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2011 March 30 — Why Now?
On-line Opinion Magazine…OK, it's a blog
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Bird Watching In Libya

There is a diverse group of aircraft involved in the No-Fly zone.

The most common is probably the F-16 “Fighting Falcon” that is flown by:

BelgiumDenmarkGreeceItalyNetherlands

NorwayUAE

Next in line is the delta-winged Mirage 2000 that is flown by:

FranceQatarUAE

Then there is the F/A-18 “Hornet” from:

CanadaSpain

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March 30, 2011   4 Comments

Stating The Obvious

The BBC reports that Japan will scrap stricken nuclear reactors

Japan is to decommission four stricken reactors at the quake-hit Fukushima nuclear plant, the operator says.

Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) made the announcement three weeks after failing to bring reactors 1 – 4 under control. Locals would be consulted on reactors 5 and 6, which were shut down safely.

Harmful levels of radioactivity have been detected in the area.

More than 11,000 people are known to have been killed by the devastating 11 March earthquake and tsunami.

Seawater near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has reached a much higher level of radiation than previously reported.

The new readings near reactor No 1 – 300m (984ft) from the shore – showed radioactive iodine at 3,355 times the legal limit, said Japan’s nuclear safety agency.

First off, reactors 4, 5, and 6 were in maintenance mode when the quake stuck, and any damage or leaks were the result of not keeping the spent fuel pools cool. The fact that they vented 5 & 6 for fear of a hydrogen explosion, indicates that the rods in the pool were probably over-heated and possibly exposed to the air.

It has been obvious for some time that reactors 1 through 4 were toast. The fact that they were exploding was a really big clue. It is also reasonable to assume that one or more of the reactors has melted through the containment vessel. Having plutonium in the soil outside of the reactors was another major clue. The real questions are how they are going to cool them enough to encase them in concrete and what are they going to do with all of the radioactive water?.

March 30, 2011   5 Comments