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Interesting Facts from Fukushima

By ¥   Follow   Wed, 23 Mar 2011, 9:11am   11,244 views   174 comments
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http://www.meti.go.jp/press/20110323012/20110323012-4.pdf

Water injection is around 200 l/minute into each reactor core. This water is apparently then released into the ocean.

#1 & 3 have drywell temperatures of 300deg, which is max design level.
#2 is doing better at 100deg.

#1 drywell pressure is at 94% of design max, probably going to have to vent.
Problem is drywell radiation level is 48 Sv/h. All 3 reactors similarly high.

#2 & #3 primary containment vessels & wetwells are apparently compromised.

NISA is cute with the drywell pressure reading here by listing it at 0.11 MPa (abs) -- that's atmospheric pressure at sea level.

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1. American in Japan Follow Befriend (28) 149 threads 1,398 comments

   135   9:52pm Sat 7 May 2011   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike (1)   @Terri Not likely now... --- I agree with this quote from JapanToday: "Tepco should be put into bankruptcy like JAL so that their assets can be fairly distributed. right now the tepco and banks are putting pressure on the government to use public funds to bail out tepco. the reason the banks are putting pressure is that the directors have personal liability for the loans they made to tepco after the quake so they are trying to get public funds to pay back the loans and avoid personal responsibility."

2. terriDeaner Follow Befriend (7) 70 threads 1,151 comments

   136   10:08pm Sat 7 May 2011   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike (1)   American in Japan says Tepco should be put into bankruptcy like JAL so that their assets can be fairly distributed. right now the tepco and banks are putting pressure on the government to use public funds to bail out tepco. So what do you think will happen?

3. Done! Follow Befriend (4) 159 threads 2,826 comments

   137   10:28pm Sat 7 May 2011   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   It doesn't surprise me one bit JAL went bankrupt, when I flew business class with them in 09, The show and service alone was worth the price of the ticket.

4. American in Japan Follow Befriend (28) 149 threads 1,398 comments

   138   8:45am Tue 10 May 2011   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   What can I say? And I quote: http://www.japantoday.com/category/politics/view/tepco-to-formally-seek-govt-support-for-damages-payment "it would be unforgivable if the government bails out TEPCO. as TEPCO was considered "elite" and already has one of the highest wage structures, doesn't seem like such a big sacrifice. also TEPCO is a monopoly and has a steady, continuous and profitable income stream which could be used to pay off the damages. they don't need government money. TEPCO is the company that refused to flood their reactors with seawater to avoid damaging their investment. the reason TEPCO (along with the banks behind the scenes) is pressuring the government is so that TEPCO can pay off their loans to the banks so the bank directors can avoid personal liability for the loans they authorized to tepco right after the earthquake without properly evaluating TEPCO's liability. (sounds kind of like U.S. bailout doesn't it? use tax money to bail out those too big to fail, while they continue to rake it in.)"

5. American in Japan Follow Befriend (28) 149 threads 1,398 comments

   139   8:47am Tue 10 May 2011   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike (1)   JAL is another story. A big part of their problem of losing money was that they were forced (under the LDP) to fly many flights to "rural" areas (at a loss).

6. terriDeaner Follow Befriend (7) 70 threads 1,151 comments

   140   8:53am Tue 10 May 2011   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   American in Japan says What can I say? Business as usual, it seems. Kind of funny how the article describes the company as 'asking for help' from the government, as if they were an irresponsible college kid asking mom and dad for a loan. And how exactly does one 'ask' the government for millions or billions of dollars in free money?

7. American in Japan Follow Befriend (28) 149 threads 1,398 comments

   141   6:42am Wed 11 May 2011   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   More news: http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/tepco-accepts-conditions-for-govt-support-to-help-it-pay-damages Socialize loss?

8. terriDeaner Follow Befriend (7) 70 threads 1,151 comments

   142   9:09am Thu 12 May 2011   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   American in Japan says Socialize loss? Looks that way. BTW, a recent update on Fukishima (zerohedge): Fukushima Reactor 1 Fuel Rods Fully Exposed, Reactor 4 In Danger Of Collapsing http://www.zerohedge.com/article/fukushima-reactor-1-fuel-rods-fully-exposed-reactor-4-danger-collapsing Has any of this made headlines in Japan?

9. American in Japan Follow Befriend (28) 149 threads 1,398 comments

   143   2:28am Sun 15 May 2011   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   The Japanese press is muted about much of it. But I check so many news sources that, when this news came out I was not surprised at all. Granted that some of the European and other foreign news was going crazy the other way with wild speculation... Here is another good article about TEPCO's "compensation". http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=24749

10. terriDeaner Follow Befriend (7) 70 threads 1,151 comments

    144   9:24pm Mon 16 May 2011   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike (1)   American in Japan says Here is another good article about TEPCO’s “compensation”. http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=24749 Pathetic. Really.

11. American in Japan Follow Befriend (28) 149 threads 1,398 comments

    145   9:16am Tue 17 May 2011   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike (1)   Blunders of TEPCO outlined: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/17/world/asia/17japan.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&src=recg

12. terriDeaner Follow Befriend (7) 70 threads 1,151 comments

    146   9:21am Tue 17 May 2011   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike (1)   American in Japan says Blunders of TEPCO outlined: So much for learning from past mistakes.

13. terriDeaner Follow Befriend (7) 70 threads 1,151 comments

    147   9:23am Tue 17 May 2011   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like (1)   Dislike (1)   Here's a progress report though: http://www.zerohedge.com/article/tepco-provides-complete-fukushima-status-update-and-roadmap-recovery

14. simchaland Follow Befriend (6) 10 threads 1,234 comments Oakland, CA

    148   9:17pm Tue 17 May 2011   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike (1)   Now we hear nothing about this incident. It's interesting what the corporate media finds as "news worthy." In the Bay Area, every news cast is using the story about the Giants fan that was beaten in LA by LA fans as their lead story. And this affects the country or the world how? There are thousands of beatings per year in Bay Area cities and some where the victims die, but you don't hear about most of them. It is sad what happened to this guy, but really, does this story deserve to be the lead story on every network news program? Fukushima on the other hand affects an entire country and has an impact on the world, economically and environmentally. But we never hear about what's going on there anymore. Like I said in another thread: Bay Area news is a joke.

15. terriDeaner Follow Befriend (7) 70 threads 1,151 comments

    149   9:43pm Tue 17 May 2011   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   Well at least the folks at the UC Berkeley monitoring station take this shit seriously. Thanks again for the link - I still check back on it from time to time. Zerohedge and Washingtonsblog also keep up with the news on Fukushima if you're interested.

16. ¥ Follow Befriend 35 threads 5,700 comments Bellingham, WA

    150   10:17pm Tue 17 May 2011   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike (1)   Amazing, above on March 23 I wrote: #2 & #3 primary containment vessels & wetwells are apparently compromised. That was just my inference from the raw data (#1 had high pressure but 2 & 3 had no gauge pressure), I hadn't heard any news of that. From May 17 TEPCO status via Zerohedge: "Countermeasure [16]: Seal the leakage location in the PCV Reactor 2: "Sealing measure is under consideration" Reactor 3: "Confirming leakage status"

17. American in Japan Follow Befriend (28) 149 threads 1,398 comments

    151   7:47am Wed 18 May 2011   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like (1)   Dislike (1)   @simchaland I'll try to put more up. I thought people were losing interesting here (except for Troy and TerriD).

18. terriDeaner Follow Befriend (7) 70 threads 1,151 comments

    152   9:48pm Wed 18 May 2011   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike (1)   Good call Troy. Kind of fucked up that this wasn't picked up by anyone in the MSM along the way...

19. Vicente Follow Befriend (8) 208 threads 4,499 comments Davis, CA

    153   12:17am Thu 19 May 2011   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike (1)   +1 still following this, but there's so little NEWS published about it.

20. American in Japan Follow Befriend (28) 149 threads 1,398 comments

    154   6:57am Thu 19 May 2011   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike (1)   OK...I've been a bit busy from May 1, but I wil make this more of a priority. Quickly these two: http://www.japantoday.com/category/top-in-category/view/nuclear-cleanup-workers-being-recruited-from-societys-lowest-rungs http://www.japantoday.com/category/features/view/anti-nuclear-movements-after-fukushima-add-to-rise-in-gas-prices That TEPCO president Shimizu, apparently paid off a second house of his in Kamakura, while feigning to be sick. Apparently he thinks that way he can shield his vast assets from lawsuits... more on this later.

21. American in Japan Follow Befriend (28) 149 threads 1,398 comments

    155   6:57am Thu 19 May 2011   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   OK...I've been a bit busy from May 1, but I wil make this more of a priority. Quickly these two: http://www.japantoday.com/category/top-in-category/view/nuclear-cleanup-workers-being-recruited-from-societys-lowest-rungs http://www.japantoday.com/category/features/view/anti-nuclear-movements-after-fukushima-add-to-rise-in-gas-prices That TEPCO president Shimizu, apparently paid off a second house of his in Kamakura, while feigning to be sick. Apparently he thinks that way he can shield his vast assets from lawsuits... more on this later.

22. Vicente Follow Befriend (8) 208 threads 4,499 comments Davis, CA

    156   12:21pm Thu 19 May 2011   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike (1)   Photos of the tsunami hitting the plant just surfaced: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/19/japan-tsunami-2011-tepco-tsunami-photos_n_864168.html#s280815

23. simchaland Follow Befriend (6) 10 threads 1,234 comments Oakland, CA

    157   1:19pm Thu 19 May 2011   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   AIJ, It's definitely not your fault that American Corporate Media is giving no attention to this still unfolding tragedy. It seems we Americans have 10 minute attention spans and are willing to allow our Corporate Overlords to remove this important story from our media. I very much appreciate your updates. Simcha

24. kentm Follow Befriend (1) 117 threads 971 comments

    158   6:34pm Thu 19 May 2011   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike (2)   here's something interesting: http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/arxiv/26773/

25. American in Japan Follow Befriend (28) 149 threads 1,398 comments

    159   5:47am Fri 20 May 2011   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   Lots to report: http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/tepco-logs-y1-25-tril-loss-president-resigns#comments This guy, Shimizu, is worthless. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/18/world/asia/18tepco.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

26. American in Japan Follow Befriend (28) 149 threads 1,398 comments

    160   5:55am Fri 20 May 2011   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like (1)   Dislike   http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/13/fukushima-reactor-meltdown-flooding-warning I like this quote: >"Finally the Guardian emerge from the news blackout on Fukushima...welcome back guys. Where you been? Yesterday I was aghast at the lack of coverage in UK press (only FT and Telegraph ran stories on the day) in response to the announcement (May 12) of meltdown in reactor 1 and the release of a large amount of highly radioactive water into the Pacific from reactor 3 (May 11), a situation described as 'very grave' by a Japanese Govt official. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-05-12/japan-suffers-setback-at-fukushima-after-no-1-reactor-s-fuel-rods-exposed.html http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201105120188.html Perhaps it's not coincidental that on May 12 British and French govt officials strongly opposed measures to improve safety standards at the European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group (ENSREG) in Brussels, specifically rejecting proposals to make nuclear facilities more able to resist terrorist attack. This was not reported at all by any of the mainstream media as far as I am aware. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jy4QEsfayknZgB9CBN43NX9kixQQ?docId=CNG.4232f6ae19eb54c58c9d35b7f0b4995b.6d1 Thankfully we have horizontal peer-to-peer information online and the word rapidly spreads anyway. Surely the days of the mainstream media, including the Guardian of course, are limited if you continue to act in this way. Witholding information is an abnegation of journalistic responsibility. If the Guardian and other media outlets are shown to repeatedly misrepresent or excise facts in their reporting, this will erode public faith in mainstream media - something which arguably is already happening. Bottom line guys which is where it counts: people will stop buying your product if it doesn't work properly and you will stop making money. The writing is literally on the wall as so much Facebook and Twitter vox populi commentary surrounding Fukushima is critical of media coverage and this comes from both sides of the debate. You really are confronting a severe crisis of trust. Fix up!" --skoobysnax

27. American in Japan Follow Befriend (28) 149 threads 1,398 comments

    161   5:45am Sun 22 May 2011   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   For any interested...Here is this one from Hiroaki Koide of Kyoto University: "No One Knows How Fukushima Could Be Wound Down" As the Corium May Be Melting Through the Foundation "So says Hiroaki Koide of Kyoto University Research Reactor Institute, in a telephone interview on May 19 with independent video-journalist Tetsuo Jinbo of Videonews.com (who did the video report of the 20-kilometer radius evacuation zone back in April, showing cows and dogs prowling the deserted towns). Koide is practically agreeing with Christopher Busby that there's not much anyone can do to stop the release of radioactive materials and further contamination of air, soil and water, other than somehow "entomb" the reactors (a.k.a. Chernobyl solution). Koide reiterates his view that the corium (he says "melted fuel" and "melted core" in the interview for lay people, but it is melted fuel, and anything else that melted with the fuel inside the RPV) may have already escaped the Containment Vessel in the Reactor 1. Following is my notes as I jotted down the salient points Koide made in the interview: (Assuming that TEPCO is telling the truth) the worst-case scenario of a hydrogen explosion inside the reactor caused by the melted fuel seems to have been avoided. I believe the Reactor Pressure Vessel has a large hole, not the small holes that TEPCO says. TEPCO cites the pressure and the temperature data as the reasons to believe the melted fuel still stays inside the RPV. However, I wonder if the pressure and the temperature data of the Reactor 1 is accurate. After all, the data on the water level was completely wrong. That much water has leaked (4,000 tons in the reactor building basement) and yet TEPCO says there's still pressure inside the RPV. It is impossible, given the structure of the reactor. There is no definite data as to whether there is any water in the Containment Vessel. Considering the reactor building basement is flooded with water, I think it is possible that the melted fuel already damaged the Containment Vessel. Outside the Containment Vessel, what's left as containment is the concrete foundation of the building. In order to have a reactor in "cold shutdown", you need to have the RPV intact so that the cooling water can circulate. No point in talking about cold shutdown when we don't even know whether the fuel is still inside the reactor. We're in the uncharted territory that we enter for the first time ever since the human race started to use nuclear power. As to whether the radioactive materials are going to be released into the atmosphere [from the meltdown and breach of RPV and Containment Vessel], I don't think it is likely as of now. The concrete foundation of the reactor building may have sustained some damage, but as a whole I don't think it is completely broken. I cannot properly assess the possibility of the corium melting through the concrete foundation and reaching the water table. If that should happen, the radioactive materials will flow into the ground water and contaminate the ocean even more. As to the the corium, I think the inside of the corium is not solid even if there's water in the reactor. The Suppression Chamber in the reactor building basement is torus-shaped. The location where the corium may have dropped is the center of the torus, and it is concrete. The thing to worry about is how far down the concrete the corium will go. The water circulation system using water in the building proposed by TEPCO is tantamount to admitting that the Containment Vessel is broken. It is a much more serious situation than I envisioned, and there's no other way to cool [the corium] other than the one proposed by TEPCO. [Koide was proposing a system that circulate inside the Containment Vessel back into the RPV, as he had assumed correctly that the RPV had been breached.] However, if the corium goes into the concrete, no point in talking about circulating water to cool. There will be nothing you can do. The only way may be to entomb the whole building in a concrete coffin. I suspect that TEPCO's "roadmap" was created by the TEPCO headquarters under political pressure, and not by the TEPCO people in Fukushima I Nuke Plant who struggle everyday to contain the situation. If anything, the "roadmap" should be created by them, not by the headquarters. According to TEPCO's data, even now the fuel rods in the Reactors 2 and 3 are soaked in water up to half the height. Comparing Chernobyl and Fukushima, Fukushima is still on-going. There is a possibility of further hydrogen explosion, and it is still possible that Fukushima exceeds Chernobyl in terms of magnitude of the disaster. For those of you who understand Japanese, here's the interview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9JSXVtNpkM&feature=player_embedded If you are curious about this maverick nuclear researcher, here's a good interview of him done in 2007 (translated from original Japanese). Koide entered the field of nuclear science full of hope for the peaceful use of nuclear technology in 1968, only to see the reality two years later when he saw Onagawa Nuke Plant being forced upon the residents and understood why. Ever since, he has continued to research nuclear energy as an opponent of nuclear energy."

28. American in Japan Follow Befriend (28) 149 threads 1,398 comments

    162   2:53am Sun 29 May 2011   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike (1)   These are out: http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/fukushima-plants-nos-2-3-reactors-also-suffered-meltdown-tepco#comments http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/cooling-system-pumps-stop-at-fukushima-plants-no-5-unit I am still waiting for some people in responsible to be doing time.

29. American in Japan Follow Befriend (28) 149 threads 1,398 comments

    163   2:44am Wed 1 Jun 2011   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   No surprise here: http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/tepco-believes-stabilizing-reactors-by-year-end-impossible Slowly things may be getting better. I still can't belive that the J-gov. loosened the safety standard for ground radiation by a factor of 20.

30. Vicente Follow Befriend (8) 208 threads 4,499 comments Davis, CA

    164   10:49pm Mon 6 Jun 2011   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like (1)   Dislike   WOW, they admitted it, worse than we all thought. 3 REACTORS FULL MELTDOWN http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/06/06/japan.nuclear.meltdown/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

31. terriDeaner Follow Befriend (7) 70 threads 1,151 comments

    165   11:24pm Mon 6 Jun 2011   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   Vicente says WOW, they admitted it, worse than we all thought. Please stop invoking reality. It interferes with what many here, and elsewhere, choose to believe.

32. Vicente Follow Befriend (8) 208 threads 4,499 comments Davis, CA

    166   8:41am Tue 7 Jun 2011   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   We promise to be good, really! Japan makes new nuclear safety vows after quake

33. American in Japan Follow Befriend (28) 149 threads 1,398 comments

    167   6:53pm Tue 7 Jun 2011   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   @Vicente, It was worse than I thought. I did think 1 and at worst 2 reactors (many Japanse people I talked to in Japan in March didn't think this happened at all and I had to disagree with them). If there is more interest I will add updates... I am a bit busier...

34. B.A.C.A.H. Follow Befriend (6) 5 threads 2,368 comments

    168   8:30pm Tue 7 Jun 2011   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   I sort of got skeptical about nuclear power after I saw on TV about the drought in France causing problems, making even "safe" nuclear power unreliable. If it's not reliable, it's not so good. http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0810/p04s01-woeu.html

35. American in Japan Follow Befriend (28) 149 threads 1,398 comments

    169   5:34am Thu 9 Jun 2011   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike (1)   TEPCO had some close call "warnings" in past years, but they swept it under the rug. Tokaimura and Monju indicate that "safety measures" have always been minimal at best or even non-existent.

36. American in Japan Follow Befriend (28) 149 threads 1,398 comments

    170   7:54am Sat 18 Jun 2011   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   I’ll still avoid it as much as possible. http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/tap-water-deemed-safe-but-radiation-checks-to-be-continued Another good read from Germany: http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,764907,00.html Coming up on the 100th day since the earthquake and tsunami hit...(in 3 days).

37. American in Japan Follow Befriend (28) 149 threads 1,398 comments

    171   1:57am Sun 26 Jun 2011   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   TEPCO Shareholder meetings! fun fun fun. http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110629a1.html http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201106280231.html and this (not so unbelievable) http://ex-skf.blogspot.com/2011/06/2700-becquerelskg-cesium-from-teas.html

38. ¥ Follow Befriend 35 threads 5,700 comments Bellingham, WA

    172   10:39pm Thu 30 Jun 2011   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike (1)   I stopped following Fukushima 3 months ago . . . Once I saw that the main problem was just going to be all the water they were pumping into the burned up cores I saw there wasn't much point in following the story. . . what was going to happen was going to happen, and water contamination is a much slower story than air particulates, which were my main fear the first week+.

39. American in Japan Follow Befriend (28) 149 threads 1,398 comments

    173   5:05am Sat 2 Jul 2011   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   Two more: http://www.japanfocus.org/events/view/100 http://www.japanfocus.org/-Mark-Selden/3535

40. American in Japan Follow Befriend (28) 149 threads 1,398 comments

    174   4:44pm Mon 17 Oct 2011   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   If you can believe them... http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/radiation-from-fukushima-reactor-falling-says-tepco

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