eggs and then environmental conditions that would allow them to grow and then to not have them eaten by pelicans and terns, etc. Its always complicated about why a fish egg doesnt make it through the problems but we do know that, when the ocean is on the cooler side, conditions arent right.
Geoff Shester, scientist with Oceana: This is about the entire Pacific coast including the U.S. and Mexico, not just British Columbia [...] If fishermen have stopped fishing because theyve hit their quota, thats one thing. But theyre stopping because they cant find any fish. That means fishery management is failing. [...] Were in an emergency situation right now. Any fishing is overfishing when the stock is in this condition.
See also: L.A. Times: Alarming West Coast sardine crash likely radiating through ecosystem -- Experts warn marine mammals and seabirds are starving, may suffer for years to come -- Boats return without a single fish -- Monterey Bay: Hard to resist idea that humpback whales are trying to tell us something
all links:
Enjoy The Radioactive Fish: Tests Show Fukushima Fish Are Up To 124X Above Safe Level
Are you purchasing radioactive fish at the grocery store? Are you absolutely certain that you know the answer to that question? You are about to read about a test that discovered that a fish recently caught off the coast of the Fukushima prefecture was found to have 12,400 becquerels per kilogram of radioactive cesium. That is 124 times above the level that is considered to be safe. But it is not just fish caught off the coast of Japan that you need to be concerned about. In this article I will also discuss a report by the National Academy of Sciences which states unequivocally that Pacific Bluefin tuna have transported Fukushima-derived radionuclides across the entire North Pacific Ocean. In fact, if you just had a tuna sandwich for lunch you may have ingested radioactive material without even knowing it. Each day, another 300 tons of highly radioactive water is released into the Pacific Ocean at Fukushima, and that means that the total amount of radioactive material that is getting into our food chain is constantly increasing. And since some of these radioactive elements have a
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