Radiation levels rise above limit at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant

[tabatha]

TEPCO informs gov't of emergency situation: Kyodo


http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/13/japan-quake-ventilation-idUSLJE7E301820110313

[Rex]

1. Have to hand it to reuters, they've been all over this story since the begining.

So what's next?

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. depemds, do you want reality

or hopey all is well, get in the water, rose colored glasses?

:-)

[Rex]

11. I live by the motto, 'hope for the best, expect the worst'.

Seems some want it to be, 'no matter what, you can't blame atom'. :P

[nadinbrzezinski]

13. LOL is it time for Godzilla jokes?

GODZILLA

[Rex]

18. Holycrap! When did Godzilla start taking steroids!!!

So much for the '60 stories tall' line!

[tabatha]

7. It is second from the top of this live blog.

http://live.reuters.com/Event/Japan_earthquake2

[Rex]

9. Thanks.

[Hannah Bell]

2. that was current about 3-4 hours ago. it's not new news. just for people

who may be confused & think it's a new incident.

another press conference: endaro


This increased level of radiation is due to the venting already announced.

prev. reading was about 76, now about 73.

we are setting up centers, for those people who are anxious we will be screening radiation levels & offering medical care.

at one point we observed reading 1200.42 micro SV (at 8:33 am) so there is fluctuation in radiation level, but there is no sudden/sustained rise because of venting

fuel rod has been exposed but is underwater.

number one reactor: we are assuming there is a possibility there is/was meltdown in both reactors.

Q: at 8:33 you mentioned there was 1200.42, is this because #1 reactor is still being vented?

A: just like the reactions we gave you yesterday it is a temporary reading. if we do see a further rise or higher figures in other places, after 8:33 we are continuing to see a decrease therefore we believe it is not harmful to human health.

venting is continuing & reactor #1 we are continuing to inject sea water & venting is continuing with release of some radioaction & same with number 3.

if a high figure is registered continuously or at multiple locations we will alert but we assume there will be fluctuations.

Q: you said at 8:33 am you had 1200.42, is that because of #1?

A: yes, basically.

Q: there will be national government support, what are the concrete steps being taken?

A: what we are trying to do is support local government efforts, sending people to the area or government personnel

Q: aside from the fukushima plant are there abnormalities in other plants?

A: no.

Q: is there possibility there are leaks in #3 reactor?

A: not at this point in time & if there is such it was only in controlled condition.

[Rex]

8. This just released.

Reactor 1 above the legal limit...3 minutes ago.
http://twitter.com/BreakingNews

[Hannah Bell]

14. the twitter may have been released but they already said they were venting #3 hours ago & venting =

higher readings.

edit: the new information is that level exceeded mandated limit for wherever reading was taken. my apologies.

edano coming back to brief.

[amandabeech]

3. The cooling system has failed at another plant in Daiichi group.

This one is the number 3 reactor. Most other news refers to the number 1 reactor at this site.

Not much else reported.

[roamer65]

4. This reactor is using MOX fuel.

It is enriched with plutonium.

[Hannah Bell]

15. link. please.

[nadinbrzezinski]

5. and here is more

Japan's TEPCO: air release starts at No.3 reactor
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/13/japan-quake-ventilation-idUSLJE7E301820110313

Cannot post more, blurb

[Hannah Bell]

16. they've been venting #3 for hours,

[thewiseguy]

10. There is another news conference going on that I am watching

Does this have to do with the number 3 or number 1 reactor? The rods that are exposed are from number 3 or 1?

[Hannah Bell]

17. are you watching the endaro presser or?

[uppityperson]

12. from BBC blog...legal limit for radioactivity has been passes

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12307698
0152: Yaroslav Shtrombakh, a Russian nuclear expert, has told the Associated Press that it is unlikely that the Japanese plant will suffer a meltdown like the one in 1986 at Chernobyl, when a reactor exploded and sent a cloud of radiation over much of Europe. That reactor, unlike the reactors at Fukushima, was not housed in a sealed container.

0147: The legal limit for radioactivity has been passed at the Fukushima plant, AFP says, quoting Japan's Kyodo news agency

0202: More on the higher radioactivity level at the nuclear plant. The Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco) has informed the government of an "emergency situation" but this does not mean an immediate threat to human health, the company adds. A similar rise in radiation levels occurred after the company released radioactive steam from another reactor to let go of pressure. On that occasion too, the company was obliged to inform the government of an "emergency situation".

[nadinbrzezinski]

19. From NHK world

On Saturday, the government's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said 2 radioactive substances, cesium and iodine, had been detected near the Number One reactor at the Number One power plant. This indicates nuclear fission of uranium fuel. The agency announced some fuel in the reactor had partially melted. Sea water is being used to try to cool that reactor.

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/13_10.html

[suffragette]

20. Noticed this about spent fuel in a pool being another area

of potential problems.

From NDTV:

After a full day of worries about the radiation leaking at Daiichi, Tokyo Electric Power said an explosion occurred "near" the No. 1 reactor at Daiichi around 3:40 p.m. Japan time on Saturday. It said four of its workers were injured in the blast.

The decision to flood the reactor core with corrosive seawater, experts said, was an indication that Tokyo Electric Power and Japanese authorities had probably decided to scrap the plant. "This plant is almost 40 years old, and now it's over for that place," said Olli Heinonen, the former chief inspector for the I.A.E.A., and now a visiting scholar at Harvard.

Mr. Heinonen lived in Japan in the 1980s, monitoring its nuclear industry, and visited the stricken plant many times. Based on the reports he was seeing, he said he believed that the explosion was caused by a hydrogen formation, which could have begun inside the reactor core. "Now, every hour they gain in keeping the reactor cooling down is crucial," he said.

But he was also concerned about the presence of spent nuclear fuel in a pool inside the same reactor building. The pool, too, needs to remain full of water to suppress gamma radiation and prevent the old fuel from melting. If the spent fuel is also exposed -- and so far there are only sketchy reports about the condition of that building -- it could also pose a significant risk to the workers trying to prevent a meltdown.

Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/japan-quake-meltdown-fear-at-nuclear-reactor-91289?cp


Has anyone seen more info about this?
I'm wondering if this may may be a factor in the increase.