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Posted by Alexander Higgins - April 18, 2011 at 12:08 am - Permalink - Source via Alexander Higgins Blog
Radiation levels have spiked after smoke and steam was seen rising from all 4 nuclear reactor causing all workers to be evacuated from the Fukushima nuclear power plant.
TEPCO Fukushima webcam, April 18, 2011 at 6:00 am in Japan:
4/18 Radiation Spike And Smoke At Fukushima Causes Workers To Be Evacuated
Update: News flash via NHK reports “The operator of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says the maximum radiation level inside the No. 3 reactor building is 57 millisieverts per hour”. This is up from 10 millisieverts per hour at the time the news report above was recorded.
Workers cannot approach reactor buildings
At the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, high levels of radiation have kept workers from approaching the buildings housing the first 3 reactors, which lost their cooling functions in the March 11th earthquake and tsunami.
On Friday, the highest radiation level measured outside the double-entry doors of the Number 1 to 3 reactor buildings was 2 to 4 millisieverts per hour.
Radiation levels measured between the double doors of those reactor buildings was 270 millisieverts in the Number One reactor, 12 in Number 2, and 10 in Number 3.
The radiation level detected at the Number One reactor exceeds the national exposure limit of 250 millisieverts for nuclear contract workers.
Tokyo Electric Power Company, TEPCO, has started using a remote-controlled robot inside the reactor buildings.
But issues remain as radioactive water has been found in turbine buildings and the utility tunnel outside the reactors.
At the Number 2 reactor, the level of highly contaminated water in the tunnel is still rising. To prevent overflow, TEPCO is stepping up the inspection of the nuclear waste processing facility, to which it aims to transfer contaminated water.
Underground water at the plant is also contaminated.
On Wednesday, the level of radioactive substances sharply increased at facilities where underground water from the Number 1 and 2 reactors is collected.
On Friday, workers kept on monitoring the situation.
They say the level of radioactive substances has stabilized or decreased in every reactor from 1 to 6.
So they say it’s unlikely that highly radioactive water is still seeping into underground water.
Monday, April 18, 2011 08:44 +0900 (JST)
Source:NHK
This follows a slew of bad news yesterday that increased radiation levels at the plant could indicate a new leak.
Possible new leak at nuclear plant in Japan
Government cites rise in levels of radioactive materials in sea nearby
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Radiation levels have spiked again in seawater near the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in northern Japan in an indication of possible new leaks at the complex, the government said Saturday, According to reports.
Workers have been trying to contain contaminated runoff at the plant that came with efforts to cool reactors and spent fuel rods after the devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami knocked out primary and backup cooling systems for the plant’s six nuclear reactors.
Tokyo Electric Power Co. Inc., the operator of the plant, recently found and eventually plugged a leak that might have been spewing for days. Levels of radioactive materials in the ocean near the site fell afterward.
But the government said Saturday those radioactive levels in the seawater rose again in recent days, and may have been caused by the installation of steel panels meant to control radioactive materials, according to an Associated Press report.
[...]
Source: MarketWatch
The potential new leaks reported yesterday created mounting political pressure for the Prime Minister of Japan to resign over his mis-handling of the disaster.
Radioactivity Rises Near Japan’s Crippled Nuclear Facility; Could Mean New Leaks
TOKYO — Japan’s prime minister, fighting criticism at home over his handling of the aftermath of last month’s massive earthquake and tsunami, says he deeply regrets the crisis at a radiation-leaking nuclear plant.
“I take very seriously, and deeply regret, the nuclear accidents we have had at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant. Bringing the situation under control at the earliest possible date is my top priority,” Naoto Kan said in a commentary in the weekend edition of the International Herald Tribune.
As Japan has begun planning for reconstruction and mulling how to pay for it, Kan’s political opponents have resumed calls for his resignation after refraining from criticism in the immediate aftermath of the disaster.
[...]
Source: Huffington Post
Radiation levels in the Pacific Ocean also spiked again.
Radioactivity rises in sea off Japan nuclear plant
Levels of radioactivity have risen sharply in seawater near a tsunami-crippled nuclear plant in northern Japan, signaling the possibility of new leaks at the facility, the government said Saturday.
By: Mari Yamaguchi, Associated Press April 16, 2011
TOKYO — Levels of radioactivity have risen sharply in seawater near a tsunami-crippled nuclear plant in northern Japan, signaling the possibility of new leaks at the facility, the government said today.
The announcement came after a magnitude-5.9 earthquake jolted Japan, hours after the country’s nuclear safety agency ordered plant operators to beef up their quake preparedness systems to prevent a recurrence of the nuclear crisis.
[...]
Source: Grand Folks Herald
Forbes also reported that the conditions at the plant were deteriorating.
Conditions May Be Deteriorating at Japanese Nuclear Power Plant
Five weeks after the crisis at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station (FDI) first began, there is new evidence that the situation may have taken a turn for the worse.
Intensely radioactive water from reactor Unit 2 is filling a nearby tunnel faster than workers can empty it, and radioactive levels of seawater near the plant increased sixfold following an aftershock on Saturday.
According to Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) owner/operator of the 6-reactor power plant, radioactive contamination of groundwater by Unit 2 is 17-times higher than it was just one week ago. The problem is thought to be caused by an unknown leak or leaks in the basement of the unit’s turbine building or in the tunnel itself.
[...]
Source: Forbes
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