Some Reports Saying Fukushima, Japan Reactor Shield Now In Meltdown

by Frances Martel | 12:57 pm, March 12th, 2011

» 26 comments

Contrary to preliminary reports, it appears that the Fukushima, Japan’s Dai-ichi plant, may be experiencing a reactor meltdown. The plant suffered a huge explosion hours ago after operators lost control of its chain reactions. This according to a report by Stratfor, which notes that while its core is still reported to be intact, this could cause much more significant long-term damage than expected.

The reports are partially based on the fact that smoke coming out of the explosion is now being described as “white smoke,” indicating, rather than a conventional fire, that the concrete surrounding the reactor is melting. The piece explains pretty thoroughly what the difference is between a reactor meltdown and a core meltdown (the reactor can start melting before the heat reaches the core at a sufficiently high temperature to feed the chain reactions):

A meltdown does not necessarily mean a nuclear disaster. As long as the reactor core, which is specifically designed to contain high levels of heat, pressure and radiation, remains intact, the melted fuel can be dealt with. If the core breaches but the containment facility built around the core remains intact, the melted fuel can still be dealt with — typically entombed within specialized concrete — but the cost and difficulty of such containment increases exponentially.

It also asks a key question: whether the floor of the reactor chamber has been broken through in the explosion. If so, Japanese authorities will have to contend with radioactive materials seeping into the ground and turning the terrain into a Chernobyl-esque zone of alienation.

The reports aren’t uniform from all media wires, however. Meanwhile, The Voice of Russia is reporting that the explosion is unlikely to be harmful, and cited a senior Japanese official as saying no explosion occurred at all.

UPDATE: Fox News is also reporting that the protective wall around the reactor has cracked, though Japanese officials report the explosion is not of a radioactive nature.

Fukushima, Fukushima nuclear plant, Japan, nuclear meltdown, nuclear reactor

ROCKSTEADY

My thoughts and prayers are with the brave men and woman staying behind and dealing with this very scary situation.
Lover

Didn’t Hillary say that help was on the way and there was nothing to worry about?
Color Me Badd

McCain Mocks Nuclear Safety “blah blah blah”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NB-jdJpvhxk

Sure glad this guy isn’t president.
Wallycrawler

Why in da fawk is Japan using Nuclear Energy when they volcanoes. Geothermal Energy seems to be da route doesn’t it?
Well I guess they’ll learn da hard way? Da question now is?… Will we learn from their mishap?
Color Me Badd

My thoughts and prayers go to the people of Japan, maybe we will learn our lesson, as hard as it may be. That nuclear power is never safe.
Wallycrawler

Why in da fawk is Japan using Nuclear Energy when they have volcanoes. Geothermal Energy seems to be da route doesn’t it?
Well I guess they’ll learn da hard way? Da question now is?… Will we learn from their mishap?
Lover

This will give Obama the green light to ram “green energy” down our throats. What was that saying about not letting a crisis go to waste?
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/glenn-beck-explains-how-the-unions-are-using-teachers-firefighters-and-co ImNotBlue

@ Badd

Come on… is any energy source ever 100% safe and effective?

Oil rigs catch fire, coal mines colapse, nuke places melt down, and so on. Until “green energy” can be made efficient, cost effective, and actually power our world, we really aren’t left with much alternatives, are we?
dummy123

I’m sure there are hundreds of brave Japanese plant workers receiving a deadly dose of radiation to try and prevent this core meltdowns. Lets hope and pray that can restore cooling to these reactors.
Jayson

Wallycrawler said:
Why in da fawk is Japan using Nuclear Energy when they volcanoes. Geothermal Energy seems to be da route doesn’t it?Well I guess they’ll learn da hard way? Da question now is?… Will we learn from their mishap?

Take a note from your name, “crawler”, and do us that favor. Meaning,Crawl back to where you came from. This is not a subject one jokes about with childish speak.
Wallycrawler

Who’s joking asshole?
k1oik

Don’t forget that we are about to blow up another one, in downtown Iran. Let’s learn how to contain the fallout from this one, so we don’t unnecessarily kill Iranians, too.
Wallycrawler

Only on a conservative site could you get a thumbs downs on a green fuel, while a Nuke plant burns!

(((Wake-Up assholes your asleep.)))
Davo

Wallycrawler said:
Only on a conservative site could you get a thumbs downs on a green fuel, while a Nuke plant burns!

What is “green fuel?”

Frances Martel said:
The Voice of Russia is reporting that the explosion is UNLIKELY to be harmful, and cited a senior Japanese official as saying NO EXPLOSION occurred at all.

UPDATE: Fox News is also reporting that the protective wall around the reactor has cracked, though Japanese officials report the explosion is NOT OF A RADIOACTIVE NATURE.

So, by “some reports” say that meltdown is occurring, you mean what?………………someone in the next stall in the ladies room said so? That’s an old Democrat “news” trick. Be real…………..give us sources or don’t report it.
Wallycrawler

Davo said:
What is “green fuel?” So, by “some reports” say that meltdown is occurring, you mean what?………………someone in the next stall in the ladies room said so? That’s an old Democrat “news” trick. Be real…………..give us sources or don’t report it.

Your not serious are you? Just Google “green fuel sources”. Geothermal will be at da top of da list.
What a retard!
While your at it Google “Iceland and Costa Rica Geothermal” Learn sumthin today. Don’t be fat and stupid your whole life like da rest of these fat ass conservative relics.

Also take a look at what happens to California after a 8.9 quake. If that doesn’t make you look at other energy sources your dim as Japan is today!
Today is a wake-up call. Hopefully da world will learn sumthin? Looking at da comments here… NOPE!
Wallycrawler

ImNotBlue said:
@ Badd Come on… is any energy source ever 100% safe and effective? Oil rigs catch fire, coal mines colapse, nuke places melt down, and so on. Until “green energy” can be made efficient, cost effective, and actually power our world, we really aren’t left with much alternatives, are we?

Your a retard.
Stay Asleep.
George Sore-ohs

Where the H is the US in all of this.

This is a huge problem that needs internatioanl help and could adversely affect the rest of the world.

The US should be helping out with experts there now. I guess when that call came in at 3am the other night telling Barack about the huge earthquake he was too hungover from the party the night before.
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/glenn-beck-explains-how-the-unions-are-using-teachers-firefighters-and-co ImNotBlue

@ Wally

What “green fuel” can power ‘da’ country all ‘da’ time now? What kinda car do ya drive?

In general, this is a website for adults. You may want to check for somewhere else to post.
Davo

George Sore-ohs said:
Where the H is the US in all of this.

This is a huge problem that needs internatioanl help and could adversely affect the rest of the world.

The US should be helping out with experts there now. I guess when that call came in at 3am the other night telling Barack about the huge earthquake he was too hungover from the party the night before.

Nahhh. That would be actually DOING something. Remember, these people are Democrits and only live to distract, deceive, and destroy. They pretend to be leaders but in reality are only cancer cells on America’s vital organs.
George Sore-ohs

I assume that International Ambulance Chaser Anderson Cooper is on his way to Japan for some dramatic reports.
chicgoods

===== http://www.chic-goods.com/ =====

===== http://www.chic-goods.com/ =====
illusive man

I am all for clean energy but wind and solar is not nearly enough. What we need is that next revolutionary power soarce like oil was when it was first discovered. My money is on fusion, Unfortunately the only time we achieve fusion is when we set off an H Bomb. But if we give science enough time it will find a way. Good new’s is that fusion is not that far away, The doc “Can We Make A Star on Earth” give’s good insight in the possibilities of fusion which can be watched on youtube.
Pablo

ImNotBlue said:
@ Badd

Come on… is any energy source ever 100% safe and effective?

Oil rigs catch fire, coal mines colapse, nuke places melt down, and so on. Until “green energy” can be made efficient, cost effective, and actually power our world, we really aren’t left with much alternatives, are we?

Unicorn. Farts. Now.
Michael Charles

Wallycrawler Said…

Also take a look at what happens to California after a 8.9 quake. If that doesn’t make you look at other energy sources your dim as Japan is today!
Today is a wake-up call. Hopefully da world will learn sumthin? Looking at da comments here… NOPE!

Mike advises…

Use English as your first language when you post here. The word “the” isn’t much harder to type than “da.”

You will be perceived as an idiot if you spell badly on Mediaite.

Also, just don’t do it. It’s shitty and lazy English.
BatBoy

Headline: “Some Reports Saying Fukushima, Japan Reactor Shield Now In Meltdown”

Thanks Frances for this headline…now we can watch the crazy lefties go bazerk today after reading your headline.
TravisT

This is irresponsible reporting at its finest. You are sensationalizing an event that, while very serious, is currently under control and is being managed appropriately. The title of the report is meant to inspire fear and even states that it isn’t based on fact, but rather on hearsay.

It is COMPLETELY UNTRUE that “operators lost control of its chain reactions”. Within seconds of the earthquake, all the nuclear reactors operating at the time of the earthquake were shut down. None of the Fukushima reactors have been restarted. Let me reiterate: all the reactors were successfully shut down immediately following the earthquake, i.e., the chain reaction in each reactor has been stopped.

After shutdown of the reactor, there is still residual heat in the fuel (approximately 7% of the operating heat) that is a result of the decay of fission products created during operation. For this reason, it is necessary to continue to cool the nuclear reactors for some time after shutdown. After 1 day, the residual heat is less than 1% of the operating heat. The auxiliary power supply to each reactor cooling system (some very large diesel generators) functioned to cool the reactors until the tsunami hit roughly an hour after the earthquake. The wave was large enough to disable the diesel generators, which temporarily stopped the reactor from being cooled – hence the problem. As a result, steam built up in the cooling system which had to be vented. A small amount of radioactive material was released with the steam, but this is no cause for alarm (see the article I post below, as it refers to the similar steam release at Three Mile Island).

As the temperature of the core is increased, interaction of the coolant with the fuel rod cladding causes hydrogen to form. This hydrogen must be vented from the reactor, and at Units 1 and 3 the hydrogen exploded and destroyed the SECONDARY containment of the two units. At this time, IT IS BELIEVED THAT THE PRIMARY CONTAINMENT AND REACTOR PRESSURE VESSEL ARE STILL INTACT.

At this time, the operators of the plant have begun using sea water with boron dissolved in it (boron absorbs neutrons and provides added assurance that the chain reaction will not restart) to cool Units 1 and 3. This will destroy the two reactors – they will never operate again – but it is intended to cool the fuel and protect the public.

“It also asks a key question: whether the floor of the reactor chamber has been broken through in the explosion. If so, Japanese authorities will have to contend with radioactive materials seeping into the ground and turning the terrain into a Chernobyl-esque zone of alienation.”

The article below summarizes why there is NOTHING “Chernobyl-esque” about this accident. In short, Chernobyl did not have a reactor containment structure, the Japenese reactors do. Furthermore, the accident at Three Mile Island confirmed that even in the event of a meltdown, the melted fuel WILL NOT BREACH THE FLOOR OF THE CONTAINMENT. It is important to remember that even though 50% of the core melted at Three Mile Island, THERE WERE NO CASUALTIES AND NO SIGNIFICANT RADIATION RELEASE. A similar situation should be hoped and expected for here.

The people in the surrounding area have been evacuated as a precautionary measure, not because the current conditions are life threatening. In response to dummy123, TEPCO has released the injury report for all workers at the plant, and only one worker thus far has received a dose that is in excess of the occupational limit in the U.S. (I do not know what the occupational limit in Japan is, but I expect it is similar). The occupational limit in the U.S. is designed to have a significant safety margin. Again, we hope and expect that this worker, and the workers suffering non-radiation related injuries will recover fully.

As stated in the article below: “With all the death, devastation and disease now threatening tens of thousands in Japan, it is trivializing and almost obscene to spend so much time worrying about damage to a nuclear reactor.” After the earthquake, at least 14 industrial facilities caught fire, including a MASSIVE explosion and fire at the COSMO oil refinery in Chiba which was still burning as of this morning (March 14, 2011). But of course you won’t see that in the news because it isn’t as scary so it doesn’t sell the papers. I searched for 45 minutes trying to find the number of casualties at the plant and all I got during my search was articles about the Fukushima nuclear reactors. Be responsible, be educated, and stop trying to spread panic to push your anti-nuclear agenda.

“Japan Does Not Face Another Chernobyl” by William Tucker, Published in the Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424052748704893604576198421680697248-lMyQjAxMTAxMDEwNDExNDQyWj.html