AJE update 19:55 PST

[nadinbrzezinski]

(All times are local in Japan GMT+9)

11:55am
Japanese health officials have detected higher levels of radioactive materials in the water in Fukushima prefecture and have cautioned villagers against drinking from the tap. They said residents can use the water for washing and bathing, adding that drinking it has no immediate effect on human health.

10:15am
Spinach with radiation 27 times higher than government safety limit has been found in the city of Hitachi in Ibaraki prefecture, more than 100km south of the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant.


Photo: Reuters

The level of radioactive iodine detected per kilogramme of spinach grown in open air was at 54,000 becquerels, exceeding the permissible level of 2,000 becquerels.

Local authorities said the radiation level do not affect human health. Prefectural governments plan to ask municipalities to voluntarily halt or recall shipment of contaminated products.

10:00am
Yukio Edano, the Japanese cabinet secretary, on Sunday said the Fukushima nuclear plant may be demolished as it was not clear if the complex can resume operations given the state of the reactors. He added that the government has to go through the required procedures before deciding on the plant's fate.

9:00am
Japanese defence minister says surface temperatures of all 6 reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has dropped to below 100 degrees Celcius.

Toshimi Kitazawa quoting a nuclear expert said lower temperature confirms the existence of water in the spent fuel rod storage pools. He said Self-Defence Forces officials on Sunday measured the temperatures from a helicopter using an infrared device.

Link forgot

http://blogs.aljazeera.net/live/asia/disaster-japan-live-blog-march-21

And we are getting some contradictory so keep your eyes peeled.

[Ozymanithrax]

1. Is 100 degrees Celsius of the collective rectal temperature of...

Japan and all places down wind good?

And what would Popeye say about radioactive Spinach.

I'm not making fun, I'm just disgusted and can think of nothing else to do than to express a virtual form of nervous laughter.

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. Listening to NHK

and let's just say the contradictions are amazing.

There is more... the media is questioning some of this....

Yet another cultural marker.

That said they do report that reactors are bellow 100 Celsius... aka no steam.

Radiation levels are still pretty high

[Ozymanithrax]

3. Even if the termperaturs are accurate, radioative material...

vented form the reactors doesn't just go away. It will be in the air for a while and the soil for a long while. More interestingly, it will be in the ocean and in all the fish.

[nadinbrzezinski]

4. Yep... what can I say?

[nadinbrzezinski]

5. Oh NHK is saying that this is getting better

by the minute, or hour... which is good.

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. PM Kan suspends visit to affected area

(All times are local in Japan GMT+9)

11:57am
Japanese PM Naoto Kan cancelled a visit to Miyagi and later to Fukushima prefectures on Monday due to bad weather. He was scheduled to meet survivors of the quake and tsunami before heading to "J Village", a vast football training facility about 20km from the crippled nuclear power plant, which is now being used by emergency response teams.

[jwirr]

7. I heard that the winds turned inland today. This will not help the food

production. I am afraid that before they get the nukes shut down there will be mass starvation if the world is not working on getting healthy food in there now. I cannot even conceive of feeding a population like that for any length of time. This thing just gets worse.

[nadinbrzezinski]

8. I know... and the land that will be in the exclusion zone

is the rice basket of the country

[jwirr]

11. We have never been able to feed Africa and I fear that we are going

to see Japan in that light very soon.

[nadinbrzezinski]

9. Pressure rising inside #3, power restored 1 and 2

(All times are local in Japan GMT+9)

1:26am
Japan's nuclear safety agency says that power has been restored to No. 5 and No. 6 reactors from the grid.

1:00pm
Pressure is rising in the No.3 reactor and workers there are considering whether to release pressure by "venting", Japan's nuclear safety agency said.

Meanwhile, engineers say they may regain some functions in the control room of reactor No. 2.

12:50pm
The crisis in Japan has led many countries to review their nuclear plans, but not India. The state of Maharastra is still going ahead with plans to build the world's largest nuclear park in Jaitapur, a region along the Konkan coast that already sits atop a known fault line.

[nadinbrzezinski]

10. Update, people working in suits sealed with duct tape

2:08pm
Working in suits sealed by duct tape, engineers have connected power cables to the No. 2, 5 and 6 reactors and plan to start testing systems soon, officials say.

The most badly damaged reactors are No. 3 and 4, which were both hit by explosions last week. If the pumps cannot restart, drastic and lengthy measures may be needed like burying the plant in sand and concrete.

1:26am
Japan's nuclear safety agency says that power has been restored to No. 5 and No. 6 reactors from the grid.

***********

Having worn a L-1 suit, yes sealed with duct tape and all that... this is extremely hard work. Each evolution takes forever....

And yes, to all those joking about duct tape... give me some duct tape... please

[flamingdem]

12. Check out this photo of a nearly destroyed #3

I have no idea if this is an accurate photo or a hoax. It was on druge report

[nadinbrzezinski]

13. I think that is pretty accurate

[flamingdem]

16. Suposedly the fuel rods are in the back

um, okay, and I'm sure they have nothing to do with the dark smoke. (sure..)

[nadinbrzezinski]

20. The temps are under boiling point

two of the reactors are now in cold shut down. Three is still a concern... as well as four.

And if they are UNDER water... that is good.

I share your concern. I don;t think they have told us all the facts by the way.

[nadinbrzezinski]

14. Food will become an issue as well as fears

All times are local in Japan GMT+9)

9:27pm
We will now move to regular reporting on the Disaster in Japan - for latest news visit the main website: http://english.aljazeera.net

Our latest Japan story is here: Japan death toll likely to top 1800.

6:20pm
The Japanese government has ordered a halt to all shipments of spinach from four prefectures surrounding the country's tsunami-damaged nuclear power plant, and has also banned milk shipments from the site's home province of Fukushima.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano announced the measures at a briefing amid increasing concerns over contamination of some foods and tap water with trace amounts of radioactivity.

6:12pm
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano gives a news conference, says that the smoke from the No. 3 reactor has not given risen to any adverse readings.

5:24pm
Akira Abe, father of rescued 16-year-old survivor Jin Abe, checks on his son at the Ishinomaki red Cross hospital in Ishinomaki city in Miyagi prefecture, one day after Jin and Akira's 80-year-old mother Sumi Abe were rescued from a collapsed their house, nine days after a massive earthquake and tsunami.

The story of survival provided welcome good news as the death toll from the March 11 quake-tsunami disaster continued to climb, with the number of confirmed dead and missing topping 21,000.



5:10pm
Some workers at Japan's stricken nuclear power plant were evacuated after smoke was seen rising from reactor No. 3, among the most badly damaged at the six-reactor complex, the plant operator said.

4:25pm
The situation at Japan's tsunami-damaged nuclear power plant is improving slowly, Prime Minister Naoto Kan said. (Kyodo news agency)

4:25pm
The situation at Japan's tsunami-damaged nuclear power plant is improving slowly, Prime Minister Naoto Kan said. (Kyodo news agency)

4:14pm
The World Health Organisation said that the detection of radiation in food after an earthquake damaged a Japanese nuclear plant was a more serious problem than it had first expected.

"Quite clearly it's a serious situation," Peter Cordingley, Manila-based spokesman for WHO's regional office for the Western Pacific, told Reuters.

"It's a lot more serious than anybody thought in the early days when we thought that this kind of problem can be limited to 20 to 30 kilometres," he said.

Cases of contaminated vegetables, dust, milk and water are already stoking regional anxieties despite Japanese officials' assurances the levels are not dangerous.

3:00pm
Official from Japan's nuclear safety agency told AFP:

Radiation monitoring will be conducted for seawater. There is a possibility that a very small amount of radiation may flow into the sea. But even if it happens, considering the current radiation level in the air, there will not be an impact on human health.

[alfredo]

15. The Thinker

[flamingdem]

17. Yes, hmm, let's do think nt

[alfredo]

18. You're asking for too much.

[nadinbrzezinski]

19. Thinking is a skill that people either have or don't

:-)

At this point I don't think any education can influence whether people will be able to do it or not. It helps... but.

:hi:

[alfredo]

21. Ignorance can be cured, stupidity can't.