As long as the ratepayers (electric customers) pay the full tab for the cleanup and any other costs associated with the plant and its demise I don't see what the problem is. Their electric bills may go up fifty or a hundred bucks for the next few decades, so what.

True, and I'm not entirely sure things are even heading uphill at this time, but talking about people on the East coast buying Iodine is just feeding into the sensationalism.

quote Originally posted by Fierokid87: Is that all of the US or just west coast for the iodine I mean. Or do people say in Ohio or PA have to worry about this?

I say that a bit tongue in cheek. I doubt the West coast has much to worry about, and certainly not the heartland or East Coast.
That said, it's not a bad idea to have a small supply of Potassium Iodide on hand for radiation emergencies. 14 tables is enough for 1 person for 2 weeks and only costs about $10. In the event of an emergency, you won't be able to find it. I suggest it like I would suggest buying a fire extinguisher. I don't anticipate needing it, but when you do need it, there's no time to go get it.

Here's the info from CVS.

quote Use only as directed by State or local public health authorities in the event of a radiation emergency. Adults and children 1 year of age or older: 1 tablet once a day. Crush for small children. Babies under 1 year of age: 1/2 tablet once a day. Crush first. Take for 10 days unless directed otherwise by state or local public health authorities.

Some more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potassium_iodide

quote Potassium iodide was also approved in 1982 by the US FDA to protect the thyroid glands from radioactive iodine from accidents or fission emergencies. In the event of an accident or attack at a nuclear power plant, or fallout from a nuclear bomb, volatile fission product radionuclides may be released, of which 131I is one of the most common by-products and a particularly dangerous one due to thyroid gland concentration of it, which may lead to thyroid cancer. By saturating the body with a source of stable iodide prior to exposure, inhaled or ingested 131I tends to be excreted.

It should be part of your emergency first aid kit or bug-out bag just like water purification tablets.

[This message has been edited by Formula88 (edited 03-12-2011).]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp...tdown_20110313044128

– Sat Mar 12, 11:41 pm ET

TOKYO (AFP) – Japan's top government spokesman Yukio Edano said Sunday that radioactive meltdowns may have occurred in two reactors of the quake-hit Fukushima nuclear plant.

Asked in a press conference whether meltdowns had occurred, Edano said "we are acting on the assumption that there is a high possibility that one has occurred" in the plant's number-one reactor.

"As for the number-three reactor, we are acting on the assumption that it is possible," he said.

latest news

fukushima I reactor 1 - is meltdown
fukushima I reactor 3 ( plutonium inside ) - partially meltdown , pressure is rising explosion most likely ( jap. gov. statement )
fukushima II - 3 reactors without cooling
Onagawa reactors also with big cooling problems and atomic alertstatus has been risen
Rokkasho atomic reproccessing plant - cooling only on battery power ( there is atomic material of 55 atomic powerplants )
i dont understand why jap . government dont ask for international specialists to regain control over their atomic industry.

i never thought that after chernobyl this would happen again

My god, how many meltdowns are they going to have?
How many can this poor planet and US withstand?

quote Originally posted by 8Ball: My god, how many meltdowns are they going to have? How many can this poor planet and US withstand?

Remember? A page back?? Sketchy info at best. I just googled it and it is a partial meltdown . When you see guys in yellow suites with Geiger counters outside your house, it may be time to grow a concern. Its not Chernobyl all over again. The building housing the fuel rods blew the top off due to steam and excess pressure they could not vent. The rods are still in water but there is little if any water being pumped out. The whole plant can blow apart around the rods and realise very little radiation. Its when the rods get out of water and melt through completely that it is time for panic. They are pumping in sea water. There has been no melt down, simply the room in which the core is housed blew apart. There is still boric acid and sea water being pumped in to prevent a melt down. When the core melts and goes through the containment walls, well then it will be Chernobyl again.

yes nothing is officially a catastrophe yet, but if you look at the history of Chernobyl the rest of the world wasn't informed about what was going on for a very long time. Japan is no USSR but they do have some issues with openness themselves.
It's no Chernobyl yet but it has the potential to be much much worse with so many reactors in a state of emergency.

New news, the Japanese had a new conference stating "time is running out" and are considering a concrete cap for the #1 reactor. When they start pumping sea water into a nuclear reactor containment vessel, the situation is beyond critcal.

add another nuclear powerplant to the list .

tokai - reactor 3 without cooling

So much for the safety of Nuclear power.. I guess those that touted that did not take Earthquakes of this magnitude or responses of this kind into account.

[This message has been edited by tbone42 (edited 03-13-2011).]

Next generation of nuclear reactors will be safer :

http://www.wired.com/wired/...ive/12.09/china.html

http://www.21stcenturyscien...ring01/reactors.html

No more meltdowns, regardless of what kind of s**t hits the fan!

http://bigthink.com/ideas/31601

quote 2 Partial Meltdowns as Nuclear Disaster Worsens in Japan It's now Sunday Morning, and the situation in Japan continues to get worse by the hour. Clearly, as everyone is now universally admitting in the media, we are witnessing the greatest reactor accident since Chernobyl. New developments: 1. The Japanese government has now acknowledged that partial meltdowns have probably happened at the Fukushima plants. Previously, physicists had speculated that the core at Fukushima Daiichi I was partially melting due to the presence of cesium and iodine (which are byproducts of the fissioning process). Where there is smoke, there is fire. Now, its official. Also, 3 workers have come down with full blown radiation sickness, another indication of the intense radiation at the site. 2. At Unit 1, as an act of desperation, plant operator have been injecting seawater directly into the core of the reactor. This has never been done before in history. We are watching a science experiment. This will also most likely make it uneconomical to clean up the reactor afterwards (due to corrosion, contamination, etc.). The utility has probably decided to junk the reactor afterwards. (This scenario of flooding the core with sea water does not appear in standard nuclear engineering textbooks. We are entering uncharted territory.) 3. The accident has now spread to Unit 3, which also lost control of its emergency core cooling system (ECCS). This means we may see a repeat of the accident at Unit 1. We may also see a steam/hydrogen gas explosion which rips the containment apart. What could happen next? No one knows. But a meltdown takes place in stages. First, you have the core uncovered, temperatures soar to 5,000 F, melting begins, and cesium, strontium, iodine are released. Second, it takes 30 min. to several hours for the entire core itself to melt. At TMI, it took roughly 1 hour for 90% of the core to be damaged. Third, even after a complete core meltdown, it still takes a steam/hydrogen gas explosion to blow apart or crack the vessel (which contains the uranium) and the containment structure (which has already been severely damaged). At present, it seems that Unit 1 has only suffered partial melting. The situation at Unit 1 is stable, but the situation with Unit 3 continues to worsen hour by hour. The danger is that a further secondary earthquake or pipe break could cause the sea water to flush out of the core, uncovering the uranium and initiating a full-scale meltdown.

quote Originally posted by TommyRocker: Anyone else bummed about this because its another roadblock to America using nuclear energy?

I wouldn't worry too much about it. After the worst oil disaster ( BP's deep water Horizon) in American history, we're once again permitting companies to drill off of our coasts. If we ignore something that close to home, events on the other side of the world should have a minimal impact. It's all about cheap energy!

quote Originally posted by carnut122: I wouldn't worry too much about it. After the worst oil disaster ( BP's deep water Horizon) in American history, we're once again permitting companies to drill off of our coasts. If we ignore something that close to home, events on the other side of the world should have a minimal impact. It's all about cheap energy!

Here is an idea, you stop using all sources of energy that is produced off your property. Got to be the weakest comment of the thread. Do some more reading;
http://www.21stcenturyscien...ring01/reactors.html

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp...ealth_20110312225449

California 'closely monitoring' Japan nuclear leak
AFP

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California 'closely monitoring' Japan nuclear leak AFP/JIJI PRESS – An aerial view shows the quake-damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant in the Japanese town of Futaba, …
– Sat Mar 12, 5:54 pm ET

LOS ANGELES (AFP) – California is closely monitoring efforts to contain leaks from a quake-damaged Japanese nuclear plant, a spokesman said Saturday, as experts said radiation could be blown out across the Pacific.

While officials downplayed any immediate danger, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission deployed two experts to Japan, where the Fukushima plant, which was rocked by a large explosion earlier in the day in the aftermath of Japan's strongest-ever earthquake.

"At present there is no danger to California. However we are monitoring the situation closely in conjunction with our federal partners," Michael Sicilia, spokesman for California Department of Public Health, told AFP.

"California does have radioactivity monitoring systems in place for air, water and the food supply and can enhance that monitoring if a danger exists," he added.

He was speaking as Japanese authorities moved to calm fears of a meltdown and said a huge explosion Saturday had not ruptured the container surrounding the reactor, although there had already been some radiation leakage prior to the explosion.

Experts have suggested that, if there were a reactor meltdown or major leak at Fukushima, the radioactive cloud would likely be blown out east across the Pacific, towards the US West Coast.

"The wind direction for the time being seems to point the (nuclear) pollution towards the Pacific," said Andre-Claude Lacoste of the French Nuclear Safety Authority, briefing journalists in Paris on the Japanese crisis.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission meanwhile said it has sent two experts to Japan, and has been in regular contact with Japanese officials about the crisis.

"We have some of the most expert people in this field in the world working for the NRC and we stand ready to assist in any way possible," commission chairman Gregory Jaczko said in a statement announcing the deployment.

He said the pair were experts in boiling water nuclear reactors and are part of a broader US aid team sent to the disaster zone.

Earlier the NRC said it was "examining all available information as part of the effort to analyze the event and understand its implications both for Japan and the United States."

While US nuclear experts acknowledged the seriousness of Japan's reactor crisis, some stressed that taking steps in the United States such as distributing iodine tablets -- which prevent iodine 131 from being absorbed into the body -- would be "vastly premature."

"It's a big ocean. These (radiation) releases are essentially going to be at ground level," said Ken Bergeron, a physicist who has worked on nuclear reactor accident simulation.

"We should not confuse it with health issues in the United States."

Japan is roughly 5,000 miles (8,000 kilometers) from the US West Coast.

A new tsunami on it's way to Japan, and another explosion at one of the nuke plants.
http://www.reuters.com/arti...dUSTRE72A0SS20110314

quote FUKUSHIMA, Japan | Sun Mar 13, 2011 11:00pm EDT FUKUSHIMA, Japan (Reuters) - A hydrogen explosion rocked the earthquake-stricken nuclear plant in Japan where authorities have been working desperately to avert a meltdown, while media said a fresh tsunami was heading for the same coastline that was hit last week. Japan's nuclear agency confirmed there was an explosion at the No. 3 reactor of the Daiichi plant in Fukushima, and TV images showed smoke rising from the facility, 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo. Officials said they could not immediately confirm whether the blast had caused a radioactive leak. Operators had earlier halted injection of sea water into the reactor, resulting in a rise in radiation levels and pressure. The government had warned that an explosion was possible because of the buildup of hydrogen in the building housing the reactor. Japan battled through the weekend to prevent a nuclear catastrophe and to care for the millions without power or water in its worst crisis since World War Two, after a huge earthquake and tsunami.....

(more at the Reuters link)

[This message has been edited by maryjane (edited 03-13-2011).]

quote Originally posted by carnut122: It's all about cheap energy!

Yeah, but nuclear is about the most expensive way to make electricity there is aside from paying people to pedal bicycle-powered generators by the hour. The only reason people aren't paying a buck a kWh for nuke power now is the government (us) is subsidizing disposal costs as well as paying for the fuel itself. True-cost nuclear is mind-bogglingly expensive.

------------------
Bring back civility and decorum!

It's possible to understand someone's point of view without accepting it. It's possible to disagree with someone without being rude and nasty about it. Sure it's hard, but nothing worth doing is ever easy, is it?

Nuclear power is the least expensive way to produce electricity. The problems are with the cost of the lawyers. The "greenies" have forced this country to burn coal instead of use nuclear power. We would have been much better off with nuclear power.

According to NHK via fox, another explosion at fukashima this time at reactor 2. possible damage to containment vessel.

quote Originally posted by phonedawgz: Nuclear power is the least expensive way to produce electricity. The problems are with the cost of the lawyers. The "greenies" have forced this country to burn coal instead of use nuclear power. We would have been much better off with nuclear power.

I have to disagree, phonedawgz. In theory, nuclear power is faultless.

You know the difference between theory and practice? In theory there isn't any. In practice there is.

quote The "greenies" have forced this country to burn coal instead of use nuclear power

The greenies don't want us to burn coal because of the carbon it releases.

We were discussing these reactors at the office today. Based on what it would cost here (in the U.S.) to stabilize/clean up these sites to NRC and EPA standards, Japan can expect to ultimately sink about 10 billion (yes billion) dollars per unit (ballpark figure). The #2 reactor is acting up, so that means all 3 units at this site will need remediation.

quote Originally posted by Zeb: I have to disagree, phonedawgz. In theory, nuclear power is faultless. You know the difference between theory and practice? In theory there isn't any. In practice there is.

Operating the existing nuclear power plants are the least expensive way to generate a fuel supplied power plant. The cost is less than $0.03 / kwh.

One of the comments posted on MSNBC's page.
Take it with a grain of salt, of course, but it sounded like a good rational explanation of the situation.
=====================================
What is going on here?

In the aftermath of the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan, two nuclear power stations on the east coast of Japan have been experiencing problems. They are the Fukushima Daiichi ("daiichi" means "number one") and Fukushima Daini ("number two") sites, operated by the Tokyo Electric Power Company (or TEPCO). Site one has six reactors, and site two has four. The problematic reactors are #1, #2, and #3 at site one, which are the oldest of the ten and were due to be decommissioned this year.

In short, the earthquake combined with the tsunami have impaired the cooling systems at these reactors, which has made it difficult for TEPCO to shut them down completely. Reactor #1 is now considered safe after crew flooded the reactor with sea water. Reactor #3 was starting this process as this was originally written (6:00PM CST/11:00PM GST on March 13th). Site crew began preparing to add sea water to reactor #2 around 7:30AM GMT on March 14th, if a cooling procedure does not work.

The four reactors at site two did not have their systems impaired and have shut down normally.

Can this cause a nuclear explosion?

No. It is physically impossible for a nuclear power station to explode like a nuclear weapon.

Nuclear bombs work by causing a supercritical fission reaction in a very small space in an unbelievably small amount of time. They do this by using precisely-designed explosive charges to combine two subcritical masses of nuclear material so quickly that they bypass the critical stage and go directly to supercritical, and with enough force that the resulting supercritical mass cannot melt or blow itself apart before all of the material is fissioned.

Current nuclear power plants are designed around subcritical masses of radioactive material, which are manipulated into achieving sustained fission through the use of neutron moderators. The heat from this fission is used to convert water to steam, which drives electric generator turbines. (This is a drastic simplification.) They are not capable of achieving supercritical levels; the nuclear fuel would melt before this could occur, and a supercritical reaction is required for an explosion to occur.

Making a nuclear bomb is very difficult, and it is completely impossible for a nuclear reactor to accidentally become a bomb. Secondary systems, like cooling or turbines, can explode due to pressure and stress problems, but these are not nuclear explosions.

Is this a meltdown?

Technically, yes, but not in the way that most people think.

The term "meltdown" is not used within the nuclear industry, because it is insufficiently specific. The popular image of a meltdown is when a nuclear reactor's fuel core goes out of control and melts its way out of the containment facility. This has not happened and is unlikely to happen.

What has happened in reactor #1 and #3 is a "partial fuel melt". This means that the fuel core has suffered damage from heat but is still largely intact. No fuel has escaped containment. Core #2 may have experienced heat damage as well, but the details are not known yet. It is confirmed that reactor #2's containment has not been breached.

How did this happen? Aren't there safety systems?

When the earthquakes in Japan occurred on March 11th, all ten reactor cores "scrammed", which means that their control rods were inserted automatically. This shut down the active fission process, and the cores have remained shut down since then.

The problem is that even a scrammed reactor core generates "decay heat", which requires cooling. When the tsunami arrived shortly after the earthquake, it damaged the external power generators that the sites used to power their cooling systems. This meant that while the cores were shut down, they were still boiling off the water used as coolant.

This caused two further problems. First, the steam caused pressure to build up within the containment vessel. Second, once the water level subsided, parts of the fuel rods were exposed to air, causing the heat to build up more quickly, leading to core damage from the heat.

What are they doing about it?

From the very beginning, TEPCO has had the option to flood the reactor chambers with sea water, which would end the problems immediately. Unfortunately, this also destroys the reactors permanently. Doing so would not only cost TEPCO (and Japanese taxpayers) billions of dollars, but it would make that reactor unavailable for generating electricity during a nationwide disaster. The sea water method is a "last resort" in this sense, but it has always been an option.

To avoid this, TEPCO first took steps to bring the cooling systems back online and to reduce the pressure on the inside of the containment vessel. This involved bringing in external portable generators, repairing damaged systems, and venting steam and gases from inside the containment vessel. These methods worked for reactor #2 at site one, prior to complications; reactors four through six were shut down before for inspection before the earthquake hit.

In the end, TEPCO decided to avoid further risk and flooded reactor #1 with sea water. It is now considered safely under control. Reactor #3 is currently undergoing this process, and reactor #2 may undergo it if a venting procedure fails.

The four reactors at site two did not have their external power damaged by the tsunami, and are therefore operating normally, albeit in a post-scram shutdown state. They have not required any venting, and reactor #3 is already in full cold shutdown.

Is a "China Syndrome" meltdown possible?

No, any fuel melt situation at Fukushima will be limited, because the fuel is physically incapable of having a runaway fission reaction. This is due to their light water reactor design.

In a light water reactor, water is used as both a coolant for the fuel core and as a "neutron moderator". What a neutron moderator does is very technical (you can watch a lecture which includes this information here), but in short, when the neutron moderator is removed, the fission reaction will stop.

An LWR design limits the damage caused by a meltdown, because if all of the coolant is boiled away, the fission reaction will not keep going, because the coolant is also the moderator. The core will then only generate decay heat, which while dangerous and strong enough to melt the core, is not nearly as dangerous as an active fission reaction.

The containment vessel at Fukushima should be strong enough to resist breaching even during a decay heat meltdown. The amount of energy that could be produced by decay heat is easily calculated, and it is possible to design a container that will resist it. If it is not, and the core melts its way through the bottom of the vessel, it will end up in a large concrete barrier below the reactor. It is nearly impossible that a fuel melt caused by decay heat would penetrate this barrier. A containment vessel failure like this would result in a massive cleanup job but no leakage of nuclear material into the outside environment.

This is all moot, however, as flooding the reactor with sea water will prevent a fuel melt from progressing. TEPCO has already done this to reactor #1, and is in the process of doing it to #3. If any of the other reactors begin misbehaving, the sea water option will be available for those as well.

What was this about an explosion?

One of the byproducts of reactors like the ones at Fukushima is hydrogen. Normally this gas is vented and burned slowly. Due to the nature of the accident, the vented hydrogen gas was not properly burned as it was released. This led to a build up of hydrogen gas inside the reactor #1 building, but outside the containment vessel.

This gas ignited, causing the top of the largely cosmetic external shell to be blown off. This shell was made of sheet metal on a steel frame and did not require a great deal of force to be destroyed. The reactor itself was not damaged in this explosion, and there were only four minor injuries. This was a conventional chemical reaction and not a nuclear explosion.

You see what happened in the photo of the reactor housing. Note that other than losing the sheet metal covering on the top, the reactor building is intact. No containment breach has occurred.

At about 2:30AM GMT on March 14th, a similar explosion occurred at the reactor #3 building. This explosion was not unexpected, as TEPCO had warned that one might occur. The damage is still being assessed but it has been announced that the containment vessel was not breached and that the sea water process is continuing.

Around 7:30AM GMT on March 14th, it was announced that the explosion at reactor #2 has damaged the already limping cooling systems of reactor #2. It may also receive the sea water treatment if they are unable to use a venting procedure to restart the cooling systems.

Is there radiation leakage?

The radiation levels outside the plant are higher than usual due to the release of radioactive steam. These levels will go down and return to their normal levels, as no fuel has escaped containment.

For perspective, note that charts detailing detrimental radiation exposure start at 1 Gy, equivalent to 1 Sv; the radiation outside the problematic Fukushima reactors is being measured in micro-Svs per hour. The highest reported levels outside the Fukushima reactors has been around 1000 to 1500 micro-Svs per hour. This means that one would have to stay in this area for four to six weeks, 24 hours a day, without protection in order to experience the lowest level of radiation poisoning, which while unpleasant is not normally fatal. And this level will not stay where it is.

Also note the chart of normal radiation exposure levels from things like medical x-rays and airline flights.

There have also been very minor releases of radioactive reactor byproducts like iodine and cesium along with the steam. This material is less radioactive than the typical output of coal power plants. It is significant mainly as an indicator of the state of the reactor core.

I read that there's a plume of radioactive material heading across the Pacific.

In its current state, the steam blowing east from Japan across the pacific is less dangerous than living in Denver for a year. If it makes it across the ocean, it will be almost undetectable by the time it arrives, and completely harmless as the dangerous elements in the steam will have decayed by then.

What's this about fuel rods being exposed to the air?

When the coolant levels inside the reactor get low enough, the tops of the fuel rods will be exposed to the air inside the containment vessel. They have not been exposed to the external atmosphere and the containment vessels are all intact.

Can this end up like Chernobyl?

No, it cannot. for several reasons.

Chernobyl used graphite as a neutron moderator and water as a coolant. For complicated reasons, this meant that as the coolant heated up and converted to steam, the fission reaction intensified, converting even more water to steam, leading to a feedback effect. The Fukushima reactors use water as both the coolant and the neutron moderator, which means that as the water heats up and converts to steam, the reaction slows down instead. (The effect of the conversion of water coolant to steam on the performance of a nuclear reactor is known as the "void coefficient", and can be either positive or negative.)
Chernobyl was designed so that as the nuclear fuel heated up, the fission reaction intensified, heating the core even further, causing another feedback effect. In the Fukushima reactors, the fission reaction slows down as the fuel heats up. (The effect of heating of the nuclear fuel on the performance of a nuclear reactor is known as the "temperature coefficient", and can also be positive or negative.)
Chernobyl's graphite moderator was flammable, and when the reactor exploded, the radioactive graphite burned and ended up in the atmosphere. The Fukushima reactors use water as a neutron moderator, which is obviously not flammable.
Note that while Chernobyl used light water as a coolant (as distinct from heavy water), it was not a "light water reactor". The term LWR refers strictly to reactors that use light water for both cooling and neutron moderation.

The news said this was the worst nuclear power accident since Chernobyl, though.

It's the only nuclear power plant accident of its type since Chernobyl. It's easy to be the worst in a sample size of one.

Is this like Three Mile Island?

There are similarities. The final effect on the world is likely to be similar: no deaths, minimal external contamination, and a tremendous PR disaster for the nuclear industry due to bad reporting by the media.

How can I keep up with developments?

The western media has been very bad about reporting this event, due to a combination of sensationalist reporting, ignorance, and the use of inexact or unexplained terminology.

One of the safe sources of information is the TEPCO site, which has been posting press releases on a regular basis. Unfortunately, this site is often unresponsive due to the immense traffic it is receiving.

The important thing to remember is that most of the "experts" appearing on the news are engaging in speculation. Very few of them are restricting themselves to what they can be sure about, and those that are have often been misrepresented.

(Suggested r)eading:

Timeline and data sheets for the incident by the Nuclear Energy Institute : (nei.org)
The International Atomic Energy Agency is providing regular announcements
Wikipedia on light water reactors and nuclear weapon design
The United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) Systems manual - the Fukushima reactors are BWRs, a subset of LWRs (nrc.gov)
Tokyo Electric Power Company site with press releases - currently hard to reach due to traffic (tepco.co.jp/en)
Video:

"Physics for Future Presidents" lecture ten, on nuclear weapons and nuclear reactors (Youtube search)
Footage of the hydrogen explosion at reactor #1
=====================================

Edit - I realized, after that fact, that this info is 27 hours old. In theory, it sounds great. Reality, however, may be different.
(Things are happening quickly. I don't want to muddy the waters.)

[This message has been edited by Raydar (edited 03-14-2011).]

I didn't realize the flooded the containment building. I thought they were still trying to circulate water. That makes sense. This seems to be very accurate as far as I can tell.

quote Originally posted by FriendGregory: Here is an idea, you stop using all sources of energy that is produced off your property. Got to be the weakest comment of the thread. Do some more reading; http://www.21stcenturyscien...ring01/reactors.html

Thanks for the link to the "article" produced by Eskom in 2001(who I assume is trying to sell this technology) saying the new plants are safe. I bet if you go back to whenever Three Mile Isalnd, Chernobyl, and now Fukushima were built, the promoters of these plants also described how they were safe with all of the back-up systems designed into them. Talk is cheap, in my lifetime, I've seen the reality of broken promises designed to make people rich. Do you have any more research besides this sales pamphlet? Further research indicates this plant was never built.

[This message has been edited by carnut122 (edited 03-14-2011).]

It sounds like it has finally gotten BAD!
All three Reactors have had explosions, Japan is saying for people even further away than the evacuation zone need to stay inside and keep cover, during a radiological event. They have said he risks of further radiation leaks are likely.

Yep--quess what TEPCO's stock did today? \/ \/ \/ \/

Can't prove they are, but it's certainly to their advantage to minimize this as much as possible. If cleanup/remediation exceeds thweir insurance, it will fall to their stockholders to take the brunt of the hit----as it should. Not the ratepayers or taxpayer.

quote Originally posted by maryjane: Yep--quess what TEPCO's stock did today? \/ \/ \/ \/ Can't prove they are, but it's certainly to their advantage to minimize this as much as possible. If cleanup/remediation exceeds thweir insurance, it will fall to their stockholders to take the brunt of the hit----as it should. Not the ratepayers or taxpayer.

They'll declare bankruptcy and then the taxpayers and victims will foot the bill. At least that's what would happen in the US.

quote Originally posted by Scottzilla79: According to NHK via fox, another explosion at fukashima this time at reactor 2. possible damage to containment vessel.

There's ALWAYS going to be possible damage to the containment vessel. This is a news company, they would love nothing more than for that to happen, but in the interim, they are going to throw out every 'possible' 'maybe' 'could' and 'might' they can think of to drum up the sensationalism.

Crap, appears to be a new fire in the # 4 reactor. at Fukushima Dai-ichi

quote Originally posted by carnut122: They'll declare bankruptcy and then the taxpayers and victims will foot the bill. At least that's what would happen in the US.

At least in Japan, somebody will commit suicide if its bad enough. Maybe a few US CEO's could follow this example?

http://www.reuters.com/arti...dUSL3E7EF06A20110315

Japan says radiation levels rising around plant after explosion

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By Taiga Uranaka and Ki Joon Kwon

TOKYO, Japan, March 15 | Mon Mar 14, 2011 10:29pm EDT

TOKYO, Japan, March 15 (Reuters) - Radiation levels around quake-stricken nuclear reactors in northeastern Japan are rising but there are no plans to extend the 20-km evacuation zone, the government said on Tuesday.

An explosion at the No. 4 reactor likely caused the new radiation which could rise to levels that may affect health around the reactors.

There is a US connection to all this. General Electric supplied the containment design for the reactor core at all 6 reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant and the spent rod pool.

quote Some experts said that if the situation deteriorates at the nuclear plant, GE’s design — known as the Boiling Water Reactor Mark 1 — may not withstand the massive amount of hydrogen gas that could be released. “We’re not at that point yet,” said Paul Gunter, director of the Reactor Oversight Project at Beyond Nuclear. “But these vessels are brittle. They were going to retire Fukushima Daiichi in just a few more months, and so this particular Mark 1 with its substandard design was reaching its endlife, and so it raises a lot of concerns.” GE defended its technology on Monday while it offered engineers to help Japanese officials contain the crisis. “The BWR Mark 1 reactor is the industry’s workhorse with a proven track record of safety and reliability for more than 40 years,” GE said in a statement. “Today, there are 32 BWR Mark 1 reactors operating as designed worldwide. There has never been a breach of a Mark 1 containment system.”

If #2 is leaking, as some reports indicate, that last statement is "apparently"--no longer true.

Anyone holding GE stock??

quote Originally posted by maryjane: There is a US connection to all this. General Electric supplied the containment design for the reactor core at all 6 reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant and the spent rod pool. If #2 is leaking, as some reports indicate, that last statement is "apparently"--no longer true. Anyone holding GE stock??

The leak in the "floor" of #2 was reported early this afternoon CST. That was causing an inability to cover the rods even with sea water. The fuel rods were exposed to air for several hours. Worse, the spent fuel rods are stored up high in reactor building, above and outside of the containment vessels. Note the fire at the previously unmentioned #4 reactor. It is burning on the 4th floor where the spent fuel rods are stored.

You are welcome regarding the updates. My "studio" is in "full noise" level. This happened at the most inopportune time as I just got my wall mounts to help get my monitors organized. I also have new DOCSIS 3.0 modem yet plugged in that will allow me to better use my bandwidth. I have become very good and listening to multiple live feeds at the same time.

[This message has been edited by Wudman (edited 03-14-2011).]