Japan update and packages

Japan update and Japanese packages Dr. Stuart B. Weiss   Information UPDATE March 17, 2011  SUBSCRIBE: Click button at bottom or send email to: sbw1@MedPrepGroup.com Quick update and an interesting question about packages from Tokyo I received an interesting question today about concerns employees in the US have when receiving packages from Tokyo. So I reached out to a reliable nuclear expert to find out if people should be concerned.     Current Situation summary: Problems continue at the Fukushima Daiichi facility. Restoration of electrical power to the site is still being worked on. Off-site electrical power has not been available at the site since the earthquake and Tsunami on March 11. Restoring electrical power to the water pumps would significantly help cool things down. Helicopters are being used to drop water onto the reactors and spent rod pools. One interesting item mentioned by the nuclear expert is that the explosions seen on television are not close to the pumps and valves and besides blowing the tin roof off the building might not have done much other damage. So if they can get the water flowing, things will improve. Here is additional information from the Nuclear Energy Institute for this morning: Reactor 1's primary containment is believed to be intact and the reactor is in a stable condition. Seawater injection into the reactor is continuing. Reactor 2 is in stable condition with seawater injection continuing. The reactor's primary containment may not have been breached, Tokyo Electric Power Co. and World Association of Nuclear Operators officials said on Thursday. Access problems at the site have delayed connection of a temporary cable to restore off-site electricity. The connection will provide power to the control rod drive pump, instrumentation, batteries and the control room. Power has not been available at the site since the earthquake on March 11. Reactor 3 is in stable condition with seawater injection continuing. The primary containment is believed to be intact. Pressure in the containment has fluctuated due to venting of the reactor containment structure. TEPCO officials say that although one side of the concrete wall of the fuel pool structure has collapsed, the steel liner of the pool remains intact, based on aerial photos of the reactor taken on March 17. The pool still has water providing some cooling for the fuel; however, helicopters dropped water on the reactor four times during the morning (Japan time) on March 17. Water also was sprayed at reactor 4 using high-pressure water cannons. [Reactor 4 was already shut down for maintenance prior to the earthquake]  Reactors 5 and 6 were both shut down before the quake occurred. Primary and secondary containments are intact at both reactors. Temperature instruments in the spent fuel pools at reactors 5 and 6 are operational, and temperatures are being maintained at about 62 degrees Celsius. TEPCO is continuing efforts to restore power at reactor 5.    ANALYSIS:    According to the expert I spoke with today, the cause of the increase in background radiation in Tokyo is thought to be from radioactive gases not particulate matter. Whatever particles have been released from the Fukushima plant would settle out on the ground long before reaching Tokyo. So there is no risk of being exposed to significant radiation from boxes or packages coming from Tokyo. Of course, if you are receiving packages from places closer to Fukushima, there is more risk of actual particles being in the box. ADVICE: So here is my advice to you at this point: Make sure that someone keeps watching this situation.  Assure employees that packages from Tokyo are safe at this time. Packages from areas closer to Fukushima are more significant. I have reached out to experts about these types of packages and what, if any, monitoring can be done to ensure safety. I'll send an update when/if I hear any definitive.       MedPrep Consulting Group is internationally recognized as a leader in pandemic, disaster and business continuity planning, training and exercising.     Stuart Weiss, MD, CBCP is the CEO of MedPrep Consulting Group. For more information, visit www.MedPrepGroup.com Stuart Weiss, MD, FACEP, CBCP MedPrep Consulting Group LLC 212-875-8888 sweiss@MedPrepGroup.com