Meltdown Likely Under Way At Japan Nuclear Reactor

[harrycallahan]

Time to update the Safe Nuclear Reactor Design Handbook?

"Make sure your coastal reactor plant is located at an altitude where it can't be reached by a tsunami."

50 metres would be fine.

[craigt3365]

There is no such thing as a partial Meltdown, Once the Meltdown has begun due to loss of coolant there is virtually no way to stop it. Read the 'China Syndrome"

If they try to cool it with Sea Water their will be a massive explosion as the Sea Water is immediately converted to steam causing a massive realease of Radioactive material including Plutonium the most toxic substance known.

Yes this is chernobyl all over again but located in one of the most densely popuulated places in the world. The Radiation exposure will affect millions.

Actually, Three Mile Island was a partial meltdown:

The Three Mile Island accident was a partial core meltdown in Unit 2 (a pressurized water reactor manufactured by Babcock & Wilcox) of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania near Harrisburg in 1979. The plant was owned and operated by General Public Utilities and the Metropolitan Edison Co. It was the most significant accident in the history of the American commercial nuclear power generating industry, resulting in the release of up to 481 PBq (13 million curies) of radioactive gases, but less than 740 GBq (20 curies) of the particularly dangerous iodine-131.[1]

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

[jfchandler]

Snowman, that's the problem they've been dealing with..

They're having to use water and sea water now to keep the reactors cooled...and that's creating steam and pressure inside the units...as well as hydrogen... And then that has to be vented outside to reduce interior pressure, leading to the release of radiation in some levels.

Yet the reactors keep cooking... I haven't seen any explanation of HOW LONG they'll have to keep doing so before the boric acid mixture or other factors cause the fission activity to lessen.

The sea water presumably is part of what led to yesterday's explosion at Reactor 1, and is why the govt. was warning earling today of a possible explosion today at Reactor 3, potentially caused by exactly the same factors.

If they try to cool it with Sea Water their will be a massive explosion as the Sea Water is immediately converted to steam causing a massive realease of Radioactive material including Plutonium the most toxic substance known.

Edited March 13, 2011 by jfchandler

[jfchandler]

Nuclear Meltdown

A partial can be stopped when proper cooling is supplied. A partial refers to portions of the exposed rods being exposed. It is not necessarily a runaway action.

I believe, Tywais, that is exactly what the Japanese govt. has said happened yesterday at Reactor 1, and they believe may be happening today at Reactor 3... Parts of the fuel rods being exposed and their casing potentially melting.

[dhrobertson]

There is no such thing as a partial Meltdown, Once the Meltdown has begun due to loss of coolant there is virtually no way to stop it. Read the 'China Syndrome"

Too much science fiction out there.

The China Syndrome is a hypothetical idea of an extreme result of a nuclear meltdown in which molten reactor core products breach the barriers below them and flow downwards through the floor of the containment building. The origin of the phrase is the fictional idea that molten material from an American reactor could melt through the crust of the Earth and reach China.[1]

The 'China Syndrome' refers to the most drastically severe meltdown a nuclear reactor could possibly achieve. In this case, the reactor would reach the highest level of supercriticality for a sustained period of time, resulting in the melting of its support infrastructure. The uranium in the core would behave in a similar manner to a delta-class fire, self-sustaining temperatures in excess of 2000°C. Since these temperatures would melt all materials around it, the reactor would sink due to gravity, effectively boring a hole through the reactor compartment's floor.

China Syndrome

Two meltdowns occurred at American civil nuclear power plants:

1. The partial meltdown at the Fermi 1 experimental fast breeder reactor required the reactor to be repaired, though it never achieved full operation afterward.

2. The Three Mile Island accident, referred to in the press as a "partial core melt",[3] led to the permanent shutdown of that reactor.

Nuclear Meltdown

A partial can be stopped when proper cooling is supplied. A partial refers to portions of the exposed rods being exposed. It is not necessarily a runaway action.

Are you administrating or contributing?

You may consider my posts trite (you probably don't understand the humour) but I was trying to make a real point.

There are two many posts from people who don't understand the facts.

There are too many pundits on the BBC who clearly do not understand the engineering or the physics involved.

[OzMick]

There is no such thing as a partial Meltdown, Once the Meltdown has begun due to loss of coolant there is virtually no way to stop it. Read the 'China Syndrome"

If they try to cool it with Sea Water their will be a massive explosion as the Sea Water is immediately converted to steam causing a massive realease of Radioactive material including Plutonium the most toxic substance known.

Yes this is chernobyl all over again but located in one of the most densely popuulated places in the world. The Radiation exposure will affect millions.

The China Syndrome was a work of fiction.

Japanese reactors are not the type (breeder) which produce plutonium.

There has so far been no breech of reactor shell as happened at Chernobyl, nor does it seem likely.

As long as the continue to pump in water and allow the steam produced to vent, there should not be an explosion within the reactor.

The explosion reported, and another expected, is most likely hydrogen vented inside the building; a quite small explosion would blow off the roof sheeting, and there have been no reports of injuries from it AFAIK.

A small quantity of radioactive material may be carried over with the vented steam, and will end up in the north Pacific, population close to zero.

[canuckamuck]

Time to update the Safe Nuclear Reactor Design Handbook?

"Make sure your coastal reactor plant is located at an altitude where it can't be reached by a tsunami."

50 metres would be fine.

And to have an elevated/uphill water reservoir to use when the pumps fail

[jfchandler]

Japan, neighbors anxiously watch wind

Sun Mar 13, 2011 4:35am EDT

TOKYO (Reuters) - The wind over Japan's earthquake-damaged nuclear complex will continue blowing from the south, putting residents north of the facility in the path of any radiation, a weather official said on Sunday.

The Fukushima Daiichi plant, operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), is located about 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo on the country's northeast coast.

The wind will keep blowing from the south in the area from noon until early evening, the Japan Meteorological Agency official said.

The direction of the wind is a key factor in judging possible damage to the environment from radiation leaking from the plant, which was devastated on Friday by Japan's biggest earthquake on record and a subsequent tsunami.

Officials are working desperately to prevent fuel rods from overheating in a first reactor after some radiation leaked into the air. The government said on Sunday that a building housing a second reactor was at risk of exploding.

South Korea, to the west of Japan, saw little chance of any radiation blowing across its territory.

"We see no impact (from Japan's radiation) so far as the current winds are westerlies," said Lee Durk-hun, head of operational safety analysis at the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety.

"However, if the winds change, it could affect us, and according to our close monitoring systems, we will prepare measures to prevent any damage."

Authorities in China's northeastern province of Liaoning have begun monitoring for possible radiation from Japan, but have not yet detected any, Xinhua news agency reported.

"At present the figures are normal and Liaoning has not been affected," it quoted nuclear safety official Gao Kui as saying.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/13/us-japan-quake-wind-idUSTRE72C0G420110313

[appropriate]

Clicking on here every nowan'again it's amazing to see how many people have suddenly become experts on nuclear science.

[jfchandler]

Anxiety, fatigue grow among evacuated citizens near nuclear plant

Kyodo News

SENDAI, March 13, Kyodo

Anxiety and distress was growing among evacuees near the Fukushima No. 1 [Daichi] nuclear power plant Sunday, a day after a blast occurred and fears increased over possible radioactive leaks from the plant that was hit by Friday's massive earthquake.

''What's going to happen, and when...?'' a local town official said in expressing concerns, although he noted that people are not panicking. He evacuated from the Fukushima Prefecture town of Okuma, where the plant is located, to the city of Tamura in the same prefecture, farther away from the plant.

Noting that some of the evacuees have also fallen ill because of fatigue and anxiety about the future three days after evacuation, the official said, ''There are calls for information about hospitals. There is also a need for medicine.''

As the government expanded from 10 kilometers to 20 km the radius of the evacuation area for residents living near the plant, where one of the reactors partially melted Saturday and the blast occurred, another 180,000 residents were forced to seek refuge.

Another resident from Okuma tweeted, ''I want to go back to Okuma, which I love.'' Another woman from the town, who was rescued by the Japan Self-Defense Forces, tweeted, ''I hope to return to Okuma soon.''

A woman who evacuated to neighboring Yamagata Prefecture from the coastal city of Minamisoma tweeted that there is no more gasoline in Fukushima and called for help, saying ''Supply gasoline to Fukushima.''

In another elementary school in the town of Kawamata, around 500 people newly arrived by car or bus from another coastal town, Namie. Electricity is down in Kawamata and there is no heating in the area where temperatures have fallen to as low as minus 1 C.

A male worker from Namie said, ''Some are flustered because their evacuation centers have been changed. Some are getting nervous as they can't foresee what is going to happen.''

''It is extremely cold. Supplies of blankets and food are short,'' the worker added.

As of Saturday night, around 1,800 residents had evacuated to nine asylums located at school gymnasiums and other facilities in the town of Miharu. One town worker said, ''The facilities are full, and we cannot accept any more evacuees.''

In the town of Kagamiishi, where around 10 people evacuated, a town worker said, ''What will happen if more come to take refuge here? We have little knowledge about nuclear power.''

http://english.kyodo...1/03/77360.html

Edited March 13, 2011 by jfchandler

[Mikelom]

Reply to post in other thread:

Thanks, I understand this point of view, but cooling it with sea-water would have the same effect as boric acid. - The reactor would never be up again. This is talked about since more than 12 hours.

The problems seem to be with the injection of sea-water and boric acid.

Although Boric acid isn't a standard regulating compound in a BWR, it is just an additive to the coolant, and does no harm to the reactor. It regulates the reaction in much the same way as the control rods do. When flushed out again, reaction starts back up.

Sea water however is messily corrosive crap, will clog up pipes and destroy pumps and seals etc.

The main problem seems to be that without power, there is not enough water pressure to overcome the reactors pressure, so you don't get any water in. This causes the water inside the reactor to boil off, increasing the pressure even more.

Releasing this pressure means releasing lightly radioactive water to the atmosphere (and maybe causing another explosion just like in #1, as hydrogen may have formed).

So basically what they will be doing is choosing between evils, carefully weighing:

- Scrapping the reactor / Trying to salvage it

- Venting radioactive steam / keep trying to keep enough water in the reactor

- Explosion risks / Radiation risks

[powderpuff]

I asked yesterday if the control rods were lowered into the core.

Guess no one cares about that. Distraction.

[Moonrakers]

Clicking on here every nowan'again it's amazing to see how many people have suddenly become experts on nuclear science.

Yes I agree. But,careful, Taiwais will start removing your posts if you use sarcasm or any other form of wit to make the point.

I hope he does, some of us want to read what's happening instead of reading this nonsense.

My apologies for contributing to said nonsense.

[bkkjames]

jQuery().ready(function() { initServiceInstanceId('1.348809'); });

• Published 02:11 13.03.11
• Latest update 02:11 13.03.11

Japan nuclear blast could be more deadly than Chernobyl, experts fear

Experts in Israel and abroad divided on scope of disaster at Japan's nuclear plants, as Japanese government hasn't provided accurate information regarding threat posed by explosions at Fukushima nuclear power plant.

By Yossi Melman Since the Japanese government has not provided accurate information regarding the possible threat posed by the explosion at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, experts in Israel and abroad are divided on the scope of the disaster and the ramifications for the environment.

It appears that immediately after earthquake warnings were first heard, the Japanese authorities shut down all six reactors located in the affected region, which lies 250 kilometers north of the capital Tokyo, by cutting off the flow of electricity to the reactors. But the emergency generator, whose function is to provide power to the pump responsible for cooling the reactor, did not activate. As a result, the reactor's core began to heat up.

</IMG>At the same time, radioactive materials and gases were emitted into the air, but measurements taken indicate that the amount was relatively minimal. The most dangerous elements discharged were iodine and cesium, two by-products of the nuclear fission process that takes place in nuclear plants. These are two relatively volatile compounds that can easily spread into the atmosphere.

Professor Uzi Even of Tel Aviv University, who in the past worked for the Israel Atomic Energy Commission, told Haaretz that these two compounds are extremely dangerous, which is why the Japanese government yesterday began distributing iodine tablets, which neutralize the threat of radioactive poisoning that primarily affects the thyroid gland.

Even recalled that several years ago, Israel had distributed such tablets to residents living in the vicinity of the nuclear reactor in Dimona in the event that dangerous materials leaked into the air. He also noted that another potential source of danger is the possibility that the measuring equipment used to gauge the heat levels in the reactor core could spin out of control as a result of a cut in power. In such a scenario, Japanese experts working to prevent a nuclear disaster would have trouble ascertaining the core's situation.

Hebrew University Professor Menachem Luria, an expert on air quality and poisoning, told Channel 2 on Saturday: "This is very worrying. There is no doubt that we have not seen anything like this in years, perhaps ever since nuclear experiments were conducted in the atmosphere in the 1950s. From what we can gather, this disaster is even more dangerous than Chernobyl, both from the standpoint of the population's exposure to radioactive material and the spread of radioactive contamination in the area."

Luria continued: "Once there is an uncontrollable heating up, the nuclear fuel undergoes a metamorphosis into the gaseous phase. Since we are talking about metals and solid items, they turn into particles that are capable of traveling great distances. They can wander thousands of kilometers."

If these gases are indeed emitted into the atmosphere in large quantities, the wind regime could carry them all the way to China, South Korea, and eastern Russia, or in the other direction, toward Hawaii and the west coast of the United States. The likelihood of this happening, though, is not high.

Experts are now positing two possible scenarios. This first scenario is a disaster on the scale of Chernobyl, where the reactor core melted and enormous quantities of radioactive fallout were discharged into the air before being propelled by the wind and harming civilians living at a relatively great distance from the reactor. Because the core melted, the steel and concrete seal, which was meant to protect the core and prevent dangerous material from being emitted into the air, could not withstand the pressure and collapsed. As a result, thousands of people were killed, though the exact number of deaths remains unknown to this day.

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/japan-nuclear-blast-could-be-more-deadly-than-chernobyl-experts-fear-1.348809

[Mikelom]

Nice to hear somebody who knows that they are talking about!

Although the Japanese are attempting to be creative, adding sea water is incredibly dangerous to this operation.

It has been covered via the media that the rods have already been exposed to the air and local environment, within the facility. It would appear that access has now become somewhat risky.

Sea water will indeed, if not destroy the pumping systems and cooling systems, leave salt deposits that are destructive to the whole process (which must be clinically clean and purified).

If pumped into the system, and surrounding the cores, it will be incredibly complex to remove and permit functional use of the reactor cooling system for good.

That in itself lends itself to massive risk in plunging the rods back to where they belong, if at all possible, after events have stabilised.

The Japanese, may indeed send in Kamikaze engineers to work for as long as possible to clean matters,(in order to save face).

AS for reactor 3 melting down - um - I hazard a guess at Chernobyl repeated, unless the Kamikaze guys do their job. Pity them.

-m.

[bangkokeddy]

Time to update the Safe Nuclear Reactor Design Handbook?

"Make sure your coastal reactor plant is located at an altitude where it can't be reached by a tsunami."

50 metres would be fine.

And to have an elevated/uphill water reservoir to use when the pumps fail

An 9.0 Richter earthquake could spoil such back up option too.

One thing is for sure, the Safe Nuclear Reactor Design Handbook will be updated. Failures are part in the process to spot design flaws.

[appropriate]

Clicking on here every nowan'again it's amazing to see how many people have suddenly become experts on nuclear science.

Yes I agree. But,careful, Taiwais will start removing your posts if you use sarcasm or any other form of wit to make the point.

I hope he does, some of us want to read what's happening instead of reading this nonsense.

My apologies for contributing to said nonsense.

Actually it might stop people deciding to post their buffalo-poo-poo fantasies and attempting to pass them as some sort of 'FACT'.

As you say, you want to read what's happening, perhaps a closed thread with professional links and reports would be the order of the day.

Edited March 13, 2011 by appropriate

[Lite Beer]

Workers scramble to cool reactors; official says 2nd blast possible

(CNN) -- Workers continued efforts to cool down fuel rods inside two nuclear reactors Sunday as a government official warned that a second explosion could occur at the plant.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said an explosion could take place in the building housing the No. 3 reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi plant in northeastern Japan.

Read more here. CNN--2011--03--13

[jfchandler]

(CNN) -- At least 160 people were being tested for radiation exposure on Sunday after tens of thousands of residents were evacuated in the wake of an explosion at a nuclear reactor damaged by Friday's massive quake and tsunami.

According to Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA), one group of about 60 people were thought to have been exposed while waiting to be picked up by helicopter at the Futaba high school grounds.

Full article here.

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/03/13/japan.radiation/index.html

[jfchandler]

Australia seeks 'urgent briefings' from Japan on nuclear crisis

SYDNEY, March 13, Kyodo News

Australia is very concerned over damaged nuclear reactors in disaster-hit Japan and has asked it for ''urgent briefings'' on the precise status of those reactors, Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd said Sunday. Rudd, speaking in an interview with ABC News 24, said he took up the matter in a lengthy conversation Saturday night with Japanese Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto, which was also focused on what more Australia can do to assist Japan in the aftermath of Friday's quake and tsunami disaster.

He said he told Matsumoto that ''we and the rest of the international community need urgent briefings on the precise status of these reactors'' in Japan's Fukushima Prefecture, including the technical and safety impacts of an explosion that occurred Saturday.

Rudd said the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Authority and experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency are ''methodically'' looking into the matter, particularly ''circumstances pertaining to each unit within the two nuclear power plants that we are concerned about.''

''These experts between them are producing detailed modeling as to the impact of the explosion at one of the units in one of the reactors,'' he said.

Rudd said he recommended to the Japanese through Matsumoto Japanese ''that they consider the possibility of experts from the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Standards Authority working with Japanese colleagues on the ground, in Japan.''

In a separate interview with Channel 7 television's program Weekend Sunrise, Rudd said he also told Matsumoto that Australia is willing to set up ''entirely self-contained'' field hospitals in the quake-affected areas of Japan, in addition to search-and-rescue teams and sniffer dog teams due to arrive in Japan on Sunday night.

''I advised him that we had an ability through the Defense Force and through our other medical assistance teams to deploy immediate field hospitals in the affected areas, if that's what Japan wanted,'' he said.

''I also indicated to him that we could assist through the Australian Federal Police with disaster victim identification teams, and, given the large number of apparent Japanese fatalities, and possibly foreign fatalities, we have recommended to them that they bulk up their capacities in this area,'' he said.

Two Air Force planes with search-and-rescue teams and sniffer dog teams were scheduled to leave for Japan later in the day.

''Our systems have locked into gear in terms of assisting the Japanese government,'' Rudd said.

http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2011/03/77367.html

[jfchandler]

Kyodo News

Damage to fuel rods at Fukushima nuclear plant not avoided: Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI)

I'm assuming they mean Daichi No. 3 reactor...but the report doesn't specifically say.

[jfchandler]

TEPCO's Noon update re its Daichi No. 1 and 3 reactors

Unit 1 (Shut down)

- Reactor has been shut down. However, the unit is under inspection due to the explosive sound and white smoke that was confirmed after the big quake occurred at 3:36PM.

- We have been injecting sea water and boric acid which absorbs neutron into the reactor pressure vessel.

Unit 3 (Shut down)

- Reactor has been shut down. However, as High Pressure Core Injection System has been automatically shut down and water injection to the reactor was interrupted, following the instruction by the government and with fully securing safety, steps to lowering the pressure of reactor containment vessel has been taken. Spraying in order to lower pressure level within the reactor containment vessel has been cancelled.

- After that, safety relief valve has been opened manually, lowering the pressure level of the reactor, which was immediately followed by injection of sea water and boric acid which absorbs neutron, into the reactor pressure vessel.

- Currently, we do not believe there is any reactor coolant leakage inside the reactor containment vessel.

And a bit more detail re Reactor 3 in their 1 pm update:

* Unit 3: High Pressure Coolant Injection System automatically stopped. We endeavored to restart the Reactor Core Isolation Cooling System but failed. Also, we could not confirm the water inflow of Emergency Core Cooling System. As such, we decided at 5.10 AM, Mar 12, and we reported and/or noticed the government agencies concerned to apply the clause 1 of the

Article 15 of the Radiation Disaster Measure at 5:58AM, Mar 13.

In order to fully secure safety, we operated the vent valve to reduce the pressure of the reactor containment vessels (partial release of air containing radioactive materials) and completed the procedure at 8:41AM, Mar 13 (successfully completed at 09:20AM, Mar 13).

After that, we began injecting water containing boric acid that absorbs neutron into the reactor by the fire pump from 09:25AM, Mar 13.

Edited March 13, 2011 by jfchandler

[Moonrakers]

Australia seeks 'urgent briefings' from Japan on nuclear crisis

I think they might be a tad busy John!

[jfchandler]

Japan Nuclear Crisis Could Cause Reassessment in U.S.

Wall Street Journal

The U.S. nuclear power industry believed it was poised for a renaissance. President Obama's 2012 budget proposed $36 billion in loan guarantees to build nuclear power plants. He called, too, for spending hundreds of millions on nuclear energy research and modern reactor design. Powerful Republicans were on board, calling for expansion of nuclear power a rare opportunity for bipartisan cooperation.

Then an explosion at an earthquake-damaged nuclear plant in northern Japan on Saturday tore apart a building housing a reactor containment structure. Smoke billowed from the plant. Japanese officials ordered an evacuation of tens of thousands of people. Later, officials said cooling systems were failing at a second reactor at the same plant, putting it at risk of meltdown.

Industry experts and analysts at once began to ponder the political fallout in the United States.

MORE: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704296604576197340900789296.html?mod=WSJAsia__MIDDLETopStories

[jfchandler]

Plant Safety Systems Questioned From Failed Reactor

Wall Street Journal

The accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant casts doubt on the fundamental premise that has undergirded the global nuclear industry for five decades: that engineers can build enough redundancy into plant safety systems to overcome dangers. But at Fukushima prefecture, Tokyo Electric Power Co. found that the layers of redundancy in the plant's electric-supply and cooling systems weren't sufficient to nullify the power of nature, which took the form of a massive, 8.9-Richter-Scale earthquake followed by large aftershocks and tsunami waves.

Plant operators reportedly were reduced to using seawater in a desperate attempt, this weekend, to cool an overheated reactor and prevent a meltdown that could result in a radioactive release in the event the containment building leaked.

MORE: http://online.wsj.co..._newsreel_world

Edited March 13, 2011 by jfchandler

[bangkokeddy]

Japan nuclear blast could be more deadly than Chernobyl, experts fear

Experts in Israel and abroad divided on scope of disaster at Japan's nuclear plants, as Japanese government hasn't provided accurate information regarding threat posed by explosions at Fukushima nuclear power plant.

By Yossi Melman Since the Japanese government has not provided accurate information regarding the possible threat posed by the explosion at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, experts in Israel and abroad are divided on the scope of the disaster and the ramifications for the environment.

...

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/japan-nuclear-blast-could-be-more-deadly-than-chernobyl-experts-fear-1.348809

Some other experts said exactly the opposite. Probably also in the nature of admonisher to fear the worse.

Some are eager to hear that Japanese authorities declare everything to be doomed and lost and the nuclear energy uncontrollable. Don't happen yet and probably will not happen. The reason for that is probably not the evilness of the nuclear lobby on a "save face" mission. There is no conspiracy because the head of the IAEO is an Japanese (as some of the other arguments goes here)

For the situation over there on the ground we have to take into consideration that they battle there the results of an earthquake and tsunami that struck on a far bigger area than to kick only that reactor into malfunction. Evacuation from a disaster zone will be not that easy. Panic has to avoided. Scaremongering doesn't help. Emergency task and their coordination means at the moment to deal with many other problems.

Edited March 13, 2011 by bangkokeddy

[jfchandler]

The above WSJ article also recounts that TEPCO has been in this kind of situation before:

Experts said that Tokyo Electric has improved its processes and communications since a July 2007 earthquake heavily damaged the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant, one of the world's largest. The entire plant was shut down for 21 months following that quake, and some reactors still aren't back in operation.

Tokyo Electric was criticized after the 2007 quake for secrecy concerning how it was responding to problems at the Kashiwazaki plant and for rejecting inspection and assistance offers from the IAEA, which is intended to create confidence in the way an emergency is handled.

The Kashiwazaki plant suffered from seismic activity, in the 2007 quake, that exceeded the level for which it was designed, calling into question seismic assumptions made by regulators and the plant operator. There was a radioactive release when water sloshed out of spent-fuel-cooling pools and spilled into the Sea of Japan.

[bunta71]

Japan is a "hi-tech" well organised country, that has spent a lot of time, thought and money on dealing with earthquakes....

Imagine if this happened in another country with nuclear power plants!

The Philippines are now discussing the rehab and operation of a mothballed nuclear plant built in Marcos days, on the Bataan peninsula. It was close to being operational and Cory Aquino had it mothballed. Now when we say mothballed it usually means sealed and maintained in a ready condition. I rode my dirt bike one day over to Morong to see the relic. Time has passed and was not nice for the plant.Terrible concrete pours and rusted rebar...Good luck on that. Maybe not thai related post until the future winds blow this direction.

[jfchandler]

Meanwhile, over at the Fukushima Daini (not Daichi) nuclear plant, where nearby residents also are being evacuated, TEPCO reports:

Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power Station:

Units 1 to 4: shutdown due to earthquake

* The national government has instructed evacuation for those local

residents within 10km radius of the periphery.

* At present, we have decided to prepare implementing measures to reduce the pressure of the reactor containment vessel (partial discharge of air containing radioactive materials) in order to fully secure safety.

These measures are considered to be implemented in Units 1, 2 and 3 and accordingly, we have reported and/or noticed the government agencies concerned.

Earlier Sunday, TEPCO reported in more detail re the Daini plant. Below is an edited for length version:

Unit 1 (shut down at 2:48pm on March 11th)

- Reactor is shut down and reactor water level is stable.

- Offsite power is available.

- At 6:08pm [on March 12], we announced the increase in reactor containment vessel pressure, assumed to be due to leakage of reactor coolant. However, we do not believe there is leakage of reactor coolant in the containment vessel at this moment.

- At 5:22am [March 12], the temperature of the suppression chamber exceeded 100

degrees. As the reactor pressure suppression function was lost, at 5:22am,

it was determined that a specific incident stipulated in article 15, clause 1 has occurred.

- We decided to prepare implementing measures to reduce the pressure of the

reactor containment vessel (partial discharge of air containing radioactive materials) in order to fully secure safety. This preparation work started at around 9:43am and finished at 6:00pm [March 12].

- Restoration work in reactor cooling function is in progress to achieve reactor cold shutdown.

Unit 2 (shut down at 2:48pm on March 11th)

- Reactor is shut down and reactor water level is stable.

- Offsite power is available.

- Control rods are fully inserted (reactor is in subcritical status)

- At 5:32am [March 12], the temperature of the suppression chamber exceeded 100

degrees. As the reactor pressure suppression function was lost, at 5:32am,

it was determined that a specific incident stipulated in article 15, clause 1 has occurred.

- We decided to prepare implementing measures to reduce the pressure of the

reactor containment vessel (partial discharge of air containing radioactive materials) in order to fully secure safety. This preparation work started at around 10:33am and finished at 10:58pm.

- Restoration work in reactor cooling function is in progress to achieve reactor cold shutdown.

Unit 3 (shut down at 2:48pm on March 11th)

- Reactor is shut down and reactor water level is stable.

- Offsite power is available.

- We decided to prepare implementing measures to reduce the pressure of the

reactor containment vessel (partial discharge of air containing radioactive materials) in order to fully secure safety. The preparation woke started at around 12:08pm and finished at 12:13pm.

- Reactor cold shutdown at 12:15pm

Unit 4 (shut down at 2:48pm on March 11th)

- Reactor is shut down and reactor water level is stable.

- Offsite power is available.

- In order to cool down the reactor, injection of water into the reactor

had been done by the Reactor Core Isolation Cooling System, however, At 6:07am, the temperature of the suppression chamber exceeded 100 degrees.

As the reactor pressure suppression function was lost, at 6:07am, it was determined that a specific incident stipulated in article 15, clause 1 has occurred.

- We decided to prepare implementing measures to reduce the pressure of the

reactor containment vessel (partial discharge of air containing radioactive materials) in order to fully secure safety. The preparation woke started at around 11:44am and finished at around 11:52am.

- Restoration work in reactor cooling function is in progress to achieve reactor cold shutdown.

Indication from monitoring posts installed at the site boundary did not show any difference from ordinary level.

No radiation impact to the external environment has been confirmed. We will continue to monitor in detail the possibility of radioactive material being

discharged from exhaust stack or discharge canal.

Edited March 13, 2011 by jfchandler

[jfchandler]

Kyodo News:

Hidehiko Nishiyama, a senior official of the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry indicated Sunday that the core of the No. 3 reactor has also melted partially, telling a news conference, ''I don't think the fuel rods themselves have been spared damage.''

The plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., commonly known as TEPCO, began injecting fresh water into the No. 3 reactor's core vessel on Sunday to deal with the problem that the tops of MOX fuel rods were 3 meters above the water inside.

But after trouble developed with a fresh water pump, the company was forced to pour seawater into it, a step that will eventually lead to the reactor's dismantlement. As a result, water levels began rising again, Edano said.

And a bit more on radiation exposure:

The Fire and Disaster Management Agency said that 15 people were found to have been contaminated with radioactive material at a hospital located within 10 km of the reactor.

To measure radiation for residents who may have been exposed to it and determine whether they need emergency treatment, the National Institute of Radiological Sciences sent 17 doctors and experts to the city of Fukushima on Sunday.

http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2011/03/77392.html

Edited March 13, 2011 by jfchandler