Japan earthquake + tsunami + nuclear problems

[bobdroege7]

I find this very troubling if true but difficult to believe. Is it even possible the rods are still emitting fresh Iodine 131?

Is it even possible that the rods are still rods, and not in some uncontrolled configuration at an unknown location?

The presence of I-131 is evidence of an uncontrolled criticality somewhere.

 

[r-j]

None of the reactor cores are anywhere close to still being "rods".

 

[shadron]

Oh? How so? AFAIK, they still use fuel rods in reactor cores so they can be withdrawn and replaced without tearing down the reactor. And how is that relevant to the conversation, even if they weren't?

The reactor at Chernobyl was quite obviously set up with fuel rods and control rods extending through the heavy concrete radiation shield at the top down into the reactor core.

 

[r-j]

When the core melts down, it's no longer "fuel rods", but a mass called corium. And yes, it's quite possible for reactions to occur in the melted cores.

The core material from Reactor One is believed, by TEPCO, to be almost through the containment vessel.

 

[ellindsey]

The core material from Reactor One is believed, by TEPCO, to be almost through the containment vessel.

Incorrect. The TEPCO report worst-case estimate is that the corium in unit 1 may have melted at most 2 meters through the concrete layer inside the containment vessel. That is less than one third of the way through the concrete, so even in the worst-case situation the corium has not yet even reached the containment vessel itself.

 

[bobdroege7]

Incorrect. The TEPCO report worst-case estimate is that the corium in unit 1 may have melted at most 2 meters through the concrete layer inside the containment vessel. That is less than one third of the way through the concrete, so even in the worst-case situation the corium has not yet even reached the containment vessel itself.

You know you are basing your assesment that R-J is incorrect on computer models and that TEPCO has no real idea where the source material is.

More than nine months into the crisis, Tepco continues to rely on computer simulations of the disaster to gauge the extent of the damage, because radiation levels inside the reactor buildings are far too high for workers to enter.

As a result, the firm was unable to give details of the exact position of the melted fuel, or visually confirm whether all of it was exposed to cooling water being pumped in from outside. "Almost no fuel remains at its original position," the report said.

from http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/...1202/fukushima-daiichi-tepco-nuclear-meltdown

 

[ellindsey]

You know you are basing your assesment that R-J is incorrect on computer models and that TEPCO has no real idea where the source material is.

No, I am replying to his claim that TEPCO believes that the corium is "almost through the containment vessel.". TEPCO does not believe this, their report shows that their worst-case model shows that the corium has not even reached the containment vessel. TEPCO might be wrong, but that's another matter entirely and irrelevant to my point.

 

[r-j]

Some people only see what they want to see. Meanwhile, in the world of facts and reporting, Tepco reported the fuel from reactor one is almost through the containment. This is from Tepco, which now that it is really bad news, the nuclear lovers don't seem to want to believe Tepco anymore.

That's ironic.

A new report revealed that molten nuclear fuel burned through the 8-foot concrete walls of the first protective casing surrounding the reactor's core, and then ate 3/4 of the way through the second casing.

The meltdown stopped within a foot of the container's steel bottom, 25 feet above the earth's surface.

Masanori Naitoh is a nuclear engineer who has reviewed the plant's findings. "It was a close call," he said. "The meltdown may have been even worse. But we can say the containment held."

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18563_162-57335955/in-meltdown-japan-dodged-even-bigger-disaster/

Meanwhile, people still don't want to feed their babies radio-cesium, despite how the lover of all things nuclear wants to tell them s little bit won't hurt ya.

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA — A Japanese baby food manufacturer has announced the recall of 400,000 cans of infant formula that reportedly contain traces of radioactive cesium connected to the nation’s recent nuclear plant meltdown.

http://www.tennessean.com/article/2...es-radiation-found-Japanese-baby-food-formula

 

[ellindsey]

Some people only see what they want to see. Meanwhile, in the world of facts and reporting, Tepco reported the fuel from reactor one is almost through the containment. This is from Tepco, which now that it is really bad news, the nuclear lovers don't seem to want to believe Tepco anymore.

No, what you posted was from cbs news. This is from Tepco:

http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/images/handouts_111130_04-e.pdf

As you can see on page 21, Tepco's worst-case projection shows the melt material as having made it about a third of the way through the concrete underneath the RPV. This means it has not yet even reached the PCV, which is the actual 'containment vessel'. So no, Tepco does not believe that the corium is 'almost through the containment vessel'. The concrete liner is not the containment vessel.