What is happening with those reactors?
The operators are, finally, admitting the obvious – that the Fukushima Dai-ichi plants are a total loss. "After pouring seawater on them ... I believe we cannot use them anymore," TEPCO chairman Tsunehisa Katsumata said. This was painfully clear to the rest of the world the minute they started using seawater to cool the reactors. Glad TEPCO finally got around to admitting the truth.
Seawater sampled near the reactors have the "highest levels yet" - over 3,000 times normal. Radiation has appeared in raw milk, produce and drinking water as far away as Tokyo.
Reports in this article confirm that plutonium was discovered in the soil outside the plant. Again, in quantities too low to hard people.
Meanwhile, the emperor and empress spent about an hour consoling a group of evacuees. Undoubtedly putting on a good face for PR. TEPCO President Masataka Shimizu wasn't there to console the evacuees, because he was in the hospital suffering from headaches and dizziness attributed to his hypertension. [At least, Mr. Shimizu isn't wishing he had his old life back.]
I remain unimpressed with TEPCO's handling of this mess. Their attempts at spin control haven't been very helpful, either. I find it hard to believe that Mr. Katsumata and Mr. Shimizu didn't know that the plants were ruined the minute they put seawater on them. This was pretty clear to everybody and should have been reported immediately. I am more than a little concerned that TEPCO, with the cooperation of the Japanese government, is not telling us what we really need to know. This is not a Japanese problem, this is a problem for the whole world. Our need to know surpasses TEPCO's need to spin this to protect their shareholders' investments, (TEPCO's stock has plummeted down 80% in recent days, so there isn't much left to protect).
The operators are, finally, admitting the obvious – that the Fukushima Dai-ichi plants are a total loss. "After pouring seawater on them ... I believe we cannot use them anymore," TEPCO chairman Tsunehisa Katsumata said. This was painfully clear to the rest of the world the minute they started using seawater to cool the reactors. Glad TEPCO finally got around to admitting the truth.
Seawater sampled near the reactors have the "highest levels yet" - over 3,000 times normal. Radiation has appeared in raw milk, produce and drinking water as far away as Tokyo.
Reports in this article confirm that plutonium was discovered in the soil outside the plant. Again, in quantities too low to hard people.
Meanwhile, the emperor and empress spent about an hour consoling a group of evacuees. Undoubtedly putting on a good face for PR. TEPCO President Masataka Shimizu wasn't there to console the evacuees, because he was in the hospital suffering from headaches and dizziness attributed to his hypertension. [At least, Mr. Shimizu isn't wishing he had his old life back.]
I remain unimpressed with TEPCO's handling of this mess. Their attempts at spin control haven't been very helpful, either. I find it hard to believe that Mr. Katsumata and Mr. Shimizu didn't know that the plants were ruined the minute they put seawater on them. This was pretty clear to everybody and should have been reported immediately. I am more than a little concerned that TEPCO, with the cooperation of the Japanese government, is not telling us what we really need to know. This is not a Japanese problem, this is a problem for the whole world. Our need to know surpasses TEPCO's need to spin this to protect their shareholders' investments, (TEPCO's stock has plummeted down 80% in recent days, so there isn't much left to protect).
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