by Russel Norman
Wednesday, March 14
9.23 AM Heading up to Fukushima on bullet train.
Boarding the bullet...
North of Tokyo, similar to NZ?
Photo of tsunami on wall of Mayor's office, Minamisoma
Tsunami impact on steel reinforced concrete building
Used to be 60 houses here before tsunami in Fukushima zone
10.51 AM Fukushima nuke plant has 20km radius exclusion zone plus lge fallout shadow to NW that you can pass thru but too contaminated for food prod
10.53 AM We’re heading out towards Fukushima fallout exclusion zone where Govt is trying to decontaminate soil by scraping off top few cms
Abandoned greenhouses in Fukushima fallout zone
11.05 AM According to IAEA scraping off top 4cm results in 400 ton radiation contaminated soil to dispose of per hectare.
11.20 AM Eerie driving thru Fukushima evacuated zone seeing empty shops and curtained houses, no cars parked outside
11.34 AM Fukushima fallout zone -Paddy fields no longer can grow rice
Paddy fields in Fukushima fallout zone. No paddy last spring.
1.17 PM Geiger counter just doubled as we head towards restricted zone at Fukushima
1.18 PM Crossing police lines at 20km radius from Fukushima
1.21 PM Abandoned houses and farms. No-one is allowed to live inside 20km radius from Fukushima
1.41 PM Geiger counter goes up over 6 micro sv inside zone
1.59 PM Visiting farms inside Fukushima restricted area where universities studying animal decontamination
2.40 PM Some farmers defied Govt orders to kill stock after Fukushima nuke disaster. Can’t sell them but protest Govt and power co, Tepco
Me with protesting farmer Yoshizawa and Tomoko Abe MP. Fukushima zone.
3.24 PM We’re driving around the more urban parts of the Fukushima 20km restricted zon, a ghost town
6.17 PM Cascading problems of nuke accident. Radioactive concrete ended up in buildings. Who pays to demolish? and what of radioactive golf green?
6.18 PM And how to decontaminate lake beds that accumulate sediment and hence radioactive caescium?
9.43 PM Quite a quick drive from Fukushima to Tokyo down expressway. Now I know why the speedo has all those extra numbers..
10.34 PM At a bar, the great thing about Japan is most people are monoglots like me so I don’t feel inferior. The terrible thing about Japan…
Published in Environment & Resource Management | Featured by Russel Norman on Thu, March 15th, 2012
More posts by Russel Norman | more about Russel Norman
on the trolls and those who are unable to keep on topic
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Check out this from 13.45. Gerald Celente is always interesting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=QtWAWUFqsvI#!
Any comments on thorium? Is it effectively meltdown proof?
I would love to see an end to Fukushima’s.
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Most new generation designs are effectively meltdown proof… but not viable in an area that has a high risk of Tsunamis. Best bet for Japan however, is a self contained submerged plant (Think Submarine(s) without Propellers) offshore, with the undersea power cable to bring the juice in. In that environment the vessel is immune to the Tsunami and Earthquake risk. With any sort of planning it is effectively immune to anything but a direct attack with depth charges or torpedos…
Not needed in NZ
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How about removing the reactors, keeping the propellers and motors, and sticking them in a tidal flow.
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Not sure whether you’re serious or not sometimes Kerry
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I wonder if Russel Norman could even slightly care less? lol.
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Disaster tourism, always in good taste for a politician to have a look at the misery of others, take some photos, and write about it. Especially if there isn’t even a sign of any charity provided for the people who suffered to give you the photo op.
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Oh the irony of taking the bullet train. Guess what provides the electrity to power them Russell?
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