Three Mile Island Or …
The Three Stooges? This is just FUBAR.
The media talking heads had better cease and desist on their attempts to play down what is happening at the plant in Japan by repeating the mantra of tougher safety standards and Japanese technical prowess, because reality is painting a different picture.
From the BBC – Meltdown alert at Japan reactor
Technicians are battling to stabilise a third reactor at a quake-stricken Japanese nuclear plant, which has been rocked by a second blast in three days.
The Fukushima Daiichi plant’s operators have resumed pumping seawater into reactor 2 after a cooling system broke.
They warned of a possible meltdown when the fuel rods became exposed after the pump stopped as its fuel ran out.
A cooling system breakdown preceded explosions at the plant’s reactor 3 on Monday and reactor 1 on Saturday.
The latest hydrogen blast injured 11 people, one of them seriously. It was felt 40km (25 miles) away and sent a huge column of smoke into the air.
The outer building around the reactor was largely destroyed.
But as with the first explosion, Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) said the thick containment walls shielding the reactor cores remained intact. It also said radiation levels outside were still within legal limits.
…The US said it had moved one of its aircraft carriers from the area after detecting low-level radiation 160km (100 miles) offshore.
So, how long until they figure out that venting the building to reduce the hydrogen build-up releases less radioactivity than not venting and having the building blow up? How long until they find someone capable of checking the fuel level on the cooling pumps and ensuring they don’t run out? How long until they figure out that they need to get as many people as possible, as far away as possible because Tokyo Electric Power is not up to the job? The radiation sensors on that aircraft carrier tripped an alarm 100 miles off the coast! The fuel rods were exposed for more than two hours!
5 comments
Until Hell freezes over?
Because at this rate, it’s coming soon.
Thanks again, for staying on top of this.
S
How long until they figure out that they need to get as many people as possible, as far away as possible because Tokyo Electric Power is not up to the job?
They’re apparently using a fire suppression system to pump seawater into the thing. A.k.a. a big fire engine. Did they think it was just going to run forever without anybody ever refueling it?!
As for TEPCO, they had their license yanked for several years due to their incompetence, during which time outside experts carefully inspected all of their shut-down nuclear power plants and repairs thereof until they were allowed to re-open. Anybody who believes they are competent probably believes in the tooth fair and pink unicorns, too.
The only good news is that the reactors ARE scrammed. So what’s being mopped up right now is residual heat. If they can make it through a few days more without things going to bleep in a handbasket, the reactors will cool down enough that the immediate danger will be past. But like you say, this seems like an operation by Moe-San, Curly-san, and Larry-san, not something I’d expect from a supposedly competent civilization. But then, I didn’t expect the botched reaction to the Katrina aftermath either…
– Badtux the “Watching civilization slide” Penguin
This is 40-50 year old technology in the plant, but it is past its shelf life. They should have been shut down, but they were given an extension because there is now money for investments, only for gambling in the markets. Anything with a return-on-investment of more than day is considered too limiting, as it ties up you money too long.
The design was obviously adequate for the earthquake threat, but just as obviously not much consideration was given to the threat of a tsunami. I assume their emergency generators were at or below ground level, and they same thing happened to them, as happened to the back-up generators in New Orleans – they were flooded out.
Reporting said they had 5 “pumps” supplying sea water, but four of them were wiped out when reactor 3 blew up, and they let the fifth run out of fuel.
This is what a corporate emergency response looks like – out of step in a one-man parade.
At any point I expect to hear that they have hired Michael Brown as a crisis consultant.
Finally saw on CNN an honest nuclear expert. He considered a Three Mile Island episode to be a BEST case scenario. This is really dismal.
Three Mile Island was only one reactor. TEPCO is lining up a half dozen for meltdown.