Sakurajima volcano: chance of large eruption 'extremely high'
Japan raises eruption warning for southern volcano to second-highest level and tells thousands of residents to prepare for a possible evacuation.
Japan’s weather agency on Saturday told thousands of residents near a southern city to prepare for a possible evacuation as it upgraded a volcanic eruption warning.
Officials raised their alert to its second-highest level after picking up increasing seismic activity around the volcano Sakurajima, which sits just off the coast of Kagoshima, a city of more than 600,000 people.
Activity has spiked since Saturday morning, they said.Sakurajima, a mountain on the southern island of Kyushu, is one of Japan's most active volcanoes and erupts almost constantly.
The last major eruption at the 1,117 metre high Sakurajima – a popular tourist attraction – was in 2013 when it spewed ash as far as Kagoshima and sent rocks flying into populated areas, causing damage but no major injuries.
The volcano is about 50 kilometres (31 miles) from a nuclear reactor that was switched on this week, as Japan restarted its nuclear power programme following the 2011 Fukushima crisis.
Kyushu Electric Power, the operator of the Sendai plant, said it had restarted one of the facility’s two reactors on Tuesday morning, in defiance of strong local opposition.
SENDAI IS THE FIRST FACILITY TO BE RESTARTED SINCE THE FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI #1 DISASTER IN 2011.
JAPANESE ECONOMY TRUMPS THE SAFETY OF THE PEOPLE
In an attempt to keep Japan’s fledgling economic recovery on track, the prime minister, Shinzo Abe, has pushed for a return to nuclear power generation in spite of opinion polls showing that most voters oppose restarts.
In an attempt to keep Japan’s fledgling economic recovery on track, the prime minister, Shinzo Abe, has pushed for a return to nuclear power generation in spite of opinion polls showing that most voters oppose restarts.
Abe has warned that Japan cannot afford to continue importing huge quantities of oil and natural gas, while the growing reliance on thermal power generation has stalled Japan’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Japan’s powerful pro-nuclear lobby is hoping a safe restart at Sendai, about 1,000km south of Tokyo, will help the public overcome the trauma caused by the Fukushima meltdown.
“There are very strong vested interests to reopen nuclear reactors. Accepting them as permanently closed would have financial implications that would be hard to manage,” Tomas Kaberger, chairman of the Japan Renewable Energy Foundation, told Associated Press.
Sendai is also threatened by SEVERAL other volcanoes.
Critics have long pointed out that the plant is also located near FIVE giant calderas, with the closest one some 40 km (24.8 MILES) away."
[NOTE: REUTERS MAY BE MISTAKEN ON THE ABOVE. NINE VOLCANOES ARE LISTED AS BEING KYUSHU VOLCANOES, BUT SEVERAL OF THOSE 9 ARE ACTUALLY "SETS" OF VOLCANOES... CALDERAS, STRATOVOLCANOES, SHIELD VOLCANOES, MAARS VOLCANOES, AND LAVA DOMES.
[NOTE: REUTERS MAY BE MISTAKEN ON THE ABOVE. NINE VOLCANOES ARE LISTED AS BEING KYUSHU VOLCANOES, BUT SEVERAL OF THOSE 9 ARE ACTUALLY "SETS" OF VOLCANOES... CALDERAS, STRATOVOLCANOES, SHIELD VOLCANOES, MAARS VOLCANOES, AND LAVA DOMES.
THOSE NINE ARE:
1~Ibusuku, Still listed as active though the last eruption was 2600 years ago.
2~Sakurajima, the one threatening to erupt again.
3~Sumiyoshi-ike, no explosions in almost 6500 years.
4~Kirishima, one of Japan's most active volcanoes. It is actually a group of 18 young, small stratovolcanoes north of Kagoshima Bay. A violent eruption started at Kirishima on January 26, 2011, the largest one for more than 50 years. Feb, 2011, Explosions continued. March 13, 2011, 2 days after the Daiichi disaster, Kirishima exploded violently. Activity in the recent epoch has been more explosive and concentrated in the southeastern part of the complex which focused attention on the potential hazards of a volcanic eruption towards the Sendai nuclear power plant, less than 40km away. July 30, 2012 to Dec. 2012. High alert level.
January, 2014, high alert level, lowered by Jan. 22.
2~Sakurajima, the one threatening to erupt again.
3~Sumiyoshi-ike, no explosions in almost 6500 years.
4~Kirishima, one of Japan's most active volcanoes. It is actually a group of 18 young, small stratovolcanoes north of Kagoshima Bay. A violent eruption started at Kirishima on January 26, 2011, the largest one for more than 50 years. Feb, 2011, Explosions continued. March 13, 2011, 2 days after the Daiichi disaster, Kirishima exploded violently. Activity in the recent epoch has been more explosive and concentrated in the southeastern part of the complex which focused attention on the potential hazards of a volcanic eruption towards the Sendai nuclear power plant, less than 40km away. July 30, 2012 to Dec. 2012. High alert level.
January, 2014, high alert level, lowered by Jan. 22.
5~Unzen, one of Japan's most active and dangerous volcanoes. The last eruptions of the volcano were from 1990 to 1995. The largest eruption in this period occurred on June 3, 1991, when a pyroclastic flow that reached 4.5 kilometres distance from the crater killed 43 people including the famous French volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft.
6~Aso, extremely active, ash-spewing frequently.
7~Kuju, The Kuju volcano group consists of 16 andesitic lava domes, 5 andesitic stratovolcanoes, and 1 basaltic cone. These lie in the northeastern corner of the large Aso caldera. Explosions in 1995-1996 were phreatic or hydrothermal explosions. Recent studies suggest that Kuju should be considered one of the more hazardous volcanoes in Japan because of its history of producing pyroclastic flows from lava dome collapse. Kuju volcano has had a near constant eruption rate
8~ Fukue-jima, a group of basaltic shield volcanoes and cinder cones. Considered to be active.
8~ Fukue-jima, a group of basaltic shield volcanoes and cinder cones. Considered to be active.
9~Tsurumi , relatively dormant
IS IT ANY WONDER, KNOWING THIS, THAT ACTIVISTS AND LOCAL PEOPLE ARE AGAINST RESTARTING SENDAI?
AND NOW, BECAUSE OF THE NEWS REPORTS ABOUT THE HAZARDS OF ASH FALLING ON A NUCLEAR POWER PLANT AND THE TIGHTER REGULATIONS, THEY ALSO KNOW NOTHING, NO PLAN IS IN PLACE TO SAFEGUARD THEM.
AND NOW, BECAUSE OF THE NEWS REPORTS ABOUT THE HAZARDS OF ASH FALLING ON A NUCLEAR POWER PLANT AND THE TIGHTER REGULATIONS, THEY ALSO KNOW NOTHING, NO PLAN IS IN PLACE TO SAFEGUARD THEM.
"The Aso-4 eruption, produced more than 600 cu kilometers of airfall tephra and pyroclastic-flow deposits. A group of 17 central cones was constructed in the middle of the caldera, one of which, Naka-dake, is one of Japan's most active volcanoes.
Historical eruptions have largely consisted of basaltic to basaltic-andesite ash emission with periodic strombolian and phreatomagmatic activity. "
WHY DOES THIS MATTER TO SENDAI FACILITY?
VOLCANIC ASH SHUTS DOWN EVERYTHING, THAT'S WHY.
"The new safety standards require electric power companies to consider possible influences from volcanoes located within a radius of 160 kilometers from nuclear power plants. Therefore, Kyushu Electric examined the effects of eruptions from 39 volcanoes.
As a result, it concluded that it is sufficient to take measures based on the assumption that ash from Sakurajima volcano in Kagoshima Prefecture would accumulate in the compound of the Sendai nuclear power plant to a height of up to 15 centimeters.
The influences from these mid-scale eruptions must be fully examined as realistic threats.
To tell the truth, it is the first time that Japan has seriously evaluated the safety of nuclear power plants from the standpoint of the danger posed by volcanoes.
(THE FIRST TIME? IMAGINE THAT, IF YOU CAN!)
(THE FIRST TIME? IMAGINE THAT, IF YOU CAN!)
If those nuclear plants are destroyed, however, radioactive materials will continue to be scattered throughout the world."
LIKE FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI?
LIKE FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI?
THE "REALISTIC THREATS" ARE THESE:
The ash ALONE can quickly shut down machinery, block filters, stop the intake of necessary cooling water, collapse roofs, just to Name a few possibilities.
The ash ALONE can quickly shut down machinery, block filters, stop the intake of necessary cooling water, collapse roofs, just to Name a few possibilities.
IT ISN'T JUST ASH.
FROM OUR OWN U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, GEOLOGICAL SURVEY ON THE HAZARDS OF VOLCANOES NEAR A NUCLEAR SITE:
FROM OUR OWN U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, GEOLOGICAL SURVEY ON THE HAZARDS OF VOLCANOES NEAR A NUCLEAR SITE:
Flowage phenomena:
Debris avalanches, Pyroclastic flows, Pyroclastic surges, Volcanic blasts, Lava flows, Lava domes, Lahars, Floods, Tephra, Emission of volcanic gases.
Most flowage events extend no more than a few tens of
kilometers from a volcano, although the largest known debris
avalanches and pyroclastic flows from Cascade volcanoes have
reached at least 60 km down valleys. Lahars and related floods
commonly extend to distances greater than 50 km, and some have
exceeded 100 km.
exceeded 100 km.
THINK ABOUT ALL OF THE ABOVE HAZARDS FACING ANY JAPANESE NUCLEAR FACILITY.
THINK ABOUT DAIICHI.
THINK ABOUT DAIICHI.
Still, the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) has said the chance of major volcanic activity during the lifespan of the Sendai plant is negligible.
["NEGLIGIBLE? Really? Did they fail to read about all those recent eruptions, and/or ongoing ash plumes?]
Two years ago, Sakurajima shot ash some 5,000 meters into the air.
Japan lies on the "Ring of Fire" - a horseshoe-shaped band of fault lines and volcanoes around the edges of the Pacific Ocean - and is home to more than 100 active volcanoes. "
[NOTE: Japan has a notorious earthquake history. About 1,500 earthquakes strike the island nation EACH YEAR. A tremor occurs in Japan at least every five minutes.
Of course this keeps Japan on alert for tsunamis. Add to that the typhoons that sweep over the island nation each year and it is little wonder that scientists and nuclear engineers have said Japan is no safe place for a nuclear power plant.
[NOTE: Japan has a notorious earthquake history. About 1,500 earthquakes strike the island nation EACH YEAR. A tremor occurs in Japan at least every five minutes.
Of course this keeps Japan on alert for tsunamis. Add to that the typhoons that sweep over the island nation each year and it is little wonder that scientists and nuclear engineers have said Japan is no safe place for a nuclear power plant.
On average 10.3 typhoons a year approach within 300 kilometers of the coast of Japan. Years in which 12 or more strike this areas are known as years with many typhoons. Years with eight or less are known as having “few” typhoons.
Most make land fall in Okinawa or south Kyushu, particularly Miyazaki and Kagoshima Prefectures.
Sendai Nuclear Facility is located in the city of Satsumasendai in the Kagoshima Prefecture, south Kyushu.]
"Mamoru Sekiguchi, anti-nuclear energy campaigner echoed local concerns that authorities in Sendai had NOT devised a comprehensive evacuation plan for more than 200,000 people living within a 30km radius.
[THEY'VE ONLY HAD 30 YEARS SINCE THE FACILITY OPENED AND 4 YEARS SINCE THE TSUNAMI/EARTHQUAKE TO 'DEVISE A PLAN'. ARE THEY BRAIN-DEAD, OR JUST TOO CHEAP TO IMPLEMENT A PLAN?]
“The lengths to which safety issues have been ignored in the Nuclear Regulation Authority’s review process for the Sendai plant restart shows just how desperate the nuclear industry and their government allies are,” Sekiguchi said. “Rather than a nuclear renaissance, much of Japan’s aging nuclear reactor fleet will never restart. Prime minister Abe and the nuclear regulator are risking Japan’s safety for an energy source that will likely fail to provide the electricity the nation will need in the years ahead.”Japan’s nuclear operators have applied for approval to restart 25 reactors: so far regulators have cleared only five to go back online.
THAT THEY CLEARED ONE, ESPECIALLY THIS ONE, SEEMS CRIMINAL!
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