[ RadSafe ] request for the information log (or whatever) for the releases from Japan power plant
John G. Hunt
john at ird.gov.br
Sat Mar 12 16:56:18 CST 2011
Dear Radsafers
The WIKI site on the Fukushima NPP and accident is being up-dated on an hourly
basis and seems to be a resonable source of information.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fukushima_I_Nuclear_Power_Plant
The date of first criticality of Fukushima 1-1 is given as october 1970.
John Hunt
--
Instituto de Radioproteção e Dosimetria (http://ird.gov.br)
---------- Original Message -----------
From: Jaro Franta <jaro-10kbq at sympatico.ca>
To: "'The International Radiation Protection \(Health Physics\) Mailing List'"
<radsafe at health.phys.iit.edu>
Sent: Sat, 12 Mar 2011 17:42:21 -0500
Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] request for the information log (or whatever) for the
releases from Japan power plant
> Fukushima is roughly similar, just an older design -- see NEI illustration
> here:
>
> http://www.nei.org/filefolder/BoilingWaterReactorDesign_3.jpg
>
> Some interesting comments here (remembering that several injuries
> and one death occurred at TEPCO's plants as a direct result of the
> earthquake....)
>
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nG_zrOW6JJ0
>
> I'm a bit puzzled why the shelter (building) over the containment didn't
> have blow-out panels, like modern turbine buildings (which also can have
> dangerous amounts of hydrogen), to avoid the sort of destruction
> seen on the Japanese video...
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KzABEkkc10
>
> Jaro
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu
> [mailto:radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu] On Behalf Of Stewart Farber
> Sent: March-12-11 4:40 PM
> To: The International Radiation Protection (Health Physics) Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] request for the information log (or
> whatever) for the releases from Japan power plant
>
> An interesting link is shown below which shows an analysis by
> Bechtel of the
>
> Japanese reactor containment at their Advanced Boiling Water Reactors
> [ABWR]. It
> does not show a date so I am not clear if it specifically shows the
> Fukushima
> containment. At this point it seems most likely from the confusing info
> getting
> out that the structure which exploded due to vented hydrogen was the
> reactor
>
> building, not the reactor containment. The integral reactor
> containment is a
>
> very rugged structure with walls about 6 feet thick, and a reactor
> mat that is even thicker. See:
>
> <http://www.iasmirt.org/iasmirt-3/SMiRT10/DC_250322>
>
> Does anyone know if the report above, and diagram of a Japanese ABWR
> applies to a plant like Fukushima?
>
> As was seen at TMI, after the partial core melt, almost all the core
> melt radioactivity was retained in containment, bound up by passive
> physical/chemical reactions with concrete --not retained as a
> result of engineered, active safety systems.
>
> Some general news reports today have told people near Fukushima to "cover
> their
> mouths". Perhaps some of the media should do the same until they
> get actual
>
> facts. I've heard or read many news reports saying Fukushima power
> plant was 40 years old. The oldest plant in the complex was started
> up in 1982 -28 years ago. Not a big point, but the media should at
> least be able to get the plant age right. If they can't do that,
> what should be trusted from their reports?
>
> To get an extreme anti-nuclear activist European take on the
> accident [from someone who is billed by some of his supporter sites
> as "the greatest nuclear expert in the world"] see the statement
> issued earlier today by :Prof. Bruce
>
> Busby. It is an "interesting" read as to the tactics being used to exploit
> the
> accident. You might enjoy reading the GreenAudit group statement below.
> Busby
> writes:
>
> "This is a potenbtial [sic] Chernobyl level event and must be seen as
> extremely
> serious."
>
> Busby, a well-established Cassandra, is advising people [even on the
> West Coast of the US] to rush out and get geiger counters and take
> shelter if radiation levels with their geiger counters increase to
> 300 nSv/hr [30 micro-R/hr] or about 2 -3 times normal background
> at sea level from terrestrial gamma and cosmic radiation.
>
> For point of reference to the insignificance of the minor radiation levels
> at
> which Busby is recommending protective actions, I've done radiation surveys
> all
> over Boston, MA many years ago which show ambient background levels
> at many locations of about 250 nSv/hr due to the use of granite in construction
> there.
> Levels like those Busby is recommending protective actions [in nanoSv/hr]
> were
> measured in my survey at:
>
> --South Station central train station: 270 nanoSv/hr
> --Christian Science Church: 250
> --Bunker Hill Monument: 240
> --State House Steps: 160
> --Park Street Church: 180
>
> The above exposure rates will not have changed much [ :-) ] in the
> 34 years since I did the Boston survey, since the dose rates are due
> to the U-238 decay series [ 4.5 billion year half-life] and Th-232
> decay series [ 14 billion year half life].
>
> I wrote an op-ed column in the Boston Globe about the above Boston radiation
>
> survey in Dec. 1976 which I can supply to interested parties as a
> pdf if they are interested.
>
> I wrote this op-ed as a followup to the MA State Police foolishly running
> around
> South Boston with Civil Defense Geiger counters looking for a 1
> micro-Curie [ 37,000 Bq] Co-57 check source which had been in a tool
> box stolen from a medical service tech's truck which had
> disappeared. The local Health Department had put out reports that
> anyone handling this "COBALT" radioactive [exempt Co-57 check source
> mind you ] source would get " radiation sickness and radiation
> burns". Sounds like something we could read from some of today's
> anti-nuclear activisits or today's press reports. The State Police
> in 1976 sealed off a square mile of
> S. Boston while they ran around with geiger counters and routine gm
> probes looking for a 1 micro-Ci button source. I'll leave it to you
> to calculate the trivial rad exposure from a 1 micro-Curie [37,000
> Bq] Co-57 check source at 2 or 3 feet, and to see how useless it
> would be to quickly sweep by it at waist height looking for it. I
> called the Boston Globe reporter involved after this foolish column
> ran and he scoffed at running any correction. I then spoke to the
> Globe ombudsman who gave me an op-ed column to state my position
> about the event.
>
> I've also done similar sensitive High Pressure Ionization Chamber
> radiation surveys for an insurance company in 1981 around Harrisburg,
> PA and the nuclear station after the accident at TMI. By far, the
> highest radiation levels of about 300 nSv/hr [ 30 uR/hr] were,
> similar to Boston, seen on the steps of the Harrisburg State
> Capitol steps due to granite use in their construction, and in the
> court room where various trials about the TMI accident were to be
> held due to natural radioactivity in granite.
>
> When Busby, the Scientific Secretary of GreenAudit.com warns people
> to take
>
> shelter at only 300 nanoSv/hr it would seem that he has never heard
> of radon
>
> daughter washout during rainfall when the background rad gamma
> levels can easily increase by factors of 2 or more. Oh well, the
> more things change, the more
>
> they stay the same.
>
> ===================================
> CHRIS BUSBY ISSUED STATEMENT ON JAPANESE ACCIDENT - AM EST March 12,
> 2011 Urgent : 12th March 2011; London Alert: the potential health
> consequences of the explosion at the Fukushima reactor in Japan
> Joint Press Statement from the Low Level Radiation Campaign and the
> European Committee on Radiation Risk
>
> The evidence is now overwhelming that there has been a significant explosion
> accident at the Japanese Fukushima nuclear plant following the loss
> of coolant to the reactor. The reactor is of the Boiling Water type,
> which is the same type as the Chernobyl reactor. The detection of
> high levels of radioactivity and of Caesium-137 near the plant makes
> it clear that fission radionuclides are being released to the atmosphere.
> The quantity of radioactivity, which has been or will be released is
> not yet known. However it should be appreciated as a matter of
> extreme urgency that the health consequences of exposure to this
> type of radiation is extremely serious and that the level of
> exposure cannot be accurately assessed by making radiation
> measurements based on absorbed dose. The authorities are already,
> and will continue to, downplay the potential risks on the basis of
> a false radiation risk model, that of the International Commission
> on Radiological Protection. This is an exact replication of the
> responses to the similar Chernobyl explosion and is driven by the
> bias in these agencies and authorities towards nuclear energy. The
> radionuclides released in the Chernobyl accident are the same
> radionuclides being released from the Fukushima plant. The effects
> of the Chernobyl accident radioactivity releases have been seen to
> be devastating and continue to affect the health of the exposed populations
> as
> far
> away from Chernobyl as Europe and the USA. The reason that Geiger absorbed
> dose
> type of readings (milliSieverts) cannot be employed as measures of
> risk is that these kinds of radioactive substances act from within
> the body or by binding to DNA, thus the dose to the local tissue or
> DNA can be enormous whilst the average dose recorded by the Geiger
> counter may be quite low or even barely detectable. If significant
> amounts of radioactivity from the Fukushima plume approach populated
> centres in any country (e.g. the western USA) the advice from the
> European Committee on Radiation Risk Action Team [NOTE: THIS IS THE
> ANTI-NUCLEAR ACTIVIST GROUP ISSUING THIS STATEMENT] is as follows:
>
> 1. Do not believe the assurances of the radiation protection advisors
> working
> for the
> government. They are false, biased and based on an obsolete model.
> This is a potenbtial Chernobyl level event and must be seen as
> extremely serious.
> 2. Try to obtain if possible a Geiger Counter or similar radiation detector
> or
> readings
> from someone who owns one. If the readings increase to more that
> twice the normal background in your area or to a level of more than
> 300nSv/h (300nGy/h) then:
> 3. Get away as soon as possible to a clean area or if not possible stay
> indoors
> and keep
> all the doors and windows closed for at as long as the radiation
> levels are higher than normal. Try to keep the house sealed as far
> as possible.
> 4. Drink bottled water, use only tinned milk. Await further
> bulletins from www.llrc.org and www.euradcom.org Contact: Prof Chris
> Busby, Scientific Secretary ECRR +44 7989 428833; +44 1970 630215;
> Email: Mireille de Messieres: admin at greenaudit.org Richard Bramhall,
> LLRC +44 1597 824771; bramhall at llrc.org
> =============================================
>
> Stewart Farber, MS Public Health
> Bridgeport, CT 06604
>
> [203] 441-8433
>
> ________________________________
> From: Jim Hardeman <Jim.Hardeman at dnr.state.ga.us>
> To: The International Radiation Protection (Health Physics) Mailing
> List <radsafe at health.phys.iit.edu>
> Sent: Sat, March 12, 2011 12:51:20 PM Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ]
> request for the information log (or whatever) forthe releases from
> Japan power plant
>
> Folks --
>
> Some of the best factual info at the moment is from NEI ...
>
> See
> http://www.nei.org/newsandevents/information-on-the-japanese-
> earthquake-and- reactors-in-that-region
>
> Max radiation reading reported is 11 mR/hr.
>
> Jim Hardeman, Manager
> Environmental Radiation Program
> Environmental Protection Division
> Georgia Department of Natural Resources
> 4220 International Parkway, Suite 100
> Atlanta, GA 30354
> (404) 362-2675
> Fax: (404) 362-2653
> Personal fax: (404) 521-4485
> E-mail: Jim.Hardeman at dnr.state.ga.us
>
> >>> "Roger Helbig" <rhelbig at sfo.com> 3/12/2011 03:59 >>>
> More searching - here is link to the Tokyo Electric Power Co
> statement about the six reactors at this site -
>
> http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/11031203-e.html
>
> All 6 units of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station have been
> shut down.
>
> Unit 1 (shut down due to earthquake)
> - Reactor was shut down and nuclear steam is cooled by the isolation
> condenser.
> - Currently, there is a possibility of a release of radioactive materials
> due to decrease in reactor water level. Therefore, the national
> government
> has instructed evacuation for those local residents within 3km
> radius of the periphery and indoor standby for those local
> residents between 3km and
>
> 10km radius of the periphery.
>
> Unit 2 (shut down due to earthquake)
> - Reactor was shut down and although nuclear steam had been cooled
> by the Reactor Core Isolation Cooling system, the current operating
> status is unclear. However, reactor coolant level can be monitored
> by a temporary power supply and the level is stable. - Currently,
> there is a possibility of a release of radioactive materials due
> to decrease in reactor water level. Therefore, the national government
> has instructed evacuation for those local residents within 3km
> radius of the periphery and indoor standby for those local
> residents between 3km and
>
> 10km radius of the periphery.
>
> Here is what NHK is reporting on their website and this ominous information
> is rocketing around the world in anti-nuke circles as being
> "confirmation of a meltdown" - The Nuclear & Industrial Safety
> Agency press release is at
> http://www.nisa.meti.go.jp/english/files/en20110312-4.pdf - the translation
> appears a bit off and any RADSAFE members who can read Japanese characters
> should probably refer to the Japanese release and perhaps improve the
> translation.
>
> Agency: Uranium fuel may be melting at reactor
>
> The government's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency says 2 radioactive
> substances, cesium and radioactive iodine, have been detected near
> the Number One reactor at the Fukushima Number One nuclear power station.
>
> The agency says this indicates that some of the metal containers of uranium
> fuel may have started melting.
> The substances are produced by fuel fission.
>
> University of Tokyo Professor Naoto Sekimura says only a small part
> of the fuel may have melted and leaked outside.
>
> He called on residents near the power station to stay calm, saying
> that most of the fuel remains inside the reactor, which has stopped
> operation and is being cooled.
>
> Saturday, March 12, 2011 15:26 +0900 (JST)
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu
> [mailto:radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu] On Behalf Of Nick Tsurikov
> Sent: Saturday, March 12, 2011 12:11 AM
> To: radsafe at health.phys.iit.edu
> Subject: [ RadSafe ] request for the information log (or whatever)
> for the releases from Japan power plants
>
> Dear Radsafers,
>
> It will be very much appreciated if I could be pointed in the
> direction of more or less accurate estimate of the releases from the
> power plants in Japan. Naturally, not right now - when it all calms
> down a bit... I already see a public hysteria stirred more and more
> by the mass media in Australia - which may (and likely will) have a
> serious impact on the uranium mining projects planned in my home
> state of Western Australia and it will be great to have actual real data.
>
> On a personal note, my heart goes out to the people of Japan now...
> I was in Sendai late last year and actually was both on the train
> and the cruise boat that are missing now around Matsushima... God
> help you. Kind regards Nick Tsurikov Western Australia
>
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