Fukushima Reaches INES Level 7

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**ChrisWWII**

http://enenews.com/japan-officially-raises-fukushima-to-level-7-same-as-chernobyl-translation

For a series of accidents happening at TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency of the Ministry of Economy, which released large amounts of radioactive substances that affect human health and the environment in a wide range As an assessment based on international standards of the accident, the worst “level seven” decided to raise. “Level 7″ is the same as the evaluation occurred in the Soviet Chernobyl disaster. Nuclear Safety Agency, 12, held a press conference with the Nuclear Safety Commission has decided to publish the contents of the evaluation. …

*

The Japanese government’s nuclear safety agency has decided to raise the crisis level of the Fukushima Daiichi power plant accident from 5 to 7, the worst on the international scale

The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency made the decision on Monday. It says the damaged facilities have been releasing a massive amount of radioactive substances, which are posing a threat to human health and the environment over a wide area. …

Level 7 has formerly only been applied to the Chernobyl accident in the former Soviet Union in 1986 when hundreds of thousands of terabecquerels of radioactive iodine-131 were released into the air. One terabecquerel is one trillion becquerels.

The agency believes the cumulative amount from the Fukushima plant is less than that from Chernobyl. …

*

For scale

*These are documents in Japanese run through google translate, the original Japanese documents are available if you would like to read them.

**dogma**

As I understand it the determination was made retroactively regarding emissions that occurred before, and not based on current emissions.

**ChrisWWII**

Hmmm, that does make sense overall.

**Khornholio**

And dudes, would you believe the earthquakes have picked up again?! We had two today and a big one yesterday. I reckon Fukushima and Miyagi and going to sink into the ocean here pretty soon.

Good thing my religious views forbid me from panicking.

**filbert**

Isn't Japan quite precariously balanced in terms of seismic activity? I know that Bill Bryson described Tokyo as a 'city waiting to die' in one of his travel books. I have to admit, I would be out of there like a flash if it was me.

**juraigamer**

Isn't it still at level 5 by some other, wider standard?

**Lord Scythican**

It is at level 7, the same as Chernobyl but that is only because the scale only goes up to 7. Fukushima is at about 10% of what Chernobyl was. Its bad, but not Chernobyl bad.

**Kilkrazy**

The standard I am going by is this one...

http://park30.wakwak.com/~weather/geiger_index.html

Over the past month the radiation level has risen from 14 CPM to about 24 and slid back down to 16-ish at the moment.

**Lord Scythican**

Kilkrazy wrote:The standard I am going by is this one...

http://park30.wakwak.com/~weather/geiger_index.html

Over the past month the radiation level has risen from 14 CPM to about 24 and slid back down to 16-ish at the moment.

Exactly. Wasn't Chernobyl's around 125 CPM? People are saying this is as bad as Chernobyl. It is bad, very bad but don't let the INES level of 7 make you think that there is no hope.

**Khornholio**

Now some sectors of the economy are really taking it in the duff. A few of my fisherman buddies have been out of work basically for the last month. First, it was the threat of tsunami, now there is that and the fact that most people aren't down with radio active fish.

As for radiation around here, according to the geiger counter in Chiba everything is within 'normal' limits. It's just the constant earthquakes that are getting to be unnerving. Seriously, I'm expecting the earth to rupture open up there and spew out hot liquid magma.

Remember to say "Magma" in your best Dr.Evil voice.

**Kilkrazy**

Lord Scythican wrote:
Kilkrazy wrote:The standard I am going by is this one...

http://park30.wakwak.com/~weather/geiger_index.html

Over the past month the radiation level has risen from 14 CPM to about 24 and slid back down to 16-ish at the moment.

Exactly. Wasn't Chernobyl's around 125 CPM? People are saying this is as bad as Chernobyl. It is bad, very bad but don't let the INES level of 7 make you think that there is no hope.

Chernobyl was much higher.

125cpm is a bit above 1 microSievert per hour, which would give you a dose of 8.76 milliSieverts per year.

The annual exposure of aircrew flying the London to Tokyo or New York to Tokyo route is about 9 milliSieverts per year.

In other words, negligible.

**ChrisWWII**

I find this chart puts things in perspective nicely.