– Radiation levels have surged at Fukushima plant — 100,000% of previous record high — TV: “Officials say they don’t know the cause… Typhoon may be to blame” (VIDEO)
Japan is lot by some of these reports. A quarter million years required to clean up the small patch of land that Fukishima
The government and the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant say scrapping its 4 reactors would take 30 to 40 years.
Decommissioning work has progressed furthest at the No.4 reactor, which was offline for regular checks when the disaster hit in 2011.
Nearly 90 percent of the fuel rods stored in its spent fuel pool have been removed. The work is to end this year.
Removal of fuel units from the pool at the No.3 reactor building is to begin in fiscal 2015, and work at the No.1 and 2 buildings in fiscal 2017.
Radiation levels remain extremely high in the No.2 building. Officials say they’ve yet to make a specific schedule for fuel rod removal there.
Awaiting workers further ahead is the extremely difficult job of removing melted fuel from the No.1 to No.3 reactors.
The operation schedule says such work will start at the No.1 and 2 reactors in fiscal 2020, and at the No.3 in fiscal 2021.
But workers still do not know where or in what state the fuel lies as a result of the meltdowns at the 3 reactors.
NHK Transcript, Oct. 24, 2014 (h/t Deep13th Nuclear Waste Info): [TEPCO] says it has found high levels of radioactive cesium in groundwater in the compound. Officials at TEPCO say a recent typhoon may be the cause… TEPCO officials say water taken on Wednesday from a well had 460,000 becquerels of cesium per liter (Bq/l)… another well contained 424,000 becquerels. Officials say those levels are 800 to 900 times the previous peak. The wells are several meters west of the No. 2 reactor… The utility plans to treat the tainted groundwater and discharge it into the ocean, but local people strongly oppose the plan…
NHK, Oct. 24, 2014: High levels of radiation found at Fukushima plant… TEPCO officials say they don’t know what caused the rise. They speculate a recent typhoon may be to blame.
TEPCO — Daily Situation at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant (Japanese), Oct. 24, 2014:
> Sub-drain No. 18, Oct. 22, 2014
- Cs134: 9.4×104 Bq/l (94,000,000 Bq/m3) — Previous Peak: 140000 Bq/m3 (+67,000%)
- Cs137: 3.3×105 Bq/l (330,000,000 Bq/m3) — Previous Peak: 340000 Bq/m3 (+97,000%)
> Sub-drain No. 19, Oct. 22, 2014
- Cs134: 1.0×105 Bq/l (100,000,000 Bq/m3) — Previous Peak: 150000 Bq/m3 (+66,000%)
- Cs137: 3.6×105 Bq/l (360,000,000 Bq/m3) — Previous Peak: 350000 Bq/m3 (+102,000%)
This is a sneak peek of “After the Worst,” an interview with Fairewinds’ Arnie Gundersen that will air on RadioShock.org later this week.
“Truly Frightening”: Doctors being threatened for linking illnesses to Fukushima — Strange tumors, kids dying, pets dying — Much higher incidences of whole range of health problems reported — Experts: 1,000,000 cancers, plus many other ailments possible
