Things getting worse at Japanese nuclear facility

Heard a bit ago that they had released "slightly radioactive vapor" into the atmosphere, relieving pressure inside the containment vessel, which had previously reached levels 1.5 times more than it was designed for.

<http://news.ino.com/headlines/?newsid=68976846843791>

If things are at that level, where they've got that kind of pressure, then it isn't going to be "vapor" that is released, but rather steam, steam under a good deal of pressure. As to how radioactive it is, I doubt that even those on the scene have a real clue.

It seems as this is an ongoing story, and one that is being downplayed in order to not panic the populace. We'll see what happens next, let's hope that it isn't the worst.

I read a fascinating book by the nuclear scientist who led the cleanup of Tchernobyl. He is dead now, he died from the radiation poisoning. He wrote his book to warn the world about the dangers of nuclear energy before he died. (He was an advocate of nuclear energy until it took his life.) In his book he states that it is standard operating procedure of all countries and the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) to deny the true risk of any accident and to downplay the severity for as long as possible. Then slowly the truth seeps out. My guess: We'll first hear about radiation from independent sources, most likely from neighboring countries.

I can tell you that there are lots of little "incidents" that the public simply isn't informed about. Yes, SOP is to downplay a nuclear problem as much as possible.

they are about to die or could die from radiation sickness. It is the job of govt to keep the population calm no matter what is going on.

Keep the herd calm as you lead them towards their death.

Look, I realize that with the sort of pressure we're talking about, they've got to relieve it, and that they are making the equation of exposing the populace to lower levels of radiation in order to prevent a much more serious problem.

But the fact of the matter is that this is sounding like an increasingly serious problem, and to continue to downplay it as they're doing only means that they may be risking thousands of deaths that could have been otherwise prevented if they would be straight with the people.

The first reaction in any nuclear disaster is to downplay the severity of what is going on. This has cost people their lives, both at TMI and Chernobyl. I would hate to see the same pattern being followed here. There comes a point in any such disaster when you need to fess up to the fact that you're screwed and people need to flee. We may not be at the point yet in Japan, but then again we may be. Hopefully they will have the common decency not to leave people in the dark just to CYA.

You would have far more death from panic imo. Yes we ALWAYS need to fess up when the shit has secretly hit the fan. I'm no saying leave them in the dark, but don't start an uncontrollable panic either.

Apparently the US Navy has got ships on the way, and the Japanese could requisition every ship they have in port that is still floating. But get people the hell away from the general area.

I can't stop thinking about 3 mile island.

About a month ago, I stumbled on this video...

This film shows the terrifying images captured by the Russian filmmaker Vladimir Shevchenko on scene at Chernobyl those dreadful days in April 1986. Shevchenko later died suffering from the radiation he exposed himself to. Sadly, his name is not among the official casualties of the accident.
http://acidcow.com/video/17083-chernobyl_the_lost_film.html video appx 6.5 minutes

up. She is still alive but I think she was called in later than the author. I have always wondered how healthy she really is.

but given the reckless abandonment of RETHUGS for any considered, thoughtful, legislation in recent years, I'm just waiting for them to take this opportunity to push deregulation and disbanding of all safety requirements of our own nuclear industry... Nothing would surprise me less. sigh...

out of the memory loop.

Hence, we keep repeating the same stuff over and over and over and over....

Thanks for the link. Scant info on this crucial topic right now. :thumbsup:

Early evacuations....Radiation releases....Problems with core cooling...Early assurances replaced with huddles of experts....

Could there be a partial core meltdown underway that we won't hear about for years?

Let us hope the situation there is not as bad.

The fact that the pressure is that high is quite worrisome. It can, if it wasn't damaged in the quake, can take that sort of pressure for awhile. But the question is really about what is causing that pressure. Supposedly they had gotten emergency cooling systems operating earlier, yet apparently they are having little to no effect.

Meanwhile, if I were within a fifty mile radius of the site, I would be getting the hell out of Dodge.

it could become hard to reestablish cooling water circulation to the damaged portion of the core.

We'll see. I think that the situation is more dangerous than they're letting on, and our next headline might just be about a complete or partial meltdown.

This is a forty year old containment vessel, and after forty years, it has been weakened, another fine scary thought.

They are running evacuations, they are flying military craft into the zone.

No, they are not downplaying it. They have declared a nuclear emergency.

Now Americans clear on the other side of the pacific are running like chickens with heads cut off. IF we have a meltdown, then we can start really worrying about this... as to web\life and all that crap.

You get that kind of pressure in a containment vessel when things are going tits up and the fecal matter is hitting the fan.

Yes, they've declared a nuclear emergency, and have evacuated people within a few miles of the plant. The trouble is, if the situation is worse than it seems, and that is looking increasingly like what's going on, then they need to start evacuation of an area dozens of miles around the plant. Otherwise a lot of people could either die or suffer badly.

You don't start worrying when you have a meltdown, you start worrying before a meltdown, that's how you save lives.

but they are running evacs.

That is how you save lives.

They already have moved assets in as well.

There's been little on the news channels about it other than a discussion about an error by SOS regarding the delivery of coolant (by US). I'd like to see this resolved ASAP.

our nooz is... realize some of our plants ARE on top of faults *COUGH SAN ONOFRE COUGH*

That's one of the concerns they had during 3 Mile Island. I remember being scared shitless, even though I was about 500 miles away.

Doesn't this place have a filter for vent's like this?

Where shit goes bad, it goes real bad

It's water in gaseous form, colorless and invisible. If it can be seen, it is not steam, it's finely divided liquid water.

You can have water vapor at any time, ie fog, mist, etc. You get steam only when water reaches the boiling point.

It is a difference of degree, not form.

On a mechanical engineering degree at Rice. Maybe I should ask for a refund.

(Reuters) - Pressure inside a reactor at Tokyo Electric Power Co's quake-hit Fukushima Daiichi plant may have risen to 2.1 times its designed capacity, Japan's trade ministry said on Saturday, exceeding the 1.5-times level announced a few hours earlier.

Temperatures and pressure at the No.1 reactor have been rising since its cooling system was knocked out by the earthquake, the largest on record in Japan, raising worries about a possible radiation leak.

The company said it was preparing back-up generators to pump water and cool the reactor.


http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/11/japan-quake-tepco-pressure-idUSLHE7EB00R20110311

What the hell is REALLY going on? :shrug:

At least this time the U.S. didn't do it.