Fukushima Daiichi - Update

UPDATE AS OF 11:30 A.M. EDT, THURSDAY, MARCH 31:


A minuscule amount of radioactive iodine was detected in milk in Spokane, Wash., the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reported.  The agency said the level detected—0.8 picocuries per liter—is more than 5,000 times lower than the level that would prompt any action by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to pull milk from grocery stores. “These types of findings are to be expected in the coming days and are far below levels of public health concern, including for infants and children,” the EPA said. The EPA has increased its nationwide monitoring of milk, rain water and drinking water.


Fukushima Daiichi

Tokyo Electric Power is increasing its efforts to remove radioactive water that has pooled inside concrete vaults that house pipes near the reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. Maintaining cooling water flow to the reactors and used nuclear fuel storage pools and containing and removing the contaminated water continue to be priorities for workers at the site.


Contaminated water was found in the basements of the turbine buildings at reactors 1-4 and in the concrete vaults outside the buildings. Workers finished pumping water from the reactor 3 turbine building and are removing water from reactor 1 tunnel into a storage tank. Today, TEPCO has been pumping contaminated water from the reactor 2 turbine building into a storage tank.


Freshwater injection continues to cool reactors 1, 2, and 3. The company also is spraying cooling water into the used nuclear fuel storage pools at reactors 1-4.


The key is to not confuse potential meltdown (very unlikely now, either in containment or spent fuel pools) with radiation due to the activities that have occurred to date to protect from a worse situation.

Science Scene - Beer Belt

Hmmm, a new way to quench your thirst while out for a ride :o)


Source

Sunday Silliness - Blame :o)

Fukushima Daiichi - Update

UPDATE AS OF 1:30 P.M. EDT, THURSDAY, MARCH 24:


In a sign of progress, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) is working to switch from sea water to borated fresh water to cool uranium fuel at three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.


All reactors now have access to offsite power, and work is under way to inspect, repair and connect equipment needed to cool the reactors. Testing by TEPCO indicates that many pumps are inoperable because of flood damage.



Restoring regular cooling to the used fuel pools at Fukushima Daiichi remains a high priority. The used fuel pools at reactors 5 and 6 are being cooled using heat removal systems with electric power. Workers continue to spray seawater on the reactor buildings and spent fuel pools at reactors 1, 3 and 4. Additional cooling water to the spent fuel pool is being supplied by a fire hose connection.


Radiation dose rates at the site boundary range from 1 to 3 millirem per hour.

Science Scene - Diverging Diamond Interchange

America likes imports on its highways: both the cars that travel them, as well as the road designs themselves. 

President Eisenhower created the interstate system in the 1950s after being inspired by Germany's autobahns. Roundabouts, long staples of England and Australia, now exist here in the thousands. And the latest roadway innovation, known as the diverging diamond interchange, comes from France.

These flashily named interchanges eliminate traditional left-hand turns — those that have cars cross lanes for oncoming traffic — by briefly shifting drivers to the left side of the road. Traffic lights allow lanes to safely crisscross at an intersection, giving drivers direct access to the left-hand ramp before putting them back on their normal path. 

The concept is confusing, but engineers see it as a simple way to fight congestion. 

The Federal Highway Administration likes the math. It reports that what it calls "double crossover diamonds" can handle about 650 left turns per hour — twice that of a conventional interchange — while overall delays can be cut by up to 60%.  It can also be cheaper. The compact design allows engineers to increase traffic flow by changing the way they use existing space rather than turning to the costly addition of extra lanes.

 "What makes it the next big thing is it's an inexpensive option," says Don Saiko, project manager for the nation's first diverging diamond, which opened in Springfield, Mo., in 2009. The original plan for expanding that intersection was set to cost $10 million, but the diverging diamond ended up costing only $3.2 million.

Only five diverging diamonds have been completed in the U.S. so far. (Missouri is leading the charge with three, Utah completed one in August and another opened in Tennessee last December.) But Saiko says he has fielded calls from interested engineers and consultants in 35 states, and at least 10 states are building or planning to build them.

Source

Evening Report

Here is a link to the latest information on the nuclear situation in Japan.

Evening Report

SMART Goals

The SMART acronym is a great tool for making sure our goals and instructions are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timed. It helps us clarify what we want to accomplish and set deadlines to make sure it produces the results we want in the timeframe we need. The six steps below will help you formulate your goals in the most effective way possible.

Step 1: Consider Your Intentions.  What is the end result I want to achieve?  Why is this important to me and/or the organization?  


Step 2: Make it Specific.  If someone else read this goal, would they be able to execute it without me having to explain it?  Does it provide answers to: Who? What? When? and Where?  Is it short and concise?


Step 3: Make it Measurable.  "What gets measured gets done." How will I know that this goal or milestone has been accomplished and to what standard?  How will I measure it and how frequently will I do so?


Step 4: Make it Attainable.   Can this goal (with some stretching) be accomplished in the timeframe I have indicated? If not, break down the goal into smaller pieces and write a goal statement for the first step.

Step 5: Make it Relevant.  If goals aren't or don't feel relevant we tend to put them on the backburner. How does this goal align with the bigger picture (personally and professionally)? What "pains" would I experience if I didn't get this goal accomplished?

Step 6: Make it Timed.   Most goals fail because we haven't indicated the timeframe in which we want to have them accomplished. Have I established an overall deadline for when this goal must be accomplished? Have I indicated milestones or smaller deadlines for contributing activities?  By when do I want this to be accomplished?

Fukushima Daiichi - Update

Workers were making progress Monday to bring offsite power to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. External electricity has been connected to reactor 2, and work continued to energize the reactor’s cooling systems. Reactors 5 and 6, and the used fuel pools at those reactors, were switched from backup diesel generators to the offsite power supply. Work also continued to establish electric service to reactors 3 and 4.


Spraying seawater into the spent fuel pools of reactors 3 and 4 and providing additional cooling water to the fuel pool at reactor 2 continue to be a priority for TEPCO’s recovery workers. Water spraying at the Daiichi site’s common used fuel pool began Monday morning, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said.


Tokyo Electric Power Co. continued efforts on Monday to restore power to its reactors at Fukushima Daiichi as well as stabilize cooling in the used fuel pools of some reactors. Reactors 1, 2 and 3 are in stable condition and reactors 5 and 6 are stable and being cooled by systems powered by electricity that was restored over the weekend.

The Tokyo Fire Department sprayed cooling water into the reactor 3 used fuel pool for about 4.5 hours, ending early Monday morning. At reactor 4, Japan’s Self-Defense Force sprayed water into the pool for about two hours. Overall, 13 fire engines have been used in the spraying. Efforts to spray water into the used fuel pools at reactors 3 and 4 reactor buildings and used fuel pools was stopped on Monday while TEPCO assessed the effectiveness of these efforts.

Electricity is expected to be restored to both reactors 3 and 4 by March 23.

Radiation dose rates at monitoring posts are slightly higher than on past days. Rates at the plant site boundary range from 1 to 3 millirem per hour. Radiation dose rates in the area where fire trucks have been located are reported to be 2 to 3 rem per hour, with some isolated areas as high as 30 rem per hour.

Sunday Silliness - Bitterness :o)

Fukushima Daiichi Update - Good News

UPDATE AS OF 8:00 P.M. EDT, SATURDAY, MARCH 19:



Powered by an emergency diesel generator, pumps are circulating cooling water in the spent fuel pools of reactors 5 and 6 at the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power plant, according to reports. The company also added water to the used fuel pool at reactor 3 after elite firefighters from Tokyo spent 13 hours operating a high-pressure spray truck that pumped seawater into the pool.

The company and response workers were planning to spray water into the used fuel pool at reactor 4 on Sunday.
Electric power lines are connected to reactors 1 and 2 and engineers expected to bring power to the remaining reactors on Sunday, according to the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum. “We do not know if the water pumps [at Fukushima Daiichi] have been damaged and if they will work when power is restored,” the International Atomic Energy Agency said.

Tokyo Electric Power Co. reported that holes have been drilled into the ceilings of the buildings that house reactors 5 and 6 to prevent the buildup of hydrogen in the buildings.