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17 Mar 2011 16:32

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World: Britain follows U.S. on Fukushima evacuation advisement

  • A bit of a contradiction: “We advise British nationals to follow all relevant advice from the Japanese authorities, and as an additional precautionary measure, not to go within eighty kilometers of the site.” It seems that the British have assessed the situation in Fukushima, and have come to the same conclusion the Americans have. While it’s impossible to say at this juncture what is and isn’t the proper advice, this much seems clear; that both the U.S. and Britain would publicly refute Japan’s own evacuation plan, however politely, makes the Japanese look pretty bad, and implies some degree of turmoil in diplomatic communication and coordination. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Mar 2011 14:41

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World: Some uninspiring anecdotes on Japan’s nuclear record

  • one A Japanese nuclear plant had its workers mix uranium by hand in buckets, instead of using machines as it was supposed to. This somewhat predictably exposed hundreds to increased radiation, and two later died.
  • two Kei Sugaoka, now in California, used to be a plant engineer. He recalls being told to cut out video of the plant’s steam-leaking pipes before sending it for review. He told this to TEPCO, but no action was taken until he went public. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Mar 2011 10:34

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World: Tokyo’s dealing with their energy drama fairly well so far

  • yes the trains are running slower and less frequently in Tokyo, in an effort to save energy
  • no authorities don’t expect Tokyo’s power to go out despite higher usage in the wake of cold weather
  • yes people in Tokyo have gotten stuck in elevators as the result of rolling blackouts source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Mar 2011 10:21

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World: Japan, out of options, tries crop-dusting Fukushima

Know how bad things have gotten at Fukushima? Well, now the Japanese military is dumping seawater out of a helicopter onto the nuclear plant. This seems unfortunate. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Mar 2011 22:08

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World: Losing track of Japan’s nuclear situation? Here’s a video recap.

  • Courtesy of The Daily, this is an excellent two-minute video summarizing the events at Fukushima’s nuclear reactor in Japan, complete with icons, a timeline, and fancy zooming maps. It’s current up to this morning, and to the good folks at The Daily, bravo. It’s really helpful to have such a complex series of events distilled down into such an easily digestible nugget. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Mar 2011 14:11

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World: Wikileaks sheds light on longtime concern over Japanese nuclear safety

  • Taniguchi has been a weak manager and advocate, particularly with respect to confronting Japan’s own safety practices, and he is a particular disappointment to the United States for his unloved-step-child treatment of the Office of Nuclear Security.
  • A U.S. diplomatic cable released by Wikileaks • On Tomohiro Tanaguchi, the man who was the IAEA’s (International Atomic Energy Agency) Deputy Director General for the Department of Nuclear Safety and Security from 2001 to 2009. While another cable reveals that Tanaguchi urged fellow officials to focus more on nuclear power safety in 2008 (which seems like the sort of thing you shouldn’t need to tell the IAEA), it seems that this plea late in his career was not enough to salvage the opinion of American diplomats, who express a great degree of angst over the state of Japan’s nuclear earthquake preparedness. Tomohiro departed his position in 2009, leaving the position to another Japanese member, Yukiya Amano, who currently holds the post. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Mar 2011 10:41

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Biz, World: The single most cringe-worthy quote on Japan you’ll see today

  • Japan has some of its industry curtailed, like auto and steel — but that’s not going to last too long. People are starting to realize that there [sic] economy is not going to be shut down for long — and they’re going to have to start to look for alternative fuel sources.
  • INFA Energy Brokers CEO Brad Schaeffer • Suggesting that Japan will have to switch its energy sources to an alternative source. But Schaeffer means “alternative” in the way one might call a band like Nickelback “alternative” — see, he thinks that Japan should move to oil. “Remember, they need to get their nation back on their feet,” he says. “They aren’t worrying about their carbon footprint so much. They’re thinking we need to get oil here now – so we can get our generators up and running.” While there’s some grain of truth here, we wonder how much of what he’s saying is wishful thinking, seeing that he’s the CEO of an energy-brokering company. Quotes like these? They seriously make us cringe. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

15 Mar 2011 23:39

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World: Fukushima update: Radiation briefly reaches one sievert an hour

  • 1,000 the level the radioactivity reached near the Fukushima reactor, in milli-sieverts per hour – which is a new high, by far
  • 800-600 the level the radioactivity fell to not much longer after that, in milli-sieverts per hour; this is still far more than average source
  • » For context: Please check out our various updates here, here, here, and here.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 Mar 2011 22:58

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U.S.: Back in the States, Americans raiding geiger counter stockpile

  • cause After last week’s earthquake, a series of nuclear troubles hit the Fukushima reactors and other nuclear reactors throughout Japan. Fukushima most seriously, as we’re sure you’ve read.
  • reaction In the United States, even though the odds are slim to none that the crisis will affect them, sales of geiger counters and potassium iodide have skyrocketed. Has there been a run on tinfoil hats? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 Mar 2011 15:41

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Politics: The Mark 1 Nuclear Reactor’s legacy of safety concerns

  • Unheeded warning of the day: The Mark 1 Nuclear Reactor’s containment system, produced by General Electric in the 1960s, has been the subject of pointed safety concerns for nearly forty years. Stephen Hanauer, then an official with the Atomic Energy Commission, wrote in 1972 that the Mark 1’s pressure systems posed an unacceptable risk of hydrogen explosion, and should be discontinued. You probably know where this is going- the Fukushima Plant in Japan uses the Mark 1, as do twenty-three American reactors. A critical difference between these and the more highly regarded pressurized water reactors? The Mark 1’s containment vessel is “physically less robust.” So, because apparently this needs saying, don’t skimp on nuclear reactor containment.  source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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