This was written by Richard Black, an Environment correspondent for BBC News. It is not a Monty Python script: Choppers and cannons bring no nuclear relief

The attempt to use helicopters to dump seawater on to the Fukushima power station is almost certainly unprecedented in more than half a century of nuclear power operations around the world.

And the long-range video images coming in indicate why it is not a method in general use: it does not appear to work.

The helicopters flew in some way above the reactor buildings, and went past without hovering – presumably because of fears of radiation.

Later, at a news conference given by the Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco), a spokesman said they were not able to tell whether any of the water had been successfully delivered.

[Read more →]

We start the day with all of the remaining teams on the coast of the Norton Sound.

Nicholas Petit (14) will take took the rookie race this morning and Jodi Bailey should has completed her Quest-Iditarod rookie runs later today.

Ellen Halverson (26) is looking good to enter the record books as the first musher to win the Red Lantern twice.

The “unkindest cut of all” – Karin Hendrickson (37) has scratched at White Mountain. She dropped three dogs when she came in, and has been waiting at the checkpoint beyond the 8-hours. She was probably hoping for the puppies to improve after extended rest, but decided to scratch. So close, and yet so far.

The first 17 teams made it to Nome in 10 days or less. [They subtract the mandatory 36 hours from the overall time.]

At Nome

16 Lance Mackey (17)
17 Michelle Phillips (39)
18 Martin Buser (11)
19 Robert Nelson (51)
20 Rick Swenson (49)
21 Cim Smyth (59)
22 Matt Hayashida (61)
23 Bruce Linton (13)
24 Allen Moore (5)
25 Trent Herbst (4)
26 Kelley Griffin (20)
27 Ed Stielstra (56)
28 Nicolas Petit (14)^R
29 Kristy Berington (7)
30 Kelly Maixner (55)^R
31 Jodi Bailey (16)^R
32 Lachlan Clarke (42)

Beyond White Mountain

33 Magnus Kaltenborn (22)^R [Read more →]

The CBC reports on Japanese irritation with a US official:

Japanese officials have rejected a dire appraisal of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear facility by the head of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, who says water is absent from a reactor’s spent fuel pool, raising the potential of a meltdown.

“There is no water in the spent fuel pool and we believe that radiation levels are extremely high, which could possibly impact the ability to take corrective measures,” NRC chairman Gregory Jaczko said.

Without any water in the spent fuel pool, the fuel rods would eventually overheat and melt down, causing the outer rods to burn and spread radioactive fuel widely.

Japan’s nuclear safety agency and Tokyo Electric Power Co., the operator of the Fukushima complex, denied that water was gone from the spent fuel pool. Company spokesman Hajime Motojuku said “the condition is stable,” at the Unit 4 reactor, one of six at the plant.

Jaczko made his statement Wednesday before a U.S. House energy and commerce subcommittee in Washington, D.C., and did not provide the source for his claim, but the NRC and the U.S. Department of Energy have experts in Japan.

The spent fuel rods are located on the top floor of each reactor’s building, without the greater protection of thick steel walls that surround the reactor cores. As well, the containment building for Unit 4 has been punctured.

According to the BBC, the information on the spent fuel comes from TEPCO and they have a nice explainer as to why the spent fuel pond is the point of greatest concern.

TEPCO is running cable to put the plant back on the grid, but the plant’s control room was flooded by the tsunami and isn’t likely to be functional, so I don’t know what they are going to do with the electricity if they get it.

The Japanese have “dancing robots”, so why aren’t they using robots to position hoses to cool down the plants rather than people? You could run steel water pipe in and direct it without endangering anyone, and you could add the boric acid at any concentration you wanted. This looks a lot like the BP response to the Well from Hell.

Éireann go Brách!

Well everyone agrees that he died on March 17^th, but the year is subject to debate. This is his feast day on the Catholic calendar. Enjoy as you are wont.

Wikipedia has more on Saint Patrick’s Day, if you need more.