8.9 Quake hits off coast of Japan! Live Updates.

NHK television and Jiji news agency say the outer structure of the building that houses the reactor appears to have blown off, but nuclear experts say this does not necessarily mean the nuclear reactor has been breached.

Earlier the operator released what it said was a tiny amount of radioactive steam to reduce the pressure and the danger was minimal because tens of thousands of people had already been evacuated from the vicinity.

Japanese nuclear safety agency officials believe the explosion has caused no serious damage to the container of the unstable nuclear reactor.

The officials made the comment after examining the latest radiation data monitored around the nuclear power plant.

Tokyo Electric later confirmed the reactor's inner container sustained no damage in the explosion.

Japan's government earlier confirmed radiation leaked from the power plant after Saturday's explosion, which followed a series of large tremors.

But Japan's chief cabinet secretary, Yukio Edano, later said radiation levels near the Fukushima plant had fallen after the blast.

A nuclear industry official says he believes the blast was due to hydrogen igniting, and may not pose a further threat.

"It is obviously an hydrogen explosion... due to hydrogen igniting," Ian Hore-Lacy, communications director at the World Nuclear Association, a London-based industry body, said.

"If the hydrogen has ignited, then it is gone, it doesn't pose any further threat."

www.abc.net.au...

Hope this helps.

Originally posted by Kram09
reply to post by birdVSworm

 

What??? Man made???

No

He meant re-claimed land. Not very difficult to understand at all.

Originally posted by Kram09
reply to post by birdVSworm

 

What??? Man made???

No

Here's a rendition of Haneda Airport in Tokyo Bay, with other man-made extensions out in the bay, if the subduction of the NorthEast of Japan can be confirmed, then this lot will soon follow.

3.bp.blogspot.com...

reply to post by xHybr1dx


So is a boat motor similar to a nuclear reactor?

reply to post by mossme89


www.reuters.com...

According to Reuters the UN is sending several search and rescue teams into the country to support the relief efforts. Among those teams are folks from the United States. According to other sources there are 38,000 US troops stationed in the country so I imagine at least some of those will be mobilized to help with clean up.

From BBC

Government spokesman says the nuclear reactor container at the Fukushima-Daiichi plant has not been damaged, and the level of radiation has dropped following the explosion earlier on Saturday, AFP reports.

More from Japanese PM Naoto Kan. He says the government will do its best to make sure "not a single person will suffer health problems."

It seems clear now from Mr Edano's comments that the nuclear plant building that was blown apart earlier did house a reactor, but the reactor was protected by its metal casing.

It seems it's all under control and far from being what CNN was saying without saying just to create a buzz and make more people turn on their TVs.

Originally posted by Kram09
reply to post by xHybr1dx

 

So is a boat motor similar to a nuclear reactor?

Not sure if sarcasm or not, haha, but if you are being serious, I have no idea..

All I know is that salt water is not good for most things.

Originally posted by Kram09
reply to post by xHybr1dx

 

So is a boat motor similar to a nuclear reactor?

I'm not sure about the answer to your question, but what I am sure of it that fisherman know more about nuclear reactors and how to cool them than nuclear engineers do. When he says they are retards you can take it to the bank.

reply to post by xHybr1dx


I was being sarcastic.

reply to post by RUDDD


Lets just be clear here, they are not going to put any water directly into the reactor-that would cause a massive explosion!

They pump water around the external dimensions of the core, through series of pipes to take heat away from the core. This water is then pumped either out and fresh cold is pumped back in continously, or the water is cycled around until it becomes cold again. It is not left to stagnate next to such extreme temperatures.

reply to post by Ceriddwen


Ha, well I did say it was going to sound idiotic!! But yea 'just floating there' wasn't the best word choice obviously! I have a rough image in my head with the plates pushing up land and what not, just curious on if the quakes could cause the land to split horizontally underneath Japan. This allowing water to seep under the land mass? If that makes any sense? Like a huge island held up by a tiny piece of land.

Does water move freely under it if it is man-made? Like a bridge of land made between two islands?

Originally posted by Kram09
reply to post by xHybr1dx

 

I was being sarcastic.

Uhh..k.

I was just simply stating that using salt water didn't seem like a very good idea, not just because of personal experience, but just generally speaking. Then again, I'm not a nuclear specialist (Or whatever the term would be), so I guess they'd have a better understanding of it than I would.

Hey there Kram09, you've been helping provide a well balanced discussion here for some time... but maybe it's time for a cookie or a rest. You seem to be getting a bit upset with what are just innocent comments. Just my opinion... thats all... We all need to take breaks. Peace bro...
As for the salt water damaging the reactor... I don't think that corrosion as such is their concern just now. it is probably hard to get fresh water after the ocean just ran across the place, so I'm guessing that salt water is what they have on hand. As for long term damage... I doubt they care just now.
Lets hope they can get it cooled down... any way possible at this stage.

Originally posted by AmatuerSkyWatcher
reply to post by RUDDD

 

Lets just be clear here, they are not going to put any water directly into the reactor-that would cause a massive explosion!

They pump water around the external dimensions of the core, through series of pipes to take heat away from the core. This water is then pumped either out and fresh cold is pumped back in continously, or the water is cycled around until it becomes cold again. It is not left to stagnate next to such extreme temperatures.

Ahh, well in that case, that sounds alright to me. I just figured they were loading salt water INTO it, in which case...yeah...probably not a good idea, haha.

reply to post by birdVSworm


The island is not man-made. It is both volcanic and tectonic. I have never heard of an island top being separated from the bottom, so that is not even an option. That said, the entire plate it sits on has moved because of this earthquake, and the earth has tilted a bit differently on its axis because of this earthquake. More than when Chili happened because it was a larger quake.

I just wanted to clarify that I wasn't making fun of you, but genuinely appreciated the laugh.

I called it before the explosion and I'm going to say it again... Japan has a history of understating emergency situations not only to their own people but also to the world. There have been experts on both sides of the argument since the first news of trouble with the power plants and so far the ones that disagree with the official story have been more correct than those who are paid to tell us not to worry. If you're in Japan get as far south as you can, things may well get worse with the power plant situation before they get better, and do not accept any information telling you that radiation levels are safe. Whenever there has been a problem with nuclear plants in ANY country the danger to locals has been understated in every case, and people and their children suffer the long term effects. Do the smart thing and if you have the means, save your skin, don't hang around trusting that your government knows best as disaster history has shown that people are rarely given the full truth. This is not fear mongering, no government cares as much about your health or life than you do.

reply to post by RMFX1


Omg, thank you! en.wikipedia.org... Exactly what I meant actually, though without proper wording. I'm not a he though, *She

Originally posted by nghtshd

Originally posted by Kram09
reply to post by xHybr1dx

 

So is a boat motor similar to a nuclear reactor?

I'm not sure about the answer to your question, but what I am sure of it that fisherman know more about nuclear reactors and how to cool them than nuclear engineers do. When he says they are retards you can take it to the bank.

Cool story, bro.

Originally posted by xHybr1dx
They're f***ing retarded...

I was commercial fishing in Alaska and we had to fill the motor up with salt water because we were stranded in the middle of the ocean with nothing but salt water available, and that stuff almost burned the entire boat down. Scary stuff.

They should probably be using CLEAN water, not salt water...

Depends if they want a nuclear explosion or a dead reactor. Dead reactor sounds WAY better to me, at this rate they'll probably have to scrap 90% of it anyway. A reactor is not an engine, and stopping the heat is priority one, by any means at their disposal. Large amounts of water is the surest way. I seem to recall that part of the rationale for building so close to the sea was the readily available water supply in the event of an emergency.

This is worse than bad though, nuclear accidents are easy to downplay at the time it sems, the effects sometimes take a while to show.

URGENT INFO: If you have an iodine supplement (even kelp) take it immediately at a maximum dose and be prepared for fallout across North America in three days, lasting indefinitely.

No fearmongering here, if you receive the gulf stream winds, it's coming your way.

Stuff.co.nz

Japanese media said an explosion blew the roof off the reactor, raising fears of a disastrous meltdown at the earthquake-struck Fukushima nuclear power plant. Nuclear authorities had earlier warned that the Fukushima No 1 plant, located about 250km northeast of Tokyo, an urban area of 30 million people, "may be experiencing a nuclear meltdown". Public broadcaster NHK reported that a blast had been heard at about 3:30pm (local time) and showed delayed footage of smoke billowing from the site, also reporting that the reactor building had been destroyed. TV channels warned nearby residents to stay indoors, turn off air-conditioners and not to drink tap water. People going outside were also told to aviod exposing their skin and to cover their faces with masks and wet towels. The blast came as plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco) worked desperately to reduce pressures in the core of the reactor that, if not contained, could lead to a release of radiation into the atmosphere.