Japan Earthquake

Japan Earthquake | Page 1082

Thanks all. It was my 11th time on RT, the first time was 3/11, an eternity ago. Did anyone catch any glimpse of a fuel rod in the #3 video?
by bo 5/10/2011 2:42:01 PM

Too much stuff just gets buried overnight and everyone talks at cross purposes.
by Jim 5/10/2011 2:42:28 PM

Video released today of the inside of a fuel pool at Unit 3 www.youtube.com
by Ian 5/10/2011 2:42:56 PM

Nancy, they could have been doing maintenance on the control rod drive systems and usually they perform and operational check one at a time..
by dean 5/10/2011 2:44:13 PM

aslwww.cr.usgs.gov hang on to your pants.. wow.. check it out
by dean edited by elainekirk 5/10/2011 2:46:17 PM

elaine, I believe the manitude of that blast would vaporize some concrete and then have other pieces look like that
by dean 5/10/2011 2:47:15 PM

@dean it could have been the context he posted it in but it was presented as if they control rods were inserted as part of the emergency shut down, I doubted that was what he really meant but of course wasn't totally sure either. :-) It is on page 36 under unit 4.
by Nancy 5/10/2011 2:47:43 PM

@bo So that WAS you I saw on there, talking about how these accidents are always under-estimated in the beginning?
by Jim 5/10/2011 2:50:00 PM

nancy... is there any way to see the bo piece or hear it?
by dean 5/10/2011 2:50:41 PM

@dean www.youtube.com is @bo
by hudebnik edited by elainekirk 5/10/2011 2:54:50 PM

@Jim yes it was. And not the first time I have said it on TV this spring. Thank god for tenure!
by bo 5/10/2011 2:55:14 PM

There is a second RT interview tonight where they ask me in more detail about the contamination map that has been released. That should be up too before too long.
by bo 5/10/2011 2:57:58 PM

Great interview @bo were those @Nancy's pics ?
by elainekirk 5/10/2011 3:04:31 PM

bo... I want your autograph.. and was that LEANING REACTOR OF FUKUSHIMA photo from our great ladies... ?
by dean 5/10/2011 3:04:52 PM

my my my ... we have made the international live news... well done every one
by dean 5/10/2011 3:05:40 PM

@Nancy -skimmming through posts on last few pages -you mentioned a TEPCO employee alleged to have reported a vertical crack in containment vessel. This was mentioned in a press brefing I saw given by CNIC back in March. In this briefing failure of the flanges was also discussed. I don't think there's a video of that event -at least I haven;t found it on the CNIC site.
by UKVal 5/10/2011 3:05:48 PM

@dean, aw. And please, RT would love to talk to people with Actual expertise, not just a tourist like myself. So, volunteers?
by bo 5/10/2011 3:06:01 PM

@bo, great interview - well said. Hope this will generate more coverage.
by Mid Valley 5/10/2011 3:07:50 PM

is it possible the #4 sfp is tilting this way and spilling? the steam seems to start from a lower point than earlier
by elainekirk 5/10/2011 3:08:55 PM

@UKVal Yes, the vertical crack has been reported by different sources and damage to that containment vessel has been publicly confirmed by TEPCO. You can see it on the link I posted yesterday. I'll get that link here again. Mind, though, that the crack is on the CV concrete wall, not on the RPV steel casing like I have seen reported over and over again. There is yet no confirmation of RPV breach, although it is suspected in some cases.
by Pedro Jesus 5/10/2011 3:11:16 PM

An interesting article in the Japan Times today - "Tepco drowns media in data tsunami" search.japantimes.co.jp
by hudebnik 5/10/2011 3:13:13 PM

@elainekirk hard to tell from the images but the land side wall develops a downward uneven slope about where the SFP is (north-south). It is hard to tell if everything is taking that downward skew or just the wall framing on that side.
by Nancy 5/10/2011 3:14:21 PM

@bo I've been quoting you ever since it happened, on teuters and here. To tell you the truth, a lot of it fell on deaf hears; nobody wanted to hear it.
by Jim 5/10/2011 3:19:36 PM

@ Pedro J ty I hadn't picked up it had been reported elsewhere. I thought the official TEPCO line was that 'damage to the containment vessel is suspected'. You are right to highlight the distinction beteween containment & RPV though - confusion is very unhelpful
by UKVal 5/10/2011 3:20:57 PM

I would say from a structural standpoint that as the leaning continues it puts a bending moment arm on the vertical supports further stressing the internal superstructure which can result in concrete failure. Concrete does well under compression but not tensile stresses
by dean 5/10/2011 3:21:32 PM

@ Elaine -this is the 1st time I've seen webca pics when there appears to be little wind - this could explain apparent differences in where the steam starts
by UKVal 5/10/2011 3:22:47 PM

@Jim story of my life. Story of my decades of parenting.
by bo 5/10/2011 3:22:47 PM

IAEA's summary of reactors status. Specific info about #4 is missing for some reason. www.slideshare.net
by Pedro Jesus 5/10/2011 3:23:06 PM

@bo My son always knows that I WAS right. But he lets other people talk him into doing things because he doesn't want to make waves and just goes along with it. At 31, I think he's starting to see the light though.
by Jim 5/10/2011 3:26:03 PM

Re my first observation on the potentially leaky assemblies, i spent until now reviewing this clip. What I meant to see was at 1:29 and 1:57. I realized that I needed to view these clips in a player at full screen, not just embedded. With VLC the clouds I was first seeing now look like plays of light and shade. Perhaps there is some growth on the pebbles atop the assemblies. No motion to be seen with VLC.
by Peter Melzer 5/10/2011 3:26:25 PM

@UKVal Indeed. We have also to distinguish between levels of «suspicion». Some of the things TEPCO suspects have been supported by more and more evidence, some others have not yet been properly assessed because of access difficulty. We should always try to read between the lines on one hand, and practice some self-moderation on theorizing on the other. Speculation can be highly misleading.
by Pedro Jesus 5/10/2011 3:27:30 PM

I started a forum here: gloresis.lefora.com I didn't know what to call it, so I just put Nuclear Power.
by Jim 5/10/2011 3:27:42 PM

@Peter Melzer If you read through that slideshare info I just linked there is some information about leaks from the RPV's. They could come in handy in assessing that situation. They mention several leaks from pumps in the RPV's.
by Pedro Jesus 5/10/2011 3:29:38 PM

Maybe Nuclear Accidents and Earthquakes might have been better, but can change it.
by Jim 5/10/2011 3:29:59 PM

@Jim -forum seems a good idea. You are right that the blog is not a good source of info for people trying to catch up - thematic organisation makes more sense. How should we progress?
by UKVal 5/10/2011 3:33:59 PM