Earthquake/Tsunami Thread - FG Members Check In.

[h-p]

My NHK World feed here doesn't seem to be showing what you're seeing.

They said the -1800mm at some point on NHK World. I think that's pretty stupid way to describe the level. How much there's total water before we get to the core?

 

[zeggawong]

It was a different type of explosion to the first. There was a large yellow flash this time.

Image keeps getting removed.

 

[hansvonaxion]

Different channel probably. TBS or Fuji, can't remember which. They've been showing the cutaway diagram constantly to show the water levels and process etc. This one had the top portion greyed and the next layer was highlighted yellow.

In-laws 60km(?) away in Fukushima are both working today. Business as usual.

I'm heading out for lunch but it seems all the petrol stations are closed, possible reserving fuel for emergency services? Or deliveries delayed due to some road being blocked/closed recently.



Edit; they're announcing now the core is intact, seems radiation levels haven't changed.

 

[Spectre]

Okay, that picture is MUCH worse. Someone screwed up by the numbers there. Whatever methods they were using to try to diffuse the hydrogen gas as they released it to prevent an explosion (see prior relayed releases and reports) as they had on number 1 obviously did the opposite. The top 'awning' is gone, but I can't tell the level of damage to the structural/external elements of the containment building from that. Can't see if it's just blackened, if it's collapsed, or what.

Do remember that there are multiple 'shells' or bulkheads around the reactor and the loss of the outermost layers of the building is not automatically catastrophic even if the clad and pressure vessel breached.

I'm heading out for lunch but it seems all the petrol stations are closed, possible reserving fuel for emergency services? Or deliveries delayed due to some road being blocked/closed recently.

You kind of also had some refineries on fire and/or exploding over the past few days, so I'd imagine it's a combination of prioritizing fuel reserves and a lack of supply.

Edit: Just watched the video - that was an enormous hydrogen explosion, probably running into the low kiloton range.

Edit 2: Make that hundred tons or less range. I did the math wrong and forgot the minimum needed for formation of that type mushroom cloud. Important note: Mushroom clouds are not unique to nuclear detonations, they are common with large conventional explosions as well. We had one in Dallas when a welding gas supply house went on fire and exploded back in 2007. That was unpleasant - it was raining flaming gas cylinders in the downtown area there for a short while; the cloud was distinctive if shortlived.

 

[Spectre]

TEPCO's overloaded servers disgorged this press release:

Press Release (Mar 14,2011)
White smoke around the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station Unit 3


At approximately 11:01am, an explosive sound followed by white smoke
occurred at the reactor building of the Unit 3. It was believed to be a
hydrogen explosion.

According to the parameter, it is estimated that the reactor containment
vessel remains intact. However, the status of the plant and the impact
of radioactive materials to the outside environment are presently under
investigation.

Some workers have sustained injuries. Ambulances are on their way to care
for them.

TEPCO continues to take all measures to restore the safety and security of
the site and are monitoring the site's immediate surroundings.

Prior to that, this was the last update from TEPCO:

Press Release (Mar 13,2011)
Plant Status of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (as of 9pm March 13th)


All 6 units of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station have been shut down.

[There is no update from the previous press release.]

Unit 1(Shut down)
- Reactor has been shut down. However, the unit is under inspection due
to the explosive sound and white smoke that was confirmed after the big
quake occurred at 3:36PM.
- We have been injecting sea water and boric acid which absorbs neutron
into the reactor pressure vessel.

Unit 2(Shut down)
- Reactor has been shut down and Reactor Core Isolation Cooling System
has been injecting water to the reactor. Current reactor water level is
lower than normal level, but the water level is steady. After fully
securing safety, measures to lowering the pressure of reactor
containment vessel has been taken, under the instruction of
the national government.

Unit 3(Shut down)
- Reactor has been shut down. However, as High Pressure Core Injection
System has been automatically shut down and water injection to
the reactor was interrupted, following the instruction by
the government and with fully securing safety, steps to lowering
the pressure of reactor containment vessel has been taken. Spraying
in order to lower pressure level within the reactor containment vessel
has been cancelled.
- After that, safety relief valve has been opened manually, lowering
the pressure level of the reactor, which was immediately followed
by injection of boric acid water which absorbs neutron, into
the reactor pressure vessel.

Unit 4 (shut down due to regular inspection)
- Reactor has been shut down and sufficient level of reactor coolant
to ensure safety is maintained.
- Currently, we do not believe there is any reactor coolant leakage
inside the reactor containment vessel.

Unit 5 (outage due to regular inspection)
- Reactor has been shut down and sufficient level of reactor coolant
to ensure safety is maintained.
- Currently, we do not believe there is any reactor coolant leakage
inside the reactor containment vessel.

Unit 6 (outage due to regular inspection)
- Reactor has been shut down and sufficient level of reactor coolant
to ensure safety is maintained.
- Currently, we do not believe there is any reactor coolant leakage
inside the reactor containment vessel.

Casualty
- 2 workers of cooperative firm were injured at the occurrence of
the earthquake, and were transported to the hospital.
- 1 TEPCO employee who was not able to stand by his own with his hand
holding left chest was transported to the hospital by an ambulance.
- 1 subcontract worker at important earthquake-proof building was
unconscious and transported to the hospital by an ambulance.
- The radiation exposure of 1 TEPCO employee, who was working inside
the reactor building, exceeded 100mSv and was transported to
the hospital.
- 2 TEPCO employees felt bad during their operation in the central
control rooms of Unit 1 and 2 while wearing full masks, and were
transferred to Fukushima Daini Power Station for consultation with
a medical advisor.
- 4 workers were injured and transported to the hospital after explosive
sound and white smoke were confirmed around the Unit 1.
- Presence of 2 TEPCO employees at the site are not confirmed

Others
- We are currently coordinating with the relevant authorities and
departments as to how to secure the cooling water to cool down
the water in the spent nuclear fuel pool.
- We measured radioactive materials inside of the nuclear power station
area (outdoor) by monitoring car and confirmed that radioactive
materials level is higher than ordinary level. Also, the level
at monitoring post is higher than ordinary level. We will continue
to monitor in detail the possibility of radioactive material being
discharged from exhaust stack or discharge canal. The national
government has instructed evacuation for those local residents within
20km radius of the periphery because it's possible that radioactive
materials are discharged.

- We will continue to take all measures to restore the security of the
site and to monitor the environment of the site periphery.

NISA's last report on the complex, which was well prior to the explosion or the above press release:

(2) Readings at monitoring posts The measurement of radioactive materials in the environmental monitoring area near the site boundary by a monitoring car confirmed the increase in the radioactivity compared to the radioactivity at 04:30, March 13.
MP1 (Monitoring at North End of Site Boundary) :
17microSv/h( 11:40 March 13)
26microSv/h(18:30 March 13)
MP4 (Monitoring Car at North West Site Boundary for Unit 1)
47.1microSv/h(12:20 March 13)
44microSv/h(19:33 March 13)
MP6 (Monitoring at the Main Gate)
26microSv/h(09:30 March 13)
5.2microSv/h(19:00 March 13)

Edit: Reuters Flash: Toyota to halt all Japan production until at least March 16.

 

[KaJuN]

3/13/2011 - KADENA AIR BASE, Japan -- About 100 people and thee MC-130Ps from the 353rd Special Operations Group have deployed to Yokota Air Base March 12 to support humanitarian relief operations after an earthquake measuring 8.9 in magnitude that hit the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Northeastern Japan March 11.

The members of several squadrons in the group stand ready to provide their unique expertise in their respective areas to the Japanese government and multiple organizations supporting relief efforts across the affected area.

"The devastation caused by the earthquake is truly heartbreaking." said Col. Stephen Bissonnette, deputy commander of the 353rd Special Operations Group. "As part of coordinated relief efforts, the group will work tirelessly with our Japanese counterparts and other relief organizations to help the people affected by the earthquake recover from this disaster."

The 355rd SOG will be able to utilize its aircraft and aircrews to conduct search and rescue, transport emergency response teams, equipment and relief supplies; survey and open airfields and helicopter landing zones while providing air traffic controllers to control the airfields and landing zones; provide emergent medical care to injured people; and assist the Japanese government and other relief agencies with a variety of highly-trained support personnel during humanitarian operations

http://www.353sog.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123246512

This makes me feel good since I help maintain these airplanes. It's even better that these airplanes were already deployed to another country for an exercise and were diverted to a new mission on the fly. I just wish I could be up there with them.

 

[GRtak]

You already did your part.

 

[hansvonaxion]

So we went out to buy a child seat and I decided to go to Chiba cos Odaiba is all closed. Damn, that place suffered some damage. It's all on reclaimed land, like where I live in Odaiba, but parts of Chiba all broke up and water seeped through. Roads are like off-road tracks, parts are cracked, others wavy, parts of the ground are below where they should be etc. Here's a few pics I took...

This first one you can see the power lines angled but you can't see one has fallen completely and hit a house.

Obviously nothing compared to what's going on up north but I was a bit surprised as we aren't far away and also on reclaimed land and we no problems like that. I also think they don't have any water supply.

 

[IceBone]

Aftershock after aftershock after aftershock... What is that tectonic plate made of? Pudding? STOP ALREADY!

 

[Spectre]

Latest ten from USGS:
MAP 5.1 2011/03/14 10:29:05 39.658 142.466 20.3 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
MAP 5.1 2011/03/14 10:28:42 37.239 142.164 22.3 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
MAP 5.0 2011/03/14 07:25:11 36.680 141.313 44.4 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
MAP 5.0 2011/03/14 07:00:14 39.324 143.374 20.7 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
MAP 5.3 2011/03/14 06:52:23 36.899 141.110 36.8 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
MAP 5.3 2011/03/14 06:46:58 37.942 142.905 30.3 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
MAP 5.2 2011/03/14 06:43:55 39.101 142.374 30.6 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
MAP 5.1 2011/03/14 06:27:29 36.945 141.747 35.0 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
MAP 5.4 2011/03/14 06:18:26 38.037 138.394 35.4 NEAR THE WEST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
MAP 6.1 2011/03/14 06:12:36 37.774 142.518 14.9 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

These are the last three from NISA. First is the usual update of readings taken, issued before the hydrogen explosion on Unit 3.

MP1 (Monitoring at North End of Site Boundary) :
26 microSv/h(18:30 March 13)
?(Move to MP2)
MP2 (Monitoring at north- northwest of Unit1 and northwest of the End of Site Boundary for Unit 1 ) :
450 microSv/h(20:10 March 13)
?680 microSv/h(3:50 March 14)
MP4 (Monitoring Car at North West Site Boundary for Unit 1)
44.0 microSv/h(19:33 March 13)
?56.4 microSv/h(04:08 March 14)
(Surveyed by MP2 as MP1 is in the top of the cliff)
MP6 (Monitoring at the Main Gate)
5.2microSv/h(19:00 March 13)
?66.3 microSv/h(02:50 March 14)

Next are the two updates post-explosion, in chronological order.

An explosion caused by hydrogen at Unit 3 of Fukushima Dai-ichi NPS (the 2nd release)
TEPCO reported NISA that there was an explosion at Unit 3 of Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Station, NPS, at 11:01.
According to TEPCO, the containment vessel of the unit was not broken. Detail information is under investigation.
The wind condition is calm and the direction of the wind above the station is the west or the southwest. Residents living within the area at least 20 km radius from Fukushima Dai-ichi NPS are requested to shelter in buildings or houses.
TEPCO reported to NISA that one person was injured at Fukushima Dai-ichi NPS at this time. TEPCO is preparing to transfer the person to Fukushima Dai-ni NPS.

An explosion caused by hydrogen at Unit 3 of Fukushima Dai-ichi NPS (the 3rd release)
1. Plant status
After the hydrogen explosion at 11:01, pressure fluctuation in the containment vessel was observed. Afterward the pressure is becoming stable. It is considered that the vessel maintains its function of confinement.
Fuel cooling status is under confirmation. 2. Evacuation of local residents
The number of the residents within 20km radius from Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Station, NPS, waiting for evacuation or evacuating is 483 in total at 14:20 March 14. (Under confirmation)
After the explosion at Unit 3, the residents were requested to shelter inside, but afterword the evacuation to outside of the 20 km area was resumed.
3. Status of the injured According to the report from TEPCO, the number of the persons injured in the
explosion is eleven (11) as of 16:00.

TEPCO's latest:

At approximately 11:01am, an explosive sound followed by white smoke
occurred at the reactor building of the Unit 3. It was believed to be a
hydrogen explosion.

According to the parameter, it is estimated that the reactor containment
vessel remains intact. However, the status of the plant and the impact of
radioactive materials to the outside environment are presently under
investigation. (previously announced)

As of 12:00 am, 4 TEPCO employees and 2 workers of related companies have
sustained injuries (all of them are conscious) and ambulances are on
their way to care for them.

As of 11:44 am, the measured value of radiation dose near MP6 is 20?Sv/h
and the radiation level remains stable.

TEPCO continues to take all measures to restore the safety and security
of the site and are monitoring the site's immediate surroundings.

At 2:46PM on March 11th 2011, the turbines and reactors of Fukushima
Daiichi Nuclear Power Station Unit 1 (Boiling Water Reactor, rated output
460 Megawatts) and Units 2 and 3 (Boiling Water Reactor, Rated Output 784
Megawatts) that had been operating at rated power automatically shutdown
due to the Tohoku-Chihou-Taiheiyou-Oki Earthquake.
(previously announced)

In response, water injection into Unit 2's reactor were being carried out
by the Reactor Core Isolation Cooling System. However, as the Reactor Core
Isolation Cooling System failed today, it was determined that a specific
incident (failure of reactor cooling function) stipulated in article 15,
clause 1 has occurred at 1:25 pm today.

That last one says that the RCIC turbine/pump has failed, which means that they need to get its bigger cousin, the HPCI, online if it isn't already.

 

[zeggawong]

Satellite photo after 2nd explosion at Fukushima Daiichi

Japanese engineer Masashi Goto, who helped design the containment vessel for Fukushima's reactor core, says the design was not enough to withstand earthquakes or tsunamis and the plant's builders, Toshiba, knew this.

Mr Goto says his greatest fear is that blasts at number 3 and number 1 reactors may have damaged the steel casing of the containment vessel designed to stop radioactive material escaping into the atmosphere.

He says that as the reactor uses mox (mixed oxide) fuel, the melting point is lower than that of conventional fuel. Should a meltdown and an explosion occur, he says, plutonium could be spread over an area up to twice as far as estimated for a conventional nuclear fuel explosion. The next 24 hours are critical, he says.

Toshiba are partnered with GE. http://atomicpowerreview.blogspot.com/2011/03/fukushima-daiichi-specs.html
Flickr isn't being very kind to my shaped dsl - View here http://www.flickr.com/photos/digitalglobe-imagery/5526481182/

 

[Spectre]

One problem with that story is that the reactors that are having issues were made by GE, not Toshiba.

And, uh, commercial reactors were usually only rated up to the 7.X Richter range; plus if you look at it empirically, it actually *did* survive what is actually looking to end up as a 9.0+ earthquake, far beyond its specs. Its major problem is that the tsunami came along and wiped out the external power to the reactors, a much larger and more powerful tsunami than, again, it was specced for. Remember, this design is about 50 years old and modern reactors are quite a lot tougher. Also keep in mind that it's been more than 72 hours now and the reactors are (apparently) still holding containment; the reactors are designed such that should all else fail, they are supposed to hold containment long enough for people to get the hell away from them, which they have successfully done (or should have).

The MOX fuel it's using is a worry, and he's right about the next 24 hours being important. The rest, not so much. Unit 3 still seems to be holding containment and more importantly cooling water per the last reports. Unit 2 is the one I'm concerned about now as I've seen nothing about the HPCI kicking in or the RCIC being repaired. Probably have one more hydrogen explosion in the works, folks.

As for the picture, it isn't real clear, but I don't see any Cherenkov radiation through the top or in the shadowed area. Is there a higher resolution version available?

Toshiba are partnered with GE. http://atomicpowerreview.blogspot.com/2011/03/fukushima-daiichi-specs.html

Sort of. While I had forgotten that #3 was built by Toshiba under license, Toshiba still didn't have a hand in designing it. It was simply a license built copy of the same GE design in #1 and 2. IAEA docs can prove that out (no way in hell they would have gotten approval of the design in 1971 if they had as they had no experience of their own at that point). Toshiba and GE's partnership has been an on-again off-again thing, too.

He's wrong about the design not being designed to stand up to earthquakes, too. Per Wikipedia (because I really don't want to have to go dig for a copy of that cite), it was designed to shrug off a 7.3, and in 1978, the entire complex was subjected to a 7.7 without reactor damage.

On the other hand, I am questioning the Japanese decision to run unit 3 on MOX. I would not have tried converting a reactor that old; the decision was recent, too - September 2010 - and I don't see any references to anyone upgrading the containment at that time. I had seen some notes earlier about MOX but had also seen a report (which turned out to be speculatory) regarding containment upgrades done at the same time. I am unable to find any concrete reports that they upgraded containment to reflect the change in fuel.

If they didn't, that's absolutely criminal and whoever made that decision (and whoever okayed it at Toshiba and NISA) needs to be taken out into the biggest town square they have and publicly executed. You DO NOT do that shit.

Edit: Still not expecting a Chernobyl type explosion, or OMGWORLDENDING - but this could be a bit uglier than expected. As long as they can keep cooling Unit 3 it should be fine, but they have a lot less margin than they should. I'm also still concerned more with Unit 2.

 

[Spectre]

Wikipedia has this to say about the situation in Unit 2:

On Mar 14, at 6:29 GMT the Jiji news agencies reported that the cooling functions at reactor unit 2 have stopped and that the cooling water levels are falling. Jiji news agencies later reported that nuclear fuel rods at reactor unit 2 are now fully exposed and there is a risk of a full meltdown at reactor unit 2. Jiji later reported that according to TEPCO, a meltdown cannot be ruled out.

At 13:29 GMT, NHK reported that workers had succeeded in refilling half the reactor with water. However, at that time, part of the rods were still exposed, and technicians could not rule out the possibility that fuel rods had melted.

At 16:30 GMT, NHK shows a live press conference with TEPCO which gives the informations, that the water level is sunk under the rods again and pressure in the vessel raised. In order to re-fill water, the contained pressure has to be lowered first by opening a valve of the vessel. Due to a defect of the valve this cannot be done and additional water cannot be added now.

They need to find a way to get that valve (or another one) open. At that point, just flood unit 2 with seawater and boric acid, because that one's toast. They'll never get it recertified anyway, so just kill it.

Latest post on TEPCO's news release site:

Press Release (Mar 14,2011)
White smoke around the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station Unit 3 (3rd release)


At approximately 11:01am, an explosion followed by white smoke occurred
at the reactor building of Unit 3. It was believed to be a hydrogen
explosion.

According to the parameter, it is believed that the reactor containment
vessel remains intact. However, the status of the plant and the impact
of radioactive materials to the outside environment are presently under
investigation. (previously announced)

As of 1:30 pm, 4 TEPCO employees and 3 workers from other companies have
sustained injuries (all of them are conscious). 3 ambulances are in
operation to care for them and 2 have already dispatched the casualties
to the hospital.

As of 0:30 pm, the measured value of radiation dose near MP6 was 4?Sv/h.
The increase of the radiation dose cannot be confirmed at this time.

As of 0:30 pm, the measured value of radiation dose at the monitoring
post in Fukushima Daini Power Station located approximately 10 km south
of Fukushima Daiichi Power Station remains at the same level.

In light of the incidents that have occurred at Units 1 and 3, we are
considering applying prevention measures to the wall of the reactor
building to ventilate the hydrogen gas contained in Unit 2.

TEPCO continues to take all measures to restore the safety and security
of the site and are monitoring the site's immediate surroundings.

And a little good news from the same source, the Fukushima Daini complex, which is not far away from the troubled Fukushima Daichi one, that has had occasional reports of problems - and the media was earlier screaming about it going into meltdown and OMGWEREALLGONNADIE) now has two of four reactors in cold shutdown and they're working on the other two. No current drama:

Press Release (Mar 14,2011)
Plant Status of Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power Station (as of 8:00 am March 14th)


[New Items are underlined]

Unit 1 (shut down at 2:48pm on March 11th)
- Reactor is shut down and reactor water level is stable.
- Offsite power is available.
- At 8:19am, Mar 12th, there was an alarm indicating that one of the
control rods was not properly inserted, however, at 10:43am, Mar 12th
the alarm was spontaneously called off. Other control rods has been
confirmed that they are fully inserted (reactor is in subcritical
status)
- Status of main steam isolation valve: closed
- Injection of water into the reactor is done by Make-up Water Condensate
System.
- We do not believe there is leakage of reactor coolant in the containment
vessel at this moment.
- At 5:22am, Mar 12th, the temperature of the suppression chamber exceeded
100 degrees. As the reactor pressure suppression function was lost, at
5:22am, Mar 12th, it was determined that a specific incident stipulated
in article 15, clause 1 has occurred.
- We decided to prepare implementing measures to reduce the pressure of
the reactor containment vessel (partial discharge of air containing
radioactive materials) in order to fully secure safety. This preparation
work started at around 9:43am, Mar 12th and finished at 6:30pm, Mar 12th.
- Restoration work in reactor cooling function that was conducted to
achieve reactor cold shutdown has been completed and cooling of the
reactor has been commenced at 1:24 am, Mar 14th.

Unit 2 (shut down at 2:48pm on March 11th)
- Reactor is shut down and reactor water level is stable.
- Offsite power is available.
- Control rods are fully inserted (reactor is in subcritical status)
- Status of main steam isolation valve: closed
- Injection of water into the reactor is done by Make-up Water Condensate
System.
- We do not believe there is leakage of reactor coolant in the containment
vessel.
- At 5:32am, Mar 12th, the temperature of the suppression chamber exceeded
100 degrees. As the reactor pressure suppression function was lost,
at 5:32am, Mar 12th, it was determined that a specific incident
stipulated in article 15, clause 1 has occurred.
- We decided to prepare implementing measures to reduce the pressure of
the reactor containment vessel (partial discharge of air containing
radioactive materials) in order to fully secure safety. This preparation
work started at around 10:33am, Mar 12th and finished at 10:58pm, Mar
12th.
- Restoration work in reactor cooling function is in progress to achieve
reactor cold shutdown.
- Restoration work in reactor cooling function that was conducted to
achieve reactor cold shutdown has been completed and cooling of the
reactor has been commenced at 7:13 am, Mar 14th.

Unit 3 (shut down at 2:48pm on March 11th)
- Reactor is shut down and reactor water level is stable.
- Offsite power is available.
- Control rods are fully inserted (reactor is in subcritical status)
- Status of main steam isolation valve: closed
- We do not believe there is leakage of reactor coolant in the containment
vessel.
- We decided to prepare implementing measures to reduce the pressure of
the reactor containment vessel (partial discharge of air containing
radioactive materials) in order to fully secure safety. The preparation
woke started at around 12:08pm, Mar 12th and finished at 12:13pm, Mar
12th.
- Reactor cold shutdown at 12:15pm, Mar 12th

Unit 4 (shut down at 2:48pm on March 11th)
- Reactor is shut down and reactor water level is stable.
- Offsite power is available.
- At 0:43PM, there was a signal indicating that one of the control rods
may have not properly inserted. However, we confirmed that it was
inserted completely by another signal. We will inspect the reason of
this.
- Status of main steam isolation valve: closed
- Injection of water into the reactor is done by Make-up Water Condensate
System.
- We do not believe there is leakage of reactor coolant in the containment
vessel.
- In order to cool down the reactor, injection of water into the reactor
had been done by the Reactor Core Isolation Cooling System, however,
At 6:07am, Mar 12th, the temperature of the suppression chamber exceeded
100 degrees. As the reactor pressure suppression function was lost, at
6:07am, Mar 12th, it was determined that a specific incident stipulated
in article 15, clause 1 has occurred.
- We decided to prepare implementing measures to reduce the pressure of
the reactor containment vessel (partial discharge of air containing
radioactive materials) in order to fully secure safety. The preparation
woke started at around 11:44am, Mar 12th and finished at around 11:52am,
Mar 12th.
- Restoration work in reactor cooling function is in progress to achieve
reactor cold shutdown.

Indication from monitoring posts installed at the site boundary did not
show any difference from ordinary level.
No radiation impact to the external environment has been confirmed. We
will continue to monitor in detail the possibility of radioactive material
being discharged from exhaust stack or discharge canal.

Latest USGS since last report:
MAP 5.1 2011/03/14 15:23:55 37.243 143.649 39.4 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
MAP 5.1 2011/03/14 14:51:40 38.562 143.252 19.8 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
MAP 5.2 2011/03/14 14:50:56 38.374 142.111 34.2 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
MAP 5.1 2011/03/14 14:22:39 36.237 141.663 33.1 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

 

[Dr_Grip]

To put all we got together: #2 is in quite bad shape, while #3's shutdown is complete and #1's shutdown is in progress..

 

[Spectre]

To put all we got together: #2 is in quite bad shape, while #3's shutdown is complete and #1's shutdown is in progress..

2 is in bad shape, 3 is in trouble, 1 is dead and appears to be slowly cooling down to cold shutdown status.

Chances are pretty good that they're going to have full core meltdown in 2, which shouldn't breach the outer containment but is going to be a huge problem to clean up - unless they can get water in there right way. I have a suspicion that there are going to be some employees heroically sacrificing themselves to get that valve open, but I hope I'm wrong.

From the reports, 3 is touch and go but starting to cool off (I think.) Once it cools off, they need to round up everyone who thought it was a good idea to convert the thing to MOX without a redesign and containment upgrade and make them clean it up. Without protective gear.

 

[WillDAQ]

Interesting Opinion Piece: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/03/14/fukushiima_analysis/

 

[Spectre]

Well, without going into politics, let's look at it this way.

Specifications:
Earthquake: Withstand up to a 7.3 Richter hit with no damage.
Flooding: 1 meter at complex level and continue to operate (speculative on my part, but pretty common)
Containment: If everything fails, hold 24 hours to allow populace to evacuate.

What actually hit it:
Earthquake: 7.7 back in 78, 9.0+ on Richter scale in 2011. Remember, every 1 increase is 10X more shaking, not just a small increment. A 9.0 is literally nearly 100 times stronger than the original spec.
Flooding: 2+ meters, moving at more than 25kph, multiple waves.

What it's doing: Still holding containment. Four days and counting.

A natural gas plant would probably have exploded (and killed a lot of people) with no warning had it been in the same position and subject to the same stresses due to storage tank and plumbing ruptures. The reactors took hits far in excess of what they were supposed to take and have held up surprisingly well. Four days on and they're still holding out, still giving people time to get away.

If they'd been able to maintain off-site power, the reactors probably would have remained operational but shut down and we wouldn't be having this discussion. As it was, the reactors actually were doing fine after the earthquake until the tsunami came along and took out the offsite power links and generators - and this is a weakness that has been identified and engineered around for decades in later designs.

As for the politics of whether more reactors should be built, that is a discussion that doesn't belong in this thread. But you cannot argue that the reactors didn't perform or resist to spec and well beyond it.

 

[_HighVoltage_]

Interesting Opinion Piece: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/03/14/fukushiima_analysis/

It's still a bit early for bold claims like this. We are all familiar with the human nature - it is never too late to fuck things up.

 

[MacGuffin]

Well, to be honest, and I'm not actually trying to be insulting here, the German nuclear safety record is pretty poor for a Western nation, and the Siemens units that were chosen aren't the best to begin with.

Our reactors are 30 to 40 years old, which isn't so much of a problem, since we live in the geologically and meteorologically probably most boring zone in the world: No earth quakes (none worth mentioning at least), no hurricanes, no tsunamis, no volcanos... The "best" we get every now and then, is some river flood after a snow melt or heavy rains and the occasional storm in the North Sea but it's been decades, that any storm flood really did some damage. So the worst case scenario here for our nuclear disaster is, if a plane crashes into one.

But to put it into perspective: None of the reactors we are currently running (and plan on running until at least 2020) would get a license today, if they were new. They would be considered completely unsafe. That is what pro-nuclear groups like to ignore. That is the main contradiction in our politicians: They say the reactors are safe, yet everybody knows that by today's standards they would be considered too unsafe to go into operation.

Now I am seeing economic/business news. Apparently the Nikkei is taking a hit. Still no reactor coverage. Lovely. Also Uuuuuuuseless!

If the worst happens and a cloud of radioactive particles spreads over big parts of Japan, the Nikkei index will be their least thing to worry about. In addition to the consequences for living beings (Japan is not only populated by humans) nobody would buy Japanese products anymore, because they don't want "radioactive goods".

It doesn't matter, if they are actually made in Japan or not. I expect people to even stop buying frozen sushi in the local supermarkets here, just because it's a Japanese dish.

If they don't get those reactors under control, it will bring the Japanese ecomomy very much to a halt. Exports from a land, that is widely contaminated with radioactive particles? Forget it. The whole mess would also have severe effects on the whole world economy and could result in a Japanese state bankruptcy.

If things get really worse, we haven't even seen the start of it.

A I being too negative? Sorry, just thinking loudly about the next steps.

It's still a bit early for bold claims like this. We are all familiar with the human nature - it is never too late to fuck things up.

One should bookmark that page and see, how long it is still online, when the core in one of the reactor melted and burned itself through the containment vessel.

 

[narf]

A natural gas plant would probably have exploded.

https://pic.armedcats.net/n/na/narf/2011/03/14/icibira.jpg

That's not a natural gas plant but an oil refinery, the issue remains the same. Apparently the fire still is burning.