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27 Mar 2011 10:01

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World: That “10 million times” number at Fukushima? An error, guys.

  • what The high level of radiation reported by TEPCO was a huge freaking error, and in reality, the level is much lower.
  • how The worker taking the test freaked out, apparently — wouldn’t you? — before doing a backup test to confirm.
  • reaction A TEPCO spokesperson apologized. “The number is not credible,” said  Takashi Kurita. “We are very sorry.”  source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Mar 2011 20:18

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World: Japan update: Lots of people trying to get Fukushima under control

  • 700+ engineers are battling the Fukushima crisis source
  • » Progress, but no end in sight: Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano had these vaguely calming words about the incident: “We are preventing the situation from worsening — we’ve restored power and pumped in fresh water — and making basic steps toward improvement,” he said, “but there is still no room for complacency.” There are good and bad parts about the overall situation right now — while aftershocks are starting to tail off, radiation levels in seawater miles away are very high, but are said to be of little threat to those eating seafood from the ocean. Still, though …
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Mar 2011 17:35

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World: Japan Prime Minister on Fukushima: We’re not out of the woods yet

  • Don’t consider the situation at Fukushima settled just yet. That’s the message that Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan, in his first statements on the matter in over a week, would like to make clear. “We are making efforts to prevent it from getting worse, but I feel we cannot become complacent,” he said. “We must continue to be on our guard.” Kan’s comments come in the wake of high instability at some of the plants — yesterday, two workers got radiation burns on their feet while working on Fukushima’s No. 3 unit, which is the most dangerous of the bunch due to its use of a mixture of uranium and plutonium. The situation led to fresh concerns about whether there might be a leak in that reactor. TEPCO officials are still looking for the cause of the high radiation levels. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Mar 2011 10:45

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World: Experts: Fukushima nuclear situation getting under control

  • The reactors are more stable as time progresses. By now, the decay heat is greatly reduced and it becomes easier to supply sufficient water for cooling. As far as we know, the containments are holding and the radiation levels have dropped.
  • UC Berkley nuclear expert Peter Hosemann • Suggesting that Fukushima is quickly becoming less of an issue, and more under control. He does warn, however, that radiation may still get into the environment: “We might see some more release of radioactive material, mostly due to the water going through the systems.” Overall, though, this is promising in terms of getting things handled. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Mar 2011 10:42

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U.S., World: FDA’s Fukushima food ban: Not really that big a deal

  • scary The FDA just limited the import of food from the area of Japan near the Fukushima nuclear disaster, days after officials discovered radiation in some foods, including milk and spinach. A lot of people have been freaking out over this.
  • not scary However, this almost assuredly isn’t a big deal — only four percent of our imported foods come from Japan, and the ones we usually eat from the country are things like fish, which weren’t significantly affected by Fukushima. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Mar 2011 13:49

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World: China, South Korea strictly checking Japanese food

  • China and South Korea wary of radiation in food: Some countries (and even individual restaurants) that import food from Japan are concerned about the possibility of radiation contamination. The Japanese government has assured their citizenry that the radiation levels detected in milk, spinach, and some water is not enough to do rapid or lasting damage, though they’ve imposed a freeze on food from that region. China and South Korea want to look into the matter themselves, though, absent the responsibility of keeping the Japanese citizenry from being stricken with panic, which their government obviously has. That seems reasonable enough. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Mar 2011 13:23

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World: Power lines connected at Fukushima Daiichi, not turned on yet

  • Power lines up in all six Fukushima Daiichi reactors: Which is great sounding news, but they’re not out of the woods yet. There are a number of implications to this, mainly that cooling systems can be turned back on, thus pumping water back into the reactors and preventing a meltdown of the fuel rods. However, the power hasn’t yet been switched on, as engineers fear that the pumps, damaged as they are, could cause an explosion if activated abruptly. That aside, this news is a credit to the bravery of the workers who stayed at the plant. We hope the government gives them truly first-class care once this is over, it’s the only moral thing to do. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

21 Mar 2011 00:00

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Politics: Max Headroom: Glenn Beck, Lawrence O’Donnell ignore Japan for pettiness

  • Meanwhile, while Glenn Beck and Lawrence O’Donnell are arguing/agreeing about whether or not the Japan nuclear crisis is going to end the world (it’s not), thousands have been killed, thousands more are currently without a roof over their head, and millions more could face electricity issues for months after the Japan quake seriously damaged the power grid. Good to see they’re keeping things in perspective by arguing over who’s right. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Mar 2011 11:42

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World: Japan finds more radiation-laden foods, limits their sale

  • bad As we reported yesterday, a number of food items from the region near Fukushima — including milk and spinach — had high levels of radiation in them, leading to considerable concern in Japan.
  • worse Now, more foods have tested positive for radiation — including canola and chrysanthemum greens. Now, Japan has restricted sales of food from anywhere near Fukushima. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Mar 2011 12:56

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World: Japan: Officials find radiation in milk, spinach and drinking water

  • water Officials discovered safe but high levels of radioactive iodine in the drinking water of five Japanese cities, including Tokyo, during a radiation test. They were trace amounts that were within acceptable legal limits, however.
  • food Officials also discovered high radiation levels in milk and spinach near Fukushima. In the case of the spinach, eating it every day for a year would be equal to 20 percent of the level of radiation you’d get from a CAT scan. source
  • » What happens next: Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano says that they’ll continue to test food products, and if they find contaminated products, they’ll ban them from the market. Some experts are understandably skeptical. “They should seriously think about restricting any agricultural products in that area,” said Lam Ching-wan of the University of Hong Kong School of Medicine. “It seems that the whole ecosystem could be affected, so they shouldn’t take any chances.” The radiation factor of milk and spinach is important to note, because after Chernobyl, many cancer cases resulted from children who ingested high levels of radiation in milk.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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