From the USA With Globalized Love to the Fukushima Heroes

Practical Hermit & Potato Mousie, 

I LOVE YOU!

Thank you so so SOOOOOO much!

You guys rock!

Yes! Finally Some Balls! Go Fukushima Gov!

This is GOOD news, gang.
It actually brought tears to my eyes:

"Tepco won't be allowed to resume reactor operations: Fukushima Government"

http://tinyurl.com/FukushimaNoGo

TEPCO Deserves a Ginormous Hoof in the Balls

TEPCO seeks 20% cut in employees' annual salaries
Friday 22nd April, 07:00 AM JST

Tokyo Electric Power Co is considering cutting annual salaries of its employees by around 20% as part of its restructuring effort to make compensation payments over the emergency at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power complex, company sources said Thursday.

The utility is now under negotiations with its labor union to reach an agreement by the end of this month, they said.

The proposal targets around 33,000 union members and does not include a workforce cut, the sources said, adding that TEPCO is also considering reducing remunerations for company executives.

The utility, meanwhile, is mulling selling off its assets to secure funds to pay compensation for people affected by the nuclear crisis, triggered by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

TEPCO, for example, will try to acquire hundreds of billions of yen by selling securities it holds such as KDDI Corp stocks and real estate it owns, the sources said.

The link is here: http://tinyurl.com/TEPCOisUGLY

My thoughts are in the comments section as TheBigRiceBowl (that's me! - Until I leave Tokyo)

Have a great day.
I love you! (but I don't love TEPCO)

Cam

A Message from the Canadian Government

This just arrived from the Canadian Government:

On March 12th, the Prime Minister of Japan declared a nuclear emergency following a problem with the cooling system power supply at nuclear reactors at the Fukushima plants. The emergency declaration followed the March 11th 8.9-magnitude earthquake off the country's northeast coast.

We strongly advise against non-essential travel to Tokyo and surrounding areas, as well as the prefectures of Chiba, Miyagi, Ibaraki, Iwate, Aomori and Fukushima (see regional warning below), due to damages caused by the March 11 earthquake and subsequent tsunamis. Sendai City, Fukushima City and Aomori City have been hardest hit.

Reports indicate that the earthquake caused extensive damage to infrastructure in the northeastern prefectures of the country. Power and telecommunications have been disrupted. Transportation routes, emergency and medical care, as well as water, food, and fuel supplies may also be affected. Canadians travelling to affected areas should contact their airline or tour operator to determine whether the situation will disrupt travel arrangements. They should also exercise caution, monitor local news and weather reports, and follow the advice of local authorities.

The Tokyo region also experienced significant shaking. Travellers should be aware that transportation routes, power and telecommunications systems could be affected in some areas. Travel to and from Narita International Airport may be difficult.

Temporary rolling blackouts in Tokyo and neighbouring areas are occuring. Canadians in need of assistance should visit our Assistance for Canadians in Japan page.

We advise against all travel within 80 km of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant.

Following damage to the Fukushima nuclear power station in Okumacho, Canadians are strongly advised to follow the advice issued by the Japanese authorities. An evacuation order is in effect for the zone within 20km of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant. Japanese authorities recommend that people between 20km and 30km from the plant remain indoors with windows and doors closed and refrain from using ventilation systems.

There is no radiation health risk to Canadians travelling into or out of Japan, provided they have not been within the evacuation zone established by Japan.

Given the evolving situation, Canadians living within 80 km of the plant are advised that they should, as a further precautionary measure, evacuate this area. The directions of the Japanese government and local emergency response personnel should also be followed by all Canadians in Japan.

Information on the status of nuclear facilities in Japan can be obtained on the websites of the Japan Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission.

If you require assistance, please let us know by sending an e-mail or calling us at 03.5412.6200.  If you require immediate emergency assistance after Embassy office hours (09:00 - 17:30 JST), you may call 03.5412.6200 and your call will be transferred automatically to our Emergency Operation Center in Ottawa, Canada, or you can call directly at 1.613.996.8885. They are available 24/7.

We also suggest that you contact your family in Canada and inform them of your situation.

Best regards,

Consular Section / Section consulaire
Embassy of Canada / Ambassade du Canada

Geiger Boy Shows All Is Well in Tokyo

My friend Matt, another very level-headed Canuck in Tokyo, has posted this several times to show people the REAL radiation count in Tokyo.

This is a geiger counter that is placed in Hino, Tokyo. I'll include the location so you can see exactly on Google map if you wish.

This is not something that was just placed for this event; it has been around for some time and has been recording real time alpha, beta, gamma radiation for years I think. Therefore there is actually historical data.

If you follow the link, you will see at the top, the real time reading at the location. And below that you will see the historical readings of one year ago.

They are pretty much identical. Which means, that the radiation we are receiving NOW, is really no different than that which we had received when "all was fine" and the nuclear reactors were chugging away, producing power for 135 million energy-guzzling Japanese.

The Link: http://park18.wakwak.com/~weather/geiger_index.html

The Data:

Nuclear radiation detector：Black Cat Systems GM-10 Geiger Counter Radiation Detector
Radiation detected： Alpha - Above 3 MeV , Beta - Above 50 keV , Gamma / X-Ray - Above 7 keV
Location： 　Latitude:N 35 ° 39 ' 28 '' ( 35.658 °) , Longitude:E 139 ° 24 ' 5 '' ( 139.402 ° )　
100CPM = about 1 micoro Sievert/hr
Reload every 10 minutes.

So, I'm with Matt. There currently is nothing to worry about in Tokyo, and we shouldn't be over-reacting.

Of course, I wouldn't wander into the "no go zone", but the distance Tokyo is from these reactors is further than the distance of New York City from Three Mile Island. Did America evacuate NYC during the Three Mile Island Crisis?

Back to a relaxing dinner, then to do the dishes, and have a nice, slow, triple espresso.

I highly recommend those folk in the USA who are suddenly concerned and buying up KI (Potassium Iodide) pills to reconsider (as professionals in the USA are trying to explain). Any airborne radioactivity won't be strong enough to do any damage there, in Alaska, or Hawaii. Hospitals and pharmacies are recommending people NOT to request it needlessly. Stockpiling is not the right approach because it has a very short shelf life and is also apparently very easy to produce, or acquire when needed. And taking KI needlessly can actually cause other health issues. This was reported in the N.A. news feeds.

Status of quake-stricken reactors at Fukushima nuclear power plants

Wednesday 16th March, 03:00 PM JST
TOKYO —

The following is the known status as of Wednesday afternoon of each of the
six reactors at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant and the four reactors at
the Fukushima No. 2 plant, both in Fukushima Prefecture, which were crippled by
Friday’s magnitude 9.0 earthquake and the ensuing tsunami.

Fukushima No. 1 plant

—Reactor No. 1 - Cooling failure, partial melting of core, vapor vented,
building damaged Saturday by hydrogen explosion, seawater being pumped in.

—Reactor No. 2 - Cooling failure, seawater being pumped in, fuel rods fully
exposed temporarily, vapor vented, building damaged Monday by blast at Reactor
No. 3, damage to containment vessel on Tuesday, potential meltdown feared.

—Reactor No. 3 - Cooling failure, partial melting of core feared, vapor
vented, seawater being pumped in, building damaged Monday by hydrogen explosion,
high-level radiation measured nearby on Tuesday, plume of smoke observed
Wednesday, damage to containment vessel likely.

—Reactor No. 4 - Under maintenance when quake struck, fire Tuesday possibly
caused by hydrogen explosion at pool holding spent fuel rods, pool water level
not observed, fire observed Wednesday at building housing reactor, no water
poured in to cool pool.

—Reactor No. 5, No. 6 - Under maintenance when quake struck, temperature
slightly rising in spent fuel pool.

Fukushima No. 2 plant

—Reactor No. 1, No. 2, No. 4 - Cooling failure, then cold shutdown.

—Reactor No. 3 - Cold shutdown.

© 2011 Kyodo News
News.