Meltdown Likely Under Way At Japan Nuclear Reactor

[bkkjames]

BREAKING NEWS: Fukushima's spent nuke fuel pool may be boiling, reducing water (17:29)

from the same Kyodo breaking news link. http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/

This is really not good!

edit to add: RT @BreakingNews Radiation levels rise Vladivostok RUSSIA,

Edited March 15, 2011 by bkkjames

[webfact]

Fukushima spent nuke fuel pool at reactor no. 4 may be boiling, water level falling -Kyodo /RT @REUTERSFLASH:

[bkkjames]

"Preventative measures" being taken at no 5 and 6 reactors at Fukushima 1 nuclear power plant - NHK

Guess this means more seawater - followed by the inevitable hydrogen explosions in the coming hours - radiation releases, fires. Probably a good thing this facility has run out of reactors.

[ETatBKK]

asahi.com ( the main news agent in Japan ) explains the effect of microsievert on human body :

( translation below : )

unit in millisievert ( mSv, ミリシーベルト )

on the right ( orange scale )

0.05mSv chest X-ray

0.6mSv stomach X-ray

1.0mSv medical radiation /year ( world average )

2.4mSv natural radiation /year ( world average )

6.9mSv chest X-ray CT

50mSv staff in radioactive industries maximum limit /year

on the left ( red scale )

1,000mSv lymphocytes reduced, low white blood cell

5,000mSv membrane bleeding and hair drop

10,000mSv unconscious

50,000mSv dead in 48 hours

translated : www.asahi.com Mar 15, 2011 at 13.07h JST

http://www.asahi.com/special/10005/TKY201103150222.html

[jfchandler]

ETat, I believe your chart and the related figures relate to milli-sievert... not microsievert...

1 milli-sievert= 1000 micro-sievert...

The chart deals with milli-sievert numbers (the larger measurement).

asahi.com ( the main news agent in Japan ) explains the effect of microsievert on human body :

[bkkjames]

ETat, I believe your chart and the related figures relate to milli-sievert... not microsievert...

1 milli-sievert= 1000 micro-sievert...

The chart deals with milli-sievert numbers (the larger measurement).

asahi.com ( the main news agent in Japan ) explains the effect of microsievert on human body :

John this is for you to interpret? http://www.ustream.t...r-counter-chiba

Live reading 200k south (near Tokyo) from Fukushima I gather??

Edited March 15, 2011 by bkkjames

[jfchandler]

James, just to not muddy the nuclear waters...

The spent fuel rods in the pool that are overheating are on the roof of Reactor 4...

Your prior post about other rising temperatures/cooling problems pertained to the other two shut down reactors there...Nos. 5 and 6...

BREAKING NEWS: Fukushima's spent nuke fuel pool may be boiling, reducing water (17:29)

from the same Kyodo breaking news link. http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/

This is really not good!

[bkkjames]

James, just to not muddy the nuclear waters...

The spent fuel rods in the pool that are overheating are on the roof of Reactor 4...

Your prior post about other rising temperatures/cooling problems pertained to the other two shut down reactors there...Nos. 5 and 6...

BREAKING NEWS: Fukushima's spent nuke fuel pool may be boiling, reducing water (17:29)

from the same Kyodo breaking news link. http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/

This is really not good!

yep - the spent fuel rods catching fire will be especially bad cause they are laying in pools outside I understand = not contained. 5 and 6 is a different story.

[brahmburgers]

The color chart is good, and the translation is appreciated (interesting, the Japanese adopt the X symbol).

However, the effects mentioned are near term. Hardly any mention of cancer causing, and no mention of reproductive problems that can stem from radiation exposure.

[jfchandler]

Will someone please put another nickel in the TV jukebox... :jap:

I've been effectively unable to connect for the past 10 minutes...even though the rest of my Internet connectivity has been fine...

Moving now a bit...but slow a cold honey.

[jfchandler]

Yes, I believe they were saying the morning explosion at Reactor 4 blew away whatever cover had existed there...

I didn't catch "catching fire".. I just caught overheating...

yep - the spent fuel rods catching fire will be especially bad cause they are laying in pools outside I understand = not contained. 5 and 6 is a different story.

[webfact]

Japan nuclear safety agency: Two 8-metre holes in wall of Fukushima No.4 outer building after blast /@REUTERSFLASH:

[ETatBKK]

yes, I do notice that and I keep the original Japanese unit there - it is millisievert on the graphic ! it is the kind of confusion you guys discussed here earlier.

microsievert, μSv, マイクロシーベルト

millisievert, mSv, ミリシーベルト ( on graphic, also in the attached text link )

I also did some search on other Japanese site as well, indeed confused.

ETat, I believe your chart and the related figures relate to milli-sievert... not microsievert...

1 milli-sievert= 1000 micro-sievert...

The chart deals with milli-sievert numbers (the larger measurement).

asahi.com ( the main news agent in Japan ) explains the effect of microsievert on human body :

[animatic]

Kyodo: Cooling of No. 5, No. 6 reactors appears not to be working properly: Edano /RT @mpoppel:

You've got to be kidding...

Sadly I was expecting this announcement.

[Crushdepth]

Maybe some of you will disagree, but IMHO the state of these reactors represents a miserable design failure.

[jfchandler]

NHK:

Quake, nuclear concern cause TSE plunge

On the Tokyo stock market, the Nikkei average of 225 issues plunged by more than 10 percent on Tuesday, for its third-largest fall ever.

The key index ended at 8,605, down more than 1,000 points, or 10.55 percent, from Monday to close below the 9,000-mark for the first time since last September.

The drop is attributed to concerns that the devastating earthquake in northern Japan could have a prolonged impact on the country's business and people's lives, and to a series of problems at quake-hit nuclear power plants.

Some 5.78 billion shares changed hands in the first section on Tuesday, marking a record high for the second straight day.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011 16:45 +0900 (JST)

JFC's note - I should add, TEPCO's stock price also has been diving the past two days, down each day by the maximum amount allowed under Japanese stock exchange rules... So much for "safe" utlity stocks...at least...those with nuclear facilities.

Edited March 15, 2011 by jfchandler

[Crushdepth]

Kyodo: Cooling of No. 5, No. 6 reactors appears not to be working properly: Edano /RT @mpoppel:

You've got to be kidding...

Sadly I was expecting this announcement.

I hope they have enough pumps and stuff to cope with cooling 6 reactors at once. Wishing them a bit of good luck for a change...

[animatic]

Maybe some of you will disagree, but IMHO the state of these reactors represents a miserable design failure.

Agree 100%

And a systems failure also.

Why have no back up generators or pumps with other power sources been dropped in by helicopter.

No doubt there exist large trucks with generators the size of shipping containers.

Multiples could be chained through regulators to provide enough power for most large jobs, why not here?

Why are these resources not in evidence????

[animatic]

Kyodo: Cooling of No. 5, No. 6 reactors appears not to be working properly: Edano /RT @mpoppel:

You've got to be kidding...

Sadly I was expecting this announcement.

I hope they have enough pumps and stuff to cope with cooling 6 reactors at once. Wishing them a bit of good luck for a change...

They don't seem to be able to handle one, let alone all 6.

This more and more looks like a 'heads will roll' scenario, because someone apparently has really dropped the ball on preparations.

Edited March 15, 2011 by animatic

[jfchandler]

There's always some of these in the worst disaster...

NHK reporting that rescuers dug out a Japanese guy trapped in the quake/tsunami today 96 hours after the original event.. He's alive and expected to survive.

[ETatBKK]

wikipedia has good info of the Fukushima Dai Ichi nuclear plant

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fukushima_I_Nuclear_Power_Plant

[jfchandler]

It's not just the reactors that are getting hot out there...

Kyodo News:

[Prime Minister] Kan strongly ordered the company [TEPCO] not to withdraw its employees from the power plant, which has been facing a series of problems since Friday's massive quake, ranging from explosions to radiation leaks. ''In the event of withdrawal from there, I'm 100 percent certain that the company will collapse,'' Kan said. ''I want you all to be determined.''

The government, as well as the public, has been dissatisfied with the company's way of releasing information regarding the crippled nuclear plant.

Fukushima Gov. Yuhei Sato phoned Kan and told him that ''the fears and anger of residents in the prefecture are reaching the limit,'' according to a prefectural government official.

Sato requested that the government make more efforts to end the nuclear crisis as quickly as possible, the official said.

Following the request, the governor said at a news conference that Kan has promised to take the feelings of people living in the prefecture to heart and give his all to deal with the emergency situation.

Sato complained about the power company's response to the abnormalities of the plant. He said the company ''should provide accurate information much earlier to the central government.''

[ETatBKK]

this is a kind of scenario no one what to see :-( but baddly it is happening :-(

I hope that Japanese gets enough support from experts / governments around the world. it is not the disater on their little island, it is a disater on the little earth that we live :-(

They don't seem to be able to handle one, let alone all 6.

This more and more looks like a 'heads will roll' scenario, because someone apparently has really dropped the ball on preparations.

[jfchandler]

I've been wondering and asking that same question since this began...

Surely, the Japanese Self Defense Forces have the logistics capability to airlift in the necessary generators and fuel supply.

I've seen/heard no evidence they've done that, or any explanation of why they didn't.

But then again, even if they had, that wouldn't have addressed the situation the other day when one of the reactors went dry because the workers weren't paying attention and let the fuel on one of the water pumps to run out...

Why have no back up generators or pumps with other power sources been dropped in by helicopter.

No doubt there exist large trucks with generators the size of shipping containers.

Multiples could be chained through regulators to provide enough power for most large jobs, why not here?

Why are these resources not in evidence????

[jfchandler]

Kyodo News as of 6:45 pm Japan time

Status of quake-stricken reactors at Fukushima nuclear power plant

TOKYO, March 15, Kyodo

The following is the known status as of Tuesday evening for each of the six reactors at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture, crippled by Friday's magnitude 9.0 earthquake and ensuing tsunami.

-- Reactor No. 1 - Cooling failure, partial melting of core, hydrogen explosion, seawater pumped in.

-- Reactor No. 2 - Cooling failure, seawater pumped in, fuel rods fully exposed temporarily, partial melting of core, damage to containment system.

-- Reactor No. 3 - Cooling failure, partial melting of core, seawater pumped in, hydrogen explosion.

-- Reactor No. 4 - Under maintenance when quake struck, fire caused by hydrogen explosion at pool holding spent fuel rods, pool water levels feared receding.

-- Reactor No. 5 - Under maintenance when quake struck.

-- Reactor No. 6 - Under maintenance when quake struck.

Edited March 15, 2011 by jfchandler

[Tywais]

No doubt there exist large trucks with generators the size of shipping containers.

Multiples could be chained through regulators to provide enough power for most large jobs, why not here?

The infrastructure, that is transportation, roads, etc. may well be too damaged to easily and quickly get these class of pumps there. Also, these are not your normal pond pumps as you can see below.

"In large reactors, as much as 330,000 gallons of water coolant flow through the reactor core every minute. The water that leaves the reactor is sent to either cooling towers or discharged into large bodies of water such as cooling ponds, lakes, rivers, or an ocean."

Some interesting reading here > Office of Nuclear Energy

[webfact]

Official says water in cooling pool for spent nuclear fuel at tsunami-stricken #Japan plant may be boiling /via@CBSNews:

[bkkjames]

Interesting that the kyodo news update on all 6 above does not mention their earlier report that reactors 5 and 6 are suffering 'cooling' difficulties?

[Chopperboy]

So the peak readings this morning from the plant of 8000+ microSievert are, I believe, equal to 8 milliSievert... That's how they're getting the figure of that one hour exposure at that level being equal to three years worth... See comparisons below

An assortment of typical radiation doses (in milliSievert) (mSv)

Dose from a single full-body computed tomography (CT) scan 45

Its estimated that in the US 29,000 people get cancer every year from having medical CT scans.

The type of plutonium produced and used in nuclear power reactors is much more dangerous than that used in nuclear weapons.

[ETatBKK]

here the answer for transportation, not too late I hope !

the shipping giant of Japan - Nippon Yusen Kaisma, provides a ship vessel for ministry of transporation, for supporting recovery. this ship built with large flat deck for carrying heavy equipment, construction materials, even as heliport.

translated : www.asahi.com Mar 15, 2011 at 19.04h JST