It's no surprise that this is happening. The Fukishima plants have been flooded with water to keep them cool for over two years now. It seems logical that at some point saturated soils would cause the contaminated water to spread. Have these people NEVER heard of a cofferdam? What are the implications if these contaminated waters enter the sea/Pacific Ocean?
It is interesting where a story will take us. After reviewing the latest Fukishima news, I thought I'd check in on the NRC "incidence" reports for our aging nuke plants, most of which now exceed their "Don't Use Expiration Dates" and which NRC is giving 20-30 year extentions to (not 2 or 3 year).
Towards the end of this diary, there is a story about Duke Energy's recent McQuire Nuclear Plant "incident." It is truly a WTF story as well.
Fukushima Groundwater Shows Record Radiation Levels
"We don't know what is the reason behind the spike," Tepco spokeswoman Mayumi Yoshida told Reuters. "We're still looking to determine the causes behind it."
The operator has been flushing water over the three reactors to keep them cool for more than two years, but contaminated water has been building up at the rate of an an Olympic-size swimming pool per week.
The reading for caesium-137, with a half life of 30 years, was some 85 times higher than it had been three days earlier.
The latest findings, 25 metres (yards) from the sea, come a month after Tepco detected radioactive caesium in groundwater flowing into its wrecked plant far from the sea on elevated ground. The level of caesium found in June was much lower than the amount announced on Tuesday.
The spike, combined with recent discoveries of high levels of radioactive elements like tritium and strontium, suggest that contaminated water is spreading toward the sea side of the plant from the reactors sitting on higher ground.
Sadly, it is reported that:
one of the Fukishima 50, Masao Yoshida, credited for minimizing the disaster, died on Tuesday of oesophageal cancer - unrelated to his duties.
Unrelated to his duties?
This is the best site I have found for those interested in followig up on Fukishima news, and energy news in general. You might want to book mark this site.
ENENews.
In other news, here are 6 reported "incidences" from the NRC for July 2nd & 3rd.
The NRC website makes nuclear incidences public here.
Well, NRC used to provide a morning report That changed in 2009:
Current Morning Report
Headquarters Daily Report
As of September 1, 2009, the NRC will no longer use Morning Reports as a communication tool. For prompt information related to significant generic safety or safeguards matters, please refer to the Preliminary Notifications web page.
The existing information on this page will remain active for a period of one year.
And the page is now empty.
Let's go to Preliminary Notifications link:
Preliminary Notification Reports
These are brief descriptions, generated by NRC regions when needed, of matters that are of significant safety or safeguards concern or have high public interest. PNs are used to promptly inform the Commissioners and others in NRC and Agreement States with new and current information.
2000s: 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 |
Let's see what was considered "when needed" for July. Only one incidence,
not included as one of the 6 listed above is shown:
PNO-III-13-006 07/02/2013 FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company: Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station: Davis-Besse Unplanned Shutdown Greater Than 72 Hours on June 29, 2013, Due to Trip of Reactor Coolant Pump and Subsequent Discovery of Reactor Pressure Boundary Leakage
Davis-Besse plant did make the news:
Failure shuts down Davis-Besse
Davis-Besse Nuclear Power plant is shut down after a motor in one of its four reactor coolant pumps failed.
THIS IS A RICH WTF story! This North Carolina, Duke Energy, McQuire Nuclear Plant report, one of the 6 listed above, is concerning. I wonder why it's not considered a "when needed" report:
"Notification is to be made to an offsite agency: North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources [NCDENR].
Due to heavy rains on site, a holdup pond overflowed to the Catawba River. Holdup pond overflow included chemicals (Rotenone) used to treat macro fouling in the Standby Nuclear Service Water Pond. Notification to NCDENR will be made by telephone Saturday morning 6/29/13."
Apparently, the Rotenone contamination was treated with Potassium Permanganate:
"Due to continued rains on site, the holdup pond continues to overflow to the Catawba River. The overflow includes a new chemical, Potassium Permanganate, used to neutralize the Rotenone treatment of the Standby Nuclear Service Water Pond. This new chemical has the potential to initially turn water purple, which is normal when applied. The North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (NCDENR) has been updated."
WTF! The nuclear scientists and environmental engineers couldn't have anticipated heavy freaking rains in their pond design? Really? In heavy rain North Carolina? WTF!
Quite frankly, I smell a Rotenone Rat in the report above because of this 1979 story.
In 1979, Duke Energy used Rotenone to kill over 2,000 fish.
I found this news article. Note the irony of the HUGE FISH KILL article and the add for a $2.29 Fish Night Special. $2.29? Can you buy a large drink for $2.29 today?
About 2,250 pounds of fish were killed to allow Duke to take its sampling.
The chemical does not harm any other animal or plant life.
GOOD FREAKING GRIEF! You just never know where you will end up when you start a diary.
ROTENONE IS HARMFUL TO HUMANS!!! And it was, still might be, an ingredient in flea powders:
In March and April 2006, registrants of rotenone in the U.S. requested voluntarily cancellation from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of all livestock,
residential and home owner uses, domestic pet uses, and all other uses except for piscicide uses. A data call-in was issued in 2004 requiring a sub-chronic (28-day) inhalation neurotoxicity study to further investigate the results of independent studies in animals that led to Parkinson’s Disease-like symptoms.
Since 1994 a large amount of information has emerged from research that showed harmful effects of rotenone on the human system, leading to Parkinsons' disease and other health problems.
Where were we.
Fukishima is the disaster that keeps on being a disaster.
With industries now self-reporting, we won't know about the disasters in our own back yards until it's too late.
Thank you, you ignorant, heartless, stupid, even murderous "less government" fanatics. STFU!
LASTLY, NUCLEAR ENERGY IS NOT RENEWABLE. It creates harmful waste that lasts for thousands of years and, in our new extreme weather climate, is too vulnerable to life-threatening disasters capable of harming large swaths of populations.