Massive Quake Hits NE Japan

[germanos]

[germanos]

BBC 7:30 GMT

The Japanese government has sought to play down fears of a radiation leak at the Fukushima plant.

But the plant's operators, Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco), said radiation levels around the plant had now risen above permissible limits.

Government spokesman Yukio Edano acknowledged it was possible that a meltdown had occurred at reactor 3.

The BBC's Chris Hogg in Tokyo says a meltdown at reactor 3 would be potentially more serious than at the other reactors, because it is fuelled by plutonium and uranium, unlike the other units which carry only uranium.

Experts say as long as authorities can keep fuel rods in the core covered with water, they should be able to avoid a major disaster.

Emergency workers were pumping in seawater to cool the rods, but one report suggested the tops of the rods had briefly been exposed.

Technicians opened valves at reactor 3, allowing small amounts of radioactive vapour to escape in a bid to reduce the pressure in the unit.

They performed a similar operation on the first reactor, hours before the explosion that wrecked the building it was housed in.

[Thorn]

This is horrific, my real thoughts and prayers are with those that are affected!

[Koyaanisqatsi]

Dear god.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/events/japan-quake-2011/beforeafter.htm

[germanos]

Video of the pic I posted above.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12725646

[Heraclitus]

Prob so, but no amount of radiation is safe. Even a four year old knows this.

There are people who finish primary school who really think this? And then I'm the bad guy for arguing in favor of eugenics.

Reminds me of Katrina. At least there isn't looting going on, that we know of anyways.

I think the Japanese people wouldn't devolve into looting unless it was a serious life threatening situation. It would go against all of their cultural traditions.

Agree. There wasn't any notable instance of it in the aftermath of the Kobe earthquake back in 1995. It would come as a great shock to me if the Japanese started rioting or looting in the aftermath of this disaster. Generally looting and rioting is pretty rare in developed countries during natural disasters, New Orleans was due to peculiar factors and wasn't typical even in the US, for example when Iowa and Missouri where under water during the summer of 2008 there wasn't really any looting to speak of either.



Anyway my heart goes out to the poor people in the disaster. I've donated some money to relief, I'd encourage others to do the same.

[Docfeelgood]

There are people who finish primary school who really think this? And then I'm the bad guy for arguing in favor of eugenics.

So, your a nuclear expert also? Tell me, if your getting a yearly dose of radiation every hour.....what does it do to the human body? What is the long term effect to the population exposed to radiation such as this problem Japan is having now?
When soon will people be able to move back into the area if the core melts down?
I am so glad there are so many experts here at Poly!

[Wezil]

No problem Doc but we need you to keep doing your share. Keep scouring the media for the "truth" (i.e. the scariest stories you can find) and post them here, We depend on you so don't let us down.

[Docfeelgood]

No problem Doc but we need you to keep doing your share. Keep scouring the media for the "truth" (i.e. the scariest stories you can find) and post them here, We depend on you so don't let us down.

Don't blame me for what the news media is saying.
If you know that these scary stories are in fact non truthful, please discredit these reports.
I can't tell truth from fiction. If I the common man is depending on the news for my info what does this say about the news media and the masses as well.
I think the only real person here who is the expert is OLGIE.

[germanos]

For effects on health Guynemer is probably a better source. Ogie is an (nuclear?) engineer by the sound of it.

And you're free to dismiss any jerk remark like the one Hera posted. It sounds like he still is in primary school.

[Wezil]

I'm just complementing you on your quest to separate the Lies from the Truth.

They are downplaying it so much don't know what they are talking about.

I'm skipping around trying to wade through the media BS.

in order to prevent mass hysteria the Jap Gov is downplaying the truth. typical!

I hope they are telling the truth.

It is so hard to tell who is telling the truth. Are the news media making up stories for ratings? hope not.

If any here are old enough to remember Chernobyl it was downplayed also.

In short, you are by far the biggest Chicken Little I have ever seen. Obviously your H1N1 hysteria (what you accuse the media of generating) was not a one-off.

[Docfeelgood]

I'm just complementing you on your quest to separate the Lies from the Truth.In short, you are by far the biggest Chicken Little I have ever seen. Obviously your H1N1 hysteria (what you accuse the media of generating) was not a one-off.

I'm your whipping post. I caused the melt down also!
Your another expert? care to share with us some of your advanced knowlege of nuclear power?
You can obviously tell the difference between what is BS that the news media is printing.

BTW
luv the way you took my comments out of context.

[Lonestar]

Information Dissemination

Fukushima FUD
There is a lot of hype and even some stupid nonsense being thrown around in the media about the nuclear situation at Fukushima. If you don't understand nuclear power, seek out discussions on the topic from the retired Navy communities, many of whom work on civilian reactors today and are discussing this issue in numerous places all over the web. A good place to start is the comments of this post at Bubblehead. Also see Dr. Josef Oehmen's comments here, a very useful read for context and perspective.

A few details that folks might want to note:

The reactors that are being discussed in the news were successfully shut down. The problems are related to post shutdown safety.

People who compare Fukushima and Chernobyl don't know anything about Fukushima or Chernobyl. This is like comparing the safety, survivability, and resilience of row boats and battleships. Everything that made Chernobyl a disaster - lack of safety, redundancy, etc.. - is what is making Fukushima a successful containment of a serious problem.

This event in Japan is the worst case scenario. First you have a 9.0 earthquake, then you have this massive tsunami, then you have the freezing weather that compounds your water problems. In the case of Fukushima the earthquake knocked out the power, forcing them to move to generators. The tsunami came along and knocked out the generators, forcing them to move to battery power.

The battery power has very limited life, somewhere between 8-24 hours, and we are somewhere north of 54 hours on battery power now at the nuclear plants. Obviously that creates a serious problem with these old reactors that require electricity for cooling. BTW, worth noting, the new nuke tech does not require electricity to cool.

Observing that this is the worst case scenario and that Fukushima is Japans oldest nuclear power plant; worth highlighting that there is still no evidence that there has been loss of containment or a leak that represents a public health concern. The leaks to date have been controlled and regulated as part of the safety procedures. Keep your head on folks, all of the public safety being done from iodine to evacuations is part of the stated Japanese nuclear safety plan which can be found online (I have not seen an English version).

The Fukushima plant situation is serious, but it is not some emerging catastrophe some are making it out to be.

What radiation leakage there has been as a result of the successful shutdown process. In fact, it's a commentary on the safety of the design that the struggle hasn't been to prevent a meltdown(something very hard to occur with a BWR design) but to work to ensure that it'll be usable in the future.

[Wezil]

I'm your whipping post. I caused the melt down also!
Your another expert? care to share with us some of your advanced knowlege of nuclear power?
You can obviously tell the difference between what is BS that the news media is printing.

BTW
luv the way you took my comments out of context.

nm. I don't think you will ever be able to grasp the point.

Henny Penny, also known as Chicken Licken or Chicken Little, is a fable in the form of a cumulative tale about a chicken who believes the world is coming to an end. The phrase The sky is falling! features promininently in the story, and has passed into the English language as a common idiom indicating a hysterical or mistaken belief that disaster is imminent.

I'll move on.

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

For effects on health Guynemer is probably a better source. Ogie is an (nuclear?) engineer by the sound of it.

And you're free to dismiss any jerk remark like the one Hera posted. It sounds like he still is in primary school.

Agreed I know established limits generic effects of overdose. I would not presume expertise on long term effects.