Japan Raises Nuke Accident Severity Level to 7; Highest
April 11th, 2011Update: Officially Level 7
Via: Kyodo:
Japan raised the severity level of the ongoing emergency at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant on Tuesday from level 5 to the maximum 7 on an international scale, recognizing that the tsunami-caused accident matches the world’s worst nuclear catastrophe in 1986 at Chernobyl.
The government’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency upgraded its provisional evaluation based on an estimate that radioactive materials far exceeding the criteria for level 7 have so far been released into the external environment, but added the release from the Fukushima plant is about 10 percent of that from the former Soviet nuclear plant.
The nuclear regulatory agency under the industry ministry and the Nuclear Safety Commission of Japan, a government panel, said that between 370,000 and 630,000 terabecquerels of radioactive materials have been emitted into the air from the Nos. 1 to 3 reactors of the plant.
—End Update—
Captain Obvious checking in.
Via: Kyodo:
The Nuclear Safety Commission of Japan released a preliminary calculation Monday saying that the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant had been releasing up to 10,000 terabecquerels of radioactive materials per hour at some point after a massive quake and tsunami hit northeastern Japan on March 11.
The disclosure prompted the government to consider raising the accident’s severity level to 7, the worst on an international scale, from the current 5, government sources said. The level 7 on the International Nuclear Event Scale has only been applied to the 1986 Chernobyl catastrophe.
The current provisional evaluation of 5 is at the same level as the Three Mile Island accident in the United States in 1979.
According to an evaluation by the INES, level 7 accidents correspond with a release into the external environment radioactive materials equal to more than tens of thousands terabecquerels of radioactive iodine 131. One terabecquerel equals 1 trillion becquerels.
M6.3 Quake Strikes 77km ESE Tokyo
http://feww.wordpress.com/2011/04/12/m6-3-quake-strikes-77km-ese-tokyo/
Well, they did. Like we didn’t already know. I got my new(used) geiger counter and survey units. So far, nothing unusual in VA, USA. I’ll be checking Eastern PA, USA as well. Tomorrow, vegetables and milk from the grocery store. At this point, I’m just curious. Those poor folks in Japan are the ones I’m really worried about.
I’m willing to bet this eventually becomes an 8 based on the amount of radiation released to the environment from 4 wayward reactors plus spent fuel rods stored on site.
how much longer can the world afford to wait while Japan gets its house in order ???
@jfreon … what is an 8 ? DANGER ! DANGER ! Leave planet immediately ?
I can’t help but be reminded of that scene in Aliens, where Ripley and Newt are standing on that platform, fires, explosions, and arc discharges all around them, while the ai of the atmosphere processing station is calmly advising that all should evacuate immediately.
yeah ? swell. to where ?
– cybele
Crap. Even after all these years I don’t know how to navigate between Cryptogon and other links.
AAARGH,
The jist of my just lost post said something like, “wear a white loop mask over your face outside and don’t worry about the consequences.” You’ll make some astute observers wonder why you are doing so in between their viewings of American Idol and who gets kicked of next.
I’m afraid to leave this post, but Kevin put an post on Sunday from Forbes where you could go to monitor radiation. The radnetwork (non-gov) looks good to me – http://www.radiationnetwork.com/
they also have a video on youtube within the message of reporters traveling by car towards Fuckusupyoushima which is excellent.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yp9iJ3pPuL8&feature=player_embedded
Totally sad about the animals. The destruction is hard to take into an open heart.
Hang in there kiddies. We’re on the roller coaster ride of our lifetime. Don’t let fear bite you in the ass.
that video, Eileen, it’s a long story but i have driven through that town and shopped at the local supermarket every summer for the last eight years. i saw that video last week and it made me want to cry.
I am so sorry for what has happened in Japan, Tochigi. I cried when I saw that video as well.
I posted that video because I thought the journalists were so very brave to do what they did. I have never been to Japan, but that video amazed me. If not for the Japanese signs, it could be a video of my living situation here in western Pennsylvania, USA. The trees, the foilage, so similar. I cannot comprehend the destruction.
Also Tochigi, while not on the same register of devestation, we had an F5 tornado (180 mph winds) go through our property in 1985. Not many lives were lost, but it killed my father, emotionally at least. He gave up on living after that event ( my sister Cindy had died in 1983 and that was the second child he buried), because this land where I make my home now was my father’s personal “national park.” Daddy found many, many stones from native American Indians here. We lost over 100 trees that were very old. It is difficult to describe this event. But he treasured this land much like I do now. So you don’t have to explain to me an attachment to a place in time, and your sorrow at the devestation. I know.
I cannot comprehend what you must be experiencing right now. I am so sorry for what has happened to Japan. I wish I knew the prayers to say that would make Japan whole again.
For today, I wish I had a bumper sticker that said, “Nuclear Power: the gift that keeps on giving” and then have the RAD (hex) sign on it.
Peace and Love Tochigi- I am with you in spirit.
thanks for your concern, Eileen. i feel terrible for my friends who have lived about 23 km from that plant for about 35 years. their farm is in the mountains southwest of the plant. they are about as off the grid as one can possibly get—-no electricity, water, sewerage, gas, phone, snailmail, parcel delivery at all. they only just got cell coverage (very unreliable) a couple of years ago, which they can use for email and low bandwidth net. their main connection with the outside is when they deliver their eggs once a week to organic retailers and when they buy some groceries and petrol/diesel/kerosene. their farm road to the actual road is 5km long and goes over two mountain ridges and takes 15 mins at least. then another 15 mins drive to the village. their farm borders one of the nicest rivers i have ever seen. fantastic place, fantasic people. just two families live there now, but it started out as a counterculture community in the mid-70s. it was their way of protesting about the two nuclear power plants nearby. irony, eh? they knew how dangerous and foolish those plants were. and now they have been forced out of their farm. the reason i go there is because they have a full-moon festival every August for a week, with maybe 1,000 people camping, and lots of music and art and just lots of nice people chilling out and saying “thank you” to the planet.
@tochigi
I pray/swear a lot lately by using the words Jesus, Mary, and flucking Joseph and my prayers are answered. This prayer just recently helped me fix my washer. I read what you wrote about your friends, and that they were a light to a 1,000 people! Holy shit. Where did they go?
well, one of the families (their three children have all left home so it is just the two of them) went to stay with relatives in Koriyama (about 40km further west). but the husband has been going back to the farm once every three days to feed his chickens. he has several hundred egg laying hens roaming the property. the other family has young children, so i guess they are a long way away now. they just built a nice eco-house too last year. TEPCO are scum. went to a demo outside their head office tonight. truly shameless and disgusting criminals. can’t understand why more people here are not angry at these bastards. must be the education system and media brainwashing.