Based on information
provided by Japanese authorities, the IAEA can confirm the following
information about the status of Units 1, 2 and 3 at Fukushima Daiichi
nuclear power plant.
Unit 1 is being powered by mobile
power generators on site, and work continues to restore power to the
plant. There is currently no power via off-site power supply or backup
diesel generators being provided to the plant. Seawater and boron are
being injected into the reactor vessel to cool the reactor. Due to the
explosion on 12 March, the containment building has been lost.
Unit 2 is being powered by mobile
power generators on site, and work continues to restore power to the
plant. There is currently neither off-site power supply nor backup
diesel generators providing power to the plant. The reactor core is
being cooled through reactor core isolation cooling, a procedure used to
remove heat from the core. The current reactor water level is lower
than normal but remains steady. The containment building is intact at
Unit 2.
Unit 3 does not have off-site
power supply nor backup diesel generators providing power to the plant.
As the high pressure injection system and other attempts to cool the
reactor core have failed, injection of water and boron into the reactor
vessel has commenced. Water levels inside the reactor vessel increased
steadily for a certain amount of time but readings indicating the water
level inside the pressure vessel are no longer showing an increase. The
reason behind this is unknown at this point in time. To relieve
pressure, venting of the containment started on 13 March at 9:20AM local
Japan time. Planning is underway to reduce the concentration of
hydrogen inside the containment building. The containment building is
intact at Unit 3.
The IAEA is seeking information about the status of spent fuel at the Daiichi plant.
Status fine, pay no attention to that guy behind the curtain.
Stay calm.
Potassium iodide, bitchez!
"The Great Oz has spoken"
"Do you presume to criticise The Great Oz"
"You ungreatful creatures. Think yourselves lucky"
"I'm afraid it's true there's no other Wizard except me"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWyCCJ6B2WE
"The Great Oz has spoken"
Junked twice?
Would that be the two "Deliverance" inbreds?
Well bugger me.
There's three of them now.
Well bugger me.
- - - - - -
Rather not; thanks ... you seem to be doing a fine job all by yourself though...
Suit yourself.
It's not that I detest lines (queues) or anything (I can see them lining up behind you even now) its just not my thing ...
Enjoy youself now.
"Enjoy youself now."
I already am.
:)
Behold! Libs!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VM5-xFenaZI
I luv my junker fan club, how about u?
Please read this blog post to educate yourself about nuclear reactors and what has really happened so far:
http://morgsatlarge.wordpress.com/2011/03/13/why-i-am-not-worried-about-...
BREAKING NEWS10:30 PM ET
Japanese Officials Report Explosion at Stricken Nuclear Planthttp://www.nytimes.com/?src=hp1-0-H
Quote
But all weekend, after a series of intense interchanges between Tokyo and Washington and the arrival of the first American nuclear experts in Japan, officials said they were beginning to get a clearer picture of what went wrong over the past three days. And as one senior official put it, “under the best scenarios, this isn’t going to end anytime soon.”
EndQuote
Get those diesel generators working, guys! C'Mon!!
I think the reactor's deactivation schedule got moved up a little.
Getting seawater out of those things can be a bitch.... <sarcasm>
Dumb ass GE Engineers!!!! locating them below flood level... same arrogance as the engineers on the offshore drilling rigs.....
The portion of the building on Unit 1 that was blown off was not a "containment building." The upper metal panels blew out in an overpressure situation - as they are designed to do. This was part of the reactor building. The containment is much harder and is located well below the structure that blew out.
I know what you mean, the IAEA is trying to induce panic instead of playing things down. (sarcasm off)
Get real FFS.
The IAEA has no people on the ground, they are getting their data from the Japanese Government and the plant operator, the same stuff everyone else gets. In the nuclear world, the IAEA is considered to be a joke. Remember it used to be run by the same opportunistic ass (Mohamed El Baradei) who flew into Egypt on the coattails of the protesters, and is now running for president.
There are just now reports that US aircraft have detected radiation 60 miles away. It may mean nothing, or it may mean I am dramatically wrong.
The metal wall cladding was removed from the structural steel framework, yes. But if you look at the images posted earlier you can see the conical top of the Rx vessel. This would normally be contained within the concrete containment which is no longer present.
Also the SFP which holds the spent fuel would now be exposed to the atmosphere. It is also possible that the spent fuel was ejected from the SFP and atomized and this has dispersed downwind. This would explain the radiation spike observed 75 km away at the Onanganwa (??) reactor location which is reported to be undamaged. It also serves to explain the reports of radiation exposure to persons other than plant workers.
Check back on the images posted by Cog Diss and compare that to the plant elevation drawings and you will see a large amount of concrete structure is now missing. That missing structure was the out containment.
links?
He's in disinformation mode ... can't find CD's previous images even ...
CD's link: http://www.zerohedge.com/article/fukushima-explosion-update-core-presume...
The metal wall cladding was removed from the structural steel framework, yes. But if you look at the images posted earlier you can see the conical top of the Rx vessel.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
The top of the Reactor vessel? I don't recall that ...
See: http://www.zerohedge.com/article/fukushima-explosion-update-core-presume...
.
That simply...did not happen.
I took another look at the CogDis pictures and the top of the containment vessel is nowhere near being exposed.
Not seeing the picture you're looking at, I would guess the conical top you are referring to is the top of the primary containment. If it is CD's pictures, then I don't know what that is but it isn't the primary containment but perhaps the refueling crane. Where'd the crane go?
Primary containment is the zircalloy capsule containing the uranium pellets.
Secondary containment is the reactor vessel.
Tertiary containment is the reactor.
The concrete thingie that collapsed is only there to keep weather out, not to keep radiation in.
Please read this blog post to educate yourself about nuclear reactors and what has really happened so far:
http://morgsatlarge.wordpress.com/2011/03/13/why-i-am-not-worried-about-...
Does 18 years in the power industry, 6 in nuclear facilities, 3 of them in a BWR qualify?
In what capacity?
Plant Engineer, Maintenance Engineer, Special Tests. People have died trying to prevent this and I'm aware of what they are going through. The responses on this site are driving me nuts. What's your profession?
Qualified test engineer on two naval plants, B.S.N.E. Penn State, more than a decade in the industry. I never liked the BWR design. You too rapidly get to where we are now: venting contaminated steam. With a nice PWR you can feed the SGs forever with the crappiest water imaginable (if necessary), station an operator at the nice uncontaminated steam dumps, and vent nice uncontaminated steam to atmosphere through the dumps, and natural circ the primary, and be happy as a clam almost indefintely.
I was wondering if that was a design consideration or FU of the panel attachment design to the structure (were the panels prestressed concrete?). Could not confirm it on the web, were did you get your information?
Cannot find the CogDiss images but did find this:
http://www.beyondnuclear.org/home/2011/3/12/fukushima-dai-ichi-unit-1-re...
The top of this structure is encased in some kind of cladding and this has blown off. This is the square structure that makes up the top third of the square building seen in images prior to the explosion.
Within that structure is the concrete containment and within that concrete containment is the steel reactor vessel (the Rx).
If you examine the cutaway you can see the plug over the op of the Rx. You can also see that this concrete forms a "deck" or floor that extends each side of the Rx. The Spent Fuel Pool (SFP) is up at this level.
Beneath the central plug directly over the Rx you can see the conical shape of the steel Rx vessel itself. If you look at the post-explosion images you can see this conical Rx head behind the steel strutural frame. This suggests that the plant lost the top level of the containment and may also have lost the SFP and its contents. If this interpretation is correct then the prior explosion resulted in the same effect as a "dirty bomb." The spent fuel materials were atomized in the explosion and formed part of the debris cloud which was carried downwind.
This explains why there was a peak in a radiation monitor outside a plant 75 km away when that plant was itself undamaged. The radiation sensors around that plant were detecting the radioactive debris cloud coming from the explosion at Daichi # 1
Cannot find the CogDiss images ...
- - - - - -
Not. Looking. Hard. Enough.
Not. Reading. Followup. Posts.
http://www.zerohedge.com/article/fukushima-explosion-update-core-presume...
Second image in series. You are looking at the steel superstructure that once held the exterior cladding. Look directly behind the vertical steel column rising from the corner location. Directly behind that you can make out the conical shape of the drywall head.
You should not be able to see this. It should be hidden behind the concrete containment structure which is no longer present. Above the drywall head there should be a concrete floo which serves as the refueling platform. This too is missing. Since this platform forms part of the SFP then the SFP must also be damaged or missing. QED.
Don't see how you can be seeing any of that given in the sketches the top of the Rx does not extend ABOVE the concrete
What you propose is at odds with documentation before us (the sketch) here:
http://www.zerohedge.com/article/fukushima-explosion-update-core-presume...
You are reading it wrong.
Agreed the Rx or drywall head does not extend above the refueling platform.
The drywall head should not be visible. There should be the top level refueling deck with a "blow away" surround.
If I am correct and that is the drywall head that can be seen then that implies that the refueling deck was lost in the explosion. If that is correct then the SFP was also affected as it is part of that structure. If the SFP and its contents were ejected by the explosion that would result in a radioactive debris cloud. Such a radioactive debris cloud would explain why an undamaged reactor 75 km away reported high levels of radioactivity. My interpretation is that the cloud drifted over the undamaged distant reactor and triggered the sensors. The cloud has now moved beyond the sensors and all is now reported to be "normal" at that plant.
No where is it explain why it is that large numbers of persons are being checked for radioactivity. If there was no release why is that required? My interpretation is that there has been a release, civilians in the area have been exposed and the government is now trying to determine the extent of the exposure.
You are reading it wrong. Agreed the Rx or drywall head does not extend above the refueling platform.
- - - - - - - - - -
We're done here then; you can't see the Rx vessel without looking down after the concrete plug and Drywell head are removed .. and those are flush with the concrete walls of the structure ...
.
The portion of the building on Unit 1 that was blown off was not a "containment building.
- - - - - - -
Agree - the upper portion covered the crane and provided a roof for other activities like refueling (reactor access) and accessing the spent fuel 'pool' using the crane.
See link below for a sketch:
http://www.zerohedge.com/article/fukushima-explosion-update-core-presume...
.
One the sketch there is something called a "drywall head." This is conical in shape. If you look at the images of the building after the explosion you can clearly see this conical shape in behind the structural steel framework. This should not be visible as it should be within the concrete containment structure that is no longer present. The top of this containment is labelled as the "refueling platform." The entire refueling platform appears to be missing. Since this forms part of the SFP it suggests the SFP has been damaged and that its contents have been dispersed.
This is conical in shape. If you look at the images of the building after the explosion you can clearly see this conical shape in
- - - - - - - -
Can't see the conical shape; suggest you are misinterpreting ...
Say, why not do a quick MS Paint markup of that image? Point out the Rx vessel?
MS Paint is no help. Cannot post to ZH.
Bzzzzzt!
You can post a link we can all click on that goes to tinypic or your choice of hosts ...
This aint Photoshop
http://i53.tinypic.com/dfbof8.png
The PINK area is the blow-away cladding. It is not part of the containment but acts as a weather cover for the refuleing deck which is the top level floor within the structure. The cladding was removed by the explosion. The steel structure remains.
The GREEN dotted line shows what now forms the top "floor" of the structure. The drywall head is now exposed as it rises above this level. The GREEN line also forms the bottom of the SFP.
The RED markings show all elements of the structure that I believe was removed during the explosion. If correct then the SFP is no longer present.
====
http://i54.tinypic.com/35m4mbo.jpg
Is the image of the structure after the explosion. The PINK shows the steel skeleton and the missing cladding.
The GREEN line (added YELLOW for clarity) shows the same level as in the prior diagram. I do not have any means of enhancing contrast or levels but have drawn GREEN lines around the conical shape which I believe to be the drywall head. It is a bit easier to make out in the unmarked drawing but the shape is clearly conical.
Behind that is a dark mass which I interpret as being the remnants of the gantry crane used for refueling.
No wonder you have the opinion you have; The I-beams or whatever-they-are that held the cladding are still up - attached to the concrete walls below them ... you seem to be under the impression the first top level of concrete walls are gone - they are not - they have members still attached above them ... to argue otherwise ????
I can even make the case that the crane is still up there (one can still see the tracks on the near side), against the far side, probably in a parked state (from its last use whenever that was).
.
Agreed on the crane. I believe that dark mass in the background is what is left of the crane.
But in front of that dark mass is the lighter grey conical shape which I take to be the drywall head.
Our point of difference would appear to be the way in which the steel superstructure connects to the concrete floor system.
You appear to interpret the steel superstructure to sit atop atop the concrete floor (the refueling deck).
I interpret the steel superstructure to be an independent structure that surrounds the concrete inner structure.
Under you interpretation the steel stands on the concrete refueling deck and if the refueling deck is gone then the steel structure should also be gone as it has nothing on which to stand. My interpretation is that the steel structure is independent of the concrete and the refueling deck and the level below that (which would have contained the hydrogen from the Rx) was vaporized in the explosion. The steel skeleton remains behind.
Since Unit 3 has also now exploded due to hydrogen build up we may get further imagery which confirms who is correct.
My interpretation is that the SFP has also been atomized and the radioactive debris cloud moved offshore and then came back onshore in the vicinity of the Onagawa reactor where it triggered the sensors. See the following:
At another plant, in Onagawa, authorities early Sunday noted high radiation levels. The International Atomic Energy Agency said later -- using information from officials in Japan -- levels returned to "normal" and found no emissions of radioactivity" from Onagawa's three reactors.
"The current assumption of the Japanese authorities is that the increased level may have been due to a release of radioactive material from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant" located 135 kilometers (about 85 miles) north of Onagawa, the agency said.
Japan's nuclear and industrial safety agency said late Sunday the wind was moving north/northwest -- which could carry airborne radioactive material near the city of Sendai and toward the Onagawa facility.
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/03/13/japan.nuclear.reactors/
ibid
Still, on Sunday, Edano said nine people who were evacuated from near the Daiichi plant tested positive for high radiation on skin and clothing. This is in addition to at least three electric company workers who fell ill due to possible exposure, the Tokyo Electric Power Co. said in a statement.
EndQuote
I suspect the inner steel containment vessel is still intact. If that is the case where did the radionucleides come from that triggered the Onagawa sensors and casused the "high radiation on skin and clothing" that is reported above? They cannot havve come from the Rx as that remains intact. They could have come from the spent fuel that was stored at this level and was therefore sitting atop the explosion.
I suspect we will get some confirmation of my thesis if the wind turns to blow onshore and the debris cloud returns to the mainland. I would be quite happy to be proved wrong; but I once worked for a government and if my lips were not sealed I could tell you lots of things you are not intended to know.
Also Tepco or the government made this statement which was in my original post:
Due to the explosion on 12 March, the containment building has been lost.
We agree that the cladding and the steel exo-skeleton is not part of the various containment strutures but forms a sacrificial weather shield.
If Tepco states the containment has been lost what are they claiming?
You are seeing things that ain't there. Or rather you are not seeing what is still there because you can't see it because the concrete is covering it.
As you well know it was not "pressure".
It was a Hydrogen explosion.
Where did the Hydrogen come from?
It comes from cooling water that vaporizes, molecular dissolution of the H2O, which occurs at temperatures above 2,000 Centigrade (although the exact temp is pressure-dependent).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_decomposition
That is what was vented from the reactor vessel (primary containment) into the containment building (secondary containment).
Then it assploded n such.
It means that the reactor core was/it very, very, very hot indeed.
"molecular dissolution of the H2O, which occurs at temperatures above 2,000 Centigrade"
Exactly.
2,000 Centigrade give or take.
Which can only mean that the final containment has a fracture or that it doesn't.
If it has a fracture? Not good.
If it doesn't? Well then the whole casing went to 2,000 Centigrade.
Most of the ways one gets an overpressure is through an energetic expansion of some gas in a confined area. A hydrogen gas explosion is an overpressure event. The hydrogen most likely came from the core when they vented, migrated to the top of the reactor building, and was ignited by some electrical source in the building.
Why was there Hydrogen in the core?
"The hydrogen most likely came from the core when they vented"
Is it "normal" to have Hydrogen at the core of a nuclear reactor.
Wouldn't it blow up or something?
Where did the Hydrogen come from?
The hydrogen most likely came from fission ongoing in the core from partially melted fuel rods. No, it would not ignite in the core, as there is no oxygen or ignition source.
Not to worry. Go about your business. Move along. Nothing to see here.
Let's hope this is as bad as it gets
Nothing to disagree with there.
WASHINGTON — As the scale of Japan’s nuclear crisis begins to come to light, experts in Japan and the United States say the country is now facing a cascade of accumulating problems that suggest that radioactive releases of steam from the crippled plants could go on for weeks or even months.
But Pentagon officials reported Sunday that helicopters flying 60 miles from the plant picked up small amounts of radioactive particulates — still being analyzed, but presumed to include Cesium-137 and Iodine-121 — suggesting widening environmental contamination.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/14/world/asia/japan-fukushima-nuclear-rea...
Unit 1 sounds like a major mess. The video looked like it blew big time. Anyone in the building then was probably killed, IMHO. ".. the containment building has been lost" is an ominous statement, in all it's simplicity.
That part of the building was not "containment." Look at the design of every type 1 boiling reactor in the world, and you will see those are pressure panels designed to blow off. Read the specs. Read the license applications of every type 1 boiler in the the US (there are over 20 of them)..they spec the pressure the panels are designed to blow off at. That was a hydrogen explosion, it has nothing to do with the integrity of the primary and secondary containment on that reactor.
That dome shaped shockwave was a major release of pressure. I do not knowing about the design or specs of the plant, like you do. I hope you are right. However, I would not be at all surprised to find out that this was actually a core meltdown event. Let's see some aerial footage of the plant, and that would tell more, wouldn't it? These side-views keep us all guessing. And it's not over yet....
If you get the proper mix of hydrogen and oxygen, you can get a very high velocity - flame flash explosion. A core-based explosion would have been from steam pressure, since the light-water design of this reactor makes any type of critical mass explosion impossible. The video I saw in no way suggests a steam explosion, but, I will admit that is based on a grainy video. If the core was compromised, then radioactive materials would be streaming out of that thing and would be detected not only by local sensors, but by US navy and Air Force surveillance planes, who carry such instruments as a matter of course. Also, the people working on unit 3 would be committing suicide by staying in the area. I will admit I do not really know what is going on, and I suspect there has been a partial melt, due to the detection of Iodine and cesium. And, if there has been a complete core melt, then the evidence suggests that so far, it is being controlled by the containment system, as it is designed to do in a total core melt.
Look, it's Gojiro! They dont listen to their own advice.
AMSTERDAM – Japan’s earthquake-rocked nuclear industry faced fresh problems on Sunday evening Japanese times as it became apparent that reactor unit 3 at the Fukushima Daiichi plant – which runs on a plutonium-based fuel – has lost its emergency cooling system, the country’s nuclear power safety agency said.
A total of six reactors between the two plants are reported to be battling reactor coolant loss, said the ITAR-TASS Russian news agency on Sunday.
“A shutdown of coolant to a reactor loaded with MOX fuel make the reactor much more difficult to control tha a reactor loaded with usual uranium fuel,” wrote Vladimir Slivyak, co-chair of Russia’s Ecodefence, in his regular updates on ***anti-atom.ru, noting that a disaster at the No. 3 unit would lead to plutonium fallout.
“Compared to radioactive fallout from a reactor working on uranium fuel, a much higher rate of illness can be expected as a result of irradiation,” wrote Slivyak.
Bellona’s Bøhmer described the anatomy of what such an eventuality might look like.
“The worst case scenario would be to lose all ability to cool the core which would expose the fuel assembly to the air,” he said. The temperature would rise dramatically.
Should temperatures reach 1000 degrees Celsius, Bøhmer said, any cooling water begins to disappear and hydrogen beings to be produced.
At 2200 degrees Celsius, the uranium in the MOX fuel assembly would begin to melt.
At the point, said Bøhmer, “bits of metal would start to burn through the reactor core, which would allow exposure to the air, and then you would get both a uranium and plutonium explosion, a vapour explosion releasing both uranium and plutonium.”
One French observers group said it had received information that three meters of MOX fuel rods at Fukushima Daiichi’s unit three were exposed from boiled off coolant, but these reports could not be independently confirmed.
http://www.bellona.org/articles/articles_2011/mox_reactor_coolant_loss
Nuclear power primer for the technologically challenged
exceeded 100 degrees. As the reactor pressure suppression function was
lost, at 5:22am, Mar 12th, it was determined that a specific incident
stipulated in article 15, clause 1 has occurred.
- We decided to prepare implementing measures to reduce the pressure of
the reactor containment vessel (partial discharge of air containing
radioactive materials) in order to fully secure safety.
This preparation work started at around 9:43am, Mar 12th and finished
at 6:30pm, Mar 12th.
I was with you all the way.
Until this?
"but power stations make tons of pure water every day"
How does that work?
Usually they are connected to municipal water sources and use that as feed stock into an onsite purification system (deionization etc).
So they take water and purify it.
Thanks.
Uranium doesn't melt at 2200. This is Uranium oxide, it melts at 3000.
First the zircalloy has to melt. That takes place at 2000.
And where the fuck is this fucking Russian slavic slave-race moron getting the idea that there's plutonium here?
Doesn't matter anyway. The control rods have already been deployed automatically and the nuclear reaction has ended. Thus no new heat is being generated except from the Cesium and Iodine. The net heat production is thus insufficient to melt anything.
You guys gotta stop looking shit up on (1) anti-nuke websites, (2) fruitcake space-cadet conspiracy websites, and (3) anything from Russia whatsofuckingever.
Please read this blog post to educate yourself about nuclear reactors and what has really happened so far:
http://morgsatlarge.wordpress.com/2011/03/13/why-i-am-not-worried-about-...
The stages of core melting
The fuel in the early stages of this incident and the 3 Mile Island incident does not melt. Early in the incident when the fuel is standing in the steam environment the temperature raises to 800 – 900 oC. At these temperatures, the protective black oxide film on the zircalloy tubing is lost by dissolving into the base metal. Then rapid corrosion with formation of thick white oxide flakes occurs and the tubes can crumble in minutes.
pg 450 of http://books.google.com/books?id=gikdjXLfsVEC&pg=PA77&lpg=PA77&dq=zirconium+oxide+diffusion&source=bl&ots=Y2kLvpaTZc&sig=GfRnQCdgpcAMK39UrgWD2-V2fhU&hl=en&ei=22x8TaXBFMf4rAHd6oHMBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10&sqi=2&ved=0CFIQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=zirconium%20oxide%20diffusion&f=false
The crumbled fuel drops to the bottom of the reactor vessel and you should have boric acid present as the configuration at the bottom of the reactor vessel is not controlled by geometry or even have control rod poison present. Late in the event, all the water will boil off around the mixed zirconium and uranium oxides and the hot oxides can proceed to melt with the adjoining steel vessel. Three Mile Island melted assorted metal devices that were through the oxide mass. It did not get to melting the pressure vessel before they quenched it.
So now, we have stubs of zirc clad fuel standing up with zirc oxide and fuel pellets scattered around, between and below the stubs.
hardly a word at all about the nuclear situtation over the afternoon(overnight for them) i wonder if that is a good sign?
This is the first confirmation that Fukushima Daiichi #1 has lost containment:
Due to the explosion on 12 March, the containment building has been lost.
They also confirm the fact of an explosion due to build up of hydrogen gas. In the images posted to a prior thread you can see the conical head of the rx vessel and the surrounding concrete containment is missing. This is different from the slab sided wall cladding which is more like a weather shield.
This also suggests the SFP is exposed to the atmosphere.
They also confirm the fact of an explosion due to build up of hydrogen gas. In the images posted to a prior thread you can see the conical head of the rx vessel
- - - -- - - - - -
Really? "conical head of the rx vessel" in a prior thread? Don't seem to be able to find that ...
There is this though: http://www.zerohedge.com/article/fukushima-explosion-update-core-presume...
Was that it?
TEPCO still down
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/index-e.html
This will sign the worldwide death warrant for MOX reactors.
Hopefully.
Japan was high on the list of "places you least expect to have a core meltdown".
................... " In November 1992, a fuel rod was broken through a handling error, and MOX dust was released during the mounting of MOX fuel rods to fuel assemblies in the fuel fabrication facility adjoining the MOX facility in Dessel, Belgium. In the event of such accidents, if the ICRP recommendations for general public exposure were adhered to, only about ( one mg ) of plutonium may be released from a MOX facility to the environment. As a comparison, in uranium fabrication facility, 2kg (2,000,000mg) of uranium could be released in the same radiation exposure. A one mg release of plutonium can easily happen during various smaller incidents.30" ................................
................... " MOX fuel contains, next to depleted uranium, 4-8% of plutonium. This is called first generation plutonium because it has been reprocessed only once. The plutonium inside spent MOX fuel is called second generation.20 The concentration of plutonium in MOX fuel must increase to 8-10% plutonium in the future, to be equivalent to 3.5% enriched uranium. This is because the present high burn-up spent fuel (which reprocessed plutonium will be used for MOX) contains degraded plutonium. This means the plutonium contains less fissile Pu-239 and Pu-241 and more non-fissile isotopes: Pu-240 and Pu-242. The higher the share of non-fissile Pu-isotopes, the less it is suitable for the production of electricity.
Another problem will be the presence of Americium-241 (Am-241), which is a decay product of plutonium-241. Because of the relatively short half-life of Pu-241 (13.2 years), the amount of Am-241 quickly increases. The presence of Am-241 in plutonium makes it even more dangerous and less efficacious. Am-241 is a hard alpha and gamma emitter. Therefore, in the fabrication of MOX fuel, the amount of Am-241 must be as low as possible. The plutonium which is used for MOX fabrication must not be older than three years, because of this americium increase. Separated plutonium older than three years must first be "recleaned", that is, reprocessed to separate the Am from the plutonium before it can be used. This is a very expansive operation.21 The Belgian PO MOX fuel plant can work with plutonium containing up to 1.7% of americium-241 on average, the French Cadarache MOX fuel plant is limited to 1%.22 The newer Melox plant is licensed to use up to 3% Am-241.23 MOX fuel must be used quickly. After five months, the fuel has lost 3% of its durability.24" ................................
http://www10.antenna.nl/wise/index.html?http://www10.antenna.nl/wise/469...
Fuck this shit. What about Charlie Sheen? And the fucking NFL? Huh, bitchez?
Bread and circuses. Reload.
Ya.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJW7-gvruic
50,000 microsieverts/day for one day in alpha radiation is what we subjected the miners to at McArthur River (worlds largest uranium mine) in northern Saskatchewan in 2003 when the mine was flooding. The radiation exposure never even made the news. But the flood sure did.
http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Cameco-Provides-Update-on-Water-...
We declared an emergency and then all CNSC and provincial regulations no longer applied. Longest week of my life.
The White Mouse Will Not Explode.
The unit 3 narrative reads like the trouble shooting section of a sony walkman manual
You know, what's funny, is, in back of Unit 1 - 3 and also Units 4 - 6 there appears on the satellite photos to be a substation (6KV from generators transformed to transmission line voltage of 345 KV probably and above)
Off-site power probably comes in that way too, were it available ... so, why isn't - why aren't the trucked-in diesels able to also power unit #3 thru suitable switch-gear setting?
Why? you flooded your switch yard and transformers with salt water. If you spend several weeks flushing with fresh water and drying you might salvage most of the equipment. If you electrify them now you get a lot of sparking........
Hmmm ... point.
Anonymous first LOL of the day...
Plutonium fueled - not good.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtYq70-71RI
scrabbling
O/T, but only three Libs left to junk my first post?
Oh happy days!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a37bBm8pXSk
edit: Ooops, up to 7.
God, do I luv being popular!
Japan is secretly building nukes.
I read someplace that fire engines were pumping water as a backup. Is that true? If so, this is not in control.
yup
Cooling a nuclear power plant with a firetruck is not indicative of forward progress.
When they start using Aquafina bottles...the end is near.
US Military capacity hauling bottled water to Japan
From Fiji to DOD to the fires of Fukashima
From Pele to Nippon via countess Clinton
With maybe a stop in Saipan
It was never in control.
They lied from the off.
Things have been in emergency mode since the 9.1 earthquake hit, and thus, "not in control". Not only were the facilities backup systems severely damaged, but all regional resources were as well. To the exetent that your unconfirmed FUD is true, it would be a logical step. There's a lot of engineering on-the-fly going on there.
That is the fastest way to get water to where you want it. Otherwise you unhook the electrical from the pump you want to use, drag electrical cable and switches from the airlifted diesel generator to the pump and try to find a water source for the pump. The emergency water was supposed to be provided by steam condensate..... possibly they are using salt water becaust the 100 times earthquake broke the piping and their steam condensate supply drained away....
Your acceptable reaction time is measured in minutes or hours, not days or weeks.
this whole thing is stuxnet.
So stuxnet created the tsunami that washed out all the generator buildings along the shore line, they are not having issues with the others ..... ?
Welcome
to
FAIL
Population:You
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HMughw63FQ
Wind direction changes on Tuesday. The cloud may hit Tokyo on Wednesday.
http://www.windguru.cz/int/index.php?sc=208565
It seems like information is getting more sparse. Fourteen reactors in four plants are in states of emergency, but there are no regular/complete updates. The latest government statement merely inoculates the media in the event of another hydrogen explosion--because that will not be possible to hide. Of the rest, nearly nothing.
Time to call it what it is:
FUBAR
FUBAR
Yes.
I forgot that was available.
Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition.
That about sums it up.
SAPFU
Surpassing All Previous...
SAPFU trumps FUBAR then.
:)
I could have sworn that I saw a story about 6 sites in trouble , on the Drudge report this afternoon.
I'm singing in the rain, just singing in the radioactive rain.
What a glorious feelin'
I'm happy again
I'm laughing at clouds
So dark up above
The sun's in my heart
And I'm ready for love
Let the stormy clouds chase
Everyone from the place
Come on with the rain
I've a smile on my face
I walk down the lane
With a happy refrain
Just singin',
Singin' in the radioactive rain
The reason behind this is unknown ...
Shuuuuur, guys
THERE IS A LEAK - water is leaking out of a hole somewhere - or a crack.
Unless they are still pumping in the water/boron mix and an air pocket has reached sufficient back pressure to overcome the current injection system pressure. What is the back-pressure within the system - gotta be a gauge somewhere one would think -
Maybe they should call in BP as a consultant. </sarc>
Obama knows all...call him
a schmuck.
What about all the MSM rhetoric on ME countries selling yellow cake/Nuclear weapons? Just weeks ago, the sheep were told about an imminent nuclear global threat.
Today, we are told the the IAEA failed to contain a (40 year old) nuclear plant shutdown. Looks like the socially engineered global policy went south.
Jeff/Obama.. Get on Bloomberg and CNBC to explain ESBWR & why plants won't blow up under your new technology.
http://www.gepower.com/prod_serv/products/nuclear_energy/en/new_reactors/esbwr.htm
any CDS on TEPCO? and who's got em? data available?
Dr. Busby said the reassurances being issued now by official sources and by apologists for the nuclear industry are exactly the same as those issued 25 years ago, at the time of Chernobyl. Risks were understated, as show by subsequent epidemiological studies......
http://llrc.org/
I don't suppose the Japanese would lie to their old Uncle HPD ,would they?
Does not look like the situation is under control.
Question: Doesn't the pumping of the water into the superheated core melting down create an explosive blast of steam, among other things? How is that controlled?
I feel bad for everyone over there.
The whole thing hinges on the containment vessels. Those are 5-6 feet thick walls of steel. They can take a lot of pressure. The steam vaporizes into hydrogen, and they vent that every so often.
What's more problematic would be molten fuel pooling at the bottom of the capsule-shaped vessel. If a hot spot develops there, or the whole mass sits long enough, the bottom will basically soften, deform, and fail. Then the molten mass falls through onto whatever is next, and superheated radioactive steam goes all over....because it's hard to imagine that there isn't a lot of water lying around with all the emergency cooling going on.
Hard to talk about luck at this point, but within this context it would be lucky if the containment vessels themselves hold together, and the contents brought under control through cooling and chemical dampening. The venting, steam, leaks etc. are bad, and the IAEA said it is trying to figure out what may have happened to the on-site spent fuel, which may also be bad, but all of that would pale in comparison to an uncontrolled release of core material from the reactor vessels.
Gold...gold...gold.....goooold....
http://www.amazon.com/Paint-Your-Wagon/dp/B000NJCL5K/ref=pd_vodsm_B000NJ...
Short AMZN. Beestards.
Please read this blog post to educate yourself about nuclear reactors and what has really happened so far:
http://morgsatlarge.wordpress.com/2011/03/13/why-i-am-not-worried-about-...
Most of what's on the internet, and what's on the news, and what's in the media generally, is idiotic bullshit spread by talking-head morons who have no clue and don't even have the phone number of a proper nuclear engineer.
This is especially so on ZeroHedge, where the Birthers and Survivalists and Birchers hereabouts love to talk at length without the benefit of even the slightest bit of education.
What I don't understand is why anyone would think a nuclear engineer has the mystical power to prophesy the outcome of unprecedented situations.
Maroons. The outcomes are already much worse than this silly post predicts, and the situation is still evolving. The linked post is full of crap...and itself.
ZH has the mystical power to offer the truth of a great many situations if you squint at your monitor while holding your head at a 23 degree angle.
So fuck off, bitteshone.
I hope this incident spurs more interest on the part of government regulators to approve reactor designs that are inherently stable, that is ones than cannot run-away into a meltdown mode. We need nuclear power, but each one of these BWRs depdent upon active intervention to prevent an unstoppable failure mode. We no longer have any excuse for allowing both industry and regulators fixation on this fatal technology simply because it is the one they are most familiar with.
We could kill two birds with one stone by giving a new and honestly serious look at the Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactor. One design that was in pilot operation had a plug in the bottom of the reactor that melted to stop the reaction when the temperature got high enough.
see:
http://www.thoriumenergy.org/lftradsrisks.html
When you go to CNBC.com it says this "Breaking News 3 Meter Tsunami Expected to Reach Fukushima Coast in Japan - Kyodo" I'm guessing that is going to hurt efforts to get things under control.
My CNBC loves me, don't cha know?
Gives me thrills up my leg.....or MSLSD, quality info both.
http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2011/03/77505.html
hydrogen explosion on unit#3
But,
FOX LIES!
Lmao.
No. 3's write up above was not confidence inspiring
oh Anderson Cooper, advised of news on #3, asked 'should I get outta here?' after asking, suddenly where that is from here... are we north? which way is the wind blowing? whew
hopefully they figure everything out without any kind of serious disaster, or those liberal green toting eco-terrorists are going to hold a lot more sway in polite society... We need to know that nuclear is an alternative or we're basically fucked.
About now somebody should be pulling out and reading the warrantees on those backup diesel generators. I am told the radiation from the first explosion is due to start coming down on the West Coast US (Northern CA up) in about 30 hrs. Don’t expect any government warning. Rather expect a news blackout on radiation readings. Medical potassium iodide seems to be sold out. (I have an adequate stock) It is my understanding that natural Kelp Pills will protect thyroid function just as well and for the time being are readily available.
The warrantee states that submersion in water is not covered.
Riiiiiight. No earthquake coverage either I guess.
Do not believe the majority of comments here. It is obvious that most (nearly all) of the commenters have never been in a situation where the stuf was impacting the impeller and you are ducking and running and innovating on the fly to bring the situation in control.
I was going to start junking comments but realized that there is probably a limit.