Posted on 03/25/2011 4:01:14 AM PDT by blam
FUKUSHIMA: Reactor Core #3 Is Probably Damaged; Radiation May Increase; Japan Advises Locals To Flee
Gus Lubin
Mar. 25, 2011, 4:18 AM
Reactor core #3 is probably damaged, Japan's nuclear safety agency said Friday following the hospitalization of several plant workers yesterday.
Elevated radiation could be coming from a damaged reactor core or from cooling water. Either way radiation could increase.
Spokesman Hidehiko Nishiyama told a press conference: ''At present, our monitoring data suggest the (No. 3) reactor retains certain containment functions, but there is a good chance that the reactor has been damaged," according to Kyodo. The government is also considering bailing water out of reactor #3.
The government encouraged Japanese living within 18 miles of the nuclear plant to leave voluntarily.
There have been various reports that Japan is considering upgrading the crisis from 5 to 6 on the nuclear crisis scale.
Prime Minister Naoto Kan is expected to address the nation within hours.
Shares of plant-operator TEPKO dropped another 2.4% in Tokyo, after plunging 14% the previous day.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
Where is the “Just Damn” guy when you need him?
Radiation levels in the U.S., particularly on the west coast, will continue to gradually increase so long as the Fukishima plant keeps spewing out radiation.
You would probably get more radiation standing in your basement though. Still, this sucks for the Japanese. and the nuclear power industry.
Anyway, my son (PhD physics), is presently living in the LA area and said that he's not worried about any radiation from this incident but does take comfort in having the potassium iodide. So....
I thought this crisis had already been rated a 6.
At any rate they need to entomb those reactors in concrete ASAP.
Only one more point to go after that - to full disaster.
Anyone pooh poohing any detrimental radiation to our shores - How many days/weeks of even low level radiation accumulation on a 24 hour per basis before someone says WTF?
We hear about- ‘no more that a dental xray, etc...but would you want to have that dental xray 24 hrs a day, day in and day out? What does it accumulate too? Which KINDS of radiation are escaping?
BTW, Chernobyl evacuated a 19 mile radius the 2nd day.
Why is here no hint or demand to cap these things? Stop fiddling around trying to save their precious plants - over the safety of people.
5,000 degree molten uranium/plutonium encased in anything is a bomb. There’s 90,000 lbs of NaCl encasing the rods right now too thanks to the sea water being sprayed on them. What happens to 90,000+ lbs of NaCl when you encase it with 5,000 degree molten Uranium/Plutonium? Nothing good probably. As I understand it, there is no known protocol for this emergency scenario. It isn’t “in the books”. This is the worst case scenario.
they aren’t trying to save the plants, they sacrificed them when they started dousing them with sea water. They don’t know what to do. If it were as simple as pouring concrete on them, it would already be done. This is approaching as bad as it can possibly get.
Time actually works on your side. It is getting too much to fast that does you in.
BTW, Chernobyl evacuated a 19 mile radius the 2nd day.
Which goes to show you how much danger you are not in. Chernobyl was worst case -- the core itself exploded spewing radioactivity into the air and environment.
Go outside and look up on a clear day. That bright thing is a giant nuclear furnace, spewing unimaginable amounts of radiation. You are only protected by a magnetic field and an atmosphere that we regularly send astronauts out of. We've even sent them outside the magnetic field.
Our standards for radiation exposure are ridiculously low -- while that is not a bad thing the media is being wholly unscrupulous in their reporting. They are implying that exceeding those standards by even small amounts is permanently harmful. It isn't, not by a longshot.
Notice that they are not telling you how much radiation exposure anyone is getting relative to truly harmful levels. (Except in the immediate vicinity of the plant.)
How do you cap something that’s already encased in a steel lined reinforced concrete structure? The plants are not designed like Chernobyl.
Too bad about the hit to the nuclear power industry. This was a 9.0 earthquake and not likely anywhere else and nuclear power is certainly necessary... but oh well. This probably pretty much dooms it in the USA.
Which is all the more reason we have to push for “Drill Here, Drill Now”.
Because if we’re going to survive economically, we need our own energy. And we’ve got enough oil, gas and coal to supply it.
What really concerns me for our Japanese friends is that Japan itself is not very big considering it's population. If that arez becomes irradiated to the point where it's inhabitable, and the radiation spreads...God help them.
You ain't kidding. Wow :(
Continuing prayers for the people of Japan and all in harm's way.
Well, I’ve been following this somewhat closely. The Japanese authorities haven’t been forthright with information so I have to read between the lines.
What this report tells me is that they expect #3’s containment vessel to be melted-through soon and want to remove the water around it to prevent explosions. Explosions would spread the Pu-239 and U-235 containing fuel around the area and likely into the ocean too.
The MOX meltdown needs to contact the lining under the reactor vessel, not seawater if it is to be kept from exploding.
Well, OK if thats the case then maybe we should all just bend over, put our head between our knees and kiss our asses goodbye.
Come'on there has to be a solution...the Japanese can't simply let this thing continue to radiate for a millenium...and they can't continue to spray water on reactors that are caked with salt. They need to bury the things. The reactor at TMI experienced a meltdown but it was contained in the reactor vessel. Fifteen years later the melted core had cooled and they were able to clean out the melted fuel.
Japan Cows Barred From Grazing as Damaged Plant Leaks Radiation:
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