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Title: 'Explosive impact' at plant's No. 2 reactor
Source:
CNN
URL Source: http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/03/1 ... -over-pitch-in-to-help/?hpt=T1
Published: Mar 14, 2011
Author: CNN
Post Date: 2011-03-14 19:45:10 by go65
Keywords: None
Views: 2938
Comments: 15
[7:17 p.m. ET Monday, 8:17 a.m. Tuesday in Tokyo] More information about the new blast at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan: An "explosive impact" occurred Tuesday morning at the No. 2 reactor, a day after a hydrogen explosion rocked reactor No. 3, the plant's owner announced. [7:09 p.m. ET Monday, 8:09 a.m. Tuesday in Tokyo] A blast has been heard at the site of the No. 2 reactor of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, according to Japanese broadcaster NHK. [6:44 p.m. ET Monday, 7:44 a.m. Tuesday in Tokyo] The situation with Fukushima Daiichi's No. 2 nuclear reactor is not yet stable, though authorities have had some success in pumping in water in order to cool radioactive material inside, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said early Tuesday. He said the cooling functions at the facility's Nos. 1 and 3 nuclear reactors are serving their purpose. Cooling problems at the No. 2 reactor on Monday allowed nuclear fuel rods to overheat and generate radioactive steam that officials will have to vent into the atmosphere. Crews thought they had the situation under control, but water levels dropped dangerously again Monday night when a buildup of steam prevented fresh seawater from entering the reactor chamber, Tokyo Electric Power Co. reported.
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#1. To: All (#0)
various conflicting reports suggesting the containment vessel was damaged.
Since January 3, 2011, Republicans have controlled the power of the purse.
BULLSHIT! There have been absolutely ZERO reports of the reactor containment vessel being breeched you lying libTURD shill. The containment BUILDING has been breeched by gas explosions, but the 6 inch thick steel walls of the actual containment VESSEL(S) are intact to date according to all reports. Now I know that you libTURDS love to pose as if you are more intelligent and educated than us po ol CONSERVATIVES, but you libTURD FOOLS are the ones who are incapable of understanding the difference between different words. Like BUILDING and VESSEL. OR you are just LIARS? Chicken Little call home.
Living in mouth breather's empty noggins 24/7/365 totally rent free!
The situation seems to have changed a bit since my last update. The emergency cooling system ultimately failed at the Number 1 reactor at Fukushima. In order to prevent the possibility of a meltdown, they’ve decided to flood the containment vessel with salt water and boric acid. The water, as always, is intended to cool the reactor. The salt will corrode all the metal in the reactor over time, so this move means they’ve decided that the number 1 reactor is a loss, which probably has as much to do with the reactor’s age as anything else. The boric acid, on the other hand, is intended to slow the chain reaction further. As the result of a chemical reaction, hydrogen gas began to build up. Hydrogen gas being very flammable, this buildup caused the explosion. It is important to note that according to experts (I’m going with David Lochbaum who was cited in the New York Times) this happened in the turbine hall, NOT in the containment vessel where the nuclear fuel is. A number of alarmists have suggested that the fact that it happened outside of the containment vessel means there is a leak, but this doesn’t seem to be the case to me. There are two general designs of boiling water reactors: in one the steam that is produced by water being exposed to the core is used to turn the turbines that produce electricity directly, and in the other there is an intermediary heat exchange so that the irradiated water isn’t used to turn the turbines. Presumably (and I don’t know this to be true, but it seems likely), this reactor is of the former design. If this is the case, the turbine hall is constantly exposed to irradiated gases and so can be used to store gases in case of an emergency. Of course, this is all a bit of guess work because I don’t have any special knowledge and am relying on news reports and my less than technical understanding of reactor design. The explosion was quite alarming, but it did not damage the containment vessel as far as anyone can tell. All of the really nasty stuff remains safely tucked away in many tons of steel and concrete. According to reports, the explosion did not increase the amount of radiation present outside of the plant. I’m not entirely clear on how this could be given that the turbine hall likely housed a fair bit of radiation. Former International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspector Olli Heinonen noted his concern about stored nuclear fuel at Fukushima. After uranium rods are spent, they are stored in pools of water in order to prevent gamma radiation exposure and to keep them from melting. Since the spent fuel is still producing some heat, they can still melt and release harmful radioisotopes. Heinonen’s concern seems to be over whether: A.) the buildings where the spent fuel is stored were damaged in any way, and B.) the pumps that supply water to the storage pools are still active. It’s impossible to comment on these concerns intelligently because they come out of ignorance, which is to say that there are no reports on whether there is a problem at all. If the spent fuel becomes exposed, it poses a danger to workers who are attempting to prevent a meltdown. http://bellum.stanfordreview.org/?p=3126 The plan is to use seawater to cool the containment vessel should it show signs of melting down. This makes sense as these vessels are extremely durable and in a worst case scenario this would stop any melting that becomes apparent.
. A "melt down" means NOTHING except that the reactor is useless JUNK, unless the containment VESSEL is breeched. Even without cooling the containment vessel is supposed to contain the fuel mass, but that's kind of iffy. These reactors are ALL of a totally different design than Chernobyl. That they are using SEA WATER for cooling means that they are willing to sacrifice the reactor cores for SAFETY. In short "melt down" means just that, NOT that there is a Chernobyl type event happening. Chicken little call home.
Living in mouth breather's empty noggins 24/7/365 totally rent free!
Atmospheric pressure in the containment vessel dropped from 3 to 1. Operators and staff have been evacuated. Only those injecting water remain. Another pump rig is being brought in. Officials say there is a possibility that the containment vessel has been damaged. It's a very serious situation, to say the least. Only time will tell how it turns out. Listen live: www.cnn.com/video/flashLive/live.html?stream=3
I recall a re-run of MASH I saw where this uber right winger named Colonel Flagg... A meltdown can mean a significant amount of radiation can be released to the atmosphere, but it would take a containment vessel breach to have what was first erroniously called 'through the earth to china syndrome.' And as the piece I quoted stated, the use of seawater means a write off of any more use of that particular reactor, as the corrosion from seawater would render the vessel useless.
that was posted 2 days ago.
Since January 3, 2011, Republicans have controlled the power of the purse.
the use of seawater means a write off of any more use of that particular reactor, as the corrosion from seawater would render the vessel useless. Proof that even a blind pig finds an acorn now and then cornflake boy. But AS USUAL you are a day late and dollar short. BOTH have already been reported. Yesterday. Right here. Get with the program weasel gurl.
Living in mouth breather's empty noggins 24/7/365 totally rent free!
Actually, I was into nuclear technology as far back as the 1960s. I went to a private school, and we did a fied trip to the now decommissioned and gone Yankee Atomic Power Plant in Connecticut. And as my Dad was a Naval aviator, I was in the Junior Navel Cadets for several years and one of my favorite submarines was The USS Nautilus, (SSN 571). I learned all about that sort of power plant many many years ago.
The most recent reports that a "suppression pool" at the bottom of the No. 2 reactor, designed to serve as a last line of defense against a meltdown, was breached could represent a major escalation of the crisis, said Victor Gilinsky, a former Nuclear Regulatory Commissioner. "If that is true, then there is a path to the control room, the workers and the outside environment," he said. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-japan-quake-20110315,0,2212206.story Looks like your best wishes that a reactor vessel being in no danger of melting is now a moot point and there well could be direct contamination of the environment from the material in this reactor. Let's hope that is not the case however.
That's funny stuff creep. YOU and your ilk are pissing yourselves hoping that there is a Chernobyl type disaster here, you gibbering libTURD creep. And "genius", even if there is a complete MELT DOWN of the core, as long as the reactor vessel is intact, all that means is that the reactor is destroyed and useless. Fortunately for all the sane and decent people on earth the containment vessels are all intact, so far.
Living in mouth breather's empty noggins 24/7/365 totally rent free!
. Is that so LIAR? I missed where NAV AIR has nuclear powered airframes. Then why are you so ignorant of the FACT, that as long as the reactor containment vessel is intact, even a complete MELT DOWN means just that that reactor is now useless junk. These reactors are all relatively advanced compared to the plant on the Nautilus. They have very little in common in their designs. Oh yeah, you are just another gibbering libTURD LIAR trying to cause panic so you can advance your watermelon libTURD agenda. You really are a contemptible little creep.
Living in mouth breather's empty noggins 24/7/365 totally rent free!
Heh, I only know what's in the quoted piece. Going by what it says, despite my wish for no containment breach, there could be one. My deepest hope is this breach does not happen. But if you wish to believe otherwise, that's your business. I just don't care if you want to live in this sort of fantasy. ;-D
Quite true. But the early power reactors were larger versions of the one the Nautilus used. I have kept up to speed with the development of this technology though. And yes, they have changed, and so has the fuel. What is it you wish to know about current designs?
Read the piece I linked in the above post of mine where I took the quote I posted it to you to show to at least my dismay that there might be a reactor vessel breach. This is nothing an environmentalist like me wants. In fact, I am very much against us building any more reactors to produce power in the United States. I feel the negatives outweigh the pluses.
#2. To: go65 (#1)
various conflicting reports suggesting the containment vessel was damaged.
#3. To: Mad Dog (#2)
Here is Craig’s latest update:
#4. To: Ferret Mike (#3)
#5. To: Mad Dog (#4)
(Edited)
"We (government) need to do a lot less, a lot sooner" ~Ron Paul
Godwinson posted on 2011-02-23 11:47:32 ET
http://libertysflame.com/cgi-bin/readart.cgi?ArtNum=18011&Disp=46#C46
#6. To: Mad Dog (#4)
Where did the expression "China Syndrome" originate? The expression "China Syndrome" was first coined during a discussion of the potential consequences of a nuclear reactor (any device used for controlling the release of nuclear power so that it can be used for constructive purposes) meltdown. (A meltdown is when the fuel core of a nuclear reactor melts and releases dangerous amounts of radiation.) One scientist commented that the molten reactor core could bore a hole straight through the Earth to China (assuming the reactor was in the United States). This worst-case scenario was thus nicknamed the "China Syndrome." Although the scientist was grossly exaggerating, some people took him seriously. In fact, a molten core would bore a hole only about 30 feet (10 meters) into the Earth. This, however, would still have grave consequences for the surrounding area. http://www.enotes.com/science-fact-finder/energy/where-did-expression-china-syndrome-originate
#7. To: Ferret Mike (#3)
http://bellum.stanfordreview.org/?p=3126
#8. To: Ferret Mike (#6)
A meltdown can mean a significant amount of radiation can be released to the atmosphere, but it would take a containment vessel breach
#9. To: Mad Dog (#8)
"Proof that even a blind pig finds an acorn now and then..."
#10. To: Mad Dog (#8)
"They do not have the situation under control," said Robert Alvarez, a nuclear expert at the Institute for Policy Studies and a former Energy Department deputy.
#11. To: Ferret Mike (#10)
Looks like your best wishes that a reactor vessel being in no danger of melting is now a moot point and there well could be direct contamination of the environment from the material in this reactor.
#12. To: Ferret Mike (#9)
(Edited)
#13. To: Mad Dog (#11)
"YOU and your ilk are pissing yourselves hoping that there is a Chernobyl type disaster here, you gibbering libTURD creep."
#14. To: Mad Dog (#12)
"These reactors are all relatively advanced compared to the plant on the Nautilus. They have very little in common in their designs."
#15. To: Mad Dog (#11)
"And "genius", even if there is a complete MELT DOWN of the core, as long as the reactor vessel is intact, all that means is that the reactor is destroyed and useless."
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