Japan: Nuclear Meltdown Has Occured

Being reported on CNN .. "We are assuming that a meltdown has occurred" at a quake-damaged nuclear reactor, Japan's chief Cabinet secretary says."

No story posted yet.

EDIT:

www.cnn.com...

A meltdown may have occurred at at least one nuclear power reactor in Japan, the country's chief cabinet secretary, Yukio Edano, said Sunday, adding that authorities are concerned about the possibility of another meltdown at a second reactor.

"We do believe that there is a possibility that meltdown has occurred. It is inside the reactor. We can't see. However, we are assuming that a meltdown has occurred," he said about the No. 1 reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear facility.

..........

Meanwhile, Tepco said at least 15 people at a nearby hospital were found to have been exposed to radioactivity.

www.bbc.co.uk...
Sounds like the Government and the "Firm" that runs the reactor have been trying to hide the true dangers.. and now they are admitting that indeed a meltdown has occurred.. I don't know what that means as far as radiation contamination or explosions etc, but for the environment this can't be good, Humans have been evacuated for 12 miles.

reply to post by Rockpuck



Sure it has, that explosion was the cause of some gnarly temp

I pray for the poor souls who are tasked with "addressing" the situation in a hands on manner.

This is just awful

So far one meltdown may have occured, with a second at the same facility being either very close or may have already.

Fukushima Daiichi nuclear facility is the plant where Reactor 1 has experienced a meltdown.
Reactor 3 is also believed to either have "melted down" or may soon.

A meltdown occurs when a severe failure of a nuclear power plant system prevents proper cooling of the reactor core, to the extent that the nuclear fuel assemblies overheat and melt. A meltdown is considered very serious because of the potential that radioactive materials could be released into the environment. A core meltdown will also render the reactor unstable until it is repaired. The scrapping and disposal of the reactor core will incur substantial costs for the operator.

en.wikipedia.org...

The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986, at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine (then in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, part of the Soviet Union). It is considered the worst nuclear power plant accident in history and is the only level 7 event on the International Nuclear Event Scale.

The disaster began on 26 April 1986, at reactor number four at the Chernobyl plant, near the town of Pripyat in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, during a systems test. A sudden power output surge took place, and when an attempt was made for emergency shutdown, a more extreme spike in power output occurred which led to a reactor vessel rupture and a series of explosions.

en.wikipedia.org...

What's really scary is that the way the sudden power-outage and sudden over heating occurred is the exact same as the infamous Chernobyl meltdown .. hopefully it won't be as bad. So far this incident is rated "4" on the scale of 0-7.

Currently eating all of the Iodized salt I have.....

Seriously though, I knew when one of the spokesmen on CNN came on and was talking about how there couldn't be a massive meltdown, I knew later on that he'd be eating his words.

reply to post by Janky Red


Well this stuff might go in the air and ride the jet stream if the worst has indeed happened. Iodine protects the thyroid gland. Kelp, haddock, eggs, condensed milk contain iodine. Might be a good idea to have some this week. Maybe make an omelet or a bread pudding made of eggs and condensed milk. This disaster seems like we`re looking into the bowels of hell, doesn`t it? I really feel for the people in the area who must be numb by all this disequilibrium and horror.

And to think I always think of tonight as the most hopeful day of the year...we put the clocks ahead tonight and hope the snow will melt soon.

Originally posted by CordDragonzord
Currently eating all of the Iodized salt I have.....

Q. Would ingestion of iodized, common table salt be effective in a nuclear accident if KI pills are not available? A. The daily dose of potassium iodide (KI) for thyroid blocking is 130 mg per day for up to two weeks. This equates to 96 mg of iodine (I). Iodized salt contains about 0.085 mg of KI per gram of salt (according to the Morton Salt Company). To get the I equivalent of a 130 mg KI pill would require the ingestion of 1,529 grams of salt which would most likely be fatal. According to research by Health Physicist Ken Miller, Hershey Medical Center, a person can get a blocking dose of iodine by painting 8 ml of either tincture of iodine or providone iodine (betadine) scrub on the forearm daily. William Kirk, PhD, CHP Pennsylvania Bureau of Radiation Protection
LINK

reply to post by Hardfelt


I was joking but the link did help with some of the information I was needing.

Alright, so we've had thousands of nuclear bombs go off, above sea level and below, on the ground, in the ocean, and way up in the air.... we're all still here.

So what is it with the people who are worried about radiation coming all the way to the U.S. Isn't this, uh.... a bit... hysterical?!

I'm coming from this with just a little common sense and not much else, so if I'm an idiot here, please feel free to let me know! Just not so sure this is really a concern for anyone in my country as some are trying to be flippant. Personally, I think there are much larger things to be concerned about around here at the moment.

reply to post by unityemissions


I'd say so.. the main area of concern is only 12 miles around the actual reactor site. Life wise I'd say this won't cause much issue, but the ecological effects can be devastating around the entire area. It also depends on how much fuel is ejected into the air.. and right now the "Firm" that runs the plant says it's contained .... except for the fact that the reactor literally blew it's top .. so I fail to see what's protecting the surrounding area from being sprayed by highly concentrated radioactive particles.

reply to post by Rockpuck


Please excuse my drunken ass, but yeah, I fully agree.

I'm not trying to say this isn't a major issue of concern for those who are within the area, and it's also quite interesting and important for us all to be aware of the situation and understand how this unfolds.

I just have a major concern that people are trying to spread bs about this causing major fallout in the U.S. or a similar, very far away location.... it just seems to be hardcore fear mongering; although I will admit to the possibility that the situation is much worse than told, and it could have global repercussions...it just doesn't seem to be so... in the least,,, right now!

reply to post by unityemissions


I agree but assuming everything proceeds along it's current projection, it's not that far out of the question.
anything's possible at this point... there are so many variables.

reply to post by Rockpuck

A buildup of hydrogen in the Fukushima Daiichi plant's No. 3 reactor building likely caused the blast, authorities said, which injured six people. But the explosion did not damage the reactor or result in significant radiation leakage, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano told reporters.

The No. 3 reactor is one of two at the plant where workers have been injecting seawater in a last-ditch effort to cool down fuel rods and prevent a full meltdown after an 8.9-magnitude earthquake and the resulting tsunami Friday disabled cooling systems.

www.cnn.com...

6 hurt, 7 missing. No one is saying whether or not this means that they can no longer inject seawater, or if cooling the reactor resulted in said explosion. The technicality of nuclear science makes the whole situation hard to understand.. For now, a second hydrogen explosion has occurred at a reactor that is facing a meltdown.

Radiation levels are "in the legal limit" according to the Japanese govt.

Japanese officials have said that they are operating under the presumption that there may be a partial meltdown in the No. 3 and No. 1 nuclear reactors at the Daiichi plant. Authorities have not yet been able to confirm a meltdown, because it is too hot inside the affected reactors to check.