Japan fights to avert nuclear meltdown after quake

More about the damaged nuclear plants in Japan that exploded...


FEARS OVER OTHER REACTORS

The complex, run by Tokyo Electric Power Co, is the biggest nuclear concern but not the only one: on Monday, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said Japanese authorities had notified it of an emergency at another plant further north, at Onagawa.

But Japan's nuclear safety agency denied problems at the Onagawa plant, run by Tohoku Electric Power Co, noting that radioactive releases from the Fukushima Daiichi complex had been detected at Onagawa, but that these were within safe levels at a tiny fraction of the radiation received in an x-ray.

Shortly later, a cooling-system problem was reported at another nuclear plant closer to Tokyo, in Ibaraki prefecture.

Fukushima's No. 1 reactor, where the roof was ripped off, is 40 years old and was originally set to go out of commission in February but had its operating license extended by 10 years.

Continue here: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-news-us-japan-quaketre72a0ss-20110311,0,7597594.story?track=rss

-Alicia

Updates on radiation exposure in Japan

Above is a pretty disturbing picture from the New York Times of a worker checking a child for contamination with radioisotopes from a nearby nuclear plant.


Here's a quote from the article:

"The emergency at the plant that suffered an explosion appeared to be the worst involving a nuclear plant since the Chernobyl disaster 25 years ago.
The government confirmed that radiation had escaped from the worst-hit plant, and local officials said that 22 people outside the plant showed signs of radiation exposure and about 170 other people near the plant had likely been exposed, but it was unclear if they had received dangerous doses. Early Sunday, the government said three workers were suffering full-out radiation illness"

Find the rest here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/14/world/asia/14nuclear.html?_r=1&hp

aliens disarming nuclear weapons

on a lighter note...

-Alex Ryan

This will change everything...

Wow, I can't believe this is all really happening.  One of the damaged nuclear plants in Japan had an explosion that blew off part of the roof. While they claim that the reactor "core" has not been breached, this explosion does increase the chances of radiation leaks to a wide area.  As I read about this, what's on my mind is the workers at the plant:  how are they working in this environment?  How are they problem-solving when the major parts of the reactor are in such unstable conditions? 

A 12-mile radius has been evacuated, and the authorities are passing out iodine pills.  Remember how we talked about those in class?  Horribly, the evacuation and radiation concerns are interfering with rescue operations related to the initial quake.

At this point, there is no question in my mind that we're witnessing a major game-changing historical moment in nuclear technology.  Wow.

A photo and some news:



New York Times article

Japan trying to prevent meltdown at nuclear plant in Fukushima

"A portion of Japan's nuclear reactors have been shut down in the wake of the earthquake and subsequent tsunami, but officials are worried about the Fukushima plant, where the emergency cooling system is problematic."

"Emergency authorities have ordered the evacuation of all civilians in a two-mile radius around the power plant, a total of about 3,000 people, and are planning to vent slightly radioactive steam from the plant, which is located about 160 miles north of Tokyo. Those within a six-mile radius were warned to stay in their homes."

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-sci-japan-quake-nuclear-20110312,0,2627198.story

-Elliott M. Beazley

Ballistic Missiles may trigger Nuclear War

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/03/new-icbms-vs-terrorists-plan-now-50-less-crazy/#more-41976

Chia Chang Koo

New York Times investigative series on radiation regulation

 

 

Above are a couple of graphics from the New York Times series on excessive radiation exposure and lax regulation in medical radiation technology.  The full series has covered everything from dental x-rays to cancer treatments that involve beams created by particle accelerators.  The total volume of material collected on their website associated with this series is kind of amazing.  Check it out:


New York Times topic page for the "Radiation Boom" series of articles