Japanese earthquake / tsunami discussion

Coles

The IAEA Fukushima Update Log. Loads of information.

Coles

And the best source of information of them all, Fairewinds.

Here's a link to the RPII (Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland). They have a good section on the Japanese disaster including links to radiation monitoring data. There really doesn't appear to be any reason for concern in Ireland yet. The longer the disaster continues, that might change.

Statistician

Does anyone know what is happening to the fuel in unit 1?

Fairewinds say that it has melted and is now at the bottom of the primary containment chamber. The 13 March business insider article (a few posts above) states that

Because at the end of the day, if cooling cannot be restored, the core will eventually melt (after hours or days), and the last line of defense, the core catcher and third containment, would come into play.

So has the fuel reached the third containment and has safely spread out, or is it melting through this (in an unsafe ball), towards the water table where a steam explosion could happen?

Coles

Statistician wrote: »

Does anyone know what is happening to the fuel in unit 1?

Fairewinds say that it has melted and is now at the bottom of the primary containment chamber.

So has the fuel reached the third containment and has safely spread out, or is it melting through this (in an unsafe ball), towards the water table where a steam explosion could happen?

Here's some information on it. EneNews Article

Tepco separately released its analysis on the timeline of the meltdown at unit No. 1. According to the analysis, the reactor core, or the nuclear fuel, was exposed to the air within five hours after the plant was struck by the earthquake. The temperature inside the core reached 2,800 degrees Celsius in six hours, causing the fuel pellets to melt away rapidly.

Within 16 hours, the reactor core melted, dropped to the bottom of the pressure vessel and created a hole there.

I have no idea what happens next.

vibe666

Coles wrote: »

How about we stick to the topic? Post some relevant information or don't bother.

@Andrew. This thread is not about me. Stop attacking me and stay on topic.

okay, so just so everyones clear, anything Coles doesn't agree with = irrelevent and anyone posting anything questioning Coles = a troll because he says so. :rolleyes:

oh, and according to our new self proclaimed freshly unbanned thread mod, everyone has to post something relevant or not bother at all.

ooh look, here's some nice relevant info on a potential new law in Japan to help compensate the people of the Fukushima prefecture for what has happened there.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan has told the governor of Fukushima Prefecture that the government will consider enacting special laws on compensating people affected by the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Fukushima Governor Yuhei Sato met Kan at the prime minister's office in Tokyo on Saturday.

Sato said the meltdown at the No.1 reactor was finally made clear 64 days after the nuclear accident. He called on the central government to bring the situation under control as quickly as possible.

The governor also said the government should handle the compensation issue in a responsible manner by enacting special laws, which would back efforts to help nearby residents and rebuild the local economy.

Kan replied that the government will do all it can to end the crisis and hinted at the possibility of enacting special laws on compensation payments.

The Fukushima governor later told reporters that the leakage of radioactive substances into the air and sea is very troubling, and that he had called on the government to more tightly control the plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power

Coles

@vibe666. You haven't made a single contribution yet that wasn't about me. I'm flattered by the attention, but it's a little weird. I'm a married man, and anyway, that's not my scene.

Let's just stick to the topic, eh?

Micky Dolenz

Coles, Please don't carry on like you did before.

Any more sniping will lead to bans. Please report posts you object to.

Coles

Excellent thread on Politics.ie for anyone who is actually interested in what is happening at Fukushima.

Solnskaya

Anyone know what's the story with Japan since the quake,tsunami, fukushima etc??. It has dropped out of the news totally, is it all better? (I doubt it cos a few companies I deal with can't get any spares/new supplies from factories in Japan which are still devastated. So, anyone know what's the story, and why it's not a story anymore??

dr.bollocko

Merged.

andrew

A group of pensioners have volunteered to help in the surrounding areas so that young people don't have to.

cml387

Solnskaya wrote: »

Anyone know what's the story with Japan since the quake,tsunami, fukushima etc??. It has dropped out of the news totally, is it all better? (I doubt it cos a few companies I deal with can't get any spares/new supplies from factories in Japan which are still devastated. So, anyone know what's the story, and why it's not a story anymore??

Funny,someone asked me the same thing today.
Just because a news story has moved off the front page,we somehow assume that now everything is "alright".

Japan is still devastated,the nuclear plants are still leaking radioactivity and are offline.The damage has not suddenly been cleared away.
By the way Ghadaffi is still in charge in Libya,they're still fighting in Afghanistan,and people are still starving in Afica.

Solnskaya

Hmmm, bit strange how an unfolding nuclear disaster does not warrant one single mention in the Irish media lately. Would the fact that GE built the plant and GE have huge media influence have anything to do with it, or do the powers that be just not want to scare the horses?

andrew

Solnskaya wrote: »

Hmmm, bit strange how an unfolding nuclear disaster does not warrant one single mention in the Irish media lately. Would the fact that GE built the plant and GE have huge media influence have anything to do with it, or do the powers that be just not want to scare the horses?

Maybe it's because the queen's over. She could take a shite and it'd be on the 6.1

Coles

The economic impact starts to bite. Japan slides into recession.

Wall Street Journal

Much as radiation from the Japanese atomic power crisis was detected across the globe (mostly at safe-for-human levels), economic effects from the natural and nuclear disasters are starting to be detected, most acutely in Japan, where the economy shrank for the second quarter in a row.

Anyone interested in finding out what's happening at Fukushima, check out the links on page 332 of this thread, particularly the Fairewinds link.

Overheal

Coles wrote: »

Anyone interested in finding out what's happening at Fukushima, check out the links on page 332 of this thread, particularly the Fairewinds link.

you can also create a signature if you want to place those links in each post you make, to save people searching for what links youre talking about. Also keep in mind not everyone has their settings to view the same posts per page as you: for example this thread when viewed 40 posts per page is only 125 pages long.

andrew

Latest IAEA Briefing

Statistician

New video up here now:
http://www.fairewinds.com/updates

Partial meltdowns for units 2 and 3:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13497656

gargleblaster

It was just reported on BBC that Tokyo Electric finally admitted that there were actually three meltdowns, and that the admission came just before UN inspectors were due to arrive.

Also GE built it how many years ago? And how many safety checks were fake? Somehow I doubt GE is worried about culpability.

gbee

How far back in this thread had some of us said the meltdown was in progress and that No1 reactor had not in fact shut down fully.

By Monday evening after the earthquake one meltdown was in full swing.

It's like this: Tepco issue a press release in which they state they found certain isotopes: "Then your reactor is still working and is not obviously shut down!"
Tepco: "No it doesn't, if it says this we are wrong and we will change the press release to take out anything that will indicate a meltdown, sorry for the mistake!"

But of course, we did have a melt down and almost from the very beginning of the event too.

Jimmy Garlic

Nuke fuel meltdown confirmed at three Fukushima reactors

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTLzglT4DOI

Coles

It sure is interesting to read over this thread (with hindsight, of course:rolleyes:)

Malty_T wrote: »

Thus far Tepco have been extremely rational accurate and forth coming in my view.

Coles

vibe666 wrote: »

its already been explained in several links as to exactly why a [radioactive release of MOX] can't happen, but short of someone causing a meltdown to prove that it can't happen, nothing is going to convince the scaremongers that its not possible.

long after this whole sorry mess is all done and dusted and nothing happens they'll still be harping on about how it 'almost' happened and how close we came to armageddon etc. etc.

the only joke is that everyone is focused on this BS instead of the real tragedies that are still ongoing in japan.

18th March -Classic!

Coles

andrew wrote: »

[The radiation] is in the sea, doesn't matter how long the halflife is, it'll be diluted before it can do any harm.

26th March - Brilliant stuff! I love it!

Overheal

Coles wrote: »

26th March - Brilliant stuff! I love it!

Hmm but you missed this, derp:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=71370831&postcount=4324


Should we all just cherry-pick old posts from this thread now or are you done being bored?

Coles

Overheal wrote: »

Should we all just cherry-pick old posts from this thread now or are you done being bored?

Eh? I'm not bored yet. I'm just getting to the good stuff.

Chnandler Bong

^^^Damn you I wanted the 5,000th post

Overheal

Coles wrote: »

Eh? I'm not bored yet. I'm just getting to the good stuff.

By dragging up posts that are out of context and 2 months old when they relate to a current and lively event? I just don't see what you hope to gain, other than "I told you so" type-posts, but you didn't even do that, because I'm at least somewhat sure you were not a participant in this thread at the time, hence your going back to read 2 months worth of a conversation.

Coles

Overheal wrote: »

By dragging up posts that are out of context and 2 months old when they relate to a current and lively event? I just don't see what you hope to gain, other than "I told you so" type-posts, but you didn't even do that, because I'm at least somewhat sure you were not a participant in this thread at the time, hence your going back to read 2 months worth of a conversation.

All quality stuff too. In fairness, it's actually very interesting to read over. It's interesting to see how people try to defend their prejudices on a topic regardless of the facts that are presented, or how glaringly out of touch with reality they are. Of course I'm guilty of that too... NOT! :pac:

Some very insightful posts too, particularly by 'peasant'.


Bye!

Micky Dolenz

Coles wrote: »

It sure is interesting to read over this thread (with hindsight, of course:rolleyes:)

Coles wrote: »

18th March -Classic!

Coles wrote: »

26th March - Brilliant stuff! I love it!

Coles wrote: »

Eh? I'm not bored yet. I'm just getting to the good stuff.

Coles wrote: »

All quality stuff too. In fairness, it's actually very interesting to read over. It's interesting to see how people try to defend their prejudices on a topic regardless of the facts that are presented, or how glaringly out of touch with reality they are. Of course I'm guilty of that too... NOT! :pac:

Some very insightful posts too, particularly by 'peasant'.

While some of your points were interesting, you seem determined to derail this thread.

If you post on this thread again, you will be banned for a long time.

Fair warning.