Record radiation levels detected at Fukushima reactor

TEPCO execs still want a winter bonus according to TV news that covered the stockholders meeting. I say their bonuses should be dropped down that radioactive drainpipe into the basement of number 1 reactor. If they want their bonus so bad, they can fish it out themselves, or better yet dive right in and get it out by hand.

Remember all the spin we got in the first two weeks. About the water level being here and there and about all the tests that they we doing.

It was all bull.

They (Edano et al) knew from the beginning that it had melted down.

I feel that there is in Japan a sense of denial in realising this is actually a very, very, long term problem. Yes, you can still go shopping and live a normal (japanese) life but denial will not stop reality. Making the subject taboo does not make it better or make it go away.

Would it not be better for those in authority and those in the know to be up front and say: we are going to have to change the way this nation operates. We have a unprecedented disaster on our hands that has changed Japan for ever. The earthquakes are over, the tsunami has retreated but we have a very big problem with nuclear radiation leaking into or world. this is what we must do.

Demolition of the three reactors as well as the plant’s number 4 unit is expected to take 40 years and will need the use of new technologies.

Incredible. I saw a show on Australian TV the other night that was an investigation run by the 4 Corners show I think - I didn't catch all of it, but they had a Japanese professor of Nuclear science who had spent many years in Europe. He was talking specifically about this number 4 reactor and how there was an incredibly contaminated and potentially dangerous body of water suspended within the structure 30 odd meters above the ground, and how, if they have a large enough earthquake nearby, it will all come tumbling down and create a major, major disaster. And he was also saying that TEPCO and most of the Japanese are effectively just pretending that it isn't there.

And yet the industry refuses to heed the warnings of seismologists and other experts regarding restarting reactors. Brilliant. This news also a week after they have resumed selling seafood from the surrounding area. The level of stupidity with which the entire situation is being handled is mind-boggling.

@SimondB,

Would it not be better for those in authority and those in the know to be up front and say: we are going to have to change the way this nation operates.

I couldn't agree more, but something about that comment makes me suspect you haven't been in Japan very long? :D

All this and yet the electric companies, government, and shareholders all agree we should continue to rely on this unstable, and clearly very dangerous power source. It would be painful to keep all the reactors shut down, but clearly it is FAR better than the alternative when an accident takes place -- and it will again, large or small. 40 more years are expected for the plant to be cleaned up (despite 'cold shut down being achieved' at the end of last year, according to government), which will cost far, FAR more than alternative energy options. And that's just for this one plant. Given that they are ignoring seismologists warnings yet AGAIN, another major disaster is likely in that time, only next time we probably won't be so lucky.

But hey, denial costs more than anything, and clearly they need to learn that the hard way.

Just a reminder how difficult it is to clean up nuclear power incidents

you can still go shopping and live a normal (japanese) life

...but you just cant be sure how much of the produce you are buying is contaminated with various kinds of radiation. I was shocked to find apples from New Zealand in my local supermarket the other day. Thats the first time in 30 years of living here that I've ever seen a non-Japanese apple for sale. I wonder why? The bottom line is that the government will always limit really bad news to stop any kind of mass panic occurring, especially in the Tokyo area. As I suggested last year, if you are not Japanese and have young children here, you owe it to your kids to get them out of Japan.

Actually SquidBert, just a couple of years back from a 10 year stint but I understand where your coming from. It was my last visit to Japan earlier this year that left me aghast at how much denial was taking place in Japan towards reality.

I am considering starting an enterprise importing nuclear free sand to japan for people to bury their heads in.

Denial is the key word here. Again, like many of us have been saying from the outset, close that prefecture. Boycott all goods from there and neighbouring prefectures. Send a message and make it count. Personally, I only care about the kids that are subjected to their parent's ignorance. It should be mandatory for all children to be taken out. Yet, what can we do? We can write our comments and have all our opinions, but none of us are going up there to rescue anyone that doesn't want the help or advice. Just a disgrace all around. Wait 20 years when the cancer starts to show up and everyone goes ... "Oh my, where's my compensation?" The boat has left the port.

SimondB,

I am considering starting an enterprise importing nuclear free sand to japan for people to bury their heads in.

That's hilarious, just remember not to mention that it is foreign sand, because as we all know Japanese sand is the best sand in the world. :-P

Just a reminder how difficult it is to clean up nuclear power incidents

Preventing them from ever happening, however, is much MUCH easier. A road that Tepco didn't bother itself with. And why should it have: Japanese taxpayers would pay for all eventualities and feed the radioactive contaminants to their children. "Not my problem" = "problem solved", right?

basroil

TamaramaJun. 28, 2012 - 05:25PM JST "how, if they have a large enough earthquake nearby, it will all come tumbling down" If they have a large enough quake to take down a reactor building, you have bigger things to worry about. Or rather, you probably won't have to worry about it because you died when all the non-reactor buildings came down first.

After rewatching the story tonight they are saying that not only would it take an earthquake but even a strong typhoon or tornado could be enough to damage the pool. They interviewed a reporter who worked on the site as a worker all the while wearing a hidden camera and he also said the same as what the Japanese Nuclear engineer is claiming. That the pool is unstable the wall bowing and the supports damaged. And TEPCO's response, in classic TEPCO fashion oh there is no problem we will get to it next year..... As the former Japanese ambassador to Switzerland said this is typical Japanese sickness "first we hide, then we postpone, then we deny". That pretty much sums up the situation to a T.

WAKE UP JAPAN!

The holding pond 30 meters in the air has a bulge on one side and sits on what remains after the explosion. 7.30 report ABC Aust. The core has meted there is no known way of removing or stabilizing it, Cheep clean power. All paid for with TAX payers money. A burden shared.

"I call it the sickness of Japan. First, we hide, then we postpone and then we assume no responsibility." - MISUHEI MURATA, FORMER JAPANESE DIPLOMAT.

Couldn't have hoped for a better summation of the situation. Thanks for posting the ABC link, Tamarama! Very good watch.

You would be dead after 40 minutes exposure of 10 Seiverts

Yet, they still want to bring many of the reactors back online. Are they stupid or ignorant? Or both? How many nuclear disasters will it take for them to realize it is just not safe regardless of any of their so-called 'stress tests'. It is just living with a time bomb. Yeah, yeah, yeah, coal and gas are expensive and they produce greenhouse gases. Um, how much has the meltdown at Fukushima cost so far and how much irreversible damage has been done to the environment? Does the Japanese government have any idea what a risk assessment is? Do they care?

Cricky

The holding pond 30 meters in the air has a bulge on one side and sits on what remains after the explosion. 7.30 report ABC Aust. The core has meted there is no known way of removing or stabilizing it, Cheep clean power. All paid for with TAX payers money. A burden shared.

That's the one - I couldn't remember if it was 4 corners or another ABC program. It was very, very sobering, to say the least.

Why can't they just pump cement into every nook and cranny, entomb the entire thing and be done with it?"

@gogogo it is just too hot to just cover in concrete. It would melt through the concrete over time and leak again. That's why cooling is needed, constantly, for years to come.

Spent fuel can be safely stored once cooled and blended with concrete into blocks. This process costs around $US1000000 per rod. There are 1500 rods in reactor 4 pool, and 5000 more in the central pool next door.

Total cost for proper waste disposal is over 6.5 billion US$. Admitting to that expense would make nuclear power no longer feasible or competitive (which it never was anyway). Ignorance is preferable.

Record radiation levels detected at Fukushima reactor

And we still wonder why we have hot spots everywhere in Tokyo including parks. The Fukushima stuff is excaping and gassing unsuspeting people!

Independent and alternative media have been reporting this for months. But wait! They are all conspiracy theorists right?

I am still waiting for someone to comment that this level of radiation is not that bad and then provide a 1000 words refuting the dangers of radiation. Where are you............?......................?

I was shocked to find apples from New Zealand in my local supermarket the other day. Thats the first time in 30 years of living here that I've ever seen a non-Japanese apple for sale. I wonder why?

Every year my local supermarket sells apples from New Zealand come June. They also sell pumpkins from Mexico and New Zealand, asparagus from Mexico, kiwis from New Zealand, etc. etc. in addition to the Japanese produce of the season. It is autumn in New Zealand so just as every year so far they import fruit from the country which is in the southern hemisphere. Tokyu Store does the same, Olympic does the same. Department stores also import fruit after the season in Japan is over.

It's only "record" levels, because all of the levels disclosed to the public before were lies... or we were never given an accurate reading from the basement?

basriol

If they have a large enough quake to take down a reactor building, you have bigger things to worry about. Or rather, you probably won't have to worry about it because you died when all the non-reactor buildings came down first

It's referring to the holding pond getting damaged and leaking, not the whole structure. Here is a link to the report - it starts around the 15 minute mark.

http://www.abc.net.au/iview/#/series/3152075

I believe that is still the tip of the iceberg. And I bet that much worse news from the "crippled" NPP are still to come.

Why so many comments? We KNOW TEPCO has it all under control right? They have since the beginning...:b

Honestly speaking, since the meltdowns and subsequent release of data about how bad the situation really is in regards to radiation, this is the only time in my 13 years here that I've really contemplated getting out of the country and going back to my home country.

Anyone else out there considering the same? I do consider Japan home but this is getting outright ridiculous.

This is a beautiful bit of spin: "Demolition will need the use of new technologies. " What does that really mean? I believe it means that they do not know how to do it and they hope they can find a way to do it in the future.

Why does this not surprise me.

http://xkcd.com/radiation/ gives you an idea of how much the number really is - 10.3Sv/h. Damn.

There is no immediate danger to health so dont worry, and unless you go right to the reactor there is no issues to worry about ask Noda, Edano and the other govt propaganda megaphones.

Limping from one catastrofic blunder to the next probable blunder with the decision to restart some reactors despite expert advice to the contrary.The saga continues, whist TEPCO execs continue to pocket their sa;aries complete with a bonus, subsisided by the tax payer

Coming soon, to your local Uniqlo...DESIGNER BUNNY SUITS ! !

It's quite possible it's gonna get much worse. http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2012/s3532725.htm

If Fukushima 4 reactor with 1331 fuel rods melts down, Tokyo will have to be evacuated. All that's needed is a magnitude of 6 or greater in Fukushima.

And thanks also to moomoochoo...

Here is the 7.30 report link again for those who may have missed it. Urging the locals to move back to the evacuated areas is, under these circumstances nothing but criminal!! http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2012/s3532725.htm

@kchoze I should have been more specific in my post but what I mean is that with all the discovered hotspots outside of Fukushima, probable food and water contamination, lack of info in regards to where various meat and produce come from, etc., etc., etc. really makes me feel uncertain as of the last few months.

I'm sure some damage has been done if I'm concerned about my well being, if there is any damage to be done but just the overall situation that Japan as a whole faces with very little prospect of change/recovery makes me contemplate the aforementioned.

It blows my mind how everyone and I mean Japanese or at least those outside Fukushima have just forgotten what has happened there and is happening there. Radiation: out of sight, out of mind I guess.

Anyway, just thought I would like to hear what other expats have thought who are continuing to live here...

You all know what will happen soon. The people in power will finally admit that Fukushima reactor cannot be cleaned up. In the end, it's going to be a big pile of concrete covering the whole plant until a hundred years from now some method of clean up can be accomplished via "new techno." In the mean time, cross your fingers that the Big One will not split that place into million pieces.

My question is this a reading inside of the containment unit? Is the containment unit sealed? Did a fast conversion and it come out to 1000 rems an hour. Yup at 10 minutes all are sick, at 30 minutes 50 percent or more fatal and at 1 hour it is well beyond 100 percent fatal. Yes time to start building another vault around the containment unit.

Record radiation levels detected at Fukushima reactor

The article makes it sound like the radiation levels are increasing when in fact, the measurement of this particular spot took place recently.

http://news.mynavi.jp/news/2012/06/28/025/

It's the same misleading headline used when TEPCO was able to measure inside the containment vessel (73 sieverts/hr) while comparing to the previous recorded high radiation level of exhaust duct shared by Reactor 1 & 2 (10 sieverts/hr)

Only 10 Seiverts/hour?! That is nothing. It is like nothing happened. According to some the nuclear reactors were not even that badly damaged. Start up the other reactors soon. Oh wait a minute. I am not ..................... Almost had me convinced there for a while. NOT!

Well at least radioactive materials are not being ejected from there.

40 years to clean up! And who is paying for that I wonder? Oh, yeah! The same people TEPCO overcharged for decades without even a slap on the wrist!

If TEPCO execs want their winter bonus, they should get it...in the form of a wintry grave. And since if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself, they should be given a shovel to dig, free of charge!

SimondB. If only this was the way politicians acted. Care for the people who they represent. Not in our lifetime I'm afraid.

I'm certainly not going to deny there is a horrible mess in the area, which will take a huge amount of time and money to deal with.

(It's not going to kill any Tokyoites though.)

Why can't they just pump cement into every nook and cranny, entomb the entire thing and be done with it?

Death by radiation, is death by radiation! One would THINK that Japan learned it's lesson nearly 70 years ago! Whether it be in 1 minute, 10 minutes, or 10 freeeking days, it's all the same. DEAD!

Smart one's learn from other's mistakes (Chernobyl) and try not to repeat them, IDIOTS (Japan) does it their way and condemns one's own to certain death.

People are destroyed for lack of knowledge, and common sense.

So is there leaking from reactor 1's basement, or is it just a pool full of highly radioactive water that's not going anywhere? That's the important question.

There's nothing new on that, been leaking from the past year! ****

Rick Statton,

I understand Onniyamas posts to be anrgy sarcastic/ironic. I do not believe he is a nuclear proponent at all, quite the opposite. If you click his name, you can follow his posts back trough time and there is one here which I think perhaps explains why he is so upset with basroil (by the way did you perhaps just mix the two names up?).:

OnniyamaMAY. 15, 2012 - 11:49AM JST zichi. If we had listened to so-called apocolyptic people like Arnie in the first place, maybe my family and I would not have been exposed to radiation last March for as long as we were. Instead we were lied to and misinformed. Who would you rather believe?

The TEPCO / KEPCO people, who most likely knew the news above before we did, have just voted to continue with nuclear power. Denial? Yes, but of a special sort. This is denial syndrome of desperate greed. There is a whole culture that has grown around nuclear power. The capitalists, the specialists, the so-called experts from academia, politicians--right down to poor grunts who work in the bowels of the nuclear plants. Part of that denial is represented by the lies these people have been feeding the public and the other part is the hysteria of people with everything to lose if nuclear power is killed off.

After you read the above article do not think that you have heard the worst about the Fukushima disaster.

This is a beautiful bit of spin: "Demolition will need the use of new technologies. " What does that really mean?

Yay. Another "expert" identifying a statement of fact as "spin". It means exactly what it says. They are going to need to develop new technologies in order to properly demolish the reactors.

There is no cleaning up this mess at this point. They lost that option on 3/11/2011. The only thing that can be done now is concrete and lead containment. They need to bury the thing a la Chernobyl. They no longer control anything happening there.

And ANOTHER person offering their "expert" assessment of a highly technical engineering problem. It makes me wonder where were you people when all your "expertise" was REALLY needed and why you have to offer it here rather than where it would have done the most good?

There was a fallout after the disaster and parts of Fukushima were contaminated. Radioactive particles reached Tokyo and some other parts of Kanto. This is a fact. Akita, Aomori, Iwate, large parts of Miyagi have not been contaminated.

Saying that all of Tohoku is off-limits is irresponsible. As is stating that the plant is still “sending” radiation to Tokyo without giving/having any evidence for it.

Clemens Simons,

I believe the levels measured in the Mizutomo park in Tokyo were in micro Sv, not mili Sv.

Clemens Simon,

You are welcome

Interestingly I see in the news that the cooling pumps for No.4 Reactor pool stopped working yesterday. Temperatures were gradually rising. Workers were said to be battling against a time limit window of several hours to fix the pumps or install new ones in order to get the water to start to cool down again. Let's hope they've succeeded by now.

Just double-checked, and the back-up pump failed when the main pump went off. They estimate they have 4 days till the pool hits a critical 65 degrees.

PS Clarification. The original news release yesterday said a window of 60 hours, but today they are saying 4 days.

Cheers Blair, very kind words.

See the journalist dude in the picture. The way things are going, that's how we all are going to have to dress in the near future ...

Not surprised...

Tamarama,

I saw that show too, truly scary to think what will happen if it comes tumbling down and your right they seem to be pretending alls well wi it

@Onniyama: Too true. Remember the posters here in the early days, claiming to have degrees in nuclear physics, etc., who said we were all ignorant alarmists for worrying about the possible dangers at Fukushima?

Well, where are they now, eh?

Honestly speaking, since the meltdowns and subsequent release of data about how bad the situation really is in regards to radiation, this is the only time in my 13 years here that I've really contemplated getting out of the country and going back to my home country.

Really? Information about the high radiation level in one very localized spot in the isolated basement of a nuclear power station at tens of kilometers from where you are is convincing you to leave Japan?

The reactor had a melt down, the very hot fuel melted down to the basement, and that is what is being measured here. You'd probably get higher readings if you put measuring tools in the heart of functioning nuclear reactors.

How sad to see the Japanese government to hide information.

There is no cleaning up this mess at this point. They lost that option on 3/11/2011. The only thing that can be done now is concrete and lead containment. They need to bury the thing a la Chernobyl. They no longer control anything happening there.

This doesn't mean that only Fukushima is in danger but this is also a report that Tokyo and area is also being showerd with the possibility of deadly skyshine radiation. Not good. You will never know you have been exposed until its too late.

FadamorJun. 29, 2012 - 02:34AM JST And ANOTHER person offering their "expert" assessment of a highly technical engineering problem. It makes me wonder where were you people when all your "expertise" was REALLY needed and why you have to offer it here rather than where it would have done the most good?

Fadamor, I guess you don't understand that most of the Daiichi facility is now so "hot" that you can't even do the make-work "clean-up" that is supposedly happening. It's not a "engineering" problem at this point. We aren't trying to bridge a river or erect a cantilevered building. There is no science or engineering for cleaning up a reactor meltdown, which is what happened. It simply must be contained for hundreds of years or until, as someone mentioned up thread, we miraculously discover a way to neutralize the radiation. The longer the mess around with it, the greater potential for widespread contamination.

Wada-Kun....Joking aside, Even if the unit 4 structure has been tentatively stabilized, it doesn't change the fact that it sits in a structurally damaged building, and is exposed to the atmosphere, in a high probability earthquake zone. This absolutely makes the safe containment and protection of this spent fuel a security issue. Yet Tepco's current plans are to hold the majority of this spent fuel onsite for years in the same elevated, uncontained storage pools, only transferring some of the fuel into more secure, hardened dry casks when the common pool reaches capacity.

For the moment, and for the foreseeable future, unless the international community substantively comes to Japan's aid, Tepco couldn't transfer the irradiated fuel from the damaged reactor units into dry cask storage even if it wanted to because the equipment to do so, such as the crane support infrastructure, was destroyed during the initial disaster. The U.S. and other countries should begin to get involved and try to help the Japanese government to expedite the removal of that spent fuel and to put it into dry, hardened storage as soon as possible.

This doesn't mean that only Fukushima is in danger but this is also a report that Tokyo and area is also being showerd with the possibility of deadly skyshine radiation. Not good. You will never know you have been exposed until its too late.

When that happens most of Japan will be uninhabitable.

As I suggested last year, if you are not Japanese and have young children here, you owe it to your kids to get them out of Japan.

this is the only time in my 13 years here that I've really contemplated getting out of the country and going back to my home country.Anyone else out there considering the same?

just thought I would like to hear what other expats have thought who are continuing to live here..

Interesting comments. I would also like to know what other expats have thought who are continuing to live here…

Simple question (raised at another article):

What does 1.2 millisievert an hour measured in a park do to your health if you were to go near it?

Thanks!

What problem? There is no problem.....

JaneM,

You're right.... MicroSv.

Thank you for pointing it out.

@basroil:

Pit mining involves graduated pit sides, kind of like an upside down cone. On one side of this site you have an ocean. Not feasible.

The reason it is so radioactive is because there is still atomic reaction going on in the reactor. The reactor must be so damaged it is beyond control.

basroilJun. 29, 2012 - 02:38PM JST I suggest you stop talking nonsense. (Followed by blah, blah, blah about moving dirt.) Your math about earth moving, right or wrong, is unrelated to the issue of a reactor that experienced a partial meltdown and has a crack in it's interior containment vessel and the adjacent spent fuel pool with a bulge in one wall and, most likely, damaged fuel rod canisters.

The site simply needs to be shut down and everything left in place, an additional, wider, taller and thicker seawall built and then everything capped in concrete and lead. There is no cleaning up or decontaminating the site. If that was all that needed to be done, they'd be well under way in the process. They've done virtually nothing to date because reactor 4 and its spent fuel pond are too hot to get near for any meaningful "dis-assembly."

Again, we do not have the technology at this point to clean that site.

Thank you for the reply, Stuart. I have another question at another article, “Patches of higher-than-normal radioactivity have been detected in Mizumoto parks. You said,

Stuart hayward: Anyone with young children should stay clear of these levels of radioactive cesium

Please help me understand how these levels of radioactive cesium would affect kids? What about adults? As Clemens is asking above, I also want to know what 1.22 microSv/h means. At those places so called radiation hotspot in Tokatsu area (Kashiwa, Nagareyama, Abiko…) in Chiba prefecture, the radiation level is 0.4~0.5microSv/h, which is the same level as Colorado state USA. So I can understand that the government says there’s nothing to worry about. Clemens says the people (municipal government?) said there’s nothing to worry about with 1.22 microSv/h. I don’t want to start screaming, “WOW!!! 1.22microSv/h!!! We’d better stay away from there!!!” without knowing what 1.22microSv/h means. I carefully read the website (こどもと区民を放射能から守る葛飾連絡会 that found the hotspot). They say, “it’s dangerous there, stay out of the place.” without posting any scientific figures. I have e-mailed Katsuhika-ku asking for explanation with scientific figures why they say there’s nothing to worry about. Hope I will get reply soon.

By chance dose anyone know what today's radiation levels are? June 30, 2012, Thank you!

Radiation level depends on where you live. My municipal government e-mails us once or twice a week giving radiation information at certain places (such as parks, schools…etc) above 5cm and 1m from the ground. Most of the municipal governments in Tokyo post the radiation level at certain places on a certain day on their website.

If you want to know the radiation level on the whole country, you can check the level from monitoring posts at MEXT website. You can also compare the level before 3.11,2011 and yesterday 6.29,2012.

http://radioactivity.mext.go.jp/ja/contents/6000/5620/24/192_1_0629.pdf

Blair, please post the email reply here or at the park article. Thx!

please post the email reply here or at the park article. Thx!

Ok, I will. But the problem is whether I could translate things accurate in English because I asked for scientific figures which I don't have enough knowledge to translate accurately. I will post rough translation. Hope someone will help me making corrections, maybe Nigelboy could...

@Stuart hayward

my question, should have said " what are the radiation levels at Fukushima power plant, In the basement of reactor #1",today June 30, 2012 ???

Yeah, of course! My apology.

As for your question about the radiation at the park or hot spots?

At the park. What would 1.22microSv/h do to kids? What about to adults?

@basroil

MEXT also provides those charts in English.

The charts I provided above are both in Japanese and English. I always try to find English links unlike lazy ナイジェル男子

@Stuart Hayward, Thank you very much for spending your precious time for me and helping me when you could have been with your boy. I still don’t understand the differences between 0.5microSv/h and 1.22microSv/h. I’m a very slow learner when it comes to science. I’m neither pro nor anti-nuke. I don’t have enough knowledge to choose yet. So those people (whether anti/pro nuke) who post things with scientific figures and reliable sources are helping me a lot and I really appreciate it. Thank you.

If you multiply those reading by the number of hours in 1 year, appox 8765, then you would arrive at the total radiation you would receive if you stood on those spots 24/7 for 1year.

Thank you, zichi.

So 1.22microSv/h=10.693milliSv/y that is the same level as Guarapari (Brazil) which is a well-known tourist destination, known for its curving white sand beaches, whose population is 101,116 (2005) This high level of radiation does not seem to have caused ill effects on the residents of the area (Wikipedia)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guarapari

So basically, if you are standing at one of 9 places in Mizumoto Park for 24/7 for 1 year, you get same amount of radiation from living in a beautiful beach town Guarapari, Brazil. Is that correct?

Blair HerronJun. 29, 2012 - 10:18AM JST

Interesting comments. I would also like to know what other expats have thought who are continuing to live here…

Not considering leaving, unless I better opportunities arise elsewhere. However, if Japan does go for a big reduction in nuclear power I would consider moving, as I don't want my son to grow up in a needlessly impoverished nation.

@SquidBert

But lately research has shown that even quite small doses such as those received from a dental xray (50 -200 microSv range) leads to increased rates of brain cancer.

I think “increase” is a very tricky word.

According to Wall Street Jouranl (3/2/2012), Kathryn Higley, a professor of nuclear engineering at Oregon State University said, “From a radiological perspective, we expect the impact to be really, really minor,” said Of the first 10,000 people exposed to radioactive plumes in the wake of the Fukushima accident—those assumed to have the highest levels of radiation exposure—only 73 had exposure higher than 10 millisieverts. Even among the workers battling the crippled plant, the average exposure was only about 9 millisieverts.

The panel members generally concurred that the levels of radiation emitted after the accident will not measurably raise the risk of getting cancer. The panelists estimated that the risk of getting cancer for those exposed would increase by about 0.002%, and the risk of dying from cancer would rise by 0.001%.

http://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2012/03/02/fukushima-health-impact-minimal/

The risk of getting cancer would increase by 0.002%, she said. Should I be scared of 0.002% increase or it’s basically nothing to worry about?

@Star-viking,

Thank you for reading my posts and leaving comments. I always read your posts carefully, especially the comments against my post. I sometimes do not reply to you not because I’m ignoring you but I have nothing to say since you have got a point in there :)

You must incase the entire reactor in concrete, Dig tunnels under the incased reactor, fill with concrete, then cover with concrete and lead to be forevermore intombed there. Then Build Solar or Hydrogen generators to make electricity to meet the need's of Japan. " No Nuclear plants!!!" Every time there's an Earthquake and or a Tsunami, there's another chance of Disaster from a Nuclear Accident. Then the fallout and radiation and then the people suffer even more. No More Nuclear Pollution! Let Japan Live...

JoshuYakiJun. 29, 2012 - 01:02AM JST This doesn't mean that only Fukushima is in danger but this is also a report that Tokyo and area is also being showerd (sic) with the possibility of deadly skyshine radiation.

Not likely at this time of year. The predominate weather flow from now until October is SW to NE. In fact, most fallout from "leaks" at Fukushima Daiichi will be out over the Pacific.

sfjp330Jun. 29, 2012 - 05:30AM JST If the people, who are not empowered to make decisions about a solution for Fukushima, cannot even reach agreement that something must be done. The only solution known to mankind is to put the reactor cores under water immediately by a cooperative action by international humanitarian, military, engineering and governmental communities. Drop the reactor cores and accompanying land masse into the nearby ocean without further delay.

You're joking right? If not, how do you propose that they move the entirety of a contaminated site dozens of acres in size weighing thousands (millions?) of tonnes without releasing lethal doses of radiation? And unless you are referring to the Japan Trench, how does otherwise dropping all this "into the nearby ocean" really help?

Wanda-kunJun. 29, 2012 - 05:59AM JST

You're joking right? If not, how do you propose that they move the entirety of a contaminated site dozens of acres in size weighing thousands (millions?) of tonnes without releasing lethal doses of radiation?

I suggest you stop talking nonsense. The entire release of Cs-137 (which is now 90%+ of the radiation) amounted to just 4.2kg (from report of an air release of 13600TBq @ 3.215TBq/g, including the 18000TBq released into water would be about 9kg), and would fit inside a 2 liter coke bottle if you were to chlorinate it and put it into solution. Unless you somehow move more than a gram per cubic meter of dirt (4.2kg/ millions of tons of dirt is far less), you have nothing to worry about except having to do it all over again. The standard procedure is to compact the dirt, keep moisture at granulation levels (so dust doesn't form), and then dig it and the dirt below it up.

Even if the process takes a hundred times longer than normal pit mining, we can try to estimate how long it would take. If they manage to get 1/100th of a large pit mine (if they are efficient at their jobs, perhaps they can get that much), we can expect 10000 tons of soil removed a day. At that rate, a year would be enough for "millions of tons". If we take zichi's famous 600sq km quote (which would be an average of 7 nanograms/m^2), at 5m^2 per ton of topsoil, we would get 120 million tons of topsoil that need to be removed. With that rate we would get 32 years, which is close to the official estimate of cleanup time. Hardly an impossible feat from an engineering standpoint, and not that expensive either. That is, of course, assuming distributions that are impossible given the current radiation readings. 7nanogram/m^2 means 22.5MBq/m^2, or about 2 million times more than some independent research of soil samples in areas within the fallout area (but not within the 20km restricted zone) and 20 times more than MEXT's findings of places considered to be highly contaminated (areas with little rainfall where Cs-137 is bio-accumulated, soil samples do not necessarily show the as high of readings)

nigelboyJun. 29, 2012 - 11:53PM JST

It's the same misleading headline used when TEPCO was able to measure inside the containment vessel (73 sieverts/hr) while comparing to the previous recorded high radiation level of exhaust duct shared by Reactor 1 & 2 (10 sieverts/hr)

Only 73Sv/hr inside the reactor vessel? That's a quarter of the amount unshielded fuel rods are expected to have after ten years (when iodine, noble gasses, and Cs134 is practically gone). Maybe the reading wasn't inside the steel containment vessel (just concrete one) and the fuel didn't actually melt through the reactor vessel as some people insisted. If those are the actual readings, cleanup won't be as difficult as they originally expected. Maybe that's why they are saying cleanup rather than containment (as in the case of Chernobyl)

Blair HerronJun. 30, 2012 - 09:53AM JST

If you want to know the radiation level on the whole country, you can check the level from monitoring posts at MEXT website. You can also compare the level before 3.11,2011 and yesterday 6.29,2012.

MEXT also provides those charts in English. Well, mostly English, but good enough that anyone can see issue should there ever be any. Last time I checked (about a week ago), the levels were much lower than I expected, most are just half of the worldwide average.

Basroll

Not the reactor pressure vessel. It's the concrete/steel vessel surrounding it.

Basroll: Leave it to you, to point out that, 10,300 millisievert an hour (probably won't kill you instantly) and break down the time line into 10 minute intervals. (So you can't say if this article is entirely unbiased), what do you mean, exactly!!! At least you used less than 1000 words, to rearrange the facts, thank you for that. Basroll the electrical engineer!

Stuart haywardJun. 28, 2012 - 07:16PM JST

(probably won't kill you instantly)

Statistically no, you cannot die from that low level instantly. Even an hour of exposure will still take a few days to kill you. To "instantly" kill someone, you would need three or more hours of exposure (>30 Sv), and even that will take several hours.

Considering anyone in their right mind would leave as soon as the level beeped 10Sv/h (hell, anyone would leave after 10mSv unless an emergency, where you could theoretically work in 1Sv/h), and it shouldn't take more than ten minutes to get out and seal everything, I think 10min is probably all you need. Even 20 min isn't normally fatal.

Look at the film. The inside of the reactor is corroding away. It going to collapse very soon and there is nothing anybody can do about it. When that happens most of Japan will be uninhabitable.

Correction: Some unit issues, I'll let you guys check where those errors are so you do the math yourselves.

Blair, Zichi

It is not that simple. Just because it occurs naturally in some places does not mean that it is not causing health problems.

Doses from radon works a little bit differently, but as the numbers are matching the levels you are discussing,I thought I will quote it anyway. This is from the Radon section of Wikipedias backround radiation article

Radiation exposure from radon is indirect. Radon has a short half-life (4 days) and decays into other solid particulate radium-series radioactive nuclides. These radioactive particles are inhaled and remain lodged in the lungs, causing continued exposure. People in affected localities can receive up to 10 mSv per year background radiation.[10] Radon is thus the second leading cause of lung cancer after smoking, and accounts for 15,000 to 22,000 cancer deaths per year in the US alone.[25]

Some counter indicative information can be found at http://hps.org/publicinformation/ate/q922.html (Health Physics Society) Here they are basically stating that there is no relationship between background radiation and cancer rates. However they are admitting that the findings are controversial.

So I am not saying here that the hotspot dose rates at 1.22microSv/h is an immediate health concern. But lately research has shown that even quite small doses such as those received from a dental xray (50 -200 microSv range) leads to increased rates of brain cancer.

MaitakeJun. 28, 2012 - 06:58PM JST

It's only "record" levels, because all of the levels disclosed to the public before were lies... or we were never given an accurate reading from the basement?

Until now tests were never done within the radioactive water pools (at least publicly disclosed ones), though I doubt that it's even record levels like that. Higher recorded levels probably exist from two or three days after, but people like to forget small details like that.

Wanda-kun Jun. 29, 2012 - 04:42AM JST I guess you don't understand that most of the Daiichi facility is now so "hot" that you can't even do the make-work "clean-up" that is supposedly happening. It's not a "engineering" problem at this point. We aren't trying to bridge a river or erect a cantilevered building. There is no science or engineering for cleaning up a reactor meltdown, which is what happenedIt simply must be contained for hundreds of years or until, as someone mentioned up thread, we miraculously discover a way to neutralize the radiation. The longer the mess around with it, the greater potential for widespread contamination.

If the people, who are not empowered to make decisions about a solution for Fukushima, cannot even reach agreement that something must be done. The only solution known to mankind is to put the reactor cores under water immediately by a cooperative action by international humanitarian, military, engineering and governmental communities. Drop the reactor cores and accompanying land masse into the nearby ocean without further delay.

Just shows how dangerous this problem is and how long it might take to clean up! Though it's nice to see the first 19 comments, I'm sure it's just a matter of time before the people who profit from nuclear power, will put their spin on this story! Where's Basroll? and the share holders?

Maybe I'll join the anti nuke demostration in Tokyo after all http://coalitionagainstnukes.jp/?p=623<>

OnniyamaJun. 28, 2012 - 05:24PM JST

I am still waiting for someone to comment that this level of radiation is not that bad and then provide a 1000 words refuting the dangers of radiation.

Do you work within 100m of that hotspot? Didn't think so. You have nothing to worry about then.

Of course that level of radiation is bad for a properly operating plant, but what about compared to a similar location in Chernobyl? Less than a third (latest reading in the reactor hall is 34Sv/hr), and Chernobyl has been stable for 25 years now. Considering most radiation is from medium lived Cs 137 and other 5-50 year radioisotopes, Fukushima is much better off and will be easier to clean than Chernobyl. Nobody ever said this isn't a nuclear disaster, simply that it isn't on the same scale as Chernobyl like the Japanese government insisted.

By chance dose anyone know what today's radiation levels are? June 30, 2012, Thank you!

Blair Herron: Yes, the idea of leaving Japan has crossed my mind, and (only because I have a young boy!), truth is that, "nowhere" Is 100% safe, and I have faith in Japan, and the people who live here!

Blair Herron: sorry I tried to answere your questions the best I could with, radioactive cesium found at the park, and the information wont submit, thanks J.T. The short version is that radioactive cesium is known to compromise the emmune system and young children haven't Fully (developed theirs, yet) , (adults have) question the( readings and numbers), you should. The fist person to report On radiation levels found at Mizumoto park in June 2011 turned up dead one month later! He was a city councilor.

Zichi: Thank you, for very credible information!

TamaramaJun. 28, 2012 - 05:25PM JST

how, if they have a large enough earthquake nearby, it will all come tumbling down

If they have a large enough quake to take down a reactor building, you have bigger things to worry about. Or rather, you probably won't have to worry about it because you died when all the non-reactor buildings came down first.

Blair Herron: thank you for your follow up responce and information! I apologize for not being clear, my question, should have said " what are the radiation levels at Fukushima power plant, In the basement of reactor #1",today June 30, 2012 ??? As for your question about the radiation at the park or hot spots?, I will respond back at the park article, I need to play With my son for a little while, but I will respond.

ShermanJun. 28, 2012 - 04:21PM JST

You would be dead after 40 minutes exposure of 10 Seiverts

Above the LD50 for sure, but several people exposed to those levels have survived. You will get radiation poisoning though and mortality rate is fairly high even with every measure you can take.

Interestingly though, the onset of radiation sickness (assume minutes is 10min, so 1.6Sv) would actually take several hours to show up, and generally lasts less than a day. And mortality rate is well below 5% so can't say the article is entirely unbiased.