«  
  »

Fears that storm’s deluge could spread radiation from ‘uncovered’ reactor buildings into air

Published: May 29th, 2011 at 11:17 pm ET
By ENENews
Email Article Email Article
46 comments





Deluge could spread Fukushima radiation, ABC Australia by Mark Willacy, May 30, 2011:

There are fears a tropical storm off the coast of Japan could wash radioactive material from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant into the air and sea. [...] the Fukushima area [is] forecast to experience a deluge.

The plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), has apologised for not being prepared for the bad weather. [...]

TEPCO and the Japanese government both fear contamination could be washed out of the uncovered reactor buildings.

Published: May 29th, 2011 at 11:17 pm ET
By ENENews
Email Article Email Article
46 comments





Related Posts

  1. Japan gov’t worried reactor buildings are in danger of collapse — “We must devise some ways” to reinforce structures despite high radiation April 13, 2011
  2. More Trouble: THIRD reactor at Fukushima to have salt water injected (Unit No. 2) March 13, 2011
  3. “Reactor 3 at the damaged Fukushima nuclear power station is leaking” — TEPCO says Cesium at 620,000 times above limit May 11, 2011
  4. Expert: Nuclear radiation could spread to U.S. — At least 3 nuclear facilities at risk March 13, 2011
  5. Foot-long piece of concrete emitting almost 1 Sievert/hour found near No. 3 reactor April 23, 2011
May 29th, 2011 | Tags: , , , , | Category: Fukushima Daiichi
«  
  »

46 comments to Fears that storm’s deluge could spread radiation from ‘uncovered’ reactor buildings into air

  • Aodhan
    May 29, 2011 at 11:42 pm

    I’m supposed to be in Newport Beach, CA in week or so. Does anyone know if need to take extra precautions down there? I don’t plan to drink the water…I assume buying distilled water is safest? What about the ocean? I assume it’s a toxic waste dump at this point and not safe to enter? What about even walking on the beach? What other precautions would be in order, or does it even matter at this point?

    Report Comment

    • Trish
      May 30, 2011 at 12:04 am

      I live here….numbers are good right now here due to winds blowing over Japan instead of our way…just don’t drink the milk and to be really cautious don’t eat fresh veggies etc..only because we had rain once that brought the radiation down into the ground and then cows ate grass and got into milk and in soil and some veggies may be contaminated. Also, water, just drink bottled, no one here drinks sink water..lol Water pre-disaster date is best…but honestly not sure where your from, but many other states are in worse shape food/milk wise probably due to rain. Our air may be worse at times, but we get less rain, less ground and water contamination. Sadly the EPA stopped testing food..so we are in the dark. Except UC Berekly doing some.

      Report Comment

      • Aodhan
        May 30, 2011 at 1:17 am

        Yeah, I quit drinking milk altogether after this disaster and got completely off dairy. I live in Utah at the present…I don’t think our position relative to the jet stream is the best and I live at nearly 6,000 ft MSL. I have no doubt it’s in our water as I have never seen the amount of Spring rain we got this year. It’s as though mother nature is trying to kill us…so it can’t be much worse in LA, maybe it’s better. What about the ocean though? Have they done any testing of the water there locally? Would I be swimming in plutonium and uranium at this point? Is it safe to even walk on the beach?

        Report Comment

      • Boodiba
        May 30, 2011 at 5:48 am

        Man what are people supposed to eat if they can’t eat fresh veggies? I’m in NYC and have gone from vegetarian to vegan since this all happened. I’m just glad I don’t have children and empathize with those who do…

        Report Comment

    • ocifferdave - Future Citizen of New Zealand?
      May 30, 2011 at 12:05 am

      Sounds like you have already given yourself good practical advice to practice. Practice all that you suggested and let us know how it went!

      Report Comment

  • hawkeye
    May 29, 2011 at 11:49 pm

    must be from another planet
    you you get me off this one,
    i would like to go to a planet thats like tahiti, same girls be ok too
    oh,thats before the french nuked the lagoon there

    Report Comment

  • hawkeye
    May 29, 2011 at 11:50 pm

    must be from another planet
    can you get me off this one,
    i would like to go to a planet thats like tahiti, same girls be ok too
    oh,thats before the french nuked the lagoon there

    Report Comment

  • hawkeye
    May 29, 2011 at 11:53 pm

    just another day at the amusment park

    Report Comment

  • ZP
    May 30, 2011 at 12:04 am

    I must say,
    I am not amused by this latest installment of trickle down horror, upon humankind.

    Since when have I not been observing [...] “spread radiation from ‘uncovered’ reactor buildings into air” [...]

    I like the “uncovered” part.

    Oh I am so grateful for this next spoonful bit of “logic!”

    Report Comment

  • confused californian
    May 30, 2011 at 12:29 am

    people say this is a ELE. well, how? is it because eventually we are all going to succumb to cancer from this? i don’t understand. i don’t want to watch a video describing, i would like to hear the views of a peer, somebody who is basically in the same boat as me which is just living off the scraps of information we are allowed. so, ELE because of cancer, or something else?

    Report Comment

    • ZP
      May 30, 2011 at 12:35 am

      I quote you’re phrase… [...]“we are all going to” [...]

      This expresses “total inclusion.”

      Report Comment

    • anne
      May 30, 2011 at 12:46 am

      Radiation causes a number of problems besides cancer. For example it damages the circulatory system so you could get a heart attack. See, e.g.,:
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acute_radiation_syndrome

      I personally do not know how much fallout will reach me from Japan at my location in the U.S. and if I will be at risk for acute radiation poisoning or long-term low dose radiation (already at risk because of all the home grown radiation from active nuclear power plants, storage of spent fuel, nuclear weapons plants and storage, fallout from nuclear testing and use of depleted uranium in on-going wars, uranium tailings from mines, exposure to cat scans, x-rays, airport scanning machines, second-hand cigarette smoke, radiation from the sun, nuclear power plant accidents, etc.).

      Read the book on Chernobyl, research online articles.

      Report Comment

    • anne
      May 30, 2011 at 12:50 am

      If all mammals face mutations and genetic damage at birth or severe disabilities, there won’t be another generation.

      Report Comment

    • DuckNCover
      May 30, 2011 at 12:51 am

      This is not an ELE…so relax. Not that is not to say this is not bad. I would not eat anything from Japan.

      Report Comment

      • Pu239
        May 30, 2011 at 1:44 am

        Could be, if the corium hits the water table and explodes.
        ———————————–
        I haven’t heard confirmation of the following theory, so take it with a grain of sodium chloride:

        http://www.godlikeproductions.com/forum1/message1487468/pg1

        Fortunately the movie version of “China Syndrome” is not within the realm of reality; unfortunately the worst case scenario is actually much worst.

        Now that we have confirmed Corium, it will ablate material underneath it. The white smoke/steam we are now seeing pouring out of the reactor buildings is most likely ablated concrete and not water steam.

        As the Corium ablates downward it will reach soil once it finishes the concrete off. Soil type will determine the rate of ablation. Eventually the Corium will reach the water table and when it does the heat transfer from Corium to ground water will result in flash boiling causing the eruption of a radioactive geyser.

        ——————————-
        Someone might want to comment on the likelihood of this happening.

        Report Comment

        • Pu239
          May 30, 2011 at 1:48 am

          Ablate: wear away through erosion or vaporization.

          Report Comment

        • Pragmatist
          May 30, 2011 at 2:32 am

          There is still a chance that they’ll be able to prevent such events by continuing to pour water on everything. The good news is that this may prevent anymore explosive releases into the atmosphere. The bad news is that since much of the containment has at least partially failed, this strategy will probably result in massive amounts of radioactivity being dumped into the Pacific via highly contaminated cooling water. I wouldn’t touch seafood from Japan.

          Report Comment

          • Terranigma
            May 30, 2011 at 9:38 pm

            If this is the case (dumping of radioactive water in the ocean), somebody has to come up with a plan of filtering, that is removing all of the radiation from that water, before it is dumped.

            Report Comment

    • anne
      May 30, 2011 at 1:02 am

      Helen Caldicott on Fukushima Disaster
      http://nyc.indymedia.org/or/2011/05/114987.html

      “All radiation is damaging. It’s cumulative — each dose you get adds to your risk of getting cancer. The americium is more dangerous than plutonium — I could go on and on. Depends if it rains if you’re going to get it or not. If it rains and the radiation comes down, don’t grow food, and don’t eat the food, and I mean don’t eat it for 600 years.

      “Radioactive waste from nuclear power is going to be buried, I hear, next to Lake Ontario. It’s going to leak, last for millions of years, it’s going to get into the water, and into the food chains. Radioactive waste will induce epidemics of cancer, leukemia, and genetic disease for the rest of time. This is the greatest public health hazard the world has ever witnessed, apart from the threat every day of nuclear war.

      “Einstein said ‘the splitting of the atom changed everything, save man’s mode of thinking”’– very profound – ‘and thus we drift toward unparalleled catastrophe.’ We are arrogant, we have a lot of hubris, and I think the reptilian mid-brain of some men’s brains is pathological.(18)

      “We are in a situation where we have harnessed the energy of the sun. It is totally out of control. And there’s simply nothing we can do about it.”

      Report Comment

      • Aodhan
        May 30, 2011 at 1:47 am

        There is simply not enough energy to keep up this kind of population growth. The Earth can’t sustain it no matter how smart or stupid we become. Something like this was bound to happen and will pull the population back into a reasonable range. Even if fuku didn’t happen, mankind would have hit the energy wall in some other capacity. I think we are sailing into some really dark times but human life will prevail on this planet.

        There could be some dramatic advances in science to cure cancer in the near future. Up to this point the big money has been in the treatment of cancer. If 50-80% of our population dies of cancer over the next several decades the bigger money by far would be in curing the cancer, not prolonging imminent death for a few more months. If there is no cure or hope, people will opt for taking control of their own death and not waste money on treatment. When people start dropping like flies I would not be surprised at all if there are some miraculous scientific breakthroughs in curing cancer.

        Report Comment

        • anne
          May 30, 2011 at 4:56 am

          There is no excuse for adopting uncivilized means to kill off the population. No one has the right to play God and to kill off another human being. Cancer is not the only disease or health problem here. And if the earth is uninhabitable it will be so for all life, not just for 80%. Murder is NOT the solution for energy needs. Humans are supposed to have a higher consciousness than lemmings.

          Report Comment

          • anne
            May 30, 2011 at 5:52 am

            Effective microorganisms in agriculture.
            http://www.teraganix.com/Effective-Microorganisms-History-and-Availability-s/194.htm

            In Dr. Gabriel Cousens’ book, Conscious Eating, pp. 809-814, he discusses EM (effective microorganisms) for healing the land and for healing cancer:
            “it actually eats the pesticides and herbicides in the soil as part of its effective action, including highly toxic PCBs and dioxins…
            “neutralizes the radiation in the soil so that the radioactive particles cannot be incorporated into the biological systems of plants, animals, and humans. There is also much evidence that EM(TradeMark) actually transmutes the radioactive materials so that they are no longer radioactive….
            “One form of EM, called EMX, has been found to boost the immune system, neutralize free radicals, and move all toxins out the body. Its positive nuclear magnetic resonance effect builds the cells and repairs the DNA structure so that it operates optimally, and thus helps to improve function and enhance the rejuvenation process.”

            Report Comment

          • Aodhan
            May 30, 2011 at 1:34 pm

            We are supposed to have a higher conscious than this but we don’t. Maybe this is the type of disaster it will take to wake people up. Hopefully people in the Southern Hemisphere take all this to heart and end nuclear power before the entire globe is completely contaminated.

            Report Comment

          • Jack
            May 30, 2011 at 9:58 pm

            Anne Thank you for your Positive Posts. Millet and
            Effective Microorganisms. I hope you find your Good
            Place to plant and enjoy the Bounty.

            Report Comment

        • Terranigma
          May 30, 2011 at 9:46 pm

          Yes there is! The U.S. has vast amounts of natural gas. Wind, solar, and shale extraction can also play a major factor. Population control is a symptom of a decadent, dying civilization in its last throes.

          Report Comment

    • ALICE
      May 30, 2011 at 1:07 am

      Even if things go really, really bad, I think instant ELE will apply to residents in Fukushima and eastern Japan, maybe Tokyo too, and the for the rest of Japan life will become hell…

      Remember Kahn said in March: That Japan might have to “give up” eastern Japan, not just Fukushima…I think he probably regrets saying this, ’cause I think he let out the truth instead of saying everything is under control. I feel like the Japanese Gov knew right from the beginning that things are seriously fucked up.

      Report Comment

    • confused californian
      May 30, 2011 at 2:12 am

      so what exactly happens when it hits the water table? is that just more cancer or is that like, instant death to not just japan but all of us?

      Report Comment

      • tacomagroove
        May 30, 2011 at 4:51 am

        It will either… A. Pass it. water will leak to the melted fuel and create steam contaminating the atmosphere and ground water. B. stop at the water table, and melt there until it burns out, which also would create radiation releases for years, at an atmospheric release, contaminating both the ocean and groundwater… Or c. Explode entirely…

        Report Comment

  • charlie
    May 30, 2011 at 12:54 am

    duck and cover, this may indeed be an ELE, even if it is not an IMMEDIATE ELE.

    Report Comment

  • California Dreaming
    May 30, 2011 at 1:42 am

    UC Berkeley tests food in the Bay Area. CRIIRAD (www.criirad.org) tests food all over France. According to CRIIRAD’s April 8 press release in English, the US is getting 8 – 10 times more radiation than Western Europe from Fukushima. That said, CRIIRAD issued a warning not to consume soft cheese, diary, leafy greens for BF and pregnant women and young kids. Report said if a young child consumed various produce measuring 1 – 10 Bq per kg over 2 – 3 weeks, that child would have exceed the EU safety standard of 10uSv. Same report stated that for adults, the danger is not as great in FRANCE — but not the case in CA/West Coast: “Even if we imagined a dietary intake centered on foods that concentrate contaminants, the exposition levels in France should remain much lower to this value [10 uSv/yr]. For the inhabitants of the West Coast of the U.S., the situation is far more different.”
    Seems like a pretty dire situation for Californians according to CRIIRAD. Don’t worry though. The EPA standard is way different for Americans. Phew!! If you look at the UCB test results, we have to eat 70 years and thousands of gallons of radioactive milk and vegetables before any harm comes to us — we are far tougher creatures than the French. A French toddler would have reached the EU safety cap in 2 – 3 weeks. In contrast, our CA babies can drink Cesium I 131 milk for 70 years!! Those wimpy French babies!!!
    My California baby just got caught in the rain yesterday playing in the park. I thought no problem, we can drink the rain pouring down from the orange and black-bottomed clouds for 70 years before anything could possibly happen to us. But wait, why did my made-in-the-USA baby start trembling again? I thought our CA babies are immune to I 131 and PU! I thought we can ingest it like alphabet soup!!! Oui? Non? We had to detox with a zeolite bath again — which by the way, would make any baby CHARGED up like a energizer bunny. For ENE parents out there,…

    Report Comment

  • matina
    May 30, 2011 at 2:34 am

    what are you all worried about? Professor Shunichi Yamashita of Nagasaki University says there’s no need to prepare for radioactive rain !

    Are this people even human?

    http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/30_05.html

    Report Comment

  • James Tekton
    May 30, 2011 at 4:19 am

    Sign the petition!

    Pass it around.

    http://petitions.criirad.org/?For-a-total-transparency-on-the

    For a total transparency on the airborne radioactivity we are breathing Fukushima (Japan)

    There are 60 certified radionuclide stations fully equipped with high precision detectors that are set up around the world to monitor airborne radioactivity on a daily basis with unprecedented accuracy. Their objective : Find low quantities of radioactive particles that could reveal a possible nuclear test in violation of the Comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty (TICEN).

    Results of the analysis would allow a follow up, day by day since March 12, 2011, of the evolution on the contaminated airborne masses linked to the radioactive rejections of the FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI nuclear plant. To date this is still impossible as the data are being confiscated by the States. The results are communicated to pre selected official organizations required to keep all information away from public awareness.

    This global measuring network is financed by Public funds. Populations have the right to have access to this information. All the figures without exception must be published and not just a few figures carefully selected by the authorities.

    I hereby demand that the results of the analysis conducted to measure the airborne radioactivity by the global network (TICEN) be made public, ENTIRELY AND WITHOUT ANY FURTHER DELAY.

    Funded by all the citizens of member states, these figures must be made available to public knowledge to serve their right to protection and safety.

    Report Comment

  • California Dreaming
    May 30, 2011 at 2:30 pm

    Jean — here’s the CRIIRAD press release including EU standard and food warning:
    http://www.criirad.org/actualites/dossier2011/japon_bis/en_anglais/english.html

    Report Comment

«  
  »