Japan nuclear ‘suicide squads’ paid fortunes as ‘battle is lost for reactor 2′

Home » Asia, Disasters, Survival » Japan nuclear ‘suicide squads’ paid fortunes as ‘battle is lost for reactor 2'

Subcontractors are reportedly being offered up to £760 a day to brave high radiation levels.

Workers at the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant are being paid vast sums of money to brave high radiation levels – as experts warn that the race to save the facility has been lost.

Subcontractors are reportedly being offered up to 100,000 yen a day (£760) – 20 times the going rate – but some are still refusing the dangerous work.

Radiation levels are still extremely high at the plant, with water around the reactors emitting a highly dangerous 1,000 millisieverts per hour.

There are also fears that the plant is leaking more radiation as sea water around the plant was found to contain levels 3,335 higher than normal – almost three times higher than last week.

In a further development, an expert who helped design the plant said today that the race to prevent reactor number two melting down had been lost.

The plant’s operators also said today that the four reactors that suffered explosions will be shut down for good once they are under control – and could be sealed in special material to keep radiation in.

Richard Lahey, who was head of safety research for boiling-water reactors at General Electric when the company installed the units at Fukushima, told the Guardian that he believed nuclear fuel had melted and burned through the reactor floor in unit number two.

That would expose the core to the atmosphere, risking more serious radiation leaks.

He told the Guardian: ‘The indications we have, from the reactor to radiation readings and the materials they are seeing, suggest that the core has melted through the bottom of the pressure vessel in unit two, and at least some of it is down on the floor of the dry well.

‘I hope I am wrong, but that is certainly what the evidence is pointing towards.’

The major worry is that the lava-like radioactive core will react with the concrete floor in Unit Two, sending radioactive gasses into the atmosphere.

Fortunately, though, the plant is flooded with seawater which will cool the material quicker than normal, reducing the amount of gas released.

Water is also causing problems for the plant workers. Now that power has been restored to pumping systems they can pump water into the stricken reactors, but the water coming out is highly radioactive and poses a risk to health.

According to the Independent newspaper, subcontractors have been offered the huge daily rates to take part in the containment efforts.

It comes as a team of American robots was dispatched to help efforts to keep the reactors under control without risking lives.The Energy Department robots will take pictures and measure radiation levels in areas where a human would not be sent.

Former worker Shingo Kanno said: ‘They know it’s dangerous so they have to pay up to 20 times what they usually do.’

The seasonal farmer and construction worker turned down offers of work. ‘My wife and family are against it because it’s so dangerous.’

There has been widespread speculation in Japan that the levels of radiation workers face could ultimately prove lethal.

A new evacuation zone is now being considered by the Tokyo Electric Power Company which could mean another 130,000 people have to evacuate.

Seawater outside the crippled nuclear power plant in north-eastern Japan was found to contain 3,335 times the usual amount of radioactive iodine – the highest rate yet and a sign that more contaminated water was making its way into the ocean, officials said today.

Readings on Friday found levels were 1,250 times higher than normal.

The amount of iodine-131 found offshore 300 yards south of the power plant did not pose an immediate threat to human health, but was a ‘concern’, said Hidehiko Nishiyama, of the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency.

He said there was no fishing in the area. ‘We will nail down the cause, and will do our utmost to prevent it from rising further,’ said Mr Nishiyama.

The power plant has been leaking radiation since the March 11 tsunami slammed into Japan’s north east, knocking out power and back-up systems crucial to keeping temperatures down inside the plant’s reactors.

Residents within 12 miles have been evacuated, while those up to 19 miles have been urged to leave as radiation has made its way into vegetables, raw milk and water. Last week tap water as far away as Tokyo, 140 miles to the south, contained levels of cancer-causing iodine-131 considered unsafe for infants.

Radiation from the Fukushima leak has been also detected across Britain this week. The Health Protection Agency revealed that radioactive iodine had already been discovered 5,500 miles from the stricken plant in Oxfordshire and Glasgow.

Experts said the levels were ‘minuscule’ and posed no health risk to Britons. However, its arrival highlights how far radioactive material can travel on the winds – and how vulnerable Britain would be if there was a serious release of radiation thousands of miles away.

The government acknowledged yesterday that its safeguards had been insufficient to protect the plant against the magnitude-9.0 earthquake and tsunami.

‘Our preparedness was not sufficient,’ chief Cabinet secretary Yukio Edano said. ‘When the current crisis is over, we must examine the accident closely and thoroughly review’ the safety standards.

Highly toxic plutonium was the latest contaminant found seeping into the soil outside the plant, Tepco said. Safety officials said the amounts did not pose a risk to humans, but the finding supports suspicions that dangerously radioactive water is leaking from damaged nuclear fuel rods.

Workers succeeded last week in reconnecting some parts of the plant to the power grid. But as they pumped in water to cool the reactors and nuclear fuel, they discovered numerous pools of radioactive water, including in the basements of several buildings and in trenches outside.

The contaminated water has been emitting many times the amount of radiation that the government considers safe for workers. It must be pumped out before electricity can be restored and the regular cooling systems powered up.

That has left officials struggling with two crucial but contradictory efforts: pumping in water to keep the fuel rods cool and pumping out contaminated water.

Officials are hoping tanks at the complex will be able to hold the water, or that new tanks can be trucked in. The Nuclear Safety Commission said other possibilities included digging a storage pit for the contaminated water, recycling it back into the reactors or even pumping it to an offshore tanker.

Yesterday three workers trying to connect a pump outside the Unit 3 reactor were splashed by water that gushed from a pipe. Though they wore suits meant to be waterproof and protect against high levels of radiation, Mr Nishiyama said the men were soaked to their underwear.
They quickly washed it off and were not injured, officials said.

Last week, two workers were hospitalised with burns after they waded into highly radioactive water that reached their knees while wearing ankle-high protective boots. They have been treated and released.

Nikkei, Japan’s top business newspaper, called it ‘outrageous’ that Tepco had been slow to release information about trenches outside the reactors filled with contaminated water, one just a few inches (10cm) from overflowing.

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UPDATE: Nuke Pills For $200 on eBay; Desperation at Nuke Plants; Suicide Mission for Workers; Radiation Reaches Alaska; Real-Time US Radiation Map

UPDATE: March 16, 2011 11:00 CST

…Potassium iodide prices go through the roof… Bidders drive prices to over $200 a pack! (link)

…Desperation: Officials us anti-riot water cannon to try and cool spent nuclear fuel (link)

…180 workers, rotating in groups of 50, are working on reactors…physicist calls it a suicide mission

…We’re very close now to the point of no return

…Tokyo radiation levels 20 times higher than normal…no serious health effects (link)

…Russia’s Nuclear Chief warns all six reactors could meltdown, but no nuclear explosion will result (link)

…US Military Shuts Down Portion of Internet on ‘*.mil’ computer systems to open up bandwidth for emergency response…high traffic sites like Yahoo.com, Amazon.com, eBay.com not available. (link)

…radiation reaches Alaska (link)

…Real time US radiation map

UPDATE: March 16, 2011 01:45 CST

…Japanese officials suspend emergency operations at Fukushima facility because of high radiation levels

…International Atomic Energy Agency: dose rates at reactors 3 and 4 up to 400 millisieverts-per-hour, equivalent to about 2000 chest x-rays per hour (IAEA Website - site may be down due to extremely high traffic volume)

…Workers evacuated to safe area

…Japan’s Chief Cabinet Minister says that they cannot “rule out the possibility of a meltdown at all three troubled reactors at the plant” (link)

…US Military said to have been asked to assist. No details provided.

…Japan’s ambassador to international organizations requests assessment team from IAEA

…What happens next?

…Jacqueline Williams, program director for radiation medicine at the University of Rochester, says the chance for a radiation plume reaching US is “close to zero” (link)

…scientist at India’s Department of Atomic Energy says “10 percent probability” of worst-case complete meltdown and radiation exposure (link)

…Japan’s Nikkei 225, which lost upwards of 2000 points since Thursday of last week, recovers 500 points (5.68%) on Wednesday

…Europe not convinced as markets tumble.

UPDATE: March 15, 2011 11:45 CST

…Japanese stock market down 2000 points in less than a week.

…World financial markets in panic – commodities, stocks, precious metals all down significantly in single day trading

…situation in Japan is escalating

…Over half a million evacuated. Prime Minister of Japan urges residents within 19 miles of reactors to flee or bug in

…Princeton Physicist: “It’s way past Three Mile Island already.”

…Tokyo radiation levels rising (200 miles from reactor site)… Live Geiger Counter

…Radiation levels around Japanese cities in real time (Link) *Note, due to an extremely large volume of traffic, this web site may not be accessible.*

…Secondary source: Latest real-time radiation level screen capture (source):

…While earlier posted fallout map showed innaccurate “RAD” level count, wind patterns remain intact… Radiation set to cross Pacific

…Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokesman David McIntyre: “Right now it’s quite possible that there could be some radiation floating over the United States“

…Radiation threatens California agricultural region (Map)

…Perspective on Radiation Levels:

Here’s a chart showing the range of radiation levels in milli sieverts (mSv). Currently up to 400mSv per hour are being recorded in the immediate vicinity of Fukushima. Remember, although these figures may suggest that the level of radiation being recorded at Fukushima is not extremely high, the danger is constant exposure over a period of time. For this reason, people within the 20km evacuation zone are at high risk of serious harm.

7,000-10,000mSv – Person dies from radiation poisoning. (Full body exposure).
1,000mSv – Nausea and vomiting (Full body exposure).
500mSv – Decrease of lymphocytes in peripheral blood (white blood cells that defend your body) (Full body exposure).
200mSv – No clinical conditions confirmed below this number
10mSv – 1 year’s worth of natural radiation (Brazil)
6.9mSv – CT scan
2.4mSv – 1 year’s worth of natural radiation (world average)
1mSv – Limit of one’s year’s exposure to non-natural radiation (excluding medical examinations)
0.6mSv – Stomach X-ray
0.2mSv – A return air trip from Tokyo to New York
0.05mSv – Chest X-ray (or the level of radiation expected around a nuclear power plant – in practice it is much lower than this)

…more updates to come as information becomes available

UPDATE: March 12, 2011 15:30 CST

…Japanese officials say nuclear disaster averted; but new reactor is now in danger

…Millions currently without power, gas

…Report from Mito, Japan:

In Mito, another town in the area, long lines formed outside a damaged supermarket as hundreds waited for medicine, water and other supplies. Supplies ran low as people stocked up, not knowing how long it would take for fresh goods to arrive.

“All the shops are closed, this is one of the few still open. So I came to buy and stock up on diapers, drinking water and food,” Kunio Iwatsuki, 68, told Reuters.

…Tour of grocery store in earthquake/Tsunami stricken area – Shelves just about empty:

…Grocery store in Tokyo – supplies of basic goods, non-perishables dwindling:

UPDATE: March 12, 2011 12:06 CST

…Status of nuclear plant is unconfirmed… Reports vary… some suggest plant has melted down… others suggest plant is intact

…Tens of thousands missing in Japan

…Thousands being evacuated in potential nuke fallout zone… 12 mile radius

…Explosion in building housing reactors (video)

…Chernobyl-like meltdown possible (video)

…Fuel rods may have melted

…West coast residents on alert in the event of a nuclear meltdown

…Wind may carry radiation across Pacific to West coast of North America…. 180 Hour Wind Forecast Model

…Unofficial fallout map (Note that this map has not yet been legitimately sourced, thus the estimated “Rad” levels are as of yet unconfirmed, though the wind patterns match those of the 180 hour forecast above):

***This Nuclear Fallout Map below has been identified as a hoax. As mentioned in our original posting, the source was not confirmed. We chose to publish this map to demonstrate the fallout pattern in the event high levels of radiation were released in Japan. ****

…As of yet, the estimates for radiation release levels in the event of meltdown as measured in Rads/Greys is unknown, therefore Rem/Microrem biologically effective doses cannot be measured accurately…

…radiation level outside the reactor became elevated to 1,015 microsievert—the equivalent of being exposed to the maximum allowable level for a full year in a single day. The level has since come down sharply.

…Survival / Alternative News forums go ballistic

…General Radiation Absorption ESTIMATES (source):

0-50 rads – No obvious short-term effects
80-120 rads – You have a 10% chance of vomiting and experiencing nausia for a few days
130 -170 rads – You have a 25% chance of vomiting and contracting other symptoms
180-220 rads – You have a 50% chance of vomiting and having other severe physical effects
270-330 rads – 20% chance of death in 6 weeks, or you will recover in a few months.
400-500 rads – 50% chance of death
550-750 rads – Nausia within a few hours ; no survivors
Greater than 1000 rads – immediate incapacitation and death within a week or less.

…Japanese emergency officials are planning to distribute iodine to those in nuclear radiation zones:

Japanese authorities are making plans to distribute stable iodine, a treatment to prevent radiation poisoning, to residents near two damaged nuclear plants, the International Atomic Energy Agency says.

…FDA has historically recommended Potassium Iodide (KI) within 3 – 4 hours of radiation exposure

…Retail provider of KI

…Related SHTFplan articles:

The Effects of Nuclear Weapons

Survive Anything: Nuclear Attack

UPDATE: March 11, 2011 19:45 CST

…88,000 Reported Missing, Hundreds dead

UPDATE: March 11, 2011 17:00 CST

…California: 1 Confirmed Dead, 2 Swept out to sea as they watched incoming Tsunami

…Oregon: 4 Swept out to sea, rescued by Coast Guard

UPDATE: March 11, 2011 16:30 CST

…Reports that Fukushima nuclear reactor is at 2.1 times normal pressure

…Radiation reportedly at 1000 times normal and rising; no evacuations of plant or surrounding areas as of yet.

The following just released video from PBS Newshour documents just how powerful the Japanese Tsunami was. It completely demolishes an entire village in under a minute:

The Sakurajima Volcano on Southern Tip of Japan has begun erupting:

ORIGINAL STORY POSTED March 11, 2011 09:00 CST:

…An estimated 8.9 magnitude earthquake off the east coast of Japan sent Tsunamis across the Pacific, striking Japan with waves reportedly as high as 33 feet.

…Other Southeast nations have also been struck.

…Hawaii was inundated with a Tsunami earlier this morning.

…Oregon closes schools…California on alert…expect waves potentially as high as 5 feet around 11am EST

…Canada on alert

Videos from Japan

Massive Tsunami wave races inland…tons of debris…burning fires atop waves…boats, cars, buildings uprooted:

Tsunami overwhelms Japan port city:

Tsunami causes whirpool:

Japan Tsunami: Cars, Debris thrown around by water like children’s toys:

Tsunami Reaches Hawaii:

Wave’s reportedly not unusually high. Officials warn waves may get as high as 6 feet:

The scene at a local grocery store in Hawaii as residents anticipate the Tsunami:

Tsunami in Open Sea – Headed towards other south east Asian countries…Almost all of Pacific Basin on alert:

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