This is another clearinghouse diary for discussion and commentary about the ongoing nuclear disaster(s) in Japan. For updated information on news and a timeline of the events following the March 11 Japanese Earthquake, visit the Mothership. The Mothership is updated regularly and also provides a more extensive list of news and data sources, social media, crisis mapping and other relevant information.
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Japan: April 6 AM JST
Injection of 1500 liters of ''water glass,'' or sodium silicate decreasing radioactive leak into Pacific Kyodo
While the radiation levels of the water to be discharged into the ocean are similar to contaminated rainfall around the Fukushima plant, they are still 100 times the standard for radiation levels in seawater as defined by the reactor regulation law.
The total amount of radioactivity that will be discharged into the ocean will be 170 billion becquerels.
While that may seem like a lot, the radioactivity level in 10,000 tons of the discharged water is equivalent to about 10 liters of contaminated water accumulated at the basement of the No. 2 reactor. http://www.facebook.com/...
kyodo
NYT: U.S. Sees Array of New Threats at Japan’s Nuclear Plant
United States government engineers sent to help with the crisis in Japan are warning that the troubled nuclear plant there is facing a wide array of fresh threats that could persist indefinitely, and that in some cases are expected to increase as a result of the very measures being taken to keep the plant stable, according to a confidential assessment prepared by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
(snip)
While the assessment does not speculate on the likelihood of new explosions or damage from an aftershock, either could lead to a breach of the containment structures in one or more of the crippled reactors, the last barriers that prevent a much more serious release of radiation from the nuclear core. If the fuel continues to heat and melt because of ineffective cooling, some nuclear experts say, that could also leave a radioactive mass that could stay molten for an extended period.
Noted seismologists and nuclear experts say nuclear crisis largely due to missing effective ‘multiple protections’ at key facilities.
Kojiro Irikura, an honorary professor of seismology at Kyoto University who was on the committee drawing up quake resistance guidelines for nuclear plants in September 2006, said that the Fukushima plant lacked effective "multiple protections" at some key facilities.
Japan defends radical decision to dump toxic water in Pacific
Japan defended Tuesday its dumping of a massive mount of low-level radioactive water from the crisis-hit Fukushima nuclear plant, saying the action does not violate international laws, and pledged to fully inform the international community of Tokyo's steps to tackle the ongoing emergency. (Kyodo News)
Headlines 4/6 JST
Radioactive iodine-131 readings taken from seawater near the water intake of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant's No. 2 reactor reached 7.5 million times the legal limit, Japan Online
No quick installation of special sheets to cover damaged reactor buildings: Projected date September Kyodo
India Joins Ban on Japanese Food Imports: Nikkei
Participate in Tomorrow's LIVE Q&A with nuclear scientists; submit questions now.Nature Live Q&A tomorrow, 4pm London time
Discussion: What Caused the High Cl-38 Radioactivity in the Fukushima Daiichi Reactor #1?
A transient criticality could explain the observed 13“neutron beams” reported by Kyodo news agency (see above). This analysis is not a definitive proof, but it does mean that we cannot rule out localized criticality and TEPCO should assure that the workers take the necessary precautions. Japan Focus by F. Dalnoki-Veress with an introduction by Arjun Makhijani The Atomic Age
UPDATES FROM COMMENTS (as of 4/6 3:16 PM JST
h/t Siri Fuel exposed in all 3 reactors
They keep putting water in but none of them are increasing their water levels.
The fuel assemblies are 4,000mm (4m) long
Reactor #1 has 1650mm of it's core exposed
Reactor #2 has 1500mm of it's core exposed
Reactor #3 has 2250mm of it's core exposed (more than 1/2)
http://fukushimadatapage.com/...
from Fukushima data pages
h/t middleagedhousewife
TEPCO says it will inject nitrogen into the containment vessel of one of its reactors at the Fukushima power plant as early as Wednesday evening to prevent a possible hydrogen explosion. NHK feed 2:58 JST
h/t ricklewsive
Ibaraki fishermen suspend fishing activities
Most local fishery cooperatives in Ibaraki Prefecture are suspending all fishing activities, after small fish caught in waters off its coast were found to contain radioactive cesium above the legal limit.
...
NHK's survey of local cooperatives in the prefecture found that most of them had decided to halt all fishing for some time to come.
The cooperatives say their fish would not be accepted by brokers or retailers, and as prices are bound to fall it would be unprofitable to fish given the cost of fuel.
this reactor has been over design specs in it's pressure readings for several days now. See FukushimaDataPage
h/t Pluto reuters wrapup
WRAPUP 5-Japan stops nuclear plant leak; crisis far from over
* Liquid glass seals ground, stops leaks
* Nuclear crisis far from under control
* Contaminated water continues to be pumped into sea
TOKYO, April 6 (Reuters) - Japan stopped highly radioactive water leaking into the sea on Wednesday from a crippled nuclear plant while acknowledging it could have given more information to neighbouring countries about contamination to the ocean.
Despite the breakthrough in plugging the leak at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, engineers need to pump 11.5 million litres (11,500 tonnes) of contaminated seawater back into the ocean because they have run out of storage space at the facility. The seawater was used to cool over-heated fuel rods.
Nuclear experts said the damaged reactors were still far from being under control almost a month after they were hit by a massive earthquake and tsunami on March 11.
and
TEPCO is discussing compensationfor areas where residents have been forced to leave their homes, due to the crisis.
TEPCO officials say they've already started paying condolence money to victims of the accident, and were discussing the issue of compensation.
Coverage@Kos: 4/04 - 4/05
HEARTBREAKING Video SOS from Japanese mayor near Fukushima: Near starvation by HamdenRice on 4/4
Fukushima Status Update 4/4 by Kbman on 4/4
Fukushima Update: Fresh Concerns Abound by Akmk on 4/5
Fukushima: Greenpeace Monitors Japan: Evacuate! By radical def on 4/5
One Fish, Two Fish, Radioactive Fish, New Fish
by Brian Ross on 4/5
Please visit ROV #40 for coverage from 4/1 through 4/2 and the archives in Japan Nuclear Incident group for all previous ROVs and Coverage@Kos.
More Below the Fold...
Regularly Updated Data Sources
@Kos: A database of temperature, pressure, radiation levels, etc readings over time can be found in: The Daiichi Database This is an evolving diary that will be updated regularly.
• Japanese Atomic Industrial Forum (JAIF)
• RSOS Emergency & Disaster information Services - Japan
• Daily Telephone Media Briefings from Union of Concerned Scientists
• Energy.gov: The Situation in Japan
• EPA RadNet Map View & EPA's Radiation Air Monitoring
Scribble Live
• Fukushima Data Page: Data for all 3 reactors, as well as a good chunk of data over time: pressure, water flow, core nozzle temp, core bottom temp
• Japan Municipal Water Charts (in Japanese)
Best News Sources
Kyodo Nuclear News Feed
NHK Japan Live
OilDrum: Fukushima Open Thread - Tue 3/29
Asahi on Facebook
Tepco's webcam
Reuters
Fukushima Wikispaces
Bloggers for Japan
Google Earth Engine (download required): Radiation Over Japan. Visit Pachube for mapping.
Rules of the Road
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