Japanese Nuclear Reactor in Peril

Source: Washington Post

Japanese authorities and the U.S. military on Saturday were racing to find ways to deliver new backup generators or batteries to a nuclear power reactor whose cooling facilities have been crippled by a loss of power as a result of the earthquake.

The reactor, owned by Tokyo Electric Power Co., is currently drawing on battery power that may last only a few hours. Without electricity, the reactor will be unable to pump water to cool its hot reactor core, possibly leading to a meltdown or some other release of radioactive material.

(snip)

"There's a basic cooling system that requires power, which they don't have," said Glenn McCullough, former chairman of the Tennessee Valley Authority who has been keeping track of the situation in Japan. He said that as a result of the tsunami, water had gotten into the diesel generators that would otherwise have provided backup power.

In a statement that confused nuclear experts, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Friday morning that U.S. Air Force planes in Japan had delivered "coolant" to a nuclear power plant affected by the quake. Nuclear reactors do not use special coolants, only large amounts of pumped water.

more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/11/AR2011031103673.html

:shrug:

Maybe there's some sort of misunderstanding by somebody. I suppose it could be an outright lie, but I don't see any point to that.

I would think that the planes would be delivering diesel generators and fuel and maybe new pumps.

on message. Scary.

what they haven't told us! Scary is right.

frightening. Hell....get the bucket brigade!

until it's a problem. Then we need to know how long it's expected to reestablish the primary source of electricity. Then we need to know how long to fix the existing back up generators. And if temporary generators can be furnished. Then we need to know if there is a emergency cooling system that doesnt need electricity, for example gravity fed water. I believe city water or even sea water could be used with temporary pumps in a last resort.

We need a lot more facts.

Just my two cents and worth every penny.

That thing had to be inundated.

RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!

Power is the problem, not the available supply of "coolant".

saw that in a movie once...
(but I think it was a spaceship).

The reactor goes "super critical" and cannot be controlled.

On loss of power, the rods are designed to drop to stop the nuclear reaction.

I'm a dork, I know -- I used to run nuclear power plants for the Navy.

MacGuyver once went into a reactor compartment and pulled the rods to stop the reactor from going "critical" (critical is when the reactor is functioning as it is designed to.). We used to laugh about that.

I meant get under them and pull them down.
no...actually, I'm probably remembering the McGuyver episode.

can they pump seawater in to cool it?

which is filtered and conditioned before it goes in the intake