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High Fukushima Radiation Levels

2/10/2017

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Just one week before some vacation time – this blog can provide some ideas for videos and class activities, take a look!
 

The book Chemistry on a Budget contains inexpensive chemistry labs that are useful with easy to obtain materials.
 
There are two versions of each lab, one with a ten-question conclusion and one with directions for a full lab report.  This way the teacher has the option!  Each lab is two pages to allow for one two-sided handout. 
 
You can buy this lab book for $23 at amazon.com or lulu.com. It will take 1-2 weeks to get to you --
Order Now.  It’s a great resource!
 
http://www.amazon.com/Chemistry-Budget-Marjorie-R-Heesemann/dp/0578129159/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1389410170&sr=1-1&keywords=chemistry+on+a+budget

http://www.lulu.com/shop/marjorie-r-heesemann/chemistry-on-a-budget/paperback/product-21217600.html
 
*Some of you have already purchased my lab book – be sure to check out Page 141 !
 
“The radiation level in the containment vessel of reactor 2 at the crippled Fukushima No. 1 power plant has reached a maximum of 530 sieverts per hour, the highest since the triple core meltdown in March 2011, Tokyo Electric Power Co. [Tepco]. Holdings Inc. said.

Tepco said on Thursday [2/2/2017] that the blazing radiation reading was taken near the entrance to the space just below the pressure vessel, which contains the reactor core.
The high figure indicates that some of the melted fuel that escaped the pressure vessel is nearby.”

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/02/03/national/fukushima-radiation-level-highest-since-march-11/#.WJei3H_GDjL
 
A sievert [Sv] is defined as “the standard unit in the
International System of Units (SI) of dose equivalent having the same biological effect as one joule of x-rays per kilogram of recipient mass”.
http://www.dictionary.com/browse/sievert
 
According to a 2/6/2017 article, “Tepco, however, is not willing to confirm the find just yet. 'It may have been caused by nuclear fuel that would have melted and made a hole in the vessel, but it is only a hypothesis at this stage,' Tepco spokesman Tatsuhiro Yamagishi tells
Agence France-Presse. 'We believe the captured images offer very useful information, but we still need to investigate given that it is very difficult to assume the actual condition inside.'

But exploring further may prove difficult. Examining the electronic noise caused by radiation in the images taken near the pressure vessel, Tepco analysts determined that the area is contaminated by 530 sieverts of radiation per hour. The previous high in the reactor was 73 sieverts recorded in 2012, reports
The Japan Times. Luckily, there is no indication that the radiation is leaking outside the reactor.
​
One sievert—the international measurement of radiation exposure—is enough to cause radiation sickness, infertility and cataracts. Exposure to 10 sieverts will lead to person’s death within weeks, reports McCurry. Tepco says that their estimate has a margin of error of 30 percent, but even then the radiation levels are off the charts. This does not, however, necessarily mean that radiation levels are increasing, notes
Safecast, an organization devoted to citizen science. Radiation has not previously been measured in this location.”
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/fukushima-reactor-shows-highest-radiation-level-initial-meltdown-180962050/
 
The article below contains a brief 48 second video of the robot exploration of the damaged reactor:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/02/08/japanese-nuclear-plant-just-recorded-an-astronomical-radiation-level-should-we-be-worried/?utm_term=.9a2c5be4a232
Also, a brief 54 second news segment follows describing the high cost of cleaning up this accident site, estimated at 20 trillion yen or $180 billion.
 

Past blog posts about Nuclear Chemistry and Nuclear Power include:
2/11/2015              Introduction to Nuclear Chemistry
02/18/2015            Nuclear Chemistry – Part II (Fission,
                                 Fusion & Half-Life)
08/06/2015            Post-Fukushima Restarts
10/30/2015            Current Event – Radioactive Waste
                                 from WWII
10/22/2015            The Future of Nuclear Fusion​
02/20/2016            Nuclear Waste and Lake Huron
03/26/2016            Nuclear Waste Storage
05/01/2016            30th Anniversary of Chernobyl  
07/31/2016            Cost of Nuclear Shutdown in Germany
08/07/2016            Debate about Nuclear Power
11/25/2016            Tsunami Near Fukushima
 

*This Blog contains several entries that would be helpful to your chemistry classroom.  Check out the Topic List to help you to find past Blog entries.
 
Also, 
Write To Me about your successes, challenges, or questions in the Chemistry Classroom.
 

Remember, buying a copy of the lab book Chemistry on a Budget can be very useful to your Chemistry classroom with labs and class article ideas.

Have a great weekend!
​
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    Marjorie R. Heesemann is a chemistry teacher with 15 years of experience who is now working to develop resources for the Chemistry classroom.

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