Japan to use water cannon at nuclear plant as international concern grows

Source: Guardian

Japan to use water cannon at nuclear plant as international concern grows
Police to help douse No 4 reactor after strong winds and high radiation levels thwart attempts to spray plant from helicopter
Justin McCurry in Osaka
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 16 March 2011 18.27 GMT


Workers battling to prevent nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima power plant will use a police water cannon to try to cool one of the crippled reactors after strong winds and high radiation levels thwarted attempts to spray from a helicopter.

The renewed efforts came as the EU's energy chief, Guenther Oettinger, said the plant was "effectively out of control" and the head of Russia's state nuclear corporation said the situation in Japan was "developing under the worst scenario".

-snip-

NHK TV said police would now attempt to cool the No 4 reactor using water from a cannon truck, while Japan's nuclear safety agency said the military would also help pump water into that reactor's spent fuel pool as well as No 3 reactor. However, another attempted helicopter mission is likely, according to the agency.

Workers at the plant cleared debris to build a road so fire trucks could reach reactor No 4 at the complex 150 miles north of Tokyo. The plant operator described No 3 – the only reactor at that uses plutonium in its fuel mix – as the priority.

-snip-

for those water cannons. You know he would have loved to use those on the pro-union protestors.

They've lost total control. They're just throwing the kitchen sink at it now.

may be rather hot; and as a result (radioactive) steam may be produced when water hits them.

But surely this is being taken into consideration. Thermal imaging might prove useful.

it sounds like they've pretty much lost control of the situation, because that is Bricks in the Grand Canyon.

that the water turns to steam before it even hits the fuel rods.

A few million of these



Anyway, whatever they try, hopefully something will work.

Whatever the final outcome, Japan will have to build some new nuclear power plants. They don't have many alternatives.

:hi:

It was a lot of fun when it was new.

Of the Gulf of Mexico blowout fame.

BUT---nukes are perfectly safe, cheap, clean, this is a one in a million possibility, and it can't happen here....:sarcasm: