Here is a simple way to clear up the flap over the earlier "false" reporting on whether or not TEPCO screwed up by releasing the figure of 1 sievert of radiation as emanating from the water pool at Reactor 2. From the IAEA: "As previously reported, three workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant were exposed on 24 March to elevated levels of radiation. The IAEA has received additional information on the incident from the Japanese authorities. For two of the three workers, significant skin contamination over their legs was confirmed. The Japanese authorities have stated that during medical examinations carried out at the National Institute of Radiological Sciences in the Chiba Prefecture, the level of local exposure to the workers’ legs was estimated to be between 2 and 6 sieverts. While the patients did not require medical treatment, doctors decided to keep them in hospital and monitor their progress over coming days." All that needs to be disclosed now is how long these workers were in the contaminated water for. If it was between 2 and 6 hours, and the cumulative exposure was 2 - 6 sieverts, it would be rather consistent with the reported record exposure of 1 sievert/hour. If it was shorter, and the upper estimate is correct, the exposure could be as high as 6 sieverts/hour, a figure, based on the prior methodology, about 60 million times higher than permitted.
And another tidbit that all the naysayers may have missed: per AP, while attempting to refute the earlier emissions reading,"officials acknowledged there was radioactive water in all four of the Fukushima Dai-ichi complex's most troubled reactors, and that airborne radiation in Unit 2 measured 1,000 millisieverts per hour, four times the limit deemed safe by the government." The revised reading is now only 100,000 times normal, so it is safe for everyone to get back in the pool. So let's see: the radioactivity in the water may not be 1 sievert/hour, but even per the amended release, the airborne radioactivity is 1 sievert.h-1? And this is supposed to be an improvement? Luckily, for now the winds are still blowing mostly away from the land. However, per meteorological forecasts, this will soon change. What happens when radiation in Tokyo spikes once again on Monday morning and how much longer can citizens in the capital exist based purely on the vagaries of wind direction?
