7.9 and 8.8 Earthquakes in Japan

"The Times’s Hiroko Tabuchi reports that a small group of workers remains at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, contrary to what an English translation of the chief cabinet secretary’s remarks had implied."

― max, Tuesday, March 15, 2011 10:07 PM (2 minutes ago)

my take on this is that the radiation rose above the legal limit for the workers to be there, so as posted above, the government upped the "legal dosage" 2.5x so that some workers could remain working at the plant?

Misread that as "Inbound flights to Narnia"

that's what i gather, too

Radiation level rises slightly in Russia's Far East

VLADIVOSTOK, Russia (Reuters) - Radiation levels rose slightly in Russia's Far East on Tuesday but stayed within normal levels, officials said, as Japan struggled to cope with the worst nuclear accident since the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.

Radiation levels in Vladivostok, a city of 600,000 people some 800 km (500 miles) northwest of Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant, were 1 microroentgen per hour higher at 0400 GMT (12 a.m. ET) than six hours previously, the regional emergencies ministry said.

Russia's military said it was on alert to evacuate people if required from Russia's Sakhalin island, whose southernmost tip is visible from northern Japan, and the Southern Kuril island chain which is at the heart of a territorial dispute with Japan, Interfax news agency reported.

Called the Northern Territories by Japan, the Southern Kuril islands are inhabited by Russians and one of the islands, Tanfilyeva, is just 6 km (4 miles) from Japan's coast.

Sakhalin island holds Russia's biggest proven gas reserves in the Far East.

it seems as though workers have been completely evacuated from reactor no. 3? maybe that is where some of the confusion comes from?

http://www.npr.org/2011/03/16/134582068/workers-evacuate-part-of-japanese-nuclear-plant

All workers from a crippled reactor at a nuclear power plant in Fukushima, Japan, have been evacuated, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said Wednesday.

Edano said that white smoke was rising from the No. 3 reactor at the Fukushima Daichi power plant, adding officials were investigating the cause. He said radiation levels had been fluctuating by the hour; they had spiked rapidly Wednesday morning, and that even the minimal workforce was evacuated.

TEPCo says that all workers must remain indoors. In the picture upthread there are no roofs on reactors 3/4 anymore, both structures are basically in shambles, smoldering.

#1 also had it's roof blown off as well what seems like a long time ago.

NEWS ADVISORY: Winds barring SDF copters from dousing Fukushima reactor: minister

But how's this, the #2 reactor (the one that hasn't been mentioned?) is the one that they're currently most concerned with:

Japan's nuclear safety agency says a possible radiation leak from the No.2 reactor may have caused the sharp increase in radiation levels on Wednesday at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, north of Tokyo.

yeah--iirc no. 2 was the reactor that had its steel containment unit damaged

Globe & Mail reporter in Japan worth following:
http://twitter.com/markmackinnon

Okay I have to break this down. There are 2 nuclear power plantcomplexes in Fukushima, Dai-ichi and Dai-ni. Dai-ichi means First and Dai-ni means Second.

Dai-ichi has six reactors:
#1: hydrogen explosion, structure collapsed, partial meltdown, brief breach of "steam", sea water treatment
#2: unknown explosion, radiation spike, partial meltdown , sea water treatment
#3: hydrogen explosion, structure collapsed, brief breach of "steam", partial meltdown, sea water treatment
#4: inactive reactor, although spent fuel in containment pool caught fire, radiation spike, **unable to treat = cause of evacuation = at least partial meltdown**
#5: temperatures rising, structures intact
#6: temperatures rising, structures intact

Dai-ni has 4 reactors
#1, 2 and 4 all reported temperatures >100C = partial meltdown, no explosions, respondent to coolant.

Nuclear emergency warning issued for 10 airspace regions

Concern over a possible radioactive hazard from Japan's damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant has prompted a formal warning from airspace monitors.
London Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre has issued a nuclear emergency message covering 10 flight information regions.

Among them are airspace zones in China, Korea, Russia and the USA.

The emergency message is timed at 03:00UTC on 15 March, and is open-ended.

It identifies the affected flight information regions as Fukuoka - the extensive region which encompasses Japanese airspace - plus Manila, Taibei, Shanghai, Incheon, Pyongyang, Vladivostok, Khabarovsk, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and Anchorage.

London VAAC handles advisories linked to the threat of volcanic eruption and was heavily involved in co-ordination efforts during the Icelandic ash crisis last year.

VAAC is involved because Shinmoedake on Kyushu erupted on Sunday and there's concern about the potential of volcanic ash mixing with radioactive particles.

ah thanks max, add "steel containment damaged" to Dai-ichi #2

also, #4's structure is gone.

so maybe what his means is that the 50 workers were evacuated from Dai-Ichi #1-4 and a few volunteered to be moved to #5-6 or Dai-ni #1-4. idk, just assumptions.

Yeah am very much doubting they'd just all completely abandon the entire plant to an explosive fate, right?

@johnwbradley: No looting. No riots. 50 workers on likely suicide mission trying to limit catastrophe at nuke plant. #waysjapanisdifferent”

http://www.dump.com/2011/03/12/crazy-video-of-the-ground-shifting-during-the-japanese-quake-video/

I've never seen the ground move this way before - cracks slowly opening and closing and shifting, with water sloshing out of them. Most interesting stuff toward the end of the video.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704662604576202424107906298.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTTopStories

heres a WSJ interactive graphic about the reactors which seems to concur w/ what shasta says

I would presume that much of this comes down to just how damaged the steel containment is, correct? If it's cracked to the degree that radiation can leak out, is it chernobyl 2.0?

Good background story on the 50 remaining workers from the NYT
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/16/world/asia/16workers.html?_r=2&hp

The Topix index rose as much as 6.7 percent and was trading 5 percent higher at the lunchtime break. Nissei Build Co., a maker of prefabricated buildings, jumped 33 percent, the best performer on the 1,666-member gauge. Ceramic tableware maker Noritake Co. surged 26 percent.

Damn, some people be opportunistic at the worst times :/

The British Embassy provide level-headed advice to Tokyo citizens here: http://on.fb.me/gsrZFt

ok, I am officially freaked out now. According to Anderson Cooper's 360 report tonight at 11:30p PDT, as of Thurs 2:25A Tokyo time, the nuclear workers have "suspended operations" (i.e. the 50 workers who are tasked with the "final most critical operations" at a meltdown)... have evacuated themselves at least 30 km from the reactors and we're at a Chernobyl level risk b/c of the many reactors that are at this point totally out of control....there is much argumentation that the "final 50 workers" are really gone....we are in a black hole of information right now in the pacific USA.

I dont think youre going to get irradiated all the way over there, fwiw...

Yes, scroll up a couple hours.

I think the prevailing thought is that the 50 workers were evacuated from Reactors #1-4 at the Dai-Ichi complex. There are references in Japanese media that state that there are some workers remaining at the Dai-ichi (or Dai-ni) complexes, perhaps at reactors #5/6 (which are still structurally sound which would follow the "all workers must remain indoors until..." that was stated by the TEPCo honcho. Also, the Japanese revised a law allowing workers (and I assume these heroes are volunteering) to legally be exposed to 2.5x more radiation than previously.

Here's the official status:

Status of quake-stricken reactors at Fukushima nuclear power plants
TOKYO, March 16, Kyodo

The following is the known status as of Wednesday afternoon of each of the six reactors at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant and the four reactors at the Fukushima No. 2 plant, both in Fukushima Prefecture, which were crippled by Friday's magnitude 9.0 earthquake and the ensuing tsunami.

Fukushima No. 1 plant

-- Reactor No. 1 - Cooling failure, partial melting of core, vapor vented, building damaged Saturday by hydrogen explosion, seawater being pumped in.

-- Reactor No. 2 - Cooling failure, seawater being pumped in, fuel rods fully exposed temporarily, vapor vented, building damaged Monday by blast at Reactor No. 3, damage to containment vessel on Tuesday, potential meltdown feared.

-- Reactor No. 3 - Cooling failure, partial melting of core feared, vapor vented, seawater being pumped in, building damaged Monday by hydrogen explosion, high-level radiation measured nearby on Tuesday, plume of smoke observed Wednesday, damage to containment vessel likely.

-- Reactor No. 4 - Under maintenance when quake struck, fire Tuesday possibly caused by hydrogen explosion at pool holding spent fuel rods, pool water level not observed, fire observed Wednesday at building housing reactor, no water poured in to cool pool.

-- Reactor No. 5, No. 6 - Under maintenance when quake struck, temperature slightly rising in spent fuel pool.

Fukushima No. 2 plant

-- Reactor No. 1, No. 2, No. 4 - Cooling failure, then cold shutdown.

-- Reactor No. 3 - Cold shutdown.

I am not concerned for the US (tho perhaps I should be!) My concern is for friends in Tokyo that I have not heard from. I need to sleep but cannot based on this update from CNN. Anyone....who has calming info please post asap to alleviate the idea that the radiation risk has become too high for them to stay and exactly what types of radioactive isotopes have been released and the exposure levels to the Japanese population. There are 6 reactors in close proximity that might have critical problems all at the same time.

As of right now, Tokyo is fine other than a shocking 6.0 earthquake centered in Chiba rattling the city earlier today around noon. Geiger counters set up citywide (you can stream these online) are not reporting dangerous levels of radiation as of right now. That is all subject to change of course.

@taco and Trayce, so things are bad there, but not catastrophic in reactors 1-3? They are contained and fires are out? It's sh*t awful to be in the freezing cold and perhaps snow w/o shelter, blankets, water and food, but the nuclear issues are ok?
Does this seem credible or is the media putting a nice spin on this thing?

link to Geiger counters online? I of course get that it is subject to change hour by hour....

The workers were evacuated into indoors for some time but since then some of have been allowed to resume pumping seawater into the reactors to keep the fuel rods from melting down (further).

According to the newspaper Kyodo, radiation levels in the Chiba prefecture, bordering the prefecture of Tokyo to its west, are currently 10 times above normal levels, though they state there is no immediate health risk.

Live Geiger counter stream from Tokyo: http://dailybail.com/home/watch-live-geiger-counter-from-tokyo-live-stream-nhk-tv-from.html

@taco thank you. You're an ILX saint, understanding my real anxiety and not f*cking with me and being informative. I do appreciate the whole gist of ILX and that it's often joking and tongue in cheek replies, just now I needed a real answer and you came thru! Thanks a whole bunch!

he's been doing it all the way through this thread!

Staff have returned to work at a stricken Japanese nuclear plant, after a rise in radiation levels forced them to temporarily abandon the facility.

per bbc

yeah after they changed the law

Oh Foxnewspaws....

Also sendai isnt right down there is it!?

there's a town called Satsumasendai with a nuclear plant called Sendai down there. confusing!

There's another nuclear power station called Sendai, in the far south of Japan. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sendai_Nuclear_Power_Plant
Although there aren't any nuclear reactors in Tokyo nightclubs AFAIK...

Except for this atomic reactor:
http://quick.dezro.com/HardGayAlbum.jpg

(sorry if thats in poor taste in this thread someone can deletorb it)

Potential dispersion of the radioactive cloud after a nuclear accident in Fukushima
[...]
This animation displays a potential dispersion of the radioactive cloud (Caesium 137 Isotope) after a nuclear accident in reactor Fukushima I. The continuous release rate is very uncertain, thus the calculations have to be interpreted qualitatively. Dispersion in the near surface level (Level 1), in appr. 2500 m height (Level 12) and in appr. 5000 m height (Level 16).

10.46am (7.46pm JST): France has urged its nationals in Tokyo to leave the country, or at least head towards southern Japan.

This is a significant development: the first time a nation has explicitly said it does not believe Japanese reassurances about the safety of the Fukushima plant, about 150 miles from the capital. The comments by French ministers are very strong.

Hugely disturbing implications aside, it's interesting that this is coming from France, who are obviously one of the most nuclearised countries on the planet.

Hugely disturbing implications aside, it's interesting that this is coming from France, who are obviously one of the most nuclearised countries on the planet.

France may know more about Japan's nuclear industry than most given that that's where Japan sends its fuel for reprocessing.

On the other hand France seems to very much enjoy being the "first" to do something on the world stage, whatever it is (i.e. recognizing Benghazi militants as Libya's legitimate government)..

I was thinking is that if anything, you'd have expected France to play down the dangers, so it's kind of doubly alarming.