At Japanese Nuclear Plant, A Choice Between Bad And Worse

[Cheryl Nelson]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704471904576229854179642220.html

Note:  "Radiation levels in the water are at least 1,000 millisieverts an hour—four times the level emergency crews at the site are allowed to experience in a full year. Those levels may be higher still, but authorities say 1,000 millisieverts is the upper limit of their measuring devices."

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"Workers at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex positioned sandbags and concrete barriers around drains leading from the plant Tuesday, setting a last line of defense against highly radioactive water that has flooded reactor buildings and threatens to spill into the ocean.

At the same time, Japanese officials said Tuesday they would keep dousing the plant's stricken reactors with water—a course of action that could raise those water levels further.

"At the heart of the day's moves lies a calculated choice between bad and worse: To meet their goal of keeping reactors cool enough to forestall catastrophe, officials appear willing to risk letting some highly radioactive water spill out of vents that are positioned some 50 to 70 yards from the sea.

"Underscoring the ongoing risks of contamination to the Pacific Ocean water near the plant, officials announced Wednesday morning that radiation in seawater spiked again in a sample taken Tuesday to the highest level yet, hitting 3,355 times the legal limit."

[Cheryl Nelson]

I think so, too, Keith.

I read that S Korea has turned away food from Japan because of radiation.

[Morris Levin]

China is being pro-active...

 

Mar 29

Radioactive ship turned away by China

A ship that had "abnormal" amounts of radiation after passing 67 nautical miles (124 km) off Fukushima Prefecture, site of a crippled nuclear-power station, was heading back to Japan after being rejected by authorities in China. The MOL Presence is due to arrive in Kobe on Wednesday from Xiamen, according to AISLive Ltd. ship-tracking data on Bloomberg. A Xiamen port official, who declined to give their name in a telephone call Sunday, confirmed that the vessel had left and declined to elaborate. (Japan Times)

[Cheryl Nelson]

I heard this over a week ago.  Have the robots arrived there yet?

[Morris Levin]

The US is helpiing...

 

U.S. sending robots to Japan to help with nuclear plant

Wednesday 30th March, 09:14 AM JST

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WASHINGTON —

The U.S. government is sending some robotic help to Japan to help regain control of the tsunami-damaged nuclear plant.
 
A top Energy Department official told a Senate panel Tuesday that a shipment of “radiation hardened robotics” will be sent to Japan to assist in the crisis. A department spokeswoman said a robotic device from the Energy Department’s Idaho National Laboratory is being shipped along with several radiation-hardened cameras.
 
Peter Lyons, an acting assistant energy secretary, said Japanese officials were “very, very interested” in learning more about the capabilities of U.S robots. The United States is also sending robot operators who would be used to train Japanese operators, Lyons said.
 
Robots with electronics built to withstand radiation could presumably work in areas where radiation levels would harm or even kill a person. Workers at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi plant have been exposed to high levels of radiation and burned.
 
Stephanie Mueller, a spokeswoman for the Energy Department, said remote-controlled robotic machines have been used to conduct environmental cleanup and other activities in contaminated environments, although not at a compromised nuclear reactor such as the ones in Japan.
 
The device being shipped to Japan is equipped to provide visuals, radiological surveys and mapping data in areas of the plant that are not accessible to humans due to potential elevated radiation levels that are above recommended safety guidelines.