TODAY’S UPDATE BEGINS BELOW THE APPEAL –

OUR PRAYERS CONTINUE FOR ALL THOSE WHO ARE AFFECTED BY THIS UNFOLDING TRAGEDY.

Appeal:

WMR’s Japanese friends and colleagues report massive shortages of basic staples and disaster supplies in Japan. If you know anyone in the greater Tokyo area and the northeast coast, small parcels — to avoid customs problems — are appreciated. WMR will soon post a mailing address for these staples to get to our WMR circle of friends and colleagues who need them the most. Money is not what is primarily needed right now since money is fairly useless when there is nothing to buy.

The following are what are in short supply or not available:

Ramen-type noodles, rice, tea bags, powdered soup packets or bouillon cubes, powdered milk, beef or other types of jerky, water filters, Pampers, facial masks, crackers, batteries (AA and AAA), canned corn beef, toilet paper, rubber gloves, crackers.

h/t Silvia –

Note when you collect stuff for Japan: It is only possible to airmail things to what the post office considers “overseas” – they have gotten rid of all other shipping methods 2 years ago. It will cost A LOT to mail thigns if you are not careful. So pick items wisely. A 2-pound bag of rice will cost you $40 to mail (yes, it’s that bad).So a few suggestions: Pick light-weight items and make it go as far as you can – rice noodles are very light-weight, ramen, remove bulky packaging and put contents in a Ziploc bag to get net weight, etc. Bew mindful of weight when you do this or your donations will stay at home due to ridiculous cost of shipping when the post office tells you how bad it is. 

Another suggestions – take up a collection at work and ask your employer to spring for the shipping of what you collect to match your donation and make it a company effort – many will do so if asked – or ask your church or any corporate or charitable entity – and resist their suggestions to hand it to the Red Cross or any of these other bozos bewcause it will not go where you want it to go – just get a sponsor for shipping fees. Most employers have FedEx or UPS accounts and can put it on their tab. If you take shipping out of the equation, you can get a lot of stuff sent without the redundant high cost.

If you want to help please click HERE

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As Pressure In Reactor 3 Builds Again, Here Are The Downstream Effects From The Fukushima Catastrophe

As the world awakes, Japan discloses another round of good news/bad news about the Fukushima crisis. The good news: Reactors 5 and 6 went into stable condition on Sunday, after a successful cold shutdown, authorities said. The reactors at the power plant went into cold shutdown following restoration of cooling functions late Saturday. Alas, 5 and 6 were never the issue to begin with. The same came not be said about reactors 1 through 4, where the bad news comes from this morning. According to the Japan Times, a risky venting of Reactor 3, which saw its pressure rising yet again, was being considered, which would see another release of radioactive gas into the environment. “Pressure within the No. 3 reactor at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant was rising at one point and Tepco considered releasing more radioactive gas into the environment to avert serious damage to the containment vessel, the nuclear safety agency said Sunday afternoon. Tokyo Electric Power Co. had considered releasing the contaminated steam directly into the environment, not through a “suppression pool” as it did earlier in the crisis. The pressure needs to be lowered to protect the structural integrity of the reactor, and the first step is to open the valve on a pipe connected to the suppression pool. By going through the suppression pool, the reactor’s gas would liquefy and thus lower the pressure.” And here is where the recent Operation Irrigation is now backfiring: “But if the pool is already filled with water, a valve on the reactor itself would need to be opened and the radiation level of the released gas would be higher than with the first method, explained Hidehiko Nishiyama of the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency. “Without water, there would be more radioactive substances in the gas released into the environment.“” In other words, the attempt (which some say is futile) to fill the containment pool with water is about to lead to another round of irradiation of the environment. And while all that is going on, here is what the already certain chain of downstream events is going to look like for the region, for Japan, and for the world.

Read the full article HERE

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FOOD SUPPLY THREATENED AND MASSIVE MILITARY EVACUATION CONTINUE IN JAPAN

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyH26oLUQoU

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Workers on site have succeeded in increasing the stability of the Fukushima Daiichi reactor units. Pressure built up within unit 3 but a more significant venting now seems unnecessary.

External power has now been connected to unit 5 and 6, allowing them to use their residual heat removal systems and transfer heat to the sea. This is being used to cool the fuel ponds and bring the units towards cold shutdown status. Fuel pond temperatures have reduced from 68ºC to 43ºC at unit 5 and from 57ºC to 52ºC at unit 6, compared to normal operating temperatures of about 25ºC.

An extended operation to refill the fuel pond took place at unit 3, with the Hyper Rescue crew spraying for over 13 hours. Radiation levels 500 metres north of the reactor showed a decrease from 3.44 millisieverts per hour to 2.75 millisieverts per hour, indicating a measure of success in refilling the pond. A similar operation is planned for later today at unit 4 and the surface temperatures of the buildings appear to be below 100ºC.

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FIREFIGHTERS RESUME HOSING REACTOR NO. 3 AT FUKUSHIMA

The Tokyo Fire Department resumed high-pressure hosing of the Number 3 reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant at 9:30 PM on Sunday.

The operation is expected to continue for about 6 hours.

Water was discharged into the facility’s spent fuel-rod pool for 13-and-a-half hours until 3:40 AM on Sunday.

Sunday, March 20, 2011 20:48 +0900 (JST)

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