Nuclear accident follows Japanese earthqauke

Aurora · Post by **Aurora** » 02 Apr 2011, 12:55

The Independent - 02/03/11

Radioactive water from Japan's Fukushima plant is leaking into sea

Tepco officials say 20cm crack in containment pit under reactor two may be source.

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UndercoverElephant · Post by **UndercoverElephant** » 02 Apr 2011, 16:35

This is like watching a slow motion car crash. Chernobyl just went bang. This one is slowly getting worse and worse as the days go past.

biffvernon · Post by **biffvernon** » 02 Apr 2011, 16:39

Tepco officials say 20cm crack in containment pit under reactor two may be source.

Even the portion visible in the photo above is more than 20cm. I just don't understand why TEPCO are so, er, economical with the truth.

biffvernon · Post by **biffvernon** » 02 Apr 2011, 16:45

It's not exactly surprising that there are a few cracks in the power station. Remember there was an earthquake before the big explosions. Here's a picture of the road nearby:

Scraps of ex-nuclear power station lie scattered about the heaved tarmac after their surprise unscheduled flight.

UndercoverElephant · Post by **UndercoverElephant** » 02 Apr 2011, 16:49

biffvernon wrote:
Tepco officials say 20cm crack in containment pit under reactor two may be source.
Even the portion visible in the photo above is more than 20cm. I just don't understand why TEPCO are so, er, economical with the truth.

I don't think they're very sure what is actually going on.

biffvernon · Post by **biffvernon** » 02 Apr 2011, 16:53

They should have a better idea than someone in an armchair the other side of the world, but there's not much evidence of it.

Hold on...they seem to have a plan for the radioactive water:

It seems to involve various pumps, intermediary storage tanks and big storage ponds. Not sure about the fire engine. Let's hope there's still some water left that has not leaked out through the bottom by the time they get it all connected.

2 As and a B · Post by **2 As and a B** » 02 Apr 2011, 18:22

I heard on the radio (Bbc) that highly radioactive water was "gushing" through the crack, so I presume that means 20cm wide (about 8") and that crack shown in the photo is just the top of it, if at all related.

Thanks for finding all this stuff and keeping us updated Biff.

raspberry-blower · Post by **raspberry-blower** » 02 Apr 2011, 19:44

So pouring concrete into the crack in the pit at reactor no.1 didn't work - time for yet another plan...

Leakage did not stop even after concrete was poured into the pit, and Tokyo Electric is now planning to use water-absorbent polymer to prevent contaminated water from leaking out into the sea.
More from Reuters

nexus · Post by **nexus** » 02 Apr 2011, 22:39

This is turning into a nuclear version of Deepwater Horizon.

UndercoverElephant · Post by **UndercoverElephant** » 02 Apr 2011, 23:05

nexus wrote:This is turning into a nuclear version of Deepwater Horizon.

Yes. The timing is spooky. Just as the world is waking up to the reality that supplies of "conventional" oil have peaked...

2 As and a B · Post by **2 As and a B** » 03 Apr 2011, 07:05

Aye, there's nowt as queer as fate. But folk ain't far behind. What are the Japanese going to do with 3 cu km of highly radioactive gel? Answers on a postcard...

biffvernon · Post by **biffvernon** » 03 Apr 2011, 08:11

Some links:

From the Norwegians who assembled the data from Eyjafjallajokull, there are all sorts of interactive maps and stuff at http://transport.nilu.no/products/fukushima

And a pretty intelligent and active discussion on Fukushima try the Physics Forum starting around: http://www.physicsforums.com/showthread ... 0&page=160

And for something completely different here's a video about the Fukushima construction. A marvel of human ingenuity, backed by uplifting music, what could possibly go wrong? Such a shame that all that effort was destroyed in a few milliseconds.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sspp6D8giHc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTshYXmN1AY

Today's animation from ZAMG is not looking so good for the eastern suburbs of Tokyo. A lot of people live along the coastal strip.

UndercoverElephant · Post by **UndercoverElephant** » 03 Apr 2011, 15:42

biffvernon wrote:
Today's animation from ZAMG is not looking so good for the eastern suburbs of Tokyo. A lot of people live along the coastal strip.

BBC forecast for Tokyo is very light northerly winds today followed by 7mph north-easterlies for Monday and Tuesday. That puts the whole of southern Japan in the firing line.

biffvernon · Post by **biffvernon** » 03 Apr 2011, 16:01

I don't think it's the whole south-east, rather just the coastal strip, but that includes a big population.

Aurora · Post by **Aurora** » 03 Apr 2011, 18:20

The Guardian - 03/04/11

Japanese nuclear crisis could go on for months, officials warn

Measures to stem leaks at Fukushima plant appeared to have failed, amid discovery of two bodies of men killed by tsunami.

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