Meltdown Likely Under Way At Japan Nuclear Reactor

[lopburi3]

Lopburi...when I look at my post 1523 just above yours, I see the actual graphic of the evacuation map...

It didnt' work the first time... so I went back in, edited the post, and tried the image link another way.

Can you see the image now...or still not? Thanks.

The above post is text only - no 'posted image'.

Edit: Or did you mean you have posted an image to the previous offsite file?

Yes I do see the image now - sorry for delay was off site awhile.

[Chopperboy]

I haven't heard or seen any authoritative report indicating the fuel rod storage ponds in reactors 5 and 6 are leaking... What/where is the source of that info?

The emergency workers focused their efforts on the storage pool at reactor 3, the only unit at the site that runs on mixed oxide fuel, which contains reclaimed plutonium.

Beddington said, that storage pools at reactors 5 and 6 were leaking. "We are extremely worried about that. The reason we are worried is that there is a substantial volume of material there and this, once it's open to the air and starting to heat up, can start to emit significant amounts of radiation."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/17/japan-nuclear-crisis-deepens-radiation

There may be discrepancies between the radiation figures from the Japanese and elsewhere.

[jfchandler]

Now that we've got a workaround for image posting, and things have quieted down a bit, I've gone back and retrieved the earlier image posts from today that the rest of you couldn't see in the original posts...

Hopefully, all four of them will now appear fine below...

Fukushima reactors smoking and steaming on Friday morning.

TEPCO diagram of plans for restoring electrical power to Reactors 1 and 2.

Specialized Tokyo Fire Department units prepare to go to Fukushima to assist with water spraying efforts.

Edited March 18, 2011 by jfchandler

[elcent]

As long as there are no success messages things will turn worse. Any major breakthrough reported? I haven't seen one. Today is the day where the fate will be exposed, either direction for good or worse.

[Chopperboy]

More than 20 Tepco workers, subcontractors, police and firefighters have been reported to the International Atomic Energy Agency as having radiation contamination, according to Yukio Edano, the government's chief spokesman. An undisclosed number of firefighters are said to be under observation after being exposed.

There are fears the site might soon become too radioactive for engineers to work there. "You can arrive at the stage where unless you want to receive a very serious dose of radiation, you are in such an intense field that by the time you've run to wherever you need to do the work, you have to run back again. And they may very well be getting to that stage," said Wakeford. At that point any hope of cooling the reactors or the storage pools would rest on being able to bring heavy lead shielding into the area.

[jfchandler]

Afternoon Update:

Efforts to cool reactors continue in Japan nuke crisis

TOKYO, March 18, Kyodo

Efforts to cool down the overheating reactors and spent fuel continued Friday at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, which was crippled a week ago by a massive earthquake and tsunami, with workers braving the risk of radiation exposure to prevent the problems from developing into a catastrophe.

Tokyo also reiterated its resolve to do everything to put the situation under control, with International Atomic Energy Agency chief Yukiya Amano arriving in Tokyo and meeting with Prime Minister Naoto Kan and other government officials.

The unprecedented cooling mission, which was launched Thursday by the Self-Defense Forces by spraying tons of water over the plant's No. 3 reactor building, was bolstered on the second day with more pumps, after efforts were focused in the morning to restore power to some of the reactors' cooling systems, the government said.

SDF fire trucks shot 50 tons of water at a spent fuel pool of the No. 3 reactor in the afternoon, along with a high-pressure water cannon truck loaned by the U.S. military, after aiming up to 60 tons of water at it along with two helicopters the day before.

''This is the largest crisis for Japan,'' Kan told Amano at the outset of their meeting in Tokyo, adding, ''Every organization (of the government)...is making all-out efforts to deal with the problem.''

Kan also said Japan will disclose more information to the international community as Amano asked him to do.

The Tokyo Fire Department is slated to join in the operation at the Fukushima plant with 30 trucks capable of discharging massive amounts of water to high places and some 140 firefighters of its ''hyper rescue'' team, who are specialists in rescue operations in large-scale disasters.

But a Tokyo police water cannon truck, whose contribution Thursday was revised Friday to 44 tons from the initially reported 4 tons, and the SDF choppers were not mobilized Friday.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said the fire department's trucks were considering dousing a spent nuclear fuel pool at the No. 1 reactor, although it does not pose as imminent a threat as the No. 3 and No. 4 reactors of releasing radioactive materials into the air, to extend all possible means.

Radiation readings at the troubled nuclear plant have consistently followed a downward path through Friday morning, according to data taken roughly 1 kilometer west of the plant's No. 2 reactor, but plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. stopped short of calling the move a trend.

The radiation level at 11 a.m. dropped to 265.0 microsievert per hour from 351.4 microsievert per hour at 12:30 a.m. Thursday. It measured 292.2 microsievert per hour at 8:40 p.m. Thursday, shortly after SDF trucks sprayed water at the No. 3 reactor pool as part of efforts to avert any massive emission of radioactive materials into the air from the facility.

Edano said radiation amounts near the Fukushima Daiichi plant ''do not pose immediate adverse effects on the human body,'' after the government's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency released data collected by Tokyo Electric, or TEPCO.

Agency spokesman Hidehiko Nishiyama noted the difficulty in properly assessing the effects of the water-pouring mission from the radiation data, while they are all below 500 microsievert per hour, which requires the operator to report an emergency to the government if surpassed.

TEPCO, for its party, accelerated efforts to restore lost cooling function by reconnecting electricity to the plant through outside power lines, with workers trying to recover power at the plant's No. 1 and No. 2 reactors later Friday and at the No. 3 and No. 4 reactors by Sunday, according to Nishiyama.

Some of the power distribution boards at the plant have been damaged by the quake-triggered tsunami and TEPCO will use makeshift replacement equipment, he added.

The spent fuel pools at the power station lost their cooling function in the wake of the March 11 killer quake and tsunami. It is also no longer possible to monitor the water level and the temperatures of the pools in the No. 1 to 4 reactor buildings.

Plumes have been seen rising from three of them but not the No. 1 unit, the agency spokesman said, suggesting their pools situated outside the reactor containments are boiling, with those at the No. 3 and No. 4 units no longer covered by their roofs since they were blown off by hydrogen blasts earlier this week.

MORE:

http://english.kyodo...1/03/79294.html

Edited March 18, 2011 by jfchandler

[Tywais]

More than 20 Tepco workers, subcontractors, police and firefighters have been reported to the International Atomic Energy Agency as having radiation contamination, according to Yukio Edano, the government's chief spokesman. An undisclosed number of firefighters are said to be under observation after being exposed.

Just a side note on that. At the nuclear physics lab I worked at in the US, if someone has been exposed or thought to be exposed they have to have white blood cell count (blood tests) done regularly for about one year.

[elcent]

compare from April/May 2010 and today

http://park30.wakwak.com/~weather/geiger_index.html

[elcent]

Afternoon Update:

Efforts to cool reactors continue in Japan nuke crisis

TOKYO, March 18, Kyodo

Effort in this case means failure. there should be major progress and success info instead.

[WarpSpeed]

Pumps seem to be destroyed in all reactor buildings. They're talking about recharging batteries which may be not completely destroyed yet. At least as I understand in unit 1 and 2.

Where? Never heard of this, anyone have any links??

Might have been this entry on the AlJazeera blog dated 17 March 2011 (highlighting in red is mine):

3:14am

The US military has delivered high-pressure water pumps to Japan to help cool Fukushima's crisis-hit nuclear power plant.

The pumps were ferried to Yokota Air Force Base for use at the crippled Fukushima plant, with four additional pumps delivered from Sasebo, in Japan's southwest, the US Pacific Fleet said in a statement.

Rising temperatures caused by damage to the cooling system pumps during Friday's earthquake are cauding the water in the reactor cores to turn to steam, increasing pressure, and exposing the fuel rods.

Source: http://blogs.aljazeera.net/live/asia/disaster-japan-march-17-live-blog

So the additional pump damage came post earthquake and Tsunami and after the report I heard which precluded the first explosion and now the pieces are finally fitting together..

I had some serious thought about this issue last night and it seems that there is an opportunity here for the them to adopt a new strategy for any such future protection..

For example: The Russians have hundreds of older decommissioned nuclear submarines waiting to be scrapped and I see a use for them if not new ones if refitting them is too costly or complicated.

While I know it won't help this current circumstance someone should have had enough vision to anticipate this scenario prior and it seems that submarine technology would be very useful as a peaceful purpose in these cases where a fully fitted nuclear sub could be placed on sight, as a back up at all coastal or river based power plants that could be anchored to withstand such an occurrence or even set out to sea when a warning is given to avoid serious damage though they are really sufficiently built to withstand what would only be water pressure should they be anchored and of course submersion would not be a problem and neither debris being directly on the coast line once the threat subsided it would then return to resolve all these issues.

Have it fitted with back up pumps coolants etc. and an Internationally uniformed point of docking just as the space station for example (meaning universally connectible not actually docking like a space craft) and all power stations required to retrofit accordingly. It's entire purpose would be to provide back up power and pumping capacity, it's certain that this can be done effectively if given some thought.. This would serve the purpose of bypassing the entire power grid and pumping system with a purpose built self contained modular system should the need arise..

Alternatively the same similar encapsulated system could/should be built for all other type land based systems to protect and back up these vital systems which do not currently seem to have the necessary back ups.. A submarine is built to withstand great pressures and be fully self contained so therefore the technology should be able to be easily (relatively speaking) and effectively adapted to these applications..

[jfchandler]

Chopper, if you're going to post info, please include the source of the info and a corresponding web link.

Earlier today, I posted a portion of a TEPCO report that indicated one of their staff had been exposed at the 100 millisievert level earlier this week, but that was the only particularly high exposure episode that they reported.

The Japanese have publicly said the firefighters involved thus far have been checked, had their exposure levels monitored, and have not thus far sustained any risky exposures.

More than 20 Tepco workers, subcontractors, police and firefighters have been reported to the International Atomic Energy Agency as having radiation contamination, according to Yukio Edano, the government's chief spokesman. An undisclosed number of firefighters are said to be under observation after being exposed.

There are fears the site might soon become too radioactive for engineers to work there. "You can arrive at the stage where unless you want to receive a very serious dose of radiation, you are in such an intense field that by the time you've run to wherever you need to do the work, you have to run back again. And they may very well be getting to that stage," said Wakeford. At that point any hope of cooling the reactors or the storage pools would rest on being able to bring heavy lead shielding into the area.

[Chopperboy]

What they should have done is put the generators and backup pumps in water tight areas.

[jfchandler]

Elcent, from your post, it's not at all clear where these readings were taken, or what they're supposed to represent... If the graphic itself isn't clearly self-explanatory, you as the poster have the duty to provide the explanatory information for those reading here.

compare from April/May 2010 and today

http://park30.wakwak...iger_index.html

[Chopperboy]

Noted.

Its from the same Guardian page as listed before:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/17/japan-nuclear-crisis-deepens-radiation

[JulianLS]

As the vessel is pressurised, it could be above 100 degrees.

The BWR uses demineralized water as a coolant and neutron moderator. Heat is produced by nuclear fission in the reactor core, and this causes the cooling water to boil, producing steam. The steam is directly used to drive a turbine, after which it is cooled in a condenser and converted back to liquid water. This water is then returned to the reactor core, completing the loop. The cooling water is maintained at about 75 atm (7.6 MPa, 1000–1100 psi) so that it boils in the core at about 285 °C (550 °F). In comparison, there is no significant boiling allowed in a PWR (Pressurized Water Reactor) because of the high pressure maintained in its primary loop—approximately 158 atm (16 MPa, 2300 psi).

Boiling Water Reactor

Thanks for the info, Tywais.

So then, it is likely that the temperature is below 285 degrees C at the reactor container (on the assumption that the pressure is at or below normal operating pressure).

Whereas to get white hot, the steel container would have to be above 1200 degrees C or thereabouts. Possible in a meltdown, once the water is gone, but unlikely at present (the steam coming out suggests water is still present).

[jfchandler]

Chopper, thanks for clarifying that...

"The water is pretty much gone," Beddington said, adding that storage pools at reactors 5 and 6 were leaking. "We are extremely worried about that. The reason we are worried is that there is a substantial volume of material there and this, once it's open to the air and starting to heat up, can start to emit significant amounts of radiation."

Now I see the above quote is from a UK government official... If his comment above is correct, at least I haven't seen that same information reported anywhere else as yet.

[JulianLS]

Hopefully, all four of them will now appear fine below...

Yep, can see all four now. Hurrah!

Thanks for all the effort you (and others) put into the workaround

[elcent]

Elcent, from your post, it's not at all clear where these readings were taken, or what they're supposed to represent... If the graphic itself isn't clearly self-explanatory, you as the poster have the duty to provide the explanatory information for those reading here.

compare from April/May 2010 and today

http://park30.wakwak...iger_index.html

Tokyo Geiger Counter Japan Live: Tokyo Geiger Counter Live

[elcent]

Chopper, thanks for clarifying that...

"The water is pretty much gone," Beddington said, adding that storage pools at reactors 5 and 6 were leaking. "We are extremely worried about that. The reason we are worried is that there is a substantial volume of material there and this, once it's open to the air and starting to heat up, can start to emit significant amounts of radiation."

Now I see the above quote is from a UK government official... If his comment above is correct, at least I haven't seen that same information reported anywhere else as yet.

That was reported yesterday and a few pages earlier.Unit 5 and 6 critical. One week deadline to cool them

[jfchandler]

Here, once again, is what TEPCO reported in their latest public report as of yesterday:

TEPCO's report of worker casualties associated with the Fukushima reactors, through 11 p.m. Thursday, March 17, Japan time

- 2 workers of cooperative firm were injured at the occurrence of the earthquake, and were transported to the hospital.

- 1 TEPCO employee who was not able to stand by his own holding left chest with his hand, was transported to the hospital by an ambulance.

- 1 subcontract worker at the key earthquake proof building was unconscious and transported to the hospital by an ambulance.

- The radiation exposure of 1 TEPCO employee, who was working inside the reactor building, exceeded 100mSv and he was transported to the hospital.

- 2 TEPCO employees felt bad during their operation in the central control rooms of Unit 1 and 2 while wearing full masks, and were transferred to Fukushima Daini Power Station for consultation with a medical advisor.

- 4 workers were injured and transported to the hospital after explosive sound and white smoke were confirmed around the Unit 1.

- 11 workers were injured and transported to Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power Station etc. after explosive sound and white smoke were confirmed around the Unit 3.One of the workers was transported to the FUKUSHIMA Medical University Hospital at 10:56AM

- Presence of 2 TEPCO employees at the site is not confirmed.

http://www.tepco.co....11031719-e.html

[jfchandler]

To the best of my knowledge, what was previously reported about the pools in Reactors 5 and 6 was that their their water temperatures were rising due to insufficient cooling, and that was heading toward being a problem within a week if that trend continued. There wasn't any mention about those pools leaking in those reports, as best as I recall.

Chopper, thanks for clarifying that...

"The water is pretty much gone," Beddington said, adding that storage pools at reactors 5 and 6 were leaking. "We are extremely worried about that. The reason we are worried is that there is a substantial volume of material there and this, once it's open to the air and starting to heat up, can start to emit significant amounts of radiation."

Now I see the above quote is from a UK government official... If his comment above is correct, at least I haven't seen that same information reported anywhere else as yet.

That was reported yesterday and a few pages earlier.Unit 5 and 6 critical. One week deadline to cool them

[elcent]

I found here one

Only one of five emergency coolant pumps working at Japanese nuke reactor following earthquake - March 13

The seawater injection operation started at 4:34 p.m., but water levels in the No. 2 reactor have since fallen sharply with only one out of five fire pumps working. The other four were feared to have been damaged by a blast that occurred in the morning at the nearby No. 3 reactor.

The utility firm said a hydrogen explosion at the nearby No. 3 reactor that occurred Monday morning may have caused a glitch in the cooling system of the No. 2 reactor. http://english.kyodo...1/03/77870.html

US high-pressure pumps go to ailing Japan reactor

March 16 - http://news.yahoo.co...arusmilitaryaid

As of Friday afternoon, additional backup generators were en route to the plant, and unit 1's coolant system was running temporarily on a battery. Japanese regulators stated that pressure in the reactor had risen to 1.5 times normal levels. At 750 degrees, an engineer familiar with the BWR design told the Los Angeles Times Friday, the temperature is well below the 2,200-degree design limit for preventing cladding failure.

http://nuclearstreet...uake031101.aspx

Reactor 3 at its Limits, Sea Water Damaged Pumps, Reactors 5 & 6 Pools heating - March 17

Earlier press conference it was disclosed that reactor 3, Fukushima Daiichi plant, had reached its "limits". Gamma radiation detected.

Officials have also stated that the use of sea water had damaged cooling pumps, which is why they had to replace them.

Reactors 5 & 6 spent fuel rod pools are showing increasing temperature. At the current rate of heat build up, they believe the pools could hit boiling within a week. This is why they are trying to connect new power lines to the plant, in order to restart coolant pumps.

http://www.americabl...cy-coolant.html

[elcent]

Once again the full list of usefull lnks including the radiation meters in Tokyio and liove links to the White House --- http://www.noagendareport.com/?p=1593

This is our compilation of some resources that we use to keep you up to date on what is happening in Japan

Japan Tsunami – Live Streaming:

NHK Japan Live: NHK Japan Live

TBS News i Japan Live: TBS News i Japan Live

Fuji TV Japan Live: Fuji TV Japan Live

Nico Video Japan Live: Nico Video Japan Live

Al Jazeera Japan Live: Al Jazeera Japan Live

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Aftonbladet Live (Sweden): Aftonbladet Live

BBC Live: BBC Live

CBC News Live: CBC News Live

CNN Live: CNN Live

CCTV News China: CCTV News China

Daily Telegraph Live: Daily Telegraph Live

Deutche Welle Live: Deutche Welle Live

Expressen Live (Sweden): Expressen Live

Fox News Live: Fox News Live

France24 Live: France24 Live

MSNBC Live: MSNBC Live

NDTV Live: NDTV Live

N24 Live (German): N24 Live (German)

SVT Play Live (Sweden): SVT Play Live (Sweden)

RTE Live (Ireland): RTE Live (Ireland)

Russia Today Live (Russia): Russia Today Live (Russia)

VG TV Live (Norway): VG TV Live (Norway)

White House Live: White House Live

Japan Tsunami – Live Streaming USA West Coast:

Fox5 Live (San Diego): Fox5 Live (San Diego)

Kacb Live (Los Angeles): Kacb Live (Los Angeles)

Katu News Live (Portland): Katu News Live (Portland)

Khon2 Hawaii: Khon2 Hawaii

Kiro TV Live (Seattle): Kiro TV Live

Komo News Live (Seattle): Komo News Live

Kron Live (San Francisco): Kron Live (San Francisco)

WSMV Live (Nashville): WSMV Live (Nashville)

Radiation Level – Geiger Counters Japan Live:

Otaku Radiation Level Japan Live: Otaku Radiation Japan

Tokyo Radiation Level Japan Live: Tokyo Radiation Japan Live

Tokyo Geiger Counter Japan Live: Tokyo Geiger Counter Live

Chiba Geiger Counter Radiation Level Japan Live: Chiba Geiger Counter Live

Twitter – Real Time Updates:

Twitter #japan: Twitter #japan

Twitter #fukushima: Twitter #fukushima

Twitter #earthquake: Twitter #earthquake

Twitter #tsunami: Twitter #tsunami

YouTube – Japan Tsunami:

YouTube #tsunami: YouTube #tsunami

YouTube Citizentube: YouTube Citizentube

Google Crisis Response – Japan Earthquake 2011:

Google Crisis Response – Japan Earthquake 2011: Google Crisis Response – Japan Earthquake

Google People Finder – Japan: Google People Finder – Japan

Google Maps – Earthquake Coordinates (38.322°N, 142.369°E):Google Maps

Google Translate: Japan – English: Google Translate: Japan – English:i

List of Embassies and Consulates-General in Japan:

List of Embassies and Consulates-General in Japan: List of Embassies and Consulates-General in Japan

Tsunami Arrival Times for locations in Pacific Ocean:

Tsunami Arrival Times for locations – in Pacific Ocean: Tsunami Arrival Times – in Pacific Ocean

Tsunami Arrival for locations – USA: Tsunami Arrival for locations – USA

Tsunami Travel Times Map: Tsunami Travel Times Map

Time and Date – Japan: Time and Date – Japan

Real-Time Sea Level Monitoring:

Real-Time Sea Level Monitoring: Real-Time Sea Level Monitoring

Japan Tsunami Live Radio:

NHK Radio Live (Japan): NHK Radio Live (Japan)

Vanuatu Island Radio Live: Vanuatu Island Radio Live

Japan Webcams:

Fukushima 1 Nuclear power plant: Fukushima 1 Nuclear power plant Daii-ichi

Tokio Webcam – Sanbanze Wetland Tokio Bay: Tokio Bay Webcam

Yamagata Webcam – (50km Sendai): Yamagata Webcam – (50km Sendai)

Japan Earthquake – Real-Time Map:

Earthquake – Real-Time Map: Earthquake – Real-Time Map

Japan Earthquakes: Japan Earthquakes

Seismic Monitor: Seismic Monitor

Japan Nuclear Power Plants:

Japan Nuclear Power Plants: Japan Nuclear Power Plants

Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Google Maps: Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant

Japan Nuclear Safety Commission: Japan Nuclear Safety Commission

Radiation Activity:

Otaku Radiation Level Japan Live: Otaku Radiation Japan

Tokyo Radiation Level Japan Live: Tokyo Radiation Japan Live

Radiation Cloud Fukushima 1 – (Spiegel): Radiation Cloud Fukushima 1 – (Spiegel)

Center for Disease Control and Prevention – Radiation Emergency: CDC

Japan Nuclear Safety and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA): NISA

Japan Atomic Energy Agency: Japan Atomic Energy Agency

Japan Atomic Industrial Forum: Japan Atomic Industrial Forum

International Atomic Energy Association (IAEA): International Atomic Energy Association

United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission: United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Official Japan Earthquake Damage Situation Tohoku District:

Japan Earthquake Damage Situation Tohoku District: Japan Earthquake Damage Situation Tohoku District

Tsunami Warnings Center:

Japan Meteorological Center: Japan Meteorological Center

Pacific Tsunami Warning Center: Pacific Tsunami Warning Center

West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warnings: West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warnings

Noaa: Noaa

FDMA: Fire and Disaster Management Agency Japan: FDMA: Fire and Disaster Management Agency Japan

Humatarian Early Warning Service – Real time warnings and updates: HEWS

Tokyo Disaster Agency: Tokyo Disaster Agency

Stock Exchanges:

Bloomberg TV Live: Bloomberg TV Live

Nikkei Live (Japan): Nikkei Live (Japan)

Tokyo Stock Exchange (Japan): Tokyo Stock Exchange (Japan)

Frankfurt Stock Exchange Real-Time (Germanu): Frankfurt Stock Exchange Real-Time (Germany)

Hong Kong Stock Exchange (China) : Hong Kong Stock Exchange (China)

London Stock Exchange: London Stock Exchange

Nasdaq (Usa): Nasdaq (Usa)

New York Stock Exchange (Usa) : New York Stock Exchange (Usa)

Shanghai Stock Exchange (China) : Shanghai Stock Exchange (China)

Japani Tsunami -News (Japan):

Asahi: Asahi

Japan Times: Japan Times

Jiji News: Jiji News

Kyodo News Japan: Kyodo News Japan

NHK World: NHK World

Nikkei: Nikkei

Japan Prime Minister and His Cabinet – press releases: Press releases

Tepco – Tokyo Electric Power Company: Tepco – Tokyo Electric Power Company

Japan Tsunami – English:

ABC News Live: ABC News Live

Accu Weather: Accu Weather

BBC Japan: BBC Japan

CBS News: CBS News

Channel 4 News: Channel 4 News

CNN Japan: CNN Japan

Daily Telegraph (Australia): Daily Telegraph (Australia)

Fox News: Fox News

Google News: Google News

Guardian Japan: Guardian Japan

Hawaii Evacuation Map: Hawaii Evacuation Map

Hawaii News Now: Hawaii News Now

Huffington Post Japan: Huffington Post Japan

Jakarta Globe: Jakarta Globe

Jakarta Post: Jakarta Post

Kyodo News Japan: Kyodo News Japan

MSNBC News: MSNBC News

New York Times Japan: New York Times Japan

News (Australia): News (Australia)

Nikkei Japan News: Nikkei Japan News

NPR Japan: NPR Japan

Reuters Japan: Reuters Japan

R7 (Brasil): R7 (Brasil)

Sky News Japan: Sky News Japan

Sydney Morning Herald: Sydney Morning Herald

Voice of America – VOA News: Voice of America – VOA News

Yahoo News: Yahoo News

Washington Post: Washington Post

[jfchandler]

IAEA has posted an update to their web site today, including on the issues with Reactors 5 and 6.. But nothing about worker radiation exposure, or about leaking pools in Reactors 5 and 6 as quoted by the UK government guy.

Japan Earthquake Update (18 March 2011, 06:10 UTC)

Temperature of Spent Fuel Pools at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant - UPDATED

Spent fuel removed from a nuclear reactor is highly radioactive and generates intense heat. Nuclear plant operators typically store this material in pools of water that cool the fuel and shield the radioactivity.

Water in a spent fuel pool is continuously cooled to remove heat produced by spent fuel assemblies. According to IAEA experts, a typical spent fuel pool temperature is kept below 25 °C under normal operating conditions.

The temperature of a spent fuel pool is maintained by constant cooling, which requires a constant power source.

Given the intense heat and radiation that spent fuel assemblies can generate, spent fuel pools must be constantly checked for water level and temperature. If fuel is no longer covered by water or temperatures reach a boiling point, fuel can become exposed and create a risk of radioactive release.

The concern about the spent fuel pools at Fukushima Daiichi is that sources of power to cool the pools have been compromised.

Concern about spent fuel storage conditions has led Japanese officials to drop and spray water from helicopters and trucks onto Unit 3 at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant (See earlier update).

Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency has reported increasing temperatures in the spent fuel ponds at Units 5 and 6 since 14 March. An emergency diesel generator at Unit 6 is now powering water injection into the ponds at those Units, according to NISA.

The IAEA can confirm the following new information regarding the temperatures of the spent nuclear fuel pools at Units 4, 5 and 6 at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant:

Unit 4

13 March, 19:08 UTC: 84 °C

Unit 5

17 March, 03:00 UTC: 64.2 °C

17 March, 18:00 UTC: 65.5 °C

Unit 6

17 March, 03:00 UTC: 62.5 °C

17 March, 18:00 UTC: 62.0 °C

The IAEA is continuing to seek further information about the water levels, temperature and condition of all spent fuel pool facilities at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

http://www.iaea.org/...miupdate01.html

Edited March 18, 2011 by jfchandler

[WarpSpeed]

What they should have done is put the generators and backup pumps in water tight areas.

Well yes, however on land it's still subject to potential quake damage and sadly with all the quake engineering they still overlooked or dismissed the possibility of the current scenario which is why an additional redundant system is required.. By the way the very engineer who helped design this plant sadly made that admission..

Edited March 18, 2011 by WarpSpeed

[Maestro]

Without citing the source, a Swiss daily newspaper reported in its ticker with the time stamp 07:58 UTC that a representative of TEPCO told AFP that the Prime Minister's order that TEPCO must not withdraw its workers from the site means that these workers have to expose themselves to radiation and "die". "The question is not whether TEPCO collapses, but whether Japan collapses", Prime Minister Kan reportedly said.

Don't know how to search the AFP site for this.

[elcent]

IAEA has posted an update to their web site today, including on the issues with Reactors 5 and 6.. But nothing about worker radiation exposure.Japan Earthquake Update (18 March 2011, 06:10 UTC) Temperature of Spent Fuel Pools at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant - UPDATED

Unit 4 13 March, 19:08 UTC: 84 °C Unit 5 17 March, 03:00 UTC: 64.2 °C 17 March, 18:00 UTC: 65.5 °C Unit 6 17 March, 03:00 UTC: 62.5 °C 17 March, 18:00 UTC: 62.0 °C The IAEA is continuing to seek further information about the water levels, temperature and condition of all spent fuel pool facilities at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

http://www.iaea.org/...miupdate01.html

The IAEA can only confirm that they received the data but didn't measure itself. Normal temperature should be around 25 degree C.

[bkkjames]

Without citing the source, a Swiss daily newspaper reported in its ticker with the time stamp 07:58 UTC that a representative of TEPCO told AFP that the Prime Minister's order that TEPCO must not withdraw its workers from the site means that these workers have to expose themselves to radiation and "die". "The question is not whether TEPCO collapses, but whether Japan collapses", Prime Minister Kan reportedly said.

Don't know how to search the AFP site for this.

TEPCO initially requested its workers be permitted to withdraw completely from the plant, AFP reported, citing Japanese daily the Mainichi Shimbun.

But their request was reportedly turned down by the Japanese Prime Minister, with Mainichi Shimbun quoting him as saying: "Withdrawal is impossible. It's not a matter of whether TEPCO collapses. It's a matter of whether Japan goes wrong."

[webfact]

REUTERSFLASH: Japan nuclear safety agency says level 5 incident at Fukushima reatcors no. 1, 2, 3, raised from level 4

[jfchandler]

NISA announces at news conference that Japan has upgraded the international event rating for its Fukushima crisis to 5, from its prior rating of 4. Many other countries had been questioning Japan's original rating, especially as the week's events progressed.

In other words, they've gone from calling it an accident with local consequences, to now an accident with wider consequences -- the same as the U.S.'s Three Mile Island incident.

Edited March 18, 2011 by jfchandler