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mynameismud
climber
backseat
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Japan's damaged nuclear plant in Fukushima has been emitting radioactive iodine and caesium at levels approaching those seen in the aftermath of the Chernobyl accident in 1986. Austrian researchers have used a worldwide network of radiation detectors – designed to spot clandestine nuclear bomb tests – to show that iodine-131 is being released at daily levels 73 per cent of those seen after the 1986 disaster. The daily amount of caesium-137 released from Fukushima Daiichi is around 60 per cent of the amount released from Chernobyl.
"This is not surprising," says Wotawa. "When the fuel is damaged there is no reason for the volatile elements not to escape," and the measured caesium and iodine are in the right ratios for the fuel used by the Fukushima Daiichi reactors. Also, the Fukushima plant has around 1760 tonnes of fresh and used nuclear fuel on site, and an unknown amount has been damaged. The Chernobyl reactor had only 180 tonnes.
Moreover the human body absorbs iodine and caesium readily. "Essentially all the iodine or caesium inhaled or swallowed crosses into the blood," says Keith Baverstock, former head of radiation protection for the World Health Organization's European office, who has studied Chernobyl's health effects.
Iodine is rapidly absorbed by the thyroid, and leaves only as it decays radioactively, with a half-life of eight days. Caesium is absorbed by muscles, where its half-life of 30 years means that it remains until it is excreted by the body. It takes between 10 and 100 days to excrete half of what has been consumed.
While in the body the isotopes' radioactive emissions can do significant damage, mainly to DNA. Children who ingest iodine-131 can develop thyroid cancer 10 or more years later; adults seem relatively resistant. A study published in the US last week found that iodine-131 from Chernobyl is still causing new cases of thyroid cancer to appear at an undiminished rate in the most heavily affected regions of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia.
Caesium-137 lingers in the environment because of its long half-life. Researchers are divided over how much damage environmental exposure to low doses has done since Chernobyl. Some researchers think it could still cause thousands of new cases of cancer across Europe.
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Jan
Mountain climber
Okinawa, Japan
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The bad news from NHK:
An advisor to the prime minister has pledged an all-out effort to contain the leakage of radioactive substances from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power complex within a few months.
The first deaths at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant itself, though, were confirmed Sunday by the operator. A 21-year-old and a 24-year-old were believed to be conducting regular checks at the complex when the 9.0-magnitude earthquake hit March 11.
And the good news:
A search of the site found no other leaks Sunday.
And the hopeful news:
Next, they plan to inject polymer into a pipe that connects the pit to the rest of the system. Polymer can absorb enormous amounts of water and expands 50 times its original size.
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rrrADAM
Trad climber
LBMF
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Just recently in the Chinese News (yes I read it daily) there was an incident where I man found a piece of metal the size of a lighter rummaging through a dump. He got sick and died within two weeks. Within a Month his brother and son died. His wifes child was born with life threatening birth defects.
Around 20 people were affected before it was traced down and stored safely.
Not so long ago..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goi%C3%A2nia_accident
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Jan
Mountain climber
Okinawa, Japan
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NHK is estimating 27,000+ people have been killed.
45,500 buildings have been destroyed and 190,000 damaged.
They believe that it will take 4 years to clear away all of the debris.
In one village the inhabitants were so sure that the 35 ft. tsunami wall that had taken two decades to build was impregnable, that when the tsunami warning went off, many people ran to the top of the wall expecting to be safe and were the first ones swept away.
I think now they have given up on modern technology being able to deal with nature. The Prime Minister has proposed today that the government buy the land under the destroyed property and move the residents to higher ground.
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Gene
climber
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TEPCO is dumping 3,000,000 gallons of low-toxicity water into the ocean in order to free up storage for more toxic water accumulating at the plant. I hope there's a good plan for the more toxic goop once the storage tanks are filled.
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golsen
Social climber
kennewick, wa
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I hate being right on this issue. I wrote two days ago about the need for treating the water. I hope that they are working on a means of treating the "more" contaminated" stuff or they will end up dumping that as well. What the press should be reporting is what is in the water in terms of the radioactive elements, what sampling is being done, etc. It does make a difference.
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neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
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hey there say, jan... thank you again, for your info that you've gleaned...
i did not understand or know much about the size of the tsunamie wall...
take care, and thanks again..
:)
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Karl Baba
Trad climber
Yosemite, Ca
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I hate being right on this issue. I wrote two days ago about the need for treating the water. I hope that they are working on a means of treating the "more" contaminated" stuff or they will end up dumping that as well. What the press should be reporting is what is in the water in terms of the radioactive elements, what sampling is being done, etc. It does make a difference.
I have to think that they just don't have the means and time to treat millions of gallons of water (when they don't have treatment solutions ready to go anyway) in any time frame that frees up the storage space for the even worse water they need to store.
So in the ocean it goes. All a part of what Fubar situation do when you're in check and checkmate could be around the next corner
peace
Karl
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WBraun
climber
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OH
But the ocean is the great reservoir of mercy which swallows all our mistakes, purifies them and sends them back as clean rain so we may wash more mistakes.
In this case hopefully ..... ?????
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WBraun
climber
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This is exactly what I/we envision was happening when the first info was shown how this monster got away and was breached.
Then all the nuke experts came here and gave us the spiel how we're all paranoid and have fear.
No ... not that.
Just reasonable understanding that nukes will eventually find a way to get loose on us and screw us.
We are forced to make mistakes.
WE are not in full control.
We are subordinate.
And we've become arrogant thinking otherwise.
Material nature will always keep teaching us a lesson until we submit to her.
The lab coats are rascals .....
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mynameismud
climber
backseat
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WE are not in full control.
We are subordinate.
And we've become arrogant thinking otherwise.
Material nature will always keep teaching us a lesson until we submit to her.
The lab coats are rascals ....
Wise words.
----
I have already read it is in the ground water. Not the core, but radiation.
Most of what I have read they have been stating for a while that it will be Months before it is contained.
What I really found amazing was that it took TEPCO over two weeks to state that a least 3 of the reactors would never come back online. I figured that was obvious after they blew up.
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Fritz
Trad climber
Choss Creek, ID
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Werner: Re your quote: The lab coats are rascals .....
Yep!
But they believe they think they are doing good, by "calming folks down."
On the bright side: I have lived through 60 years of "oops moments", from the "nuclear folks."
I live 90 miles west of the INL: which started up in the 1950's and has had multiple accidents with radioactive releases. More importantly: they have polluted a huge aquifer with radioactive materials. My well water comes from that aquifer. The INL is also the "temporary storage site" for most all the nuclear power plant waste from the U.S.
I live downwind from the Hanford site, and have been impacted by their "oops moments" since the 1950's.
Lastly: the bomb testing in Nevada in the 1950's produced fallout that occasionally drifted north. Historical records show that South Idaho got some of that bomb fallout.
I'm pissed off, but still alive.
Why don't I trust the apologists?
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golsen
Social climber
kennewick, wa
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Guys,
I dont have time tonite to try and gauge the seriousness of this. I am also in no way saying that this is not seriousness; however, the media saying that radioactive water is spilling into the ocean is very similar to meeting some climbers you don't know tell you the climb is hard. It could be 5.3 or 5.13. In other words without some analytical results ew don't know. The media may not know and they probably dont care as long as they sell their story.
What they need to be doing two weeks ago was planning for treating the nasty stuff to remove most of that nsaty prior to discharge into the ocean.
Werner, sometime I will share here the story of a "labcoat" then you can decide yourself if they are all bad.
cheers.
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mynameismud
climber
backseat
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They are not all bad, they create the technology others decide how to use it. I am sure you have read the accounts of those who created the technology and what went through their heads.
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Jan
Mountain climber
Okinawa, Japan
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Some good news!
The little dog who floated out at sea for 3 weeks on the roof of his house, has been recognized on television by his owner. The owner who is living in a shelter, is on his way to pick him up.
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mynameismud
climber
backseat
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What amazes me is how people are so stridently against solar and even more stridently for Nuclear. The are ardent in how it will not work and yet every person that I know that has solar ends up producing more than they use. None of them have installations that cover even half of their structures. They are constantly impressed at the ROI and the technology is just getting better and better.
Those against solar complain about how dirty it is yet the alternatives are even worse. Chernobyl and Fukushima have already produced more pollutants that the manufacturing if solar has or will in the near future. Once on the roof it just does not explode.
The Ocean is big, it is not infinite and as we are so often reminded, it is a small world.
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mynameismud
climber
backseat
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They have already been reunited.
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