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@James Ward I do not watch CNN or MSNBC, but I do not trust nuclear industry advocates more than Takashi Hirose. One example of his fear-mongering rhetoric is when he speaks about radiation levels being "3,500,000 times the normal yearly dose", by calculating that a person would absorb the one-time measurement of 400 mSv every hour of every day for a full year. The link you posted is just an excerpt, but he's playing on people's fears quite a lot.

@sims, could mean several things, but somehow fuel particles must have entered the suppression pool. It indicates that the fuel rods have fractured, the reactor unit may have experienced a partly or full meltdown, no one knows yet.

Something that really struck me as amazing is this video, it's 46 minutes and it's on google video but after watching it I have trouble comparing this to Fukushima...Chernobyl is beyond my comprehension. Anyway, if anyone has 46 minutes and wants to see what it's like inside the Sarcophagus at Chernobyl, I suggest you watch this: video.google.com

@kb, could also just be venting of the reactor vessel into the suppression pool

Can the reason for "700 engineers" be because no individual can enter the area in question for long enough a period of time to accomplish very much? Perhaps they are switching in and out. I envision logistical difficulties ... imagine you are trying to install house wiring but you have to switch roles with another person every 15 minutes and you have to find a way to communicate the next thing to be done, the location of each tool, the status of things already done, etc. That would be extraordinarily difficult especially in a hazardous worksite. Eh?

@WolfDK In that case, it would have to be continuous venting... Hopefully it's a stuck valve or something.

@Sky Then again, the alternative is exposing workers to high levels of radiation.

@kb, i agree we just don't know, a stuck valve would make sense with the coolant used in mind

FRom an article - "There is a definite, definite crack in the vessel -- it's up and down and it's large," he said. "The problem with cracks is they do not get smaller."
www.nThe dtv.com

In that video I posted these young men were given rubber suits and told to go pick up pieces of the reactor that had been thrown by the explosion at Chernobyl into the area. They could only touch them for maybe 5 or 6 seconds to get them into the reactor core where the Sarcophagus would be erected. EVERY machine they tried to use failed due to radiation. It's amazing, the only machine that can function in high levels of radiation is the human body and it can't last very long.

@Miles, i mentioned that earlier, but a anonymous guy is not a trustworthy source

@WolfDK - That's an article from New Delhi and the New York Times that's mysteriously not been reproduced by other news agencies

VeenOui, not necessarily. Perhaps the list of workers who can be used has a lot of crossed off names on it because many have already sustained the maximum yearly radiation allowed by Japanese government and are no longer eligible to enter the work site until some time elapses or regulations are further relaxed. I'm just hypothesizing. There could be several alternative explanations and we should not automatically jump to conclusions.

@kb I have no idea. I have only seen mention of this crack in the one article posted.

What kind of evidence would strongly suggest a crack, without being able to physically inspect the location? Pressure becoming equalized; inability to hold water above a certain level; escape of specific radionuclides that would only come from direct contact with hot fuel; ... I don't know for sure, but these are the kinds of evidence that I suppose the experts are looking at to make these deduction. Maybe somebody actually knows as fact ... or maybe it is just the strongest candidate explanation based on the data.

@Sky Thing is, i haven't jumped to conclusions BUT I am asking why there is no location or specific equipment failure pointed to or even better not crossed off the list.........Al that has been said thus far is ..we don't know

Yes it was me who supposed that maybe the neutron beams might have been emitted from a slit aperture (crack). I do not really know but there is no other good explanation that I have seen.

@kb, if you receive a medium to high radiation dose (1-8 Sv) you will experience a latent period (walking dead) of 7-31 days depending on the exposure level, after the latent period you will die.

@Sky : i stated earlier that the Co60 they found in the "puddle" is a very likely proof for a crack in the vessel.

I'm pleased to read the report of how the U.S. military is helping the relief effort. For example, "•Commander Task Force 76 (CTF 76) continued harbor clearance operations in Hachinohe yesterday. USNS Safeguard (ARS 50) with the embarked divers of Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit 1, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 5 and Underwater Construction Team 2, worked together with Japan Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF) and commercial divers to open the harbor for operations. They took underwater surveillance imagery with side scan sonar equipment to detect, mark and move underwater obstacles from the channel and the vicinity of the liquid natural gas (LNG) pier. The local port captain certified the channel and pier for safe navigation. Today an LNG tanker entered the port, marking the first delivery since the earthquake and tsunami on March 11. After Hachinohe harbor is clear, Navy teams will continue similar efforts in the ports of Miyako, Kamaishi, Ofunato, and Sendai, debris and other navigational hazards so that ships may resume deliveries of critical supplies. " in the www.pacom.mil ink someone just recently posted here.

@Sky, this is only a qualified guess, but the neutron beam could be originating from some spent fuel elements undergoing fission.

From the same report. This puts chills up my back. I am so glad someone is benefitting from help, during this awful time. "•A P-3 “Orion” from VP-4 and assigned to CTF-72 conducted a reconnaissance flight to survey ports and roads in Mukai, Toni, Kuji, and Ofunato. The crew spotted the words “HELP WATER” formed in the snow of a baseball field located beside an elementary school. They quickly relayed the information to the Japan Self Defense Force, and ensured that the site was being serviced by the JGSDF. "