URGENT: Explosion did not occur in Fukushima reactor: Edano

[bigworld]

Source: Kyodo News

Japanese authorities have confirmed there was no explosion at the troubled No. 1 reactor of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, top government spokesman Yukio Edano said.

The chief Cabinet secretary also told an urgent press conference that the operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., has confirmed there is no damage to the steel container housing the reactor.

Read more: http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2011/03/77149.html

---

On edit: changed headline from _at_ to _in_ to clarify that there was an explosion on the site - but it wasn't in the building that houses the reactor.

[xchrom]

1. wow -- just even talking about this. nt

[uppityperson]

44. BBC says building collapsed but containment vessel unharmed.

[Cirque du So-What]

2. K & R

Now can the alarmists give it a fucking rest?!? Good gawd almighty but rumors & speculation are allowed to run rampant for far too long!

[SpiralHawk]

3. The NYT is confirming that it DID happen ????

Breaking News Alert
The New York Times
Sat, March 12, 2011 -- 5:27 AM ET
-----

Japanese Official Confirms Explosion at Nuclear Plant

Japanese officials said on Saturday there had been an
explosion at a nuclear power plant following Friday's huge
earthquake, blowing off the roof of the structure and causing
a radiation leak of unspecified proportions.

The chief cabinet secretary Yukio Edano confirmed earlier
reports of an explosion at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear
plant, 150 miles north of Tokyo.

Read More:
http://www.nytimes.com?emc=na

[PaDUer]

31. Here's another..

WRAPUP13-Radiation leaking from Japan's quake-hit nuclear plant

Sat Mar 12, 2011 6:15am EST

(Updates throughout)

* Report that nuclear building's outer structure blown off

* Death toll from quake and tsunami put at 1,300

* Huge trail of devastation along Japan's northeast coast

* Quake shifted earth's axis and main island of Japan


By Chris Meyers and Kim Kyung-hoon

FUKUSHIMA, Japan, March 12 (Reuters) - Radiation leaked from
a damaged Japanese nuclear reactor north of Tokyo on Saturday,
the government said, after an explosion blew the roof off the
facility in the wake of a massive earthquake.

-snip-
Edano said an evacuation radius of 10 km (6 miles) from the
stricken 40-year-old Daiichi 1 reactor plant in Fukushima
prefecture was adequate, but an hour later the boundary was
extended to 20 km (13 miles). TV footage showed vapour rising
from the plant, 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo.

-snip-
The explosion at Chernobyl's nuclear plant's fourth reactor
in 1986 sent thousands of tonnes of toxic nuclear dust billowing
across the Ukraine, Russia and Belarus. It was the worst civil
nuclear disaster.

The blast at the Japanese nuclear facility came as plant
operator Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) worked
desperately to reduce pressures in the core of the reactor.

The company has had a rocky past in an industry plagued by
scandal. In 2002, the president of the country's largest power
utility was forced to resign along with four other senior
executives, taking responsibility for suspected falsification of
nuclear plant safety records.

-snip-

more---
<http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/12/japan-quake-idUSL3E7EC07M20110312>

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

4. Hopeful, if the source is reliable

:hi:

[drm604]

5. So what did explode?

Was it diesel fuel? Something else?

[Selatius]

7. Here is video of the building exploding.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WufPGwp7rEY

Start viewing at the 47 second mark.

[drm604]

15. Yes, I've seen that. It's obvious something exploded.

So, if (notice I said "if") they're correct and it wasn't the reactor itself, then what was it? It most definitely was something.

[HereSince1628]

18. No doubt there was an explosion...but which PLANT?

The shock wave compression of the air was plainly visible in the video...hell of a bang

I think that there is also concern about confusing an atomic explosion of the fuel with a steam or hydrogen explosion.

[PaDUer]

32. I think it's worse than what they're reporting right now...

Japan's Fukushima No.1 nuclear power plant explodes

A JAPANESE nuclear power plant exploded today, television footage showed, a day after a massive earthquake damaged the facility's cooling system, as nearby residents were warned to stay indoors.

Nuclear authorities had earlier warned that the Fukushima No 1 plant, located about 250km northeast of Tokyo, an urban area of 30 million people, "may be experiencing a nuclear meltdown".

The plant's cooling system was damaged in the quake that hit yesterday, leaving the government scrambling to fix the problem and evacuate more than 45,000 residents within a 10km radius.

Public broadcaster NHK today said that a blast had been heard at about 3.30pm local time and showed delayed footage of smoke billowing from the site, also reporting that the reactor building had been destroyed.

TV channels warned nearby residents to stay indoors, turn off air-conditioners and not to drink tap water. People going outside were also told to avoid exposing their skin and to cover their faces with masks and wet towels.

<http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/japans-fukushima-no1-nuclear-power-plant-explodes/story-e6frfku0-1226020387955>

[kristopher]

45. Dai ichi plant, reactor building number one exploded

There was nothing but a shell of the building left.

[hourglass1]

25. relax please

that is not the reactor containment building - that explosion is white smoke - it is a hydrogen buildup that met the outside oxygen

i have been keeping up with events here in tokyo as they become confirmed - please relax. get some rest or join in some union protests or free bradley manning events ... take control of the democratic party it is your only hope - plan and fight long term ...

in fact, it was american pressure that led to these plants being here in the first place - the japanese have no fondness of things nuclear!

calm down - we are getting earth quake warnings on a regular basis - our markets and cupboards are running bare in this 'just in time' delivery world - far from disaster central

pray, if you do and wish to, for the dead, lost, injured, homeless, wet, tired, freezing and hungry. we've got 400 kilometers north to south of absolute devastation - unending aftershocks as big as san fran, northridge and san fernando - oil refineries on fire - whole villages are missing - yes, when the floodwaters retreated the structures were just gone - and in only one fishing and sea weed producing town north of sendai 10,000 are completely incommunicado -

cheers, another quake coming

[Bonobo]

27. +1

I am in Himeji. Wishing you all the best and hoping for it too.

[wtmusic]

34. Thanks for info and voice of reason.

:thumbsup: :hug:

[swilton]

37. Take care of yourself!

:hi:

[Peace Patriot]

40. Thank you for your excellent advice to us peons and cannon fodder in the U.S.!

It is worth repeating:

---

"i have been keeping up with events here in tokyo as they become confirmed - please relax. get some rest or join in some union protests or free bradley manning events ... take control of the democratic party it is your only hope - plan and fight long term ..." --hourglass1

---

"Get some rest" is also good advice to people who care deeply about peace and social justice. VERY IMPORTANT to understand that it's NOT all up to you. Seen a lot of people burn out trying to remedy this huge problem or that huge problem, maybe not realizing how BIG the problem is, and that the BIGGEST problem--rule by multinational corporations and war profiteers--can only be solved by the collective effort of society, of all of us, working together. Put ego aside (that you can solve it all), rest when necessary, join with others--educate, organize--and BELIEVE in democracy.

One thing I think is extremely important is corporate control of the 'TRADE SECRET' voting systems that are now everywhere in the U.S. ONE, private, FAR RIGHTWING-CONNECTED corporation--ES&S, which bought out Diebold--now controls 80% of the voting systems in the U.S., which are run on code that the public is forbidden to review, with virtually no audit/recount controls. And, believe me, the rightwing cabal that is stripping us of our rights and destroying our progressive society has USED these 'TRADE SECRET' voting systems to put scumbags in power, in Congress, in Wisconsin, in Michigan and everywhere else. These assholes do NOT represent the majority of Americans. That is very obvious. But working harder to elect good people is NOT going to help if we don't address the PRIVATIZED, CORPORATIZED, NON-TRANSPARENT vote-counting systems, and get rid of them, which is still a doable campaign.

Hourglass 1, you say that the Democratic Party "is your only hope." But we have to realize that the leaders of the Democratic Party have either colluded on the 'TRADE SECRET' voting machines or are terrified of ES&S's power--and possibly some are actually ignorant as to how such scumbags and assholes get "made." We all know we have BIG problems in the Democratic Party leadership itself. I'd say this is the biggest one. They've gone along with corporatized vote counting. Given this reality, I'm not sure that the Democratic Party "is our only hope." And, believe me, I was born a Democrat, as they say, and have voted Democratic all my life. But a party with leaders who are too dirty, too fearful or too stupid to oppose 'TRADE SECRET' vote counting may not be saveable. We have to consider that possibility, at this point. CAN the people take back the only party that ever represented the majority (in the modern era)?

Thank you again, Hourglass 1, for focusing us on what we must do HERE. Most of us can't do anything about the horrors in Japan. To stop the U.S. from peddling nuclear technology around the world, we have to start HERE. And how do we do that?

[uppityperson]

41. THANK YOU for your information on this and my condolences on the quake/tsunami destruction

[uppityperson]

42. BBC link says was building housing reactorbut the"reactor was not damaged...radiation levels fallen"

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12720219
The Japanese government's chief spokesman, Yukio Edano, said the concrete building housing the plant's number one reactor had collapsed but the metal reactor container inside was not damaged.

Japanese officials say the container housing the reactor was not damaged and that radiation levels have now fallen.

[mysterysoup]

43. I'm not sure why we are supposed to "relax."

Or are we supposed to "pray"? How about a relaxed prayer? No, that won't work. Now I'm not sure what we are supposed to do.

[annabanana]

8. +1 . . .Who will tell us the truth? . . . . .n/t

[Pacifist Patriot]

13. Good question.

[Fuddnik]

21. It depends on what the definition of "Is", is.

I mean explode.

[boobooday]

6. I did just read it in the NY Times

And saw the video posted here. Was that not an explosion?

[Skip_In_Boulder]

12. No that was an, uh, a dust cloud, uh yeah that's the ticket

Man this just gets stranger by the minute.

[Name removed]

22. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

33. don't believe your lying eyes....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjx-JlwYtyE

[Junkdrawer]

9. Appears to me that the worse the situation becomes, the bigger the lies....

Smacks of desperation.

[TheModernTerrorist]

10. Check here for up-to-date info

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/12_50.html
I know its NHK: the government-run news outlet, similar to BBC in England, but they do a good job and are the best news I can get out here in Tokyo. I'm in Tokyo, its okay here, and there's no real worries here, though we will probably be having rolling blackouts for a while. Still, NHK is a good place to check.

[ixion]

11. Well, there's video of an explosion happening... so SOMETHING exploded

without question.

[bigworld]

14. Yes, but the explosion wasn't in the reactor - it was in another building onsite

[ixion]

19. well, just saying a random building exploded doesn't make sense

so I'm skeptical at this point.

[amandabeech]

16. It sounds like the secondary containment structure blew up.

Even though the reactor vessel is intact, the structure above which is the the big building made of steel and concrete, any releases from the vessel will go straight into the air or water.

Secondary containment structures are supposed to contain problems in the reactor vessel, not be torn by explosions themselves.

I do not see this as a good sign.

[Skip_In_Boulder]

17. to clarify that there was an explosion on the site

but it wasn't in the building that houses the reactor.

O.K., that makes sense. I can buy that.

[JJW]

20. There are 6 reactors at the site

RT news is saying building reactor #1 blew up.

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

23. Here's what I just found..........

Radiation down at Japan nuke plant after blast (AP)

AP - Japan's government spokesman says the metal container sheltering a nuclear reactor was not affected by an explosion that destroyed the building it's in

[Tesha]

24. Is this the reactor where the turbine building suffered a fire?

If so, that could easily be mistaken for an explosion,
particularly if a main steam line was ruptured (and I
could easily imagine the aftermath of *THAT* blowing
the building apart; the turbine building certainly
wouldn't be built to the same standards as the reactor
containment building).

What kind of reactor was this? A boiling water reactor
or a pressurized water reactor? The hazards would certainly
be greater in the former case as the steam would contain
radioactive contaminants and the reactor's primary cooling
circuit would have been breached, although I'm sure they
have ways of "valving off" steam going to a separate
building and so isolating the breach.

In either case, the interesting question is: Are their
emergency core cooling systems able to keep the reactor
core sufficiently cooled after the "scram"?

So far, we seem to have a lot of breathless commentary
(both here and in the media) and few hard facts. Anybody
got some to spare?

Tesha

[amandabeech]

26. It's an old 1960s GE boiling water reactor.

The best I can gather is that there was a hydrogen explosion underneath the secondary containment structure.

The diesel pumps for backup cooling went down in the tsunami. There were battery backups, but I don't know how long they will last. This is not a steam driven cooling system, if that makes sense.

Right now, the Japanese are trying to pump sea water onto the reactor vessel to cool it down.

It is part of a six reactor complex. Three reactors were undergoing maintenance, and I think that the other two are at least marginally ok for now.

WARNING: I am an insomniac with an interest in energy issues, NOT a scientist.

[Tesha]

29. Thanks!

Here's a quote from the NYTimes article:

Officials said even before the explosion that they
had detected cesium, an indication that some of the
fuel was already damaged.

In the form found in reactors, radioactive cesium
is a fragment of a uranium atom that has been split.
In normal operations, some radioactivity in the cooling
water is inevitable, because neutrons, the sub-atomic
particles that carry on the chain reaction, hit hydrogen
and oxygen atoms in the water and make those radioactive.
But cesium, which persists far longer in the environment,
comes from the fuel itself.

Tesha

[LiberalEsto]

30. General Electric strikes again, eh? nt

[CJvR]

28. Better...

...but even so a huge explosion (hydrogen probably) at a nuclear power station is not something one likes to see.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

35. then wtf is this.....

"The explosion sent plumes of smoke spewing from the ageing Fukushima No 1 nuclear power plant, raising fears of radioactive meltdown a day after the massive quake struck the facility's cooling system.

Mr Edano says due to the falling level of cooling water, hydrogen was generated and that leaked to the space between the building and the container. He says the explosion happened when the hydrogen mixed with oxygen there.

Nuclear physicist Professor Paddy Regan says what is important is where the explosion hit. "It's not clear what has exploded. The big problem would be if the pressure vessel has exploded but that does not look as though that's what's happened," he said. "If the pressure vessel, which is the thing that actually holds all the nuclear fuel... if that was to explode - that's basically what happened at Chernobyl - you get an enormous release of radioactive material. "It doesn't look from the television pictures... as though it's the vessel itself."


http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/03/12/3162554.htm

[bigworld]

36. There was an explosion on the SITE but it wasn't the REACTOR that blew.

[sofa king]

49. It's still a pants-pooper because it suggests that...

...the reaction is hot enough to crack water, that is, to send it up to a temperature where the hydrogen begins to get knocked off of the oxygen molecules. That process starts a little below 1,300 degrees F., which suggests the reaction was at some point approaching runaway levels.

Edit: 1300, not 1600. 850 deg. C for those of you in technologically advanced nations.

[Turborama]

38. So, does this mean they are letting the 45,000 people they evacuated back home yet?

When will we hear that all http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x621219">the warnings have been withdrawn?

[Turborama]

39. REALLY URGENT:Three people who were seeking refuge near the Fukushima No1 nuclear plant were exposed

Three people who were seeking refuge near the Fukushima No 1 nuclear plant were exposed to radiation when a building housing one of its reactors exploded earlier on Saturday, Kyodo News reports.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/12/japan-earthquake-tsunami-aftermath-live#block-34

[Arrowhead2k1]

46. Perfectly normal.

Not a meltdown. Don't believe your lying eyes and try to relax.

:sarcasm:

[hedgehog]

47. According to my son, who usually is right about these things, it was a turbine building that

exploded. He also said that the reactor has been scrapped; that is that sea water and boric acid was pumped into the core to cool it and poison the reaction.


Sorry I don't have any links - just what he told me.

[Posteritatis]

48. I've been hearing similar things

Friend of mine's had some years experience operating reactors, and as best as she could figure out the explosion turned the "oh crap" factor enough that they finally scrammed the reactor as you described. That would fit with the reports of radiation levels dropping after the explosion. If that's the case, the worst is past in that one - the reactor itself will be a total write-off. It wouldn't be a reactor at all anymore after that, though it of course still is a pretty impressive mess sitting inside the containment unit.

[Zorra]

50. It is a shame that I am always skeptical when "officials" and "authorities"

make statements of this nature.

The possibility that they are trying to protect the interests of a wealthy private enterprise that has so much control over government is always in the back of my mind.

But I'm going to buy into this one for now.