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Posts Tagged ‘radiation’

Japan Official: Fukushima Reactor No. 3 with MOX Fuel May Be Breached and Leaking Radioactive Material

03/25/2011 1 comment

Read here about the type of fuel that is being used in reactor No. 3.

By the CNN Wire Staff – “Tokyo (CNN) — Authorities in Japan raised the prospect Friday of a likely breach in the all-important containment vessel of the No. 3 reactor at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, a potentially ominous development in the race to prevent a large-scale release of radiation.

Contaminated water likely seeped through the containment vessel protecting from the reactor’s core, said Hidehiko Nishiyama of the Japan nuclear and industrial safety agency.

Three men working inside the No. 3 reactor stepped into water this week that had 10,000 times the amount of radiation typical for that locale, Nishiyama said. That water likely indicates ‘some sort of leakage’ from the reactor core, signaling a possible break of the containment vessel that houses the core.”  Read more.

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Radiation Is Extending Beyond Safety Zone, Report Says

03/24/2011 Leave a comment

“By JURO OSAWA – TOKYO—Levels of radioactivity from Japan’s damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex are above government limits for infants in some areas outside the plant’s 12-mile evacuation zone, according to the latest estimate to fuel an international debate over how close civilians should be allowed to the plant.

The new estimate, by a state-funded monitoring body, came as fears over Tokyo’s tap water eased. Tests Thursday showed radioactive material in a major plant supplying water to the capital has fallen beneath the level the government says could pose long-term health risks to infants. Elevated levels at the plant Tuesday and Wednesday sparked official warnings and bottled-water sales.

Japan’s Nuclear Safety Technology Center, a government monitoring group, released the estimate late Wednesday of the cumulative exposure to radiation in zones surrounding the Fukushima Daiichi complex. The estimate covered the 12 days since Japan’s March 11 earthquake and tsunami spurred fires, explosions and spikes in radioactivity levels at the complex.”  Read more.

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Black Smoke Coming from Fukushima Reactor No. 3 with Deadly MOX Fuel, Tokyo Fears Contamination

03/23/2011 Leave a comment

A neutron beam was observed at least 13 times, and now word that black smoke was coming out of Fukushima reactor no. 3 today.  This is the reactor filled with MOX fuel.  That means plutonium.  It doesn’t look like this problem is going away any time soon.

“High levels of radiation have reached Tokyo following the accident at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant. People in the capital have been told not to drink tap water. The country’s struggle to resolve its nuclear crisis has again been stalled, with workers at the Fukushima plant evacuated after black smoke emerged from one of its reactors. RT’s Igor Ogorodnev is in the Japanese capital for us.”

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Radiation Levels Rise in Tokyo Tap Water as New Evacuations Ordered at Nuke Plant

03/23/2011 Leave a comment

“A spike in radiation levels in Tokyo tap water spurred new fears about food safety Wednesday as rising black smoke forced another evacuation of workers trying to stabilize Japan’s radiation-leaking nuclear plant.

Radiation has seeped into vegetables, raw milk, the water supply and seawater since a magnitude-9 quake and killer tsunami crippled the Fukushima Dai-ichi power plant nearly two weeks ago. Broccoli was added to a list of tainted vegetables, and U.S. and Hong Kong officials announced a block on Japanese dairy and some produce from the region.

The crisis is emerging as the world’s most expensive natural disaster on record, likely to cost up to $309 billion, according to a new government estimate. The death toll continued to rise, with more than 9,400 bodies counted and more than 15,600 people listed as missing.”  Read more.

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US Military Considering Mandatory Evacuations in Yokosuka as Radiation Levels Rise

03/22/2011 1 comment

“The U.S. military is considering the mandatory evacuation of thousands of American troops and their families in Japan out of concern over rising radiation levels, a senior defense official tells CNN.

The official, who did not want to be on the record talking about ongoing deliberations, says there are no discussions to evacuate all U.S. troops across the country. The talks have focused exclusively on U.S. troops in Yokosuka, just south of Tokyo, the official said. Yokosuka is home to America’s largest naval base in Japan. The military is monitoring radiation levels on a constant basis.

As of Monday, the U.S. Navy had no more warships in port at the base. The aircraft carrier USS George Washington, which had been undergoing maintenance in Yokosuka, left port Monday in order to get away from the plume of radioactive particles that could blow over the base. Because it left port with a much smaller than normal crew, the George Washington will not take part in the Japanese relief effort.

The official said the talks originated with Pacific Command, the military authority that directly oversees U.S. troops in the region, but ‘discussions have since taken place here in Washington as well.”  Read more.

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Workers Flee Japan Nuclear Plant as Smoke Rises

03/21/2011 Leave a comment

Note: This smoke is coming from reactor no. 3 which contains MOX fuel.

“FUKUSHIMA, Japan (AP) — Gray smoke rose from two reactor units Monday, temporarily stalling critical work to reconnect power lines and restore cooling systems to stabilize Japan’s radiation-leaking nuclear complex.

Workers are racing to bring the nuclear plant under control, but the process is proceeding in fits and starts, stalled by incidents like the smoke and by the need to work methodically to make sure wiring, pumps and other machinery can be safely switched on.

‘Our crisis is still going on. Our crisis is with the nuclear plants. We are doing everything we can to bring this to an end,’ Gov. Yuhei Sato of Fukushima prefecture, where the plant is located, told the more than 1,000 people moved away from the plant into a gymnasium. ‘Don’t give up. We know you are suffering.’

‘Please get us out of here,’ yelled Harunobu Suzuki, a 63-year-old truck driver.

What caused the smoke to billow first from Unit 3 at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant and later from Unit 2 is under investigation, nuclear safety agency officials said.”  Read more.

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