Making mountains out of meltdowns (in Japan)
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@honoluludesktop said:
Years from now, long after the effects of the tsunami on the infastructure are repaired, the problem with the nuclear power plant will remain.
It all depends on how you define the term 'problem' doesn't it? For instance this thread has simply ended up with you posting solitary press releases and not a lot else. We now know from experience that it is those who choose to sensationalise about problems, who are the real 'problem'. What about disused oil platforms? Are they not a 'problem'? What about prolonged exposure to the sun? Is that not a 'problem'? I mean the sun is also a nuclear reactor, and skin cancer kills more people each year than man made nuclear power ever will.
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@tfdesign said:
What's this got to do with Fukushima?
Er, you mentioned it.
@tfdesign said:
We should NOT intervene at all in Libya! Even if it means "allowing people to be slaughtered on a rather grand scale", as you so nicely put it.
Why's that then? Because the Libyans ought to make up their own minds, and we shouldn't think for them? They did, and we're not. Also, you seem to dislike the idea of people dying 'due to western intervention', whilst on the other hand it looks you're quite okay with Gaddafi doing the killing. I sort of sense a paradox in there.
@tfdesign said:
Is Gaddafi threatening to invade another country? Why do the west feel as if he would do?
We don't.
@tfdesign said:
But we as a "nation of nations"- well what have got that is so great to offer?? That Libya hasn't?
Emigrate, start a dissident paper/party/tv station/whatever, then report back.
@tfdesign said:
What about disused oil platforms? Are they not a 'problem'? What about prolonged exposure to the sun? Is that not a 'problem'?
Yes, and yes. The premise here, however, is that we needn't make a big deal out of Fukushima as there are other problems as well. This, obviously, is illogical.
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@unknownuser said:
@tfdesign said:
What's this got to do with Fukushima?
Er, you mentioned it.
I did? Er, yes, you're right. I did.
Anyway, Gaddafi isn't doing the killing. His fanatical fans are. (which seem to be majority of his fellow countrymen!
) Gaddafi just seems to do a lot of shouting. 
A bit of a Charles Manson sort of affair don't you think?
Interestingly, talking of Manson, he has become an environmentalist- which I suppose is both perplexing as well as surprising (hardly)- after all, he is a 'cuddly hippie'! I wonder what Jez Clarkson would make of that? @unknownuser said:
Crazed cult leader Charles Manson has broken a 20-year silence in a prison interview coinciding with the 40th anniversary of his conviction for the gruesome Sharon Tate murders — to speak out about global warming.
The infamous killer, who started championing environmental causes from behind bars, bemoaned the ‘bad things’ being done to environment in a rambling phone interview from his Californian jail cell.
‘Everyone’s God and if we don’t wake up to that there’s going to be no weather because our polar caps are melting because we’re doing bad things to the atmosphere.
‘If we don’t change that as rapidly as I’m speaking to you now, if we don’t put the green back on the planet and put the trees back that we’ve butchered, if we don’t go to war against the problem…’ he added, trailing off. -
@unknownuser said:
Radiation level at No.3 reactor water intake rises
The operator of the damaged nuclear power plant in Fukushima has reported a sharp rise in the concentration of a radioactive material in samples of seawater near the Number 3 reactor.
Tokyo Electric Power Company says it detected 110 becquerels of radioactive cesium-134 per cubic centimeters in seawater samples taken on Wednesday morning.
The level is 1,800 times the national legal limit, compared to 550 times, which was reported the previous day.
The utility also found 120 becquerels of cesium-137, 1,300 times higher than the limit.
Last Wednesday at the same location near the water intake of the Number 3 reactor, water contaminated with highly radioactive substances was found flowing into the sea from a pit. TEPCO says it detected cesium-134 at 32,000 times the legal limit.
In its latest announcement, TEPCO said the concentration of radioactive iodine in seawater samples from the same location fell from 1,900 times the limit on Monday to 630 times on Tuesday.
The utility also said it detected radioactive materials at levels higher than the national limit at 2 of the 4 survey points along the shoreline near the plant.
It says cesium-134 with a concentration level 1.8 times the limit was found at a point 330 meters south of the water drainage gates of the Number 1 to 4 reactors.
Thursday, May 19, 2011 02:57 +0900 (JST)
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Although off the news grid, The situation at Fukushima is getting worst, go here to read what is happening.
@unknownuser said:
Seawater purifiers to be set at Fukushima plant
The operator of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says it will install equipment to purify highly radioactive seawater near the reactors' water intakes.
Tokyo Electric Power Company says it will start work on Tuesday to install seawater purifiers, which use the mineral zeolite to absorb radioactive cesium.
The utility previously built undersea silt barriers around the water intakes for the No.2 and 3 reactors after highly contaminated water was found to be leaking into the sea.
But radioactive substances exceeding the government-set safety limits are still being detected both inside and outside the barriers.
To stop contamination entering the sea, TEPCO decided to install new equipment to decontaminate seawater.
It is planning to draw and treat a maximum of 30 tons of water per hour from inside the silt fences, where radiation levels are higher, aiming to reduce contamination in the water outside the fences.
The company says the equipment will be installed around the intakes of the No.2 and 3 reactors, and it will begin preliminary operations as early as Thursday.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011 06:03 +0900 (JST)
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Getting worse? Looks like they're getting it under control to me!
However the situation that is out of control is the German energy situation where the German chancellor has agreed to shut down Germany's energy programme on based on the events at Fukishima. This means that Germany will now have to import electricity from France, or worst still burn coal!
The world has lost all sence of perspective as the middle classes take over! We're DOOMED!
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@unknownuser said:
TEPCO tackles increasing contaminated water
The operator of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi plant says water accumulating in the basement of the No. 1 reactor building is contaminated with highly radioactive substances. The utility is battling to stop further leaks as the rainy season approaches.
Tokyo Electric Power Company detected 2 million becquerels of radioactive cesium per cubic centimeter of water in the basement of the No. 1 reactor building.
It speculates that radioactive substances from the melted fuel have leaked from the pressure vessel encasing the reactor core.
Large amounts of contaminated water in the plant's buildings are hampering efforts to contain the situation.
TEPCO has created a map showing the distribution of contaminated water at the plant to prevent a recurrence of the accident in March, where 3 workers were exposed to radiation by stepping in contaminated water in the basement of the No. 3 reactor's turbine building.
Rain showers that began Sunday are causing the water levels in the No. 2 and 3 turbine buildings to rise at a faster pace of 3 to 4 millimeters per hour.
The company plans to set up a cooling system to circulate decontaminated water back into reactors. The system is expected to be set up in July.
Until then, the utility needs to come up with measures to prevent further leakage, such as transferring the water to a new storage site.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011 06:03 +0900 (JST)
@unknownuser said:
Rain increases radioactive water at nuke plant
Heavy rain has increased the volume of highly radioactive water building up inside the disaster-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.Contaminated water already floods the basements of the turbine and reactor buildings, partly due to water injections to cool down the reactor cores.
Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, now says water levels rose faster on Monday as rain poured inside the badly damaged buildings.
In the basement of the No.1 reactor building, radioactive water rose by 37.6 centimeters during the 24 hours through Tuesday morning.
At the No.2 reactor, the level of water rose by 8.6 centimeters in an underground tunnel extending from the building.
The water in the tunnel's shaft is now only about 39 centimeters below ground level. The utility is speeding up work to seal the opening.
TEPCO is planning to decontaminate and recycle the radioactive water as coolant for the reactors. But the system won't be in place until July at the earliest.
In the meantime, the utility is studying steps to prevent rainwater from seeping in. It will also consider new storage sites to which the contaminated water can be quickly transferred as the rainy season approaches.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011 12:32 +0900 (JST)
@unknownuser said:
High radioactivity levels at No.1 reactor
The operator of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has reported high levels of radioactive substances in water that has accumulated in the basement of its Number 1 reactor.
Tokyo Electric Power Company says a water sample taken from the reactor building's basement on Friday contained 2.5 million becquerels of radioactive cesium-134 per cubic centimeter. It also detected 2.9 million becquerels of cesium-137 and 30,000 becquerels of iodine-131.The levels are almost the same as those already measured in contaminated water in the basement of the Number 2 reactor's turbine building.
Water contaminated with highly radioactive substances has flooded the reactor building's basement, apparently after leaking from holes created in the reactor's pressure and containment vessels in the fuel meltdown.
Under the utility's plan to bring the plant under control, a circulatory cooling system is to be installed to decontaminate radioactive water and use it as a coolant.
TEPCO says it will examine ways to decontaminate the water, as its radiation levels are too high for workers to approach.Monday, May 30, 2011 22:25 +0900 (JST)
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@tfdesign said:
However the situation that is out of control is the German energy situation where the German chancellor has agreed to shut down Germany's energy programme on based on the events at Fukishima. This means that Germany will now have to import electricity from France, or worst still burn coal!
I have to agree with you here. What in the world are they thinking? Is Germany afraid of a giant earthquake and tsunami happening in Europe? If yes where did they get that info? Another question is with what will they replace the reactors?I don't think fossil fuels should be an option. Maybe they know something about the fusion reactor's development that we don't?
Anyway that will be an incentive for the nearby countries around Germany to build more reactors and sell them electricity. What idiots..... -
I think Germany's (Merkel's) decision is political. She's down in the polls and knows that 70-80% of Germans are opposed to nuclear energy. They are the greenest country in europe and after closing 17 reactors they'll be the greenest in the world.
I think 30% of their energy come from nuclear reactors so that'll have to replaced by either green energy or buying from neighbours as you mention.
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What annoys me most is not that they're getting rid of their reactors and replacing them with safer and greener alternatives, it is the reason they gave. Like what happened in Japan is even a possibility in Germany. I don't remember Germany having 30 earthquakes over 6 in magnitude in the last 100 years. They should have just said that they are committed to using green energy and thus they plan on disposing of their reactors without ever linking Japan to that decision. It just sounds stupid to me.
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What surprises me most is.....
@unknownuser said:
don't remember Germany having 30 earthquakes over 6 in magnitude in the last 100 years
...you must be our oldest member
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Yes, while nuclear energy seems to be a necessity, it doesn't hurt to rethink the alternatives. However I still have a question of the validity of many "green" options. Manufacture, and safe disposal of batteries, and "green light bulbs" may become a real problem in the future.
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@unknownuser said:
What surprises me most is.....
@unknownuser said:
don't remember Germany having 30 earthquakes over 6 in magnitude in the last 100 years
...you must be our oldest member
You may not know this about me but I remember all of my past lives.
I wish I didn't remember being Hitler though...@honoluludesktop said:
Yes, while nuclear energy seems to be a necessity, it doesn't hurt to rethink the alternatives. However I still have a question of the validity of many "green" options. Manufacture, and safe disposal of batteries, and "green light bulbs" may become a real problem in the future.
I have nothing against looking for alternatives, I'm all for it, but taking decisions in the "heat of the moment" is not the wisest way to move ahead. And like you say we don't know how green, green technology really is yet. We shouldn't just rush into things.
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Nuclear energy is perfect when all goes in a good way
but as soon as there is something wrong for any reason that is a nightmare!
and there is always something wrong in the duration time- multiplications of nuclears plant sites!
We just can do that for radioactive waste!
If you want electricity, make it with your legs!
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And don't forget stupidy like this for example!
All was written but they don't want to see, to much cost to make a big wall against tsunami
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First good news for the ocean at the base of the nuclear plant.
@unknownuser said:
Radiation levels fall in Fukushima seawater
Tokyo Electric Power Company says radiation levels have fallen in seawater near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
The utility said on Tuesday it had detected 3.1 becquerels of cesium 134 per cubic meter of seawater near the water intake of the No.3 reactor.
The reading is 52 times the national limit, but the lowest since TEPCO began checking radiation levels near the intake after the nuclear accident that followed the March 11th earthquake and tsunami.
On May 11th, a level 32,000 times the national limit was detected at the same location due to a leak of highly contaminated water from the plant.
Cesium 134 was found in seawater 16 kilometers from the plant on Monday, but the level was below the limit set by the government.
The utility said the level of radioactive iodine near the water intake at the No.2 reactor was 160 times the limit on Monday.
But the reading was less than one-third of the previous day's figure.
TEPCO said it found radioactive strontium in seawater samples taken at 4 locations off Fukushima Prefecture on May 9th, but the levels were all below the national limit.
Radioactive strontium is produced during the nuclear fission of uranium. It was found in seawater off Fukushima in April.
TEPCO said the substance probably came from the damaged plant. The utility also said the detected levels were very low, but it will continue to monitor the seawater.
Wednesday, June 01, 2011 02:59 +0900 (JST)
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@unknownuser said:
If you want electricity, make it with your legs!
Has it ever occurred to you how you would mass-produce the dynamos and stand required to manufacture your leg-powered device? And what about a kidney dialysis machine? Do you expect patients to cycle for their lives?
You regressive middle-class 'environmentalists' do nothing but present the same old reactionary reasons without thinking of the huge implications lowering mass electricity consumption will mean to society.
How do you expect old people to stay warm during the winter without help? Give them an axe and a pile of wood? That's fine, but then we get back to the same old argument of CO2 emissions. So what, you're saying get on yer bike and pedal hard? Nope, I don't think so.
BTW, something worth a thought, and a bit OT, while we're on the subject of 'saving the planet', the recent outbreak of e-coli bacteria in Germany this week, the source of the infection came from organic cucumbers. 10 people have died already. If mass-production is such a bad idea, how come we've managed to feed the world with it, and safely for the past x amount of years without killing millions? And that count of 10, is still more than the amount of people killed so far from a nuclear power station in northern Japan!
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The Japanese people are quite remarkable
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-13597670
and this should not be forgotten.
The sums are quite simple. You just add up the number of kW-h needed to power the world's economy and the 'current' need for nuclear power becomes obvious. This could change with political will and a huge amount of investment, but not over night. It is my opinion that we are stuck with nuclear power for the next 30 to 40 years, but I hope I'm wrong.
So, where is all this money going to come from for new technologies? Not from Bahrain I fear. How wacko can you get!
Regards,
Bob -
@watkins said:
The Japanese people are quite remarkable
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-13597670
and this should not be forgotten.
Utterly selfless
..........While the selfish and bourgeois western 'elite' continue to look on, observe and pass judgement.......
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I think the ski slope in Bahrain, although being totally self-indulgent (and why not?) is a great idea! Just because it's in the desert, does this mean it's bad? I think not. Anyway it would be hypocritical of the bourgeois west to criticise this complex when the UK. And other non-snowy countries also have their own indoor skiing facilities. There's a snowdome only 10 miles from here in Tamworth. We also passed another just outside Leeds yesterday.
I want MORE electricity!!
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