Japan utility: Nuke fuel rods were fully exposed

Originally posted by Hitoshura
And we're supposed to believe this couldn't have been prevented by now if enough countries had banded together to solve it? This has just got stupid.

Do you even know how a Nuclear Reactor cools it's rods?... the back up system failed for cooling.

If there is a smart move they can make is concrete the whole area and abandon the reactors, burry them under piles of concrete before it's too late.

For obcious reasons, the truth is being withheld. This is a world wide nuclear expert speaking.

Nuclear expert John Large today questioned Fukushima'­s '4' status, telling The First Post: "We're not getting the informatio­n out of the government but I would say this is a significan­t nuclear event. You don't blow the top off a building and say it's not."

Japanese Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said today that there was the possibilit­y of an explosion at the No 3 reactor but he was confident the steel containing vessel around the core of the reactor would withstand the blast – as it did when No 1 reactor blew up on Saturday.
Large said he found this hard to believe.

The "jellyfish­" shape of Saturday's explosion and the decision to vent the reactor's secondary containmen­t – releasing radioactiv­e vapour and necessitat­ing the evacuation of local people – all suggest fuel rods had melted and leaked from the primary containmen­t.”

Source

Originally posted by pepsi78
If there is a smart move they can make is concrete the whole area and abandon the reactors, burry them under piles of concrete before it's too late.

They need to continue attempts to cool the reactor cores for as long as possible, if the above were done now it would allow the meltdown to accelerate and it would literally melt through the containment floor layers, into the earth to the underground water table, where it would then explode massively, ejecting tons of extremely radioactive debris and gases into the atmosphere, along with particulates of the reactor core itself.

Your idea in this case, is NOT a good one.

This is truly scary stuff and the last thing we need is a meltdown that may have world wide consequences. I hate to think of the effect this would have on the planet if these reactors had a full meltdown.

"The essential problem is the definition of 'off' in a nuclear reactor. When the nuclear chain reaction is shut and the reactor shuts down, the fuel is still producing about 6 percent as much heat as it did when it was running, because of continuing heat generation by the radioactivity, the realease of subatomic particles and of gamma rays.

Usually, when a reactor is first shut down, an electrically driven pump pulls heated water from the vessel to a heat exchanger, and cool water from a river or ocean is brought in to draw off the heat.


But at the Japanese reactors, after losing electric power, that system could not be used. Instead the operators are dumping sea water into the vessel, and letting it cool the fuel by boiling. But as it boils, pressure rises too high to pump in more water, so they have to vent the vessel to the atmosphere, and feed in more water, a procedure known as 'feed and bleed.


When the fuel was intact, the steam they were releasing had only modest amounts of radioactive material, in a nontroublesome form. With damaged fuel, that steam is getting dirtier.

"Portable generators have been brought into Fukushima.

The problem was that the hook-up is done thru electric switching equipment that is in a basement room flooded by the tsunami. Even though you have generators on site, you have to get the water out of the basement."

The central problem arises from a series of failures that began after the tsunami. It easily overcame the sea walls surrounding the Fukushima plant. It swamped the diesel generators, which were placed in a low-lying area, apparently because of misplaced confidence that the sea walls would protect them. At 3:41 p.m. Friday, roughly an hour after the quake and just around the time the region would have been struck by the giant waves, the generators shut down. The plant switched to an emergency colling system that operates on batteries, but those were soon depleted."

reply to post by yellowbeard


ah yes, thanks for the reply. that makes sense that it would turn into steam, i don't know why i didn't think of that...lol. thanks.

Originally posted by WhiteRabit
reply to post by DaddyBare

 

the smiling talking heads always lie

A fake smile lies, you can tell and see it on TV, when the reporters or anchors speak.

If you ask me i think there is a huge cover up going in japan over the earthquake the western news shifted away from the
earthquake to the nuclear power plants.

"There was deep concern that spent nuclear fuel that was kept in a 'cooling pond' inside one of the plants had been exposed and begun letting off potentially deadly gamma radiation.

To pump in the corrosive seawater, injected with boron- which can absorb some of the radioactive elements.

To pump in the water, the Japanese have apparently tried used fire fighting equipment--- hardly the usual procedure. But forcing the seawater inside the containment vessel has been extraordinarly difficult, because the pressure in the vessel has become so great.

The problem was compounded because guages inside the reactor seemed to have been damaged in the earthquake or the tsunami."

"JUST IN: Japan's govt says part of the container of a troubled nuclear reactor appears to be damaged. Japanese govt says damage to reactor container "indicates possible serious radiation leaks"

www.huffingtonpost.com...

Scroll down to the live updates to see this tweet from abc.

UPDATE: "Correction: Japanese govt did NOT say apparent damage to reactor 'means possibility of serious radiation leak'. Said no spike in rad. levels"

reply to post by kimar


Something just exploded,

reply to post by Stormdancer777


Seriously? Any news as to what exploded?

Edit: MSNBC is running a breaking news banner saying that the explosion came from reactor 2

www.msnbc.msn.com...

reply to post by NISMOALTI


I just read on another thread from a source that the radiation could reach the west coast in a day - prior to that I heard it would take several days. I don't know what to believe any more. I would like to know how much
radiation has been detected further out in the Pacific as of now - can't find any readings, does anyone know?

Originally posted by kimar
reply to post by Stormdancer777

 

Seriously? Any news as to what exploded?

I just heard it live, Shep Smith said another explosion at unit number two

Japanese government confirming, another explosion.

Radiation released, serious.

Japanese nuclear safety agency says explosion heard at Unit 2 of Fukushima Daiichi plant

www.washingtonpost.com... ry.html

Originally posted by Stormdancer777
Japanese nuclear safety agency says explosion heard at Unit 2 of Fukushima Daiichi plant

www.washingtonpost.com... ry.html

If the container of the core is breached then we have a worst case scenario... When (I hope it doesn't happen) you get confirmation that a reactor core is exposed, that is literally a SHTF situation.

If these explosions are the result of venting and from hydrogen build up, but the core container is in tact, and cooling efforts can continue then we are okay for the time being.

Again, the worst case news to watch for will be when a reactor core container is breached, and any part(s) of the core is/are exposed.

Related news:

www.abovetopsecret.com...