Airborne Radiation Threat
 

...probably time for the question to be raised: is there a threat to operating aircraft on the Japan/North Pacific routes with the obvious threat from radiation that seems to be developing? Thoughts? :ooh:

If one of the reactors blows up or there is a massive leak in one of them , it is guranteed it will fry your ass even above FL350. :mad: :mad: wont be pretty !!! , I am not going anywhere near it :=:=:=:=:=:=:=

it was reported the No 2 reactor contain vessel pressure dropped from 3 atmosphere to 1 atmosphere and there was an internal explosion more than half off fuel rods exposed and melting.
US carrier group detected higher than normal radiation levels 160 km off shore and has moved further north.

Sadly it would appear the containment vessel is now breached and significant radiation could be leaking.

A northerly wind is blowing from the site so narita an tokyo in drirect path of any potential fallout.
If you have any friends rostered for narita I would strongly suggest reporting UF. As the inept corporate safety have no clue as to the potential damage to the health of crew particularly the younger crew members.

Gentlemen. It is now becoming rapidly more dangerous to be anywhere near this area....or downwind. It appears highly likely that the reactor core has been breached. This will now introduce highly dangerous radioactive particles into the air. At the very least CX should consider stopping any further crews heading to Japan. This could prove to be as catastrophic as Chernobyl. There is news being released minute by minute...and none of it is good. If you have friends in Japan, it would be wise to get them out. This will not end well...

recommend monitoring now tv channel 710
NHK is now broadcasitng predominantly in english and has the most up to date info.

NHK reporting higher levels of cesium in Tokyo. 22 x usual level...and that a no fly zone over Fukushima and a 30km radius around it is being imposed, according to the Japanese government. That is not a good sign at all.

According to Reuters Air China have cancelled flights to Tokyo today....Cathay is "closely monitoring" this as an opportunity to make more obscene profits....:}

According to other threads in Downunder JQ have stopped overnights in NRT and all US carriers have stopped flying to Japan?

Come on AOA, this is what we really need you for.

Also, shouldn't every CX KA A/C that's flown through Japanese airspace be checked for contamination? Just as a precaution. The USS Ronald Regan and some of it's helo's were contaminated and needed a wash down, now they've moved further away!!

Get a "no fly zone" in place for the union members, let the non members negotiate for themselves. So tired of carrying the spineless jelly fish along.

CX in true conservative style:

Rathern than taking there own lead, waiting for somebody else to make the decision......I mean didn't anybody notice that the Japanese government is too busy right now to talk to foreign airlines?

IAEA Update on Japan Earthquake


Reactors 1, 2 and 3 are now cold. (safe)

Reactor 4's fire is now out BUT they are still working to reduce the temp and presumably stop the earlier reported Radiation leaks.

Mmmm

Crew union refusing to even do transit flights, abandoning thousands of passengers wanting to escape the situation. Probably not the best PR move...

And I have 3 rostered flights to Tokyo in the next 2 weeks, can't wait :bored:

Confirmation on the Daiichi reactors
 

Looking over the link, there seems to be two Fukushima locations. From the article linked by Nitpicker (I added the bold):

The one that has had the explosions, is still causing issues, and not cool, but both locations do have ongoing evacuation warnings, in addition to the no-fly zone.

Actually Lufthansa has diverted flights from Tokyo to Nagoya and Osaka

Swiss International Air Lines has interim stop to Hong Kong on its route to Tokyo in order to shorten turnaround times in the Japanese capital

Austrian Airlines said its NRT-Vienna flights would make a stop at Seoul Incheon to allow crews to layover in South Korea instead of Japan.

HOWEVER, Hong Kong's flagship airline Cathay Pacific said Tuesday it would keep flying to and from Tokyo

...and of course, on CX's home page, there is now a notice telling us that there is 'much misunderstanding about nuclear radiation' (implying that of course we don't know what's good for our own health). Only those sitting on top of the reactor are in any danger...the rest of us should just stop complaining and get on with it..... :mad:

o... yea... then why not those sitting at the office operate the flights and proof to us that is sooooooo safe to operate and stay there?!

...on the other side of the world...
 

The United Airlines ALPA leaders sent out a message today to their pilots stating the union's position. For brevity, I have cut out a small section of it:

If you believe that your safety and welfare will be at risk by flying to Narita, you should advise the company (your flight office) of this fact and refuse the assignment. Further, the Association will support, to its fullest extent, any pilot who refuses an assignment to Narita under the current conditions and it is the vehement position of the Association that no pilot be disciplined or penalized for exercising what they believe to be the protection their health.

The Standard, Wednesday 16th March
 

"Meanwhile, Cathay Pacific Airways Flight Attendants Union urged the management to stop requiring crew members of Japan bound fights to stay overnight amind fears of radiation contamination. A spokesman for the carrier said it is safe to continue normal operations, including letting cabin crew stay overnight in Tokyo, but it will make changes if required."

Yeah right!

The article is headed by a photo of a radiation detector in Tokyo showing what looks like a 0.6 milliseverts reading.

How are the aftershocks affecting Tokyo? Are overnighting crews getting decent rest?

Safety first! :rolleyes:

27 Signs That The Nuclear Crisis In Japan Is Much Worse...
 

I cannot personally speak for the veracity of this site, but then I think all politicians are liars as well. Perhaps the truth lies in-between?

#1 Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan is urging all people living within 30 kilometers of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear facility to stay indoors.

#2 Andre-Claude Lacoste, the head of France's Nuclear Safety Authority, says that the containment vessel surrounding the No. 2 reactor at Japan's Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear complex is "no longer sealed".

#3 Radiation levels in Tokyo are already 10 times above normal levels.

#4 Reuters is reporting that some residents of Tokyo are already starting to flee the city.

#5 Radiation levels in one city north of Tokyo, Utsunomiya, were recently reported to be 33 times above normal levels.

#6 Radiation levels in the city of Saitama have been reported to be 40 times above normal levels.

#7 According to Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan, the "possibility of further radioactive leakage is heightening."

#8 The Japanese government is admitting that radiation levels near the Fukushima Dai-ichi complex are very harmful to human health.

#9 According to the World Nuclear Association, exposure to over 100 millisieverts of radiation a year can lead to cancer. At this point the level of radiation being measured right outside the number 4 reactor at the Fukushima Dai-ichi complex is 400 millisieverts per hour.

#10 A U.S. Navy crew that was assisting in relief efforts was exposed to a month’s worth of nuclear radiation in just a single hour.

#11 According to the U.S. Navy, low levels of radiation have been detected at their bases in Yokosuka and Atsugi.

#12 The USS Ronald Reagan recently detected significant levels of radiation 100 miles off the Japanese coast.

#13 The operator of the Fukushima Dai-ichi complex has pulled out 750 of the 800 workers that were working at the facility.

#14 The French embassy in Tokyo is advising French citizens to leave the city.

#15 The German embassy in Tokyo is advising all German citizens to leave the country entirely.

#16 German technology company SAP is evacuating their offices in Tokyo.

#17 Austria has announced that it is moving its embassy from Tokyo to Osaka due to fears about the radiation.

#18 Finland is urging all of their citizens to leave Tokyo.

#19 The Czech military is sending planes to Japan specifically to evacuate the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra.

#20 Air China is canceling many flights to Tokyo.

#21 The Chinese Embassy has announced that it will be evacuating all Chinese citizens from the Miyagi, Fukushima, Ibaraki and Iwate prefectures.

#22 Russia is making preparations to evacuate civilians and military units from the Kuril Islands.

#23 Physicist Frank von Hippel recently told the New York Times the following about this disaster: "It’s way past Three Mile Island already".

#24 The president of France's nuclear safety authority says that this crisis is now almost as bad as Chernobyl was....

"It's clear we are at Level 6, that's to say we're at a level in between what happened at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl."

#25 There have been reports of extremely high radiation at another nuclear facility in Japan. It has been reported that at the Onagawa nuclear plant radiation that is 700 times the normal level was detected at one point.

#26 One anonymous senior nuclear industry executive told The Times Of India that Japanese power industry managers are "basically in a full-scale panic" and that "they don't know what to do".

#27 It is also being reported that there were over 600,000 spent fuel rods stored at the Fukushima Dai-ichi complex. Most of these rods were apparently stored near the top of the 6 reactor buildings. There have already been major explosions at three of those buildings. It is now feared that there is now nothing to prevent many of these spent fuel rods from releasing radiation into the atmosphere. That is really, really bad news.

From: 27 Signs That The Nuclear Crisis In Japan Is Much Worse Than Either The Mainstream Media Or The Japanese Government Have Been Telling Us

I love the latest news letter from the GMO dated 16 March 2011.

"We have been in contact with Airbus and Boeing in regards to radioactive contamination of an airframe; we have been advised that any contamination results in the aircraft effectively having to be retired from service. We take this advice very seriously."

Only now after being advised with no insurance on planes do they make the decision to suspend overnights.

Go figure

Somebody in the Nuclear Reactor world must know how to fix the problem surely??????

I guess NRT overnights will be a thing of the past for say .......100 years?

But meanwhile it is OK for the Japanese ground staff to continue working in Tokyo, the engineers, check in staff, ramp crew etc.

We're all GONNA DIE!!!!!!!!
 

JedThrust, with respect - that website you referenced appears to be the "New York Post" of websites.

Quotes like:

- "We are not just talking about a repeat of Chernobyl.
We are possibly talking about "many Chernobyls", and...
- "Why would they be evacuating if there was no threat?"
(er, as a basic precaution and in the interests of duty-of-care perhaps??)

...are the very definition of scare mongering. I'm not trying to downplay the seriousness - any nuclear incident/accident is serious, but let's be honest: the subject matter on this issue is basically too complex for the lay person to understand.

I would rather listen to the IAEA's updates on the issue, they might just have a little more credibility than a guy who runs a blog on the upcoming global "Economic Collapse" and includes links to where you can buy gold and silver coins (& iPads?!?) on eBay!

:)

Do they have enough speed-tape to fix this one?

A lot of info out there, I think CX will have to cancel flights eventually.

Radioactive Winds chase evacuees in Japan; Hawaii threatened by Fukushima fallout

Japan's nuclear emergency prompts panic buying in Tokyo | World news | The Guardian

they have already changed the Tokyo layover pattern to turnaround pattern!
heard that lots of cabin crew has reported sick last few days for these used to be "golden flights" for them

Well all I can say is...I'm not going to Tokyo until it is all sorted out!

I do not care if the Dr says it is safe...no radiation is good for you!!! What is going o happen it the plant blows while you are there!

I think let Richard H go!

There is more to this than meets the eye!


YouTube - Japan's Nuclear Crisis Is "Completely Out Of Control!"

Japan earthquake and tsunami: French claim full scale of nuclear disaster being hidden | Mail Online

Nuclear Plant Operator: Water in Pool Storing Spent Nuclear Fuel Rods May Be Boiling, an Ominous Sign for Release of Radioactivity | zero hedge

When All Else Fails, Change The Rules: Japan Increases Maximum "Safe" Radiation Dose Allowed For Nuclear Workers By 150% To Near-Chernobyl Levels | zero hedge

Superfrozo, with all due respect I will have to politely disagree with you. You must understand that you cannot trust the mainstream media. Reading the BBC is like reading the Beano. They will not tell you how bad it is until it's far, far too late. Why take any chance with you're life and you're health.
It seems strange, as aviation professionals one would assume we have a fairly good handle on risk, we counter potential threats every day of our flying lives, now suddenly a threat looms large on the horizon and instead of giving yourself a personal CTWO+ brief, emphasis on the + mind you, you are going to let some irresponsible international agency take responsibility for you!
If a fraction of what is being reported by alternative news sources is correct, then we have absolutely no business being anywhere near Tokyo.

Holy **** ladies sounds like the kind of uninformed crap that we all had to endure during SARS and the bird flu panic.
Let me guess, you are the same "guys" who refuse to push back until your gluten free meal is loaded.
You are probably copping a bigger dose going over the pole every month than any potential threat from a Tokyo turnaround as it stands right now.
Now turn off FOX news, toughen up and spare a thought for the Japanese on the ground who are dealing with this catastrophe in their usual dignified manner.

If CX suspend operations to Tokyo and/or Japan then how are they going to afford the tea and biscuits for Friday afternoon? After all they are jacking up the prices of airfares to Japan at the moment because nobody else is flying there. I'm surprised "The Management" hasn't been on to talk about his bonus!

Michael Hunt

Hear Hear....

Finally someone with a bit of sense on the forum. Can't believe I fly with some of these numbnuts

Mr Hunt...... I have never said we shouldn't be flying to NRT, in view of the ever changing situation with regards to the power plant, the number of people wanting to leave Tokyo ( and the ensuring pandemonium in the airport environs ) the threat of further earthquakes etc etc it would be prudent not to overnight there at this stage especially since we don't really have to whilst maintaining a full schedule. It's best to keep the crew in the Aircraft in transit.
It seems logic has prevailed and CX finally have seen the light too.

I really don't think it comes down to an argument such as, "you don't have the balls to crew a flight to Tokyo".

If we knew who was telling the truth, the complete truth and even if the actual truth can be known at this stage...then we might be able to make a value judgment based on real facts.

If you live and work in Tokyo then you may not have the opportunity to leave. In that case your chances of radiation illness or other health related repercussions in the next few weeks/months, are a lot higher than just about every other person in the world. As one of the female Tokyo residents said on the news today words to the effect that "I am scared, but I am still going to work as I must face my destiny".

But, if you don't live in Tokyo, the advice of many educated and industrialized country's Governments is to get the heck out of "Dodge City".

It doesn't matter for old people like me to go to Tokyo as I am probably more likely to die of old age than from radiation related health issues.

But, for young crew with healthy balls and ovaries and still in and at the breeding age, I would suggest the risk of exposure and the financial reward for such exposure to be weighed very carefully indeed. Any damage will last their whole lifetime (and possibly their offspring).

EXEZY has given us a good link (above). Even if you don't read the words, the pictures tell a very sobering story which even the most technically inept of us can draw reasonable conclusions as to the situation of the reactors and therefore the personal risk involved in visiting Tokyo in the near future.

Japan earthquake and tsunami: French claim full scale of nuclear disaster being hidden | Mail Online

Your call of course... :(

Michael Hunt and betbump5, it's nice to see the cx spirit is alive and well, could you kindly inform crew control of your preference to do nothing but NRT turns...saves me from going there :E

Would have absolutely no qualms about operating an aircraft into Tokyo with regards to the current situation.
As far as I can tell after sifting through all the worst case scenario and doomsday predictions on the net and ratings driven 24 hr cable news stations is that there has been no harmful radiation detected anywhere in the tokyo area.
Obviously this is a very fluid situation and vigilance is warranted but to get involved in the media hype is ridiculous.

Harden the F*** UP
 

Jolly good show Mr. Hunt!

Some of these lady boys need to get four spoonfuls of concrete a dash of super glue 500ml of water .... mix it up .... drink it

AND HARDEN THE HELL UP!

Ohhh the center pedestal is filthy I cant work like this ... delay the flight and get the cleaners back ...the sandwiches are stale ....cry me a Yangtze River

Whilst I am fully aware of the fact that the events at Fukushima may lead to a rapid deterioration of the situation - right now there is no reason to worry in Tokyo:

Tokyo radiation levels are 10 times the normal value. Scary scary, eh?
But what does it mean in reality?
0.809 micro sieverts/hour were recorded in central Tokyo at 10.00 a.m. local time on the 15th.

Now how does that relate to other sources of radiation?

How about an hour of flight time?: Gives you about 5.5 micro sieverts
Eating a banana? Gives you 0.1 micro sieverts ...

you get my drift?

there is no reason to worry (not yet, anyways)

Ze goggles, zey do nuffink!!
 

Freightdoggie, that is the most ridiculous post I have ever seen.

I mean, WHO brings facts and balanced perspective onto PPRuNe..?! :confused: