Nuclear reactor damaged in Japan during the quake.

[nighthawk]

Reports are mixed on how bad this really is but it is scary. I work in the shadow of Three Mile Island every day so this is something never far from my mind.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/...3114181&page=1

I will not use this post to make any kind of statement Pro or Con on the subject of nuclear power. I am however quite concerned for the local citizens as I clearly recall those frightening days of March and April 1979 as well as Chernobyl 25 years ago.

I hope they can get the coolant flowing again and keep the core quenched to prevent a meltdown or explosion. Some of the reports are encouraging. It seems the Japanese engineers learned form our mistakes or at least I hope so.

[nighthawk]

It got worse through the night. Video of an explosion of a building at the plant, some reports of the walls and roof of the containment facility collapsing. Radiation levels at least 20 times higher than normal, Japanese army called in and the evacuation area being expanded rapidly. Fox and CNN experts think there is a strong likely hood that the reactor is in a Three Mile Island type of meltdown. By any measure it is the worst accident in Japanese history. The plant was compromised by the quake and then swept through by the tsunami.

There are also reports that a second plant has had it's cooling system damaged as well. It may also be in trouble.

[hardhat]

I am fortunate to be able to travel some. There are many nuclear electrical producing plants around the world. The USA is way behind in using this technology. And the number of dangerous incidences are minimal.
From what I am hearing, the quake in Japan is the fifth largest in history. My heart sure goes out to the people of that country and their losses. We all hope that the do not suffer any more.

[DaveMac]

Sunday evening 8:40 PM CNN just reported that a Volcano errupts in Japan on the Island of Kyushu. They are not sure if it is a result of the earthquake. These poor people...enough is enough.

[nighthawk]

I understand that this is a Three Mile Island type of incident so fallout and radioactive contamination will be limited to the containment buildings of the other two reactors at that facility that are in danger.

As for the one that exploded well first we need to realize that it is not a nuclear "explosion" like we get from an atomic bomb. This is what happens or at least happened at TMI:

http://www.threemileisland.org/scien...ong/index.html

It should also be noted that the human operators at TMI ignored multiple alarms, had a faulty indicator, had a vital warning lite covered up and could not get through to the NRC for emergency help. TMI was totally avoidable or so some claim.

If one is to believe the Japanese government and the press then the fallout will not affect a large area like Chernobyl did.

Here is some interesting reading on the subject:

http://www.threemileisland.org/index.html

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Globa...ey-differences

Here is something that got my attention. The expert on the Bob Brinker show Money Talk on WHP580 am talk radio today was from Lawrence Livermore Labs I think. Regardless he brought up the point of redundancy in the backup systems. He stated that most American plants have at least 4 cooling system backups and that the reason TMI happened was the operators ignored the system warnings. The system worked until the operators intervened. Now he said that the Japanese reactors only have two cooling system back ups. He drove home the points that the quake only damaged the system and it immediately shut down. The tsunami however is the culprit that destroyed the backup diesel generators that were now needed to generate power for the cooling system. His opinion was that the Japanese knew they were building these things in a tsunami zone and therefore should have had an emergency backup plan in place to airlift in via helicopter the new generators along with other repair supplies.

His whole point was that like TMI the human error caused a situation that should have been easily controlled to go out of control. Take his opinion as just that. His opinion.

[nighthawk]

I am fortunate to be able to travel some. There are many nuclear electrical producing plants around the world. The USA is way behind in using this technology. And the number of dangerous incidences are minimal.
From what I am hearing, the quake in Japan is the fifth largest in history. My heart sure goes out to the people of that country and their losses. We all hope that the do not suffer any more.

The United States has the most operating reactors at 104. France is next with 58.

My heart also goes out to the people of Japan.

[nighthawk]

Steve,
Facts like that are a little tough to come by right now as the officials seem to be trying to downplay this event. On the way to the doctor this morning I heard on the radio that there has indeed been a second explosion from one of the other containment facilities at that plant.

The only thing I can tell you is that if the explosive force is sufficient enough to loft particles to the altitude of the jet stream then yes we could see the west coast of the United States impacted. There is no way to know for certain at this point because we just aren't being told enough to make that determination. The officials themselves may not know.

I do know that the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Regan was in the area and steamed away this morning due to an increase in radiation that her gear detected.

Perhaps this link will help:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/art...radiation.html

As far as a dissertation on nuclear power the best way to put fears to rest is through knowledge. This post hasn't gone either pro or con but learning from TMI and Chernobyl are vital especially since it is obvious that nuclear power is here to stay. Remember those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it.

[hardhat]

as per nighthawk: The United States has the most operating reactors at 104. France is next with 58.

Just a few comparisons :
France is about 211,209 square miles that would be one reactor per 3,642 square miles
France has an estimated population os 60,742,000 or one reactor per 104,730 people
US is about 3,537,441 square miles or one reactor per 34,014 square miles
US has a estimated population of 307,212,123 or about one reactor per 2,953,970 people

So it looks like France is providing this technology better than the USA - It looks like we should have about 580 operating reactors compared to them.


Now that being said, this is a disaster not caused by reacters but by mother nature. Japan has devastation that will take years to recover from. It will most likely take months before most of this devastation is recognized. The whole world will be affected in some way by this. Again my heart and prayers go out to this nation.

[Bobinmich]

You really have to feel it for all those poor souls. Makes you realize how powerful the earth is in relation to what man can do.

That said, you do really have to question the wisdom of putting nuclear powerplants 80 miles from an active major fault on the ocean facing the potential danger. I am not aware of any functioning reactors in a similar situation in Washington or Oregon. But hindsight is always 20/20.

God save those poor souls especially the children..

Bob