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Japan Nuclear Crisis Part II


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It seems they are extra averse to making public comments that could cause panic. Given the situation following the earthquake that's perhaps more understandable than normal. They are already teetering along even if not for this. Based on how much we are involved in the process I do believe that the Japanese gov is fully aware of the situation and I am skeptical that the power company is calling all the shots. We heard this same kind of stuff with the oil leak.

I havent followed the radiation obs but I'd be leery of reading too much into it with strong offshore winds currently over the area.

Folks are reading too much into the radiation levels. All they really affect right now is the ability for workers to get near the core. There is no real threat to anyone outside the plant right now. We hear stuff about "levels at 100 times" this and "a years dose in a week" that but most of that is still FUD if you look at the real health impacts. The better picture comes when you look at the overall context and setup. That is the real risk element.

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Good post. It's important to also keep in mind that there are powerful special interests that would love to destroy the nuclear power industry. Plus the media knows what sells -- if they just reported the news, there wouldn't be any viewers. They need to sensationalize everything.

I saw an interesting post on WattsUpWithThat blog (normally everything there should is crap), but this was a decent post. We've heard so much in recent days about TMI and Chernobyl, but it really put things in perspective, pointing out that the death toll was 0 from TMI and 56 from Chernobyl. 11 people died last year from a rig explosion alone. How many miners have died through the years? Coal and oil are the real killers, not even considering their environmental impacts -- which are horrendous. So far, nobody has died from this. 10,000+ have perished from a devastating earthquake and ensuing tsunami. This really needs to be put in perspective.

When a plane crashes, lots of people die. Should we get rid of the airline industry everytime a plane crashes? Of course, not. We should re-evaluate our safety standards and move on. Nuclear is just the boogeyman of the day.

That's not even close to being accurate, not remotely close.

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Some of you have invested days on this topic, this thread, I know we all are pulling for the most likely outcome, the loss of a power plant, contaminiation in soil and ground water adjacent to the site. Beyond that its really grasping for straws and starting to get a little creepy.

Meanwhile the death toll continues to rise and the story continues to play out in regards to the true crisis in Japan right now, scare tactics have sold a lot of advertising space lately though, I will give them that.

You know, you pulled this same routine last night. And what you NEED to understand is that in times of crisis, where a feeling of powerlessness is rampant, not everyone responds the same way.

I intellectualize my sadness that a country with a culture of people who are the most wonderful I've found, is being sucker punched repeatedly, and there is NOTHING I CAN DO to stop it.

So please, since you are obviously comfortable feeling that emotional pain over and over and over again, GO FEEL IT FOR ME.

In the meantime, I'll stay focused on the Nuclear crisis, which may end up adding quite a bit of insult, to the injury you are focused on.

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In response to thehuh.gif last page, they've already announced we're flying drones to monitor the situation. I assume the Japanese government requested this.

This thread needs a FAQ

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Why no boats with large heavy duty fire fighting capabilities?

It would seem to be more effective than helicopters, no?

If the goal is just to chuck water at it, why not use more volume?

I was thinking about that but I figured the port isn't deep enough? I don't think we could get a military ship in there. Plus there's an offshore wind and then there are the radiation fears.

The idea just seems like such a desperate attempt. They're not going to get any water into the containment vessel and my understanding is that the pools require a large volume of water, which would be hard to obtain with these sprays.

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Folks are reading too much into the radiation levels. All they really affect right now is the ability for workers to get near the core. There is no real threat to anyone outside the plant right now. We hear stuff about "levels at 100 times" this and "a years dose in a week" that but most of that is still FUD if you look at the real health impacts. The better picture comes when you look at the overall context and setup. That is the real risk element.

Cesium detected in ground water, that's context, if anyone thinks this is confined to the plant. I certainly hope so but cracked reactors etc. Not trying to amplify but come on man, this is not a NBD situation at all.

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Folks are reading too much into the radiation levels. All they really affect right now is the ability for workers to get near the core. There is no real threat to anyone outside the plant right now. We hear stuff about "levels at 100 times" this and "a years dose in a week" that but most of that is still FUD if you look at the real health impacts. The better picture comes when you look at the overall context and setup. That is the real risk element.

im not quite up on what we're left to see if it gets worse. it seems a lot of the effects would be longer term though. that's no good obviously but people will get bored of that eventually. ;)

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Cesium detected in ground water, that's context, if anyone thinks this is confined to the plant. I certainly hope so but cracked reactors etc. Not trying to amplify but come on man, this is not a NBD situation at all.

You have been misreading my posts for a couple of days now. I can't make my posts any clearer, guys.

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In response to thehuh.gif last page, they've already announced we're flying drones to monitor the situation. I assume the Japanese government requested this.

The U.S. military, meanwhile, will operate a Global Hawk unmanned high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft, possibly on Thursday, to take images of the inside of the building that houses the No. 4 reactor, according to Japanese government sources.

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ok......I watched the whole helicopter thing......and beleive me.... I really really hope it helps in some way...really....

but I completely fell on the floor laughing......for some dam reason all I could think of is a cartoon.....the four reactors operating at temps ranging from 65-100c in the exposed pools while reactor cores try to encase molten radioactive rods at temps above 1000C.......and someone cries out we need to do something and pours a bucket of water on it from 300ft.

Its sad....really......

to think they are going to try the same thing with a straw........

I hope Ian is right and we have some tricks up our sleeves and can help them!!

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im not quite up on what we're left to see if it gets worse. it seems a lot of the effects would be longer term though. that's no good obviously but people will get bored of that eventually. ;)

The big threat is from two sources I think: (1) explosions toss nasty radioactive wastes like caesium-137 and strontium-90 into the atmosphere where they can disperse around the area and (2) said waste gets into the groundwater by seeping through the bottom of the plant and contaminates the water table for many decades.

There is little health impact just from the small releases occurring now unless you are a worker very near the core being bombarded with gamma rays.

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It seems they are extra averse to making public comments that could cause panic. Given the situation following the earthquake that's perhaps more understandable than normal. They are already teetering along even if not for this. Based on how much we are involved in the process I do believe that the Japanese gov is fully aware of the situation and I am skeptical that the power company is calling all the shots. We heard this same kind of stuff with the oil leak.

I havent followed the radiation obs but I'd be leery of reading too much into it with strong offshore winds currently over the area.

I think that's the real reason why the are being tight lipped. It's not like the PM's spokesman was lying he just wasn't being open as he could be. I mean seriously what are they supposed to do. Throw there hands up and say "The sky is falling' run for your lives" Really?? What would that accomplish. Cause mass panic in Tokyo as people scramble to get the F**k out of Dodge. Ask yourselves this. If the roles were reversed and it was Cali that was facing this disaster, Do you think Jaczko would be this blunt with his dire statement??? and do you think the Japanese media would be calling over and grilling people for the truth??? I highly doubt it.

We are smart folks(at least I think we are) I'm sure we have a good idea whats really going on. Apparently that Elliot Spitzer dope doesn't get it. Asking the same question like 5 times. Like as if to say the American people demand the truth. Well guess what? it doesn't really matter to us. I'm sure the Japanese government knows the extreme situation they face and so far the people there have been calm and orderly which is very commendable considering what they have and continue to go through. I don't think causing sheer panic is going to help any. Just my opinion.

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