Meltdown Likely Under Way At Japan Nuclear Reactor

[brahmburgers]

A Tokyo Electrical Power Company (TEPCO) worker has spoken out over the firm's power plant control failures and culture of silence.

I don't want to sound Asia- or Thai-bashing, but the 'culture of silence' is a factor in this dire predicament.

I might use the phrase 'culture of blindly accepting', and it's ingrained in Asian cultures to always defer to higher ranking individuals. In some applications, it's good, but in other scenarios it can be problematic. All of us who reside in Thailand know how tolerant Thais are. I remember reading a letter to the newspaper years ago about a farang woman who was nearly suffocating in a train, because no one would speak up to ask to have a window opened (apparently the worker on duty thought it better to keep all windows closed shut). The farang woman was the only one in a train full of suffering people, to have the gumption to speak up and open a window herself.

We see similar scenarios every day, with painfully loud music, with cars speeding across zebra crossings, etc ad infinitum. The other factor is Asians and Thais accepting all that's handed down by authority with no questions or little alternative suggestions. If you were a teacher, and you told your Thai students 'whales fly in the air and butterflies lie at the bottom of the ocean' ...not one student would speak up to challenge such a statement. All the students would just stare at the front of the room and nod knowingly. Similarly, has there ever, in the history of Thailand, ever been a government worker who spoke out publicly against one of his/her superiors - accusing them of doing something wrong?

That's at least partly why the Japanese nuclear technician didn't speak up earlier when he saw problems at the plant - and why, even now, he can't speak up using his name. It's just contrary to the Asian way of being. I lump the Thais and Japanese together in this missive, because Thailand is hell-bent on going nuclear, and I foresee the problems now befalling Japan - happening in Thailand on a larger scale.

[ronz28]

The core at Japan's Fukushima nuclear reactor has melted through the reactor pressure vessel, Democratic Congressman Edward Markey told a hearing on the nuclear disaster on Wednesday.

"I have been informed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that the core of Unit Two has gotten so hot that part of it has probably melted through the reactor pressure vessel," said Markey, a prominent nuclear critic in the House of Representatives.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/04/06/us-japan-markey-idUKTRE7353Y820110406

[midas]

oh yes Jetset wants you to take the red pill ........he keeps posting

stuff from " The Register " .....enough said

Because it's one of the few techy web sites that hasn't jumped on the "we're all doomed" bandwagon.

All these people who are so keen to assure everyone there is nothing

to worry about ( such as the writers for this " techy web site " ) - would they also

guarantee this ?

Such as paying the medical costs of those who will become ill

in 20-30 years time as a result of this debacle ?

[unblocktheplanet]

Has anybody else hit the NY Times paywall?

Got a way around, please.

TIA!

[StreetCowboy]

oh yes Jetset wants you to take the red pill ........he keeps posting

stuff from " The Register " .....enough said

Because it's one of the few techy web sites that hasn't jumped on the "we're all doomed" bandwagon.

All these people who are so keen to assure everyone there is nothing

to worry about ( such as the writers for this " techy web site " ) - would they also

guarantee this ?

Such as paying the medical costs of those who will become ill

in 20-30 years time as a result of this debacle ?

Yes. I intrend to support the health service for the next 20 years. IN fact, I don't have a choice in the matter, as a tax payer. Are you proposing that we should be allowed to choose the accident victims that we will treat?

For example, I'd rather not treat motorcycle accident victims who were not wearing helmets, or people who are injured in sporting accidents.

Luckily, I don't have a choice.

SC

[StreetCowboy]

The core at Japan's Fukushima nuclear reactor has melted through the reactor pressure vessel, Democratic Congressman Edward Markey told a hearing on the nuclear disaster on Wednesday.

"I have been informed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that the core of Unit Two has gotten so hot that part of it has probably melted through the reactor pressure vessel," said Markey, a prominent nuclear critic in the House of Representatives.

http://uk.reuters.co...E7353Y820110406

I am not sure that second-hand gossip on probabilities and possibilities by self-serving politicians several thousand miles away is a credible source.

Remember - some people believe what they read on the internet, and we have a duty of care to behave responsibly and avoid scare-mongering on topics which might cause strong feeling - such as football scores.

Some people do not read as well as you or I, and perhaps do not share our dry and ironic sense of humour

SC

[Crushdepth]

Has anybody else hit the NY Times paywall?

Got a way around, please.

Turn javascript off in your browser.

[JetsetBkk]

The core at Japan's Fukushima nuclear reactor has melted through the reactor pressure vessel, Democratic Congressman Edward Markey told a hearing on the nuclear disaster on Wednesday.

"I have been informed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that the core of Unit Two has gotten so hot that part of it has probably melted through the reactor pressure vessel," said Markey, a prominent nuclear critic in the House of Representatives.

http://uk.reuters.co...E7353Y820110406

I am not sure that second-hand gossip on probabilities and possibilities by self-serving politicians several thousand miles away is a credible source.

Remember - some people believe what they read on the internet, and we have a duty of care to behave responsibly and avoid scare-mongering on topics which might cause strong feeling - such as football scores.

Some people do not read as well as you or I, and perhaps do not share our dry and ironic sense of humour

SC

But SC, the headline says it HAS melted through the pressure vessel. So we're all doomed, aren't we?

Oh, wait a minute, later on it says "probably". Phew.

[StreetCowboy]

The core at Japan's Fukushima nuclear reactor has melted through the reactor pressure vessel, Democratic Congressman Edward Markey told a hearing on the nuclear disaster on Wednesday.

"I have been informed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that the core of Unit Two has gotten so hot that part of it has probably melted through the reactor pressure vessel," said Markey, a prominent nuclear critic in the House of Representatives.

http://uk.reuters.co...E7353Y820110406

I am not sure that second-hand gossip on probabilities and possibilities by self-serving politicians several thousand miles away is a credible source.

Remember - some people believe what they read on the internet, and we have a duty of care to behave responsibly and avoid scare-mongering on topics which might cause strong feeling - such as football scores.

Some people do not read as well as you or I, and perhaps do not share our dry and ironic sense of humour

SC

But SC, the headline says it HAS melted through the pressure vessel. So we're all doomed, aren't we?

Oh, wait a minute, later on it says "probably". Phew.

'probably' is a euphemism for 'not' - I learnt that from beer advertising.

Same as 'almost' and 'nearly' and 'as good as'

George Orwell would be proud of us!

SC

[elcent]

Japan's FM official criticizes foreign media

A high official of Japan's Foreign Ministry has criticized foreign news media coverage of the problems at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, saying that some of the reports have been exaggerated and excessive.

State Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Chiaki Takahashi, was talking to reporters at a news conference on Thursday.

He also said that he has urged foreign news organizations, via Japanese embassies, to provide objective and cool-headed coverage and to make corrections to reports if necessary.

But Takahashi added that he can understand the concerns of foreign countries over recent developments at the nuclear plant, including the radioactive contamination of seawater.

He said Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano has instructed his ministry to do more to give foreign diplomats detailed explanations of what is taking place.

Thursday, April 07, 2011 17:29 +0900 (JST) http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/07_34.html

Now they become cry-babies, at least the foreign ministry. What about staying honest and sincere in reporting issues.

They want the world to shut-up.

[elcent]

TEPCO: Nitrogen injection going well

The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says it continues to inject nitrogen gas into the containment vessel of the No.1 reactor without problems. The nitrogen gas is being used to prevent a hydrogen blast at the reactor.

The Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, says that as of 6 AM Thursday pressure inside the containment vessel of the No.1 reactor had risen only slightly and that this indicates the operation is going well. The gas injection began at 1:30 AM Thursday.

Fuel rods inside the No.1 reactor are nearly half exposed because coolant water levels remain low. It is thought that the overheated fuel rods have caused a buildup of the volatile mix of hydrogen and oxygen. It is hoped the chemically stable nitrogen will counteract this buildup.

TEPCO says it plans to continue the injection for about 6 days and will also consider taking similar measures at the No. 2 and No. 3 reactors.

Regarding another problem, TEPCO said the pool of highly contaminated water in the underground tunnel connected to the No. 2 reactor rose 5 centimeters in the 24 hours leading up to 7 AM Thursday.

TEPCO says the rise is probably related to stopping the leakage of highly radioactive water from a concrete pit of the No. 2 reactor with the use of a hardening agent on Wednesday.

The company says there is still one meter of room to ground level, but will keep a close watch on the situation because an overflow would seriously hamper the already difficult restoration work.

TEPCO is also continuing the release of 8,000 tons of low-level radioactive wastewater from the plant to make storage space for more highly contaminated water. Around 6,000 tons have been discharged so far.

Thursday, April 07, 2011 12:09 +0900 (JST)

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/07_20.html

[Chopperboy]

Edwin Lyman, a senior scientist in the Union Concerned Scientists Global Security Program and an expert on nuclear plant design and the environmental and the health effects of radiation, says that TEPCO's ability to assess the ongoing situation at the plant has "severe deficiencies".

"They do have some instrumentation. They do report some values for pressure and temperature, but there are indicators that are repeatedly unreliable or out of service," says Lyman.

"So, you know, they're flying partially blind."

The crisis, he says, is being dealt with "as more or less symptom-based at this point".

"They're throwing water in what they can't see and hoping that they don't get more radiation out than they're now seeing, you know, and they just have to treat the symptoms, but the only real symptom or the only real cure is more water. So, it's pretty crude."

Tokyo Electric and Japanese regulators believe unit 2 is the source of the highly contaminated water. Plant workers are pouring 8 tons of water (2,100 gallons) into that reactor every hour to keep it cool, and the water that flows out carries extremely high concentrations of radioactive particles.

That highly radioactive fluid is building up in the turbine plant and the service tunnels around the unit, leaving Japanese officials grasping for ways to contain it.

Edited April 7, 2011 by Chopperboy

[StreetCowboy]

Japan's FM official criticizes foreign media

A high official of Japan's Foreign Ministry has criticized foreign news media coverage of the problems at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, saying that some of the reports have been exaggerated and excessive.

State Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Chiaki Takahashi, was talking to reporters at a news conference on Thursday.

He also said that he has urged foreign news organizations, via Japanese embassies, to provide objective and cool-headed coverage and to make corrections to reports if necessary.

But Takahashi added that he can understand the concerns of foreign countries over recent developments at the nuclear plant, including the radioactive contamination of seawater.

He said Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano has instructed his ministry to do more to give foreign diplomats detailed explanations of what is taking place.

Thursday, April 07, 2011 17:29 +0900 (JST) http://www3.nhk.or.j...lish/07_34.html

Now they become cry-babies, at least the foreign ministry. What about staying honest and sincere in reporting issues.

They want the world to shut-up.

Maybe at a time when thousands of Japanese have been killed in one of the worst catastrophes to hit the country in living memory, they would prefer objective and factual reporting to sensationalist scare-mongering.

I suppose the trouble is, as shown on this thread, that most members of the public don't understand the facts well enough to know when to be scared, and when not to be.

SC

[brahmburgers]

I suppose the trouble is, as shown on this thread, that most members of the public don't understand the facts well enough to know when to be scared, and when not to be. SC

I'm not scared. Indeed my personal safety is more secure, here in northernmost Thailand, than Bangkok, Pattaya or Phuket - which in turn are more secure than many parts of the world. Parts of Hawaii used to paradisaical, now it's got oceans (and lifeforms within) of questionable safety.

I've been 100% opposed to nuclear for power generation for decades and have recently (within the past 3 years) become active against Thailand going nuclear. my booklet

It's not about me. It's not about anyone being scared. It's about concern for others, concern for other living things, and concern for this one finite planet. Despoiling the earth and the oceans is as dire to someone like myself as poisoning people or animals or plants. I'm not alone with these sentiments. There are Native American tribes who don't want spent nuclear rods stored in mountains bordering California and Arizona for similar reasons. There are those who can say 'Who gives a fat flying fudgebowl about what happens inside a mountain in a desolate part of the world!"

Well, maybe it's not easily explainable in a couple paragraphs on a blog, but it's true. There are many people who care about such things and who are doing all they can to thwart the radioactivication of this planet. Now the planet's largest body of water is being polluted with radioactivity. None of us knows how severe, how widespread that toxicity will be over the coming decades. I resent the Japanese for building those reactors (the engineering and the chosen site, etc), and I resent all others who are frantically building those monuments to toxicity worldwide. They'd build them (and/or store the spent rods) in Antarctica if they could get away with it.

It's sounds childish to say 'I told you so' ....but we did! Often and loudly! And we're still trying to tell those who will listen; 'Nuclear reactors are not the best (nor cheapest nor cleanest nor safest) ways to generate electricity.'

[ronz28]

7.4 quake at same location in Japan now.

[animatic]

7.4 quake at same location in Japan now.

Things just get better and better.....

Miaygi may get 2 meter waves at high tide,

most others half meter waves.

Still must be scary as hell wondering what is coming in....

[bangkokeddy]

The core at Japan's Fukushima nuclear reactor has melted through the reactor pressure vessel, Democratic Congressman Edward Markey told a hearing on the nuclear disaster on Wednesday.

"I have been informed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that the core of Unit Two has gotten so hot that part of it has probably melted through the reactor pressure vessel," said Markey, a prominent nuclear critic in the House of Representatives.

http://uk.reuters.co...E7353Y820110406

I am not sure that second-hand gossip on probabilities and possibilities by self-serving politicians several thousand miles away is a credible source.

Remember - some people believe what they read on the internet, and we have a duty of care to behave responsibly and avoid scare-mongering on topics which might cause strong feeling - such as football scores.

Some people do not read as well as you or I, and perhaps do not share our dry and ironic sense of humour

SC

Exactly.

As we have to be skeptical towards what politicians or TEPCO tell us and don't believe everything in blind trust, the same skepticism is needed when we listen to the rhetoric of their opponents and the media that uses scare-mongering as sales tactic.

[James3212]

I suppose the trouble is, as shown on this thread, that most members of the public don't understand the facts well enough to know when to be scared, and when not to be. SC

I'm not scared. Indeed my personal safety is more secure, here in northernmost Thailand, than Bangkok, Pattaya or Phuket - which in turn are more secure than many parts of the world. Parts of Hawaii used to paradisaical, now it's got oceans (and lifeforms within) of questionable safety.

I've been 100% opposed to nuclear for power generation for decades and have recently (within the past 3 years) become active against Thailand going nuclear. my booklet

It's not about me. It's not about anyone being scared. It's about concern for others, concern for other living things, and concern for this one finite planet. Despoiling the earth and the oceans is as dire to someone like myself as poisoning people or animals or plants. I'm not alone with these sentiments. There are Native American tribes who don't want spent nuclear rods stored in mountains bordering California and Arizona for similar reasons. There are those who can say 'Who gives a fat flying fudgebowl about what happens inside a mountain in a desolate part of the world!"

Well, maybe it's not easily explainable in a couple paragraphs on a blog, but it's true. There are many people who care about such things and who are doing all they can to thwart the radioactivication of this planet. Now the planet's largest body of water is being polluted with radioactivity. None of us knows how severe, how widespread that toxicity will be over the coming decades. I resent the Japanese for building those reactors (the engineering and the chosen site, etc), and I resent all others who are frantically building those monuments to toxicity worldwide. They'd build them (and/or store the spent rods) in Antarctica if they could get away with it.

It's sounds childish to say 'I told you so' ....but we did! Often and loudly! And we're still trying to tell those who will listen; 'Nuclear reactors are not the best (nor cheapest nor cleanest nor safest) ways to generate electricity.'

Right on, i think after this i will also become active against nukes somehow, at least protesting if not more... Its the least we can do... I've just recently found out about numerous nuke tests all over the world... Even in russian Novaya Zemlja which was supposed to mean new earth... I think that they have found plutonium in the water around... How tragic is what humans are doing to the world... If the nukes were not discovered it would have been a lot better... Now i understand many nuke scientists who turn anti-nuke from all over the world... Because they realize that the ones in power are very irresponsible with this...

They do not care if they pollute a piece of land for thousands of years, or if that pollution scatters around or poisons someone... Its really an awful thing... What we should be doing is working on cleaning the earth and making it a better place to live, not finding ways to pollute it more... And it is scary of how many things went unreported or how many things the humanity is unaware of...

And also how can the nuclear power be cheapest when TEPCO which is 4th largest power company in the world, cant pay for the cleanup of things that were emitted from 1 power plant... It is very well likely that they will go bankrupt as well with this attitude and the Japanese people will have to pay for the cleanup and maybe they won't even cleanup, but decide to live with it... I can just see the headlines tomorrow. Bad food habits of the Japanese from Fukushima prefecture have caused numerous health issues.... Its just awful how some can still support this... I bet if they were living as a Fukushima citizen they would not think so... I doubt that TEPCO can even pay for the property damages of the cities in Fukushima (paying for all the houses and buildings that they had to evacuate) let alone compensate them for the loss of land just do the cleanup of land and pay for their medical bills and compensate them for grief and time wasted... Hopefully we can find much better alternatives soon... I do not think that anything is worth of contaminating the land so that even humans nor animals can live there... And as someone said about the problem on nuclear waste, plutonium... It's half-live is 24 000 years... and that's just one half-life... how much do you think storage of something will cost when you multiply it by the number of years that you have to store it? Leaving trash on earth for the generations to come is not a good solution... But i do think that we should find a good and cheap way to eliminate this nuclear waste ( change plutonium to something different that can decay quickly or to something that doesnt decay ) and solve this...

Dumping something into the ocean is about the worst thing that they could do.... Can also someone explain to me why they didnt put the water in an oil tanker??? or just on a regular boat in a container, or oil trucks???

Is there some reason on why was this now possible?? How come that "they didn't have the choice"?

[endure]

How many people have died as a direct result of the Fukushima accident? And how many have died as a result of the earthquake and tsunami that caused that accident?

[James3212]

How many people have died as a direct result of the Fukushima accident? And how many have died as a result of the earthquake and tsunami that caused that accident?

How many are possible more to die indirectly? How much of the land has became contaminated? Would this happen if the humans did not build the plant there? Could people return to Fukishima prefecture after the tsunami and not lose their entire property, how many generations will plutonium remain radioactive? Can people relocate further inland and remain safe from the Tsunami? Did people create earthquakes and did people create nuclear plants? ... etc...

[midas]

Closing Ranks: The NRC, the Nuclear Industry, and TEPCo. Are Limiting the Flow of Information

[brahmburgers]

Dumping something into the ocean is about the worst thing that they could do.... Can also someone explain to me why they didnt put the water in an oil tanker??? or just on a regular boat in a container, or oil trucks???

Several reasons:

1. They didn't think of it. Asians in general, are not giants of innovative solutions to problems.

2. They don't want to ruin an oil tanker (economics).

3. What would they then do with a tanker full of water?

4. If the contaminated water kept coming, they would then need additional tankers.

5. Who wants to attach the hoses, and man the ship? Where would it dock?

[StreetCowboy]

Dumping something into the ocean is about the worst thing that they could do.... Can also someone explain to me why they didnt put the water in an oil tanker??? or just on a regular boat in a container, or oil trucks???

Several reasons:

1. They didn't think of it. Asians in general, are not giants of innovative solutions to problems.

2. They don't want to ruin an oil tanker (economics).

3. What would they then do with a tanker full of water?

4. If the contaminated water kept coming, they would then need additional tankers.

5. Who wants to attach the hoses, and man the ship? Where would it dock?

I'm sure those are definitely the reasons.

Actually, probably number three. They could put the water in a tanker, take it somewhere and dump it in the sea. Or take it somewhere, dump it on land, and let it find its own way to the sea. Or they could avoid a lot of messing about, and put it directly in the sea, which is conveniently close to the plant in any case.

Or possibly just to wind up foreign bigots (see 1. above)

(edit: fiendishly clever, the Japanese. and inscrutable, too....)

SC

Edited April 8, 2011 by StreetCowboy

[atsiii]

How many people have died as a direct result of the Fukushima accident? And how many have died as a result of the earthquake and tsunami that caused that accident?

I have asked the rhetorical question in several previous posts: what happens if the third shoe drops? Well, last night there was a 7.4 aftershock, but thank Buddha, there was no tsunami--this time! I'm not sure if people (nuclear supports or detractors) understand just how precarious a string Fukushima is hanging on.

In all our proud engineering, we evaluate the risks of natural disasters in isolation, meaning we design for a certain anticipated earthquake event, we design for a certain anticipated tsunami, a certain flood, etc. But if nothing else, Fukushima shows us this design approach is complete fallacy. Natural disasters can and do occur simultaneously and/or in quick succession--amplifying the impacts.and results. I ask the rhetorical question because if--like last night's aftershock--another tsunami came in and swept away all the fragile progress towards control and containment that has been made at Fukushima since March 11, putting the response effort back to square one while the reactors and pools are already well along their paths to self-destruction, then we would without doubt have catastrophic results at all three reactors and all four cooling pools and nobody would be arguing about how many will die--directly or indirectly, or how much environment damage will result. We will all simply be saying, OMG.

In my mind, last night's aftershock should be a wake-up call. We have a plant teetering on the edge of catastrophic problems, that at best will take decades to contain and decommission, and we are arguing over the fact that it has killed only two workers so far? We (the world) dodged a bullet last night, and this was only one of hundreds of aftershocks that have occurred since March 11. What would have happened if that same 7.4 tremor had been centered directly under the plant? Or if it had spawned another tsunami? Or a natural gas ignited wild fire that burned through the plant wiping out all the temporary pumping equipment and alternate power supply cables?

We dodged a bullet of catastrophic proportions; so with all our engineering prowess, is this the best we can do? We are supposed to feel secure knowing we barely got away with it--again? This is the level of human engineering that we are proud of and want to defend? This is what we consider to be acceptable risk? If nothing else, Fukushima has demonstrated that our entire concept of engineering benefit/risk analysis must fundamentally change. We cannot look at individual risks in isolation. As pilots are taught from day-one, it is rarely the first event or failure that proves fatal. It is when the events and failures start piling up that the result is often fatal.

Finally, am I the only one staggered by these costs? The largest earthquake recorded in Japan, along with its spawned tsunami, creates immeasurable human suffering and $300 Billion in property damage. But just one nuclear plant with six reactors (only three of which where operating) will require an estimated 30-years (at least!) and from $120 Billion to $150 Billion to contain and decommission. That is almost half of the total property damage done by the quake and tsunami combined. And that doesn't even begin to include compensation to the people who used to live within the 12 mile exclusion zone (that will likely never be able to return), nor (considering it's in Japan!!) the real estate value of all the land within the ultimate exclusion zone. Half (or probably more!) of the total cost of the quake and tsunami combined (which will likely be rebuilt in 5 years or less) from just one nuclear plant. Is this a reasonable benefit/cost ratio?

And what if tonight we're not so lucky... and the third shoe drops?

Edited April 8, 2011 by atsiii

[animatic]

Scaremonger / Person in total denial.

Most people are somewhere between the two.

The people leaning the most toward appearing as the former seem to be much more informed than many of the latter. Yet many of those appearing more toward the latter purport to be the most informed.

[unblocktheplanet]

A slow, agonizing death...

Ace Hoffman: April 5, 2011

http://acehoffman.bl...zing-death.html

...

According to physicist Dr. Michio Kaku -- one of the good guys -- three reactors are either already melting down or in imminent danger of doing so, and a spent fuel pool may be, as well. He doesn't seem to think anything can stop it now: Molten fuel, dripping from broken reactor pressure vessels, spewing radioactive smoke and steam for years to come...

...

Other species will suffer, too. Birds fly by the reactors constantly. They have not obeyed the evacuation orders one bit.

How far do they get after they fly directly in the plume, or drink the water from the ponds and puddles? Or feast on the radioactive corpses that litter the area?

Do the birds then fall into the sea, to be eaten by fish which we then will consume, still hot with radioactivity?

Do they fall on the land, to spoil the ground dozens or even hundreds of miles away -- thousands, if they are migratory species of birds?

...

And why are they dumping 350,000 barrels of radioactive water into the oceans when an empty tanker could have been brought nearby during the past few weeks, and the water could have been put there and held for decades or filtered of large particles and left long enough to let the fast-decaying products emit their deadly particles and rays, before releasing to the oceans? An old tanker wouldn't cost all that much! Of course, then they'd need another... and another... and another...

...

The odds are currently approximately 100% that this will happen again and again. The arrogance of the pro-nuclear side right now, less than a month into this tragedy, proves it.

...

If the plant near you isn't shut down, then it will melt down sooner or later. Might it make it to the end of its license? NO! Because its license WILL BE EXTENDED. There is a 100% track record on license extensions so far.

————————————————————

Scaremongering? Nope, just one ordinary citizen and some common sense.

Edited April 8, 2011 by unblocktheplanet

[elcent]

good to know that everything is taken care of - NOT

All we're getting is a catastrophy of epic proportion in slices.

The friendly IAEA will kindly upgrade the natural background radiation then, even if exeeds all limits.

[elcent]

_{here just another nuke}

_{Thursday's quake damages Onagawa nuclear plant}

_{Tohoku Electric Power Company says Thursday night's strong earthquake caused water to overflow from spent fuel storage pools at one of its nuclear power plants.}

_{The power company reported on Friday that water had spilled onto the floor at all 3 reactors at the Onagawa nuclear power plant in Miyagi Prefecture. The amount of water spilled was 3.8 liters at the most.}

_{The utility firm also found water leaks at 5 locations in the plant, including inside buildings housing the reactors.}

_{The company added that blowout panels--devices designed to control pressure inside the buildings--were damaged at the turbine building of the Number 3 reactor.}

_{The newly reported problems add to the downing of 3 of 4 external power lines at the Onagawa plant. The plant is maintaining its cooling capabilities with the remaining power line.}

_{Tohoku Electric Power Company is continuing its efforts to determine the extent of the damage caused by the latest quake. But it says no change has yet been seen in radiation levels around the plant.}

_{Friday, April 08, 2011 11:59 +0900 (JST) http://www3.nhk.or.j...lish/08_20.html}

_{Experts estimate this and that.}

_{Hell,what is an expert? Estimators?}

Edited April 8, 2011 by elcent

[brahmburgers]

They could put the water in a tanker, take it somewhere and dump it in the sea. Or take it somewhere, dump it on land, and let it find its own way to the sea. Or they could avoid a lot of messing about, and put it directly in the sea, which is conveniently close to the plant in any case.

Do you have an empty swimming pool in your backyard? Perhaps you could offer to have them pump the radioactive water in there - or, if not a swimming pool, how about just letting the water percolate in to your lawn - and water the vege garden.

I once traveled across the sea of Cortes in a ferry from La Paz to Matzatlan Mexico. I noticed ship workers taking big plastic bags full of all sorts of trash, including plastic, styrofoam, old batteries, and who knows what else, and just dropping the bags over the side of the boat in to the sea. I made a mention, in my broken Spanish, about 'how about keeping the trash, and dumping it in a landfill when we make landfall.' They just grinned and said, Por la madre!' (for the mother). Proposing the Japanese dump radioactivity in the sea is the same sort of mind-on-vacation mentality.

....just one nuclear plant with six reactors (only three of which where operating) will require an estimated 30-years (at least!) and from $120 Billion to $150 Billion to contain and decommission. That is almost half of the total property damage done by the quake and tsunami combined. And that doesn't even begin to include compensation to the people who used to live within the 12 mile exclusion zone (that will likely never be able to return), nor (considering it's in Japan!!) the real estate value of all the land within the ultimate exclusion zone. Half (or probably more!) of the total cost of the quake and tsunami combined (which will likely be rebuilt in 5 years or less) from just one nuclear plant. Is this a reasonable benefit/cost ratio?

Of course, nothing like that could befall proposed Thai nuclear plants. EGAT, by way of their 175 million baht 'feasibility study' tells us Nuclear Plants are safe, cheap, and clean. Burns and Roe, American nuclear plant designers, were paid nearly $6 million to come up with that reassuring assessment. They're experienced engineers, so they should know.

[Chopperboy]

All additional amounts of radiation compound the already harmful levels in the environment.

Since: (1) the start of the first above ground nuclear bomb testing (1950's & 60's), and then later from [2] the contributions of secret nuclear reactor radioactive releases and accidents (1970's up to the present day), collectively their radioactive Fall-Out isotopes influence our environment and food chain - via their half-life - for (3) decades (i.e., Cesium-137, Strontium-90, Tellurium-132 and Yttrium-91/90), and then furthermore for (4) hundreds and even tens of thousands of years (i.e., Americium-243/241, Plutonium-244 and Uranium-235/234).

Thanks to this release of radiation into the global food chain, plus modern day exposures from all sources, the average human being contains 250,000 picocuries of radiation on any given day. Normal background radiation is said to be 0.24 rems per year. Yet, the average U.S. citizen from many man-made as well as natural sources receives 0.36 rems of radiation annually. For example, just one CAT Scan can add 0.69 rems into our tissue at one time. So, we are already receiving above normal background radiation levels before we become exposed to further accidents like Fukushima.

Extremely low levels of radiation which become ever present due to radioactive materials burrowing into our tissues is a far more deadly and insidious form of radiation poisoning and is properly called The Petkau Effect. There is no "safe" level of radiation. Any new amounts added into our systems that invoke the Petkau Effect is playing Russian Roulette.

http://doctorapsley.com/RadiationTherapy.aspx

Edited April 8, 2011 by Chopperboy