TEPCO comes clean about reactor #3

I have been waiting for new developments before reporting about Fukushima.

Here they are

Fukushima nuclear meltdown worse than initially reported - TEPCO

The meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant’s third reactor building was even worse than initially believed, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) has announced.

RT,

7 August 2014

In fact, the power company’s new appraisal of the Fukushima No. 3 reactor building shows that all – or nearly all – of the fuel rods contained inside were melted, dropping onto the floor of the containment vessel. If true, the news means the power plant could be even tougher to decommission.

According to the Japan Times, TEPCO first estimated back in November of 2011 that roughly 63 percent of the reactor’s fuel rods had melted.

But TEPCO now believes that after studying conditions surrounding the fuel core, the reactor’s cooling system stopped functioning more than five hours earlier than previously estimated. As a result, the meltdown would have started around that same time period.

As reported by the Yomiuri Shimbun, it is possible that with more nuclear fuel resting in the containment vessel than originally estimated, removing it will require even more careful planning.

“As the core meltdown is now believed to have started earlier than was previously thought, the amount of melted nuclear fuel that passed into the containment vessel through the pressure vessel is considered to have been greater, making it technically more difficult to extract the melted fuel and dispose of it,” the newspaper stated.

Despite the new findings, however, TEPCO spokesman Shinichi Kawamura said the company is still hoping to find some fuel that had not melted down.

“We think some fuel still remains at the core part based on the actual plant data,” he said, as quoted by the Japan Times.

The news comes as the effects of the nuclear meltdown continue to be felt throughout the region. In late July, a new report discovered that Japan’s famous macaque monkeys were testing positive for blood abnormalities that could potentially make them more susceptible to infectious diseases. The tests were conducted on wild monkeys living in the Fukushima region, and the results of the blood exams were linked to the radioactive fallout at the power plant.

Meanwhile, another July report by Japan’s agriculture ministry found that fourteen different rice paddies – all outside of the power plant’s evacuation zone – were contaminated with radioactive material. As RT reported then, five others inside the evacuation zone were also contaminated, pushing the ministry to order TEPCO to implement better protective measures for future work at the plant

02:54 PM EST on August 6th, 2014 | 40 comments

TV: “Mysterious die off of young salmon” in Pacific Northwest — “Healthy… and then they die” heading out to sea — “Far less plankton than normal… There are too many questions” — Researchers now testing for plankton and Fukushima contamination off West Coast (VIDEO)

08:45 AM EST on August 6th, 2014 | 102 comments

NHK News Flash: Meltdown at Fukushima worse than thought — Most of nuclear fuel ‘melted through’ Reactor 3 and “continued down to bottom of outer containment vessel” — “Has changed their understanding of what’s happening inside” (VIDEO)

01:12 AM EST on August 6th, 2014 | 117 comments

Alaska: “Scientists alarmed by new mystery disease” — Pacific Northwest: “Alarming changes” — “Couldn’t believe my eyes” — “Scientists really stumped… It’s kind of an alien thing” — “Gotten much, much worse… a horror show… could wreak havoc on entire ecosystems from Mexico to Alaska” (VIDEO)

02:13 PM EST on August 5th, 2014 | 117 comments

New report estimates 278 trillion Bq of plutonium released from Fukushima reactors — Over 200 times higher than amount reported by Tepco — “Highly radiotoxic when incorporated into human body” as it decays

12:24 AM EST on August 5th, 2014 | 96 comments

Physician: U.N. whitewashing Fukushima catastrophe, yet their report reveals “more than 9,000 will die of cancers”… number likely much higher if correct data used — Professor: “It’s brainwashing… an infamous lie… an abuse of science… their own data contradicts their public conclusion” (VIDEO)

03:44 PM EST on August 4th, 2014 | 96 comments

Experts: Fukushima ‘globally enhanced’ cesium-137 levels in air by 2 to 3 orders of magnitude — Radioactive plume that reached Europe “contaminated the land, and as a consequence the whole food chain” — Concentrations greatly underestimated

12:51 PM EST on August 4th, 2014 | 43 comments

Study: Plutonium from Fukushima went further than Chernobyl — Researchers ‘surprised’ their most plutonium-contaminated sample was from site farthest from Fukushima plant — Concern material is flowing into Pacific Ocean from land

08:28 PM EST on August 3rd, 2014 | 67 comments

TV: Huge increase in dead and sick sea mammals on California coast — Unprecedented numbers, annual record broken in 7 months — Starving, drooling, brain damaged, suffering seizures — Sea lions ‘mysteriously’ vanishing on other side of Pacific — Experts: We don’t know what’s happening (VIDEO)

12:05 PM EST on August 3rd, 2014 | 129 comments

Gov’t Report: Over 1,750 navy sailors suffer from ‘ill-defined conditions’ after exposure to Fukushima radiation while aboard USS Reagan — ‘Significant increases’ in male infertility and child birth complications — Dozens have thyroid disorders, many spontaneous abortions — Veteran: ‘Extreme measures’ used to cover this up (AUDIO)

09:38 PM EST on August 2nd, 2014 | 121 comments

Lab Director: Expect radiation spikes coming from US nuclear facility — Gov’t pays for more air monitors to see impact on populated areas — DOE warns of ‘ignitability’ of 368 containers at site; “Significant fire risk” — Top Official: Material at WIPP “just disintegrated… got very hot, very quickly” (VIDEO)

07:06 PM EST on August 1st, 2014 | 116 comments

TV: Millions of fish dead at Oregon coast — “Craziest thing I’ve ever seen” — “You can’t blame people for being alarmed” — Aquarium: “It kind of looks like the apocalypse… especially big numbers… but this is a sign that anchovies are doing good” (VIDEO)

09:39 AM EST on August 1st, 2014 | 202 comments

Millions of fish found dead on California coast — 3 major fish kills in 2 weeks — Unidentified ‘goo’ floating nearby; Police clear out beach, call health officials to investigate (VIDEO)

More on Fukuahima

Hoax? Researcher Claims “Explosions” Witnessed at Fukushima Reactor

Irresponsible rumors disguise real danger of unit 4 meltdown

Paul Joseph Watson

Info Wars,

22 October, 2012

Conspiracy websites are buzzing with claims that spent fuel pools at the Fukushima nuclear reactor have exploded, with radiation levels off the charts, although the story appears almost certainly to be a hoax.

A post currently circulating on numerous websites quotes a “researcher” named Michael Eckstein who purportedly lives 50 miles from Fukushima in Japan.

“Explosions and fires have occurred at spent fuel pools two and four over the past four days and now radiation levels are spiking enormously,” states the post.

“THIS IS THE WORST-CASE SCENARIO BECAUSE OF THE THOUSANDS OF TONS OF PLUTONIUM CONTAINED IN THESE SPENT FUEL POOLS. This is now vapourizing into the atmosphere and being disseminated with the winds. Major cloud and radiation spike estimated to hit west coast of USA in two weeks or less.”

Eckstein claims that he was set to do an interview with CNN today about the story, but that has yet to materialize, again suggesting the claims are not legitimate.

The post goes on to claim that “mass panic” has led to panic buying of food, that airports are flooded with people, and that schools have been ordered to keep children inside.

Eckstein claims that the radiation is now drifting towards the West Coast of America and urges people to stock up on iodine pills.

Everyone acknowledges that the media is controlled, but if a deluge of people in Japan were panic buying food and rushing to airports, it would be all over Twitter and other social networks, which it isn’t.

Spreading false rumors about such a dangerous situation is highly irresponsible – precisely because of the very real threat posed by the potential meltdown of Fukushima, which still remains stricken over 18 months after the disaster despite the fact that it has disappeared from mainstream news coverage.

 

The spent fuel pool inside unit number 4 at Fukushima which stores the spent fuel rods is under dire threat of collapse. Scientists have predicted that there is a 98% chance the facility will be hit by a 7.0 magnitude or higher earthquake within the next three years, threatening a disaster that would be worse than three reactor meltdowns combined.

It has now been confirmed that the ground beneath reactor number 4 is sinking unevenly, causing the entire building which houses the fuel pool to tilt. Experts have petitioned the United Nations to help stabilize unit number 4, noting that the reactor contains 10 times the amount of Cesium-137 released during the Chernobyl disaster and that the complex is vulnerable to another earthquake.

Some reports put the cancer deaths caused by Chernobyl at almost a million people. A meltdown at Fukushima would prompt a mass evacuation of Japan and a worst case scenario would impact the entire planet’s eco-system for generations.

This is something we've all known for some time, but it is coming out one year after the Fukushima meltdown.

Fukushima plant report reaches damning verdict

al Jazeera

Those are the findings of a new report due out shortly into Japan's handling of its nuclear power plant crisis last year.

Meltdown - The Secret History of the Global Financial Collapse.2010

Here are all four parts of a Canadian documentary about the 2008 collapse of the economy - part 1 was shown on al-Jazeera recently.


As we enter Meltdown Part 2 it may be timely to look back at just what happened in 2007-8.


Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Meltdown Part 1: "The Men Who Crashed The World"

Zero Hedge

When it comes to financial collapse documentaries, the public canon has one well-deserving Oscar Winner, "Inside Job", and one straight to HBO exercise in ass kissing and name dropping which shall remain nameless. 

Ironically, just like during the Arab Spring, it is that "dubious" Al Jazeera that shows US media how coverage of various matters, either geopolitical or financial, is done. 

Herein we present the first episode of Meltdown, in which we hear about four men who brought down the global economy: a billionaire mortgage-seller who fooled millions; a high-rolling banker with a fatal weakness; a ferocious Wall Street predator; and the power behind the throne. 

Considering we are about to experience the next Great Financial Crash, since nothing has changed at all since 2008, this should serve as a prominent reminder of all that happened, and a flashback to the future, of all that is certain to occur all over again.

From Al Jazeera:

The crash of September 2008 brought the largest bankruptcies in world history, pushing more than 30 million people into unemployment and bringing many countries to the edge of insolvency. Wall Street turned back the clock to 1929.

But how did it all go so wrong?

Lack of government regulation; easy lending in the US housing market meant anyone could qualify for a home loan with no government regulations in place.

Also, London was competing with New York as the banking capital of the world. Gordon Brown, the British finance minister at the time, introduced 'light touch regulation' - giving bankers a free hand in the marketplace.

All this, and with key players making the wrong financial decisions, saw the world's biggest financial collapse.