Reactor meltdown possible in Japan.

[JoMo]

TEPCO is holding a news conference:

Called ambulance for guy with a bruise but he didn't go to hospital.

7 people missing.

Water level of reactor core 1800mm? This is the value that was measured at 11:35 AM.

[ArtRosen]

TimeOutTokyo TimeOutTokyo PRess conf: Regarding container 3: The level of water in the core reactor has dropped by 1800mm, by 11.35am.

[B-Rent]

Has anyone even said to what level these people have been exposed? Anything more than a xray can be considered an exposure.

[OHSnow]

TimeOutTokyo TimeOutTokyo PRess conf: Regarding container 3: The level of water in the core reactor has dropped by 1800mm, by 11.35am.

Hopefully, they keep pumping seawater into there.

[OHSnow]

Has anyone even said to what level these people have been exposed? Anything more than a xray can be considered an exposure.

Yeah, I think it's stronger than an X-ray.

[AppsRunner]

Hopefully, they keep pumping seawater into there.

Wasn't Reactor 3 the one where the seawater pump failed earlier? There's so much contradictory info I have no clue.

[JoMo]

Today's explosion at reactor #3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIZKlaEZMLY

[OHSnow]

Video of the Fukushima explosion at Reactor 3:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIZKlaEZMLY

[Indystorm]

With respect to the department store explosion I would assume it would be reasonable to expect natural gas explosions throughout affected areas given the damage to infrastructure if this was indeed related in some way to the quake.

[B-Rent]

Yeah, I think it's stronger than an X-ray.

Right. I'm asking if anyone has disclosed the dosages? Are we talking .05Sv or 50Sv? Big diffrence. Also what type of radation have they been exposed to?

[ArtRosen]

Today's explosion at reactor #3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIZKlaEZMLY

Looks like the amount of pressure build-up was greater in this one than in the other one. Hopefully these explosions aren't damaging nearby reactors... especially the exposed #1 reactor.

[B-Rent]

0328: Seven people are missing and three people have been injured by the explosion at the Fukushima 1 nuclear plant, the AFP news agency reports, quoting an official from Tepco, the company which operates the plant.

[famartin]

Do you actually have any news to report or do you just troll threads to comment on things? i.e. do you have anything useful to say?

Not everything you've said has been useful, so you're not really one to point fingers.

[Mr Torchey]

0328: Seven people are missing and three people have been injured by the explosion at the Fukushima 1 nuclear plant, the AFP news agency reports, quoting an official from Tepco, the company which operates the plant.

Not suprising looking at the explosion video.

[OHSnow]

0328: Seven people are missing and three people have been injured by the explosion at the Fukushima 1 nuclear plant, the AFP news agency reports, quoting an official from Tepco, the company which operates the plant.

Wow... not too surprising looking at that big mushroom cloud.

[daddylonglegs]

Someone mentioned low water levels.. I'm guessing that was what caused this explosion? Hopefully they can continue to pump water into that reactor after this explosion.

[Rick G]

here is what is happening in the reactors:

the fuel rods are generating heat. the water in the reactors boils and turns to steam. the stream goes and spins turbins to create energy.

now if the fuel rods get uncovered they genereate heat, so mch heat that they melt. Now to cool the melting rods they dump seawater in the core, The hot fuel rods turn the wtaer to steam, and becasue the temputure gets so hot that the steam changesinto its components Hydrogen and oxygen. This increases the pressure in the reactor. Hydrogen is lighter that air so it rises to the top of the core. the reactor has pressure relief valves and it releases the hyrdogen. Something causes the hydrogen to ignite.

I suspect the buildings are designed to force the explosion up and away from the reactor core.

I igve the designers credit...

[famartin]

here is what is happening in the reactors:

the fuel rods are generating heat. the water in the reactors boils and turns to steam. the stream goes and spins turbins to create energy.

now if the fuel rods get uncovered they genereate heat, so mch heat that they melt. Now to cool the melting rods they dump seawater in the core, The hot fuel rods turn the wtaer to steam, and becasue the temputure gets so hot that the steam changesinto its components Hydrogen and oxygen. This increases the pressure in the reactor. Hydrogen is lighter that air so it rises to the top of the core. the reactor has pressure relief valves and it releases the hyrdogen. Something causes the hydrogen to ignite.

I suspect the buildings are designed to force the explosion up and away from the reactor core.

I igve the designers credit...

Just to clarify: Since water absorbs heat much more than air, the fuel rods stay at a stable temperature as long as they are covered in water, but heat up rapidly once they are exposed to the air.

[famartin]

here is what is happening in the reactors:

the fuel rods are generating heat. the water in the reactors boils and turns to steam. the stream goes and spins turbins to create energy.

now if the fuel rods get uncovered they genereate heat, so mch heat that they melt. Now to cool the melting rods they dump seawater in the core, The hot fuel rods turn the wtaer to steam, and becasue the temputure gets so hot that the steam changesinto its components Hydrogen and oxygen. This increases the pressure in the reactor. Hydrogen is lighter that air so it rises to the top of the core. the reactor has pressure relief valves and it releases the hyrdogen. Something causes the hydrogen to ignite.

I suspect the buildings are designed to force the explosion up and away from the reactor core.

I igve the designers credit...

Also, its a chemical reaction involving one of the rod casing materials (don't remember off-hand which one, but its a metal I think) which causes the water to split into hydrogen and oxygen, the oxygen then combining with the metal in the casing.

[ArtRosen]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_N-wNFSGyQ&feature=youtu.be

Even better video of #3 explosion.

[ArtRosen]

Japan’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) has informed the IAEA that there has been an explosion at the Unit 3 reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

The explosion occurred at 11:01AM local Japan time.

The IAEA is seeking further information on this development.

https://www.facebook.com/notes/international-atomic-energy-agency-iaea/japanese-earthquake-update-0400-cet-14-march/201560969873697

[famartin]

Screw it, I'll just correct your post:

Here is what is happening in the reactors:

The fuel rods are generating heat. The water in the reactors absorbs the excess heat, boils and turns to steam. The stream goes and spins turbines to create energy.

Now if the fuel rods get exposed to air, the excess heat builds up until they melt. Now to cool the rods, they are dumping seawater in the core, because they have no other source of water. Because the temperatures are already well above normal levels, the water reacts with a metal in the casings of the fuel rods, with the oxygen combining with the metal and the hydrogen floating free. This increases the pressure in the reactor. Hydrogen is lighter than air so it rises to the top of the core. The reactor has pressure relief valves and it releases the hydrogen from the reactor core into the outer building. Something then causes the hydrogen to ignite in the outer building.

OK, I think that's about right.

[B-Rent]

0409: The Japanese government has just said there was no marked change in the radiation level after the blast at Reactor 3. According to an article in the New York Times, the US aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan, which is sailing in the Pacific, passed through a radioactive cloud from Japan's stricken reactors on Sunday. Crew members received a month's worth of radiation in about an hour, government officials were quoted as saying.

Military Crew Said to Be Exposed to Radiation, but Officials Call Risk in U.S. Slight

[NaoPos]

what kind of particles are we talking about being released? alpha, beta, gamma, x-ray? I imagine a bit of everything, but im no expert. Havent found anything online. I did however try this" www.google.com" and didn't find anything.

[Nikolai]

OK, the most worrying part about the NYTimes article isn't the bit about the ship passing through radiation and helicopters 60km away having to be decontaminated, it's this;

http://www.nytimes.c...l?_r=1&ref=asia

"But officials insisted that unless the quake-damaged nuclear plants deteriorated into full meltdown, any radiation that reached the United States would be too weak to do any harm."

While I profess not to know anything about what may happen, the events as of late seem even disturbing, as the longer this keeps going the worse it gets (rather than getting better). The latest explosion seemed much more impressive than the first, and I know that several other facilities are also experiencing issues.

The situation in Japan is terrible & awful, but the ramifications of a full meltdown... although very unlikely... could conceivably cause huge problems here as well.

This really needs to start getting better and now, and I hope that every government has their top nuclear experts working on the situation. Very, very, scary.

[jburns]

what kind of particles are we talking about being released? alpha, beta, gamma, x-ray? I imagine a bit of everything, but im no expert. Havent found anything online. I did however try this" www.google.com" and didn't find anything.

• Alpha - these are fast moving helium atoms. They have high energy, typically in the MeV range, but due to their large mass, they are stopped by just a few inches of air, or a piece of paper.
• Beta - these are fast moving electrons. They typically have energies in the range of a few hundred keV to several MeV. Since electrons are might lighter than helium atoms, they are able to penetrate further, through several feet of air, or several millimeters of plastic or less of very light metals.
• Gamma - these are photons, just like light, except of much higher energy, typically from several keV to several MeV. X-Rays and gamma rays are really the same thing, the difference is how they were produced. Depending on their energy, they can be stopped by a thin piece of aluminum foil, or they can penetrate several inches of lead.

[Rick G]

Screw it, I'll just correct your post:

OK, I think that's about right.

thanks... I was trying to keep it simple.

[NaoPos]

• Alpha - these are fast moving helium atoms. They have high energy, typically in the MeV range, but due to their large mass, they are stopped by just a few inches of air, or a piece of paper.
• Beta - these are fast moving electrons. They typically have energies in the range of a few hundred keV to several MeV. Since electrons are might lighter than helium atoms, they are able to penetrate further, through several feet of air, or several millimeters of plastic or less of very light metals.
• Gamma - these are photons, just like light, except of much higher energy, typically from several keV to several MeV. X-Rays and gamma rays are really the same thing, the difference is how they were produced. Depending on their energy, they can be stopped by a thin piece of aluminum foil, or they can penetrate several inches of lead.

Thanks, I do understand the particles and their physical properties. However, i was asking if all 3 we;re being released at the current moment?

[famartin]

Thanks, I do understand the particles and their physical properties. However, i was asking if all 3 we;re being released at the current moment?

I haven't heard anything on this particularly issue, but I'd be surprised if there weren't some gamma rays.

[famartin]

thanks... I was trying to keep it simple.

There were some scientific inaccuracies in your statement that I felt needed correcting or a slightly clearer explanation. Like the water splitting into O2 and H2 just because it was so hot, or the rods producing heat in both water and air.