Published: May 26th, 2012 at 2:52 pm ET
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Concerns Grow About Spent Fuel Rods at Damaged Nuclear Plant in Japan
New York Times
By HIROKO TABUCHI and MATTHEW WALD
May 26, 2012
[...]“The No. 4 reactor is visibly damaged and in a fragile state, down to the floor that holds the spent fuel pool,” said Hiroaki Koide, an assistant professor at Kyoto University’s Research Reactor Institute and one of the experts raising concerns. “Any radioactive release could be huge and go directly into the environment.”
[...]
Senator Ron Wyden, a Democrat whose state, Oregon, could lie in the path of any new radioactive plumes and who has studied nuclear waste issues, is among those pushing for faster action. After his recent visit to the ravaged plant, Senator Wyden said the pool at No. 4 poses “an extraordinary and continuing risk” and the retrieval of spent fuel “should be a priority given the possibility of further earthquakes.”
[...]
Tepco has said it will build a separate structure next to Reactor No. 4 to support a new crane. But under the plan, released last month, the fuel removal will begin in late 2013.
[...]
Published: May 26th, 2012 at 2:52 pm ET
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sending...
Here is a great graphic that will help everyone visualize what is downwind!
NRDC Nuclear Fallout Map
http://www.nrdc.org/nuclear/fallout/
Just click on a reactor and zoom in…
What about the effects on Climate Change caused by the radionuclides that were released from Fukushima, most of which are NEVER mentioned in MSM http://is.gd/fzc4Wu and why have all these scientists not speaking up about them unless they have been told not to? http://wp.me/p21p6a-7DE
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[REMOVED, off-topic]
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hbjon, I doubt it. Besides, WW1 was 1914-1918. There was no "Nazi army" around at that time.
Strange comment of yours.
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morning bnb
my family fought on both sides… guaranteed win for the family!
err and in the second one 2 :/
u gotta luv the oirish
back ot
err arent i downwind of oregon
according to criirad we in europe will get about one tenth of the hit that the usa gets… interesting that no figures are available to proove this statement from a very reliable organisation like criirad.. they are respected by the nuclear industry and they comply with iaea rules.. that is interesting?? mountain tops of europe, especially norway must be reeking of isotopic nasties from fuku but they seem to be hidden by the 2 big european releases of iodine131 and 124..
hmmmm?
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Morning arc, I guess without proper information about the scale of current releases they all have a hard time to calculate / forecast anything…only way is constant measuring and publishing on youtube
Sadly.
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talking of citizen you tube watch..
last night i was a bad ass biker..
driving through the army cordoned off areas, flying under the helicopters that come from the AIRCRAFT CARRIER currently docked near tower bridge, ducking and diving around coned of areas anti hippy missile instillation's.. i was able to get near her majesties pad and check out the rads!! that baby is HOT!! wow! will be posting soon
and i am alive to tell the tale …he says slurping possibly contaminated apple juice (but with hope of non contamination) another enenews first from arclight behind the front lines..
other london report.. EVERYONE is really stressed out here in london,, its REALLY noticable.. best not to tell them about the rads there sucking up maybe? should i post? is it an irresponsible thing to do?
i refer this as evidence, it gave me pause for thought, i can tell you!
http://enenews.com/web-amplified-fears-helping-undermine-assurances-tepco-japanese-govt-about-fukushima-plant
guffaw
didnt pause for long though.. so im off to to a bit of rendering..
im a kind of mini nuch lol!
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Well done arclight:
I highly condone bad-assedness (and getting away with it!).
We need more 'mini-nukes' like you.
☺
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Arc, you be king of the badassed bikers.
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I knight the King of the Badassed Bikers!
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Thee, that is …. forgot the second "e"
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And loved watching the camera jiggle around when you were taking those measurements. Good, good, good, good vibrations, Waaah – ah!
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If this is ot I'm a monkeys uncle.
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I guess I cannot defend it now can I? It's no longer here. I've been known to swerve down the road from time to time, testing the boundaries. Sorry bout that admin.
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Just announce that you are moving it to the off topic forum and defend your statement there.
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12 reasons why all nuclear power plants must be shut down; via A Green Road Blog http://agreenroad.blogspot.com/2012/03/12-reasons-why-all-nuclear-power-plants.html
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Add FUKU to this, plus the emissions from nuclear fuel 'recycling' plants and there are multiple nuclear accidents happening globally, at all times.
75% US Nuclear Plants Leaking Toxic Tritium Radiation Into Drinking Water Supply; via A Green Road Blog
http://agreenroad.blogspot.com/2012/04/75-us-nuclear-plants-leaking-toxic.html
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Howdy, Oregon! All kinds of rad monitoring links to keep track.
P.s. radiation releases have not stopped since 3/11/11
http://realitycheck.no-ip.info/forum/index.php/board,24.0.html
Also nuke video updates and fallout forecasts posted regularly
http://realitycheck.no-ip.info/nnn.html
In case anyone is inclined to contact their representatives
http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml
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Not just Oregon. The whole West Coast. And above and below the West Coast. Radiation doesn't stop there either, (not at all) ..keeps going and going, all across America. And on to Europe. The data and facts are there, just a few clicks away, for anyone that isn't already informed.
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You're right of course TBP, but this was a political blip from an Oregon senator, so it's cast as an Oregon story this time around.
The NYT is always deeply concerned about Oregon. (not)
Same old games.
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I like their use of the word 'could'.
It 'is' in the path, has been all along, and will continue to be in the path.
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Absolutely correct! Bulls eye! We are all in the the paths. Paths because the jet stream which carrys the toxic mess bubbling out of the reactors of Japan's Fukushima have branches. Those branching air currents will make sure we ALL SHARE in the fallout. The leaking radation has got to stop.
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Many scientists seem to agree that a huge release is possible. A large group of scientist agree that it is likely to happen at some point in the future. A lot of scientist think Fuku 4 will be the origin of a massive release of radioactive particles. The talking heads in the media say tens of millions of Japanese will have to evacuate. Fact. The next land mass that is downwind of the stricken plants is North America. Question. Why are tens of millions of Japanese evacuating when North America is the land that will be affected by the plume of radioactive particles?
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Good point. But then, where can you go? Australia? New Zealand? Try again!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qh011eAYjAA&feature=related
http://sccc.org.au/archives/2630
Come dec/jan, when the monsoon trough starts up again, We are no better off here in Australia/NZ than in the US.
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……and http://youtu.be/qh011eAYjAA
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The wind does not only blow to North America, you know. The highest concentrations will still be seen in Japan.
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"The highest concentrations will still be seen in Japan."
not according to tepco methinks as it will convieniently all pour into a small area of ocean…
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Not to be sarcastic nor indulge in magical thinking;
In 18 days the radiation will circle the Northern Hemisphere
and then begin to go into the Southern Hemisphere.
no where to hide. Maybe tepco will tell us they can put up a curtain
around the Island to catch the radiation like fly paper catches flies.
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Let's try to be reasonable. Is it not reasonable to assume that the deposition will follow the inverse square law to some extent? We know that the ocean floor is heavily contaminated. Perhaps the inverse square law does not apply to bodies of water. There are several "fields" that need to be considered. A) Ceasium B) Uranium C)Plutonium D)Iodine E)Strontium F) Tsunami Debris G)Krypton H)Xenon I)Tritium J)Radon K)Polonium. Calculate all the vectors and find the concentrations as they increase with time. The "OUT" components will not stop.
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The answer to our questions about evacuation, "just Japanese" when USA probably will receive an equal or greater amount of fallout? Its the economy! Our government officials live in daily fear something will stop the human worker bees! When the "bees" start dropping due to illness, it will be too late. But its economics..the money..that is the holy grail in all this.
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There is no such thing as not being downwind.
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"…lie in the path of any new radioactive plumes” from Fukushima"
NEW??? There is no such thing as IT NEVER STOPPED! It may fluctuate on a windy day, but that crap is still coming, and apparently increasing in strength.
Plus, there is the solid accumulation in our biosphere. Up, up and away!
And how about the Fuku debris coming into Oregon (plus everywhere else on the West Coast)? Lots of news articles, but not one mention of the possibility of radiation. So are they encouraging kids, like the Boy and Girl Scouts, to pick up trash with no regard for radiation sickness? F—-n a$$holes!
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Nicely said GeoHarvey.
Any dose is an overdose.
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This is my first post, but I have been reading the posts here since soon after 3/11. I wanted to share that this morning I attended a Town Hall meeting with Senator Wyden near my home in Oregon, and was able to thank him for his recent trip to Japan and efforts to uncover the truth about the current condition of the reactors and spent fuel pools. I also thanked him for his letters to Secretary Clinton and Chu, and Chairman Jaczko, and efforts to try to urge the Japanese government to allow international assistance. He explained the situation to the audience of about 50 Oregonians, many of whom I surmise knew very little about all of this. He emphasized the danger Oregonians would be in if another tsunami hit, although I understand that all it would take would be a level 7 earthquake, maybe less. He thinks the situation may improve, now that Japanese officials are visiting the site – I'm not so sure about that, but he did indicate that he was going to stay focused on this issue. The more of us who can contact him about this, the better, I believe. I think he really does want to help. Thank you to all of you for the incredible information shared here.
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Welcome, TG. Interesting post, thanks.
"the audience of about 50 Oregonians" – ouch, we've got a long way to go.
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Welcome, TrueGreen! Glad to have you input here.
Thanks for the update on Sen. Wyden's concern about SFP#4. I hope he's right and the work will be enough to address this serious issue…
I'm in Seattle, so I am very interested to hear what Sen. Wyden will have to report in the coming weeks and months. Look forward to hearing more from you!
Thanks again.
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Thank you too.
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Welcome, TrueGreen,
You know what a bucket list is?
Work it. No one in government gives a damn about you or your children. They're all hoping they get a ticket to the bugout bunkers, so they do and say what they're told.
Here's a secret – it's too late. They've all been breathing the same radionuclides we have. I hope they have the courtesy to thank their nuclear campaign contributors for killing their children.
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Great Job TrueGreen!
I am hoping you're in a small town. So 50 might actually be a good turn out. It would be big where I live.
This part was 'spin' though.
"He thinks the situation may improve, now that Japanese officials are visiting the site…"
It may improve sometime after the year 2400 is my low ball estimate.
He left out the DANGERS we've been in and are currently in with respect to radioactive contamination accumulating in our air, water and food supply.
I don't see how visiting is going to help. How about DOING something. How about TAKING ACTION and reporting the truth for a change.
I plan on video taping my next town hall meeting.
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Hi TrueGreen,
I appreciate the info; am also in the Seattle-Tacoma area and have been reading posts on this site since the 3/11 incident. Thanks also to WhatAboutTheKids & TacomaGroove for the posts pertaining to our local West Coast area. What a conundrum. I don't feel comfortable visiting the ocean beaches anymore.. so very sad.
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You're welcome, WinonaTacoma.
It is encouraging to see more and more Washingtonians posting here, as we can help support each other by posting information that might pertain to us. There is strength in numbers, as they say.
I too wonder about the beaches and what is on its way. I cannot understand how officials could be actively encouraging people (esp. kids!) to volunteer to pick up Fuku debris. I am hoping people with Geiger Counters will help monitor the situation and alert others if they find any "hot" debris.
Anyway, welcome again!
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What about the explosions and fuel fires? I guess NYT doesn't want to discuss that?
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hello from astoria, oregon, northern most town on the oregon coast! i am tired of waiting to hear something from senator wyden so i wrote to him two days ago and told him that hundreds of thousands of us are waiting to get an update on what he doing, not counting the millions in the balance. it has been a while since he was public. friends tell me they think he has gone away… i hope he will respond to me very very soon. (my foot: tap tap tap) ~laura
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Wonderful, Laura! Thank you for being so proactive. We will look forward to hearing any updates you may have.
BTW: (OT) How's that newly-discovered underwater volcano near you doing? Any signs of new activity? It is fascinating to think there may be a new island forming there!
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Actually, I am not sure if "volcano" is the correct term for the venting underwater?
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Underwater eruptions lead to island formations if they continue long enough, that is how the Hawaiian Island were formed…
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Thanks for doing that, if we each spent 10 minutes contacting out Leaders daily we would get more results!
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Hi Laura, I'm glad you have made efforts with Senator Wyden also. I am going to contact Senator Merkley next. Also on the political front, we have Senator Sanders and Congressman Markey who are concerned about this issue. I think Senator Boxer is anti-nuke – any others that would be receptive and worth contacting?
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It's good that Senator Wyden is concerned for Oregon, but thats just one area that is being bombarded. Fact is, all of America and Europe is being swathed (every moment, and every breath you take) from the trillions of becquerels of radiation being emitted from Fukushima Daiichi each and every day. Check the facts. This is fact.
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Thanks, Please keep posting more facts…
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