Emergencies at 5 nuclear reactors in Japan after quake knocks out power to cooling systems

[FBaggins]

Japan declared states of emergency for five nuclear reactors at two power plants after the units lost cooling ability in the aftermath of Friday's powerful earthquake. Thousands of residents were evacuated as workers struggled to get the reactors under control to prevent meltdowns.

A single reactor in northeastern Japan had been the focus of much of the concern in the initial hours after the 8.9 magnitude quake, but the government declared new states of emergency at four other reactors in the area Saturday morning.

The earthquake knocked out power at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, and because a backup generator failed, the cooling system was unable to supply water to cool the 460-megawatt No. 1 reactor. Although a backup cooling system is being used, Japan's nuclear safety agency said pressure inside the reactor had risen to 1.5 times the level considered normal.

Authorities said radiation levels had jumped 1,000 times normal inside Unit 1 and were measured at eight times normal outside the plant. They expanded an earlier evacuation zone more than threefold, from 3 to 10 kilometers (2 miles to 6.2 miles). Some 3,000 people had been urged to leave their homes in the first announcement.

The government declared a state of emergency, its first ever at a nuclear plant. And plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. warned of power shortages and an "extremely challenging situation in power supply for a while."

More -

http://www.canadianbusiness.com/markets/market_news/article.jsp?content=D9LTBHRO0

[Rosa Luxemburg]

1. scary

[FBaggins]

3. I'm sure that we'd all like to have a live webcam to watch.

The problem is that 25-50% of what we're hearing probably isn't accurate. Not because of intentional deception, but because that's the nature of the beast. Talking to reporters just isn't the priority right now. It wouldn't be even if this were happening in otherwise-normal circumstances, but there's this little problem with a massive earthquake and tsunami plus significant aftershocks.

People are just too busy trying to fix things to tweet half way around the world and satisfy our curiosity and need for a instant news cycle.

We may very well find that most of this has been an excess of caution and wasn't as severe as we fear... or it could very well be a disaster. The reactor designs are clearly getting a baptism by fire. The circumstances are right up there with a "worst case" scenario and now we find out how well they've planned for each eventuality. And some of these units are 40 years old (which means that the primary design is even older).

Plenty to be concerned about.

The good news is that we're not talking about soviets cutting corners. The Japanese should be some of the best prepared for these situations.

[jannyk]

2. watching the report on BBCWorld - lost control of 2 of them

- they will have to vent radioactive steam. Nuclear expert said if they can't regain control of cooling system, it is a 'matter of hours, or at best a day, before it does a Chernyoble'

He actually used the phrase 'China Syndrome'

[FBaggins]

5. If he used the phrase "China Syndrome"...

...there's a good chance that he's not much of an expert.

But... that's TV for you. Gotta keep people watching. I'm sure we'll find out soon enough.

[riverwalker]

4. TEPCO press releases

(Tokyo Electric Power Company)

http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/index-e.html