Fukushima Reactor 4 - New Fire - Video Update and Analysis

New Fukushima Fire, Meltdown, Iodide Interest Heightened, Nuclear Fallout Precautions, Warships Redirected, Radiation Towards Tokyo,

Fire breaks out at Japan Fukushima Daiichi No.4 reactor building

(Reuters) - A fire has broken out at the building housing the No.4 reactor of Tokyo Electric Power Co's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, the electric utility said on Wednesday.
"That outlook, of course, changed overnight with the escalating nuclear meltdown. The spreading nuclear leak has changed the earthquake from a one day event to a continuing and growing disaster. Where it will end all of a sudden isn't clear. Worse case scenarios, even unlikely ones like the evacuation of Tokyo or nuclear contamination on the US West Coast, are now in play. And that has added the element of uncertainty that is now rocking the market." 


Read more: http://curiouscapitalist.blogs.time.com/2011/03/15/how-far-will-us-stocks-fall-on-japanese-nuclear-concerns/#ixzz1GhyU0qAM

Japan crisis spurs iodide interest in U.S. and Canada

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• Potassium iodide use after radiation exposure
  6:05pm EDT

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By Laura Myers

SEATTLE | Tue Mar 15, 2011 6:05pm EDT

(Reuters) - Fears of transpacific nuclear fallout fromJapan's reactor crisis has sent consumers scrambling for radiation antidotes across the ocean in the U.S. Pacific Northwest and Canada.

But U.S. and Canadian health authorities said on Tuesday that fears are unwarranted, and warned that people will expose themselves to other medical problems by needlessly taking potassium iodide they hope will protect them from cancer.

Drug stores and holistic clinics in Washington state, Oregon and British Columbia have seen a sharp increase in demand for potassium iodide and other potential antidotes to radiation since the Japanese reactor crisis began.

read more here:http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/15/us-japan-quake-iodide-demand-idUSTRE72E8Y920110315

•  A friend of mine here in the US says the pharmacy he works at has sold out of potassium iodide tablets! The tablets counteract the effects of radioactive iodine, but we're not in any real risk here. It seems that lots of people get very scared when the word "radioactive" is used and lose all sense.
  comment by Johan at 3:49 PM
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  Illustrated tips on how to protect against a radioactive cloud.
  by Corinne Perkins at 3:46 PM
  read more here http://live.reuters.com/Event/Japan_earthquake2
  FACTBOX: U.S. redirects warships over Japan radiation risk
  (Reuters) - The U.S. military took new steps to shield personnel from radiation spread by Japan's crippled nuclear plant on Tuesday, redirecting arriving warships to safer waters and telling some forces to limit time outdoors.http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/15/us-japan-quake-usa-aid-idUSTRE72E8R620110315

  
  

  (Reuters) - Winds over a radiation-leaking nuclear power plant in northern Japan will blow from the north along the Pacific coast early on Wednesday and then from the northwest toward the ocean during the day time, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

  
  

  Tokyo, with population of about 13 million, is located about 240 km (150 miles) southwest of the plant.

  
  

  A massive earthquake and tsunami on Friday crippled its cooling functions, forcing operator Tokyo Electric Power Co to put seawater into the reactors, releasing radioactive air into atmosphere, to reduce heat and high pressure inside.

  
  

  The direction of the wind is a key factor in judging possible damage to the environment from the radiation.

  
  

  Officials said radiation in Tokyo was 10 times normal on Tuesday, when the wind was blowing from the north and northeast.

  
  

  (Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Michael Watson)

  read more here http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/15/us-japan-quake-wind-idUSTRE72E8TZ20110315

  
  

What to do in case of nuclear fallout? Plus, update on nuclear situation at Fukushima in Japan.

What To Do In Case of Nuclear Fall-Out

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By Brie Hoffman

The very first thing you should do in case of a nuclear fall-out is something you should already have done. You should make sure that you have adequate water, food and emergency supplies like you would for any catastrophe. In the case of a nuclear fall-out you want to also make sure that you have a supply of potassium iodine for every member of your family as it will prevent thyroid cancer. You can get potassium iodate at your local health food store. If you can't find the potassium iodate eat kelp or get some kelp capsules, it has potassium iodate in it naturally.

The second thing you should do is to locate the direction that the fall-out is taking. If you can relocate and avoid the fall-out, do so. Find out where the cloud is headed and go in the opposite direction. Make sure you have a good map, enough gas, supplies and a stash of cash. If you are unsure of where the cloud is moving it would be better for you to take shelter somewhere than to be exposed or stuck somewhere outside.

If you are staying put then you need to seek shelter. If you haven't already done so find a map of the local designated fall-out shelters. The best place is a designated fall-out shelter, think old cement block buildings, like capital buildings or old libraries. Remember the Fall-Out Shelter signs from the 1950's? If you cannot find a fall-out shelter locate a place with the greatest mass between you and the outside, a basement is the first thing that comes to mind or a subway or anything as far under the earth as possible. Even a cave would be better than being outside. Being OUTSIDE is the worst place you can be when experiencing a nuclear fall-out. If you cannot locate a shelter or a basement then create a barrier within your home. Seal up the windows and doors of your house first. Take tables or inside doors (off their hinges) and build an enclosed area, fortify it with anything that will create mass, like earth-bags, sandbags, wood, books or anything that will provide mass between you and the outside air. The heavier the better. Just make sure that the enclosure doesn't collapse. Leave a small crawl space that you can close in after you enter.

According tohttp://www.ki4u.com/guide.htm a website I found when googling “what to do in case of a nuclear fall-out, an effective fallout shelter constructed in a basement may reduce your radiation exposure 100-200 fold. Thus, if the initial radiation intensity outside was 500 R/hr (fatal in one hour), the basement shelter occupants might only experience 5 R/hr or even less, which is survivable, as the radiation intensity will be decreasing with every passing hour. As uncomfortable as a make-shift shelter may be it could be the difference between life and death. Make sure you have all your supplies, food, water, flashlight, radio, a bucket for waste (see my blog on humanure toilets) and enough room for everyone to stay put for a couple of days.

I pray to God that we never experience a nuclear fall-out but with the current news in Japan and with loved ones who live on the coast of California I think that it is better to be safe than sorry.

read more: http://hubpages.com/hub/What-To-Do-In-Case-of-Nuclear-Fall-Out

Fukushima operator says will evacuate control room personnel (Update 1)

Topic: Powerful Earthquake in Japan

Japan's Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant

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The operator of Japan's Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant said on Tuesday that all personnel must be evacuated from the control room at the plant's reactor No.1 after radiation levels became critical, Kyodo news agency said.

The agency did not report the exact radiation level reading.

Tokyo Electric Power Co. said the container of a plant reactor may have been partially damaged, Jiji Press reported.

The company said earlier on Tuesday the problem could develop into a critical ''meltdown'' situation after part of container vessel in reactor No. 2 was damaged following a hydrogen explosion at 6:10 a.m. (21.10, Monday GMT).

The level of radiation around Fukushima No.1 is high enough to affect human health, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said earlier on Tuesday.

He said 400 millisieverts of radiation per hour had been detected around reactor No.3 at 10:22 a.m. local time (01.22 GMT), four times higher than the acceptable radiation level for humans.

The No.1, No.2 and No.3 reactors are all releasing hazardous radioactive material.

All residents within a 20 kilometer radius of the Fukushima No.1 nuclear power plant have been evacuated, Japan's National Police Agency said.

Meanwhile, temperatures have been rising slightly in Units Five and Six of Fukushima No. 1.

Blasts at Fukushima No. 1 in northeastern Japan have escalated concerns about a possible nuclear disaster in the country, which was devastated by a powerful 9.0-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami on Friday.

Cooling systems at the Fukushima plant failed following the earthquake, resulting in blasts at Units One and Three on Monday. Unit Two also overheated on Monday, but the cooling system recovered a few hours later.

MOSCOW, March 15 (RIA Novosti) 

http://en.rian.ru/natural/20110315/163018924.html

Will this be another Chernobyl times three?

Emergency is at a 4 right now, where Chernobyl was a 7.  However, they are raising the emergency very soon.

The last ditch effort is seawater.  Three partial melt-downs are going on right now.  The outer shell has blown off of # 3.

Worse case:  Complete meltdown...Chernobyl, but with multiple reactor sites.  This would make areas of Japan uninhabitable for quite some time...weeks, months, longer.

Best case:  Extended period ending in shut down.

Can they restore the faith of the Japanese people in the nuclear power?

IAEA Update on Japan Earthquake

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• IAEA Incident and Emergency Centre (IEC)
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• Response Assistance Network (RANET)
• Japan Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA)
• International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES)
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Japanese Earthquake Update (15 March 11:25 UTC)
Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Update

Radiation Dose Rates Observed at the Site

The Japanese authorities have informed the IAEA that the following radiation dose rates have been observed on site at the main gate of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.

At 00:00 UTC on 15 March a dose rate of 11.9 millisieverts (mSv) per hour was observed. Six hours later, at 06:00 UTC on 15 March a dose rate of 0.6 millisieverts (mSv) per hour was observed.

These observations indicate that the level of radioactivity has been decreasing at the site.

As reported earlier, a 400 millisieverts (mSv) per hour radiation dose observed at Fukushima Daiichi occurred between units 3 and 4. This is a high dose-level value, but it is a local value at a single location and at a certain point in time. The IAEA continues to confirm the evolution and value of this dose rate. It should be noted that because of this detected value, non-indispensible staff was evacuated from the plant, in line with the Emergency Response Plan, and that the population around the plant is already evacuated.

About 150 persons from populations around the Daiichi site have received monitoring for radiation levels. The results of measurements on some of these people have been reported and measures to decontaminate 23 of them have been taken. The IAEA will continue to monitor these developments.

Evacuation of the population from the 20 kilometre zone is continuing.

The Japanese have asked that residents out to a 30 km radius to take shelter indoors. Japanese authorities have distributed iodine tablets to the evacuation centres but no decision has yet been taken on their administration.

read more http://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/tsunamiupdate01.html