Pick a number, and that reactor is described as being near a meltdown. The news coverage coming out of Japan is even more confused when American media deciphers it. Hopefully hard facts come in soon…
Meltdown occurred according to Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency
URGENT: March 12 00:00 PST: Explosion at Nuclear Facility
VIDEO of explosion at nuke plant.
Reuters Live Earthquake News Feed
Several people appear to be injured at Fukushima nuclear plant – NHK
Walls and roof of a building at site destroyed by blast – NHK via Sky News
UPDATE: 22:50 PST: BREAKING NEWS: Pressure successfully released from Fukushima No. 1 reactor: agency
UPDATE: 21:47 PST: Meltdown underway at Reactor #1? http://twitter.com/#!/dicklp
Fukushima fuel cores are melting at 2000C and dropping onto steel floor. Steel melts at 1500C. Could still be brought under control, but Four other Fukushima nuke reactors are struggling with similar problem. If multiple meltdown begins, it will be uncontrollable.
Nuclear reactor coolant systems are running on batteries, and the coolant has reached the boiling point. Extremely critical situation currently at several earthquake affected nuclear reactors. Officials are concerned that a Three Mile Island 1979 meltdown could happen here. Reuters Link
From the LA Times:
Conditions appear to be worsening at a nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture in northeastern Japan, according to local media.
The Kyodo news agency reported that the cooling system has failed at three reactors of Fukushima No. 2 nuclear power plant. The coolant water’s temperature had reached boiling temperature, the agency reported, citing the power plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power.
The cooling system failure at the No. 2 power plant came after officials were already troubled by the failure of the emergency cooling system at the Fukushima No. 1 plant, which officials feared could cause a meltdown.
Harrabin on BBC news being very non-alarmist at the moment, even pointing out that hydro-power is more fatal per kwh than nuclear.
BBC News: Japanese authorities are extending the evacuation zone around the two Fukushima nuclear plants from 10km to 20km, according to local media.
Nuclear power has always been volatile. No matter the safeguards something can go wrong. If the same time and money that has gone into developing nuclear power had gone instead into developing low energy nuclear reaction it would already be in use. I already know some will tell me low energy nuclear reaction doesn’t work and that no nuclear reaction is taking place in it. It has been commonly, an incorrectly, called cold fusion. And that has left a lasting impression that fusion takes place in the reaction. But fusion does not take place. And since no fusion is taking place some are saying it does not produce more energy out than is put in. But it does.
This video will show that it does work:
Oh, youtube video tags need to be on a line all by themselves to show up embedded as a video, if you put them on a line with any other text they are presented just as a link! Please add that to the instructions below the input box. [reply – I think those are standard instructions – not sure they can be modified. ~jove, mod] Thanks.
CNN reports:
Japan may have been moved 8 feet!
“(CNN) — The powerful earthquake that unleashed a devastating tsunami Friday appears to have moved the main island of Japan by 8 feet (2.4 meters) and shifted the Earth on its axis.
“At this point, we know that one GPS station moved (8 feet), and we have seen a map from GSI (Geospatial Information Authority) in Japan showing the pattern of shift over a large area is consistent with about that much shift of the land mass,” said Kenneth Hudnut, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
Reports from the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology in Italy estimated the 8.9-magnitude quake shifted the planet on its axis by nearly 4 inches (10 centimeters).”
http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/03/12/japan.earthquake.tsunami.earth/index.html
Michael says:
March 12, 2011 at 2:19 am
the Russian Kamchatka volcanoes
The video you posted is from October 28, 2010. Is there a new eruption happening today?
pwl says:
March 12, 2011 at 2:26 am
– – – – – –
pwl,
All the Fukushima Daiichi (1F) site and Daini (2F) site nuclear plant have structurally square reactor buildings. It is the design for the model BWRs at those sites. The cylindrical reactor buildings are mostly PWR reactors.
You can google BWR Mark 1 reactors and if you search long enough you can probably get the basic structure of the type of BWR that 1F1 is.
Note: I think that there may be a cosmetic set of paneling supported by steel structural beams over the original concrete faced essential structure of the reactor buildings. The paneling with its supporting structure would just be to make the building look better than the original grayish essential concrete structure of the reactor building. I am sure detail will emerge about the explosion to support or reject these thoughts.
John
Ok first things first: Fukushima I is a BWR (Boiling Water Reactor) not a PWR (Pressurized Water Reactor) that most people think of when dealing with nuke plants. A BWR works by boiling the water directly into steam and then having it turn the Turbines for power, then re-condensing the water and pumping it back in. A PWR uses a secondary loop and a Steam Generator.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boiling_water_reactor
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pressurized_water_reactor
So What does this mean?
Yesterday they stated that the Reactor Core had reached 2000 psi, where most BWR’s are designed to operate at around 650 PSI (PWR’s are designed for around 2000 PSI operation). Now the atmospheric pressure in the containment building has no bearing on the pressure inside the pressure vessel. So if you have high pressure in the steam lines in the Turbine building, you have the same pressure inside the Reactor pressure vessel unless they are able to shut the valves between the two building and isolate the two. If that is the case the Steam in the Turbine building would NOT increase in Temp/Pressure but the Pressure Vessel would since that is what is generating the heat (latent heat from the rods).
Now the Fukushima I plant is also an old design and there have been doubts about them if they experience what they are going through right now.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boiling_water_reactor#Disadvantages
We know from press reports that the emergency release valves to the stacks failed, they have been doing the pressure releases manually.
Also NHK in Japan has reported that the Japanese Government has stated that the core has been exposed 90 centimeters and that at least one rod has started melt.
At this time the Japanese Government doesn’t know if it was the Turbine building or the Containment building (this leads to that the reactor has not been isolated from the Turbine building via valves).
Naval Nuclear Power School graduate Class 8602
In this video Al Gored supplied at about 50 seconds in there is a closeup, there is what appears to be one single frame, maybe two, at the instance of the explosions where you can see a flash inside the building. By the next frame the gray smoke has already engulphed the front of that building.
Wonder if that could have been a buildup of hydrogen or such, if it was steam pressure that blew you shouldn’t see a bright flash.
Does anyone have a way to get to a single frame out of these videos? It’s hard to get it to stop at just the right point.
A lot of reactors world wide do not have those big concrete domed reactor vessels, especially for BWR style reactors that operate at much lower temps and pressures then PWR.
Bob Buchanan says:
I don’t understand why the systems don’t automatically withdraw the fuel rods and stop the energy producing chain reaction.
Fission in a reactor is regulated by control rods, made of a neutron adsorbing material. These have to be withdrawn from the reactor for fission to take place. Inserting the control rods can stop any chain reaction very quickly.
However a significent amount of energy continues to be produced due to radioactive decay, from fission products, their daughter elements and isotopes resulting from neutron capture. Cooling is needed to prevent the fuel assembles melting for some time after a reactor shutdown.
V says:
March 11, 2011 at 11:07 pm
Can someone comment on the credentials of the Union of Concerned Scientists commentary at this stage.
Their name is not accurate.The organization is not comprised of all scientists. There are some scientists in it. But it should be called The Union of Concerned Activists. Their web site nowhere says they are all scientists.
……an alliance of more than 250,000 citizens and scientists. UCS members are people from all walks of life: parents and businesspeople, biologists and physicists, teachers and students.
link to their web site:
http://www.ucsusa.org/about/
I thought there were laws in the USA about misleading naming of organizations. Maybe no one has ever challenged their naming.
They are also activists for global warming. Bill Nye refers to them to substantiate his alarmists opinions of global warming. I suppose if they were called The Union of Concerned Activists he would not refer to them. The word ‘Scientists’ give them a level of credibility they do not really have, or deserve.
Here is NHK, Japanese state television, on the right and commentary in English on the left:
http://www.ustwrap.info/multi/yokosonews::nhk-gtv
Fukushima nuke plant out of control? RT talks to nuclear expert from Hiroshima, Japan
It’s possible, depending on how much of the core has melted. The more of the core that melts the more hydrogen is released and forms a bubble at the top of the pressure vessel. We all should know how explosive Hydrogen when there is enough Oxygen present so a single spark and boom. This was one of the fears of happening at Three Mile Island:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Mile_Island_accident
News media splash pages will be running the explosion mostly throughout the day and likely will have it as a lead for days.
Countries that have no better alternative may accelerate and/or retro their plants. The Japanese will for sure continue building theirs but will turn their engineering skills to fix whatever the outcome is from this one from locations to withstanding a 10.0+ quake in a Cat 5 hurricane while buffeted by a Cat 5 tornado with a near-miss of an asteroid strike. The Japanese are not the best creative people on Earth but, imho, are the best engineers.
Politically, in the US, expect Obama to completely shut down the nuke industries including “increased” inspections followed by various agencies issuing shutdowns to fix whatever issues they find. The narrative becomes a narrative of safety and fear. Hydrocarbons, nuclear and even hydro (eventually) will be “feared” out of use. Maybe before 2012 and certainly if Obama is re-elected. Fear will win, politically. It almost always does.
The Greenies and other fear groups are already out mass manufacturing glow-in-the-dark costumes to wear for the next million-corpses march on DC or such.
Oh, and but of course, the only “safe” energy is Obama and his cronies energy.
pwl
“Why are the buildings cube shaped rather than a cylinder with a dome? Is the reactor contained within another containment structure within these cube like buildings?”
This type of reactor is a BWR (Boiling Water Reactor) as opposed to a PWR (Pressurise Water Reactor)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boiling_water_reactor
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pressurized_water_reactor
There appears to be a lot of confused details being put out by the MSM at the moment. As bes as I can gather the explosion has occurred at the Fukushima II site but there is also a Fukushima I site.
Fukushima II (Daini) – http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Fukushima+Daini&aq=&sll=51.89273,-0.354505&sspn=1.242417,4.22699&ie=UTF8&hq=Fukushima+Daini&hnear=&radius=15000&ll=37.317445,141.029134&spn=0.012509,0.033023&t=h&z=16
Fukushima I (Daichi) – http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Fukushima+Daini&aq=&sll=51.89273,-0.354505&sspn=1.242417,4.22699&ie=UTF8&hq=Fukushima+Daini&hnear=&radius=15000&t=h&ll=37.234497,141.021023&spn=0.025045,0.066047&z=15
Here is the link to NHK’s World Service that is mostly in English when there is breaking news (Normally only English at the top of the hour for about 15 minutes before going to other languages)
http://wwitv.com/tv_channels/6810.htm
KevinUK says:
March 12, 2011 at 3:35 am
As bes as I can gather the explosion has occurred at the Fukushima II site but there is also a Fukushima I site.
Kevin I’m listening/watching the NHK World service (Japanese TV station) and they have always reported it as Fukushima I and that is also what the press conferences with Japanese officials are also stating. Again according to the Japanese Government as shown on NHK the explosion occured at Fukushima I and the evac zone around it is now 20km.
Now Fukushima II is also now experiencing a complete loss of cooling but has had no explosion and it’s evac zone is only 10 km.
From live press conference:
Nuclear reactor not damaged, explosion was from hydrogen containers.
Increase in radiation from normal venting.
boballab,
I’m with the ‘Finnish expert’ at the moment.
But the official line from the Japanese authorities just now appears to be that the reactor pressure vessel is still intact.
Without any doubt there has been a signifiant release of radioactivity as a result of that explosion.
IMO this was all building up (to the explosion we’ve just seen) yesterday and up until the explosion, the Japanese authorities were trying to ‘keep a lid on it’ so to speak. Some of the reporting in the MSM is completely wrong. For example BBC news reported earlier today that the affected reactor was ‘Reactor 1’ at Daichi. when it fact its very clear (see earliet Google map links) that the explosion has been teh northern most reactor building at the Fukusima II (Daini) site.
How does the radiation from a melt down in Japan stand up against radiation in bananas?
Can we have a follow up article comparing the two please?
[Reply 🙂 ~jove, mod]
Live from here :-
http://www.ustream.tv/news
Live press release – Wave took out cooling, they released pressured and the levels hit 1200 but lowered and is down to 70.5, the reactor is intact and the explosion was hydrogen build up.
live now.
http://chiefio.wordpress.com/2011/03/12/japan-nuke-plant-explosion/
Some good info here on the nuclear reactor
Drudge Report Headlines 5:20am EST 3/12/11
Building At Fukushima I Power Plant Blows Up…
Radiation leaking, pressure in core unstable…
Caesium detected; points to nuke fuel melt…
REPORT: Evacuation widened to 20 km…
VIDEO…
‘MAY BE EXPERIENCING NUCLEAR MELTDOWN’…
Japan nuke officials: ‘High probability’…
‘No immediate health hazard,’ officials say — while evacuating 45,000…
Concerns grow about second nuke plant…
Japan declares emergencies at 5 nuclear units…
Evacuation at Fukushima II…
Justified or not this’ll put the kibosh on nuclear power plants as an answer to alternative energy for a couple of decades. I suspect LFTR (liquid flouride thorium reactor) has its own set of problems that may or may not have economical workarounds even if containment isn’t one of those problems – things that seem too good to be true usually are.
What gets me is that a crowd (this one) so down on climate models would be so trusting of worst-case scenario models in nuclear reactor design. I’ve no doubt the models predicted that these nukes in Japan could withstand this assault on their integrity but as we can plainly see the model was not competent.
I wonder what kind of damage was sustained by Japan’s wind farms? One thing’s for sure – none exploded or went into meltdown. I suspect they’re all still standing and spinning helping to make up for the loss of nuclear energy.