Nuclear emergency declared at quake-damaged reactor

[googlegoogle]

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2...reactors_N.htm

[Bwana]

More information starting to come out on this.



http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-0...s-exposed.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...ima-plant.html

[Saulbadguy]

Originally Posted by Donger

And, teedubya, if you have something to say to me, please do it here.

Getting harassed via PM/negative rep too, huh?

[Dave Lane]

“What this means is this is probably going to be a much more difficult cleanup than they originally planned for,”

Originally Posted by Bwana

More information starting to come out on this.



http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-0...s-exposed.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...ima-plant.html

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by Chet Steadman

Getting harassed via PM/negative rep too, huh?

Heh...I got negged for calling him a caricature. I thought I was special.

[Donger]

Originally Posted by Chet Steadman

Getting harassed via PM/negative rep too, huh?

I guess the lack of a body count is really starting to bother him, yes.

[Pants]

Is this were the victims of teedub's harassment are supposed to come? Hi, I'm pants.

[Donger]

Originally Posted by Dave Lane

“What this means is this is probably going to be a much more difficult cleanup than they originally planned for,”

Yeah, I don't see anything there that wasn't presumed to have happened (e.g., a partial melt).

[teedubya]

Whew. Everything is all better. Fox News says so.

Oh wait...

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/science/new...htm?from=main1

TEPCO 14 unveiled a new image inside the reactor building of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station Unit 1 was taken by remote-controlled robots and workers.

　Been published, and was taken near the southeast side of double doors on 13 remote-controlled robot, such as the northwest elevator hall 09 workers were taken, the image of five locations.

　The southwest building "transfer port big" around the scattered debris of the large expected impact of hydrogen explosion, near the elevator hall of the northwest, 吹Ki飛Bi the elevator door to further shape the elevator shaft like a tunnel square that the state is reflected.

　Double doors near the southeast entrance of the robot, a high dose was recorded 2000 mm per hour Sv radiation measurements, the scattering state is not reflected in particular. TEPCO is the result of high concentrations of polluted water flowed in the pipe near this location are expected to record high doses.

( 12:22 minutes May 14, 2011 Yomiuri Shimbun)

That's 2 SV an hour, folks.

[teedubya]

Yeah, Harassed, by ONE neg rep each. heh. Pussies. Donger got it twice though. I think I will harass him, since he is crying about it.

Not a patented SaulBadGuy harassment by any means.

EDIT: now you've all gotten it twice. I'm an equal opportunity offender.

[teedubya]

Originally Posted by Bwana

More information starting to come out on this.



http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-0...s-exposed.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...ima-plant.html

It's always been this bad, but they've just been under reporting it.

[Donger]

Originally Posted by teedubya

Yeah, Harassed, by ONE neg rep each. heh. Pussies. Donger got it twice though. I think I will harass him, since he is crying about it.

Not a patented SaulBadGuy harassment by any means.

EDIT: now you've all gotten it twice. I'm an equal opportunity offender.

I'm merely saying that if you have something to say to me, say it here. I don't really have any desire to have a private conversation with you.

[Donger]

Originally Posted by teedubya

It's always been this bad, but they've just been under reporting it.

No, they haven't. A partial melt was always presumed. That's what happens when the cores are exposed.

[Donger]

Originally Posted by teedubya

[url]http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/science/news/20110514-OYT1T00768.htm?from=main1

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703509104576325110776621604.html

Two Other Reactors Suffer Serious Damage

TOKYO—Substantial damage to the fuel cores at two additional reactors of Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex has taken place, operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Sunday, further complicating the already daunting task of bringing them to a safe shutdown while avoiding the release of high levels of radioactivity. The revelation followed an acknowledgment on Thursday that a similar meltdown of the core took place at unit No. 1.

Workers also found that the No. 1 unit's reactor building is flooded in the basement, reinforcing the suspicion that the containment vessel is damaged and leaking highly radioactive water.

The revelations are likely to force an overhaul of the six- to nine-month blueprint for bringing the reactors to a safe shutdown stage and end the release of radioactive materials. The original plan, announced in mid-April, was due to be revised May 17.

The operator, known as Tepco, said the No. 1 unit lost its reactor core 16 hours after the plant was struck by a magnitude-9 earthquake and a giant tsunami on the afternoon of March 11.

The pressure vessel a cylindrical steel container that holds nuclear fuel, "is likely to be damaged and leaking water at units Nos. 2 and 3," said Junichi Matsumoto, Tepco spokesman on nuclear issues, in a news briefing Sunday.

He also said there could be far less cooling water in the pressure vessels of Nos. 2 and 3, indicating there are holes at the bottom of these vessels, with thousands of tons of water pumped into these reactors mostly leaking out.

Tepco found the basement of the unit No. 1 reactor building flooded with 4.2 meters of water. It isn't clear where the water came from, but leaks are suspected in pipes running in and out of the containment vessel, a beaker-shaped steel structure that holds the pressure vessel.

The water flooding the basement is believed to be highly radioactive. Workers were unable to observe the flooding situation because of strong radiation coming out of the water, Tepco said.

A survey conducted by an unmanned robot Friday found radiation levels of 1,000 to 2,000 millisieverts per hour in some parts of the ground level of unit No. 1, a level that would be highly dangerous for any worker nearby. Japan has placed an annual allowable dosage limit of 250 millisieverts for workers.

The high level of radioactivity means even more challenges for Tepco's bid to set up a continuous cooling system that won't threaten radiation leaks into the environment.

Tepco separately released its analysis on the timeline of the meltdown at unit No. 1. According to the analysis, the reactor core, or the nuclear fuel, was exposed to the air within five hours after the plant was struck by the earthquake. The temperature inside the core reached 2,800 degrees Celsius in six hours, causing the fuel pellets to melt away rapidly.

Within 16 hours, the reactor core melted, dropped to the bottom of the pressure vessel and created a hole there. By then, an operation to pump water into the reactor was under way. This prevented the worst-case scenario, in which the overheating fuel would melt its way through the vessels and discharge large volumes of radiation outside.

The nuclear industry lacks a technical definition for a full meltdown, but the term is generally understood to mean that radioactive fuel has breached containment measures, resulting in a massive release of fuel.

"Without the injection of water [by fire trucks], a more disastrous event could have ensued," said Mr. Matsumoto.

Tepco also released its analysis of a hydrogen explosion that occurred at unit No. 4, despite the fact that the unit was in maintenance and that nuclear fuel stored in the storage pool was largely intact.

According to Tepco, hyrogen produced in the overheating of the reactor core at unit 3 flowed through a gas-treatment line and entered unit No. 4 because of a breakdown of valves. Hydrogen leaked from ducts in the second, third and fourth floors of the reactor building at unit No. 4 and ignited a massive explosion.

[Dave Lane]

So the point is that there remains some radioactivity in the building after there was a radioactive water spill. Thats unexpected.

Oh and I got my two quite early in the thread but while I'm with Donger and prefer to speak my mind here, have at it if you feel it necessary.

[Donger]

Originally Posted by Dave Lane

So the point is that there remains some radioactivity in the building after there was a radioactive water spill. Thats unexpected.

Oh and I got my two quite early in the thread but while I'm with Donger and prefer to speak my mind here, have at it if you feel it necessary.

Well, it seems like TEPCO is now presuming that at least one of the reactors sustained a vessel breach. That's never a good thing, but at least they prevented a full melt.