Tsunami!!!

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The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) was created as an independent agency by Congress in 1974 to enable the nation to safely use radioactive materials for beneficial civilian purposes while ensuring that people and the environment are protected. The NRC regulates commercial nuclear power plants and other uses of nuclear materials, such as in nuclear medicine, through licensing, inspection and enforcement of its requirements.
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Tokyo: Japanese officials struggled on Sunday to contain a widening nuclear crisis in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake and tsunami, saying they presumed that partial meltdowns had occurred at two crippled reactors and that they were bracing for a second explosion, even as they faced serious cooling problems at four more reactors. (See pics: Japan earthquake triggers tsunami)

The emergency appeared to be the worst involving a nuclear plant since the Chernobyl disaster 25 years ago. The developments at two separate nuclear plants prompted the evacuation of more than 200,000 people. Japanese officials said they had also ordered up the largest mobilization of their Self-Defense Forces since World War II to assist in the relief effort. (Watch: Worst crisis since World War II, says Japanese PM)

On Saturday, Japanese officials took the extraordinary step of flooding the crippled No. 1 reactor at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, 170 miles north of Tokyo, with seawater in a last-ditch effort to avoid a nuclear meltdown. That came after an explosion caused by hydrogen that tore the outer wall and roof off the building housing the reactor, although the steel containment of the reactor remained in place. (Watch: Explosion at Fukushima nuclear power plant)

Then on Sunday, cooling failed at a second reactor -- No. 3 -- and core melting was presumed at both, said the top government spokesman, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano. An explosion could also rock the No. 3 reactor, Mr. Edano warned, because of a buildup of hydrogen within the reactor. (Read: Japan pushes to rescue survivors as quake toll rises)


"The possibility that hydrogen is building up in the upper parts of the reactor building cannot be denied. There is a possibility of a hydrogen explosion," Mr. Edano said. He stressed that as in the No. 1 unit, the reactor's steel containment would withstand the explosion. (Read: Death toll may exceed 10,000)

"It is designed to withstand shocks," he said.

Officials also said they would release steam and inject water into a third reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi plant after temperatures rose and water levels fell around the fuel rods.

Cooling had failed at three reactors at a nuclear complex nearby, Fukushima Daini, although he said conditions there were considered less dire for now.

With high pressure inside the reactors at Daiichi hampering efforts to pump in cooling water, plant operators had to release radioactive vapor into the atmosphere. Radiation levels outside the plant, which had retreated overnight, shot up to 1,204 microsieverts per hour, or over twice Japan's legal limit, Mr. Edano said.


Read more at: Japan: Partial meltdowns presumed at crippled nuclear reactors
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Tens of thousands of residents near a nuclear plant in Japan were evacuated Saturday after an explosion at the plant, 240 kilometers north of Tokyo. The reactor failure follows a devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck northeastern Japan on Friday.
Japanese officials have reassured the public, saying there is no danger of a meltdown of the reactor core. But US nuclear experts say they are worried about the possibility.

The failure at the plant in Fukushima Prefecture was caused by a power loss, and then a loss of backup power, following the massive earthquake and tsunami Friday.
A Japanese official said a buildup of hydrogen in the reactor's cooling system caused the explosion, but he said the containment structure was intact. Radiation was released, but government officials say the levels were low and are dropping.
Watch the explosion at reactor number one in Fukushima
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US Nuclear Experts Worry About Possible Japan Reactor Meltdown | Asia | English
 
Defence force members carry a resident who is suspected to have been exposed to radiation, in Nihonmatsu, Fukushima. Picture: AP Source: AP

THIS is as close as Japan has come to the dreaded genpatsu shinsai scenario - a nuclear emergency breaking out in the chaos following a huge earthquake and destructive tsunamis.

Once the crisis has passed, the questions will arise again and with redoubled force: is Japan's nuclear power industry as secure as it constantly claims, and can any level of precaution make nuclear plants reliably safe in the world's most seismically dangerous nation?

There are 17 nuclear power stations around the country, most on the main island of Honshu, supplying almost 35 per cent of the nation's baseload power. Otherwise, Japan is dependent on shipments of oil and liquefied natural gas for electricity generation.

That's why Tokyo governments and planners remain so attached to nuclear power, despite the accidents and safety failures that afflict Japan's nuclear industry.



In 2002, Tokyo Electric Power Co was caught in a widespread structural safety falsification scandal; in 2004, five workers were killed in an accident at the Mihama No 3 plant; and TEPCO was again caught out in July 2007 when the magnitude-6.8 Niigata quake triggered a serious fire at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant.

TEPCO, the world's third-largest power utility, operates the Fukushima No 1 and No 2 nuclear plants; given its safety record, the safety quality of its operations will again be under question.

It emerged at the weekend that all three Fukushima No 1 reactors operating at the time of Friday's magnitude-9.0 quake suffered cooling system failures. That was reportedly the result of a station blackout - the failure of emergency electric systems accompanying the loss of regular power.

That alone would seem to guarantee another searing safety interrogation for the company.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano yesterday warned of the risk of a second explosion at the plant, but said that reactor No 3 could withstand it as reactor No 1 did a day earlier. "There is the possibility of an explosion in the No 3 reactor, as in the case of the first reactor," Mr Edano said.

The reactor would survive, he added, and there would be no adverse affect on the health of nearby residents. He said the risk of a second explosion had been heightened by a hydrogen build-up in reactor No 3 when cooling water levels fell.

The plant's operator has been pumping seawater into the reactor to reduce the heat caused by the cooling system failure.

Mr Edano said that in an explosion, parts of the reactor may become deformed, but he was confident it would survive the impact, as reactor No 1 did in Saturday's blast, and that there would not be a nuclear meltdown: "The situation would not affect human health, but we are making this announcement because we cannot rule out the possibility of an explosion."

Obviously there is an economic limit to the amount of disaster prevention that could be installed against what was a once-in-a-century earthquake and tsunami.

But what might turn out to be a significant factor is the age of the plant - all six Fukushima No 1 reactors were commissioned in the 1970s. About 40 per cent of Japan's nuclear-generating capacity is older than 30 years.

One of the most stringent domestic critics of the industry, seismologist Katsuhiko Ishibashi, has repeatedly pointed out that many of the country's plants and reactors were built during a time when safety standards were generally lower and Japan was experiencing a relative lull in seismic activity.

The second and more menacing aspect of nuclear power's vulnerability to quakes in Japan is geographic unpredictability.

Residents close to the proposed Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant argued for decades that it was too close to an active faultline. TEPCO claimed the fault was not "live", and courts twice upheld it, but the residents were right.

The Fukushima stretch is 300km south of the most tsunami-prone Honshu coast, and in Japan that is some margin of safety.

But even after Friday, the most severe risk of an earthquake catastrophe remains - and it is very much known.

Only 190km southwest of Tokyo and sitting astride an active fault that could well be the epicentre of the next "great earthquake", Chubu Electric Power Co operates the Hamaoka plant.

CEPCo has taken its two oldest and most difficult reactors out of commission but it cannot change geography.

Hamaoka is located on the Shizuoka coast, a zone so historically prone to big quakes and so overdue for another that the feared event already has a name - the Tokai great earthquake.

About 15 million people live in the Tokai region but a magnitude eight quake could cause serious damage beyond 200km, putting at risk many of Greater Tokyo's 30 million people.

A big tsunami would also be likely.

Especially after Friday, it doesn't bear thinking about.
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As close as it gets to the sum of all fears | The Australian
 
and yet "as close as it gets" is nowhere near what the media is trying to suggest. physicists in the US weren't scared of a total fallout. it as a very remote possibility.

it's like saying, "Is there a plan to assassinate Obama?"

Obama's popularity points are dropping, and history shows that 7% of American Presidents will be subject to assassination attempts...
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TheOracle said:
and yet "as close as it gets" is nowhere near what the media is trying to suggest. physicists in the US weren't scared of a total fallout. it as a very remote possibility.

it's like saying, "Is there a plan to assassinate Obama?"
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Good job getting the ratings report on Obama mixed in. Guess it is safe to assume you are Conservative. Good luck with that.

I also wonder, are you employed by the electric company? You have made very few comments on this topic except to refute any news reports that mention potential meltdowns. Glad this is just a lesson in journalism for you. Why did Japan evacuate 170,000 people from around the reactor; practice? Godzilla vs Mothra?
 
saywhatkid said:
Good job getting the ratings report on Obama mixed in. Guess it is safe to assume you are Conservative. Good luck with that.

I also wonder, are you employed by the electric company? You have made very few comments on this topic except to refute any news reports that mention potential meltdowns. Glad this is just a lesson in journalism for you. Why did Japan evacuate 170,000 people from around the reactor; practice? Godzilla vs Mothra?
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If you really thought about it... It's almost pointless to evacuate. And if we were seriously worried, the entire states of COW (California, Oregon,and Washington) should be evacuating right now according to the fallout map.

Why aren't we evacuating?

Can you tell me how many people died due to the Chernobyl disaster?
 
posts from hell said:
If you really thought about it... It's almost pointless to evacuate. And if we were seriously worried, the entire states of COW (California, Oregon,and Washington) should be evacuating right now according to the fallout map.

Why aren't we evacuating?

Can you tell me how many people died due to the Chernobyl disaster?
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As you said, what is the point? Where would they all go? Might as well cowboy up and deal with it.

No clue how many died from Chernobyl. If that number is greater than zero, it was a disaster to someone. If you expect an honest exact figure, good luck. This was the USSR. They did not even acknowledge there was a problem until it was quite late.

Just trying to point out the yawns of indifference from some people. Guess it would matter more if it was in Denver...
 
saywhatkid said:
As you said, what is the point? Where would they all go? Might as well cowboy up and deal with it.

No clue how many died from Chernobyl. If that number is greater than zero, it was a disaster to someone. If you expect an honest exact figure, good luck. This was the USSR. They did not even acknowledge there was a problem until it was quite late.

Just trying to point out the yawns of indifference from some people. Guess it would matter more if it was in Denver...
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Read up, we've had our nuclear stuff to deal with as well. Still dealing with it to this day.
 
posts from hell said:
If you really thought about it... It's almost pointless to evacuate. And if we were seriously worried, the entire states of COW (California, Oregon,and Washington) should be evacuating right now according to the fallout map.

Why aren't we evacuating?

Can you tell me how many people died due to the Chernobyl disaster?
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Can you tell me how many people evacuated New Orleans when they were told to evacuate before Katrina hit?
 
posts from hell said:
Can you tell me how well they were informed to evacuate? ;)
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yes, the hurricane was all over the news. Had been for a week prior to landfall. Category 5 all week long. Local news told people to leave, and not enough emergency personnel would be available for those who decided to stay.

AFTER the hurricane hit, people decided to walk on I-10 in east and west directions.
 
With all of the conflicting reports in the news, I would pay attention to what the official press statement was from the Japanese Government. Fukushima has melted down.

That would be enough information for me to casually drive around town and see where all the fallout shelters are ... just in case. Then I would go about my business and know where they are ... just in case.

Just a tip - fallout shelters were on every corner block during the 60's - 70's. Old Post Office Buildings should have them. McDonald's buildings during that era would have them too.
 
Steinhauer said:
With all of the conflicting reports in the news, I would pay attention to what the official press statement was from the Japanese Government. Fukushima has melted down.

That would be enough information for me to casually drive around town and see where all the fallout shelters are ... just in case. Then I would go about my business and know where they are ... just in case.

Just a tip - fallout shelters were on every corner block during the 60's - 70's. Old Post Office Buildings should have them. McDonald's buildings during that era would have them too.
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Can you show me the press statement?
 
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