Japanese reactor crisis

[dreadgeek]

Originally Posted by Linus

Is this a good thing?

I was thinking about this on my drive in this morning. My honest answer is that I'm not sure. I think it is improvement while still not being out of the woods.

The reason I think it is improvement was that early in the week, we were looking at six on the scale. The scale that IAEA uses goes like this:

1. Anomaly
2. Incident
3. Serious incident
4. Accident with local consequences
5. Accident with wider consequences
6. Serious accident
7. Major accident

So, TMI was an accident with consequences for the region the plant was located in but not more widely. (And contra what you might have heard, most epidemiological studies have not demonstrated an increase in incidents of cancer.) Chernobyl was an accident with consequences far beyond the region the plant was located in. So since around Tuesday this event looked like a 6 and possibly a 7, if it's now been classified as a level 5 incident that means things are trending in the right direction. A level 5 is not good but it's a damn sight better than a level 7.

That said, there's all of that spent fuel which is now in a state we don't know about right now. I'm encouraged that there is now serious discussion on the ground of implementing the same solution used at Chernobyl--hit the place with a mixture of sand and boron and then encase the whole thing in concrete. Since the site is absolutely never coming back for power generation encasing all of the damaged reactors in concrete might be the best solution.

Cheers
Aj

[AtLast]

Originally Posted by dreadgeek

I was thinking about this on my drive in this morning. My honest answer is that I'm not sure. I think it is improvement while still not being out of the woods.

The reason I think it is improvement was that early in the week, we were looking at six on the scale. The scale that IAEA uses goes like this:

1. Anomaly
2. Incident
3. Serious incident
4. Accident with local consequences
5. Accident with wider consequences
6. Serious accident
7. Major accident

So, TMI was an accident with consequences for the region the plant was located in but not more widely. (And contra what you might have heard, most epidemiological studies have not demonstrated an increase in incidents of cancer.) Chernobyl was an accident with consequences far beyond the region the plant was located in. So since around Tuesday this event looked like a 6 and possibly a 7, if it's now been classified as a level 5 incident that means things are trending in the right direction. A level 5 is not good but it's a damn sight better than a level 7.

That said, there's all of that spent fuel which is now in a state we don't know about right now. I'm encouraged that there is now serious discussion on the ground of implementing the same solution used at Chernobyl--hit the place with a mixture of sand and boron and then encase the whole thing in concrete. Since the site is absolutely never coming back for power generation encasing all of the damaged reactors in concrete might be the best solution.

Cheers
Aj

I have been thinking about why something like what was used at Chernobyl hasn't been considered- glad it is. Also, I have to realize just how impacted these folks are in terms of this entire disaster. Things might have been very different if they were dealing with only the power plant situation due to some other problem causing it- without a 9.0 earthquake and a tsunami.

Last night via CNN, emails were read from power plant workers (that are not at the plants now) and their families (of those that are still working)- gut wrenching. These people are risking their lives to try and save the rest of the population.

[AtLast]

About 4 pm , PST- CNN reporting that back-up generators now working. Possibly the result of new power lines finally completed? But, no real run down on which reactor (s), etc. Still, this seems like a positive thing. Hope to see more info.

[dreadgeek]

IAEA Briefing on Fukushima Nuclear Emergency (18 March 2011, 14:00 UTC)

On 18 March 2011, Graham Andrew, Special Adviser to the IAEA Director General on Scientific and Technical Affairs, briefed both Member States and the media on the current status of nuclear safety in Japan. His opening remarks, which he delivered at 14:00 UTC at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna, are provided below:

1. Current Situation

As I reported yesterday, the situation at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plants remains very serious, but there has been no significant worsening since our last briefing.

The situation at the reactors at Units 1, 2 and 3 appears to remain fairly stable.

Seawater was injected yesterday into Unit 2 and white smoke was again observed through the blown-out panels.

At Unit 3, which was the subject of helicopter water drops yesterday, water cannons have been spraying water on the spent fuel pond and seawater was injected into the reactor pressure vessel.

An important safety concern remains the spent fuel pools at Units 3 and 4. Information is lacking on water levels and temperatures at the spent fuel pools.

Efforts are being made to restore electrical power to the whole site. Another positive development is that diesel generators are providing power for cooling for both Units 5 and 6.

No problems have been reported at the common spent fuel pool. The spent fuel in the pool is fully covered by water.

The Japanese authorities today issued new ratings for the incidents on the IAEA International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale - INES.

They assess core damage at the Fukushima Daiichi 1, 2 and 3 reactor Units, caused by the loss of all cooling function, as 5 on the INES scale.

The situation at Unit 4, where cooling and water supply in the spent fuel pool have been lost, is rated 3 by the Japanese authorities.

At the Fukushima Daini nuclear power plant, the loss of cooling functions in Units 1, 2 and 4 has also been rated as 3. All reactor Units at Fukushima Daini are now in a cold shut down condition.

2. Radiation Monitoring

As mentioned yesterday, regular dose rate information is now being received from 47 Japanese cities.

Dose rates in Tokyo and other cities remain far from levels which would require action - in other words they are not dangerous to human health.

First measurements in Tokyo by the Agency's newly arrived radiation monitoring team today showed no indication of Iodine-131 or Caesium-137. A second sampling will be carried out overnight.

3. Agency Activities

As you know, the Director General is in Tokyo, where he met the Prime Minister and other senior government ministers as well as the Vice-President of Tepco. The Director General stressed the importance of providing faster and more detailed information about the situation at the nuclear power plants, including to the international community. He also emphasized the importance of Japan working closely with the international community to resolve the crisis.

There was agreement between the Agency and our Japanese counterparts that the Agency mission would focus on radiation measurements and the identification of Japanese needs for a future environmental monitoring programme.

The Agency has started radiation measurements in Tokyo, as I mentioned, and we will move towards the Fukushima region as soon as possible. The Japanese counterparts confirmed their willingness to further strengthen their cooperation with the Agency and make available measurements made by TEPCO and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.

The Director General plans to brief the Agency's Board of Governors on his return from Japan.

Following our request yesterday, the CTBTO informed us today that data from its radionuclide monitoring stations will be made available to the Agency with immediate effect. On behalf of the Director General, I express my thanks to CTBTO Executive Secretary, Mr. Tibor Toth.

The International Civil Aviation Organization, in consultation with the Agency and a number of other international organizations, said today that international flight and maritime operations can continue normally into and out of Japan's major airports and sea ports and there is no medical basis for imposing additional measures to protect passengers. This will be kept under review.

Agency staff continue to work around the clock. We intend to hold another Technical Briefing and press conference at the same time tomorrow, Saturday.

[AtLast]

http://inthearena.blogs.cnn.com/2011...rnobyl-option/

Famous Physicist Michio Kaku says it's time to call out the Japanese air force to entomb quake-damaged nuclear reactors.

----

I do not know much about this physicist's reputation or credentials- he has been on a couple of shows the last few days talking about this.

Something that does come to mind is the state of Japan'e infrastructure at this time being in chaos- if they can't even get enough food, water and blankets to most of the hardest hit areas of the quake and tsunami- how can this type of "option" be organized and realized?

[MsTinkerbelly]

According to news reports we have begun to receive radiation in California from japan.

[Glenn]

Faux News-According to the USDA, the readings at a Sacramento monitoring station were far below levels that could pose any health risks.

[Martina]

Questions for our science geek:

So are 5 and 6 getting water circulation by way of generator power? i just read that the generators are configured to do that. i am confused.

i also read that TEPCO said not to be optimistic about the pumps working in 2. Then there is 4, which is leaking. And there is no more likelihood that the pumps will be working in1, 3 and 4.

If they are indeep pumping, does the fact that the pumps are working in 5 and 6 mean anything re the other units? i feel like i am doing a close reading of all this and am still not getting it. Some of it is the science, some of it is the fact that there is so much confusion, and some of it is obviously the rotten communication coming from TEPCO and the Japanese government. Even the journalism is weak. i can't see why there isn't some story laying out the possible scenarios. Is it that people just don't know?

So i finally found mention of what would happen if the cooling systems are not functional. People would have to go in and fix or replace them. Is that doable without it being a suicide mission?

i don't understand why unit 4 has a 4 rating while 1, 2, and 3 have a 5. Is it because 4 was shut down before the earthquake hit so there is no fuel in the reactor? It seems like the fact that the unit 4's pool is leaking poses a more immediate danger. i read that if those fuel pellets fall in a heap, fission could resume and that pure water can accelerate fission. i read that the reason they are concentrating on 2 is the radioactive steam that keeps coming out, but at least that means there is water in there. Clearly the pool at 4 may have next to no water inside it. How long can that go on without stuff happening?

So again this is something i have pieced together -- and i am so annoyed that i keep having to do this -- but the mox in some of the spent fuel rods in unit 3 is not a problem because plutonium is so heavy that it is unlikely to disperse in the air and because it won't aggregate enough to explode?