Tag Archives: food

Melt downs: TEPCo sandbagging, with Zeolite

Tokyo Electric Power Company will try a new weapon against radiation spreading in the Pacific Ocean; sandbags.  They already tried steel and silt fencing, now they will use sandbags full of zeolite.

Zeolite is an aluminosilicate mineral, used in commercial absorbents.  It’s hoped it will absorb some of the high levels of radiation in the water.

The difficulties never stop.  Now analysis by the Atomic Energy Society says fuel rods have melted in reactors 1 and 3.  The rods dropped small pellets into the cooling water as they melted.  The pellets have built up at the bottom of the vessel.  There is concern that a large buildup of melted fuel could become a molten mass and damage the vessel, leaking huge amounts of radioactive material.

One evidence of damaged vessels is plutonium.  For the third time plutonium contamination has been found around Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

For first time, high altitude ratiation checks will be made

The Fukushima University will conduct high altitude radiation checks, using high altitude weather balloons.

On Friday they will release the balloon, it will take readings as high up as 30km (18.6 miles).  Readings will be taken at 10 meter (32.8 feet) intervals.

The jet stream blows from east to west (towards North America).  The testing will be done over a 20 day period.

Food Crisis: World Food prices in “Danger Zone”, creating Mass Poverty

The U.S. based World Bank says international food prices have entered the “danger zone”, and are heading towards the “tipping point”.

World Bank president, Robert Zoellick, blames in on several things.

People in countries where the economies are good, are buying more meat.  The problem is that increasing meat production means more grain crops going to ranchers, instead of food for people.  Crops used for bio-fuels, instead of food,  is also a problem.

Then there’s a supply system problem; it’s taking longer to rebuild stocks of basic food ingredients, once they are used up.  This is made worse by the fact that many countries are facing lower crop production mainly because of climate change (cold wx, flooding and drought).

Add to that oil.  Petroleum is used for fertilizers, pesticides, etc, and that is adding to the cost of food production.

One country, China, is so scared of lack of food that they’re buying up huge tracts of land in Africa for food production.

Zoellick says this is a long term problem, we’re only at the beginning of higher food prices.  Also, while countries with more money to buy food are seeing higher prices, the poorer countries are paying far more for their food.

Zoellick says just since last year the higher prices have pushed 44 million people into poverty.  He predicts another 10% increase in food prices will push another 10 million people into poverty.

First time search for Victims, within 10km of Nuke Melt Down Plant, begins!

Finally, after weeks, local police and firefighters are searching for victims within 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuke plant.

300 personnel from Fukushima Prefecture have begun the operation. They are wearing protective gear.  Some will dig through debris, while others monitor radiation levels.  So far 10 bodies have been found.

 

 

Media confusing remark made by special adviser, with Prime Minister

Prime Minister Naoto Kan, apologized for a statement he never made.  It concerned the possibility that people would not be able to return home in the radiation zones.

The statement was actually made by a special adviser to the Prime Minister, Kenichi Matsumoto, who had explained that the they were considering building what would be a refugee city, based on Germany’s eco-friendly models, just in case people could not go home.

Some people in Japan seemed to ignore the possibility of building new self sustaining committees, and were upset about not being able to go home.  Even if they “went home” they still need to rebuild, and the suggestion to follow the German model is still good.

Decommisioning Fukushima Daiichi will take at least 10 years: Toshiba

Tearing down, and cleaning up Fukushima Daiichi nuke plant will take ten years, according to the builder of the GE designed reactors, Toshiba, and that’s not until the current situation is brought under control.

Toshiba’s plan involves the help of four U.S. companies as well.

Phase one will likely to take several months to years. It involves cooling and stabilizing reactors and spent fuel pools, while preventing radioactive water from increasing.

Phase two could take five years: Safe removal, and storage, of nuclear fuel rods from the pools and pressure vessels.

Final phase another five years: Dismantling the reactors and clearing the land, will take another 5 years.

Ground Water Contaminated, TEPCo dealing with 80,000+ tons of contaminated water!

”As there is believed to be around 20,000 tons of water (in the No. 2 reactor turbine building and the trench connected to it), we’re feeling the difficulty of lowering the level of the water in a stable manner.”-Nishiyama Hidehiko, Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency

It’s not just 20,000 tons of contaminated water in Reactor 2,  there is another 60,000 tons in reactors 1 and 3 to deal with,  and no mention of how much water is leaking from Reactor 4.  Now Tokyo Electric Power Company confirms the local ground water, not just the ocean, is contaminated.

TEPCo says radiation in ground water has risen several dozens of times in one week.  It includes iodine-131 and cesium-137.  On 06 April cesium levels were at 1.4 becquerels, on Wednesday it had risen to 53 becquerels.  The readings for iodine-131 are much higher, on Wednesday it had hit 400 becquerels.

Just how much contaminated water has TEPCo been able to safely remove?  660 tons, that’s all.  Thousands of tons has spilled out into the ocean, and into local ground water.   One official thinks it will take three months to remove the tens of thousands of tons of contaminated water, and that needs to be done before they can deal with anything else.

The United States is sending several huge water storage tanks to help with the contaminated water removal.  It must be put somewhere safe, because the water is nuclear waste.

The problem of the spilling waste water is being blamed on the dumping of sea water, as an emergency cooling operation.

Fukushima Daiichi is still showing temperature problems, but employees say they can not trust the instrumentation.  One employee says one gauge will show overheating while another gauge shows normal!

Hitachi making money off nuke disaster

Hitachi is rushing to fill orders for giant turbine power generators. One of their first orders was sent off today.  It’s being sent to Ibaraki Prefecture.

The turbine generator weighs 50 tons, and took an hour and a half to be hauled nine miles to the shipping yards.

Hitachi says it is being swamped with orders since it’s become clear the problems with nuclear generated power will last well into summer.

Nuke plants not designed to withstand 9.0 quake, concern over strong aftershocks!

The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency of Japan, has asked three nuclear power plants to inspect their reactors for damage.  This after the agency realized that the 11 March earthquake was stronger than what many nuclear power plants were designed to withstand.

Since then Japan has had more than 400 aftershocks, several in the 5 to 6 magnitude range, and at least two of magnitude 7.  There is concern that nuclear plants already damaged by the 9.0 quake, will be further weakened by the aftershocks.

Work at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi plant has been continually interrupted by aftershocks.  Currently employees are moving diesel generators to higher ground, because there is concern that there could be another big quake caused tsunami.

Fukushima Daiichi is not the only nuke plant damaged by the 11 March quake.  Fukushima DaiNi, just a few miles away, has been struggling to keep its reactors cool, using external power.  Also, in Miyagi Prefecture, there is Onagawa nuclear plant (owned by Tohoku Electric, not to be confused with Tokyo Electric).  It too, has been struggling to keep its fuel pools cool with external power.  One aftershock cut the power lines running to the plant.  Onagawa had all its reactors shut down for maintenance prior to 11 March, so all the active fuel rods are in the spent fuel pools.

 

 

 

Japanese Prime Minister wants to follow Germany’s Green City model

Matsumoto Kenichi, special adviser to Prime Minister Kan Naoto, says they are looking at using Germany’s eco-friendly city models to build a new home for refugees from the failed Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

The concern is that so much contamination has spread around the 30km (18.6 miles) danger zone, that people will not be able to return for 30 years or more (just like Chernobyl).

The proposed refugee city would be based on eco-friendly projects undertaken by several German cities.  The city should be self sustaining, and have no more than 100,000 residents.   As in the German experiments, residents would grow their own crops, and produce their own electricity, which could be sold on the power grid.  There would also be no car zones, and pedestrian only zones.

Japan should consider the German model for all its cities, not just a refugee city.