Update#60: Sept 12, 2011
More and more voices are speaking up about Fukushima. Over the last 3 days there have been a myriad of stories on what really happened, what is continuing to happen and what may happen. As I reported last week many are questioning what is really going on inside the reactors with the melted fuel, the water cooling and so forth. If you read nothing else in the report today read this short, concise statement on the situation at Fukushima by Hiroaki Koide of Kyoto University published in Mainici on Friday. I have snipped a few of his statements from the report below. Then watch the new Chris Busby video (below) on the health effects on children.
Hiroaki Koide, radiation metrology and nuclear safety expert at Kyoto University’s Research Reactor Institute shares what he thinks may happen in the coming weeks, months and years
Without accurate information about what’s happening inside the reactors, there’s a need to consider various scenarios. At present, I believe that there is a possibility that massive amounts of radioactive materials will be released into the environment again.
I believe that contaminated water is still leaking underground, where we can’t see it. Because of this, I believe immediate action must be taken to build underground water barriers that would close off the nuclear power plant to the outside world and prevent radioactive materials from spreading. The important thing is to stop any further diffusion of radioactive materials.
The government and plant operator TEPCO are trumpeting the operation of the circulation cooling system, as if it marks a successful resolution to the disaster. However, radiation continues to leak from the reactors. The longer the circulation cooling system keeps running, the more radioactive waste it will accumulate. It isn’t really leading us in the direction we need to go.
This article from Japan Times also questions what is going on at Fukushima and has a good bird’s-eye view drawing of the water decontamination system and a chart on each of the reactor conditions. The concern expressed here is that “cold shutdown” as it has redefined by TEPCO and the government is not a good yardstick to determine if it is safe for evacuees to return to their homes in the exclusion zones.
Plugging leaks will end crisis, not cold shutdown: analysts
Before the Fukushima crisis can be said contained, the holes and cracks from which the water and fuel are escaping must be located and sealed. But this extremely difficult task could take years because the radiation near the reactors is simply too high to let workers get near them.
The containment vessel is what really ensures the safety of a nuclear reactor,” Ninokata said, warning that if radioactive materials are still leaking out, allowing residents to return would risk harming their health.
Since the water contamination system is under such scrutiny, you might want to take a look at this video posted at SKF. Helps to understand why there have been 32 malfunctions in the first 2 months of operations. Physics Forum also posts a link to the video.
TEPCO Video Explains the Reactor Cooling System at Fukushima I Nuke Plant
SKF SAYS: TEPCO is on the PR blitz of some sort. Now, the first series of the blitz is “How do we achieve and maintain cold shutdown?” and the company released the first video of the series titled “The setup and operation of the reactor cooling system”. The video is in Japanese only, but take a look at the “system” made up of jumbled flexible hoses (Kanaflex) snaking their way through the plant compound.
Many news agencies (even CBC!) ran retrospectives on the almost 6-months anniversary of the accident this weekend. Here is a representative one from Mainichi Daily News.
Six months later: The Fukushima nuclear disaster in retrospect
Now go to Energy News to view the latest Chris Busby video. This is very sad. Especially when consider the volume of air, soil and food contamination in Japan.
Expert: Already hearing reports of kids suffering heart attacks – Beware deadly cardiac problems in children caused by Fukushima radiation (VIDEO)
Summary of interview with Christopher Busby, expert on health effects of ionizing radiation
At :40 in
Yury Bandazhevsky, studied effects of cesium-137 on children in Belarus after Chernobyl
He found that children with just 20-30 Bq/kg of cesium-137 suffering cardiac arrhythmia (heart not beating properly) and were suffering heart attacks and dying
Not a question of cancer or leukemia (although that occurred as well), there were very high rates of heart disease in these children… manifesting heart disease usually only found in old people
At 4:00 in
Heart cells are non replaceable by-and-large
Only 1% of heart cells replaced in a year
Cesium-137 goes to muscle, so concentrates in muscle tissue of heart
At 5:00 in
It does seem from what people have been telling me in the Fukushima affected area, is they [children] are actually suffering heart attacks
At 6:40 in
Cesium-137′s effects on heart muscle cannot be repaired, heart tissue cannot be repaired
These children will suffer their whole life and die young
At 7:30 in
Post-Chernobyl Belarus showed an increase in cancer… but an “enormous” increase in heart disease
Consider the following stories in light of what Busby says in the video:
Effect of contaminated soil on food chain sparks fears
High levels of radiation found in remote areas
Radiation checks on wild plants, animals urged
Radioactive Yogurt in Miyagi Prefecture, 6.5 Bq/kg Radioactive Cesium
This has to be the first time ever that radioactive cesium has been detected from yogurt by the official (government) testing, though I could be wrong.
Savechild.net has the information posted on the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare website. The ministry has been conducting the sampling tests on food items currently sold in the marketplace, while the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries do the sampling tests on produce before they are sold in the market.
And what does the establishment say?
Nuclear experts discuss radiation in Fukushima
The symposium was organized by the Nippon Foundation in cooperation with the International Commission on Radiological Protection. The body provides guidance and recommendations on protection from radiation.
An US epidemiologist, John Boice, said he does not think people’s health will be affected by the Fukushima accident. He said Japan prevented contaminated food from being distributed, unlike what happened after the Chernobyl accident.
