Agency warns of increased activity at volcano near nuclear plant

I guess Abe and the NRA are quite perturbed at JMA now. Again, as in Fukushima, warning signs are going unheeded.

This is proving that pay-offs to the government seats that are handling this situation is the very same as at Fukushima.

When money talks the laws and common thinking walks away.

Agency warns of increased activity at volcano near nuclear plant

The authorities are basically closing off 1 KM radius around the mountain as an abudunce of caution. Love the fear mongering spin by Reuters with their headline.

nigelboy

That's hardly fear-mongering. It's about as understated as you can get with "volcano," "nuclear plant" and "Increased activity" in the same headline.

nigelboy: " Love the fear mongering spin by Reuters with their headline."

Well, it's generally people like the power companies and yourself that are never satisfied with the warnings until there is a major disaster, like with those on 3/11, and then you always claim "there was no way of knowing" if you even admit to being warned at all. And that seems to be what it's going to take to satisfy the nuke crowd about warnings: a complete and utter swath, if not all, of Japan left uninhabitable for thousands of years. Maybe you can go to China, nigelboy.

And even if it's not a volcano, there are a myriad of other reasons why the NPPs are unsafe and should not be turned back on.

That's hardly fear-mongering. It's about as understated as you can get with "volcano," "nuclear plant" and "Increased activity" in the same headline.

It's 62 KM away. If you use it as a radius, it covers virtually all of Kyushu.

If there is going to be an eruption that is going cripple a nuclear plant under the new guideline, the nuclear fallout is the least of the problem for they should now declare the entire Kyushu as a no go zone and start relocating the residents now.

Volcanoes +Nuclear plant, Earthquake +Nuclear plant, Tsunami +Nuclear plant, lack of preparation +Nuclear plants, corruption +Nuclear plants might just be me but other than a very large cash bonus why the hell would you risk it? Then there is the waist that has to go ......where? Does not seem to make sence at all.

Nigelboy I agree with your observations, however, for me the fact Kyushu has gotten by fine without this plant is enough for me to say this is just another cash pit for the pols, the bureaucrats, and the nuke plant industry executives. The locals do not want this open and basically they are being told, "Tough cookies, you get whether you wan it or need it or not. You get what Emperor Abe says you get."

Well, I guess we'll see a few of the people in this agency replaced by hand-picked minions to ensure this kind of information is kept well away from the press in the future.

What safety measures do they have in place against a volcanic eruption? How would they deal with an ash cloud filling the stacks and blocking access? How many nuclear disasters will it take for the stone-headed beaurocrats running this country realise that having over 50 nuclear reactors on one of the most volcanically active and earthquake prone islands in the world is just absolutely ludicrous?

Hey, they wouldn't have built the nuke plants if there was any danger of radiation release if a volcano erupts, right? And Fukushima was just extremely bad luck with the tsunami and all, we have a better chance of getting hit twice by lightning... ow! ow!

nigelboyOct. 25, 2014 - 09:21AM JST It's 62 KM away. If you use it as a radius, it covers virtually all of Kyushu.

And your logic is? What? That because Japan is a small country volcanoes here are also magically scaled down?

Volcanic eruptions can spread considerable amounts of ash huge distances, which can:

Disable power lines - wet volcanic ash can cause short-circuits on transformers and high voltage lines by forming bridges Break things - High enough volumes of volcanic ash (like snow) can physically damage structures through its weight alone - And yes, this is a real concern as some areas in Japan have not built their structures with this weight in mind. In Tokyo recently we saw power lines downed because of the additional weight of snow Corrosive - The wet ash is corrosive and can cause damage to even stone structures, eat through insulation and seals, and cause long-term damage unless it is removed promptly.

If there is going to be an eruption that is going cripple a nuclear plant under the new guideline, the nuclear fallout is the least of the problem for they should now declare the entire Kyushu as a no go zone and start relocating the residents now.

Or you could just shut down the plants. Which sounds more feasible? Shutting down a few power plants now because they're clearly not prepared for a volcanic eruption, or trying to evacuate millions of people in a couple of days when the inevitable happens?

They said there are about 110 active volcanos in Japan. Typhoons, earthquakes, tsunamis and tornados sometimes attack all over Japan. It seems not proper country for nuclear power plants. What a wonderful country!

Where little Aso is now used to be a giant volcano which 90,000 years ago erupted so hard that volcanic rocks were dispersed over a 25 km radius, the pyroclastic flow covered half of Kyuusyuu, and significant ash fell as far away as what is now Yamaguchi ken on Honsyuu.

Volcanic eruptions can spread considerable amounts of ash huge distances, which can: - Disable power lines - wet volcanic ash can cause short-circuits on transformers and high voltage lines by forming bridges - Break things - High enough volumes of volcanic ash (like snow) can physically damage structures through its weight alone - And yes, this is a real concern as some areas in Japan have not built their structures with this weight in mind. In Tokyo recently we saw power lines downed because of the additional weight of snow - Corrosive - The wet ash is corrosive and can cause damage to even stone structures, eat through insulation and seals, and cause long-term damage unless it is removed promptly.

And??? How does this affect the 62 KM away NPP under the new guidelines?

nigelboy: "If there is going to be an eruption that is going cripple a nuclear plant under the new guideline, the nuclear fallout is the least of the problem"

Not the least by any means, but definitely the longest lasting and farthest reaching.

Not the least by any means, but definitely the longest lasting and farthest reaching.

I could of swore it was the last big 'natural disaster' itself that caused the longest lasting and farthest reaching problem. But I guess by you, a death of a family members spread across the entire north Pacific coastline of Japan is not that big of a deal.

I think I shall have to panic... If the Sendai Plant is miraculously transported to the top of Ioyama.

Star-Viking

I think I shall have to panic... If the Sendai Plant is miraculously transported to the top of Ioyama.

I hope that when Ioyama goes off without any warning at all, spewing Pyroclastic flows 100km in every direction and plunging the earth into a decades long volcanic winter that reduces the human race to a few thousand breeding pairs scavenging the grey barren wastes of what was once civilization you think back on this joke and feel properly ashamed of yourself for adding radiation to the list of humanity's worries.

nigelboyOct. 25, 2014 - 12:39PM JST And??? How does this affect the 62 KM away NPP under the new guidelines?

... 62km away is nothing for even a moderately sized volcanic eruption. Hell, that tiny volcano Sakurajima, regularly dusts areas 50km away with volcanic ash, and that's not even really an eruption, just a burp.

And the last major volcanic eruption in Iceland spread ash for literally thousands of miles.

Frungy

And the last major volcanic eruption in Iceland spread ash for literally thousands of miles.

And what was the effect of that massive ash cloud on the 70 or so nuclear plants operating in Europe?

hokkaidoguyOct. 25, 2014 - 08:12PM JST And what was the effect of that massive ash cloud on the 70 or so nuclear plants operating in Europe?

... you do realise that Iceland is more than a 1000 kilometers from the UK, don't you? The ash that fell was minor at that distance, but it was serious enough that a group of 25 academics at the University of Bristol is studying the effects and preparing modifications and contingency plans (http://www.bristol.ac.uk/cabot/news/2014/536.html).

So perhaps you think I'm some sort of tinfoil hat alarmist, but when 25 academics think a volcanic eruption is a credible threat 1300+ kilometers away then I think I'm on the right side of the debate I raise concerns about some trying to operate a nuclear reactor that is already past its "best before" date just 62 kilometers away from a cluster of active volcanoes.

Of course it is difficult to get information on the impact as a civilian, just imagine the panic in the UK is the people were informed, "Oh, yeah, in top of airplanes nearly falling out of the sky we also nearly had a nuclear incident.". But the fact that the government are funding those 25 academics in Bristol to study the problem suggests that it is a serious and credible risk at a distance of 1300+ kilometers... 62 kilometers away -- well, you'd have to be insane and/or an idiot to engage in the sort of hand-waving "Oh, we've got this" attitude that the Japanese NRA is exhibiting.

Frungy,

Interesting that the UK solution is to study the problem but the Japanese - at least the "Abe" solution - is just to deny that any problem exists.

Nuclear power in a country with the seismic activity of Japan is really NOT a good idea.

Hell, it's not a good idea ANYWHERE because of the problem of waste disposal, but it's even less of a good idea in Japan.

Earthquakes?

Active volcanoes?

Come on, let's find some energy source that's a bit more friendly to the environment, there are PLENTY of choices!

... 62km away is nothing for even a moderately sized volcanic eruption. Hell, that tiny volcano Sakurajima, regularly dusts areas 50km away with volcanic ash, and that's not even really an eruption, just a burp.

And the last major volcanic eruption in Iceland spread ash for literally thousands of miles.

So again, how does this affect the 62 KM apart NPP?

nigelboyOct. 26, 2014 - 12:51AM JST

And the last major volcanic eruption in Iceland spread ash for literally thousands of miles.

So again, how does this affect the 62 KM apart NPP?

Your question is so ambiguous that I cannot tell if you are asking:

What are the physical effects on the NNP likely to be? (see my post Oct. 25, 2014 - 11:00AM JST , second paragraph)

How much worse will those effect be 62kms away rather than 1300+kms away? Much, much worse.

... I could go on, but since you haven't even bothered to write your question clearly I don't see why I should bother to try and read your mind. If you're interested in an answer then phrase your question clearly.

If you're just expressing your doubt that there is a credible risk then don't phrase your post as a question.

... I could go on, but since you haven't even bothered to write your question clearly I don't see why I should bother to try and read your mind. If you're interested in an answer then phrase your question clearly.

Sorry. I don't think is a credible threat.

nigelboyOct. 26, 2014 - 02:56PM JST Sorry. I don't think is a credible threat.

Okay. Fair enough. You're entitled to your opinion. My opinion is that it is a credible threat. I don't think either of our comments on Japan Today will really influence the Japanese NRA, so I think we'll just have to agree to disagree.