Earthquake & tsunami hits Japan

[rex008]

the chinooks trying to get water from the sea to drop on nuclear reactors seems so desperate to me. if thats the current best idea they have - I fear the worst.

It could actually be a worse plan than you first think.  There's a fear that the used fuel rods (in reactor 4?) could start undergoing a fission reaction again.  Water will cool the rods, but water also acts to slow down the neutrons in order to facilitate fission.  Without the water (or other medium) the neutrons travel too quickly to interact with the uranium atoms.  This is why boric acid is a preferred option - it will cool and the boron absorbs the neutrons, helping to prevent the chain reaction.

I think that's the physics anyway, Rex will correct me if I'm wrong

Nope. This time I can't argue with you. The spent fuel rods in the reactor 4 building it probably the most worrying part, seeing as they are outside the main containment structure. Reports are that the pool is completely empty, which is staggering, these things are 40-50 feet deep. Either damaged from earthquake or they used the water to try and cool the reactors, which would be an odd move, but not impossible. Not enough energy produced to boil off that amount of water in a week. And like you said, now they're a bit stuck. Depending on how they've packed the rods in the pool, and how damaged/old/used they are, a criticality event is not impossible if they throw water back in. Unlikely though, frankly. They're very careful with how they stack these up in the first place to make chain reactions well beyond the bounds of possibility, so it can only happen if, since they've been exposed, they've moved or melted.

A criticality event would be bad. Although probably only have fairly localised effects. I suspect a lot of the site workers are pretty fooked at this point already.

[kinboshi]

The s*n manages to outdo the bollocks it printed yesterday on its front cover with more bollocks today:

http://www.japanprobe.com/2011/03/17/u-k-newspaper-get-out-of-tokyo-now/

[kinboshi]

Nope. This time I can't argue with you.

A broken clock, etc.? 

Does that mean I get a pass?

[Longines]

http://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/tsunamiupdate01.html

Temperature of the rods doesn't look good.

[TRIP5]

I really don't know what to make of all this...I understand the media sensationalise everything to create a bigger story, however from speaking to my friends in Japan and reading this thread it seems that the situation is indeed worsening...hour by hour. The situation in Japan is truly awful.

I'm please to see people outside of the 30km evacuation area are now relocating to safer parts of the country...I keep hearing it's not necessary but I think the 'just in case' rule is very applicable here.

xx

[AndrewT]

I know Kinboshi would like to watch an hour-long Adam Curtis programme about nuclear reactors, with a bit specifically about the concerns in 1964 about the safety of the type of reactor now cooking away at Gas Mark 4 in Japan.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/adamcurtis/2011/03/a_is_for_atom.html

[kinboshi]

I know Kinboshi would like to watch an hour-long Adam Curtis programme about nuclear reactors, with a bit specifically about the concerns in 1964 about the safety of the type of reactor now cooking away at Gas Mark 4 in Japan.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/adamcurtis/2011/03/a_is_for_atom.html

[kinboshi]

I really don't know what to make of all this...I understand the media sensationalise everything to create a bigger story, however from speaking to my friends in Japan and reading this thread it seems that the situation is indeed worsening...hour by hour. The situation in Japan is truly awful.

I'm please to see people outside of the 30km evacuation area are now relocating to safer parts of the country...I keep hearing it's not necessary but I think the 'just in case' rule is very applicable here.

xx

I've been speaking to friends who live in Ibaraki prefecture (where I lived for two years), that is directly South of Fukushima prefecture - and they are fairly relaxed about the radiation and the whole situation at the Fukushima plant.  They are relieved that it wasn't the Tokai plant that is having these issues (which is about 20 miles from where they live and so would be close to any exclusion zone if the same things were happening there), and feel mightily relieved that they escaped the worst of the earthquake and tsunami.

They are certainly not thinking about relocating to anywhere else in the country, and there isn't any reason why they should either.

[kinboshi]

Daily Hate Mail getting it closer to the mark than many others?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1367289/Japan-truly-disaster-biblical-scale-right-worry-nuclear-angle.html

[Bongo]

WTF?

Yesterday they were saying we're on the verge of a nuclear apocolypse.

[TRIP5]

I really don't know what to make of all this...I understand the media sensationalise everything to create a bigger story, however from speaking to my friends in Japan and reading this thread it seems that the situation is indeed worsening...hour by hour. The situation in Japan is truly awful.

I'm please to see people outside of the 30km evacuation area are now relocating to safer parts of the country...I keep hearing it's not necessary but I think the 'just in case' rule is very applicable here.

xx

I've been speaking to friends who live in Ibaraki prefecture (where I lived for two years), that is directly South of Fukushima prefecture - and they are fairly relaxed about the radiation and the whole situation at the Fukushima plant.  They are relieved that it wasn't the Tokai plant that is having these issues (which is about 20 miles from where they live and so would be close to any exclusion zone if the same things were happening there), and feel mightily relieved that they escaped the worst of the earthquake and tsunami.

They are certainly not thinking about relocating to anywhere else in the country, and there isn't any reason why they should either.

Fantastic news!!!!

Thanks for the continuing updates.

xx

[kinboshi]

Two fairly large earthquakes north of Tokyo ( Ibaraki & Tochigi?).  Epicentres inland, so no tsunami warnings thankfully.

In other news,  the World Heath Organisation has said that there is no danger to those outside the 30km zone from the radiation. I'll dig out a link for that.

Reports of milk and spinach close to the Fukushima plant having high levels of radiation, so they won't be used. They did say that the levels wouldn't actually cause any more harm than a CT scan,  but that the levels were high enough to remove them from sale to the public.

[AndrewT]

Reports of milk and spinach close to the Fukushima plant having high levels of radiation,

I look forward to watching the forthcoming battle between Godzilla and Glow in the Dark Popeye.

[kinboshi]

http://www.cbryanjones.com/journal/2011/3/19/japan-radiation-levels-in-english.html

Radiation levels in Japan, and comparisons with otherother sources of radiation.

[kinboshi]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/03/18/fukushima_friday/

A journalist apologises for the media hysteria surrounding the nuclear power stations in Japan.