SimplyInfo.org Fukushima 3rd Anniversary Reports
We have been reporting on various aspects of the Fukushima nuclear disaster in recent weeks. We looked at the human and health impact, the environment, how workers are being treated and the technical changes in the last year. All of these reports are compiled here for easier reading. Society, Environment & Health: Living With Radiation In Japan Nuclear Establishment Takes Over Fukushima Medical University Fukushima & The Controversy Of The Pacific Fukushima Brings New Awareness Of Contaminated Food Worldwide Citizen Activists … Read entire article »
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Fukushima 3rd Anniversary; Technical Report – Plant Conditions
Conditions at the plant have remained a challenge and appear they will be in the future. TEPCO started off on the wrong foot by trying to blame the public for their lack of disclosure and failures at the plant. A TEPCO official did admit that the plant is still very much out of their control. Deceptive information has still been a common occurrence like this pair of radiation maps of the plant. One showed lower … Read entire article »
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Fukushima 3rd Anniversary; Technical Report – Water
Contaminated water issues dominated TEPCO’s work and reporting out of the plant. The ALPS system intended to remove some of the radioactive isotopes the other filtration systems can not began testing in September 2013. There are now three trains of the system but all are still in testing operation trying to work out issues in the system. TEPCO originally planned to start full scale operation in September. In April of 2013 the silt fence for the port … Read entire article »
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Fukushima 3rd Anniversary; Technical Report Unit 4
Unit 4 saw the completion of the defueling building. Since early in 2011 TEPCO has considered the removal of fuel from the spent fuel pool to be an urgent matter. An emergency set of concrete supports were installed under the pool in 2011 to try to shore up the pool but concerns remained. The cantilever design defueling building has been under construction for most of 2013. It was ready for use by September. The building interior … Read entire article »
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Fukushima 3rd Anniversary; Technical Report Unit 3
Unit 3 saw considerable work take place in the last year. The torus of this unit was considered to be leaking as are the other two that suffered meltdowns. TEPCO doesn’t elaborate where and how it is leaking. TEPCO called the unit 3 torus “mostly sound” but didn’t say what way it isn’t sound. Debris removal began on the refueling floor. One piece of debris read 540 mSv/h. TEPCO didn’t show a photo of the specific piece … Read entire article »
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Fukushima 3rd Anniversary; Technical Report Unit 2
These events and new information were found on unit 2 within the last year. TEPCO announced in July that they think there may be leaks in the torus structures of units 1-3. At this point they didn’t identify a specific location on the unit 2 torus as the point of failure. In April 2013 TEPCO sent in robots to inspect the MSIV room of unit 2. This room contains the large valves that open and close … Read entire article »
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Fukushima 3rd Anniversary; Unit 1 Technical Report
With the 3rd anniversary of the 3-11 triple disaster approaching we have taken a look at the changes that have taken place at Fukushima Daiichi. Unit 1: In July TEPCO admitted that both the reactor and containment caps are leaking. TEPCO mentions it leaks nitrogen but that would permit anything else to leak out through the same path. They also admitted the downcomer expansion bellows were leaking nitrogen and steam in the torus. The upper leaks … Read entire article »
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Worldwide Anti Nuclear Protests On Eve Of Fukushima 3rd Anniversary
About 10,000 showed up for a series of protests and concerts in Tokyo. photos from the Tokyo protest. 300 showed up in Kanazawa to protest A no nukes festival happened the same day in Kofu, Yamanashi 1300 protested in Aomori prefecture Protests in London and around the UK took place this weekend with more protests and memorial events planned for the coming week. In Berlin about 1000 people marched from the Brandenburg gate to the Japanese embassy. In Kehl and Strasbourg on … Read entire article »
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Researchers Confirm “Black Substance” Is Fukushima Reactor Fuel
In a peer reviewed paper released this week by the journal Environmental Science & Technology, a Japanese team of researchers has concluded that portions of the “black substance” found in Japan is nuclear fuel fragments from Fukushima Daiichi. Discoveries of the black residue along roadsides in and near the evacuation zone have been going on since at least 2011. Most were initially found by local citizens doing radiation monitoring. Some of these black substance sightings have … Read entire article »
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WIPP Puts Probes Into Mine Today
DOE is reporting they have put probes into the mine at WIPP today to check underground radiation levels. This photo was published on their twitter account recently. No further information has been given so far about the work or readings found. This article would not be possible without the extensive efforts of the SimplyInfo research team Join the conversation at chat.simplyinfo.org All content is copyright SimplyInfo.org. Content cited, quoted etc. from other sources is under the respective rights of … Read entire article »
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SimplyInfo.org; Fukushima and Nuclear News Roundup 3.7.2014
A radioactive bus from Japan is causing problems in Jamaica. The bus was found to be contaminated when it arrived at the Jamaican port in 2012. There have also been shipments of car parts found to be radioactive at the same port. TEPCO is continuing to try to gain public approval for using the bypass wells near the reactor buildings. These wells have shown to be contaminated with cesium and tritium on earlier rounds of testing. Residents … Read entire article »
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WIPP Incident Creates Local Frustration
A town hall meeting and a meeting with New Mexico’s congressional delegation showed the level of frustration and lack of answers surrounding the incident at WIPP. The congress members met with people from DOE including secretary Montiz and the contractors running WIPP. They expressed the same frustration the public has been voicing for weeks. “Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich, and Representative Steve Pearce urged Moniz and the DOE to provide quick information, along with the context … Read entire article »
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WIPP; Leaking Dampers, Re-entry Planned For Next Week
The local DOE office released a new statement on the situation at WIPP. They mentioned they are going to “seal two dampers and eliminate any leakage through them“. This is the first clear statement given by DOE after vaguely mentioning the need for repairs to the ventilation system last week. No further information was given regarding what has been leaking from the dampers or any amount. They also mention they may be ready to send in a … Read entire article »
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WIPP Exhaust Filter 1,365 Bq/m3 of Americium
The WIPP exhaust filter readings have been published. The pre-filter readings for the exhaust shaft were: 1,365 Bq/m3 of Americium 672 Bq/m3 of Plutonium (239+240Pu) This is a total combined reading of 2037 Bq/m3 These are the levels inside the exhaust shaft before the HEPA filter. This monitoring filter was pulled for testing 24 hours after the incident. Readings inside the mine continued to fall over the next week. After the HEPA filter the readings were: 1.81 Bq/m3 of 241Am 0.224 Bq/m3 … Read entire article »
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418 Fuel Assemblies Removed At Fukushima Unit 4
Unit 4 has had a total of 418 fuel assemblies removed from the spent fuel pool to the common pool as of earlier this week. This article would not be possible without the extensive efforts of the SimplyInfo research team Join the conversation at chat.simplyinfo.org All content is copyright SimplyInfo.org. Content cited, quoted etc. from other sources is under the respective rights of that content owner. If you are viewing this page on any website other than www.simplyinfo.org … Read entire article »
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WIPP Incident Causes Back Up Of Nuclear Waste
The New Mexico Environment Department has issued a modified permit for WIPP to store some lower level waste in parking areas while the incident at the mine is sorted out. The waste is in transport containers above ground. The permit also mandates that WIPP can’t receive new shipments until the facility is back in operation. This is causing some issues for the various facilities that are using WIPP to store their waste. Some of the national … Read entire article »
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Hot Fish Found Off Iwaki
The local fishing cooperative in Iwaki found 110 bq/kg in a rockfish tested for radioactive contamination. This type of fish has been on a list of fish the cooperative has been sending to market. The fish found to be contaminated was not sent to market and the cooperative is pulling this type of rockfish off their list of fish to be sold. This article would not be possible without the extensive efforts of the SimplyInfo research team Join the conversation at chat.simplyinfo.org All content is copyright SimplyInfo.org. Content cited, quoted etc. from other sources is under the respective rights of that content owner. If you are viewing this page on any website other than www.simplyinfo.org (or www.fukuleaks.org) it may be plagiarized, please let us know. If you wish to reproduce any of our … Read entire article »
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60 Years Since Bravo Nuclear Bomb Test
60 years ago today the US detonated the Castle Bravo nuclear bomb test near the Marshall Islands in the Pacific. The bomb was three times the size expected due to a theoretical error at Los Alamos. What was supposed to be a secret test ended up being the largest accidental radiological release by the US to date. A total of 67 more nuclear bomb tests would be conducted in the area by the US. Fallout fell … Read entire article »
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WIPP Workers Union To Independently Test Exposed Staff
The United Steel Workers is sending a team of international safety department scientists to take samples and test workers at the WIPP facility. Out of a handful of workers were tested 13 were found to be contaminated. These positive findings were apparently discovered through whole body scans according to the Carlsbad Current Argus. The local union rep also expressed concerns with how worker safety was conducted during the incident: “The Carlsbad chapter of the United Steelworkers is baffled … Read entire article »
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US MOX Fuel Plant May Finally Be Terminated
Fitnews is reporting that the US MOX plant in South Carolina may finally be ending. The project has never had any customers lined up while the building costs have increased almost 10 fold. According to the report the US Department of Energy has sent a “shutdown specialist” consultant to the facility to look at options for terminating the project. image credit | http://www.isaiahhankel.com/ This article would not be possible without the extensive efforts of the SimplyInfo research team Join … Read entire article »
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13 Workers With Internal Exposure At WIPP
13 workers have been found to have internal exposure to americium 241 by inhalation after their lab tests came back. DOE did not mention this was ongoing at the public meeting two days ago while they insisted there was no risk from the release. This letter today from the WIPP site admits more workers could be at risk and is offering those who were on site the testing program. Follow up samples will help determine the … Read entire article »
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WIPP Update: New Radiation Readings
CEMRC has released some new radiation readings from the WIPP incident on February 14th. Previous readings reported by DOE can be found here. CEMRC readings below. Some notes to keep in mind. CEMRC cites a “per sample” on their becquerel readings. DOE does not, so it is not 100% clear if the bq readings from the two sources are comparable. CEMRC’s readings appear to confirm the DOE readings showing the release blew to the north west. The sample … Read entire article »
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Working At Fukushima As National Duty?
31,383 workers have passed through the gates of Fukushima Daiichi between March 2011 and December 2013. TEPCO has complained of worker shortages already, a workforce will be needed for the next 40 years or more. Yet there has been a constant set of problems for workers and with the system that employs them. TEPCO has taken superficial actions to try to improve worker morale by improving rest areas or some accommodations. The bigger problems remain ignored. … Read entire article »
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Strontium 90 Readings From Citizen Collected Fukushima Samples
Some Fukushima contamination samples collected by citizens in Japan have been tested for strontium 90. Marco Kaltofan from the Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute tested two existing samples, one being an air filter and the other a sample of black sand found near the evacuation zone. The results were posted to Safecast’s public email list. “The detection limits are higher than I would like, at about 10 Bq/g. Even so, I got some good results for some of my existing samples. The sample of black sand from Namie had been reported last year at 1530 Bq/g of radiocesium. The 90Sr level for this sample was 348 Bq/g. An air filter sample taken in June 2011 in Fukushima City was 2792 Bq/filter radiocesium, and 668 Bq/filter 90Sr. These were … Read entire article »
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Fukushima Unit 4; 374 Fuel Assemblies Removed
374 fuel assemblies have been moved from unit 4′s spent fuel pool to the common pool as of this week. http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/decommision/index-e.html This article would not be possible without the extensive efforts of the SimplyInfo research team Join the conversation at chat.simplyinfo.org All content is copyright SimplyInfo.org. Content cited, quoted etc. from other sources is under the respective rights of that content owner. If you are viewing this page on any website other than www.simplyinfo.org (or www.fukuleaks.org) it may … Read entire article »
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Fukushima Is Here! Contamination Found Off Vancouver Coast
Scientists from the Bedford Institute of Oceanography have found levels of cesium in sea water off the Vancouver Canada coast that can be attributed to the Fukushima nuclear disaster. They levels are low, but the presence of cesium 134 confirms the contamination to be from Fukushima Daiichi. They cited the levels as such: “less than one becquerel per cubic metre of water ” Recent readings off the US coast did not find traces of cesium 134 in their … Read entire article »
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New Information On WIPP From Public Meeting
A joint public meeting was held in Carlsbad NM today for the public to ask questions about the incident at WIPP. The meeting video is archived here. DOE cited a release level at the meeting but did not specify if it was for just the underground area, both areas or just the above ground area. DOE says 84 microcuries were released during the event. This converts to 3.108 MBq (megabecquerels) by a direct conversion using Wolfram Alpha. There were … Read entire article »
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Fukushima Daiichi; Abusing Workers & Avoiding Liability
Examples of the continued abuse of workers hired to work at the nuclear disaster site continued in the last year. Disadvantaged workers were solicited at train stations. Those who took jobs frequently found themselves with no wages after hiring contractors extracted inflated expenses for food and housing. Some ended up in debt to their hiring contractor. Reopened towns nearby like Hirono are mostly ghost towns except for the workers. Workers and labor representatives cite that this … Read entire article »
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WIPP New Radiation Readings & More Info.
We have some new WIPP radiation readings along with some additional information to bring people up to speed on this issue. New DOE above ground readings have also been made public: To give some more familiar numbers 3 rem converted to a sievert reading would be 30 µSv (microsieverts). This is a flat reading, not a “per hour” type reading. If you have followed readings at Fukushima you will notice that sometimes they give flat readings without a … Read entire article »
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Fukushima Daiichi Exposures Found To Be Worse Than Claimed
After pressure from the Health Ministry, TEPCO recalculated the thyroid doses of some workers. These totaled to 1,973 workers who received 100 mSv or more to their thyroid gland. The previously reported number was 178. “TEPCO reported to the World Health Organization in December that only 178 workers at the plant were believed to have received radiation doses to their thyroid glands above 100 millisieverts.” This is significant as the dose calculated to be specific to a body … Read entire article »
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WIPP Plutonium Leak May Have Been From Ceiling Collapse
Officials are considering a ceiling collapse that crushed radioactive waste barrels containing plutonium as a possible cause for the radiation leak detected almost a week ago at the WIPP facility. The head of the facility admitted they think a container has been breached. “Franco said indications suggest a drum or drums containing radioactive waste may have breached for reasons that are not yet known.” One possible cause officials gave to the press was that the ceiling in the … Read entire article »
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WIPP Underground Investigation Being Planned, Failure Area Identifed
Federal representatives reported that a joint investigation is underway to establish a plan to enter WIPP’s underground facilities. They gave no timeline for entry. The location of the leak is “downwind” of panel 7, room 7. This hints the incident could have happened in panel 7 where current work to store waste is underway. DOE claims the earlier truck fire was in the north tunnels. The panel rooms that are the size of a football field … Read entire article »
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Living With Radiation In Japan
Local food coops that carefully select and test their food have become a go-to source for people concerned about contamination in the food supply. Food vendors that source from safer regions or direct from farm sales from these safer areas have become popular ways to compensate for the uncertainty in the food supply. This non profit called Project Food is sourcing foods from safer areas, testing them then offering them for sale. They recently sent some … Read entire article »
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WIPP Plutonium Leak Amount Confirmed
CEMRC, the New Mexico authority that monitors outside the WIPP plutonium facility has provided some usable readings for the leaks. CEMRC found at the filter 1/2 mile offsite from WIPP: 0.64 Bq of Americium 241 0.092 Bq of Plutonium 239+240 These are assumed to be in meters squared (m3) since that is the unit CEMRC has used for previous readings. CEMRC readings from dates before the series of problems at WIPP The total combined activity found 1/2 mile away is .732 … Read entire article »
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Nuclear Establishment Takes Over Fukushima Medical University
More agreements have been inked between Fukushima Medical University and the international nuclear mafia. Fukushima Medical University has signed an agreement with the ICRP to join their work. ICRP is largely funded and run by various governmental nuclear regulators and the nuclear industry. (List of ICRP Commission members). Fukushima Medical University also created visiting professor positions for some IAEA staff. While the Fukushima Medical University has been busy denying the health risks from the nuclear disaster, the … Read entire article »
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Fukushima & The Controversy Of The Pacific
There were big concerns thrown around about the situation in the Pacific related to Fukushima in the last year. Oceanographers raised concerns that the plant was still leaking, something TEPCO denied at the time. Newer testing had shown that contamination levels in sea life had not decreased as it should have indicating that the plant was continuing to leak over two years after the initial meltdowns. TEPCO later admitted this to be true. Testing further out … Read entire article »
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23 Tbq Water Leak At Fukushima Caused By Multiple Human Errors
100 tons of water leaked from a contaminated water tank at Fukushima Daiichi after workers incorrectly aligned valves. They then ignored the alarm that alerted them to a tank that was not supposed to be filling, had overfilled. After the tank spilled out over the top flange the water then leaked out through a failure in the water weir that is supposed to catch any leaks. This water is highly radioactive water left over from … Read entire article »
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WIPP Nuclear Site Leaks To The Environment, FOIA Filed By Local Press
The environmental center charged with monitoring around the WIPP plutonium storage facility in New Mexico has detected plutonium and americium at a monitoring post 1/2 mile from the WIPP site. They characterized the finding as being “extremely low” but declined to give any actual numbers for the finding. The center is speculating that the finding could be due to a small escape before the filtration system kicked in. They tested the filter on Tuesday that had … Read entire article »
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Fukushima Unit 2 Loses Reactor Thermometer
Unit 2 at Fukushima Daiichi has lost another bottom thermometer in the reactor vessel. Workers said it short circuited when they were testing it. This leaves one thermometer remaining to estimate temperature in the bottom of the reactor vessel. Accurate temperatures inside unit 2 have been an ongoing problem. UPDATE: TEPCO reports workers short circuited the thermometer when they put the wrong voltage through it. This article would not be possible without the extensive efforts of the SimplyInfo … Read entire article »
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Fukushima Brings New Awareness Of Contaminated Food Worldwide
The concerns about food contamination from Fukushima has also increased awareness of the lingering problems of world wide food contamination from various sources. Fukushima was not the first major radiation release to the environment. Atomic testing in the Pacific contributed to considerable amounts of radioactive contamination of the sea that can still be found in sea life today. Chernobyl contaminated a wide swath of Europe and Russia, this contamination is still routinely found in foods … Read entire article »
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