Japan : Fukushima Retirement Could Take 30+ Years.

I am surprised that they are starting to finally admit the obvious truth of the matter, although most of us know that these figures are still low-ball and downplayed.

Here is the CNN article that was on the front page today.
Source

The decommissioning of four reactors at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant will likely take more than 30 years to complete, according to a report by Japanese officials.

The draft report, released by Japan's Atomic Energy Commission of the Cabinet Office on Friday, said the removal of debris -- or nuclear fuel -- should begin by the end of 2021.

They won't even start to remove the damaged fuel until 2021??!! And this is the best case scenario?

"We set a goal to start taking out the debris within a 10-year period, and it is estimated that it would take 30 years or more (after the cold shutdown) to finish decommissioning because the process at Fukushima would be complicated," the report states.

The damaged reactors might not be retired until at least 2041

I don't know it's quite complicated and TEPCO is a hell of a liar.

If anyone thinks this estimate is solid, you are buying tainted goods from a known con-artist (TEPCO). It will probably take twice or three times as long as this to even begin to consider the idea of recovery.

The worst part about this is that many of us here at ATS are being proven correct in our assertions about this disaster, I really honestly wish we were all wrong, but I am afraid we are not.

Like a poster on CNN commented, we should factor in the trillion dollar $+ cost of this disaster into the kwh price of nuclear energy. I want to add to that and say we should include the cancer treatment bills as well.

If you add the real side effects of this technology into the costs of operation, it will easily become more expensive than any other form of energy production known to mankind. Cancer treatment is ultra-expensive these days.

I'll be around for a few minutes to respond to comments but I'm getting tired and about ready to hit the sack.

This whole thing has really proven to be quite the debacle. Total ludicrous failure...

Thanks for the info........And many generations will be lost before its sealed.......

See this thread.......

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Originally posted by Cloudsinthesky

See this thread.......

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Thanks for the link, everyone needs to go check that thread out as well.

Seems like a lot of information is coming out this week about this disaster, I find that interesting.

I realize that many folks do not want to hear about or think about this at all, but I believe people should really stay informed about what is being claimed by these organizations and what implications it holds for our distant futures and our progeny.

Special thanks to all involved in this thread. The ongoing radiation coming from Fukushima is covering the Northern Hemisphere - and gradually making its way into the Southern Hemisphere. We will ALL be affected. And yet no one wants to talk about it. I have brought this topic up with highly educated people and they are totally unaware. Most think that the problem was "handled" long ago. And people just don't want to think about or talk about the impending health and environmental hazards that are very real.
I totally don't get why so many are in denial. I get very strange looks when I broach this subject. What's up with people totally ignoring this???

How wrong was Reagan when he said humans would unite in front of a common opposing force...

I bet the future intelligent being on Earth will biologically be based on cockroaches... Forget Planet of the Apes...

And to think many freaked over Elenin and don't bat an eye over this...

The technology to clean up fukushima does not actually exist. Thats a simple truth you can verify with a quick google search. Tepco are now talking about decades rather than years because they know its impossible to do anything with the reactor cores without killing anyone working near them 'or releasing loads more radiation'.

Originally posted by Atzil321
The technology to clean up fukushima does not actually exist. Thats a simple truth you can verify with a quick google search. Tepco are now talking about decades rather than years because they know its impossible to do anything with the reactor cores without killing anyone working near them 'or releasing loads more radiation'.

The Japanese are probably as good at building robots as anybody. Existing robots don't have enough radiation hardening to survive the radiation, but it's technically possible to design and build robots that would survive it (for example, they could use lead shielding among other things like the radiation hardened electronics used in satellites).

I don't think that time frame is acceptable. It may take some time to design and build some new robots, but not 10 years, what the heck are they going to do for the next 10 years? Then in 2021 they could just say they decided to wait another 10 years. They could play that game for a century. That's why I think it's unacceptable.

This is a case where the Japanese government, regulators and people need to step in and insist on more from TEPCO than this delay tactic, at least that's what it looks like to me. They didn't wait 10 years to start cleaning up the mess at Chernobyl, did they?

You are right the technology doesn't exist, but it can be developed.

One idea I believe will work, although I don't know the specifics about it, is an electromagnetic field device that can use magnetism based upon the particular type of particle to isolate it and carry it within a contained field to the location of long-term containment.

Then we can develop some sort of transmutation technology in order to turn these long-lasting isotopes into something safe like copper or whatever it will be.

What tipped me off to this type of potential radio-isotope isolation and containment technology was STS-75 and the famous "Tether Incident".

wiki sts74
wiki space tether

There is a way to trap and isolate radioactive particles. But we have a long way to go to achieve it.

In my mind, in the distant future, we could develop a type of vacuum cleaner that uses electro-magnetics to achieve this type of feat. I don't know actually what forms such a tech would take, but it is in my mind, totally possible and well worth investing all our military funds into developing.

Originally posted by galacticgirl
Special thanks to all involved in this thread. The ongoing radiation coming from Fukushima is covering the Northern Hemisphere - and gradually making its way into the Southern Hemisphere. We will ALL be affected. And yet no one wants to talk about it. I have brought this topic up with highly educated people and they are totally unaware. Most think that the problem was "handled" long ago. And people just don't want to think about or talk about the impending health and environmental hazards that are very real.
I totally don't get why so many are in denial. I get very strange looks when I broach this subject. What's up with people totally ignoring this???

Thank you for actually caring and keeping yourself positive in the face of such a tragedy. I will always be here to support folks like you.

You say that you know highly educated people who are totally misinformed or uninterested in this subject, dare I say they aren't actually very educated at all? Perhaps they are indoctrinated and memorized a billion facts in school, but did they learn to think for themselves? Doubtful.

People are in denial because they simply do not understand the battle of good vs evil, of awareness vs ignorance, and they are far more interested in 'enjoying their lives right now' than they are in working towards a better future for all humans. It's selfish and unacceptable in my opinion.

You know who the real fear-spreaders are? Negative deniers who make it 100x harder to deal with or overcome such challenges because they want to act like ostriches and stick their head in the sand. You know they can suffocate with their head under the sand? It's amazing how their fear will be the end of them if they don't watch out.

Originally posted by Arbitrageur

This is a case where the Japanese government, regulators and people need to step in and insist on more from TEPCO than this delay tactic, at least that's what it looks like to me. They didn't wait 10 years to start cleaning up the mess at Chernobyl, did they?

They didn't even close Chernobyl until 2000, and you think they'd started the cleanup? They put the fires out, dumped concrete on the fried reactor and got on with things. Literally. The site is slated for a cleanup sometime around 2060. But first they have to solve the problem of the concrete sarcophagus that's been leaking for the last 20 years. That's slated for 2013.

30 years might seem like a long time, but in a world where decommissioning a problem free nuclear power plant takes 15 to 20 years on average, it's hardly a delay tactic.

I wonder... What would be the effect of putting tons of Prussian Blue on the reactor? Since it is said to be a magnet for radioactive particles, why not simply dump it on the core, or near it so it can absorb as much as possible. It could slow or diminish the spreading of radiations and would be easy to pick up for long confinement, no?

Originally posted by NowanKenubi
I wonder... What would be the effect of putting tons of Prussian Blue on the reactor? Since it is said to be a magnet for radioactive particles, why not simply dump it on the core, or near it so it can absorb as much as possible. It could slow or diminish the spreading of radiations and would be easy to pick up for long confinement, no?

I don't know.

That will take some research or even actual real world experiments.

I don't think it would hurt to try though. I don't see how this could really get much worse than it already is.

reply to post by vox2442


Vox, because of the lack of complete disclosure by the Japanese government, I'm not sure how similar or dissimilar the Fukushima nuclear disaster is or will be to the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. For example, under Chernobyl there's not a lot of groundwater. Under Fukushima there is. In the TEPCO roadmap, there is still no mention of the need to build a containment sphere. Right.

reply to post by muzzleflash


I'm glad the search function finally worked

The same headline just came out today, almost two months later.

Decommissioning Fukushima reactors could take 30 yrs -minister

Dec 16 (Reuters) - Japan's crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactors could require more than three decades to decommission, Environment Minister Goshi Hosono said on Friday.

If they're saying 30 years, it will probably take much longer in actuality.

Originally posted by muzzleflash

I don't know.

That will take some research or even actual real world experiments.

I don't think it would hurt to try though. I don't see how this could really get much worse than it already is.

Greetings muzz:

As if they would tell us anyway.

The latest is the "cold shutdown," which is being discussed over in the mega-thread at length.

Come on over and say hi.

For your edification and enjoyment:

RADIATION WATCH 2011

[color=Cyan]The total number of days between Friday, March 11, 2011 and Saturday, December 31, 2011 is 295 days.

[color=FDD017]The radiation poisoning of we, the people, our children, pets, food, water and our land
has continued unabated - 24/7/365
[color=Chartreuse]
- for 8 months, 29 days ... which is:

• 25,488,000 seconds
• 424,800 minutes
• 7,080 hours
• 42 weeks (rounded down)

One again, are we any closer to a solution to the Fukushima multiple melt-throughs disaster/fiasco spewing life-altering clouds of radiation 24/7/365

Peace Love Light
tfw
[align=center][color=magenta]Liberty & Equality or Revolution[/align]

This whole thing has been a white wash of epic proportions. The estimate is a conservative figure, but as some have already said it will probably take much longer to bring control. That is if it can be brought under control in our lifetime? We still have no idea how bad it truly is? How damaged the reactors are, where the leakage is coming from, acquiring accurate readings, and so on and so forth. The radiations levels are to high for any accurate damage assessment. They seem to be clutching for straws, and essentially guessing? This is the worst industrial disaster in human history. As I have said on other threads, this is the new frontier where no man has gone before. Some will cite Chernobyl as an example, but from the very get go I knew this incident was a different animal.

Chernobyl involved one reactor, but this involved multiple reactors, and all of them encompassing their very own unique set of problems. Science or the field of engineering has no answers at the moment on how to address this problem. What has irked me thus far, is the lack of cooperation among the international community in the fields of science, industry, and governments about addressing this matter? Perhaps, the Japanese government is putting up roadblocks for that kind of effort, or there is just a blatant lack of interest? Who knows?

However, the greatest minds on the planet had ought put their differences aside and get together soon. High levels of radiation continue to leak from Fukushima. The radiation is going to continue to spread not only in Japan but in the direction of the prevailing winds. One important characteristic to keep in mind about both Chernobyl and Fukushima, is that the scourge of high-level radiation will continue to linger for generations to come.