We know that TEPCO is in the dangerous process of removing fuel rods from the No. 4 reactor, but since Japan is on the verge of passing a state secrets law that would make it a serious offense to leak information about Fukushima or for journalists to try to get that information, it’s just highly unlikely that anyone will tell us if there’s another nuclear disaster. We do know that steam has been observed coming from the Reactor 3 building three times this week, and we know what it’s been associated with in the past — which ain’t much, but it’s all we have:
Tepco (translation), Dec. 27, 2013: At around 7:00 am on December 27, and confirmed by the camera that from Unit 3 reactor building, 5th floor near the center, steam is generated. Have not been identified abnormal plant conditions of 54 minutes at 7:00 am the same day, the indicated value of the monitoring post (meteorological data of 50 minutes at 7:00 am, 5.1 ℃ temperature, 93.1% humidity).SOURCE: Tepco (July 24, 2013)
Tepco (translation), Dec. 25, 2013: At around 7:00 am on December 25, and confirmed by the camera that from Unit 3 reactor building, 5th floor near the center, steam is generated. Have not been identified abnormal plant conditions of 8:00 am the same day time, the indicated value of the monitoring post (meteorological data of 50 minutes at 7:00 am, 2.8 ℃ temperature, 76.7% humidity).Tepco (translation), Dec. 24, 2013: At around 7:00 am on December 19, and confirmed by the camera that from Unit 3 reactor building, 5th floor near the center, steam is generated. Have not been identified abnormal plant conditions of 55 minutes at 7:00 am the same day, the indicated value of the monitoring post (meteorological data of 40 minutes at 7:00 am, 5.6 ℃ temperature, 93.7% humidity). Then, in 58 minutes around 7:00 am December 24, steam is no longer observed. It should be noted, have not been identified abnormal plant conditions in a 3-minute time at 8:00 am the same day, the indicated value monitoring posts, etc. (meteorological data of 50 minutes at 7:00 am, 4.1 ℃ temperature, 74.9% humidity).
Is Reactor 3 melting down now? We have no official way of knowing. Blogger Susanne Posel is assuming it as reality:
TEPCO are reporting that “radioactive steam has suddenly begun emanating from previously exploded nuclear reactor building #3 at the Fukushima disaster site in Japan.”
The corporation is not clear on the details of the sudden change at Reactor 3 because of “lethal radiation levels in that building.”
Summations from experts conclude that this may “be the beginning of a ‘spent fuel pool criticality (meltdown)’ involving up to 89 TONS of nuclear fuel burning up into the atmosphere and heading to North America.”
Under normal circumstances, I’d dismiss this as hysterical fearmongering and tell you it was highly irresponsible to make such statements. But neither can I tell you with any kind of clarity or reliability exactly what is going on. We know that TEPCO has lied all along, and I don’t think our own government isn’t going to tell us even if something is (under the law, they have the authority to lie to us in order to prevent panic that would affect the food supply). So it’s not unreasonable to assume that whatever’s going on, it’s usually a lot worse than what the Powers That Be will admit.
Because when corporate interests have become synonymous with those of a nation’s government, the safety of the citizens is way down on the priority list.
“… the safety of the citizens is way down on the priority list.” Especially it’s homeless citizens.
“Seiji Sasa hits the train station in this northern Japanese city before dawn most mornings to prowl for homeless men.
He isn’t a social worker. He’s a recruiter. The men in Sendai Station are potential laborers that Sasa can dispatch to contractors in Japan’s nuclear disaster zone for a bounty of $100 a head.
“This is how labor recruiters like me come in every day,” Sasa says, as he strides past men sleeping on cardboard and clutching at their coats against the early winter cold.
It’s also how Japan finds people willing to accept minimum wage for one of the most undesirable jobs in the industrialized world: working on the $35 billion, taxpayer-funded effort to clean up radioactive fallout across an area of northern Japan larger than Hong Kong.”
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/12/30/us-fukushima-workers-idUSBRE9BT00520131230
Despite the presence of a few decent human beings, this is where our “democratic capitalism” is taking us. Both parties.
Fukushima and the USS Ronald Reagan. How did the aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan become so contaminated with nuclear fallout that it was denied port of entry all over Asia? How did what happened at Fukushima cause the “nuclear winter” that the Reagan experienced? Why are so many crew members on the Reagan now suffering radiation sickness? They claim that Fukushima experienced a “meltdown,” but the evidence points to an explosion. Perhaps the NSA can clear this matter up? http://nypost.com/2013/12/22/70-navy-saliors-left-sic/
I notice that the trolls for the radioactive death industry have taken a low profile lately. And, judging by the coverage vacuum, Corporate media apparently believe this isn’t an issue anymore. Protect Our Corporate Owners at all costs seems to be the watch phrase.
Japan finds people willing to accept minimum wage for one of the most undesirable jobs in the industrialized world: working on the $35 billion, taxpayer-funded effort to clean up radioactive fallout across an area of northern Japan larger than Hong Kong.”
So Japan is solving its homeless problem by killing off the victims with high doses of radiation. And for minimum wage.
Why didn’t we think of that?
An area of Japan larger than Hong Kong? Um, HK isn’t very big. I would feel relieved if the danger area was only somewhat larger than HK. But I guess it is a big area to try to “clean up”. Personally, I would never set foot anywhere in Japan at this point, or anywhere within 2000 miles.
That’s scary about the 89 tons. We are all fucked if that happens. If that is just the amount at one reactor, then it would seem the others would be doomed too (who would be able to keep the other ones from melting down with all that radioactivity around for years and years?). I may need to read the post on the matrix and try to figure out how to ditch this planet.
But even before today, I just can’t get over how complacent (verging on oblivious) people are about this disaster. I stopped eating seafood after the BP disaster until I moved from the Gulf coast to the west coast. Then I completely stopped eating seafood as soon as I heard the first news about Fukushima (I don’t care if it was caught in the Red Sea at this point). I even feel worried about the fact that seafood comes into contact with equipment used to process the other kinds of food we need to eat (at restaurants and markets). If this were the country I grew up in during the 60s thru 80s, there would have been wall to wall coverage of these kinds of safety issues and concerns. The fact that the media seems more intent on glossing over BP and Fukushima just convinces me even more that there is a huge danger they are trying not to call any attention to (if it was safe or almost safe, they would have reputable scientists doing studies and telling us so).