Forecast for Plume's Path Is a Function of Wind and Weather
Source: NYTimes
Radiation Plume Course Charted by U.N. Agency - NYTimes.com
The chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Gregory B. Jaczko, said Monday that the plume posed no danger to the United States. “You just aren’t going to have any radiological material that, by the time it traveled those large distances, could present any risk to the American public,” he said in a White House briefing.
Mr. Jaczko was asked if the meltdown of a core of one of the reactors would increase the chance of harmful radiation reaching Hawaii or the West Coast.
“I don’t want to speculate on various scenarios,” he replied. “But based on the design and the distances involved, it is very unlikely that there would be any harmful impacts.”
Source: NYTimes
Nuclear Roulette - 14 Incidents at U.S. Nuclear Facilities in 2010
Union of Concerned Scientists criticizes U.S. nuke plant safety
Among the lapses cited in the report is a case in which critical safety components were disabled at the Calvert Cliffs nuclear power plant in Maryland because of the failure of an electrical device that had been in use beyond its service lifetime.
The report says this was the result of the reactor owners ending a program to routinely replace safety components. Only later, it says, did the plant initiate a new system for monitoring degradation of safety parts.
Radiation Measurement Conversion Tables
SI RADIATION MEASUREMENT UNITS: CONVERSION FACTORS
What's the Difference Between Roentgen, Rad and Rem Radiation Measurements?
A: Since nuclear radiation affects people, we must be able to measure its presence. We also need to relate the amount of radiation received by the body to its physiological effects. Two terms used to relate the amount of radiation received by the body are exposure and dose. When you are exposed to radiation, your body absorbs a dose of radiation.
Source: stevequayle.com
U.S. radiation experts try to decipher reports from Japan - USATODAY.com
Radiation experts in the USA say that the lack of information about radioactivity released from the smoldering reactors makes it impossible to gauge the current danger, project how bad a potential meltdown might be or calculate how much fallout might reach the USA.
Conflicting accounts of the radiation levels emerged in Tokyo and on Capitol Hill. Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said Wednesday that the radiation detected at the Fukushima plant had fallen steadily over the past 12 hours. But U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) chief Gregory Jaczko told a House energy subcommittee earlier in the day that radiation levels at the Fukushima plant were "extremely high."
History may offer hints of what's to come. At Three Mile Island, near Harrisburg, Pa., only a small amount of radiation was released before the meltdown was controlled. Chernobyl spewed radiation for days, which rode wind currents worldwide.
Radioactive iodine falls from the plume in rainfall and settles on the grass, where it's eaten by cows and builds up in their milk. Children who drank commercial milk during the Cold War nuclear tests received about one-tenth of that, on average, Hoffman said. That was enough to boost their thyroid cancer risk to one in 100, more than twice the usual risk.
Cesium is absorbed by plants and works its way through the food chain, getting into meat and milk. Unlike radioactive iodine, which has a short half life, cesium lingers in the environment. "Radioactive iodine will be gone in a month," Hoffman said. "Cesium's going to be around for decades."
Source: USA Today
Dangers of GE Nuclear Reactor Storage Pools
Dave Lindorff: The Hubris of Nuclear Engineers
Probably in an effort to keep the problem of nuclear waste hidden from the public, these plants feature huge pools of water up in the higher level of the containment building above the reactors, which hold and store the spent fuel rods from the reactor. These rods are still "hot" but besides the uranium fuel pellets, they also contain the highly radioactive and potentially biologically active decay products of the fission process--particularly radioactive Cesium 137, Iodine 131 and Strontium 90. (Some of GE's plants in the US feature this same design. The two GE Peach Bottom reactors near me, for example, each have two spent fuel tanks sitting above their reactors.)
Source: CounterPunch
U.S. raises alarm over Japan nuclear crisis
There is no water in the spent fuel pool and we believe that radiation levels are extremely high, which could possibly impact the ability to take corrective measures,' he said.
Japanese officials denied that all the cooling water was gone.
If Jaczko is correct, it would mean there's nothing to stop the fuel rods from getting hotter and ultimately melting down. The outer shells of the rods could also ignite with enough force to propel the radioactive fuel inside over a wide area."
Japanese officials denied that all the cooling water was gone.
Hajime Motojuku, spokesman for plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co., said the 'condition is stable' at Unit 4.
If Jaczko is correct, it would mean there's nothing to stop the fuel rods from getting hotter and ultimately melting down. The outer shells of the rods could also ignite with enough force to propel the radioactive fuel inside over a wide area."
Source: MSNBC
U.S. deploys more radiation detectors on U.S. islands | Reuters
The Environmental Protection Agency without fanfare posted a notice on its website on Tuesday of plans to "work with its federal partners to deploy additional monitoring capabilities to parts of the western U.S. and U.S. territories."
A Democratic Congressional aide on Wednesday told Reuters that additional monitors will be dispatched to the Aleutian Islands, Guam, a U.S. territory, and the state of Hawaii.
Source: Reuters
Japan scrambles to pull nuclear plant back from brink | Reuters
The top U.S. nuclear regulator told Congress that radiation levels around Japan's troubled nuclear power plant may give emergency workers lethal doses of radiation, preventing them from getting near the plant.
"We believe that around the reactor site there are high levels of radiation," Gregory Jaczko, head of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, told a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing.
"It would be very difficult for emergency workers to get near the reactors. The doses they could experience would potentially be lethal doses in a very short period of time."
The plant operator described No. 3 -- the only reactor at that uses plutonium in its fuel mix -- as the "priority." Plutonium, once absorbed in the bloodstream, can linger for years in bone marrow or liver and lead to cancer.
The situation at No. 4 reactor, where the fire broke out, was "not so good," the plant operator added, while water was being poured into reactors No. 5 and 6, indicating the entire six-reactor facility was now at risk of overheating.
"Getting water into the pools of the No.3 and No.4 reactors is a high priority," Said Hidehiko Nishiyama, a senior official at Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Administration, adding the pool for spent fuel rods at No. 3 was heating up while No.4 remained a concern.
Source: Reuters
NRC: No water in spent fuel pool of Japan plant - Yahoo! Finance
f NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko is correct, this would mean there's nothing to stop the fuel rods from getting hotter and ultimately melting down. The outer shell of the rods could also ignite with enough force to propel the radioactive fuel inside over a wide area.
Source: Associated Press
Japan’s nuclear fallout could be fatal for workers | euronews, world news
“Radiation levels outside the plant are now around four million times higher than natural levels. That means a few hours exposure could be potentially fatal for staff in the short term.”
Source: EuroNews
Meltdown 101: Why is Fukushima crisis still out of control? - CSMonitor.com
When reactors are shut down, the nuclear chain reaction which releases energy – and thus heat – from the uranium atoms of fuel shuts down as well. But the fuel continues to release smaller amounts of energy from the radioactive decay of fissile fragments.
This “decay heat” amounts to about 6 percent of the total heat generated by the reactor core when it is running, according to a fact sheet on nuclear energy physics from the World Nuclear Association, an industry trade group.
This decay heat falls off quite rapidly. After one hour, it will equal 1.5 percent of the previous core power, and so on. But the amount of energy generated by the core can be so enormous to begin with that even this residual heat can be dangerous. After one year offline, used fuel still emits about 10 kilowatts of decay heat energy per ton. After 10 years, it emits 1 kW of heat per ton.
“The decay heat produced is significant ... and systems must be provided to keep the reactor cool even after shutdown,” says a US Department of Energy handbook on nuclear physics.
Source: csmonitor.com
Q. and A. on the Nuclear Crisis in Japan - NYTimes.com
Q.
Where is the sea water that is being pumped in to cool the reactors going, and is this water contaminated?
— T. Lowen, Minneapolis
A.
To the best of our understanding, the sea water is turning to steam. The reactor is still so hot that the sea water they are pumping in is just intended to replace the amount that boils off. In other words, in the best of situations, they are just managing to keep the reactor covered with water.
In the reactors that have had fuel rod exposure (at least three of them, apparently), the steam would be contaminated with radioactive elements from the fuel, which has been exposed because of cracking of the zirconium cladding around it. The contaminated steam leaves the reactor vessel and enters the containment structure. To avoid a pressure buildup, the containment structure must be vented intermittently, resulting in the release of radioactivity to the environment. (In at least one of the reactors, the containment structure is reported to be damaged; if that’s the case then the radiation release could be continuous.)"
Where is the sea water that is being pumped in to cool the reactors going, and is this water contaminated?
— T. Lowen, Minneapolis
A.
To the best of our understanding, the sea water is turning to steam. The reactor is still so hot that the sea water they are pumping in is just intended to replace the amount that boils off. In other words, in the best of situations, they are just managing to keep the reactor covered with water.
In the reactors that have had fuel rod exposure (at least three of them, apparently), the steam would be contaminated with radioactive elements from the fuel, which has been exposed because of cracking of the zirconium cladding around it. The contaminated steam leaves the reactor vessel and enters the containment structure. To avoid a pressure buildup, the containment structure must be vented intermittently, resulting in the release of radioactivity to the environment. (In at least one of the reactors, the containment structure is reported to be damaged; if that’s the case then the radiation release could be continuous.)"
Source: NYTimes Blog
Vermont Gov. Fights to Close Vermont Yankee, One of 23 U.S. Nuclear Power Facilities Nearly Identical to Failed Japanese Plant
Source: democracynow.org
Pickering nuclear plant reports water leak - Toronto - CBC News
Ontario Power Generation has notified Canada's federal nuclear regulator about the release of 73,000 litres of demineralized water at the Pickering A nuclear generating station.
The leak occurred at 11: 30 p.m. ET on Monday and was caused by a pump seal failure.
Source: CBC.CA
CDC Radiation Emergencies | Potassium Iodide (KI)
Potassium iodide (also called KI) is a salt of stable (not radioactive) iodine. Stable iodine is an important chemical needed by the body to make thyroid hormones. Most of the stable iodine in our bodies comes from the food we eat. KI is stable iodine in a medicine form. This fact sheet from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) gives you some basic information about KI. It explains what you should think about before you or a family member takes KI.
Where can I get KI?
KI is available without a prescription. You should talk to your pharmacist to get KI and for directions about how to take it correctly. Your pharmacist can sell you KI brands that have been approved by the FDA.
When should I take KI?
After a radiologic or nuclear event, local public health or emergency management officials will tell the public if KI or other protective actions are needed. For example, public health officials may advise you to remain in your home, school, or place of work (this is known as “shelter-in-place”) or to evacuate. You may also be told not to eat some foods and not to drink some beverages until a safe supply can be brought in from outside the affected area. Following the instructions given to you by these authorities can lower the amount of radioactive iodine that enters your body and lower the risk of serious injury to your thyroid gland.
Source: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Emergency Response
Source: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Emergency Response
Crisis at Japan's Fukushima plant could reach worst level on nuclear accident scale, U.S. think-tank warns
A level 6 event means that consequences are broader and countermeasures are needed to deal with the radioactive contamination. A level 7 event would constitute a larger release of radioactive material, and would require further extended countermeasures. The international community should increase assistance to Japan to both contain the emergency at the reactors and to address the wider contamination. We need to find a solution together.
The latest update today (March 16) from the International Atomic Energy Agency states: "Japanese authorities have reported concerns about the condition of the spent nuclear fuel pool at Fukushima Daiichi Unit 3 and Unit 4. Japanese Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa announced Wednesday that Special Defence Forces helicopters planned to drop water onto Unit 3, and officials are also preparing to spray water into Unit 4 from ground positions, and possibly later into Unit 3. Some debris on the ground from the 14 March explosion at Unit 3 may need to be removed before the spraying can begin."
Source: Straight.com
Source: Straight.com
Disaster in Japan: March 17 Live Blog | Al Jazeera Blogs
Some US air crews are being given potassium iodide tablets ahead of missions as a precaution against radiation, says Reuters - though no US military personnel in Japan are showing signs of radiation poisoning, says the Pentagon.
12:50am
Some news breaking out of the Pentagon: US forces in Japan are not being allowed within 80km of the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant without special authorization.
Source: Aljazeera.net
Online Ionizing Radiation Detectors
Typical background radiation levels for most of the USA are in the 5 to 18 uR/hr range. Readings can be higher for brief periods of time due to normal variations in radiation levels. They can also be consistently higher for areas at high elevations, or with larger natural deposits of uranium, thorium, radon, etc.
The readings on this page were obtained using one of the Black Cat Systems radiation detectors.
The detector is connected to an ordinary computer (Windows or Macintosh) running a copy of the Rad software and connected to the internet (dialup, cable modem, dsl, etc). Rad automatically sends the current radiation reading to the web server that hosts this site, which generates the map showing the readings for all radiation monitoring stations. Rad is included free with any of our radiation detectors.
Source: Black Cat Systems
U.S. West Coast: On Frontline From Nuclear Cloud? : Discovery News
"We see a very low likelihood, a very low probability that there is any possibility of harmful radiation levels in the United States or in Hawaii or in any other US territories," added an NRC statement.
Early Tuesday officials said that fuel rods in the number two reactor were again "fully exposed", boosting fears of an eventual partial meltdown.
California's Department of Public Health says it is "monitoring the situation closely," and highlights its Nuclear Emergency Response Program, which sets out measures to be taken in case of a nuclear incident.
Japan is some 5,000 miles (8,000 kilometers) from the U.S. West Coast, and nearer to Alaska in the north. Some experts suggest that, blown along by the fast-moving jet stream, radioactivity could reach North America in 36 hours.
"Some of the radioactivity could carry in the atmosphere to the West Coast of the US," added Cirincione, head of anti-nuclear group Ploughshares Fund.
"Right now the government as a whole has people looking at the situation and asking these questions. We don't have the answers yet. We don't have anything that we can say publicly right now."
This is an unfolding situation and really we can't comment on it very much," he added, while stressing the NRC's basic view that the threat to the United States is minimal.
Source: Discovery.com
Meltdown threat rises at Japan nuke plant - Yahoo!7
There has been another explosion at the Fukushima reactor. Japanese NHK television reports that the Number 2 reactor has exploded, releasing radiation 10,000 above normal levels.
Up to half the fuel rods have been exposed and there are fears that the vessel containing the rods has cracked opening up the possibility that radioactive water is at risk of leaking outside the plant.
Japan's meteorological agency did report one good sign. It said the prevailing wind in the area of the stricken plant was heading east into the Pacific, which experts said would help carry away any radiation.
Source: Yahoo News AU
Official: Japan's nuclear situation nearing severity of Chernobyl - CNN.com
The latest incidents in Japan -- an explosion Tuesday at the plant's No. 2 reactor and a fire in a cooling pond used for nuclear fuel at the No. 4 reactor -- briefly pushed radiation levels at the plant to about 167 times the average annual dose of radiation, according to details released by the IAEA.
"There is still a very high risk of further radioactive material coming out," Prime Minister Naoto Kan said, asking people to remain calm.
Another problem with trying to predict contamination is that the levels don't necessarily go down the farther you get from the source, according to David Lochbaum, director of the Nuclear Safety Project for the Union of Concerned Scientists.
"The contamination levels aren't linear, so the farther away you get doesn't necessarily mean you get a lower dose rate. Chernobyl, in some cases, had areas 100 miles away from the facility having significantly higher radiation levels than areas only 10 or 15 miles away," he explained Tuesday in a teleconference with reporters.
"The winds would carry the radioactivity and then the rainfall would bring it down to the ground to contaminate where people were, he said. "So there are a number of factors that determine where it goes and who's in harm's way."
He said Tuesday he could not rule out the possibility of a meltdown at the troubled reactors.
A North Carolina-based company, Nukepills.com, has donated about 50,000 potassium iodide tablets to a hospital in Tokyo. Potassium iodide "is recommended by health officials worldwide to prevent thyroid cancer of those exposed to radioactive iodine in the event of a nuclear reactor accident or detonation of a nuclear bomb," said a statement from the company, which describes itself as a internet-based provider of radiation emergency preparedness products.
"We are very pleased that these tablets will be given to people directly affected by the nuclear crisis," said Troy Jones, president of Nukepills.com.
Nuclear meltdown of Japan will not affect China
In this morning, the Beijing Regional Specialized Meteorological Center with World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) organized the latest consultation on nuclear contamination spreading of nuclear meltdown in Japan. The consultation shows that the middle and lower air in central and northern Japan will see southwest to northwest wind and upper air with west airflow. In the next three days, the nuclear contamination from nuclear power station meltdown is forecasted to affect central, northern and east of Japan. China is out of its influence.
Japan Radiation Plume Could Reach Tokyo, Scientists Warn
Nuclear power and safety experts at the group said they were 'very concerned' that ongoing activities at the plant would become more challenging for on-site workers. A larger radiation plume could travel hundreds of miles (km), the scientists said in a telephone briefing.
Source: Huffington Post
Is California in peril from Japan disaster?
"Unless we see breaching of the containment vessels, there should be no significant releases of radioactivity," Starosta said.
Is radiation drifting from the Japan reactors to California now?
Probably, but not enough to worry about, said Krzysztof Starosta, an associate professor and nuclear physicist at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Steam has vented from the damaged reactors. This steam contains radioactivity, but not enough to cause health problems even for the local population in Japan, he said.
If it did reach California, it would not be a health risk. A dental X-ray or smoking a cigarette imparts more radiation than what might reach California from this steam venting.
research confirms the jet stream routinely delivers common pollutants to California. UC Davis atmospheric scientist Steven Cliff contributed to a recent study that found as much as 29 percent of California's fine particulate pollution arrives on the jet stream from Asia, mainly from China.
Source:
Chernobyl clean-up expert slams Japan, IAEA | Reuters
Andreev said a fire which released radiation on Tuesday involving spent fuel rods stored close to reactors at Fukushima looked like an example of putting profit before safety:
"The Japanese were very greedy and they used every square inch of the space. But when you have a dense placing of spent fuel in the basin you have a high possibility of fire if the water is removed from the basin," Andreev said.
The IAEA should share blame for standards, he said, arguing it was too close to corporations building and running plants. And he dismissed an emergency incident team set up by the Vienna-based agency as "only a think-tank not a working force":
"This is only a fake organisation because every organisation which depends on the nuclear industry -- and the IAEA depends on the nuclear industry -- cannot perform properly.
"It always will try to hide the reality.
"The IAEA ... is not interested in the concentration of attention on a possible accident in the nuclear industry. They are totally not interested in all the emergency organisations."
Source: Reuters
U.S. radiation drug manufacturers don't have enough of a supply
Markey has warned that Japan's nuclear accident highlights the vulnerabilities of reactors in the United States. On Monday, Markey called on the Obama administration to fully implement a provision in the Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 to make potassium iodide available for anyone who lives within 20 miles of a nuclear power plant.
The federal government has never purchased enough to meet that standard. There is currently only enough of the medication available for populations living within 10 miles of nuclear reactors in the United States, according to U.S. officials.
Source: The Washington Post
Source: The Washington Post
General Electric-designed reactors in Fukushima have 23 sisters in U.S.
The NRC database of nuclear power plants shows that 23 of the 104 nuclear plants in the U.S. are GE boiling-water reactors with GE's Mark I systems for containing radioactivity, the same containment system used by the reactors in trouble at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant. The U.S. reactors are in Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Vermont.
In addition, 12 reactors in the U.S. have the later Mark II or Mark III containment system from GE. These 12 are in Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Washington state. See the full list below.
Source: MSNBC
Experts Warn Nuclear Reactors Could Send Radiation Across the West Coast
"Some experts warned that if the three failing nuclear reactors went into complete meltdown and the rods were to fuse and rupture the containment structures, it could send radiation as far as California and across the US west coast.
'Chernobyl, which happened about 25 years ago, the radioactivity spread around the entire northern hemisphere,' one expert recently told Fox News. 'It depends how many of these cores melt down and how successful they are on containing it once this disaster happens.'"
Source: RawStory
Japan radiation leaks feared as nuclear experts point to possible cover-up
"It's impossible to get any radiation readings," said John Large, an independent nuclear engineer who has worked for the UK government and been commissioned to report on the accident for Greenpeace International.
"What we are seeing follows a clear pattern of secrecy and denial," said Paul Dorfman, co-secretary to the Committee Examining Radiation Risks from Internal Emitters, a UK government advisory committee disbanded in 2004.
"The Japanese government has always tended to underplay accidents. At the moment the Japanese claims of safety are not to be believed by anyone. The health effects of what has happened so far are imponderable. The reality is we just do not know. There is profound uncertainty about the impact of the accident."
"The Japanese government has always tended to underplay accidents. At the moment the Japanese claims of safety are not to be believed by anyone. The health effects of what has happened so far are imponderable. The reality is we just do not know. There is profound uncertainty about the impact of the accident."
The Japanese authorities and nuclear companies have been implicated in a series of cover-ups. In 1995, reports of a sodium leak and fire at Japan's Monju fast breeder reactor were suppressed and employees were gagged. In 2002, the chairman and four executives of Tepco, the company which owns the stricken Fukushima plant, resigned after reports that safety records were falsified.
Source: guardian.co.uk
Japan Iodine Distribution via IAEA
Iodine Distribution
Japan has distributed 230,000 units of stable iodine to evacuation centres from the area around Fukushima Daiichi and Fukushima Daini nuclear power plants, according to officials. The iodine has not yet been administered to residents; the distribution is a precautionary measure in the event that this is determined to be necessary.
The ingestion of stable iodine can help to prevent the accumulation of radioactive iodine in the thyroid.
Diagram - Crippled Japanese Nuclear Reactors
How a Reactor Shuts Down and What Happens in a Meltdown
The operating reactors at Fukushima Daiichi power station automatically shut down during the earthquake.
But after subsequent cooling failures, two of them went into partial meltdown.
But after subsequent cooling failures, two of them went into partial meltdown.
Link NY Times
Tokyo Electric to Build US Nuclear PlantsThe no-BS info on Japan’s disastrous nuclear operators
It would be irresponsible for me to estimate the number of cancer deaths that will occur from these releases without further information; but it is just plain criminal for the Tokyo Electric shoguns to say that these releases are not dangerous. Indeed, the fact that residents near the Japanese nuclear plants were not issued iodine pills to keep at the ready shows TEPCO doesn't care who lives and who dies whether in Japan or the USA. The carcinogenic isotopes that are released at Fukushima are already floating to Seattle with effects we simply cannot measure.
Link: Greg Palast
Japanese Nuclear Crisis
By Sharon Squassoni
Mar 14, 2011
Q1: How bad is the damage to Japan's nuclear power plants from the earthquake?
A1: Japan operates 54 nuclear power plants that provide about 30 percent of Japan's electricity (compared to the United States' 104 plants providing 20 percent of total electricity). Of the 54, 11 automatically shut down with the tremendous earthquake on March 11. This is the first and very important step in reactor safety. Many nonnuclear electricity generating stations (natural gas, hydro, etc.) also shut down, particularly in the northeast of Japan. The critical difference is that nuclear reactors require continuous power after a shutdown to keep the radioactive fuel cool.
Of the 11 that shut down, one had a fire (Onagawa), one had a partial core meltdown and a hydrogen-fueled explosion that destroyed the containment building but not the steel containment vessel (Fukushima Daiichi Unit 1), and a third appears also at risk for partial core meltdown because fuel rods have been exposed (Fukushima Daiichi Unit 3). In a last-ditch effort to cool the cores of Units 1 and 3, officials injected seawater into them, which means the end of the useful life of those reactors.
Q2: How does this compare to Chernobyl or Three Mile Island?
A2: This is not a Chernobyl. The International Atomic Energy Agency has rated Japan's nuclear emergency "4" on the International Nuclear Events Scale (INES), which runs from 1 to 7. Three Mile Island was rated a 5; Chernobyl was rated a 7. Chernobyl has been the most severe accident yet. The nuclear chain reaction there could not be controlled for a variety of reasons (including the reactor's design), and the lack of a containment structure around the reactor meant widespread radioactive contamination. The situation in Japan is much more like Three Mile Island, where a partial core meltdown occurred because of loss of coolant. Radiation levels have risen, not just within the facilities but also at the perimeters, and there have been at least two worker deaths and several illnesses. The detection of Cs-137 in the air suggests the fuel has partially melted in one of the reactors.
Q3: What does this mean for citizens of Japan and for the future of nuclear power in general?
A3: The government of Japan has taken the precautionary measure of evacuating citizens in a 20-kilometer zone around the Fukushima Daiichi and Daini reactors (10 reactors in all) to minimize the potential health threats. It is too soon to tell what impact this will have on nuclear power in Japan, in light of the tremendous challenges of responding to the devastation caused by the earthquake, tsunami, and aftershocks.
Japan's 2nd Hydrogen Blast
Water levels dropped precipitously on Monday inside a stricken Japanese nuclear reactor, twice leaving the uranium fuel rods completely exposed and raising the threat of a meltdown, hours after a hydrogen explosion tore through the building housing a different reactor.
Water levels were restored after the first decrease but the rods remained exposed late Monday night after the second episode, increasing the risk of the spread of radiation and the potential for an eventual meltdown. The cascading troubles in the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant compounded the immense challenges faced by the Tokyo government, already struggling to send relief to hundreds of thousands of people along the country's quake— and tsunami—ravaged coast where at least 10,000 people are believed to have died.
A top official said the fuel rods in all three of the most troubled nuclear reactors appeared to be melting.
Source: Yahoo News
Source: Yahoo News
Japanese officials warned of a possible second explosion
KORIYAMA, Japan — Japanese officials warned of a possible second explosion at a nuclear plant crippled by an earthquake and tsunami as they raced to stave off multiple reactor meltdowns, but they provided few details about whether they were making progress. More than 180,000 people have evacuated the area, and up to 160 may have been exposed to radiation.
Four nuclear plants in northeastern Japan have reported damage, but the danger appeared to be greatest at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex, where one explosion occurred Saturday and a second was feared.
Source: MSNBC
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