Another inconvenient truth (Jack Bog's Blog)

We're starting to hear the catcalls from readers who want the nuclear disaster in Fukushima to get out of sight and out of mind as soon as possible. Sorry, folks. Even if there are no more big booms out of the doomed nuke facility -- and there still could be -- the amount of radioactivity being washed into the ocean over there every day isn't going to go away. In fact, it's already headed our way.

The folks at Tokyo Electric are doing an amazing job of keeping things under wraps. With a million unanswered questions about what's happened and is still happening inside the four damaged reactors, they're simply not talking. There's a press conference every now and then, at which only a tiny amount of information drips out. They post an unrevealing still photo of the plant, taken from about a mile away, every hour. Every 10 days or so they send a drone aircraft over and share a few photos. If they're allowed to keep this up, the public will never know exactly how bad the situation is. But it surely will drag on for many years.

In the meantime, interested observers are poring over every scrap of information they can get their hands on -- particularly before and after photos of the reactor buildings. Here's a shot of a crew working in reactor no. 4 back in happier times, 2002:

And look a little closer -- you'll get a good sense of the high level of technology at work at this facility:

Comments (16)

Not just any duct tape Jack, Look closer, it's teflon coated......We are so screwed!!!!

Posted by Jeff | April 16, 2011 10:45 AM

Another inconvenient truth

Industrial Age
Information Age
Inconvenient truth Age

Posted by watching for our children | April 16, 2011 11:23 AM

Keep up the good work on this. It is the biggest cover-up of our time.

Posted by dyspeptic | April 16, 2011 11:27 AM

So can anybody tell me what I'm supposed to do other than worry?

Posted by andy | April 16, 2011 11:29 AM

No quibble about your main point, but the duct tape thing is not a Simpsons indicator.

When working with bad juju, you tape over joints so that contamination doesn't enter the internals or hard to decontaminate places. You know the tool will be crapped up, so you tape over the crevices and such so that you can just remove the tape and reuse the tool.

Posted by George Anonymuncule Seldes | April 16, 2011 12:11 PM

Duct tape. Unbelievable.

Posted by Jack Bog | April 16, 2011 12:24 PM

Look, if this was the lead story every night on every news station we might never have time to hear the meaningless utterances from an open presidential mike, or worse yet, we could miss the latest idol contestant gossip. Let's stick to the important issues please.

Posted by Gibby | April 16, 2011 12:26 PM

It is a good snark Jack! But along with GAS they also use the tape to seal between the gloves and suit.
On the other hand, this is a calm but serious observation worth reading.
http://crosscut.com/2011/04/14/environment/20810/Chernobyl-s-lengthy-recovery-has-a-sobering-message-for-Japan/

I will point out "the site where the spent fuel rods will be safely quarantined"- a lot like the "safe location and backups" like Fukushima had...

Oh the 3 eyed fish? That is what unemployed journalists and newly employed PR hacks call a visual enhancement. Improving the species.

Posted by dman | April 16, 2011 12:29 PM

Andy,
Becoming active helps with the worry.
Couldn't sleep well at night until becoming active
and doing something for the public good.

Scorecards on these elected officials
who let our world slide into a sewer hole.

Only voting is no longer enough.
Cannot depend on others to take care of matters for us,
"others" are no longer on our side.

Ramp up being involved on issues, etc.
if we want sanity to prevail in our world
If not for ourselves, for our children.

Posted by watching for our children | April 16, 2011 12:30 PM

Thanks for the informative updates.

Posted by Anon | April 16, 2011 1:47 PM

Give new meaning to the phrase, restated slightly here:

Duct and Cover.

Posted by Lawrence | April 16, 2011 1:53 PM

"Levels of radioactivity have risen sharply in seawater near a tsunami-crippled nuclear plant in northern Japan, signaling the possibility of new leaks at the facility, the government said Saturday."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110416/ap_on_bi_ge/as_japan_earthquake

"Meanwhile, the newspaper Asahi Shimbun reported, without citing its sources, that a secret plan to dismantle Tokyo Electric Power Co., which runs the radiation-leaking Fukushima plant, was circulating within the government. The proposal calls for putting TEPCO, the world's largest private electricity company, under close government supervision before putting it into bankruptcy and thoroughly restructuring its assets. Most government offices were closed Saturday, and the report could not be immediately confirmed."

Posted by Gardiner Menefree | April 16, 2011 2:42 PM

Seems to me the Japanese government is thinking along the right track. This company has been reckless with nuclear power for years and now they've seriously effed up the country.

Posted by Mr. Grumpy | April 16, 2011 4:52 PM

Japan nuclear crisis 'over in nine months' There's going to be more than fish with 3 eyes.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-13107846

Posted by phil | April 17, 2011 5:22 AM

To quote Canada's greatest superhero, "Time for the handyman's secret weapon...duct tape!" Remember, if the inspectors don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy.

Posted by Texas Triffid Ranch | April 18, 2011 7:17 AM

Duct tape. Good enough for TriMet buses (I've seen more duct tape on TriMet buses holding together the dash board panel, door access panels, the advertising racks, stanchions...), so why not a nuclear reactor?

Posted by Erik H. | April 18, 2011 9:38 AM

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Saturday, April 16, 2011

Another inconvenient truth

Comments (16)

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