Nuclear Disaster Unfolding In Fukushima Options

[bill]

This getting worse every day


http://allthingsnuclear.org/tagged/Japan_nuclear

[lunk]

How radioactive?
there seems to be only 3 levels of radiation in the news,
high-levels, traceable-levels, and dropping-levels.

BBC Philharmonic Orchestra instruments were so radioactive following a tour of Japan that they triggered off an airport alarm when they arrived back in Britain.

The cargo was stopped for inspection by radiation protection officers at Manchester airport.

When the earthquake struck the orchestra was on a coach crossing a suspension bridge 200 miles from the stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant.

Radiation contaminated the instruments which were seized on Thursday and have been held for inspection at a secure underground location at the airport.

But the 90 members of the orchestra passed through the airport without incident.

It was initially feared that their instruments were so contaminated they would have to be destroyed. But a Home Office spokesman said last night that the radiation is now believed to be harmless.

The alarm system, called Cyclamen, is used at British airports to detect nuclear ‘dirty bombs’ or materials that terrorists may try to smuggle in.

A source at the airport said it
is ‘rare’ for the alarm to activate there, even though it handles millions of tons of cargo each year.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13...l#ixzz1H8b5eTkY

[tumetuestumefais...]

How radioactive?

Maybe you've missed it but I was repeatedly posting the measurements from the Fukushima plant, so in the linked files are the values from around the plant.
Here are measurements from four sites in Japan, which help to put the measurements at the plant into a perspective of wider areas. This measurements clearly show the expected spikes (look at the 7 days graphs), from the quite steep down slopes - which are clearly mostly the result of short half-life isotops (like the infamous I-131) fast decay - I've assessed (it is not trivial task - but if you're really interested how it is done feel free to ask questions) the values would come close to normal in orders of weeks so the cummulative dose for the population will not be harmful or dangerous. The relatively steep slope shows the decay speed signature which to me absolutely clearly rules-out a significant contamination with Sr-90, Cs-137 or Pu-241. And yes, the measurements clearly make possible the baggage and instruments of the musicians could be contaminated to measurable values (by very sensitive airport detectors), but quite certainly the level could not be harmful or even dangerous, because as such is not measured even in the Japan, and will quickly decay to practically unmeasurable values.

[maturin42]

Just imagine if, instead of nuclear power, the power generation in that area had been by rooftop solar and wind power. The survivors of the tsunami would still be dealing with a disaster, but complicated only by a massive sun and wind-spill. Distributed local generation using the most appropriate and efficient renewable sources should be the first choice. Even when everything goes right, nuclear produces waste products that remain dangerous for hundreds, sometimes thousands of years. Point to any examples you can think of in which any human endeavor, such as protecting and safeguarding a repositary lasts for even hundreds of years.

The sun and wind will be around as long as we are. A large-scale commitment to it will result in increases in efficiency and lowering prices. Continuing the folly of nuclear generation will result in the enrichment of the few and risks borne by many.

In the case of the U. S., the fact that no underwriter has agreed to insure against the risks of developing new nuclear power plants should tell us something. Only with the federal government - meaning the taxpayer - standing behind them, will new nuclear plants go forward. I am willing to take the risk of sun and wind spills - not trusting everything to go right in the entire nuclear life-cycle.