Japan nuclear crisis escalates

International concern that Japan has lost control over the nuclear crisis is escalating as Britain, France and other nations advised their citizens to "consider" leaving Tokyo because of heightened radiation levels.

Yukiya Amano, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said he would visit the Japanese capital to gather information about the "very serious" situation at the Fukushima plant.

Conflicting reports from the damaged nuclear plant have deepened alarm over Japan's management of the crisis, leading to charges that the authorities are actually making the situation worse.

Gregory Jaczko, who heads the US nuclear regulator, said Japan had failed to order a big enough evacuation. He told Congress the public should get at least 50 miles away from the stricken plant. The Japanese cleared a radius of 12 miles.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/16/japan-nuclear-crisis-escalates?CMP=twt_fd

No, not good, and I will keep my thoughts to myself on this...

but Jaczko says there is none..

now that is a trick...

glad he is going, too - Maybe help put an end to "expert" speculation and pronouncements on both sides of the issue.

the last one to do that was oh August 14, 1945 (That was his dad)

I expect a few Daishos to be delivered in nice lacquered boxes after this is well over.

This is a disgrace to the NATION.

After this is over look for a few people in leadership positions to die from not so natural causes.

the industry. :(

That is not minor, and Japan is running out of ground.

.. and she thinks she should get it even if others scoff. The price is slightly elevated $11 for liquid, was $7, a thyroid is worth it I suppose!

It was somewhere where there was a very short supply.

I am not telling the local fans what I think. As far as I am concerned...

I have friends in Japan. Concerned about them.

Deeply saddened right now.

it is never easy when a disaster strikes and this just makes it more complicated.

:hug:

?

PB

They said they were fine. Very upbeat. I'm not sure if it was part of the routine, which you learn, is somewhat of a positive face, to hide inner anxieties. I can tell when they are anxious though.

I don't believe that we can feel positive about this. The wind can change direction. Hope that it keeps blowing out to sea. There are many lives at stake right now.

No one deserves this.

Fuck GE. Fuck Nuclear Power.

When will we learn.

...and care about the country as a whole. All we can do is keep the vigil for them.

It is terrible. :hug:

further south when the quake occurred but it was kind of tense for Sara waiting to hear from him. They were going to spend another night away before heading back into Tokyo, but I think they didn't realize (who did?) that it was going to be as bad as it has become.

I forget if he works for an American or Japanese company, but I heard where European companies were calling their citizens home, don't know if we've done that.

We've witnessed such horrific catastrophes over the past few years, I honestly am humbled and inspired by the determination and pride the peoples in all these countries exhibit. :grouphug:

We just can't understand what they're dealing with, and I personally, don't understand how they persevere.

are evacuating personnel, some from the country some south

drummer on these types of things.

and we keep downplaying this... after all we need to build more.

That said, just from knowing the military... C-5s are coming in loaded to the rafters, and bringing out dependents. No, they will not go public either.

military personnel families and/or US govt employees? Or do you think they're also ferrying out corporation personnel as well?

I just wrote my friend and asked who her brother worked for and if he was being asked to evacuate or relocate - I'll report back when I hear from her.

personnel is staying and they will not be able to fully do their jobs if they have to worry about the SO and children.

As to embassy personnel likely... and if they decide to evac civies, that is what they will have to use since Narita is ... shall we say hard.

My this is worst than they are telling was when Lufthstansa cancelled all flights after they broke out the geiger counters. A plane must have come back with crud.

aka spy planes, over that plant.

Translation, we trust what is coming out of there as far as we can drop them.

to check it out first hand.

6:07am
IAEA officials warned Japan in December 2008 that nuclear safety rules were outdated and earthquakes could cause "serious problems" for nuclear power stations, according to a leaked US embassy cable, reports Britain's Daily Telegraph:

The document states: "He explained that safety guides for seismic safety have only been revised three times in the last 35 years and that the IAEA is now re-examining them.

"Also, the presenter noted recent earthquakes in some cases have exceeded the design basis for some nuclear plants, and that this is a serious problem that is now driving seismic safety work."

5:57am
The US military has banned access to 13 websites - including YouTube, eBay, Amazon, MTV and ESPN on its computer network - to free up bandwidth for relief efforts in Japan, say officers at US Cyber Command. The Pentagon said:

This action is in no way a reflection on any specific site or the content of any specific site ... in response to the needs of the military in a time of extreme demand on all circuits and networks in a region of the world that has been devastated by geological activity.

The step was requested by US Pacific Command, which is overseeing the military's disaster relief efforts, said the Pentagon.

5:45am
More from US NRC boss Gregory Jaczko, who earlier spoke in near-apocalyptic tones, has told Congress that he "strongly believes" the United States could "mitigate" the impact of a nuclear crisis similar to the one unfolding in Japan, if it had occured in the US.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2011/mar/16/japan-nuclear-crisis-live

Posted by
Richard Adams, Tania Branigan and Peter Walker Wednesday 16 March 2011 04.37 GMT
guardian.co.uk

6.30am (3.30pm JST): As miwa points out in the comments below, Sir John Beddington - the UK's chief scientific adviser - has briefed British expatriates that the Japanese government's measures (a 20km exclusion zone round the plant and a warning to stay indoors if 20-30km away) are "entirely proportionate and appropriate to the risk". More information is available at the British embassy's website.

China is evacuating its nationals from the north-east - ie closer to the stricken facility - citing its concerns about the plant and France has recommended that its citizens leave Tokyo. The Austrian embassy announced yesterday that it was moving to Osaka due to radiation fears.

But like many more countries, the UK is not recommending that nationals leave the capital. Radiation levels there are slightly higher than normal, but nowhere near a level of concern, say experts.


Now, they've amended advice to say "consider" leaving Tokyo:

http://ukinjapan.fco.gov.uk/en/help-for-british-nationals/travel-advice

The most recent advice from the UK’s Chief Scientific Adviser remains that for those outside the exclusion zone set up by the Japanese authorities there is no real human health issue that people should be concerned about. This advice is kept under constant review. However, due to the evolving situation at the Fukushima nuclear facility and potential disruptions to the supply of goods, transport, communications, power and other infrastructure, British nationals in Tokyo and to the north of Tokyo should consider leaving the area.




It's all mildly worded, but represents a large shift within a short timeframe.



And France is wording their message to leave ever stronger:

From the same Guardian blog as above:

10.47am: 10.46am (7.46pm JST): France has urged its nationals in Tokyo to leave the country, or at least head towards southern Japan.

This is a significant development: the first time a nation has explicitly said it does not believe Japanese reassurances about the safety of the Fukushima plant, about 150 miles from the capital. The comments by French ministers are very strong.

The industry minister, Eric Besson, told BFM television:

Let's not beat about the bush. They have visibly lost the essential of control (of the situation). That is our analysis, in any case, it's not what they are saying.

The environment minister, Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, said the latest news about the nuclear situation "does not lead to optimism":

We recommend that all French citizens who do not have a good reason to stay in Tokyo either take a plane or, if they absolutely insist on staying, head south.

While this is not an official evacuation order, Air France has already increased capacity on its Tokyo to Paris services.


Edited to add spacing for easier reading

:shrug:
:-(

saying go by Japanese guidelines. Very slight compared to other country's recommandations.

WH not recommending US citizens leave Tokyo
© 2011 The Associated Press
March 15, 2011, 1:36PM


WASHINGTON — The White House says that unlike some other countries the U.S. is not recommending that American citizens leave Tokyo over radiation concerns.
Press secretary Jay Carney said Tuesday that U.S. officials have determined that Americans in Japan should follow the same guidance the Japanese government is giving to its citizens.

Don't.

There no need to allow the dog-pile intimidation tactics practiced to silence dissent against the prevailing "It's Coming Up Roses!" message have their intended effect.

I don't always agree with nadin, but always want to hear her thoughts.

:toast:

the facts alone speak for themselves.

Soon most of these roses are red, and puppies run in the meadow... will come to realize just how damn fucking bad this is.

Some of the (still undeleted at last glance) personal attacks I've seen leveled against you over the past few days really give DU an unwelcome stench.

Good on you for not allowing them to intimidate you, but I think they're deleterious to the overall level of discourse.

---
Edited to ward off the Alert swarm:
The "them" and "they" in my last sentence refer to the attacks, not the DUers making them.

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

I'm loading my iggie canon... my list is overrun with the shallow, the selfish, and personal attackers.

Chilling.

MotherJones Mother Jones
The latest on #Japan's nuclear crisis: TEPCO says #fukushima could still go critical http://mojo.ly/gCbNSC
2 minutes ago Favorite Retweet Reply

My view, if TEPCO is saying it still could go critical... it probably is

an 'undisclosed location'. I can't imagine them admitting this until the last possible moment, can you?

Maybe I'm unfairly judging but based on their past reputation and what we experienced (and still are) with BP, I just automatically believe that they'll paint the rosiest picture until it's just impossible to maintain the charade. :shrug:

Unbelievable.

:(

POTUS never did

to be behind the scenes, too, but it was leaked. I may be wrong on both these suppositions, of course. :7

2348: It should be noted that the Tokyo Electric Power Company has a poor record on revealing the extent of problems at its nuclear facilities. In 2002, senior executives were forced to resign after the government disclosed that they had covered up a large series of cracks and other damage to reactors. In 2006, the firm admitted it had been falsifying data about coolant materials in its plants.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12307698