nuclear-news

Roundup of news on Fukushima nuclear reactor crisis

There is no known  “safe dose” of ionizing radiation, and the government is under increasing pressure to do a full analysis of health impacts that radioactive fallout could have on nursing mothers and infants

Japan Nuclear Update, Clean Energy.org, April 28th, 2011   Sara Barczak › “……..the ongoing nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant continues to present new challenges. The nuclear fuel in reactor Unit 1 is apparently melting with emergency cooling efforts requiring 6 tons of water injected every hour.

Radiation being released at the reactor are at the highest levels since the disaster began as reported by Bloomberg, with peak levels of more than four times the annual dose allowed for Japanese nuclear workers. The overcrowded spent nuclear fuel pool at reactor Unit 4 is also suspected to be severely damaged and emergency cooling efforts are failing.

This spent fuel pool contains more used reactor fuel than any of the other pools at the complex, with over 1,500 spent fuel rods. To make matters worse, the weight of the water being injected into the pool, more than 200 tons, is further compromising the structural integrity of the pool and the containment vessel of reactor Unit 4.

Last week, Fukushima Governor Yuhei Sato vowed that he would not allow Tokyo Power and Electric (Tepco) to resume operations at any of the reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi facility (Tepco has said it will permanently close the damaged reactor Units 1-4). Additionally, the Japanese government announced that it has taken public relations efforts away from Tepco; they will now primarily be handled by the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

The Japanese government is considering building a containment wall around the crippled reactors to prevent further spread of radioactivity that has already contaminated groundwater up to 10,000 times the legal limit. The wall would extend far underground to reach sedimentary layers that would not absorb water. This is an extreme measure to prevent the continued leakage of highly radioactive water from the plant.

As we reported in previous postings, radiation has been found in soil, food, water, and now, in the breast milk ofJapanese mothers. There is no known  “safe dose” of ionizing radiation, and the government is under increasing pressure to do a full analysis of health impacts that radioactive fallout could have on nursing mothers and infants….. http://blog.cleanenergy.org/2011/04/28/april-28-japan-nuclear-update/

April 29, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | - Fukushima 2011