MONITORING THE OMINOUSLY CULMINATING AFTERMATH of the 8.9 JAPANESE QUAKE of 3/11/2011

[labelwench]

As this is a thread monitoring the aftermath of the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan, it seems only fitting to post this following thank you from the victims on it.

Though we may not know for many years, or even decades, what the long-term costs of this event may be, there remains the greatest attribute of our species (IMO), that hope springs eternal.

Where there is life, there is hope....

[Unreal Zelta]

It's times like these when you realise that the world has true humanitarians, but at the same time racial discrimination is still evident, even in the most dire situations. During my time abroad, I have met people from both factions of thought. It is suffice to say that "character and ethics above skill and talent" has never had more meaning.

Much respect goes out to the people who are working endlessly in rebuilding the country as well as the spirits of the people.

Zelta

[labelwench]

Just about a year since the tsunami struck Japan. This among the CBC NEWS today.

The government announced in December that three melted reactors at the plant had basically stabilized and that radiation releases had dropped. It still will take decades to fully decommission the plant, and it must be kept stable until then.

The operators have installed multiple backup power supplies, a cooling system, and equipment to process massive amounts of contaminated water that leaked from the damaged reactors.

But the equipment that serves as the lifeline of the cooling system is shockingly feeble-looking. Plastic hoses cracked by freezing temperatures have been mended with tape. A set of three pumps sits on the back of a pickup truck.

Along with the pumps, the plant now has 1,000 tanks to store more than 160,000 tons of contaminated water.

Radiation levels in the Unit 1 reactor have fallen, allowing workers to repair some damage to the reactor building. But the Unit 3 reactor, whose roof was blown off by a hydrogen explosion, resembles an ashtray filled with a heap of cigarette butts.

A dosimeter recorded the highest radiation reading outside Unit 3 during Tuesday's tour -- 1.5 millisievert per hour. That is a major improvement from last year, when up to 10 sieverts per hour were registered near Units 1 and 2. Exposure to more than 1,000 millisievert, or 1 sievert, can cause radiation sickness including nausea and an elevated risk of cancer.
Officials say radiation hot spots remain inside the plant and minimizing exposure to them is a challenge. Employees usually work for about 2-3 hours at a time, but in some areas, including highly contaminated Unit 3, they can stay only a few minutes.

Read more: http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/SciTech/20...#ixzz1ngsB8fJz

[RascalPuff]

Been a while and good to be back and reviewing this ever-culminating (notably discontinued) thread.

In my experience there is a general and foreboding major electronics and typographic media blackout on the primary issue(s) of this discussion.

With caution (that my qualified, non pessimistic and non paranoid, non hysterical missive title remains no less ominous, however unmonitered - (Maybe if we ignore the environment, it will go away?):
there exists between the lines in the 'news blackout' a pejorative signal of 'postponed' -imminent, globally encompassing bad news.

Dear Greg has alluded to historical crises (plural) and how humanity has endured and continues to proliferate, yet, none of the crises that humanity has survived are anything (at all) comparable with that with which we are presently imperiled.

If any one knows of any reliable new information providing the incumbent status quo, please share it - preferably via 'click on' url.

Sincere best regards to all concerned participants.
- RP

[labelwench]

Fukushima reactor shows radiation levels much higher than thought

April 1, 2012

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Translator


via Guardian.co.uk / March 28, 2012
One of Japan‘s crippled nuclear reactors still has fatally high radiation levels and much less water to cool it than officials estimated, according to an internal examination that renews doubts about the plant’s stability.
A tool equipped with a tiny video camera, a thermometer, a dosimeter and a water gauge was used to assess damage inside the number two reactor’s containment chamber for the second time since the tsunami swept into the Fukushima Daiichi plant, a year ago.
The data shows the damage from the disaster is so severe the plant operator will have to develop special equipment and technology to tolerate the harsh environment, and decommission the plant. The process is expected to last decades.
The other two reactors that had meltdowns could be in even worse shape. The number two reactor is the only one officials have been able to closely examine so far.

The main story at the link below.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environmen...diation-levels