By Bernie Woodall – Fri Mar 18, 2:55 pm ET



DETROIT (Reuters) – The man who became the face of the Three Mile Island nuclear disaster in 1979 says he had it easy compared to those trying to regain control of Japan's stricken Fukushima Daiichi plant this week.

Harold Denton, a senior official with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission at the time, was picked by then-President Jimmy Carter to take charge at the Pennsylvania plant as operators were working to regain control of a reactor going into partial meltdown.

He quickly became the face of the Three Mile Island crisis, holding daily news conferences and making regular appearances at the press center set up at the plant, located near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

The incident terrified Americans and set back nuclear power plant developments in the United States for 30 years. Even so, Denton said conditions at the plant were far better than those at the plant at the center of the current crisis in Japan.

"This is certainly far worse than Three Mile Island," Denton said in a phone interview.

The Three Mile accident was a case of a valve malfunction compounded by human error, while Daiichi was the result a massive earthquake and tsunami. Possible missteps and what some nuclear engineers say are design faults may have compounded the situation.

To be sure, GE says the design used at Daiichi has performed well for over 40 years and meets all regulatory requirements. The design has no faults, it says.

What's certain is a series of blasts wrecked parts of the Daiichi plant, while Three Mile remained fully intact.
"In Japan, it's clearly the problem caused by the double whammy of having an earthquake and then the tsunami," said Denton.

Now 75 and retired in Knoxville, Tennessee, Denton reels off the other differences:

--At Three Mile Island there were no injuries and only minor amounts of radiation released into the atmosphere. At Daiichi, at least two workers are missing and many other workers are risking heavy doses of radiation.
--There was only one troubled reactor at Three Mile; in Daiichi there are six.
--His team could work close to the reactor. In Japan it may well be too dangerous to do so because of high levels of radiation.
--The power was working at Three Mile. In Japan, it was knocked out by the earthquake and tsunami.
"Power is the lifeblood for a power plant," Denton said. "If you've got power you can do a lot, but if you don't have any power, the water in the reactor vessels heats up and boils away and fuel begins to melt and that's a problem they've gotten into now."

NO PHONES

In Three Mile Island, "there was no interruption of infrastructure. The biggest problem was the telephone communications because there was such an overload of the system."

In fact, poor communications was one of the biggest headaches at Three Mile Island.

There were no mobile phones in 1979, so Carter ordered a hot line with a drop cord to Denton's work trailer, allowing Denton to provide the President with regular updates.

"I called the president twice a day using the red telephone," Denton said.

"At the time, the computers were not as fast and didn't have the storage that they do now," said Denton. "The data flow at Three Mile Island exceeded the capacity of the printer to print the data."

Using computer printouts was the only way for Denton and his team to get a proper readout from the big and bulky computers in the power plant -- but having a printer go "clickity-click" as it slowly rolled over wasn't very helpful in such a new kind of crisis.

EVERYONE'S A CRITIC

Having coped with such events himself, Denton declined to join those piling on to criticize the Japanese plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO).

"I'm reluctant to criticize other people. During Three Mile Island, there were always pundits from a thousand miles away saying what we should be doing, and it used to upset me that the farther away people were from the site, the more authoritatively they came across."

Still, he did say that a freer flow of information would have helped as scientists outside the plant could have offered more assistance. Clearly those on the site had gotten too busy fighting fires, he said.

The extent of the damage at the two plants is clearly one of the most noticeable differences.

Three Mile Island suffered no structural damage. Operators didn't even know for two days after a hydrogen explosion in the primary containment on Wednesday, March 28, 1979, that a blast had even occurred.

They "realized they had heard a thud ... the day of the accident," he said. "They attributed it to a valve closing, not unlike other occasional noises in a power plant. By Friday, they realized they had heard an explosion the result of a hydrogen explosion," he said.

By contrast, the Daiichi reactor suffered numerous hydrogen explosions that partially destroyed the roof and walls, cracked the primary containment vessels on at least two of its six reactors, and damaged pools holding spent fuel.

THE LONG RETURN

A year after the accident, Denton went inside the reactor containment vessel after it had been vented.
"There was surprisingly little damage from the hydrogen explosion visible on the operating floor of the plant," he said. "The things that were visible were a telephone in that area seemed to have some melting on the plastic cover and perhaps a barrel that had caved in a little but it wasn't the scene of destruction by any means."

One of the biggest signs of how the Japanese crisis is so much worse than the U.S. incident 32 years ago is that Denton was able to take President Carter on a tour of the plant's control room on the fourth and final day of the Three Mile Island accident.

It is doubtful whether it will ever be safe for Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan to go to Daiichi.

Indeed, Japanese engineers conceded on Friday they may have to bury the plant in sand and concrete as a last resort to prevent a catastrophic radiation release, the method used to seal huge leakages from Chernobyl in 1986.

(Additional reporting by Scott DiSavino in New York. Editing by Martin Howell and Frank McGurty)

The Cold War ended over two decades ago, and many people have never lived under the shadow of nuclear annihilation. Still, a nuclear attack is a very real threat. Global politics are far from stable, and human nature has changed none in the last two decades. "The most persistent sound which reverberates through man's history is the beating of war drums". As long as nuclear weapons exist, there is always the danger they will be used.

Is nuclear war survivable? Only predictions exist, as some say yes, others say no. For some, especially those in large population centers, it may seem like an entirely futile endeavor. If it is survived at all, it will be by those who are mentally and logistically prepared for such an event. What should you do? Where should you take shelter?

Steps:

1. Keep an eye on the news. A nuclear attack will unlikely come out of the blue from an enemy nation. Such an attack would likely be preceded by a deteriorating political situation. A war with conventional weapons between nations that both have nuclear weapons, if not ended swiftly, may escalate towards nuclear war; and even limited nuclear strikes in one region carry the likelihood to escalate towards an all-out nuclear war elsewhere.

However, an unconventional nuclear attack by terrorists could come without warning. Given the lack of a credible sovereign enemy, such attacks are very unlikely to escalate to a full nuclear exchange.

Learn about the different types of nuclear weapons.:

Fission (A-Bombs) are the most basic nuclear weapon and are incorporated into the other weapon classes. This bomb's power comes from splitting heavy nuclei (plutonium and uranium) with neutrons; as the uranium or plutonium split each atom releases great amounts of energy - and more neutrons. The daughter neutrons cause an extremely fast nuclear chain reaction.

Fission bombs are the only type of nuclear bomb used in war so far. The development of fusion bombs has relegated the 'straight fission' bomb to history. All weaponized nations now possess Fusion bombs.
Fusion (H-Bombs), using the incredible heat of a fission bomb 'spark plug', compress and heat deuterium and tritium (isotopes of hydrogen) which fuse, releasing immense amounts of energy. Fusion weapons are also known as thermonuclear weapons since high temperatures are required to fuse deuterium and tritium; such weapons are usually many times more powerful than the bombs that destroyed Nagasaki and Hiroshima.
EMP Weapons. A nuclear weapon detonated at a very high altitude will generate an electromagnetic pulse so powerful that it can destroy electronic and electrical devices. Placing radios, flashlights in a SEALED metal container (a "Faraday cage") may protect from EMP, providing the items being protected are not in contact with the enclosure. The metal shield must surround the protected item completely - and it helps if it is grounded.

The items to be protected should be insulated from the conductive shell, since the EMP field washing over the shield can still induce voltages in solid state circuit boards. A metalized "space blanket" (costing about $2.00 USD) wrapped securely around a device wrapped in newspaper or cotton may act as an ineffective Faraday shield, helpful if one is far from the blast.

Another method is to wrap a cardboard box copper, or aluminum foil. Place the item in there and plug the device into the ground.
Other Types. Nuclear science is kept secret for reasons of national security, so this list is not neccessarily exhaustive. Outside of science fiction, real scientists have speculated ways to create EMP weapons without nuclear blasts, create Cobalt-Salted ("Neutron") bombs to increase immediate radiation presence, and possibly other types.

3. Seek shelter immediately. Aside from the geopolitical warning signs, your first warnings of an imminent nuclear attack will most likely be an alarm or warning signal; if not, it will be the blast itself. The bright light from a detonation of a nuclear weapon can be seen tens of miles away from ground zero. If within the vicinity of the blast (or ground zero), your chances of survival are virtually nonexistent unless you are in a shelter that provides a very (VERY) good blast protection. If you are a few miles out, you will have about 10-15 seconds until the heat wave hits you, and maybe 20-30 seconds until the shockwave does. Under no circumstances should you look directly at the fireball. On a clear day, this can cause temporary blindness at very large distances.[5]

If you can't find shelter, seek a depressed area nearby and lay face down, exposing as little skin as possible. If there is no shelter of this kind, dig as fast as possible. Even around 8 kilometers (5 miles) you will suffer third degree thermal-burns; still at 32 kilometers (20 miles) the heat can burn the skin off your body. The wind itself will peak at around 960 kilometers per hour (600mph) and will level anything or anybody caught in the open.
Failing the above options, get indoors, if, and only if, you can be sure that the building will not suffer significant blast and heat damage. This will, at least, provide some protection against radiation. Whether this will be a viable option depends on the construction of the building and how close you will be to the likely ground zero of a nuclear strike. Stay well away from any windows, preferably in a room without one; even if the building does not suffer substantial damage, a nuclear explosion will blow out windows at enormous distances.[6]
If residing in Switzerland or Finland, check if your home has an atomic shelter. If not, determine where your village/town/district atomic shelter is and know how to get there. Remember: anywhere in Switzerland, you'll be able to find an atomic shelter. When the sirens sound in Switzerland, you are advised to inform those who may not be able to hear it (e.g. the deaf) and then listen to the National Radio Services (RSR, DRS and/or RTSI).
Don't be surrounded by anything flammable or combustible. Substances like nylon or any oil based material will ignite from the heat.

4. Remember: it's not the initial blast that creates the high death toll; it's radiation exposure. There are two threats of radiation:

Initial (prompt) radiation. This is radiation released at the moment of detonation, and it is short-lived and travels short distances. With the large yields of modern nuclear weapons, it is thought that this will kill few who would not be killed by the blast or heat at the same distance.

Residual radiation. Known as radiation fallout. If the detonation was a surface blast or the fireball hits the earth, large amounts of fallout occurs. The dust and debris kicked into the atmosphere rains down, bringing with it dangerous amounts of radiation. The fallout may rain down as contaminated black soot known as "black rain," which is very fatal and may be of extreme temperature. Fallout will contaminate anything it touches.

Once you have survived the blast and the initial radiation (for now at least; radiation symptoms have an incubation period), you must find protection against the burning black soot.

5. Know the types of radiation particles. Before we continue, we should mention the three different types:

Alpha particles. These are the weakest and, during an attack, are virtually non-existent as a threat. Alpha particles will survive for only a couple inches in the air before they are absorbed by the atmosphere. They possess a minuscule threat from the exterior, however, they will be fatal if ingested or inhaled. Standard clothing will help protect you from Alpha particles.
Beta particles: These are faster than Alpha particles and can penetrate further. They will travel for up to 10 meters (10 yards) before they are absorbed into the atmosphere. Exposure to beta particles is not fatal unless exposed for prolonged periods; which may cause "Beta burns," almost like painful sunburn. They pose a serious threat, however, to the eyes, should they be exposed for a prolonged period. Once again this is harmful if ingested or inhaled, and clothing will help prevent Beta burns.
Gamma Rays. Gamma Rays are the deadliest. They can travel for nearly a mile in the air and penetrate just about any kind of shielding. Therefore gamma radiation will cause severe damage to the internal organs even as an external source. Sufficient shielding will be required.

A shelter's PF against radiation will tell you how many times less a person inside the shelter will receive radiation compared to open space. For example, RPF 300 means that you will receive 300 times less radiation in the shelter than in the open.
Avoid exposure to Gamma radiation. Try not to spend more than 5 minutes exposed. If you are in a rural area, try finding a cave, or a fallen log into which you can crawl. Otherwise just dig a trench to lie in, with stacked earth around you.

6. Begin reinforcing your shelter from the inside by stacking dirt around the walls or anything else you can find. If in a trench, then create a roof, but only if materials are nearby; don't expose yourself when not necessary. Canvas from a parachute or tent will help stop fallout debris from piling on you, though it will not stop Gamma rays. It is impossible, at a very fundamental physical level, to completely shield from all radiation. It can only be reduced to a tolerable level. Use the following to help you determine the amount of material you'll need to reduce radiation penetration to 1/1000:[8]

Steel: 21 cm (0.7 feet)
Rock: 70-100 cm (2-3 ft)
Concrete: 66 cm (2.2 ft)
Wood: 2.6 m (8.8 ft)
Soil: 1 m (3.3 ft)
Ice: 2 m (6.6 ft)
Snow: 6 m (20-22 ft)

7. Plan on staying in your shelter for a minimum of 200 hours (8-9 days). Under no circumstances leave the shelter in the first forty-eight hours .

8. Ration your supplies. You will need to ration to survive, obviously; therefore you will eventually expose yourself to the radiation (unless you are in a specific shelter with food and water).

Processed foods are okay to eat, so long as the container has no punctures and is relatively intact.
Animals may be eaten but, they must be skinned carefully with the heart, liver and kidneys discarded. Try not to eat meat that is close to the bone, for bone marrow retains radiation.

How to Eat Dove or Pigeon
How to Eat Wild Rabbit

Plants in a "hot zone" are edible; those with edible roots or undergrowth (carrots, potatoes...) are highly recommended. Use an edibility test on the plants. See How to Test if a Plant Is Edible.
Open water may have received fallout particles and is harmful. Water from an underground source, such as a spring or covered well, is your best bet. (Consider making a basic pit-style solar still, as described in How to Make Water in the Desert.) Use water from streams and lakes only as a last resort. Create a filter by digging a hole about 1ft from the bank and drawing the water which seeps in. It may be cloudy or muddy so allow the sediments to sit, then boil the water to ensure safety from bacteria. If in a building, the water is usually safe. If there is no water (there most likely won't be), use the water already in the pipes by opening the faucet at the highest point of the house to let in air, then open a faucet at the lowest point of the house to drain the water.

See also How to Get Emergency Drinking Water from a Water Heater.
Know How to Purify Water.

9. Wear all clothing (hats, gloves, goggles, closed sleeve shirt, etc.), especially when outside to help prevent Beta burns. Decontaminate by shaking your clothes constantly and washing, with water, any exposed skin; settled residue will eventually cause burns.

10. Treat radiation and thermal burns.

Minor Burn. Also known as a Beta burn (though it may be from other particles). Immerse Beta burns in cold water until the pain subsides (usually 5 minutes).

If skin starts to blister, char or break; wash it with cold water to remove contaminants, then cover with a sterile compress to prevent infection. Do not break the blisters!
If the skin does not blister, char or break; don't cover it, even if it covers a large portion of the body (almost like sunburn). Instead, wash the area and cover it with Vaseline or a solution of baking powder and water if available. But, moist (uncontaminated) earth will do.
Severe Burn. Known as a thermal burn, as it comes mostly from the high intensity blast heat, rather than ionizing particles, though it can be from the latter. This can be life threatening; everything becomes a factor: water loss, shock, lung damage, infection, etc. Follow these steps to treat a severe burn.

Protect burns from further contamination.
If clothing covers the burn area, gently cut and remove the cloth from the burn. DO NOT try to remove cloth which has stuck or fused onto the burn. DO NOT try to pull clothes over the burn. DO NOT put any ointment on the burn.
Gently wash the burned area with water ONLY.
Put a sterile dressing over the burnt area. In a mass casualty situation, a clean sheet may be used instead.
Prevent shock. Shock is the inadequate flow of blood to the vital tissues and organs. If untreated, it can be fatal. Shock results from excessive blood loss, deep burns, or reactions to the sight of a wound or blood. The signs are restlessness, thirst, pale skin and rapid heartbeat. Sweating may occur even if the skin feels cool and clammy. As it worsens, they breathe short fast gasps, with a vacant stare. To treat: maintain proper heartbeat and respiration by massaging the chest and positioning the person for adequate respiration. Loosen any constrictive clothing and reassure the person. Be firm yet gentle with self confidence.

11. Feel free to assist people with radiation sickness, also called Radiation Syndrome. This is not contagious, and everything depends on the amount of radiation one recieved. Here is a condensed version of the table:

(Gy (gray) = the SI unit used to measure the absorbed dose of ionizing radiation. 1 Gy = 100 rad. Sv (Sievert) = the SI unit of dose equivelant, 1 Sv = 100 REM. For the purpose of simplification, 1 Gy is usually equivelant to 1 Sv.)
1-
Less than 0.05 Gy: No visible symptoms.
0.05-0.5 Gy: Temporarily decreased red blood cell count.
0.5-1 Gy: Decreased production of immunity cells; susceptible to infections; nausea, headache, and vomiting may be common. This amount of radiation is usually survivable without any medical treatment-
1.5-3 Gy: 35% percent of exposed die within 30 days. (LD 35/30) Nausea, vomiting, and loss of hair all over the body.
3-4 Gy: Severe radiation poisoning, 50% fatality after 30 days (LD 50/30). Other symptoms are similar to the 2–3 Sv dose, with uncontrollable bleeding in the mouth, under the skin and in the kidneys (50% probability at 4 Sv) after the latent phase.
4-6 Gy: Acute radiation poisoning, 60% fatality after 30 days (LD 60/30). Fatality increases from 60% at 4.5 Sv to 90% at 6 Sv (unless there is intense medical care). Symptoms start half an hour to two hours after irradiation and last for up to 2 days. After that, there is a 7 to 14 day latent phase, after which generally the same symptoms appear as with 3-4 Sv irradiation, with increased intensity. Female sterility is common at this point. Convalescence takes several months to a year. The primary causes of death (in general 2 to 12 weeks after irradiation) are infections and internal bleeding.
6-10 Gy: Acute radiation poisoning, near 100% fatality after 14 days (LD 100/14). Survival depends on intense medical care. Bone marrow is nearly or completely destroyed, so a bone marrow transplant is required. Gastric and intestinal tissue are severely damaged. Symptoms start 15 to 30 minutes after irradiation and last for up to 2 days. Subsequently, there is a 5 to 10 day latent phase, after which the person dies of infection or internal bleeding. Recovery would take several years and probably never complete. Devair Alves Ferreira received a dose of approximately 7.0 Sv during the Goiânia accident and survived, partially due to his fractionated exposure.
12-20 REM: Death is 100% at this stage; symptoms appear immediately. The gastrointestinal system is completely destroyed. Uncontrollable bleeding from the mouth, under the skin and the kidneys occurs. Fatigue and general illness takes its toll. Symptoms are the same as before with increased intensity. Recovery not possible.
More than 20 REM. The same symptoms set in instantly, with increased intensity, then cease for several days in the "walking ghost" phase. Suddenly, gastrointestinal cells are destroyed, with a loss of water and excessive bleeding. Death begins with delirium and insanity. When the brain can't control bodily functions like breathing or blood-circulation, one dies. No medical therapy can reverse this; medical help is for comfort only.
Unfortunately, you have to accept that a person may soon die. Though harsh, don't waste rations or supplies on those dying of radiation sickness. Keep rations for the fit and healthy, should supplies be in demand. Radiation sickness is prevalent among the very young, the old or sick.
2-Most likely, a nuclear attack will not be a singular event. Be prepared for another strike or strikes by enemy nations, or an invasion by the attacking party.

3-Be prepared for another blast. Keep your shelter intact, unless the materials used are absolutely necessary for survival. Collect any excess clean water and food that is available.
However, if the attacking nation does attack again, it will likely be in another part of the country. If all else fails, live in a cave.

Tips

Build a home fallout shelter beforehand. Home fallout shelters can be created using a basement or cellar. However, many new developments no longer have cellars; if that's so, consider constructing a community shelter or a private one in your backyard.
Be sure to wash just about everything, especially food, even if it's in your shelter.

Warnings

Do not expose yourself. It is uncertain how many roentgens a person can receive without having radiation sickness. Normally, it takes 100-150 roentgens to get a mild sickness which is survivable. Even if you don't die of radiation sickness, you can still get cancer later.
Know if there is a retaliatory attack or a second detonation in your area. If so, you must wait another 200 hours (8-9 days) from the last detonation.
Even after it is safe to leave the shelter, local law and the federal government will be in crisis mode. Incidents of chaos and anarchy may occur, so remain hidden until it is safe or the federal/local enforcement seizes power and seeks stability. Generally speaking, if you see tanks, some type of order has been restored.
Do not drink, eat, or allow object-to-body contact with any plant, stream water or metallic object found in an unknown area.
Never lose your cool, especially if you are in charge. This is important in maintaining a high level of morale amongst others, which is essential in such dire situations.
Take the time to learn all you can about this emergency. Every minute spent learning "what to do, and what is safe" will save you valuable time when the need for it arises. To depend on hope & luck in a situation like this is foolhardy.

Sources and Citations

Ehrlich, R, (1984). Waging Nuclear Peace: The Technology and Politics of Nuclear Weapons, ISBN 9780873959193
Langford, R. Everett (2004), Introduction to Weapons of Mass Destruction, ISBN 0471465607
Wiseman, J, (1986), SAS Survival Handbook, ISBN 9780002727747
http://survivalusa.org/
http://www.norad.mil/
http://www.nrc.gov/what-we-do/emerg-preparedness.html
Giraldi, Philip (2007). http://www.antiwar.com/orig/giraldi.php?articleid=11666 What World War III May Look Like].
http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/usa/c3i/defcon.htm
Ehrlich 1985, p. 167, gives a distance of 13 miles on a clear day and 53 miles on a clear night for a one-megaton weapon.
 For an example, one (albeit abnormally large) nuclear test in the Novaya Zemlya archipelago in Russia was known to knock out windows in Finland and Sweden.
 Ehrlich, p. 175; Langford, p. 106. For, unlike the blast and heat effects, the prompt radiation dose received decreases in relation to the square of the distance from the blast. Ehrlich points out that a 100 kt weapon would only give 1/500th the lethal dose of radiation at the 5 psi overpressure distance.

Just in case......



In 1945, at the time of the atomic bombing of Japan, Tatsuichiro Akizuki, M.D. was Director of the Department of Internal Medicine at St. Francis's Hospital in Nagasaki. Most patients in the hospital, located one mile from the center of the blast, survived the initial effects of the bomb, but soon after came down with symptoms of radiation sickness from the fallout that has been released.

Dr. Akizuki fed his staff and patients a strict diet of brown rice, miso and tamari soy soup, wakame, kombu and other seaweed, Hokkaido pumpkin, and sea salt and prohibited the consumption of sugar and sweets.

As a result, he saved everyone in his hospital, while many other survivors perished from radiation sickness.
Source: Tatsuichiro Akuziki, M.D. Nagasaki 1945, London Quarter books, 1981. (Brown rice, miso, Sea vegetables, Salt)

In 1968 Canadian researchers reported that sea vegetables contained a polysaccharide substance that selectively bound radioactive strontium and helped eliminate it from the body. In laboratory experiments, sodium alginate prepared from kelp, kombu, and other brown seaweeds off the Atlantic and pacific coasts was introduced along with strontium and calcium into rats. The reduction of radioactive particles in bone uptake, measured in the femur, reached as high as 80%, with little interference with calcium absorption.

The evaluation of biological activity of different marine algae is important because of their practical significance in preventing absorption of radioactive products of atomic fission as well as in their use as possible natural decontaminators.
Source: Y. Tanaka et. Al. " Studies on Inhibition of Intestinal Absorption of Radioactive Strontium", Canadian Medical Association Journal 99: 169-75. (Sea Vegetables)

WHOLE GRAINS PROTECT IN FIVE WAYS

Whole grains help to protect us from the deleterious health effects of radiation exposure in five ways:

1) Grains are low on the food chain. Although they may have been exposed to pollution and radiation, they do not have the concentration of contaminants that is found in meat and large fish, which are at the top of the food chain.

2) Important with respect to radiation protection is the high fiber and phosphorous contents in grains. The binding ability of these substances helps the body to remove poisons.

3) The bulking factor of grains lessens the intestinal transit time and so hasten the elimination of all toxins.

4) Being neither very acid nor very alkaline, grains help us to maintain the middle-range pH that has been found to increase our resistance to radiation.

5) Whole grains provide vitamin B6, which is indispensable for the thymus. In addition, their calcium content guards against uptake of radioactive strontium, and their vitamin E and selenium prevent cellular damage caused by free radicals.


THE FOODS BETTER TO AVOID

1) Refined, genetic modified and processed foods

2) Fatty foods (meat, dairy products)

3) Simple sugars (white sugar), soft drinks

Source: Diet for the Atomic Age by Sara Shannon-Avery Publishing Group Inc., Wayne, New Jersey.

The products mentioned in this message are available in most of the health stores.

(Reuters) - Following are travel warnings from several countries following Friday's devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan, which damaged the Fukushima nuclear power plant, causing explosions and sending radiation into the air.



* Denotes new or updated item:

AUSTRIA: - Austria maintained a partial travel advisory for Japan. It recommended all Austrians leave northeastern Japan and urged cancelling all trips to Japan that are not essential.

-- "All Austrians, especially families with children in the greater Tokyo/Yokohama area, are advised to consider leaving the country temporarily or leaving the area," the foreign ministry said on its website.

BANGLADESH: -- Bangladesh has instructed its mission in Tokyo to relocate its citizens to a safer place free from radiation, the government said on Tuesday.

-- Foreign Minister Dipu Moni asked for their temporary relocation, officials said, adding that possibly the embassy will be shifted to a southern Japanese city such as Hiroshima or Nagasaki, which are safe from radiation as per Japan's announcement.

BRITAIN: -- Britain's Foreign Office travel advice is unchanged from Monday/weekend. It has advised against all non-essential travel to Tokyo and the northeast of Japan.

CANADA: -- Canada warned its citizens to avoid all travel within 20 km (12 miles) of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, and avoid non-essential travel to areas of northern Japan that were near the quake and hit by the subsequent tsunamis.

-- Canadians were also warned to "exercise a high degree of caution" in traveling to the Tokyo region because of damage suffered by its transport, power and telecommunication systems. The warning note said there would be rolling blackouts in the Tokyo area starting March 14.

CROATIA: -- Croatia recommended that citizens postpone any journeys to Japan. It advised Croatian citizens currently in Japan not to travel to the areas affected by the disaster and to remain in contact with the embassy in Tokyo for further notice.

FINLAND: -- Finland said on Tuesday all travel to Japan, especially to Tokyo and northeastern Japan, should be avoided. It urged families with children to consider leaving the area.

FRANCE: The French embassy in Tokyo urged its citizens in the Japanese capital to stay indoors and close their windows, saying a low-level radioactive wind could reach the city within 10 hours, based on current winds.

-- It had earlier strongly advised its nationals not to travel to Japan because of the high threats of aftershocks.

GERMANY: -- "Non-essential travel to Japan is inadvisable," the Foreign Ministry website says.

* ITALY: -- The Italian foreign ministry said Italian nationals were advised to leave Japan, at least temporarily. It said its crisis unit was discussing contingency plans with Alitalia to provide extra flights if existing capacity were insufficient to meet demand.

NETHERLANDS: -- The Dutch Foreign Affairs Ministry is advising its citizens not to travel to the Kantei region, including Tokyo, and areas to the north and northeast, and to leave this part of Japan if they are there currently.

NEW ZEALAND: -- New Zealand's foreign ministry continues to advise avoiding all non-essential travel to Tokyo and the affected northeastern regions.

NORWAY: -- The Norwegian foreign ministry put out a bulletin on Tuesday advising against travel to Japan. Norwegian citizens were encouraged to follow the advice of local authorities and see updated information on the embassy in Tokyo's homepage. The warning highlighted the unresolved situation of nuclear power plants.

PHILIPPINES: -- Non-essential embassy personnel and dependents are being sent home, the Philippines' ambassador to Tokyo, Manuel Lopez, said. Lopez said Filipinos in Japan who want to go home can do so, with the embassy helping them make arrangements for their flights home. "We can help them make arrangements with airlines, but we have no authority yet from the government to get them all out," he said.

POLAND: -- The Polish Foreign Ministry has issued a statement urging Polish citizens to avoid all unnecessary travel to Japan at present.

PORTUGAL: -- Portugal foreign ministry's website has a travel recommendation saying that "all non-essential trips to Japan are inadvisable given the situation in the country."

SERBIA - Serbia called on Tuesday all country's nationals to leave Japan on regular flights, or contact the embassy in Tokyo and follow local emergency procedures.

SLOVAKIA: -- Slovakia has recommended citizens not to travel to affected regions in Japan and delay planned trips to other regions, including Tokyo.

SLOVENIA: -- Slovenia has warned its nationals not to travel to Japan unless necessary.

-- "We advise against any non-urgent travels to the troubled areas of Japan. To those Slovenian citizens that cannot postpone their travel to Japan, we advise extreme caution and additional checking of conditions in areas to which they are traveling," the foreign ministry said on its website.

SOUTH KOREA: -- The South Korean foreign ministry has issued a travel advisory for Japan. It advised against travel to the Fukushima area and other areas north of Tokyo.

SWEDEN: -- Sweden on Tuesday put out a bulletin advising against any non-essential travel to Japan. The foreign ministry bulletin highlighted travel to Tokyo and northeastern Japan and expanded a previous recommendation cautioning against voyages to the Japanese prefectures hardest hit by the quake and tsunami.

SWITZERLAND: -- Switzerland has issued an advisory for Japan, advising against all travel to the northeast as well as to the prefectures of Nagano and Niigata. The Foreign Ministry also advises against all tourist and non-essential journeys to Japan in general and recommends all Swiss nationals should temporarily leave the crisis areas in the northeast of Japan as well as the wider Tokyo/Yokohama area.

UNITED STATES: -- The State Department urged U.S. citizens to avoid tourism and non-essential travel to Japan at this time and also requests all non-essential official U.S. government personnel defer travel to Japan.

(Reuters) - Japan raced to avert a catastrophe on Wednesday after an explosion at a quake-crippled nuclear power plant sent radiation wafting into Tokyo, prompting some people to flee the capital and others to stock up on essential supplies.



The crisis escalated late on Tuesday when operators of the facility said one of two blasts had blown a hole in the building housing a reactor, which meant spent nuclear fuel was exposed to the atmosphere.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan urged people within 30 km (18 miles) of the facility -- a population of 140,000 -- to remain indoors, as Japan grappled with the world's most serious nuclear accident since the Chernobyl disaster in Ukraine in 1986.

Officials in Tokyo -- 240 km (150 miles) to the south of the plant -- said radiation in the capital was 10 times normal at one point but not a threat to human health in the sprawling high-tech city of 13 million people.

Toxicologist Lee Tin-lap at the Chinese University of Hong Kong said such a radiation level was not an immediate threat to people but the long-term consequences were unknown.

"You are still breathing this into your lungs, and there is passive absorption in the skin, eyes and mouth and we really do not know what long-term impact that would have," Lee told Reuters by telephone.

Around eight hours after the explosions, the U.N. weather agency said winds were dispersing radioactive material over the Pacific Ocean, away from Japan and other Asian countries.

As concern about the crippling economic impact of the nuclear and earthquake disasters mounted, Japan's Nikkei index fell as much as 14 percent before ending down 10.6 percent, compounding a slide of 6.2 percent the day before. The two-day fall has wiped some $620 billion off the market.

On Wall Street, stock in General Electric Co, the largest U.S. conglomerate, fell nearly 4 percent on concern the crisis will cost it tens of billions of dollars in lost sales and potential legal costs or even liability over its nuclear technology.

Authorities have spent days desperately trying to prevent the water which is designed to cool the radioactive cores of the reactors from running dry, which would lead to overheating and the release of dangerous radioactive material into the atmosphere.

They said they may use helicopters to pour water on the most critical reactor, No. 4, within two or three days, but did not say why they would have to wait to do this.

"The possibility of further radioactive leakage is heightening," a grim-faced Kan said in an address to the nation.

"We are making every effort to prevent the leak from spreading. I know that people are very worried but I would like to ask you to act calmly."

Levels of 400 millisieverts per hour had been recorded near the No. 4 reactor, the government said. Exposure to over 100 millisieverts a year is a level which can lead to cancer, according to the World Nuclear Association.

The plant operator pulled out 750 workers, leaving just 50, and a 30-km (19 mile) no-fly zone was imposed around the reactors. There have been no detailed updates on what levels the radiation reached inside the exclusion zone.

"Radioactive material will reach Tokyo but it is not harmful to human bodies because it will be dissipated by the time it gets to Tokyo," said Koji Yamazaki, professor at Hokkaido University graduate school of environmental science. "If the wind gets stronger, it means the material flies faster but it will be even more dispersed in the air."

A Reuters reporter using a Geiger counter showed negligible levels of radiation in the capital.

Despite pleas for calm, residents rushed to shops in Tokyo to stock up on supplies. Don Quixote, a multi-storey, 24-hour general store in Roppongi district, sold out of radios, flashlights, candles and sleeping bags.

In a sign of regional fears about the risk of radiation, China said it would evacuate its citizens from areas worst affected but it had detected no abnormal radiation levels at home. Air China said it had canceled some flights to Tokyo.

The U.S. Navy said some arriving warships would deploy on the west coast of Japan's main Honshu island instead of heading to the east coast as planned because of "radiological and navigation hazards."

Several embassies advised staff and citizens to leave affected areas in Japan. Tourists cut short vacations and multinational companies either urged staff to leave or said they were considering plans to move outside Tokyo.

German technology companies SAP and Infineon were among those moving staff to safety in the south.

SAP said it was evacuating its offices in Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya and had offered its 1,100 employees and their family members transport to the south, where the company has rented a hotel for staff to work online.

"Everyone is going out of the country today," said Gunta Brunner, a 25-year-old creative director from Argentina preparing to board a flight at Narita airport. "With the radiation, it's like you cannot escape and you can't see it."

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?"

Japanese media have became more critical of Kan's handling of the disaster and criticized the government and nuclear plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) for their failure to provide enough information on the incident.

Kan himself lambasted the operator for taking so long to inform his office about one of the blasts, Kyodo reported.

Kyodo said Kan had ordered TEPCO not to pull employees out of the plant. "The TV reported an explosion. But nothing was said to the premier's office for about an hour," a Kyodo reporter quoted Kan telling power company executives.

"What the hell is going on?"

Lam Ching-wan, a chemical pathologist at the University of Hong Kong, said the blasts could expose the population to longer-term exposure to radiation, which can raise the risk of thyroid and bone cancers and leukemia. Children and fetuses are especially vulnerable, he said.

"Very acute radiation, like that which happened in Chernobyl and to the Japanese workers at the nuclear power station, is unlikely for the population," he said.

Nuclear radiation is an especially sensitive issue for Japanese following the country's worst human catastrophe -- the U.S. atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.

There have been a total of four explosions at the plant since it was damaged in last Friday's massive quake and tsunami. The most recent were blasts at reactors Nos. 2 and 4.

Concern now centers on damage to a part of the No.4 reactor building where spent rods were being stored in pools of water outside the containment area, and also to part of the No.2 reactor that helps to cool and trap the majority of cesium, iodine and strontium in its water.

Authorities had previously been trying to prevent meltdowns in the complex's nuclear reactors by flooding the chambers with sea water to cool them.

Murray Jennex, a professor at San Diego State University in California, said the crisis in Japan was worse than the Three Mile Island disaster of 1979.

"But you're nowhere near a Chernobyl ... Chernobyl there was no impediment to release, it just blew everything out into the atmosphere," he said. "You've still got a big chunk of the containment there holding most of it in."

VILLAGES AND TOWNS WIPED OFF THE MAP

The full extent of the destruction from last Friday's 9.0-magnitude earthquake and the tsunami that followed it was becoming clear as rescuers combed through the region north of Tokyo where officials say at least 10,000 people were killed.

Whole villages and towns have been wiped off the map by Friday's wall of water, triggering an international humanitarian effort of epic proportions. A 6.4-magnitude aftershock -- a significant earthquake in its own right on any other day -- shook buildings in Tokyo late on Tuesday but caused no damage.

About 850,000 households in the north were still without electricity in near-freezing weather, Tohuku Electric Power Co. said, and the government said at least 1.5 million households lack running water. Tens of thousands of people were missing.

Hiromichi Shirakawa, chief economist for Japan at Credit Suisse, said in a note to clients that the economic loss will likely be around 14-15 trillion yen ($171-183 billion) just to the region hit by the quake and tsunami.

Even that would put it above the commonly accepted cost of the 1995 Kobe quake which killed 6,000 people.

The earthquake has forced many firms to suspend production and global companies -- from semiconductor makers to shipbuilders -- face disruptions to operations after the quake and tsunami destroyed vital infrastructure, damaged ports and knocked out factories.

"The earthquake could have great implications on the global economic front," said Andre Bakhos, director of market analytics at Lec Securities in New York. "If you shut down Japan, there could be a global recession."

(Additional reporting by Nathan Layne, Linda sieg, Risa Maeda, and Leika Kihara in Tokyo, Chris Meyers and Kim Kyung-hoon in Sendai, Taiga Uranaka and Ki Joon Kwon in Fukushima, Noel Randewich in San Francisco, Tan Ee-lyn in Singapore and Miyoung Kim in Seoul; Writing by David Fox and Jason Szep; Editing by Andrew Marshall)

RADIOACTIVE particles leaking from the nuclear power plant could contaminate farms, animals and waterways and turn Fukushima into a ghost town.





Low-level radiation is being carried on the wind and could reach cities including Tokyo, 250km to the south.

Japan last night extended the exclusion zone around the nuclear plant, triggering memories of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.

In 2006, the World Health Organisation and the International Atomic Energy Agency released a 20-year report on the disaster.

It said wind was an important factor in the spread of radiation at Chernobyl.

Within three months of the explosion, 31 people had died from acute radiation sickness - most of them emergency services workers.

A total of 216 emergency workers suffered non-cancer deaths linked to the disaster between 1991-98. It took 10 years for some Chernobyl locals affected by the radiation to be diagnosed with cancer.

The United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation reported more than 6000 cases of thyroid cancer in children and adolescents exposed to radiation.

The report detailed the spread of isotopes through contaminated milk and leafy vegetables.

A person exposed to high radiation shows symptoms immediately, and could suffer organ damage.

A chest X-ray typically involves a dose of 20 micro-sieverts of radiation.

A single dose of 1000 micro-sieverts - or one sievert - causes temporary radiation sickness, such as nausea and vomiting. A dose of 5000 micro-sieverts would kill about half of those receiving it within a month. Radiation levels at the Fukushima plant yesterday were up to 400 micro-sieverts.

A Tokyo official said 0.8 of a micro-sievert was measured between 10-11am in the city yesterday. The level fell to an average 0.075 four hours later.

The comparison between radiation therapy for cancer and radiation sickness is that cancer treatment is carefully managed and aimed at small areas of the body.

Japanese officials are treating people exposed to high radiation with iodine tablets to help stop the body absorbing radiation.

Radioactive traces left behind by Chernobyl, which was officially shutdown by the Ukraine Government in 2000, was found in the farms, waterways and animals nearest to the plant.

Geoff Chambers From: Herald Sun

(Reuters) - Following are main developments after a massive earthquake struck northeast Japan on Friday and set off a tsunami.



- Death toll expected to exceed 10,000 from the quake and tsunami, public broadcaster NHK says. About 2,000 bodies found on two shores of Miyagi prefecture, Kyodo news agency reports.

- Japan battles to prevent nuclear catastrophe. A hydrogen explosion jolts the No. 3 reactor of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo. Operator Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) (9501.T) says 11 people were injured.

- Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano says the core container at the reactor is intact and the explosion is unlikely to have produced a large escape of radioactivity.

- Before the blast, officials said 22 people had suffered radiation contamination. Up to 190 may have been exposed.

- Experts pursue efforts to cool down three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. Experts say the use of seawater in this operation is unprecedented.

- Nuclear safety agency rates the incident a 4 on the 1 to 7 International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale, less serious than Three Mile Island, a 5, and Chernobyl at 7.

- U.S. warships and planes helping relief efforts have moved away from Japan's Pacific coast temporarily because of low-level radiation.

- Authorities have set up a 20-km (12-mile) exclusion zone around the Fukushima Daiichi plant and a 10-km (6 mile) zone around Fukushima Daini.

- Strong aftershocks persist in the stricken area.

- About 450,000 people evacuated nationwide in addition to 80,000 from the exclusion zone around the nuclear power plants. Almost 2 million households are without power in the freezing north and about 1.4 million households have no running water.

- Reactor operator says rolling blackout to affect 3 million customers, including large factories, buildings and households.

* Japan's Nikkei share index falls more than 6 percent, dragging European stocks to their lowest in three months.

- The Bank of Japan (BoJ) offers to pump a record $85 billion into the banking system.

- Credit Suisse estimates the loss at between 14 trillion yen and 15 trillion yen just to the quake region.

(Tokyo bureau; World Desk Asia)

It's time to disable an obsolete industry, says David Hughes, and support 21st-century methods of generating electricity
Published first on Sunday, March 28, 1999 http://www.post-gazette.com


Almost thirty two years ago in March, the worst nuclear plant accident in the nation occurred at the Three Mile Island plant. In connection with the anniversary, the nuclear industry has been waging a coordinated campaign to revive nuclear power in the United States. We are being told that nuclear energy is safe, clean (the answer to global warming) and an economical way to produce electricity.

		David Hughes is executive director of Citizen Power, a Pittsburgh-based public policy research, education and advocacy organization.

None of these claims withstand scrutiny.

It is well known that nuclear power production creates the deadliest and longest living wastes known to man. The technology to safely dispose of this waste has yet to be developed and it is becoming increasingly clear that safe storage is simply impossible to achieve.

Nuclear plants only seem safe because government safety standards and Nuclear Regulatory Commission oversight have been too lax. There are problems at U.S. nuclear plants just about every day, ranging from incidental to serious.

Some of these problems are close to home. At a plant in Perry, Ohio (near Cleveland), partly owned by Duquesne Light, the zirconium tubes covering the uranium fuel pellets are perforating, causing potentially dangerous radiation leaks within the reactor. The leaks are exposing plant workers to extra radiation and increasing the likelihood that more radiation would be released into the atmosphere in case of a serious accident.

Nine such leaks have been detected at Perry since it began operation in 1987. The latest ones were discovered last September, but apparently Duquesne Light and FirstEnergy (the plant manager) decided to wait until their regularly scheduled maintenance, beginning yesterday before doing anything about them.

(Duquesne Light, by the way, intends to sell its share in the plant this year to FirstEnergy.) Last month the Union of Concerned Scientists succeeded in getting the NRC to hold hearings on the leaks. So far, the NRC has taken no action.

There is a new concern about nuclear power. In states (including Pennsylvania) where electric deregulation has occurred, nuclear plants will have to run practically all the time to be competitive. Unlike other generators, nuclear plants are not designed to operate continuously. Safety is likely to be a casualty of the bottom line.

Nuclear power is not the clean energy its apologists claim. The smelting process used to make commercial grade fuel for nuclear plants contributes to greenhouse gases. Secondly, in addition to the waste problem, nuclear plants pollute our air, only you cannot see, smell or taste what they emit. Some of the most toxic gases known to man are by-products of the fission process and are routinely vented from the "off gas" building at nuclear plants.

You may remember when we were told that nuclear power would be "too cheap to meter." Well, it is not. In fact, nuclear is one of the most expensive ways to produce electricity.

When nuclear proponents provide their figure of what nuclear cost to produce electricity they often leave out the cost of building the plant. Indeed, it was the high cost ($10 billion) to build the Perry 1 and Beaver Valley 2 nuclear plants that now cause Duquesne Light customers to have to pay some of the highest rates in the country. And, it is the high cost of nuclear plants that accounts for most of the "transition" charge on your new electric bill, no matter who supplies your generation.

A gas-fired plant can be built for $350 per kilowatt (kW); wind turbines are being installed at less than $1,000/kw. A nuclear plant costs $3,000 to $4,000 per kw to build. Nuclear fuel is relatively cheap compared to other fuels, but only if you ignore spent fuel permanent storage costs. When these and plant decommissioning costs are included, nuclear power is prohibitively more expensive, on a total cost basis, than other energy sources. Even nuclear power advocates are frightened by the prospect that these costs will be astronomical.

The fact is that nuclear power is obsolete.

There are cutting-edge energy technologies available now that are competitive and more environmentally healthy. Despite being on the short end of government research and development funding, renewable energy technologies' share of U.S. generating capacity (11 percent compared with 14 percent for nuclear) is growing at double-digit rates.

According to a recent study by the Worldwatch Institute, nuclear power "has reached its peak and will begin a sustained decline in the year 2002 to its eventual demise." Even France, the world leader in nuclear power usage with 70 percent of its electricity nuclear-generated, has established a moratorium on nuclear plant construction.

In the United States, no new power plants have been ordered since the mid-1970s. Many utility companies, including Duquesne Light, are planning to unload their nuclear plants. Existing nuclear plants are being purchased for next to nothing , demonstrating their low market value. Only its position near the top of the corporate welfare rolls enables the nuclear industry to hang on.

Nuclear power proponents argue that the United States cannot afford to phase out nuclear power. Studies by the Rocky Mountain Institute show that we could significantly reduce our electricity demand by using energy more efficiently. A concerted national effort, a "war against wasting energy," combined with increased use of new, safe and clean energy technologies would enable the phase out of nuclear power.

It is time for our political leaders to recognize that nuclear power is not worth further investment. As we head into the 21st century, Americans should demand increased utilization of 21st-century energy technologies.

(Reuters) - Judy Stare remembers the day 32 years ago when she and her family fled from the melting core of the nuclear reactor at Three Mile Island.



On a day when the dangers of a meltdown at a nuclear power plant in Japan dominated the front pages in the U.S., the memories of those days in 1979 on the banks of the Susquehanna River came back to haunt her as they did for many in this town of 8,700.

Middletown became the center of attention when Three Mile Island, two miles from its downtown, suffered the most serious nuclear accident in the nation's history.

Stare's three children were teenagers then, in high school in a nearby town, and she remembers yanking them out of school so the family could flee the danger area.

"I told them we might never be back," Stare, 70, recalled over breakfast at the popular Brownstone Cafe here.

She allowed them each to take a favorite thing, and remembers with crystal clarity what they brought: her oldest daughter grabbed a family photo album, her youngest daughter found her favorite doll, and her son brought a golf club. "Just like a man," she laughed.

On March 28, the first day of the accident, a mechanical or electrical failure on the turbine side of the building caused one of Three Mile Island's reactors to shut. To relieve the pressure that then built up, a relief valve opened. The valve should have closed when the pressure decreased but the valve remained open and coolant leaked out.

Operators did not realize the coolant was leaking and in the meantime the uranium fuel rods overheated and began to melt. By the time operators realized the coolant had leaked about half of the reactor core had already melted.

Three Mile Island was the worst nuclear power accident in the United States. The crisis lasted four days and was caused by a combination of personnel error, design deficiencies and component failures.

PEOPLE FEEL SAFER

Since Three Mile Island, U.S. authorities have required a strengthening of plant design and equipment, increased training for plant personnel, and an immediate notification of events, among other things.

Many in Middletown now say they feel safer because of what happened in 1979, including one of Stare's breakfast companions, Bill Taxweiler.

"It's the safest plant in the world," he said, citing the many safety changes that were made at the plant after the drama of that year.

His thoughts were echoed by a spokesman for the Nuclear Energy Institute, an industry trade group.

"Three Mile Island unit 1 is one of the best operating plants in the world," wrote spokesman Tom Kauffman in an e-mail.

Originally, Three Mile Island had two units. The accident happened in unit 2, which has been permanently closed ever since.

Even some who live on state Route 441, no more than a few hundred yards from the hulking cooling towers, seem content with how things are now.

A householder working in his yard, the towers dominating the view across the road, said he just never thinks about any possible dangers from the nuclear plant.

Still, many in the town say the events in Japan are prompting them to remember the confusion and loss of trust that happened when they fled the area around the Three Mile Island plant, "We could not believe what we were told," Stare said.

Dan Thomasco, 59, another area resident who was there in 1979, said the Japanese crisis brought back many memories. He recalls he took his three dogs and went camping when the evacuation happened.

Many others, also advised to leave Middletown, he said, decided to wait out the crisis in a bar.

For all of the crisis atmosphere around at the time, a report by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, noting that the incident led to no deaths or injuries, explained that estimates of radiological exposure for the 2 million people in the area amounted to about one-sixth of what they might have received from a chest X-ray.

At the time of the crisis, Three Mile Island was owned by General Public Utilities, which has since been taken over. These days the plant is operated by Exelon Corp, the largest owner and operator of nuclear plants in the United States.

The company declined comment on Three Mile Island in light of the Japanese crisis. Instead, it referred calls to the industry trade group, the NEI, which said that the Japanese plants and Three Mile Island are of significantly different design.

(Additional reporting by Scott DiSavino in New York, editing by Martin Howell)

Environmentalists say the possibly catastrophic failure of a Japanese nuclear reactor shows that nuclear power can never be safe.



Two reactors at the Fukushima plant in north-eastern Japan have been damaged by the devastating earthquake that struck nearby on Friday, and at least one is in danger of meltdown.

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Radiation has been released into the air after an explosion at one reactor, and although authorities have said it is not intense enough to affect human health, they have ordered evacuations of people living within 20 kilometres.

"This proves once and for all that nuclear power cannot ever be safe," Greenpeace campaigns head Steve Campbell said today.

"Japan's nuclear plants were built with the latest technology, specifically to withstand natural disasters, yet we still face potential meltdown," he said in a statement.

Greenpeace was also concerned at the lack of information about the total amount of radiation already released, and whether the ponds for spent radioactive fuel - outside the containment area of the reactor - were secure.

"We request that Japan's government share this information with the public immediately," he said.

Anti-nuclear campaigner Helen Caldicott said the release of radioactive caesium 137 and iodine 131 into the atmosphere from the Fukushima plant posed grave health risks.

If a meltdown occurred, 200 other isotopes would be released, she said in a statement.

"All of these substances can cause cancer and genetic diseases either in the near or long term," said Ms Caldicott, who is president of the Foundation for a Nuclear Free Planet.

Earthquakes were not unknown in Australia, she said.

"Are we mad enough to introduce this disastrous form of energy into our lives?"

AAP

Washington: With the World War II nuclear bombing suffering weighing heavily on the national psyche, US and Japanese nuclear experts say that radioactive releases of steam from the crippled plants could go on for weeks or even months. 



So far, Japanese officials have said the melting of the nuclear cores in the two plants is assumed to be "partial", and the amount of radioactivity measured outside the plants, though twice the level Japan considers safe, has been relatively modest.

But, the New York Times quoting Pentagon officials reported yesterday that helicopters flying 60 miles from the plant picked up small amounts of radioactive particulates - still being analysed, but presumed to include cesium-137 and iodine-121 - suggesting widening environmental contamination.


Japanese reactor operators now have to periodically release radioactive steam as part of an emergency cooling process for the fuel of the stricken reactors that may continue for a year or more even after fission has stopped.

The plant's operator must constantly try to flood the reactors with seawater, then release the resulting radioactive steam into the atmosphere, several experts familiar with the design of the Daiichi facility was quoted as saying by the paper.

The essential problem is the definition of "off" in a nuclear reactor. When the nuclear chain reaction is stopped and the reactor shuts down, the fuel is still producing about 6 percent as much heat as it did when it was running, caused by continuing radioactivity, the release of subatomic particles and of gamma rays.

Usually when a reactor is first shut down, an electric pump pulls heated water from the vessel to a heat exchanger, and cool water from a river or ocean is brought in to draw off that heat.

But at the Japanese reactors, after losing electric power, that system could not be used. Instead the operators are dumping seawater into the vessel and letting it cool the fuel by boiling. But as it boils, pressure rises too high to pump in more water, so they have to vent the vessel to the atmosphere, and feed in more water, a procedure known as "feed and bleed", the paper said.

When the fuel was intact, the steam they were releasing had only modest amounts of radioactive material, in a non-troublesome form. With damaged fuel, that steam is getting dirtier.

PTI

FUKUSHIMA, Japan (Reuters)



A hydrogen explosion rocked the earthquake-stricken nuclear plant in Japan where authorities have been working desperately to avert a meltdown, compounding a nuclear catastrophe caused by Friday's massive quake and tsunami.

Japan, already saddled with debts twice the size of its $5 trillion economy, faces blackouts to conserve energy after the disaster, possible credit downgrades and the government is discussing a temporary tax rise to fund relief work.

The stock market plunged over 6 percent and one economist put the cost of the disaster at between 14 trillion yen ($171 billion) and 15 trillion yen just to the quake-hit region.

Engineeers and rescuers battled through the weekend to prevent a nuclear catastrophe and to care for the millions without power or water in its worst crisis since World War Two, after the earthquake and tsunami that likely killed more than 10,000 people.

Kyodo news agency said 2,000 bodies had been found on the shores of Miyagi prefecture, which took the brunt of the tsunami.

The core container of the No. 3 reactor was intact after the explosion, the government said, but it warned those still in the 20-km (13-mile) evacuation zone to stay indoors. The plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), said 11 people had been injured in the blast.

Jiji news agency said seven people, six of them soldiers, were missing.

A Japanese official said before the blast 22 people had been confirmed to have suffered radiation contamination and up to 190 may have been exposed. Workers in protective clothing used hand-held scanners to check people arriving at evacuation centres.

U.S. warships and planes helping with relief efforts moved away from the coast temporarily because of low-level radiation. The U.S. Seventh Fleet described the move as precautionary.

Almost 2 million households were without power in the north, the government said. There were about 1.4 million without running water.

The government had warned of a possible explosion at the No. 3 reactor because of the buildup of hydrogen in the building housing the reactor. TV images showed smoke rising from the Fukushima facility, 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo.

TEPCO had earlier halted injection of sea water into the reactor, resulting in a rise in radiation levels and pressure. The government had warned that an explosion was possible because of the buildup of hydrogen in the building housing the reactor.

An explosion blew the roof off the No. I reactor building on Saturday.

"I was having lunch at a restaurant when I saw the news of the explosion at unit 3," said Mikiko Amano, 55, who was at her home a few km from the plant. "It only raised my distrust in TEPCO... The company has been saying such a thing would not happen."

A badly wounded nation has seen whole villages and towns wiped off the map by a wall of water, triggering an international humanitarian effort of epic proportions.

 Prime Minister Naoto Kan said the situation at the 40-year-old Fukushima nuclear plant remained worrisome and that the authorities were doing their utmost to stop damage from spreading.

"We have rescued over 15,000 people and we are working to support them and others. We will do our utmost in rescue efforts again today," he said.

Officials confirmed on Sunday that three nuclear reactors north of Tokyo were at risk of overheating, raising fears of an uncontrolled radiation leak.

Engineers worked desperately to cool the fuel rods. If they fail, the containers that house the core could melt, or even explode, releasing radioactive material into the atmosphere.

DEATH TOLL "ABOVE 10,000"

Broadcaster NHK, quoting a police official, said more than 10,000 people may have been killed as the wall of water triggered by Friday's 8.9-magnitude quake surged across the coastline, reducing whole towns to rubble. It was the biggest to have hit the quake-prone country since it started keeping records 140 years ago.

"I would like to believe that there still are survivors," said Masaru Kudo, a soldier dispatched to Rikuzentakata, a nearly flattened town of 24,500 people in far-northern Iwate prefecture.

Kyodo said 80,000 people had been evacuated from a 20-km (12-mile) radius around the stricken nuclear plant, joining more than 450,000 other evacuees from quake and tsunami-hit areas in the northeast of the main island Honshu.

Some workers showed up on Monday at a factory in Kuji even though it had been destroyed. Asked why he was there, a young worker smoking a cigarette outside the skeletal remains said: "Because it's a work day."

"NOT ACCORDING TO THE BOOK"

The crisis now centres on the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex, where authorities said they had been forced to vent radioactive steam into the air to relieve reactor pressure.

The complex, which was due to be decommissioned in February but was given a new 10-year lease of life, was rocked by a first explosion on Saturday, which blew the roof off the No. 1 reactor building. The government had said further blasts would not necessarily damage the reactor vessels.

TEPCO said on Monday it had reported a rise in radiation levels at the complex to the government. On Sunday the level had risen slightly above what one is exposed to for a stomach X-ray, the company said.

Authorities had been pouring sea water in two of the reactors at the complex to cool them down.

 Nuclear experts said it was probably the first time in the industry's 57-year history that sea water has been used in this way, a sign of how close Japan may be to a major accident.

"Injection of sea water into a core is an extreme measure," Mark Hibbs of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "This is not according to the book."

The nuclear accident, the worst since Chernobyl in Soviet Ukraine in 1986, sparked criticism that authorities were ill-prepared and the threat that could pose to the country's nuclear power industry.

Thousands spent another freezing night huddled in blankets over heaters in emergency shelters along the northeastern coast, a scene of devastation after the quake sent a 10-metre (33-foot) wave surging through towns and cities in the Miyagi region, including its main coastal city of Sendai.

ECONOMIC IMPACT

As the country returned to work on Monday, markets began estimating the huge economic cost, with Japanese stocks plunging over 6 percent and the yen falling against the dollar.

Hiromichi Shirakawa, chief economist for Japan at Credit Suisse said in a note to clients that the economic loss will likely be around 14-15 trillion yen just to the region hit by the quake and tsuanmi.

Even that would put it above the commonly accepted cost of the 1995 Kobe quake which killed 6,000 people.

The earthquake has forced many firms to suspend production and shares in some of Japan's biggest companies tumbled on Monday, with Toyota Corp dropping 7.5 percent . Shares in Australian-listed uranium miners also dived.

"When we talk about natural disasters, we tend to see an initial sharp drop in production ... then you tend to have a V-shaped rebound. But initially everyone underestimates the damage," said Michala Marcussen, head of global economics at Societe Generale.

Ratings agency Moody's said on Sunday the fiscal impact of the earthquake would be temporary and have a limited play on whether it would downgrade Japan's sovereign debt.

Risk modelling company AIR Worldwide said insured losses from the earthquake could reach nearly $35 billion.

The Bank of Japan will debate on Monday whether to ease monetary policy further, sources said. The central bank earlier offered a combined 15 trillion yen ($183 billion) to the banking system earlier in the day to soothe market jitters.

Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda said authorities were closely watching the yen after the currency initially rallied on expectations of repatriations by insurers and others. The currency later reversed course in volatile trading.

The earthquake was the fifth most powerful to hit the world in the past century. It surpassed the Great Kanto quake of Sept. 1, 1923, which had a magnitude of 7.9 and killed more than 140,000 people in the Tokyo area.

FUKUSHIMA, Japan (Reuters) — Survivors of Japan's devastating earthquake and tsunami huddled over heaters in emergency shelters on Saturday as rescue workers searched a mangled coastline of submerged homes, wrecked cars and stranded boats.







Aerial footage showed buildings and trains strewn like children's toys after powerful walls of seawater swamped areas around the worst-hit city of Sendai, about 130 km (80 miles) from the earthquake's epicenter.


"Everything is so hard now," said Kumi Onodera, a 34-year-old dental technician in Sendai, a port of 1 million people known as the "City of Trees" and cradled by dormant volcanoes.






Onodera said her ordeal the night before was "like a scene from a disaster movie".


"The road was moving up and down like a wave. Things were on fire and it was snowing," she said. "You really come to appreciate what you have in your everyday life."






Adding to the panic, radiation leaked from an unstable nuclear reactor in Fukushima prefecture, near Sendai.


In districts around Fukushima city, survivors lined up for drinking water in town centers, filling teapots and plastic containers. Japan deployed tens of thousands of Self-Defense Force officers to search for missing people.


In Iwanuma, not far from Sendai, nurses and doctors were rescued after spelling S.O.S. on the rooftop of a partially submerged hospital, one of many desperate scenes. In cities and towns across the northeast, worried relatives checked information boards on survivors at evacuation centers.






Hundreds of fishing vessels, many upturned, stood stranded in fields, pummeled by the 10-meter (33-foot) tsunami.


Japan's Kyodo News said about 300,000 people were evacuated nationwide, including 90,000 from areas near the nuclear plant, many seeking refuge in shelters, wrapped in blankets, some clutching each other sobbing.






Helicopters plucked survivors from an elementary school in Sendai. About 100 km (62 miles) further south in Koriyama, families slept in sleeping bags in a stadium.


At least 1,700 people were feared killed by the earthquake, the world's fifth-most powerful in the past century. As many as 3,400 buildings were either destroyed or badly damaged, Kyodo reported. About 200 fires had broken out.