Fukushima: Bad news in 2012

So far only bad news in 2012 around the crippled reactors of Fukushima. (1) Japanese scientists are still baffled about the whereabouts of the nuclear melted core material. The search for the highly radioactive core material is indeed a tricky one. In Chernobyl, the so called "elephant's foot" the congealed and melted portion of reactor material and fuel rods was only discovered months after the reactor catastrophe(2). Experts in Japan are now trying to find the location of the meltdowns by using x-ray technology. However high doses of radiation continue to be measured at the site of the reactor. During an endoscopic video mission when workers inserted a camera into the reactor core, the Olympus camera had tremendous problems to keep the images clear: Radiation was even visible on the film(3), a phenomenon which was also observed in some film reels shot in Chernobyl. The camera used for the "reactor endoscopic" was built to withstand radiation up to 1000Sv. Steam in the containment vessel of the reactor and high radiation levels limited the clarity of the images, but they raise the possibility that melted fuel at the bottom of the vessel may not be adequately covered by water, according to nuclear experts. TEPCO officials had calculated that the water level in the No. 2 reactor was about 4.5 meters, but the endoscope was lowered for inspection work within the reactor about 4 meters from the vessel bottom, and the water level could not be confirmed. TEPCO officials said it appeared likely that the water level was less than 4 meters from the bottom. TEPCO had stated that it believed some of the nuclear fuel in the reactor had melted and fallen to the bottom of the containment vessel, but the endoscope did not capture images of it. A thermometer was attached to the endoscope and recorded a gas temperature near the lower half of the containment vessel of 44.7 degrees.(4) In other news it was the announcing of the Japanese Government to nationalize TEPCO for at least 10 years. While this will definitely insure rapid payments and repairs for the victims of the nuclear disaster, the taxpayers of Japan will be likely the ones to pay in the end for the cleanup of the catastrophe.(5) The European "Stress Tests" overshadowed once again the situation in Japan. As TEPCO and the Japanese government and thousands of workers struggle to get the situation under control, little people outside of Japan do care about the growing insecurity and problems in the region.


The endoscopic camera inside of Fukushima-Daiichi Unit II

Sources:
(1) http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120120f1.html
(2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corium_%28nuclear_reactor%29#Chernobyl_accident
(3) http://fukushima-diary.com/2012/01/result-of-endoscope-operation-on-1192012/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+FukushimaDiary+%28Fukushima+Diary%29
(4) http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201201200044 (5) http://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFL3E8CK3MG20120121?sp=true Picture: Asahi

News from Fukushima & Chernobyl

New scientific reports from Fukushima talk about at least 1 nuclear explosion in Unit III at the Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.
http://babelfish.yahoo.com/translate_url?doit=done&tt=url&intl=1&fr=bf-home&trurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.zakzak.co.jp%2Fzakspa%2Fnews%2F20111213%2Fzsp1112130929001-n1.htm&lp=ja_en&btnTrUrl=Translate 
New evidence shows that the North American Hemisphere received important parts of the Fukushima fallout. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/02/opinion/magazine-global-agenda-enough-is-enough.html Expedition from South Carolina University to Chernobyl shows a high rate of mutations:

TEPCO's transparency action leaves more questions then answers

On Saturday 12th, TEPCO granted for the first time access to three dozen Japanese and international journalists, since the disaster in Fukushima-Daiichi NPP. TEPCO's publicity stunt to reassure the international press and public opinion backfires as it leaves more questions then answers. Journalists from Guardian, N.Y Times and the Telegraph report high levels of radiation as they approach the site op the Fukushima-Daiichi 1 Plant and report of skyrocketing radiation levels and chaos.
"Martin Fackler, the New York Times' Tokyo bureau chief, said the site was strewn with piles of rubble virtually untouched since the tsunami struck. He said: "There's debris all around where the reactors are – twisted metal, crumpled trucks, large water tanks that have been dented and bent. "You can see that this stuff has been strewn around and it has not been picked up and it's been there for eight months. "So I think that more than anything is a testament to how difficult a time they've had in trying to get those reactors under control." Radiation levels were still "very high", he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme." The reporters, mostly from the Japanese media, were accompanied by the environment minister, Goshi Hosono, who is in charge of the clean-up operation. They were not allowed near the reactor buildings. "I think it's remarkable that we've come this far," Hosono said. "The situation at the beginning was extremely severe. At least we can say we have overcome the worst." Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco), which runs the plant, has succeeded in bringing down the temperatures at the three damaged reactors from levels considered dangerous. "From the data at the plant that I have seen, there is no doubt that the reactors have been stabilised," Masao Yoshida, the chief of Fukushima Daiichi plant, told the reporters. But while it was now possible for workers to enter the reactor buildings, Yoshida said conditions for those working there remained dangerous. Tepco hopes to complete a "cold shutdown" – when temperatures are stable below boiling point – of the damaged reactors by the end of the year. But Hosono warned it could take more than 30 years to completely decommission the plant. Hiroaki Koide, a nuclear physicist at Kyoto University, said he doubted the decommissioning process will go as smoothly as the government hopes. He said pools for spent fuel remain highly volatile, and cleaning up the three reactor cores that melted down due to a failure of the cooling systems will be a huge challenge. "Nobody knows where exactly the fuel is, or in what condition," he said. "The reactors will have to be entombed in a sarcophagus, with metal plates inserted underneath to keep it watertight. But within 25 to 30 years, when the cement starts decaying, that will have to be entombed in another layer of cement. It's just like Russian Matryoshka dolls, one inside the other." (via guardian.co.uk)

The devastation and power of the explosions of reactor 3 are now revealed as Japanese and International journalists shoot images of it during the 1-hour trip inside the Fukushima complex: The next pictures show Reactor 3 as it is today: crippled and leaking massive amounts of radioactivity.

Fackler continues: "Finally, we got our first proper look at the damaged reactor buildings. No 1 was covered by a new superstructure, No 2 was intact. No 2 was in worst shape: it was a skeletal frame, largely collapsed into a pile of rubble. I spotted three cranes clearing up rubble at No 3, in preparation for also capping off that building with a superstructure. No. 4 was also severely damaged. The building was intact, but it had clearly buckled, with concrete slabs blown out. The entire south side of the building was blown out, exposing the green crane for spent fuel rod pool. At this point, around 1,640 feet from the reactors, I stopped to check my radiation reader: 50 microsieverts per hour" Fackler later states that his the instruments showed readings up to 300 mS/h. As a reference a German NPP worker should not be exposed to more than 400 m/S per year meaning that at this hotspot you would get your yearly dosis in little more than an hour. Japanese and International Press remain very skeptical towards the management of the crisis in Fukushima.

Sources:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/8886466/Eyewitness-report-inside-the-wreckage-of-Japans-Fukushima-nuclear-reactor.html
http://enenews.com/ny-times-reporter-detects-300-microsieverts-per-hour-while-on-bus http://www.cbsnews.com/2300-202_162-10010212-10.html?tag=img
Pictures: Guardian.co.uk: (c) Kyodo via AP-Images & Getty via CBS

Fukushima - Hotspots throughout Japan

Explosions carry radioactive radionuclide far away. Throughout Japan, places of intense radioactivity are discovered, the so called "hotspots". The following reports show how problematic the situation really is, a report by Al Jazzera and a private measurment near Koriyama, 60km away from Fukushima. (Allowed yearly dose in Japan 20mSv/h)





 +++News 7.11.2011+++ More signs of radiation sickness and symptomes in young children:

 Nov. 7 — “A survey shows that some children in Fukushima Prefecture have smaller average weight gains this year compared to the year before. A pediatrician says the results indicate the negative effects of the nuclear plant accident in March,” reports NHK. “Doctor Shintaro Kikuchi tracked the weights of 245 children aged from 4 to 6 in 2 kindergartens in Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture. The results show an average weight increase of 0.81 kilograms over the past year through June. The increase for children in the same age group the previous year was 3.1 kilograms.”

Fukushima 8 Months Later

N.B for the English Article scroll down

Seit mehreren Tagen liest man in der Presse wieder vermehrt Berichte über den havarierten Atommeiler in Fukushima. In der Tat hat sich die Situation in Japan weiterhin verschlechtert. Die wohl am häufigsten gebrachte Nachricht der letzten Tage, Xenon-Gase seien in der Nähe des Kraftwerkes gemessen worden bestätigen somit die monatelange Befürchtung internationaler Experten: Es gibt eine unkontrollierbare Kernspaltung womöglich sogar in mehreren Reaktoren des beschädigten Kraftwerkes. Was bedeutet dies konkret: Xenon 133 und 135 sind radioaktive Gase die bei einer Kernspaltung freigesetzt werden. Die Halbwertzeit dieser Elemente sind zwar recht kurz von mehreren Stunden bis ein paar Tage, jedoch kann eine unkontrollierte Kettenreaktion zu weiteren Explosionen oder Freisetzung von noch mehr radioaktivem Material führen. Die Situation ist also somit sehr angespannt. Die Betreiberfirma Tepco pumpt weiterhin Borsäure in die havarierten Reaktoren um die unkontrollierte Kernspaltung zu stoppen. Neuesten Berichten zufolge bringt dies jedoch recht wenig, gegen Abend des 3. Novembers (Tokioter Zeit) entweicht weiterhin Xenon Gas aus dem havarierten Reaktor. Bei Tepco rechnet man nicht mehr vor Ende des Jahres damit die Kernspaltung unter Kontrolle zu bekommen. Doch immer mehr Studien werden in Japan publiziert mit teils dramatischen Ergebnissen: Dr. Masimichi Nishio, Kinderarzt und Leiter der nordjapanischen "Hokkaido Cancer Center" kennt das Problem: Zwischen 1995 und 2005 betreute er Kinder aus der Evakuierungszone von Tschernobyl und kommt zu der Schlussfolgerung, dass die Symptome bei japanischen Kindern ähnlich sind: Nasenbluten, Halsschmerzen, Müdigkeit, Durchfall geschwollene Lymphknoten, unerträgliche Kopf- und Bauchschmerzen. Auch die Fälle akuter Leukämie häufen sich an. Dr. Nishio verurteilt die japanische Regierung die weiterhin behauptet diese Symptome stammen von ganz normalen saisonalen Erkältungen. Weitere Symptome sind das Anschwellen der Augen, welches auch in Tschernobyl bei Mensch und Tieren beobachtet werden konn(t)en. Das folgende Bild zeigt das angeschwollene Auge einer Katze in Japan, nahe Fukushima.

Due to numerous requests, every article I publish on Fukushima will also feature an English translation








 8 months after the Fukushima-Daiichi the situation in Japan still worsens: New measurements confirm the presence of Xenon 135 & 133 gazes. Xenon is only generated during nuclear fission, proving thus that there is an uncontrolled nuclear chain reaction going on in at least 2 reactors. On November 2nd, Tepco workers tried to stop the reaction by injection boric acid fluid into the reactor core, but haven't succeeded to cool down or stop the reaction. As the workers still struggle to gain control over the crippled reactors, Japanese pediatricians are very concerned about the rising number of acute leukemia cases and rising number of radiation sickness & poisonings. Dr. Nishio, Director of the Hokkaido Cancer Center is criticizing the Japanese government for not acting "appropriately". Japanese Health officials and the Ministry of Health state that symptoms such as diarrhea, paleness, headaches, swollen lymph notes, nose bleeds are merely signs of colds and not the radiation sickness. Dr. Nishio is renowned pediatrician and knows the subject of children exposed to radioactivity very well: Between 1995 and 2005 he travelled numerous times to the exclusion zone of Chernobyl and studied the effect of radiation on kids. More and more Japanese doctors are talking about swollen eyes, a typical symptom that can be observed when the thyroid has been exposed to huge amounts of radioactivity. (check picture of cat from Fukushima Prefecture) Kittens with swollen eyes in Fukushima Prefecture) 
Katze aus der Evakuierungszone zeigen haben angeschwollene Augen, ein akutes Zeichen, dass die Schilddrüse radioakivem Material ausgesetzt ist.



 Dr. Nishio from the Hokkaido Cancer Center shares his views:

 

Leserbrief: Fukushima 5 Monate danach

Fukushima 5 Monate danach

Fünf Monate nach dem Supergau im Fukushima-Daiichi Kraftwerk findet man in der Presse immer weniger Berichte über den havarierten Atommeiler. Dies bedeutet jedoch keinesfalls, dass man Entwarnung geben kann, ganz im Gegenteil die Lage in Japan ist dramatisch. Die Betreiberfirma TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power Company) verschweigt und verschönert Presseberichte, veröffentlicht nur zaghaft Fotos und Videos vom havarierten Reaktor. Die Pressebulletins von TEPCO enthalten/plakatieren meistens gut organisierte Aufräumarbeiten. Die inoffiziellen Fotos, die durch Aufräumarbeiter den sogenannte “Liquidatoren” nach außen gelangen zeigen jedoch ein ganz anderes Bild: Hektisch installierte Pumpen, improvisierte Kontroll- und Schlafräume für Arbeiter keine 50 Meter vom Reaktorkern entfernt usw. Das Krisenmanagement in Fukushima ist desaströs, Im direkten Vergleich zwischen Fukushima und Tschernobyl wirkt das sowjetische Krisenmanagement makabererweise schon fast exemplarisch. Seit mehr als 3 Wochen “vermisst” TEPCO knapp 200 Arbeiter und Liquidatoren. Ja genau, TEPCO behauptet diese seien spurlos verschwunden. Es handelt sich hierbei um « Liquidatoren » die in den ersten Wochen nach der Katastrophe im März und April angeheuert wurden, viele von ihnen waren Obdachlose, Verurteilte oder Außenseiter, kurz: Menschen die wohl keiner wirklich vermissen würde. Die Meldung, dass TEPCO im April sozial benachteiligte Menschen für Aufräumarbeiten einstellte sorgte damals noch für einen weltweiten Sturm der Entrüstung. Die logische Schlussfolgerung dieser Schandtat wird jedoch von uns allen lieber verdrängt.

TEPCO und die japanische Regierung verschleiern und vertuschen das Ausmaß der Katastrophe: Messungen werden hemmungslos zensiert oder später dementiert. Die richtigen Zahlen, die von Wissenschaftlern veröffentlicht werden, werden totgeschwiegen und kommen nicht bei der Bevölkerung Japans an. Universitäten und Technische Institute in Japan ermitteln mittlerweile eigene Werte. Das Ziel der japanischen Akademiker besteht darin, eine detaillierte und für die Bevölkerung einfach verständliche Kartographie der Radioaktivität herzustellen: Einer von ihnen ist Dr. Shinzo Kimura, Strahlenforscher und spezialisiert in Strahlenhygiene von der Hokkaido University. Als er sich im März wenige Tage nach dem Supergau nach Fukushima begab, konnte er bereits im einer Entfernung von 50km vor dem Kraftwerk erschreckend hohe Jod-131 Werte feststellen. Obwohl Jod-131 nur eine “Halbwertzeit” (die Zeit die ein “Radionuklid” braucht um seine Aktivität und Menge durch Zerfall zu halbieren) von etwas mehr als 8 Tagen hat, handelt es sich um ein sehr krebserregendes(Schilddrüsenkrebs) Isotop was bei Kernschmelzen in riesigen Mengen gemeinsam mit Jod-133 freigesetzt wird. Später wies Dr. Kimura in bewohnten Landstrichen noch Plutonium, Neptunium und Caesium in so hoher Konzentration nach, dass man bei einem gleichen Wert in der damaligen Sowjetunion sofort evakuiert hätte. Andere Gegenden zeigten Kontaminierungen von über 300 Mikrosievert pro Stunde, ein Wert der nicht einmal in einem der am stärksten kontaminierten Orte Tschernobyls gemessen wurde. (der sogenannte « Red Forrest » zu Deutsch : Roter Wald, ein 10km² großes Areal in dem die Bäume sich durch die hohe Radioaktivität rot-bräunlich verfärbten, bis dato eines der am meisten kontaminierten Plätze der Erde)
Gestern veröffentlichte die Universität Hiroshima unter der Leitung von Dr. Satoshi Tashiro eine Studie, in der man die Schilddrüsen von 1149 Kinder der Präfektur Fukushima analysierte: Das Urteil ist erschreckend: Bei über 47 % der Kinder wurden Werte von bis zu 35 Millisievert nachgewiesen. Optimistische Studien besagen, dass 100 Milisievert für einen Erwachsenen Menschen schädlich sind und zu Komplikationen führen kann.
Diese Beispiele illustrieren, wie dramatisch die Situation in Japan wirklich ist: Die Lage in dem havarierten Meiler ist noch immer nicht unter Kontrolle, und TEPCO gedenkt den Reaktor bis Ende des Jahres unter Kontrolle zu haben und dann mit dem Bau eines Sarkophages zu beginnen. Bis dahin entkommt die Radioaktivität noch tagtäglich aus den 4 havarierten Reaktorblöcken.

Eine jedoch kaum zu überprüfende Mitteilung hat mich am meisten schockiert, die Twitternachricht einer japanischen Krankenschwester aus Sendai, in der Miyagi Präfektur: (frei übersetzt aus dem Englischen): „Wenn wir ihre Haare kämmen fallen ganze Haarbüschel heraus... ihre weißen Blutkörperchen sind verschwunden ... sie übergeben sich, und haben unerträgliche Kopfschmerzen... es kommen immer mehr Patienten mit diesen Symptomen zu uns…“ Obwohl man diese Mitteilung nicht überprüfen kann erinnert sie uns doch ganz stark an die Berichte aus den sowjetischen Krankenhäusern im April und Mai 1986. Auch wenn Fukushima momentan nicht so viel Resonanz in der Presse findet, ist und bleibt ein es ein Aktualitätsthema… und dies für die nächsten Dekaden.


Quellen und Linksammlung:
http://www.nuc.berkeley.edu/node/5131
http://enenews.com/first-time-plutonium-has-been-reported-outside-of-fukushima-plant
http://nuclear-news.net/2011/08/01/widespread-radiation-contamination-being-monitered-by-japanese-civilians/
http://enenews.com/45-kids-fukushima-survey-thyroid-exposure-radiation-50-millisieverts-year-equivalent-1-year
http://www.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/13_26.html
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/13_26.html

Disturbing Tweets from Japan

I have no idea and way of telling if this is the real deal but it sounds, at least to my ears plausible and comparable to what I have seen in the Exclusion Zone around Chernobyl and read about it: So I will repost this without having a 100% proof:

Tweets from Japan: “When we wash their hair, it comes off in a clump — It is really scary”
Saturday, August 13, 2011

ENENews.com
August 13th, 2011

Decrease in White Blood Cells, Headache, Nausea in a Hospital in Sendai City, Miyagi, EX-SKF, August 12, 2011:

Tweets from a nurse (my very good guess from her tweets) in a large hospital in Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture on August 10:
[Translation:]
Increasing number of patients with unexplainable decrease in white blood cells, headache, nausea. They are diagnosed for existing illness and undergo treatment, but they don’t respond to the treatment at all. I’ve seen those cases in my hospital. I’m not saying they are all because of the radiation exposure, but I’m telling you what I’m seeing.
[Translation:]
When we wash their hair, it comes off in a clump. It is really scary. The doctor says, “I really wonder why the white blood cell count is down…” Doctor, don’t be so relaxed about it. There is going to be more and more people who don’t respond to treatment.


Take this 1hr 30min. documentary by the Japanese TV Channel NHK and share it !


Tepco still denies knowing anything about the whereabouts of nearly 200 nuclear liquidators... Most likely their bodies where dumped somewhere around Fukushima Power Plant in waste dumps.


Tokyo Electric's lax worker management found

The operator of the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has failed to confirm the whereabouts of 198 workers who are believed to have worked at the plant since the nuclear disaster started.

Criticizing the operator's lax personnel management, the health ministry has instructed Tokyo Electric Power Company to identify the workers and have those workers
checked for radiation exposure tests by next Friday.

In a report submitted to the ministry on Wednesday, the company admits that it has failed so far to confirm the whereabouts of the 198 workers, who are on the name-list of workers at the plant between March and April.

The company also reports that it has conducted radiation exposure tests on 8,338 workers, but still has to test more than 1,500 workers, including the 198.

The utility had reported last Wednesday that the number of missing was 132.

The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency is also investigating the case because if it is proven that some of these workers were hired by the company without their identities being confirmed, it could constitute a violation of anti-terrorism legislation.

Thursday, July 21, 2011 07:31 +0900 (JST)
Copyright NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation)