Posted on 03/23/2011 1:09:44 PM PDT by AwesomePossum
...black smoke was seen rising at the No. 3 reactor building...surface temperatures...have topped the maximum levels...high-level radiation amounting to at least 500 millisieverts per hour was detected...
(Excerpt) Read more at english.kyodonews.jp ...
I wouldn't bother our local experts with that. Hillary Clinton is our country's expert on matters of nuclear coolant and shipping of same. And she is very relaxed now so don't worry.
/s
You’re really weird.
They have not, as far as I know, used salt water on 5 and 6. The backup diesel for unit 6 either survived the tsunami or was brought back on line shortly after so they were able to maintain normal circulation of cooling water on those units, at least at a modest level. Also, while the fuel storage pools got up to 65-70 C., once they got the backup generator for unit 5 back on line, they were able to provide full cooling capacity for both units and their spent fuel ponds.
I'll note that both units 5 and 6 are several hundred meters to the north of units 1 through 4, and probably were added to the plant beyond its original design. They are also the newest of the 6, and may have benefitted from improved design and construction methods.
As far as I know, only unit 1 was destined to be removed from service this year. It is the oldest of the units, having gone commercial in 1971, whereas units 5 and 6 went commercial in 1978 and 1979 respectively. Also, while 5 is similar to 2, 3, and 4 (BWR-4), unit 6 is a BWR-5.
This nuclear crisis is spiraling out of control. The Japnese need to start entombnimg that plantb in concrete similar to Chernobyl.
I’m very disapoointed that the Japanese have let this thing drag on so long without a change in strategy. I hope that the loss of life is minimized.
Of course you can.
You just can't claim to be a rational person AND be terrified of this.
Choose one.
Ever hit stainless steel with water when it’s hot? Welcome to the steel pretzel factory.
I don't think they've vented the containment shells on 1 through 3 for the last couple of days. I think that the reactors are hot, but stable. It's the spent fuel pools that are of greater concern now.
That sounds like a reasonable assumption based on reports but I'm wondering....
That is releasing a heck of a lot of radiation into the environment. Why not just let it go into meltdown, wait fives years to cool and then clean it up. The plants are toast anyway, it's not like there is anything to save at this point beyond reducing exterior contamination.
That's if you see a nuclear flash. Don't look at the flash - it could blind you! Drop flat to the ground or behind any shelter that can b e taken instantly. Cover any exposed areas with anything that can limit burns from the intense light, or injury from flying debris. Stay covered for two minutes. Count the number of seconds from the flash to the blast wave arrival. If the blast does not arrive within two minutes, it will be considerably weaker. The number of seconds between the flash and the blast wave arrival divided by 5 gives a rough idea of your distance in miles from ground zero.
Oh Genius! Oh Sage!
The King of the Chicken Little’s calls me weird.
Sadly, I have no budget for a framed certificate.
Just saying... If you live in the dfw area or any large city, you should already know this! :)
Book a ticket and roll up yer sleeves. Disappointment and the Japanese culture do not coexist. If this event took place on American soil, they would still be forming a committee to award contracts on authorized response teams only after they are SEIU approved.
A bit more news like the above, and you'll hear crickets again.
Any rational person will be concerned about this kind of news, but there are A LOT of Freepers who owe the rest of us an apology.
You guys are making FR look like a bunch of Chicken Littles.
I'm telling you the sky is not falling, and there never was any danger of that happening.
You shouldn't let your emotions drvie you, that kind of stuff is for Liberals, not people who want to call themselves Freepers.
Good link. Interesting details about the various robots that are being requested by and sent to Japan. Glad to see iRobot Corp out of Massachusetts sending four. (I have a couple of their consumer Roomba robots. My dog hates! them!)
Your experience is helpful, I am sure, but you understand these nuclear boilers are very heavy thick steel — I’m not up on the specs, but they are far more able to handle high pressures and thermal differentials than a typical commercial or residential stainless steel boiler.
Reactors 5 and 6 were further away and I don't believe salt water was used to cool them.
And heck the things were due to be taken out of service in less than a year anyways.
Prior to this disaster, the plant's operating certificate was renewed for another decade. They were not planning on decommissioning any reactors this year.
Reactors 5 and 6 were several years newer than 1-3, and another two reactors were scheduled to be built at the plant.
Hillary’s a real crotch cooler, but I had no idea!
I’m not sure which low alloy steel is used in fabricating the reactor but it is not stainless steel. Yes, there are safety factors involved in the design and the operation of a nuclear power plant. For one thing the quality control requires mill certifications on the structural materials used in the construction. As on example, some of the steel may be an A36 spec. That means it will have a minimum tensile strength of 36,000 psi and ultimate tensile strength of 58,000–80,000 psi. The mill certification which documents the strength determined by the tests conducted on samples taken from the melt, is higher than 36,000. But 36,000 is what the safety factor is based on.
I don’t recall the ultimate but many of the mill certs we had for A36 was greater than 40,000 psi.
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