Feb. 12, 2012

One reading of Fukushima reactor exceeds 80 C***see Footnote at bottom***

 

The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says the No.2 reactor is in a state of cold shutdown. This is despite the fact one of its thermometers showed a temperature above 80 degrees Celsius on Sunday.

 

The reading of the thermometer at the bottom of the reactor began to rise late last month, prompting TEPCO to increase the injection of water into the reactor.

 

Although the reading temporarily declined, it started to rise again on Saturday and reached 82 degrees at 2:20 PM on Sunday.

 

The government and TEPCO declared in December that all the reactors were in a state of cold shutdown, with temperatures below 100 degrees.

 

At that time they set guidelines to keep reactor temperatures at a maximum of 80 degrees, given the thermometers' margin of error of up to 20 degrees.

 

This is the first time a temperature reading has exceeded 80 degrees Celsius since the declaration was made.

 

TEPCO reported the reading to the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency.

 

TEPCO maintains the reactor is in a state of cold shutdown for a number of reasons.

 

Two other thermometers installed at the same height as the one in question show temperatures dropping to around 35 degrees.

 

The readings of 3 other thermometers placed about 1.5 meters lower fell as TEPCO increased the amount of water injected into the reactor.

 

A study of air samples collected around the reactor shows no sign of nuclear criticality occurring at the unit.

 

TEPCO is increasing the volume of water poured into the reactor and looking into the cause, including a possible thermometer malfunction.

 

The nuclear safety agency also suggests that something is wrong with the thermometer. It has instructed TEPCO to consider ignoring the thermometer's reading when monitoring the reactor.

 

The agency has required the utility to report how it will check the status of the reactor.

 

TEPCO says it will carefully monitor the reactor and will not rule out the possibility that its temperature might actually be rising.

 

Monday, February 13, 2012 05:10 +0900 (JST)

***Temperature now 90***

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/20120213_04.html

 

Nuclear accident scenario kept under wraps

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/20120212_23.html

 

video I posted September 28, 2011 about evacuation of TOKYO being hidden

BUSTED: Japan 'scared' of telling truth to Fukushima evacuees 9/28/11

Uploaded by MsMilkytheclown on Sep 28, 2011

 

Ultimate Insider: Prime Minister contemplated evacuating 30 million from Tokyo, didn't because fear of mass panic and chaos — Said eastern Japan might collapse

 

Japanese PM considered evacuation of Tokyo. ABC Australia, September 28, 2011:

MARK COLVIN: [...] Kenichi Matsumoto is the ultimate insider. As special advisor to Japan's prime minister and cabinet he witnessed both the government's and the plant operator's responses to the worst nuclear accident in a quarter of a century. And when it comes to the meltdowns, Professor Matsumoto paints a picture of cover-ups, incompetence and communication breakdown. [...]

 

MARK WILLACY: He's been described as the prime minister's 'brains trust' but Kenichi Matsumoto isn't a nuclear physicist or a scientific genius. The history professor and author was a special advisor to the Japanese cabinet when a tsunami slammed into the Fukushima nuclear plant. So he would become a witness to history and he's given the ABC an ultimate insider's account of what happened in the hours and days after March 11 [...]

 

Japan 'scared' of telling truth to Fukushima evacuees, ABC Australia, September 28, 2011: [...] Matsumoto confirms the prime minister at the time -- Naoto Kan -- also contemplated evacuating tens of millions of people from in and around Tokyo. [...] "There was no clue about the amount of radiation coming from the Fukushima plant or if it was spreading over 100 or 200 kilometres. "If that was the case, Tokyo would be in danger. And prime minister Kan actually said that eastern Japan might not be able to keep functioning; that it might collapse." Professor Matsumoto says in the end, talk of tens of millions ["30 million people"] being evacuated was dismissed, with fears it would cause mass panic and chaos worse than the nuclear crisis itself. [...]

 

link to audio interview here:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-09-28/japanese-pm-considered-evacuation-of-to...

 

 

[NOTE: Half-life is the time taken for a radioactive substance to decay by half.] * Cesium-134 ~ 2 years * Cesium-137 ~ 30 years * Iodine-131 ~ 8 days * Plutonium-239 ~ 24,200 years * Ruthenium-103 ~ 39 days [Ruthenium is a fission product of uranium-235.] * Ruthenium-106 ~ 374 days * Strontium-90 ~ 28.85 years [Strontium-90 is a product of nuclear fission and is found in large amounts in spent nuclear fuel and in radioactive waste from nuclear reactors.] * Uranium-234 ~ 246,000 years * Uranium-235 ~ 703.8 million years * Uranium-238 ~ 4.468 billion years

VIEW HERE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Sv-Zm1vjnE&feature=youtu.be