Japan declares 'nuclear emergency' after quake - PART 2

Unloading Unit 4 Fuel...

This pic appears to be fuzzed out:

photo.tepco.co.jp...

This one too:

photo.tepco.co.jp...

More pics and video:

photo.tepco.co.jp...



- Purple Chive

reply to post by Purplechive

Fukushima Daiichi NPS Prompt Report (Nov 21,2013)
Attention to Physical Protection Is Requested Concerning Fuel Removal from Fukushima Daiichi NPS Unit 4 Spent Fuel Pool
We have been conducting the operation to remove fuel from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station Unit 4 Spent Fuel Pool since November 18. Meanwhile, we have noticed that some news media released videos, taken from the air, of the on-premise transportation from the Unit 4 Reactor Building to the Common Pool Building conducted today (on November 21).

Some of those videos contain information (such as the transportation schedule, a route of the transportation, and activities of security guards) the disclosure of which conflicts with "Measures To Be Taken for Physical Protection of Specific Nuclear Fuel Material" stipulated in the Nuclear Reactor Regulation Law. The regulatory agency is also aware of this matter, and instructed us to request the media to act with attention to physical protection.

As we have already requested the media members on many occasions, in view of physical protection, please refrain from taking pictures and videos of the physical protection facilities such as the building entrances and exits, fences, sensors, and cameras as well as the cask transportation currently conducted.

* Physical protection (of nuclear materials): To protect nuclear materials and facilities against the theft or unauthorized diversion of nuclear materials and against the sabotage of nuclear facilities by individuals and groups.

Tepco Source

Human0815
reply to post by Purplechive

 

Fukushima Daiichi NPS Prompt Report (Nov 21,2013)
Attention to Physical Protection Is Requested Concerning Fuel Removal from Fukushima Daiichi NPS Unit 4 Spent Fuel Pool
We have been conducting the operation to remove fuel from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station Unit 4 Spent Fuel Pool since November 18. Meanwhile, we have noticed that some news media released videos, taken from the air, of the on-premise transportation from the Unit 4 Reactor Building to the Common Pool Building conducted today (on November 21).

Some of those videos contain information (such as the transportation schedule, a route of the transportation, and activities of security guards) the disclosure of which conflicts with "Measures To Be Taken for Physical Protection of Specific Nuclear Fuel Material" stipulated in the Nuclear Reactor Regulation Law. The regulatory agency is also aware of this matter, and instructed us to request the media to act with attention to physical protection.

As we have already requested the media members on many occasions, in view of physical protection, please refrain from taking pictures and videos of the physical protection facilities such as the building entrances and exits, fences, sensors, and cameras as well as the cask transportation currently conducted.

* Physical protection (of nuclear materials): To protect nuclear materials and facilities against the theft or unauthorized diversion of nuclear materials and against the sabotage of nuclear facilities by individuals and groups.

Tepco Source

lol, yeah, sure wouldn't want anyone to know what they're doing and catch any mishaps on camera. And they are seriously trying to get us to believe they're concerned about someone actually stealing a hot rod? Can you imagine a plan like - let's sneak up to.. and in to.. the facility and grab a hot rod while its being transported and throw it in the back of our truck and make a run for it? Radiation? What radiation? Or - let's 'sabotage' the facility before it does some damage.. lolololol... oh my, more snow please

Yes... that no good media always up to something like 'documenting' history....

crankyoldman
reply to post by wishes

 

There are two pieces that might help. One: The plant was designed to secretly create material for weapons. TEPCO has to hide this fact, they cannot let anyone from the outside go snooping around. Two: TEPCO didn't design the plant, the just run it and bill people for their services, as such, they have no idea how to engineer solutions that: are cheap, hide the weapons issue and resolve the actual problems. TEPCO has no idea how to pull the molten cores out of the ground - no one does, so they've decided to simply focus as much attention on things they "can do" and ignore the rest. My guess is someone at the highest levels has cried to the US and Russia and they've been told they are on their own.

Remember, the motivations of companies like TEPCO are no the same as those who work in Momma's doughnut shop. Applying your logic, your concerns are only going to frustrate you. Ask yourself: How does TEPCO hide the damage and the truth, do some clean up while retaining profits, make sure to avoid panicking others, pass the responsibility down the food chain and makes sure there is enough obfuscation? If you think in terms of those questions you'll fully understand why the do that they do. Never ask, "why doesn't TEPCO...?"

edit on Fri Nov 22 2013 by Jbird because: Replaced large quote of previous post with 'reply to'

Yes, I have tons of frustration. I totally agree with your take on this situation and just keep hoping next life I get a sane planet because this one is WAY out of control by a few very powerful, greedy, cold hearted beings. I keep 'hoping' something will turn everything around but time and time again the landslides keep happening on every front. The level of intelligent insanity is boggling. The moment Fukushima was devastated I had a very deep, sinking feeling about it and it has been a cloud (pardon the punn) over my life ever since. But what can we do really? It seems like at best we can share information and be current. Thanks guys for sharing information and hanging in there!

reply to post by wishes


A Nuclear Power Station is not a Playground or a Kindergarten
but a Facility of special Interest!

The Media should accept the Rules and in the case they can't
or they don't want to accept this Rules
they should get excluded from the further Release of Press Material!

Of course there is a difference. i don't know if you ever heard about
the Worker "Happy" (with a Number following)
Fuku-Diary and Enenews used him as a News Source from the inside of
Daiichi in the really bad Days, he, for example, is now a Manga Character!
(Honto Ni!)

Nuclear whistle-blower spills secrets the way the media should

In September, Kodansha published the novel “Genpatsu Whiteout,” which continues to climb the best-seller list, propelled by a guessing game over the identity of its pseudonymous first-time author, Retsu Wakasugi.

Genpatsu means “nuclear reactor,” and the book describes a fictional terrorist attack on a power plant that leads to a meltdown. Though it sounds like a conventional thriller, the novel’s overarching theme is the government’s determination to resume the nation’s nuclear power network after the Fukushima accident, a mission it carries out so heedlessly that it neglects to enact safety standards that would mitigate the effects of such an attack.

Readers were quick to note that Wakasugi seems to know a lot about the inner workings of not only the government, but also the electric utility structure. He (or she) was obviously writing from experience, and the media concluded he was a bureaucrat, though it isn’t clear which organization he works for. The Mainichi Shimbun assumes it is the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and that Wakasugi holds “a senior post of, at minimum, division director.” Though The Wall Street Journal called the book an “anti-nuke novel,” Mainichi reporter Takao Yamada found the tone “cynical” and the viewpoint ambiguous.

Japan-Times

Human0815
reply to post by wishes

 

A Nuclear Power Station is not a Playground or a Kindergarten
but a Facility of special Interest!

The Media should accept the Rules and in the case they can't
or they don't want to accept this Rules
they should get excluded from the further Release of Press Material!

Of course there is a difference. i don't know if you ever heard about
the Worker "Happy" (with a Number following)
Fuku-Diary and Enenews used him as a News Source from the inside of
Daiichi in the really bad Days, he, for example, is now a Manga Character!
(Honto Ni!)

A nuclear power station is not a playground or kindergarten... really?
Tepco is complaining about flyovers, not takeovers. To think some media is up to no good is ridiculous. I was trying to think of a situation involving millions of lives and the demise of an ocean or two where media should 'not' be allowed to report news and just couldn't come up with any. Of course they don't want media there... don't want any witnesses. This is a public and international affair, not a private one.

reply to post by Human0815


There is no connection or relationship between this book and Fukushima. Fukushima is the result of two (supposed) natural disasters followed by several human disasters. The book is fiction about a terrorist attack on a nuclear plant and off topic in my opinion.

reply to post by wishes


No one said, thought or wrote that "the Media" want to harm us
but sometimes they publish something without thinking to much
about the Situation!

In my Home country NPS was a Military Secret and even shooting Photos
of it was illegal and got punished with Decades in Prison!

Regarding the Book: use the Search Engine from Enenews and look for
"Happy ....." (i forgot his Number)

Human0815
reply to post by wishes

 

No one said, thought or wrote that "the Media" want to harm us
but sometimes they publish something without thinking to much
about the Situation!

In my Home country NPS was a Military Secret and even shooting Photos
of it was illegal and got punished with Decades in Prison!

Regarding the Book: use the Search Engine from Enenews and look for
"Happy ....." (i forgot his Number)

congratulations and welcome to our current world. these things happen, but to deny media coverage of something that effects the globe will be seen as less than desirable. i think it's safe to say no one wanted to see this happen, be that as it may, your privacy is not your own when it involves billions of others and to dictate such extreme measures as to deny information, is detrimental for all. it has never worked in the course of history and it will fail today as well, causing much distress and animosity for many as well as hindering possible clean up efforts.

i wish you and yours the best over there, in any event.

reply to post by OceanSpray


As you can see in PC's Posting it is not the process but important
parts of the Equipment and Faces of participating Employees
which are blurred out and i can understand this (Tepcos) concern.

And Thank You for your Wish,
i am sure that we pass this Handicap without further Damage
but positive Energy is needed and as more as better!

Human0815
reply to post by OceanSpray

 

As you can see in PC's Posting it is not the process but important
parts of the Equipment and Faces of participating Employees
which are blurred out and i can understand this (Tepcos) concern.

And Thank You for your Wish,
i am sure that we pass this Handicap without further Damage
but positive Energy is needed and as more as better!

edit on 24-11-2013 by Human0815 because: for the domo!

i can certainly understand employees faces being protected, equipment not so much unless they're trade secrets i suppose, but who does one believe? you surely must agree our world leaders have been doing a not so good job so you can see why so many question there authority.

i too believe this will be fixed, i'm not sure i believe in it's current method nor approach, but i feel we will get past this and on to a better world, somehow, someway.

perhaps some day the most awe full thing we need discuss, would be how to spend our fun filled days.

reply to post by matadoor


Regarding this Associated Press story from November 19, 2013, I find especially ominous the comment from nuclear engineer Goto (who designed Fukushima Daiichi Unit#3), "I doubt if Fukushima Dai-ichi's full decommissioning is possible. Its contamination is so widespread."

This type of candid reaction from a qualified expert has been difficult to find so far. But the journalistic instincts of more reporters are starting to kick in. I therefore look for mainstream reporting on the Fukushima disaster to continue to improve in its professionalism.

I just came across these articles from a Russian site - they seem to have a lot of good, credible information and insight on this mess (in last part I assume they meant Tepco instead of Tokyo):

Read more: voiceofrussia.com...

September 2, 2013

Fukushima radioactive leak is 'the greatest threat humanity ever faced' - expert

I think we should keep in mind that TEPCO declared plants 1, 2 and 3 to be in cold shut-down. And of course we now know that was not the case. Other people were pointing out that the cores had melted down through the facility. We now know that is the case.

The entire area is weakened and there is a great risk of an aftershock. Now this pool contains something on the order of 400.000 kg of hot plutonium. So, the thing that people should be aware of is that TEPCO is going to begin attempting to remove these rods from this pool to some other type of storage. This has never been done with plutonium rods that have been out of a core for such a short period of time.

There is a great danger of a thermonuclear reaction if these rods become exposed to the air and the cooling pool itself is just barely containing the temperature levels of the core as it is.

There are billion micrograms in a kilogram and there are 400.000 hot kilograms in this pool. So, if these rods combust, if the set of rods begins a thermonuclear reaction, it will vaporize the water in the pool and the entire pool can become an uncontrolled nuclear reaction open to the air. These particles will be spread through the northern hemisphere.

From October 14, 2013

A state of emergency should now be declared throughout the world community. Japan needs international control, Tokyo can’t manage it on its own. Whatever the world nations can offer to cope with the situation should be used, or else the northern part of the Pacific will be contaminated. Discharging radioactive water into tanks and keeping them is pointless. Japan clearly needs an immediate extraordinary solution.

As of today, the radiation levels around the plant are so high that staying there for four hours would be lethal for a person. But the Japanese either failed or chose not to use the experience of Russian liquidators who tackled a similar situation at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986, says Professor of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, Vladimir Kuznetsov.

voiceofrussia.com...

reply to post by wishes


I can't locate your mentioned credible Source in your Posting,
maybe i am to blind or the J-Government had censored this Info,
please tell me where i can locate the Source for their Claim!

All i can see is Yellow, typical for the Voice of Russia, Rt and Enenews!

Human0815
reply to post by wishes

 

I can't locate your mentioned credible Source in your Posting,
maybe i am to blind or the J-Government had censored this Info,
please tell me where i can locate the Source for their Claim!

All i can see is Yellow, typical for the Voice of Russia, Rt and Enenews!

edit on 24-11-2013 by Human0815 because: changed

Both links work fine for me, perhaps Japan is censoring them.

Here is a great website I came across that has tons of information from the beginning in case this hasn't been posted before, and if it has is good to bring it forward anyway. On the right side are several search bars for everything Fukushima like photos, documents, library, webcams and a Tepco Super Search Tool - at the bottom of the page are links to Tepco's website they say is a better search tool than Tepco's website, lol.

www.fukuleaks.org...

I don't know how to post photos here, but noticed not too far down the photos page are a few photos of what I believe are called 'elephants feet' - a while back AirCooled had posted a photo either of this photo or one similar to this wondering if it was from Fukushima or not. Amazing stockpile of information here, I think there's photos that may not have been seen here before, not sure.

reply to post by wishes


1. Download the Photos to your Computer
2. Upload this Photos to your Account/ Cloud
3. Use the Code you get and use him inside of your Posting

"Fukuleaks" is as yellow as all the other Fukushima related Blogs,
you can collect hints but the big Amount of (ab-)used Info is as much
Bs. as you will find on many Pro-Nuclear Blogs,
in a real Life Discussion, with People who know, you can't get a chance
because this People will give you a pitiful Smile before they "debunk"
every single Argument from you and your Source, for sure!

INSIGHT: ‘Troika of irresponsibility’ behind Fukushima water crisis

Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s shortcomings, the Finance Ministry’s stubbornness and the industry ministry’s need for a scapegoat combined to create the radioactive water crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.

And while the three key players refuse to be held accountable for Japan’s worst nuclear disaster, this “troika of irresponsibility” is still bickering over the cleanup process as contaminated water continues to leak into the plant ground and the ocean.

The risks of radioactive water leaks were known months after the plant was rocked by the Great East Japan Earthquake and swamped by the ensuing tsunami on March 11, 2011.

Plans to contain the potential water problem were drawn up at the time. But TEPCO was unwilling to spend money on such measures, some of which were adopted two years later by the government.

The utility has, in fact, shown little sense that the Fukushima accident is its problem.

The Finance Ministry and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, meanwhile, have been busy fighting over who should pay for cleaning up communities contaminated by radioactive fallout from the Fukushima nuclear plant.

Asahi Source

UN nuclear agency reviews Fukushima situation for the second time

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has started the second review of the situation at the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant to be able to update the international community on the issues and challenges that they are facing. The primary concern is the storage of the contaminated water at the plant and the removal of the fuel assemblies from the No. 4 reactor building.

The 19-man delegation is headed by Juan Carlos Lentijo, who is also the IAEA’s director for the nuclear fuel cycle and waste technology division. At a press conference on Tuesday, before meeting with the officials of utility operator Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) and the government, he said that the team will be assessing the situation down to the smallest details. They will go to the site today and look at the current decommissioning process until Friday and afterwards head to Tokyo to hold discussions with the Nuclear Regulation Authority, Japan’s nuclear watchdog, and other experts. They are expected to report its findings by December 4, through a press conference.

Japan Daily

Fukushima dried persimmons being readied for market

After the meltdowns at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, persimmons grown in Fukushima Prefecture were found to have levels of radioactive cesium that exceeded central government standards. Farmers decided to suspend production and shipment of the dried persimmons.

However, testing of the fruit last July showed that radiation levels were below government standards in some parts of the prefecture, including what was once the town of Yanagawa. That finding led the central and prefectural governments to designate Date, to which Yanagawa has been amalgamated, as a model district for the resumption of fruit processing.

In September, a second round of radiation testing was carried out. That spurred 580 farm households, or about half of all anpo persimmon farmers in the northern part of the prefecture, to resume production.

Asahi Source

"Date" was really inside of the big Plume and i am a bit confused
but will look for Measurements in this Winter,
Persimmons was for many People the only source of Vitamin C.
in the Days before the Supermarkets!

TEPCO eyes restarting 4 reactors by 2015

Tokyo Electric Power Co. hopes to have four nuclear reactors in Niigata Prefecture back online by 2015, including two planned for next summer, despite the crisis at its hobbled Fukushima nuclear plant.

The company intends to reactivate the No. 1 and No. 5 reactors at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant during the first half of 2015 after restarting the No. 6 and No. 7 reactors as early as July 2014, sources said.

Both plans will be included in the utility’s rehabilitation program when it is revised toward the end of this year.

The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant has seven reactors. TEPCO estimates that for each reactor restart its annual profit will increase by about 100 billion yen ($1 billion).

Asahi Source