Japan: 9.0 Earthquake-Tsunami-Nuclear Reactor Developments #2

[nursebeeme]

3.55pm (12.55am JST): Reuters is reporting that the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency has said the situation at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is "very serious".

3.49pm (12.49am JST): Suzy Goldenberg has just been on a conference call with US energy secretary and Nobel prize winner (in atomic physics) Stephen Chu. Suzy was tweeting as Chu spoke – here's a sample:

• @suzyji Chu - There are several reactors now at risk. We do not want to speculate as to what will happen #eg

• @suzyji Chu - We think there is a partial meltdown in #Japan, but doesn't mean containment vessel will fail #eg

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2011/mar/16/japan-nuclear-crisis-tsunami-aftermath-live

 

[nursebeeme]

adding this

Some U.S. air crews in Japan given potassium iodide tablets ahead of missions as a precaution against radiation - Pentagon

http://twitter.com/#!/REUTERSFLASH

my friend from the gym's son is deploying to Japan (he is a marine) and his unit has already begun taking KI tabs according to my friend this morning.

 

[ScorpRising]

Respectfully Quoted tehcloser

I am a believer in facts, please excuse my need to understand. I ask then, do you know if this incident is worse than all those I listed (and the many more than would make the post a thread)in particular or combined?

Thank you.

Most of those you listed did NOT lead to a leak in radiation. Only 3 on the list did. The 1961 in Idaho Falls, TMI-2 and Chernobyl...

.08, .017 and 7000 Ci respectively. We know this has leaked radiation but a conversion needs to be done to see where it stands.

 

[Wise Old Owl]

adding this

Some U.S. air crews in Japan given potassium iodide tablets ahead of missions as a precaution against radiation - Pentagon

http://twitter.com/#!/REUTERSFLASH

THERE IT IS!!!! I said yesterday to watch for these type of statements. Watch for the gov't to say "ok - now take those pills".

Funny, this statement is coming from our military and NOT the Japanese gov't.

WATCH carefully - the movements of our military will speak volumes. Just like that marine that was on the phone this AM with CNN - he could NOT comment AT ALL about the nuclear situation and he just kept repeating that statement.

 

[hockeymom]

Wow,it took me a long time to catch up this morning,and I'm feeling more confused than ever. There are dueling parties on the news shows all morning,and I think it depends on if they support nuclear energy as a source or not.One group says,this is no big deal,other group says yes it is. Does it always have to be about $$$$?

Can someone tell me if it s just one plant that is involved or are others in Japan at risk?

Also apoligies to my Canadian friends. I didn't mean to imply that Canada was disinterested or out of touch, just in the small town I was in all I had access to was the CBC and since I'm a news junky,not having at least three 24/7 news channels to scour,it felt like there was little coverage to me.

 

[nursebeeme]

PDATE AS OF 10:00 A.M. EDT, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16:

News reports that high radiation levels led to the evacuation of all workers from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station are not accurate. Workers were evacuated for about an hour but returned to the site to continue efforts to restore safe conditions at the plant.

Restoration of electrical power to the site was under way at the Daiichi plant as of 6:00 a.m. EDT Wednesday. A temporary cable was being connected between an off-site power line and Daiichi reactor 3. Off-site power has not been available at the site since the earthquake on March 11.

Reactors 1, 2 and 3 at the plant are being cooled with seawater. There is some level of uranium fuel damage at all three units, and containment structure damage is suspected at units 2 and 3, NucNet reported.

Before the earthquake, reactor 4 had been in refueling and was completely defueled. Attempts to provide cooling water to the used fuel pool at reactor 4 by helicopter were not successful. Preparations are being made to inject water into the fuel storage pool using a high-capacity spray pump. There have been two fires inside the reactor containment building at reactor 4, but they have been extinguished. Although the reactor containment building at Unit 4 was damaged, the primary containment vessel remains intact.

At the Fukushima Daini site, all four reactors are safely shut down and cooling functions are being maintained.

http://nei.cachefly.net/newsandeven...anese-earthquake-and-reactors-in-that-region/

 

[Chiquita71]

How bad is it? Depends on which nuclear expert you ask.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/03/15/japan.nuclear/index.html

An explosion Tuesday at the plant elevated the situation there to a "serious accident," on a level just below Chernobyl, a French nuclear official said, referring to the international scale that rates the severity of such incidents and to an incident 25 years ago in what is now Ukraine.
(skip)
"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," Andre-Claude Lacoste, president of France's nuclear safety authority, told reporters Tuesday
(skip)
We are way beyond Three Mile Island level and heading into Chernobyl territory," he told CNN in a telephone interview. "This is at least a 5, probably a 6 and it could end up a 7."

He added, "This is not going to end well. At the very least, we're going to have a very expensive mess to clean up, and the worst is that we we spread radioactive particles across hundreds or thousands of square miles of Japan."
(skip)
"My guess is this is now number two, but I need to need to look at the data more carefully," said James Acton, an associate in the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment and a Stanton Nuclear Security Fellow.

Tom Cochran, a senior scientist in the nuclear program at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said he would guess that the incident ranks "a little worse than Three Mile Island and not nearly as bad as Chernobyl." But, he complained, he could not look at the data because they had not been made available. "There are too many variables: First is the lack of transparency on the part of the Japanese."
(skip)
The probability of a core melt had been estimated at about one chance in 10,000 reactor years of operation, he said. "We've had now three core melts in 30 years in less than 500 reactors, he said, referring to Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and now Japan. "So the probability of a partial core melt is one chance in several hundred instead of one chance in 10,000.
(skip)
"We don't know enough to assess the long-term or short-term effects of this," said Kirby Kemper, a nuclear physicist, physics professor and vice president of research at Florida State University.

Kemper said it appears the radioactive material released had largely dissipated into the atmosphere. However, he added, authorities would will have to test the soil for contamination in the 20-kilometer radius of the plant that was evacuated before anyone should be allowed to return home.
(skip)
Trying to place the situation on the INES scale is premature, said David Brenner, director of the Center for Radiological Research at Columbia University.
(end)

 

[Wise Old Owl]

Wow,it took me a long time to catch up this morning,and I'm feeling more confused than ever. There are dueling parties on the news shows all morning,and I think it depends on if they support nuclear energy as a source or not.One group says,this is no big deal,other group says yes it is. Does it always have to be about $$$$?

Can someone tell me if it s just one plant that is involved or are others in Japan at risk?

Also apoligies to my Canadian friends. I didn't mean to imply that Canada was disinterested or out of touch, just in the small town I was in all I had access to was the CBC and since I'm a news junky,not having at least three 24/7 news channels to scour,it felt like there was little coverage to me.

It is only one plant - BUT that one plant has SIX REACTORS and ALL SIX are in trouble!!!

 

[Quiche]

Used Fuel Factsheet from Nuclear Energy Institute

http://nextbigfuture.com/2011/03/used-fuel-pool-key-factsheet-from.html


Excerpt:
Used nuclear fuel at the Fukushima Daiichi plant is stored in seven pools (one at each of the six reactors, plus a shared pool) and in a dry container storage facility (containing nine casks).
 Sixty percent of the used fuel on site is stored in the shared pool, in a building separated from the reactor buildings; 34 percent of the used fuel is distributed between the six reactor fuel storage pools, and the remaining six percent is stored in the nine dry storage containers. There are no safety concerns regarding the used fuel in dry storage at Fukushima Daiichi.

* Used fuel pools are robust concrete and steel structures designed to protect the fuel from even the most severe events. Pools are designed with systems to maintain the temperature and water levels sufficient to provide cooling and radiation shielding.

* The water level in a used fuel pool typically is 16 feet or more above the top of the fuel assemblies.

* The used fuel pools at the Fukushima Daiichi reactors are located at the top of the reactor buildings for ease of handling during refueling operations.
* The used fuel pools are designed so that the water in the pool cannot drain down as a result of damage to the piping or cooling systems. The pools do not have drains in the sides or the floor of the pool structure. The only way to rapidly drain down the pool is if there is structural damage to the walls or the floor.

 

[tehcloser]

U.S. to fly spy plane over Fukushima nuclear plant for closer look
TOKYO, March 17, Kyodo

http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2011/03/78680.html

 

[JustToSeeYouSmile]

my friend from the gym's son is deploying to Japan (he is a marine) and his unit has already begun taking KI tabs according to my friend this morning.

Been in contact with SAR on the ground. As far as I know, they have been taking them since deployment. And Pro KI for the dogs. No link for that though, sorry.

 

[nursebeeme]

U.S. to fly spy plane over Fukushima nuclear plant for closer look
TOKYO, March 17, Kyodo

http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2011/03/78680.html

this is good news ((to me))

 

[Wise Old Owl]

U.S. to fly spy plane over Fukushima nuclear plant for closer look
TOKYO, March 17, Kyodo

http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2011/03/78680.html

What a great idea!!!! Fly one of those drones over it - they are so very well equipped with many many types of cameras.

Wonder if we'll hear what they find?

 

[Quiche]

Tokyo Elec: want military chopper to try again to douse reactor

http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFLJE7ED00R20110316

 

[imawitch]

http://twitter.com/#!/REUTERSFLASH

U.S. forces in Japan not allowed within 50 miles of crippled nuclear reactor without special authorisation - Pentagon

IAEA head says situation at Japan's Daiichi nuclear power plant is very serious

wow...I wonder...does this mean Japans Government wont allow them within 50 miles, or does this mean our Government (usa) doesnt want them within 50 miles?

jmo, but I think those radiation levels are very very high...scary, just so scary, mo

 

[Quiche]

I think Anderson Cooper is catching some winks...

http://twitter.com/#!/andersoncooper

 

[Chiquita71]

Wow,it took me a long time to catch up this morning,and I'm feeling more confused than ever. There are dueling parties on the news shows all morning,and I think it depends on if they support nuclear energy as a source or not.One group says,this is no big deal,other group says yes it is. Does it always have to be about $$$$?

Can someone tell me if it s just one plant that is involved or are others in Japan at risk?

Also apoligies to my Canadian friends. I didn't mean to imply that Canada was disinterested or out of touch, just in the small town I was in all I had access to was the CBC and since I'm a news junky,not having at least three 24/7 news channels to scour,it felt like there was little coverage to me.

RespectfullyQuoted hockeymom :blowkiss:

:tyou: I cannot thank you enough. I just figured that out myself! Yes. Those that want nuclear power gone can use this as an opportunity to get rid of it and those that want it want to make it seem less dangerous!

In the middle, in the middle and follow the money! Yes! Why must it always be about $$$?

It is a shame that fear can be spread so easily and for the purpose of making people fearful so they will do what those who have agendas...

on both sides, all sides want. Thank you again for your post. eace:

PS: Isn't there a comet heading toward us? Isn't Global Warming killing us? There are children dying of a disease today, children will go missing today, children will be raped and beaten today. If children can be in this world with all its dangers then I must be more brave.

Prayers for the children of Japan(who are looking to the adults). Blessing to the children of the world.

:twocents:

 

[not_my_kids]

Alrighty, there is a lot of info out there on Chernobyl and it's biggest victim city, Pripyat, as well as a lot on Three Mile Island.
For me, video is the most striking. SO, I'm going to post some of the more interesting stuff from Youtube that I found last night.

This one has a decent map that shows how the radiation spread from the Chernobyl plant. SHows video from a 2007 trip into the city, and discusses the environmenal problems that are still ongoing. Gives proof of the radiation levels still present in 2007. They also go into Pripyat, which is still a ghost town, for those that don't know. It's as dangerous as Chernobyl. It is extremely creepy.
[video=youtube;JYkVatvFLsg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYkVatvFLsg[/video]


This one shows the actual damage to the reactor at Chernobyl. It shows video taken as they are doing their tests on the reactor as it stands now, and has statements from Grrenpeace and other nuclear experts from the area.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDaP0UZVbE0

This one shows Chernobyl, Pripyat, and video taken in 2006. The guy that does the investigation has a very strong accent, so he can be hard to undersatnd, but the pictures speak for themselves in many cases. It's not the highest quality, but it is still quite striking. Shows other reactors in the area that were started but never finished. This one gives a good sense of how large the exclusion zone really is.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=101OEaksU0s

This is video shot by a russian film maker in the immediate days after the Chernobyl meltdown. He would later die as a result of the radiation he recieved that day.
There is no sound, which almost makes it harder to watch. Knowing what we know now about radiation, it is absolutely terrifying to watch the lack of cautions taken with these mens lives.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbCcutzXzYg

Filmed before the meltdown at Chernobyl, with film and still from after the meltdown mixed in so that you can see in that way, how fast this happened. Footage from later years, as well as from the day of the disaster. Music but no narration.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TNR0U_kB6k

Video shot in Pripyat before the meltdown. Showing it as the thriving, happy place it was before Chernobyl melted down. Then it shows the abandonment, so silent you can hear the wind blow around the apartment buildings. SHows the things that were left behind on evac day, and the way it stood when the film makers were there.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ji9yTQX-jas

ANother that shows Pripyat in the days when it thrived, and how it stands now, or at least recently to now. It shows the evac, with buses literally speeding out of town, people running for those buses with one suitcase apiece. If we had been privy to it, very close to what we would have seen over the past couple of days in Japan, IMO.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bv3Q_q5v61A

ANother good video of a more current trip to Pripyat, complete with captions, and measurements of the radiation still left. Good quality compared to some of the other vids.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enSoipINKRs


Good hi quality pics of Chernobyl and Pripyat before the meltdown, also good quality pics and vids of Chernobyl and Pripyat 21 years after. Shows innocent looking fruit tha tis highly radioactive, all the discarded vehicles from the cleanup, and other small surrounding towns that no one ever talks about but that were also devestated.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Izu3ysN8wfY

This one is compilation of video and picture of the area around Chernobyl and Pripyat as it is recently, as well as videos and photos of those that literally gave their lives to save those that they could. They might not have understaood how lethal their job was, but they still gave their lives, if you watch no other video on this list, watch this one.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elCRiHo8wnY

 

[hockeymom]

Sorry if this has been posted. Just in from Fox,at least 3 reactors in partial meltdown. Great!! WTF,does that mean?

 

[Chiquita71]

Most of those you listed did NOT lead to a leak in radiation. Only 3 on the list did. The 1961 in Idaho Falls, TMI-2 and Chernobyl...

.08, .017 and 7000 Ci respectively. We know this has leaked radiation but a conversion needs to be done to see where it stands.

Respectfully Quoted ScorpRising
BBM

Please to request links for information. Thank you.