Posted on 03/12/2011 2:57:10 PM PST by janetjanet998
TOKYO – Japan's nuclear safety agency is reporting an emergency at a second reactor in the same complex where an explosion had occurred earlier. The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said early Sunday that the cooling system malfunctioned at Unit 3 of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant. The agency said it was informed of the emergency by Tokyo Electric, the utility which runs the plant. No further details of the troubles at Unit 3 were immediately available. An explosion occurred at another reactor in the complex on Saturday, destroying the building housing the reactor and handing authorities an urgent complication amid rescue and relief efforts a day after Friday's earthquake and tsunami devastated Japan's northeastern coast.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
You know the huge fight we are in to curtail government spending? Japan's national debt is 228% of GDP, behind only Zimbabwe in this catagory. They are more broke than we are.
Yes, these are serious technical emergencies dealing with potentially dangerous radioactive equipment, but the fact is the situation is under control and there has not been a major release of radiation.
It’s a testament to excellent Japanese engineering and construction that these plants have survived a 9.1 magnitude quake and inundation by a tsunami. They may well never operate again but they are being brought under control by highly skilled people in such a way as to minimize the hazards as safely as possible.
An entire concrete outer containment building for one of their nuclear reactors was annihilated in a massive hydrogen explosion. They have not survived. We have two other reactors in trouble.
You can be as alarmed as you want to be and the press wants you to be and Greenpeace “nuclear expers” want you to be
Of course the GOJ is speaking calmly, they are not worried about ratings. And people’s lives helath and welfare are in their hands. Our press and Reuters ought to be ashamed of some of the hysteria they are whipping up
Use of the term “containment building” is a bit misleading, the real containment system is all that steel buried in all that concrete - if there is a meltdown and everything stays in that vessel, they lose the reactor but the system design worked
I am reassured by the calmness of my expert and the fact his govt cell phone hasn’t gone off all weekend. He keeps reminding me that more people died in the Texas City Disaster than Chernobyl and TMI
Dont have internet, cable, sat or local TV. Almost everything I get is through links and post here on Freerepublic. And we here on Freerepublic knew about stuff happening 45 minutes before even the Japanese public knew. As reported here by a Japanese freeper.
Re: hydrogen explosion?
Conflicting reports. One report was stuck steam valve, preventing release of steam to decrease pressure ... so the explosion would have been a steam pressure explosion, not a hydrogen explosion.
See forensic analysis at http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/RS_Battle_to_stabilise_earthquake_reactors_1203111.html and latest status at http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/11031302-e.html
That's for sure! I think I read somewhere that 1 lb of plutonium would kill everyone on earth, dispersed well enough.
One thing you never hear from the anti-nukes is that we
don't rally create radioactivity (or only minuscule amounts
in an accelerator) but only concentrate what occurs naturally to make it more usable, like any other metal. The scenario here is that it would be made more easily
ingested. You could say the same thing about arsenic, lead,
even water.
It's a testament to their engineering and construction skills that any buildings are still standing after all they are going through.
Don't forget breeder reactors.
I used to crimp oxide coated lead fishing sinkers with my teeth as a kid. That probably explains a few things...
You're right, skipped over that one. Just trying make the
point that radiation is not an unnatural phenomenon.
Press Release (Mar 13,2011 2 am)
Plant Status of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (as of 2am March 13th)
All 6 units of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station have been shut down.
Unit 1(Shut down)
- Reactor has been shut down. However, the unit is under inspection due to the explosive sound and white smoke that was confirmed after the big quake occurred at 3:36PM.
- We have been injecting sea water and boric acid which absorbs neutrons into the reactor core.
Unit 2(Shut down)
- Reactor and Reactor Core Isolation Cooling System have been shut down.
Current reactor water level is lower than normal level, but the water level is steady. After fully securing safety, we are preparing to implement a measure to reduce the pressure of the reactor containment vessels under the instruction of the national government.
Unit 3(Shut down)
- Reactor has been shut down and we continue injecting water by High Pressure Core Injection System. After fully securing safety, we are preparing to implement a measure to reduce the pressure of the reactor containment vessel under the instruction of the national government.
- Currently, we do not believe there is any reactor coolant leakage inside the reactor containment vessel.
Unit 4 (shut down due to regular inspection)
- Reactor has been shut down and sufficient level of reactor coolant to ensure safety is maintained.
- Currently, we do not believe there is any reactor coolant leakage inside the reactor containment vessel.
Unit 5 (outage due to regular inspection)
- Reactor has been shut down and sufficient level of reactor coolant to ensure safety is maintained.
- Currently, we do not believe there is any reactor coolant leakage inside the reactor containment vessel.
Unit 6 (outage due to regular inspection)
- Reactor has been shut down and sufficient level of reactor coolant to ensure safety is maintained.
- Currently, we do not believe there is any reactor coolant leakage inside the reactor containment vessel.
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 with his hand holding left chest was transported to the hospital by an ambulance.
- 1 subcontract worker at important 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 was transported to the hospital.
- 4 workers were injured and transported to the hospital after explosive sound and white smoke were confirmed around the Unit 1.
- Presence of 2 TEPCO employees at the site are not confirmed
Others
- We measured radioactive materials inside of the nuclear power station area (outdoor) by monitoring car and confirmed that radioactive materials level is higher than ordinary level. Also, the level at monitoring post is higher than ordinary level. We will continue to monitor in detail the possibility of radioactive material being discharged from exhaust stack or discharge canal. The national government has instructed evacuation for those local residents within 20km radius of the periphery because it's possible that radioactive materials are discharged.
- We will continue to take all measures to restore the security of the site and to monitor the environment of the site periphery.
Just to be specific, the secondary containment building was damage not the primary containment, and in this design that is an important distinction. Those square buildings you see are not, repeat, NOT the primary containment vessel for this design.
Again, this is not a Chernobyl scope event and is not likely to turn into one. Yes, the problems are serious, but not insurmountable as long as cool heads prevail.
Ours included.
Hmmm Hmmmm. And right about now, he’s likely spotting out that drop of gravy he spilled onto his tux ...just waiting for his turn at the podium at the press dinner — Japan, the impending nuclear disaster, the lives of thousands including Americans in residence and those on ships in harm’s way far, far in the back of his mind.
God help us all. 2012 isn’t going to get to us in time.
Hydrogen explosion as reported by Japanese officials.
Roof was sent ballistic, upper walls vaporized, only some steel frame beams remain in the upper section. Reactor Number 3 now having cooling problems. As Drudge is now reporting, that is the sixth reactor they have had problems with. 4 others were shutdown safely, but even those shutdowns were scary.
Reported to be a massive hydrogen explosion. That hydrogen can only collect inside the containment building if the reactor system was leaking. Venting hydrogen gas into an enclosed space is not normal operating procedures.
Re: hydrogen explosion
Didn’t find a Japanese source, but did find a lot of NPR and ABC sources, quoting “engineers” like this communications guy in London ...
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/03/12/3162554.htm
A nuclear industry official says he believes the blast was due to hydrogen igniting, and may not pose a further threat.
“It is obviously an hydrogen explosion... due to hydrogen igniting,” Ian Hore-Lacy, communications director at the World Nuclear Association, a London-based industry body, said.
“If the hydrogen has ignited, then it is gone, it doesn’t pose any further threat.”
TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s top govt spokesman says partial meltdown likely under way at second reactor.
so #3 has had a meltdown too now
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