Claims are being made that the situation at Fukushima is starting to improve, but there is no actual evidence of this. We probably (but not certainly) passed the point where nuclear fuel is likely to accumulate in such a way as to cause a major fission event or explosion, but there is still sufficient heat … Continue reading Japan nuke news 18: Reactor facilities smoke, sputter. Fission continues? →

Welcome to the “I’m starting to get cynical” edition. The situation at Fukushima Diiachi Nuclear Plant reached an impasse over the least few days. Two or three of the reactors are in a situation where cooling is being kludged, the reactor fuel rods are damaged and have melted but the details are unknown, storage pools … Continue reading Japan quake, tsunami, nuke news 16: Radioactive leaks? It’s a feature, not a bug! →

Despite the deafening silence from TEPCO regarding questions over a physical breech in Reactor 2, it is now generally being considered that there is a breech in reactor 2. It is not clear if it is a hole in the containment vessel of some kind or just some disconnected or cracked pipes. Experts are estimating … Continue reading Japan quake, tsunami, nuke news 15: Water leaking into sea via crack, and concerns over hydrogen buildup →

The experts monitoring and reporting on the Fukushima nuclear disaster have, for several days now, stopped talking about melting reactor fuel or breached containment vessels. The International Atomic Energy Agency, the Energy Collective, and other groups now merely pass along information about pressure and temperature and make a note here and there about water being … Continue reading Japan quake, tsunami, nuke news 14: Waiting for the other shoe to drop →

As I tune in to NHK live TV, and see the piece on using Twitter to aid in disaster relief being shown for the 20th time over the last 48 hours, I wonder about what appears to be a sudden and dramatic drop in the level of coverage of the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster. … Continue reading Japan quake, tsunami, nuke news 13: When in doubt, throw a towel on it. →

The most interesting and important current news, interesting if confirmed, is that plutonium has been discovered in soil near Fukushima. With all this talk about radiation, it is easy to forget that some of these elements are extremely poisonous in their own right. Plutonium is a very nasty poison. I’ve not seen the news reports … Continue reading Japan quake, tsunami, nuke news 12: Engineers discover giant trench filled with radioactive water; Plutonium in nearby soil? →

Sea water has now been replaced with fresh water for cooling reactors, and, apparently, spent fuel storage pools. Work continues on restoring power and repairing cooling systems, but the cooling systems remain unrepaired. An interesting development overnight (overday in Japan): A very high radiation reading in Reactor 2 showed what apparently was high enough radiation … Continue reading Japan quake, tsunami, nuke news 11 … overnight spike was false reading? →

Ana’s Feed starting at about 2PM Thursday 24 March: Finally found some info on that simulation mentioned earlier: “…the model showed that areas where cumulative exposure over 12 days reached 100 millisieverts–the government’s maximum for infants–extended beyond the evacuation zone. A map based on data from the center showed areas that received a cumulative 100 … Continue reading Japan quake, tsunami, nuke news 09 →

Ana’s Feed starting just after midnight 24 March: “…estimates that 57,000 pounds of salt have accumulated in Reactor No. 1 and 99,000 pounds apiece in Reactors No. 2 and 3, which are larger.” (Editor’s note: This is what I had independently calculated, so it looks right to me) Ban Ki-moon and IAEA and various governments … Continue reading Japan quake, tsunami, nuke news 08 →

With the current nuclear power plant kerfuffle1 in Japan, people are making comparisons with a TMI-Chernobyl scale, with TMI being a nuclear accident that is not bad at all2 and Chernobyl being the worst case scenario.3 This is actually very reassuring, because Chernobyl was really no big deal.4

Continued from here … Ana’s feed starting Friday 8 PM TEPCO has raised the occupational limit of radiation for its workers to 150mSv/hr. Some workers have already been exposed in excess the old limit of 100mSv/hr. Workers who have been exposed to the limit will not be sent back in. -NHK morning broadcast Saturday: Those … Continue reading Japan quake, tsunami, nuke news 06 →

Nine of ten nuclear reactors at two locations at Fukushima, Japan, have problems ranging from damaged cooling systems to partial meltdowns, and spent fuel storage facilities at several of these reactors are severely damaged. In some cases, facilities seem to have been shut down safely. In other cases, there is a strong suspicion of serious … Continue reading Current Status of the Nine Nuclear Reactors Damaged in Japan’s Earthquake and Tsunami →

… continuing from earlier news News, blog, and other items: Singaporeans in Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures told to evacuate Language used to describe atomic meltdown borders on reckless hyperbole Know Nukes: The Japanese Earthquake & Anti-Nuclear Hysteria: Explaining how the Japan Nuke Disaster is not melt down, there will be no radiation leaks, and it … Continue reading Japan quake, tsunami, nuke news 03 →

News about the Nuke Plants: Meltdown “most unlikely,” nuke industry rep says The explosion at a nuclear plant in Fukushima, Japan destroyed a building that houses a reactor Saturday, triggering a radiation leak and fears of a nuclear meltdown. But a representative of the global nuclear power industry asserts the possibility of a meltdown is … Continue reading Japan quake, tsunami, nuke news 01 →