Inside of Japan's Nuclear Meltdown

In the desperate hours and days after the Fukushima nuclear disaster, the fate of thousands of Japanese citizens fell into the hands of a small corps of engineers, firemen and soldiers who risked their lives to prevent the Daiichi nuclear complex from complete meltdown. This is their story, with rare footage from inside the plant and eyewitness testimony from the people on the front lines.

Then and Now

It has been nearly one year since a monstrous earthquake triggered atsunami that roared across Japan's coast on March 11, 2011, transforming once-pristine and thriving towns into waterlogged wastelands and sparking the world's worst nuclear crisis in a quarter-century.
In the last 12 months, some progress has been made in rebuilding lives, but much remains unfinished. Associated Press photographer David Guttenfelder, who chronicled the devastated towns in the aftermath of the disaster, has revisited these communities to see what has changed -- and what hasn't.

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Inside the Fukushima I Nuke Plant Reactor 2 Containment Vessel (1/19/2012)

In an attempt to look at the damage inside one of its failed Fukushima reactors, the Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) inserted an 8.5mm remote controlled endoscope and thermometer into the containment vessel of a failed reactor at the Fukushima Daiichinuclear plant.

The probe revealed corroded piping and dripping humidity, but did not reveal the water’s surface level, which TEPCO had expected to be as high as four meters. The containment vessel was flooded with seawater during the reactor meltdown when other attempts to cool it failed. Current water levels inside the reactor remain unknown.

The probe’s thermometer function proved more revealing; it recorded the interior temperature at 44.7 degrees centigrade (112 degrees Farenheit), demonstrating that the unit’s own thermometer, thought to be off by as many as 20 degrees, is still functioning accurately.

Steam and radiation affected the quality of the video, but you can see gamma rays — which are detected by the camera in a manner similar to light but not focused by the lens — in the footage looking like streaks and flashes.

-PBS, The Japan Times, EX-SKF

Don't Believe the hype !

DELI - Don't Believe The Hype!

ストップ！ダメ絶対とめて
東電本社前より愛をこめて
この震災の最中
おいちょっと何やっちゃてくれてるのあなた
次から次へとあらたに
どっかのやぶれちゃってる穴から
はなたれた 放射性物質ヨウ素にセシウム
それからプルトニウム
こいつを吸い込んだりしたら大変
身体の中から一生浴びる放射線
でもただちに健康に害ありませんって
でも発ガンしても当然東電補償しません
Don't Don't Don't Don't
Don't Believe The Hype
Don't Don't Don't Don't
Don't Believe The Hype
Don't Don't Don't Don't
Don't Believe The Hype
Don't Don't Don't Don't
Don't Believe The Hype
Yes！まずそもそもの間違い
地震大国に原発はむかない
いまもし東海大地震がきたなら
浜岡原発はもたない
かんがえてもみなさい
TVで絶対安全だって言ってた みなさん
一目散で爆発しちゃったら避難しちゃう
想定外とか言い出しちゃう！
まさに不安要因そのものに なりさがる
保安員全員アホ
しまいにゃチェルノブイリ級Level7
事後報告海に汚染水捨てる
Don't Don't Don't Don't
Don't Believe The Hype
Don't Don't Don't Don't
Don't Believe The Hype
Don't Don't Don't Don't
Don't Believe The Hype
Don't Don't Don't Don't
Don't Believe The Hype
ストップ！お願いもうやめて
脱も反も推進派すらも含めて
今もしすぐすべての
原発が 停止したって放射能は消えない
安全ではない
健康に害があっても 因果関係がない
そもそも収束すらもできてない
ままで是非を問う余地すらもない
騙されたら駄目
政府や東電なんてだいたいデタラメ
TVや新聞でさえ信じきってると会う痛い目
いくらまた騙そうとしたって
また騙される奴がいなけりゃはじまらない
Don't Believe The Hype
インチキを信じきってんじゃ話にならない
Don't Don't Don't Don't
Don't Believe The Hype
Don't Don't Don't Don't
Don't Believe The Hype
Don't Don't Don't Don't
Don't Believe The Hype
Don't Don't Don't Don't
原発いらない！BOOM BYE BYE

Japan's Nuclear Refugees

In June, Naional Geographic sent AP photographer David Guttenfelder into the exclusion zone around the Fukushima Dai-Ichi Nuclear Power Station, which was badly damaged in the earthquake and tsunami earlier this year. He captured images of what they left behind..

*Read more on National Geographic

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Scenes From Japans Devastated Nuclear Plant

On November 12, the grounds of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant were opened to a small group of media for the first time since March, when the earthquake and tsunami triggered explosions and the reactors melted down. David Guttenfelder visited the nuclear power plant itself and witnessed a striking scene of devastation: twisted and overturned vehicles, crumbling reactor buildings, piles of rubble virtually untouched since the wave struck more than eight months earlier.

*Read more on National Geographic.

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YNJP Charity Event #003 @ Sutra Lounge (11.04.11) - Event Recap (6/6)

*Photos by Akiko Higuchi+

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