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Record radiation readings seen near Fukushima water tanks

36 Comments
By Aaron Sheldrick and Mari Saito

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36 Comments
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Too little, too late. Chilling

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Probably helps now that they are using meters that can measure beyond 100 mSv, unlike what the workers were using earlier...

7 ( +7 / -0 )

And TEPCO still insists its fine?

And Japan still insists it doesn't need international help?

They are living in cloud cuckoo land, and will only admit they need help after they have contaminated ALL of Japan, and its surrounding waters.

7 ( +8 / -1 )

No more money on defence (or offence) and more money to solve this radiation issue, otherwises there will be nothing to fight for....

7 ( +8 / -1 )

Record radiation readings seen near Fukushima water tanks

That is the 100th radiation record reading we have had this year. Poor irradiated workers and neighbouring communities must be having it rough..The myth that nuke energy is cheap, sustainable, pro-people, clean and ecologically sound is busted for good!

10 ( +12 / -2 )

Congratulations TEPCO! You have quite successfully taken an extremely bad situation and made it a whole lot worse! Otsukade sama deshita morons!

5 ( +5 / -0 )

Out of control!

The government is all lip service, what have they done in 2 weeks since they said they are taking over? NOTHING!

No one wants to take control for fear of being blamed for it.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

Bye bye Olympic games!! Maybe one day... Or am I wrong?

1 ( +2 / -1 )

no surprise....

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Great post marcelito. Soooo true.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Two questions:

Is this really the end of Japan?

Is being a "fly-jin" still seen as a weak more or a smart move, because it's becoming more of a possibility for me!
1 ( +3 / -2 )

lesenfant: The people who say 'Fly-jin' are just upset that they have nowhere they can go. Leaving a situation that is dangerous or just makes you unhappy is completely logical.

This is just going to get worse and worse until they bring in international experts, and by then it will be FAR too late. Neither TEPCO nor the government have a single clue as to what to do. They've destroyed the areas fisheries through contamination and reputation, and if they don't start doing more to contain the mess that was supposedly contained long ago, it won't be long before we hear about Tokyo having to be evacuated. One big quake like this mornings under the plant and you can kiss the world's most populated city goodbye. I think that's about what it would take for them to finally start trying to do something.

3 ( +6 / -3 )

@lesenfant: Never be dictated to by those who so readily paint the people who had the courage / insight to leave as 'cowards' or 'traitors', I'm immensely satisified that on March 13th I got out with my family and didn't come back for four months. It is YOUR decision to make and anyone who does not respect that is not worthy of worry. Dai-Ichi is going to stalk and haunt this country and very possibly the Pacific for a long time. Don't suffer the aniexty of a mind which prefers the postponement of meeting a crisis head on, to one that embraces action.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

Radiation Schmadiation! Lets get the Olympics and sweep this bit of nastiness under the rug!

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Radiation is the most evil of all environmental contaminates, it destroys the DNA within each cell of the body or any other living thing. Eating radiation is far worse than radiation from sunlight. Sunlight only affects the surface cells on the skin, however radiation within the body never leaves and perpetually emits energy that destroys the DNA and this is what causes cancer and birth mutations for generations. I am surprised that Japanese people continue to eat fish, and even western cultures still think that sushi is healthy. Radiation does not dilute in the ocean, it does to an extent, however radiation increases in concentration as plants and animals absorb it through roots or eating other animals, this is called, "bioaccumulation". Bioaccumulation has been observed in the Chernobyl spill, animals in that area have the highest readings of radioactivity even after 30 years of the passing of time. Most people don't know how radiation behaves.

4 ( +7 / -3 )

Come on Tepco.Admit you are in way over your head.I can"t believe these guys got bonuses

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Two questions: 1) Is this really the end of Japan? 2)Is being a "fly-jin" still seen as a weak more or a smart move, because it's becoming more of a possibility for me!

1) No, not by the longest of long shots. If they're getting readings this high, it's because there was a leak in the past and the water has evaporated leaving the cesium behind (which actually makes it easier to contain and clean).

The only way this spill will affect you is if you go to Fukushima, find the hot spot, take off all your clothes and roll around in the dirt for four or five hours. Literally.

2) I wouldn't call it "weak". A massively uninformed decision without basis in any kind of science perhaps...

-5 ( +3 / -8 )

@ Auro Odahara

Bye bye Olympic games!! Maybe one day... Or am I wrong?

I'm inclined to think they already have the games in the bag, or why would they let all this negative news out just days before the announcement?

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

It is NOT equivalent to a slow motion nuclear explosion it is equivalent to SEVERAL. There are four absolute unmitigated catastrophes in progress that are not under control, are worsening, and believe it… unless the world community steps up will dwarf anything we’ve managed to mess up before. The lies, deceit and utter insanity of TEPCO has brought us to this point. SOMEONE needs to take control. NOW. Three Corium masses that have been eating away at their confines, ad-hoc, dead-ending approaches, no back up systems, no plan, no coherent goal because of the sheer scale of these monsters. Syria? Global financial collapse? Terrorism? No: Dai-Ichi Nuclear Power Plant's Unit 1, 2, 3 and Unit 4's spent fuel storage pool.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

I am stunned to think the government is not be completly involved in the clean up and why or how every expert across the globe has not been called upon. They must be called upon to help clean this mess up before its too late. Mother Nature is not happy and today's earth quake should be a timely reminder.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

2) I wouldn't call it "weak". A massively uninformed decision without basis in any kind of science perhaps...

Uninformed perhaps, but then there hasn't been much accurate information now has there? Perhaps leaving is a smart, risk averse, conservative move - given that many fly-jin noticed that they were getting lied to on day one of the crisis, and that the situation could become MUCH worse.

It's simple "game theory" to make the decision to run. There are four logical possibilities:- a) you don't run and the crisis gets worse and contaminates you with radiation b) you don't run but it doesn't get worse and nothing happens c) you do run and the crisis gets worse but you're not going to get irradiated because you're not even close, d) you do run, and the crisis doesn't get worse, but you're safe anyway.

Less risk is on the side of "GTFO of Japan.", ... but what pushes it even further in favour of leaving is that it's impossible to tell even if there's contamination or not given all the misinformation from the government and Tepco, and additionally there's no word on when the crisis is even going to end and not get worse!

The logical decision, if you value you health and safety above all else, including living in Japan, is to leave.

All that needs to happen is for the site to become completely contaminated to the point where workers can't even decommission the site in 30-40 years without dying early, and then things are going to get a LOT worse. The initial INES 7 is going to look like a tiny spill.

The Titanic might be a nice ship, but if you've spotted a leak starting to fill the boat, now might be a good time to start heading to those life-rafts... unless you believe the captain that they can bucket out all the incoming water.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

"the worst atomic accident in decades" try the worst atomic accident in history. If Japan does not get on the ball and stop playing politics, there will be no more Japan. Stop protecting the Corporation and think about the people. This nuclear disaster effects the entire world and it really effects Japan bad. A person can hardly eat the fish caught near Japan. The effects will last throughout our lifetime and well into our grandchildren's lifetime. Enough of atomic energy. I want a ban on all atomic energy. Give me wood, coal, oil and gas.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Now, hang on a minute! Yes, TEPCO is a bunch of morons that couldn't clean up a toilet with a fire hose, but lets not blow the actual spread of the radiation out of proportion (at this stage). The radiation accumulating around the plant is and will remain localized. The radiation leaking into the sea will also remain localized. The heavier isotopes will sink to the sea floor and the lighter ones, which also lose their radioactive properties very quickly, will be diluted by the sea. The fishermen have been banned from fishing in the immediate area and the sale of local produce has been banned, for the time being. At this stage, there is no real danger of exposure or ingestion of radioactive particles for anyone outside the 20k exclusion zone. Of course, this could change very quickly once these clowns start removing fuel rods, but for the time being, the only danger is to the lambs that are working there. These constants leaks are only making it more difficult for the workers to actually achieve something.

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

Radiation remaining localized???

Really?

Want to back up with any evidence?

Radioactive tuna off S Cal and Dr Busby's studies show this not to be the case but please prove me wrong....

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Prove the radiation came from Fukushima.

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

@Dis: The burden of disproving is squarely on you. The isotopes are from these catastrophes at the Dai-Ichi Nuclear Power Plant.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Disillusioned: Prove the radiation came from Fukushima.

http://news.yahoo.com/radioactive-bluefin-tuna-crossed-pacific-us-190121826.html

1 ( +1 / -0 )

My biggest concern is how are they going to find enough radio-free people for the next decades to look after this monster. And for whatever reasons, this topic is not - yet - commented in any media.

I would not be surprised that sooner than later forced voluntary people will have to go there as a kind of mandatory nuke service to the nation.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Have to say that I am seeing the emergence of a real, hard dividing line between those people who repeatedly insist that worries about Fukushima are overblown (and disguise what I guess is their understandable but extreme fondness for Japan as an informed, science-based perspective) and--well everybody else.

Are concerns about Fukushima overblown? My answer, unfortunately, is no. I say "unfortunately" because for the most part I too am quite fond of Japan and its people. But I don't think that repeatedly downplaying concerns about what is happening in Fukushima is the right path to take for people who genuinely like Japan and its citizens. You are not defending Japan against the bashers and the bigots by toeing that now rather tired line.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

""Among other things being contended with at Fukushima the longest-lived are plutonium-244, with a “half-life” ; of 80.8 million years, plutonium-242, with a half-life of 373,300 years, and plutonium-239, with a half-life of 24,110 years. All of the remaining radioactive isotopes have half-lives that are less than 7,000 years. Some things just don’t belong in pressure cookers.""

0 ( +1 / -1 )

It's time the Japanese government called in outside - and I mean the French and the US - experts. TEPCO does not have the situation under control.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Radiation does not DILUTE. In the environment, land or ocean, plants and animals accumulate (add up and store) radiation over the lifetime of that animal. This property is called BIOACCUMULATION. Look it up, there is no debating on this issue.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Rick KisaSEP. 04, 2013 - 02:52PM JST

That is the 100th radiation record reading we have had this year. Poor irradiated workers and neighbouring communities must be having it rough..The myth that nuke energy is cheap, sustainable, pro-people, clean and ecologically sound is busted for good!

To those who actually understand the meaning of the readings, the list of attributes you give are recognized to be true. Only those who's ability to understand the reality of the situation has been compromised by the fear mongering anti-nukes believe otherwise.

The numbers are: Fossil fuels kill . . . . . ~3,000,000 per year. Renewables kill . . . . .~2,000,000 per year. Meanwhile, including ALL the accidents etc., on average, Nuclear Power MIGHT kill . <300 per year.

I still like those numbers, they tell me we should be pushing nuclear as hard as possible.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

52atomsrgodSEP. 05, 2013 - 10:03AM JST Radiation does not DILUTE. In the environment, land or ocean, plants and animals accumulate (add up and store) radiation over the lifetime of that animal. This property is called BIOACCUMULATION. Look it up, there is no debating on this issue.

Actually, it does dilute. It the bioaccumulates from the much lower level. But bioaccumulation is a function of the outside level, so if it is much lower, the internal accumulation would be much lower too.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Good article by Discovery News on this.

TEPCO has confirmed that a reading of 2,200 millisieverts per hour would be enough to kill a person in a matter of hours.

But experts point out that this reading is taken very close to the source of the radiation. It drops dramatically -- to 40 millisieverts per hour -- just 50 centimeters (20 inches) away.

And the kind of radiation being emitted is very low energy, which means it is not able to penetrate the body easily.

That means while the dose could be fatal to a naked person immersed in the toxic liquid, it would do little to a worker wearing even rudimentary protection at a normal distance.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

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