8.9 earthquake in Japan: tsunami warnings

[nismaratwork]

Hmmmm... I'm not sure what to make of that...

 

[rhody]

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/17/world/asia/17nuclear.html?emc=eta1"

From the NY Times piece above, simply stated, this is the undepinning reason things are rapidly spinning out of control, with potentially dire consequences for Japan and the world.

“Everything in their system is built to build consensus slowly,” said one American official who would not be quoted by name because of the delicacy of discussions with Japan. “And everything in this crisis is about moving quickly. It’s not working.”

Rhody...

 

[nismaratwork]

I think Jim Walsh put it well... you have Reactor 4 with the fuel rod pool creating a dangerous radiation field that makes it tough or impossible to service reactor 3... and you can see the domino effect inherent in that.

Truly this is heroic work... and even more people have gone to the plant.

On a different note, I can't watch the news coverage any more... too many grandparents crying for their children and grandchildren. I've never seen such frank misery and despair in Japan.

 

[DevilsAvocado]

From the NY Times piece above, simply stated, this is the undepinning reason things are rapidly spinning out of control, with potentially dire consequences for Japan and the world.

Not good

 

[DevilsAvocado]

Yes, the consequences are different if one is directly affected. If one is on the plane that crashes, or one's family member or friend is lost, then I would imagine one would be quite emotional.

I was once ready to die inside a small 10 seat turboprop aircraft.

We were flying to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fernando_de_Noronha" , 350 km offshore from the northern Brazilian coast (Natal), when we were hit by a tropical thunderstorm, halfway out over the Atlantic.

The aircraft was so small that we could see the thunderstorm on the radar in the cockpit. It looked like a yellow/red "cancer tumor" slowly approaching. When we entered the storm the whole plane jumped heavily up & down, so hard that we had to fasten the seatbelts to stay in place.

After a short moment huge hail bombarded the plane and it sounded like someone was firing a machine gun at us.

At this point I was very close to do No. 2 in my pants...

More and heavier jumping + hail + unbelievable strong rain + thunder & lightning = complete chaos.

Then something strange happened – I became perfectly calm! I knew that there was absolutely not one thing on this planet that I could do to change the situation, and I was not afraid at all...

I know it sounds completely crazy, but it’s the truth.

We finally made it to the island and landed (surfed) in 10+ cm water on the airfield.

Then my legs started to shake, and it was high time for some Brazilian 54% abv Caninha...


(Sorry for going off-topic)

 

[malty]

It seems some Japanese weren't too happy with the standard of journalism and reporting (who'd blame them?) so they've started a journalist http://jpquake.wikispaces.com/Journalist+Wall+of+Shame" . Singling out newspapers and media outlets that have used Japan's misery as a means of selling their product.

This Wall of Shame is being assembled by various people, many of whom are on the ground in Japan as residents, not temporarily assigned journalists, who are sick of the sensationalist, overly speculative, and just plain bad reporting that has gone on since the Tohoku quake in Japan last Friday (March 11). We feel that contacting each and every publication and reporter every time a bad report shows up is not effective, and it is our sincere hope that this will encourage journalists to aspire to a higher (some would say minimal) level of responsibility in their reports. If you would like to add a report of your own, feel free.

Gotta say some of the errors and attempts of fear mongering listed are atrocious.

 

[BobG]

Watching these efforts to carry water and pump from trucks makes me wonder why they couldn't couple a few hundred feet of oil pipe together - to be attached to fire hose - and drug into position by the helicopter - maybe weigh-down the end to keep in position over pool. This would allow a continuous supply of water pumped from the bay.

Well, the trucks didn't work so well. Because of the radiation, they couldn't get close enough for the spray to reach, although that's disputed by TEPCO, which says the spraying was somewhat effective.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42124500/ns/world_news-asiapacific/

A new power line providing full power is about 1.5 km short of completion, but just getting the power line to the nuclear facility won't automatically solve the problem. Given the info that's come out about the crisis so far, any hedging seems like a guarantee of failure. There's a good chance that the damage from the tsunami and the explosions so far will make restoration of power a moot point.
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2011/03/17/sot.nhk.nuclear.explainer.nhk

Somehow, the toy vehicles just make that briefing seem pathetically comical.

 

[IMP]

Here is an interesting timelapse of the quake and the aftershocks:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42037498/ns/world_news-asia-pacific/

 

[Proton Soup]

Yes, the consequences are different if one is directly affected. If one is on the plane that crashes, or one's family member or friend is lost, then I would imagine one would be quite emotional.

Faith in the safety nuclear power plants or aircraft is only as good as the practices. As long as there are not accidents, then there is confidence. An accident challenges that confidence, according to the severity. The performance is only as good as the training and dedication of those operating the plants or flying the aircraft.

one normally expects the japanese to do everything by the book. so, I'm curious as to whether you think the plant operators have have succeeded on that metric, and also whether they may have been hindered by a lack of ability to improvise when the situation becomes SNAFU'd.

 

[Astronuc]

one normally expects the japanese to do everything by the book. so, I'm curious as to whether you think the plant operators have have succeeded on that metric, and also whether they may have been hindered by a lack of ability to improvise when the situation becomes SNAFU'd.

As far as I know, the book doesn't cover the situation after they lose EDGs and emergency power supply. Now they are outside of their emergency operating procedures (EOPs) and more or less flying by the seat of their pants.

I doubt they even did a drill or training simulation in which they lost EDGs and backup, on three or four units, let alone one - and failed to restore offsite in a timely manner.

That's one of the lessons learned - the hard way.

The next time . . . . - well there better not be a next time!

 

[BobG]

As far as I know, the book doesn't cover the situation after they lose EDGs and emergency power supply. Now they are outside of their emergency operating procedures (EOPs) and more or less flying by the seat of their pants.

That's becoming pretty obvious. Yet, TEPCO is pretty persistent that they're capable of handling this problem themselves - to the point they're not even willing to share much info on what's actually happening at the facility.

One thing that's bothered me is that they can't run their normal cooling system because of lack of power for their pumps, but they were able to pump in seawater?

Or is it that they don't have the power necessary to run the condensers to cool the water in the closed system, so have to find water from an open system to cool the system indirectly (externally instead of internally), which is a lot less effective.

Or is the seawater a passive system that can only be used for a short term problem (since there's no way to pump the water back out to the sea)?

After a week, they still haven't provided enough information to even know what they've actually done.

 

[Astronuc]

That's becoming pretty obvious. Yet, TEPCO is pretty persistent that they're capable of handling this problem themselves - to the point they're not even willing to share much info on what's actually happening at the facility.

One thing that's bothered me is that they can't run their normal cooling system because of lack of power for their pumps, but they were able to pump in seawater?

Or is it that they don't have the power necessary to run the condensers to cool the water in the closed system, so have to find water from an open system to cool the system indirectly (externally instead of internally), which is a lot less effective.

Or is the seawater a passive system that can only be used for a short term problem (since there's no way to pump the water back out to the sea)?

After a week, they still haven't provided enough information to even know what they've actually done.

The problem is lack of information.

I expect the seawater pumps are small and are being run by portable power generators that were brought in. I heard 'fire hoses' mentioned, but I don't understand the context. I don't really know where the seawater is being introduced, or at what rate.

The physics is just about match flow rate with heat generation rate - matching them so the water in the core doesn't get too hot.

I don't know how open the primary system is - in other words, besides the steam coming off - is there water 'leaving' containment? Is it going into the ocean?

There is a mass balance (a la continuity equation). If Δm or dm/dt in the system = 0, if dm (water)/dt = dm (steam), then there's no net gain/loss of water in the system, and steam is coming out with activity. If dm (seawater)/dt > dm (steam), but Δm = 0 in the primary system/containment, where is the water going? The ocean?

Has the inflow of water to the cores in the RPV been sufficient to cool the fuel? Has the water inflow into containment been sufficient?

The what about the spent fuel pools - particularly the one in Unit 4?

 

[OmCheeto]

Here is an interesting timelapse of the quake and the aftershocks:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42037498/ns/world_news-asia-pacific/

Thank you IMP. I was looking for that.

I just tried to explain what was going on in the video to a couple of people. One ran away, the other person changed the subject, and mentioned that he took two terms of geology, and kind of understood how certain rocks were formed.

The scale of plate tectonics compared to a single meat puppet is a bit daunting I suppose.

 

[Lancelot59]

The scale of plate tectonics compared to a single meat puppet is a bit daunting I suppose.

It's a big ol' world out there. Or under there as the case may be.

What really gets at me is some of the jokes people are making about this.

For instance, one person claims that it's a scam because everything looks fine on google streetview. I think that was meant as an ironic joke.
I also heard some people saying that the earthquake was karma getting a japan for the attack at pearl harbour. Which makes no sense.

I guess some people find it amusing.

 

[lisab]

It's a big ol' world out there. Or under there as the case may be.

What really gets at me is some of the jokes people are making about this.

For instance, one person claims that it's a scam because everything looks fine on google streetview. I think that was meant as an ironic joke.
I also heard some people saying that the earthquake was karma getting a japan for the attack at pearl harbour. Which makes no sense.

I guess some people find it amusing.

Thankfully those who hold such opinions are in the extreme minority, extrapolating from the circle of people I associate with. Such attitudes sicken me.

 

[jhae2.718]

I also heard some people saying that the earthquake was karma getting a japan for the attack at pearl harbour. Which makes no sense.

Wait, what??!

 

[OmCheeto]

What really gets at me is some of the jokes people are making about this.

For instance, one person claims that it's a scam because everything looks fine on google streetview. I think that was meant as an ironic joke.
I also heard some people saying that the earthquake was karma getting a japan for the attack at pearl harbour. Which makes no sense.

I guess some people find it amusing.

People have strange ways of relieving stress. One way is to cry, the other way is to laugh.

I think there are about 300 people of Japanese ethnicity where I work. (There are around 15,000 total). For the last few days, I've noticed the Japanese people a bit more than usual.

For some reason, I just want to go up and hug them. But I'm sure they would feel uncomfortable, so I don't.

I would hope though, that, they remember that we all, or at least I do, get by:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wG6Cgmgn5U

 

[Lancelot59]

Thankfully those who hold such opinions are in the extreme minority, extrapolating from the circle of people I associate with. Such attitudes sicken me.

Same here. It's funny in the same say a dead baby joke is funny.

Wait, what??!

Yeah, I know. The reason the logic falls through is because Pearl Harbour was a military installation, and the US destroyed two major cities with a vast civilian population using nuclear devices.

Moving on though, how are they flying supplies in? The main airport if I remember correctly was built on a man made island.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Wow, that was fast!

Asked whether he would stop Israel's civilian nuclear program, Netanyahu replied, "I don't think we're going to pursue civil nuclear energy in the coming years. We'll go for the gas; I think we'll skip the nuclear."...

http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=1000631232&fid=1725
http://piersmorgan.blogs.cnn.com/20...e-to-reconsider-nuclear-power/?iref=allsearch

 

[edward]

Same here. It's funny in the same say a dead baby joke is funny.

Yeah, I know. The reason the logic falls through is because Pearl Harbour was a military installation, and the US destroyed two major cities with a vast civilian population using nuclear devices.

Moving on though, how are they flying supplies in? The main airport if I remember correctly was built on a man made island.

Most Japanese airports are now open.

http://www.aeroclix.com/2011/03/16/most-of-japan%E2%80%99s-airports-reopen-after-9-0-earthquake/

Immediately after the quake, inbound commercial planes were allowed to land at a U. S. Air Force Base.

 

[WhoWee]

The problem is lack of information.

I expect the seawater pumps are small and are being run by portable power generators that were brought in. I heard 'fire hoses' mentioned, but I don't understand the context. I don't really know where the seawater is being introduced, or at what rate.

The physics is just about match flow rate with heat generation rate - matching them so the water in the core doesn't get too hot.

I don't know how open the primary system is - in other words, besides the steam coming off - is there water 'leaving' containment? Is it going into the ocean?

There is a mass balance (a la continuity equation). If Δm or dm/dt in the system = 0, if dm (water)/dt = dm (steam), then there's no net gain/loss of water in the system, and steam is coming out with activity. If dm (seawater)/dt > dm (steam), but Δm = 0 in the primary system/containment, where is the water going? The ocean?

Has the inflow of water to the cores in the RPV been sufficient to cool the fuel? Has the water inflow into containment been sufficient?

The what about the spent fuel pools - particularly the one in Unit 4?

In the absence of a working heat exchange system, what other (cooling) option is there except a constant water replacement capability?

 

[BobG]

A good article on why plan B so often fails to work - not just in the case of Fukushima's nuclear facility, but in so many other areas, as well.

http://redtape.msnbc.com/2011/03/why-plan-b-often-works-out-badly.html

This part is particularly true:

One terrible irony of risk management is the better you do, the more your techniques will come under attack, Kabay said. The longer we go without a dangerous nuclear event, the more safety engineers are accused of overspending.

"The better precautionary measures do, the less effective they appear,” Kabay said. “...There is an exceptional psychological tendency to narrow your functional view and forget the earlier conditions we have improved.” That's why funding for preventative measures against major disasters tend to vacillate over a half-generation. The recent memory of a bridge collapse leads to tougher civil engineering laws; a distant memory leads to accusations of overkill and overbuilding. "Many people start thinking ‘we're wasting money here, we've been wasting all this money on backup systems we never need.’"

This is true whether you're talking about engineering systems or government regulation of businesses. The more effective you are at preventing disasters, the more likely people are to claim the measures you took are just wasteful bureaucracy getting in the way of cost efficient operation. The only way to know whether the extra safety built into a system is worth the money or not is to not implement the extra safety measures and find out what happens.

 

[DevilsAvocado]

Astro; I was listening to the radio and a chat with http://www.chalmers.se/sv/forskning/professorer-sedan-1992/beskrivningar/Sidor/lembit-sihver-karnkemi.aspx" , Professor of Nuclear Science and Engineering, he came back from Japan on Monday, he visited Fukushima I earlier.

One guy was asking this very good question (without getting a clear answer):

Why doesn’t the rescue team take a bunch of fire hoses and connect and extend them far enough to put fire trucks on safe distance, pumping water in the spent fuel ponds... using a helicopter to get it in right position?​

 

[DevilsAvocado]

OmCheeto: That looks 'dangerous'...

 

[nismaratwork]

The problem is lack of information.

I expect the seawater pumps are small and are being run by portable power generators that were brought in. I heard 'fire hoses' mentioned, but I don't understand the context. I don't really know where the seawater is being introduced, or at what rate.

Visuals of helo's dropping water seems... very weak. The water is nearly a dispersed fog before it lands. A water cannon, as opposed to just a hose might have been a thought to get water from a distance. I'm guessing the radiaton field is too intense and wide around 4 now to do that.

Supposedly, they'll be trying to fire up pumps in #2 with a newly installed line. I don't see this going well, and I doubt that people being fried by gamma radiation (assuming they never leave their suits), sleep deprived, and emotionally fragile are going to be able to make the proper calculations, given the issues with 4.

The physics is just about match flow rate with heat generation rate - matching them so the water in the core doesn't get too hot.

I don't know how open the primary system is - in other words, besides the steam coming off - is there water 'leaving' containment? Is it going into the ocean?

From what I understand, it's literally boiling out, so it's eventually ending in the ocean or land, but not a drect leak back out... except possibly in the pool of #4.

There is a mass balance (a la continuity equation). If Δm or dm/dt in the system = 0, if dm (water)/dt = dm (steam), then there's no net gain/loss of water in the system, and steam is coming out with activity. If dm (seawater)/dt > dm (steam), but Δm = 0 in the primary system/containment, where is the water going? The ocean?

Has the inflow of water to the cores in the RPV been sufficient to cool the fuel? Has the water inflow into containment been sufficient?

The what about the spent fuel pools - particularly the one in Unit 4?

It's too bad they'd just removed those rods from active duty to the pool in 4 days earlier... that is some HORRIBLE luck.

 

[nismaratwork]

Wow, that was fast!


http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=1000631232&fid=1725
http://piersmorgan.blogs.cnn.com/20...e-to-reconsider-nuclear-power/?iref=allsearch

Fantatic </sarcam>

Yep, no reason to be concerned about fracking, pumping and shipping LNG, and burning coal...


...Why is nuclear so reviled when what we have is already so incredibly lethal on a global scale?

 

[nismaratwork]

It's a big ol' world out there. Or under there as the case may be.

What really gets at me is some of the jokes people are making about this.

For instance, one person claims that it's a scam because everything looks fine on google streetview. I think that was meant as an ironic joke.
I also heard some people saying that the earthquake was karma getting a japan for the attack at pearl harbour. Which makes no sense.

I guess some people find it amusing.

I'm all for laughing in the face of death and tragedy, but it has to be funny, not exploitive and mean.

Those aren't really jokes, just anger and dislike and infantile sensibilities leaking out, you know? It's a pretty ugly thing to see...

...Besides, it just shows AGAIN how little many people grasp the concept of Karma.

 

[FlexGunship]

...Why is nuclear so reviled when what we have is already so incredibly lethal on a global scale?

Likely because of the association with "nuclear weapons." I'm sure a guy named Joe Hitler running for president would have really bad luck but not because of his political views.

EDIT: I know it's inappropriate to play a "numbers" game, but how many people must die as a direct result of this disaster for it to be even with coal on a death/gigawatt basis? I did this calculation before here: (https://www.physicsforums.com/showpost.php?p=2882522&postcount=8)

 

[jhae2.718]

...Why is nuclear so reviled when what we have is already so incredibly lethal on a global scale?

Nuclear energy involves ATOMS and RADIATION, and those are dangerous.

 

[nismaratwork]

Likely because of the association with "nuclear weapons." I'm sure a guy named Joe Hitler running for president would have really bad luck but not because of his political views.

True, although I'd have thought 'Hussein' would be a more immidiate downer.

Besides, Ivan is anti-nuclear, but he knows the difference between 'sizzle' and 'KABOOM'. I want to know why informed and rational people hold a view that I don't understand... the nuts I get, and the people who just hear 'atom' and think 'Ivy Mike', but not others.

 

[nismaratwork]

Nuclear energy involves ATOMS and RADIATION, and those are dangerous.

Hmmm... people are going to be very disturbed when they realize they're also made of atoms, and by gum, EMIT radiation!

Oh my, place me in a cask ASAP!

 

[FlexGunship]

Besides, Ivan is anti-nuclear, but he knows the difference between 'sizzle' and 'KABOOM'. I want to know why informed and rational people hold a view that I don't understand... the nuts I get, and the people who just hear 'atom' and think 'Ivy Mike', but not others.

Here is one of Ivan's previous posts (https://www.physicsforums.com/showpost.php?p=2883023&postcount=13). I'm not sure if his views have changed since then, but he WAS concerned about intentional misuse of a nuclear reactor. (As opposed to intentional misuse of fuel oil, for example (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ANFO).)

 

[nismaratwork]

Here is one of Ivan's previous posts. I'm not sure if his views have changed since then, but he WAS concerned about intentional misuse of a nuclear reactor. (As opposed to intentional misuse of oil.) https://www.physicsforums.com/showpost.php?p=2883023&postcount=13

Hmmm... understand I really like and respect Ivan, so I want to understand his view, whether or not I agree.

I'll admit, the misuse of oil money is horrible, but some twit with a cropduster and spent fuel could do a LOT of damage.

The thing is, if we were united in this issue, we could have a *useful* central storage facility with rail access. This would no longer leave spent fuel on-site, which is of some concern both potential and practical.

I don't like some of our current reactor placements (Cali) or age (many), but the solution to me is a combination of wind, solar, and so that we all live long enough to get the fomer two really going... nuclear.

PBRs, and less exotic designs aren't just safer, they're more efficient in the use of the heat they generate. None of that can happen while we're just "anti-nuke"... who would invest in building these if they can't be licensed? NIMBY is literally killing us.

edit: To be fair, ANFO can do a lot of damage (Oklahoma City)... a pony nuke or dirty bomb would be FAR worse, economically, psychologically, and practically. The cleanup... oh man.

 

[FlexGunship]

edit: To be fair, ANFO can do a lot of damage (Oklahoma City)... a pony nuke or dirty bomb would be FAR worse, economically, psychologically, and practically. The cleanup... oh man.

Well, there's the question of intentional damage and unintentional damage. History has shown that there is much more intentional damage done by misuse of oil. Additionally, history has shown that there it much more unintentional damage done by oil. The same is true of coal.

Oddly, no one has found a way to misuse solar power to cause damage... or have they?

 

[nismaratwork]

Well, there's the question of intentional damage and unintentional damage. History has shown that there is much more intentional damage done by misuse of oil. Additionally, history has shown that there it much more unintentional damage done by oil. The same is true of coal.

Oddly, no one has found a way to misuse solar power to cause damage... or have they?

Heh, I have to admit that I've wondered at people who want installations in space to gather solar energy, and beam it as microwaves back to earth. That sounds like a pretty good weapons platform to me, given a bit of work; any time you can direct large amounts of energy, there can be trouble.

On the other hand, the ants have they're vengence, it's called, 'Them'. Those were BAD*** ants.

 

[FlexGunship]

From a few months ago.

Not to be overly utilitarian, but if you're discussing the dangers of power generation (which is not the purpose of the thread) shouldn't you count it in terms of watt-hours per death. Obviously, higher would be better! More power with fewer deaths.

Since I invented the unit, I'd like to call it the "toasty" (symbol is the Jesus fish, ichthys).


-Wind is pretty bad at 6.66 teratoasties.
-Rooftop solar is horrible at 2.27 teratoasties.
-Hydro is okay if you ignore Banqiao (the Chernobyl of hydroelectric) at 10 teratoasties, but a crappy 0.71 teratoasties if you include it.
-Nuclear has the best ratio at 25 teratoasties if you INCLUDE Chernobyl. If you don't include Chernobyl then it has a rating of 1875 teratoasties. That's 1.875 petatoasties! (That number includes a single death that was attributed to radiological exposure of a plant worker. There is still debate over that.)

For comparison, coal is only 0.006 teratoasties, and oil is 0.028 teratoasties.

Banqiao was responsible for 26,000 deaths directly, and 150,000 from famine and disease after. Chernobyl was responsible for 56 deaths directly and 19 more later were attributed to it. I vote we stop talking about Chernobyl entirely, forever, in the context of nuclear safety. It essentially works out to a rounding error for coal or oil.

EDIT: source: http://nextbigfuture.com/2008/03/deaths-per-twh-for-all-energy-sources.html

 

[nismaratwork]

From a few months ago.

Hmmm, that guy makes some good points!

 

[jhae2.718]

I have to say I really enjoyed the "petatoasties".

 

[FlexGunship]

Hmmm, that guy makes some good points!

Sometimes he's full of crap though.

 

[nismaratwork]

Sometimes he's full of crap though.

We tolerate his shortcomings in favor of his strengths.

 

[IMP]

Here is a link to an "audio" of the quake, as recorded deep underwater (1000 meters) with a 16X speed increase. There is also some new footage:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110318/ts_yblog_thelookout/listen-to-japans-massive-quake

 

[BobG]

I'll admit, the misuse of oil money is horrible, but some twit with a cropduster and spent fuel could do a LOT of damage.

Or a simple truck spraying oil on dirt roads to eliminate dust.

This is an image of the Route 66 State Park in Missouri. If you look close, you'll notice the trees seem to grow in lanes. That's because the park used to be a small city called Times Beach. The lanes are the old dirt roads that had to be oiled to keep the dust down.

The person hired to do the oiling was a guy named Russell Bliss. Aside from hauling waste and oiling roads, he also subcontracted with a company called IPC to dispose of some of their waste. ICP was being paid $3,000 a load to haul toxic waste from a chemical company called Northeastern Pharmaceutical and Chemical Company and they would then turn around and pay Bliss $100 a load to dispose of it.

He disposed of it by mixing it with the oil he used to spray roads, stables, etc for miscellaneous customers, including the city of Times Beach. He dumped so much dioxin on the city roads that the federal government bought up the entire town, moved the residents, and then dug up a layer of topsoil, roads, etc to be incinerated.

Now the spot where the town used to be is the Route 66 State Park.

It doesn't take a terrorist - just some ignorant old guy that never finished high school that has no idea of what he's disposing of (of course, the fact that he mixed it with engine oil to dispose of it suggests he knew more than he ever admitted).

 

[nismaratwork]

Or a simple truck spraying oil on dirt roads to eliminate dust.

This is an image of the Route 66 State Park in Missouri. If you look close, you'll notice the trees seem to grow in lanes. That's because the park used to be a small city called Times Beach. The lanes are the old dirt roads that had to be oiled to keep the dust down.

The person hired to do the oiling was a guy named Russell Bliss. Aside from hauling waste and oiling roads, he also subcontracted with a company called IPC to dispose of some of their waste. ICP was being paid $3,000 a load to haul toxic waste from a chemical company called Northeastern Pharmaceutical and Chemical Company and they would then turn around and pay Bliss $100 a load to dispose of it.

He disposed of it by mixing it with the oil he used to spray roads, stables, etc for miscellaneous customers, including the city of Times Beach. He dumped so much dioxin on the city roads that the federal government bought up the entire town, moved the residents, and then dug up a layer of topsoil, roads, etc to be incinerated.

Now the spot where the town used to be is the Route 66 State Park.

It doesn't take a terrorist - just some ignorant old guy that never finished high school that has no idea of what he's disposing of (of course, the fact that he mixed it with engine oil to dispose of it suggests he knew more than he ever admitted).

Now that is deeply depressing... kind of the casual idiot version of that pathetic man who poisoined that tree in... Alabama?... I forget. Casual cruelty and idiocy really REALLY piss me off on a deep level, especially when it does so much harm to people, animals, and the environment in general.

Heck, I can't imagine how long it took to burn off that oil... you can only fire so many LP burners and use so many shovels at once.

 

[Astronuc]

Mag 6.1 - http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/usc00026q2.php#maps
Date-Time:
Saturday, March 19, 2011 at 09:56:51 UTC
Saturday, March 19, 2011 at 06:56:51 PM at epicenter

Location: 36.810°N, 140.375°E
Depth: 24.9 km (15.5 miles)

Distances:
52 km (32 miles) NE of Utsunomiya, Honshu, Japan
53 km (32 miles) WSW of Iwaki, Honshu, Japan
56 km (34 miles) NNW of Mito, Honshu, Japan
140 km (86 miles) NNE of TOKYO, Japan


The good news is that the frequency of earthquakes is decreasing as is the intensity - despite the occasional mag6+

 

[nismaratwork]

Mag 6.1 - http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/usc00026q2.php#maps
Date-Time:
Saturday, March 19, 2011 at 09:56:51 UTC
Saturday, March 19, 2011 at 06:56:51 PM at epicenter

Location: 36.810°N, 140.375°E
Depth: 24.9 km (15.5 miles)

Distances:
52 km (32 miles) NE of Utsunomiya, Honshu, Japan
53 km (32 miles) WSW of Iwaki, Honshu, Japan
56 km (34 miles) NNW of Mito, Honshu, Japan
140 km (86 miles) NNE of TOKYO, Japan


The good news is that the frequency of earthquakes is decreasing as is the intensity - despite the occasional mag6+

That is very good news... I just wish we knew more about seimology as a species so that could be made into some kind of prediction beyond a trend. Ah well.

 

[OmCheeto]

Sitting silent in their classroom, the 30 children whose parents have not come to collect them after tsunami swept away their town

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ren-sit-silent-classroom-parents-vanish.html"
Last updated at 1:43 AM on 18th March 2011


Even amid the carnage and despair of Japan's tsunami victims, the plight of the 30 children at Kama Elementary School is heartbreaking.

They sit quietly in the corner of a third-floor classroom where they have waited each day since the tsunami swept into the town of Ishinomaki for their parents to collect them. So far, no one has come and few at the school now believe they will.

Teachers think that some of the boys and girls, aged between eight and 12, know their fathers and mothers are among the missing and will never again turn up at the gates of the school on the eastern outskirts of the town, but they are saying nothing.

http://www.redcross.org/portal/site...oid=7c521079115ce210VgnVCM10000089f0870aRCRD"

 

[DevilsAvocado]

That is...

But there are some light in the 'darkness'!

Japan: 16-year-old boy and 80-year-old woman rescued after 9 days
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/police-80-yeawr-old-woman-teenager-rescued-9-20110320-021635-546.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7d3LPr13PyA

Amazing...

 

[OmCheeto]

Yes. It is always good to see a twinkle of light in the darkness.

http://english.aljazeera.net/video/asia-pacific/2011/03/201132024520689503.html"
A group of boys turns misfortune into good deeds by spearheading relief efforts for quake and tsunami victims.

A group of boys has taken it upon themselves to scavenge for food and supplies among the debris in Taro, where their village once stood.

They have been able to provide some relief to hundreds of survivors sheltered at a nearby Buddhist temple.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhDn2DP2gTk

 

[OmCheeto]

Some striking images being collected:

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2011/03/japan_-_new_fears_as_the_trage.html#photo34

Most are by now familiar, although too abstract to be in the realms of ones own personal reality.

Here's a new one I haven't yet seen though:

A man shops in a convenience store where shelves on food aisles are left empty in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, March 15, 2011. (Shizuo Kambayashi/Associated Press)

 

[Borek]

A man shops in a convenience store where shelves on food aisles are left empty in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, March 15, 2011. (Shizuo Kambayashi/Associated Press)

Looks like stores in Poland in late seventies/early eighties. But the reasons were completely different.