Study shows deeper meltdown at Japan nuke reactor

AP ^ | 11/30/11 | MARI YAMAGUCHI

[TigerLikesRooster]

Study shows deeper meltdown at Japan nuke reactor

AP

By MARI YAMAGUCHI | AP – 14 hrs ago

TOKYO (AP) — Radioactive debris from melted fuel rods may have seeped deeper into the floor of a Japan's tsunami-hit nuclear reactor than previously thought, to within a foot from breaching the crucial steel barrier, a new simulation showed Wednesday.

The findings will not change the ongoing efforts to stabilize the reactors more than eight months after the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant was disabled, but they harshly depict the meltdowns that occurred and conditions within the reactors, which will be off-limits for years.

The plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. said its latest simulation showed fuel at the No. 1 reactor may have eroded part of the primary containment vessel's thick concrete floor. The vessel is a beaker-shaped steel container, set into the floor. A concrete foundation below that is the last manmade barrier before earth.

[TigerLikesRooster]

P!

[lefty-lie-spy]

I was just doing my daily Fukushima check and just read this. Even better and more technical is the analysis at www.world-nuclear-news.org.

[Deagle]

False information regarding the meltdown for months... Why should this be believed?

[justa-hairyape]

Why should this be believed?

True. This is probably yesterdays news. Tepco/Japan does not want the world to know just how bad it actually has become. They decided to not distribute iodide tablets at first because it might cause a panic. That is their modus operandi.

[justa-hairyape]

Checked out that article at link. This quote is interesting.

Tepco said it was confident the melting had ceased due to the absence of gases that would be released by the high-temperature reactions between corium and concrete.

Yet they just recently decided to raise the RPV temps because their was too much hydrogen gas.

[ken5050]

Good morning...and a related question, if I may.

I remember reading, during the height of the crisis, about the incredibly brave engineers who went inside to try and shut it down, and avoid a total disaster.

Haven't seen anything since about how they're doing, healthwise...how much radiation they received, and any health prognoses.

Thanks

[justa-hairyape]

They wont tell us specific cases. Which is a shame. However, the man running the entire operation became ill in mid-November and had to stop working. They waited two weeks to let everyone know. His specific illness has not be detailed. His name is Masao Yoshida.

[NVDave]

I have no idea why it should be believed. It is a simulation. It should be put into the pile of “OK, that’s nice.”

There is, as of yet, no hard data about how far the core might have eroded the bottom of the vessel.

[bgill]

It’s anyone’s guess as to what’s really going on there. My guess from the start is the core was damaged and there’s no fixing it. Nothing they’ve put out and they’re constant readjusting of numbers hasn’t done anything to change my mind. YMMV.

[lefty-lie-spy]

It was obvious from the beginning what was happening. All that release of radionuclides can only be from a meltdown. I actually thought the corium had breached the containment vessel like at chernobyl though. I’ve learned a lot in my months of study since the quake.

[DB]

I’d think they’d be drilling horizontal holes under the containment structure to know for sure it hasn’t made it that far down.

[ken5050]

Thanks..I suspect it's more of a cultural thing..were the same event to occur here, the braveguys who went inside to try and shut it down would have already:

1. Hired lawyers to sue EVERYONE and ANYONE possible
2. Sign book and movie deals
3. Been interviewed by most, if not all, MSM outlets.

[AmericanInTokyo]

mongolian fire drill, no kidding

[Pontiac]

I’d think they’d be drilling horizontal holes under the containment structure to know for sure it hasn’t made it that far down.

I suspect that is not an option because such a tunnel would be below sea level and very like would flood and could make matters worse.

[justa-hairyape]

Well, if you got to go, might as well go out in a blaze of glory. On the other hand, read one story where the Yakuza were trying to get clients to pay off their debts by working for a certain amount of time at the facility. That was however, just a baseless rumor, no doubt.