Japanese Earthquake, Tsunami, and Nuclear Reactors

[dorispulaski]

This sounds like good news!!! I will have to write something about how cesium and iodine travel (and don't travel) through the food chain, though.

And I'll write something about liquid glass.
http://www.physorg.com/news184310039.html
If that is the stuff, it cleans well, has no harmful additives, and also kills bacteria.

Press Release (Apr 06,2011)
Out flow of fluid containing radioactive materials to the ocean from areas near intake channel of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station Unit 2 (continued report)


At around 9:30 am on April 2nd, we detected water containing radiation dose over 1,000 mSv/h in the pit* where supply cables are stored near the intake channel of Unit 2. Furthermore, there was a crack about 20 cm on the concrete lateral of the pit, from where the water in the pit was out flowing. At around 12:20 pm on April 2nd, we reaffirmed the event at the scene.We have implemented sampling of the water in the pit, together with the seawater in front of the bar screen near the pit. These samples were sent to Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power Station for analysis.
(We already informed on April 2nd, 2011)

We also injected fresh concrete to the pit on April 2nd, but we could not observe a reduction in the amount of water spilling from the pit to the sea. Therefore, we started to inject the polymer (April 3rd).

From 7:08 am to 7:11 am on April 4th, we put the tracer into the pit and began an investigation of water flows. Additional tracer was put through the two new holes drilled near the pit. At 2:15 pm, April 5th, it was observed the water with tracer came out from the crack on the concrete lateral of the pit. At 3:07 pm, April 5th, injection of coagulant from the holes was initiated.
(We already informed on April 5th, 2011)

At 5:38 am on April 6th, we observed the stoppage of the water spilling from the crack on the concrete lateral of the pit. Details of the situation will be announced after checking the blockage of the water flows.

We will continue the countermeasure in order to prevent further outflow of high level radioactive materials to the ocean.

*pit: a shaft made of concrete

Chernobyl today has a lower radiation count than, say, Finland, or parts of Washington State, not to mention Ramshar, Iran, nor Colorado. But I don't think the Japanese will be as impractical about this as the Ukrainians & people of Belarus. I don't think Japan can afford to throw away a piece of land the size of the state of Rhode Island, the way people of the former SSR's have. And after all, they reclaimed Hiroshima & Nagasaki.

What may well happen is that ever fish-selling store will have a riggus for measuring the radiation of your eel or tuna before you buy it.

This is pretty much how the people that work in Chernobyl manage eating wild game and fish.

Someone will get rich.

 

[Blue Bead]

For those wondering, this is a sand lance:
http://alaska.usgs.gov/science/biology/seabirds_foragefish/foragefish/images/sandlance.jpg

It looks like bait to me.

http://wanderinweeta.blogspot.com/2009/05/fishies-three.html

Their habit is to bury themselves in the sand, especially at night.

Hmmmm....if those sand lances bury themselves in the sand I wonder, with all the radiation, if they glow in the dark; it would certainly make finding them a lot easier, LOL.

 

[dorispulaski]

I'm wondering how much one weighs. They are calculating radiation per kilogram, but if those things weigh an ounce, I would be very surprised. I will be interested to see what IAEA has to say about the measurement, because they are much clearer about this than any other source. It just seems very high to me for this soon since the incident. Presumably we will know more when they measure a lot more fish.

 

[Olympia]

Doris, the major online news sources are reporting that the leak has been stopped. Is that possible?

 

[Blue Bead]

My question would be...is that the only leak? I guess will find the answer to that one eventually.

 

[dorispulaski]

Yes, the leak is stopped. Blue Bead is correct that there may be other leaks, and we'll find out the usual way-by watching what happens to the sea water monitoring data. Even before the leak was stopped, it had been dropping some what, but considering how highly radioactive the water is, it won't be subtle-we'll know in a day or two. Presumably they will be looking for more leaks.

The 9:00 AM morning status report says that even though the leak was stopped, the water level is not rising in the Unit 2 turbine building In general, that's good news, but of course, it could just mean the water is draining out somewhere else. It also could mean that not much water is leaking out of Unit 2 into the turbine building any more, which is my hope.

we have confirmed the outflow from the crack on the concrete wall of the pit has stopped at 5:38 am, April 6th. We confirmed water level has not been rising in the turbine building of unit 2.

And JAIF's 2:00 PM status confirms. By the way, I think the iodine level multiplication factor was larger, last I heard. The sample is from before the leak was stopped on the 6th.

April 5th:
About 7.5 million times the legal limit of radioactive iodine, I-131, was detected from samples of seawater, which had been collected at 11:50 on Apr. 2nd, near the water intake of Unit 2.
15:07 A hardening agent was injected into holes drilled around the pit of Unit 2 in a bid to stem the flow of highly radioactive water into the sea.
April 6th:
5:38 It was confirmed that the highly radioactive water flow mentioned above stopped.

That last sample still had the short lived radioactive materials typical of water from inside the reactor:
Monitoring

On March 21st, 23rd to April 4th we detected technetium, cobalt, iodine, cesium, tellurium, barium, lanthanum and molybdenum from the seawater around the discharge canal of the station. (We are reevaluating)

What's really good about the leak being fixed was that the method of injecting liquid glass into the ground stopped the leak. Next time, they will be using this method earlier. It sounds like a safe, relatively quick method.

And now that they are less concerned about the Unit 2 water (the leak they know about is stopped, the water is not rising in the building, and they have emptied out space so they have places to pump radioactive water to and store it), we are beginning to hear something about the reactors themselves again:

Unit 1
As it is suspected that hydrogen gas is accumulated inside reactor containment vessel, we are considering injection of nitrogen gas inside the vessel.

I'm going to do a little babbling aloud here, because I don't really know anything else about this. TEPCO was talking about perhaps doing this before water became their number one priority.

It doesn't say why they suspect that-they don't have a whole lot of instrumentation working. There has been no spike in temperature or pressure or anything that I can see from the JAIF data. However, of the 3 reactors not in cold shut down, its the one still acting most like a reactor. (Temperature at the one place they can measure it, 221.6℃ at feed water line nozzle.)

They may be going by the Three Mile Island experience, where a hydrogen bubble did form in the reactor, and the engineers spent about a month after the original incident worrying about it. In the absence of being able to make the usual measurements, that would be the logical thing to do-take preventive action.

Hydrogen only explodes it meets air. It does not react with nitrogen. That's why they would be doing that. Again, going by the TMI experience, as the reactor finally cools down, the bubble eventually dissipated without exploding.

They are still keeping an eye on the temperature of the spent fuel pools, using thermography. Whenever a pool gets too hot, they are pumping in water:

Unit 4 Spent Fuel Pool
From 5:35 pm, April 5th, the water spray by the concrete pumping vehicle was started. At 6:22 pm, the water spray finished.

And since the experience with the two workers who stepped in water, they are being very careful with the fellow who fell overboard:

Safety
* At 11:35 am, April 1st, a worker fell into the sea while stepping into the ship from the pier during the hose laying work of the barge. Other crew immediately rescued the worker. While no injury or contamination was confirmed, whole body counter has been implemented to check the contamination inside the body just in case.

 

[dorispulaski]

Radioactive Contamination moving up and down the food chain in water.

A meditation.

The world missed a great opportunity with Chernobyl. They could have spent the money to study how different levels of radiation, and differing radioactive materials interact with a wide variety of species, and they didn't spend the money. People that hate nuclear power plants didn't want to spend the money on understanding something that they wanted to eliminate from the world entirely. And the Ukrainian government that was still running the other 3, then 2, then 1 reactors at Chernobyl until they stopped in the year 2000, didn't want to draw any more attention to the situation than necessary. Studies have been done, but not in the long term, controlled way that would be ideal, in my opinion, and what's been done has centered on humans, particularly the "liquidators" who worked on the cleanup crews that did what site remediation that was done. There were some studies, but a lot of opportunities were wasted.

There are no fences for fishes in the ocean, and if you are fish farming, and fence in the fishes, you will still get the water the ocean sends you. When you catch a particular fish, you can't tell where he's been. The fish you catch off Ibaraki prefecture today could just as well have been in Fukushima a week ago. Or the current could be running from Fukishima, even if the fish stayed still. The good part is that its a big ocean, the Pacific, and in the scheme of things, the amount of contaminated water added to it will be relatively small.

Also, of the list of radioactive materials released at Fukushima, the one thing released in quantity that will stick around in the environment for a while is cesium.

If fish are like people, (oh if only they studied more about the fish at Chernobyl!) the body treats cesium as if it were potassium. The body has only a certain level of potassium (or cesium) that it can maintain, and after that threshold is exceeded, it gets rid of it. If a person stops eating food that is contaminated with a little bit of cesium, eventually potassium replaces the cesium in the human body. "Wormwood Forest" (which I warn is not a scientific text) says the cesium turns over in about 100 days. Cattle moved to a clean pasture from a contaminated pasture have their flesh cesium free in about the same length of time, and birds who winter in other places than Chernobyl become cesium free in their wintering grounds. I don't see why ocean fish wouldn't be the same.

It isn't the water that the fish swim in that's the big deal; its what they eat. If they are algae eating species, the fish will get whatever cesium is in the algae. And algae are big time concentrators of radioactive material (at least in fresh water in Chernobyl). And the big fish that eat the little algae eating fish get still more. But ultimately, with both radioactive iodine (which the body treats like regular iodine-if your thyroid gland has a full stock of iodine, it gets rid of the rest of it in urine) and cesium, which turns over in 100 days, the problem goes away.

If we were seeing materials that the body treats like calcium, which goes to the bones and stays there, it would be another problem. But at this point, levels of strontium and plutonium are not high at Daiichi.

The amount of cesium allowed in food varies by country.
(Wormwood Forest, p. 122)
In Ukraine, the most cesium 137 you can have in meat is 200 Becquerels per kilogram.
In fish, it is 130 Becquerels per kilogram. I have no idea why you are allowed to eat more cesium in beef; the cesium is the same cesium. In fruit, you are allowed only 70 becquerels of cesium per kilogram, but you can have 500 becquerels in berries or mushrooms.

The rationale seems to be that as mushrooms and berries tend to concentrate cesium its OK to have more. This is a logic that I am not understanding. Ukraine sets the threshold comparatively low.

The UN set the standard for food in general for "cross-trading" at 1,000 becquerels per kilogram.

In Japan it's 350 becquerels per kilogram.

In Europe it's 600.

And in Belarus, you can have 500 becquerels per kilogram in game meat.

I definitely think there should be more sense and uniformity to this sort of thing. The numbers above were given by Mycio in 2006 or so, and since these numbers make little sense to begin with, there is no reason that they wouldn't have been changed in the last 5 or 6 years, since there was little science behind them to begin with.

Mycio says that soaking meat in brine for an hour removes nearly half the radionucleides (I presume you throw away the brine and wash off the meat). Soaking for a day removes 80% of them, although it removes some of the nutrients as well.

Brining turkeys for Thanksgiving is very popular here. If you add the right herbs and spices to the brine, the result might be better tasting, and less radioactive food.

 

[dorispulaski]

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/tellurium-129-presence-proof-inadvertent-recriticality-fukushima

There are discussions running around the internet about whether having tellurium 129 in the very contaminated water necessarily proves that one or more of the reactors is having "recriticality" incidents.

The above article explains why that is not so, even though its half life is 69 minutes. Even after several months, tellurium 129 is still one of the most numerous isotopes in spent fuel.

How's that work? Well suppose you have 129 grams of tellurium 129 (its gram atomic mass). There are 6.23 time 10 to the 23rd power atoms (Avagadro's number) in one mole of any substance, so that's how many atoms are in that 129 grams. This is such a radioactive substance that you need very little to detect it. Even losing half of it every 69 minutes, it takes a long time to get rid of Avagadro's number worth of atoms.

However, there's more: you will see that we're also seeing tellurium 129m, a higher energy state of tellurium 129. The m is for "metastable". It has a half life of 34.1 days for decaying back to tellurium 129.

So it's not surprising we might be seeing it.

Additionally TEPCO is not entirely sure it's detecting tellurium 129, which is what the "reanalyzing" part is about.

So no, we don't have evidence of "recriticality" at this time.

 

[dorispulaski]

The TV says they are injecting the nitrogen.

This is just another case of "the solution to pollution is dilution." If you can keep the percentage of hydrogen in the air in the reactor at less than 4%, it won't explode. So if you inject nitrogen, you can dilute the air still further. We did the same with tools that were called "epi reactors" at IBM (no they were not nuclear). They were tools for creating a doped (either n or p type) epit taxial layer of silicon on a silicon wafer. Yes, they had "blow outs" too from time to time, which is what we called those smaller scale explosions.

 

[dorispulaski]

TEPCO Update for Noon April 7th

Since they have been getting their fixed monitoring points back up again, there is some screwiness with whether the car or the fixed monitoring is measuring this or that.

Wind is southeast
Monitoring Car data of gamma radiation
3.3 Daini
83.6 Main Gate (it's moved here) 3 PM)
65.2 West Gate (11 AM)
Radiation Dose, fixed points.
Office Building 0.69 milliSieverts
West Gate 47 microSieverts
Monitoring poinst 3 through 8
50, 50, 101, 153, 297, 234 microSieverts per hour
There are some datapoints for 1 & 2 for today
15, 49 on April 5th

-As it is suspected that hydrogen gas is accumulated inside reactor containment vessel, we are considering injection of nitrogen gas inside the vessel.

More info on water leakage (If you remember the Fukushima nuclear waterfront was totally destroyed by the tsunami).

-As a countermeasure against outflow of radioactive water into the sea near the cooling water intake at unit 2 of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, we have injected coagulant into the pit from April 5th and we have observed stoppage of spilling of water from the crack on the concrete lateral of the pit at 5:38 am, April 6th. -Continued work from yesterday, we have put 6,000 litters of coagulant into the breakage and surrounding ground after investigation of the leakage route by putting tracer into the 9 holes drilled around electrical conduit and the pit. As at 9:30 am, we have been observing there is no leakage of water into the sea from the pit. -For the sake of completeness, we put further reinforcement for the stoppage of leakage and consider countermeasure including continuous injection of coagulant. We will also note the water level of turbine building of unit 2 remain unchanged. We will further investigate if there is any other leakage. (Previously announced on April 6th)

-From 3:00 pm to 4:30 pm, April 5th, in order to prevent diffusion of radioactive contaminated water out from the site port facility to breakwater area which is south to the power station, we began repair of breakwater by founding the large sandbag around it to replace damaged steel water bar. We will continue the operation to prevent diffusion.

 

[dorispulaski]

The IAEA has its afternoon update: April 6th

→ Summary of Reactor Status

1. Current Situation

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

TEPCO has identified a possible leakage path from the Turbine building of Unit 2 to the sea via a series of trenches/tunnels used to provide power to the sea water intake pumps and supply of service water to the reactor and turbine buildings. On 4 April, a tracer was used in an attempt to determine where the water was coming from. The tracer was also injected into two new bore holes that had been drilled near the pit. On 5 April it was confirmed that the tracer was seen leaking from the crack into the sea. Coagulation agents (liquid glass) were injected into the holes drilled around the pits to block leakage of water. It was reported that the leakage has currently stopped at 20:38 UTC on 5 April. Work continues to prevent further releases to the sea.

According to the TEPCO Press Release of 4 April, approximately 10 000 T of water from the radioactive waste treatment plant and 1 500 T of subsurface waters stored in the sub drain pits of Unit 5 and 6 are being discharged to the sea to provide room to store water with higher levels of radioactivity in a safer manner. The discharges started at 10:00 UTC and 12:00 UTC respectively on 4 April. TEPCO has estimated that these discharges would increase the effective dose to a member of the public by 0.6 mSv, if he/she were to eat seaweed and seafood from the discharge area every day for a year. It should be noted however that the movements of all ships, including fishing boats, are restricted within a 30km zone from the NPP, based on the hazardous area set by the Maritime Safety Agency. Also, Fukushima prefecture reported that no fishing has started beyond a 30km zone from the NPP in this prefecture.

In Unit 1 fresh water is being continuously injected into the reactor pressure vessel through feed-water line at an indicated flow rate of 6 m3/h using a temporary electric pump with off-site power. Fresh water is being injected continuously into the RPVs through the fire extinguisher lines in Units 2 and 3 at indicated rates of 8 m3/h and 7 m3/h respectively using a temporary electric pump with off-site power.

In Unit 1 the indicated temperature at the feed water nozzle of the RPV decreased from 234 °C to 222 °C and at the bottom of RPV stable at 115 °C. Instrumentation "B" for Reactor Pressure indicates that the pressure in the RPV is increasing and instrumentation "A" indicates that it has stabilized. NISA has indicated that some instruments in the reactor vessel may not be working properly. Drywell pressure is stable. In Unit 2 the indicated temperature at the feed water nozzle of the RPV is stable at 141 °C. The temperature at the bottom of RPV was not reported. Indicated Drywell pressure remains at atmospheric pressure. The indicated temperature at the feed water nozzle of the RPV in Unit 3 is stable at 85 °C and at the bottom of the RPV is about 115 °C.

Additional water was injected via Spent Fuel Cooling System line to the spent fuel pool in Unit 2 by a temporary pump on 4 April.

Power is available to instrumentation in Unit 3.

There has been no change in status on Units 4, 5, 6 and the Common Spent Fuel Storage Facility.

2. Radiation Monitoring

On 5 April, low levels of deposition of both iodine-131 and cesium-137 were detected in 5 and 7 prefectures respectively. The values for iodine-131 ranged from 12 to 70, for cesium-137 from 3.6 to 41 becquerel per square metre.

Gamma dose rates reported for 6 April showed no significant changes compared to yesterday. Since 23 March, values have tended to decrease. Gamma dose rates were reported for 45 prefectures to be between 0.02 to 0.1 microsievert per hour. In one prefecture the gamma dose rate was 0.16 microsievert per hour. These values are within or slightly above the natural background of 0.1 microsievert per hour.
As of 4 April, iodine-131 and cesium-134/137 was detectable in drinking water in a few prefectures. All values were far below levels that would initiate recommendations for restrictions of drinking water. As of 6 April, one restriction for infants related to I-131 (100 Bq/l) remains in place as a precautionary measure in only one village of the Fukushima prefecture.

On 6 April the IAEA monitoring team made measurements at 7 locations at distances of 23 to 39 km South and Southwest of the Fukushima nuclear power plant. The dose rates ranged from 0.04 to 2.2 microsievert per hour. At the same locations, results of beta-gamma contamination measurements ranged from 0.03 to 0.36 megabecquerel per square metre.

Since our written briefing of yesterday, data related to food contamination was reported on 5 April by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. These reported analytical results covered a total of 41 samples taken on 24 March (1 sample), 30 March (1 sample), 1 April (1 sample), 2 April (9 samples) and 4 April (29 samples). Analytical results for 40 of the 41 samples for various vegetables, spinach and other leafy vegetables, fruit (strawberries), chicken, poultry eggs, unprocessed raw milk and seafood in eight prefectures (Chiba, Fukushima, Gunma, Ibaraki, Kanagawa, Niigata, Saitama and Tokyo) indicated that iodine-131, caesium-134 and/or caesium-137 were either not detected or were below the regulation values set by the Japanese authorities. One sample of seafood (sand lance) taken on 4 April (offshore) in Ibaraki prefecture was above the regulation value set by the Japanese authorities for caesium-134/caesium-137.

TEPCO is responsible for near-shore sampling, taking samples of surface seawater. The near shore sampling point for Daiichi Units 1 - 4 is located 330 m south of their common discharge point. The near-shore sampling point for Daiichi Units 5 and 6 is located 30 m north of their common discharge point.

Samples near discharge areas are collected daily. Until 3 April a general decreasing trend was observed. However, after the discharge of contaminated water at 4 April, an increase from about 11 kBq/l at 09:00 UTC to 41 kBq/l at 14:00 UTC for I-131, and from 5.1 kBq/l at 09:00 UTC to 19 kBq/l for both, Cs-134 and Cs-137 at 14:00 UTC was detected.

There were no new data for off shore monitoring compared to yesterday's briefing.

3. IAEA Activities

The two agency experts in BWR technology in Japan are continuing their mission and will be joined by a third agency expert to have additional meetings with TEPCO at the end of the week. The marine expert from the IAEA Environment Laboratories Monaco, who joined the sampling campaign on the research vessel MARAI, returns to Vienna today.

 

[dorispulaski]

JAIF has up the last day's NHK news translations:

No. 44: 20:00, April 6
NHK news regarding status of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station yesterday and today
.
●French lab: radiation may harm marine resources
A French nuclear safety institute is calling for long-term monitoring of the Pacific Ocean off northeastern Japan following leaks of radioactive material from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety has analyzed the impact on the sea of a recent leak of water with high levels of radiation at the No.2 reactor. The computer analysis was based on publicly available data. The analysis showed that as of Monday, water contaminated with radioactive substances had spread to areas near the coasts of Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures. It also showed that airborne radioactive substances had mixed with seawater. The research projected that the contaminated water could be spread throughout the Pacific Ocean in 3 months by the Japan Current. The French laboratory said some radioactive substances may be diluted by seawater, but others are highly likely to settle on the seabed. It added that cesium-134 can remain in the sea for several years and cesium-137 for about 30 years. The lab warned that fish and seaweed in Pacific coastal areas of Japan could be contaminated by the substances.
Wednesday, April 06, 2011 16:03 +0900 (JST)

●Fishermen demand compensation
Japanese fishermen are demanding compensation from the Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, for damage to fish stocks caused by the company's release of radioactive wastewater into the sea. The head of the national federation of fisheries cooperatives, Ikuhiro Hattori, made the demand in a meeting with TEPCO Chairman Tsunehisa Katsumata on Wednesday in Tokyo. Hattori complained that TEPCO did not consult fishermen before deciding to release contaminated water into the sea from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant. He demanded that the company make every effort to stop the leak of contaminated water and pledge responsibility with the government for compensating fishermen for their losses.
Katsumata apologized to fishermen for the trouble TEPCO has caused. After the meeting, Hattori told reporters he feels nothing but anger and would like to see all nuclear power plants in the country immediately shut down. He said fishermen would no longer cooperate in any way with nuclear power plant operators. Later in the day, Hattori handed Senior Vice Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Tadahiro Matsushita a letter of protest expressing fury over the government's unilateral and irresponsible handling of the matter. Hattori demanded that the government and TEPCO compensate for all losses suffered by fishermen due to a fishing ban and rumors. Matsushita apologized and pledged efforts to prevent the contamination from spreading further.
Wednesday, April 06, 2011 15:05 +0900 (JST)

●Nuclear agency criticized for lack of explanation
Municipalities and fisheries cooperatives in Fukushima Prefecture have criticized the government for failing to explain the release of radioactive water into the ocean from the troubled nuclear power plant. The plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, on Monday began releasing low-level radioactive water into the sea from the Fukushima Daiichi plant. On Tuesday, the federation of fisheries cooperative associations in Fukushima notified the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency of its concern. It asked the agency to explain the possible impact on marine products. The agency's team in Fukushima said it had not heard from local people and had no plans to provide an explanation to the prefecture. The team was sent to Fukushima to strengthen the provision of information to residents after the troubles at the plant began. The government of Iwaki City, where Fukushima's largest fisheries port is located, and fisheries cooperatives say people are increasingly worried. It says the agency is responsible for responding to nuclear accidents and needs to explain many issues but has not contacted them.
Wednesday, April 06, 2011 10:09 +0900 (JST)

●Ibaraki fishermen suspend fishing activities
Most local fishery cooperatives in Ibaraki Prefecture are suspending all fishing activities, after small fish caught in waters off its coast were found to contain radioactive cesium above the legal limit. Ibaraki is located just south of Fukushima, which hosts the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Earlier this week, 526 becquerels of radioactive cesium, exceeding the legal limit of 500, was detected in one kilogram of the small fish called sand lance caught in seas off northern Ibaraki. As a result, the federation of fisheries cooperatives in Ibaraki decided to stop fishing sand lance, while allowing each cooperative to decide what to do about other catch. But NHK's survey of local cooperatives in the prefecture found that most of them had decided to halt all fishing for some time to come. The cooperatives say their fish would not be accepted by brokers or retailers, and as prices are bound to fall it would be unprofitable to fish given the cost of fuel. The head of the federation says fishermen cannot catch fish in contaminated seawater. He urges the government and Tokyo Electric Power Company to quickly stop the flow of radioactive water.
Wednesday, April 06, 2011 10:51 +0900 (JST)

●Radioactive water leak at Fukushima plant stops
The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says radioactive water stopped leaking into the sea from a concrete pit on Wednesday morning. Tokyo Electric Power Company plans to check if there are any new leaks. TEPCO says it confirmed that the water flow stopped at 5:38 AM. On Tuesday, workers drilled a hole to reach the gravel below the pit and poured 1,500 liters of a hardening agent called liquid glass. TEPCO says this has stopped the flow. The company released a photo which shows that water is no longer flowing into the ocean. On Saturday, the company spotted water contaminated with high-level radioactive substances leaking from a crack in the pit of the Number 2 reactor. TEPCO said the contaminated water was flowing from a damaged pipe onto the gravel, then into the pit and finally out to sea. The company had tried a variety of measures to stop the water flow. The latest move comes as the company continues to release low-level radioactive water from the plant into the sea. The discharge started on Monday to free storage space for higher-level radioactive water. As of 11 PM on Tuesday, 5,600 tons had been expelled into the ocean. TEPCO has been trying to contain radioactive dust by spraying synthetic resin around the reactors. The company says it will continue this successful operation.
Wednesday, April 06, 2011 08:10 +0900 (JST)

●Japan apologizes to S.Korea for water release
Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency has apologized to neighboring countries for causing concern over the release of contaminated water into the sea from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. A senior official of the agency, Hidehiko Nishiyama, told a news conference on Tuesday that Japan failed to contact South Korea before taking the measure. South Korea's foreign ministry expressed concern on Monday that Japan hadn't notified the country of the release in advance. Nishiyama said he is sorry for raising concern in the country, although the release was an emergency measure.
He added that the government will fully explain the decision to related countries and reply to questions about the situation at the troubled plant.
Tuesday, April 05, 2011 22:26 +0900 (JST)

●Plant radiation monitor says levels immeasurable
A radiation monitor at the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says workers there are exposed to immeasurable levels of radiation. The monitor told NHK that no one can enter the plant's No. 1 through 3 reactor buildings because radiation levels are so high that monitoring devices have been rendered useless. He said even levels outside the buildings exceed 100 millisieverts in some places. Pools and streams of water contaminated by high-level radiation are being found throughout the facility. The monitor said he takes measurements as soon as he finds water, because he can't determine whether it's contaminated just by looking at it. He said he's very worried about the safety of workers there. Contaminated water and efforts to remove it have been hampering much-needed work to cool the reactors. The monitor expressed frustration, likening the situation to looking up a mountain that one has to climb, without having taken a step up.
Tuesday, April 05, 2011 19:51 +0900 (JST)

●Govt considering safety of exclusion zone visits
The Japanese government is drafting safety standards for brief return visits by people who had to evacuate the 20-kilometer zone around the Fukushima nuclear plant. The government is studying ways to protect the visitors from radioactive contamination inside the zone and decontamination procedures after they leave. Some residents have submitted requests to visit their homes to gather belongings as it will be a long time before they can return permanently. The government will arrange for a staff member from the local municipality, police or Self-Defense Force to accompany the small groups of visitors. It says it will draft a plan after consulting various organizations. The government has been measuring radioactivity in the air inside the 20-kilometer exclusion zone and will analyze the data to determine if brief visits will be safe.
Wednesday, April 06, 2011 07:51 +0900 (JST)

●Japan FM: Water release not illegal
Japan has defended its release of contaminated water into the sea from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, saying the measure is within international law. Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto spoke to reporters on Tuesday, in response to South Korea's expression of concern on Monday. Matsumoto said radioactive wastewater is being released as an emergency measure in accordance with Japanese domestic law, and doesn't pose a significant health threat. He said international conventions on nuclear accidents require advance notification in case of a possible threat to cross-border security. But he said the current situation is not such case. Matsumoto added that Japan's government explained the water release on Monday to foreign embassies in the country and the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Tuesday, April 05, 2011 21:00 +0900 (JST)
End

 

[dorispulaski]

Footage from skycam of the tsunami
http://freevideocoding.com/flvplaye...wave_successions_sky_1000k.mp4&autostart=true

George Monbiot, a Green party member and former nuclear opponent, wrote in the UK's Guardian:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/mar/21/pro-nuclear-japan-fukushima

Why Fukushima made me stop worrying and love nuclear power

You will not be surprised to hear that the events in Japan have changed my view of nuclear power. You will be surprised to hear how they have changed it. As a result of the disaster at Fukushima, I am no longer nuclear-neutral. I now support the technology.

A crappy old plant with inadequate safety features was hit by a monster earthquake and a vast tsunami. The electricity supply failed, knocking out the cooling system. The reactors began to explode and melt down. The disaster exposed a familiar legacy of poor design and corner-cutting. Yet, as far as we know, no one has yet received a lethal dose of radiation.

...

Yes, I still loathe the liars who run the nuclear industry. Yes, I would prefer to see the entire sector shut down, if there were harmless alternatives. But there are no ideal solutions. Every energy technology carries a cost; so does the absence of energy technologies. Atomic energy has just been subjected to one of the harshest of possible tests, and the impact on people and the planet has been small. The crisis at Fukushima has converted me to the cause of nuclear power.

Greens led people to believe that exactly such a scenario was the end of the earth as we know it, and now we're discussing how much cesium is in a sand lance, and whether TEPCO should pay Ibaraki fishermen damages.

It's just not what Moniot thought it would look like, so like many a convert, he's trying to make up for lost time. Here he writes again,

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/apr/05/anti-nuclear-lobby-misled-world
George Monbiot The Guardian, Tuesday 5 April 2011

The unpalatable truth is that the anti-nuclear lobby has misled us allI've discovered that when the facts don't suit them, the movement resorts to the follies of cover-up they usually denounce

Over the last fortnight I've made a deeply troubling discovery. The anti-nuclear movement to which I once belonged has misled the world about the impacts of radiation on human health. The claims we have made are ungrounded in science, unsupportable when challenged, and wildly wrong. We have done other people, and ourselves, a terrible disservice.

I began to see the extent of the problem after a debate last week with Helen Caldicott. Dr Caldicott is the world's foremost anti-nuclear campaigner. She has received 21 honorary degrees and scores of awards, and was nominated for a Nobel peace prize. Like other greens, I was in awe of her. In the debate she made some striking statements about the dangers of radiation. So I did what anyone faced with questionable scientific claims should do: I asked for the sources. Caldicott's response has profoundly shaken me.

Apparently the sources did not support what she was saying. You can read about Moniot debating Caldicott at the link above.

As for Moniot, he appears to have had a St. Paul-on-the-road-to-Damascus kind of change of heart.

 

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Meanwhile NEI has posted its 11:30 Eastern Daylight Time update for April 6th

They have a little more detail about injecting nitrogen. It's nice to know, that in the situation where they still can't trust what instrumentation they have, that they will be going slowly.

UPDATE AS OF 11:30 A.M. EDT, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6:
Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) today began injecting nitrogen into the containment vessel of reactor 1 at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Nitrogen, an inert gas, is used in reactor containment vessels to stabilize the atmosphere and prevent ignition of the hydrogen that is believed to be accumulating inside the containment. The injection will proceed slowly, at 10 percent of the normal rate. It is expected to take six days to complete the process.

TEPCO has stopped a leak of highly radioactive water from the site into the Pacific Ocean. TEPCO had been trying various means to plug the leak in a concrete enclosure that carries electric cables since it was discovered Saturday. Pouring concrete and later an absorbent polymer into the enclosure were unsuccessful.

On Monday, workers injected a colored liquid tracer into the system of enclosures to determine the flow path of the water. It showed that the radioactive water may be leaking from a cracked pipe, and then seeping through gravel into the concrete enclosure. Additional testing showed leakage from the crack in the enclosure into the ocean.

Beginning yesterday, TEPCO injected approximately 1,600 gallons of liquid glass into the system, which stanched the flow of water. TEPCO is considering injecting more liquid glass into the area as a preventive measure.

Workers continue to inject cooling water into reactors 1, 2 and 3 and to the used fuel storage pools at reactors 1-4. Radioactive water in the turbine buildings continues to hinder efforts to fully restore cooling functions.

Some residents of the 20-kilometer (12.5-mile) evacuation zone around Fukushima Daiichi may be permitted brief visits to retrieve personal items from their homes. The Japanese government is analyzing radiation data and is expected to draft a plan for the visits.

Comments:
That was a heck of a lot of liquid glass.

The visits are the first babysteps to a return to some kind of normalcy-or to establishing the new normal.

 

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And photos have been released by TEPCO and the Japanese government of Daiichi.
http://cryptome.org/eyeball/daiichi-npp2/daiichi-photos2.htm

The most startling photo is of the Unit 2 control room, after the hydrogen explosion. Other than the contamination suits on the workers, it looks....like a control room.

They also show all kinds of other things we have been talking about: the barge, the mess that is the top of Unit 4, including, I am pretty sure, seeing the twisted liner of the spent fuel pool. How it's holding water is a mystery, but it evidently is. No wonder the head of the US's NRC thought it couldn't be holding water. And some before photos for comparison.

 

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JAIF has posted trend charts of the buoys monitoring ocean concentrations at sea around Daiichi. The biggest concentrations are directly off shore from it.

http://www.jaif.or.jp/english/news_images/pdf/ENGNEWS01_1302084754P.pdf

They also show the environmental in towns in Fukushima, Tochigi, and Ibaraki prefectures, up to April 4
http://www.jaif.or.jp/english/news_images/pdf/ENGNEWS01_1302054182P.pdf

They also have a 8 pm April 6th status up:

It was decided on Apr. 5th that as a legal limit of radioactive iodine, the same amount for vegetbles should be applied to fishery products for the time being.

Radiation level: 0.69mSv/h at the south side of the office building, 47μSv/h at the West gate, as of 15:00, Apr. 6th, 108μSv/h at the Main gate, as of 10:00, Apr. 6th.

TEPCO announcement on beginning nitrogen injection at 10:30 PM April 6th

Regarding Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station Unit 1, taking into account the possibility of hydrogen accumulating inside, we have been considering encapsulation of hydrogen by injecting nitrogen to the reactor containment vessel.

Today, we received an order from minister of economy, trade and industry to report on matter such as necessity of encapsulating nitrogen, method for implementation, and impact assessment of safety. Accordingly, we have compiled related matters and reported to minister of economy, trade and industry today. The report was approved after the deliberation in the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

Base on the report, we will begin injecting nitrogen to the reactor containment vessel of Unit 1 today, around 10:30pm.

They also did more work to secure the waterfront:

On April 6th, we installed rubber boards as a countermeasure against outflow from the intake. We will further investigate if there is any other leakage.

They checked for Plutonium in several different places and found about the same as they found the last time they reported-about the same as due to atmospheric atomic tests, but the ratio of isotopes argued for the reactors having been the source.

http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/betu11_e/images/110406e22.pdf .

There are a lot of other isotopes, in very sizable amounts, in the soil in the general area. Just not plutonium.

http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/betu11_e/images/110406e23.pdf

9 PM April 6th
Daini 3.2 microSieverts per hour
Daiichi Main Office Building 0.70 milliSievert
Daiichi West Gate 47.0
Daiichi Main Gate 82.3

 

[mot]

George Monbiot, a Green party member and former nuclear opponent, wrote in the UK's Guardian:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/mar/21/pro-nuclear-japan-fukushima

Why Fukushima made me stop worrying and love nuclear power

Thanks for this, Doris. I have completely missed this article, though I do check the Guardian fairly regularly. To me, this is such a typical Guardian to publish an article like this in the midst of all fears and scares felt by many. Gotta love the Brits.

Also thanks for the info of liquid glass! How amazing this stuff is! I am now debating with the contractor about the suitability of limestone flooring in certain areas of the school building; and spraying this stuff can be a solution to all - anti-staining, anti-UV-discolouring, etc. I wonder whether it protects materials from acid... And yes, 1,600 gallons of liquid glass sounds ... eh, beyond my comprehension.

 

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TEPCO and JAIF's April 7th status 9 AM and 10 AM respectively.

Mot,
I'm guessing it would make a decent sealer for the floor, but mightn't it be rather slippery to walk on, particularly on a rainy day, near the outside doors? (As a woman whose husband has balance issues from a stroke, that sort of thing is quite worrying) Maybe you could put a fine grit in it so it would not be quite so dangerous. Glass does etch with hydrofluoric acid and different strong dishwasher detergents, so you might want to specify what they use for cleaning. And it might scratch too. On the other hand, you probably could reseal it every 5 years or so, perhaps? It's an interesting thought.

TEPCO (9 AM April 7th)

Wind is in the southeast
Daini 9 AM April 7th (Measure Point 4) 3.1 micro Sieverts per hour
Daiichi 9AM April 7th West Gate 58.4
Daiichi 9 AM April 7th Main Office Building 0.70 milliSieverts per hour
Daiichi 9 AM April 7th 46 microSieverts per hour West Gate
Daiichi 9 AM April 7th
Measure Point 3 through 8 (48, 48, 97, 145, 287, 227) microSieverts per hour


They have started the nitrogen injection at Unit 1.

- As it is suspected that hydrogen gas may be accumulated inside reactor containment vessel, at 10:30 pm, 6th April, we started the operation of the valve for the injection of nitrogen gas to the vessel in order to prevent the increase of oxygen density. Following this, the injection of nitrogen gas to the reactor containment vessel was started at 1:31AM today April 7th.

They sprayed the spent fuel pool of Unit 3

From 6:53 am, April 7th, water spray by the concrete pumping vehicle was started, and finished at 8:53 am

They are finding the periodic table worth of different isotopes; not surprising in that this is a site where a spent fuel pool burned, and where a reactor leaked/is leaking. It's interesting that we aren't seeing much strontium & plutonium, and that would be a good thing.

On March 21st, 23rd to April 5th we detected technetium, cobalt, iodine, cesium, tellurium, barium, lanthanum and molybdenum from the seawater around the discharge canal of the station. (We are reevaluating)

* On March 20th, 21st, 23rd to April 5th, we detected iodine, cesium, tellurium and ruthenium in the air collected at the site of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. (We are reevaluating)

* Plutonium has been detected from the sample of soil at the site of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station collected on 21st, 22nd, 25th and 28th of March, Concentration level of Plutonium detected was same as that of under usual environment and it was thought not to be harmful to human health.

We will strengthen environmental monitoring of power station and surrounding environment. Additionally Iodine, Cesium, Tellurium, Barium, Niobium, Ruthenium, Molybdenum, Technetium, Lanthanum, Beryllium, Silver have been detected from the sample of soil at the site of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station collected on 21st, 22nd, 25th and 28th of March.

TEPCO is doing what it can to limit any more leakage of contaminated water into the ocean.

On the same day, a countermeasure by using rubber plate and fixer was implemented to prevent discharge of radioactive materials, and we are continuously monitoring for any existence of leakage. On the other hand, from 3:00pm April 5th, a construction of installing large sandbags around the pier to prevent the outflow of the waste water from station's port to the ocean was started. Also we are preparing spillage prevention fences as countermeasures for lowering the outflow to the ocean area.

There's quite a lot of seawater sampling being done. JAIF has trend charts of the data that are updated as reported (link below).

In addition, from April 2nd, we will implement sampling at 15km offshore Fukushima Daiichi and Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power Stations(3 points have been added since April 5th) and will evaluate these samples comprehensively.

They are continuing with the resin dust inhibitor:

* From 3:00 pm, April 1st, we started spraying inhibitor in order to prevent diffusion of radioactive materials. This attempt was conducted on a trial basis at the mountain side area of the common spent fuel pool in the range of 500m2. The spraying finished at 4:05 pm. On April 5th and 6th , we also sprayed the inhibitor in order to prevent the spread of radioactive materials on a trial basis at the mountain side area of the common spent fuel pool in the range of 600m2.

For those wondering whether power is becoming more available, TEPCO says that as of today at least one more plant is back on line:

Kashima Thermal Power Station Units 2, 3, 5, 6: shutdown due to the earthquake Kashima Thermal Power Station Units 3: resumed generating at 2:13pm April 6

JAIF says (10:00 PM April 7th) that :※

NSC is suggesting the government revise the currrent radioactive standards for evacuation, according to which evacuation is only considered when radiation levels reach 50 mSv about one week after any accidents, such that evacuation advisory should be issued to prevent residents from exposed to a total of 20 mSv a year.

It's my opinion that an evacuation plan should be made up well in advance. It could be done with a computer program that looks at the current weather outlook for the next week or two, so that plume areas like Iitate Village could be flagged, and that areas that do not get much air flow from the plant are not evacuated unnecessarily. Evacuating in a circular area is a bit daft in this era of computer expertise for modelling this stuff.

JAIF says that nitrogen injection will be done on units 2 & 3 as well as Unit 1.

TEPCO started to inject nitrogen gas into the Unit 1containment vessel to reduce the possibility of hydrogen explosion on Apr. 6th. The same maeasure will be taken for Unit 2 and 3.

JAIF's new file about concentrations of radioactive materials in the seawater, both on the surface and at depth, along the coast, both inshore and off shore. There are about 4 points on each graph now. The highest concentration was significantly south of Daiichi (measure point 10) on March 30th.
. Data only goes to April 3rd so far on the chart. Info on the local currents is also given in this file. They are not particularly straightforward as Daiichi is located at a place where "the warm current meets the cold current" according to this file.

http://www.jaif.or.jp/english/news_images/pdf/ENGNEWS01_1302084754P.pdf

JAIF's file for the measurements of radiation in the air in Fukushima, Tochigi & Ibaraki prefectures. The one significantly high area remains Iitate Village, which had gone as high as 45 microSieverts per hour back on March 14th or 15th, and is now down around 5 or 6 microSieverts per hour now (more than at Daini nuclear power plant, (currently 3.1 microSieverts per hour) which is well within the evacuation zone of Daiichi.

http://www.jaif.or.jp/english/news_images/pdf/ENGNEWS01_1302144863P.pdf

 

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JAIF's Translation of NHK news.

At IBM we used to refer ironically to the Five Stages of a Project.

1. Euphoria and Excitement
2. Disenchantment
3. Search for the Guilty
4. Punishment of the Innocent
5. Reward for the Uninvolved

And I think there is a similar five stages of dealing with a disaster. Step one is Shock and Dismay, Step Two is Anger, and the last three steps are the same. We are now searching for the Guilty, and can punishing the Innocent be far behind?

No. 44: 20:00, April 6
NHK news regarding status of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station yesterday and today.

●French lab: radiation may harm marine resources
A French nuclear safety institute is calling for long-term monitoring of the Pacific Ocean off northeastern Japan following leaks of radioactive material from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety has analyzed the impact on the sea of a recent leak of water with high levels of radiation at the No.2 reactor. The computer analysis was based on publicly available data. The analysis showed that as of Monday, water contaminated with radioactive substances had spread to areas near the coasts of Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures. It also showed that airborne radioactive substances had mixed with seawater. The research projected that the contaminated water could be spread throughout the Pacific Ocean in 3 months by the Japan Current. The French laboratory said some radioactive substances may be diluted by seawater, but others are highly likely to settle on the seabed. It added that cesium-134 can remain in the sea for several years and cesium-137 for about 30 years. The lab warned that fish and seaweed in Pacific coastal areas of Japan could be contaminated by the substances.
Wednesday, April 06, 2011 16:03 +0900 (JST)

●Fishermen demand compensation
Japanese fishermen are demanding compensation from the Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, for damage to fish stocks caused by the company's release of radioactive wastewater into the sea. The head of the national federation of fisheries cooperatives, Ikuhiro Hattori, made the demand in a meeting with TEPCO Chairman Tsunehisa Katsumata on Wednesday in Tokyo. Hattori complained that TEPCO did not consult fishermen before deciding to release contaminated water into the sea from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant. He demanded that the company make every effort to stop the leak of contaminated water and pledge responsibility with the government for compensating fishermen for their losses. Katsumata apologized to fishermen for the trouble TEPCO has caused. After the meeting, Hattori told reporters he feels nothing but anger and would like to see all nuclear power plants in the country immediately shut down. He said fishermen would no longer cooperate in any way with nuclear power plant operators. Later in the day, Hattori handed Senior Vice Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Tadahiro Matsushita a letter of protest expressing fury over the government's unilateral and irresponsible handling of the matter. Hattori demanded that the government and TEPCO compensate for all losses suffered by fishermen due to a fishing ban and rumors. Matsushita apologized and pledged efforts to prevent the contamination from spreading further.
Wednesday, April 06, 2011 15:05 +0900 (JST)

●Nuclear agency criticized for lack of explanation
Municipalities and fisheries cooperatives in Fukushima Prefecture have criticized the government for failing to explain the release of radioactive water into the ocean from the troubled nuclear power plant. The plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, on Monday began releasing low-level radioactive water into the sea from the Fukushima Daiichi plant. On Tuesday, the federation of fisheries cooperative associations in Fukushima notified the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency of its concern. It asked the agency to explain the possible impact on marine products. The agency's team in Fukushima said it had not heard from local people and had no plans to provide an explanation to the prefecture. The team was sent to Fukushima to strengthen the provision of information to residents after the troubles at the plant began. The government of Iwaki City, where Fukushima's largest fisheries port is located, and fisheries cooperatives say people are increasingly worried. It says the agency is responsible for responding to nuclear accidents and needs to explain many issues but has not contacted them.
Wednesday, April 06, 2011 10:09 +0900 (JST)

●Ibaraki fishermen suspend fishing activities
Most local fishery cooperatives in Ibaraki Prefecture are suspending all fishing activities, after small fish caught in waters off its coast were found to contain radioactive cesium above the legal limit. Ibaraki is located just south of Fukushima, which hosts the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Earlier this week, 526 becquerels of radioactive cesium, exceeding the legal limit of 500, was detected in one kilogram of the small fish called sand lance caught in seas off northern Ibaraki. As a result, the federation of fisheries cooperatives in Ibaraki decided to stop
fishing sand lance, while allowing each cooperative to decide what to do about other catch. But NHK's survey of local cooperatives in the prefecture found that most of them had decided to halt all fishing for some time to come. The cooperatives say their fish would not be accepted by brokers or retailers, and as prices are bound to fall it would be unprofitable to fish given the cost of fuel. The head of the federation says fishermen cannot catch fish in contaminated seawater. He urges the government and Tokyo Electric Power Company to quickly stop the flow of radioactive water.
Wednesday, April 06, 2011 10:51 +0900 (JST)

●Radioactive water leak at Fukushima plant stops
The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says radioactive water stopped leaking into the sea from a concrete pit on Wednesday morning. Tokyo Electric Power Company plans to check if there are any new leaks. TEPCO says it confirmed that the water flow stopped at 5:38 AM. On Tuesday, workers drilled a hole to reach the gravel below the pit and poured 1,500 liters of a hardening agent called liquid glass. TEPCO says this has stopped the flow. The company released a photo which shows that water is no longer flowing into the ocean. On Saturday, the company spotted water contaminated with high-level radioactive substances leaking from a crack in the pit of the Number 2 reactor. TEPCO said the contaminated water was flowing from a damaged pipe onto the gravel, then into the pit and finally out to sea. The company had tried a variety of measures to stop the water flow. The latest move comes as the company continues to release low-level radioactive water from the plant into the sea. The discharge started on Monday to free storage space for higher-level radioactive water. As of 11 PM on Tuesday, 5,600 tons had been expelled into the ocean.

TEPCO has been trying to contain radioactive dust by spraying synthetic resin around the reactors. The company says it will continue this successful operation.
Wednesday, April 06, 2011 08:10 +0900 (JST)

●Japan apologizes to S.Korea for water release
Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency has apologized to neighboring countries for causing concern over the release of contaminated water into the sea from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. A senior official of the agency, Hidehiko Nishiyama, told a news conference on Tuesday that Japan failed to contact South Korea before taking the measure. South Korea's foreign ministry expressed concern on Monday that Japan hadn't notified the country of the release in advance. Nishiyama said he is sorry for raising concern in the country, although the release was an emergency measure.

He added that the government will fully explain the decision to related countries and reply to questions about the situation at the troubled plant.
Tuesday, April 05, 2011 22:26 +0900 (JST)

End

 

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For whatever reason, CNN has quite a good rundown on the contaminated water situation at Daiichi

http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiap...paign=Feed:+rss/cnn_latest+(RSS:+Most+Recent)

Seawater Concentrations Drop Off Crippled Reactor

Some quotes:

On the low level radioactive water discharged to make room for safer storage of highly radioactive water:

Concentrations of iodine-131 had been as high as 7.5 million times legal standards in water directly behind the plant after the leak was discovered Saturday. They had dropped to less than 4 percent of that amount in the 24 hours before the leak had been cut off Wednesday morning, according to figures released by Tokyo Electric.

The level remained 280,000 times higher than the legal limit, but those concentrations were dropping sharply as the water flowed out into the Pacific. Levels of longer-lived cesium-137 were down sharply as well but remained 61,000 times the legal standard, according to Tokyo Electric's water sampling data.

Samples from a monitoring point 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) southeast of the plant found iodine-131 levels down to 1.5 times legal levels, with no reading for cesium.

Tokyo Electric had released about three-quarters of the water -- which also came from the subdrains below reactors 5 and 6 -- by Wednesday night and had reduced its estimate of how much was being dumped from the treatment facility. But the discharge, which Japanese officials called an emergency measure, drew protests from neighboring South Korea and enraged the country's fishermen.

The emergency discharge equates to about five swimming pools, compared to "about 300 trillion swimming pools of water" that fill the Pacific Ocean, said Timothy Jorgensen, chairman of the radiation safety committee at Georgetown University Medical Center.

And of course, that more leaks may well be discovered, which is quite true.