Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Fukushima, nuclear accident, nuclear disaster, radiation, Tepco, typhoon, Wipha
via ex-skf: http://ex-skf.blogspot.com/2013/10/large-and-strong-typhoon-no26.html
click to enlarge
Sorry about the ad below if there is one and sorry about the fact that the spent fuel pool might blow over in the typhoon and make the northern hemisphere uninhabitable.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Fukushima, Fukushima Dai-ichi, Fukushima Daiichi, Jackz, Jaczk, Japan, Masayuki Ono, meltdown, NRC, nuclear accident, nuclear accidents, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, radioactivity, tank factory, Tank Game, Tanks, Tepco, wastewater, water
Seems pretty clear at this point. In the future all of our time, energy and material resources will go toward making tanks to store an ever-increasing amount of radioactive wastewater that we have dumped in desperation onto melted reactor cores and ‘spent’ nuclear fuel, and which has leaked out of some other tank or tanks. Unfortunately, though we can look forward to full employment, and lots of good times with our colleagues down at the tank factory, the Tank Game is un-winnable.
Did Kafka write this passage:
Tokyo Electric Power Co. previously said two of seven huge underground tanks at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant had been leaking since Saturday if not earlier.
The latest leak involves a tank that was being used to take water from one of the two that were leaking, TEPCO spokesman Masayuki Ono said. …
TEPCO has halted the transfer of water to the third tank, diverting it to a fourth tank that remains intact. Two of the seven tanks are currently unused.
Ono said TEPCO has decided to stop using the two most damaged of the three leaking tanks as soon as they are emptied, but will use the other because of a tank shortage.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: cesium, congenital hypothyroidism, fallout, Fukushima, hypothyroidism, I-131, infant mortality, iodine, meltdowns, nuclear accident, nuclear weapons tests, pediatrics, thyroid
http://www.scirp.org/journal/PaperInformation.aspx?PaperID=28599
Mangano and Sherman, “Elevated airborne beta levels in Pacific/West Coast US States and trends in hypothyroidism among newborns after the Fukushima nuclear meltdown” Open Journal of Pediatrics, Volume 3, Number 1, March 2013.
1.2. Exposure to Radioactive Iodine as a Factor
in Congenital HypothyroidismAnother potential environmental risk factor is prenatal
exposure to radioactive iodine isotopes, which seek out
the susceptible fetal thyroid gland. For decades radioactive
iodine has been recognized to cause adverse effects
(including hypothyroidism) to the thyroid gland. The
fetal thyroid, the first glandular structure to appear in the
human embryo [14], begins to concentrate iodine and
produce thyroid hormones by the 70th day of gestation
[15]. In the mid-1950s, during the period of atmospheric
nuclear weapons tests, I-131 produced by fission was
first detected in the adult human thyroid [16,17]. I-131
concentrations were calculated to be about 10 times
higher in the human fetal thyroid vs. the human adult or
hog thyroid [18], and maximum elevations in fetal thy-
roids were detected approximately one month after nuclear
explosions [19]. The main path of exposure to shortlived
isotopes such as I-131 is via dairy products due to
radioactive fallout deposition on forage [20].[…]
It gets all over the grass, the cows eat the grass, and the I-131 and Cesium are thus concentrated in cheese and milk.
…Large amounts of fallout disseminated worldwide from the meltdowns in four reactors at the Fukushima-Dai-ichi plant in Japan beginning March 11, 2011 included radioiodine isotopes. Just days after the meltdowns, I-131 concentrations in US precipitation was measured up to 211 times above normal. Highest levels of I-131 and airborne gross beta were documented in the five US States on the Pacific Ocean. The number of congenital hypothyroid cases in these five states from March 17-December 31, 2011 was 16% greater than for the same period in 2010, compared to a 3% decline in 36 other US States (p < 0.03). The greatest divergence in these two groups (+28%) occurred in the period March 17-June 30 (p < 0.04). …
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: 1959, 1979, Cesium-137, hotspots, meltdown, melted blob, nuclear accident, radioactivity, reactor, strontium-90, UCLA
Not unlike my soul.
The EPA says 423 of the samples contained man-made radioactive contaminants exceeding background levels. Most of the contaminants were cesium-137 and strontium-90, both powerful carcinogenic substances.
Most samples exceeding background levels were found in the surface soil at locations known to be contaminated, including where the partial meltdown occurred on the morning of July 14, 1959. Details of that incident, which spewed colorless and odorless gases into the atmosphere, were not disclosed until 1979, when a group of UCLA students discovered documents and photographs that referred to a problem at the site involving a “melted blob.”
via Radioactive hot spots remain at former research facility's site – latimes.com.
I’ll tell you what though. If I ever owned a nuclear reactor, and it went all meltdown and everything, I would inform the people living in the surrounding areas. So they could make arrangements and whatnot.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Bay of Fundy, Canada, heavy water, hydrazine, nuclear accident, nuclear plant, nukes, Point Lepreau, Rzentkowski, tritium
“Heavy water…” Doesn’t sound so dangerous does it?
About 300 litres of tritiated heavy water spilled on May 21 when a valve opened too soon during pressure testing at the plant.
NB Power crews were testing the system that transfers heat from the reactor up to steam powered turbines as part of preparations to restart the plant when they overpressurized the system.
Poor planning, training led to leak
Rzentkowski said poor planning, training and human error led to the leak, which officials have said was contained in a sealed room and cleaned up without endangering staff or the environment.
“Supervisors were not trained in the operation of the test equipment. Supervisors could not provide active oversight and guidance over the test,” said Razentkowski.
…
There were two previous spills at Lepreau.
On Dec. 13, less than six litres of heavy water splashed to the floor, forcing an evacuation of the building.
The following day, NB Power issued a statement saying that three weeks earlier another spill had occurred. About 23 barrels of water laced with the toxic chemical hydrazine was released into the Bay of Fundy.
Both incidents occurred as part of preparations for restarting the plant.
via Nuclear watchdog unable to closely monitor Point Lepreau – New Brunswick – CBC News.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Davis Besse, electricity generation, energy, nuclear accident, nuclear energy, nuclear power, power generation, radiation leak
While we’re on the subject of super old and leaky nuke plants. This plant’s near Toledo, and is also up for a controversial license renewal.
During the performance of MODE 3 engineering walkdown inspections in accordance with procedure DB-PF-03010 (ASME Section III, Class 1 and 2), with the RCS at Normal Operating Temperature and Pressure, a pressure boundary leak was identified on the Reactor Coolant Pump (RCP) 1-2 1st seal cavity vent line upstream weld of 3/4 inch small bore pipe socketweld at a 90 degree elbow between the RCP pump and valve RC-407 (1st Seal Cavity Vent Isolation). The plant was in MODE 3 at Normal Operating Pressure and Normal Operating Temperature (NOP/NOT) for the inspections.
“The plant entered Technical Specification (TS) Limiting Condition for Operation (LCO) 3.4.13, ‘RCS Operational Leakage,’ Condition B and procedure DB-OP-02522. ‘Small RCS Leaks,’ abnormal operating procedure. Plant cooldown to comply with LCO 3.4.13, Condition B, Required Action B.2 is in progress. The cause and resolution are under evaluation.
via Leak found at Davis Besse Nuclear Power Plant during restart from month-long outage | Enformable.
Filed under: maps | Tags: climate, energy, Kalamazoo, Lansing, license renewal application, Michigan, nature, NRC, nuclear accident, nuclear energy, nuclear power, nukes, palisades, Palisades nuclear plant, radiation, radiation leak, radioactivity, reactors, renewal applications, science, South Bend
…which is leaking, perhaps exploding, etc.
The 41-year-old plant’s license was due to expire, but in 2007 the NRC granted a 20-year extension.
click to enlarge
Via the Palisade license-renewal application (pdf): http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications/palisades/palisades_er.pdf
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: energy, Fukushima, Fukushima Daiichi, Hiroaki Koide, nuclear accident, nuclear power, radiation, radioactivity, Tepco
Why should little kids have to eat it? An interesting moral dilemma.
クリーンな食べ物はない。
There is no clean food.
残念ながら福島の事故は起きてしまい、全地球に汚染を広げてしまっている。そのため、クリーンとか安全という食べ物というものはありません。
Sadly, the Fukushima accident happened, and has spread contamination throughout the world. So there is no food that is clean or safe.
ただし、猛烈に汚れている食べ物から比較的安全な食べ物まで、連続的に分布している。それをどのように受け入れるかが問題。
But there is a continuous variety of food from extremely contaminated food to relatively safe food. The issue is how to accept [allocate] such food.
猛烈な汚染食品は原子力を進めていた方々に食べてもらう。東電幹部、原子力を進めてきた政治家や、学者に食べてもらう。そういう仕組みを作りたい。
Extremely contaminated food should be eaten by people who have promoted nuclear power. TEPCO top management, and politicians and scholars who have promoted nuclear power. I would like to build such a system.
後は、原子力をここまで許してきてしまった大人たちに、汚染された食べ物を食べてもらって、子どもたちに汚染されていないものを食べさせてあげる。
The rest of the contaminated food should be eaten by adults, who have allowed nuclear power to this extent, so that the non-contaminated food goes to children.
via EX-SKF:
Filed under: maps | Tags: cold shutdown, debris, environment, Fukushima, meltdown, nuclear accident, reactor 4, science, spent fuel pool
Dug out of a report and translated by EX-SKF:
http://ex-skf.blogspot.com/2012/04/debris-map-inside-reactor-4-spent-fuel.html
click to enlarge
Sand-like sediments?
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Mitsubishi, NRC, nuclear accident, reactor, San Onofre, Sempra, SRE, super fireman, Time Fire
…Was extinguished before it started. That’s how good these guys are:
The fire ignited in an electrical panel in the “non-radiological side” of one of the plant’s two units, said Edison, which operates the plant and co-owns it with Sempra Energy’s (SRE) San Diego utility. The plant’s fire department put out the blaze a few minutes before 1 p.m. local time, less than an hour before it started, the company said.
via Fire at California's San Onofre Nuke Plant Extinguished | EXSKF.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Cesium-137, earthquakes, Fukushima, Japan, MOX, nuclear accident, Plutonium, radiation, radiation leak, reactor 4, spent fuel pool, Tepco
Via EX-SKF: #Fukushima I Nuke Plant: Reactor 4 to Get a Cover and a Crane | EXSKF.
Which dude said, Hey, let’s put the spent fuel pool on the roof of the reactor building. Are the US reactors like that as well (except with far more spent fuel)? Ack.
It would be good to remove the material from the spent fuel pool before it all collapses in a heap. Currently the crane is crumpled in the pool itself. So a new crane will be needed, and a structure to support it. Here are the plans for such released today:
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: energy, Lara Uselding, Mitsubishi, NRC, nuclear accident, nuclear power, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, radiation leak, San Onofre
Thousands of brittle tubes. Seems like a bad plan.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Thursday it was sending a special team of inspectors to try to determine why the metal tubes, which were installed in Unit 3 in 2010, have become frail enough to pose a risk of leaks.
“This is a significant issue,” said NRC spokeswoman Lara Uselding. “A tube rupture is really the concern.”
Investigators have been looking into excessive wear on tubes in Unit 3 and its twin, Unit 2, which has been off line for maintenance and refueling. In a $670 million overhaul, two huge steam generators, each containing 9,700 tubes, were replaced in Unit 2 in fall 2009 and a year later in Unit 3.
via 4 more tubes fail in tests at Calif. nuke plant – BusinessWeek.
Industrialized Cyclist Notepad 