I have been blogging about the environmental disaster in the Pacific Ocean, and here is another link to the disaster, (h/t to brother Tim).
Disaster in the Pacific
Leave a reply
Category Archives: Fukushima Disaster
USS Ronald Reagan Irridiated
Harvey Wasserman reported on the similarities between the Lucky Dragon and the USS Ronald Reagan recently in a blog. The Lucky Dragon was a Japanese fishing boat that was down wind from a nuclear bomb test. For a long time the US denied any relationship with The LuckyDragon and they are denying any relationship with USS Ronald Reagan.
Tepco fails to create ice wall to stem radioactive water flow
One idea by TEPCO was to create an ice wall to prevent the flow of water. This blog indicates that the efforts were unsuccessful. This is another idea which was done just to do something, without evidence that it might work. It has not worked.
” Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Tuesday it had failed in an attempt to create an ice wall in an underground tunnel to block the flow of highly radioactive water from a damaged reactor at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power station.
Since last month, TEPCO has injected more than 400 tons of ice and dry ice to freeze radioactive water in a section that connects the tunnel, used to run cables, with the turbine building of the No. 2 reactor, one of three reactors that suffered core meltdowns in the March 2011 disaster.
By freezing the water, TEPCO hoped to create a wall of ice to block the flow of water between the turbine building and the tunnel. The process would have made it easier to pump out highly radioactive water from the tunnel.
But the temperature inside the section did not fall low enough despite the use of…
View original post 78 more words
Biological anomalies found in Fukushima
There was a recent report in the news about the genetic damage that is being seen in the area around Fukushima. The article describes:
“A growing body of empirical results from studies of birds, monkeys, butterflies, and other insects suggests that some species have been significantly impacted by the radioactive releases related to the Fukushima disaster,” said Timothy Mousseau, lead author of one of the studies detailing the effects, in a news release.
Some of these stories have been published previously on this blog, or here.
Tepco to abandon AREVA system amid contaminated water crisis
Back to the drawing boards. Apparently systems put into place by TEPCO are not working. This raises the question of how much of what they are doing is actually working. I have found that given the choice between doing something or nothing with the same outcomes that many people prefer to do something, even if it is not effective. Doing something and doing nothing may be both futile, but doing something creates hope. The problem is that this disaster may not be fixable.
” Tokyo Electric has determined that it will cease use of AREVA’s decontamination system, which uses chemicals to remove radioactive materials from water, as it has not lived up to expectations since it was installed. The utility will file an application with the Nuclear Regulation Authority in order to scrap the system.
The decontamination system was set up in June 2011, three months after the onset of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. The design was so complicated that it took 50 welders more than a month to put the system together. In the first three months, the system processed 76,000 tons of contaminated water, but was repeatedly forced to be shut down by a variety of problems.
For the last three years the system has been unused and kept out of operations and in the meantime, TEPCO has introduced a new system to process the ever-accumulating amounts of contaminated water…
View original post 236 more words
Fukushima’s nuclear fuel found 15 miles from Tokyo suburbs
This link shows that very small, highly radioactive material has been found near Tokyo. Many people believe that Tokyo is safe, but other people believe that there has been significant exposure in the area of Tokyo. Although these particles are small, they will certainly be dangerous if inhaled or ingested.
Nuclear fuel found 15 miles from Tokyo suburbs — Fukushima uranium in ‘glassy’ spheres transported over 170 km — Structural materials from the nuclear reactors also present (PHOTOS) http://enenews.com/nuclear-fuel-found-15-miles-tokyo-suburbs-fukushima-uranium-glassy-spheres-transported-170-km-structural-materials-nuclear-reactors-present-photos
Fukushima Diary, Aug 9, 2014: NHK admitted pieces of fuel rods and reactor vessels blasted to at least Ibaraki to contain Uranium & Zirconium […] NHK announced that pieces of nuclear fuel […] were blasted to at least 130km away from Fukushima nuclear plant. It was 2μm diameter particle. The ball-looking shape proves it was molten in high temperature and quickly cooled down […] the same material as nuclear fuel and the structure inside the vessels. These were collected from 3/14 ~ 3/15/2011 in Tsukuba city Ibaraki prefecture by the study group of Science Univ. of Tokyo. […]
View original post 453 more words
Loss of health support after the nuclear accident:
The experts do not want to ask questions. They have decided that there are no problems. Let me quote from their paper:
The expert meeting, at this point of time, is leaning in the direction of “Radiation health effects cannot be proven,” and “As the effects cannot be proven, even health checkups within Fukushima Prefecture are unnecessary,” since the exposure dose within and out of Fukushima Prefecture is expected to be significantly lower than 100 mSv.The expert meeting, at this point of time, is leaning in the direction of “Radiation health effects cannot be proven,” and “As the effects cannot be proven, even health checkups within Fukushima Prefecture are unnecessary,” since the exposure dose within and out of Fukushima Prefecture is expected to be significantly lower than 100 mSv.
Here is a Tokyo Shimbun article from July 22, 2014, translated by Yuri Hiranuma on the “Fukushima Voice version 2e” blog, where the original Japanese version is posted.
” The Ministry of the Environment (MOE) Expert Meeting Discussing Health Support After the Fukushima Nuclear Accident is taking an unthinkable twist. At the July 16th meeting, an outside researcher asked for the expansion of health checkups, but the committee chair looked the other way, stating “I don’t want to discuss the issue.” The expansion of health checkup is part of the Act Concerning Support for Children and Disaster Victims, but the committee chair himself voiced an opinion, “We now have different circumstances from when the Act was first approved.” There is no way disaster victims can accept such attitudes. (by T. Sakakibara)
Hesitant on the Expansion of Health Checkups
“Radioactive materials [being disseminated due to the Fukushima nuclear accident]…
View original post 1,334 more words
Nature reports blood abnormalities in monkeys near Fukushima
There was a recent report in Nature about two groups of monkeys. One group was in Fukushima, and the other group was about 70 km away. The report stated:
Compared with Shimokita monkeys, Fukushima monkeys had significantly low white and red blood cell counts, hemoglobin, and hematocrit, and the white blood cell count in immature monkeys showed a significant negative correlation with muscle cesium concentration. These results suggest that the exposure to some form of radioactive material contributed to hematological changes in Fukushima monkeys.
This study in a reliable journalSupports the notion that significant Injury to the bone marrow of monkeys has been caused by the radiation disaster at Fukushima.
Genetic changes in birds, in Japan, since 2011
There was a recent report (h/t to brother Tim) about abnormalities of the birds in Japan. There has been a study of bird since 1961 involving nearly one-half million birds.
On Oct. 24, 2011, a common reed bunting, a small migratory bird, was found with uneven tail feathers that had a moth-eaten appearance….But this sort of abnormality hasn’t been reported before. I’ve seen thousands of the birds, but it was the first time for me to see tail feathers like these.”…In at least one place, the ratio exceeded 25 percent. Birds born in 2011 account for 97.3 percent of the specimens with the abnormality.
These findings suggest significant genetic aberrations that have never been seen before, and most likely are related to the disaster at Fukushima. The birds though are being seen throughout Japan, because they can fly.
Mobilizing Nuclear Bias: The Fukushima Nuclear Crisis and the Politics of Uncertainty :: JapanFocus
Mobilizing Nuclear Bias: The Fukushima Nuclear Crisis and the Politics of Uncertainty :: JapanFocus. This is a lengthy essay on the Fukushima Nuclear disaster. It states that TEPCO initially withheld information from the public. There is a section about the impact of radiation on the USS Ronald Reagan, which has been discussed previously in this blog. The article concludes that the anti-nuclear activists have been vindicated. The article says
Any notion that these concerns were irrational would seem to be unfounded, based on the available evidence. Now that the situation has relatively stabilized, people in Japan remain anxious, especially in Tohoku, about important and entirely reasonable concerns related to health and well being, and those who have been displaced from their homes because of the nuclear accident may never return. It is difficult to overstate the impact this dual crisis will have on Japan in this generation. Now that the initial crisis phase has passed, the focus has turned to reconstruction and reform, but on the ground in the Tohoku region people face chronic uncertainty about the safety of food and the long-term effects of low-level radiation exposure. The government’s initial response was discouraging, and the nuclear village, when all is said and done, may remain substantially intact. But social activism is on the rise, bringing previously disengaged citizens into political movements that were previously the domain of activists, who are now being vindicated by recent events.
Vernon Radiation Safety 