Japan Earthquake

Japan Earthquake | Page 176

@dean Hi, sure you'll be bombarded soon, so let me ask quick. Did your peers have any ideas what might have caused#2 torus to rupture?
by marie rich 3/28/2011 8:26:37 PM

Idaho, home of the INL.
by Markfm 3/28/2011 8:26:50 PM

@Natalie ....uuuuhhhh...that's alarming....that is definately green
by MaryMary 3/28/2011 8:27:24 PM

@Matsuoko OK, so this might be a more localized exposure of Pu due to the low water in the spent fuel pool?
by Jojo 3/28/2011 8:28:11 PM

@dean are you aware of what type of maintenance would have been taking place on reactor No. 4 at time of quake/tusnami? Also in reactor No. 3 are there MOX rods in the SFP and is it possible that MOX could be in any of the other reactors besides No. 3? Thanks
by Tenzing 3/28/2011 8:29:02 PM

@Matsuoko, in my understanding they must have surveyed the plant premises with a crude detection method first. Remember last week, when the first reports on the neutron "beams" came out? Japanese news reported more than five occurrences recorded at a distance to the reactor buildings of 1,500m. After that survey, they must have collected samples from the hottest sites for detailed analysis and now they have got the results.
by Peter Melzer 3/28/2011 8:29:16 PM

yes markfm.. are you in IDAHO too
by dean 3/28/2011 8:29:43 PM

@MaryMary Not as alarming as you think. The artifacts that show up if you push it further are also green. So the color might be coming from that.
by Natalie 3/28/2011 8:30:22 PM

No way, central NY, just Idaho tickled my one or two remaining brain cells.
by Markfm 3/28/2011 8:30:25 PM

Hope you don't get mad site-wise, but National Volunteer Fire Council www.nvfc.org has set up a fund for Japanses Firefighters Association. (following up on NHK video of son of a firefighter that who died trying to get the Tsunami gates closed).
by Pat 3/28/2011 8:30:35 PM

last picture and an older one combined (position of steam visible) i.imgur.com
by ifz via I.imgur 3/28/2011 8:30:59 PM

MARIE.. I didn't get a chance to spend a whole lot of time as I had meetings until I came for lunch.. .i will ask them tho... if we look at the evidence on what happened at #2 I'd say... combination of the quake damage and the explosion and subsequent fuel melt
by dean 3/28/2011 8:31:19 PM

@Natalie will this help www.youtube.com
by Tenzing 3/28/2011 8:31:38 PM

@Peter Melzer : i remember the neutron beams but i did not connect them with the recent findings. this all is strange. i think they know much more than they admit us to know.
by Matsuoko 3/28/2011 8:31:57 PM

Hey Dean, are reactors equipped with a black box like airplanes?
by Peter Melzer 3/28/2011 8:32:15 PM

@Natalie also captured images www.woweather.com
by VeenOui 3/28/2011 8:32:38 PM

@Matsuoko Spent nuclear fuel from normal light water reactors contains Plutonium, but it is a mixture of Plutonium-242, 240, 239 and 238. The mixture is not sufficiently enriched for efficient nuclear weapons, but can be used once as MOX fuel. Accidental neutron capture causes the amount of Plutonium-242 and 240 to grow each time the Plutonium is irradiated in a reactor with low-speed "thermal" neutrons, so that after the second cycle, the Plutonium can only be consumed by fast neutron reactors. en.wikipedia.org
by NHK Listener 3/28/2011 8:32:42 PM

TENZING, the only reason I can possibly think of for discharge of all the fuel would be some sort of inservice inspection in the core other than that.. they usually only discharge and replace 1/3 of the fuel or so
by dean 3/28/2011 8:32:48 PM

@matsuoko, makes me wonder about the artifacts on the night shots.
by Nancy 3/28/2011 8:32:50 PM

I thought the other day we came to the conclusion that the MOX fuel was in the reactor and not in the spent fuel pool.. however I'd have to confirm that. .
by dean 3/28/2011 8:33:26 PM

@dean does that mean there may have been fuel in NO. 4?
by Tenzing 3/28/2011 8:33:59 PM

@dean What were they going to load in number 4?\
by NHK Listener 3/28/2011 8:34:09 PM

@dean in the reactor/core?
by Tenzing 3/28/2011 8:34:40 PM

hi Peter.. good seeing you .. they don't have black boxes but.. they have very sophisicated computer systems for gathering data and printing out sequence of events...
by dean 3/28/2011 8:34:40 PM

Just to lighten the thread............Here's some more fodder for an SNL kit (suggested a few yesterday with Edano, NISA, Kan et al).
by quantman07 3/28/2011 8:34:49 PM

no mox fuel in #4 I thought the only reactor that has MOX fuel was #3
by dean 3/28/2011 8:35:32 PM

@Natalie what do you think about the green in this video? www.youtube.com
by Tenzing 3/28/2011 8:35:54 PM

@NHK Listener Could a dry BWR reactor be considered a fast neutron reactor ?
by Treiagonaut 3/28/2011 8:36:10 PM

not sure on that questions NHK.. I assume they would put a mixture of NEW fuel and recycled fuel in ...
by dean 3/28/2011 8:36:12 PM

Tenzing.. reactor and core on one in the same.. inside the reactor metal vessel
by dean 3/28/2011 8:37:02 PM

@Treiagonaut I don't think so. Not sure of your question
by NHK Listener 3/28/2011 8:37:17 PM

So SNL a skit on " How to date Pu" " Japanese dating Pu" " Would you like to date some Pu" I know I;m topic and raving mad, but these TEPCO guys trying to weasel their way out of Plutonium in the soil (as normal, background radiation) got to me!
by quantman07 3/28/2011 8:37:19 PM

Treiagonaut.. as far as I know they are thermal neutron reactors
by dean 3/28/2011 8:37:31 PM

@tenzig, #4 was empty. Only rods in the sfp
by Nancy 3/28/2011 8:37:45 PM

@dean right, That is what TEMPCO states. My question is can you use MOX in any of the other reactors, do they require some form of modification to use MOX fuel, if not how do we know MOX isn't in they other reactors?
by Tenzing 3/28/2011 8:38:53 PM

I didn't like the report saying.. oh well . there have been readings from past nuclear detonations of Plutonium... dang it.. this isn't before .. this is now and every effort needs to be done to prove.. it's NOT from the reactor accidents ...
by dean 3/28/2011 8:39:01 PM

@Matsuoko, this must have taken them that long. Alpha analyses may be technically quite involved. Perhaps they had to send the samples somewhere offsite. When I watch the press conferences, I often feel they know more, but won't say anything, because they are not sure yet, and then, of course, the tell you only what they must.
by Peter Melzer 3/28/2011 8:39:01 PM

@Nancy : if it is true that the now found plutonium caused the "neutron beams" i am willing to believe that #3 glows in the dark ..... but the glowing seemed green, cherenko light is blue.
by Matsuoko 3/28/2011 8:39:17 PM

Tenzing.. I'm not certain of what has to be done to a reactor in total to burn mox fuel but the others were not burning any of it... would haev to research that
by dean 3/28/2011 8:39:48 PM

Radiation detected in NEOhio www.newsnet5.com ...had to chuckle at the second paragraph...According to a news release from CWRU, Professor Gerald Matisoff detected tiny amounts of iodine-131 on the top of the A.W. Smith Building, but said the presence of it is not dangerous to humans.
by MaryMary 3/28/2011 8:40:22 PM

@Matsuoko could it be due to being covered by boronwater?? could that shift color?
by Meretisa 3/28/2011 8:40:24 PM

@Nancy see dean comment @1:32
by Tenzing 3/28/2011 8:40:26 PM

@Matsuoko What kind of presentation of data would help you guys understand this better? Seeing all of the elements found in the reactor over time, pressure in each reactor over time, heat, radiation readings, ?
by Jojo 3/28/2011 8:40:35 PM

Peter,,, I want to take my hat off to you .. for getting that data on the pressure curves which was such an important find.. WAY TO GO MAN..
by dean 3/28/2011 8:40:36 PM

@Tenzing I have absolutely no clue. Like I said, I think the coloration is because its dark. And it just happened to pick up a small bit of green. It happens a lot when you try to brighten really dark images. Areas will pick up artifacts of green. I don't think the green part is anything to worry about. I was more interested in the glow in general.
by Natalie 3/28/2011 8:40:49 PM