TEPCO: Radiation From Fukushima May Be Worse Than Chernobyl

[AndyTiedye]

Source: Forbes

Apr. 12 2011 - 10:04 am | 390 views | 0 recommendations | 0 comments
By OSHA GRAY DAVIDSON
Radiation hotspots of Cesium-137 in 1996 resul...

An official of Fukushima nuclear power plant operator TEPCO concedes that “the amount of (radioactive) leakage could eventually reach that of Chernobyl or exceed it.”

The statement followed an announcement yesterday by the Japanese government that it was raising the “significance level” of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant (FDI) to a 7 on the International Nuclear Events Scale — a classification previously only assigned to the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.

In its announcement, the Japanese government had stressed that the total amount of radiation released from FDI was just 1/10 the amount produced by Chernobyl. The increase from 5 to 7 was made, the government said, because of other factors, including the amount of physical damage at FDI (which as six nuclear reactors — four of which were heavily damaged by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami).

The statement by TEPCO underscores that the fact that the situation at FDI is still in flux; radiation is still entering the environment from some of the reactors, and more explosions with even greater releases of radioactivity are possible. A complete resolution to the crisis is likely several months away.


Read more: http://blogs.forbes.com/oshadavidson/2011/04/12/tepco-radiation-from-fukushima-may-be-worse-than-chernobyl

[countmyvote4real]

1. Hello? We will all be radioactive now.

Not only is it being carried out into the atmosphere, it is further distributed into our food chain via ocean currents.

It's no wonder the health insurance lobby funding the GOP does not support any form of universal health care and any bans on pre-exhisting conditions. EVERYBODY is going to exposed.

[PADemD]

2. Even the rich.

They have to breathe and eat, too.

[aquart]

3. Nonsense. Expensive bunkers are selling like hot cakes.

[Hubert Flottz]

4. "a classification previously only assigned to the 1986

Chernobyl disaster."

I guess an 8 on a scale like that, would probably be you or me closing a deal on a new Toyoda?

This latest radioactive cocktail and the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, global warming, massive floating plastic trash fields already at sea and now the debris field from Japan. Corexit, overfishing, whaling, red tides from farm runoff and untreated sewage. The living things on dry land aren't much better off.

Who would have ever guessed that they'd have an earthquake and 30 foot tidal wave in Japan on a fault zone on the seashore?

Man is still stupid.

[TownDrunk2]

5. And we'll never know the truth from our government -

They're all about protecting the corporate master and ensuring their own retirement egg...

[Juneboarder]

6. Interesting how this doesn't show up in MSM...

I guess they pick and choose and deemed this not news-worthy.

[Joe Bacon]

9. Who owns a big chunk of the American Press?

GE. They bring good things to life, like the Mark 1 Reactors...

There's your answer

[wordpix]

10. while we're on GE---will they be paying their taxes this year unlike last?

[Juneboarder]

11. GE?

I thought it was Rupert Murdoch?? Well, yes either way I agree. Very biased and not worth wasting your time watching or listening to.

[Overseas]

7. Sad K&R.

That's how things have looked for a while.

[Joe Bacon]

8. "May" be worse????

You got 100 tons of nuclear fuel there. It's going to be like Space:1999, only here on Earth!

[truebrit71]

12. I'm starting to notice a pattern with these press releases and admissions of fact...

..First TEPCO denies 'xxx' is happening, then they say 'xxx' might be happening, experts call bullshit on them and say 'xxx' is definitely happening, and then 24-48 hours later TEPCO confirms that 'xxx' is happening...

They are lying bullshit artists that are playing with people's lives by not telling us the truth. I am just a rube, but when you go straight from a 5 to a 7 methinks something is up.

Doubtless I will get flamed for my ignorance but I have a feeling that this will be much worse than Chernoybl, and the only reason they can deny it at the moment is becuase there hasn't been a bloody great big explosion (yet)...

The enormity of this tragedy will be felt for generations around the world...

[AndyTiedye]

17. TEPCO Has a New Spokesperson

The radiation is only this much.

[Turborama]

13. OK, sounds like Asia's in danger, then. Want to see what it looks like filmed up close by a drone?

I've posted a video and stills in the Videos Forum of a recent survey: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x572964

[JackRiddler]

15. The winds blow in the other direction from Asia, however.

[Turborama]

19. Not all the time. Plus we share the same tidal current. I live in Indonesia and it feels too close.

We are at the end of the Northeast Trades' arrows.



My wife is 5 months pregnant and each day the news gets worse the more seriously I think we should move out and further away.

ETA this tidal currents map:

[JackRiddler]

20. Understood and fully agreed. Just pointing out that this is going east also... to the West Coast.

There is no containment.

What a lie. What a carnage.

[JackRiddler]

14. TEPCO: "May be" may be a way of previewing our future isses and wases. In case you haven't noticed.

[Snoutport]

16. "may" "could" phew...maybe it could be bad...but we're working on it

When will they start saying "will be" and "is"?

[defendandprotect]

18. kr

[No Elephants]

21. NS. S.