Fukushima Nuclear Plant Released Far More Radiation than Government Said

[n2doc]

Global radioactivity data challenge Japanese estimates for emissions and point to the role of spent fuel pools
By Geoff Brumfiel and Nature magazine | October 25, 2011 |

The disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in March released far more radiation than the Japanese government has claimed. So concludes a study1 that combines radioactivity data from across the globe to estimate the scale and fate of emissions from the shattered plant.

The study also suggests that, contrary to government claims, pools used to store spent nuclear fuel played a significant part in the release of the long-lived environmental contaminant caesium-137, which could have been prevented by prompt action. The analysis has been posted online for open peer review by the journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

Andreas Stohl, an atmospheric scientist with the Norwegian Institute for Air Research in Kjeller, who led the research, believes that the analysis is the most comprehensive effort yet to understand how much radiation was released from Fukushima Daiichi. "It's a very valuable contribution," says Lars-Erik De Geer, an atmospheric modeler with the Swedish Defense Research Agency in Stockholm, who was not involved with the study.

more
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=fukushima-nuclear-planet-released-more-radiation-government-said

[Melissa G]

1. kicking for good info n/t

[kristopher]

2. Yes, it is very good information. Comment #3 pulls out a good point about quake damage

Interesting article, sort-of buries the lede. The key bit is this:

<i>The latest analysis also presents evidence that xenon-133 began to vent from Fukushima Daiichi immediately after the quake, and before the tsunami swamped the area. This implies that even without the devastating flood, the earthquake alone was sufficient to cause damage at the plant.</i>

This isn't the official story at all - in fact it's been officially denied:
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn20811-did-quake-or-tsunami-cause-fukushima-meltdown.html

...but it matches what Jake Adelstein (who normally specializes in organized crime - there seem to more overlap than we might like) has been reporting:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/the-explosive-truth-behind-fukushimas-meltdown-2338819.html

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=fukushima-nuclear-planet-released-more-radiation-government-said&page=2

[bananas]

4. Good catch - "buries the lede" nt

[spin]

3. You can always trust your government ...

It has your best interests at heart. It doesn't matter what nation you live in.