Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Fukushima radiation spreading, cooling issues.

Even as TEPCO says that it has connected power to all six reactors, work is frequently stalled by black smoke, and they remain days away from connecting power to the cooling pumps, while there is no guarantee the pumps will work.  But the growing realization, is that high levels of radiation is rapidly spreading far beyond the 30km zone the Japanese government set up.  It's too high in Tokyo's drinking water for infants to drink from; it's too high for anyone to drink from in Fukushima Prefecture; it's in the soil 40 km away from the Fukushima plant; it has spread to more vegetables, leading to more export bans / import restrictions from various nations; it's in the ocean, and any of the cesium that is taken in by fish, .  The radioactive iodine will dissipate rapidly, once it has stopped spreading, but the other materials will take years and decades to decay.

If that wasn't enough, neutron beams (radiation from nuclear fission) have been observed 13 times since March 13th, 1.5km south of the Fukushima plant.

I would hope that the cooling pumps work...though I think most people should not have high confidence.  So far, they have been attempting to stave off what some might call inevitable: a concrete sarcophagus.

No comments: