Japan Earthquake

Japan Earthquake | Page 149

@Nancy Nuclear Safety Commission expressed the opinion that radioactive material
from nuclear fuel once melded possibly have reached outside the
containment vessel with water leaked from inside to outside the containment
vessel trough unidentified pathway at unit-2. This opinion is based on the
fact that water accumulated in the turbine building contain high amount of
radioactive material, which is 100,000 times as much as radioactive material
contained in water in the reactor at normal operation. Also Nuclear Safety
Commission mentioned that operation to inject water to the reactor of unit-2
can be continued even in this situation. (13:25, March 28) www.jaif.or.jp
by NHK Listener 3/28/2011 11:57:02 AM

@gumba : water itself is not irradient. the radioactivity is caused by radionuclids in the water (I131, Cs137, ....). these radioactive particles can sink to the ground. or there are hotspots with lots of radiation. so it is not clear if removing half of the water will remove half of the radioactivity. it could be, it could not.
by Matsuoko 3/28/2011 11:57:33 AM

very true fitter... I'd hate to guess how many penetrations there are.. but many many many .. some small some large
by dean 3/28/2011 11:58:16 AM

@NHK, is this the same thing as the damage in the torus? There were reports over the weekend that the piping there broke and was dumping water out into the clean water side. Not enough understanding if that water could make it into the turbine room. I thought the turbine rooms were up higher. I had thought the torus water was leaking back out to the ocean.
by Nancy 3/28/2011 12:03:17 PM

health risk outside the evacution zone. translate.google.com
by hans edited by elainekirk 3/28/2011 12:03:51 PM

ABC is finally paying attention. They are leading this morning with heavy detail about the reactors. There was also a British reporter who drove into the exclusion zone and up to the plant gate in his car with no protection at all and then got out of his car and walked around. At least the US media seems to now be paying attention.
by Nancy 3/28/2011 12:07:19 PM

Japan Nuclear Agency rejects Greenpeace call for expanding evacuation zone: www.trust.org
by es 3/28/2011 12:09:05 PM

@Nancy Sorry Nancy I don't know enough about the plumbing of the reactor. What I think is that water from the core would normally be clean steam instead, but is coming out as dirty water.
by NHK Listener 3/28/2011 12:10:00 PM

@Nancy Like to much water in a bucket
by NHK Listener 3/28/2011 12:12:00 PM

@nancy: do you have a link for the "british reporter" story?
by ifz 3/28/2011 12:12:16 PM

@ifz, have ABC Good Morning America on the TV right now. Will go check and see if they duplicated on their website yet.
by Nancy 3/28/2011 12:12:55 PM

Their website has some print content but does not mention the British reporter, they also did not identify who he works for. Here is the morning online content for that story. abcnews.go.com
by Nancy 3/28/2011 12:15:51 PM

Just sooo amazingly responsible these reporters aren't they eh? . If residents return to evac zone to collect possessions on the basis of his report can we lynch him?
by elainekirk 3/28/2011 12:21:34 PM

Re the proposed 'stress tests' for EU nuclear plants - note these will be voluntary www.euractiv.com
by es 3/28/2011 12:32:14 PM

@all chashing water leaks/flow is one of the most challanging and frustrating things to do.. ask any plumber or roofer... the gutter thats clogged is usually why you have a leak on the 1st floor ... water will flow in places you would never imagine... we recently just fixed a electrical condut line at a plant that had not just water, but when it rained (it started underground) it would "flow like a hose" out the end of the conduit that the electrical lines ran through... figuring where the water was getting in was the hardest part... so the pathway for the dirty water is not just related to the piping systems...
by fitter 3/28/2011 12:34:59 PM

JAIF Earthquake Report 34 - www.jaif.or.jp 28 March 20:00 JST
by es 3/28/2011 12:39:54 PM

The last information from IRSN (Paris) translate.googleusercontent.com
by Olivier 3/28/2011 12:41:12 PM

GOOD morning nuklear blog
by hans 3/28/2011 12:41:27 PM

election disaster in germany ggggggggggggg. green power is coming....
by hans 3/28/2011 12:41:34 PM

@Markfm this is bad news.
by hans 3/28/2011 12:41:37 PM

13.05 Clock: Another sharp increase in radioactivity in Fukushima first Especially at the reactor block 2 radiation of more than 1000 mSv per hour are measured. -ntv-
by hans 3/28/2011 12:41:49 PM

@fitter: i love finding leakages with uranin :) www.google.de
by ifz 3/28/2011 12:42:48 PM

and from ASN: translate.google.fr
by Olivier 3/28/2011 12:42:58 PM

@ifz never tried that one yet, but we do use bread stuffed down the pipe to make a quick repair, maybe they could try a "lot of RICE"
by fitter 3/28/2011 12:47:36 PM

@all can anyone tell if the radiatin numbers support the source possibly JUST being from the pool in that building, or is it deffenate that some is coming from the reator
by fitter 3/28/2011 12:49:56 PM

Another baffling quote from a TEPCO official: "If the additional tank of the No. 4 reactor is confirmed to be full, the reactor will be safe for now" mdn.mainichi.jp
by es 3/28/2011 12:54:11 PM

That mainichi article also mentions that, "Additional tanks are attached to the spent fuel pools to hold any spilled water"
by es 3/28/2011 12:54:49 PM

I am getting terribly confused now- not enough water for a while, now too much!
by fiona 3/28/2011 1:07:12 PM

@es Typing inaccurate writing by a non-technical person. They probably mean "If the additional tank of the No. 4 reactor SPENT FUEL POOL is confirmed to be full, the reactor and its SPENT FUEL POOL will be safe for now". This is a reasonable point -- given that the unit 4 was shut down for inspection, with all fuel off-loaded to the spent fuel pool.
by Joshua Diamond 3/28/2011 1:14:19 PM

Question - #4's spent fuel is the largest contained - by the reports of it being "safe" does that mean no pressure forming to spring a leak ?
by Salu 3/28/2011 1:19:02 PM

@Salu Pressure? The reactor is open and empty in no4
by NHK Listener 3/28/2011 1:20:02 PM

@es that's presuming that all the tanks are still intact... they might have been intact before earthquake/tsunami/explosion... but are they intact/holding water/mechanically sound now?
by asdf 3/28/2011 1:24:24 PM

EPA: Expect More Radiation in Rainwater blogs.forbes.com QUOTE:
by James Ward 3/28/2011 1:25:39 PM

this page has load of links that you might find helpful tvnewsradio.com
by fiona 3/28/2011 1:26:10 PM

Quote from Forbes article: The Environmental Protection Agency yesterday reported finding elevated levels of iodine-131, a product of nuclear fission, in rainwater in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. The levels exceed the maximum contaminant level (MCL) permitted in drinking water, but EPA continues to assure the public there is no need for alarm:

“It is important to note that the corresponding MCL for iodine-131 was calculated based on long-term chronic exposures over the course of a lifetime – 70 years. The levels seen in rainwater are expected to be relatively short in duration,” the agency states in a FAQ that accompanied yesterday’s brief news release.

“In both cases these are levels above the normal background levels historically reported in these areas.”
by James Ward 3/28/2011 1:26:34 PM

@James Ward Source?
by NHK Listener 3/28/2011 1:29:09 PM

@NHK Listener It is in his post a few lines down.
by borrrden 3/28/2011 1:30:49 PM

@borrrden Yup see it thx
by NHK Listener 3/28/2011 1:36:46 PM

Related to the Forbes article below, it has been reported in various links now that elevated radiation has been found in the states of Washington, Oregon, California, Colorado, Massachusetts, South Carolina, and Florida. Originally, US "experts" stated emphatically that "no radiation would reach the US". Then it became "if radiation reaches the US it will only be in trace amounts to small to be dangerous". Now we see that radiation exceeds the MCL in drinking water in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. What do the "experts" have to say now?
by James Ward 3/28/2011 1:37:39 PM

@James Ward Yeah, I seem to recall Obama using the word 'expected' in a similar way with regards to any radioactive material reaching the US. Hmm.
by es 3/28/2011 1:38:13 PM

@James Ward Those EPA standards are almost as old as the Fukushima plant itself. See question number three here: japan.usembassy.gov
by borrrden 3/28/2011 1:42:47 PM

@es Please, let's keep politics out of this discussion. I don't consider any politician to be an expert on radiation or the nuclear industry. I have expected better from the so-called nuclear industry "experts" who appeared on all of the TV networks early in the process and attempted to gloss over what was happening at the Fukushima facility. They seem to have disappeared in the last few days as the news has gotten irreversibly worse.
by James Ward 3/28/2011 1:44:36 PM

@James Ward I agree.. I like facts that can be verified, not speculation or hyperbole
by NHK Listener 3/28/2011 1:47:19 PM

www.cnn.com Highly radioactive water found in tunnel outside nuclear plant
By the CNN Wire Staff
March 28, 2011 7:22 a.m. EDT
by Sin 3/28/2011 1:48:37 PM