Courtesy ABC
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Japanese officials declared states of emergency for five reactors.
The container protecting a nuclear reactor at a plant facing a possible meltdown was not damaged in an explosion that injured four workers and destroyed the exterior walls of the plant, a Japanese government spokesman said today.
Government Spokesman Yukio Edano said the blast did not damage the nuclear reactor itself at the Fukushima Daiichi, which would cause radioactive material to leak out. But a top U.S. scientist said Japan must come to terms with the severity of the nuclear accident it is facing, and work to immediately protect its most vulnerable residents from the damage of radiation exposure — particularly protecting children against exposure to radioactive iodine.
“Any attempt to make it seem that this is not the worst case imaginable is foolhardy,” said Edwin Lyman, a senior scientist with the Union of Concerned Scientists.
If the reactor core melts through the steel vessel that is housing it, Lyman said, the risk Japan faces is a radioactive plume that could disperse tens or even hundreds of miles. “You could have large swaths of areas that will need severe remediation. And a lot of people exposed to radioactivity who will have an increased chance of cancer.”
The majority of the 51,000 people living near the danger zone have been already evacuated.
Eeesh. Japan and radiation sure have a checkered past. I guess if anyone has more experience in dealing with radiation, it would be Japan.
This must be the “Distraction of the Week”. Just so the slaves don’t get too stressed out about major issues like the NFL lockout.
Beware of anything the union of concerned scientists says. I would trust the Japanese would not be pretending much right now. Its too bad the publics options are to believe a corrupt private group of scientists, a government or the media. I distrust them all!
Diablo Canyon your On Notice!
You watch…This is going to be used by the ecofreaks as the reason we can’t allow nuclear energy to be built up in this country. I’m putting it down in the book of predictions.
In #2 fr0mundach33se and Warmwater said somethings so incredibly stupid and insensitive that I’m not going to waste electrons repeating them.
Its not all about No Agenda.
We suffered just 3 times the immediate casualties, (the final count isn’t in yet but its going to be dismal,) and a fraction of the damage on 9/11 and we went to fuckin’ war over it.
This is not a distraction of the week anymore than Katrina was to New Orleans.
People died…
Show some respect, some concern, and that you’re a human being, not a scum licking pig.
The blast may have damaged cooling systems in the other remaining reactors. What I want to know is how the overheating core is being cooled, is the core moderator still working and whether this is a fast breeder facility.
GE’s FINEST REACTORS !!! NOTHING CAN GO WRONG !!! MOVE ALONG NOW, NOTHING TO SEE !!! HERE TAKE YOU IODINE CAPSULE AND TRY NOT TO GLOW IN THE DARK !!!
Godzilla coming to Tokyo Harbor soon !!!
in #7 sargasso_c said: … is how the overheating core is being cooled…
Its not!
There is nothing left of the primary cooling system, they can’t get water into the plant, the secondary safety system failed because the plant can’t get power in from the grid which is destroyed, and the third failsafe system failed by failing to fail safely.
Its a nuclear disaster just inches away from happening.
Any further shaking from an aftershock might dislodge some piping to the reactor core and then its a Three Mile Island scenario.
And as for the rest of you, making insipid self-serving smart-ass comments, you should be ashamed of yourselves.
What if some natural disaster struck your town?
Not so funny then, is it?
What, no comments like “the little girl’s corpe will glow in the fuckin’ dark so that rescuers can find her cadaver more easily” ?
Horrible.
I bet the Union of Concerned Scientists are against nuclear power too.
#10
making insipid self-serving smart-ass comments?
I think pointing out that the best laid plans of other plants in quake+ tsunami zones might be a bit short sighted and they were all told this long before they went online is neither self-serving or smart-assed.
clearly diesel generator/battery backup system needs a backup of its own.
perhaps some sort of self contained water to water convection circuit heat pump could be used as a backup to backup these backup systems to cool a reactor
Howard Beale said,
“perhaps some sort of self contained water to water convection circuit heat pump could be used as a backup to backup these backup systems to cool a reactor.”
The core temp, even when all control rods are inserted, is just too high for any recirculation reservoir smaller than a good sized river or a lake. This is why most nuclear plants are built next to water. Note the picture.
A very bad situation. And Tokyo Electric seems to be taking every opportunity to lie about what’s going on. Flooding the reactor with sea water sounds like a last ditch, desperate effort.
I personally think nuke electric is a technology we have to use. I just wish the people in the industry didn’t lie to the public at every chance.
This will probably set nuke energy back another 20 years.
#6 “This is not a distraction of the week anymore than Katrina was to New Orleans.”
Very true, I was in New Orleans for Katrina and it was a little more than a distraction.
But it was nothing compared to what Japan is going through. I just wish there were more we could do to help them.
I’m no expert on this subject, but it seems odd that the outer building just blows out like that (yes, I understand that it’s possible). But I do wonder if maybe someone made a decision to have the outer building removed so that if/when there is a full failure, they have access to the internal containment system without the retriction of the outer building. Just a thought.
# When I saw the first video’s and saw boats being swept inland and cars in parking lots washed away along with the building I knew this was bigger than Katrina.
If you own a fishing boat and aren’t brain dead you get in it and head out to sea. In deep water you can ride out a Tsunami like it was nothing because it is. They only pile up in shallow water.
If you flee from something like this as a land lubber you do it in your car. If your car is there so are you. In one community they have ~10,000 people that are missing. Nobody can find them. That is bigger than Katrina.
It is extremely likely a that large hunk of Northern Japan is about to become to radioactive to be a good location for humans to live.
back when I was in high school, like all good liberals, I opposed nuclear power.
My thinking on the issue began to chance when I learned – while researching a paper on the way the Gobcikovo dam had helped spur the environmental movement in Hungary – that the environmental movement in east-central Europe was pro-nuclear power … because the coal plants they used in the Warsaw Pact just sucked, horribly.
As an adult, I think: all power generation has a cost. The question really is, which cost do we prefer. Do we prefer coal, with the attendant air quality risks? Hydropower, with the flooding of a valley and the risk to fisheries? Nuclear, with the problem of dealing with the waste and the potential for nuclear disasters? (Wind and solar are helpful but expensive if we try to base the entire system on them, and only really work in certain regions).
My preference would be for hydropower first, nuclear second. Tidal power looks interesting, but I think it will take a while for the costs to come down – and even then, it only works in coastal regions.
#10: “…and then its a Three Mile Island scenario.”
Let’s hope it’s just a Three Mile Island scenario. At Three Mile Island, no one was killed, no one was seriously injured, only a small amount of radiation was released, and the other reactors continue to function to this day.
This sounds a lot worse.
The container is doing what it is designed to do. It is containing the reactor. Nothing has leaked out. The reactor is probably scrammed, which means the control rods are all the way down. Somehow the repair crews are going to get coolant in their before it melts down.
Sure nuclear power is dangerous, but that is why there are so many redundancies. They don’t just build a nuclear power plant with no plans for what happens if there is an emergency. Just think about the engineering required to build a container to keep nuclear material from getting out and poisoning everyone. It is pretty amazing to me.
Bubba–long time no see. Hope you stay a while.
Freddie–good analysis, but how do you get your conclusion so backward? Now that we have a “better” view of the “true costs” of many different energy sources, as we PLAN FOR THE FUTURE==just what percentage of society’s investment should be in energy? I’ve heard repeatedly that all kinds of green energy are not profitable until the equivalent of $100/barrel oil is reached. Aren’t we there? Yes, I think so. Hydro power should be used only for flood control and water supply==then ok for energy production. Not worth the interruptions otherwise. Coal is interim until we get non-carbon in place. Nuke is shitting into your own drinking water and is to be avoided for everything except submarines. Easy Peasy==now just pay the real cost of things, and watch the real cost come down. Stop shilling for large tax supported transfers of wealth to the energy hogs.
Blind Steve: your position is rooted and set by the lies from the Nuke Industry. Very telling and disturbing you note the problem yet buy the propaganda anyway. How much of the worlds surface, ground water, and air should be reserved for nuclear “accidents?” Why is any number at all acceptable when alternatives do exist once you exit the 20th Century?
Benji–you are amazed at the technology huh? How amazed are you going to be with a China Syndrome–now or the next time? Yes, the technology of many things is “amazing.” That is not license to fail to think thru to the end. You obviously need to start over.
Speaking of Nukes, back to Mutant Chronicles. I think they are discussing how to PUKE-Over the underworld.
Literally weeping over this whole situation. Another footage video I saw that was mind numbing.
http://inhalejesus.blogspot.com/2011/03/tsunamis-of-repentance.html
Michael–what role does religion have in explaining this incident or what we should do in the future.
Can you sell me a clue, or just give it in your own good charity?
I wonder how many people were killed by solar power or conservation?
Damn football heads, are more concerned about the NFL lockout, that possible radiation contamination coming from Japan. Of course any of these morons with enough scratch to book a quick flight to Chile or South Africa. Will probably flee like rats, at the first hint of such a fallout cloud heading their way.
Which means, the worse element of modern society are more likely to survive, if things go wrong. While the poor and jobless middle class are stuck, in the way. The moneyed, self-servicing, class will wait things out, down in some tropical splendor. And return to make a killing, selling snake-oil cancer treatments to the rest of us. And buying up the properties of the deceased, cheap. Only problem is. Who’s going to be left to fix their expensive cars, when they break? Or trim the grass of their expensive estates? Or clean the junk out of their swimming pools. Once everyone else’s skin falls off. They’re going to be out of their menial labor workforce. Unless they import them from way down south, and quickly train them.
I hope the radiation cloud takes a sudden right turn and heads straight for wherever it is they’re hold up. Millionaires and politicians alike.
Oww I can’t imagine why this incident would make anyone think twice about building any new nuclear reactors, anywhere else. Japan knew it had a history of earthquakes. And probably designed and built its plants as strong and earthquake resistant as humanly (and economically) possible. Very probably better built that any others are in the world. And yet they couldn’t have anticipated an 8.9 magnitude quake would occur. And if they did, they underestimate the amount of damage it would cause to the Nuclear Plant.
One might even conclude that it was a bit too risky, building Nuclear Plants in such an quake ridden area. But then, California has them too. And the US West Coast is also part of the “Ring of Fire”. So who knows if and when they be next for a major quake. Hopefully, not for quite some time. And not as severe, when it does happen.
But the thing is, all other forms of power generation aren’t likely to kill you, when they break down, catastrophically. Unless you downstream of a large dam when it busts. Or standing beneath tall wind turbine towers when they fall over. Whereas nuclear plants always have that very real potential of causing massive death, from not that large an amount of radioactivity escaping.
What Malaysians are saying about Japan earthquake
http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/1790218
Quote by malayneum “this is god’s punishment. time to repent. 1 million innocent Palestinian children and women have been murdered by Israel the illegal state of terror. may Allah rests their soul. al-fatihah… “
Before and After photos via new technique:
http://abc.net.au/news/events/japan-quake-2011/beforeafter.htm
so, you need a little exposition:
How a boiling reactor works, how it blows up, and don’t worry: “we have better designs now.”
http://boingboing.net/2011/03/12/nuclear-energy-insid.html