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Japan Nuke Disaster Could Be Worse Than Chernobyl
Inter Press Service News Agency ^ | March 18, 2011 | Stephen Leahy

Posted on 03/17/2011 8:49:37 PM PDT by NRG1973

A global nuclear disaster potentially worse than Chernobyl may be under way in Japan as hundreds of tonnes of highly radioactive spent nuclear fuel are open to the sky, and may be on fire and emitting radioactive particles into the atmosphere.

Many countries have advised their citizens in Japan to leave the country.

"This is uncharted territory. There is a 50-percent chance they could lose all six reactors and their storage pools," said Jan Beyea, a nuclear physicist with a New Jersey consulting firm called Consulting in the Public Interest.

"I'm surprised the situation hasn't gotten worse faster... But without a breakthrough it's only a matter of days before spent fuels will melt down," said Ed Lyman, a physicist at the Union of Concerned Scientists and an expert on nuclear plant design.

(Excerpt) Read more at ipsnews.net ...


TOPICS: Japan; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: checkenlittle; energy; hysteria; japanearthquake; ohnoes; oneborneveryminute; theskyisfalling
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I don't know how this will all turn out and I know there is a lot of sensationalism attached to this story but the following info from the article is quite revealing.

For comparison, Chernobyl held 180 tonnes of nuclear fuel. Fukushima Daiichi has 560 tonnes of nuclear fuel in its reactors along with 1,700 tonnes of spent fuel.

1 posted on 03/17/2011 8:49:42 PM PDT by NRG1973
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To: NRG1973

I’m glad I’m not doing a shot every time I see this headline. I’d be too dead to type right now.


2 posted on 03/17/2011 8:51:51 PM PDT by WhistlingPastTheGraveyard (Some men just want to watch the world burn.)
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To: NRG1973

The sensationalism is because these people are too stupid to actually say what’s going on? They flunked science. The sad part is most people would not understand it if they read it.

Thank public schools and their unions - not to mention the school board that let it happen.


3 posted on 03/17/2011 8:52:13 PM PDT by longun45 (Still think a revolution cannot happen here? It's HERE!!!!!!! And we are on the move)
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To: NRG1973
New Jersey consulting firm called Consulting in the Public Interest. "I'm surprised the situation hasn't gotten worse faster... But without a breakthrough it's only a matter of days before spent fuels will melt down," said Ed Lyman, a physicist at the Union of Concerned Scientists

A pair of commie fronts.

4 posted on 03/17/2011 8:54:51 PM PDT by Travis McGee (www.EnemiesForeignAndDomestic.com)
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To: longun45

The liberals are already using this incident to quash any future nuclear power in this country. Angela Merkel in Germany is ordering nuclear plants there to be shut down, inspected, etc. But the word is Germany may abandon nuclear power altogether.

How many people have been killed in nuclear power plant accidents? How many have been killed in coal fired power plant accidents? How many have been killed in oil refinery accidents? How many are killed and injured in coal mining accidents? How many are killed or injured in all types of industrial accidents compared to nuclear power accidents?

The Japan situation, while very serious, should not be used to embargo future nuclear power development. The liberals should be called out on using a catastrophe to push a political agenda. They are shameless.


5 posted on 03/17/2011 8:57:07 PM PDT by Dilbert San Diego
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To: NRG1973

Chernobyl had no containment vessels, and they were graphite-moderated. Graphite which incidentally caught fire, causing a rather largish draft that swept a rather largish amount of radioactive stuff into the air. These reactors have containment vessels, and aren’t graphite moderated. Two big differences.


6 posted on 03/17/2011 9:00:09 PM PDT by coloradan (The US has become a banana republic, except without the bananas - or the republic.)
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To: Travis McGee
Union of Concerned Scientists

Soros/Tides. The bastards are everywhere.

7 posted on 03/17/2011 9:00:24 PM PDT by WhistlingPastTheGraveyard (Some men just want to watch the world burn.)
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To: NRG1973
Japan Nuke Disaster Could Be Worse Than Chernobyl

On the other hand, it might not be "worse than Chernobyl".

8 posted on 03/17/2011 9:01:11 PM PDT by FlingWingFlyer (If you thought the lame duck Congress was fun, you're gonna love a lame duck Kenyan president.)
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To: NRG1973

“Consulting in the Public Interest.”

LOL go away!


9 posted on 03/17/2011 9:01:38 PM PDT by Cheetahcat ( November 4 2008 ,A date which will live in Infamy.)
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To: Travis McGee

All this crap wouldn’t be filling the information void if the Japanese would provide detailed consistent information that didn’t contradict our lying eyes.


10 posted on 03/17/2011 9:01:46 PM PDT by DB
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To: NRG1973
You might try reading the Free Republic article titled : Why Fukushima Daiichi won't be another Chernobyl in view of believing the agitprop spewed by the MSM.
11 posted on 03/17/2011 9:02:28 PM PDT by pyx (Rule#1.The LEFT lies.Rule#2.See Rule#1. IF THE LEFT CONTROLS THE LANGUAGE, IT CONTROLS THE ARGUMENT.)
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To: longun45

There is a “family pack” of potassium iodide on e-bay now with a buy-it-now price of $5000. Seems a little pricey, but it does include free shipping.


12 posted on 03/17/2011 9:03:24 PM PDT by Sooth2222 ("Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of congress. But I repeat myself." M.Twain)
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To: coloradan
Chernobyl had no containment vessels, and they were graphite-moderated. Graphite which incidentally caught fire, causing a rather largish draft that swept a rather largish amount of radioactive stuff into the air. These reactors have containment vessels, and aren’t graphite moderated. Two big differences.

The 1700 tons of spent fuel at Fukushima aren't in containment vessels either. Thats why they say this is potentially worse than Chernobyl.

13 posted on 03/17/2011 9:03:36 PM PDT by NRG1973
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To: NRG1973

No. It won’t be. This headline is muckraking.


14 posted on 03/17/2011 9:04:07 PM PDT by yldstrk (My heroes have always been cowboys)
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To: NRG1973
But it's potentially less bad because that waste is not situated within many, many tons of burning graphite, as was the case in Chernobyl.
15 posted on 03/17/2011 9:05:34 PM PDT by coloradan (The US has become a banana republic, except without the bananas - or the republic.)
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To: coloradan

While all of that is true, apparently there are large amounts of fuel, and not all of it spent, in large holding tanks that are neither contained or currently under control. None of the reactors have to be breached in order to cause a huge mess.

I don’t make any claim to know what’s going on with those tanks - but currently nobody is actually saying...


16 posted on 03/17/2011 9:06:46 PM PDT by DB
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To: yldstrk

Educate, Educate, I had a college professor of History, taught me well. He said, It isn’t good enough to know what happened, you must know the why, and how. Soon we will know the why and how and not just what. For now its just speculation by special interest groups, of which we already know the why and how !


17 posted on 03/17/2011 9:10:38 PM PDT by juma (What i s the real answer ? Does anyone Know ?)
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To: yldstrk

Educate, Educate, I had a college professor of History, taught me well. He said, It isn’t good enough to know what happened, you must know the why, and how. Soon we will know the why and how and not just what. For now its just speculation by special interest groups, of which we already know the why and how !


18 posted on 03/17/2011 9:10:44 PM PDT by juma (What i s the real answer ? Does anyone Know ?)
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To: NRG1973

I posted an article days ago, about how this isn’t a Chernobyl but could be a super Chernobyl. Man did I get clobbered by responses...

We’ll see.

I pray it gets contained. Ain’t looking good so far.


19 posted on 03/17/2011 9:10:57 PM PDT by Freddd
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To: yldstrk
You might try reading the Free Republic article titled : Why Fukushima Daiichi won't be another Chernobyl in view of believing the agitprop spewed by the MSM.

That article doesn't address the fact that there are 1700 tons of spent fuel rods in Fukushima (not inside a containment vessel) versus only 180 tons of fuel at Chernobyl.

I know that we are all supposed to hate the MSM and we are supposed to love nuclear fuel becuase the left hates it, but c'mon, the numbers speak for themselves. If the Japanese lose control of the situation this could potentially be worse than Chernobyl.

The Japanese made a huge mistake by keeping so much spent fuel onsite and outside a containment vessel. Lets all hope that it doesn't come home to bite them in the arse.

20 posted on 03/17/2011 9:11:33 PM PDT by NRG1973
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