More Bad News From Fukushima 268
PuceBaboon writes "Both Reuters and the BBC are carrying the story of an increase in radiation levels reported by Tepco for contaminated water leaking from storage tanks on site. When this leak was discovered almost two weeks ago, Tepco reported that the radiation level was 100-millisieverts. It now transpires that 100-millisieverts was the highest reading that the measuring equipment in use was capable of displaying. The latest readings (with upgraded equipment) are registering 1800-millisieverts which, according to both news sources, could prove fatal to anyone exposed to it for four hours. Coincidentally (and somewhat ironically), today is earthquake disaster prevention day in Japan, with safety drills taking place nationwide."
Oblig. (Score:5, Informative)
1800 mSv is 36 times the maximum yearly dose permitted to US radiation workers. More here [xkcd.com].
Re:Oblig. (Score:3, Informative)
Per hour.
Re:Where were the professionals. (Score:5, Informative)
It is all intentional and just a big game of what they can cover up and with which lies they can get away with.
The whole Fukushima operation is just a big scam with Tepco and the government as key players.
The current LDP government is financially supported by all major Japanese companies that are heavily involved in the nuclear industry.
That was a very lucrative business because there were hardly any rules that could not be bend but that has all gone bad after the Fukushima disaster.
The main objective for Tepco and the LDP prime minister is to get nuclear energy accepted again.
Although there are many accidents and false reports, the national media does not pay much attention, fearing the wrath of the LDP patry and some of the major companies here in Japan. But that doesn't differ much from the US I guess.
Also, the national television company is just another propaganda media outlet but may Japanese are not aware of this fact.
Japan has a long history of cover-ups when the government and major Japanese companies are involved.
Argh. That's not a radiation level. (Score:5, Informative)
1800 millisieverts is a dose, not a level. It's as basic a mistake as confusing feet with feet per second.
From other sources, it's a logical guess that what's meant is millisieverts per hour but an article should not make the reader guess what it means.
Re:Where were the professionals. (Score:4, Informative)
It isn't damage control. It is technician stupidity. There are a wide range of radiation meters. But the type that can read up to 200 Rem/hr (2,000 mSv) aren't common. A typical meter won't even read up to 1 Rem/hr, because such high levels aren't common. Only casualty meters read higher.
Any decent health physicist is acutely aware of where the meter saturates (which can sometimes be caused by the electronics itself--you really need to understand how your meter works when you adjust the scales).
No, you bring the meter with the radiation you expect to find. If it is higher, you back out and bring a meter for that. If your readings are 50 mRem/hr at most points, it is ridiculous to carry around a meter than reads 0-200 Rem/hr. It is not precise. It is like reading the speed on your speedometer when it is calibrated in units of 500 mph.
Re:Wrong PLACE not "Wrong Issue" (Score:2, Informative)
You have no clue. Really, none whatsoever. 300km only mean that they can see it coming, not that they can do anything about it. Shipping the rods to Tokyo would be pretty safe though, as they would still be contained. As long as you keep them cooled, you could even walk next to them. If they burn, however, all that radioactive material ends up in very fine particles for maximum effect.
Re:Wrong issue (Score:3, Informative)
I presume you are referring to the spent fuel pool in the reactor 4 building as that's the one that's been reported by fantasists and alarmists like Arne Gunderson as exploding, imminently collapsing, bulging, disintegrating, sinking into the ground and catching fire ever since the accidents happened. Unfortunately for their delusions reactor 4 is still there as is its spent fuel pool which today has a water temperature of 38 deg C., not what I'd describe as "inadequately cooled".
Right now the engineers at Fukushima Daiichi are finishing building a crane and supporting structure on reactor 4 in preparation to start removing the spent fuel rods from the pool. They've been working on this project for more than a year, clearing away the rubble on top of the building and constructing a heavy foundation before erecting the crane structure alongside and on top of the building and enclosing the top of the building in a weather shield since, in the words of George RR Martin, "winter is coming".
The crane system has to be heavily built since it will be craning fuel canisters weighing over a hundred tonnes out of the pool after spent fuel bundles are loaded into them. It's not something that can be done safely in an ad-hoc manner despite the Chicken Littles running around in a panic screaming "the world is ending!". Once the crane's up and running in the next few weeks it should only take a month or two to empty the pool of fuel bundles at which time I'm sure the folks worrying about it will turn their attention to the other reactor spent fuel pools which are also in train to be emptied too.
Re:Where were the professionals. (Score:5, Informative)
meltdown (Score:3, Informative)