Nuclear Meltdown Watch

[seemslikeadream]

Danger of Radioactive Release on a Large Scale. Whistleblower slams Japan nuclear regulation

by Quentin McDermott

Global Research, March 25, 2011
Four Corners, ABC (Australia)

"The problem there is, if that plutonium fuel is melting inside the core, if it's being vented out or if an explosion were to break the containment open, we could have - and we have as much as a quarter of a tonne of additional plutonium in that reactor - we could have radioactive releases containing plutonium, which would be just yet another horror to have to deal with" .

A nuclear industry whistleblower who helped design protective containment vessels for reactors has attacked the Japanese government, its nuclear industry and regulators over their safety record.

Dr Masashi Goto, a nuclear engineer, resigned from his job at the Toshiba Corporation over safety concerns.

Toshiba supplied two of the reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant that was stricken by an earthquake and tsunami on March 11.

Dr Goto criticises his country's record on nuclear safety.

"We have the government commission overseeing nuclear safety standards and in my opinion they are not doing their job," he told ABC correspondent Eric Campbell last Thursday in Tokyo in an exclusive interview for Four Corners.

Around 300 engineers are working round-the-clock at Fukushima to contain the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl in 1986.

They have been spraying the reactors with sea water so fuel rods will not overheat and emit radiation. Hopes for a more permanent solution depend on connecting electricity cables to reactivate on-site water pumps at each of the reactors.

Working in suits sealed by duct tape, engineers have managed to re-establish power cables to the No. 1, 2, 5 and 6 reactors and plan to start testing systems soon.

Bur Dr Goto says the Fukushima crisis shows Japan has not yet learned the lessons of history.

"At Three Mile Island the nuclear fuel melted. Fuel is melting here now," he said.

"We have to design reactors to withstand melting fuel rods. Right now the reactor will break down due to the heat generated by the melting rods."

Dr Goto alleges that in Japan's nuclear industry profits take precedence over safety standards.

"No-one says it officially or openly. When setting standards for future earthquakes, the thought is of money - how much is it going to cost?" he said.

"This underlies the government's decision making. They are thinking the costs could have a bad repercussion on the economy."

Dr Goto says one of his special research interests at Toshiba was how to make containment vessels stronger.

He says Japan's nuclear safety standards have been based on an insufficient acknowledgment of the potential severity of natural disasters.

"What's wrong with the standards is that the anticipated level of the worst-case-scenario earthquake is not correct," he said.

"Seismologists have different opinions and predictions. Some say bigger quakes are coming. Others say a big one is unlikely.

"Decisions have been made based on the opinion of the more optimistic seismologist and the opinions of the pessimistic ones are ignored."

The earthquake that shook Japan on March 11 was magnitude 9.0 - the strongest recorded earthquake in Japan, and far stronger than the country's nuclear industry had anticipated.

Despite this, the Tokyo Electric Power Company, which operates the Fukushima plant, boasted in its corporate publicity that its nuclear power stations were "designed for the largest conceivable earthquake" and that "all designs provide margins of safety capable of withstanding even natural disasters".

Grim warnings

Further grim warnings are given in tonight's Four Corners by nuclear experts and activists who have been interviewed over the past week.

American Damon Moglen, director of Friends Of The Earth's climate and energy project, points to the presence of as much as a quarter of a tonne of plutonium in Fukushima's No. 3 reactor, which suffered an explosion last Monday.

"The problem there is, if that plutonium fuel is melting inside the core, if it's being vented out or if an explosion were to break the containment open, we could have - and we have as much as a quarter of a tonne of additional plutonium in that reactor - we could have radioactive releases containing plutonium, which would be just yet another horror to have to deal with," he said.

Dr Ziggy Switkowski, former chairman of the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), warns the crisis at Fukushima has done a "great deal of damage" to the industry.

"The nuclear industry has, over time, worked as well as it has because of people's confidence in the integrity of reactors and acceptance that many of the issues associated with the management of spent fuel and waste were properly handled," he said.

"But we've always understood, and we saw this happen in Three Mile Island and Chernobyl, that if the community trust is breached by whatever development, it will take a long, long time to recover it.

"I think this is a turning point for the industry."

Japan's leader sets pessimistic tone on crisis at nuclear plant where reactor breach suspected
Breach in reactor suspected at Japanese nuke plant

By SHINO YUASA and JAY ALABASTER | ASSOCIATED PRESS | 12 minutes ago in Business
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A suspected breach in the reactor at the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant could mean more serious radioactive contamination, Japanese officials revealed Friday, as the prime minister called the country's ongoing fight to stabilize the plant "very grave and serious."

A somber Prime Minister Naoto Kan sounded a pessimistic note at a briefing hours after nuclear safety officials announced what could be a major setback in the urgent mission to stop the plant from leaking radiation, two weeks after a devastating earthquake and tsunami disabled it.

"The situation today at the Fukushima Dai-ichi power plant is still very grave and serious. We must remain vigilant," Kan said. "We are not in a position where we can be optimistic. We must treat every development with the utmost care."

The uncertain situation halted work at the nuclear complex, where dozens had been trying feverishly to stop the overheated plant from leaking dangerous radiation. The plant has leaked some low levels of radiation, but a breach could mean a much larger release of contaminants.

The possible breach in Unit 3 might be a crack or a hole in the stainless steel chamber of the reactor core or in the spent fuel pool that's lined with several feet of reinforced concrete. The temperature and pressure inside the core, which holds the fuel rods, remained stable and was far lower than would further melt the core.

Suspicions of a possible breach were raised when two workers waded into water 10,000 times more radioactive than levels normally found in water in or around a reactor and suffered skin burns, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said.

Kan apologized to farmers and business owners for the toll the radiation has had on their livelihoods: Several countries have halted some food imports from areas near the plant after milk and produce were found to contain elevated levels of radiation.

He also thanked utility workers, firefighters and military personnel for "risking their lives" to cool the overheated facility.

The alarm Friday comes two weeks to the day since the magnitude-9 quake triggered a tsunami that enveloped cities along the northeastern coast and knocked out the Fukushima reactor's cooling systems.

Police said the official death toll jumped past 10,000 on Friday. With the cleanup and recovery operations continuing and more than 17,400 listed as missing, the final number of dead was expected to surpass 18,000.

The nuclear crisis has compounded the challenges faced by a nation already saddled with a humanitarian disaster. Much of the frigid northeast remains a scene of despair and devastation, with Japan struggling to feed and house hundreds of thousands of homeless survivors, clear away debris and bury the dead.

A breach could mean a leak has been seeping for days, likely since the hydrogen explosion at Unit 3 on March 14. It's not clear if any of the contaminated water has run into the ground. Radiation readings for the air were not yet available for Friday, but detections in recent days have shown no significant spike.

But elevated levels of radiation have already turned up in raw milk, seawater and 11 kinds of vegetables, including broccoli, cauliflower and turnips. Tap water in several areas of Japan _ including Tokyo _ also showed radiation levels considered unsafe for infants, who are particularly vulnerable to cancer-causing radioactive iodine, officials said.

The scare caused a run on bottled water in the capital, and Tokyo municipal officials are distributing it to families with babies.

Previous radioactive emissions have come from intentional efforts to vent small amounts of steam through valves to prevent the core from bursting. However, releases from a breach could allow uncontrolled quantities of radioactive contaminants to escape into the surrounding ground or air.

Government spokesman Yukio Edano said "safety measures may not be adequate" and warned that may contribute to rising anxiety among people about how the disaster is being managed.

"We have to make sure that safety is secured for the people working in that area. We truly believe that is incumbent upon us," the chief Cabinet secretary told reporters.

Edano said people living 12 to 20 miles (20 to 30 kilometers) from the plant should still be safe from the radiation as long as they stay indoors. But since supplies are not being delivered to the area fast enough, he said it may be better for residents in the area to voluntarily evacuate to places with better facilities.

"If the current situation is protracted and worsens, then we will not deny the possibility of (mandatory) evacuation," he said.

NISA spokesman Hidehiko Nishiyama said later that plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. was issued a "very strong warning" for safety violations and that a thorough review would be conducted once the situation stabilizes.

Meanwhile, damage to factories was taking its toll on the world's third-largest economy and creating a ripple effect felt worldwide.

Nissan Motor Co. said it may move part of its engine production line to the United States because of damage to a plant.

The quake and tsunami are emerging as the world's most expensive natural disasters on record, wreaking up to $310 billion in damages, the government said.

"There is no doubt that we have immense economic and financial damage," Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda said. "It will be our task how to recover from the damage."

At Sendai's port, brand new Toyota cars lay crushed in piles. At the airport, flooded by the tsunami on March 11, U.S. Marines used bulldozers and shovels to shift wrecked cars that lay scattered like discarded toys.

Still, there were examples of resilience, patience and fortitude across the region.

In Soma, a hard-hit town along the Fukushima prefecture coast, rubble covered the block where Hiroshi Suzuki's home once stood. He watched as soldiers dug into mounds of timber had been neighbors' homes in search of bodies. Just three bodies have been pulled out.

"I never expected to have to live through anything like this," he said mournfully. Suzuki is one of Soma's lucky residents, but the tsunami washed away the shop where he sold fish and seaweed.

"My business is gone. I don't think I will ever be able to recover," said Suzuki, 59.

Still, he managed to find a bright side. "The one good thing is the way everyone is pulling together and helping each other. No one is stealing or looting," he said.

"It makes me feel proud to be Japanese."

[Jeff]

When the officials begin to set a pessimistic tone, and admit there may have been a core breach, imagine how bad it must actually be.

Report: Emissions from Japan plant approach Chernobyl levels

[brekin]

Jeff wrote:

When the officials begin to set a pessimistic tone, and admit there may have been a core breach, imagine how bad it must actually be.

Report: Emissions from Japan plant approach Chernobyl levels

Yes, today the Japanese Prime Minister is now saying the situation is "grave and serious".
But, no worries the government will continue to be transparent.

The best line is last.
"The burden (of the disaster) should not fall only on the shoulders of individuals and their families, but should be borne by the nation as a whole," Kan said.
With nuclear fallout the burden is borne by the whole nation! Is he preparing the nation to accept that?

PM Kan: Must Stay Alert On Nuclear Plant, Still Grave And Serious
http://e.nikkei.com/e/fr/tnks/Nni20110325D25JF018.htm

TOKYO (Dow Jones)--Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan said Friday that conditions at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant are still "grave and serious,", saying the situation does not yet allow for optimism.

"The situation continues to be highly grave and serious, and we must remain on high alert," Kan said at a press conference, his first for a week.

Kan said the government will continue to be transparent in sharing information about the situation at the plant, and said the government will do its utmost to help those affected by the massive earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan on March 11.

"The burden (of the disaster) should not fall only on the shoulders of individuals and their families, but should be borne by the nation as a whole," Kan said.

[justdrew]

and none of this would be necessary if they just had a 60 foot high 30 foot deep steal reinforced concrete circular wall around the facility.

[seemslikeadream]

PM Kan: Must Stay Alert On Nuclear Plant, Still Grave And Serious

but but it won't be as bad as Three Mile Island.........


but but it won't be as bad as Chernobyl..........


but but but but


I need an island, somewhere to sink a stone
I need an island, somewhere to bury you,
Somewhere to go



There are parts of me he'll never know, my wild horses and my river beds, and in my throat voices he'll never hear.
He pulls at me like a cherry tree, and I can still move but I don't speak about it.
Pretend I'm crazy, pretend I'm dead. He's to scared to hit me now - he'll bring flowers istead

I need an island, somewhere to sink a stone
I need an island, somewhere to bury you,
Somewhere to go

And the dogwoods shimmer in October sun, "oh sweet thing", he sings to me,
"You're the only one."

I need an island, somewhere to sink a stone
I need an island somewhere to bury you,
Somewhere
I need an island, somewhere to sink a stone
I need an island, somewhere to bury you,
Somewhere to go.

And I don't know why I can't tell my sister, He spat in my face again, and I don't want to die here. You know that dream when your feet won't move, you want to come but your body won't let you. He steals it from me.He steals it from me. It shines like sweat, like jewels, like something that has died to soon. He fucks with the beauty. A kiss, a kick, a kiss, a kick, a kiss kiss kick. He steals it from me. It's out of my hands again.

I need an island, somewhere to sink a stone
I need an island, somewhere to bury you,
Somewhere to go, to go.....

[stickdog99]

seppnuku

[82_28]

Breach possible at troubled Japanese power plant

TOKYO —

Two weeks after a tsunami triggered a crisis at a nuclear plant, Japan's government said Friday there is a possible breach at a reactor - meaning radioactive contamination at the complex is more serious than once thought - but there could be other explanations for highly radioactive water detected at the site.

Japanese leaders defended their decision not to evacuate people from a wider area around the plant, insisting they are safe if they stay indoors. But officials also said residents may want to voluntarily move to areas with better facilities, since supplies in the tsunami-devastated region are running short.

The escalation in the nuclear plant crisis came as the death toll from the quake and tsunami passed 10,000 on Friday. Across the battered northeast coast, hundreds of thousands of people whose homes were destroyed still have no power, no hot meals and, in many cases, no showers for 14 days.

The uncertain nuclear situation again halted work at the Fukushima Dai-ichi complex, where authorities have been scrambling to stop the overheated facility from leaking dangerous radiation. Low levels of radiation have been seeping out since the March 11 quake and tsunami knocked out the plant's cooling system, but a breach could mean a much larger release of contaminants. The most likely consequence would be contamination of the groundwater.

"The situation today at the Fukushima Dai-ichi power plant is still very grave and serious. We must remain vigilant," a somber Prime Minister Naoto Kan said. "We are not in a position where we can be optimistic. We must treat every development with the utmost care."

The possible breach in the plant's Unit 3 might be a crack or a hole in the stainless steel chamber of the reactor core or in the spent fuel pool that's lined with several feet of reinforced concrete. The temperature and pressure inside the core, which holds the fuel rods, remained stable and was far lower than what would further melt the core.

Suspicions of a possible breach were raised when two workers suffered skin burns after wading into water 10,000 times more radioactive than levels normally found in water in or around a reactor, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said.

Water with equally high radiation levels was found in the Unit 1 reactor building, Tokyo Electric Power Co. officials said. Water was also discovered in Units 2 and 4, and the company said it suspects that, too, is radioactive. Officials acknowledged the water would delay work inside the plant.

Plant officials and government regulators say they don't know the source of the radioactive water discovered at Units 1 and 3. It could have come from a leaking reactor core, associated pipes, or a spent fuel pool. Or it may be the result of overfilling the pools with emergency cooling water.

Friday marked two weeks to the day since the magnitude-9.0 quake triggered a tsunami that flattened cities along the northeastern coast. With the cleanup and recovery operations continuing and more than 17,400 listed as missing, the final number of dead was expected to surpass 18,000.

Kan apologized to farmers and business owners for the toll the radiation has had on their livelihoods: Several countries have halted some food imports from areas near the plant after elevated levels of radiation were found in raw milk, seawater and 11 kinds of vegetables, including broccoli, cauliflower and turnips.

He also thanked utility workers, firefighters and military personnel for "risking their lives" to cool the overheated facility.

advertising

The nuclear crisis has compounded the challenges faced by a nation already saddled with a humanitarian disaster. Much of the frigid northeast remains a scene of despair and devastation, with Japan struggling to feed and house hundreds of thousands of homeless survivors, clear away debris and bury the dead.

"It's still like I'm in a dream," said Tomohiko Abe, a 45-year-old machinist who was in the devastated coastal town of Onagawa trying to salvage any belongings he could from his ruined car. "People say it's like a movie, but it's been worse than any movie I've ever seen."

Officials have evacuated residents within 12 miles (20 kilometers) of the plant and advised those up to 19 miles (30 kilometers) away to stay indoors to minimize exposure. The U.S. has recommended that people stay 50 miles (80 kilometers) away from the plant.

Government spokesman Yukio Edano insisted that people living 12 to 20 miles (20 to 30 kilometers) from the plant should still be safe from radiation as long as they stay indoors. But since supplies are not being delivered to the area fast enough, he said it may be better for residents to voluntarily evacuate to places with better facilities.

"If the current situation is protracted and worsens, then we will not deny the possibility of (mandatory) evacuation," he said.

Edano said the government "will continue to revisit this and as we have done so, we will provide whatever advice as necessary. Safety is the priority."

NISA spokesman Hidehiko Nishiyama said later that plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. was issued a "very strong warning" for safety violations and that a thorough review would be conducted once the situation stabilizes.

A breach could mean a leak has been seeping for days, likely since the hydrogen explosion at Unit 3 on March 14. It's not clear if any of the contaminated water has run into the ground. Radiation readings for the air were not yet available for Friday, but detections in recent days have shown no significant spike.

Elevated levels of radiation have turned up elsewhere, including the tap water in several areas of Japan. In Tokyo, tap water showed radiation levels two times higher than the government standard for infants, who are particularly vulnerable to cancer-causing radioactive iodine, officials said.

The scare caused a run on bottled water in the capital, and Tokyo municipal officials are distributing it to families with babies.

Previous radioactive emissions have come from intentional efforts to vent small amounts of steam through valves to prevent the core from bursting. However, releases from a breach could allow uncontrolled quantities of radioactive contaminants to escape into the surrounding ground or air.

Edano said "safety measures may not be adequate" and warned that may contribute to rising anxiety among people about how the disaster is being managed.

"We have to make sure that safety is secured for the people working in that area. We truly believe that is incumbent upon us," the chief Cabinet secretary told reporters.

Meanwhile, damage to factories was taking its toll on the world's third-largest economy and creating a ripple effect felt worldwide.

Nissan Motor Co. said it may move part of its engine production line to the United States because of damage to a plant.

The quake and tsunami are emerging as the world's most expensive natural disasters on record, wreaking up to $310 billion in damages, the government said.

"There is no doubt that we have immense economic and financial damage," Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda said. "It will be our task how to recover from the damage."

At Sendai's port, brand new Toyota cars lay crushed in piles. At the airport, flooded by the tsunami, U.S. Marines used bulldozers and shovels to shift wrecked cars that lay scattered like discarded toys.

Still, there were examples of resilience, patience and fortitude across the region.

In Soma, a hard-hit town along the Fukushima prefecture coast, rubble covered the block where Hiroshi Suzuki's home once stood. He watched as soldiers dug into mounds of timber had been neighbors' homes in search of bodies. Just three bodies have been pulled out.

"I never expected to have to live through anything like this," he said mournfully. Suzuki is one of Soma's luckier residents, but the tsunami washed away the shop where he sold fish and seaweed.

"My business is gone. I don't think I will ever be able to recover," said Suzuki, 59.

Still, he managed to find a bright side. "The one good thing is the way everyone is pulling together and helping each other. No one is stealing or looting," he said.

"It makes me feel proud to be Japanese."

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/n ... quake.html

[eyeno]

When the officials begin to set a pessimistic tone, and admit there may have been a core breach, imagine how bad it must actually be.

Report: Emissions from Japan plant approach Chernobyl levels

ten four

[Peachtree Pam]

I am posting this with caveats:

When you try to link to the NY Times story, it is not there.

http://enenews.com/definite-fukushima-n ... clear-exec

“Definite”: Fukushima No. 3 has “long vertical crack” down side reactor vessel – Nuclear Exec.


March 25th, 2011 at 06:02 PM

New signs emerged on Friday that parts of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant are so damaged and contaminated that it will be harder to bring the plant under control soon. …

Concerns about Reactor No. 3 have surfaced before. Japanese officials said nine days ago that the reactor vessel may have been damaged. …

A senior nuclear executive who insisted on anonymity but has broad contacts in Japan said that there was a long vertical crack running down the side of the reactor vessel itself. The crack runs down below the water level in the reactor and has been leaking fluids and gases, he said.

The severity of the radiation burns to the injured workers are consistent with contamination by water that had been in contact with damaged fuel rods, the executive said.

“There is a definite, definite crack in the vessel — it’s up and down and it’s large,” he said. “The problem with cracks is they do not get smaller.” …

Read the report here.

When you go to the link there is no mention of this crack. I do not know what to make of this - there have been so many conflicting reports.

[eyeno]

Dangers, Properties, possible Uses and Methods of Purification of radioactively contaminated (drinking) Water (e.g. in Japan)
2011-03-22 crisismaven Leave a comment Go to comments

Most methods and tools being recommended here on the Internet such as purification by filtration will not lead to your desired result of decontaminating “radioactive water”.

a) Radioactive contamination of drinking water in Japan at this point in time can come about in only two ways:

1) The source is actual surface water like lakes or rivers, possibly filtrated through river banks and thus came into contact with e.g. radioactive rain and/or dust. The Netherlands rely almost totally on water drawn from the Rhine and fed into the drinking water supply after conditioning.

2) The water may have been contaminated after production (e.g. in open cisterns/basins), which in effect is similar to bullet a1).

In all other cases it springs from groundwater (wells) and has often been concealed for years before being extracted again. As limnologists would say “groundwater” has an elephant’s memory, i.e. if you drop a can of used oil in a forest it may take ten years until you become aware of oil traces in your drinking water. This means that on one hand ground water wells should as a rule not yet show contamination from rain fall so shortly after a nuclear accident and on the other hand that when it appears further “down the road” all short-lived contamination should have decayed. This is by no means meant to downplay the issue.

So far I would have thought it unlikely to already find radioactive contamination in water that does not come from surface water or bank filtrate. If it should be true it would be alarming.

Now though, let’s assume it were true as authorities would rather hush up things than exaggerate them, thus let’s take some degree of water contamination for granted.

b) How can you reprocess radioactively contaminated (drinking) water so that it is (relatively) safe to use?

more: http://crisismaven.wordpress.com/2011/0 ... -in-japan/

[eyeno]

I am posting this with caveats:

When you try to link to the NY Times story, it is not there.



http://enenews.com/definite-fukushima-n ... clear-exec

New signs emerged on Friday that parts of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant are so damaged and contaminated that it will be harder to bring the plant under control soon. …

Concerns about Reactor No. 3 have surfaced before. Japanese officials said nine days ago that the reactor vessel may have been damaged. …

A senior nuclear executive who insisted on anonymity but has broad contacts in Japan said that there was a long vertical crack running down the side of the reactor vessel itself. The crack runs down below the water level in the reactor and has been leaking fluids and gases, he said.

The severity of the radiation burns to the injured workers are consistent with contamination by water that had been in contact with damaged fuel rods, the executive said.

“There is a definite, definite crack in the vessel — it’s up and down and it’s large,” he said. “The problem with cracks is they do not get smaller.” …

Read the report here.

When you go to the link there is no mention of this crack. I do not know what to make of his there have been so many conflicting reports.

I have been researching #3 until i'm dizzy, diagnosis, toast

[jingofever]

When you try to link to the NY Times story, it is not there.

Googling "There is a definite, definite crack in the vessel" brings up the New York Times story so it was there but they scrubbed it for some reason.

[Canadian_watcher]

I appreciate everyone's work in keeping this thread up to date. I think I surpassed horror and am now into giddy denial and I'm finding myself avoiding facing the news any more. It seems easier to take coming from this forum, somehow.

[anothershamus]

You folks think there is any traction on the Stuxnet Virus being a factor in any of this? What Really Happened guys whatreallyhappened.com think there could be a link.

I'm not so sure, who needs a virus when you have a major earthquake and tsunami.

And I am with cw on this, I still haven't seen a major rise of radiation on the west coast YET. With every allowance of information it does seem to get worse.

I appreciate everyone's work in keeping this thread up to date. I think I surpassed horror and am now into giddy denial and I'm finding myself avoiding facing the news any more. It seems easier to take coming from this forum, somehow.

[eyeno]

The activity released during venting operations of reactor containment for radionuclides released most rapidly at a significant degradation of fuels (rare gases, iodine, cesium, tellurium ...). For purposes of simplification at this stage, only the radionuclides were considered with a majority contribution to the radiological consequences retaining proportions usually encountered in spent fuel and the activity is evaluated as follows (heart composed of 400 fuel assemblies the reactor 1 and 548 for each of the reactors 2 and 3):

IRSN

http://translate.googleusercontent.com/ ... IdSPf_JLNw
----------------------------------------------------------

Unlike the other five reactor units, reactor 3 runs on mixed uranium and plutonium oxide, or MOX fuel, making it potentially more dangerous in an incident due to the neutronic effects of plutonium on the reactor, the very long half-life of plutonium's radioactivity, and the carcinogenic effects[149] in the event of release to the environment.[100][150][151] Units 3 and 4 have a shared control room.[152]

Each "fuel assembly," roughly 15 feet long, is a unit containing 82 fuel rods full of the reactor's fuel: uranium oxide pellets. During periodic refueling shutdowns, workers typically replace 20 to 30 percent of the fuel assemblies.

christian science monitor article, lost the link
-------------------------

Hydrogen is generated in a nuclear reactor if the fuel in the reactor loses its cover of cooling water. The tubes that contain the fuel pellets are made of a zirconium alloy. Zirconium reacts with steam to produce zirconium oxide and hydrogen gas. Moreover, the reaction is exothermic – that is, it releases a great deal of heat, and hence creates a positive feedback that aggravates the problem and raises the temperature. The same phenomenon can occur in a spent fuel pool in case of a loss of cooling water

http://www.ieer.org/comments/Daiichi-Fu ... tement.pdf
-----------------------------------------



122, 672 fuel rods
---------------------------------------


TOKYO, March 23, Kyodo

Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Wednesday it has observed a neutron beam, a kind of radioactive ray, 13 times on the premises of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant after it was crippled by the massive March 11 quake-tsunami disaster.

TEPCO, the operator of the nuclear plant, said the neutron beam measured about 1.5 kilometers southwest of the plant's No. 1 and 2 reactors over three days from March 13 and is equivalent to 0.01 to 0.02 microsieverts per hour and that this is not a dangerous level.

...

But the measured neutron beam may be evidence that uranium and plutonium leaked from the plant's nuclear reactors and spent nuclear fuels have discharged a small amount of neutron beams through nuclear fission.
--------------------------------------------------

Michio Kaku, a nuclear physics professor at City University of New York, warns that a rocket malfunction within the Earth’s atmosphere could cause the “most toxic chemical known to science” to “shower down with a tremendous tragedy for the people of the Earth.” Dr. Helen Caldicott, founder of Physicians for Social Responsibility, notes that plutonium “is so toxic that less than one-millionth of a gram, an invisible particle, is a carcinogenic dose.

That’s because “fine particles less than a micron in diameter” of the plutonium “could be transported beyond 62 miles and become well mixed in the troposphere, and have been assumed to potentially affect persons living within a latitude band from approximately 20-degrees North to 30-degrees North,” says NASA.

think these came from the articles i posted earlier in thread
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Why simplified at this "stage"? Why leave Pluto out at "this stage" What stage? Where is our plutonium count? Simple as in "don't reveal the plutonium because people will panic? And, sim below shows troposphere is hot. Bottom row, all the way to the right, last sim. IRSN was showing cesium,iodine,maybe xenon, and something else maybe, but no plutonium count. Cesium, and don't remember how long, had a half life in thousands of years.

This is coming in tonight and I feel pretty sure it will be thick. I don't know what the distribution will be. This event times with simulator too. The RIU sim starts getting really thick tonight and by the 27th kind of scary thick. Guys, my gut is telling me that headed our way is probably a a non stop cloud with some bad shit in it.

I have no idea how long it will take this to burn off but when you look at at the RIU sim http://www.eurad.uni-koeln.de/index_e.html.....oh shit. I would say that is obviously their way of saying "head us" ya'll. They made that cloud thick starting from tonight through the 27th and sim forecast ends 27th By the 27th it only gets thicker. At 5000 ft (sim on right of screen) scary thick. At 2500 feet altitude still pretty thick. At surface level shows to be thinned but this is an estimate and the wind may be lower. Finding out wind altitudes right now might be a good idea. Regardless, that was a 'hat tip' from the sim people..

Now, the calculation below is based off the fact that reactor 3 assembly systems have 82 rods. Reactors 2 and 3 may have a different number of rods. Haven't looked yet but I plan to. Regardless, we are not building a watch here, not sure it matters when you get to this level of play.

Fuel Assembly 82 Rods

Reactor #1 - 400 fuel assemblies x 82 =32,800 rods

Reactor #2 - 548 fuel assemblies x 82 = 44,936 rods

Reactor #3 548 fuel assemblies x 82 = 44,936 rods

122672 rods


Can I get a holy shit on that one? 3 and 4 have a shared control room which means 4 is history too at some point if not already. And, they seem to believe this will last for months. Game changer slowly, I think.

Reactor #3

This is what I was getting at with this post but let me add something to it. These core bundle assembly numbers from IRSN site were figured into their fallout forecast because apparently they know the heart blew out of #3. When there is a burn off they calculate into their simulation. The core assembly bundle amounts listed below, published by IRSN

The activity released during venting operations of reactor containment for radionuclides released most rapidly at a significant degradation of fuels (rare gases, iodine, cesium, tellurium ...). For purposes of simplification at this stage, only the radionuclides were considered with a majority contribution to the radiological consequences retaining proportions usually encountered in spent fuel and the activity is evaluated as follows (heart composed of 400 fuel assemblies the reactor 1 and 548 for each of the reactors 2 and 3):

Are a perfect match for the reactor report published by

Jaif Daily Diagnosis here, if you look at the reactor core numbers are a dead bingo for what IRSN calculated into their forecast.400. 548, 548

That means to me that the other two reactors are obviously burning off their cores too, being vented to keep it from exploding, if they have not already exploded or burned through like #3




So far this chart has been fairly reliable, but it has not changed much over the last few days because the circumstances were in motion for the wheels to run off the cart and they have just been desperately trying to keep it from going super nova.

The cores on 1,2,3 are burning off. All three of these are going to go. They already are going slowly. The cores are melting, building pressure, and they vent them into the atmosphere. Problem is, staying alive long enough to vent those under these conditions is not easy.

Already lost #3 i'm pretty sure pools and core..

Cores 1,2, will go, within days most likely unless a miracle occurs. When they do, pools too most likely just like 3. If we see the beds go hot on 1,2 that should be a damn good indicator that they have both gone critical.

Spent fuel beds on 3,4 are hot or already burning. Data says temp on beds 1,2 unkown so that is not good.

4 might be the only thing that survives but the problem with 4 is that the beds are hot, and unfortunately it shared a control room with #3 which just went super nova.

The media has shifted the news cycle abruptly today, preparing people for fallout. Playing games...folks, we are getting ready to burn off more fuel than we ever imagined. This will last months. Be lucky if we don't have an explosion ten times fat boy or little man, or bigger.