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Nuclear accident follows Japanese earthqauke
Posted: 11 Mar 2011, 09:58
by PS_RalphW
from the bbc
According to Kyodo news, the operator of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant in northeast Japan has reported an abnormality after today's earthquake, the industry ministry said. The system to cool reactor cores in case of emergency stopped at the No. 1 and No. 2 reactors of the plant, which is run by Tokyo Electric Power, Kyodo quoted the ministry as saying.
Last time they had a prolonged nuclear shutdown, their oil /natural gas consumption went up a lot to compensate.
Not looking good. 10M tsunami on a port town.
Edit by adam2, this post and those following have been moved here from the news forum. I felt this deserved it own thread
Posted: 11 Mar 2011, 10:24
by PS_RalphW
And now a fire at the nuclear plant, in the turbine room.
I really hope that does not spread...
Posted: 11 Mar 2011, 11:48
by PS_RalphW
That nuclear reactor is a boiling water reactor.
Safety Systems
A BWR is similar to a Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) in that the reactor will contiue to produce heat even after the fission reactions have stopped, which could make a core damage incident possible if there were not several redundant safety features built into the design of the reactor. A modern reactor has many Safety Systems that are designed with a defense in depth philosophy, which is a design philosophy that is integrated throughout construction and commissioning.
from wikipedia.
So the core needs secondary safety features after a cooling watre failure and emergency shut down to stop it overheating.
I hope they are working...
Posted: 11 Mar 2011, 12:43
by clv101
More info on the reactors here:
http://www.neimagazine.com/story.asp?se ... de=2059127
Utility TEPCO has requested the establishment of a nuclear emergency response programme for Fukushima Daiichi 1&3 and Fukushima Daini 1.
JAIF reported that Fukushima Daiichi 1, 2 and 3 automatically shut down; units 4, 5 and 6 were in maintenance outages. Fukushima Daini 1, 2, 3 and 4 automatically shut down.
JAIF has reported that TEPCO sent the emergency report because emergency diesel generators at the two sites are out of order. (Nuclear power plants need power to operate pumps and other emergency equipment, including equipment to remove decay heat from the reactor.) It also said that there have been no reports of radiation detected outside of the site. It said that an emergency headquarters has been set up and will issue information hourly.
Posted: 11 Mar 2011, 12:50
by Ippoippo
Well, that's fecking typical. I was always sceptical about enforcement of safety regulations being enforced. Bloody local govt. backhanders to corporations.
Posted: 11 Mar 2011, 12:54
by PS_RalphW
Sounds suspiciously like a three mile island. Secondary cooling system failure leading to a slow cooking of the core and a partial meltdown.
Hopefully the containment vessel has no cracks from the earthquake...
Definitely one to watch. This is a big news day, so much going wrong...
Posted: 11 Mar 2011, 13:02
by PS_RalphW
2km evacuation zone around the reactor 'as a precaution'.
Posted: 11 Mar 2011, 13:29
by PS_RalphW
Make the 3km.
'water levels in the reactor core are on a falling trend'....
Posted: 11 Mar 2011, 15:43
by PS_RalphW
One report that they are beginning to stabilise the nuclear incident, pumping more water into the core.
Another report that LNG spot prices are likely to rise again, as Japan looks to replace the lost 20% electricity supplied from the shut reactors.
On top of lost LNG output from Egypt and Libya.
Posted: 11 Mar 2011, 16:59
by clv101
Update on the nuclear reactor:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/12/world ... clear.html
Sounds like it'll be okay.
Posted: 11 Mar 2011, 19:36
by Ippoippo
Hmmm, not sure now. Pressure build up because they are having to use a secondary cooling system because the main one has failed.
Now planning a controlled release of radioactive steam
(Picked up from
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/ma ... e-coverage at 19:36 UK time)
This is also a pretty 'impressive' factoid
http://www.earth-issues.com/2011/03/the ... d-10-cm-2/
Posted: 11 Mar 2011, 21:39
by adam2
The area ordered to be evacuated has just been increased to 10KM radius around the reactor.
Source BBC news world service at about 21-35 UK time.
Posted: 11 Mar 2011, 21:50
by clv101
So there are reports of a radiation "surge" being detected, 1000x above normal levels. Question is, what are normal levels?
Posted: 11 Mar 2011, 21:51
by adam2
Radiation levels near the damaged reactor said to be 8 times normal, source, BBC world service news.
10 KM evacuation zone confirmed.
INFO IN THIS POST ALREADY OUTDATED, SEE POSTS BELOW
Posted: 11 Mar 2011, 21:51
by biffvernon
BBC just reported a French report saying radiation levels 1000 times normal.