Japan Earthquake

Japan Earthquake | Page 1374

I have read back a ways and see some good thoughts on timing of severe accident system and instrumentation responses. Also how the IAEA, NRC, DOE, NEI and others weigh in on investigations that will take place on the japanese incidents.
by dean 5/25/2011 1:55:45 PM

I believe and have seen from doing nulcear testing with the Japanese that any outside group will be inside Japan, dealing with getting data, trying to make assumptions on initial conditions with out being able to go into the plant to perform an in depth study to try and re-create what happened, etc. As a result all of the results will be skewed based on "initial condition assumptions", the times to fuel melt, slump, bottom head impingement and breach, fuel corium to the concrete etc. will differ wildly, and, I would be surprised if the GOJ and their nuclear regulators will allow a free run on anything.
by dean 5/25/2011 2:01:49 PM

I have found at looking at the chernoybl, TMI, and now fukushima accidents, no matter what the mechanisms are that takes a core to the onset of a severe accident, the timelines go extremely fast, milliseconds, to seconds to minutes for initial onset to fuel damage. Commerical big reactors are not very forgiving when the fuel is not provided with enough flow to remove heat or water to remain covered, it's like striking a match and timing how long it takes for the first signs of a flame to start.
by dean 5/25/2011 2:07:01 PM

This week at my work I've gone out of my way to ask my nuclear analysis friends one question,,, what's your take on fukushima accident,, ,they have all pretty much reponsed.. "classic boil-off, uncovering core and fuel melt"
by dean 5/25/2011 2:09:50 PM

@dean - exactly what I have been trying to get verbally articulate since the beginning. TY.
by Lethbridgean 5/25/2011 2:10:13 PM

articulated. But I am a Millwright and my typing skills suck.
by Lethbridgean 5/25/2011 2:11:21 PM

I have found one severe accident report that in the best way is close to fukushima (excluding earthquake and flooding damage). I say this because they assume loss of critical decay heat remove and vessel water addition. the report is on the Browns Ferry Reactor incident where a cable tray fire occured and rendered them to a station blackout condition.. I reference it in my write up that has been posted on the web site..
by dean 5/25/2011 2:12:22 PM

no worry on typing skills Leth.. I make more than my share
by dean 5/25/2011 2:12:52 PM

one thing that I believe the BWR's have is they already are boiling, producing steam in the vessel so they are a ways down the road to full boil-off at the beginning of any severe accident.. a PWR is full of water
by dean 5/25/2011 2:14:31 PM

taking a break will return..
by dean 5/25/2011 2:14:41 PM

Morning all! Just read this on Kyodo after reading all the articles on NHK implying that the situation is much worse than assumed....................Japan ends projections of radioactive substance spread from nuke plant
TOKYO, May 25, Kyodo
I din't get it!!!!
by LM 5/25/2011 2:15:07 PM

@Nancy @Lethbridgean The Torch report on Chernobyl www.chernobylreport.org estimated the total collective dose from that disaster to be 600,000 person Sieverts. The IAEA said it was 55,000 person Sieverts, a factor of underestimation of more than 10. I think we can expect that the IAEA will grossly underestimate the dangers of the current situation, maybe only slightly less than Tepco.
by Bobby1 5/25/2011 2:15:11 PM

I guess they're turning off predictions just in time for typhoon season...
by LM 5/25/2011 2:16:30 PM

@Bobby1 - I agree that they are not impartial and are tied too close to those that they are investigating. In law this would be called a "conflict of interest."
by Lethbridgean 5/25/2011 2:17:31 PM

@Lethbridgean @Bobby1 agreed
by Panserbjorne9 5/25/2011 2:19:51 PM

Fukushima Residents undergo Radiation checks

OYAMA, Fukushima — An increasing number of residents here, feeling insecure about their health and discrimination against them, have taken screening tests for radiation, with a few of them found to have been exposed to levels of radiation higher than the legal limit.

nuclearhistory.wordpress.com
by Panserbjorne9 5/25/2011 2:21:40 PM

EU reaches deal on nuclear stress tests

The EU and nuclear safety regulators have agreed to examine whether atomic power plants in the bloc can withstand accidents, natural disasters and several kinds of terror attacks.
The European Commission and the EU's 27 national nuclear safety authorities said Wednesday the checks will start on June 1 and last for much of the rest of the year. The final results should be announced publicly by April next year.

The idea of performing "stress tests" on nuclear plants arose because of the accidents at the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan following the earthquake and tsunami on March 11.

www.taiwannews.com.tw
by Panserbjorne9 5/25/2011 2:23:03 PM

Demand for personal Geiger counters soars in Japan

With a nuclear plant just 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo still leaking radiation, demand for personal Geiger counters has skyrocketed in the Japanese capital and manufacturers are struggling to keep up with the demand.
www.reuters.com
by Panserbjorne9 5/25/2011 2:26:00 PM

"The Japan Meteorological Agency has stopped giving projections of the spread of radioactive substances from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant as the International Atomic Energy Agency is no longer asking for them, JMA officials said Wednesday." mdn.mainichi.jp
by Bobby1 5/25/2011 2:26:08 PM

Swiss cabinet agrees to phase out nuclear power
ZURICH, May 25 (Reuters) - The Swiss government decided on Wednesday to phase out nuclear power by 2034 after the Japan disaster shook public confidence in the industry, but said it will not shut any existing power plants prematurely.

af.reuters.com
by Panserbjorne9 5/25/2011 2:28:11 PM

It looks like the IAEA is there to organize the coverup. Tepco has been deemed too incompetent to do so.
by Bobby1 5/25/2011 2:28:37 PM

Climate change poses a serious threat to the future safety of nuclear power plants, a UK-based researcher has warned in a respected science journal. Natalie Kopytko says there are "serious doubts" that nuclear can cope with our changing global weather.

Read more: www.thefirstpost.co.uk
by Panserbjorne9 5/25/2011 2:29:18 PM

I wonder what the aftermath of shutting down all nuclear plants over a period of 1 month would be on society..
by dean 5/25/2011 2:30:46 PM

@dean well, there would be an uptick in the sales of candles and oil lamps.
by Panserbjorne9 5/25/2011 2:32:28 PM

@dean I heard PWRs mentioned multiple places as being "safer" in such a situation. I haven't studied much on how they work but they seem to be able to handle the power loss better.
by Nancy 5/25/2011 2:32:39 PM

@dean Like Japan or German?
by Nancy 5/25/2011 2:32:58 PM

Author of A-bomb manga speaks out in support of Fukushima nuclear disaster victims

Many parallels have been drawn between the destruction wrought by the Great East Japan Earthquake and the aftermath of World War II, but a prolific anti-war cartoonist points to a more subtle concern: discrimination.

Residents of areas affected by the nuclear disaster have been forced to evacuate, and some have already felt the distrust of their new neighbors.

In a recent interview with The Asahi Shimbun, Keiji Nakazawa, the author of the epic manga series "Hadashi no Gen" (Barefoot Gen), said he feared that the stigma of exposure to radioactivity remains just as bad today as it was soon after the 1945 bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

www.asahi.com
by Panserbjorne9 5/25/2011 2:34:04 PM

In the aftermath of the Fukushima-Daiichi incident it should be recognised that all forms of generation involve risk — although wind and solar are among the safest.

It was a bit astounding. Somehow, despite the massive tsunami that hit Japan's Kamisu offshore wind farm 11 March 2011, its seven turbines emerged intact. While the crushing wave wrecked almost everything in its path, the turbines stood tall and continued to generate power. Meanwhile, the world watched nervously as workers struggled to prevent a catastrophic meltdown at Japan's Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear plant, site of explosions and radiation leaks. Despite its redundant safety systems and sturdy cement and steel layering, the nuclear plant's systems ultimatley failed. Yet the wind farm, exposed and buffeted by the earthquake's full force and the subsequent tsunami, survived.
www.renewableenergyworld.com
by Panserbjorne9 5/25/2011 2:35:25 PM

@Dean, if your still here. I have a good portion of the worker heat article done. Will email you the link
by Nancy 5/25/2011 2:37:23 PM

Live streaming of Greenpeace Japan's report on nuclear contaminated waters around Fukushima- May 26
The results will be reported at a press conference on Thursday May 26, from 11:30-12:30 (Tokyo Time). For those unable to attend the press conference, it will be screened live at the following link: http://www.greenpeace.org/japan/ja/library/ustream/
tenthousandthingsfromkyoto.blogspot.com
by Panserbjorne9 5/25/2011 2:37:43 PM

@dean : i can see no impact on society here in germany. this week we have only 4 npps out of 17 runnung. nothing bad happening. no riots, no assaults, no nervous breakdowns. as i said before, better blackout than meltdown.
by Edano 5/25/2011 2:38:22 PM

ah, and our economy is fine, running like a shinkansen.
by Edano 5/25/2011 2:39:24 PM

ok Nancy I will look at it..... @Edano.. good to see you,,, I think the world would survive
by dean 5/25/2011 2:39:32 PM

@dean : have you read this:
by Edano 5/25/2011 2:40:12 PM

nancy .. I mean all over the world
by dean 5/25/2011 2:40:49 PM

"The utility said that analysis of pressure and temperature data from the days after the quake shows that the No.3 reactor lost its cooling system on March 13th. Much of its nuclear fuel likely melted down and collected at the bottom of the pressure vessel over the next 24 hours.

The analysis also shows that piping in an emergency cooling mechanism, known as a high-pressure coolant injection system, may have been damaged by the earthquake. The system is designed to maintain the water level inside the reactor vessel during an emergency.

The system is known to have automatically switched on shortly after noon on March 12th." [kyodo]
by Edano 5/25/2011 2:40:57 PM

or is it.. can't live with it.. can't live without it
by dean 5/25/2011 2:41:20 PM

i know it was posted yesterday, but in case anyone missed it. Significant, telling, and sad.
Elderly volunteers seek to stabilize nuclear plant
More than 160 elderly people have volunteered to brave high radioactivity and help stabilize the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in response to a call from a former engineer in an effort a government official calls a "suicide corps."

www.asahi.com
by Panserbjorne9 5/25/2011 2:43:13 PM

now we can study the aftermath of a triple meltdown on society and economy.
by Edano 5/25/2011 2:43:42 PM

Edano.. I've learned in my career to love analyses.. but, I need to see the assumptions they are based on first before I trust much,, and in the comments.. the operative is .. "MAY HAVE BEEN DAMAGED"..
by dean 5/25/2011 2:43:45 PM

ty Panser for your posts,,, you find the best stuff
by dean 5/25/2011 2:44:03 PM

@dean Shutting down all nuclear power plants would give an immediate boost to practical renewable energy technologies.
by Bobby1 5/25/2011 2:44:33 PM