OT Earthquake/Nuclear Reactor Meltdown

[Cdnwolf]

Anyone with relatives affected by the earthquake in Japan Very scary with the nuclear reactor possibly going China Syndrome...

[dragoon500ly]

A couple of old friends stationed in Korea are the only ones I know even close to the area.

As of the latest news reports, we have two explosions at two different reactors. From the very limited news reports, both were suffering with poor or no coolant flow. The reactor operators reportedly vented hydrogen and this was what created the two explosions.

I'm puzzled and deeply concerned about initial reports that enough radiation was being leaked from one of the units in an hour that equaled the amount the local population absorbed in a year. This was followed up by reports that the radiation leaks had sharply dropped.

That's the latest news as of 3:00am this morning....since then its been nothing but rehash...

[Legbreaker]

My next wife is Japanese and her family is reported to be all ok. Phone contact was impossible but the internet was still up and running.

Another friend's family are in the north of the country but unaffected. Their house is rated to withstand Magnitude 10 quakes and they were not in the flooded areas. Life is going on as normal for them although there has been some reduction in available electricity and the public transport network has suffered somewhat - they can still get about in the local area, but longer distance travel is problematic.

Basically only those on the coast have been effected - everyone else is just getting on with it.

[Targan]

In my 9 to 5 job I am a media monitor. Any guesses on what I had to monitor all day long today Its like nothing else has happened on the entire planet.

[raketenjagdpanzer]

I heard this morning three rescue choppers from the Ronald Reagan flew through a radioactive plume and had to turn back.

[dragoon500ly]

The threat now involves two different nuclear power plants with a total of six reactors. The only confirmed reports is that there were two explosions, caused by the venting of hydrogen gas and steam from the reactors.

The need to vent was caused by damage to the emergency generators, thus causing coolant to not flow properly. There are also reports that the Japanese are using seawater to cool the containment vessels...this falls under the category of "a very, very, very not a cool thing to do", the reactors that are being saltwater-downed will have to be replaced completely.

The radiation stories are getting more and more confusing, there are reports of major leakage, promptly denied by the Japanese government, there are reports of US helicopters turning back due to radiation. Just based on the news channels I have been monitoring, there is an ever increasing panic about any hint of radiation.

So far, there are no confirmed reports of the containment vessels having been damaged, any radiation that is leaking is coming from the release of steam.

What has been confirmed so far is that the Japanese are evacuating everyone within 20 miles of the two power plants.

[Legbreaker]

The reactors that have been doused with seawater were due for decomissioning anyway. Reactor No 1 was supposed to have been pulled out of service last month.

[dragoon500ly]

I was wondering about that, one facility is 37 years old, the other is 40. But for a reactor that was supposed to be decomminished last month, what in the sam hill is it doing with active fuel

And more importantly, when will they be able to start pulling fuel rods out...

[Legbreaker]

Next question please (and an easier one too!)...

My guess is that the was still in service due to high electricity demands throughout the country - it's replacement simply wasn't ready to go online.
There's talk now of rolling blackouts nationwide until at least April and at a guess I'd say there's likely to be a little less neon in Tokyo for some time to come after that.

[Targan]

I was wondering about that, one facility is 37 years old, the other is 40. But for a reactor that was supposed to be decomminished last month, what in the sam hill is it doing with active fuel

And more importantly, when will they be able to start pulling fuel rods out...

And here is a useful side to my otherwise occassionally depressing job - I've read dozens of news reports and some of it contains useful information.

It is my understanding that at the Fukushima No.1 plant the fourth reactor at the complex was being used to store spent fuel rods. I guess they were winding down the whole plant, letting the fourth reactor go offline to use as storage. Unfortunately even the spent fuel rods require cooling and there was another hydrogen explosion inside the fourth reactor's containment building due to a cooling failure there.

[dragoon500ly]

Using an old reactor to store fuel rods....

I guess the management thinks having somebody sitting on a open keg of gun powder, chain smoking is a good idea too!

[Cdnwolf]

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/video/us-22424932/japan-quake-radiation-effects-on-body-24520446.html#crsl=%252Fvideo%252Fus-22424932%252Fjapan-quake-radiation-effects-on-body-24520446.html

Good on the effect of radiation on the body... could work it into the game.

[kcdusk]

To be fair to the Japanese, and their slow decommissioning (after) useby date because the replacement wasnt ready & storage of rods in #4 ... its not surprising to people is it Happens in the western world all the time. Projects dont run to the gant chart or timeline, over budget ect .... long lead time items not ordered ... items asked to run longer than there stamped service life.

Now, all this happening in the nuclear world where the worst case outcomes are so bad Still not surprising in my view. And except for a nine point Ohhhh earthquake and tsunamia it probably all would have ended well.

If the reactors were 3 years old, would the situation be any different

I have some questions though.

1. Theres 2 reactors going hot. If they go too hot is that like 2 nuclear bombs going off

2. Would that set off the remaining 2

3. Theres a nuclear site in california situated 8 miles () from a fault line, right on the coast. I'm not trying to throw stones or anything, but the facility is probably going to withstand an earthquake. But what about a 10m wave Or even a 9.5 earthquake within a mile or two of the reactor

4. Some reports came out tonight that the jap govt has asked for a 30km exclusion zone, the USA has asked for a 80km zone and Franch and Germany have said they think everyone should leave the island of Japan altogether! Um, theres no question here.

[Legbreaker]

My understanding, limited though it may be, is that reactors don't blow up like a bomb. Yes there's the odd explosion from time to time, but they're caused more due to pressure build up in the coolant system rather than a nuclear reaction.

Worst case is a meltdown. This will release one hell of a lot of radioactive material into the atmosphere and end up as fallout. It's this which is what all the techs etc are most afraid of - a blast would devastate the local (relatively) area but fallout will reach the world.

[Fusilier]

This will release one hell of a lot of radioactive material into the atmosphere and end up as fallout. It's this which is what all the techs etc are most afraid of - a blast would devastate the local (relatively) area but fallout will reach the world.

Probably not. A lot of heat is required for any radiation to be carried into the atmosphere - and there isn't any or likely to be any in this situation.

If it doesn't get under control, the serious effects will most likely be a very localized problem. This won't be another Chernobyl.