Fukushima's Leak Is 30 Times Worse Than Reported

Locutus

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Jun 18, 2007
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Japan’s six reactor Fukushima Daichi nuclear complex has inadvertently become the world’s bell-weather poster child for the inherent risks of nuclear power ever since the 11 March Tohoku offshore earthquake, measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale, triggered a devastating tsunami that effectively destroyed the complex. Ever since, specialists have wrangled about how damaging the consequences of the earthquake and subsequent tsunami actually were, not only for the facility but the rest of the world.

The Fukushima Daichi complex was one of the 25 largest nuclear power stations in the world and the Fukushima I reactor was the first GE designed nuclear plant to be constructed and run entirely by the Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO.
Needless to say, in the aftermath of the disaster, both TEPCO and the Japanese government were at pains to minimize the disaster’s consequences, hardly surprising given the country’s densely populated regions.

But now, an independent study has effectively demolished TEPCO and the Japanese government’s carefully constructed minimalist scenario. Mainichi news agency reported that France’s l’Institut de Radioprotection et de Surete Nucleaire (Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety, or IRSN) has issued a recent report stating that the amount of radioactive cesium-137 that entered the Pacific after 11 March was probably nearly 30 times the amount stated by Tokyo Electric Power Co. in May.

According to IRSN, the amount of the radioactive isotope cesium-137 that flowed into the ocean from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant between March 21 and mid-July reached an estimated 27.1 quadrillion becquerels.
 

Locutus

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Jun 18, 2007
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Overreacting




 

damngrumpy

Executive Branch Member
Mar 16, 2005
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kelowna bc
For Japan this is really a sensitive issue as they were on the receiving end of the bomb.
I can understand why any government would play down the fear on such a magnitude.
While it is not wise to deceive people in such a manner it is better to outright panic until
later. Our own governments have done things like this throughout history but we have
access to information and social media today so such secrets are very difficult to keep.
Nuclear power will be popular again as soon as brown outs begin to occur. A few
years from now this will be forgotten and things will get back to normal. Actually the
Nuclear power format is less dangerous than most others. and more practical. Its like
airline travel, the safety record is incredible, and by comparison there are very few
accidents. The problem is when there is one a lot of people die all at once and fear and
new rules come into effect needed or not. Why? For the very same reason that the
company and the government played this situation down. Fear. Get beyond fear and
things get back to normal.

The real message here should be not that there was a more serious leak or that this
is a bad or dangerous industry.it should be that there will be more safety measures and
the weaknesses will be addressed so the weak links in the system will be improved.
 

dumpthemonarchy

House Member
Jan 18, 2005
4,235
14
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Vancouver
www.cynicsunlimited.com
We have all the power we need in geothermal, nuke power is garbage. Until they can make a nuke reactor the size of a breadbox with no radiation, why bother with it. Caanda and Japan have plenty of geothermal, it's just not a politically connected industry. Nuke power loses billions, causes huge damage and people still want it. Zombie logic.

Geothermal is firm power, clean, with a small footprint and renewable.
 

MHz

Time Out
Mar 16, 2007
41,030
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Red Deer AB
damngrumpy;1500661 Nuclear power will be popular again as soon as brown outs begin to occur. A few years from now this will be forgotten and things will get back to normal. Actually the Nuclear power format is less dangerous than most others. and more practical. [/QUOTE said:
Are you predicting Germany is going to abandon it's plans to abandon nuclear energy by 2022?

I'm somewhat annoyed that you would promote the Gov has the right, even the obligation, to lie to the people they are supposed to be protecting from those very same things.

Thorium reactors are a viable alternative to using uranium.