Meltdown in Japan's Reactors (1 Viewer)

[David Dodds]

Contaminated milk showing up all over....All over where? The Northern part of Japan? Malaysia? Indo-China? I didn't know that Japan was a prime dairy producer for the world.

I am not keeping an exact list, but many US cities are reporting milk at 200 to 300% the levels mandated for drinking water. And yes I know those levels won't kill us (as there are huge factors of safety built in). This is consistent with the radioactive rain that was coming down the last week.But the overwhelming issues are clearly in Japan.

 

[Giant Wooden Badger]

Officially a 7 on the 7 point scale now.

http://www.washingto...FEND_story.html

A level 7 accident, according to the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale, is typified by a "major release of radioactive material with widespread health and environmental effects."

Previously only Chernobyl had been given a 7 rating. The 1979 Three Mile Island nuclear accident in Pennsylvania was rated a level 5 incident.

According to Kyodo, Japan’s Nuclear Safety Commission reported Monday that the plant, at one point after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, had been releasing 10,000 terabecquerels of radioactivity per hour. The report did not specify when those radiation readings occurred. A release of tens of thousands of terabecquerels per hour, though, correspondents with the radiation leakage level that the IAEA uses as a minimum benchmark for a level 7 accident.

“This corresponds to a large fraction of the core inventory of a power reactor, typically involving a mixture of short- and long-lived radionuclides,” an IAEA document says. “With such a release, stochastic health effects over a wide area, perhaps involving more than one country, are expected.”

Congrats, I guess.

 

[Phase of the Game]

Contaminated milk showing up all over....All over where? The Northern part of Japan? Malaysia? Indo-China? I didn't know that Japan was a prime dairy producer for the world.

I am not keeping an exact list, but many US cities are reporting milk at 200 to 300% the levels mandated for drinking water. And yes I know those levels won't kill us (as there are huge factors of safety built in). This is consistent with the radioactive rain that was coming down the last week.

You should provide a link with factual data about this instead of a broad statement that "contaminated milk is showing up all over". What cities are you referring to?http://in.ibtimes.com/articles/128867/20110331/fda-radiation-milk.htm

The FDA found small amounts of radiation in a sample batch of milk from Spokane, Washington. The level, however, was 5,000 times lower than the Derived Intervention Level set by the FDA. People - including infants and children -- who drank this barely contaminated milk will be fine; undergoing medical x-rays, especially extensive ones like a full-body CT scan, will actually expose individuals to much more radiation than drinking the milk. In Tokyo, radiation leakages and poisoning in food and tap water are legitimate concerns due to the city's proximity to the leaking power plants. In the US, however, such fears are overblown.

 

[David Dodds]

Officially a 7 on the 7 point scale now.

http://www.washingto...FEND_story.html

A level 7 accident, according to the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale, is typified by a "major release of radioactive material with widespread health and environmental effects."

Previously only Chernobyl had been given a 7 rating. The 1979 Three Mile Island nuclear accident in Pennsylvania was rated a level 5 incident.

According to Kyodo, Japan's Nuclear Safety Commission reported Monday that the plant, at one point after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, had been releasing 10,000 terabecquerels of radioactivity per hour. The report did not specify when those radiation readings occurred. A release of tens of thousands of terabecquerels per hour, though, correspondents with the radiation leakage level that the IAEA uses as a minimum benchmark for a level 7 accident.

"This corresponds to a large fraction of the core inventory of a power reactor, typically involving a mixture of short- and long-lived radionuclides," an IAEA document says. "With such a release, stochastic health effects over a wide area, perhaps involving more than one country, are expected."

Congrats, I guess.

I am not looking for congrats. This sucks beyond words for the people of Japan. I started this thread and stayed on topic because to me it seemed like the story was purposely being downplayed by the Japan government, TEPCO and the nuclear industry. This is a big deal and far from over.

 

[Raiderfan32904]

Contaminated milk showing up all over....All over where? The Northern part of Japan? Malaysia? Indo-China? I didn't know that Japan was a prime dairy producer for the world.

I am not keeping an exact list, but many US cities are reporting milk at 200 to 300% the levels mandated for drinking water. And yes I know those levels won't kill us (as there are huge factors of safety built in). This is consistent with the radioactive rain that was coming down the last week.But the overwhelming issues are clearly in Japan.

"radioactive rain", can this be proven? Is there is definitive link to 200 to 300% of levels of ______. Sorry, but levels of what, radiation? (I am assuming) being measured.

 

[David Dodds]

You should provide a link with factual data about this instead of a broad statement that "contaminated milk is showing up all over". What cities are you referring to?

I am going to pass on flushing this out. Milk containing low levels of radiation in the US is pretty much a non-story compared to what is happening in Japan.

 

[Giant Wooden Badger]

I am not looking for congrats. This sucks beyond words for the people of Japan. I started this thread and stayed on topic because to me it seemed like the story was purposely being downplayed by the Japan government, TEPCO and the nuclear industry. This is a big deal and far from over.

Of course it does. But the thread stopped being about that a long time ago.

 

[culdeus]

Have they given Dodds the Nobel prize yet?

 

[St. Louis Bob]

You should provide a link with factual data about this instead of a broad statement that "contaminated milk is showing up all over". What cities are you referring to?

I am going to pass on flushing this out. Milk containing low levels of radiation in the US is pretty much a non-story compared to what is happening in Japan.

Call me crazy, but my family sweats the extra 1% fat free in our milk, so forgive me if I insist that we go for radiation free if we have that option. Of course, we don't.

Done to death IMO.

 

[culdeus]

http://ca.news.yahoo...041822-802.html

Just not liking the smell test on the whole thing... Unlike Chernobyl, which dealt with radiation that was released into the air, Fukushima's sea component really troubles me. First of all, "experts" first concluded that Uranium is too heavy to be carried into the jet stream, and yet traces have been found on the West Coast of the USA... So is it not reasonable to assume that massive quantities of radioactive water containing these isotopes will permeate the global currents?

Anaheim California 0.87 (pCi/m3) Iodine 131 U-234 0.000044 pCi/m3 according to EPA study...

http://www.epa.gov/r...ilter-final.pdf

Now we have this new particle, Strontium (known to cause leukemia) found in Japan. Again, what if this is circulating in the ocean or in small amounts in the air... Again, it's my rudimentary understanding, but exposure to the heavier elements is cumulative and you don't need much to start mutation of cells... So you don't need to breath or eat much if it's circulating around.

Common sense would dictate that these elements floating in rather large concentrations from Japan and decaying slowly would put people at risk of randomly encountering these isotopes.

Or are we still in "don't worry about it" mode?

Seriously, what are you gonna do? Move to the moon? You are halfway around the world from this place.

 

[Otis]

Officially a 7 on the 7 point scale now.

http://www.washingto...FEND_story.html

A level 7 accident, according to the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale, is typified by a "major release of radioactive material with widespread health and environmental effects."

Previously only Chernobyl had been given a 7 rating. The 1979 Three Mile Island nuclear accident in Pennsylvania was rated a level 5 incident.

According to Kyodo, Japan’s Nuclear Safety Commission reported Monday that the plant, at one point after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, had been releasing 10,000 terabecquerels of radioactivity per hour. The report did not specify when those radiation readings occurred. A release of tens of thousands of terabecquerels per hour, though, correspondents with the radiation leakage level that the IAEA uses as a minimum benchmark for a level 7 accident.

“This corresponds to a large fraction of the core inventory of a power reactor, typically involving a mixture of short- and long-lived radionuclides,” an IAEA document says. “With such a release, stochastic health effects over a wide area, perhaps involving more than one country, are expected.”

Congrats, I guess.

 

[David Dodds]

For people interested in the US readings, this guy seems to have the best report going:

http://blogs.forbes.com/jeffmcmahon/2011/04/09/radiation-detected-in-drinking-water-in-13-more-us-cities-cesium-137-in-vermont-milk/

 

[Otis]

You should provide a link with factual data about this instead of a broad statement that "contaminated milk is showing up all over". What cities are you referring to?

I am going to pass on flushing this out. Milk containing low levels of radiation in the US is pretty much a non-story compared to what is happening in Japan.

Call me crazy, but my family sweats the extra 1% fat free in our milk, so forgive me if I insist that we go for radiation free if we have that option. Of course, we don't.

Done to death IMO.

 

[Otis]

"Radioactive rain" just sounds made up.

 

[Otis]

I know they've tried lots of different fixes here, but has anyone considered having Ham challenge the leaking radiation to a rap battle?

 

[siffoin]

For people interested in the US readings, this guy seems to have the best report going:

http://blogs.forbes.com/jeffmcmahon/2011/04/09/radiation-detected-in-drinking-water-in-13-more-us-cities-cesium-137-in-vermont-milk/

"Boise has seen the highest concentrations of radioactive isotopes in rain so far"####!!! I live here. Next season that smurf turf is really gonna glow.

Pic of BSU fans.

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://lh3.ggpht.com/kaushik810/SHs5HSlWfEI/AAAAAAAACNA/3hPHR-eQ1JU/watching-nuclear-explosion%2520%284%29_thumb%255B2%255D.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.amusingplanet.com/2008/07/how-to-watch-nuclear-explosion.html&usg=__Dt0M3hwneiqdgTpeXkBdLZATWu0=&h=337&w=500&sz=60&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=U1a9xQKgrH5BTM:&tbnh=139&tbnw=194&ei=DmukTfimA-bUiALHpazXCA&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dwatching%2Bnuclear%2Btests%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26hs%3DAk0%26sa%3DX%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-USfficial%26biw%3D1280%26bih%3D854%26tbm%3Disch%26prmd%3Divns&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=129&vpy=85&dur=20&hovh=184&hovw=274&tx=148&ty=95&oei=9WqkTYDQO4b2swP8s4n6DA&page=1&ndsp=30&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0

 

[Arizona Ron]

For people interested in the US readings, this guy seems to have the best report going:http://blogs.forbes.com/jeffmcmahon/2011/04/09/radiation-detected-in-drinking-water-in-13-more-us-cities-cesium-137-in-vermont-milk/

Was anyone testing for this before Fukushima? How do we know it's from Fukushima? The US has 100+ reactors, how do we know it's not coming from one of them?

 

[Rohn Jambo]

You should provide a link with factual data about this instead of a broad statement that "contaminated milk is showing up all over". What cities are you referring to?

I am going to pass on flushing this out. Milk containing low levels of radiation in the US is pretty much a non-story compared to what is happening in Japan.

Call me crazy, but my family sweats the extra 1% fat free in our milk, so forgive me if I insist that we go for radiation free if we have that option. Of course, we don't.

I stopped buying milk, cheese and yogurt, but i'm doomed because it is impossible for me to drink black coffee.

 

[Rohn Jambo]

For people interested in the US readings, this guy seems to have the best report going:http://blogs.forbes.com/jeffmcmahon/2011/04/09/radiation-detected-in-drinking-water-in-13-more-us-cities-cesium-137-in-vermont-milk/

The 92 for Boston rain water has got to be a mistake. Why is it so much higher than everyone else besides Boise?

 

[3C's]

For people interested in the US readings, this guy seems to have the best report going:http://blogs.forbes.com/jeffmcmahon/2011/04/09/radiation-detected-in-drinking-water-in-13-more-us-cities-cesium-137-in-vermont-milk/

Was anyone testing for this before Fukushima? How do we know it's from Fukushima? The US has 100+ reactors, how do we know it's not coming from one of them?

The calls are coming from inside the house!

 

[Rohn Jambo]

It rained again today.

 

[Rohn Jambo]

Geologists say the frequency of the aftershocks has declined since March 11 and will continue to decline, but will still remain higher than normal for a long time. “There is an increased frequency and it will last for at least five or ten years,” said Ross S. Stein, a geophysicist at the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park, Calif., who has studied the situation in Japan.

 

[Sand]

There was a great webinar I watched yesterday from a guy at Hanford. Really goes into what is causing the mess (reactor 2). Also goes into what species are out there and how the levels have been doing. Luckily they are going down significantly. And luckily the major component of radioactivity, the iodine isotope, has a half life of 8 days. It will recede into the background pretty quickly.

 

[bueno]

Comparing this nuclear incident to Chernobyl shows how arbitrary the rating system really is. The Japanese releases are 1/10 of that of Chernobyl, plus the radiation is released to seawater where it is carried away from population zones rather than across densely populated areas as Chernobyl radiation was. Hardly comparable.

Plus the amount of radiation showing up in rainwater and milk is measured in picocuries. One trillionth of a curie. Call me when the radiation measurements are a million times higher and I'll be concerned. For those of you who care more about science than sensationalism, a nanocurie (one billionth of a curie) is about what you get in consumer products. A picocurie is background radiation. Because we can detect it because of its unique signature doesn't mean it is dangerous. When it gets to a millicurie, (1,000,000,000 what we are detecting now). I'll be concerned.

Obviously I wouldn't eat shellfish fron adjacent intertidal zones, nor go swimming in the drywell, but the actual measurements are not alarming.

 

[David Dodds]

Radiation Readings in Fukushima Reactor Rise to Highest Since Crisis Began

http://www.bloomberg...nce-crisis.html

Two robots sent into the reactor No. 1 building at the plant yesterday took readings as high as 1,120 millisierverts of radiation per hour, Junichi Matsumoto, a general manager at Tokyo Electric Power Co., said today. That's more than four times the annual dose permitted to nuclear workers at the stricken plant.

 

[Topes]

Radiation Readings in Fukushima Reactor Rise to Highest Since Crisis Began

http://www.bloomberg...nce-crisis.html

Two robots sent into the reactor No. 1 building at the plant yesterday took readings as high as 1,120 millisierverts of radiation per hour, Junichi Matsumoto, a general manager at Tokyo Electric Power Co., said today. That's more than four times the annual dose permitted to nuclear workers at the stricken plant.

Today Tepco announced radiation readings of up to 4,000 millisieverts per hour at reactor No. 1 -- the highest air radiation yet at that reactor, according to Japan Times. This follows video of steam rising from the reactor floor.

Once power is available to re-enable cooling, the situation will be brought under control in short order thereafter.

Japan nuclear crisis unlikely to be contained by year's end

 

[Dinsy Ejotuz]

Shocking. Who could have known that the authorities were withholding key information downplaying the extent of the damage?

 

[Slapdash]

Shocking. Who could have known that the authorities were withholding key information downplaying the extent of the damage?

 

[Topes]

Michio Kaku hates America.

 

[Sinn Fein]

Michio Kaku hates America.

sounds like he hates Japan

 

[SofaKings]

Mad Max times yet?

 

[soothsayer]

Lethal Radiation found at Fukushima

 

[Dr. Awesome]

Lethal Radiation found at Fukushima

Not a big deal. /bueno

 

[Otis]

BREAKING NEWS: IT'S DANGEROUS INSIDE A NUCLEAR POWER PLANT WHERE THERE WAS A REACTOR LEAK

Have they closed Japan yet?

 

[PinkydaPimp]

BREAKING NEWS: IT'S DANGEROUS INSIDE A NUCLEAR POWER PLANT WHERE THERE WAS A REACTOR LEAKHave they closed Japan yet?

BTW Japan is AWESOME! took my first trip a month ago!

 

[Topes]

Officials of the Japanese government have admitted there was a pattern of concealing information, denying known facts, even of releasing data that were modified to achieve more politically expedient outcomes, even as the nation and the world were waiting for a thorough and serious crisis response. The government reportedly withheld crucial modeling projections from the System for Prediction of Environmental Emergency Dose Information, also known as SPEEDI.

======================================================

"In June, it was revealed that tellurium 132, an isotope that indicates a meltdown has occurred, was detected on the second day of the crisis, but the readings were kept from the public for three months."

So, I guess the whole "meltdown or not?" debate was pointless.

 

[BobbyLayne]

Good friends from Tokyo are coming into town a week from today, staying for a week.

Any pro tips on where to find an inexpensive yet reliable Geiger counter?

 

[coyote5]

Good friends from Tokyo are coming into town a week from today, staying for a week.Any pro tips on where to find an inexpensive yet reliable Geiger counter?

I recommend storing them in your lead lined fallout shelter for the duration of the visit.

 

[Topes]

All this over a couple bananas.

 

[dickey moe]

SHUT IT DOWN

 

[Topes]

Busted for trying to evade overly burdensome government regulations. Can't they just practice their love in peace..?

 

[Sheriff66]

http://www.asheepnomore.net/2013/08/you-wont-believe-whats-going-on-at.html

Tepco Has No Idea How to Stabilize the Reactors
You’ve heard bad news about Fukushima recently.
But it’s worse than you know.
The Wall Street Journal notes that radiation levels outside the plant are likely higher than inside the reactor:
NRA [Nuclear Regulation Authority] officials said highly contaminated
water
may be leaking into the soil from a number of trenches, allowing the waterto seep into the site’s groundwater and eventually into the ocean.
***
Both radioactive substances are considered harmful to health. An NRA official said Monday that the very high levels were
likely to be even higher than those within the reactor units themselves
.
***
It was by far the highest concentration of radioactivity detected since soon after Japan’s March 2011 earthquake and tsunami ….

 

[Slapdash]

http://www.asheepnomore.net/2013/08/you-wont-believe-whats-going-on-at.html

Tepco Has No Idea How to Stabilize the Reactors
You’ve heard bad news about Fukushima recently.
But it’s worse than you know.
The Wall Street Journal notes that radiation levels outside the plant are likely higher than inside the reactor:
NRA [Nuclear Regulation Authority] officials said highly contaminated
water
may be leaking into the soil from a number of trenches, allowing the waterto seep into the site’s groundwater and eventually into the ocean.
***
Both radioactive substances are considered harmful to health. An NRA official said Monday that the very high levels were
likely to be even higher than those within the reactor units themselves
.
***
It was by far the highest concentration of radioactivity detected since soon after Japan’s March 2011 earthquake and tsunami ….

This thing still going on?

 

[Politician Spock]

http://www.asheepnomore.net/2013/08/you-wont-believe-whats-going-on-at.html

Tepco Has No Idea How to Stabilize the Reactors

You’ve heard bad news about Fukushima recently.

But it’s worse than you know.

The Wall Street Journal notes that radiation levels outside the plant are likely higher than inside the reactor:

NRA [Nuclear Regulation Authority] officials said highly contaminated watermay be leaking into the soil from a number of trenches, allowing the waterto seep into the site’s groundwater and eventually into the ocean.

***

Both radioactive substances are considered harmful to health. An NRA official said Monday that the very high levels were likely to be even higher than those within the reactor units themselves.

***

It was by far the highest concentration of radioactivity detected since soon after Japan’s March 2011 earthquake and tsunami ….

This thing still going on?

And why exactly would it end?

 

[Sheriff66]

http://www.asheepnomore.net/2013/08/you-wont-believe-whats-going-on-at.html

Tepco Has No Idea How to Stabilize the Reactors

You’ve heard bad news about Fukushima recently.

But it’s worse than you know.

The Wall Street Journal notes that radiation levels outside the plant are likely higher than inside the reactor:

NRA [Nuclear Regulation Authority] officials said highly contaminated watermay be leaking into the soil from a number of trenches, allowing the waterto seep into the site’s groundwater and eventually into the ocean.

***

Both radioactive substances are considered harmful to health. An NRA official said Monday that the very high levels were likely to be even higher than those within the reactor units themselves.

***

It was by far the highest concentration of radioactivity detected since soon after Japan’s March 2011 earthquake and tsunami ….

This thing still going on?

And why exactly would it end?

It's a nuclear disaster, it doesn't just go away in a few years...

 

[Slapdash]

http://www.asheepnomore.net/2013/08/you-wont-believe-whats-going-on-at.html

Tepco Has No Idea How to Stabilize the Reactors

You’ve heard bad news about Fukushima recently.

But it’s worse than you know.

The Wall Street Journal notes that radiation levels outside the plant are likely higher than inside the reactor:

NRA [Nuclear Regulation Authority] officials said highly contaminated watermay be leaking into the soil from a number of trenches, allowing the waterto seep into the site’s groundwater and eventually into the ocean.

***

Both radioactive substances are considered harmful to health. An NRA official said Monday that the very high levels were likely to be even higher than those within the reactor units themselves.

***

It was by far the highest concentration of radioactivity detected since soon after Japan’s March 2011 earthquake and tsunami ….

This thing still going on?

And why exactly would it end?

The media stopped talking about it...doesn't that mean it is over?

 

[Dinsy Ejotuz]

How long before the monsters reach San Francisco?

 

[FattyVM]

http://www.asheepnomore.net/2013/08/you-wont-believe-whats-going-on-at.html

Tepco Has No Idea How to Stabilize the Reactors

You’ve heard bad news about Fukushima recently.

But it’s worse than you know.

The Wall Street Journal notes that radiation levels outside the plant are likely higher than inside the reactor:

NRA [Nuclear Regulation Authority] officials said highly contaminated watermay be leaking into the soil from a number of trenches, allowing the waterto seep into the site’s groundwater and eventually into the ocean.

***

Both radioactive substances are considered harmful to health. An NRA official said Monday that the very high levels were likely to be even higher than those within the reactor units themselves.

***

It was by far the highest concentration of radioactivity detected since soon after Japan’s March 2011 earthquake and tsunami ….

This thing still going on?

And why exactly would it end?

It's a nuclear disaster, it doesn't just go away in a few years...

It does. It's called a half-life. The report is not likely true, if the nuclear material is not the most radioactive part of the findings than there is something wrong with 100 years of science since u-235 has a 703 thousand+ year half life.

 

[jsharlan]

Typical media scare tactics. They don't give you a single actual quote from a nuclear employee. They try to scare you with big numbers. 1 Curie = 3.7 x10^10 becquerels. So they found .025 Curie. I could wash my balls with this. They also try to scare you by giving you the activity instead of the dose rate. Because that is what you would really be concerned with and its much much smaller. This amount of activity is basically 9 mrem per hour if you were standing 5 feet from it. Ya that is absolutely nothing.

 

[jsharlan]

http://www.asheepnomore.net/2013/08/you-wont-believe-whats-going-on-at.html

Tepco Has No Idea How to Stabilize the Reactors

You’ve heard bad news about Fukushima recently.

But it’s worse than you know.

The Wall Street Journal notes that radiation levels outside the plant are likely higher than inside the reactor:

NRA [Nuclear Regulation Authority] officials said highly contaminated watermay be leaking into the soil from a number of trenches, allowing the waterto seep into the site’s groundwater and eventually into the ocean.

***

Both radioactive substances are considered harmful to health. An NRA official said Monday that the very high levels were likely to be even higher than those within the reactor units themselves.

***

It was by far the highest concentration of radioactivity detected since soon after Japan’s March 2011 earthquake and tsunami ….

This thing still going on?

And why exactly would it end?

It's a nuclear disaster, it doesn't just go away in a few years...

It does. It's called a half-life. The report is not likely true, if the nuclear material is not the most radioactive part of the findings than there is something wrong with 100 years of science since u-235 has a 703 thousand+ year half life.

uranium decays into other types of isotopes during fission. There are many different fission product daughters, but you don't start with U235 and end with U235.