Japan Earthquake

Scary news coming out of Japan.



Record radiation level at Japan nuclear plant
Fukushima plant's operator says level "fatal to humans" detected near ventilation stack standing between two reactors.
Last Modified: 02 Aug 2011 06:38
Lethal radiation levels are key risks faced by workers battling to contain worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl [AFP]

Record levels of radiation have been recorded at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi plant reactor, just months after the nuclear accident resulting from the earthquake and tsunami in March.

The Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) reported that Geiger counters - a hand-held device used to measure radiation - registered their highest possible reading at the site on Monday.

TEPCO said that radiation exceeding 10 sieverts [10,000 millisieverts] per hour was found at the bottom of a ventilation stack standing between two reactors.

Al Jazeera's Aela Callan, reporting from Japan's Ibaraki prefecture, said the level recorded was "fatal to humans" but that it was contained just to the plant's site. However, scientists are planning to carry out more tests on Tuesday.

"Authorities are working on the theory though that it has come from those initial hydrogen explosions that we've seen at the plant in the days after the earthquake and tsunami," she said.

"It is now looking more likely that this area has been this radioactive since the earthquake and tsunami but no one realised until now."

On Tuesday, TEPCO said it found another spot on the ventilation stack itself where radiation exceeded 10 sieverts per hour, a level that could lead to incapacitation or death after just several seconds of exposure.

The company used equipment to measure radiation from a distance and was unable to ascertain the exact level because the device's maximum reading is 10 sieverts.

While TEPCO said the readings would not hinder its goal of stabilising the Fukushima reactors by January, experts said that worker safety could be at risk if the operator prioritised hitting the deadline over radiation risks.

"Radiation leakage at the plant may have been contained or slowed but it has not been sealed off completely," Kenji Sumita, a professor at Osaka University who specialises in nuclear engineering, said.

"The utility is likely to continue finding these spots of high radiation.

"Considering this, recovery work at the plant should not be rushed to meet schedules and goals as that could put workers in harm's way.

"We are past the immediate crisis phase and some delays should be permissible."

Workers at Daiichi are only allowed to be exposed to 250 millisieverts of radiation per year.

TEPCO, which provides power to Tokyo and neighbouring areas, said it had not detected a sharp increase in overall radiation levels at the compound.

"The high dose was discovered in an area that doesn't hamper recovery efforts at the plant," Junichi Matsumoto, a TEPCO spokesman, said on Tuesday.

Although it is still investigating the matter, TEPCO said the spots of high radiation could stem from debris left behind by emergency venting conducted days after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that crippled the plant.
Source:
Al Jazeera and agencies

Criticise is difficult to be differentiate from bash, regarding this whole inciddent, when the usual "role model" of Japan degenerating itself right in front of everyone these days.

First beef, now rice, what next ? Better check that your favorite sushi restaurants are not using Japanese rice.



Japan's earthquake-triggered tsunami devastated vast swathes of the country's northeast in March, leading to a heavy loss of life and extensive damage to infrastructure.

One of the biggest fallouts of the disaster was the damage to Fukushima nuclear power plant and the subsequent radiation leak from it.

Hundreds of thousands of people were forced to evacuate due to the fear of contamination of water, air and food.

And rice, Japan's staple crop, was also not spared. Rice planting has been banned in areas close to Fukushima and tests will be done on the crop before being sold.

But questions remain over how much is being revealed to the public, as radiation seeps deeper into the food chain.

Al Jazeera's Aela Callan reports from Fukushima, Japan.

Red___Sword said:

Criticise is difficult to be differentiate from bash, regarding this whole inciddent, when the usual "role model" of Japan degenerating itself right in front of everyone these days.

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not really. criticize is specifically stabbing at the problem, and analyzing it. it is usually directed at the situation, not the person. a good criticism is constructive, sincere, truthful, and intelligent. bashing is anything but those. usually bashing is insulting, degrading, mockery, with a lot of ad hominem , non-mannerful

airsuperiority said:

not really. criticize is specifically stabbing at the problem, and analyzing it. it is usually directed at the situation, not the person. a good criticism is constructive, sincere, truthful, and intelligent. bashing is anything but those. usually bashing is insulting, degrading, mockery, with a lot of ad hominem , non-mannerful

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Try "critic" the "imcompetent of Japan's national security and national administration, over the recognize, response, effectiveness, non-cover-up, full utilize of international supports..." and things alike. - see how many times your critics are NOT considered as bash... (esp. if you tell everyone you are of Chinese ethic)

Just trying to point out how I would like to call "vox populi manipulated" 舆论引导, of the whole rest of the world. "Rest" of the world, means any place which is not SDF.

You can argue that SDF being good, and better than those "rest" of the world; my argue is, what is it good for, when the good SDF have merely several hundred visitors and less than hundred members - while it is the WHOLE REST OF THE WORLD do not accepting your "bashing" to japan?

Red___Sword said:

Try "critic" the "imcompetent of Japan's national security and national administration, over the recognize, response, effectiveness, non-cover-up, full utilize of international supports..." and things alike. - see how many times your critics are NOT considered as bash... (esp. if you tell everyone you are of Chinese ethic)

Just trying to point out how I would like to call "vox populi manipulated" 舆论引导, of the whole rest of the world. "Rest" of the world, means any place which is not SDF.

You can argue that SDF being good, and better than those "rest" of the world; my argue is, what is it good for, when the good SDF have merely several hundred visitors and less than hundred members - while it is the WHOLE REST OF THE WORLD do not accepting your "bashing" to japan?

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You know, I took Philosophy courses in my university, and one of them is critical thinking. Sometimes if the argument fulfills the criteria of adequacy, but unpopular, it doesn't mean it's wrong; just think of Creationism vs Darwinism, and those who proposed that the Earth is flat, center of the universe theory. They were controversial and unpopular at the time, but still goes through as valid today. Anyone who tries to say "but the rest of the world don't think so", we can refute them with the "appeal by the masses"

As for your example, it's a good one. The only trouble with giving one premise is that it isn't enough to evaluate the entire argument as a whole yet. if the argument possesses more unnecessary/overly-heavy tones of vocabularies, there are more reasons to lean it more as bashing, while a moderate may provide more reason and a conclusion which, if uses any specific negative words, should first be backed by sufficient reasons to use the word. Even then, in a very strict environment of true and fair criticism, such negative words are considered more as the author's personal opinions and too normative, and therefore, shouldn't be included in a proper writing.

Something probably most already know. Japan was and still is more concerned about saving money and face than saving lives.



Japanese officials withheld information and denied the facts of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, including ignoring predictions from their country’s own radiation forecasting system, in order to limit costly and disruptive evacuations and to avoid public questioning of the politically powerful nuclear industry.

Charles Digges, 10/08-2011

The depth of the neglect was reported by the Associated Press and corroborated with an ex-government source in Japan by Bellona, as well as by reports in the New York Times.

Bellona’s nuclear physicist, Nils Bøhmer, has insisted throughout the crisis that Japan has been withholding information about radiation dangers. Powerful political forced within Japan have created a culture of closed-mouthed, unquestioning deference to nuclear power, Bøhmer has said.

“This is another example of the disarray of the Japanese nuclear community, including the industry and the Government,” said Bøhmer.

“This shows the urgent need for drastic changes in the Japanese nuclear industry, if nuclear energy should have a future at all in Japan,’ he said

The sweep of how much information had been withheld from the Japanese public has only begun to be revealed in the past two days.
Radiation forecasts ignored, jeopardizing children

According to reports, Japan's system to forecast radiation threats was working from the moment its nuclear crisis began on March 11, after and earthquake and tsunami pummeled the Fukshima Daiichi plnat 240 kimometers north of Tokyo.

As officials planned a venting operation certain to release radioactivity into the air, the system predicted Karino Elementary School would be directly in the path of the plume emerging from the nuclear plant – but the report was useless as no one acted on it.

Instead of clearing out the school, which is 10 kilometers from the plant, it was turned into an evacuation shelter.

Reports from the radiation forecast system were sent to Japan's nuclear safety agency, but the flow of data stopped there, AP reported.
High government officials never saw reports............................................................

Japan trying to hide medical results of children exposed to radiation.



Japan's nuclear agency hides radiation results

North Asia correspondent Mark Willacy

Updated August 11, 2011 19:10:43

Health specialists say the commission fears a negative public reaction to children's exposure to radiation from the crippled Fukushima plant.

Japan's nuclear watchdog has denied public access to the results of thyroid check-ups for more than 1,000 Fukushima children exposed to radiation.

Critics have accused Japan's Nuclear Safety Commission of denying the public accurate information about the crisis.

The commission had earlier uploaded the test results of more than 1,000 children who were checked to see if radioactive substances were accumulating in their thyroids. ...........................

Air, guess what Japanese people (govt or not) would call #187 #188 posts to be?

They even have came out an official name for this kind of people (like Schumacher): 伤害添加者 (rough translation to English, based on rough translation from Japanese to Chinese - Disservices adder, who suppose to be add salt to the wound)

Not everyone took Philosophy courses, and it is mainly those non-philosophical people constitutes the living world. I just don't bother to (directly) comment on this issue, for you need to FIGHT many, if otherwise.

Just my 5 cents. (I guess)

Red___Sword said:

Air, guess what Japanese people (govt or not) would call #187 #188 posts to be?

They even have came out an official name for this kind of people (like Schumacher): 伤害添加者 (rough translation to English, based on rough translation from Japanese to Chinese - Disservices adder, who suppose to be add salt to the wound)

Not everyone took Philosophy courses, and it is mainly those non-philosophical people constitutes the living world. I just don't bother to (directly) comment on this issue, for you need to FIGHT many, if otherwise.

Just my 5 cents. (I guess)

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I've taken some studies on Japanese cultures, and I can tell you firstly, that Japanese people aren't bad people; I actually admire several things about them, such as their collectivist attitude, mannerisms, certain work ethics, etc.
However on the other hand, they are not a mature culture neither, and neither is China; both cultures, maybe cause of similar thinkings in certain aspects, value "face" a lot, and are very hard to admit or face their own mistakes before the public. This is something I realize, and why I think to understand the culture that we're about to discuss, is very important. Understand their thinking; understand their mentality; then you can find their channel.