Fukushima update - 10/17/2013

Toxic flush: Typhoon causes radioactive leaks at Fukushima

A powerful typhoon which swept through Japan led to highly radioactive water near the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant being released into a nearby drainage ditch, increasing the risk of it flowing into the sea.

RT,

17 October, 2013

On Wednesday, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), the plant’s operator, said it had detected high levels of radiation in a ditch leading to the Pacific Ocean, and that it suspected heavy rains had lifted contaminated soil.

Workers say that Strontium-90 – a radioactive isotope of the alkaline earth metal strontium produced by nuclear fission – along with other isotopes that emit beta rays measuring 1,400 becquerels (Bq) per liter were detected in the ditch, which is located about 150 meters from the ocean, The Asahi Shimbun reported.

Rescue workers look for victims at a site that is damaged by a landslide caused by Typhoon Wipha in Izu Oshima island, south of Tokyo October 17, 2013 (Reuters / Yuya Shino)

The legal standard for strontium emissions is 30 becquerels per liter. One becquerel is defined as the activity of a quantity of radioactive material in which one nucleus decays per second.

The water was collected Wednesday, one day after Typhoon Wipha slammed into Japan. On Tuesday, when the storm swept over eastern Japan, the radioactivity level was 19 becquerels per liter, TEPCO said.

Rainwater pumped out at the site on Wednesday proved to have radioactivity levels that were lower than provisional standards approved the previous day by the country’s Nuclear Regulation Authority. The workers, therefore, believe the rainwater is not the cause of the high levels of radioactivity discovered in the ditch.

TEPCO workers will clean out the drainage ditch, as it currently remains unknown if any of the highly contaminated water has flown into the ocean.

A rescue worker looks for a victim of a landslide caused by Typhoon Wipha in Izu Oshima island, south of Tokyo October 17, 2013 (Reuters / Yuya Shino)

Typhoon Wipha, described by weather forecasters as the strongest in a decade, left at least 17 people dead and 50 missing in its wake.

The storm grazed the Fukushima coast around midday, although it did not cause any new damage to the plant and its temporary containers where radioactive water is stored.

More than 80 centimeters of rain fell in less than 24 hours, forcing TEPCO to pump out massive quantities of rainwater collected in the protective containers where more than 1,000 temporary tanks with contaminated water are being stored.

The rainwater was checked for radioactivity and released into the sea, a company spokesman told Reuters.

Earlier this month, TEPCO announced 430 liters of polluted water had spilled from a tank as the company’s employees tried to remove rainwater dumped at the plant by recent storms.

It is unknown how much of the contaminated water flowed into the sea. 

TV: “Typhoon appears to have affected Fukushima Daiichi plant”

• Giant spike in radioactivity after #Wipha
• Suspected of causing high levels of strontium to flow into Pacific

Graphic shows strontium water flowing directly into Pacific from a point outside Tepco’s harbor — Yet it was only yesterday that Prime Minister Abe once again claimed that radioactive contamination was contained with the harbor(SOURCE: Asahi)

ENENews,

17 October, 2013

NHK Newsline, Oct. 17, 2013: “The typhoon also appears to have affected the damaged Fukushima Daiichi power plant.”

Asahi Shimbun, Oct. 17, 2013: Typhoon flushes out radioactive strontium at Fukushima nuclear plant [...] leaving water with high strontium levels in a drainage ditch that connects to the ocean. [TEPCO] said Oct. 17 that radioactive strontium and other beta rays measuring 1,400 becquerels per liter were detected at the drainage ditch about 150 meters from the ocean. The legal standard for strontium emissions is 30 becquerels per liter. [...] The previous day, the radioactivity level was 19 becquerels per liter, according to TEPCO. [...] the highly contaminated water may have flowed into the ocean.

NHK, Oct. 17, 2013: High radioactivity in Fukushima Daiichi ditch [...] [Tepco] says it has detected high levels of radioactivity in a ditch leading to the sea, after Typhoon Wipha brought heavy rain. [...] [Tepco] detected 1,400 becquerels per liter of beta ray-emitting radioactive material at a measuring point 150 meters from the sea on Wednesday. The figure was [...] more than 70 times higher than readings taken on Tuesday. It’s also the highest since monitoring of the ditch water was started in August. Officials say rain from the typhoon caused contaminated soil to flow into the ditch and created the high radioactivity. [...] Officials also say they will assess the effects on the surrounding sea.

See also: “No one even measures the strontium level — Strontium is scariest of all, it penetrates and stays in bones, causing leukemia — Particularly dangerous for growth phase of children exposed today” (VIDEO)

Watch the NHK broadcast here

TV: Nuclear report warns of apocalyptic scenario at Fukushima in weeks ahead

• Ambassador: This could one day be considered start of “the ultimate catastrophe of the world and planet”
• Tepco: It’s “under control”

ENENews,

17 October, 2013

Voice of America, Oct. 15, 2013: [Mitsuhei Murata, Japan’s former ambassador to Switzerland] said a series of incidents over the past 30 months – including radioactive water leaks – have called into question TEPCO’s ability to carry out this critical operation. “The Unit 4 contains 10 times more Cesium-137 than Chernobyl. So in case the worst occurs, a total withdrawal [from the site] will be imposed, which means this can be considered as the beginning of the ultimate catastrophe of the world and the planet,” said Murata [...] “The two-and-a-half years of struggling by the state and by TEPCO have proven that nuclear accidents cannot be coped with by electric companies or by a single state.”

Channel 4 News (UK), Oct. 16, 2013: Fukushima: why next month is its biggest since 2011 [...]  The World Nuclear Report in 2013 said the operation had the potential to cause “by far the most serious radiological disaster to date” if it goes wrong. It warns of the possibility of apocalyptic scenarios including the evacuation of 10 million people in the surrounding area, including Tokyo. [...] 400 tonnes of irradiated spent fuel from reactor 4 [...] which needs to be removed from the now highly unstable structure in case of any kind of earthquake [...] so many risks and unknowns, including whether the fuel assemblies have been damaged, which could lead to the radiation risks if the casings have been breached. The worst case scenario is if the fuel assemblies are dropped, which could ultimately lead to a partial meltdown – but that is not thought to be likely. [...] Professor Neil Hyatt, a nuclear expert at Sheffield University, told Channel 4 News reports have been “very clear on the worst that can happen”, adding: “Is that feasible? Yes. Is it realistic? That’s hard to say. This is probably a world first in terms of the engineering challenge.” [...]

Tepco Spokeswoman: “The removal of the fuels is an experienced technology used everywhere over the world. The risks are evaluated and well under control.”

Professor Hiroaki Koide, Kyoto University Reactor Research Institute, Welcome to Fukushima(2013): In the fuel pool of Reactor No. 4 there is still 4,000 times the amount of fuel in Hiroshima. Even now there are still aftershocks at Fukushima. If there is a big shock and the pool is destroyed, there will be 10 times more contamination in the atmosphere than now.

Fukushima: Highly Radioactive Water found & More Tanks Leaking Update 10/17/13

Fukushima News 10/17/13: Fukushima-The Worst Yet To Come? ; Tepco Reports Another Tank Leak

Fukushima is collapsing - the worst is coming...

Thom Hartmann,

The Big Picture

Paul Gunter, Beyond Nuclear, joins Thom Hartmann. There are new concerns coming out of Japan - as the stricken Number 4 reactor at the Daichii nuclear power plant is on the verge of collapsing. How is TEPCO responding to this newest threat - and can they stop a complete nuclear disaster?