Huge blast at Japan nuclear power plant

[Supreme]

BBC News - Japan earthquake: Explosion at Fukushima nuclear plant

A powerful explosion has hit a nuclear power station in north-eastern Japan which was badly damaged in Friday's devastating earthquake and tsunami.

A building housing a reactor was destroyed, but the authorities said the reactor itself was intact inside its steel container.

The Japanese government has sought to play down fears of a meltdown at the Fukushima plant.

It says radiation levels around the stricken plant have now fallen.

A huge rescue and relief operation is under way in the region after the earthquake and subsequent tsunami, which are thought to have killed more than 1,000 people.

Tokyo Electric Power said four of its workers had been injured in Saturday's blast at Fukushima, 250km (155 miles) north of Tokyo, but that their injuries were not life-threatening.

This nuclear blast does not seem to be as big as it could have been, thank God, and the risk is minimal. The Japanese people have been through too much with their earthquake and tsunami, and a nuclear disaster is the last thing they'd need.

 

[Brak]

The Japanese people have been through too much with their earthquake and tsunami, and a nuclear disaster is the last thing they'd need.

But it is a heads-up. Lots of big fans of nuclear energy around here. It's clean, it's "safe"...well, it's not. The unexpected can happen, and then this happens. We need to learn some lessons about what happened in Japan, and better learn what could happen if a massive natural disaster hits any First World country. Nuclear accidents are deemed highly unlikely, but this is a case where that likelihood is starting to be realized. We need to be cognizant of the dangers, and the magnitude of what would happen if it got worse (kind of like dying from being hit by an asteroid: no one ever has, but if it ever did, we'd *ALL* be dead).

 

[Paxton25]

This is a map of potential radiation exposure for the West Coast of North America in the event of a reactor meltdown:

Map of Potential Fallout From Fukushima Reactor at Gramercy Images News

Red: 3000 Rads ---> Extremely Lethal
Orange: 1500 Rads ---> Potentially Lethal
Yellow: 750 Rads ---> Organ damaging potential

 

[Drekkan85]

Yes, there was an incident. But just like 3-Mile Island, the death count was... zero.

That's the thing. Events like this are "scary", but pale in comparison to anything else. Consider that the number of people killed in coal mine incidents this year is likely more than were killed in nuclear power incidents in the history of nuclear power (and that includes times before modern safeguards were installed.

Also consider that this is literally a worst case scenario - a reactor almost on top of a horrific earthquake and the damage caused was contained.

 

[Paxton25]

Tokyo Electric Power Company isn’t saying much. Utilities tend not to and Japanese utilities are notoriously secretive. But we got a clue to what’s happening from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, of all people, who remarked that the U.S. military was delivering “coolant” to the stricken reactor.

“Coolant?” wondered aloud all the CNN and Fox News nuclear experts looking for a lede for their stories. “What is she talking about, coolant?” This is a boiling water reactor and the coolant is water. The U.S. Air Force isn’t needed to export water to Japan.

This shows the limits of cable news experts and maybe experts in general, because Hillary isn’t the kind of person to choose the wrong words. She said “coolant” and she meant “coolant.” Though she may not have known she was saying so, she also meant the reactor was dead and will never be restarted.

Though the boiling water reactor has already been turned off by inserting neutron-absorbing control rods all the way into the core, adding boric acid or, more likely, sodium polyborate would turn the reactor off-er — more off than off — which could come in really handy in the event of a subsequent coolant loss, which reportedly has already happened. But that’s a $1 billion kill switch that most experts wouldn’t think to pull.

US sends coolant to shutdown Fukushima reactors

 

[WalksWithChrist]

BBC News - Japan earthquake: Explosion at Fukushima nuclear plant



This nuclear blast does not seem to be as big as it could have been, thank God, and the risk is minimal. The Japanese people have been through too much with their earthquake and tsunami, and a nuclear disaster is the last thing they'd need.

Just wanted to say...and explosion isn't a nuclear blast. Big difference!


Unless I'm completely off base.

 

[Elastria]

This is a map of potential radiation exposure for the West Coast of North America in the event of a reactor meltdown:

Map of Potential Fallout From Fukushima Reactor at Gramercy Images News

Red: 3000 Rads ---> Extremely Lethal
Orange: 1500 Rads ---> Potentially Lethal
Yellow: 750 Rads ---> Organ damaging potential

I would post some corroborating information if I were you and I would advise against panic. It looks like there is some debate over whether this map has been forged or is inaccurate.

 

[SithDoughnut]

Just wanted to say...and explosion isn't a nuclear blast. Big difference!


Unless I'm completely off base.

No, you're right. It was a hydrogen explosion that apparently happened when pressure was released. Nothing nuclear involved, although there could have been.

And now we've got another reactor which could explode...

 

[Elastria]

Just wanted to say...and explosion isn't a nuclear blast. Big difference!


Unless I'm completely off base.

If I remember my physics lessons a nuclear reactor isn't capable of generating the same kind of runaway chain reaction that leads to a nuclear blast anyway. The fissile material inside a reactor core isn't dense enough. A nuclear weapon works by first triggering a controlled implosion which smashes the plutonium atoms together. An explosion pushes them apart.

 

[Elastria]

Tokyo Electric Power Company isn’t saying much. Utilities tend not to and Japanese utilities are notoriously secretive. But we got a clue to what’s happening from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, of all people, who remarked that the U.S. military was delivering “coolant” to the stricken reactor.

“Coolant?” wondered aloud all the CNN and Fox News nuclear experts looking for a lede for their stories. “What is she talking about, coolant?” This is a boiling water reactor and the coolant is water. The U.S. Air Force isn’t needed to export water to Japan.

This shows the limits of cable news experts and maybe experts in general, because Hillary isn’t the kind of person to choose the wrong words. She said “coolant” and she meant “coolant.” Though she may not have known she was saying so, she also meant the reactor was dead and will never be restarted.

Though the boiling water reactor has already been turned off by inserting neutron-absorbing control rods all the way into the core, adding boric acid or, more likely, sodium polyborate would turn the reactor off-er — more off than off — which could come in really handy in the event of a subsequent coolant loss, which reportedly has already happened. But that’s a $1 billion kill switch that most experts wouldn’t think to pull.

US sends coolant to shutdown Fukushima reactors

Perhaps, but if we're talking about having a meltdown anyway, which would likely cost billions to cleanup, (not to mention the damage to the industry reputation in terms of consumer confidence) it could be they're considering this as last resort.

 

[Elastria]

Perhaps it is a cultural barrier but I get the impression that the Japanese authorities aren't telling us the whole story. These incidents seem to have gone from a "minor pressure buildup...nothing to worry about" to "RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!" serious in record time. Though I can understand how they would not want to start a panic in already dangerous times.

 

[Drekkan85]

Perhaps it is a cultural barrier but I get the impression that the Japanese authorities aren't telling us the whole story. These incidents seem to have gone from a "minor pressure buildup...nothing to worry about" to "RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!" serious in record time. Though I can understand how they would not want to start a panic in already dangerous times.

As someone who lived there for several years, it's largely a cultural thing. The government places an emphasis on keeping people calm, and the people are inclined to think that's a good thing - knowing everything and making a decision for yourself is less important than maintaining harmony and following government directives.

It's also a function of the media there. The Japanese government is used to dealing with the Japanese media... which is less than sterling. The media there is very unlikely to be investigative or otherwise challenge the government press clipping given to them. Even when the media TRIES to be investigative (a news-magazine did a rather probing set of stories on the male 'boy-band'/idol industry) it turns out poorly (said idol manager, who was accused by the magazine of molesting and raping his charges [by the charges testimony], basically told the magazine's owner that he'd pull his talent from their TV shows unless they stopped the stories... and the stories stopped).

 

[Elastria]

As someone who lived there for several years, it's largely a cultural thing. The government places an emphasis on keeping people calm, and the people are inclined to think that's a good thing - knowing everything and making a decision for yourself is less important than maintaining harmony and following government directives.

It's also a function of the media there. The Japanese government is used to dealing with the Japanese media... which is less than sterling. The media there is very unlikely to be investigative or otherwise challenge the government press clipping given to them. Even when the media TRIES to be investigative (a news-magazine did a rather probing set of stories on the male 'boy-band'/idol industry) it turns out poorly (said idol manager, who was accused by the magazine of molesting and raping his charges [by the charges testimony], basically told the magazine's owner that he'd pull his talent from their TV shows unless they stopped the stories... and the stories stopped).

That was my suspicion. In the United States we're just more accustomed to a media that wants to know every detail and what everyone thinks about it 24 hours a day.

 

[Drekkan85]

That was my suspicion. In the United States we're just more accustomed to a media that wants to know every detail and what everyone thinks about it 24 hours a day.

And to be fair, there are pros and cons to each situation. The Japanese media is far less likely to report rumour as fact, and thus end up causing panic or having other negative effects.

 

[SithDoughnut]

As someone who lived there for several years, it's largely a cultural thing. The government places an emphasis on keeping people calm, and the people are inclined to think that's a good thing - knowing everything and making a decision for yourself is less important than maintaining harmony and following government directives.

It's also a function of the media there. The Japanese government is used to dealing with the Japanese media... which is less than sterling. The media there is very unlikely to be investigative or otherwise challenge the government press clipping given to them. Even when the media TRIES to be investigative (a news-magazine did a rather probing set of stories on the male 'boy-band'/idol industry) it turns out poorly (said idol manager, who was accused by the magazine of molesting and raping his charges [by the charges testimony], basically told the magazine's owner that he'd pull his talent from their TV shows unless they stopped the stories... and the stories stopped).

That, and the utilities and other companies like to keep tight-lipped too.

 

[Beechwell]

If I remember my physics lessons a nuclear reactor isn't capable of generating the same kind of runaway chain reaction that leads to a nuclear blast anyway. The fissile material inside a reactor core isn't dense enough. A nuclear weapon works by first triggering a controlled implosion which smashes the plutonium atoms together. An explosion pushes them apart.

That is true afaik. The worry is mostly that heavily readioactive material may escape the reactor core (some may already have). Worst case is that the Uranium rods melt and get out of the protective casing.
When you have that stuff in the air or water supply, then you have a real problem

 

[Elastria]

That is true afaik. The worry is mostly that heavily readioactive material may escape the reactor core (some may already have). Worst case is that the Uranium rods melt and get out of the protective casing.
When you have that stuff in the air or water supply, then you have a real problem

Well my hope would be that they wouldn't soft-pedal the danger and would be willing to accept help from the USA and any other country with expertise in nuclear power. France comes to mind. My feeling on the matter is that when it comes to the safety of nuclear power plants there's no such thing as "too cautious".

 

[Paxton25]

Well my hope would be that they wouldn't soft-pedal the danger and would be willing to accept help from the USA and any other country with expertise in nuclear power. France comes to mind. My feeling on the matter is that when it comes to the safety of nuclear power plants there's no such thing as ''too cautious''.

This is a global problem now, not just a Japanese problem. If the US forces are bringing coolant, be it boric acid or sodium polyborate, you can be sure that the US won't sit back and watch as Japanese crews pump sea water with boric acid through the cooling systems in a lame attempt to save their billion dollar reactors.

Solid coolant will neutralize the reactors, but in doing so, will render them permanently inoperable (a small price to pay for living). The US will take care of the problem, which is somewhat ironic, given their past history with Japan in WW2 (Hiroshima and Nagasaki).

 

[Brak]

What I'm hearing is that Fukishima plant #6 was a little more a blast AT the plant. The blast WAS the plant. Like a 50,000 pound bomb, the whole thing just went boom! and the whole thing was no more. And that 6 out of the 11 plants there are in some level of meltdown. Supposedly if radioactive debris flew in the sky as high as the jet stream, here in the U.S. we would start to see radiation levels rise in our atmosphere in about 2-4 days.

 

[Drekkan85]

This is a global problem now, not just a Japanese problem. If the US forces are bringing coolant, be it boric acid or sodium polyborate, you can be sure that the US won't sit back and watch as Japanese crews pump sea water with boric acid through the cooling systems in a lame attempt to save their billion dollar reactors.

Solid coolant will neutralize the reactors, but in doing so, will render them permanently inoperable (a small price to pay for living). The US will take care of the problem, which is somewhat ironic, given their past history with Japan in WW2 (Hiroshima and Nagasaki).

Except for the style of reactor used pumping of sea water will basically render the reactors completely inoperable on a permanent basis. The use of sea water signals that the authorities are taking this seriously, and are willing to take whatever steps are necessary regardless of cost.