FUKUSHIMA earthquake and tsunami thread and aftermath

[interestrateripoff]

Exposed: Nuclear fuel rods inside wrecked reactor as experts predict radioactive plume will reach Britain in two weeks

These pictures show overheating fuel rods exposed to the elements through a huge hole in the wall of a reactor building at the destroyed Fukushima nuclear plant.

Radiation is streaming into the atmosphere from the used uranium rods at reactor number four, after a 45-ft deep storage pool designed to keep them stable boiled dry in a fire.

And some of the radioactive material could reach Britain within a fortnight, according to experts.

The Wail at it's finest.

The pictures if you look show no such thing, you can make out the crane or gantry in the background, you can't see the pool so you have no idea if there is water or not in it. However I do suspect there is a large amount of debris in the pool.

[_w_]

Yes, K40 also contained in "healthy" Low Salt products. Popular hysteria - pesticides/herbicides, GM foods, climate change, radiation, etc, etc.

It's laughable when you consider the statistics for modern life expectation in the west, and motor vehicle fatalities.

I agree with you but on the other hand my son and about half the kids in his school cough their lungs out on a regular basis. In his case until he was three, he spent more time in hospitals than in playgrounds because of it. So I think it's fair to say something is affectnig kids' breathing and is most likely some form of pollution. I wish I knew what it was and how to stop it.

I really don't see why being concerned or on the lookout for potential harm should be derided.

[Bloo Loo]

The background level we already experience varies hugely anyway.

So what if supermarket food is irradiated? That's not the same as adding radioactive material to it.

thats right, but if god had wanted food irradiated, he would have left off the Van Allen Belt.

[happy_renting]

The BBC has announced that the IAEA has reaised the level of the incident from Level 4 to Level 5 (Chernobyl was Level 7)

Whether or not you agree with the IAEA's assessment, it does expose the press stories (CNN and others) that it was 'Offically' Level 6 two days ago were utter b*ll*cks. The press hadn't even checked with the IAEA, the panic-stirring muppets.

[interestrateripoff]

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

12.20: Further to our post at 9.00, Tokyo Electric said it may finish reconnecting a power line to the No. 1 and No. 2 reactors by Saturday morning.

Hikaru Kuroda, chief of Tepco’s nuclear facility management department, told a news conference in Tokyo that the electrical link would be used to restart pumps needed to protect fuel rods from overheating.

But the company admitted the water pump might not work even with power.

I don't think there is a big enough facepalm for this!

Now if your plan is to hook up power to the pumps, I'm of the opinion it would be a pretty good idea to check that the pumps are in a working state before you spend doing something which takes days and may not work.

I still think the best option if they are going for the cooling one is to fill the buildings full of water and neutron moderators and create giant spent pools. Would filling it all with concrete stop the reactions via dissipation?

[interestrateripoff]

http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/11031803-e.html

Press Release (Mar 18,2011)

Plant Status of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (as of 2:00 PM Mar 18th)

*new items are underlined

All 6 units of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station have been shut down.

Unit 1 (Shut down)

- Reactor has been shut down. However, the explosive sound and white smoke

were confirmed after the big quake occurred at 3:36PM Mar 12th. It was

assumed to be hydrogen explosion.

- We have been injecting sea water into the reactor pressure vessel.

Unit 2 (Shut down)

- Reactor has been shut down and the level of reactor coolant had dropped

and the reactor pressure had increased because the Reactor Core Isolation

Cooling System stopped. Measures were taken to lower the pressure within

the Reactor Containment Vessel and to inject sea water into the Reactor

while carefully confirming safety. The level of reactor coolant and the

pressure of the Reactor resumed.

- At approximately 6:00AM on March 15, 2011, an abnormal noise began

emanating from nearby Pressure Suppression Chamber and the pressure

within this chamber decreased.

- We have been injecting sea water into the reactor pressure vessel.

Unit 3 (Shut down)

- Reactor has been shut down. However, the explosive sound and white smoke

were confirmed at 11:01AM Mar 14th. It was assumed to be hydrogen

explosion.

- At 8:30AM on March 16th, fog like steam was confirmed arising from the

reactor building.

- At approximately 6:15AM on March 17th the pressure of the Suppression

Chamber has temporarily increased.

- We have been injecting sea water into the reactor pressure vessel.

Unit 4 (outage due to regular inspection)

- Reactor has been shut down. However, at approximately 6AM on March 15th.

We have confirmed the explosive sound and the sustained damage around the

5th floor rooftop area of the Nuclear Reactor Building.

- On March 15th and 16th, we respectively confirmed the outbreak of fire

at the 4th floor of the northwestern part of the Nuclear Reactor Building.

We immediately reported this matter to the fire department and the related

authorities. TEPCO employees confirmed that each fire had already died

down by itself.

- At this moment, we do not consider any reactor coolant leakage inside the

reactor containment vessel happened.

Unit 5 (outage due to regular inspection)

- Reactor has been shut down and the sufficient level of reactor coolant to

ensure safety is maintained.

- At this moment, we do not consider any reactor coolant leakage inside the

reactor containment vessel happened.

Unit 6 (outage due to regular inspection)

- Reactor has been shut down and the sufficient level of reactor coolant to

ensure safety is maintained.

- At this moment, we do not consider any reactor coolant leakage inside the

reactor containment vessel happened.

Cooling of spent fuel pools

- In Unit 3, water discharge by Self-Defense Force's helicopters was

conducted from 9:48 AM in the morning on March 17th. Also water discharge

by the riot police's high-pressure water cannon trucks and Self-Defense

Force's fire engines was conducted from approximately 7PM on March 17th

and finished at 8:09PM.

- In Unit 3, water discharge by Self-Defense Force's fire engines was

conducted from approximately 2 PM

- We are considering further water discharge at Unit 3 and others subject

to the conditions of spent fuel pools.

Casualty

- 2 workers of cooperative firm were injured at the occurrence of the

earthquake, and were transported to the hospital.

- 1 TEPCO employee who was not able to stand by his own holding left chest

with his hand, was transported to the hospital by an ambulance.

- 1 subcontract worker at the key earthquake-proof building was unconscious

and transported to the hospital by an ambulance.

- The radiation exposure of 1 TEPCO employee, who was working inside the

reactor building, exceeded 100mSv and he was transported to the hospital.

- 2 TEPCO employees felt bad during their operation in the central control

rooms of Unit 1 and 2 while wearing full masks, and were transferred to

Fukushima Daini Power Station for consultation with a medical advisor.

- 4 workers were injured and transported to the hospital after explosive

sound and white smoke were confirmed around the Unit 1.

- 11 workers were injured and transported to Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power

Station etc. after explosive sound and white smoke were confirmed around

the Unit 3.One of the workers was transported to the FUKUSHIMA Medical

University Hospital at 10:56AM

- Presence of 2 TEPCO employees at the site is not confirmed.

Others

- We measured radioactive materials (iodine etc.) inside of the nuclear

power station area (outdoor) by monitoring car and confirmed that

radioactive materials level is getting higher than ordinary level. As

listed below, we have determined that specific incidents stipulated in

article 15, clause 1 of Act on Special Measures Concerning Nuclear

Emergency Preparedness (Abnormal increase in radiation dose measured at

site boundary) have occurred.

· Determined at 4:17 PM Mar 12th (Around Monitoring Post 4)

· Determined at 8:56 AM Mar 13th (Around Monitoring Post 4)

· Determined at 2:15 PM Mar 13th (Around Monitoring Post 4)

· Determined at 3:50 AM Mar 14th (Around Monitoring Post 6)

· Determined at 4:15 AM Mar 14th (Around Monitoring Post 2)

· Determined at 9:27 AM Mar 14th (Around Monitoring Post 3)

· Determined at 9:37 PM Mar 14th (Around main entrance)

· Determined at 6:51 AM Mar 15th (Around main entrance)

· Determined at 8:11 AM Mar 15th (Around main entrance)

· Determined at 4:17 PM Mar 15th (Around main entrance)

· Determined at 11:05 PM Mar 15th (Around main entrance)

- The national government has instructed evacuation for those local

residents within 20km radius of the periphery and evacuation to inside

for those residents from 20km to 30km radius of the periphery, because

it's possible that radioactive materials are discharged.

- At approximately 10AM on March 15th, we observed 400mSv/h at the inland

side of the Unit 3 reactor building and 100mSv/h at the inland side of

the Unit 4 reactor building.

- We found no signs of abnormal situation for the casks by visual

observation during the patrol activity. A detailed inspection is under

preparation.

- We will continue to take all measures to ensure the safety and to

continue monitoring the surrounding environment aroud the Power Station.

No numbers given of how much water fire pumps managed to squirt at the building.

[interestrateripoff]

http://money.msn.com/business-news/article.aspx?feed=AP&date=20110318&id=13184329

(AP) - The fuel rods at all six reactors at the stricken Fukushima Dai-ichi complex contain plutonium — better known as fuel for nuclear weapons. While plutonium is more toxic than uranium, other radioactive elements leaking out are likely to be of greater danger to the general public.

Only six percent of the fuel rods at the plant's Unit 3 were a mixture of plutonium-239 and uranium-235 when first put into operation. The fuel in other reactors is only uranium, but even there, plutonium is created during the fission process.

This means the fuel in all of the stricken reactors and spent fuel pools contain plutonium.

Plutonium is indeed nasty stuff, especially damaging to lungs and kidneys. It is also less stable than uranium and can more easily spark a dangerous nuclear chain reaction.

But plutonium, like uranium, is a heavy element that is not easily dispersed in the air. It is the other byproducts of nuclear power generation, such as radioactive forms of cesium and iodine, that are more prone to spread and cause widespread contamination.

Ed Lyman, a physicist at the activist group Union of Concerned Scientists, estimates the fuel in Unit 3 is 5 percent to 10 percent more dangerous than the fuel in the other crippled reactors.

A bit of good old hyperbole here?

[thecrashingisles]

Whether or not you agree with the IAEA's assessment, it does expose the press stories (CNN and others) that it was 'Offically' Level 6 two days ago were utter b*ll*cks. The press hadn't even checked with the IAEA, the panic-stirring muppets.

It was the French Atomic Safety Agency which rated it a 6.

[interestrateripoff]

http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2011/03/79398.html

TOKYO, March 18, Kyodo

The following is the known status as of Friday evening of each of the six reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant and the four reactors at the Fukushima Daini plant, both in Fukushima Prefecture, which were crippled by the magnitude 9.0 earthquake and the ensuing tsunami on March 11.

Fukushima Daiichi plant

-- Reactor No. 1 - Operation suspended after quake, cooling failure, partial melting of core, vapor vented, building housing reactor damaged Saturday by hydrogen explosion, roof blown off, seawater being pumped in.

-- Reactor No. 2 - Operation suspended after quake, cooling failure, seawater being pumped in, fuel rods fully exposed temporarily, vapor vented, building housing reactor damaged Monday by blast at reactor No. 3, blast sound heard near suppression pool of containment vessel on Tuesday, damage to containment vessel feared.

-- Reactor No. 3 - Operation suspended after quake, cooling failure, partial melting of core feared, vapor vented, seawater being pumped in, building housing reactor damaged Monday by hydrogen explosion, high-level radiation measured nearby on Tuesday, plume of smoke observed Wednesday and presumed to have come from spent-fuel storage pool, seawater dumped over pool by helicopter on Thursday, water sprayed at it from ground on Thursday and Friday.

-- Reactor No. 4 - Under maintenance when quake struck, temperature in spent-fuel storage pool reaching 84 C on Monday, fire Tuesday possibly caused by hydrogen explosion at pool holding spent fuel rods, fire observed Wednesday at building housing reactor, pool water level feared receding, renewed nuclear chain reaction feared, only skeleton of building survived the fires.

-- Reactors No. 5, 6 - Under maintenance when quake struck, water temperatures in spent-fuel storage pools increased to about 64 C on Thursday.

-- Spent-fuel storage pools at all reactors - Cooling functions lost at all reactors, water temperatures or levels unobservable at reactors No. 1 to 4.

Fukushima Daini plant

-- Reactors No. 1, 2, 4 - Operation suspended after quake, cooling failure, then cold shutdown.

-- Reactor No. 3 - Operation suspended after quake, cold shutdown.

==Kyodo

[interestrateripoff]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/16/us-japan-quake-fukushima-idUSTRE72F38220110316

Q+A: Risks at each reactor of Japan's stricken plant explained

(Reuters) - - The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant at the center of Japan's crisis has six reactors. The plant is operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co(TEPCO).

The following summarizes what is happening at each unit, and the major risks:

More at the link.

[cassiedog]

Just found this video, which on physics forums they're discussing the stuff oozing? from the building at 0:54

I heard 2 days ago the Yanks were sending a drone to help survey the situation, surely it should be in use by now.

Plus this vid is obviously taken from a chopper and initially spinning wildly, then it looks like the guy decided to use it normally through the window.

You would think they would have got hold of a RC flying camera by now, I mean Japan and gadgets.

in fact responsejp has a few chopper v ideos on his channel,

In this one they seem pretty interested in these stick things scattered all over the place!

http://www.youtube.com/user/responsejp#p/u/0/iZRSaQxvyU0

http://www.youtube.com/user/responsejp#p/u/1/z9fKtXDaQVc

Edited March 18, 2011 by cassiedog

[happy_renting]

Given the overall quality of broadcast material I guess the reporter misheard the rumour while pouring himself a latte in a cozy Tokyo office.

Don't be silly.

They dink tea in Japan and a Geisha would be pouring it for the journalist.

You don't believe the journalists actually get off their ars*s do you?

[Riedquat]

Now if your plan is to hook up power to the pumps, I'm of the opinion it would be a pretty good idea to check that the pumps are in a working state before you spend doing something which takes days and may not work.

How do you check the pumps are in a working state? Are they situated somewhere that's not safe to enter, therefore making it impossible to check them without turning them on and seeing if they go? Will having a power supply there be useful anyway, and does it make the most sense to try to use it first where you've got the biggest problem instead of the best chance of success?

[fluffy666]

He wrote this in February, not in response to current events. Not knowing any better I see his blog as a reliable source of information, should I avoid it?

They have an, ahem, 'creative' approach to reality at WUWT.

Although as far as radiation risks go, there does seem to be a huge amount of hysteria. As well as the fact that a rate of one serious accident every 20 odd years would be a miracle in most heavy industries..

[happy_renting]

It was the French Atomic Safety Agency which rated it a 6.

Yes, or at least one of the French agencies people.

I don't think the French were in the reactor doing on-the-spot assesments. Nor do I think you can have multiple organisations using the same scale to produce contradictory ratings. It wasn't France's call, which should have been obvious to any competent journalist.

It would have been the IAEA or possibly the Japanese authority. Any other assessment could not be 'official'.

The press just wanted the most dramatic assessment.

Edited March 18, 2011 by happy_renting

[stormymonday_2011]

FT and BBC guide to radiation exposure levels

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/42112bb0-5152-11e0-a9c6-00144feab49a,s01=1.html#axzz1GxOMluEj

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-12722435

Rates of at least 400 MSV per hour appear to have been reported at this incident.

This is 20 times the 20 mSv per year - current limit (averaged) for nuclear industry employees and uranium miners .

The FT article states the estimate is that a cumulative dose of 1000 MSv would cause fatal cancers in 5% of those exposed in later life.

Not a great outlook for those involved in trying to get this incident under control.

[chronyx]

This goes all the way to 11

[interestrateripoff]

How do you check the pumps are in a working state? Are they situated somewhere that's not safe to enter, therefore making it impossible to check them without turning them on and seeing if they go? Will having a power supply there be useful anyway, and does it make the most sense to try to use it first where you've got the biggest problem instead of the best chance of success?

Someone has to go and check them, irrespective of the risk. You might not be able to be 100% certain but I'm guessing that if your looking at the pump location and you can see debris has crushed the pump the chances of it working won't be good.

As I said at this stage you need information. How many pumps can you get to, how many are visible still there etc...

Same with the pipes you need to check there aren't huge holes and they are still connected.

Finding this out is risky but it's information you need to see if your plan is going to work.

[happy_renting]

This goes all the way to 11

A very helpful, carefully considered, factual and well-explained assessment.

[SHERWICK]

Ah, somewhere buried in the middle I found this little nugget:

-- Reactor No. 4 - Under maintenance when quake struck, temperature in spent-fuel storage pool reaching 84 C on Monday, fire Tuesday possibly caused by hydrogen explosion at pool holding spent fuel rods, fire observed Wednesday at building housing reactor, pool water level feared receding, renewed nuclear chain reaction feared, only skeleton of building survived the fires.

Oh well, I'm sure it's nothing to worry about though.

Edited March 18, 2011 by SHERWICK

[curious1]

http://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=480200&page=27

Yup there's something pretty nasty seeping forth out of the building. Can't be too hot though as it would surely have melted through the pipe at the bottom? Also no steam or smoke from it either.

[theonlywayisdown]

http://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=480200&page=27

Yup there's something pretty nasty seeping forth out of the building. Can't be too hot though as it would surely have melted through the pipe at the bottom? Also no steam or smoke from it either.

i wouldve hoped to see some thermal images of the reactors by now, surely if they're flying that close to be able to take record the buildings on video they'd also have the temperatures too.

[_w_]

They have an, ahem, 'creative' approach to reality at WUWT.

I find the site 'approachable' and useful for general news considering my lack of scientific skills. If you know of something better please let me know. TIA.

[Gigantic Purple Slug]

i wouldve hoped to see some thermal images of the reactors by now, surely if they're flying that close to be able to take record the buildings on video they'd also have the temperatures too.

Find it hard to understand why they haven't managed to erect some mobile cameras on telescopic platforms as well. With long distance lenses they could probably get some pretty good pictures.

Thermal imaging is a great idea, as it could probably be used to give a very good idea of some of the temperatures involved and what is going on in those pond storage areas without exposing people to significant risk.

Maybe we should get Sarah Bell to offer a fleet of Big Traks to take in some cameras. They are based on 80's technology so they would probably resist the radiation. We could also fill the trailer thingy up with some concrete for dumping.

[refusnik]

This is interesting...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayak

Haha, Mayak enrichment plant is the great place. It has been set up soon after WW2 and for many years has been dumping the radioactive slush into a nearby river. When local people started to die in droves they have covered the river banks with barbed wire and kept going. Late on they started to dump radioactive waste into a lake. After a while they were putting them into concreted holes in the ground and getting over with it. The above accident is one of these going kaboom and emitting contents up in the atmosphere falling down onto many hundreds of thousands of people. From environment perspective they'd do less damage if they were still dumping the glowing stuff into the river.