Shucks, I’m glad I’m such a laid back, happy guy. If I weren’t, I’d almost think you were rooting for a worst-case scenario!
I am not, I just happen to be down wind at the moment. But at least I am glad to see you admit there is a worst case scenario, because I thought you were saying there’s no way anything worse can happen.
more news:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-11386_3-20042852-76.html
At a press conference in Tokyo, Masashi Goto, who worked for Toshiba as a reactor researcher and designer, said the mixed oxide (MOX) fuel used in unit 3 of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant contains plutonium, which is much more toxic than the fuel used in the other reactors.
MOX fuel is a mixture of uranium and plutonium reprocessed from spent uranium, and is sometimes involved in the disposal of weapons-grade plutonium.
From the NEI web site:
UPDATE AS OF 9:15 A.M. EDT, TUESDAY, MARCH 15:
Fukushima Daiichi
Units 1 and 3 at Fukushima Daiichi are stable and cooling is being maintained through seawater injection. Primary containment integrity has been maintained on both reactors.
The Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) reported an explosion in the suppression pool at Fukushima Daiichi Unit 2, at 7:14 p.m. EDT on March 14. Reactor water level was reported to be at 2.7 meters below the top of the fuel. The pressure in the suppression pool decreased from 3 atmospheres to 1 atmosphere. Radiation readings at the site increased to 96 millirem per hour.
Dose rates at Fukushima Daiichi as reported at 10:22 p.m. EDT on March 14 were:
Near Unit 3 reactor building 40 rem/hr
Near Unit 4 reactor building 10 rem/hr
At site boundary 821 millirem/hr.
Kitaibaraki (200 km south of site) 0.4 millirem/hr.
We are working on getting updated information on radiation and dose rates at and near the plant.
Station personnel not directly supporting reactor recovery efforts have been evacuated, leaving approximately 50 staff members at the site. Operators are no longer in the main control room due to high radiation levels.
Safety relief valves were able to be re-opened and seawater injection into the reactor core was restarted around 1 a.m. EDT on March 15 and is continuing.
At Unit 4 on March 14 at approximately 8:38 p.m. EDT, a fire was reported in the reactor building. It is believed to have been from a lube oil leak in a system that drives recirculation water pumps. Fire fighting efforts extinguished the fire. The roof of the reactor building was damaged.
News:
Now besides Iodine-131 and Caesium-137, they are now detecting neutron radiation near the Fukushima plant. neutron radiation is way worse than gamma radiation exposure.
hopefully things will be all under control soon, since they’ve some out and annouced again things are going well.
For those in the area, don’t take iodine tablets until you hear of fallout danger. Don’t bother with iodine antiseptic on the neck/head (it’s useless.)
This has gotten bad, but it’s still somewhere north of Three Mile Island and south of Chernobyl (which is a gigantic gap.)
Forgive me because I do not mean to make light of the situation, but hearing that over and over again is reminding me of Bagdad Bob because of their increasing credibility problem.
Baghdad Bob’s credibility problem didn’t come from repetition, it came from direct evidence that he was making 100% false statements. Does any evidence exist that the Japanese are lying about the exposure levels?
Lying? Maybe not. But they have garnered a history of saying “Everything is under control!” cue explosion
Why am I suddenly reminded of the scene from Deep Blue Sea where Sam Jackson is giving his “We’re gonna get out of here alive!” speech and then gets CHOMPED by a shark.
I’ll take a bunch of planned, non-damaging explosions over one unexpected radiation release. Fingers crossed!
I’m fairly sure that none of the explosions were planned (although the last one seems to have been anticipated.)
We do have some radiation release, but I don’t think anyone knows the full extent at this point (or, those that do are otherwise occupied.)
It’s funny, new statements witn more concern and less “everything is under control” is actually making me feel more safe. Because I get the feeling that the worst is over.
In Taiwan there’s the nation-wide radiation detection realtime update website:
http://www.aec.gov.tw/www/gammadetect.php
which is swamped by traffic at the moment, so all the data i
The projected plume travel paths to the 19th.
Currently winds are still heading towards US and Canada. It’s freezing here in Taiwan though, apparently that cold air is coming from Mongolia. If the winds do change direction and head south, the likely path will head towards the pacific islands.
More news:
At 10:40 am Japan time, they evacuated those workers who are still in the plant. The radiation around the plant has since then dropped to 6.4 mSv/hour (normal radiation is around 0.030~0.090 mSv/h depending on the altitude). As of 3 hours later, the workers have not received instructions to return. [EDIT] The workers are now allowed back inside the plant. That’s great news.
Smoke/Steam are emerging from Reactor 3 and Reactor 4. Reactor 4 had a fire that was put out, but Reactor 3 is emitting a plume of steam into the sky because the containment was damaged during an explosion. Reactor 3 is the one with the plutonium.
Meanwhile, 20 km northwest of Fukushima, radiation levels is at 330 mSv/h, 6,600 times the normal radiation level (annual radiation exposure of a person in normal situation is at 2400 mSv). They’ve also measured inside a vehicle, and inside the car radiation is at 300 mSv/h. The Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology concluded that vehicles are insufficient shelter.
projetion of Plume’s Path from NYtimes:
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/03/16/science/plume-graphic.html?ref=science
I sort of regret my choice in wording. It was wrong of me to equate them to Bagdad Bob, but I couldn’t think of a better example.
However, case in point…
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2011/03/16/exp.arena.nuclear.japan.cnn?hpt=T2
Many Japanese citizens have lost faith in statements by their government. CNN’s Anderson Cooper reports from Tokyo.
So… If a company in a country known for its advances in nuclear power safety, containment, handling, etc., cannot be trusted due its history of giving “misleading” information, how can we expect any better here in the US? Like I’ve (tried to) said, nuclear power itself may be safe and all, but companies in the US consistently put profits and maintaining deadlines above safety as we’ve seen with BP and coal mining companies.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/03/15/drug-stores-report-sudden-increase-potassium-iodide-sales/
U.S. Drug Stores Report Sudden Increase in Potassium Iodide Sales
One drug supplier says it has sold 250,000 anti-radiation pills to people in the U.S. concerned about possible exposure from Japanese nuclear reactors.
Troy Jones, president of Nukepills.com, said his company sold out over the weekend of potassium iodide pills, which prevent against radiation poisoning of the thyroid gland. Jones, in an interview with FoxNews.com, said that the pills were sold to dozens of U.S. pharmacies, corporations, hospitals and nuclear labs.
“You name it,” he said.
…
Alan Morris, president of the company, reportedly said that the supplier is receiving about three orders a minute for $10 packages of its Iosat pills.
“Those who don’t get it are crying. They’re terrified,” Morris told the newspaper.
sighs
Having worked in the US nuclear industry (at an operating nuclear power plant) for the last decade, and previously worked in the manufacturing industry, I can say that the nuclear industry is very different. There is a level of sharing and disclosure between nuclear power plants that you never ever see in manufacturing or other industries. It’s two fold: 1) it’s a small industry and everyone has the same goal - keep the plants safe and running; 2) it’s mandated from the NRC that we must share and learn from each other. We all recognize that if one plant screws up or cuts corners, it will affect everyone else.
At the nuclear plants I have worked at, public and staff safety was always the first thing to be discussed and the #1 priority, over schedule and costs. Now I’m not saying they won’t cut bonuses for their employee’s to give the shareholders a profit…
Do they have a history of giving misleading information? I’d like to know more.
Pretty much everything they’ve said thus far.
“Everything is under cont… Boom!”