# Large earthquake in Northeast Japan **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 11, 2011, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279 "2011-03-11T06:10:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 27
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/522 "2011-03-16T19:34:32Z")
> [@China\_Guy](#): > > FWIW, I got this in an email from one of my Japanese colleagues based in Tokyo on the radiation: > > "The highest amount we got in Tokyo area today was 0.143 microSieverts/hr. This is much much lower risk than smoking. You can see the data on the radiation amount at all prefectures in Japan (in Japanese): [http://eq.yahoo.co.jp/](http://eq.yahoo.co.jp/) > > The amount of misinformation in Japan is at crazy level. Unfortunately, ill-informed and panicked people are leaving Tokyo. I hope you form your view based on the hard data and not what you hear on some irresponsible news media." They are either ill-informed, or they know the wind does not always blow away from Tokyo. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/523 "2011-03-16T19:44:06Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > They are either ill-informed, or they know the wind does not always blow away from Tokyo. The wind must have been blowing in some direction, so perhaps the people in those prefectures would have reason to panic and run away. Though, in looking at the posted chart, I am having difficulty detecting the prefecture that has a dangerously high level of radiation. ---
**Author:** ![FlyingRat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/59ef9b/32.png) [@FlyingRat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingRat)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/524 "2011-03-16T19:56:26Z")
> [@China\_Guy](#): > > "The highest amount we got in Tokyo area today was 0.143 microSieverts/hr. This is much much lower risk than smoking. You can see the data on the radiation amount at all prefectures in Japan (in Japanese): [http://eq.yahoo.co.jp/](http://eq.yahoo.co.jp/) > > The amount of misinformation in Japan is at crazy level. Unfortunately, ill-informed and panicked people are leaving Tokyo. I hope you form your view based on the hard data and not what you hear on some irresponsible news media." Amen. Those are the same “ill-informed and panicked people” who in the US are buying up potassium iodide pills, because OMG radiation! As for smoking, I have no cites or measurements, but I’d be willing to wager that the particulate cloud from the burning refinery in Chiba represented a much greater threat to public health, overall, than the Fukushima reactor situation will. I also would not be surprised one iota if those who have hopped on planes to leave Japan will end up getting a larger radiation dose _simply by flying in a commercial aircraft_ than they ever would have from the reactors. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/525 "2011-03-16T20:13:09Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > The wind must have been blowing in some direction, so perhaps the people in those prefectures would have reason to panic and run away. Though, in looking at the posted chart, I am having difficulty detecting the prefecture that has a dangerously high level of radiation. The winds have been blowing predominately offshore. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/526 "2011-03-16T21:06:04Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > The winds have been blowing predominately offshore. Point taken, although I will note that the USS Reagan, which was offshore near Fukushima until they moved due to concerns about radioactivity, still only detected an amount of radiation “equivalent to the background radiation you would get in one month from sun, soil, etc.” It would obviously be better if there were an actual number in mSv here, but as far as I can tell, the Navy didn’t release that information. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/527 "2011-03-16T21:35:26Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > Point taken, although I will note that the USS Reagan, which was offshore near Fukushima until they moved due to concerns about radioactivity, still only detected an amount of radiation “equivalent to the background radiation you would get in one month from sun, soil, etc.” It would obviously be better if there were an actual number in mSv here, but as far as I can tell, the Navy didn’t release that information. That was two days ago. A lot has changed since then. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/528 "2011-03-16T21:40:46Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > That was two days ago. A lot has changed since then. If you have better information, could you please share it? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/529 "2011-03-16T21:45:10Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > If you have better information, could you please share it? Here is what the head of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission [reported to Congress today](http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/03/16/japan-quake-live-blog-death-toll-expected-to-rise-as-crews-reach-more-areas/?hpt=T1): > [@](#): > > “What we believe at this time is that there has been a hydrogen explosion in this unit due to an uncovering of the fuel in the fuel pool,” Gregory Jaczko told a House energy and commerce subcommittee hearing. “We believe that secondary containment has been destroyed and there is no water in the spent fuel pool, and we believe that radiation levels are extremely high, which could possibly impact the ability to take corrective measures.” The situation is deteriorating hourly. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/530 "2011-03-16T21:53:24Z")
Thanks. I had not been aware that they were having this much trouble re-cooling the rods in the spent fuel pool. Speaking as a non-expert, this seems worrisome to say the least. ---
**Author:** ![FXMastermind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fxmastermind/32/7289_2.png) [@FXMastermind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FXMastermind)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/531 "2011-03-16T22:44:03Z")
TEPCO says all is well. Don’t worry. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/532 "2011-03-16T22:52:28Z")
heard today and yesterday they are looking for retirees to go in for the work at the nuclear plant. thought is they would die from other causes before they developed cancer from this exposure. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/533 "2011-03-16T22:58:47Z")
On the topic of the tsunami, I found [this report particularly horrifying.](http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/asia-pacific/tsunami-preparation-leads-citizens-into-low-lying-death-traps/article1943381/page1/) > [@](#): > > For hundreds of people, if not more, the shelters they were ordered into proved to be deathtraps. Rikuzen-Takata’s disaster plan had been designed to deal with the three- and four-metre waves the city had seen in 1960 after an earthquake in faraway Chile. No one had anticipated the 15-metre tsunami that crashed through the city on Friday following a 9.0-magnitude earthquake just offshore, one that flung boats, shipping cranes and people inland, drowning those who had done as they were told and gathered in the low-lying shelters. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/534 "2011-03-16T23:17:00Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > Post your cites, please, for #2 reactor burning, and containment vessels with cracks. I didn’t word that well. #4 was burning, #2 has the breached inner core and that is, to my understanding, where most of the radioactivity is coming from. As that reactor spikes radioactivivity they have to pull people away from the area. This is independent of the spent fuel rod pool situation. Of course, there is no clear source of information from Japan. They’re talking about possibly bringing in fire trucks and using helicopter fire buckets to fight this. and then there is this: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Gregory Jaczko said in Washington on Wednesday that all the water was gone from the spent fuel pools at Unit 4 of the Fukushima Dai-ichi complex, but Japanese officials denied it. ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2011, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/535 "2011-03-17T01:52:53Z")
[NHK’s live English feed](http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/) is currently showing video of helicopters dropping water upon Reactor 3 and I believe, Reactor 4. That is an absolutely horrifying story, **MsWhatsit** ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2011, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/536 "2011-03-17T02:08:18Z")
Not all stories are sad: [Woman finds her kitty has survived the tsunami.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-BQP5PFtm8&feature=player_embedded) ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2011, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/537 "2011-03-17T02:20:28Z")
\*\*Japan’s science ministry has observed radiation levels of up to 0.33 millisieverts per hour in areas about 20 kilometers northwest of the quake-damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Experts say exposure to such radiation for 3 hours would result in absorption of 1 millisievert, or the maximum considered safe for 1 year.\*\* I got a buddy headed that way with supplies. Not really happy about the progress they’re making. How are people suppose to look for survivors under these conditions. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2011, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/538 "2011-03-17T02:35:06Z")
> [@Gray\_Ghost](#): > > [NHK’s live English feed](http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/) is currently showing video of helicopters dropping water upon Reactor 3 and I believe, Reactor 4. > > That is an absolutely horrifying story, **MsWhatsit** Good website. According to the live press conference they wanted to do the water drops yesterday but didn’t because of the levels of radiation. I wondered if they had given thought to bringing Elvis up from Australia but it would have to be a military crew so nobody could fly it. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2011, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/539 "2011-03-17T03:19:23Z")
The Earth is angry. [Tsunami warning](http://ptwc.weather.gov/ptwc/text.php?id=pacific.2011.03.12.063606) issued after [6.5 Magnitude Earthquake near Vanuatu](http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/usc00024wv.php). Earthquake happened 30 minutes ago. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2011, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/540 "2011-03-17T03:25:42Z")
Check that, apparently the Tsunami warning was never issued. The Tsunami warning is the warning from last Friday. Blame it on [Breaking News Twitter](http://twitter.com/#!/BreakingNews) feed. ---
**Author:** ![FlyingRat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/59ef9b/32.png) [@FlyingRat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingRat)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2011, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/541 "2011-03-17T03:32:05Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > [Tsunami warning](http://ptwc.weather.gov/ptwc/text.php?id=pacific.2011.03.12.063606) issued after [6.5 Magnitude Earthquake near Vanuatu](http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/usc00024wv.php). Earthquake happened 30 minutes ago. That first link is incorrect: it’s to the cancellation of the tsunami warnings after the NE Japan quake on Friday. For the correct statement, go [here](http://ptwc.weather.gov/ptwc/text.php?id=pacific.2011.03.17.025651). There is no Pacific tsunami warning for this quake, at least not beyond the local area (100 km). “No destructive widespread tsunami threat exists.” EDIT: heh, simulpost! Sorry. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279.md?page=26) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279.md?page=28)