3/21/2011

March 21, Monday

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jaeson ma webiste 03.13.11 Prayer
source :jaesonma.com

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Gabi reports:


spring mud -
the bumpy road ahead
for Japan


. . . . .

They have set up geiger counters at Narita airport and in Tokyo, so anyone can check the levels of radioactivity there. They are very low and pose no harm to the human body (they say).


The government has suddenly set up online reporting
環境放射能水神 in Tab Water, for all of Japan
(main access see sidebar)
source : Radiation Levels in Water / Okayama Town

source : Radiation Levels in Water / Tokyo

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Rumors are growing.

Better not get involved with a young woman from Fukushima, she might not give birth to healthy children. (The same goes for men.)

Do not eat sushi (in German restaurants in Germany).

Stop your holiday plans for Japan this summer.

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Japan tragedy seared into the world's imagination
Joji Sakurai
Experts say this crisis could become another historical turning point that may alter mankind's perception of its relationship to the world, and societies' relationship with one another in an age of globalization.

. Read the article HERE .


。。。。。at 17:00

Watching TV news,
there is gray smoke coming out of one reactor again ...

Otherwise slow slow progress, some evacuation centers got running water back, more gasolin and oil is brought to the harbour for distribution.


。。。。。at 17:50
The reactor Nr. 3 is still smoking. They had to evacuate all workers near this part. Still unclear what happened.


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Bulletins from NHK Online

source : www3.nhk.or.jp

Monday, March 21, 2011 05:34
Gov't preparing funds to rebuild quake-hit region
The Japanese government and the ruling Democratic Party plan to draw up emergency budgets needed to reconstruct northeastern Japan. The region was devastated by a massive earthquake and tsunami on March 11th.
The government and the Democratic Party say they will begin to prepare an extra budget first for the most urgent reconstruction projects next month, when fiscal 2011 starts. Allocation of funds for less urgent projects will follow that.
The government has already allocated about 430 million dollars from a reserve fund for fiscal 2010, which ends on March 31st. The money was used to provide relief goods to quake survivors.
But another emergency fund is needed for the clean up of debris, repairs to damaged roads and water supply and sewerage systems, and financial assistance to help small- and medium-sized companies recover.
The government and the Democratic Party intend to fund those projects by reviewing programs to partially lower expressway tolls and provide child benefits, both of which are scheduled to launch in April.
They also want to fund the projects by issuing deficit covering bonds, which requires early enactment of a bill related to government loans.
Opposition parties say they will not support the bill until the government and the Democratic Party scrap some of their programs, including the child care allowance.
The scale of the extra budget is expected to exceed the 37 billion dollars allocated for reconstruction projects after the 1995 Great Hanshin earthquake.


Monday, March 21, 2011 05:41
Kitazawa: Surface temperatures below 100C
Japan's defense minister says the surface temperatures of all 6 reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant are lower than 100 degrees Celsius.
In a news conference on Sunday, Toshimi Kitazawa quoted an expert from the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency as saying the data are very valuable because temperatures below 100 degrees confirm the existence of water in spent fuel rod storage pools.
Kitazawa said Self-Defense Forces officials measured the temperatures from a helicopter using an infrared device on Sunday for a second consecutive day.
He said the surface temperature of the Number One reactor was 58 degrees Celsius, that of Number 2 stood at 35 degrees, Number 3 at 62 degrees, Number 4 at 42 degrees, Number 5 at 24 degrees, and Number 6 at 25 degrees.
He said the temperatures of Number 1, Number 3 and Number 4 reactors are believed to be the surface temperatures of the spent fuel rod storage pools. The buildings housing the containers of these three reactors were damaged.
Kitazawa said he was relieved to see the temperatures stay below 100 degrees for 2 days in a row. He said the public will also feel relieved.
He added that a reading of 128 degrees Celsius was recorded above the containment vessel of Number 3 reactor, but experts say the figure is within expectations given that it was measured right above the reactor.



Monday, March 21, 2011 08:37
At the quake-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, firefighters finished their second operation to spray water on the No.3 reactor building shortly before 4 AM on Monday.
The operation began at 09:30 PM on Sunday and lasted for 6 and a half hours.The Tokyo Fire Department's first operation began on Saturday. Firefighters sprayed water on the spent fuel rod pool of the No.3 reactor for 14 hours. The first operation was carried out in 2 parts, and ended early on Sunday.
Firefighters used an unmanned vehicle that can continuously spray seawater from the height of 22 meters directly into a pool containing spent fuel rods.
Since the vehicle they had used during the first operation had problems after the prolonged operation, a replacement was used in the second operation. A pump vehicle supplied seawater to the unmanned vehicle.
After adjusting the position of the unmanned vehicle and the direction of its spray, the firefighters moved outside the compound.
The amount of seawater sprayed so far is about triple the capacity of the spent fuel pool.
The level of radioactivity around the No.3 reactor decreased after the dousing that ended on Sunday.
The operation that finished on Monday is expected to further improve the condition of the spent fuel pool.



Monday, March 21, 2011 09:44
Govt website offers radiation data
Japan's science ministry is publishing radiation levels monitored nationwide on its website, with the information also available in English, Korean and Chinese.
The ministry's website began showing the data on Saturday, with information updated twice a day.
The ministry is publishing levels of radiation and radioactive materials monitored on the ground, as well as in rain, tap water and the atmosphere.
The website also shows the science ministry's independent measurements of radiation near the disaster-stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
As of 7 PM Sunday, radiation readings were slightly higher than normal in Mito City, Ibaraki Prefecture, and Utsunomiya City, Tochigi Prefecture. But the ministry says the levels do not pose an immediate health hazard.
In Tokyo and six surrounding prefectures, trace amounts of radioactive iodine and cesium have been detected. Neither substance occurs naturally.
The information is available (in Japanese only) at:
http://www.mext.go.jp/



Monday, March 21, 2011 09:55
Radioative materials detected in water
Japan's health ministry is urging the people of a village in Fukushima Prefecture not to drink the tap water, in which higher levels of radioactive materials were detected on Sunday. The Ministry says, however, that drinking it does not pose any immediate health risk.
Tap water tested at Iitate Village in Fukushima Prefecture showed more than triple the level of radiation allowed by the government.
The health ministry says 965 becquerels of iodine-131 were detected in the water, which is 3.2 times the standard. The legal standard is 300 becquerels per kilogram.
It says residents can use the water for washing and bathing, and that drinking it has no immediate effect on human health.
But as a precaution, the ministry has urged about 3700 residents of the village to avoid drinking the tap water.
On the matter of higher levels of radiation than the legal standard detected in vegetables produced in Gunma, Tochigi, and Chiba prefectures, the health ministry said these are not of levels that could affect one's health immediately.


Monday, March 21, 2011 11:31
Dead or missing from quake and tsunami tops 21,000
Police say that more than 21,000 people are dead or missing in the aftermath of the massive earthquake and tsunami that hit northeastern Japan.
Of 8,649 confirmed deaths, 3,550 bodies have been identified. 12,877 people have been reported missing as of 9 AM, Monday.
5,244, or 60 percent of all deaths, have been reported in the northeastern prefecture of Miyagi, where coastal regions were devastated on March 11th.
2,650 deaths have been confirmed in Iwate and 699 in Fukushima.Over a quarter of a million people are staying in about 2,300 shelters in the affected areas.
Many of the evacuees are suffering from shortages of food, water and other essential supplies.



Monday, March 21, 2011 12:46
Restoring external power to Fukushima Daiichi
The Tokyo Electric Power Company has resumed work to restore external power to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, as part of its efforts to regain cooling functions.
This follows operations by the Tokyo Fire Department and Self-Defense Forces to douse the No.3 and No.4 reactors with water.
They ended their water-spraying operations to cool down the spent fuel rod pools on Monday morning.
External power was extended to the electricity distribution panels of the No.2 and No.5 reactors on Sunday, and power can now be supplied to reactors number 1, 2, 5, and 6.
In order to get the electricity back on at the No.2 reactor, the power company plans to check various measurement devices and lighting systems in the central control room -- the heart of the plant -- and check for electricity leakage in the battery charging room.
The No.3 and No.4 reactors, where high levels of radiation are forcing workers to exercise extreme caution, are scheduled to be connected to the electricity distribution panels on Tuesday.
The power company is doing everything it can to restore external power, which it sees as essential to regaining cooling functions for the reactor vessels and the spent fuel rod pools.



Monday, March 21, 2011 12:34
Vigilance continues

Radiation levels are dropping somewhat at Japan's disaster-stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The government's nuclear safety agency says it will continue to monitor the situation carefully.The Tokyo Fire Department poured water into the plant's Number 3 reactor for 6.5 hours on Sunday night in a continuing attempt to cool down a storage pool for spent fuel.
The Self-Defense Forces meanwhile shot water into the Number 4 reactor on Sunday, and again on Monday morning.
The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency says the operations appear to be paying off to a certain degree, with radiation levels showing a continuous decline since Sunday afternoon.
The agency has been monitoring data at a point about 500 meters northwest of the Number 3 reactor.
It says radiation readings stood at 2,670 microsieverts per hour as of 6:30 AM on Sunday.
It says the figure then rose briefly to 3,346 microsieverts at 2:50 PM on Sunday, but went down again to 2,319 microsieverts at 6:30 AM on Monday.
The agency says the brief jump in radiation could be due to the wind on Sunday afternoon. It says it will continue to closely monitor the situation.


. . .

Monday, March 21, 2011 17:46
Restoring external power to Fukushima Daiichi

The Tokyo Electric Power Company has resumed work to restore external power to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, as part of its efforts to regain cooling functions.

This follows operations by the Tokyo Fire Department and Self-Defense Forces to douse the No.3 and No.4 reactors with water.

They ended their water-spraying operations to cool down the spent fuel rod pools on Monday morning.

External power was extended to the electricity distribution panels of the No.2 and No.5 reactors on Sunday, and power can now be supplied to reactors number 1, 2, 5, and 6.

In order to get the electricity back on at the No.2 reactor, the power company plans to check various measurement devices and lighting systems in the central control room -- the heart of the plant -- and check for electricity leakage in the battery charging room.

The No.3 and No.4 reactors, where high levels of radiation are forcing workers to exercise extreme caution, are scheduled to be connected to the electricity distribution panels on Tuesday.

The power company is doing everything it can to restore external power, which it sees as essential to regaining cooling functions for the reactor vessels and the spent fuel rod pools.

Radiation levels are dropping somewhat at Fukushima Daiichi plant. The government's nuclear safety agency says it will continue to monitor the situation carefully.

The Tokyo Fire Department poured water into the plant's Number 3 reactor for 6.5 hours on Sunday night in a continuing attempt to cool down a storage pool for spent fuel.

The Self-Defense Forces meanwhile shot water into the Number 4 reactor on Sunday, and again on Monday morning.

The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency says the operations appear to be paying off to a certain degree, with radiation levels showing a continuous decline since Sunday afternoon.

The agency has been monitoring data at a point about 500 meters northwest of the Number 3 reactor.

It says radiation readings stood at 2,670 microsieverts per hour as of 6:30 AM on Sunday.

It says the figure then rose briefly to 3,346 microsieverts at 2:50 PM on Sunday, but went down again to 2,319 microsieverts at 6:30 AM on Monday.

The agency says the brief jump in radiation could be due to the wind on Sunday afternoon. It says it will continue to closely monitor the situation.


. . .

Monday, March 21, 2011 19:35
5 radioactive materials detected
Tokyo Electric Power Company says some of the nuclear fuel at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has apparently been damaged, as higher levels of radioactive materials have been detected in the vicinity.
The utility on Monday released the results of a radiation survey carried out at the plant on Saturday.
Officials detected in the air 5 radioactive materials that are generated by nuclear fission.
The level of iodine 131 was 5.9 milibecquerels per cubic centimeter. That's about 6 times the permissible level for workers without protective masks.
The density of the other substances was also higher than usual, but within safety standards.
The utility says the radiation is likely to have come from the damaged reactors, and added that it will check radiation levels daily.
The company also says it has no plan to halt efforts to restore power and pour water into reactors, as these activities pose no risk to workers as long as they wear protective masks.



Monday, March 21, 2011 21:08
Grey smoke from No.3 reactor subsided
The grey smoke seen coming from the troubled No.3 reactor of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on Monday afternoon has subsided.
The plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, evacuated its workers from the plant shortly after 4 PM.
The government's nuclear safety agency said the smoke, which turned black and grey, subsided about 2 hours later.
It also said water levels and pressure inside the reactor have registered no major changes.
The smoke was apparently coming from the south edge of the reactor structure.
The storage pool for spent nuclear fuel is located in the southeast part of the structure.
Radiation levels at a spot about 500 meters northwest of the reactor were 2,015 microsieverts per hour, almost unchanged from the figure measured before the smoke was seen.
Work was under way to restore external power to the No.4 reactor and regain its cooling functions. The nuclear safety agency said the work is unlikely to have caused a fire.
Smoke was also seen rising from another troubled reactor Monday evening.
The government's nuclear safety agency says it was informed that white smoke was apparently coming from a crack in the roof of the No.2 reactor structure at 6:20 PM.
Similar white smoke had been seen rising from the reactor previously.
On Sunday afternoon, work to inject 40 tons of seawater into the reactor's storage pool for spent nuclear fuel was carried out, taking about 2 hours.


Monday, March 21, 2011 21:26
Mandatory oil stockpile relaxed to boost supply
The government has drastically relaxed mandatory oil stockpiles by wholesalers in a bid to get gasoline and other fuel oil delivered to areas in northeastern Japan that were hit by the March 11th earthquake and tsunami.
Oil wholesalers and others are legally required to stock gasoline, kerosene and other oil products worth 70 days of domestic consumption against possible emergencies.
With the government's measure on Monday, wholesalers can now put on the market fuel oil equivalent to 25 days of consumption.
Senior vice industry minister Motohisa Ikeda said the measure is aimed at convincing that there's ample supply of gasoline in Japan.
He added, however, that it may take a few more days before fuel oil is delivered to quake-stricken areas.



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Voices from around

quote (at 19:00
Workers pulled at Japan nuke plant as smoke rises
ERIC TALMADGE and MARI YAMAGUCHI

FUKUSHIMA, Japan – Operators evacuated workers from Japan's tsunami-damaged nuclear plant Monday after gray smoke rose from one of its reactor units, the latest of persistent troubles in stabilizing the radiation-leaking complex.

The evacuation brought to a standstill some of the work on restoring the plant's electrical lines and restarting the water pumping systems needed to keep nuclear fuel from overheating and releasing even greater amounts of radiation.

Tokyo Electric Power Co. spokesman Hiroshi Aizawa said the evacuation was prompted by smoke rising from the area of the spent fuel storage pool at the plant's Unit 3 reactor building. However, nuclear safety agency official Hidehiko Nishiyama later told reporters in Tokyo he didn't think the smoke was linked to the fuel pool.
There had been no explosion, and no immediate spike in radiation at the plant, Nishiyama said.

Early Monday, the Health Ministry advised Iitate, a village of 6,000 people about 30 kilometers (19 miles) northwest of the Fukushima plant, not to drink tap water due to elevated levels of iodine. Ministry spokesman Takayuki Matsuda said iodine three times the normal level was detected there — about one twenty-sixth of the level of a chest X-ray in one liter of water.
source : news.yahoo.com



quote
There is the sheer, surreal force of the images emerging from afflicted zones: cars perched on rooftops, ships sitting in rice paddies, helicopters in a David-and-Goliath battle against radiation-spewing nuclear reactors.

And the way it haunts us with some of our most basic fears:

Death by water.
Or rubble.
Or nuclear fallout.


"This event has the potential to be the most globally disruptive natural hazard in modern times," said Rob Verchick, a disaster expert at Loyola University in New Orleans. "And it may just be, in the context of globalization, of all time."

source : news.yahoo.com


. . . . .



quote
It is now Day 9 after the great earthquake & tsunami in Japan.
If I were to use one word to describe what I have seen recently,
it would be 'Fear'.
..... families stay in their rooms, glued to the TV,
and seem like they are in shock, and it seems they are awaiting a great disaster which is looming on the horizon.

We may find words used in the media such as:
NUCLEAR DISASTER
NUCLEAR MELTDOWN
NUCLEAR FALLOUT
NUCLEAR POISONING
NUCLEAR CONTAMINATION
COMPLETE NUCLEAR MELTDOWN
And so on.......

FEAR & PANIC.....
The powerful force of the media has caused a HUGE exodus of foreign people fleeing Japan, and many Japanese themselves fleeing their homes, not feeling safe in the areas they reside in.
The Japanese people are a very strong and noble people, with a very deep rooted tradition.
All of this Fear about Nuclear Disaster made me think how many people seem to have no fear at all when using a microwave oven, getting x-rays, taking chemical pills from the hospital, eating chemical processed foods - yet due to sensational media - thousands have fled Japan in a panic - 'Nuclear Disaster' -
MORE
source : bodymindspiritintegration.com


. . . . .


quote
Unfall im japanischen Kernkraftwerk Fukushima
(Update: 20. März 2011 11:00)
Ausbreitung von Radioaktivität/
derzeit ungünstige Wetterlage/
Minimal erhöhte Strahlung in Kalifornien
mit Simulationskarten
source : www.zamg.ac.at



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by Windy
source : www.newageparadise.com


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6 comments:

  1. Anonymous3/21/2011

    Thank you, Gabi, for all that you do!
    Sasa

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous3/22/2011

    This was such a terrible tragedy, but the strength of the Japanese people will overcome this!
    P.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Having endured Nagasaki, Hiroshima, and the almost total destruction of Tokyo by fire-bombing, the double-horror of earthquake and tsunami will not deter the Japanese people. They will survive and recover.
    G.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous3/22/2011

    Recovery:
    Quake strength #9
    Japan strength #10

    Chibi

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hope is not a feeling.

    It is not the belief
    that things will turn out well,
    but the conviction
    that what we are doing makes sense,
    no matter how things turn out.


    Vaclav Havel

    ReplyDelete
  6. Taro, Japan---
    their tsunami wall
    was not high enough

    Fred Masarani

    ReplyDelete