From: Andrew Johnson
Date: 2012-04-16 10:42:11
I have resisted sending out some of the recent updates about Fukushima – due to the unreliability of both the mainstream and the frequent block-caps scaremongering of the alternative media. I was sent this by a good friend – who was sent it by another friend! It refers to some high level communications, which seem to be legitimate. The basic problem being described is the storage of the cooling of the reactor vessel and the spent fuel rods, which are apparently still hot. Now, it is true that it does take a long time for these things to cool, due to the nature of nuclear reactors – therefore, the lack of ongoing cooling is an issue. However, the size of any possible explosions (as referred to below) might be more debateable. To offer some of my own commentary, and my own knowledge of the Japanese (I have done a little work with a few people from Toshiba Industrial Controls): 1) We know the situation has been bad and I know that the surrounding area has been badly affected – and perhaps people will never be able to return to their homes there. 2) Japanese National Pride and corporate and political interests will, indeed, reduce the likelihood of there being honesty about any ongoing issues – even when they are serious. 3) The Japanese are good engineers and resourceful, though they tend to kind of think in a “linear” fashion but they are very thorough. There is a request to sign a petition at the end, which I have done and see no harm in doing. It is again a reminder of how those who are responsible for keeping free-energy technology covered – in large or small ways – are partly responsible for this disaster – and any ongoing effects. (I have written about some of these people). Let us hope that the very advanced technology, which we know exists, is brought to bear – either openly, or behind the scenes, to prevent this situation becoming any worse – and further to improve matters in the future. Maybe a “turning point” has been reached or will be reached soon. And then, there’s always this story, from a few years ago, to think about…. www.ufocasebook.com/… Subject: Kagedo/Update on FukushimaThis is very serious. My Friends have worked between Japan and Seattle for nearly 40 years and know folks, who know what’s recently been happening at the nuclear disaster site—now that it is no longer being covered by media. They are not prone to exaggeration. We are pretty much in the dark about it, but need to wake up to what is really happening. We expend a great deal of energy and capital trying to protect the environment around us and are nearly oblivious to a very large looming cloud. I urge you to pay some attention to this and share this with others. Dear Friends and Clients, Bill and I have just returned from Japan and wanted to get you this new report on the Japanese nuclear disaster. As well, we want to ask you all to consider taking a few minutes to sign the White House Petition (information on that is below), requesting the foundation of an international advisory team to propose practical methods for dismantling the unstable fuel pools at the plant. Unfortunately, the situation at Fukushima Daiichi is anything but stable. The Japanese Government and TEPCO both certainly would like everyone to believe that all is well and that we can all ignore the Fukushima nuclear problems while living life as it was. Recently, some scattered reports in the United States news media contradict this policy line. However, they remain so few and random that hardly any people seem aware of the actual situation. As some of you may know, we were all told in December by the Japanese government and TEPCO that the reactors were in a state of “cold shutdown” (i.e. below the threshold of 100 degrees Celsius). I’m afraid that this pronouncement gave many the impression that the situation was somehow stabilized and under control. There remains great skepticism in the International community about those claims, and it was recently confirmed that there is less than two feet of water in the Unit 2 reactor (compared with TEPCO’s assertion of 33 feet). This matter of water level is tremendously significant, as the greater depth of water is desperately needed to cool the melted cores. Units 1 and 3 are so highly radioactive that it is impossible to get electronic equipment (or robots) into them, as the staggering radiation levels disable electronic equipment. It will take new technology, skills and machinery not yet on the drawing boards to deal with the situation. Unfortunately, information even more distressing has come to light. Bill and I have been reading for some time now that nuclear experts were worrying a lot about the Unit 4 building, not because of the reactor but because of its spent fuel pool. Its design (an American one used in our country as well) put the fuel pool on the upper levels of the reactor building. During the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami in March 2011, the Number Four Unit experienced very heavy damage as a result of the quake and explosions. It now leans precipitously and no longer has intact walls. To deal with the structure’s near failure, TEPCO has tried to reinforce the building with exterior beams and attempted to shore up the floor of the fuel pool. What worries many, however, is the level of structural damage to Unit Four. Even a far smaller quake could crack the floor beneath the fuel pool, draining the cooling water from it and igniting an even larger fuel pool some 50 meters away. Should that happen, Japan and the world would face an unprecedented nuclear holocaust. In response to an inquiry from Japanese diplomat Akio Murata, Mr. Robert Alvarez, former Senior Policy Adviser to the Secretary and Deputy Assistant Secretary for National Security and the Environment at the U.S. Department of Energy said: In recent times, more information about the spent fuel situation at the Fukushima-Dai-Ichi site has become known. It is my understanding that of the 1,532 spent fuel assemblies in reactor No. 3 & 4 assemblies are fresh and unirradiated. This then leaves 1,231 irradiated spent fuel rods in pool No. 4, which contain roughly 37 million curies (~1.4E+18 Becquerel) of long-lived radioactivity. The No. 4 pool is about 100 feet above ground, is structurally damaged and is exposed to the open elements. If an earthquake or other event were to cause this pool to drain this could result in a catastrophic radiological fire involving nearly 10 times the amount of Cs-137 released by the Chernobyl accident.
Even worse, Mr. Alvarez goes on to say: Based on U.S. Energy Department data, assuming a total of 11,138 spent fuel assemblies are being stored at the Dai-Ichi site, nearly all, which are in pools. They contain roughly 336 million curies (~1.2 E+19 Bq) of long-lived radioactivity. About 134 million curies is Cesium-137 — roughly 85 times the amount of Cs-137 released at the Chernobyl accident, as estimated by the U.S. National Council on Radiation Protection (NCRP). The total spent reactor fuel inventory at the Fukushima-Daichi site contains nearly half of the total amount of Cs-137 estimated by the NCRP to have been released by all atmospheric nuclear weapons testing, Chernobyl, and world-wide reprocessing plants (~270 million curies or ~9.9 E+18 Becquerel).
It is important for the public to understand that reactors that have been operating for decades, such as those at the Fukushima-Dai-Ichi site, have generated some of the largest concentrations of radioactivity on the planet.
Basically, if anything drains the water from the spent fuel pool at the Daiichi Plant’s Unit Number Four, then the fuel rods will catch on fire within a short period of time and cause a huge explosion likely affecting other spent fuel stored at the plant. Such an explosion would release unimaginable amounts of radioactivity into the environment. Asahi TV (Link Below) reports that Professor Koide, a respected nuclear researcher at the prestigious Kyoto University, judges that if this were to happen Tokyo would become “uninhabitable.” The Northern Pacific Ocean, the United States, Canada and especially the Northwest Coast of North America would suffer massive amounts of radioactive pollution. This is not just Japan’s problem. In Japan, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the nuclear industry, and its friends in the supervisory ministries and government have only shown themselves interested in returning to the pre-disaster status quo. As in the United States, a great deal of money lies with companies whose self interest brushes aside the dangers of nuclear power, let alone the reality of an on-going disaster at Fukushima with which nobody yet has the technology to ameliorate, let alone repair. Akio Matsumura continues to Robert Alvarez on this issue:I have to admit that my country’s strong national pride makes it unrealistic to see an independent assessment team form soon enough, and so I now turn to rely on U.S. leadership to act out of the need for common, global security before a strong earthquake comes in the near future. If the reactor Unit 4 building collapses, we will face a global environmental and human catastrophe larger than ever before.
Mitsuhei Murata, the former Japanese Ambassador to Switzerland, also wrote recently to Ban Ki-Moon, the UN Secretary General, and appealed to him to set up an international panel to deal with this emergency. That letter states: I was asked to make a statement at the public hearing of the Budgetary Committee of the House of Councilors on March 23. I raised the crucial problem of N0.4 reactor of Fukushima containing 1535 fuel rods. It could be fatally damaged by continuing aftershocks. Moreover, 50 meters away from it exists a common cooling pool for 6 reactors containing 6375 fuel rods!
It is no exaggeration to say that the fate of Japan and the whole world depends on NO.4 reactor. This is confirmed by most reliable experts like Dr. Arnie Gundersen or Dr. Fumiaki Koide.
Like many others, we believe it is time for the International Community to form a task force to tackle the problem at hand and attempt to prevent a major catastrophe. What can we do as individuals? Sign the petition urging the United States government to address this danger and also inform your friends. The petition hopes for 25,000 signatures but the threat deserves much larger witness. Concerned citizens using social networking sites could immediately call a broader audience’s attention to this pressing and important issue. White House Petition Link:wwws.whitehouse.gov/… <wwws.whitehouse.gov/…> <wwws.whitehouse.gov/… <wwws.whitehouse.gov/…> > Thank you once again for your time and concern. Best,Jeff Cline & Bill KnospeKagedo Japanese Art Links:
Link to statement by renowned diplomat including text of Mitsuehi Murata’s letter to the UN Secretary General and other information: akiomatsumura.com/20…
Asahi TV Program Link (A lot of useful information explaining the problem with the fuel pools and the difficultly of removing the fuel)(Please click on the “CC” button to bring up English Subtitles): www.youtube.com/watc…
White House Petition Link:wwws.whitehouse.gov/… <wwws.whitehouse.gov/…> <wwws.whitehouse.gov/… <wwws.whitehouse.gov/…> >
