Nuclear Meltdown Watch

[Joe Hillshoist]

87 actually, (maybe late 86.) It was my last year in high school.

[Forgetting2]

Just heard from someone in AL who talked to a Browns Ferry Nuclear power plant worker. Says they're down to one working generator. I asked why they don't fly in generators and he tells me these things are huge and specialized for the power needs of the plant. Also said they're looking into diverting power from elsewhere. Did a quick search but didn't see anything on google news...

On Edit: I believe there were 8 backup generators to begin with.

FWIW, this was incorrect. There was only one back up generator broken down at the time

[vanlose kid]

Tepco: Meltdown at Reactor 1 HOURS After Earthquake ... Reactors 2 and 3 Have Likely Melted Down As Well
Submitted by George Washington on 05/16/2011 11:45 -0400

Tepco - the operator of the stricken Japanese nuclear complex - is finally admitting what independent experts have been saying for months.

Initially, Tepco now admits that reactor number 1 melted down hours after the earthquake. As NHK notes:

Tokyo Electric Power Company, the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, says most of the fuel rods in the No.1 reactor had dropped to the bottom of the pressure vessel within 16 hours of the earthquake on March 11th.

The utility revealed its study on the subject on Sunday.

TEPCO said it analyzed the data and calculated a timeline for the developments in the No. 1 reactor on the assumption that the reactor lost its cooling system as soon as it was hit by the tsunami.

The firm said that within about 3 hours after the reactor automatically shut down, the cooling water had evaporated to a level at the top of the rods.

In the next hour and a half, parts of the fuel rods are believed to have begun melting.

***

Almost of all the fuel rods melted and dropped to the bottom of the pressure vessel by 6:50 am on March 12th.

***

The firm says the melted rods created small holes on the bottom of the vessel...

Tepco has also admitted that reactors 2 and 3 have likely melted down as well. As reported in a separate article from NHK:

TEPCO also says the gauges at the No.2 and 3 reactors might not be showing the actual water levels and that both reactors are likely to have undergone meltdowns.

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/tepco- ... d-down-wel

*

[Rory]

To be fair to her, Dr. Moret has been saying there was a full melt down from the get-go. She was also saying that the melt was through the containment vessels and burning their way underground towards groundwater aquifiers.

As an aside: just had the pleasure of reading this from the Guardian

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree ... CMP=twt_fd

It's all ok folks.

[Nordic]

Something anyone with any common sense should have figured out.

For me, it was when the buildings exploded from the hydrogen. That told the entire story as far as I was concerned. That much hydrogen produced, and leaking into the building, only really meant one thing.

It also explains the highly radioactive sewage sludge.

[eyeno]

Something anyone with any common sense should have figured out.

For me, it was when the buildings exploded from the hydrogen. That told the entire story as far as I was concerned. That much hydrogen produced, and leaking into the building, only really meant one thing.

It also explains the highly radioactive sewage sludge.

Leaking water also says a lot. When you study the process of a melt down leaking water is a signal of a breach. Japan is a small place. Most of Japan is history. Very slowly, but history. It is circling the north pole like a merry go round which means the same for much of the northern hemisphere, verly slowly, but surely. This is insanity at its finest, but it will slowly make a ton of cash for a few wicked bastards.

[alwyn]

devil's advocate here....how is this meltdown different than the atom bomb atmospheric tests they did?

[Nordic]

the word "terrible" keeps coming to mind. it's simply terrible, in so many ways. nobody here seems to be paying attention anymore. i would like to get to the southern hemisphere with my family but that is a pipe dream. i fear this has changed the planet irrevocably.

[eyeno]

devil's advocate here....how is this meltdown different than the atom bomb atmospheric tests they did?

Because this is not one huge flash, like an atom bomb, in which all the fuel is expended and released, which will slowly start to weather away. This is continual for many decades and its releases will not weather down until hundreds of years have passed. And even at that its effects will be strong for millions of years. Many new diseases, seemingly without cause, will be named for this, when in fact they are not new diseases. Dolphins are showing up with weak spines just like the Chernobyl babies still do. This kills slowly but surely. Many will remain healthy in their younger years though, but only to show up with "new diseases" with expensive treatments later on. Pure travesty. Slow, but sure. But hey its ok because automation in factories means they need less of us anyway....

From what I understand we may have gone through this when the first yoke was placed on the first oxen. Lack of need for labor signals problems for laborers.

[semiconscious]

Tepco - the operator of the stricken Japanese nuclear complex - is finally admitting what independent experts have been saying for months.

Initially, Tepco now admits that reactor number 1 melted down hours after the earthquake. As NHK notes:

Tokyo Electric Power Company, the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, says most of the fuel rods in the No.1 reactor had dropped to the bottom of the pressure vessel within 16 hours of the earthquake on March 11th.

The utility revealed its study on the subject on Sunday...

when they alter the narrative to this degree, the shit's truly hit the fan...

[Rory]

I have a question relating to dangers of radiation to those who might be able to help.
One of the fear factors is that it’s effectively undetectable to the average person. That in itself doesn’t increase or decrease the danger, just the perceived risk factor. Is it a question of fear of fear itself?

The other facet which troubles me is the actual risk we’re exposed to: we’re told it’s no worse than background radiation by some; others say its effect is terrible.

Is there a reliable source of information, untainted by industry bias, or the hyperbole from the fringes?

I grew up on the opposite coast line from Sellafield, which Dr. Moret(in one of her videos, posted here on this thread) describes as having killed 25 million Indian babies. Now, I am concerned by statements such as these and I don’t have the figures for the death rates of people on the East coast of Ireland due to cancers directly attributed to radiation. Half of Ireland’s population (North and South) live on this coast, most of which live in a stretch of 125miles (including and between Belfast and Dublin). Obviously the coastal population of India dwarfs that of Ireland: but 25 million deaths there , directly attributable to Sellafield?
There have been parliamentary enquires (surprisingly changing little in an already secretive and insular industry) into Leukemia (and other cancer) clusters but I would be surprised if the death rate was in proportion to that of what she claims happened in India. (Radiation being less diluted and occurring a few thousand miles closer)

On the other hand, we have Monbiot (of the Grauniad) stating that the side effects are blown out of proportion and that radiation is not as harmful as first thought. (am not a fan of Monbiot myself but he is seen (by some) as a moderate champion of Environmental issues)
I am inclined towards thinking that there is a mostly, pro industry bias from major news outlets and the scientific bodies which have access to the data. I’m sure that (as with most, profit driven, corporate industries) the safeguards are an exercise in PR and will be found lacking sometime in the future (‘we just couldn’t foresee this circumstance happening again and again, as in the last few tragic accidents..’).


So where are we at? There is enough data out there, without further testing being required. But who is going to give us clean answers?

[eyeno]

Dr. Russell Blaylock is a brilliant neurosurgeon that applies his mind to helping humanity and he is not scared of the PTB.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZmmSSwtuS0

[Peachtree Pam]

Obama putting his priorities in place for all to see:

Monday, May 16, 2011

SENTAKU MAGAZINE
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/ ... 516a1.html

The new enervated Tepco
Sentaku

With the onset of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant crisis following the March 11 Tohoku-Pacific earthquake, radioactive substances continue to seep into the sea, air and soil. Residents within a designated proximity of the plant will likely have to live away from their homes a long time. The prospect of the situation returning to normal is nowhere in sight.

Although the government and Tokyo Electric Power Co. (Tepco), the operator of the ill-fated plant, have worked out plans to pay compensation to victims of the crisis, it appears they are interested less in protecting people from radiation than in preserving the existing semi-monopolistic system of the power industry and in enabling the government of Prime Minister Naoto Kan to survive.

Japan has 10 electric power companies, each of which is given a monopoly of generating and distributing power within a designated region.

Some observers say the government and Tepco have sought to "trivialize" the effect of the Fukushima accidents by working out a scenario in which the power company, which should bear the total responsibility, survives with "public funding." The public at large ultimately picks up the whole bill.

Under that scenario, a new organization would be established to help Tepco oversee compensation payments to nuclear accident victims. The new body would guarantee the survival of Tepco. Not only would the government fund the new body but also the other regional power companies with nuclear plants — by chipping in their share as insurance premiums for future accidents.

Even by selling its assets and cutting executive and employee remuneration, Tepco would not be able to pay all compensation claims resulting from the Fukushima plant accidents. The eventual financial burden would be borne by people in the form of taxes and higher electricity rates.

One factor that has given rise to this haphazard scenario is the need to prevent feared chaos in the financial market if Tepco were to go under. Tepco's share plummeted from the pre-accident price of around ¥2,100 to a mere ¥292 at one point after March 11. Although it recovered to nearly ¥500 after the government's support program and Tepco's road map for bringing the Fukushima nuclear crisis under control were announced, further damage to the reactors or serious radioactive leaks could very well make Tepco shares worthless.

Tepco's interest-bearing liabilities, including corporate bonds, total more than ¥7.3 trillion, most of which is owed to insurance companies and financial institutions, both private and government-owned. The biggest lender is the Development Bank of Japan, which is 100 percent state-owned. It has lent more than ¥300 billion to Tepco.

Shortly after the Fukushima plant accidents, major banks committed another ¥2 trillion in credit lines to Tepco, including ¥600 billion from Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp.

Should Tepco go bankrupt, not only would the Japanese financial market be thrown into an utter chaos, but international markets would lose their trust in Japanese banking institutions to the extent that the institutions would have to pay higher interest rates to secure funds.

If worse comes to worst, Tepco share certificates would become worthless sheets of paper for 600,000 shareholders as well as for many corporate pension funds that have included Tepco stock in their portfolios. The steep drop in Tepco's stock price has already dealt a blow to investment funds in the United States. Nearly 20 percent of its stock is held by non-Japanese investors. This has reportedly led the Obama administration to urge the Kan government to take steps to prevent a further decline in Tepco stock.

Tepco is now attempting to divert public opinion away from its responsibility for the nuclear crisis to the need to secure a stable supply of electricity. Shortly after its Fukushima power station was damaged, the company announced that it would have to impose "planned rolling power outages" to make up for reduced power generation.

By emphasizing that abandoning nuclear power generation would lead to prolonged outages, Tepco sought to convince the public that it is better to rely on nuclear power generation than endure power outages and that it is time to help Tepco with public funds. This is an ultimate form of defiance by Tepco.

Industrial circles, especially manufacturing, were thrown into a panic by the government's plan to make it mandatory for major electric power users to reduce consumption by 25 percent this summer. This could be a matter of life and death for manufacturers whose activities are already hindered by the disruption of production at component suppliers located in areas devastated by the earthquake and tsunami. This fear has served to change the attitude of the business community from one of criticizing Tepco to seeking stable power supply.

It is clear that Tepco President Masataka Shimizu, who for health reasons failed to make a public appearance for some time after the Fukushima No. 1 crisis developed, is not fulfilling his job. Chairman Tsunehisa Katsumata parried questions at a recent news conference to explain Tepco's road map for action to end the Fukushima crisis. Tepco's top management appears dysfunctional and in need of leadership. There is the strong view that this dysfunction led to errors early on that exacerbated the crisis. Katsumata said at the news conference that he was not hesitant about pouring seawater onto the nuclear reactors to cool them after the quake-tsunami. But other sources point out that if he is telling the truth, the seawater would have been used a half day or more earlier.

Tepco's corporate structural problem, which led to the Fukushima accidents, surfaced in the spring of 2002 when a whistle-blower revealed that Tepco managers had covered up troubles found at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant and falsified reports to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

Subsequently, similar irregularities were reported at the Fukushima No. 2 plant and the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in Niigata Prefecture. These incidents created so much anger among municipalities and citizens that Tepco was forced to suspend the operation of all its nuclear plants. Katsumata and Shimizu are able executives in normal times but are not of the caliber to exercise crisis leadership.

Questions have been raised in many quarters, notably business leaders abroad, as to why Shimizu or Katsumata does not take command at the Fukushima No. 1 plant site, where hundreds of people — firefighters, Self-Defense Force personnel as well as employees of Tepco and Tepco subcontractors — are braving radiation risks to do repair work. Without the presence of Katsumata or Shimizu, how are workers suppose to lift their morale?

As Tepco's top executives appear unable to judge which is more important — the frontline (Fukushima No. 1), the Tepco headquarters or the prime minister's headquarters, they are snuggling up to the government. The people in Tepco's top management today have forgotten to pay attention to electricity users and local residents living near power stations.

Tepco, which has survived until now through collusion with the government, has lost the honorable face as the leader of the power industry. It is wandering about.

[82_28]

So, I got this new android phone (sk4G) and I have downloaded the basically toy "tricorder app". But it does detect velocity and all sorts of other shit -- decibel measuring, gravity, location etc etc.

I guarantee they are about to release "telephones" with geiger counters and the fun apps to go along with that functionality. Every big tech company will profit handsomely from this.

And away we go!

[crikkett]

devil's advocate here....how is this meltdown different than the atom bomb atmospheric tests they did?

This, will emit much more radioactive material and the reaction never ends. When these melted cores burn down into an aquifer it'll cause a serious explosion.

It's also happening in the jetstream as opposed to the trade winds, so the entire northern hemisphere is being affected.

(edit: grammar)