Originally posted by jester PANIC: Tokyo Electric says may drop water by helicopter onto reactor's spent-fuel cooling pond
Courtesy of Drudge Report
This is like what backup plan #5?
The stupidity of building 27 nuclear reactors in an earthquake/tsunami zone. It also might have been a good idea to not put the backup generators at ground level.
Kevin Lea, on 15 March 2011 at 3:02 PM said:
"Also, as soon as the zirconium metal melts in the presence of water, it produces hydrogen gas. The hydrogen explosions at the Japanese power plants were due to hydrogen given off by the melting zirconium. This is proof positive that very significant melting has occurred. Three Mile Island also had several hydrogen explosions due to the melting of the core but they were all contained within the containment dome since the TMI design does not have a building outside of the dome."
"This meltdown is much more serious than the author portrayed. However, he is correct in stating that if the containment is not breached, then the disaster will be limited, just like it was at Three Mile Island. However, if the containment is breached, the tens of thousands of Rem (measure of radiation) per hour of fission product radioactivity that will be around for decades will be spread into the environment and create a disaster similar to Chernobyl.
If a person receives 500 Rem in a short period of time, they have a 50% chance of dying. Typical background radiation is about 100 millirem (one tenth of a Rem) in one year."
Excellent. So now we just all have to pray that the last line of defense works, or we're probably dead.
The fact that they're using sea water to try and cool the thing suggests it is/was a last-ditch effort. The salt in the sea water would corrode the reactor and render it pretty much useless.
srussell0018
quote:
Originally posted by DancingMonkey
If a person receives 500 Rem in a short period of time, they have a 50% chance of dying.
That's with no medical attention at all, and it's up to 50%. Saying that 50% of people will die if exposed to that amount of radiation is pretty excessive.
Joss Weatherby
The amount of contradictory statements I am reading is amazing.
Listen, radiation is dangerous, but its not like poison gas, it won't start killing people instantly, at least not in the amounts that could be released even under a worst possible case scenario.
Everyone freaking out on the west coast (I read something in a Daily Mail article, lol, which said that people on the west coast had all bought potassium iodide tablets in panic and people would couldn't get them were crying) has little to worry about. The Pacific is HUGE, it contains incredibly active weather patterns, including rain and high winds. Even in a worst case scenario the amount of radiation reaching here would be barely visible above background levels and certainly not a health hazard.
Again, from everything I have read, the worst possible case is a total failure of the containment structure, from THE BOTTOM down. This would allow another safety feature of this BWR style design to initiate, and that is for the molten fuel to pool in the base and spread out in to a non-critical mass, again cooling.
The chance of this radiation being exposed widely to the atmosphere is small, because if there is a failure of the containment vessel, then the whole system becomes unpressurized, negating the chance for a large steam explosion, which is usually the method of dispersal for radioactive fall out in a nuclear accident.
DaveT
I dunno anyone who is worried about the radiation out here.
I do know people who have family in Japan who are worried...about their family in Japan.
One of the things they are worried about with the reactor is that if multiple rods fall or thrown into the pool or whatever, they fear it might cause critical mass to be reached and that wouldn't be good. at all.
And if a building is damaged or cracked, plenty of pressure can build up inside still. And if it builds pressure faster than steam/gasses can escape, then it can still go boom.
I don't think horrible anything will happen *knock on wood*, but every time something new happens it seems like some new danger or how things could turn out come to light. And I'm not the crap coming from CNN (they are good for initial headliner and video online. do research for details!) or other media that sensationalizes everything (CNN USA has been doing the fear stuff with the nulcear plants since it started, when it wasn't even considered much...terrible). If you must do CNN, try to watch CNNi not CNN USA.
The17sss
GAHHH!!! I can't ing stand all the talking heads on tv now! It's a disaster... no it's not a disaster. The radiation isn't bad... correction, we now have nuclear snow and your children will be born with a 3rd eye in the center of their forehead.
"Here's our latest expert, John Doe, from the Nuclear Geological Seismic Tectonic University of Tectonic Richter Scales who says the U.S. has a 1 in 12 chance of experiencing a tsunami by the year 2017." Shut the up! The worthless media is running around with their heads up their assess inundating the world with 99% incorrect or unsubstantiated speculation, creating so much panic that pharmacies 15,000 miles away in Philadelphia are running out of potassium iodide.
EddieZilker
quote:
Originally posted by The17sss
GAHHH!!! I can't ing stand all the talking heads on tv now! It's a disaster... no it's not a disaster. The radiation isn't bad... correction, we now have nuclear snow and your children will be born with a 3rd eye in the center of their forehead.
"Here's our latest expert, John Doe, from the Nuclear Geological Seismic Tectonic University of Tectonic Richter Scales who says the U.S. has a 1 in 12 chance of experiencing a tsunami by the year 2017." Shut the up! The worthless media is running around with their heads up their assess inundating the world with 99% incorrect or unsubstantiated speculation, creating so much panic that pharmacies 15,000 miles away in Philadelphia are running out of potassium iodide.
+1,800,578 Isotopes.
jester
quote:
The situation at the quake-hit Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant in northeastern Japan ''has worsened considerably,'' the Institute for Science and International Security said in a statement released Tuesday.
Referring to fresh explosions that occurred earlier in the day at the site and problems in a pool storing spent nuclear fuel rods, the Washington-based think tank said, ''This accident can no longer be viewed as a level 4 on the International Nuclear and Radiological Events scale that ranks events from 1 to 7.''
Noting that a level 4 incident involves ''only local radiological consequences,'' it said the ongoing crisis is ''now closer to a level 6, and it may unfortunately reach a level 7'' -- a worst case scenario with extensive health and environmental consequences.
''The international community should increase assistance to Japan to both contain the emergency at the reactors and to address the wider contamination. We need to find a solution together,'' it said.
(Courtesy of Kyodo)
I hear the helicopter idea is out of the question now :/
igottaknow
quote:
Originally posted by jester
(Courtesy of Kyodo)
I hear the helicopter idea is out of the question now :/
that can't be true, Nou told us its not really that bad. even though his voice is getting shriller with each post.
