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Comment by hartror | Hacker News Reader

False attention grabbing title.

They have not abandoned it, they said in the press conference just passed that they had suspended operations due to a radiation peak but they expected to resume again without much delay.

Edit: The workers have returned http://roound.com/redalert

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The on-site workers have left, those who were basically right next to the reactor. There is no indication in any article I have read that they will soon return, only plans of helicopter based fire-fighting or other options.

They ruled out using helicopters as anything but a last resort in the press conference. They said it was too risky to dump lots of water on the already fragile reactors.

via @W7VOA

"S. Korea to ship boric acid to help Japan stabilize nuclear reactors."

You don't need a helicopter to deliver boric acid into the reactors.

But you need tons of additional water if you deliver it with a helicopter.

And it would seem they have decided to take the risk. NHK reporting Japan self-defense forces are preparing to pour water on Daiichi No. 3 reactor from helicopter.

The entire article didn't mention any kind of expectation for resuming operations, and you are doubting the Associated Press here, not Gizmodo. Can you cite the rest? So far, I can only find this AP story.

BBC reports a suspension http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12755739

BBC also reported 1,000 mSv measured at the plant. Pretty sure they got that wrong too.

The AP reported that figure as well in the linked article.

That can't possibly be right, can it?

It would certainly explain the evacuation.

Edano said "1,000 milli-Sieverts" had been measured last night, but that it was down to under 800 now, and that at the gate the measurements were now in the milli- range as well (hence the evacuation).

TEPCO is not exactly being forthcoming about Dai-ichi, but they're being really proactive in telling us the same exact thing about Daini every hour: http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/index-e.htm...

Actually the BBC does seem wrong in that it is reporting 1000 millisieverts rather than microsieverts.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12755739

^ 1:20 in the video. Milli. Not micro.

Those are Edano's words, not the BBC's. I was told above that he was corrected by another person and that various translations have it as a different figure, but that isn't in the linked video.

He misspoke. NHK correcting this now. micro is correct; NOT milli

I haven't heard anything about 1000 mSv at all. I've been watching/listening to: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nhk-world-tv

(According to the IAEA) There was one measurement of 400mSv between reactors 3 and 4 [1], I think which actually occurred sometime on monday GMT (possibly Tuesday morning in Japan), which prompted the evacuation. It fell again, which probably prompted the authorities to allow workers back in.

The 1000mSv figure is most likely a misreporting of the transient 1008 or 1080uSv (I recall it had an 8 in it) measurement reported over the weekend, or some subsequent measurement... there have been lots in and around the plant that have been on the order of 1000uSv.

I really wish everyone in the media speaking about the nuclear crisis would timestamp their comments accurately, ideally in GMT. People all around the world are trying to follow events, and it's nearly impossible to know when some reporter says something about an event whether they're using Japanese time, their local time, or GMT.

[1] http://www.facebook.com/notes/international-atomic-energy-ag...

It was just announced in a press conference that I caught live on NHK that they were planning on resuming operations shortly.

The AP article seems to have been written prior to this conference.

Which is exactly what I refered to in my post. sigh

I think everyone (including myself) was reacting to your claim it was a false attention grabbing title. Regardless of that, looks like broken telephone, best source might be to watch NHK broadcasts directly as you did (CNN seems to be translating it live?). The HTML-news sources didn't note the further detail then, maybe they have now.

EDIT: Ah, NHK is providing the translation and stream. http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nhk-world-tv

EDIT 2: Apparently they've been ordered back now. http://roound.com/redalert

EDIT 3: Or not, no-one else is confirming.

"2:53 PM - Workers ordered to leave the Fukushima plant have been allowed back after radiation levels fell, the Japan nuclear agency said.

Pumping of seawater at reactors at No. 1, 2 and 3 was proceeding smoothly, it said.

(Reuters)"

http://www.abc.net.au/news/events/japan-quake-2011/#entry-6a...

Thou shalt not doubt The Associated Press. Unbelievable.

Kyodo News reported that staff had vacated the control room due to high levels of radioactivity. If that is not "abandoning" then it is pretty close to it.

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/03/15/japan-quake-live-blog-f... (scroll down or search for "control" in the postings)

The problem people seem to have is that "abandon" implies "everyone has left and no-one will ever come back", and that the plant will be left, unattended, to its fate. While various articles seem to actually be saying "people left temporarily, but will be coming back" and that efforts will continue to deal with the problem.

I'd argue that is splitting hairs. What will magically lower the radiation when the workers leave?

They can't drop boric acid and water on the half-melted reactors from helicopters for fear of rupturing them further, the control systems are no longer effective, and pumping in seawater hasn't worked too well so far.

<i>What will magically lower the radiation when the workers leave?</i>

Time.

Wind.

Right. Most of the radiologicals that have been released with the steam have very short half lives so the radiation levels drop rapidly (relatively speaking).

I would point out that the dangerous stuff that is there is iodine(-131 IIRC) with a half life of 8 days and since it can give you thyroid cancer it is not "safe" until it virtually is gone at 80 days; and cesium-137 with a half life of 30 years, a gram of which can kill you.

I agree the word "abandon" sounds too final. It sounds like they've given up on it which is not true. I think a non-sensationalist headline would say workers have "pulled away".

CNN actually sent out breaking news alerts for both. Silly.

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