Meltdown Likely Under Way At Japan Nuclear Reactor

[atsiii]

Update - Monday Night!

http://www.nytimes.c...ner=rss&emc=rss

TOKYO — Highly contaminated water is escaping a damaged reactor at a crippled nuclear power plant in Japan and could soon leak into the ocean, the country's nuclear regulator warned on Monday.

Radiation measuring 1,000 millisieverts per hour was detected in water in an overflow tunnel outside the plant's Reactor No. 2, Japan's nuclear regulator said at a news conference. The tunnel leads from the reactor's turbine building, where contaminated water was discovered on Saturday, to an opening just 180 feet from the sea, said Hidehiko Nishiyama, deputy director-general for the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency.

The contaminated water level is now about three feet from the exit of the vertical, U-shaped tunnel and rising, Mr. Nishiyama said.

Edited March 28, 2011 by atsiii

[elcent]

Radiation hampers cooling efforts

The effort to cool reactors at the damaged nuclear power plant in Fukushima, northern Japan, is facing the risk of leaking highly radioactive substances.

The plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, raised water pumping power on Sunday to cool the No. 2 reactor in a stable manner. On Monday, the company cut back on the amount of injected water.

The move followed the Nuclear Safety Commission's announcement that highly radioactive substances detected in puddles of water in the basement of the reactor's turbine building may have come directly from the vessel containing the reactor.

16 tons of water was being injected into the reactor every hour but TEPCO now says it wants to reduce the amount to 7 tons. This would be enough to replace the amount that is evaporating.

If the injected water level is reduced, temperatures may increase in the reactor.

TEPCO announced on Monday that radioactive substances 100,000 times higher than usual for water in a reactor core were detected in puddles in the No. 2 reactor's turbine building on Sunday.

High radiation figures were also recorded earlier in water in the basements of the turbine buildings for the No. 1 and No. 3 reactors. On Thursday, 3 workers were exposed to high radiation while working in water at the No. 3 reactor's turbine building.

The Nuclear Safety Commission said on Monday that the concentration of radiation at the No. 2 reactor was dozens of times higher than the other 2 reactors.

The commission said it assumes that radioactive substances from temporarily melted fuel rods at the No. 2 reactor had made their way into water in the reactor containment vessel and then leaked out through an unknown route.

TEPCO, later, reported that very high levels of radiation have also been observed in water in a trench just outside the turbine building for one of the reactors.

The commission said the biggest concern is the possibility of highly radioactive water seeping into the ground and the ocean. It added that all-out efforts should be made to prevent contaminated water from leaking and called on the government to intensify monitoring radiation levels in the ground water and seawater.

Monday, March 28, 2011 22:38 +0900 (JST)

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/28_h28.html

Japan asked the French companies EDF and Areva for help.

[elcent]

Exposed workers okay

Three men exposed to high levels of radiation at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant have left the hospital with a clean bill of health.

The 3 workers left the National Institute of Radiological Sciences in Chiba Prefecture on Monday.

They had been receiving special medical treatment after having been exposed to radiation while installing power cables at the Number 3 reactor complex on Thursday.

Two of the men stood in radioactive water for about 2 hours. They were due to receive treatment for burns, but doctors at the institute found that this was not necessary.

The institute says the level of their exposure was up to 3,000 millisieverts, less than initially thought.

The 2 men reportedly show no symptoms of burns, and their internal organs were exposed to very low levels of radiation.

The institute says the third man also has no symptoms.

The 3 men will undergo checks at the institute in several days' time.

Doctor Fumiaki Nakayama of the institute says that even if the men do develop symptoms, they do not need treatment, and the symptoms will eventually disappear.

Monday, March 28, 2011 20:17 +0900 (JST)

There's a symptom free phase of about two weeks after initial radiation and treatment and usually it developes into serious complications after that. It's also called the ghost phase.

Lets hope they will be fine and that the radiation was lower than previously announced.

Edited March 28, 2011 by elcent

[Lopburi99]

Is this an accurate assessment of the current situation:

The critical question is whether the containment structures are all intact and not damaged. If so, continuing cooling efforts should be able to prevent further deterioration and a possible massive release of radiation.

Edited March 28, 2011 by Lopburi99

[atsiii]

I just heard on France 24 TV that plutonium was found in the soil near #3, but I can't find any confirmation of that online. Has anyone see this news release? If true, it would be very telling!

[atsiii]

CRAP!! Here is the confirmation... and it's from a dam_n week ago!! unbelievable!

TOKYO, March 28 (Reuters) - Plutonium has been found in soil at various points within Japan's stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex but does not present a risk to human health, operator Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) said on Monday.

TEPCO vice-president Sakae Muto told journalists at the company's latest briefing that test results showing the plutonium came from samples taken a week ago.

Edited March 28, 2011 by atsiii

[atsiii]

Setting all the B.S. aside, finding plutonium in the soil around the reactors--A WEEK AGO!--confirms without doubt there has been at least a partial meltdown of the MOX rods in either the core, the cooling pool or both. If the contamination is from the core--which most have been suspecting--then it also means the containment vessel is no longer containing. It is still possible that the the containment vessel's integrity has not been compromised, in which case it would point the guilty finger at the plant's "quake-proof" engineering design/construction--which was not adequate to keep pipes from cracking and/or separating under the stresses of a 9.0 quake, creating leaks. Either way, this is bad, bad, bad news.

IMO, the fact that the plutonium was found in samples taken ONE WEEK AGO is indicative of just how bad this news is. Have they known for a week?

This is bad, bad, bad news...

Edited March 28, 2011 by atsiii

[James3212]

Update - Monday Night!

http://www.nytimes.c...ner=rss&emc=rss

TOKYO — Highly contaminated water is escaping a damaged reactor at a crippled nuclear power plant in Japan and could soon leak into the ocean, the country's nuclear regulator warned on Monday.

Radiation measuring 1,000 millisieverts per hour was detected in water in an overflow tunnel outside the plant's Reactor No. 2, Japan's nuclear regulator said at a news conference. The tunnel leads from the reactor's turbine building, where contaminated water was discovered on Saturday, to an opening just 180 feet from the sea, said Hidehiko Nishiyama, deputy director-general for the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency.

The contaminated water level is now about three feet from the exit of the vertical, U-shaped tunnel and rising, Mr. Nishiyama said.

Well, what are they waiting for? get the gasoline carrying trucks choopered in and fill em up then later put then in concrete or something if they still are radiant... But i guess they wont read these forums anyways....

I also really like Japan and it pains me to see that so little is done and what is done is so slow... Is it really possible that there is no alternative? That they arent hurrying up? that they didnt have human-like shielded robots that can be controlled remotely in case of this disaster? that they dont know and cant send in a camera to check the leakage for this long?

Sorry if this is being off topic just im really looking forward to see this contained and not having the prefecture to turn into another permanent exclusion zone where radioactive plant and animal life grows...

[atsiii]

Is this an accurate assessment of the current situation:

The critical question is whether the containment structures are all intact and not damaged. If so, continuing cooling efforts should be able to prevent further deterioration and a possible massive release of radiation.

Yes and no. They are dealing with two separate sets of challenges: reactor cores and spent fuel cooling pools. Both must be actively cooled. The reactor cores are surrounded by containment vessels, so you are correct--to the extent that if the containment vessels have not been breached, then continued cooling of the cores should avoid runaway meltdowns.

One reactor, however, was using MOX rods which contain a mixture of uranium and plutonium. Plutonium has now been found in the soil samples taken one week ago around the reactors. The presence of plutonium in the soil (in any amount!) confirms: 1) there has at least been a partial meltdown of MOX rods in #3's core and/or its spent fuel cooling pool. And 2) the plutonium has found a path from the melted rod source(s) to the soil where it was sampled. There is no other way for plutonium to be present in the soil. This would suggest that #3's containment vessel, pipes and/or cooling pool has been compromised and leaking. Because of the highly radioactive water found in the turbine building of #2, similar concerns exist for #2's containment vessel, pipes and/or cooling pool.

The cooling pools are almost as large of a challenge as the cores, particularly #4. Reactor #4 was shut down for maintenance, so all of its core fuel rods (548 rods or +/- 98 tons or uranium fuel!) were emptied into its cooling pool prior to the quake. The important thing to realize about the cooling pools is there is no containment structure around them--they are open to the environment--and they too require active cooling. If, for example, leaking radiation from damaged cores was great enough to preclude workers from getting close enough to cool down the pools, then a runaway meltdown is also possible in a pool and it could result in a huge fire and catastrophic release of radiation to the atmosphere.

So yes, the cores must be brought to less than 100 C, all the cooling pools must be actively cooled, and all of the contamination on the site must be contained and somehow disposed of. Not a small order. If they can somehow get it all under control and avoid a catastrophic accident, I suspect they will ultimately flood and seal off the whole site with concrete. Perhaps then they can erect fences with guards and keep people away for the next few hundred years (or more!).

Edited March 28, 2011 by atsiii

[Lopburi99]

Thank you for the great recap astiii. Now I can manage my concerns better.

Edited March 28, 2011 by Lopburi99

[JemJem]

Just curious....in the worst-case scenario, to what extent (if at all) will Thailand be affected by the radiation ?

[atsiii]

Just curious....in the worst-case scenario, to what extent (if at all) will Thailand be affected by the radiation ?

Others can answer your question about specific potential impacts to Thailand better than me, but please know there is still plenty of hope and technical confidence that--baring another unforeseen event--a "worst case" scenario at Fukushima can and will be avoided.

In the event that a truly "worst case" scenario did develop, it's fair to say that every nation on earth would be affected in one way or another. If not by direct or indirect contamination, then certainly by worldwide food-chain and/or economic ramifications. That is the concept of "worst case."

But again, short of another unforeseen event or development, nobody at TEPCO or the Japanese Government is predicting a "worst case" scenario. That said, assuming everything goes remarkably well from this moment forward, IMO, containing and cleaning up the contamination they are already dealing with will be bad enough.

Edited March 29, 2011 by atsiii

[atsiii]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/29/tepco-nationalisation-idUSL3E7ET00720110329

(Reuters) - A plan to temporarily nationalise Tokyo Electric Power , the operator of a stricken nuclear plant, has been floated by some members of the Japanese government, the Yomiuri newspaper said on Tuesday.

The plan includes the government taking a majority stake in Asia's largest utility as well as helping it pay for damages stemming from the nuclear accident, the newspaper said, citing unidentified government sources.

Sounds just like the "selective capitalism" we have in the U.S. these days. The profits all go to the select few, and when there are problems, the costs are all placed on the shoulders of the tax payers. Then, once the company is bailed out and back on its feet, it can go back to generating power and profits for the select few. What's not to love about that... assuming you're one of the select few.

Another interesting tidbit I read this morning: power for the eastern portion of Japan and Tokyo is 60 hertz, while for the west of Japan it's 50 hertz. Thus, to simply bring in extra power to help compensate for lost generation capacity, they will need to invest Billions of yen to construct frequency transformers. Amazing...

[Organicpete]

Sounds just like the "selective capitalism" we have in the U.S. these days.

Yep, nationalise the costs, privatise the profits...

The lunatics running the asylum

Another interesting tidbit I read this morning: power for the eastern portion of Japan and Tokyo is 60 hertz, while for the west of Japan it's 50 hertz.

50 and 60 ! good grief

Pete

Edited March 29, 2011 by Organicpete

[Crushdepth]

IMHO things that are "too big to fail" or "too important to fail" do not belong in the hands of private enterprise.

[canuckamuck]

IMHO things that are "too big to fail" or "too important to fail" do not belong in the hands of private enterprise.

Like the federal reserve?

[Crushdepth]

It's full of Chinese money, so who cares

[atsiii]

http://www.latimes.c...,0,319767.story

The above is an article describing very grim working conditions at Fukushima. Some excerpts:

Reporting from Tokyo— They sleep with just one blanket apiece anywhere there's space — in a conference room, in the hallway, near the bathroom. Because deliveries of supplies are limited, they get by on very little food: Breakfast is packages of high-calorie emergency crackers and a small carton of vegetable juice; dinner consists of a small bag of "magic rice" (just add bottled water) and a can of chicken, mackerel or curry. There is no lunch — handing out a noontime meal would be too complicated in the crowded two-story building.

Nineteen workers have been exposed to more than 100 millisieverts of radiation since the crisis at the facility after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, the Mainichi newspaper reported Monday, quoting Tepco. In the United States, the normal radiation exposure limit for nuclear power plant workers is 50 millisieverts per year; Japan has raised its legal limit to 250 millisieverts because the work is considered so urgent and crucial. "If radiation levels continue to increase, workers are going to have their dose limits challenged even at this emergency level," Lyman said. "Workers could get saturated within a few weeks or even less.

The workers drink bottled water — they are each allotted about 50 ounces a day — but don't have running water to wash their hands or bodies because the plumbing is broken. Instead, they use an alcohol spray. "Some have expressed concern about not being able to change their underwear," said Yokota, who himself looked haggard after his experience, with bags under his eyes and a patchy beard. There's no way for workers to talk to their families because the quake toppled nearby cellphone towers, he added. The plant's phone lines are still down and so the only means of communicating with the outside world is via satellite phone, Yokota said. That's a direct line to Tepco headquarters and is not available for personal calls. Some details about the conditions at the plant, however, have emerged through Twitter feeds and email.

Dr. Robert Peter Gale, an American physician who is advising Japan's government on the health of staffers at the plant, said doctors are "under pressure" and are weighing whether to begin harvesting and banking blood cells from hundreds of workers, measures that could help save their lives later. Gale, who also advised on the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, said about 200 workers there were subjected to high levels of radiation, and 13 eventually got bone marrow transplants.

Edited March 29, 2011 by atsiii

[elcent]

I remember my grandmother and mother always saying "open the windows to get fresh air"

Times have changed

Now governments telling us "Close the windows so not to get poisoned"

Humans stink! - one way or the other.

[elcent]

Fukushima Fallout

How Dangerous Is Japan's Creeping Nuclear Disaster?

Photo Gallery: 6 Photos DPAThe destroyed reactors at Fukushima have been releasing radiation for weeks. According to model calculations, the stricken nuclear plant could already have released one-tenth of the amount of radiation unleashed in the Chernobyl disaster. How serious a risk does the disaster pose to humans?

• Part 1: How Dangerous Is Japan's Creeping Nuclear Disaster?
• Part 2: Contaminated Food and Water
• Part 3: Just How Reliable Are the Radiation Measurements?

Edited March 29, 2011 by elcent

[unblocktheplanet]

Just in case others are interested in the plutonium reference, here are excerpts—dateline March 11! Couldn't find the Reuters report. Tell me this doesn't stink of coverup. And then why did the world press only pick this up again March 28? Perhaps because they're getting us ready for massive plutonium contamination. Can't help but bold a bit of this...

Plutonium found in soil outside Japanese nuke plant

Detection had been expected; officials also find radioactive water leak

MSNBC: March 11, 2011

http://www.msnbc.msn...s-asia-pacific/

TOKYO — Highly toxic plutonium is seeping from the damaged nuclear power plant in Japan's tsunami disaster zone into the soil outside, officials said Tuesday, further complicating the delicate operation to stabilize the overheated facility.

"The situation is very grave," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano told reporters Tuesday. "We are doing our utmost efforts to contain the damage."

Experts had expected traces would be detected once crews began searching for it, because plutonium is present in the production of nuclear energy.

Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. said the amounts found at five sites during testing last week were very small and were not a rsk to public health.

TEPCO official Jun Tsuruoka said only two of the plutonium samples were believed to be from a leaking reactor. The other three samples were from earlier nuclear tests, he said. Years of weapons testing in the atmosphere have left trace amounts of plutonium in many places around the world.

But finding plutonium is a concern because it is the most toxic of isotopes that can be released from a nuclear reactor. It can be fatal to humans in very tiny doses and does not decay quickly.

[elcent]

Edano: Detection of plutonium a serious concern

Japan's top government spokesman says the detection of trace amounts of plutonium in ground at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant means the situation there is extremely serious.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said Tuesday that the density of plutonium found in soil samples taken from the plant a week ago was about the same as that found in the environment from past nuclear tests abroad.

But he said 2 of the samples appeared to contain the type of plutonium used in nuclear fuel, making it most likely that reactor fuel rods were the source.

Edano said that the traces of plutonium, combined with the detection of highly radioactive water, back up the view that nuclear fuel rods have partially melted.

He said the government is doing all it can to control the impact of the contamination and contain the situation.

Edano called for closer monitoring of data, saying that if higher levels of plutonium are found, the government will have to respond.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011 12:28 +0900 (JST) http://www3.nhk.or.j...lish/29_15.html

Kitazawa hints at bigger SDF role in Fukushima

Japanese Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa says Self-Defense Forces troops if asked would work to remove highly radioactive water found leaking at the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Kitazawa spoke to reporters on Tuesday about contaminated water found in a concrete tunnel extending from the Number 2 reactor.

He said work to remove the water should be handled by Tokyo Electric Power Company first and foremost.

The defense minister said that if there are rational reasons to call for the Self-Defense Forces' assistance, he will consider accepting the request.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011 11:49 +0900 (JST) http://www3.nhk.or.j...lish/29_17.html

Edano: Detection of plutonium a serious concern

Edano: Water must be pumped in to cool reactor

Kitazawa hints at bigger SDF role in Fukushima

Kan denies his visit delayed nuke plant response

JAL to reduce international services

Japan protests Chinese helicopter's close fly-by

134 international offers of help

Kan encourages SDF troops\

Containing the radiation

are the headlines at http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/

Edited March 29, 2011 by elcent

[Chopperboy]

Japan nuclear: PM Naoto Kan signals maximum alert

Japan is in for the long haul in coping with nuclear fallout from the 11 March

Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan has said his government is in a state of maximum alert over the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant.

Plutonium was detected in soil at the facility and highly radioactive water had leaked from a reactor building.

Officials in China, South Korea and the United States have recorded traces of radioactive material in the air.

Earlier, Japan's government strongly criticised the plant's operator, Tepco, over mistaken radiation readings.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12889541

[atsiii]

From NHK - Update:

Japan's top government spokesman says water must be pumped continuously into the No.2 reactor at the troubled Fukushima nuclear plant, despite the leak of highly radioactive water from the unit. The top priority is to prevent the reactor vessel and fuel rods from running dry and overheating. Edano said workers are limiting the injection of water while making sure temperatures of the fuel rods are stable. He said the contaminated water must also be removed as early as possible as a more fundamental step.

Water is being used to cool the reactors but highly radioactive water has been found building up in an adjacent turbine building and a deep trench outside, apparently leaking from the reactor container. Workers at the plant are now struggling to cool the reactor, while controlling the release of more contaminated water. TEPCO is piling up sandbags and concrete around the mouth of the tunnels to prevent flooding.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011 12:56 +0900 (JST)

Edited March 29, 2011 by atsiii

[Chopperboy]

(FT) -- As Japan's nuclear crisis deepened following the earthquake and tsunami that struck the country on March 11, the president of Tokyo Electric Power, operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi power plant, spent a week in virtual seclusion in his office, people at the company now say.

The claim that Masataka Shimizu in effect temporarily withdrew from frontline visibility in the midst of the emergency, but did not formally transfer responsibility to a deputy, is likely further to erode confidence in the company's ability to resolve the world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 years.

Mr Shimizu, who is 67, has not appeared in public since a March 13 news conference, at which he apologised for "trouble and worry" caused by breakdowns at the plant following the natural disaster, whose scale he said had been "beyond our expectations".

[Chopperboy]

Tokyo (CNN) -- A seismic researcher told CNN Sunday that he warned the owner of the earthquake-damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant two years ago that the facility could be vulnerable to a tsunami.

The owner, Tokyo Electric Power Company, appeared to ignore the warning, said seismologist Yukinobu Okamura.

TEPCO has not responded to Okamura's allegation.

Okamura heads Japan's Active Fault & Earthquake Center. He said he told members of a TEPCO safety committee two years ago that data collected from layers of earth show that in the year 869 a massive tsunami devastated where the plant now is. Without adequate safety measures, a repeat of the first millennium disaster at the site of a nuclear power plant could be far worse, Okamura said he told the committee then. He said he raised the issue because no one else did.

"I found that odd so I really wanted to speak out and let people know about it," Okamura said. "No one reacted in any way."

Instead, committee members discussed a 1938 earthquake in the region that killed only one person. Okamura said that is understandable because there was far more data available about that event. However, the power company should have considered the 869 tsunami, he said.

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/03/27/japan.nuclear.disaster/index.html

Edited March 29, 2011 by Chopperboy

[Crushdepth]

But he said 2 of the samples appeared to contain the type of plutonium used in nuclear fuel, making it most likely that reactor fuel rods were the source.

I find it very difficult to believe that they only "suspect" a leak. If its leaking - or not - it should be bloody obvious.

Edano called for closer monitoring of data, saying that if higher levels of plutonium are found, the government will have to respond.

With more bureaucratic say-nothing speak?

[Chopperboy]

Edano called for closer monitoring of data, saying that if higher levels of plutonium are found, the government will have to respond.

With more bureaucratic say-nothing speak?

The obviously harried officials from Tokyo Electric Power Co. have repeatedly announced botched radiation readings, corrected themselves over and over and indulged in seemingly endless rounds of apologies. The bumbling offers alarming insight into the embarrassing failure of crisis management at the nation's top utility, which rakes in 5 trillion yen ($60 billion) in annual sales.

When pressed for details, TEPCO officials often simply don't answer. They say they will check, insist an answer would disclose personal information or say they don't know.

Also baffling has been the obvious lack of coordination between TEPCO and its main government regulator, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency.

TEPCO and NISA give separate news conferences, often releasing conflicting information. At one point, NISA acknowledged the possibility of a partial meltdown in much stronger language than TEPCO officials, only to tone it down later.

Crisis management experts say it is critical to have a central crisis office to release consistent information to the public and the media to avoid raising fears and to coordinate information from the utility, government, regulators and local officials.

But in Japan, responsibility tends to be spread out, imperiling crisis management.

The 24-hour "media center" at TEPCO headquarters, with its crammed desks, disorganized handouts and lack of scheduled briefings, looks more like a sloppy classroom. Officials often give just a few minutes warning before they make announcements, sometimes long after midnight.

Adding to the uncertainty is TEPCO's troubled history of cover-ups and scandals.

The company has been repeatedly penalized by the government over the years for misbehavior that includes tampering with reports on plant safety.

Surrounded recently by worried reporters, TEPCO manager Hikaru Kuroda promised that the workers now tackling the crisis were fully in control.

"I may be losing my grip on things, but they aren't losing theirs," he said with a smile.

http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2011/03/28/japanese_nuke_utility_apologizes_again_and_again/

[atsiii]

But he said 2 of the samples appeared to contain the type of plutonium used in nuclear fuel, making it most likely that reactor fuel rods were the source.

I find it very difficult to believe that they only "suspect" a leak. If its leaking - or not - it should be bloody obvious.

Edano called for closer monitoring of data, saying that if higher levels of plutonium are found, the government will have to respond.

With more bureaucratic say-nothing speak?

You can rest assured that if they had found only background levels of plutonium left over from weapons testing and previous accidents, they would have released that finding with trumpets blaring. Instead--for the entire week before they released the findings--they said things like, "officials suspect there may be damage to one or more reactor cores." So, IMO, yes--they know and have known very well from where the plutonium is coming.

[Chopperboy]

Mitsuhiko Tanaka, a Fukushima nuclear plant designer turned anti-nuclear activist, said utility officials aren't fully equipped to orchestrate the response to the crisis. He says they aren't familiar enough with reactor designs, any more than pilots or stewardesses know the design of a jet engine. He urges more involvement of designers and other experts.

"When a jet begins to crash, you don't ask the pilots for answers to what's gone wrong," he said in an interview.

http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2011/03/28/japanese_nuke_utility_apologizes_again_and_again/