Wednesday, March 16, 2011
World Stock Markets Slide - Nikkei Futures Down 16%
The Nikkei is on lunch break and futures have tanked as Armageddon fears grow after two more blasts rocked nuclear plants tonight.
Bloomberg - Global Stock Market Futures
PM Naoto Kan just finished addressing the nation, and told everyone within a 15-mile radius to stay indoors, as radioactive material spreads.
Radiation fears are now spreading to the Phillipines.
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/03/14/11/radiation-coming-our-way-not-probable-says-phivolcs
Jet Stream Analysis
http://squall.sfsu.edu/crws/jetstream.html
Japan's PM says 4th reactor of Fukushima NPP on fire
http://en.rian.ru/world/20110315/163008312.html
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Japan Faces Potential Nuclear Disaster as Radiation Levels Rise
TOKYO — Japan faced the likelihood of a catastrophic nuclear accident Tuesday morning, as an explosion at the most crippled of three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station damaged its crucial steel containment structure, emergency workers were withdrawn from the plant, and a fire at a fourth reactor spewed large amounts of radioactive material into the air, according to official statements and industry executives informed about the developments.
“No. 4 is currently burning and we assume radiation is being released. We are trying to put out the fire and cool down the reactor,” the chief government spokesman, Yukio Edano, told a televised press conference. “There were no fuel rods in the reactor, but spent fuel rods are inside.”
Government officials also said the containment structure of the No. 2 reactor had suffered damage during an explosion shortly after 6 a.m. on Tuesday.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/15/world/asia/15nuclear.html?_r=1&hp
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Watch Live Geiger Counter From Japan - Live Stream NHK TV
http://dailybail.com/home/watch-live-geiger-counter-from-tokyo-live-stream-nhk-tv-from.html
Possible Full Scale Meltdown In Japan – Live Updates
Commentary by Intel Hub Commentator John King:
In these times of uncertainty we must conduct ourselves with reserve and resolve. Fear mongering and scare tactics should not be tolerated. However I find myself having a hard time in swallowing the main stream story pertaining to Radiation leaks.
Prepare and educate yourselves NOW so that when the time comes you will have the knowledge you need to react calmly and logically to knowing how to handle the situation and what must be done. This will better enable you and your loved to be prepared to survive.
Panic = disaster. Staying calm, using your head and knowing what to do = survival.
The Intel Hub
March 14th, 2011
Update: The IAEA has stated that radiation has been released into the atmosphere.
- Radiation fears spark panic buying, evacuations in Tokyo
- Japanese ordered indoors in radiation leak crisis
- Special On Japan: Live Report from Japan and Breaking News On Japan Nuclear Disaster
- Potassium Iodide Runs Low as Americans Seek It Out
- In Stricken Fuel-Cooling Pools, a Danger for the Longer Term
- World’s Top Radiation Expert, Dr. Chris Busby, Disagrees Fukushima Risks
- Image of radiation levels as of 10AM this morning and distances from Fukushima: twitpic.com
- RADIATION SURGES AFTER WORST EXPLOSION YET
Radiation Levels and distances from Fukushima - TwitPic
Update: 9:08pm PST – From the BBC - Higher than normal radiation levels are detected in Tokyo, the AFP is quoting the city government as saying.
Update: 7:51pm PST - BREAKING NEWS: Radiation 400 times annual legal limit measured near No. 3 reactor – KYODO The Prime Minister of Japan was quoted as saying that there was a high risk of radiation coming out of the plant in the future.
Update: 7:39pm PST -The French Embassy in Tokyo has reportedly said that weak radioactive material could reach Tokyo in 10 hrs.
Update: 7:24pm PST – The Prime Minister has admitted that the containment chamber was damaged. On going fire at reactor 4. NBC is reporting that this is the 2nd worst nuclear disaster in history. All people in a 20km radius are being asked to evacuate if they have not already.
Update: 6:20pm PST -Kyodo reporting “No. 2 reactor container damaged” France is also reporting that the disaster is a 5 or 6 on a nuclear disaster scale of 1 to 7
Update: 5:30pm PST – Japan’s chief Cabinet secretary was quoted as saying that he could NOT rule out the possibility of meltdowns at all three plants!
Update: 5:22pm PST -The radioactive fuel rods at the No. 2 reactor of the Fukushima No. 1 power station were fully exposed at one point Monday, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said, raising the possibility that it suffered a partial core meltdown according to the Japan Times.
Update: 5:08pm PST – There is a high possibility that radioactive substances are being released. Kyodo has reported that radioactive materials are being released!
Update: 4:37pm PST – The explosion is thought to have damaged the reactors pressure suppression system. Radiation now tops legal limits.
Update: 4:25pm PST - Kyodo has reported that the suppression pool may have been damaged which would increase the risks of radiation greatly. The containment vessel could have also been damaged! Operators of the plant have been told to evacuate. 50% of the length of the fuel rods exposed.
Update: 4:14pm PST – Explosion heard at Unit 2 of Fukushima Dai-ichi plant, nuclear safety agency says – AP – Live Press Conference – During the first part of the conference it was reported that this explosion could be the worse by far.
Update: 4:08pm PST – Reuters flash says explosion heard at reactor #2!
Update: 3:05pm PST – CBC Report
Technicians are racing to prevent a meltdown after uranium rods were fully exposed twice Monday on a third nuclear reactor at a northern Japan power plant that was reeling from explosions at two other reactors.
The fuel rods were exposed after the reactor in Unit 2 at Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Fukushima Dai-ichi power plant because a steam vent wouldn’t open, the utility said.
Water levels were restored after they first dropped at the reactor, but the rods remained exposed Monday night after the second episode, officials said.
Update: 2:55pm PST - The Guardian reports that independent experts in the field cannot get reliable data from the Japanese government and that there is a history of info doctoring and cover-ups related to Japan’s nuclear facilities. Link
Update: 2:49pm PST – Russia Today is reporting that radiation levels near the Fukushima nuclear plant are RISING.
It is very important to understand that this situation is changing every minute and that no one knows for sure if deadly radiation will make it to the U.S. west coast.
Fukushima On Saturday (GeoEye/Associated Press)
BBC Update 1:53pm PST
“The New Scientist’s Short Sharp Science blog has been asking nuclear scientists about the situation at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. It says: “The real fear is that harmful radioactive material will escape from the reactor core.”
Fox News is reporting that the fuel rods in ALL three damaged reactors are set to meltdown. This is not fear mongering this is simple fact. The BBC is also reporting that Japanese Officials are in full scale panic mode. Moscow officials have not ruled out the fact that Japan may be covering up the extent of the damage.
Aaron Dykes, writing for Inforwars.com has reported that Japanese officials fear a third explosion.
“A fresh report out of Russia Today reveals heightened concerns that a third explosion may be imminent, following the news that the Unit 2 cooling system at Fukushima Dai-Ichi is fully down. Further the fuel rods are known to be partially exposed, making the system more vulnerable, according to Kyoto News:
The plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., said a steam vent of the pressure container of the reactor that houses the rods was closed for some reason, raising fears that its core will melt at a faster pace.
“The fuel rods in all three of the most troubled Japanese nuclear reactors — each of which lost its cooling system in Friday’s massive earthquake and tsunami — appear to be melting, the nation’s chief government spokesman said Monday,” reported Fox News.
Officials are now worried that a 3rd reactor may explode, raising fears of a full scale nuclear meltdown. At the same time multiple news agencies including CBC are reporting that fallout for the west coast is NOT a risk.
Japan quake: Radiation rises at Fukushima nuclear plant
Watch: Residents are checked for radiation exposure in Koriyama
Radiation from Japan's quake-stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has reached harmful levels, the government says.
The warning comes after the plant was rocked by a third blast, which appears to have damaged one of the reactors' containment systems for the first time.
If it is breached, there are fears of more serious radioactive leaks.
Officials have extended the danger zone, warning residents within 30km (18 miles) to evacuate or stay indoors.
The government later said that radiation levels at the plant's main gate had fallen sharply.
The crisis has been prompted by last Friday's 9.0-magnitude quake and tsunami in north-eastern Japan.
On Tuesday morning, reactor 2 became the third to explode in four days at the Fukushima Daiichi plant.
A fire also briefly broke out at reactor 4, and is believed to have caused radioactive leaks.
Reactor 4 had been shut down before the quake for maintenance, but its spent nuclear fuel rods are still stored on the site.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said they were closely watching the remaining two reactors at the plant, 5 and 6, as they had begun overheating slightly.
He said cooling seawater was being pumped into reactors 1 and 3 - which were returning to normal - and into reactor 2, which remained unstable.
There was a hydrogen blast in reactor 3 on Monday, following another in reactor 1 on Saturday.
Radiation levels in the Japanese capital - 250km (155 miles) away - were reported to be higher than normal, but officials said there were no health dangers.
Flights cancelledTokyo residents have been stocking up on supplies, with some stores selling out of items such as food, water, face masks and candles.
“Start Quote
End Quote Yukio Edano Chief Cabinet SecretaryDo not go outside”
Housewife Mariko Kawase, 34, told AFP news agency: "I am shopping now because we may not be able to go out due to the radiation."
Radiation levels in Chiba prefecture, next to Tokyo, were 10 times above normal levels, Kyodo News reports.
In other developments:
- A 70-year-old woman has been rescued alive from rubble in the coastal town of Otsuchi, five days after the disaster
- Airlines from Asia and Europe - including Germany's Lufthansa, Air China and Taiwan's EVA Airways - halted flights to Tokyo
- The Nikkei share index tumbled again, ending 10.55% lower, as the central bank pumped almost $100bn (£62bn) more cash into the financial system, a day after its record $183bn intervention
- Ninety-one countries have offered aid to Japan, ranging from blankets to search dogs and military transport aircraft
In a televised address, Prime Minister Naoto Kan said: "There is still a very high risk of more radiation coming out."
Homes sealedHe said that 140,000 people living within between 20km (12 mile) and 30km of the plant were at risk and should not leave their homes.
Some 70,000 residents within 20km have already been evacuated, and the premier urged anyone left in that exclusion zone to leave.
"Now we are talking about levels that can impact human health," said the chief cabinet secretary.
He told residents: "Please do not go outside. Please stay indoors. Please close windows and make your homes airtight.
"Don't turn on ventilators. Please hang your laundry indoors."
The government also announced a 30-km no-fly zone above the plant to prevent planes spreading the radiation further afield.
Rolling blackoutsAfter Tuesday's blast, radiation dosages of up to 400 millisieverts per hour were recorded at the site.
A single dose of 1,000 millisieverts causes temporary radiation sickness such as nausea and vomiting.
Rolling blackouts would affect five million households on Tuesday, said Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco), which runs the 40-year-old plant.
Japan's nuclear safety agency said earlier it suspected the latest blast may have damaged reactor 2's suppression chamber.
The BBC's Chris Hogg in Tokyo says that would make it a more serious incident than the previous explosions, which were thought just to have damaged the buildings housing the reactors.
The latest official death toll from the quake and tsunami stands at about 2,400 - but some estimates suggest at least 10,000 may have been killed.
Thousands are still unaccounted for - including hundreds of tourists - while many remote towns and villages have not been reached.
More than 500,000 people have been made homeless.
The government has deployed 100,000 troops to lead the aid effort.
The UK Foreign Office has updated its travel advice to warn against all non-essential travel to Tokyo and north-eastern Japan. British nationals and friends and relatives of those in Japan can contact the Foreign Office on +44(0) 20 7008 0000 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting +44(0) 20 7008 0000 end_of_the_skype_highlighting.
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