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Japan says dumping radioactive water in ocean doesn't violate law

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the dump should not affect the safety of seafood in the area

All this talk about how harmless it all is is only about maintaining control of the population. 100 million or so angry civillians is not a problem the JP govt wants to face thus they are kicking the fallout ball 10 years down the road for when the cancer victims start dropping.

Tell me why 25 other regions have banned Japanese foodstuffs if its harmless. I can say that the 25 other regions learned all about the harmless Japanese 100 years back and learned their lesson well.

Clearly the Japanese are all about understating the difficulties, problems, pollution, and scale of the fallout. I notice that they have conveniently stopped mentioning the harmless plutonium too. I wonder how much harmless radioactive plutomium is finding its way up the seafood chain and then into the mouths of children?

The troubles will go even further when the mislabelling kicks into high gear. Whats the bet mislabelled so called harmless radioactive milk and veg are already in circulation.

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'“We think releasing water with low levels of radiation is preferable to allowing water with high levels of radiation to be released into the environment,”'

Last I heard the sea was part of the environment.

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its only a matter of time before the decision to dump water etc with even higher levels of radiation, I mean seriously does anyone think that giant float tank from Shizuoka or whereever will not just head to open waters & discharge.

Sadly on of the reasons nuke plants are located near large water bodies is for just this reason, expect more & more dumps of higher & higher radiation levels, its shouganai at this point unfortunately

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Everyone needs to chill out. When it comes down to situations like this sarcastic 'end of the world' mentalities are to blame for hysteria. The last thing Japan needs is for over-reacting enthusiasts to shed the worst possible light on the matter. Everything is being done to contain the radiation, bobbafett your remarks don't help at all.

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Tell me why 25 other regions have banned Japanese foodstuffs if its harmless

I would imagine that it is the same reason the French banned British beef for so long - fear of public outcry.

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swimjp: "The last thing Japan needs is for over-reacting enthusiasts to shed the worst possible light on the matter."

Well, maybe so, but the FIRST thing Japan needs is information, something TEPCO has been reluctant to give and done their best to hide, as well as various other agencies. The most recent is the meteorological agency's attempt to not give info, as it might 'confuse' you.

Sorry, but I'd rather know what's going on and have people like bobbafett rightfully expressing their 'vexation' with the situation than have a bunch of people saying "shouganai, ne" and saying we should just pretend it's not happening or that it could not have been helped.

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Umm ..... is TEPCO still using sea water to cool the fuel rods ?? cause I'm thinking if they are dumping the used water and replentishing water from the same source .......................

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If it's the fresh water they've been using for cooling and it's low level maybe they should recycle it for more cooling purposes. Anyway, there really isn't a choice where to put it at the moment. As bad as it sounds it's the least worst option. The sea did most of the damage, maybe it will be the ultimate savior in some respect.

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Obviously dumping radioactive water into the sea is not ideal, but what else would you have them do? They need to get rid of this water so they can store the more highly radioactive water, then continue working on getting systems back up, continue cooling the reactors, and eventually put an end to this. They don't have all the time in the world; they need to make compromises or risk letting things get worse.

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saying we should just pretend it's not happening or that it could not have been helped.

As Smithy has said, I wonder how many people are in denial about this? You hear reports of radiactive half lives of 8 days and then reports of long term contamination thats not dangerous and then more incredibly reports of radioactive plutonium thats not dangerous unless you breath it in even though a lot of it is probably flooding into the ocean and more reports of reactors 5 and 6 needing to be unflooded where there were no problems before. It all seems to be smoke and mirrors from TEPCO and the JP Govt.

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This just gets more of a joke every day. They are pumping water out of a building that is designed to hold water so they can put the more radioactive water in it? Then what? I am also impressed by his apology for pumping radioactive water into the pacific, although the use of 'should not' does alarm me a tad. Don't think I'll be in a hurry to go surfing on the east coast any time in the next thousand years or so.

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Japan’s nuclear safety agency ordered the utility last week to reanalyze samples; new results released Monday showed unchanged or lower levels of radiation than previously reported.

TEPCO is in charge of testing their own environmental contamination? Thats like asking Floyd Landers to do his own dope tesing and to submit his own results and that those results should be trusted.

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Disillusioned

As was said what do YOU want them to do with the lower radiation water that is in the tanks now?

Wish it to go away? Don't just rant but try to give us ideas on how to do better.

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  “We think releasing water with low levels of radiation is preferable to allowing water with high levels of radiation to be released into the environment,” said Junichi Matsumoto, a TEPCO official And how is this NOT releasing the waste into the environment?

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what to do with radiated water? There is the expensive treatment option which they should pay for. Or you can ask the TEPCO guys to drink it since it is quite safe.

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I just see asking in a few years, "Anyone ready for another 4 eyed glow in the dark salmon? They're fresh off the grill."

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Zenny11: "As was said what do YOU want them to do with the lower radiation water that is in the tanks now? Wish it to go away? Don't just rant but try to give us ideas on how to do better."

Given that you and others are defending a criminal organization that is supposed to be an expert on the issue, but fails, how would Disillusioned or anyone else better it? Better yet, what are TEPCO's solutions? So far all we've heard from them is, "We're sorry for..." the delays, the lack of information, and the lack of knowledge. Now top it with THOUSANDS of tonnes of radiated water going into... yup... you're food supply.

Aww ww.... but the president... no wait, he's busy in his first class hospital room, vice president... no wait.... local lackey has shed a few tears, so it's all good, I guess.

Moderator: Please refrain from posting rubbish like this. TEPCO is not a criminal organization, no matter what you think, and posting such remarks only makes you look foolish.

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Why they dont put this water in a tank attached to a rocket n send it to hyperspace?

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they are dumping the low level stuff now to make room for the high level stuff for storage. Wait, after all these weeks and they are still producing higher level stuff. Shouldn't it be the other way round if they are " successful " ?

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'Radioactive iodine and cesium were found in fish caught off the coast of Ibaraki, north of Tokyo, the Yomiuri newspaper reported, citing a local fishery cooperative.'

The fish wasn't put on sale according to the report.However, there isn't a fishing ban in place as that would not be financially prudent would it?

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Why they dont put this water in a tank attached to a rocket n send it to hyperspace?

Because if that plan had as much luck as everything else they've tried so far the rocket would explode and shower radioactive H2O over half the earth?

smitty - I don't see that Zenny et al are defending Tepco. They're just asking for alternatives to the present plan of releasing water with a low level of radioactivity in order to contain water with a very high level of radioactivity. Aren't you asking the very same question?

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As was said what do YOU want them to do with the lower radiation water that is in the tanks now? Wish it to go away? Don't just rant but try to give us ideas on how to do better.

I posted in some other topic last week that this would be an issue which would vex even the experts. Short term, everything has been stopgap as far as "solutions" go. There was even an "expert" on CNN who was asked if dumping this into the ocean was the best route to take and he said it wasn't but that it was essentially the lesser of two evils. In otherwords, this "expert" in the short term also had no better idea of where to put this lesser contaminated water so that they can use the storage for the more highly contaminated stuff.

Thus I highly doubt any of the armchair "experts" here on JT have any feasible solutions which those working in the nuclear industry worldwide haven't already thought of because if there was one, there would surely be at least ONE nuclear industry expert to have gotten some serious airtime with their solution.

This also isn't about shokatta ga nai and sticking ones head in the sand. Human hindsight is always 20/20 about what should have been done. Maybe if one needs to have so much contingencies in place, maybe that is telling that such a thing should not be done in the first place. Our society has placed great demands for ubiquitous amounts of power and nuclear has been one method for countries that lack natural resources. But like everything else in life, there is no free lunch as there are always potential consequences. Nuclear energy has its achilles heel being shown much more clearly now. You cannot just shut it off and be done with it. There is a long maintenance cycle which includes cooling the fuel rods and then dealing with the ultra long term storage of spent fuel rods. When the system works, it works well. But when things go bad, they go bad big time.

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Honne.

I agree.

The way I see it right now all the worlds experts are short on how to proceed and thus stopgap measures are the best option right now. Not surprising as this is a once-in-a-time incident like Three-miles and Chernobyl were.

Right now they need to stop all the small fires first before the real damage-control can begin.

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Seawater samples 7.5million times legal levels on from of reactor 2 ? Come Clean TEPCO. Stop us guessing. Tell us what is going on PLEASE.

Now Im no Math Wiz but 60,000mt = 60million ltrs... right ? thats 24 Olympic Size swimming pools? Can this be right ?

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"Industry minister Banri Kaieda maintained that contamination of the sea to be caused by the disposal will pose no major health risk, but apologized for raising concerns among the public, especially fishermen."

So the inference is that it will be a minor health risk,right? What is the definition of 'major'? And when is this information to be released? Many more questions than answers everyday!

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if china or russia did this, if china did this, you will see japan go ballistics, no if and or but!

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Facing adversity with admirable fortitude, the Japanese have got worthy credits from all around and set the very example as to how best surmount the unfolding recession.

All we need is neither overreaction nor oblivion for this painful accident, probably it should be to turn such heart-rending incident into a spring board for a better energy future, as we can see BP is about to resume off-shore drilling.

At this point, the nuclear complex is on fast track to recovery, and will surely deliver great results sooner rather than later. Let's continue to pray for the workers' safety and take great care of disaster victims.

From the overwhelming quantity of donations, I'm quite sure the desperately-needed recovery is here to stay.

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expect Godzilla off the coast by the weekend

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60,000 tons? That's a lot of contaminated water...

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Cleo: "Aren't you asking the same question?"

Always the voice of reason. Yes, I am asking that, but I don't see it coming until the root cause of the problem, TEPCO, is removed. Foreign resources are now being accepted to help out, but TEPCO is still making mistakes in readings and what not. Get the management of TEPCO out of there now -- keep the workers who are giving their poor hearts and souls.

thedeath: "if china or russia did this, if china did this, you will see japan go ballistics, no if and or but!"

Hard to say. If they did it for no reason, DEFINITELY. If they did it because of a situation like what's going on here now.... I don't know, although I suspect Japan would be stricter about imports from said nation.

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Lesse...one cubic meter of water weighs one ton. One liter of water weighs one kilogram. There are 1000kg in a ton and thus 1,000 liters. That means they need 60,000,000 liter-sized PET bottles, which, coincidentally, is approximately the amount those in the hinterlands sent to friends in Tokyo over the last three weeks. Recycle!

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Agree with laguna.

The amount of released water is a drop in a large ocean. How much water is there in the oceans?

Yea, local waters, etc will show an increase but further away?

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ah alaway funny to read more crazy comments day after day. ah the panic and crazyness and lack of perspective from this event.

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Why they dont put this water in a tank attached to a rocket n send it to hyperspace?

At 60,000 tons (not including the fuel) that would have to be one big mother of a rocket :)

Anyway, 60,000 tons of water in relative terms to the size of the ocean is so tiny it would not even be noticed. I mean a few large waves can easily weigh 60,000 tons. Also once this contaminated water disperses, the radioactive contamination would become almost undetectable.

I appreciate this is not an ideal situation, but at this time it makes sense to me.

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if human need and not profit was the basic decision-making standard of society, we wouldn't have one private company dealing with the crises of worldwide consequences. we would have all the nearby (east and SE asia, pacific rim etc) resources like oil and gas tankers, military ships, all of the world experts etc put off whatever they're doing and focus on finding the best solution to this right now, NO MATTER THE COST. of course in a rationally planned society and economy we would never have dozens of nuclear PPs in the most seismic part of the world in the first place. we don't want the "least worst" option or face-(shareholders)-saving plan. we need concrete info, short, mid and long term plans and options and widest possible debate over them.

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If their plan....B or C or D is dump it in the ocean, like untreated toilet waist, we have to support them. They know it is harmless, a garbage bag will protect you from it after all. And really what is 60,000 tons. Ther will be much more in the future. At least you can not see it!

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Radiation. Isotopes. Energy sitting in your children's tissue. That goes on to poison their children... deformity, defects, poor health. No other industry is so complacent with its possible consequences, so dismissive of what it can bring upon us. It thinks, as any industry, of the 'bottom-dollar'. This industry is far too dire a distributor of terrible consequence to be allowed to be run that way.

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"The industry and nuclear regulators calculate this on the basis of the likelihood of an accident for any one operating year. In the case of the design of the first four reactors at Fukushima, the Japanese Nuclear Energy Safety Organization estimated in 2002: "The frequency of occurrence of a core damage accident is 1/100,000 or less per one year for one reactor and the frequency of occurrence of an accident leading to containment damage is 1/1,000,000 or less per one year for one reactor."

Whereas nuclear costs have tended to go up, renewables have gone down”

Given that only a few decades, rather than millennia separate the accidents at Fukushima, Chernobyl and Three Mile Island (which were also thought to be at minimal risk of core damage) it is clear that nuclear operators and/or regulators are significantly underestimating the inherent risks associated with nuclear technology."

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If experts from Japan, experts from France,experts from US decide that this is the way to go, so be it.

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Oh yeah, the NHK experts. The paid talking heads of NHK and TEPCO who have absolutely NO nuclear science background muchless science background.

Oh yeah, the construction company that wants to sheet the plant with no nuclear background.

Seems Japan should have lead shielded this thing and concreted by week two as French, American, UK, and Russian nuclear scientists suggested, but then again in Japan "We Japanese seek Japanese solutions."

I guess Japanese radiation is uniquely unique radiation only the Japanese can deal with. Nihonjiron anyone!

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the crisis should override any property "rights" of TEPCO and any sovereignity "rights" of japan. this is a problem of all humanity and all resources must be places at the disposal of an international committee formed especially for this, backed with local teams on the ground. TEPCO and its major shareholders as well as the whole nuclear industry of the world can later be billed for the exercise

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Since it will all be diluted in the ocean, it is no problem at all plus everything is being tested. Scientists from all over the world say it, so we must trust them. I will go and eat sushi tomorrow and support the fishing industry.

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Seems Japan should have lead shielded this thing and concreted by week two as French, American, UK, and Russian nuclear scientists suggested, but then again in Japan "We Japanese seek Japanese solutions."

By week two? LOL.

Explain to me how it's possible to entomb a nuclear reactor in concrete in a fortnight. Took 6 months for Chernobyl.

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Good luck diluting Plutonium. Unless you enjoy 4 eyed, glow in the dark Salmon. And the NY Times has reported there is Plutonium in the water. Sorry can't link, JT won't let me.

Just Google "Japan nuclear water has Plutonium".

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@ hokkaidoguy,

Gee perhaps what was learned from Chernobyl. If the Japanese government and TEPCO had actually taken nuclear scientists advice and not Japanese bureaucrtaic advice, perhaps.

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Anyone bothered to figure the logistical involved to entomb 4 reactors before posting.

Like where to the thousands tons of concrete come from, how many concrete mixers it will take to get them there, where does it all come from as well as the fuel, etc.

Never mind how long it would take?

Interested in hearing answers.

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Gee perhaps what was learned from Chernobyl. If the Japanese government and TEPCO had actually taken nuclear scientists advice and not Japanese bureaucrtaic advice, perhaps.

No, I don't think you understand. They required 400,000 cubic meters of concrete and 7,300 tonnes of steel to entomb Chernobyl.

Even if those things could have been produced and delivered on the day of the quake, it would be physically impossible to use them to construct a tomb for the reactor in a fortnight. Concrete needs to set, steel needs to be cut and welded. It's impossible. Not "unlikely", not "difficult", completely impossible. Even with an army of thousands working around the clock.

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it could be done on the continent with the help of chinese factories and military in very short notice if our options weren't limited by irrational and thoroughly outdated division of the world into "nation states"

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People also forget that Three Miles & Chernobyl had NO quake and Tsunami to affect the surrounding area, thus the local infrastructure was intact.

That alone makes it a totally different scenario and causes additional challenges.

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Well where to begin.

Japan is the land of concrete. Steel, you bet all your used cars are sold for 10,000 yen for the steel.

TEPCO and the government could have gotten the whole started if they got off their bureaucratic butts and moved. They knew the post Chernobyl plans, they knew this plant had "irregular" inspection documts.

Never mind that, for over a month a huge concrete pumper from China has been off the coast, US Navy has had fresh water instead of sea water, but what was the Japanese response, "Oh it's all OK, we'll handle this."

And has has it been handled since. Again, if you do not understand nuclear science, then please I cannot be bothered.

Much was learned from Chernobyl, and this government and TEPCO failed to implement the plans after what was learned. We in the nuclear science community have begged MY NATION, I am Japanese, after Tokaimura, to implement plans and what was done - NOTHING.

Now that this thing has failed not one, but SIX plans to contain this, how about TEPCO send in the pros, you know, uhhh ... nuclear scientists and experts, not temporary contract workers. Sound good to you?

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‘‘not cause immediate radioactive contamination in neighboring countries.’‘

Aw, how reassuring!

hokkaidoguy: "Even if those things could have been produced and delivered on the day of the quake, it would be physically impossible to use them to construct a tomb for the reactor in a fortnight."

Agreed. It's a shame they didn't take the precautions and warnings they were given well beforehand seriously -- might have avoided the current situation altogether. Alas, we're dealing with TEPCO.

Zenny11: "Anyone bothered to figure the logistical involved to entomb 4 reactors before posting."

Obviously it'll take a lot. But it'll take a lot today, or it'll take a lot in a month when they admit there's no alternative after trying to fudge the data for a while.

Alright, people... they have now found fish contaminated with CESIUM, but still claim what's happening is not harmful to anyone's health. Unbelievable!

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Does not violate the law! Does not mean it is right or cause harm to others.

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@Mukai well said bro! Couldn't of put it any better!

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Agreed. It's a shame they didn't take the precautions and warnings they were given well beforehand seriously -- might have avoided the current situation altogether.

I don't think you actually read what I wrote.

Unless you're suggesting that every nuclear power plant should have a stockpile of enough concrete to entomb all of their reactors at the ready, in which case I'm calling you out as a shill for the concrete industry ;p

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This is the absolute WORST PR move ever for Japan Inc. One they won't recover from for some time.

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Guess what TEPCO has penciled in on their calendar for the next couple of weeks: MON:dump radioactive water TUE:dump radioactive water WED:dump radioactive water THUR.....

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hokkaidoguy: if you've read my posts you know I don't work for any sort of construction firm (most recently read my suggestions as to the motivation of the construction firm asking TEPCO to swaddle the plant in paper!). No, what I said was that TEPCO ignored warnings, and that's a fact. If they had not, this problem might not have existed in the first place. I know that a number of people strangely still defend TEPCO and say they have done nothing wrong, but you cannot deny the facts and try to make serious posts. So, no, they need not keep a lot of concrete at hand -- it would never set in water to being with unless they poured MASSIVE amounts in -- I'm saying that it would be nice if a company listened to warnings instead of relying on hindsight.

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mukai: didn't see your post. Very well said. Again, it's sad that some people still defend TEPCO or claim we have no right to criticize them at present, but those are the type you speak of -- people who have failed to learned from the past.

Now we have them dumping all the irradiated water in the ocean saying, "Heck, it'll dissipate", "Sheesh, no one fishes near here", and things like, "Well, it won't hit other nations for a wee bit yet"; sickening.

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Beer99 - I just love my nation and want what is right to handle this.

smithinjapan - well said. Some people even now are in denile. And I do not mean the river in Egypt.

;-)

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The beatings will continue until morale improves.

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What why dont you guys pump the water on a cruiser and dump it in Antartica

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The Japanese fisheries industry is now officially dead. Time for more (100% safe) Aussie beef.....

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havent been able to read all the comments, but could it be possible to use Reverse Osmosis desalination trucks to separate pure water from the radioactive particles? Since RO works at an efficiency of around 25%, at least they could be reducing the amount of leaked radiation by at least 25%. The "pure" water could be pumped back into the reactor. if this is done as a closed loop, the refuse water will be getting in higher and higher radioactive contamination, but at least there will not be additional water being added, which then later would need to be dumped into the ocean.

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I don't get it : I read that it's totaly possible to decontaminate water. Why don't they do that? I also heard that the french are experts in the field of water decontamination and that they offered their help on that matter. What's going on???

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I don't think we should be eating anything from the sea anytime soon.

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A tragic situation, certainly, but when your neighbor's house is on fire, you don't complain about the smoke, and you don't complain about them leaving their heater on in front of the curtains. There is plenty of time for that later.

One glaring falsity I've gleaned from these posts is the idea that Japan is not accepting the best and most knowledgeable of international help available. The converse seems true to me. Experts from around the world are converging on the site and their suggestions - by no means concurrent, of course - seem to be carrying appropriate weight. Material is coming in as well. Could things be conducted better? - of course! But this is far from the xenophobic reflexive response Japan has shown during previous crises.

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Russia dumped all its old submarine nuclear reactors into the Sea of Japan and few people complained. Not against the law...?

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PS ... doesn't violate 'the' law. What law?

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I don't get it : I read that it's totaly possible to decontaminate water. Why don't they do that?

Time.

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What are they thinking? Putting the problem on hold until they retire and screw the grandkids. Outside help has been sidelined, eg yesterday we heard that a specialist DNA team from the USA has been sitting in Tokyo for 3 weeks, waiting for tho Go from the Government, no chance. Japan has different air, soil and water than other countries, Non Japonese will never understand. It's a special country that does not have to abide to international norms. Nor common sence as others understand it. We should all support TEPCO and there efforts to poison the environment. Who cares what other countries say, Japan IS special and always right.

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Yes, whiskeysour....... TEPCO is living in DENIAL.

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Shoudl read - "to deal with this plant"

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Wiskeysour...it is the simpsons complete with yellow characters, and foreign sterotypes. ...get it

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IAEA is continuously monitoring the situation 24/7. If this practice of releasing radioactive water into the sea is objectionable, surely IAEA will ask Japanese government order TEPCO to stop it.

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My god... If this hits the fishing industry hard in Japan all hell will break lose. They are saying this will go up the food chain. So enjoy your tuna sashimi now before the contaminated stuff hits the shelves. As cynical as this sounds maybe this will give the fish in the sea a bit of a break from being overfished and will give them some reprieve. Lets just hope this does not last for 30 years -- i.e. Cesium 137.

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This is a serious violation of environmental laws not keeping the international waters safe and clean for the future generation.Japan was against KYOTO PROTOCOL and didn't cooperate in protecting the WHALE species.

Japan is continuously violating the international laws.

Hope it ends soon.

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"Storm in a Japanese tea cup" ? No ! This is an environmental disaster that has already boiled over & affected other countries -- A disaster resulted from totally selfish & irresponsible human mismanagement of the Fukushima crisis by the Japanese Government-TEPCO ! ( needless to pretend that the gov't was nit aware of the decision beforehand ). Everyone on earth understands very well the quakes & tsunamis are natural disasters & definitely share the heartfelt sorrow & understand the hardship suffered by Japanese population in the stricken regions.

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From now on, every business related to the waters in East Asia will face tough hardship for many years to come. Delicacies such as sushi, sashimi etc will not be on dining tables for a long while ! Livelihood of various industries' employees will be at stake -- Sea shore resorts operators, fishermen, fish farms, restaurants, trading houses... Thank you Japan technocrats !

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Refrigeration, refrigeration, refrigeration, it seems like such a good idea to me I thought I would mention it more than once. Have powerful arctic atmosphere inducing refrigeration units exude their cold air into the reactor pool area and screen off the sides and top with lead shielding.

Then they can plan what to do next while the meltdowns in their reactor vessels cool down. Problem solved and nearly everyone happy. If I happen to be wrong, I am simply expressing my opinion which is not legally binding.

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Good thing I do not like seafood! Wonders if the prevalent currents will send this water north and to the east? Oh what laws? I am sure the government just changed the standards.

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Chotto chotto chotto - while making chopping actions with my right hand and in a fake bow - Shoganai Janai ka? Gamabarimasho! Gajin welcome to join in.

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@bobbafett

Of course TEPCO is best equipped. The French, US, and rest cannot even the instruction manual!

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. I would never go near sushi or sashimi, but most Japanese don't either unless cultural circumstances force them to.

Riiiiiiiiiiiigt.

Have you ever even been to Japan?

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I don't know but may be this is a loose loose situation.If the contaminated water hadn't been released,more highly contaminated water could be released or the nuclear reactor could be exploded by not being able to water the nuclear plant to cool down. I really hope that Japan will get out of this vicious circle immediately.

Moderator: Please learn the difference between lose and loose.

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Ying Yang! Tell lies, get caught, tell lies, get caught...

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Well where to begin. Japan is the land of concrete

The MIGHTY FORCES of concrete couldn't plug up the leak in the pit at #2 for god sakes!!

本日2日午前9時30分頃、2号機取水口付近の電源ケーブルを収納する立坑(コ  ンクリート製)内に水が溜まっており、空間線量で1,000mSv/hを超えている  こと、その水が立坑側面の亀裂(約20cm)より海に流出していることを確認。  生コンクリートを立坑に二回にわたり注入したが、海への水漏れの量に変化はみ  られなかった。

Never mind that, for over a month a huge concrete pumper from China has been off the coast, US Navy has had fresh water instead of sea water, but what was the Japanese response, "Oh it's all OK, we'll handle this."

4 Concrete pump trucks were supplied domestically and were used in watering operation since March 22nd. The one sent from China were earmarked for those purpose as well. This is a case of precautionary measure if those 4 supplied domestically fail.

As for the so-called fresh water from U.S.

From the MOD press conference

第一義的には、これまで発電所近傍の坂下ダムから取水してきていたので、今回もこれを早急にやると。ただし、災害の影響も受けて、本来の水量が確保されない可能性もありますので、それで今、お尋ねのような米国のバージ船を、坂下ダムから取水するものでは足りない部分を補給するということで、現在、横須賀から小名浜経由で現地へ曳航してくるということをやろうとしております

It basically states that the fresh waters are supplied from the dam near the plant. However "just in case"there is a problem with extracting the water from the dam, they asked the U.S. to supply fresh water via barge.

The barge they sent holds approximately 1,100 tons of water each. The fresh water holding tank derived from the dam stores approximately 3,500 tons of water. The dam which the minister addressed holds 2,532,000 tons of water.

In essence, it's basically a precautionary measure. So your analysis that TEPCO did not have fresh water to begin with is false for they switched over to fresh water as early as March 25th and the barges arrived on April 1st.

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I don't agree with the posters here who believe that the dumped contaminated water will be diluted and not dangerous at all. We could not be sure about this without an extensive research (and so far I am unaware of such). Due to bioaccumulation, the toxic or radioactive substances can be observed in some marine species of the food chain in lethal (for human) doses, even if the concentration in water of these substances is "not dangerous", according to the claims by TEPCO and the Japanese government. There are many examples of bioaccumulation - of mercury (salmon, tuna, whales, dolphins, hijiki, and - the extreme case - Minamata bay disaster (1956)), lead (vegetables grown near the roads before banning the tetra-ethyl-lead in gasoline), DDT, strontium, etc...

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Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano once labeled other neighboring country as ' bad neighbor ' -- now that 'bad neighbors' are all around, the sticker label seems to be falling back on to Japan as perceived by its neighbors ( not necessary now, but will come ). No wonder the Defense Minister thanks in tears the US ?

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uriotani, I don't like seafood much either. I would never go near sushi or sashimi, but most Japanese don't either unless cultural circumstances force them to. Problem is that the Japanese are about to hoard up all the food we eat as this latest crisis gives them the excuse to stop eating their local salty delicacies. I can't see a busy day tomorrow in Tsukiji fish market, but I imagine the Daiei chicken counters will take a right beating. Radioactive seawater and cesium in seafood are going to affect us all I'm afraid. This really is a disaster.

Sushi is more than ever popular because of how cheap the fish is right now, especially tune. A long time ago, it wasnt so commonly eaten because of the price. NOT because of cultural circumstances.

You should come to Japan and see for yourself instead of just visiting the local Japanese supermarket in your city

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Tuna, not tune, sorry

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Refrigeration, refrigeration, refrigeration, it seems like such a good idea to me I thought I would mention it more than once

Well. That's what the workers at TEPCO are trying to restore. Cooling functions=refrigiration.

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"Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano separately said Japan contacted the IAEA rather than individual neighbors because the water has been released from the plant on the Pacific coast. The top government spokesman also said the discharge would ‘‘not cause immediate radioactive contamination in neighboring countries.’‘" When your house caught a fire, needless to wake up your neighbors in your flat ( they may not be very-friendly neighbors ), call the city police instead.. As the fire would not burn up immediately the neighbors' home..what sort of mindset / excuse !

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On a brighter note, this will ironically be fantastic for the ecosystem. Japanese waters are among the most overfished in the world. My home state of California has set almost all coastal waters as marine refuge; the coastal fishing industry has all but disappeared, but this ensures the survival of the deep sea fishing industries and the viability of marine resources for future generations.

Most fish move too much to be drastically affected by the radiation dumped from Fukushima, though sedentary fish and shellfish will undoubtedly build up unsafe levels. Still, the reputation of all seafood will have taken a severe hit. My suggestion is to use this disaster as an opportunity to declare most of coastal northeastern Honshu a marine sanctuary. This will serve not only to restore confidence in Japanese seafood, it will provide a badly needed refuge and nursery for sealife that will replenish dwindling domestic supplies.

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We are slowly moving the normal status from "safe" to "not much dangerous" .. I hope we don't get used to that.

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Yuriotani, I don't like seafood much either. I would never go near sushi or sashimi, but most Japanese don't either unless cultural circumstances force them to

Is hunger a cultural circumstance?

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I would never go near sushi or sashimi, but most Japanese don't either unless cultural circumstances force them to.

You must live in a different Japan than me. Most Japanese people who don't eat sushi or sashimi don't because they can't afford it. Make it cheap and fresh and it gets eaten quicker than anything else.

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do any of you guys even visit japan? they eat other fish dishes other than sushi all the time.

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do any of you guys even visit japan? they eat other fish dishes other than sushi all the time

And yet the kaitenzushi bars are always full...

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"Most fish move too much to be drastically affected by the radiation dumped from Fukushima, though sedentary fish and shellfish will undoubtedly build up unsafe levels. Still, the reputation of all seafood will have taken a severe hit. My suggestion is to use this disaster as an opportunity to declare most of coastal northeastern Honshu a marine sanctuary. This will serve not only to restore confidence in Japanese seafood, it will provide a badly needed refuge and nursery for sealife that will replenish dwindling domestic supplies."

Good idea ( east Honshu marine sanctuary ) indeed -- you will have this idea materialized automatically for next decades to come, not only for east Honshu, but also also along the entire pacific coast. Next issue, how to cope with the livelihood of the fishermen ? Abnormal ( radioactive ) giant shellfishes & pearls ( for bowling ? ) could be developed as a new industry.

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No other industry is so complacent with its possible consequences, so dismissive of what it can bring upon us. It thinks, as any industry, of the 'bottom-dollar'. This industry is far too dire a distributor of terrible consequence to be allowed to be run that way. TEPCO are appallingly inept. An international team needs to take over. NOW.

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The most recent is the meteorological agency's attempt to not give info, as it might 'confuse' you.

Smith. The said info is just a mere projection based on numerous OTHER projections (like weather, wind speed/direction, rainfall accumulation). Therefore, the accuracy is highly questionable. (much like the weather in of itself). By publishing these separate sets of information (as opposed to the actual updated MP readings), you run the risk of not evacuating people that are experiencing high level of radiation and possibiliy at the same time evacuating people where radiation is still under threshold.

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It's tough to tell where the radiation will end up. Bioaccumulation is a problem. But if the water wasn't dumped then the workers can't get into the plant to repair the leaks. It's become a lesser of two evils kind of problem.

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Yes Patrick san, you are correct it will not stop with the fish. Not having information it is impossible to understand the full scale of the disaster. So we have to trust the information provided by TEPCO and the GOJ. Ah I think we have a real problem...

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I agree, there has to be immediate intervention from the UN. And now, they must consider going to the nuclear device solution: one fission bomb (atomic bomb) set into each of the four reactors and simultaneously detonated. I know that this sounds nuts, but its clear that the reactor cores are still melting down. And the only way to stop the meltdowns is through the use of large nuclear devices. Nothing else will stop them.

Also I just read that reactor #3 is now emitting so much radiation that they cannot send in the engineers anymore. As this continues to go on and on, the radiation levels around the world will exponentially increase. And now the North American grain belt is at stake, and, that is the worlds food supply.

They have to vaporize those reactors through nuclear detonations. And they have to do it right now.

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I won't say much for if I do, I might be accused of scaremongering. However, I have one thing to say about the news report above : "Read between the lines". Interpret it the same way you would the Japanese whalers' reason for their whaling expeditions (being for scientific purposes).

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I hope that in 20 years we'll be saying, "TEPCO did the right thing after all. No harm done. We worried for nothing."

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I really hate such arrogance! Remember the green and industrial revolution? The industrialized countries feasted on the global oxygen and emitted tonnes of carbondioxide, that is now resulting into global warming and climate change. The countries, including Japan are now developed, but at the expense of a warmer world. The world is so much changed that even with adaptation, we shall never reverse it to its original preindustrial temperatures and conditions. As the world starts to comprehend climate change and its effects, enter another clown in the names of our country Japan with another one for the century: "dumping radioactive water in ocean doesn't violate law". Says who? You are dumping stuff, most of which is non-biodegradable and will stay with us for generations and you dare say that? a superpower? give me a break!! Why not keep quiet if you have nothing to say? Does Japan know anything about governance of the global commons or does the world owe Japan a living because of its myopic insufficient safety measures that have resulted into this radiation catastrophy? Japan should know emitting dangerous radiation into the global atmosphere is already bad enough. Japan does not need to add insult to injury by appearing a careless and remose-less global bully. With such careless utterances, the world may hate Japan for good, including those currrently contributing support. Everybody knows you don't break any law by defeacating in your courtyard or compound at home, but still all know that doing it and bragging about it makes you appear dirty, mad and hopeless.

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Cleveland still is testing its treatment, now known as CBLB502, a nondescript designation often given to therapies that have yet to hit the market. The treatment has been in development for the last eight years, Cleveland CEO Michael Fonstein tells MarketWatch. Fonstein says the drug can increase the survival rate by three to four times if applied within 24 to 48 hoursCleveland has notified authorities that it can ship the equivalent of hundreds of thousands of doses for those exposed to radiation from leaks at Fukushima Daiichi; it’s unclear whether it will be called upon to provide the treatment. The drug is available to be shipped right away, Fonstein said. Cleveland also is volunteering to donate doses of the medication, but has yet to discover whether officials will take him up on it.

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I'm all for dumping it in an emergency, but what they're actually saying here is everybody can start doing it all the time just fine. Seriously.

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On a molecular level the contaminated ocean water from both recent environmental disasters from BP and TEPCO evaporates and rises into the upper atmosphere to come back down in the rain, eventually contaminating every body ow water around the globe. What I would love to see is some Chinese democracy in dealing with the cheifs of these companies for killing our planet.

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Agree with bdiego. The low level that Japan dumped is probably not a threat. The problem is if everyone does it then collectively it is a threat.

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Relax, Japan is probably the most sensitive to environmental degradation than most. However, the reactor crisis is calling all the shots, and TEPCO is reacting to problems as they occur.

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Hats off to CNN for a change for putting some perspective.

"To put this in perspective, the Pacific Ocean holds about 300 trillion swimming pools full of water, and they are going to release about five swimming pools full," said Timothy Jorgensen, chair of the radiation safety committee at Georgetown University Medical Center. "So hopefully the churning of the ocean and the currents will quickly disperse this so that it gets to very dilute concentrations relatively quickly."

That's nowhere close to even being a "drop in the bucket". Then again, the initial headline read

"Radiation in water rushing into sea tests millions of times over limit."

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I have been reading news sources, and some well established sources are degrading their "credibility" w/ emotion ladened articles based on fear. Strange.....

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It doesn't violate the law-of course it doesn't !t does give you cancer though!

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Not illegal, by international law - but perhaps the crime of conscience - which has always been lacking in Japan - typical of corporate america (our corrupt banks - including the recently M&A'd Wachovia - USD 300+ BILLION in suspected money laundering - but the government declined to prosecute as the "banks" were having a financial crisis. Anyway - point is - nobody will complain until AFTER the radiated water starts affecting their ecologies. I'm sure the whales are gonna be upset about this.

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"And now the North American grain belt is at stake, and, that is the worlds food supply. They have to vaporize those reactors through nuclear detonations. And they have to do it right now."

Okay, at first I thought this was a joke. But with all the crazy things that people are saying I'm not so sure. If it was satire, it was brilliant.

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Nuke the nukes?

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They don't have much choice, but that doesn't make the situation any better. What I find conspicuous in it's absence is all reference to the Plutonium levels...why are they keeping that a secret?

I was so happy today to see many in the streets demanding immediate closure of the nuclear plants in Japan. That is the path toward sustainability,and a viable future for our descendants. Nuclear energy was a Faustian deal, and mankind has traded the health of future generations for a bunch of junk.

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@ puaokalani

What plutonium levels? Tested levels on the land were so low that no one was sure if the plutonium was from normal levels in the soil every from atmospheric nuclear detonations or if it was related to some plutonium in unit 3. Even if water is leaking, the core is solid and won't come out and attack you.

Besides, for decades the US, Russia, France, England, and China have been detonating nukes in the ocean, but somehow the oceans aren't all dead now, are they?

If anything, Japan needs more nuclear plants. China has no plans to cancel their 27 plants under construction. The choice is either killing thousands of people from burning coal, or go nuclear. Solar and wind are not at all realistic options. Oil and gas are limited resources and won't be around in 100 years. If you recycle nuclear fuel, there is over 1000 years of world energy production. Time to grow up and make the technology safer, rather than just saying it is junk.

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