Posted on 03/12/2011 8:16:13 AM PST by Chunga85
The Institute for Public Accuracy issued the following statement by nuclear expert, Kevin Kamp, about the risk of nuclear disaster in post-Earthquake Japan: The electrical grid is down. The emergency diesel generators have been damaged. The multi-reactor Fukushima atomic power plant is now relying on battery power, which will only last around eight hours. The danger is, the very thermally hot reactor cores at the plant must be continuously cooled for 24 to 48 hours. Without any electricity, the pumps wont be able to pump water through the hot reactor cores to cool them. Once electricity is lost, the irradiated nuclear fuel could begin to melt down. If the containment systems fail, a catastrophic radioactivity release to the environment could occur.
In addition to the reactor cores, the storage pool for highly radioactive irradiated nuclear fuel is also at risk. The pool cooling water must be continuously circulated. Without circulation, the still thermally hot irradiated nuclear fuel in the storage pools will begin to boil off the cooling water. Within a day or two, the pools water could completely boil away. Without cooling water, the irradiated nuclear fuel could spontaneously combust in an exothermic reaction. Since the storage pools are not located within containment, a catastrophic radioactivity release to the environment could occur. Up to 100 percent of the volatile radioactive Cesium-137 content of the pools could go up in flames and smoke, to blow downwind over large distances. Given the large quantity of irradiated nuclear fuel in the pool, the radioactivity release could be worse than the Chernobyl nuclear reactor catastrophe of 25 years ago.
(Excerpt) Read more at blogs.forbes.com ...
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/12/japan-quake-nuclear-cooling-idUSLHE7EB02D20110312
Reuters) - A quake-hit Japanese nuclear plant reeling from an explosion at one of its reactors has also lost its emergency cooling system at another reactor, Japan’s nuclear power safety agency said on Sunday.
The emergency cooling system is no longer functioning at the No.3 reactor at Tokyo Electric Power Co’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power facility, requiring the facility to urgently secure a means to supply water to the reactor, an official of the Japan Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency told a news conference.
Hi Lucy,
You may want to retract the posting of those two maps, for the following reasons:
The second map has absolutely nothing to do with the current situation. Nothing at all. I’ve seen that map before, and it’s a sample radioactive fallout pattern map in the event of a nuclear war, in which nuclear weapons strike various targets in the United States.
That’s not remotely related to the current situation.
The first map is utter BS. It basically predicts that virtually everybody in at least 1/4th of the entire United States is likely to die, and die quickly, as the result of a reactor meltdown in Japan (and a good percentage of the rest of the US population would probably die not long after).
In order for this to be true, we would have to have a situation roughly one MILLION times worse than the Chernobyl disaster.
Yet all indications I’ve seen is that a WORST-case scenario (which doesn’t seem to be developing) is probably going to be less of a problem than Chernobyl was.
So this map is (frankly) utter bull****, apparently thrown out on the internet by some immature little jerk*** who thought his sense of importance might be enhanced if he could scare some other people out of their wits.
By posting it, you’re only playing into his hands.
Even MSNBC is calling BS on this...:
“Chernobyl-Scale Disaster Very Unlikely In Japan, Experts Say”
“...The Chernobyl accident spread radioactive material over a large area, but this was due to a massive fire of graphite in the reactor. The reactor in Japan does not use graphite in the core,” Peter Caracappa, a nuclear engineer at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, told LiveScience.
The Fukushima and Chernobyl facilities also differ greatly in design. “The Japanese reactor also has a containment building designed to contain the products of an accident,” Caracappa wrote in an e-mail. “The Chernobyl reactor did not have one...”
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42049337
I would bet that a few heads will roll over in Japan for not securing the backup diesel generators a little bit better.
BREAKING:
CNN now reporting agency in Japan saying meltdown may now be underway.
By the way, I'm not saying the situation isn't serious. It is, and this news is definitely in that category. But a prediction that a third of the United States may well be dying off next week as a result is way off the charts.
Ding...ding...ding...
We’ve got a winner!
From Google:
Your search - +fukushima +site:australian-radiation-services.com.au - did not match any documents.
Zero commentary whatsoever about Fukushima on the Australian Radiation Service web site. None.
Whoa...is anyone even thinking that? This is about Japan- not the United States. I've only jumped around some of the threads so haven't seen people predicting Armageddon.
When you look at the BS map (referred to earlier) that shows the western portion of the US being soaked with 750 rads of radiation, and look up the effects of such a dose of radiation, that’s the obvious implication.
Meanwhile, I’ve just been watching live TV from Tokyo. From what I understand, officials have given the Fukushima #1 nuclear reactor accident (the one with the explosion) a severity rating of 4 out of 7.
Some live quotes going on now...
“We believe there will be no danger of massive amounts of radiation...”
“Even without the building, if the container is safe, we’ll be able to contain radioactive substances... this container is firm... we believe radioactive leakage will not happen... we have to make sure it doesn’t boil... we need to cool the reactor...”
They aren’t even talking about the problem with reactor #2 at the moment.
Back to reporting about the quake and tsunami warnings.
Bottom line: nobody I’m listening to sounds like they think the end of the world is imminent in regard to the present situation with either of the reactors.
I found this on their website:
If you would like more information on any aspect of radiation please contact info@australian-radiation-services.com.au
True. But I think that this disaster in Japan will bury all hopes for the nuclear power in the U.S. for another generation.
No repeat of Chernobyl disaster for Japan-experts
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/no-repeat-of-chernobyl-disaster-for-japan-experts/
“The explosion at No. 1 generating set of the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan, which took place today, will not be a repetition of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster,” said Valeriy Hlyhalo, deputy director of the Chernobyl nuclear safety centre.
He was quoted by Interfax news agency as saying Japanese reactors were better protected than Chernobyl, where just over 30 firefighters were killed in the explosion. The world’s worst civilian nuclear disaster, Chernobyl has also been blamed for thousands of deaths due to radiation-linked illness.
“Apart from that, these reactors are designed to work at a high seismicity zone, although what has happened is beyond the impact the plants were designed to withstand,” Hlyhalo said.
“Therefore, the consequences should not be as serious as after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.”
Pay no attention to those steam turbine driven pumps behind the wall.
I hope this does not put a dent in the Obamas lavish lifestyle. I know how much they love that Kobe Beef. /s
Seems to me there might be a lot of party line pundit (sheep)/nuclear experts looking for an [EDIT] button. Dopes.
good find - this guy is clueless and has no experience in the nuclear field.
That may be true. I imagine it is.
However, there is one thing they do not control. That is mother nature.
I see they had another Earthquake (to add to the hundreds they have already had in the past day) in the 6.1 range.
What if the Earthquakes continue, and get worse? I am not trying to encourage 'fear', just saying we should be aware the place is still rockin and rollin.
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