Tsunami hits north-eastern Japan after massive quake
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From Mike's Guardian link.
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Just in case you got your hopes up...
The New York Times has a very pessimistic lead on its website right now, suggesting that a Chernobyl-style disaster is on the horizon:
Japan's nuclear crisis verged toward catastrophe on Tuesday, after an explosion at one crippled reactor damaged its crucial steel containment structure and a fire at another reactor spewed large amounts of radioactive material into the air, according to official statements and industry executives informed about the developments.
The cascade of problems at Daiichi was initially difficult to interpret — with confusion compounded by incomplete and inconsistent information provided by government officials and executives of the plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power.
But industry executives in close contact with officials in Japan said that the chain of events at Daiichi suggested that the authorities had come close to losing control of the situation, and that it would be difficult to maintain emergency seawater cooling operations at stricken reactors if a fire at a fourth reactor nearby was releasing large amounts of radioactive material — at least without threatening the health of emergency workers onsite.
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Kyodo reports: "Small amounts of radioactive substances detected in Tokyo". It was from a Tokyo University monitoring post about five hours ago, some half an hour after the explosion in Fukushima.The amounts are still tiny and pose no hazard.
Other monitoring posts in central Tokyo detected no changes in background radiation.
Radiation levels jump to 10 times higher than usual, and the course of the wind changing is pretty much expected, to take some of the radioactive material on a course with Tokyo. Not finding much more info at the moment
Was also a 4.6 aftershock near Honshu, and people are being advised not to drink water near Sendai. Radiation levels have also slightly risen in far east Russia.
On the plus side though, 2 more people have been found and the Japan Meteorological Agency announces that the risk of a future earthquake over magnitude 7 decreased to 40% down from 70% on 14 March for the next three days. And the IAEA's Japanese chief Yukiya Amano moved to calm global fears that the situation could escalate, saying "the possibility that the development of this accident into one like Chernobyl is very unlikely".
11:32 am Earlier we heard that 400 milliSieverts of radiation an hour had been recorded at Fukushima Daiichi's unit 3 reactor this morning. The Guardian's science correspondent Ian Sample has provided some context to the units being used to describe radiation levels.
"The levels of radiation being released by the nuclear power station are given in Sieverts. A microSievert is a one millionth or a Sievert," Ian writes. "A milliSievert is one thousandth of a Sievert."
Ian offers these comparisons:
• 2 milliSieverts/year: The level of natural background radiation we are all exposed to.
• 9 milliSieverts/year: The typical dose received by an airline crew flying the New York to Tokyo polar route. Flying at altitude increases radiation exposure to cosmic rays.
• 100 milliSieverts/year: The lowest level at which an increase in cancer is evident.
• 1,000 milliSieverts accumulative: Estimated to cause a fatal cancer many years later in 5% of people.
• 1,000 milliSieverts single dose: Temporary radiation sickness, including nausea, lower white blood cell count. Not fatal.
• 5,000 milliSieverts single dose: Fatal within a month to half those who receive it.
• 10,000 milliSieverts single dose: Fatal within weeks
Was also a 4.6 aftershock near Honshu, and people are being advised not to drink water near Sendai. Radiation levels have also slightly risen in far east Russia.
On the plus side though, 2 more people have been found and the Japan Meteorological Agency announces that the risk of a future earthquake over magnitude 7 decreased to 40% down from 70% on 14 March for the next three days. And the IAEA's Japanese chief Yukiya Amano moved to calm global fears that the situation could escalate, saying "the possibility that the development of this accident into one like Chernobyl is very unlikely".
11:32 am Earlier we heard that 400 milliSieverts of radiation an hour had been recorded at Fukushima Daiichi's unit 3 reactor this morning. The Guardian's science correspondent Ian Sample has provided some context to the units being used to describe radiation levels.
"The levels of radiation being released by the nuclear power station are given in Sieverts. A microSievert is a one millionth or a Sievert," Ian writes. "A milliSievert is one thousandth of a Sievert."
Ian offers these comparisons:
• 2 milliSieverts/year: The level of natural background radiation we are all exposed to.
• 9 milliSieverts/year: The typical dose received by an airline crew flying the New York to Tokyo polar route. Flying at altitude increases radiation exposure to cosmic rays.
• 100 milliSieverts/year: The lowest level at which an increase in cancer is evident.
• 1,000 milliSieverts accumulative: Estimated to cause a fatal cancer many years later in 5% of people.
• 1,000 milliSieverts single dose: Temporary radiation sickness, including nausea, lower white blood cell count. Not fatal.
• 5,000 milliSieverts single dose: Fatal within a month to half those who receive it.
• 10,000 milliSieverts single dose: Fatal within weeks
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Japan's nuclear crisis is equivalent to number six on the INES scale of nuclear accidents, Kyodo news agency has quoted the French Nuclear Agency as saying.
The INES – International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale – ranks incidents from one to seven, with one described as "anomaly" and seven as "major accident".
Six is described by INES as "serious accident". The 1986 Chernobyl disaster is the only incident to have been ranked at seven, while the explosion at Kyshtym, Russia, in 1957, is the only incident ever to be ranked as a six.
INES describes level number six as: "Significant release of radioactive material likely to require implementation of planned countermeasures."
The INES – International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale – ranks incidents from one to seven, with one described as "anomaly" and seven as "major accident".
Six is described by INES as "serious accident". The 1986 Chernobyl disaster is the only incident to have been ranked at seven, while the explosion at Kyshtym, Russia, in 1957, is the only incident ever to be ranked as a six.
INES describes level number six as: "Significant release of radioactive material likely to require implementation of planned countermeasures."
O dear. I assume planned countermeasures would be like, distribution of more iodine, extending the evacuation zone to even wider radius, that sort of thing?
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This just came through now. Core temperatures increasing for Fukushima number 5
had a feeling the good news would be short lived
Whats really annoying me right now, is the selective wording of the some of the press. Just had a quick look at the Telegraph, and its so full of stuff that would scare people needlessly, its incredible.
For example:
It seems to me to be getting more serious as days go by. The hydrogen can only have come from one place and that is from water in the core coming into contact with overheated fuel.
The fact that we have now had three hydrogen explosions tells me almost certainly that the reactor cores must be quite badly damaged.
My guess is that it could well have distorted to the point of meltdown, where some of the core would melt and start to drip down into the bottom of the reactor. And that is serious.
Now I watched that interviews myself, and they are missing so much other information, that would calm peoples nerves, it's absolutely incredible. No wonder people get scared-because papers like that enjoy doing it to increase sales.
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Not sure to be honest. Few people even said a pipe had gone.
Radiation levels at Fukushima 1 falling
For example:
It seems to me to be getting more serious as days go by. The hydrogen can only have come from one place and that is from water in the core coming into contact with overheated fuel.
The fact that we have now had three hydrogen explosions tells me almost certainly that the reactor cores must be quite badly damaged.
My guess is that it could well have distorted to the point of meltdown, where some of the core would melt and start to drip down into the bottom of the reactor. And that is serious.
Now I watched that interviews myself, and they are missing so much other information, that would calm peoples nerves, it's absolutely incredible. No wonder people get scared-because papers like that enjoy doing it to increase sales.
---------- Post added at 06:10 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:09 PM ----------
Not sure to be honest. Few people even said a pipe had gone.
Radiation levels at Fukushima 1 falling
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I suppose papers are striking a balance between reporting news accuratly, and selling papers... If they reported everything exactly to the truth with no exaggerations, it might be a bit boring!
True lol. Rather have a paper thats boring and speaks the truth lol.
If someone who has family and friends in Japan saw the Telegraph stuff, they'd be absolutely beside themselves by now. There's just no need for it. Thats why I've pretty much stuck with SN. Okay some of it has been pretty technical, but they've done a great job with the facts so far.
Death toll now 3,373 confirmed so far.
Striking a balance? It's all about selling papers for most of the press, sensationalising every little thing and playing to their readership's fears, prejudices and passions.
Can be the case yeah. Its like earlier on, the EU called for a one-day test to see what happens when we don't run on nuclear power. Yeah sure, thats a great idea. Cripple industries, families..what a wonderful idea.
Just had to lol at a Green Party member on SN-got absolutely pwned on air, saying that nuclear power is not the way forward and is outdated and the majority of accidents are man made etc, and going on about wind farms, solar panels, renewable sources. Pet, we have moved forward. Fossil fuels have been proven to be a no no. So please, just open your mind a bit. And stop comparing it to Chernobyl.
Unable to pump any more water into area with boiling pool containing the rods.
---------- Post added at 06:39 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:26 PM ----------
Just broke - strong aftershock felt in Tokyo 6.1
US Military base further south picking up increased radiation readings 135 miles away, but low level readings
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Atomic Energy Agency announces that all units at Fukushima are now in a safe and stable condition
however, unable to determine wether the latest 6.4 quake is related, which originated around Mt. Fuji area, also a 6.1 aftershock near Honshu
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And also, unit number 2 explosion "may" have damaged the primary containment vessel.
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been a 6.4 and 6.1 aftershock (one around mt.fuji area), and theres possible a primary containment breach in plant number 2
Atomic Energy Agency announces that all units at Fukushima are now in a safe and stable condition
Does this mean the worst is over with the plant now, then?
Thats what I thought initially, but it seems contradictary, as not long after, it was said that the primary containment vessel in no 2 plant may have been breached. So to be honest, I'm not sure. Though I'd like to think the worst is over. But this is something the telegraph "forgot" to mention, that was mentioned in SN earlier:
The point about the Chernobyl thing was, it went up to 30,000ft or so and it continued for months on end. The sort of thing that would happen with an explosion in Fukushima would actually be relative duration, hours at the absolute most. What happened with Chernobyl was that the graphite core caught fire and you got radioactive material being putting out to a very great height over a very long period and pretty much went round the world. That radioactive material then went in to the food chain, sheep ate it and concentrated it. That was the problem. It's totally different here in Japan.
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Another fire has broken out at the number one unit of the Fukushima reactor-the previous fire was not properly extinguished. It is believed the blaze erupted in the outer housing of the reactor's containment vessel but the cause of the fire is not yet known Also sadly, two workers are missing after the explosion yesterday.
The country's prime minister Naoto Kan said radiation levels on the east coast had "risen considerably"aswell.
Its also been revealed there is a distinct lack of information that is been released by the company.
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I actually don't think the standard of press reporting helps - they went loopy over relatively insignificant amounts of radiation but haven't yet seemed to have figured out that 1000 millisieverts is actually 1 sievert and is really a true danger level (in probability, if youve not been protected, that's a level which will give you a 1 in 20 chance of developing a nasty cancer whilst also giving you some nasty radiation sickness). Where that particular reading is from is the key though - the readings are varying wildly which seem to indicate a very localised area of high radiation. Presumably it's in an area close to one of the used fuel storage pools which has been on fire rather than close to one of the two reactors which they think have had containment breaches.
The area around reactor 4 (which is offline itself) is the one which should be of most concern. They seem to have lost control there at the moment and the reports of fires in the used fuel storage pool are exceptionally concerning. That said, two reactors with some form of containment failure isn't good news either.
Seems like they've come close to losing control there. Bravery doesn't begin to cover knowing the risks and then going back in again, especially if your family is outside the plant and/or evacuated and you've not had chance to get home and check to see what's what for yourself.
And on top of that, you've got tens of thousands of people who've survived the earthquake and tsunami but are without a lot of the necessities to get through the harsh weather coming in and with the infrastructure to get aid in absolutely trashed. On the positive side, the sense of community which the Japanese seem to share is absolutely immense.
Why yes, thats a point. The US pushed the plates, caused a major earthquake, created a devestating Tsunami, and the Japanese placed charges within the reactor units, and blew them up, just like the US blew up the twin towers in 9/11 oO)
Don't be so absurd. I've heard some **** lately, but that takes the biscuit so far. Jesus what a load of ****. If you want to do a conspiracy theory thing, do it on a seperate thread please.
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