Fourth reactor related explosion today, too much radiation and workers are leaving the facility to go on it's own way. In Russia many men died trying to stop the disaster from killing so many others. That does not appear to be the case in Japan. The China Syndrome is about to be put to the test.
A very sad state of affairs.
Paul in PA
Apparently even the spent fuel rods have 98% of their energy left and they are hot.
It is not looking very good right now.
So much for the Nuclear Renaissance
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Four nights ago I am sitting in front of the TV with one son who has a master of science degree and came over to watch things unfold. I am seeing the prime minister of Japan, the energy minister, the head of the electric utility running the reactors, and they are all wearing the same light blue shirt with the same insignias sewn on. And they were all mumbling. My son says all of this should be solvable from a scientific standpoint.
I said "They have formed a committee. There is no one person in charge. There is no consensus. There is no one in the government who will say to the utility "you have screwed up big time" because that would be harsh and cause a loss of face. No decisions are going to be made in time."
So US aid in the form of generators, offered the first day, was refused. Four days later it's urgently requested. But it's too late in many ways.
Japan just isn't and wasn't as competent as the "Consumer Reports Magazine Propagandists" has us believe. The cars were never "better made" than American, it was always BS. Also all this talk about how's there is no looting and everyone stands dutifully in line. Well maybe that's the problem, they don't say no to authority, and when things go wrong they don't know what to do.
Now we're hearing the same BS about China, how they work harder for less, are better educated, blah, blah. Just more BS, so that we'll accept lower pay and loss of jobs.
> The China Syndrome is about to be put to the test.
I'm curious about where you're hearing this from...?
I've been hearing that the Chernobyl reactor was technologically nowhere near the class of these reactors, and that it exploded while it was active, which is why it was so disastrous. The Japan reactors were shut down as soon as the earthquake hit, and from what I've been hearing, they could go into full meltdown and still come nowhere near being as bad as Chernobyl.
Kill the fire, and turn to the sun.
50 Workers Stayed
It was just a radiation spike and they are now planning to resume work.
Even a shutdown nuclear vessel needs to be kept cool. If not the rods that block the interaction deteriorate. No matter how different the designs, if unchecked the ultimate results could be similar to Chernobyl. Let us assume that the containment vessels had sufficient strength to resist a 9.0 earthquake when new. Over time even the best of steel deteriorates from heat. These plants are 40 years old. These plants have been without design cooling now for 5 days. I have seen steel that is only 7 years old crumble in a steel mill due to high heat exposure. Unchecked reactors exceed steel mill temperatures. Day by day the heat will destroy the containment vessels.
In other information I see that Germany has elected to shut down 7 old reactors rather than trying to extend their life.
Paul in PA
From what I heard earlier this morning, the 4th reactor was not in operation but simply being used to house spent fuel rods. Not that it makes any difference. They are still damm hot.
The stock market was hanging in there today, until the EU Energy Cheif released a statement saying the Japan nuclear crisis is "out of control". The S&P dropped about 20 points in the last 5 minutes ...
Probably not good journalism to juxtapose an image of a thermonuclear explosion next to the story when reporting.
And to think I believed my teachers when they taught us that journalists are impartial reporters of facts.;-)
50 Workers Stayed
> No matter how different the designs, if unchecked the ultimate results could be similar to Chernobyl.
Where are you getting this info? All I've been hearing is that these reactors could go into complete meltdown, and it would not compare to Chernobyl. Radiation would leak, but it would not be the same thing as when Chernobyl exploded while the reactor was running.
I agree it's bad, and it will probably shut down nuclear politically in the US for another 20 or 30 years, but your statements are contrary to all the reports I've heard.
Haven't you heard? The Internet killed Journalism. 😉
This is alink to a good discussion of the situation in Japan by the MIT Nuclear Science Department.
