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1. On the Today show this morning, they spoke of a plan to dump soil & sand on the rods, in effect burying them. But haven't we been told that it's dangerous to let the radiation into the ground, as it could then enter the water table??
2. They've been spraying water onto the reactors, now they're laying/connecting power lines. Wouldn't that make for a 'shocking experience'?
Okay, so #4 has fresh (as in brand spanking new this month) spent fuel rods in that pool that's dry... I think by morning over there (seems to be the time for them) we're going to hear of some new fires. jmo
appears that all of the models, however, are not based on measurements of radioactivity at the source and a projection of actual radioactive fallout in the U.S., but rather project a relative scale of radioactivity. Since Japanese authorities have said little about the amount of the releases at Fukushima, nobody can say how much radioactivity will hit California.
The models show that even with prevailing easterly winds, the plumes whip back and forth over a wide area of Japan's east coast, Russia's Kamchatka peninsula and Alaska's Aleutian Islands. It is unknown whether nuclear fallout is hitting the vast wilderness of northeastern Asia.
Of particular concern, however, is radiation emanating from Fukushima's No. 3 reactor. That reactor uses plutonium fuel, which poses a special health risk even in small quantities if the fallout were to reach U.S. shores.
1. On the Today show this morning, they spoke of a plan to dump soil & sand on the rods, in effect burying them. But haven't we been told that it's dangerous to let the radiation into the ground, as it could then enter the water table??
2. They've been spraying water onto the reactors, now they're laying/connecting power lines. Wouldn't that make for a 'shocking experience'?
1 - I don't think that's the brightest idea... But it wouldn't put the radiation into the ground so long as they just bury them in their pool and in the core... the reactors are not going to be "usable" again...
2 - the lines should be insulated so it wouldn't be so shocking... It also depends on the voltage running through the lines, which I would expect to be high to power the commercial pumps.
In regard to the statement that 1 pound of Pu would kill everyone on Earth... One pound of plutonium would be enough to give 1.6E+9 persons a CDE of 50 rem (0.5 Sv) {which could result in 1.5E+5 additional cancers} *IF* and ONLY IF the material was pulverized into particles of respirable size and the material could be adequately dispersed in the atmosphere.
Quoting myself as I just raised another question... I know the area is evacuated so running a high voltage "extension cord" shouldn't be a danger to anyone... but did they do it right or just lay a big ole line on the ground for a half mile?
1. On the Today show this morning, they spoke of a plan to dump soil & sand on the rods, in effect burying them. But haven't we been told that it's dangerous to let the radiation into the ground, as it could then enter the water table??
2. They've been spraying water onto the reactors, now they're laying/connecting power lines. Wouldn't that make for a 'shocking experience'?
What difference would that make? Yeah, if it isn't properly grounded, people could get electrocuted, but I'm assuming (you all know the saying) they are taking precautions against that. I don't understand the concern about the cable. They aren't going to stick a high-voltage cable directly into the reactor as far as I know - they are hooking up the water supply to cool it down.
Am I wrong? I could be.
We have a health concern/radiation hot line here in CA that people can call with their concerns.They played the outgoing greeting last night on the radio as the hotline keeps regular office hours and was closed. It was a bit comical to hear the voice refer to it as Nuc-u-lar instead of nuc-le-ar.
While that doesn't promote confidence,LOL, I am not concerned about the amount of radiation that is making its way here to SoCal.
The possibility of dumping sand and then concrete was discussed several days ago and "they" decided that was not a viable option b/c the sand would just melt due to the high temperatures and the weight of the concrete could actually worsen the situation by causing cracking in the containment vessels----HOWEVER, if they were able to cool the reactors down (I assume they would do this by the re-connected power line working) then maybe it is again a possibility?? I just remember several quotes from nuclear experts saying that this plan (sand and concrete) at that time would not work.