Japanese earthquake / tsunami discussion

davyjose

The electrical grid is down. The emergency diesel generators have been damaged. The multi-reactor Fukushima atomic power plant is now relying on battery power, which will only last around eight hours. The danger is, the very thermally hot reactor cores at the plant must be continuously cooled for 24 to 48 hours. Without any electricity, the pumps won’t be able to pump water through the hot reactor cores to cool them. Once electricity is lost, the irradiated nuclear fuel could begin to melt down. If the containment systems fail, a catastrophic radioactivity release to the environment could occur.

“In addition to the reactor cores, the storage pool for highly radioactive irradiated nuclear fuel is also at risk. The pool cooling water must be continuously circulated. Without circulation, the still thermally hot irradiated nuclear fuel in the storage pools will begin to boil off the cooling water. Within a day or two, the pool’s water could completely boil away. Without cooling water, the irradiated nuclear fuel could spontaneously combust in an exothermic reaction. Since the storage pools are not located within containment, a catastrophic radioactivity release to the environment could occur. Up to 100 percent of the volatile radioactive Cesium-137 content of the pools could go up in flames and smoke, to blow downwind over large distances. Given the large quantity of irradiated nuclear fuel in the pool, the radioactivity release could be worse than the Chernobyl nuclear reactor catastrophe of 25 years ago.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/fukushima-nuclear-plant-2011-3#ixzz1GKqE6dkU

I feel sick

JONJO THE MISER

Fecking hell some expert said to forbes that this could be worse than Chernobyl.

macroboy

Killer Pigeon wrote: »

But 1,000 time the normal radiation is a little bit exaggerated. That's what a nuclear expert said - not me.

the 1000 times quote relates to the control room reading of the power plant ...that is the real reading

macroboy

JONJO THE MISER wrote: »

Fecking hell some expert said to forbes that this could be worse than Chernobyl.

damn straigt it will be...chernobyle didnt actually collapse.

Killer Pigeon

JONJO THE MISER wrote: »

Fecking hell some expert said to forbes that this could be worse than Chernobyl.

Designs on nuclear plants have been drastically updated since Chernobyl. There's an extra concrete layer surrounding most nuclear rectors nowadays. Basically if there was a meltdown the fallout would never be as bad.

Here's an example of the material that these outer rector layers are made of nowadays:

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

SeaFields

Killer Pigeon wrote: »

But 1,000 time the normal radiation is a little bit exaggerated. That's what a nuclear expert said - not me.

Some reports are that radiation is 1000 times normal, within the control room of the plant and 8 times normal outside the plant.

But as another poster said, with such fast updates, its impossible to know what exactly is true.

Turtwig

JONJO THE MISER wrote: »

Fecking hell some expert said to forbes that this could be worse than Chernobyl.

I'd really love to know who said this because currently I cannot see another Chernobyl occurring.

http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2011/03/powerful-japan-quake-sparks-ts.html

Japan's quake updated to magnitude 9.0

Seismologists at the US Geological Survey in Menlo Park, California, have just revised their calculations regarding the magnitude of today's quake. They now say it was magnitude 9.0. Already one of the top 10 recorded earthquakes in history, the revision suggests the quake was even more powerful than first thought

Now it's a nine, good thing it was a deep one, just imagine the damage if this quake was close to the surface.

JONJO THE MISER

Guys if this thing melts down would it kill a lot of people?

Turtwig

Killer Pigeon wrote: »

Designs on nuclear plants have been drastically updated since Chernobyl. There's an extra concrete layer surrounding most nuclear rectors nowadays. Basically if there was a meltdown the fallout would never be as bad.

These were actually in place in a lot of plants before Chernobyl. Chernobyl just took a sh1t load of shortcuts during construction.

macroboy

Malty_T wrote: »

I'd really love to know who said this because currently I cannot see another Chernobyl occurring.

malty read the post above ..he laid it all out. its true ..believe it or not.

my girfriend is in japan

SeaFields

Another update from the Guardian

The Kyodo news agency is reporting that the Japanese government is ordering Tepco to open valves on the Fukushima No 1 reactor to release pressure.

Hank Scorpio

Killer Pigeon wrote: »

He said his internet was slow ...

And? Does dublin offer some kind of broadband the rest of the country does not have?

JONJO THE MISER

Another 6.6 quake just hit http://www.businessinsider.com/another-66-earthquake-just-hit-japan-on-land-2011-3

macroboy

JONJO THE MISER wrote: »

Guys if this thing melts down would it kill a lot of people?

no but the area will be a moon...and the contamination cannot even be specified

Brenireland

JONJO THE MISER wrote: »

Guys if this thing melts down would it kill a lot of people?

In the Long term,Yes.

Turtwig

JONJO THE MISER wrote: »

Guys if this thing melts down would it kill a lot of people?

Nope, people are being evacuated from the nearby zones and odds are unless the Japanese are as subterfuge as the Soviets were the plant should have decent containment structures in place to contain most of the radioactive leakage.

Edit : In the long term no as well.

macroboy

JONJO THE MISER wrote: »

Another 6.6 quake just hit http://www.businessinsider.com/another-66-earthquake-just-hit-japan-on-land-2011-3

that was a couple of hours ago

bleg

JONJO THE MISER wrote: »

Guys if this thing melts down would it kill a lot of people?

No.


Edit: no in any time scale.

Killer Pigeon

Malty_T wrote: »

These were actually in place in a lot of plants before Chernobyl. Chernobyl just took a sh1t load of shortcuts during construction.

I don't believe that Chernobyl had one of these outer shells (soviet wasters) which would have stopped the fallout spreading over such a huge area. If it was in place the Chernobyl disaster wouldn't have been as bad.

macroboy

the japanese govt have just order the valves to be opened at the power plant.they have no other option now...

this is going to be just down to pure luck.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/11/japan-tsunami-earthquake-live-coverage

Killer Pigeon

nuxxx wrote: »

And? Does dublin offer some kind of broadband the rest of the country does not have?

Yes, better broadband services and such...
... but that's a topic for any other thread.

Turtwig

Killer Pigeon wrote: »

I don't believe that Chernobyl had one of these outer shells (soviet wasters) which spread the fallout over a huge area. If it was in place the Chernobyl disaster wouldn't have been as bad.

Yeah, I think you slightly misunderstood me.:) Other plants that were built before Chernobyl had better safety features than Chernobyl. I mean ffs, they built their reactor four building with flammable material. Words cannot express how much of a cock up that is.

MiNdGaM3

4 quakes of magnitudes between 5 and 6 in the 18 minutes between 22:36 and 22:54.

amacachi

Raskolnikov wrote: »

This feels like 9/11 just before the towers collapsed

JONJO THE MISER wrote: »

Fecking hell some expert said to forbes that this could be worse than Chernobyl.

Calm down, seriously. They can gradually release the pressure, the station is on the coast and the wind is blowing away from the coast. It'll make for some interesting (academically) papers in a few years time but that's it.

amacachi

Malty_T wrote: »

Yeah, I think you slightly misunderstood me.:) Other plants that were built before Chernobyl had better safety features than Chernobyl. I mean ffs, they built their reactor four building with flammable material. Words cannot express how much of a cock up that is.

Without knowing anything I would've fcukin designed something better than Chernobyl.

bleg

Remember: news channels aren't there to give you the news, they're there to keep you watching and will say any sensationalist bull **** to keep you hooked.

Killer Pigeon

amacachi wrote: »

Without knowing anything I would've fcukin designed something better than Chernobyl.

Yes, but in Soviet Russia ...

Lirange

I feel sorry for the plant workers or other personnel charged with applying coolant and taking other measures within the nuclear facility.

SeaFields

Lirange wrote: »

I feel sorry for the plant workers or other personnel charged with applying coolant and taking other measures within the nuclear facility.

Suicide mission if the reports about radiation levels in the plant are true I imagine.