FRIDAY, MARCH 9, 2012
TEPCO to Welcome Back Female Workers to Fukushima I Nuke Plant
Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant is now so stable and safe that TEPCO wants to bring back female workers to the plant.
Yup, you heard it right. What better way is there to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the nuclear accident and to demonstrate how safe it has become, than to have female workers working at Fuku I again?
From Jiji Tsushin (3/9/2012):
Yup, you heard it right. What better way is there to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the nuclear accident and to demonstrate how safe it has become, than to have female workers working at Fuku I again?
From Jiji Tsushin (3/9/2012):
女性も福島第１で再び作業へ＝「放射性物質減り環境改善」－東電
Women to work at Fukushima I Nuke Plant again, as "radioactive materials have decreased and the work conditions have improved", says TEPCO
東京電力福島第１原発事故で、東電は９日、同原発の作業拠点である免震重要棟や５、６号機の原子炉建屋などの空間線量が減少したとして、女性作業員が働けるよう運用を見直すと発表した。昨年４月、同原発の女性作業員が３カ月で５ミリシーベルト以内と定められている線量限度を超えていたことが判明。経済産業省原子力安全・保安院から再発防止を指示され、女性作業員がいない状態が続いていた。
TEPCO announced on March 9 that the company would review the operation policy in order to allow female workers at Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, as the air radiation levels in the Anti-Earthquake Building and the reactor buildings of Reactors 5 and 6 have dropped. In April last year, female workers at the plant were found to have exceeded the radiation exposure limit [for female nuclear workers] of 5 millisieverts in 3 months. The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency then instructed TEPCO to come up with the countermeasure to prevent it from happening again, and there has been no female worker at the plant since. 東電によると、免震重要棟１階の空間線量は、昨年３月の１時間当たり４７マイクロシーベルトから同年１１月には７．２マイクロシーベルトまで減少。運用の見直しにより、下請け会社の女性従業員が同原発で働くことも可能になる。医療作業などが想定されるという。
According to TEPCO, the air radiation level on the first floor of the Anti-Earthquake building dropped from 47 microsieverts/hour in March last year to 7.2 microsieverts/hour in November. By reviewing the policy, TEPCO could allow female workers from subcontractors to work at the plant. The company is expecting them to providing medical care and other tasks.Let's see. 8 hours inside the building, 57.6 microsieverts per day, 288 microsieverts per week (assuming 5 days a week work), 1,152 microsieverts per month. 3,456 microsieverts (3.456 millisieverts) in 3 months, oh that's so within the 5 millisieverts/3 months limit.
Notice that the Jiji article talks about female workers from subcontractors, not TEPCO's own female employees. It also refers to Reactors 5 and 6. What kind of work is TEPCO envisioning female subcontract workers to do in the reactor buildings, I wonder?
and...
Title: March 11, One Year On: Radioactive Pollen?
Source: Wall Street Journal
Date: March 9, 2012
Emphasis Added
Source: Wall Street Journal
Date: March 9, 2012
Emphasis Added
March is the peak of hay fever season in Japan. And this year it brings a new twist: radioactivity in pollen.SOURCE: European Pressphoto Agency via WSJA year after meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant blew radioactive particles over much of northeastern Japan, some of that contamination is being re-dispersed by trees. [...]Sugi are everywhere in Japan, growing especially thickly in the hills and mountains of eastern Japan. Between February and May, the tiny cones on the ends of the sugi branches release their pollen spores in massive clouds, which can waft more than 100 miles [...]The problem this year is the radioactive cesium spewed out after the Fukushima accident, which researchers last summer found collecting inside sugi needles, though they’re still not sure how it got there. [...]Although the survey did find some extremely high levels – especially from sugi in the town of Namie in Fukushima, inside the no-go zone – the Forestry Agency concluded that by the time the pollen got through the noses of the populace, the level of exposure would be very low. [...]and......
http://enenews.com/important-video-year-asahi-tv-unbelievable-unit-4-pool-crack-leaks-during-quake-be-tokyo-japan-expert-doesnt-be-large-quake-already-shaken-many-times-serious-problem
Title: Expert Warns: "If Unit 4 Collapsed, That Would Be the End"
Source: "Morning Bird" by TV Asahi
Uploaded by: tokyobrowntabby
Date Aired: Mar 8, 2012
Emphasis Added
Source: "Morning Bird" by TV Asahi
Uploaded by: tokyobrowntabby
Date Aired: Mar 8, 2012
Emphasis Added
Most discussion of the No. 4 spent fuel pool has focused on an earthquake causing the pool to collapse. This video is different because it reveals:
- A crack, rather than the collapse of the pool itself, can be the end of Tokyo
- The quake that could put a crack in the pool and be the end of Tokyo does not have to be a large one
- The sense of shock when people in Japan are made aware of this information for the first time
If you have a minute please visit YouTube and leave tokyobrowntabby a message for all their hard work
You may think it's "already one year" [since the accident] but it's actually "still only one year."True cause of the Fukushima Daiichi accident still hasn't been identified.[...]Still, they are talking about resuming the operation of nuclear plants.[...]But is the accident over? Is it really over? For example, Unit 4. In fact, Dr. Koide of Kyoto University is worried about it most.The present conditions of Unit 4 are like this. You see, almost no walls. They were blown off, and honestly speaking, the Unit 4 is a wreck. A wreck.[...]Now, what if an earthquake occurred right now and the water in the pool started to leak?I asked this question to Dr. Koide. Please watch this video.[...]If a large aftershock occurred and the wall here collapsed, the water in the pool would leak out and the spent fuel would not be cooled any more. Then, they would start to melt, probably completely. And huge amount of radiation contained in the spend fuel would be released outside, with no walls to block it.We'll never know when an earthquake comes.[...]the fuel rods, which are probably damaged to some degree[...]What if a destructive earthquake occurred during those years?
That would be the end. The end? Yes.You see, that would be the end.Unbelievable...unbelievable.This is a serious problem.TEPCO knows dealing with this problem is most important for now.[...]So if a large earthquake should occur from now until that January...
No, it doesn't have to be large. Unit 4 has been shaken many times already.If the pool got cracks after another earthquake and the water started to leak out, Dr. Koide said that would be the end.The end for a wide area including Tokyo.Oh my, and they are talking about resuming nuclear plant operation.I think resuming the operation is out of the question at least until the results from the investigation by NAIIC come out.[...]I want them to let us vote again.They talk about resuming the operation after gaining understanding from local communities. But for this issue, I think the whole country of Japan, or the whole area including the neighboring countries, is a "local community" that would be affected. We should keep in mind that it's not only the sites of the plants that should be considered as "local communities."We should recognize the accident is far from over and the crisis is still ongoing.Yes. And excuse me, I have a correction to make. Retrieving the fuel rods is planned to start not from January, but from...when? December next year? (Yes.)December next year? No kidding!Sorry, I took a too-favorable view.The members of the Diet who want to resume, I want them to resign.We need to reconsider this issue.I want to know the exact names of the members of the Diet who want to resume, and ask them for their opinions.
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