Japanese nuclear plant may only have a few hours....

[HOLLYWOOD]

Do you have the link?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...9502/Nuclear-meltdown-at-Fukushima-plant.html

Nuclear meltdown at Fukushima plant

One of the reactors at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi power plant did suffer a nuclear meltdown, Japanese officials admitted for the first time today, describing a pool of molten fuel at the bottom of the reactor's containment vessel.

Workers pour concrete into a pit to stop contaminated water leaking from the reactor building Photo: TEPCO/AFP/Getty Images






By Julian Ryall in Tokyo 2:01PM BST 12 May 2011

Engineers from the Tokyo Electric Power company (Tepco) entered the No.1 reactor at the end of last week for the first time and saw the top five feet or so of the core's 13ft-long fuel rods had been exposed to the air and melted down.

Previously, Tepco believed that the core of the reactor was submerged in enough water to keep it stable and that only 55 per cent of the core had been damaged.

Now the company is worried that the molten pool of radioactive fuel may have burned a hole through the bottom of the containment vessel, causing water to leak.

"We will have to revise our plans," said Junichi Matsumoto, a spokesman for Tepco. "We cannot deny the possibility that a hole in the pressure vessel caused water to leak".

Tepco has not clarified what other barriers there are to stop radioactive fuel leaking if the steel containment vessel has been breached. Greenpeace said the situation could escalate rapidly if "the lava melts through the vessel".

• Japan to scrap plan to boost nuke energy to 50 per cent
  10 May 2011
• Japan to inject ¥5trn into compensation fund
  11 May 2011 ($60 Billion into compensation fund)

However, an initial plan to flood the entire reactor core with water to keep its temperature from rising has now been abandoned because it might exacerbate the leak. Tepco said there was enough water at the bottom of the vessel to keep both the puddle of melted fuel and the remaining fuel rods cool.
Meanwhile, Tepco said on Wednesday that it had sealed a leak of radioactive water from the No.3 reactor after water was reportedly discovered to be flowing into the ocean. A similar leak had discharged radioactive water into the sea in April from the No.2 reactor.
Greenpeace said significant amounts of radioactive material had been released into the sea and that samples of seaweed taken from as far as 40 miles of the Fukushima plant had been found to contain radiation well above legal limits. Of the 22 samples tested, ten were contaminated with five times the legal limit of iodine 131 and 20 times of caesium 137.
Seaweed is a huge part of the Japanese diet and the average household almost 7lbs a year. Greenpeace's warning came as fishermen prepared to start the harvest of this season's seaweed on May 20.
Inland from the plant, there has been a huge cull of the livestock left inside the 18-mile mandatory exclusion zone with thousands of cows, horses and pigs being destroyed and some 260,000 chickens from the town of Minamisoma alone. The Environment ministry has announced, however, that it will attempt to rescue the thousands of pets that were left behind when residents were ordered to evacuate. At least 5,800 dogs were owned by the residents of the zone, although it is unclear how many remain alive, two months after the earthquake struck.

 

[sirgonzo420]

this thread is a real day-brightener

lol

 

[raiha]

No link it was on the tv. Thanks H!

What's Japanese for "Oh, F@#$?

 

[doodle]

5 mins ago
TOKYO – A man died on his second day working at Japan's tsunami-wrecked nuclear power plant Saturday, and the plant operator said harmful levels of radiation were not detected in his body.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110514/ap_on_bi_ge/as_japan_earthquake

 

[kahless]

Makes me wonder if someone got to them or they were using data that is simply no longer available. This is bs because the maps were showing fallout. At last checked parts of Alaska, parts of west coast and parts of Canada were getting fallout. The rest of us getting blanketed with XE133.

nilu.no

Thank you for your interest in the FLEXPART products for Fukushima. The Forecast system is no longer running.


We have discontinued our Flexpart forecast of the atmospheric dispersal of radionucleides from Fukushima. This due to the fact that we do not have access to reliable release rates reflecting the current situation at the plant to be used as input to our simulations. It is likely that the release of radioactive material is significantly reduced compared to the initial period, and that levels no longer pose a health risk at distance from the plant.

We thank you for your interest in our FLEXPART products

As per earlier link the EPA and the Canadian's have or have already stopped the heightened monitoring despite things are getting worse. EPA seems to already have a plan to just increase the safety levels and tell us everything is ok.

 

[KramerDSP]

Does anybody have updates? I don't know who to believe any more, but I trust you guys a heck of a lot more than anyone else on the web. I saw something about Unit 4 possibly tipping over, and also saw stuff about radiation levels in our food being much higher than the Feds are letting on.

Off topic, but this got me to thinking. If Ron Paul were President, how would his non-interventionist policies jive with a potential nuclear meltdown happening in Japan? It's not like we could just sue TEPCO, because even if we had a class-action lawsuit as Americans, they wouldn't be able to pay us and would declare bankruptcy. Also, we'd be suffering the health effects if indeed the radiation was widespread. Would a President Paul determine this a matter of national security and act accordingly?

 

[BarryDonegan]

Does anybody have updates? I don't know who to believe any more, but I trust you guys a heck of a lot more than anyone else on the web. I saw something about Unit 4 possibly tipping over, and also saw stuff about radiation levels in our food being much higher than the Feds are letting on.

Off topic, but this got me to thinking. If Ron Paul were President, how would his non-interventionist policies jive with a potential nuclear meltdown happening in Japan? It's not like we could just sue TEPCO, because even if we had a class-action lawsuit as Americans, they wouldn't be able to pay us and would declare bankruptcy. Also, we'd be suffering the health effects if indeed the radiation was widespread. Would a President Paul determine this a matter of national security and act accordingly?

Such radiation would not reach the United States in such quantities as to harm anyone.

 

[KramerDSP]

Such radiation would not reach the United States in such quantities as to harm anyone.

You sure about that? What about in terms of accumulation over time?

 

[AFPVet]

The less radiation you are exposed to, the better off you are....

 

[Suzu]

Does anybody have updates?

Here's something new:

 

[Kylie]

Situation Update No. 117
On 24.05.2011 at 04:00 GMT+2

Tokyo Electric Power Co , the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disabled by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, confirmed on Tuesday that there were meltdowns of fuel rods at three of the plant's reactors early in the crisis. It had said earlier this month that fuel rods in the No.1 reactor had melted, but officials of the utility, known as Tepco, confirmed at a news conference that there were also meltdowns of fuel rods at the plant's No.2 and No.3 reactors early in the crisis. Engineers are battling to plug radiation leaks and bring the plant northeast of Tokyo under control more than two months after the 9.0 magnitude earthquake and deadly tsunami that devastated a swathe of Japan's coastline and tipped the economy into recession. The disaster has triggered a drop of more than 80 percent in Tokyo Electric's share price and forced the company to seek government aid as it faces compensation liabilities that some analysts say could top $100 billion. The Tepco officials said damage to the No.2 reactor fuel rods began three days after the quake, with much of the fuel rods eventually melting and collecting at the bottom of the pressure vessel containing them. Fuel rods in the No.3 reactor were damaged by the afternoon of March 13, they said. They repeated that the tsunami that followed soon after the quake disabled power to the reactors, knocking out their cooling capabilities.

Situation Update No. 116
On 24.05.2011 at 03:35 GMT+2

Nuclear waste disposal tanks that hold radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant are almost full, officials at Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), the operator of the plant, said on Monday. TEPCO said that the storage tanks will be filled in four days, yet a system to treat the water—already reaching levels of more than 80,000 tons—for reuse in the reactors will not be completed until mid-June, Kyodo News reported. TEPCO said they could also use a temporary storage tank, but that will not be ready until early July. Compounded by the expected rise in leaks and the coming rainy season, the radioactive water could pose another challenge for the beleaguered facility. The contaminated water could overflow into the sea again. In April, the No. 2 reactor leaked contaminated water into the ocean, triggering a sharp rebuke inside and outside of Japan. Contaminated water has pooled inside reactor and turbine buildings via cracks and fissures since the March 11 earthquake damaged the plant’s cooling systems as well as several key containers. TEPCO workers can only pump more water into the reactors to cool them down, which ends up producing more radioactive water. TEPCO spokesman Junichi Matsumoto said that officials believe the basements in the buildings can hold the water for two more weeks.

Situation Update No. 118
On 24.05.2011 at 13:30 GMT+2

Seventy thousand people living beyond the 20-kilometre no-go zone around Fukushima should be evacuated because of radioactivity deposited by the crippled nuclear plant, a watchdog said. Updating its assessment of the March 11 disaster, France's Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN) highlighted an area northwest of the plant that lies beyond the 20-km (12 mile) zone whose inhabitants have already been evacuated. Radioactivity levels in this area range from several hundred becquerels per square metre to thousands or even several million bequerels per square metre, the IRSN report, issued late Monday, said. Around 70,000 people, including 9,500 children aged up to 14, live in the area, "the most contaminated territory outside the evacuation zone," the agency said. "These are people who are still to be evacuated, in addition to those who were evacuated during the emergency phase in March," Didier Champion, its environmnent director, told AFP.

Staying in this area means the inhabitants would be exposed to radiation of more than 10 millisieverts (mSv)in the year following the disaster, according to the IRSN. This level is used in French safety guidelines for protecting civilian populations after a nuclear accident. In France, 10 mSv is three times the normal background radiation from natural sources. "Ten mSV is not a dangerous dose in and of itself, it's more a precautionary dose," said Champion, noting however that this figure that does not include any additional doses from contaminated food or water. The 10 mSV derives from a calculation of exposure to at least 600,000 becquerels per square metre, emitted by caesium 137 and 134, which are long-lasting radioactive elements. Of the 70,000 people in the zone identified in the IRSN report, more than 26,000 could be exposed to doses of more than 16mSv in the first year after the disaster. On May 15, Japan began to evacuate 4,000 residents of the village of Iidate-mura and 1,100 people in the town of Kawamata-cho, 30 kms from the plant. The two locations had consistently received high amounts of radioactive dust due to wind patterns. The IRSN report is based on data for radioactivity reported by the Japanese authorities and from US overflights of the zone.

Yay!


And there's a tropical storm headed for them.


http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/woalert_read.php?cid=29877




Double Yay!!/s

 

[doodle]

The contaminated water could overflow into the sea again.

The fish won't be happy about that.

 

[HOLLYWOOD]

The Tepco officials said damage to the No.2 reactor fuel rods began three days after the quake, with much of the fuel rods eventually melting and collecting at the bottom of the pressure vessel containing them. Fuel rods in the No.3 reactor were damaged by the afternoon of March 13, they said. They repeated that the tsunami that followed soon after the quake disabled power to the reactors, knocking out their cooling capabilities.

SO much for telling the truth, eh?

TEPCO seeks $100 Billion in government AID... plus another $350 Billion for tsunami damages... I don't hear much from the Top Two US Insurers covering losses AFLAC and AIG. Last quarter they were boasting about record profits in Japan... now it will be book cooking the debt payouts over decades, just watch.

 

[kahless]

SO much for telling the truth, eh?

TEPCO seeks $100 Billion in government AID... plus another $350 Billion for tsunami damages... I don't hear much from the Top Two US Insurers covering losses AFLAC and AIG. Last quarter they were boasting about record profits in Japan... now it will be book cooking the debt payouts over decades, just watch.

Yet we have people claiming to be Libertarians in these forums that continue support nuclear power. Nuclear power industry has been and continues to be pretty consistent in making us all tax slaves to them. Insurance companies will not touch them and they go out of their way to hide their assets as well.

 

[doodle]

SO much for telling the truth, eh?

TEPCO seeks $100 Billion in government AID... plus another $350 Billion for tsunami damages... I don't hear much from the Top Two US Insurers covering losses AFLAC and AIG. Last quarter they were boasting about record profits in Japan... now it will be book cooking the debt payouts over decades, just watch.

Wow, if they are the insurers..this is going to be a huge liability for them.

 

[Acala]

Yet we have people claiming to be Libertarians in these forums that continue support nuclear power. Nuclear power industry has been and continues to be pretty consistent in making us all tax slaves to them. Insurance companies will not touch them and they go out of their way to hide their assets as well.

Find a libertarian on this forum that advocates SUBSIDIZING nuclear power or giving it some kind of special treatment at taxpayer expense.

Most of the posts I have seen that have not been anti-nuclear have merely said the market should decide, not government.

 

[raiha]

AIG is in the shit anyway....


http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/quote?ticker=AIG:US

Chief Executive Officer Robert Benmosche is seeking to assure Wall Street that the New York-based company has sufficient reserves after it was forced to book a $4.2 billion fourth-quarter charge to make up for a shortfall. The U.S. Treasury Department and AIG, which was bailed out amid record losses in 2008, plan to sell 300 million shares today to help replace government funds with private capital.
“To be clear, the U.S. government isn’t validating the reserves, nor really could they,” said Jonathan Hatcher, a strategist who covers financial institutions at Jefferies Group Inc. in New York. “This is basically saying, ‘Look as an investor, the U.S. government isn’t putting a stamp of approval on every fine point of this company.’”
AIG dropped 52 cents to $29.46 at 4 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The insurer has plunged 39 percent this year, the biggest decline in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index.
Reserve Shortfalls
AIG reported shortfalls in reserves in each of the last two years, and the company is spending more on claims and expenses than it makes in premiums from policyholders. The company set aside $2.3 billion to bolster reserves in 2009.
The statements that needed “clarification” were made in AIG’s “retail roadshow presentation,” the company said in the filing. Mark Herr, a spokesman for the company, declined to comment.
The GAO had said in March 2009 that it found no evidence of under-pricing by AIG after its 2008 bailout. Rivals including Chubb Corp. (CB) and Liberty Mutual Holding Co. had said AIG charged unsustainable rates to retain market share as it was propped up by the government.
‘Raises Concerns’
Fitch Ratings said in February that AIG’s track record of reserve additions “raises concerns about the company’s ability to generate consistent run-rate underwriting results.” Rivals in the market for U.S. property-casualty coverage including Travelers Cos. and Chubb have reported gains in the last two years as the insurers reduced reserves.
AIG was the worst underwriter among 25 property-casualty insurers in 2010 and 2009, according to a study by A.M. Best. AIG paid about $1.29 on claims and expenses for every dollar it collected in premiums last year, according to A.M. Best. AIG’s Chartis unit, which sells coverage to companies, spent $1.19 per premium dollar in the first quarter.
AIG plans to sell 100 million shares, and Treasury expects to sell 200 million, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The offering will reduce Treasury’s stake in the insurer to about 77 percent from 92 percent, AIG said in a regulatory filing.

 

[tangent4ronpaul]

I don't know about subsidizing them, but all those spent fuel rod storage facilities is a national security problem. Just one of them catching fire would be devastating for this country. So I'd be very supportive of using some of our war funding to finish that huge underground storage facility and minimize that risk.

As to subsidizing new plants - uh, no.

-t

 

[kahless]

Find a libertarian on this forum that advocates SUBSIDIZING nuclear power or giving it some kind of special treatment at taxpayer expense.

Most of the posts I have seen that have not been anti-nuclear have merely said the market should decide, not government.

If the market decides it wants nuclear power and the plant or waste can no longer be maintained for whatever reason or if there is an accident then the taxpayer is left paying for it. It is a technology that ultimately makes government necessary and ensures tax servitude now and for generations to come.

 

[Acala]

If the market decides it wants nuclear power and the plant or waste can no longer be maintained for whatever reason or if there is an accident then the taxpayer is left paying for it. It is a technology that ultimately makes government necessary and ensures tax servitude now and for generations to come.

I don't think your conclusion follows. Virtually any industry can theoretically create problems it can't afford to clean up. Yet the ones that always seem to do so are the government-created corporations operating on government land often with government subsidy and special privileges under heavy government "regulation".