US says plant's spent fuel rods dry; Japan says no

[WestVirginiaRebel]

Yahoo News:

FUKUSHIMA, Japan – Nuclear plant operators trying to avoid complete reactor meltdowns said Thursday that they were close to completing a new power line that might end Japan's crisis, but several ominous signs have also emerged: a surge in radiation levels, unexplained white smoke and spent fuel rods that U.S. officials said could be on the verge of spewing radioactive material.

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Gregory Jaczko said in Washington on Wednesday that all the water was gone from the spent fuel pools at Unit 4 of the Fukushima Dai-ichi complex, but Japanese officials denied it. Hajime Motojuku, spokesman for plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co., said the "condition is stable" at Unit 4.

If Jaczko is correct, it would mean there's nothing to stop the fuel rods from getting hotter and ultimately melting down. The outer shells of the rods could also ignite with enough force to propel the radioactive fuel inside over a wide area.

Jaczko did not say how the information was obtained, but the NRC and U.S. Department of Energy both have experts at the complex of six reactors along Japan's northeastern coast, which was ravaged by last week's magnitude-9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami.

The conditions at the plant appeared to worsen, with white smoke pouring from the complex and a surge in radiation levels forcing workers to retreat for hours Wednesday from their struggle to cool the overheating reactors.

As international concern mounted, the chief of the U.N. nuclear agency said he would go to Japan to assess what he called a "serious" situation and urged Tokyo to provide better information to his organization.

Japanese officials raised hopes of easing the crisis, saying early Thursday that they were close to completing a new power line that could restore the reactors' cooling systems.

Naoki Tsunoda, a spokesman for Tokyo Electric Power Co., or TEPCO, said the new power line to the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant was almost finished and that officials planned to try it "as soon as possible," but he could not say exactly when.
________

At this point, I'm not sure what's really going on. The truth is probably somewhere in between actual catastrophe and media hype.

[ErnstBlofeld]

The worst thing is the plant was designed with 8 hours of emergency power for the cooling system. This whole thing would have been averted if they had a backup system coolant system that lasted until emergency repairs were made.

[Sabre86]

Apparently Gregory Jaczko is not someone one should really be trusting in matters like this.

 

-Appointed by Obama

-Served as appropriations director and scientific policy adviser for Harry Reid (helped kill Yucca Mountain)

-Begin his public service working for none other than Ed Markey.

[Rheo]

The worst thing is the plant was designed with 8 hours of emergency power for the cooling system. This whole thing would have been averted if they had a backup system coolant system that lasted until emergency repairs were made.

It was also designed to withstand an 8.1 earthquake as worse case scenerio, not a 9. quake.

Edited March 17, 2011 by Rheo
9.1 to 9.

[Argyle58]

The worst thing is the plant was designed with 8 hours of emergency power for the cooling system. This whole thing would have been averted if they had a backup system coolant system that lasted until emergency repairs were made.

 

Actually, they did have backup diesel generators for each reactor plant, but they were also damaged in the quake.

[Sabre86]

The worst thing is the plant was designed with 8 hours of emergency power for the cooling system. This whole thing would have been averted if they had a backup system coolant system that lasted until emergency repairs were made.

 

Actually, they did have backup diesel generators for each reactor plant, but they were also damaged in the quake.

It was actually the tsunami which knocked out the backup generators. They survived the quake and had actually begun to do their job when the tsunami showed up and knocked them offline.

[Rheo]

Good points, Argyle58 and Sabre86.

[clearvision]

Japanese came up with the word tsunami and built a reactor right, and I mean right, on the coast. Did no one ever pipe up in the earthquake scenario discussions that a large earthquake is often followed by a tsunami. I've not looked at the elevation of the plant, but it looks like it is less than a 100 yards from the ocean.

[Sabre86]

Japanese came up with the word tsunami and built a reactor right, and I mean right, on the coast. Did no one ever pipe up in the earthquake scenario discussions that a large earthquake is often followed by a tsunami. I've not looked at the elevation of the plant, but it looks like it is less than a 100 yards from the ocean.

It was designed with a tsunami in mind, but this one was much larger than the plant was designed for.

[ErnstBlofeld]

The worst thing is the plant was designed with 8 hours of emergency power for the cooling system. This whole thing would have been averted if they had a backup system coolant system that lasted until emergency repairs were made.

 

Actually, they did have backup diesel generators for each reactor plant, but they were also damaged in the quake.

It was actually the tsunami which knocked out the backup generators. They survived the quake and had actually begun to do their job when the tsunami showed up and knocked them offline.

 

 

The batteries were not damaged;

 

 

March 11 /3:45-Approximately

 

-Massive tsunami waves strike the Japanese coast. Wide spread devastation occurs. Power grid is knocked out in the area around Daiichi and much of the north eastern coast of Japan.

 

-Tsunami strikes Daiichi plant. Generators and fuel storage on ocean side of plant. All diesel storage washed away.

 

-Power fails at Daiichi, coolant stops circulating in Units 1-3. Diesel back ups for the pumps fail due to tsunami damage and lack of fuel. Switching system also wiped out by tsunami.

 

-Circulation of water in cooling ponds stops.

 

- Temperatures in the cores begin to rise, increasing the amount of steam inside the reactors. Pressure increases, water level around the core fall.

 

-Fail safe, battery operated, cooling systems begins operation. Battery life estimated at 8 hours

 

On March 13, according to the timeline, that they had to inject sea water into the core,use firehoses and the that US Air Force brought coolant to the plant. This is most likely boric acid which is used as coolant and moderates nuclear reactions better than purified water.

 

 

 

Timeline March 11 -16: http://my.firedoglake.com/somethingthedogsaid/2011/03/16/japan-nuclear-watch-a-time-line-march-12th-march-16th/

[ErnstBlofeld]

 

GE Mark I Nuclear Vessel

[SrWoodchuck]

 

GE Mark I Nuclear Vessel

Hey Ernst! Thanks for your post.

 

I see you're back here posting. How are you feeling, buddy? I've been reading your various postings at True Blue Freedom. Are you back to stay, or just visiting?

[ErnstBlofeld]

 

GE Mark I Nuclear Vessel

Hey Ernst! Thanks for your post.

 

I see you're back here posting. How are you feeling, buddy? I've been reading your various postings at True Blue Freedom. Are you back to stay, or just visiting?

 

I feel sore. They put me asleep and put a very large needle in my spine. I am back.

[SrWoodchuck]

 

GE Mark I Nuclear Vessel

Hey Ernst! Thanks for your post.

 

I see you're back here posting. How are you feeling, buddy? I've been reading your various postings at True Blue Freedom. Are you back to stay, or just visiting?

 

I feel sore. They put me asleep and put a very large needle in my spine. I am back.

Well it's nice to see that our prayers for you were answered & you're back....and that's what counts.

[righteousmomma]

 

I feel sore. They put me asleep and put a very large needle in my spine. I am back.

 

Well it's nice to see that our prayers for you were answered & you're back....and that's what counts.

 

No, with all due respect to Sr. Woodchuck, what counts is more info:

 

The "they" were?? Was that the only probe?

Could "they" speak? Did they speak? This is really earth shattering new technology for planet Earth --curing Parkinson's with a shot in the spine??

 

I know God works in mysterious ways but....

 

More info please so I know how to pray farther.

Edited March 18, 2011 by righteousmomma
To add a questions, correct a speedy excited typing errow

[NCTexan]

I feel sore. They put me asleep and put a very large needle in my spine. I am back.

Glad you're back Ernst...

 

I've heard of those probing experiences. However, I thought that they usually went a little lower than the spine.

 

[clearvision]

The Japanese government says that there is water covering the fuel rods in the spent-fuel pool of reactor #4 at the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant.

 

On Wednesday, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) head Gregory Jaczko said at a U.S. congressional hearing that "there is no water in the spent-fuel pool" at reactor #4, Bloomberg reported. There were also reports that the zirconium cladding that makes up the fuel rods was burning, which could result in a massive radiation release.

 

But this evening Hidehiko Nishiyama, deputy director-general of the Nuclear and Industry Safety Agency, told reporters that a review of video shot from a helicopter and an on-the-ground check by a worker had confirmed that there is water in the pool.

Sciencemag.org

 

So Mr./Dr? Jaczko has not come out and apologized for scaring the crap out of everyone and sending the markets down 2 or 3 hundred points.

[Rheo]

 

I feel sore. They put me asleep and put a very large needle in my spine. I am back.

I can sympathize as lately, we have had sharp objects stabbed into our backs as well.

[Pepper]

 

I feel sore. They put me asleep and put a very large needle in my spine. I am back.

I can sympathize as lately, we have had sharp objects stabbed into our backs as well.

 

 

 

I feel like a porcupine.

[Rheo]