Fukushima Updates August 11 , 2014 - Lead article showing Japan is massively contaminated ----Nuclear fuel found 15 miles from Tokyo suburbs — Fukushima uranium in ‘glassy’ spheres transported over 170 km — Structural materials from the nuclear reactors also present .......

EX SKF....

TUESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2014

#Fukushima I NPP Progress Report on Ice Plug in Reactor 2 Trench: Dry Ice Clogged the Freezing Pipe, No Discernible Effect on Freezing the Contaminated Water

The latest on the progress (or lack thereof) of TEPCO's tragi-comical effort to freeze highly contaminated water in the trench leading from the Reactor 2 turbine building (see my post on 7/28/2014 for details) is that the pipe they've been using to dump ice and dry ice got clogged with dry ice. TEPCO admits there has been no discernible effect of ice/dry ice on freezing the water.

So what's your Plan C?

From TV Asahi News (8/12/2014; part):

Fukushima I NPP: TEPCO plays its "ace", which ends up clogging the pipe

It has been revealed that dry ice, which is being poured [into the freezing pipe] as the surest bet to freeze the water in the underground trench as part of the measures to deal with contaminated water at Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, has had no effect.

The national government and TEPCO have been trying to freeze the highly contaminated water in the underground trench by installing a metal pipe and pouring liquid coolant through the pipe [since April this year]. But as the effort has failed to freeze the water, TEPCO has started to pour ice since July 30. Total 222 tonnes of ice have been poured into the pipe as of the morning of August 11. In the press conference on August 11, TEPCO said the effect [of ice] in freezing the contaminated water was "unknown", admitting that there was no discernible effect. Further, when they tried to pour in 1 tonne of dry ice on August 7 as the "surest bet" to freeze the water, it clogged up the pipe. TEPCO has halted the pouring of dry ice.

The pipe through which workers have been dumping ice and dry ice (from TEPCO's photos and videos library 7/24/2014):

The pipe (in purple color) in the diagram:

I am grateful for the news, because it gave me the first laughter of the day. Laughing is good for one's health, I hear (regardless of the topic, I hope).

Energy News .......

10:19 AM EST on August 14th, 2014 | 58 comments

Scientists: Fukushima radiation is causing “serious biological effects” — Disaster’s widespread impact now being revealed — “Major irreversible shifts” in ecosystems discussed — “High rates of abnormality and mortality”… severe damage to humans next? (PHOTOS)

05:53 PM EST on August 13th, 2014 | 163 comments

Japan TV: Injecting water into Fukushima reactor accelerated meltdown — Nuclear fuel rods had “reaction generating large amounts of heat” — ‘Restricted’ Data: Monitoring post measured nearly 1,000,000 microSv/hr; Within hours radiation dose spiked 30,000% far away from plant (VIDEO)

03:16 AM EST on August 13th, 2014 | 163 comments

Plutonium detected underground near Fukushima reactor — Test results not revealed publicly for almost a year after sampling date — Officials plan to pump up groundwater from same well it was found in and dump it into Pacific Ocean (PHOTO)

09:44 AM EST on August 12th, 2014 | 138 comments

Gov’t Expert: Fukushima hot particles can’t be dissolved, even with hot nitric acid! — Huge amounts of fallout are still bound to organic material… “we have very little knowledge about this” — “Reaction is irreversible” (PHOTO)

01:41 PM EST on August 11th, 2014 | 196 comments

200,000,000,000,000 becquerels/kg in fuel rod materials found near Tokyo… “the material spread globally” — Composed “major part” of worst Fukushima plume — Persists for long time in living organisms — Must reconsider disaster’s health effects (PHOTOS)

10:47 PM EST on August 10th, 2014 | 39 comments

Nuclear fuel found 15 miles from Tokyo suburbs — Fukushima uranium in ‘glassy’ spheres transported over 170 km — Structural materials from the nuclear reactors also present (PHOTOS)

10:58 AM EST on August 10th, 2014 | 140 comments

Japan Professor: Outbreak of cancer is now underway in Fukushima children; Clear evidence of an epidemic — All of Japan is still being exposed to nuclear radiation — Gov’t Official: It will be ‘disastrous’ if we have to conclude there’s an actual increase in thyroid cancer from Fukushima

08:25 PM EST on August 8th, 2014 | 190 comments

‘Shock’: Water underneath Fukushima reactors to be dumped in ocean — Attempts to deal with problem have ‘failed’ — Officials: It’s better than radioactive substances just “spilling directly into the ocean” like it is now (VIDEO)

12:58 PM EST on August 8th, 2014 | 113 comments

TV Host: I’m studying Fukushima every day — “They have no idea what they’re going to do… There’s no solution… It’s a nightmare” — Tens of thousands of gallons of radioactive water spill into Pacific Ocean each day — “We really need to shut down all reactors” (VIDEO)

10:02 AM EST on August 8th, 2014 | 142 comments

Gov’t: Fuel melted “much deeper” into concrete at Fukushima reactor than revealed — Triple the depth of original estimate — Tepco: “Impossible for us to evaluate potential impact”

11:02 PM EST on August 7th, 2014 | 138 comments

‘Increasing alarm’ at Fukushima: Trenches filled with thousands of tons of plutonium contaminated liquid leaking into ocean — ‘Biggest risk’ at plant — ‘Exceptionally difficult’ problem — ‘Constant flow’ in and out of trenches — ‘Racing to stop’ more from coming in (PHOTO)

02:36 AM EST on August 7th, 2014 | 166 comments

Official: “Unfortunately, the fuel itself is exposed” at Fukushima — Scientist: Our tests show contamination isn’t going away… reactors are leaking out into ocean… there’s still a problem — PBS: Plume of water tainted with radiation is reaching to other side of Pacific (VIDEO)

08:45 AM EST on August 6th, 2014 | 112 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)

02:13 PM EST on August 5th, 2014 | 121 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)

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

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)

06:42 PM EST on July 31st, 2014 | 177 comments

Tokyo Professor: Surges in airborne radioactive releases have gone on for years at Fukushima — Exceeded 25,000 times normal level — Radiation alarms sound for hours at plant — ‘Extensive’ areas being impacted (VIDEO)

07:34 PM EST on July 30th, 2014 | 258 comments

TV: Nuclear waste “flowing out to sea” from underground tunnels at Fukushima — 950 Billion Bq/m³ of cesium in Unit 2 shaft next to ocean — 11,000 tons estimated in tunnels — ‘Stream’ of moving water — Gov’t regulators ‘urgently assessing’ problems, ‘sense of crisis’ needed (VIDEO)