Massive Quake Hits NE Japan

[dannubis]

I guess doc has run out of clean underwair in the mean time ?

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

I had to go back and check.
it is Number 3

Michio Kaku must be getting some inside information from someone within the Jap government. He stated on ABC yesterday that this was going to happen to the third reactor because it was leaking out the seawater that was being pumped in to keep it from melting.
I think he knows his stuff.

Number 3 is where the bulk of the raidation is coming from. GIven what I could see of the remaining structure fromthe picture the upper decks of containment were severely damaged if existing. The upper decks are where the spent fuel pools reside. Hence my earleir concerns regarding SFP integrity. This is where presuambly the radiation is coming from. Spent fuel pools are the place where fuel after being removed from the core during a refueling outage goes to die, before being packed up as nuclear waste or reprocessed recylced into new fuel. The fuel typcially after 3 cycles of use has exhausted most of it fissile material but still is hot and needs to decay off.

The fuel placed in the pools is typically desigend to have cooling applied to it to maintain pool temperatures less than boiling typcially 185 F max.

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

That being said I would expect the nasties in the sfp to be in lower concentration than that of reactor contents

[Guynemer]

Speaking strictly as an observer, the fact that news continues to only get worse is troubling. Hopefully that spike in radiation is just that--a spike, and nothing more.

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

Speaking strictly as an observer, the fact that news continues to only get worse is troubling. Hopefully that spike in radiation is just that--a spike, and nothing more.

The situation is deteriorating no doubt the worst case may be realized. Realize that situation will be a local impact to a deserted evacuated area. Thank God. My thoughts and prayers to the remaining 50 operators at the site. Heroes

[Wezil]

In my professional opinion as a nurse...

A basic education should be a requirement for a health care professional.

[Wezil]

Ontario just killed plans for massive wind turbine farms because it turns out they're environmentally unfriendly. They chop up a lot of birds.

Not entirely true. They killed an offshore project (out in lake Ontario) because the politics were bad.

[a.kitman]

http://www.jaif.or.jp/english/ good place for reports. latest scorecard for the reactors http://www.jaif.or.jp/english/news_i...300189582P.pdf.

[The Mad Monk]

Kaku is now saying they should sandbag the reactors Chernobyl-style, NOW.

[Hauldren Collider]

Are you serious? Man, American schools suck.

We regularly played with hydrochloric acid, at least.

Parental worrywarts

[Hauldren Collider]

I'd rather have a wind turbine.

I'd rather have something capable of producing electricity. Going without power sucks.

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

One of the three reactors that was shut down now appears to be on fire as well? WTF?

Ogie: It sounded like there have been reports that the third explosion did damage the reactor vessel, and also possibly that the seawater they were pumping in to cool it was leaking out. Where would the water that leaks out be going, just pooling on the floor of the containment building?

Think I already responded to this in the thread. A number of reports indicating now that unit 2 RPV is damaged and may be leaking. That gives me no solid info to work from. If the hole in the vessel head or in the upper part of the vessle than the considerations are that the coolant will vaporize easily as the vessel will not be able to hold pressure. Thus the ability to maintain coolant invnetory in the RPV unit 2 becomes a much more difficult task.

OTOH if the damage to the vessel is below fuel level near the bottom of the vessel then the issue is not only ability to add coolant but moreover becomes tansport of the coolant and melted fuel outside the RPV confines into the primary containment. Primary containment is designed to catch and contain a core of molten fuel. That being said its theoretical.

For now it appears unit 1 and 3 are stablized from the reactor perspective. Large rad increases around unit 3 likely are due to loss of spent fuel pool around unit 3. Unlike the reactor contents that have uranium and fission byproducts within them. The spent fuel pool radiation sources are mainly activated crud that accumulates on fuel rods (rust and the like) assuming none of the spent fuel rods themselves were ruptured.

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

A bit of news regarding unit 4.

NEI claims the fire was caused by lube oil catching fire in the unit 4 recirc pumps. While any fire is a concern it would appear to not be safety critical (in nuclear speak safety means ability to shut reactor down and not emit radiation to the public). The fire was extinguished and while some secondary containment damage resulted the unit 4 is not in immediate threat.

Unit 2 seems to be the real concern especially since it was uncovered for such a long time.

[Docfeelgood]

A basic education should be a requirement for a health care professional.

Is this a medical opinion? or is this your own personal opinion?

[Docfeelgood]

I guess doc has run out of clean underwair in the mean time ?

Of all the concerns, you want to know about my underwear?

Are you serious? You make fun of me when I am concerned for all those peoples lives? Do you have any humanity at all?