China Syndrome in Japan?

Discussion in 'Fred's House of Pancakes' started by SPEEDEAMON, Mar 12, 2011.

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  1. amm0bob

    amm0bob Permanently Junior...

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    New signs of fuel rod damage at nuclear plant - World news - Asia-Pacific - msnbc.com

     
    #141 amm0bob, Apr 14, 2011
  2. SPEEDEAMON

    SPEEDEAMON Professional Car Nut

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    #142 SPEEDEAMON, Apr 19, 2011
  3. amm0bob

    amm0bob Permanently Junior...

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    :eek:
     
    #143 amm0bob, Apr 21, 2011
  4. amm0bob

    amm0bob Permanently Junior...

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    #144 amm0bob, Apr 21, 2011
  5. amm0bob

    amm0bob Permanently Junior...

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    #145 amm0bob, May 5, 2011
  6. amm0bob

    amm0bob Permanently Junior...

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    Third worker dies at Japan's troubled nuclear plant - World news - Asia-Pacific - msnbc.com

     
    #146 amm0bob, May 15, 2011
  7. SPEEDEAMON

    SPEEDEAMON Professional Car Nut

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    "Rapid meltdown occurs in No.1 reactor
    Tokyo Electric Power Company says most of the fuel rods in the No.1 reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant had dropped to the bottom of the pressure vessel within 16 hours of the earthquake on March 11th."

    NHK WORLD English
     
    #147 SPEEDEAMON, May 16, 2011
  8. SPEEDEAMON

    SPEEDEAMON Professional Car Nut

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    It is unfortunate that they finally admitted that a meltdown had occurred in 3 of the reactors almost overnight and within days of the earthquake. :mad:

    The reason for this was the loss of power stopping the cooling pumps. Plan B: generators failed to kick in after the Tsunami. Plan C: they scrambled bringing over sixty fresh generators but didn't help because they found out after hooking up that connections and circuits were damaged by the earthquake. The temperature and pressure was building in the containment vessel and the danger of a hydrogen explosion was imminent in reactor 1. So the decision was made to open the vent. This would release radioactive gas into the atmosphere. The emergency manual only indicated throwing a switch to open the vent but there was no power. They waffled over this decision while trying to figure out how to open the evnt manually inside a highly radioactive area. The first battalion of the Japanese Self Defense trucks arrived when Reactor 1 exploded when they were parked adjacent to it.
    The problem right now is what to do with all the contaminated water that needs to be contained. Empty yanks have been delivered but where will they take them.We still don't know what is going on below the reactors where a meltdown has occurred.

    3 nuclear reactors melted down after quake, Japan confirms - CNN.com
     
    #148 SPEEDEAMON, Jun 6, 2011
  9. amm0bob

    amm0bob Permanently Junior...

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    Some of us said from the very beginning that the govt cheese was starting to smell the first day we learned of the destruction and saw the results of the explosions...

    I don't think it is unfortunate that we are finally hearing the truth from the folks that are supposed to be the leaders... I think it is the facts that they are telling folks now is what may save more lives later, because being scared that there is a problem will make folks start to take more of the appropriate steps to getting that area cleaned up.
     
    #149 amm0bob, Jun 6, 2011
  10. SPEEDEAMON

    SPEEDEAMON Professional Car Nut

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    Indeed I am one of those who cautioned not to believe any reports that comes out of the various agencies. The official from Tepco admitted that complacency played a big role in their slow reaction to the crisis and the enormity of the situation. They simply believed that their system was invincible and did not take into account of what to do when all back up systems failed. They were just dumbfounded at what developed and had no answer to what to do. So hopefully this is a lesson to all the world that having a Plan C and Plan D or more should be a no-brainer.
     
    #150 SPEEDEAMON, Jun 6, 2011
  11. amm0bob

    amm0bob Permanently Junior...

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    #151 amm0bob, Jun 7, 2011
  12. cyclopathic

    cyclopathic Senior Member

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    It is gotta be Chernobyl
     
    #152 cyclopathic, Jun 7, 2011
  13. PriusSport

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    The stupid thing they did was building a plant near the ocean which was vulnerable to power losses by a tsunamai. It's the tsunami that killed the power in these plants--and the cooling.
    Nuclear power makes sense in Japan and elsewhere. Just be careful about where you build a plant and operate it safely. The media fears are put there by special interests.
     
    #153 PriusSport, Jun 7, 2011
  14. amm0bob

    amm0bob Permanently Junior...

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    I disagree... the fear is real because the danger is real.

    It isn't the fear of nuclear damages here at all Bra... it's a FACT there is significant nuclear damages to the Nation that may render large portions of the areas surrounding the plant unlivable... and for an island nation like Japan... that IS a very big deal.
     
    #154 amm0bob, Jun 7, 2011
  15. jayman

    jayman Senior Member

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    The video of the tsunamai rushing into the plant is quite sobering. Wasn't the actual earthquake that did the damage to the plant, it was the backup generators sucking in seawater, shutting down, and the subsequent loss of cooling that did things in
     
    #155 jayman, Jun 7, 2011
  16. a_gray_prius

    a_gray_prius Rare Non-Old-Blowhard Priuschat Member

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    It's hard for me to shake the feeling that knowledge of the true depth of problems at the plant is intentionally being downplayed and being slowly released to the public in order to save face and not cause panic (mostly to public detriment). Again, it's like that woman who did some of the Chernobyl cleanup - "they are lying to you."

    There's some evidence suggesting that the earthquake did indeed damage the plant, and this was extremely exacerbated by the tsunami.

    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/16/us-japan-nuclear-idUSTRE74F18020110516
     
    #156 a_gray_prius, Jun 7, 2011
  17. RobH

    RobH Senior Member

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    Nuclear plants need massive amounts of water for cooling. That's why it's attractive to put them next to the ocean.

    The basic problem with nuclear plants is that they require active maintenance for hundreds (or thousands!) of years. So a plant works for 25-50 years, and then it's actively guarded for another millennia. If the cooling equipment fails, the plant melts down and the area surrounding it is uninhabitable for hundreds of years.
     
    #157 RobH, Jun 7, 2011
  18. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    Building near the ocean isn't necessarily bad, as long as they are realistic about protecting it from the ocean's hazards.

    But the tsunami protection they gave it was just tall enough, with zero margin, to hold back a tsunami from 10,000 miles away that hit that location less than 10 years before nuclear construction began.

    This wasn't worst-case design. It was just crossing their fingers and hoping for the best.
     
    #158 fuzzy1, Jun 7, 2011
  19. Teh_Danzor

    Teh_Danzor Junior Member

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    Not to mention the use of aging equipment and an obsolete design.
     
    #159 Teh_Danzor, Jun 8, 2011
  20. spiderman

    spiderman wretched

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    #160 spiderman, Jun 9, 2011
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