Nuclear Expert: "Fukushima Has 24 Hours To Avoid A Core Meltdown Scenario"

In an interview with Mark Hibbs, a Berlin-based senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a nonprofit think tank, Newsmax magazine asks - what happens next at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant. The answer according to the nuclear expert, is that as Fukushima is now well on its way to a full core-melt nuclear accident, a worst case scenario could possibly lead to the same results last seen in 1986 Chernobyl.

Below we present a brief overview of the Fukushima plant from Wikipedia:

The Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant (Fukushima I NPP, 1F), often referred to as Fukushima Dai-ichi, is a nuclear power plant located in the town of Okuma in the Futaba District of Fukushima Prefecture. With six separate units located on site with a combined power of 4.7 GW, Fukushima I is one of the 25 largest nuclear power stations in the world. Fukushima I is the first nuclear plant to be constructed and run entirely by The Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO).

Fukushima II Nuclear Power Plant, 11.5 kilometres (7.1 mi) to the south, is also run by TEPCO.

Unit	Type	First Criticality	Electric Power
Fukushima I - 1	BWR	March 26, 1971	460 MW
Fukushima I - 2	BWR	July 18, 1974	784 MW
Fukushima I - 3	BWR	March 27, 1976	784 MW
Fukushima I - 4	BWR	October 12, 1978	784 MW
Fukushima I - 5	BWR	April 18, 1978	784 MW
Fukushima I - 6	BWR	October 24, 1979	1,100 MW
Fukushima I - 7 (planned)	ABWR	October, 2013	1,380 MW
Fukushima I - 8 (planned)	ABWR	October, 2014	1,380 MW

So what happens next? First, Hibbs explains precisely what already has taken place:

“What happened in Japan is very alarming because it would appear . . . that about 2:30 this afternoon Japan time, when the earthquake struck . . . three of the reactors that were operating were disenabled because of a loss of offsite power that was caused by the earthquake.”

The Japanese situation appears to be roughly analogous to the Three Mile Island incident in the United States, where authorities struggled for days to contain an improperly cooled reactor core but were able to avert a widespread release of nuclear material.

“We were in a situation as I recall then very similar to where we are now, where we were told by news media in 1979 that there was a core melt accident unfolding, we didn’t know how serious it would become, and what would happen,” Hibbs tells Newsmax.

At least one of the reactors in Japan, and perhaps more, “ are on the path of a core-melt accident. It’s called a loss of coolant accident. . . . And it’s up to the Japanese authorities, together with the industries in that country, to find a way to stem this problem,” he said.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton confirmed that the United States is trying to help alleviate the situation. "We just had our Air Force assets in Japan transport some really important coolant to one of the nuclear plants," Clinton said, according to the Associated Press.

The Japanese reactors are designed to drop neutron-blocking control rods into the core as soon as the plants detect a seismic disturbance. These controls apparently functioned normally. But even after the procedure, scientists say a base level of heat continues to flow, and coolant is needed to constrain those temperatures.

Unfotunately, Japan does not have much time:

Asked how long Japanese scientists have to correct the problem to avoid a core meltdown, Hibbs tells Newsmax that it depends on system design, adding, “it could be a day, plus or minus 10 hours.”

“After a while, with the heat building up in there, and lack of coolant, you’re going to see damage in your fuel, the cladding, the metal container around the nuclear material, begins to buckle or balloon or break, and after a little while you’ll get a situation where the fuel falls apart, melts, and falls into the core, and then you’ve got a classical core melt accident like you had in Three Mile Island that you had in the United States in '79.”

Hibbs spoke with Japanese government officials who told him the force of the tsunami was so severe that the water may have flooded the reactors,  power generators, and cooling mechanisms, disabling the equipment. "Which means they have to resort to basically a military-type exercise, to rush in to the devastated site equipment that they can quickly hook up to the reactor to get power in there and start this emergency equipment, to get cooling water into that core and prevent that fuel from overheating.

“And if they can’t do that,” he told Newsmax, “then you’re going to have this meltdown.”

They have 24 hours or so to avoid a core meltdown, he says. But if one occurs, two scenarios could follow: The good outcome would mirror what happened at Three Mile Island, while the bad one could involve what he called a “Chernobyl scenario, where the damage to the reactor was such that the integrity of the structures were damaged.

“There was an explosion and other things happened in there, that opened up the reactor so the inventory of radioactive material . . . went into the atmosphere and generated this deadly plume that we know happened in Chernobyl.

“So that is the ultimate worst-case scenario. Nobody is saying that’s going to happen. Nobody is even saying we’re going to have a core meltdown. But we have a window of time now. We don’t know how much is left — but the Japanese authorities and the government and all the agencies that they can muster are working overtime to get cooling systems on that site powered and working.”

The April 1986 Chernobyl disaster cost an estimated 4,000 lives. More than 330,000 Russians had to be relocated because of contamination.

But Hibbs says, “A lot of worst-case things would have to happen for us to get that far.”

Hibbs said the Japanese right now are fighting the clock to contain the heating.

Comments

[Urban Roman]

Thanks for that info.Though not a nuke engineer, I am an interested observer.

The Chernobyl reactors were a totally different design -- graphite moderated, if they went supercritical there was nothing to stop the chain reaction until the graphite vaporized. The Japanese reactors are water-moderated like TMI. If they lose water, they immediately go subcritical. Still hot, but at least they are not atomic bombs when they fail.

[TBT or not TBT]

Right.  The chemical formula for graphite is C.   With a bunch of O2 around, thanks to containment failure or in case of Chernobyl, NO containement,at some temperature the fucker starts to burn very energtically.    Chemical reaction caled "fire."      See the film Quest for Fire for further information, and imagine the wood is highly radioactive in addition to its being on fire.

[raya123]

TEPCO has just been ordered by the Japanese gov't to release pressure at the reactor, which will release radiation:

http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2011/03/76965.html

[bob_dabolina]

This is the fault of George Bush

-Nancy Pelosi

[yabyum]

"This is the fault of Nancy Pelosi"- Sean Hannity, Glen Beck and Rush;)

[ColonelCooper]

"God is mad because Boehner wants to destroy Cowboy Poetry" - Harry Reid

See we can go back and forth forever. 

[fragrantdingleberry]

This is the fault of yabyum.

fragrantdingleberry

[MsCreant]

Fault, default, faultlines.

[cossack55]

33rd parallel. Lay lines?

[Bananamerican]

god  dog

[bob_dabolina]

Word of the month is "fault"

+1

[mynhair]

All caused by "global climate change", of course.

Tax carbon!

Oh wait, we be made of carbon?

Tax live births!

Pay up, Obammie.

[cossack55]

More like impending Lunar Perigee, as I am expecting ORI to confirm soon.

[RmcAZ]

Japan issues state of emergency at another nuclearpower plant after cooling system failure - AP

[TBT or not TBT]

But that would cause them to lose face.   They're squinty eyed and those people don't go in for that.

[uno]

What a difference a culture makes, After Katrina there was looting of walmart, foot locker etc..., Maybe it's time to move to Japan

[fragrantdingleberry]

If you noticed, New Orleans is populated by the same kind of people as haiti.

[uno]

I was fortunate (?) to grow up in the middle of that 3rd world city.

One positive is you can piss anywhere, because the entire city is one big toilet. 

[TBT or not TBT]

Accentuate the positive.   Just after Katrina, a bunch of veritable cajuns were livening up the Applebees bar in Athens Texas a few hundred miles away.    It was all good.

[Caviar Emptor]

I like that we rallied on the news of a nuclear disaster ! 

What a market ! 

Maybe that means if we have nuclear war in the Middle East we'll rally hard. Go long! Booya!

[mynhair]

Long and strong in the case of dusting off those neutron puppies.

Think of the problems solved, and the glass to be mined!

[Caviar Emptor]

Not to mention BIG tourist dollars to be priced in. Look at the profits from Hiroshima !

[TBT or not TBT]

And Dresden, Stalingrad, Rwanda, and Thermopylae.   This is a comedy site, with rules.

[Rainman]

lmfao

[TBT or not TBT]

It could just as easily be a rally betting against a ZH doooom article.

[THE DORK OF CORK]

Even if it does blow it is not the end of the world - remember the hundreds of atmospheric tests of both fission and fusion devices before the test ban treaty and most of us are still here.

There's a risk in everything and I would certainly not want to be withen 50 miles of that thing but we live in a radioactive environment where the rocks decay and a giant nuclear furnace rises above the horizon every morning.

The biggest risk from a explosion is a second rejection of fission reactors which will further propel the world towards the dark ages and irrational assessments of risk.

[Caviar Emptor]

Exactly. A meltdown is actually a bullish scenario. Very, very bullish.

Now the market not only gets steroids from POMO, it's going nuclear!

[Bananamerican]

"glow" long!

[mynhair]

They don't blow; they melt.  Learn some basic physics.

[cougar_w]

And burn. Don't forget the radioactive ashes.

[TBT or not TBT]

If there is anything in there that will burn.

[THE DORK OF CORK]

If there is steam and heat in the pressure vessel in will blow just like a steam engine that experiences a catastrophic malfunction.

Hopefully the concrete containment structure will hold the vapourisation explosion and contain the radiation ( chernobyl did not have this ) 

[TBT or not TBT]

Chernobyl was packed full of burnable stuff too, pure carbon in the form of graphite.     The lack of secondary containement allowed atmospheric oxygen in.   Fire, ergo ashes.     Chemical reaction.   Chemical Reaction.   Which spread the radiation everywhere and made the situation just generally fairly unpleasant, given all of the hard radiating isotopes mixed in.

[AN0NYM0US]

and most of us are still here.

are you referring to here as in ZH or a generic here as on planet earth? (my guess is the former)

[THE DORK OF CORK]

ANONYMOUS if you were not anonymous I would perhaps recognize if you were one of us or not.

 If not come join us, soon we will take over the world - but first we need to irradiate the biomass.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_9MI2ymN6s

[cossack55]

OK, DoC, whats your opinion of this option?

www.hyperionpowergeneration.com/product.html

[THE DORK OF CORK]

Most Simple Irishmen are uncomfortable with any structure that does not have a large amount of mass concrete around it.

Best to keep the pressure vessel under wraps me thinks so therefore large plants are safer and more economical given the price scale thingy.

[TBT or not TBT]

For the last sentence, I'm nominating you for a Nobel.     I mean, between Krugman, Arafat, and Obama, your elegant minimalism stands out.

[Caviar Emptor]

One guy survived Hiroshima in 1945. He was treated and released. So he went home....to Nagasaki ! He survived both bombs and lived until 2 years ago. 

[mynhair]

Just wow!

[Flakmeister]

His obit was in the Economist... remarkable..

[Shell Game]

It's all about the dose..

[fragrantdingleberry]

Lee surrendered to Grant at McLean's farm outside Appomattox.Mr. McLean moved his family there from Manassas after the first battle of Bull Run.

[samsara]

Here is a pictoral postcard of someone who drove a motorcycle thru the Chernobyl area.   Very enlightening.

Here's the tour of Chernobyl

http://www.kiddofspeed.com/chernobyl-revisited/

(Bottom of each page has 'Next Page' link)

http://www.kiddofspeed.com/

LAND OF THE WOLVES.

http://www.kiddofspeed.com/chernobyl-land-of-the-wolves/

[Bananamerican]

"The plant was closed down for good in 2000. They must build a new sarcophagus soon, because the original one was hastily constructed and is disintegrating.

Only a very small amount of the radiation inside of there had so far actually escaped. More then 90% is still under sarcophagus. I heard with all the concrete they put down, the construction became heavy.. some day it may fall down, get in subterranean waters and leave Europe with no water."

[Invisible Hand]

DOC,

I think your assessment is spot on.

[robertocarlos]

I was born in the late 50s downwind of Vegas in Canada. I am defective.

[AN0NYM0US]

regardless say good bye to any new nuke facilities in the US - my guess is oil spikes higher in the coming days - speaking of which wasn't there supposed to be a day of rage somewhere today?

[mynhair]

You seem to be implying this was an SEIU plot authorized by the WH to stifle nuke plants.

[cosmictrainwreck]

not causation....just the typical knee-jerk reaction & spin

[cossack55]

Yes. Vulcan had one scheduled in his nether regions.

[Caviar Emptor]

Or...think small: home nuclear is a huge frontier market with huge potential. 

[robertocarlos]

Even Neanderthals had their own home nuke. Sure it only put out 100 watts but it was good for some hot water.

[Big Ben]

It is very funny how people immediately tremble with fear whenever you mention nuclear energy. Perhaps it was all those 50's sci-fi movies with giant Gila monsters and so forth.

If you google "natural gas explosion" you can find a number of them that have happened just in the last year, including one in California which killed eight people. And I was watching a news report recently where they stated that there had been over 2000 natural gas explosions in the US since 1991 and that one third of them had resulted in deaths. If true, that would mean over 600 natural gas related deaths in the US since 1991. In the same period, I don't think that nuclear power plants killed anyone.

[TBT or not TBT]

Well said, and neither did nuclear weapons either, BTW.   

I'd argue that they saved or created hundreds of millions of lives over the last six decades, conservatively. 

[Lapri]

Fukushima Plant II is in trouble, too. They can't control pressure in 3 of the 4 reactors they have.

http://ex-skf.blogspot.com/2011/03/japan-earthquake-reactors-in-fukushim...

[cougar_w]

Water water everywhere, but not a drop of coolant.

When it ignites, will they save themselves or stay and fight it like the Ukrainians did when theirs burned, and thus die? Put out the fire and then put a bullet in your head to stop the pain.

Nightmares nightmares come in the night with glowing eyes and all over knives.

[mynhair]

It was the graphite core that burned in Chernobyl.  Them neutrons play havoc with the crystalline structure of graphite.  And the concrete burned, of course.

[TBT or not TBT]

The graphite burned.   Graphite is pure carbon, in another form of it.    Atmospheric oxygen was available because there was NO secondary containment.   The US had exactly one reactor that used graphite, that I know of anyway, which was used for nuclear weapons programs, not civilian power.   It was decommissioned in my understanding of this.

[SWRichmond]

The term "nuclear pile" comes from the original Manhattan project, where bricks of graphite moderator and fuel were literally assembled into a pile, while a man stood by at a neutron counter with an axe.  If neutron count rose suddenly, the emergency control rod insertion was to be accomplished by cutting the rope that held the rod above and out of the pile.  This was to be done if the reactor suddenly went supercritical.  Hence, the man with the axe was the Super Critical Reactor Axe Man (SCRAM). 

:)

[serotonindumptruck]

I've heard different word substitutions for the acronym "SCRAM". I was originally instructed that it stood for "Safety Control Rod Axe Man". Here's an account from the late, great Enrico Fermi.

"One hand at the back slowly raised from the assembled group. Enrico Fermi was asked by the burly logger, “Sir, just what does ‘scram’ mean?”

Fermi’s reply to the assembled group was, “ Safety Cut Rope Axe Man.""

http://www.ornl.gov/info/reporter/no19/scram.htm

[TBT or not TBT]

Awesome acronym, even if untrue(And I don't dispute it).   I was waving my hands at my wife at little while ago, about "flaming the other retards" and mentioned the word "SCRAM" specifically as to nuke reactor safety, but then felt embarrased for just and instant for lack of recall just what that stood for.  Thanks. 

[cosmictrainwreck]

"...flaming the other retards....." perfect +10

[cossack55]

LMAO. Perhaps you are related to The Mogumbo Guru?

[Dr. No]

A non-profit think tank.  My kind of job.

[cosmictrainwreck]

really..since no profit required, they can pay ya the $250K, no prob

[Dr. No]

I knew a couple of guys in college part of a non-profit think tank.  They never went to calss and flunked out.  Tried to solve all the worlds problems on bowl and twinkie at a time.

[TBT or not TBT]

Damn, my non profit think tank doesn't pay at all, but the dress code is great.   I wash my bathrobe twice a month...and profit!

[cossack55]

I would prefer a non-thinking profit tank.....oh, wait, thats the Federal Reserve.

[mynhair]

+ 120 trillion

[Shell Game]

WTD. Good one..

[Quixote2]

Nuclear is dead, long live king coal (at least 100 years).

[cossack55]

Hate to break the news to ya, Nat King Cole is dead.

[cougar_w]

Coal; the gift that just keeps giving.

[plocequ1]

Dont forget Ol' King Cole. He was a merry old soul and a merry old soul was he.

[fragrantdingleberry]

So is Cole Porter

[Flakmeister]

Q2

you should chew on this....

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=coal-ash-is-more-radioactive-than-nuclear-waste

and this

http://iahs.info/redbooks/a243/iahs_243_0103.pdf

Not to mention this

http://www.ornl.gov/info/ornlreview/rev26-34/text/colmain.html

[hambone]

Dudes,

ZerOHead provided a link to NASA info...seems terribly pertitent to what is happening in Japan and elsewhere w/ seismic activtiy (strong support of linkage btwn solar flares and major earthquakes).  I've copied and pasted from NASA's website sited above in ZeroHeads message...sorry to sound whack but given the US governments moves in the past months to prepare millions of MRE's and coffins round the new london fault...makes one wonder if smarter folks are expecting something.

UPDATE: Earth's magnetic field is still reverberating from a CME strike on March 10, 2011 which resulted in a G1-class geomagnetic storm. Northern Lights have rippling over the US-Canadian border into states such as Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan. Solar wind conditions favor more geomagnetic storming in the hours ahead. Sky watchers, including those in the continental United States, should remain alert for auroras.

03.10.11 - Another X-Class Solar Flare and a CME

March 9th ended with a powerful solar flare. Earth-orbiting satellites detected an X1.5-class explosion from behemoth sunspot 1166 around 2323 UT. A movie from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (above) shows a bright flash of UV radiation plus some material being hurled away from the blast site.

Coronagraph data from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory show no bright coronal mass ejection (CME) emerging from this eruption. Some material was surely hurled in our direction, but probably not enough for significant Earth-effects. Updates will be provided as more information becomes available.

In addition, on March 10, 2011 around 0630 UT, a CME did strike a glancing blow to Earth's magnetic field. This was a result of an M3 flare that occurred late on March 7, 2011. At 2,200 km/sec, this was the fasted CME since September 2005. Below is an impact image provided from a sky watcher in Canada. Visit www.spaceweather.com for links to more great aurora imagery.

What is going on with all this recent solar activity?

After four years without any X-flares, the sun has produced two of the powerful blasts in less than one month: Feb. 15th and March 9th. This continues the recent trend of increasing solar activity associated with our sun's regular 11-year cycle, and confirms that Solar Cycle 24 is indeed heating up, as solar experts have expected. Solar activity will continue to increase as the solar cycle progresses toward solar maximum, expected the 2013 time frame.

What is a solar flare and what does X-class mean?

A solar flare is an intense burst of radiation coming from the release of magnetic energy associated with sunspots. Flares are our solar system’s largest explosive events. They are seen as bright areas on the sun and they can last from minutes to hours. We typically see a solar flare by the photons (or light) it releases, at most every wavelength of the spectrum. The primary ways we monitor flares are in x-rays and optical light. Flares are also sites where particles (electrons, protons, and heavier particles) are accelerated.

Scientists classify solar flares according to their brightness in the x-ray wavelengths. There are three categories: C, M, X, with each one representing approximately 10x more power. The number following the letter indicates another factor applied to the basic classification scheme, from 1-9. At the high end, the X class can go higher than 9 because there is no higher letter classification.

What is a coronal mass ejection (CME)?

The outer solar atmosphere, the corona, is structured by strong magnetic fields. Where these fields are closed, often above sunspot groups, the confined solar atmosphere can suddenly and violently release bubbles of gas and magnetic fields called coronal mass ejections. A large CME can contain a billion tons of matter that can be accelerated to several million miles per hour in a spectacular explosion. Solar material streams out through the interplanetary medium, impacting any planet or spacecraft in its path. CMEs are sometimes associated with flares but can occur independently.

[mynhair]

Huh?  CME strike on March 10, 2011

Never noticed a break in commodities trading....

[cossack55]

Add that to this:

www.predictweather.com/default.aspx

[Clycntct]

Scary info. Thanks much for providing more shock and awe.

I'm feeling like this could be the equivelent of the recipe for Polar reversal.

[NidStyles]

Sorry, I can't take this guy seriously. He's not on site, nor does he have the detail's of the reactor situation. I will have to say he's pumping us full of fear. That's the only thing that is out of control with this situation.

[Misean]

Yep FUD. From our bankster think tank.

[New_Meat]

Nid: "Sorry, I can't take this guy seriously. ..."  Don't be sorry, he's talking through his other orifice.

"The Japanese reactors are designed to drop neutron-blocking control rods into the core as soon as the plants detect a seismic disturbance."

Except that this is a BWR, the control rods are inserted up from the bottom, since the top of the vessel is congested with steam separators and the nozzles for main steam leads.  So the rods go up in the general direction of Trav777's primary digit.

- Ned

[Westcoastliberal]

In such a "China syndrome" a runaway meltdown gets hotter and hotter until it melts through any structure beneath it, including rock, until it hits water.  When it does, the pressure from the steam will make the whole thing blow sky high, including the radioactive material.  Jack Lemmon, Jane Fonda and Michael Douglas were in a movie about this.

[mynhair]

Will it have enough momentum to continue burning through the Earth, and wind up in DC?

[cossack55]

Negative.  Sub-DC is insulated with a 12 mile density of FRNs that were printed and buried last week in case of peak ink.

[Caviar Emptor]

Make that "America Syndrome" if the meltdown is in Japan. 

[TBT or not TBT]

Indeed.  On a financial sitem, shouldn't we be in fever swamp territory about Jap insurance companies cashing in their Tbills?    Buehler?

[cossack55]

Same thought occured to me. Scary.....Hey, are you me? I hope so cause that would mean I'm smart enough to load a cool avatar.

BTW, and the buyer is????? 

Hint: Has 3 beard barbers and is dumber than shit.

[Caviar Emptor]

USA: tops in nuclear cleanup 

[DrStrangelove]

this just in from Re-Max Japan

[DrStrangelove]

Oceanfront nuclear plant for sale in Okuma, price reduced $150,000,000

[velobabe]

holy fucking cow, i have not visited Japan, it is on my list, to do list. now does this stuff damage historical treasuries? i mean, i know it hurts human beings health, but does it injure other species on this planet? well, i know it can not penetrate rock stone and scissors.

[mynhair]

Unfortunately, does not harm Libs.  Like cockroaches, they have extreme tolerance.

[TBT or not TBT]

One of their many STD's could mutate.   Could be a heck of an NR-17 classic movie scenario, if not a blockbuster.

[wang]

a San Andreas simulation courtesy USGS

http://urbanearth.usgs.gov/wp-content/shakeout/scec-shakeout-simulation.wmv

(Ground motion for the ShakeOut Scenario earthquake 60 seconds after the southern San Andreas Fault first begins rupturing. Yellow shows the highest amplitudes of ground motion. (Simulation by Rob Graves of URS Corporation for the Southern California Earthquake Center on high-performance computers at the University of Southern California; image courtesy of Geoff Ely, University of California San Diego/San Diego Supercomputer Center.) Windows Media Player application - load time varies depending on connection speed

[bob_dabolina]

Failed cooling systems have now occured for 3 reactors @ 2 plants

[cougar_w]

This just in:

All the reporting to now has been about Fukushima Plant 1 where 2 reactors are out of control.

There is more fun. Three reactors at nearby Fukusihima Plant 2 have now gone critical as well.

Yes, TWO COMPLETE FACILITIES are now blown in Japan.

That we know of.

It is no stretch to contemplate that all those people working to control these beasts are going to die.

[bob_dabolina]

I beat you by a minute ;)

[cougar_w]

HFP (high-frequency posting) will ruin this country, mark my words.

I take it you read AJZ too?

[bob_dabolina]

I read whatever the herd is reading at any given time.

[walküre]

http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/index-e.html

The Company has a 2020 Vision and just released a "Sustainability Report"

Earthquakes are a common occurrence in Japan, especially off the Northeast coast.

They've got a Plan B of some sort. Must be?

[Mentaliusanything]

Yes - plan B - place head between legs and kiss your A$$ nighty night

[mynhair]

That does it.  Going to the junkyard n buy mass generators, not alternators.  Then buying mass AGM batteries, bicycles, and wiring.  Soylent Green bitchez!

Wif could use the exercise.

BTW, that boat with hundreds on board has been found.  All ok.

[TBT or not TBT]

It is no stretch to contemplate that all those people working to control these beasts are going to die.

The interesting question is WHEN they will die.   Everybody is on board with the prediction they'll die.   I mean, you will die, unless you are a program in the matrix and not a person.

[Al89]

http://www.carnegieendowment.org/experts/index.cfm?fa=expert_view&expert_id=478

But, but he has written OVER 3,000 articles. He is a serious and genuine 'expert'.

One particulalry nasty image is of a small yacht being sucked into a giant whirlpool. 

[Cdad]

Sometimes one chart says a lot.

You know, I've been listening to B. Stutland on the floor in Chicago, pimp the same stupid story three weeks in a row now.  I mention it because...even as cores may or may not breach in Japan, he Friday-pumped it all once again, about lower highs on the VIX...he thesis being to short it even as we go all freakin' China Syndrome.

I would direct your attention to a 90 day chart of VXX, a note reflecting three month futures on the VIX.  So pulling back from the wild-like "risk on" baby BS from today...but check the volume?  You have to go back to the week of Chistmas to get that volume comp.

Volume is the only stat that cannot lie...and so as we pray that Japanese folk can get control of those cores, just continue to watch that VXX note.  I'm telling you, there is a 25% intraday move up coming there very soon.  It is still dislocated from the VIX to the point of being stupid....and they are buying it on the sly AH tonight.

What a crock of criminal syndicate Wall Street crap this session was today!  FIRE HOSE PLEASE!

[mynhair]

Tried VXX once, barely escaped with my life.

Unfortunately, got stuck with TZA at close today by 2 cents.

[Cdad]

Listen...I don't give a shit if you once almost lost some money on a Vol trade.  You think that is somehow unique?  Go to the f'n chart.  And while your at it, percent overlay it against the VIX. 

It's obvious....and B. Stutland is an asshole! 

[mynhair]

Yep.  Learned that one.  Now just need a support group for TZA junkies.

[Cdad]

I just kicked the SKF...still not feelin' right.  Got's the jeebers....

[it aint paranoi...]

Error

[no cnbc cretin]

It will be bad, if the news is correct, but it won't be the end of the world.

[bob_dabolina]

5 reactors now in trouble

TOKYO — Japan declared states of emergency for five nuclear reactors at two power plants after the units lost cooling ability in the aftermath of Friday’s powerful earthquake. Thousands of residents were evacuated as workers struggled to get the reactors under control to prevent meltdowns.

http://www.suntimes.com/4258154-417/5-nuclear-reactors-under-state-of-emergency.html

[mynhair]

Send the Revvvverend Jackson over there, and he will bore those reactors into submission.

Or, hopefully, not return.

[mynhair]

More monitoring:

http://tsunami.geo.ed.ac.uk/local-bin/quakes/mapscript/show_map.pl?mode=...

[americanspirit]

An awful lot of the lame jokes here tonite sound like a bunch of kids walking past the graveyard trying to sound brave. The primary diagnostic criterion for a sociopathic personality is a complete lack of empathy. Quite a bit of that around here, tough guys. My guess is that no one of the jokers on this thread would have the dedication or professionalism to go into that reactor tonight to try to prevent the disaster that's waiting to happen. I'm afraid that many brave souls are going to die tonight. Bless them all, and let's hope the Japanese government takes better care of the loved ones they will leave behind than ours did for the 911 responders' families.

[mynhair]

Cite one lame joke.

Other than you.

[bob_dabolina]

Knock! Knock!
Who's There?
Sue.
Sue WHo?
SUE NAMIIIII!! 

[cosmictrainwreck]

now, that's funny! how twisted am I? [don't answer]

[cougar_w]

Send the Revvvverend Jackson over there, and he will bore those reactors into submission.

Kinda lame, you know.

[mynhair]

Yea, the Revvvvverend Jackson is pretty lame.

Now, the Justice Brothers.........

[bob_dabolina]

LOL! Beat you by a minute AGAIN!

[Marley]

Agree.

http://theenergycollective.com/index.php?q=nathantemple/53384/how-shutdo...

And I would add that if the rods haven't inserted that there is always Boron Injection to poison the fission process.

[serotonindumptruck]

Excellent link. It clarifies some of the technical details.

[TBT or not TBT]

Is that like the boring process where you send Reverrrrend Jackson or Al Gore to sermonize it into submission?

[fragrantdingleberry]

If you're referring to me, I plead guilty. I wouldn't go near that place, even in your skin. I do hope you're wrong about the loss of life though. I think they've got enough safety systems to avoid a catastrophe. Remember, the Japs have more experience with radiation than anybody and they don't want any more.

[TBT or not TBT]

Awesome Nagashima reference dude.  Respect.

[uno]

interested in seeing brave souls on March 10, 2011, watch this video

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=8a7_1299813417

[bankonzhongguo]

nuke evac went from 3km zone to 10 km zone - 3,000 evac to 45,000 evac.

[cougar_w]

Now all they need is to clear the roads, find working vehicles, and get everyone moving in an orderly way without the use of technology. Oh and they need somewhere to go for shelter and food, in a country now on its knees.

Disaster planners hate scenarios like this one.

[TBT or not TBT]

On its ass my effing ass.  This is a civilisation, not Haiti or Indonesia.

[mynhair]

Pressure vessels are going kaput.  Not good.

But very bullish for Monday.  Nippon will exhaust all sources of Yen on sunday nite.

[bob_dabolina]

In about 2 hours my pressure vessel is going to blow

-Boehner

[cosmictrainwreck]

LMAO.... stop, Bob! yer killin' me, here

[cosmictrainwreck]

I cannot believe Spaulding Smells hasn't weighed in on this, since he knows everthing about everything. Must be out partyin' hard ....wheeeee PARTAY! after today's miraculous ramp-job in the "market"

[hambone]

Right you are - he's posting on the other (1st) string on this reactor story.

[mynhair]

We haven't mentioned Gold and Silver!

[TBT or not TBT]

Second!   Gold, Silver.   Booyah

[High Plains Drifter]

The correct spelling is Schmailes. He is from the old country , doncha know. Remember, don't piss him off. He has read a lot of books.... Parting hardy?  Maybe, you know how it is. After a long hard day of making deliveries, its always nice to sit down on the bar stool and have a few pops of back medicine........

[Bagbalm]

"Carnegie Endowment for International Peace" What bias can we expect from this organization? And is his nuclear expertice from his politically correct view or an engineering degree?

[savagegoose]

ehh it cant be any worse than having a nuke dropped on a city., and the japs survived that pretty much intact.

[mynhair]

Very true.  The problem arises in how the miscreants (no offense, MC) spin this into Lib heaven of "power generation other than (unreliable) wind and solar is bad!"

Heaven is Libs practicing what they preach:  no junks after sundown.

[Yen Cross]

I'll bet 48 dollars that all 4(graphite-singlefeed) cores melt down in that worthless piece of crap! Look out, west coast usa.

[High Plains Drifter]

http://www.chasingcleanair.com/chasing_clean_air/2011/03/japans-89-earth...

Diablo is on the same fault line as Japan......tick tock, tick tock.......

[CitizenPete]

Other side of the plate I beleive.

The NRC was monitoring Diablo today for a NOUE... which was posted this morning.  The reactors were shut down as a precaution of tsunami, the NRC NOUE one page release did not elaborate on the reason for the alert. http://nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/news/2011/

[High Plains Drifter]

Why would they even consider building that thing there? Its insane. Such a beautiful area and they have this monster on the coast just waiting for the time......

[High Plains Drifter]

On such a awful day, may we now suggest a word from the blues man. This one is for you Charlie....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nz7xTMv24AA

[cosmictrainwreck]

thnx for diversion, HPD.... Dolly is incredible...always has been. how can a beautimousness like that sing so gooood, too? (she really is a singer)