Japan nuke workers grapple with radioactive water

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

http://apnews.excite.com/article/20110327/D9M7B8C00.html

SENDAI, Japan (AP) - Workers grappled Sunday with how to remove and store highly radioactive water pooling in three troubled units at a nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan that has been leaking radiation making its way into food and water.

The discovery of puddles with radiation levels 10,000 times the norm sparked a temporary evacuation of the Fukushima Dai-ichi power plant on Thursday. Two workers who stepped into the water were hospitalized with possible burns.

The development set back feverish efforts to start up a crucial cooling system knocked out in a massive March 11 earthquake and tsunami, but has helped experts get closer to determining the source of the dangerous leak.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano, speaking Sunday on TV talk shows, said the radioactive water is "almost certainly" seeping from a reactor core.

Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20110327/D9M7B8C00.html

[Adsos Letter]

1. Apparently NHK and several other sources are claiming 10,000,000x

Edit to add link: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=439&topic_id=749727&mesg_id=749727

[WheelWalker]

4. 10,000 x in reactor 1, I think. 1,000 x that in reactor 2.

[Adsos Letter]

5. I'm glad someone can keep these all straight...

it definitely gets confusing for me :crazy:

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

39. Which is the whole purpose.

:think:

[WheelWalker]

2. 1,000 x that in the turbine room of #2

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/

[mucifer]

3. so reuters is reporting the radiation is 10 million times

the norm. I'm HOPING it's a typo. or misinformantion:

Tokyo Electric Power Co said radiation 10 million times the usual level was detected in water that had accumulated at the No. 2 reactor's turbine housing unit.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/27/us-japan-quake-idUSTRE72A0SS20110327?pageNumber=1

[bananas]

6. Extreme radiation detected at No.2 reactor

Source: NHK

Tokyo Electric Power Company says it has detected radioactive materials 10-million-times normal levels in water at the No.2 reactor complex of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

The plant operator, known as TEPCO, says it measured 2.9-billion becquerels of radiation per one cubic centimeter of water from the basement of the turbine building attached to the Number 2 reactor.

<snip>

TEPCO says the radioactive materials include 2.9-billion becquerels of iodine-134, 13-million becquerels of iodine-131, and 2.3-million becquerels each for cesium 134 and 137.

These substances are emitted during nuclear fission inside a reactor core.

<snip>

Read more: http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/27_12.html

---

That's 10-million times the levels of a normally operating reactor.
That's 1,000 times the levels at the 1 and 3 reactors that burned the workers feet.

edit to add: this was also reported by Kyodo News: http://deathby1000papercuts.com/2011/03/10-million-times-normal-radioactivity-at-japan-nuclear-reactor-no-2/
so there are two sources confirming it.

[truthisfreedom]

7. And I'm asking myself, is this the worst news yet from Fukushima? Because it really

sounds like it. *shivers*

Such bad news. How will the workers survive to keep shutting it down?

[MrModerate]

29. They won't. A goodly number of the workers are already doomed.

Which is why they're continuing to work in the intrinsically unsafe areas. Their lives are forfeit -- what else are they going to do?

[highplainsdem]

8. Here's an article that helps explain what might be going on -- corium might be involved.

And if you hadn't heard of corium before -- well, I hadn't, either. So I did some more checking and what I found wasn't at all reassuring.

First, from the New Zealand Herald, today:

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10715274

Spike in seawater radiation levels near Fukushima

3:05 PM Sunday Mar 27, 2011


-snip-

"Highly radioactive water is flowing inside the buildings and then into the sea, which is worrying for fish and marine vegetation," said Olivier Isnard, an expert at France's Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety.

"One hypothesis is that the reactor vessel is breached and highly radioactive corium is coming out."

-snip-

So I checked Google News for anything recent on corium, and found this, from Popular Science a couple of weeks ago:

http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2011-03/whats-happening-japans-nuclear-power-plants

How Nuclear Reactors Work, And How They Fail
Feature
Several of Japan's nuclear power plants are experiencing serious damage from the earthquake and ensuing tsunami. Here's what you need to know to understand the news, as it happens
By Dan Nosowitz Posted 03.14.2011 at 4:19 pm


-snip-

What people mean when they say "meltdown" can refer to several different things, all likely coming after a hydrogen explosion. A "full meltdown" has a more generally accepted definition than, say, a "partial meltdown." A full meltdown is a worst-case scenario: The zirconium alloy fuel rods and the fuel itself, along with whatever machinery is left in the nuclear core, will melt into a lava-like material known as corium. Corium is deeply nasty stuff, capable of burning right through the concrete containment vessel thanks to its prodigious heat and chemical force, and when all that supercharged nuclear matter gets together, it can actually restart the fission process, except at a totally uncontrollable rate. A breach of the containment vessel could lead to the release of all the awful radioactive junk the containment vessel was built to contain in the first place, which could lead to your basic Chernobyl-style destruction.

The problem with a full meltdown is that it's usually the end result of a whole boatload of other chaos--explosions, fires, general destruction. Even at Chernobyl, which (unbelievably, in retrospect) had no containment building at all, the damage was caused mostly by the destruction of the plant by explosion and a graphite fire which allowed the corium to escape to the outside world, not the physical melting of the nuclear core.

Over the weekend, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano somewhat hesitatingly confirmed a "partial" meltdown. What does that mean? Nobody knows! The New York Times notes that a "partial" meltdown doesn't actually need to have any melting involved to qualify it as such--it could simply mean the fuel rods have been un-cooled long enough to corrode and crack, which given the hydrogen explosion, we know has already happened. But we'd advise against putting too much stock in any term relating to "meltdown"--it'll be much more informative to find out what's actually going on, rather than relying on a vague blanket term.

As TEPCO grapples with the damage the earthquake and tsunami did to the nuclear system, there's going to be lots of news--there could be more explosions, mass evacuations, and more "meltdowns" of one kind or another. All we can do is learn about what's going on, think calmly about the situation, and hope that TEPCO can eventually regain control of the plants.

[GliderGuider]

9. Jesus. H. Christ...

That is all.

[flamingdem]

11. exactly! nt

[Bozita]

17. "not as bad as TMI"

from a Friday post.

[bananas]

10. Big discussion in GD, confirmed by Reuters and BBC

I didn't see the GD thread when I posted:
BREAKING NHK: Radiation in puddle 10,000,000 times safe level. Plant being evacuated
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x749727

[bananas]

23. Also reported by Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg

See this thread: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x750362

[plumbob]

12. Hmm, pretty soon one of them nukular fellers is going to come along

and explain how this is just the same amount of radiation you get when you eat organically grown corn or free range chickens or something.







Nuclear plants produce poisons that last longer than civilization has existed so far. It is an antique and filthy business. We don't need it, any of it, for any purpose. Or someday, a future civilization will look at our ruins and say, "God, what stupid bastards! They killed themselves with poison voluntarily, apparently."

[liberation]

15. Nah, they will use their favorite red herring: this is not like Chernobyl.

For starters, there is no C in Fukushima. So there... nothing to worry about.

[fasttense]

26. My favorite boneheaded understatement is that a nuclear accident is just like a car accident.

Yeah, if you drove around in a huge nuclear plant during melt down.

And there were people repeating it. :crazy:

[blackspade]

13. There is no happy ending to this.

The Japanese are going to have to live with this for a long time. A really long time.

[PADemD]

24. Live???

[Delphinus]

27. That was

my first question, too. I don't think much is going to "live" around that area for a very long time.

[AndyTiedye]

38. A VERY Long Time. Plutonium has a half-life of 24,100 years

[blackspade]

41. Yes live.

The Japanese are going to have to deal with the long term ramifications of this tragedy.
That will likely mean a huge radioactive bite out of eastern Honshu around the reactors and a nice chunk of the Pacific to the east of the island will be poisoned.
So unless they choose to abandon the Island altogether they will have to live with the consequences of this event for a long time.
Is that a bit more clear for you?

[uppityperson]

14. k&r. :(

[DeSwiss]

16. This is it. Meltdown.

Corium (nuclear reactor)



The Three Mile Island reactor 2 after the meltdown.

Corium, also called fuel containing material (FCM) or lava-like fuel containing material (LFCM), is a lava-like molten mixture of portions of nuclear reactor core, formed during a nuclear meltdown, the most severe class of a nuclear reactor accident. It consists of nuclear fuel, control rods, structural materials from the affected parts of the reactor, products of their chemical reaction with air, water and steam, and, in case the reactor vessel is breached, molten concrete from the floor of the reactor room.

Composition and formation

The heat for melting the reactor may originate from the nuclear chain reaction, but more commonly decay heat of the fission products contained in the fuel rods is the primary heat source. The heat production from decay heat drops quickly as the short half-life isotopes provide most of the activity decay (the actual curve is a sum of exponentials decaying at different rates). Another heat source is oxidation chemical reactions of the hot metals with atmospheric oxygen or steam.

Chain reaction and corresponding increased heat production may progress in parts of the corium if a critical mass can be achieved locally. This condition can be detected by presence of short-life fission products long after the meltdown, in amounts too high to be remaining from the controlled reaction inside the pre-meltdown reactor. As chain reactions generate high amounts of heat and fresh, highly radioactive fission products, this condition is highly undesirable.

The temperature of corium depends on its internal heat generation dynamics – the amount of decay heat producing isotopes, the dilution by other molten materials – and its heat losses – the physical configuration and the heat losses to the environment. A compact mass will lose less heat than a thinly spread layer. Corium of high enough temperature can melt concrete. A solidified mass of corium can remelt itself if its heat losses drop, for instance if it becomes covered by heat-insulating debris or if the water cooling it evaporates.

Crusts can be formed on the corium mass, acting as thermal insulators and hindering thermal losses. Heat distribution through the corium mass is influenced by different thermal conductivities between the molten oxides and metals. Convection in the liquid phase significantly increases heat transfer.<1>

The molten reactor core releases volatile compounds. These can stay in gas phase, such as molecular iodine or noble gases, or condense into aerosol particles after they leave the high-temperature region. A high proportion of aerosol particles originates from the reactor control rod materials. The gaseous compounds may become adsorbed on the surface of the aerosol particles.




MORE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corium_%28nuclear_reactor%29

K&R

[hlthe2b]

18. Heavens... I am running out of adjectives...

For the love of all, can we just figure out a way to cool sufficiently that we can BURY those reactors in concrete?

Are we beyond that now?

[DeSwiss]

20. At those radiation levels.....

...no one could get close enough to do anything. Can't stop a meltdown as far as I know.

- It has to stop itself.

[highplainsdem]

19. Corium. As I mentioned in reply 2, a French expert thinks that's what's causing the high levels of

radioactivity they're seeing now.

And I posted a few paragraphs from another article explaining corium and meltdowns.

[DeSwiss]

21. The appearance of corium is the proverbial "telltale sign"....

...of a nuclear reactor meltdown in progress.

So I'd say that the French expert and you were both right.

[AndyTiedye]

40. "China Syndrome" or is that "America Syndrome"?

So if a US reactor could have the "China Syndrome", what would a Japanese reactor have?

[CreekDog]

22. Nuclear is such a safe and efficient source of energy that it will only take thousands of workers

several decades to keep the non operating plant that will be there safe enough.

[athena]

28. More like 300 years.

This article explains that as a result of the Chernobyl accident, an area the size of Switzerland will be uninhabitable for 300 years:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/20/weekinreview/20chernobyl.html?hpw

[Turborama]

25. Radiation in reactor's building tests 10 million times above normal

Source: CNN International

By the CNN Wire Staff
March 27, 2011 4:57 a.m. EDT

Tokyo (CNN) -- Radiation levels in pooled water tested in the No. 2 nuclear reactor's turbine building at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant are 10 million times above normal, utility company and government officials said Sunday.

Hidehiko Nishiyama, an official with Japan's nuclear and industrial safety agency, said the surface water showed 1,000 millisieverts of radiation. By comparison, an individual in a developed country is naturally exposed to 3 millisieverts per year, though Japan's health ministry has set a 250 millisievert per year cumulative limit before workers must leave the plant.

The 10-million-times normal reading applies to radioactive iodine-134 found in the No. 2 building's pooled water, according to the nuclear safety agency. This isotope loses half its radioactive atoms every 53 minutes, compared to a half-life of every eight days for radioactive iodine-131 that has also been detected in recent days.

This exponentially dwindling amount of radiation means, according to Nishiyama, that it's unlikely that sealife -- and, several steps down the line, humans who might eat once contaminated seafood -- will suffer greatly from the iodine-134 exposure.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/03/27/japan.nuclear.reactors/index.html

[avaistheone1]

30. Japan workers pulled out of reactor, as radiation soars

Source: BBC News

Reports from Japan say radioactivity in water at reactor 2 at the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant is 10 million times the usual level.

Workers trying to cool the reactor core to avoid a meltdown have been evacuated, Reuters news agency says.

Earlier, Japan's nuclear agency that levels of radioactive iodine in the sea near the plant have risen to 1,850 times the usual level.

The UN's nuclear agency has warned the crisis could go on for months.

It is believed the radiation at Fukushima is coming from one of the reactors, but a specific leak has not been identified.

Leaking water at reactor 2 has been measured at 1,000 millisieverts/hour - 10 million times higher than when the plant is operating normally.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12872707

[daleo]

31. That's high

A few hours in that environment would be lethal, as I recall.

[avaistheone1]

34. I think so.

[DLnyc]

35. Yes, I think 250 milliSieverts is limit often set for emergency workers.

So those workers would be allowed a maximum of 15 minutes in that environment.

Table below (from http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=eohhs2terminal&L=8&L0=Home&L1=Consumer&L2=Community+Health+and+Safety&L3=Environmental+Health&L4=Environmental+Exposure+Topics&L5=Radiation+Control&L6=Occupational+Exposure&L7=Frequently+Asked+Questions&sid=Eeohhs2&b=terminalcontent&f=dph_environmental_radiationcontrol_faq_oe_rad_effects_limits&csid=Eeohhs2 ) gives estimated risk of death later from 250 millisieverts (= .25 Sieverts) 'acute' exposure:

Table 5. Risk of Premature Death from Exposure to 25-Rems (0.25-Sv) Acute Dose

Age at Exposure Estimated Risk of Premature Death
(years) (Deaths per 1,000 Persons Exposed)

20-30 9.1

30-40 7.2

40-50 5.3

50-60 3.5

I have no idea how accurate this information is, but it seems to mesh with other stuff I've seen.

[Journeyman]

32. Two weeks on. . .

in a ceaseless disaster that could last months (maybe years).

Time for us to demand that all our reactor executives & engineers move their families on-site. Let their kith and kin be the "canary," they believe its so safe and benign.

[avaistheone1]

33. I agree.

Then we will see how they actually feel about the safety of nuclear power.

[Scuba]

36. ..decades, centuries, eons. n/t

[plumbob]

37. Yep, I agree, especially since I live just 30 miles from a dump that sits

on top of my drinking water, in spite of my vehement opposition. The private owners? Yeah, they're 400 miles away.

[hayu_lol]

42. Part of the problem with the high measurements...

according to Dr. Bill Wattenberg(KGO San Francisco...last night)is that sea water has been used to cool down the reactor. There are chemicals in the sea water, sodium for one, which pick up radiation like sponges. When the emergency back up electrical generation failed, the fresh water systems failed as well. That is why the US is rushing barges of fresh water to the site.

Much of the escaping radiation is present in the steam released to relieve pressure and would be present in ground puddles resulting from the coolant(sea water)being sprayed on the reactor.

[wordpix]

43. good idea