The Japan Earthquake and Tsunami

[gertiekeddle]

Yep, I agree. There are reports that 'shortly' radiation was about 400 times as much as usually, now all is fine again? How so? Either the readings aren't well done or the actual results are indeed lied about. Hundred miles isn't that much when it comes to radiation, so I'm not sure if all people know right now how dangerous the situation already is. It is, however, still the lesser catastrophe than seeing one of the reactors explode (but not just their buildings).

[flimseycauldron]

I agree that the reactors going would be the ultimate catastrophe. I was just pointing out the leaks because it looks to me like Japan is trying to avoid a panic (can you blame them). I mean if they are willing to downplay the leaks it's not a far stretch to believe they would down play a potential meltdown. I am not telling my son about the leaks or suspected meltdowns. We live close to a nuclear power plant and I think he would be frightened. As it is I have to keep reminding him that we live on the Atlantic Coast, not the Pacific, so we don't have to worry about tsunamis reaching us here from Japan.

[Siriusandme]

I just got this of the CNN website. I don't really know what to make of it since I simply don't know enough about this subject.

Low levels of radiation were detected at least as far as 100 miles northeast of the plant, according to the U.S. Navy, which repositioned ships and planes after detecting low-level "airborne radioactivity."
The Navy's statement, however, provided some perspective, noting that the maximum potential radiation dose received by any ship personnel when it passed through the area was "less than the radiation exposure received from about one month of exposure to natural background radiation from sources such as rocks, soil, and the sun."
The Tokyo Electric Power Company said in a statement late Sunday that radiation levels outside that plant remained high.
Kyodo, citing the same company, said that there were measurements of 751 microsieverts and 650 microsieverts of radiation early Monday. Both are above the legal limit, albeit less than one reading recorded Sunday.
A microsievert is an internationally recognized unit measuring radiation dosage, with people typically exposed during an entire year to a total of about 1,000 microsieverts.

[flimseycauldron]

Originally Posted by Siriusandme

The Navy's statement, however, provided some perspective, noting that the maximum potential radiation dose received by any ship personnel when it passed through the area was "less than the radiation exposure received from about one month of exposure to natural background radiation from sources such as rocks, soil, and the sun."

To me that seems like a alot given that they've only been exposed for a few days. If it wasn't harmful (as the quote seems to indicate) why bother moving further away? IDK, maybe I'm just paranoid.

[Alastor]

Originally Posted by flimseycauldron

The fact that US carriers are reading radiation levels 100 miles off shore what does that say about the intensity of the radiation on the mainland?

Not much. Way out to sea is exactly where the radiation from the first explosion and from any steam let out deliberately to relieve pressure in the reactor container made this far is supposed to be. Because those radioactive clouds are blown out to sea by the wind. Last time I checked the wind was supposed to turn around this evening. Which is a bad thing as they seem to still not have the cooling process under control and may have to let out some steam repeatedly.

[Wab]

Either that or the shielding on the Reagan is not up to scratch.

[Siriusandme]

Originally Posted by Wab

Either that or the shielding on the Reagan is not up to scratch.

Shielding??? That brings up images of a big boat surrounded by some kind of USS enterprise forcefield.. I had just a little to much fun at work today.

[wandrider]

(Reuters) - Nuclear fuel rods at a quake-stricken Japanese nuclear reactor are now fully exposed, Jiji news agency said, quoting the plant's operator, Tokyo Eletcric Power Co.

The report referred to the Fukushima Daiichi complex's No.2 reactor, where levels of water coolant around the reactor core had been reported as falling earlier in the day.
==================

This means units 1, 2, and 3 are now in jeopardy of partial to total meltdowns that will challenge the design limits of the containment vessels. It is already admitted there is some partial meltdown of the fuel rods, and this will continue to get worse if these rods are not cooled.

Now, three reactors are total failures & will be shut-down permanently.

Without continuous cooling the rod casings will melt freeing the fuel pellets to fall & lump together & build-up higher temperatures against the containment vessel itself. This is when a catastrophic failure could occur with the burn-through of the vessel itself allowing the nuclear fuel to be exposed. They would have to bury the plant in a huge casing of cement, sand, and concrete at that point.

I think reactors 1, 2, 3 are in danger of containment failure of the vessel itself, since the cooling is not under control. It is only getting worse every day, so far...

Freaky! Scary!

[Sarahx]

My hearts go out to everyone in Japan suffering from the earthquake. I watched a video earlier on the news where you could see a figure getting swept into the waves. They didn't seem to try, so I imagine they were elderly but it's very heart breaking to see.

[wandrider]

Originally Posted by wandrider

Plus, I've now seen news reports that 'spent nuclear fuel' has been stored 'on top' of the nuclear reactor area. That's just plain freaky!

Is this true? It seems to be a really unsafe method of storage location???

We need accurate answers about where the spent nuclear fuel has been stored, and if it is stored far away from the explosion areas??? Please research this & find answers if possible. Thanks!

This is going to be the ultimate test about nuclear reactor safety, because it is pushing all the safety redundancies past their design limits. We're into the FINAL fail-safe modes & these two (possibly up to 6) nuclear power plants are now destroyed permanently.

Update about spent fuel... Again, its been repeated several times that more than 200 tons of spent nuclear fuel is somehow 'on top' of the nuclear reactor area. This was stated by a nuclear expert too; not a reporter!

Plus, it is being said that these reactors could never have been licensed in the USA since 1971, because the technology used is not up to standards & is too inferior.

Also, there is a lot of hinting going on in the news casts that a meltdown is possible. All I can say is this type of 'information hints' is sometimes given to news organizations to prepare for what will likely happen. This may be 'a between the lines' admission that a meltdown is coming.

Here is an amazing video of some Tokyo skyscrapers that swayed during the earthquake. Note all three buildings are rocking at some point. Look at the sky-reflections on the building's glass to see the motion.

See Skyscrapers Rocking & Select HD & Full Screen

It just shows that giant tall buildings can be engineered to withstand massive earthquakes with zero exterior damage.

[Pox Voldius]

Originally Posted by wandrider

It just shows that giant tall buildings can be engineered to withstand massive earthquakes with zero exterior damage.

Zero exterior damage maybe, but I wouldn't want to be on any of the upper floors during a big quake.

I used to work in one of the skyscrapers in Downtown Los Angeles, a few years ago, on...I want to say that it was something like the 21st or 24th floor... and even just a small magnitude 3- or 4-point-something quake, that people on the ground barely took notice of, was enough to give us quite a ride once. (It also got the building locked down for a few hours while they checked for structural damage.)

[wandrider]

Originally Posted by Pox Voldius

I used to work in one of the skyscrapers in Downtown Los Angeles, a few years ago, on...I want to say that it was something like the 21st or 24th floor... and even just a small magnitude 3- or 4-point-something quake, that people on the ground barely took notice of, was enough to give us quite a ride once. (It also got the building locked down for a few hours while they checked for structural damage.)

Yeah, being near the top would definitely make a large arc-of-sway covering quite a distance compared to none at the ground floor.

Were you brave enough to look out the window & see the movement & sway that was happening? Was it like being in a boat riding giant waves swaying back & forth? Were the vibrations rough or smooth & rolling or swaying?

Do you still live in an earthquake area? I felt the Earth rumble at the bottom of the Grand Canyon from a small earthquake. Since I was camping on the ground, it awakened me directly feeling 'the rumble' on my back. I found out later it was a small earthquake.

But an 8.9 or 9.0 that Japan had is just terrifying... that's being called a one in a 1,000 year quake now. It's being said it moved the Earth's axis by about 25 centimeters -about 10 inches.

[Pox Voldius]

Originally Posted by wandrider

Yeah, being near the top would definitely make a large arc-of-sway covering quite a distance compared to none at the ground floor.

Were you brave enough to look out the window & see the movement & sway that was happening? Was it like being in a boat riding giant waves swaying back & forth? Were the vibrations rough or smooth & rolling or swaying?

Do you still live in an earthquake area? I felt the Earth rumble at the bottom of the Grand Canyon from a small earthquake. Since I was camping on the ground, it awakened me directly feeling 'the rumble' on my back. I found out later it was a small earthquake.

I wasn't near a window at the time. Our boss also enforced the whole "get under your desk and stay there until they sound the 'all clear'" thing. IIRC, it was mainly a side-to-side swaying & rolling that we got up there. (The scarier thing was that they wouldn't let us leave the floor we were on until they'd finished checking the building for structural damage.)

I don't currently live in a quake-prone area anymore. (Well... unless the New Madrid fault system decides to do something big again. We might feel that here.)

Originally Posted by wandrider

But an 8.9 or 9.0 that Japan had is just terrifying... that's being called a one in a 1,000 year quake now.

Agreed.


edit

They're now saying that parts of Japan, in the area closest to the epicenter of the quake, moved eastward by as much as 13 feet.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/14/wo...14seismic.html

[wandrider]

There is a 3rd Explosion & it's reported as biggest explosion of the three.

Very bad indeed...

A huge explosion hit another reactor at an earthquake-damaged Japanese nuclear power plant early Tuesday, the third blast since Saturday, the plant operator said.

"There was a huge explosion" between 6:00 am (2100 GMT Monday) and 6:15 am at the number-two reactor of Fukushima No.1 nuclear power plant, a Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) spokesman said.

The government also reported apparent damage to part of the container shielding the same reactor at Fukushima 250 kilometres (155 miles) northeast of Tokyo, although it was unclear whether this resulted from the blast.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano told reporters the suppression pool of the number-two nuclear reactor appeared to have been damaged.

This is the bottom part of the container, which holds water used to cool it down and control air pressure inside.

Sea water is being pumped into reactor 2 at the Fukushima Daiichi plant after its fuel rods were fully exposed twice.

International nuclear watchdogs said there was no sign of a meltdown but one minister said a melting of rods was "highly likely" to be happening.

[Fury]

From twitter:

@cnnbrk: Official: Radiation levels at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant are at "levels that can impact human health" #quake http://on.cnn.com/fpRk6P

@REUTERSFLASH: France: low-level radioactive wind may reach Tokyo in 10 hours

[wandrider]

As "Fury" posted above...

A FIRE is burning at the No.4 nuclear reactor at Japan's stricken Fukushima No. 1 power plant, Prime Minister Naoto Kan confirmed today, warning that dangerously high levels of radiation are leaking from the area.
================

This is Japan's incredibly tragic 2nd nuclear Armageddon. In previous posts I suggested many were concerned about the nuclear waste storage catching on fire. Well, it seems this may be the case at reactor 4.

IF true, this means there will be dangerous levels of nuclear radiation spreading wherever the wind blows & the snow/rain falls.

This is FOUR nuclear disasters at one location!

I'm willing to bet this will be the last time any country will cluster their nuclear power plants in one area. Anyone know how many reactors are at this one site? I know there are at least 6, but maybe there are more than that???

Four reactors will be toast at this one location! SHOCKING.

[Alastor]

Originally Posted by wandrider

Anyone know how many reactors are at this one site? I know there are at least 6, but maybe there are more than that???

I think all reasonably reliable sources I've seen this far agree that there are 6 reactors at Fukushima 1 in Daichi. At Fukushima 2 in Daini not far from #1 there are 4 reactors. No major problems have been reported from Daini this far.

My local news reported at 04.46 GMT that the fire in #4 at Daichi has been put out already. The radiation levels at the plant are now said to be dangerous. These news claim AFP, AP and Reuters as their sources.

Reactors 4 - 6 at Daichi were down for maintenance at the time of the earthquake.

[gertiekeddle]

There are eleven reactors in this area, but only six seem to have problems. #4 is a reactor which was indeed down for maintenance, but that doesn't matter as long as it isn't fully put down: also these reactors on break need to be cooled. Officials claimed the fire in #4 was responsible for the higher amount of radiation, but I don't believe that is true.

It is not yet confirmed - partly because Tepco took its workers out of #2, who were apparently fighting a lost battle over the last days - but all hints seem to show that the casing of #2 is indeed hurt from this explosion a few hours ago and releases radiation into the atmosphere directly. I heart about it shortly before I went to bed yesterday. A few hours later, officials finally began to warn the population that there is much more radiation out and that it is dangerous for the population within a 30 miles from Fukushima. I don't think they go far enough with these 30 miles, but in light of destroyed streets and buildings I don't think the State has a possibility to evacuate the people as it were needed either. It's a horrible situation for those who do live in Northern Japan.

Also since the wind changed Tokyo already read a higher radiation than usual. The reason might be the possible leak in #2, it's also possible that the radiation of the last days already was enough to change the situation even in Tokyo a few hundred miles away. It's not yet critical, but from all we know, there's no way to stop the radiation since the situation is no more controllable. This is no surprise, however my hopes had been up that these Tepco workers risking their lives while trying to cool the reactors somehow had have success.

From the first news about a much higher radiation yesterday to this morning GMT, most Western correspondence already left Tokyo to places around 500 miles far South. Many international rescue organisations reported they are going to stop their efforts in Northern Japan today and get their people out of the area. That's surely a safety measure and no prove that the full area already is contaminated. The same time it's showing how different people react who actually already were 260 miles away in comparison to those who live within the 30 miles restricted zone. Not only the state of information, but also the possibilities are just way different.

[SSJ_Jup81]

Just thought I'd mention that to help preserve the energy (because of the nuclear plant situation), they're going to be doing mandatory rolling blackouts in some places (my city being one of them [March 16 - 18, 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm])...and here comes another aftershock. Wish they'd stop, but I heard that with an earthquake of this magnitude, we may have them for weeks.

I'm not sure what's going on now as far as the nuclear stuff, but I'll probably learn more about it by tomorrow and if there'll be evacuations and all that. Still scary that I'm about 50 miles from Fukushima and how I ended up living here in Yamagata as opposed to there, like I was originally supposed to.

[Hes]

I don't know if other foreign news agencies are doing this but the Dutch national broadcaster has decided to withdraw it's journalists out of Japan, to avoid the radiation risk.