Japan Earthquake: Magnitude 7.0 Temblor Hits Off Japan's Pacific Island

TOKYO — A 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck under the sea south of Japan on Sunday, shaking buildings in the capital but causing no apparent damage or tsunami.

The quake struck near the uninhabited island of Torishima in the Pacific Ocean, about 600 kilometers (370 miles) south of Tokyo, and its epicenter was about 370 kilometers (230 miles) below the sea, the Meterological Agency said. It did not generate a tsunami.

Buildings in the Tokyo area shook, but no damage or injuries were reported. Express trains in northern and central Japan were suspended temporarily for safety checks but later resumed.

No abnormalities were reported at power plants, including the crippled nuclear power plant in northeast Japan hit by the March earthquake and tsunami, public broadcaster NHK reported.

A massive earthquake and tsunami March 11 left nearly 20,000 people dead or missing. Japan, which lies along the Pacific "Ring of Fire," is one of the world's most seismically active countries.

Comments

[rtgmath]

10:25 AM on 02/01/2012

Japan will be learning to build with a view to surviving earthquakes. Look for good technological developments there in the next few years. I would also expect that work is being done on a survivable nuclear power plant with multiple cooling systems and unique characteristics. It isn't the best option, but renewable energy is harder for a country as small as Japan to use in its current development.

Japan has too small an area to use renewable fuels. Solar technology could easily break under the stress of an earthquake. The systems they produce to make electricity and utilities safe and available will be important. We in the United States could help -- if the focus is on renewable energies. However we help the Japanese in this area we will be helping ourselves.

We need smaller, cheaper, and more powerful battery technology. There are advances in solar energy that produce efficiencies much greater than before. Fuel cell advances are being made.

Japan's earthquake demonstrates the dangers with large pipelines of oil and gas. The proposed pipeline from Canada not only crosses a major fault zone, but also a major river. A break at any juncture would be very bad. But a break on the river would wind up sending oil and tar all the way to the Gulf of Mexico by way of the Mississippi River. If the Oil Sands pipeline is to be built, it needs to be built with survivable technologies. Right now, that isn't the case.

[professor]

12:45 AM on 02/01/2012

Not one relevant post from the Pompom Brigade on a page full of new and disquieting truths.

[WeMustDoBetter09]

08:27 AM on 01/05/2012

Japan Times: Alarming gov’t report discussed ‘Tokyo Exodus’, collapse of Spent Fuel Pool 4 as rods melted through concrete walls
In interviews with the media, [Former Prime Minister Naoto] Kan said he was particularly scared in the first week of the crisis because he had to entertain the possibility of evacuating the capital, without elaborating further
Alarming 20-page report was written up by commission Chairman Shunsuke Kondo
Kondo drafted the report after Kan asked him for a “worst-case situation”
Kondo emphasized that the scenario was based on extreme conditions and was not very realistic
The report uses the same evacuation protocols adopted during the 1986 Chernobyl accident
Areas 250 km away — including central Tokyo — could have been tainted by radiation and require the government to assist those electing to voluntarily migrate away
Scenario is based on the assumption that another hydrogen explosion would have further damaged reactor 1, releasing more radioactive fallout into the environment and forcing the entire plant to evacuate
With no workers to control the situation, the cooling systems at reactors 1, 2 and 3 would be lost and the spent-fuel pool in reactor 4 would collapse as the rods melted through its concrete walls, the report said
http://enenews.com/japan-times-alarming-govt-report-discussed-tokyo-exodus-collapse-spent-fuel-pool-4-rods-melted-concrete-walls

[WeMustDoBetter09]

08:17 AM on 01/05/2012

Breaking news : Shallow M4.2 earthquake right under Fukushima plants
http://fukushima-diary.com/2012/01/breaking-news-shallow-earthquake-right-under-fukushima-plants/#.TwWdWU8YTuY.twitter
The epicenter is Fukushima Nakadori, where Fukushima plants are located.

It’s shallower than 10km.No information about the plant is announced yet.

JNN Fukushima live camera got down immediately after the quake.

[Atoms4Peace1]

04:11 PM on 01/06/2012

I can generate a 4.2 every time I flush the toilet.

[WeMustDoBetter09]

08:16 PM on 01/04/2012

As radiation fears persist, ties unravel in society
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/social_affairs/AJ201201040042?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed
A Exodus of Japanese people soon I'm afraid.

[Atoms4Peace1]

05:03 PM on 01/05/2012

Why is there fear of radiation? Its a natural part of life.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/reaction/interact/facts.html

[Genders]

11:56 PM on 01/29/2012

Not this kind of radiation, and you know it.

[outnow]

12:33 PM on 01/04/2012

Seals and walruses in Alaska are doing poorly. Polar bears, and formerly, Alaskan Native populations, rely on seals for food. These marine animals are at the top of the food chain. Bio-accumulation of mercury and radioactive substances could weaken immunity as waters warm in the arctic, a natural phenomenon observed every 100 thousand years, or so in the immediate past million years.

Acidification of oceans DOES happen. There can be question about climate change - and causes thereof, but not about acidification of oceans. That's certainly and exclusively from carbon-based energy by human populations. The cycles of the ice ages are well established. If we are in an interglacial period, that would explain a gradual warming, with climate change, aggravated by CO2 and methane.

Asuming that waters are warmer, chemicals and radioactivity levels increase, with acidification, it is predicted that weakened immunity in marine mammals would invite new disease, and that we ourselves will be scheduled for extinction through vast biological changes, in part caused by our lack of foresight and over-population and demographic factors constantly upping demand for resources.

If sea weed is radioactive, rice is radioactive, milk is radioactive, and mercury is dumped into the oceans and comes down in acid rain as the climate warms, what else would anyone expect?

[WeMustDoBetter09]

01:23 PM on 01/04/2012

Come talk to people Outnow!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/04/japans-prime-minister-yoshihiko-noda-fukushima_n_1182671.html

[Atoms4Peace1]

05:04 PM on 01/05/2012

Times are tough all over. The world wide economy slump might also trickle into the ecosystem. Polar bears have to cut back to 3 seals a day.

[WeMustDoBetter09]

11:55 AM on 01/04/2012

To Anyone that remembered that lady gaga went to japan one month after the incident:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/news/lady-gaga-left-blood-in-hotel-bath-6284380.html

Lady Gaga allegedly left “large amounts of blood” in a hotel bath. The eccentric singer reportedly shocked staff when she checked out of London’s lavish Intercontinental Hotel last summer and they discovered a pool of red liquid in the tub of her suite.

Also a pneumonia outbreak in norway:
http://theforeigner.no/pages/news/norway-sees-rise-in-pneumonia/

An increasing number of people in Norway are developing an atypical form of pneumonia, the Institute of Public Health says.

Note:
Same place (Norway) had a mass fish die off just yesterday…

Mass fish die-off reported at Kvaenes beach, Norway
BY CHILLYMANJARO – JANUARY 3, 2012
http://thewatchers.adorraeli.com/2012/01/03/mass-fish-die-off-at-kvaenes-beachnorway/

food for thought.

[Atoms4Peace1]

05:06 PM on 01/05/2012

So blame everything on Fukushima?

There are more things on this planet that harm people than trace amounts of isotopes floating around.

Prove GaGa's ailment is from Fukushima. Since you brought it up, the onus is on you to prove it.

The problem with all this "news" is that there is no causality or tie to Fukushima.

[Genders]

11:57 PM on 01/29/2012

Prove it's not. you nukeies expose people, and people die, but you deny responsibility....

[WeMustDoBetter09]

10:33 AM on 01/04/2012

Jan 4, 2012 Japan Nuclear Safety Commisson Accepted Money from Nuclear Industry
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeIyf8HYttg

Just when we thought all the dirt had been exposed, more dirt comes out from the carpet. It seems that members of the Japan Nuclear Safety Commission accept large so-called donations from companies in the nuclear industry.

[outnow]

11:36 AM on 01/04/2012

85 million yen speaks volumes. Corporations do not give money away without benefit to shareholders. One dollar, one vote.

[Atoms4Peace1]

05:07 PM on 01/05/2012

Maybe they should have a "Pay Pay donate to me" button on their site.

I am wondering who really does make money from their web sites.

I know Louis CK made a bundle.

There might be profit in whipping up a scare site.

[WeMustDoBetter09]

09:38 AM on 01/04/2012

Japan Experts: Unknown if radiation will decrease — May rise again as highly contaminated debris comes from mountains
“In the case of the Chernobyl accident, (1 kg) of mushrooms from Belarus failed to clear EU Customs in November because the radioactive cesium level was 834 becquerels. Even 25 years after the accident, this is the reality”
“So (we) should realize (food) contamination will continue for a long time in Japan”
http://enenews.com/japan-experts-unknown-radiation-will-decrease-rise-again-highly-contaminated-debris-comes-mountains

EVACUATE JAPAN TODAY!!!

[Atoms4Peace1]

10:26 AM on 01/04/2012

I dont believe rash statements such as "Evacuate Japan Today" serves any purpose.

Although I do admire your enthusiasm and passion, misguided as it is, the real danger to the Japanese is misinformation. Plain and simple.

[WeMustDoBetter09]

08:45 AM on 01/04/2012

In South Korea an english-speaking man — using the name joytek — bought Korean seaweed that his Geiger counter detected as radioactive. He just put two videos in English about it on Vimeo.

The seaweed is called “East coast” brand kelp and is still in the factory sealed packaging in the first video, in which it gives a top reading of about 0.76 microSv/hr. An Inspector Alert pancake GM geiger counter has been used for the tests:
http://enenews.com/videos-south-korea-20-microsvhr-tissue-wipe-car-hood-076-microsvhr-korean-seaweed

[WeMustDoBetter09]

09:17 AM on 01/04/2012

David Ritchie says : “I keep thinking about my Korean friends … especially, their diet.
Koreans love their kimpap — rolls of rice and vegetables wrapped in seaweed. Kimpap is everywhere.
How many tons of seaweed get eaten in kimpap each day? I can’t guess.
Nor can I estimate how much radioactivity Koreans (and expats here) are soaking up from food and the environment.
So, I placed an advertisement, asking anyone with current radioactivity readings from Korea to contact me by email.
No replies yet, but I’ll keep you posted.”
https://thebrinydeep.wordpress.com/2012/01/04/how-hot-is-your-kimpap/

[WeMustDoBetter09]

08:22 AM on 01/04/2012

In the post-Fukushima era, Japan is the “canary in the coal mine” for the rest of the world.
Japan’s Tipping Point is a small book on a huge topic.
http://markpendergrast.com/japans-tipping-point
Canary in the nuclear industry. Shut them all down!

[Atoms4Peace1]

05:08 PM on 01/05/2012

Malcolm Gladwell should sue.

[WeMustDoBetter09]

08:04 AM on 01/04/2012

AP: Local Alaska officials concerned Fukushima radiation sickened seals — “There may be some surprises” says prof… But “gut feeling” not connected
WTH?
Kelly may want to reconsider some of his statements. According to EPA data, Alaska had the highest radiation levels in the United States. See: Alaska registers highest radiation in US after Fukushima
http://enenews.com/anaheim-ca-has-highest-amount-of-radioactive-fallout-of-any-epa-air-monitoring-station-in-continental-u-s

[WeMustDoBetter09]

08:56 AM on 01/04/2012

The newspaper story linked to in “Alaska registers highest radiation in US after Fukushima” has been scrubbed from the website.

But they have a story,

KODIAK — Unalaska-Dutch Harbor tops the port rankings for most tonnage of seafood landings. KMXT radio reported Dutch Harbor had 515.2 million pounds of fish in 2010 to lead last year’s port rankings from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/09/07/1813866/dutch-harbor-tops-nation-in-seafood.html#storylink=misearch#storylink=cpy

That is, the port with the largest amount of fish catch, also had the highest radiation measured in the US. Think about that next time you buy fish at the grocery store.

[WeMustDoBetter09]

07:59 AM on 01/04/2012

1/4 Breaking news : 8400 Bq/Kg of lead-210 was measured from sample of Yokohama
http://fukushima-diary.com/2012/01/breaking-news-8400-bqkg-of-lead-210-was-measured-from-sample-of-yokohama/#.TwRHwMg9rR0.twitter
LEAD-210?!
Dr C.Busby:

"The Lead 210 concentration of 8400Bq/kg is very interesting and was unexpected. Should not be more than about 20Bq/kg.

If that is a correct assignment, I believe it shows that there was a lot of Lead 210 emitted from the plant. That is a dangerous nuclide that NO ONE has ever associated with releases from nuclear plants as far as i know, though there must be loads of it in the plant when you think about it as it is the decay product of the U-238 series and the plant runs on uranium. Lead has a very low boiling point, hence its appearance in the fallout. Ill have a look at the other samples from Fukushima.

[WeMustDoBetter09]

08:10 AM on 01/04/2012

Note that statement: Never before associated from Nuclear Plants. Might as well add it to all the other....

NUCLEAR POISONS
They continue to accumulate:
too much, too fast, too hot to handle,
insidious and deadly,
lasting forever.
http://www.allthingspass.com/uploads/html-7nuclearposion%5B2%5D.htm

[No Dogma Freedom]

02:25 AM on 01/04/2012

------>Sustaining the Earth

1) We know the Germans are living the Nuke game for reasons of logic and truth.

--->>>Germany pledges nuclear shutdown by 2022
Germany's ruling coalition says that it has agreed to shut down of all of its nuclear power plants by 2022

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/30/germany-pledges-nuclear-shutdown-2022

The German's are going to:

1) Smart Homes
2) Solar
3) Wind
4) Tide
5) Green cities
6) Better mass transport
7) High end filters for any coal burning
8) strick environmental standars
9) High new tech= solar paint and power towers and more

Rocky Mountain Institute - renewable energy and ---energy efficiency!
http://www.rmi.org/

Nuclear is not about sustaining the earth: it is about consumption and profit and war: nuclear power is the mother of nuclear bombs and bullets

There is another way!

Or you can have this for the human race and even 1 child is too much!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvAJ_u3Q0Hw

[WeMustDoBetter09]

07:54 AM on 01/04/2012

Germany. Smart country moving away from Nuclear Power.
What in the hell is wrong with US?
FAVED

[Atoms4Peace1]

05:08 PM on 01/05/2012

We are smart. Germany is dumb.

[mdinoregon]

09:23 PM on 01/03/2012

http://www.adn.com/2012/01/03/2244262/sick-alaska-seals-will-be-tested.html

The university only recently received tissue samples from seals, and it will take a few weeks to prepare for an analysis in the university's gamma ray spectroscopy laboratory built through a U.S. Department of Energy project.

Full spectro should tell, and quantify, Everything in those tissues, including strontium, plutonium, cesium.....will be interesting.

[outnow]

09:35 PM on 01/03/2012

Sea mammals just might be the canaries in the meltdown (didn't want to say coal mine). What we see with sea mammals we will see with humans.

[Atoms4Peace1]

11:48 PM on 01/03/2012

They will find no direct evidence linking them to Fukushima. What they might find is mercury poisoning.

Ask Jeremy Piven.

[maslin]

11:51 PM on 01/03/2012

' (didn't want to say coal mine).'

Why not?

[The Rad Rider]

11:33 AM on 01/09/2012

The presence of external contamination can be rapidly confirmed or denied by swabbing the exterior and checking the swabs with a meter.

A rapid method to test for the presence of internal contamination can be accomplished by scanning the stomach and intestinal contents.

The results of both of these scans can be obtained in a matter of minutes after discovery of a sick or dead animal.

The delay in releasing the results from these preliminary tests is not acceptable in a free society with free and unhindered news outlets. Independent examinations and tests can be easily performed by anyone that has a meter and access to a suspect animal.

It appears that ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC and the rest are not nearly as interested in discovering the truth as they are in selling us a story.

The Rad Rider

[Genders]

12:01 AM on 01/30/2012

False. absorbed internal isotopes will not show in any test but complete dissection and layer by layer testing, and you know it.

[Genders]

10:21 PM on 02/01/2012

Oh, I'm sorry, you are special, aren't you? sorry, Alpha radiation is radiation, ionizing radiation and you cannot sense it though a piece of paper.

Sorry, you failed the test, but not everyone was meant to be smart....