Ea O Ka Aina: Radiation

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Distributed nuclear mini-reactors

SUBHEAD: Energy Department teams up with Bill Gates to move mini-nuclear plants into your neighborhood.

By John Siciliano on 23 August 2018 for Washington Examiner -
(https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/energy/energy-department-teams-up-with-bill-gates-to-move-mini-nuclear-plants-to-market)

Image above: Bullshit Alert! Is this what TerraPower showed the Energy Department to get their 2016 $40 million go ahead money. On the TerraPower website this image is labeled "first phase of system-level simulator". To me it looks like somebody closed the windowblinds, added a soft-warm spotlight on the wall, and found an unemployed busdriver to sit in as a "nuclear engineer" working a touch screen that was ganged with two LCD flat displays for promo purposes. From (http://terrapower.com/technologies/progress).

The Energy Department is participating in major push with electric utility Southern and a company founded by Microsoft founder Bill Gates to develop small nuclear power reactors that are less expensive and more efficient than their much larger cousins.

“Molten salt reactors are getting a reboot,” the Energy Department tweeted late Wednesday, offering a schematic of a battery-like power plant module that “could power America’s energy.”

On Thursday, the nuclear industry showed its support for the effort. The new nuclear reactors “could be the energy systems of the future” as companies like TerraPower, backed by Gates, are working to build design and build them, the Nuclear Energy Institute tweeted.

The Department of Energy linked to a detailed description of how its Oak Ridge National Laboratory and other federal labs are teaming up with Southern Company, a big coal utility with several nuclear plants, and Gates’ TerraPower to test and develop a type of reactor that uses liquefied sodium “as both coolant and fuel.”

Fukushima to poison Pacific more

SUBHEAD: Tepco plans to dump a million tons of radioactive nuclear water in ocean.

By Admin on 27 November 2017 for ENE News -
(http://enenews.com/ap-japan-poised-to-flood-pacific-with-1-million-tons-of-nuclear-water-contaminated-by-fukushima-newsweek-experts-want-japan-to-push-a-million-tons-of-radioactive-water-into-ocean-relea)

Image above: Some of the many prefab tanks erected by Tepco to temporarily store radioactive water contaminated when it was used to cool molten reactor cores at the destroyed Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in eastern Japan. From (https://blogs-images.forbes.com/jamesconca/files/2017/11/Fukushima-tanks.jpg).

Associated Press, Nov 26, 2017: Japan is poised to flood the Pacific with one million tons of nuclear water contaminated by the Fukushima power plant…

The Japanese government is being urged by experts to gradually release radioactive water in to the Pacific Ocean…

The water is stored on site in around 900 large and densely packed tanks and could spill should another major disaster strike. The government has been urged to release the water into the ocean…

Local fishermen are extremely hesitant to this solution…

Fumio Haga, a drag-net fisherman, said: ‘People would shun Fukushima fish again as soon as the water is released.’…

Newsweek, Nov 25, 2017:
Experts Want Japan To Push A Million Tons Of Radioactive Water Into the Pacific Ocean…

The government has been urged by experts to gradually release the water to the Pacific Ocean…

Associted Press, Nov 27, 2017:
Fukushima meltdown: Japan urged to dump radioactive waste in Pacific Ocean by nuclear experts; Nation at a loss with how to dispose of tanks of toxic matter left over from 2011 disaster…

Experts advising the government have urged a gradual release to the nearby Pacific Ocean… Local fishermen are baulking. The water, no matter how clean, has a dirty image for consumers, they say…

The fishermen fear any release would sound the death knell for their nascent and still fragile recovery…

The amount of radioactive water at Fukushima is still growing, by 150 tonnes a day. The reactors are damaged beyond repair, but cooling water must be constantly pumped in to keep them from overheating. That water picks up radioactivity before leaking out of the damaged containment chambers and collecting in the basements…

“Our recovery effort up until now would immediately collapse to zero if the water is released,” Iwaki abalone farmer Yuichi Manome said…

Fukushima Coverup

SUBHEAD: Doctors keep cancers a secret. Officials “actively ignoring” reports of illness and death.

By Admin on 14 November 2017 for ENE News -
(http://enenews.com/fukushima-cover-up-keep-cancers-a-secret-say-doctors-were-getting-leukaemia-and-cataracts-and-we-die-suddenly-students-having-sudden-heart-attacks-officials-actively-i)

Image above: Detail of graphic illustration of the "prompt criticality event" at Fukushima Reactor #3 on 3/13/11 when the containment structure was destroyed in a nuclear material chain reaction. From (http://www.beyondnuclear.org/home/2016/2/22/fukushima-the-great-japan-cover-up.html).

Adam Broinowski, visiting research fellow at The Australian National University, 2017 (h/t Fukushima 311 Watchdogs):

Faced with the post-3.11 reality of government (and corporate) policy that protects economic and security interests over public health and well-being, the majority of the 2 million inhabitants of Fukushima Prefecture are either unconscious of or have been encouraged to accept living with radioactive contamination…
As Fukushima city resident Shiina Chieko observed, the majority of people seem to have adopted denial as a way to excise the present danger from their consciousness. Her sister-in-law, for example, ignored her son’s ‘continuous nosebleeds’, while her mother had decided that the community must endure by pretending that things were no different from pre-3.11 conditions. [Source: Shiina Chieko, interview with the author]…
Some, such as Yokota Asami (40 years old), a small business owner and mother from Kōriyama (60 km from FDNPS), demonstrated initiative in voluntarily evacuating her family. She decided to return (wearing goggles and a mask, she joked) in September 2011 when her son’s regular and continuous nosebleeds (in 30-minute spells) subsided. The Yokotas found themselves the victims of bullying when they called attention to radiation dangers… Her son was the only one to put up his hand when he was asked along with 300 fellow junior high school students if he objected to eating locally produced school lunches. He also chose not to participate in outdoor exercise classes and to go on respite trips instead. When it came time to take the high school entrance exam, he was told by the school principal that those who took breaks could not pass. He took the exam and failed. When he asked to see his results he found that he had, in fact, enough points to pass (the cut-off was 156 while he received 198 out of 250 points). [Source: Yokota Asami, interview with the author]…
Asami reported that doctors undertook paediatric thyroid operations while denying any correlation (inga kankei) with radiation exposures. They also urged their patients to keep their thyroid cancer a secret… Yokota also indicated she knew of students having sudden heart attacks and developing leukaemia and other illnesses. [Source: Yokota Asami, interview with the author]
This seems to be supported by Mr Ōkoshi, a Fukushima city resident, whose two daughters experienced stillbirths after 3.11. While Ōkoshi found that doctors have regularly advised women in the area to abort after 3.11, presumably to avoid miscarriages and defects, they do not discuss direct causes. He also observed regular illnesses experienced by many of his friends, and some sudden deaths. After a friend (62 years old) started saying strange things, he was diagnosed with brain dysfunction. He died quickly. Another friend (53 years old) was advised by a doctor to monitor a polyp in her breast. When she sought second opinions, she discovered she had accumulated an internal dose of 22 mSv and had a rapidly developing liver cancer. She also died quickly. [Source: Mr Ōkoshi, interview with the author]
There are many more such stories that are being actively ignored by the authorities. As Shiina put it, ‘we’re getting leukaemia and cataracts and we die suddenly. The TEPCO registrar has been inundated with complaints’. [Source: Shiina Chieko, interview with the author]

Hawaii Hit Hard

SUBHEAD: Over a trillion becquerels of nuclear waste fell on Hawaii - over 200 times more radiation than expected.

By Admin on 13 November 2017 for ENE News -
(http://enenews.com/new-study-us-state-hit-with-up-to-200-times-more-fukushima-fallout-than-expected-over-a-trillion-becquerels-of-nuclear-waste-fell-on-hawaii-scientists-plume-may-have-taken-an-alternative-pat)

University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, Oct 31, 2017:

Fukushima-derived radiocesium fallout in Hawaiian soils… This study estimated the magnitude of cesium deposition in soil, collected in 2015-2016, resulting from atmospheric fallout… Detectable, Fukushima-derived 134Cs inventories ranged from 30 to 630 Bq m-2 and 137Cs inventories ranged from 20 to 2200 Bq m-2… This research confirmed and quantified the presence of Fukushima-derived fallout in the state of Hawai’i in amounts higher than predicted by models and observed in the United States mainland…
The Hawaiian Islands were expected to get minimal, below 10 Bq m-2 or lower, of Fukushima-derived fallout…
Fukushima-derived soil radiocesium concentrations, were greater than anticipated based on model-predicted Pacific atmospheric dispersion rates…
Maximum estimated values of 134Cs fallout on the islands of Hawaii and O’ahu constrained by precipitation and data from sites with less than 70% canopy cover were obtained by linear interpolation of all measured soil cesium concentrations, resulting in 134Cs fallout ranging from < 60 to 1000 Bq m-2 [According to this study, “The Fukushima-derived fallout… 134Cs to 137Cs ratio was 1:1” — therefore 137Cs fallout from Fukushima was also 60 to 1000 Bq m-2, making the total radiocesium 120 to 2000 Bq m-2. Compare this to the study’s previous statement that “The Hawaiian Islands were expected to get minimal, below 10 Bq m-2 or lower, of Fukushima-derived fallout”]…
Using the conservative values and integrating over the whole area with rainfall above 200 mm, we estimate that the island of Hawaii received 1.50 x 10^12 Bq [1.5 Trillion Bq] of 134Cs and 137Cs, each isotope contributing 50%, between March 19 and April 4, 2011…
Atmospheric dispersion models predicted the majority of the plume to travel a more northern route over the Aleutian Islands… however, suggesting that the Fukushima-derived aerosol plume may have taken an alternative southern path. Our radiocesium fallout inventories are comparatively higher than those estimated and measured in North America. Previous research that used whole-water wet deposition to predict ‘its fallout in North America estimated up to 180 Bq m -2 in Alaska, 46 Bq m -2 in California, and 29 Bq m -2 in Washington State…
This is the first study to our knowledge studying Fukushima-derived fallout in the Pacific Islands…

From last week: Fukushima radiation found in Hawaii fish — Almost half contain fallout from Japan nuclear disaster

Radiation in Hawaiian Fish

SUBHEAD:
Fukushima radiation found in Hawaii fish — Almost half contain fallout from Japan nuclear disaster

By Admin on 8 November 2017 for ENE News -
(http://enenews.com/fukushima-radiation-found-in-hawaii-fish-almost-half-contain-fallout-from-japan-nuclear-disaster)

University of Hawaii at Mānoa, 2017:

In the Wake of Fukushima: Radiocesium Inventories of Selected North Pacific Fish
Thirteen commonly consumed types of fish caught in the North Pacific and locally available in Hawaii were analyzed using gamma spectroscopy to measure Fukushima-derived and historic 134 Cs and 137 Cs isotopes.
All fish samples had detectable 137 Cs above 95% Confidence Intervals. Three out of the thirteen samples had 134 Cs, an isotope indicative of Fukushima releases, detected above 95% Confidence Intervals.
The highest 134 Cs and 137 Cs concentration in the examined species was in ahi tuna carrying 0.10±0.04 Bq/kg and 0.62±0.05 Bq/kg, respectively. Other samples with 134 Cs activities found above their 2-sigma uncertainty were albacore tuna and swordfish…
[W]hile the plume has not necessarily reached the Hawaiian Islands, it did travel within established fishing grounds across major migratory paths northeast of the islands…
Five samples showed the Fukushima tracer 134Cs, present above critical levels and at the 68% confidence interval (CI at 1-sigma uncertainty) but only three of those fish exhibited activities above the range of their 2 sigma uncertainty representing 95% CI…
Five samples showed evidence of Fukushima-derived 134Cs…
This study suggests that about 40% of fish tested here and are consumed on the islands of Hawai’i were recently exposed to the path of the Fukushima-derived radiocesium plume in the North Pacific Gyre…

Fukushima hot particle update

SUBHEAD: New study of hot particles shows full radiation risks from Fukushima meltdowns are not recorded.

By Arne Gundersen on 27 July 2017 for Fairwinds Associates -
(http://www.fairewinds.org/newsletter-archive//press-release-radioactively-hot-particles-in-japan)

Image above: Scientist gathers particle sample along curb in Japan for radioactive analysis. Photo by Mikeo Kawasaki. From (http://audioslides.elsevier.com/viewersmall.aspx?doi=10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.07.091&source=0).

Today, the scientific journal Science of the Total Environment (STOTEN) published a peer-reviewed article entitled: Radioactively-hot particles detected in dusts and soils from Northern Japan by combination of gamma spectrometry, autoradiography, and SEM/EDS analysis and implications in radiation risk assessment.

Co-authored by Dr. Marco Kaltofen, Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), and Arnie Gundersen, Fairewinds Energy Education, the article details the analysis of radioactively hot particles collected in Japan following the Fukushima Dai-ichi meltdowns.

Highlights

Radioactive particles from Fukushima are tracked via dusts, soils, and sediments.
Radioactive dust impacts are tracked in both Japan and the United States/Canada.
Atypically-radioactive particles from reactor cores are identified in house dusts.
Scanning electron microscopy with X-ray analysis is used for forensic examinations.

Tepco robot finds melted core

SOURCE: Norman Leuter (normandlaurie@gmail.com)
SUBHEAD: The melted fuel debris at Fukushima Daiichi Reactor #3 found on floor of containment.

By AP Staff on 22 July 2017 in The Guardian -
(https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jul/23/fukushima-images-show-massive-deposits-thought-to-be-melted-nuclear-fuel)

Image above: Still from robot video. What appears to be bolted caps on corroding pipe valves amidst melted core debris. From original article.

Robot spots suspected debris of melted fuel for first time since 2011 earthquake and tsunami destroyed the plant.

Images captured by an underwater robot on Saturday showed massive deposits believed to be melted nuclear fuel covering the floor of a damaged reactor at Japan’s destroyed Fukushima nuclear plant.

The robot found large amounts of solidified lava-like rocks and lumps in layers as thick as 1m on the bottom inside a main structure called the pedestal that sits underneath the core inside the primary containment vessel of Fukushima’s Unit 3 reactor, said the plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co.

On Friday, the robot spotted suspected debris of melted fuel for the first time since the 2011 earthquake and tsunami caused multiple meltdowns and destroyed the plant. The three-day investigation of Unit 3 ended on Saturday.

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Ea O Ka Aina

Distributed nuclear mini-reactors

Fukushima to poison Pacific more

Fukushima Coverup

Fukushima hot particle update

Highlights

Tepco robot finds melted core

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