Japan: 9.0 Earthquake-Tsunami-Nuclear Reactor Developments #1

[Herding Cats]

457 dead confirmed, but many "piles" or "groups" of bodies have not been counted yet. It will be many, many days before the real death toll from the quake/tsunami is known. Still unknown, and which will add to the horrible death toll, are any disease outbreaks (in Haiti, cholera...in Japan?), nuclear/radioactive contamination, lack of food/water, and so forth.

Some accounts I've heard indicate that new maps must be made, because coastlines have changed, underwater shoals have moved, and it is not safe to rely on old maps because of underwater changes, either from debris or from seascape changes.

I have no links; this is what I've heard and seen, and there is no one place I can link to.

It will devastate the Japanese economy; it's not simply the rebuilding, but the loss of employment from plants which have to shut, and all sorts of other repercussions. This will also affect our economy, as Japan is a huge trading partner with us, and as they reduce their output, shipping will drop, costs will get higher for imported goods, jobs on the wharves and in importing will be lost...it's going to get very, very bad.

We did not feel these effects with the Indonesia tsunami; that was, to all extents, a 'vacation' spot, and not involved in a lot of economic trade. It is my opinion, and that's all it is...opinion - that this earthquake/tsunami will outcost any other natural disaster, both in terms of lives as well as funds.

What a horrible disaster. On so many levels, it's terrible - beyond imagining.

God bless all those affected.

Best-
Herding Cats

 

[not_my_kids]

Update at 6:25 p.m. ET: Japan's nuclear safety agency is preparing to issue what Kyodo News "an unprecedented order" directing the Tokyo Electric Power Co. to open a valve at the earthquake-crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant to release pressure from a reactor that is in danger of overheating.
http://content.usatoday.com/communi...mal-detected-around-crippled-japanese-plant/1

 

[KaylynnCouture]

CNN just reported (on the bottom of the TV screen) that a California man has died after being swept out to sea while trying to snap tsunami photos.

 

[wfgodot]

and another update:

11.34pm GMT: Meanwhile, Japan's nuclear safety agency is set to issue an unprecedented order for Tepco to open a valve at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant to release pressure, as we reported earlier.

The good news is that the 3,000 residents in the initial evacuation radius have been safely removed.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/11/japan-tsunami-earthquake-live-coverage

 

[trigger]

Although I maybe the only one looking for someone, this is an incredible tool launched.

I'm getting more heartbroken with each passing hour.

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/need-to-kno...o-track-the-aftermath-of-japans-tsunami/7875/

Prayers for your loved one. raying:

 

[wfgodot]

Three Telegraph updates:

23:48 Various comparisons are being given to demonstrate the power of the earthquake and tsunami, from the simultaneous detonation of every nuclear warhead on Earth (Daily Mail), to the explosion of 1.5 billion tonnes of TNT (Financial Times), to dropping the Isle of Wight into the Pacific (this newspaper).

23:46 Clear examples are emerging of how well prepared Japan is for earthquakes: cupboards with sensors which automatically lock to prevent their contents causing damage, and a man running a china shop who sells vases for up to £5,000 who hadn't lost a single plate.

23:38 The Independent newspaper is quoting reports of tens of thousands of people missing. That's many times the official police estimates.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/8375373/Japan-earthquake-and-tsunami-live.html

 

[passionflower]

prayers for all........

 

[trigger]

You're not the only one. I am damn near frantic waiting for word on a friend that was in Tokyo. That's why I've been glued here all day. Prayers for you and yours.

Prayers for your friend ..not my kids. raying:

 

[Daisyjane]

From the Associated Press twitter feed, and they also announced this on the NBC Nightly News:

Japan issues state of emergency at another nuclear power plant after cooling system failure - AP

bolded by me

 

[wfgodot]

Another from the Guardian, quite interesting:

11.47pm GMT: In the comments, many people are asking what the implications of the nuclear reactor power failure is. Given how little we are being told by Tepco and the Japanese government, it's hard to say. The increase in background radiation near the plant isn't dangerous at this point, but of course that could change.

Reuters has a piece explaining what happens when a reactor loses coolant:

When all sources of power fail like at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, coolant begins to boil off, exposing the fuel rods. It would likely take several hours to boil off enough coolant before the core is hot enough to damage it.

If the fuel rods became damaged they would release radioactive material into the remaining coolant.

- Hours beyond that the metal surrounding the ceramic uranium fuel pellets could potentially start melting if temperatures reach well beyond 1000F as occurred at Three Mile Island. The ceramic fuel pellets would not melt until temperatures reached about 2000 degrees F.

- Hours after the fuel rods started to melt, the heat could potentially melt through the reactor vessel, which is made of high tensile steel four to eight inches thick

- It would take even more time before the containment fails, which could result in radioactive releases to the environment. The containment is an air tight steel or reinforced concrete structure with walls between four to eight feet thick.

As the Three Mile Island accident showed, operators can regain control of the situation if they can get the coolant flowing again.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/11/japan-tsunami-earthquake-live-coverage

 

[Quiche]

This link has a compelling slide show of quake and tsunami damage.

http://www.freep.com/article/201103...soars-meltdown-feared-quake-death-toll-up-500

 

[wfgodot]

A tip from the Guardian in lieu of an update:

11.55pm GMT: For informed commentary on the nuclear reactor problems in Japan, those of you with Twitter accounts should follow @arclight who appears to know the stuff.

http://twitter.com/arclight

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/11/japan-tsunami-earthquake-live-coverage

 

[passionflower]

Daylight there now..CBS is covering ..........awful, just a nightmare!

 

[not_my_kids]

NHK confirmed 6884 deaths in Japan
March 11, 2011, 12:44 pm
NHK has confirmed 6884 deaths in Japan. More info here on the place for CNN Japan Live News Stream and MSNBC, NHK and more News Streams.

http://www.peepshowwatch.tv/?jtv
Would like official confirmation...

ETA: Last I heard on CNN was less than 600 confirmed deaths.

 

[essies]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HD8wcIjZB8

 

[trigger]

Death toll could reach over 1000. Whole towns have been leveled and destroyed.

On Fox.. Experts: Tsunami waves crossed the Pacific at 500mph.

Chile has begun evacuating along the coast there, taking no chances.

 

[cluciano63]

Jane Velez-Mitchell making good use of her show "Issues"...Mel Gibson's light sentence is her top story

 

[peeples]

Tokyo Electric Power confirmed that pressure had been rising inside reactor No. 1 at its Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on the northeast coast, one of the largest nuclear power plants in the world. That means cooling water is not getting to the reactor core, causing a build up of steam inside the containment vessel. The problem, according to Japanese media reports, is a loss of grid electricity to run the pumps that bring in cooling water. The backup diesel generators that are supposed to provide emergency power in that case are out of order, according to the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum, but replacements were being taken to the plant.

Scientific America's David Biello has an interview with Scott Burnell, public affairs officer at the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission:

What happens when a reactor gets disconnected from the grid?

There are emergency diesel generators. You also have a battery system to keep instruments running, but that can also provide power to safety systems [which prevent a meltdown by cooling the reactor core]. It's all meant to provide defense in depth. First you rely on the grid. If the grid is no longer available, you use diesel generators. If there is an issue with the diesels, you have a battery backup. And the batteries usually last long enough for you to get the diesels going.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/11/japan-tsunami-earthquake-live-coverage

 

[wfgodot]

How to Cool a Nuclear Reactor
Japan's devastating earthquake caused cooling problems at one of the nation's nuclear reactors, and authorities scrambled to prevent a meltdown

---
Scientific American spoke with Scott Burnell, public affairs officer at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the government agency charged with monitoring the safety of the 104 nuclear reactors in the U.S., about what it takes to cool down a reactor.
---

Interview is well worth reading, at link above

 

[not_my_kids]

My friend Maribel just checked in. She sent a text to her mom, via yahoo. "i m ok, lost my phone, will call asap. love you all."

That said:

A single reactor in northeastern Japan had been the focus of much of the concern in the initial hours after the 8.9 magnitude quake, but the government declared new states of emergency at four other reactors in the area Saturday morning.
http://www.westport-news.com/news/a...es-emergencies-at-5-nuke-reactors-1072895.php