Japan quakes

[[XC] Oj101]

poor government
here, have a cookie...
dont feel bad... its just a few dozen million people that depend on you... and its not like you are supposedly the elite of society, destined to lead and protect them...

Is YOUR government prepared for freak 15m waves? Armageddon? No? Why not? Because nobody saw this coming. Backup systems failed. Instead of sitting at home pointing out how you could've done it better, think about the people who have to make these decisions while their own houses may have been swept away - maybe even their families are missing. Would YOU be able to work under that pressure?

[Mad Pistol]

I've been surprised at the number of people that don't give a rats ass about japan right now, saying that it's their fault and their government is stupid.

Sorry, but if this happened to the US, we aren't prepared for something catastrophic like that either. You can never predict what nature is going to throw at you, and when it does, 9/10 times, it will throw you into a wall.

I feel very sorry for the Japanese people right now, but more importantly, I feel sorry for that think the Japanese government is to blame.

[Linchpin]

I have a feeling if this had happened to a country other than Japan the situation would be a million times worse than it is now. At the end of the day it's impossible to be 100% safe and protected from natural disasters like this no matter how many precautions and "plans" you draw up, it's not like the government has a magic wand that makes the country earthquake and tidal wave proof.

[NEOAethyr]

I forgot to add to my last post, another alt power src, vawts.
Vertical access wind turbines...


I fell sorry for the people that live in the prefecture area of the plant...
I don't blame anyone or the the gov.

I kinda worry about the decisions though.
I think the vegetation around the plant is screwed, the live stock if they have any there is screwed...
They should be 100 miles away at least, 150km, not 30km...
It would suck to be stuck in the 30k radius.

But I wonder about the us military..
What are they actually doing?

I figured they'de be evacuating the people around the plant area's...
If not then what was the point in sending over experts ?
You can't tell me it was an american's idea to spray water and turn on the pumps lol ...

One other thing, you might might notice the nhk global news seems to be on the defensive sometimes.
It doesn't mean the gov is hiding anything.
They would be defensive in this situation anyways.
If that even sounds right...

This whole thing is pretty bad.

I think sea barriers could work but they need proven design help from modeling.
I think the key could be to direct the water up and away from the barrier maybe... whatever.
The majority of the energy in the wave may be reverb and echo... maybe there's a way of dispersing it or using it...
I don't know.
But I wouldn't go as far as saying it's not doable economically in the future.

[Hornet331]

Didn't they say they increased levels to 150 a day or to ago now its 2000+

2000µSv/h = 2mSv/h, so its 75 times less then before.

[Vapor]

Let's keep discussion about policy (i.e., what people in charge "should" do) out of it. Also, not the place for opinions and direction of future/current Nuclear Power implementation. XS News Section is just not the place for that kind of discussion.

Thread is getting close to being closed....

[Dr_Swizz]

I found the following interview rather interesting:
http://rt.com/news/seismic-activity-earthquake-japan/
This might be of some interest too:
http://news.slashdot.org/story/11/03...ia-May-Be-Next

[saaya]

Is YOUR government prepared for freak 15m waves? Armageddon? No? Why not? Because nobody saw this coming. Backup systems failed. Instead of sitting at home pointing out how you could've done it better, think about the people who have to make these decisions while their own houses may have been swept away - maybe even their families are missing. Would YOU be able to work under that pressure?

That's a lot of words you put in my mouth there, Thx but I already had breakfast :P
I think you misunderstood me...
Never said any gov or myself could have handled it better...
I'm not upset about them failing, I'm upset over apologizing for it instead of reviewing what went wrong and how to do it better next time, and more importantly, how to do a better job right now... they apologize and continue doing the same thing...
How does that help any of the victims? Oh well my entire town has been washed away and all my friends and family are dead, but the government is sorry... so I'm alright, I don't feel bad and am confident about the future...

Good news, reactor3 pressure is supposedly stabilizing and they won't release gases for now
They probably don't want to because this is the reactor that contains plutonium if I remember correctly. So opening the valves would release at least some plutonium, which is extremely poisonous
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/20_23.html

[Neoclasiccl]

Reactor three does have Putonium and since it's supposed to be Plutonium-239 it's definately scary as it has a half-life of 24,200 years.

[dctokyo]

At a press conference with the Ministry of Defense, it was revealed that continued readings taken by helicopter above units 1-6 showed surface temperatures to be below 100 degrees. This is important data that reinforces the possibility that water is landing in the spent fuel pools and cooling the reactors. Unit 1 = 58C, unit 2= 35C, unit 3 = 62C, unit 4 = 42C, unit 5 = 24C and unit 6 =25C. 100 degrees C is the boiling point of water, so temperatures above this are dangerous because it means the water will evaporate and increase the risk of dry fuel rods – a dire situation that would release a lot of radiation.

Also
Japan's health ministry is urging the people of a village in Fukushima Prefecture not to drink the tap water, in which higher levels of radioactive materials were detected on Sunday. The Ministry says, however, that drinking it does not pose any immediate health risk.
Tap water tested at Iitate Village in Fukushima Prefecture showed more than triple the level of radiation allowed by the government.
The health ministry says 965 becquerels of iodine-131 were detected in the water, which is 3.2 times the standard. The legal standard is 300 becquerels per kilogram.
It says residents can use the water for washing and bathing, and that drinking it has no immediate effect on human health.
But as a precaution, the ministry has urged about 3700 residents of the village to avoid drinking the tap water.
On the matter of higher levels of radiation than the legal standard detected in vegetables produced in Gunma, Tochigi, and Chiba prefectures, the health ministry said these are not of levels that could affect one's health immediately.
Monday, March 21, 2011 09:55 +0900 (JST)

[dctokyo]

TEPCO cam at Fukushima

http://www.tepco.co.jp/nu/f1-np/camera/index-j.html

[saaya]

this is another thing the japanese government keeps doing wrong...
how are you ever going to get people to trust you if you keep saying: its safe, but dont drink it! its safe but dont eat it! its safe, but dont go outside! its safe, but please move to another city...
they keep contradicting themselves...

[saaya]

TEPCO cam at Fukushima

http://www.tepco.co.jp/nu/f1-np/camera/index-j.html

did they grey out the center or is there something weird stuck to the lense?

[dctokyo]

did they grey out the center or is there something weird stuck to the lense?

It looks OK now

[[XC] Oj101]

That's a lot of words you put in my mouth there, Thx but I already had breakfast :P
I think you misunderstood me...
Never said any gov or myself could have handled it better...
I'm not upset about them failing, I'm upset over apologizing for it instead of reviewing what went wrong and how to do it better next time, and more importantly, how to do a better job right now... they apologize and continue doing the same thing...
How does that help any of the victims? Oh well my entire town has been washed away and all my friends and family are dead, but the government is sorry... so I'm alright, I don't feel bad and am confident about the future...

Good news, reactor3 pressure is supposedly stabilizing and they won't release gases for now
They probably don't want to because this is the reactor that contains plutonium if I remember correctly. So opening the valves would release at least some plutonium, which is extremely poisonous
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/20_23.html

If reactor #3 is stabilizing they must be doing SOMETHING right. How do you know that nobody is reviewing this? Bad news sells, you aren't likely to see a headline JAPANESE NUCLEAR PHYSICISTS DISCOVER WAY TO AVOID FURTHER DISASTERS

Right now, after an unforeseen disaster, what CAN be done other than apologizing for people's losses? Nothing that can be said or done will bring back loved ones or memories built up at home - home is a collection of memories, not a building. I visited a house from my childhood with some of my fondest memories and didn't like it much; that's when I realized I miss the memories, not the brick and mortar.

I appreciate your posts, you bring a lot to the table in general but in this thread it feels like you're a nay-sayer

[[XC] Oj101]

Let's keep discussion about policy (i.e., what people in charge "should" do) out of it. Also, not the place for opinions and direction of future/current Nuclear Power implementation. XS News Section is just not the place for that kind of discussion.

Thread is getting close to being closed....

Please don't, this thread is saving me from visiting a hundred news sites every day

[vitaminc]

Please don't, this thread is saving me from visiting a hundred news sites every day

+1

[Neoclasiccl]

URGENT: Workers evacuate from tsunami-stricken nuclear complex after No. 3 reactor emits gray smoke

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/03...uclear-crisis/

[FlanK3r]

TEPCO cam at Fukushima

http://www.tepco.co.jp/nu/f1-np/camera/index-j.html

I dont see nothing

[wez]

URGENT: Workers evacuate from tsunami-stricken nuclear complex after No. 3 reactor emits gray smoke

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/03...uclear-crisis/

In short; Some smoke visible around the spent fuel rod storage. And no rise in radiation levels.

Fox...

[dctokyo]

I dont see nothing

Because it is night now

[Jamesrt2004]

URGENT: Workers evacuate from tsunami-stricken nuclear complex after No. 3 reactor emits gray smoke

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/03...uclear-crisis/

Lol.

Don't use fox. It's crap.

No extra radiation... And workers left as a precautionary measure..

[dctokyo]

URGENT: Workers evacuate from tsunami-stricken nuclear complex after No. 3 reactor emits gray smoke
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/03...uclear-crisis/

Fox news is not a good source of information IMHO


(Japan Broadcasting Corporation)
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/index.html

The grey smoke seen coming from the troubled No.3 reactor of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on Monday afternoon has subsided.
The plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, evacuated its workers from the plant shortly after 4 PM.
The government's nuclear safety agency said the smoke, which turned black and grey, subsided about 2 hours later.
It also said water levels and pressure inside the reactor have registered no major changes.
The smoke was apparently coming from the south edge of the reactor structure.
The storage pool for spent nuclear fuel is located in the southeast part of the structure.
Radiation levels at a spot about 500 meters northwest of the reactor were 2,015 microsieverts per hour, almost unchanged from the figure measured before the smoke was seen.
Work was under way to restore external power to the No.4 reactor and regain its cooling functions. The nuclear safety agency said the work is unlikely to have caused a fire.
Monday, March 21, 2011 19:35 +0900 (JST)

5 radioactive materials detected
Tokyo Electric Power Company says some of the nuclear fuel at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has apparently been damaged, as higher levels of radioactive materials have been detected in the vicinity.
The utility on Monday released the results of a radiation survey carried out at the plant on Saturday.
Officials detected in the air 5 radioactive materials that are generated by nuclear fission.
The level of iodine 131 was 5.9 milibecquerels per cubic centimeter. That's about 6 times the permissible level for workers without protective masks.
The density of the other substances was also higher than usual, but within safety standards.
The utility says the radiation is likely to have come from the damaged reactors, and added that it will check radiation levels daily.
The company also says it has no plan to halt efforts to restore power and pour water into reactors, as these activities pose no risk to workers as long as they wear protective masks.
Monday, March 21, 2011 19:35 +0900 (JST)

Govt posts radiation data
Japan's science ministry is publishing radiation levels monitored nationwide on its website, with the information also available in English, Korean and Chinese.
The ministry's website began showing the data on Saturday, with information updated twice a day.
The ministry is publishing levels of radiation and radioactive materials monitored on the ground, as well as in rain, tap water and the atmosphere.
The website also shows the science ministry's independent measurements of radiation near the disaster-stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
As of 7 PM Sunday, radiation readings were slightly higher than normal in Mito City, Ibaraki Prefecture, and Utsunomiya City, Tochigi Prefecture. But the ministry says the levels do not pose an immediate health hazard.
In Tokyo and six surrounding prefectures, trace amounts of radioactive iodine and cesium have been detected. Neither substance occurs naturally.
The information is available at: www.mext.go.jp
Monday, March 21, 2011 09:44 +0900 (JST)

[FlanK3r]

Because it is night now

thx, heh, im stupid :-)...

[MrToad]

Fox news is not a good source of information IMHO


(Japan Broadcasting Corporation)
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/index.html

At the moment I'm mostly relying on your sources dctokyo (and thanks again for keeping us "posted" )

Occasionally I check the BBC and Al-Jazeera (for a slightly different angle), but that's about it.

Although the crisis on the nuclear plant is serious is the scale of the human tragedy what's most harrowing...

Not only the death toll but also the hundreds of thousands displaced and those still within the exclusion zone , may it be be by choice (like some officials who stayed behind out of duty, integrity and conviction) or because they couldn't make it out.