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NHK Shows Live Coverage Of Smoke Billowing From Fukushima Reactor 3, US Military Assistance May Be Requested
NHK is currently broadcasting live footage from its helicopter showing white smoke from the Fukushima #3 reactor. As we reported earlier, fire was earlier observed in the 8 by 8 meter hole in the outer shell of Reactor 4,which had since extinguished itself. However, that it has been replaced with billowing smoke from a new reactor is not good. Reuters speculates that the smoke is emerging from the fuel pool which is now overheating. It is highly probable that the smoke is radioactive. In a press conference that just concluded Edano said that the area around reactor 1 is too radioactive for TEPCO workers to approach and as such all have been withdrawn. He also said the US military will likely be called in for assistance.
Coverage can be watched after the jump (click on the picture).
And for those who wish a second Geiger reading, below is a brand new live stream showing the radiation cpm in Chiba located just next to Tokyo.
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Immelt = Obamas dry cleaning on Monday! OUT!!!
NHK says workers still there..conference now
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nhk-world-tv#events
edit: im fucking confused
edit 2: I gotta get a badass jump suit like that
They are now saying that this episode will go on for months. It is also being said that entombment with concrete will be necessary? This has to be done a certain way. If a explosion takes place the radioactive particles will be blown up in the jet stream and will find their way here. It is also now being said on CNN, that they are abandoning reactor 1.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=CHU20110...
Tell Bankers the rods are made from Cocaine and those holes will be plugged with the bodies of Goldrush Sachs and JP Morgue in no time...then pour that concrete nice and thick!
Air France-KLM SA and Deutsche Lufthansa AG amended their Japan flights to add stops in Seoul, where crews are resting after long flights instead of in Tokyo. The change is aimed at protecting pilots and flight attendants from the danger of nuclear-plant accidents, as well as to ensure staff get better rest than they would amid Tokyo's power outages and water shortages.
Thai Airways International PCL similarly ordered its cabin crews not to remain overnight in Japan to reduce the risk from radiation and aftershocks.
The moves come as airlines work to meet the demand for flights out of – and, surprisingly, into -- Japan, while managing the risks flowing from the battle to stop meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi reactors 150 miles northeast of Tokyo, a situation that has seen dramatic swings in the time it takes to complete a transcontinental trip.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405274870416420457620341048193818...
sounds like they evacuated workers because radiation increased and I guess it is going down now??? FML..Im watching Jersey Shores the rest of the night
In the live broadcast the radiation levels are varrying between 2-6 millisieverts.
So, the US military will be called in to do what? I'm not following TV news, but I am at a loss about what they could do. My appologies if there is a straight forward answer, and I am just being dense.
MSNBC reporting the 50 workers were only withdrawn for 45 minutes. There must be a lead lined safe room when it gets too hot.
But there must have been another burst of radiation for them to pullback.
NHK right now ranges from 6400 uSv trended down to 2900 uSv...the guy is giving off the readings as we speak. Listen to them.
Plant 3, as of 955, stable pressure, low water.
Trav why the sudden boost? What keeps letting out more radiation and then going back down?
edit..wtf? now the chick is saying its 6.4 and the workers are pulled back?
I can think of several possible causes...the first is a core breach which periodically ejects new material, causing the radiation to spike, which is subsequently dunked in water which shields it.
Another is that steam continues to burst out and as that dissipates, the rad levels drop. The third is that the spent fuel pools are boiling off their water, the levels rise and the engineers succeed then in getting more water in and the levels drop.
Either way, at least the levels went down materially. 6mSv is a high rad level; it is (in one hour) around 3x annual average background dosage. However, due to radioactivity in xrays, bananas, nuts, radon, granite countertops etc., people generally receive more than this annually. But, it's a high level.
Definitely nowhere near as high as they said it was last night which was upwards of 400mSv IIRC.
But, if you took a spent fuel pool, and you drained water, you have no more shielding; they are explaining this right now on NHK
I guess I understood that the spent rods wouldnt sit dry for long before catching on fire.is that correct?
am reading a DOE publication on zircalloy fire and mitigation strategies to deal with this EXACT circumstance, that of loss of coolant water in spent fuel ponds. The link is here: http://www.osti.gov/bridge/product.biblio.jsp?osti_id=992638
I guess I understood that the spent rods wouldnt sit dry for long before catching on fire.is that correct?
from the referenced publication:
"A further literature survey of the recent European works on degraded core phenomenon[23] has confirmed that the zircaloy oxidation is highly exothermic and commonly leads to a runaway "oxidation temperature excursion" above 1473 K (2191 F) in steam and at as low as 1173 K (1651 F) in air. "
So long as there is steam being produced, it will be ok, though the zircaloy tubes will suffer from affinity to hydrogen and become embrittled. Once/if steam boils off, exposure to air of these fuel rods would appear to quickly provoke a fire.
Do those pictures look like steam or smoke?
(no sardonic nonsense or anything, just wondering)
It looks like smoke or fume from a class D fire.
looks like steam, but who knows? I am not a smoke/steam analyst.
Now, morons, start junking technical literature links
Watch small side wisps. If steam, they will fade away as the cloud drifts, unless the air is very cold. I couldn't see any fading, but then I don't know the air temp there.
Kinda ironic that all the Island of Japan needs is some fucking water
I found a different reference:
There has been some speculation that, if the used fuel pool were completely drained, the zirconium cladding might ignite and a “zirconium fire” might occur. Studies performed by the Department of Energy indicate that is virtually impossible to ignite zirconium tubing.
===
And
===
If the water level decreases below the top of the fuel assembly, oxidation of the zirconium cladding could occur. This oxidation could result in some hydrogen generation. However, only the fuel assemblies with the least cooling time (on the order of weeks after discharge from the reactor) would be susceptible to this oxidation. The temperature of the fuel assemblies decreases exponentially with cooling time. The rate of hydrogen generation depends on the temperature of the fuel assembly, with hotter temperatures leading to higher gas generation rates. However, the temperature of the cladding must rise to approximately 1,000 C before significant hydrogen generation rate occurs. This is extremely unlikely to occur after as little as 120 days (16 weeks) of cooling. As a reference, the melting point of zirconium is approximately 1,800 degrees C.
===
http://resources.nei.org/documents/japan/Used_Fuel_Pools_Key_Facts.pdf
I didnt get a time out of it..you?
TRAV! Thank heaven you're here! Please reassure all these nervous-nellie liberal environmentalist whackos that everything's going to be FINE -- just as the Experts and Authorities told us it would be.
I recall no authorities saying things would be fine. I certainly haven't seen any. At all times, they stated facts as they knew them.
Maybe a couple of jackasses on NBC, but I don't watch that shit.
but, yes, everything will eventually be ok. Life will go on, you're not going to die. there is no reason for you to panic.
I am forced to wonder wtf any of you do for a living...you all seem real fond of armchair criticism of people who are dealing with a REAL disaster in realtime. I am left to conclude that none of you have ever been in such a circumstance.
You expect clairvoyance outta everyone...but yourself of course.
The engineers are putting their asses on the line to try to deal with a situation that has gone from troubling to serious to dire and may go to desperate.
Just STFU with all the conspiracy hysterics...there is still a jackass saying the quake was caused by "HAARP" and shit.
Trav, how many other IDs you got?
Yeah, that's it Trav - anyone questioning the official line, or criticising the design of these plants, is dissing our brave boys who are putting "their asses on the line" for us. How cowardly and ungrateful!
STFU cowardly ingrates.
I assume all dire news is bullish, cuz it always is.
This time is no different.
"Now, I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds."
Paging Trav7777...
Paging Trav7777...
Report for duty, please.
Assure everyone and put a STOP to this rampant alarmism!
Trav was summarily executed for being out of uniform. Allah Akbar!
with the wind blowing out, i'm hoping that's just steam and they had to evacuate while the pressure is brought back down, then resume activities
Do not take Adobe or Java updates! Yer BoobTube stuff will not play. Beestards.
Thanks Myn,
Trash the update and reboot and it works again.
What is with the Java Fixation? Just listen to ZERO HEDGE!
Workers evacuated from Fukushima due to radiation concerns. Yipes!
Traitors! Back in yer hole!
Damn the gamma count!
They were letting the workers stay at 400 mSv/Hr. I've been looking hard but I can't find any numbers on the current levels, I'm guessing that they are well past a full Sievert at this point for them to actively pull the work crews, but the monitoring networks are still showing pretty low levels thus far.
Hopefully the bad stuff stays with the plant, so far this seems to be the case.
NHK people just said we had hit the 6mSv range, but it has decreased down to 3 then to 2.x mSv.
Their explanation of rises in radiation is due to suppression pool damage in #2, which is among the potential causes of this I recited earlier.
Wierd, hard to imagine pulling crews out at 6 mSv, considering the circumstances (and that they didn't do so at 400 mSv.) Are they saying where they are taking the readings?
Either there's someone in the chain of information release who's seriously confused about scaling units, swapping milli and micro, or someone is deliberately substituting 'micro' for 'milli' every chance they get. Arse-covering with an 'accidental lie'.
Now and then you hear it right- 2,000 to 6,000 milli-Sv. Which is 2 to 6 Sv, and fully explains an emergency evacuation from the plant.
New state-issued warning of 'sudden, strong' earthquake in Fukushima and neighboring towns.
must see videos on spent fuel issue (if you haven't seen them): http://aucanary.blogspot.com/2011/03/correct-report-nuclear-fukushima.ht...
This has been underestimated from the beginning. The news has been getting exponentially cataclysmic for 5 days now and with no end in sight. Sending in the US military to do what? Evacuate? They showed up for Katrina 2 weeks after the fact in their own back yard. But get across the big pond in 5 days? WTF!
You're not saying you DON'T expect governments to lie to their citizens, are you?
So they cant get the units right sounds like....all that cnn shit was bs cause they got the fucking units wrong! bahahahaha..fucking awesome
Anderson Cooper looks like he sharted his pants. Pussy.
Take the rads, Anderson.
It's hard to talk when you're teabagging.
Is that a horse shoe? Please don't wish me bad luck.
I'm trying to say this is Colossal. Unprecedented. And don't want to over react. But find that I keep under estimating the size and magnitude of this.
the situation on the ground is obviously dire.
But, let's just look at some facts...despite 4 meltdowns in progress, we are yet to see a major radiation excursion.
Meanwhile 10s of 1000s are dead, cities are in ruins.
the japs are asking the US for help because they need additional strategies to help cool these reactor components.
Some things in life are bad
They can really make you mad
Other things just make you swear and curse.
When you're chewing on life's gristle
Don't grumble, give a whistle
And this'll help things turn out for the best...
If life seems jolly rotten
There's something you've forgotten
And that's to laugh and smile and dance and sing.
When you're feeling in the dumps
Don't be silly chumps
Just purse your lips and whistle - that's the thing.
For life is quite absurd
And death's the final word
You must always face the curtain with a bow.
Forget about your sin - give the audience a grin
Enjoy it - it's your last chance anyhow.
Life's a piece of shit
When you look at it
Life's a laugh and death's a joke, it's true.
You'll see it's all a show
Keep 'em laughing as you go
Just remember that the last laugh is on you.
And I'm speaking with my Mother on my RUN. Bitch!!!
My family lives a long time! Bitch!!
Yoichi Shimatsu on Rense radio just said the workers will be evacuated every time the hydrogen builds up and gets ready to explose then they will go back in and this will happen again and again but he also says that there will eventually be a complete meltdown and expolsion that will sedn the really bad stuff to contaminate half of the US!!!
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/home/Scientists-puzzled-by-earthquakes-3...
Japanese scientist are puzzled about this earthquake.
phenomenon, " a prominent Japanese geophysicist Professor Michio Hashizume, who is lecturer of Chulalongkorn Univesity's Department of Geology.
His finding was presented at the round table discussion entitled " The new finding from recent earthquake in Japan and concerning related with Thai society" organized Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Science.
He said he was surprised by this earthquake by the size of the area of fault. It was between 400 kilometers and 100 kilometers wide.
Moreover, at least 7 earthquakes with magnitude between 5 to 7 had occurred after the killer earthquake near
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2011/03/11/no-the-supermo...
moon had nothing to do with it....
Hmmm, I was wondering about this. Interesting.
The ten most striking amateur videos of the earthquake in Japan
http://observers.france24.com/content/20110314-most-striking-amateur-vid...
wow!!!
It's sorta fixed. I trust you. I'm in the bag. Purple is on the the idea. Listen.
Call in the US Military?!
WTF, just last week the PM of Japan was saying, "it's just a tiny leak."
let it ride. You will be fine.
Well I say you build this stuff you fix this stuff, for years we are playing a game with the name of GOD, WTF is wrong with people on this planet? are we that much retarded? Instead of making all our shit better, no no lets make a bigger bomb that could vaporize a city in a nanosecond, but that's also no enough, lets develop a new super nano self replicating virus, gas the suckers, EMP them, you get the picture - how long before we actually wipe our self out of this planet? We are like kids fucking with everything thats fuckable around us. Everywhere you look it's the same shit, cut cost, make profit, it's all about me. Well I believe this system needs to be restarted, sooner we do a full reboot the more chance we have to actually survive.
I just hope we have bools and change ourself in time.
There ya go giving them new ideas......Ooohhhh.!
If there was only a way to knock/push the fuel rods into the ocean?
trav777 is a bigger loser than karl d
Managed to get a screen grab of a NHK closer video of the damage to #4.
Ruins of #3 on left, shattered wall of #4 on right.
Not sure how to post pics here; if fails, use the link: http://everist.org/pics/Fukushima/20110316_1510_reactor4.png
[img]http://everist.org/pics/Fukushima/20110316_1510_reactor4.png[/img]
Sorry, I'm not reading all the comments. But why not just lob a nuck into the site at a shallow angle and drown the whole problem?
That would be one possible way to blast the reactor cores toward the ocean. They also have that huge non-nuclear bomb in the US arsenal that may work? Although a failure to work would likely lob more radiation higher into the atmosphere. Not an easy problem - I am glad the US army engineers will be involved.
Or if they could get high pressure fire fighting boats to constantly spray water into the complex (perhaps too far away?)
From http://live.reuters.com/Event/Japan_earthquake2
"TEPCO has removed public access to a webcam showing the Fukoshima reactors. Now a password is needed in order to observe the complex. comment by Tim Childers at 3:51 PM"
Or maybe it just failed? Here:
--- TEPCO website & webcam
http://www.tepco.co.jp/nu/index-j.html Main site, includes status indicators for their reactors. :(
http://www.tepco.co.jp/nu/f1-np/index-j.html The Fukushima Daiichi plant. News update pdf's, all in Japanese
http://www.tepco.co.jp/nu/f1-np/camera/index-j.html Webcam. Was working on 15th, not on 16th.
If they shut it down deliberately, that's incredibly stupid. Even worse than having it running while showing not much more than a tree right in front of the camera. Talk about compulsive secrecy syndrome. Way to make the whole world hate you, TEPCO (even more.)