US & Japan know criticality brewing

SUBHEAD: Radioactive steam coming from Fukushima Unit #3. Some think it is from a fuel pool criticality.

[IB Publisher: We relied too heavily on the Turner Radio Network. There were very few sources trying to determine what was going on and likely to happen in the face of days of radioactive steam rising from Fukushima Reactor #3. The radiation spike here on Kauai the day before the Turner material below convinced me (see here) that the jet stream was possibly carrying hot particles across Hawaii. The Turner article convinced me to report on the possibility of a criticality to be on the safe side. See Arnie Gundersen's article dated 1/1/14 (here) for an updated explanation.]

By Staff on 28 December 2013 for Turner Radio Network - 
(http://www.turnerradionetwork.com/news/146-mjt)


Image above: Detail of photo of Reactor #3 with radioactive steam escaping fuel pool. From (http://www.stormsurfing.com/cgi/display_alt.cgi?a=npac_250). A site to see animated images of current jetstream activity across the Paficic Ocean.

Persons residing on  the west coast of North America should IMMEDIATELY begin preparing for another possible onslaught of dangerous atmospheric radiation from the Fukushima nuclear disaster site in Japan.  The Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) says radioactive steam has suddenly begun emanating from previously exploded nuclear reactor building #3 at the Fukuishima disaster site in Japan.

TEPCO says they do not know why this is happening and cannot go into the building to see what's happening due to damage and lethal radiation levels in that building. Experts say this could be the beginning of  a "spent fuel pool criticality (meltdown)" involving up to 89 TONS of nuclear fuel burning up into the atmosphere and heading to North America. Steam photo, full details and suggested methods to protect yourself appear below.

On December 28, 2013, the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO)  admitted steam was seen billowing out of reactor building #3, saying the steam appeared to be coming from what's left of the fifth floor of the mostly-destroyed building.  It is widely known that persons cannot get inside Reactor Building #3 because it is severely damaged and highly radioactive, so TEPCO cannot state for certain what is happening in that building or why. TEPCO admits they do not know why this steam is being generated, but matter-of-factly revealed today (December 28)  the steam was first spotted on December 19 for a short period of time, then again on December 24 and again on December 25.

Nuclear energy experts have told TRN that the ONLY way this could be happening is if radioactive material previously ejected from the reactor explosion in March, 2011 has mixed together with other materials and has begun its own self-sustaining reaction(s), also known as a "criticality."  Put simply, another "meltdown" may be taking place.

There are basically two possibilities if another meltdown is in progress:
  1. Pellets of radioactive fuel, ejected when the reactor exploded, have mixed together and "mini" meltdowns are taking place with those small clumps of pellets. This would not be a horrific problem and may be manageable, OR;
  2. Pellets of radioactive fuel, ejected when the reactor exploded, went into the spent fuel pool located above the reactor and have begun melting down so seriously they are boiling off the water in the spent fuel pool.
Since steam is visible, experts tell TRN that Scenario #2 above is is the most likely scenario and if so,  it would be an absolute nightmare -- WORSE than the original Fukushima disaster!  The Spent Fuel Pool was situated on the fourth floor above Reactor #3, and if this is the source of the steam, the situation could escalate rapidly out of control.

[IB Publisher's note: In order to get an idea of disposition of airborne radioactive elements carried on winds from Fukushima see updated animation of jet stream here (http://squall.sfsu.edu/scripts/nhemjetstream_model.html) for polar cap view showing Pacific Ocean from Japan to California and here (http://squall.sfsu.edu/scripts/nhemjetstream_model.html) for area between Hawaii and California. Note speed and direction of wind to help determine risk where you are of hot particle danger, especially if it is raining.]



SUBHEAD: U.S. Senator admits no federal agencies are checking for Fukushima radiation hitting America because of budget cuts. 

By Staff  on 6 December 2013 for Turner Radio Network -
(http://www.turnerradionetwork.com/news/74-mjt)


Video above: This was taken December 23rd 2013 with a basic Geiger Counter at Pacifica State Beach, near San Francisco, California. From (http://youtu.be/LcQLxT49ZP0)

U.S. Senator Edward Markey (D-MA) has confirmed that no federal agency is responsible for monitoring radiation levels in the Pacific Ocean from the Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan; and says no one should expect federal involvement "due to budget cuts." This statement comes as scientists confirm radioactive water from the Fukushima accident will reach the U.S. west coast anytime now.

It is very difficult to obtain accurate information on the dangers from Fukushima radiation to residents of the West Coast of North America, Alaska and Hawaii. On the one hand, there is fear-mongering and “we’re all going to die” hysteria. On the other hand, there is a tendency for governments to cover up the truth to avoid panic and deflect blame for bad policy. Japan has just passed a bill which would outlaw most reporting on Fukushima; and the U.S. government is not even monitoring radiation levels in the waters off the U.S. coast. As the Cape Cod Times reports:

With the first plume of water carrying radionuclides from Fukushima due to hit the U.S. West Coast any day now, the senior scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Ken Buesseler's latest project is to convince the federal government to monitor radiation levels in the sea water. “We don’t have a U.S. agency responsible for radiation in the ocean,” Buesseler said. “It’s really bizarre.”

He spent this past week in Washington, D.C., meeting with representatives of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Department of Energy, asking them to come up with some sort of plan to keep tabs on levels of radionuclides in the ocean.

Buesseler also talked with U.S. Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., who agreed the federal government has a role in making sure the oceans are healthy and safe. But Markey said in an email that an increased federal role is not likely because of budget cuts.
Indeed, Dr. Buesseler points out the circular reasoning which the government is using:
"I completely agree that no radiation has been seen in the regards that we’re not testing for it in any organized way … We have very few data; it’s not really being organized. The government says we don’t really need to do that because we’re predicting very low levels." so they won't bother testing to see if their predictions are right!   He went on to say "I’d very much like to see study on our side of the ocean just to confirm these values and build some confidence with the public that’s been concerned about this. They’re right to be concerned . . ."
People are certainly concerned.  As the Wall Street Journal notes:
Water containing radioactive materials has been leaking from storage tanks and drains at the plant into groundwater and the nearby ocean, raising concerns across the world that currents might spread radioactivity to faraway places.
But people don’t know where to get accurate information on the risks involved. John Kelley, a professor emeritus at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, says he’s not sure contamination will reach dangerous levels for humans but says without better data, who will know?

“The data they will need is not only past data but current data, and if no one is sampling anything then we won’t really know it, will we?
“The general concern was, is the food supply safe? And I don’t think anyone can really answer that definitively.”
An associate professor and marine chemist at University of Victoria’s School of Earth and Ocean Sciences told CBC on November 20th:
"The Department of Fisheries and Oceans — the Institute of Ocean Science … program which is a time series program that monitors the chemistry and biology of the North Pacific that’s headed up by Maria Robert. They’re making measurements of these Fukushima-source radionuclides offshore, and they’re starting to detect the presence of the plume of radioactivity."
(Incidentally – because rain is one of the main ways that radiation can spread – seawater which evaporates and then rains on the coast can dump radiation inland for some distance).

Given these facts, it seems imperative for citizens in the U.S. and Canada to begin contacting government officials to demand radiation monitoring and public reporting. Japan couldn't stop the leaking radiation, so they outlawed information about the leaks with a new law rammed-through their government today. Citizens in North America cannot afford to have their health endangered by government inaction and we won't be shut-up about it.



SUBHEAD: Radioactive steam has been pouring from Fukushima Reactor #3 likely from criticality in fuel pool. Tepco says they have no idea what the source is.


Image above: Detail of photo of Reactor #3 with radioactive steam escaping fuel pool. From article above IB Publisher note's that this photo has been determined to have been taken in March of 2011 after reactor #3 explosion.

Tepco (translation), Dec. 27, 2013: At around 7:00 am on December 27, and confirmed by the camera that from Unit 3 reactor building, 5th floor near the center, steam is generated. Have not been identified abnormal plant conditions of 54 minutes at 7:00 am the same day, the indicated value of the monitoring post (meteorological data of 50 minutes at 7:00 am, 5.1 ℃ temperature, 93.1% humidity).

Tepco (translation), Dec. 25, 2013: At around 7:00 am on December 25, and confirmed by the camera that from Unit 3 reactor building, 5th floor near the center, steam is generated. Have not been identified abnormal plant conditions of 8:00 am the same day time, the indicated value of the monitoring post (meteorological data of 50 minutes at 7:00 am, 2.8 ℃ temperature, 76.7% humidity).

[IB Publisher's note: The following emission may have been the one that created the spike we measured on Kauai on December 27th, 2013 when the wind was blowing from the Northwest. See (http://islandbreath.blogspot.com/2013/12/kauai-brief-radiation-splike.html).]

Tepco (translation), Dec. 24, 2013: At around 7:00 am on December 19, and confirmed by the camera that from Unit 3 reactor building, 5th floor near the center, steam is generated. Have not been identified abnormal plant conditions of 55 minutes at 7:00 am the same day, the indicated value of the monitoring post (meteorological data of 40 minutes at 7:00 am, 5.6 ℃ temperature, 93.7% humidity).

Then, in 58 minutes around 7:00 am December 24, steam is no longer observed. It should be noted, have not been identified abnormal plant conditions in a 3-minute time at 8:00 am the same day, the indicated value monitoring posts, etc. (meteorological data of 50 minutes at 7:00 am, 4.1 ℃ temperature, 74.9% humidity).

3 months ago: Steam observed 5 of previous 6 days at Fukushima Unit 3; Lasted for 24 hours straight at one point -- Nuclear Expert: There could be pockets of corium still in molten state; Nobody quite understands what’s going on (AUDIO)

See also:
Ea O Ka Aina: Brief Radiation Spike on Kauai 12/27/13

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