2012-01-22 16:41:31 – HAZMAT – Japan

About two liters of radioactive water leaked from the turbine building of the second reactor at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, reported on Sunday. TEPCO, which operates the nuclear plant, issued a statement on Saturday saying the leak was from a pipe there that transfers highly radioactive water in the basement of the No. 2 reactor’s turbine building to the plant’s waste disposal facility. The radiation level from the leak was low at 0.1 millisieverts per hour. A level of radiation at 500 millisieverts per hour may cause cancer, while an acute radiation sickness begins with a dose of 1 sievert and chronic radiation sickness – from 1.5 sievert. The company confirmed the water stopped leaking after it turned off the pump for the water transfer on the same day. The contaminated water did not leak outside the nuclear plant, the company said. A powerful earthquake and tsunami wrecked the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant’s cooling systems on March 11, 2011, causing meltdown at three of its reactors. Radiation leaked into the atmosphere, soil and seawater, causing the world’s worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. The Japanese Nuclear Safety Commission estimated the financial loss from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant disaster at $74 billion. The dismantlement of four reactor tanks will cost $14.9 billion and $52 billion will be spent on compensation, clean-up of radioactive soil and other measures.

Posted:2012-01-22 16:41:31 [UTC]

2012-01-22 16:32:35 – Vehicle Incident – Singapore

Seven passengers were treated for cuts and bruises after a Qantas Airways superjumbo hit severe turbulence en route from London to Singapore, the Australian airline said Sunday. The injuries are the latest blot on the airline’s record with the new Airbus A380. A Qantas A380 made an emergency landing in Singapore in 2010 after one of its engines disintegrated. In the latest incident, flight QF32 carrying 450 passengers struck turbulence in Indian airspace on Saturday three hours before it arrived in Singapore, Qantas spokeswoman Sophia Connolly said. “The seat belt sign had come on but some passengers were still moving back to their seats,” she said. She said seven passengers suffered minor cuts and bruises. Four were treated in a Singapore hospital and the others at a medical center. All have been discharged. The aircraft was cleared to fly after being assessed by engineers. The flight continued to Sydney on Sunday, 24 hours behind schedule.

Posted:2012-01-22 16:32:35 [UTC]

2012-01-22 04:54:38 – Hailstorm – USA

A roadway battered throughout the night by heavy rain collapsed and slid to a street below in the Oakland hills Saturday morning, forcing it to close indefinitely, a fire official said. No injuries were reported. Firefighters responding to an 8:55 a.m. call found about 50 feet of road gone at the intersection of Oakwood Drive and Wild Currant Way, near Snake Road, Battalion Chief Eleanor Bolin-Chew said. “The road will not reopen today,” Bolin-Chew said. Despite the slide, all neighborhood residents had vehicle access to their homes, fire officials said. Officials from Oakland Public Works, PG&E and the East Bay Municipal Utility District also were called to the scene, authorities said. In addition, 166 homes in the neighborhood were left without power due to outages. Nearly 60 homes lost power at 4:37 a.m. and another 158 residences had an outage at 7:04 a.m., PG&E spokeswoman Jana Morris said. Repair crews were working on restoring power to the neighborhood by at least early Saturday evening, Morris said. Since Friday, nearly 2,500 Oakland homes have experienced power outages, she said.

Posted:2012-01-22 04:54:38 [UTC]