2015 February 19 « nuclear-news

A Troubling Spike, Infant Deaths in Alaska: a Fukushima Effect?

February 19, 2015

by JANETTE D. SHERMAN, MD and JOSEPH MANGANO, MPH

A recent article from the Anchorage Alaska Dispatch News on 02-14-15, “Rash of sleep-related infant deaths troubles health officials” bears consideration.

Many of the infant deaths are attributed to babies sleeping with parents, alcohol abuse, poor parenting, etc. Notably, the article stated: “Almost of the families who suffered a recent baby death were low income.” But, has infant care and poverty varied that much in the past decade?

Infant mortality in Alaska has been falling for years, however 122 infants died in 2012-2013, compared to 85 deaths two years before.

Research of causes of this highly unexpected increase is needed, and consideration should be given to the arrival of radioactive fallout from Fukushima after the 2011 meltdown. Radiation levels were highest in Alaska, Hawaii and the Pacific west coast .

Since we know the un-born and young are at greater risk from exposure to nuclear radiation, effects that have been documented since the Marshall Islands nuclear tests, x-rays of pregnant women, and the Chernobyl catastrophe of 1986.

According to the CDC, infant (<1 year) deaths in Alaska have been falling steadily, but increaseds after 2011:

2010-2011 390.82 per 100,000 births(86 deaths)

2012-2013 533.66 per 100,000 births (122 deaths)

This is a 37% increase in the rate per 100,000

Few data exist, but CDC did collect gross beta in air (picocuries per cubic meter). The period March 15 to April 30 in 2011 was the peak period when Fukushima fallout entered the environment.

For Anchorage AK, the levels are:

March 15 to April 30, 2010 (14 measurements) .0029 pCi/m3

March 15 to April 30, 2011 (13 measurements) .0113 pCi/m3

Dividing .0113 / .0029 and you get a ratio 3.86 times higher in 2011.

The 2011/2010 ratio for the rest of the year was 0.79 (2010 was actually higher than 2011).

Gross beta isn’t the most precise measure, but it is indicative of other isotopes that are documented from Fukushima.

After Chernobyl, and significantly, in Belarus, data confirmed elevated Cs-137 levels and adverse effects upon the blood, blood vessels and hearts of children. This research, by Bandashevsky demonstrated the link between Cs-137 and heart damage in Belarus’ children and in laboratory animals, and earned him a prison sentence.

We know that high and continuing levels of isotopes, including Cs-137 are being released from the damaged Fukushima plants. Cs-137, like potassium becomes deposited in soft tissue.

As for the infant deaths in Alaska, we hope that careful and complete autopsies were performed on the dead children, and that levels of radioisotopes be measured in humans and wildlife.

February 19, 2015 Posted by dunrenard | USA | Fukushima Radiation | Leave a comment

Japanese media reports IAEA urged to dump contaminated water into ocean but no such statement made in real

February 19

Japanese media is misleading the Japanese citizens to accept the discharge of contaminated water to the Pacific as a request of an international organization

On 2/17/2015, IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) completed third review of Japan’s plans to decommission Fukushima plant.

NHK and other major Japanese media covered the press conference by Juan Carlos Lentijo, leader of IAEA inspection team and reported that he strongly recommended to consider discharging contaminated water into the Pacific.

They read the increasing contaminated water storage is stopping the decommissioning plan, they are running out of the storage place.

However on the website of IAEA, they actually state only “The IAEA team considered the current practice of storing contaminated water a temporary measure and highlighted the need for a more sustainable solution. “, which does not mention “discharge”. In the statement they highly evaluated “the improvement and expansion of systems to clean contaminated water”, “the installation of new, improved tanks to store contaminated water” and “the operation of an underground water bypass system”, which have been implemented since 2013.

None of the Japanese media released the unedited press conference video without interpreted subtitle.

http://ai.2ch.sc/test/read.cgi/newsplus/1424236682/

https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/pressreleases/iaea-team-completed-third-review-japans-plans-decommission-fukushima

Source: Fukushima Diary

Japanese media reports IAEA urged to dump contaminated water into ocean but no such statement made in real

February 19, 2015 Posted by dunrenard | Japan | Fukushima Daiichi | Leave a comment

Walking atop an underground battle

February 19, 2015

FUKUSHIMA — The mass of machinery that engineers hope can stem the relentless flow of water into the gutted Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant impresses by its sheer size as well as its ambitious aim.

Huge 55cm-diameter ducts snake out from the roof of the refrigeration plant that forms the heart of this beast, which Tokyo Electric Power Co. showed the media for the first time Wednesday. When it starts beating, a minus 30 C solution of calcium chloride will course through them at 2 meters per second.

This refrigerant will circulate through more than 1,500 buried pipes encircling four of the plant’s six reactor buildings. If all goes according to plan, a “frozen earth” wall will form, stopping the influx of groundwater that now leaks back out as streams of radioactive contamination.

The refrigeration plant houses 30 units, each with a capacity of about 70 tons of refrigeration, defined as the heat reduction needed to freeze a ton of 0 C water in 24 hours. To put this in perspective, a Tepco guide described it as the freezing capacity of two tuna-fishing ships.

While the system entails 3.5km of ductwork, it will operate by the same principle as a household fridge. After absorbing heat from the soil and re-emerging from the ground, the refrigerant, now warmed up to minus 20-something, will be cooled back down to the right temperature with CFCs. All 30 units will go on full blast until the soil congeals, after which about half will be turned off, Tepco said.

Only about 15% of the equipment is in place. Tepco plans to start freezing the ground on the inland side, which is about 90% finished, before closing the circle on the coastal side.

Tepco had initially aimed to complete the installation by the end of March. But a fatal accident brought everything to halt for roughly two weeks while the company performed safety checks. Work resumed Feb. 3 but is running two to four weeks behind schedule.

“We’re putting safety before our schedule,” Fukushima Daiichi manager Akira Ono said.

Roughly half of the workers at the plant call Fukushima Prefecture home. For them, staying safe is not only about protecting themselves, but also about sparing their disaster-ravaged communities any more pain.

Snow fell at the plant on the day of the media tour. Gloves were little help against the biting cold, and the goggles shielding our eyes from radiation kept fogging up. For the 6,000-plus workers a day who toil at the ruined plant, such grim conditions have become a fact of life.

Source: Nikkei Asian Review

http://asia.nikkei.com/Japan-Update/Walking-atop-an-underground-battle

February 19, 2015 Posted by dunrenard | Japan | Fukushima Daiichi | Leave a comment