# 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:** 38
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2011, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/743 "2011-03-27T15:49:50Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > [This item](http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/radiation-levels-in-seawater-off-japan-1-850-times-above-normal-94460) suggests that the 1,850x-“normal” figure represents an increase from a 100x-“legal limit” figure. Thanks. And then, you need to know what legal limit your talking about or what the legal limit is based on. The level you should only be exposed to for short periods of time in an emergency where its important to get shit done and you risk a small but no zero chance of getting cancer in the future. The level that medium term exposure is okay and you risk a smaller still but not quite zero chance of getting cancer in the future. The level that pretty much continous level exposure to that level or less is okay and your risk of cancer is so low its vitually in the noise. ---
**Author:** ![Hokkaido\_Brit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/d26b3c/32.png) [@Hokkaido\_Brit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hokkaido_Brit)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2011, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/744 "2011-03-27T16:00:35Z")
[This is a photo of the Sendai ferry that I took in May last year.](http://www.flickr.com/photos/hyotenka_v/4744524630/in/photostream/) The photo was taken from the rooftop parking lot of a supermarket that we went into to buy snacks and drinks for the long journey back to Hokkaido on the ferry. It amused us that the ferry looked just like another apartment building, that there was no sea at all visible anywhere near it. [This is a video taken from the same place as I took my photo.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwCBaYEhUfE&feature=player_embedded) The tsunami hit the coast here and just smashed ashore. The yelling in the first part is people shouting at the folk on the lower parking deck to get up to the roof. [This is a continuation of the video, taken from the other side of the roof looking into the city.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kW9s7-2Pc6I&feature=player_embedded) We were there less than a year ago. We drove down roads from Akita in the north of Japan to Sendai, taking in family visits, gorgeous scenery and wide open vistas down to the sea. I watch and watch and watch these videos, and cannot yet understand that it is all gone. My husband said he is likely to be there for some months now. Right now his group are liasing with towns in the area, gathering information on what they need doing, and apportioning staff for the next few weeks and months. ---
**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 27, 2011, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/745 "2011-03-27T16:06:04Z")
Thanks Hokkaido Brit ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2011, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/746 "2011-03-27T16:55:51Z")
In lighter news, the leader of a fire department rescue group which bravely faced danger at the plants cried in an interview, which made news. I was only sort of aware of that, so I may have the fact wrong. It’s been found that his 18-year-old daughter stars in a barely legal DVD. http:// livedoor.2.blogimg.jp/amosaic/imgs/c/7/c723b2ca.jpg Although not technically porn, you don’t want that link to show up at your office computer. ---
**Author:** ![gardentraveler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gardentraveler/32/3576_2.png) [@gardentraveler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gardentraveler)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2011, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/747 "2011-03-27T17:56:23Z")
Thanks for all the information, **Hokkaido Brit**. I was just wondering about your husband this morning. The links are really interesting. The Geiger counter map explains what the Japanese norms are for radiation exposure in a way that helped me (at least) to understand the significance current readings. The earthquake video is impressive. It’s amazing to see how long and intense the quake was. ---
**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 27, 2011, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/748 "2011-03-27T23:04:38Z")
From the “Oh no, what next?” department. This just reported: > [@](#): > > A tsunami advisory has been issued for the Miyagi prefecture in Japan’s northeast coastal region, following an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.5, the Japan Meteorological Agency said Monday morning. > The agency, which issued the advisory at 7:27 a.m. local time, said the tsunami height is expected to be about 0.5 metres. The 6.5 magnitude quake occurred at 7:24 a.m., the agency said. > “Tsunamis are expected to arrive imminently” in Miyagi prefecture, the agency said. No further details were immediately available. [http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2011/03/27/japan-tsunami-warning.html](http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2011/03/27/japan-tsunami-warning.html) ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2011, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/749 "2011-03-27T23:12:06Z")
I would hope a half meter would not be capable of much damage. They should be OK. ---
**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 27, 2011, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/750 "2011-03-27T23:13:12Z")
Isn’t there a big water barge right there at the nuclear plant? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2011, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/751 "2011-03-27T23:16:02Z")
It’s only a 20" rise. I’ve been in worse tides off Battery Park. ---
**Author:** ![Hokkaido\_Brit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/d26b3c/32.png) [@Hokkaido\_Brit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hokkaido_Brit)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/752 "2011-03-28T00:13:45Z")
Tsunami warnings all cancelled now. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/753 "2011-03-28T00:30:16Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > It’s only a 20" rise. I’ve been in worse tides off Battery Park. There’s a Spinal Tap joke in here somewhere… ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/754 "2011-03-28T05:51:07Z")
Not sure this has been posted yet, but I found an Australian site with some well done before and after tsunami pictures of different areas of the coast. [Before and after pictures.](http://www.abc.net.au/news/events/japan-quake-2011/beforeafter.htm) ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/755 "2011-03-28T14:19:06Z")
tunnels and trenches outside the buildings are full of radioactive water. hundreds of tons of radioactive water inside several buildings must be removed and stored before work can continue to power up the plant’s regular cooling system. Contaminated water inside Unit 2 has tested at radiation levels some 100,000 times normal amounts, plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. said. airborne radiation levels outside Unit 2 exceeding 1,000 millisieverts per hour — more than four times the amount that the government considers safe for workers. Contaminated water inside Unit 2 has tested at radiation levels some 100,000 times normal amounts. ---
**Author:** ![KinkiNipponTourist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e9bcb4/32.png) [@KinkiNipponTourist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KinkiNipponTourist)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/756 "2011-03-28T14:36:41Z")
The 3 workers were released from hospital today. They have no visible lesions, and doctors expect no future health problems due to this accident, but will continue to have follow-up visits. The men’s exposure level is now said to have been 1 to 2 sieverts. source: Japanese news on TV this morning. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/757 "2011-03-28T16:09:41Z")
AP has reported Power company officials say plutonium has been detected in the soil outside of the stricken Japanese nuclear complex. Tokyo Electric Power Co. says in a statement that the plutonium was discovered Monday in five locations around the plant, which has been leaking radiation for nearly two weeks. ---
**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 28, 2011, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/758 "2011-03-28T16:30:37Z")
Yeah, but other officials said it wasn’t enough to hurt anybody. ---
**Author:** ![xanthous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/53a042/32.png) [@xanthous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xanthous)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/759 "2011-03-28T23:03:08Z")
> [@Raguleader](#): > > [Radiation Dose Chart](http://xkcd.com/radiation/) The only part of that chart that I’m not understanding is what the exposure relationship is between the red section and the gold Chernobyl section. Do all the doses in red section equal the gold section? I’m just curious, because this chart is the first sense that I’ve been able to make of the whole exposure thing, except for the red/gold part. Great chart. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/760 "2011-03-28T23:30:23Z")
> [@xanthous](#): > > The only part of that chart that I’m not understanding is what the exposure relationship is between the red section and the gold Chernobyl section. Do all the doses in red section equal the gold section? I’m just curious, because this chart is the first sense that I’ve been able to make of the whole exposure thing, except for the red/gold part. Great chart. The little inset of the red chart on the gold chart shows what fraction of the gold chart all the red doses combined make up. The doses in the red chart add up to about 15 Sieverts, which is a little less than 1/3 the dose represented by the gold chart (50 Sieverts, which in turn is over 6 times the “you’re totally boned” dose). ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/761 "2011-03-29T00:21:13Z")
The first interview: [Fukushima Fifty tells of dangers they face](http://english.cntv.cn/20110328/102896.shtml) Short interviews with some of the Fukushima Fifty. It was interesting reading about their perspective on developments. There are also a couple facts mentioned I hadn’t heard elsewhere, such as > [@](#): > > Workers told how the earthquake ripped through the plant, immediately knocking out the main power. A ghastly boom was heard in the suppression chamber of reactor 4, said Kenji Tada, who was there at the time. Cracks started ripping in the asphalt and the sides of the building. They fled before the tsunami arrived and did its worst. As the situation deteriorated, the first explosion, at reactor 3 on March 14, happened at the precise moment that six soldiers from the Japanese Central Nuclear Biological Chemical Weapon Defence Unit arrived at the reactor in two vehicles. The six of them are now dead, buried under flying concrete. Has anyone else heard about the six dead? ---
**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 29, 2011, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279/762 "2011-03-29T01:04:58Z")
Nope. Not a thing. And the first explosion was on March 12, reactor building 1 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279.md?page=37) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-earthquake-in-northeast-japan/574279.md?page=39)