TEPCO
April 12, 2011
A study of soil samples conducted by a team of experts from Kyoto University and Hiroshima University has revealed that as much as 400 times the normal levels of radiation could remain in communities beyond a 30-kilometer radius from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.The study found cesium-137 at levels between about 590,000 and 2.19 million becquerels per cubic meter.After the Chernobyl nuclear accident in the former Soviet Union in 1986, residents who lived in areas where cesium-137 levels exceeded 555,000 becquerels were forced to move elsewhere.
April 8, 2011
TEPCO the owner and operator of the Damaged Fukushima Nuclear Plant reproted that its Onagawa Nuclear Power Plant in the Miyage Prefeture also leaked very small amounts of radioactive water.About 3.8 kgs of radiated water from one of the spent fuel rod pools spilled as three out of four external power supply units in Onagawa shut down leaving only one power source to cool the spent fuel. at the Nuclear Plant failed after the 7.4 Richter Scale Earthquake off the seas near Fukushima.The cooling systems have been restored and there is no more damage at the Nuclear Plant like Fukushima.Note the workers at the Damaged Dai-ichi were evacuated due to the Tsunami Warning issued in the aftermath of the Earthquake.These workers have again returned in their radiation fighting work at the Plant.USA said that it seems that the worst scenario of serious contamination from the Fukushima Nuclear Accident has probably passed.
April 7, 2011
Seoul witnessed Radioactive Rain as winds blew from neighboring Japan which has witnessed the second biggest nuclear energy accident after Chernobyl.Though the the Rain contains cesium and iodine particles they are well within the safety limits according to the South Korean Nuclear Safety Regulator.South Korea has already protested against the lack of information about the Nuclear Emissions and the Deliberate Dumping of Toxic Seawater by TEPCO.However many schoolchildren stayed at home as worried parents were concerned about the impact of the radiation.China the other major close nation in proximity to Japan has also detected low levels of iodine in spinach in 3 provinces.China had earlier reported trace levels of radiation in Guangdong and Shanghai.Note Iodine has a very low half-life so that problem should not persist for long.However cesium is another matter as it can lodge inside human body and keep emitting for a long time internally.
April 6, 2011
The ongoing problems at the stricken Japanese Nuclear Plant at Fukushima may see new problems given the prolonged cooling by water.Note it has already manifested itself as 11,500 tons of radiated water was dumped into the Pacific leading to protests from South Korea and dangerously contaminated fish.Further problems may arise as NY Times reports from a nuclear assessment report on each of the 6 reactors at the Dai-ichi plant.The tons of seawater being used to cool the temperature could result in a dangerous structural damage to the containment vessels of the reactors.Note this unconventional cooling of the Nuclear Plant may give rise to unthought of problems and complications.The spent fuel rods where hydrogen is being generated may react violently with oxygen in the air leading to violent explosion as was seen in Reactor 2 in the early part of the crisis.Salt has also been accumulating in the reactor from the seawater which may prevent circulation of newly added water.
April 5, 2011
The massive dumping of radiation seawater by TEPCO into the Pacific Ocean has triggered outrage amongst various stakeholder groups.Fishermen are angry at is will massively affect the marine life who are bound to get poisoned by the 11,500 tons of radioactive water which is 100 times over the legal limit.A fishing industry group in Fukushima prefecture has asked Tepco to stop releasing toxic water into the sea near the power plant as Radioactive iodine and cesium were found in fish caught off the coast of Ibaraki, north of Tokyo.The Fishermen are already facing a bad time are bound to get hit even worse from this.Green Groups are protesting this deliberate ejection and say that it might be unethical to dump the water if not illegal under international laws.Green Groups are protesting the fact that more efforts could not have been made to store the water in ship tankers or overland facilities instead of taking the easy way out and dumping it in the Pacific.Note the radioactivity spewed from the Japanese Nuclear Plants is affecting nations globally.South Korea which lies very close to Japan has expressed concerns over the toxic water being dumped into the ocean.
April 4, 2011
Marine Life is expected to be badly affected from the radioactive water.Note IAEA has already found high levels of radiation well beyond the evacuation zone and Greenpeace too has warned about high levels of radioactivtiy.TEPCO has its reputation badly tarnished as it has failed to disclose the levels of radiation and different radioactive elements like Cesium.Note the Japanese Farmers are already facing years of losses and the Fishermen too seems destined to join them as the thousands of tons of water will probably lead to Fishes becoming toxic in that region.
April 3, 2011
A crack in a concrete pit near the Reactor 2 of the Fukushima Plant has been found to be the source of leakage of highly radioactive seawater which was said to reach around 4585 times the legal limit.TEPCO had found the crack in a pit near the Reactor 2 which was leaking this dangerous seawater which was being used to cool the damaged nuclear reactors.An attempt to fill the crack in the pit by pouring concrete failed as the water made the sealing process through concrete impossible.Now a new polymer will be tried to seal the crack though it beats me why it did not occur to the engineers there that the water will make the process of pouring concrete fail.After almost 4 weeks since the nuclear crisis began in Japan operators of the plant are no closer to regaining control of damaged reactors, as fuel rods remain overheated and high levels of radiation are flowing into the sea.
March 31, 2011
The Reactor 1 of the failed Fukushima Daichi plant might be recritical as Radioactive Chlorine has been detected suggesting chain reactions continued after the reactor shut down.This is quite alarming and has made Japan thing about pouring concrete into its crippled Fukushima atomic plant IEAE warned that a potential uncontrolled chain reaction could cause further radiation leaks.The risk to workers might be greater than previously thought because melted fuel in the No. 1 reactor building may be causing isolated, uncontrolled nuclear chain reactions.Dumping concrete on the plant would serve a second purpose: it would trap contaminated water, said Tony Roulstone, an atomic engineer who directs the University of Cambridge’s masters program in nuclear energy.
March 30, 2011
The radioactive fallout from the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster is not only keeping Japan on high alert but also its neighbours.China has said that it has detected trace radiation levels from the spreading radiation in its provincial regions bordering Japan.Note most of the Chinese economic centres are situation near the eastern coast near Japan.Its 2 main cities of Guangdong and Shanghai have also detected trace levels of radioactive elements like iodine and caesium.Note China has turned back vessels and people from Japan in the last week because of high radiation levels.
March 29, 2011
The Fukushima Nuclear Disaster shows more dangerous radiation signs each day.While Plutonium Poisoning was found in the soil near the Nuclear Reactors,a more alarming development is the high levels of Caesium being found in areas far away from the plant.Note Caesium is a heavy element which is found in areas of radioactivity like Iodine 130.Caesium has a much bigger half life than iodine and can cause radiation poisoning for a much longer period.
March 29, 2011
TEPCO the beleaguered Japanese utility said that plutonium was found around the damaged nuclear reactor.Plutonium has been detected in soil at five locations at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said in a statement on MondayThe company could not confirm which of the reactors in the plant was leaking plutonium which is a very dangerous radioactive element.The No. 3 reactor is the only one at the six-reactor facility to use plutonium in its fuel mix.The United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency said the find was expected due to known fuel degradation, however Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency is highly worried about the radioactivity of the plutonium samples detected.