• High Radiation Readings Found at Fukushima Tanks
    23 replies, posted
[IMG]http://img.thejakartaglobe.com/2013/09/photo_1377979563563-1-HD.jpg[/IMG] [QUOTE]The operator of Japan’s stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant said Saturday it had found new radiation hotspots near tanks storing toxic water, with one reading peaking at 1,800 millisieverts per hour — a potentially lethal dose. Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) detected high radiation readings at four sites around the tanks although none of the containers showed any visible fall in their water levels, according to a statement reported by two Japanese news agencies. Last week the plant operator admitted 300 tonnes of toxic water had seeped out of one of the vast containers — one of around 1,000 on the site — before anyone had noticed. The spill, which sparked fears the toxic water may have seeped into the nearby ocean, was categorized as a Level 3 event, making it the single most serious incident since three reactors went into meltdown after being swamped by a 2011 earthquake-sparked tsunami. The latest radiation hotspots were discovered during daily inspections on Saturday at three tanks and one pipe connecting the containers to the crippled plant, the Kyodo news agency reported. Although it was unclear if the hotspots indicated a fresh spill of toxic water, traces of water leak measuring 230 millisieverts per hour were found below the pipe, the agency added. At the time of last week’s discovered leak the plant operator said the radioactivity of the puddles was around 100 millisieverts per hour. Jiji news agency said the highest reading of 1,800 millisieverts per hour was found at one of the tanks, adding that exposure to that level for four hours would be fatal to humans. The other readings measured between 70 and 230 millisieverts, the agency added. A TEPCO official said the operator could not rule out the possibility of new leaks of radioactive water at the four sites, the agency reported, adding that the operator had not noticed a decline in water levels inside the tanks. Both agencies said that the new radiation hotspots were coming from different tanks to the one that was discovered leaking water earlier this month. TEPCO has long struggled to deal with growing volume of now contaminated water it has used to cool the broken reactors. It said last week that some of the 300 tonnes that leaked from the tank could have made its way through drainage systems into the Pacific Ocean. The pools of water near the holed tank were so toxic, the operator said, that anyone exposed to them would receive the same amount of radiation in an hour that a nuclear plant worker in Japan is allowed to receive in five years.[/QUOTE] [URL="http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/international/high-radiation-readings-found-at-fukushima-tanks/"]http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/international/high-radiation-readings-found-at-fukushima-tanks/[/URL]
Japan just can't catch a break on the Fukushima plant, can it?
[QUOTE=Forumaster;42039887]Japan just can't catch a break on the Fukushima plant, can it?[/QUOTE] When you try and cover shit up, things can get out of hand fast.
[QUOTE]1,800 millisieverts per hour[/QUOTE] HOLY FUCKING SHIT!
I'm surprised that TEPCO still exists at this point. I was hoping that the Japanese government would dismantle them, especially for covering it up for so long.
[QUOTE=Bradyns;42040020]HOLY FUCKING SHIT![/QUOTE] Not really a "HOLY SHIT" level, 1.8Sv/hr is not exactly something that's good, but it's not gonna singe your ball hair off just from being within 100 feet of it. IIRC, the radiation levels for the first day or so at the epicenter of a nuclear blast was several hundred Sv/hr, which would give you a lethal dose in a matter of 5 minutes or so. Also the inside of a fusion reactor would be incredibly radioactive after some time of use, over 10KGy/hr, or a lethal dose in a few seconds.
[QUOTE=zombini;42040038]Not really a "HOLY SHIT" level, 1.8Sv/hr is not exactly something that's good, but it's not gonna singe your ball hair off just from being within 100 feet of it. IIRC, the radiation levels for the first day or so at the epicenter of a nuclear blast was several hundred Sv/hr, which would give you a lethal dose in a matter of 5 minutes or so.[/QUOTE] I suggest you look for some sources... Basic physics class will tell you that this is well over the yearly dose of a human (per hour). [URL]http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?t=crmtb01&f=ob&i=1800%20mSv[/URL]
[QUOTE=Bradyns;42040047]I suggest you look for some sources... Basic physics class will tell you that this is well over the yearly dose of a human (per hour). [URL]http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?t=crmtb01&f=ob&i=1800%20mSv[/URL][/QUOTE] Still not going to cause radiation poisoning unless you hang around it, only concern is cancer and the potential to be sterilized by that amount.
[QUOTE=zombini;42040069]Still not going to cause radiation poisoning unless you hang around it, only concern is cancer and the potential to be sterilized by that amount.[/QUOTE] Oh then it's cool
[QUOTE=deggemannen;42040087]Oh then it's cool[/QUOTE] Just saying it's not going to instantly cause your hair to fall out and your balls to stop working just from walking past it, it's certainly not good, but it's not a "HOLY FUCKING SHIT!" level, there's been radiation levels above 10Sv/hr in other sections of the plant.
[QUOTE=zombini;42040069]Still not going to cause radiation poisoning unless you hang around it, only concern is cancer and the potential to be sterilized by that amount.[/QUOTE] Whew, I was worried for a minute.
Not surprising
Why don't they just fucking entomb it like Chernobyl.
[QUOTE=Scrappa;42041184]Why don't they just fucking entomb it like Chernobyl.[/QUOTE] Because the sarcophagus is a pretty shit idea, the one at Chernobyl is crumbling and no ones gonna fix it because it's also radioactive. At least it wasn't getting fixed the last time I checked.
[QUOTE=bravehat;42041345]Because the sarcophagus is a pretty shit idea, the one at Chernobyl is crumbling and no ones gonna fix it because it's also radioactive. At least it wasn't getting fixed the last time I checked.[/QUOTE] Check again. They're building a new one, the old one was temporary [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Safe_Confinement[/url]
[QUOTE=bravehat;42041345]Because the sarcophagus is a pretty shit idea, the one at Chernobyl is crumbling and no ones gonna fix it because it's also radioactive. At least it wasn't getting fixed the last time I checked.[/QUOTE] They're not fixing it because it was never meant to last, it was temporary to give them time to design and build a permanent one which could last thousands of years. The sarcophagus deteriorated a bit quicker than expected though so the new one isn't ready yet but it's under construction. If one was built over at Fukushima they would have been able to learn from the lessons of Chernobyl's sarcophagus too so it will survive long enough to build a permanent one instead of starting to break before then.
Tepco They've been trying to downplay Fukushima since the second it started
[QUOTE=Scrappa;42041184]Why don't they just fucking entomb it like Chernobyl.[/QUOTE] Because then it will be flooded by gasmask-wearing, AK-74-toting lunatics yelling CHEEKI BREEKI
Here, put this into perspective: [img]http://imgs.xkcd.com/blag/radiation.png[/img]
Could someone knowledgeable in this field enlighten me concerning the effects of this 'disaster?' I have been hearing people going ape shit about radiation heading towards the pacific/west coast USA in 2014~ lately and am wondering if there's any actual concern about this? Or if there would be any long-term side effects as a result in the coming decades?
[QUOTE=Cruma;42042018]Could someone knowledgeable in this field enlighten me concerning the effects of this 'disaster?' I have been hearing people going ape shit about radiation heading towards the pacific/west coast USA in 2014~ lately and am wondering if there's any actual concern about this? Or if there would be any long-term side effects as a result in the coming decades?[/QUOTE] Radiation can travel through water relatively easy and can contaminate nearby fisheries. Due to the many currents that exist in the pacific ocean, the radiation can be easily swept up and pushed over to the west coast of the US within a reasonable amount of time. Depending on how severe the radiation is and if Tepco can pull their heads out of their asses and stop the leaking in time, the more radioactive material that is leaked into the sea means that likely there will be higher radiation levels altogether. This not only has implications for local fisheries but, for the local wildlife as well. Many species of fish and marine mammals are extremely vulnerable to accumulating radioactive material in their systems which, over time, can lead to birth defects, mutations (rarely?), and even cancer or death if it's severe enough. Currently, there's no threat to human consumption of fishes from the Japan area (SOME problems exist but not enough to cause a complete shutdown) but it's still being closely monitored. [url]http://www.whoi.edu/oceanus/viewArticle.do?id=167709[/url] If there's really any concern you should have, based on recent models and by using tracer dyes to track the movements of the currents from the Fukushima area, it's possible that in 10 years the waters around the west coast of the US could have a ten times as high radiation level than Fukushima currently has. This is from a paper that was published by researchers from the NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory and GEOMAR Helmholtz Center for Ocean Research [url]http://iopscience.iop.org/1748-9326/7/3/034004/article?v_showaffiliations=yes[/url]
[QUOTE=Kai-ryuu;42042138]Radiation can travel through water relatively easy and can contaminate nearby fisheries. Due to the many currents that exist in the pacific ocean, the radiation can be easily swept up and pushed over to the west coast of the US within a reasonable amount of time. Depending on how severe the radiation is and if Tepco can pull their heads out of their asses and stop the leaking in time, the more radioactive material that is leaked into the sea means that likely there will be higher radiation levels altogether. This not only has implications for local fisheries but, for the local wildlife as well. Many species of fish and marine mammals are extremely vulnerable to accumulating radioactive material in their systems which, over time, can lead to birth defects, mutations (rarely?), and even cancer or death if it's severe enough. Currently, there's no threat to human consumption of fishes from the Japan area (SOME problems exist but not enough to cause a complete shutdown) but it's still being closely monitored. [url]http://www.whoi.edu/oceanus/viewArticle.do?id=167709[/url] If there's really any concern you should have, based on recent models and by using tracer dyes to track the movements of the currents from the Fukushima area, it's possible that in 10 years the waters around the west coast of the US could have a ten times as high radiation level than Fukushima currently has. This is from a paper that was published by researchers from the NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory and GEOMAR Helmholtz Center for Ocean Research [url]http://iopscience.iop.org/1748-9326/7/3/034004/article?v_showaffiliations=yes[/url][/QUOTE] Given the half-lives of most of the radioactive material and its daughters, and the chance for dissipation in the water, the problem is significantly less on the other side of the pacific.
[QUOTE=Bradyns;42042722]Given the half-lives of most of the radioactive material and its daughters, and the chance for dissipation in the water, the problem is significantly less on the other side of the pacific.[/QUOTE] Oh thank god I knew it. I know small levels of Ionizing Radiation are harmless, vast quantities are what was harmful. Parts Per Million, right guys?
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