Some update from TEPCO on Fukushima

Increased flow of water to unit 1 to 10 m3/h. It is thought that the core of unit 1 has sustained 55 % of damage to the fuel.

Soil samples are showing Americium 241 and Curium 243 and 244.

Spent fuel pools of both unit 2 and 4 are being injected with water.

Radioactive water still leaking into the ocean.

Bahrain's military court convicts 4 Shiite protesters to death -The Guardian

Exxon's profit soars 69% , top street

In a previous post, we predicted that oil companies would post high profits and I maintain that the price increase of oil is price gauging; but there is no regulation in place to protect the public against such villainous practices.

Economic growth slows, inflation surges -Reuters

"Another report on Thursday showed a surprise rise in the number of Americans claiming unemployment benefits last week, which could cast a shadow on expectations for a significant pick-up in output in the second quarter." Reutershttp://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/28/us-usa-economy-idUSTRE73D8GJ20110428

Fukushima city removing schools' topsoil -The Japan Times

Uranium mining -Wikipedia

"The worldwide production of uranium in 2009 amounted to 50,572 tonnes, of which 27% was mined inKazakhstan. Kazakhstan, Canada, and Australia are the top three producers and together account for 63% of world uranium production. Other important uranium producing countries in excess of 1000 tonnes per year are Namibia, Russia, Niger, Uzbekistan, and the United States.^[1]

A prominent use of uranium from mining is as fuel for nuclear power plants."

"After mining uranium ores, they are normally processed by grinding the ore materials to a uniform particle size and then treating the ore to extract the uranium by chemical leaching. The milling process commonly yields dry powder-form material consisting of natural uranium, "yellowcake," which is sold on the uranium market as U₃O₈."

China to encourage high-tech reactors, uranium exploration -Reuters

And we thought that nations had learnt about the uncontrollable dangers of nuclear power; Fukushima is still burning, spewing radioactive aerosols, and pissing radioactive water into the ocean and yet the US, France, the UK, Russia, China and (see map below) are still planning to build new nuclear power plants: how insane is this? There are many countries which don't use nuclear energy (see map below), they should put pressure on countries who do to shut down their nuclear power plants.

Although Germany has been using nuclear power it has decided, because of popular pressure, to phase out its nuclear program: this is a sane decision; but the sanest of all are the countries which don't use nuclear power at all such as Australia ( although Australia mines for uranium, and that must surely pollute water tables, just a guess).
 

The status of nuclear power globally:

  Operating reactors, building new reactors

  Operating reactors, planning new build

  No reactors, building new reactors

  No reactors, planning new build

  Operating reactors, stable

  Operating reactors, considering phase-out

  Civil nuclear power is illegal

  No reactors

Wikipedia

Oil above $124 as weak dollar supports - Reuters

I believe that the price hike has nothing to do with the weak dollar, but has to do with price gauging.

Chernobyl, Fukushima, Indian Point

Obama to Congress: End 'unwarranted tax breaks' for oil companies -The Washington Post

Congress deepens Apple location tracking probe

By Jasmin Melvin

WASHINGTON | Tue Apr 26, 2011 5:16pm EDT

(Reuters) - Lawmakers extended their probe into location tracking on mobile devices this week, asking Apple Inc and other developers to divulge how they use location data and scheduling a separate hearing on mobile privacy.

Thousands of Moroccans stage new protests to demand political change The Washington Post

1000s of Iraqis rally against extending U.S. troops presence

Considering the US interest in democracy we must assume that the US will get out of Iraq promptly. But will it happen?

The EPA data on precipitation shows high levels of radioactivity in recent precipitations

Up to 390 pCu/L of iodine-131 in Boise ID; the West Coast in general showing higher levels, but levels are above background all the way to the East coast.

NILU Radioactive cloud trajectory

Yemen's president Ali Abdullah Saleh agrees to step down - The Guardian

Radiation near Japan reactors still too high for workers -msnbc

This article resumes the current Fukushima situation which is still out of control with three out of six reactors emitting white smoke and a growing number of workers exposed to very high radiation levels.

The new sarcophagus of Chernobyl, a pharaonic project - Le Monde

Videos of the forbidden zone of Chernobyl (in French)

Activists occupy oil rig in fight to prevent Arctic drilling -The Guardian

"Environmental groups fear oil industry is not prepared for potentially catastrophic impact of oil spills in the Arctic"

Latest radiological monitoring in Japan

Radiological Monitoring and Consequences - 19 April 2011

View more presentations from IAEA

There are spikes in deposition around April 10; the report does not tell us why.

Also the IAEA reported: "Work to strengthen the electrical power system between Units 1 - 2 and Units 3 - 4 was completed on 19 April. White "smoke" continues to be emitted from Units 2, 3 and 4."   

Omar al-Bashir talks to the Guardian - video

Robots report high radiation at Japan nuclear plant as criticism grows over pace of response -The Washington Post

Wikileaks cables and related stories in the Washington Post

US secretly backed Syrian opposition report - Reuters

"(Reuters) - The State Department has secretly funded Syrian opposition groups, according to diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks, The Washington Post reported on Monday."


"The cables show that the State Department has funneled as much as $6 million since 2006 to a group of Syrian exiles to operate a London-based satellite channel, Barada TV, and finance activities inside Syria, the Post said."

TEPCO new video of Fukushima

Penguins threatened by oil

Japan nuclear operator aims for cold shutdown in 6-9 months

This is a long time, compare this with the Chernobyl scenario, the following is an excerpt from the IAEA: "Under extremely hazardous conditions, thousands of "Liquidators" worked to contain the remains of the fourth reactor. The shelter surrounding the reactor was completed less than six months after the explosion during peak radioactivity levels. The massive concrete and steel "Sarcophagus", quickly constructed using "arms length" methods, has deteriorated over the years, creating a potentially hazardous situation. Several repairs were made to the current shelter, including the stabilisation of the ventilation stack and reinforcement of the roof. In addition, a plan for the construction of a more secure and permanent structure to be built around the existing Sarcophagus was drafted; work has already begun on the infrastructure of this new shelter. The plan, called the Shelter Implementation Plan, is a project of the Chernobyl Shelter Fund. Both efforts, whose combined expected expenditures over the next eight or nine years exceed $765 million, are administered by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development."


Also in order to keep cooling the spent fuel and the 3 breached reactors water must be injected continually, and water will always find its way into the ocean. From the latest entries on Fukushima in Wikipedia: "Reports of 13 observations of neutron beams 1.5 km "southwest of the plant's No. 1 and 2 reactors" from 13 March to 16 March raised the possibility that nuclear fission could have occurred after the initial SCRAMing of the reactors at Fukushima Daiichi. "

Example of eddies off the coast of Japan

Eddies are the circular currents that cut off from the main current, for example these eddies which pinched off the Kuroshio current of the coast of Japan. There are warm core eddies and cold core eddies. Warm core eddied transport with them more variety of animals than the cold eddies. As is clearly shown in these pictures taken by MODIS, phytoplankton bloom is associated with them and thus eddies are rich in marine life. 

I found the pictures on Wikipedia

Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act Reintroduced in Senate -The Washington Post

"Legislation to bolster protection for government employees who bring attention to waste, fraud and abuse, sometimes at the risk of ruining their careers, has been around for almost a dozen years."  see the full article by Joe Davidson in the Washington Post

As Bahrain stifles protest movement,U.S.'s muted objections draw criticism -The Washington Post

"“Even though the American administration’s words are all about freedom and democracy and change, in Bahrain, the reality is that they’re basically a protection for the dictatorship,” said Zainab al-Khawaja, a prominent human-rights activist who began a hunger strike after her father, husband and brother-in-law were arrested at her apartment over the weekend." The Washington Post

Zawahri says Muslims should fight NATO in Libya -Reuters

"I want to direct the attention of our Muslim brothers in Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, and the rest of the Muslim countries, that if the Americans and the NATO forces enter Libya then their neighbors in Egypt and Tunisia and Algeria and the rest of the Muslim countries should rise up and fight both the mercenaries of Gaddafi and the rest of NATO," Zawahri said. Reuters

Oil rises on China growth, U.S. consumer sentiment

Last week it rose for fear of oil shortage; watch my words, the oil companies will record profits. This is another price gouging which will be ignored.

New photos released by TEPCO clearly show that the situation is not in control and that white smoke and gray smoke are coming out of the reactors, and thus are released in the atmosphere

Updates from TEPCO

On April 13th Radiation dose, in the sample of subsurface water near the turbine buildings, increased compared to April 6th; NISA instructed TEPCO to increase the frequency of the testing.

Nitrogen injections are continuing in reactor 1 to prevent another explosion.

On the 14th, an unmanned helicopter was flown around reactors 1 to 4. The press is also reporting that reactors 1, 2 and 3 had partially melted and granules have formed at the bottom of the reactors. From the IAEA reports we know that at least 50% of the fuel of these three reactors have melted.  The temperatures of these reactors are well above the 97oC the temperature of a cooled down reactor especially unit 1 with a temperature of 206oC. But the temperatures are decreasing.

Americans are told to stay at least 50 miles away from the plant. 

Emails expose BP's attempts to control research into impact of Gulf oil spill -The Guardian

"Documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show BP officials discussing how to influence the work of scientists"

Comprendre l'accident de Fukushima en trois minutes -Le Monde

Comprendre l'accident de Fukushima en 3 minutes
LEMONDE.FR | 13.04.11

©

G20 police tactics - video

For other videos go to The Guardian

Protests continue across Syria

Senate slams Goldman in scathing crisis report

A critical report but what are the consequences? Who will be jailed?

We got this video from the Washington Post

Five myths about why women earn less than men -The Washington Post

Women make about 74 to 77% of what men earn.

Great article by Mariko Chang in the Washington Post

Obama risks losing liberals with talk of cutting budget -Washington Post

Understanding the INES scale -IAEA

International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES) - 12 April 2011

View more presentations from IAEA

FUkushima evacuees demand compensation

And they are obviously entitled to such. They should sue TEPCO, NISA and G.E.: TEPCO for operating and owning, for profit, an aging nuclear power plant and over extending the spent fuel pools, NISA for extending a license for this monstrosity and G.E. for building it. Also, we should assume that these culprits have insurance to cover a nuclear disaster of enormous economic and health consequences. Farmers have lost their farms, people are left without employment and stuck in shelters in sub standard accommodations.  The world we hope takes notice to be better prepared for their own nuclear disaster. I think every country should follow Germany's example as suggested Greenpeace, put all nuclear power plants in shutdown; this is certainly the way to go, Obama is insane to promote an industry which produces an uncontrollable soup of radioactive isotopes and which imposes  its wastes on the rest of the world.

Bradley Manning needs consular visit, mother tells William Hague -The guardian

Canadian inspection agency refuses to test milk for radiation

Latest development of Fukushima Daiichi

- During the last two major aftershock, workers had to evacuate and pumping of water to douse the reactors was interrupted.

- Seawater contamination spiked last week, and a sea water sample from 15 km or 9 miles off the coast of Minamisoma city was 23 fold the legal limit.

- China has seen a small increase in radiation but it said that it was about 1% of the amount it saw after Chernobyl.

- After shocks are threatening the already damaged buildings, TEPCO is looking into reinforcing them.


Read the whole article Reuters

Analysis: After Japan, nuclear accident ratings reform sought

Some experts think that the scale should be expanded to add a level 8 and 9, because they feel that Fukushima is not as bad as Chernobyl; but Greenpeace which is monitoring radiation in Japan believes that the accident is much more serious than Chernobyl since it involves three reactors and spent fuel rods and that the event occurred in a much more populated area, and that indeed this event will affect the health of thousands, the land and the ocean. In the end it is likely the scale will be expanded to describe this historic nuclear catastrophe. 


""It has been obvious all along this was a 7 ... There are three reactors that are not being cooled and four fuel pools too. Chernobyl was only one core," said Arnie Gundersen, chief engineer at Fairewinds Associates and a 29-year veteran of the nuclear industry who worked on reactors similar to those at Fukushima."  Quote Reuters

Smoke on Tuesday April 12 is coming out from underneath reactor 2 and 3.

Pakistan threatens to impose new restrictions on CIA

"Pakistani officials threatened Monday to impose new limits on CIA drone strikes in their country and to expel agency operatives whose missions are not approved by Islamabad, escalating a high-stakes feud between the counterterrorism allies, U.S. and Pakistani officials said." Washington Post

And we can't blame them, in fact the drone attacks (118 last year) are a violation of a sovereign nation and are illegal and in violation of international law. 

China tells US to quit as human rights judge

"(Reuters) - The United States is beset by violence, racism and torture and has no authority to condemn other governments' human rights problems, China said on Sunday, countering U.S. criticism of Beijing's crackdown." Reuters

Strontium-90 -Wkipedia

- Beta decay,
- Half life is 28.8 years,
- "The results of a study of hundreds of thousands of teeth collected by Dr. Louise Reiss and her colleagues as part of the Baby Tooth Survey showed that children born after 1963 had levels of ⁹⁰Sr in their deciduous teeth that was 50 times higher than that found in children born before the advent of large-scale atomic testing. The findings helped convince U.S. President John F. Kennedy to sign the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty with the United Kingdom andSoviet Union, which ended the above-ground nuclear weapons testing that placed the greatest amounts of nuclear fallout into the atmosphere. A set of 85,000 teeth that had been uncovered in storage in 2001 were given to theRadiation and Public Health Project. By tracking the individuals who had participated in the tooth-collection project, the RHPR published results in a 2010 issue of the International Journal of Health Service that showed that those children who later died of cancer before the age of 50 had levels of strontium 90 in their stored baby teeth that was twice the level of those who were still alive at 50.<sup>[3][4]"


- "</sup>Together with caesium isotopes ¹³⁴Cs, ¹³⁷Cs, and iodine isotope ¹³¹I it was among the most important isotopes regarding health impacts after the Chernobyl disaster.

Strontium-90 is a "bone seeker" that exhibits biochemical behavior similar tocalcium, the next lighter Group 2 element. After entering the organism, most often by ingestion with contaminated food or water, about 70-80% of the dose gets excreted. Virtually all remaining strontium-90 is deposited in bones and bone marrow, with the remaining 1% remaining in blood and soft tissues. Its presence in bones can cause bone cancer, cancer of nearby tissues, and leukemia. Exposure to ⁹⁰Sr can be tested by abioassay, most commonly by urinalysis." Wikipedia

Instead of playing war games the world community needs to work together to end the releases of radioactive fission products which are now blanketing the whole northern hemisphere and are finding their way into soils, drinking water, milk and foods.

Some of the latest on Fukushima:

- Level 7 on INES scale.
- Strontium-90 was found on the ground of Fukushima;
- "Radiation released into the atmosphere peaked from March 15 to 16. Radiation is still being released, but the amount now has fallen considerably," said NISA's Nishiyama.

-" Lam Ching-wan, a chemical pathologist at the University of Hong Kong and member of the American Board of Toxicology, said this level of radiation was harmful.

"It means there is damage to soil, ecosystem, water, food and people. People receive this radiation. You can't escape it by just shutting the window," Lam said."

For the whole article see Reuters it has some new pictures which clearly show that Fukushima is not under control.

Japan raises nuclear alert level to seven -The Guardian

"But the government came under pressure to raise the level at the plant after Japan's nuclear safety commission estimated the amount of radioactive material released from its stricken reactors reached 10,000 terabecquerels per hour for several hours following the earthquake and tsunami that devastated the country's northeast coast on 11 March. That level of radiation constitutes a major accident, according to the INES scale." The Guardian


"“This corresponds to a large fraction of the core inventory of a power reactor, typically involving a mixture of short- and long-lived radionuclides,” an IAEA document says. “With such a release, stochastic health effects over a wide area, perhaps involving more than one country, are expected.” Washington Post


It is time to tell our governments that we don't want nuclear energy like we don't want nuclear weapons. 

Bradley Manning case sparks UN criticism of US government -The Guardian

Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Multimedia -The New York Times

Videos, photographs and interactive features documenting the destruction in Japan after a powerful earthquake and tsunami devastated the country on March 11.


This has a great deal of information.

The President is Missing -The New York Times

By PAUL KRUGMAN

Published: April 10, 2011

Where’s the Democratic vision on the budget?

Evacuation zone expanded to five more communities including Litate which is 25 miles away

Bradley Manning:top US legal scholars voice outrage at 'torture' -The Guardian

"Obama professor among 250 experts who have signed letter condemning humiliation of alleged Wikileaks source"

Video on Fukushima as of April 11 -The Washington Post

Some dramatic shots of Fukushima -RT tv

Video model of dispersion of radioactive isotopes in the Pacific

New nuclear plume trajectory published April8 by the IRSN

 

Voir la simulation à l'échelle mondiale

IRSN April 8th, bulletin

"Depuis la détection d’iode 131 le 24 mars, au sommet du Puy de Dôme, les résultats de mesures obtenus par l’IRSN ou transmis par les exploitants jusqu’à ce jour confirment une présence généralisée de traces d’iode 131 en France dans l’air, les végétaux et le lait, en relation avec les rejets radioactifs dans l’air de l’accident de Fukushima (voir synthèses n°4 à 11).

Les concentrations en radionucléides artificiels mesurées en France dans les différents milieux surveillés restent très faibles :

• entre quelques dixièmes de millibecquerels et quelques millibecquerels d’iode 131 par mètre cube d’air (mBq/m3) ;
• au maximum quelques becquerels par kilogramme (Bq/kg) de végétaux (herbe ou légumes feuilles) ; 
• au maximum quelques becquerels par litre (Bq/L) dans l’eau de pluie ou dans le lait.

Des traces de césium 134, césium 137 et ponctuellement de tellure 132, imputables à l’accident de Fukushima, sont également mesurées dans l’air en différents points du territoire, à des activités de l’ordre de quelques centièmes de millibecquerels par mètre cube d’air. Les résultats de mesure pour ces radionucléides dans les autres catégories de prélèvement sont la plupart du temps inférieurs aux limites de détection des appareils utilisés.

Ces niveaux de concentration en radionucléides artificiels mesurés en France dans les différents milieux surveillés sont conformes aux prévisions de l’IRSN (voir la note sur l’impact à très grande distance des rejets radioactifs provoqués par l’accident de Fukushima). Ils sont très faibles et représentent aucun risque environnemental ou sanitaire, même en cas de persistance dans la durée.

Télécharger le Bulletin d’information n°12 du 8 avril 2011 à 17h (document PDF) "

If you want to know more go to their web site at: http://www.irsn.fr/FR/Actualites_presse/Actualites/Pages/20110408_synthese-resultats-mesures-environnement-france.aspx

Israeli strikes kill 13 including a woman and her daughter -The Washington Post

This attack was in response to an attack on an Israeli school bus which wounded two people. Since Thursday's bus attack 17 palestinians have been killed and dozens wounded. The Washington Post

Israel is out of control, and the UN should condemn these heavily handed attacks on the Palestinians.  These attacks are reminiscent of the Gaza-war between 2008-2009 which resulted in disproportionate Palestinian casualties. The conflict resulted in between 1,166 and 1,417 Palestinian deaths vs.13 Israeli deaths. See Wikipedia These reflect a massacre not a war. 

Contamination spread around hemisphere -Japan Times

"VIENNA (Kyodo) Radioactive materials released from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant spread around the entire Northern Hemisphere in the two weeks following the March 11 disaster, an international nuclear watchdog said Thursday." See the whole article

Tahrir Square comes alive with protesters again -The Guardian

U.S. health-care system unprepared for major nuclear emergency, officials say -Washington Post

" Forty-five percent of the states surveyed had no radiation plan at all for areas outside federally mandated nuclear power plant emergency zones. Almost 85 percent of the officials said their states couldn’t properly respond to a radiation incident because of inadequate planning, resources, staffing and partnerships.

More troubling was the fact that the situation hadn’t improved since a similar survey was taken in 2003. “Most of those comparisons appear to indicate either the same poor level of preparedness and planning or a decline in capacity,” the report said.

The nation’s investment in emergency preparedness seems likely to decrease rather than increase, experts say, because of massive federal and state deficits."

"“If the public isn’t demanding that we be better prepared, the politicians won’t put the money in for us to be better prepared and the regulators” won’t require it, said Arthur Cooper, a professor of surgery at Columbia University and director of trauma and pediatric surgical services at Harlem Hospital Center. “It all begins with the public knowing this is a problem that’s got to be solved and it’s worth spending some money and effort to try to be prepared in a real way.”"  

See the whole article in the Washington Post

U.S. falls behind China in wind power -Reuters

The US has been spending its money in raging wars and thus in its defense budget instead of infrastructures, innovation and production; therefore, it is not a surprise that China gallops ahead in the development of tomorrow's technologies. We can also assume that the US is already behind in the development of electric vehicles and solar panels.

The US can't get ahead when it spends $700 billion on defense while reducing the education budget. The youth is the vibrant, creative and energetic element of a society moving towards the future and I believe China knows that.

Water leaks at another nuclear power plant in Japan -Reuters

China concerned at Japan's prolonged nuclear crisis -Reuters

"(Reuters) - China said on Friday it was concerned at Japan pumping radioactive water into the sea from its crippled nuclear power plant, reflecting growing international unease at the month-long crisis triggered by a massive earthquake and tsunami."


Onagawa leaked some radioactive water during the latest earthquake in Japan, but no problems were found they thought that the quake rocked the fuel rods pools and the water splattered.

The crisis in Japan will have some major repercussions in the world's economy and it calls for world solidarity and creativity; and it is urgent, otherwise inflation will become viral and suffocate a middle class, already struggling.

In the US It is time to increase the taxes for the $200,000 and up and to have luxury taxes on a number of items, such as: boats, jets, jewelry, secondary residences, and land.  Also, it is time for all religious institutions to pay their taxes because our government is secular and for all the people. Furthermore, it is necessary to reduce the military budget by $300 billion, by about a half, and redistribute this money to organizations which have the health and education of the people in mind.

These measures could help circumvent inflation and stop the budget cuts which the middle and lower social classes are going to suffer at the hands of a congress for the wealthy.