Japan orders evacuation from damaged nuclear plant

[steve2470]

http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/TopStories/20110311/nuclear-tsunami-japan-110311/

CTV.ca News Staff
Date: Fri. Mar. 11 2011 4:42 PM ET

In northeastern Japan, the cooling system at Fukushima Daiichi plant failed and pressure began to build inside, prompting the government to shut down the plant and declare a state of emergency at a nuclear facility for the first time ever. Authorities evacuated at least 3,000 residents in a 10-kilometre radius.

Pressure inside one of six boiling water reactors had risen to 1.5 times the normal level, Japan's nuclear safety agency said. Following the first evacuation order, the government said the plant would release slightly radioactive vapor in the hopes of averting a possible meltdown.

"With evacuation in place and the ocean-bound wind, we can ensure the safety," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said at a news conference early Saturday.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said it was told the plant had been shut down, but no leaked radiation had been detected.

[chelsea0011]

1. All's well? the wind is blowing out?

[steve2470]

2. Risk of Nuclear Catastrophe Escalates in Japan – ‘Worse than Chernobyl’

http://blogs.forbes.com/williampentland/2011/03/11/risk-of-nuclear-catastrophe-escalates-in-japan-worse-than-chernobyl/

William Pentland
Mar. 11 2011 - 4:06 pm

The Institute for Public Accuracy issued the following statement by nuclear expert, Kevin Kamp, about the risk of nuclear disaster in post-Earthquake Japan: “The electrical grid is down. The emergency diesel generators have been damaged. The multi-reactor Fukushima atomic power plant is now relying on battery power, which will only last around eight hours. The danger is, the very thermally hot reactor cores at the plant must be continuously cooled for 24 to 48 hours. Without any electricity, the pumps won’t be able to pump water through the hot reactor cores to cool them. Once electricity is lost, the irradiated nuclear fuel could begin to melt down. If the containment systems fail, a catastrophic radioactivity release to the environment could occur.”

“In addition to the reactor cores, the storage pool for highly radioactive irradiated nuclear fuel is also at risk. The pool cooling water must be continuously circulated. Without circulation, the still thermally hot irradiated nuclear fuel in the storage pools will begin to boil off the cooling water. Within a day or two, the pool’s water could completely boil away. Without cooling water, the irradiated nuclear fuel could spontaneously combust in an exothermic reaction. Since the storage pools are not located within containment, a catastrophic radioactivity release to the environment could occur. Up to 100 percent of the volatile radioactive Cesium-137 content of the pools could go up in flames and smoke, to blow downwind over large distances. Given the large quantity of irradiated nuclear fuel in the pool, the radioactivity release could be worse than the Chernobyl nuclear reactor catastrophe of 25 years ago.”

Kamps is a specialist in nuclear waste at Beyond Nuclear and conducted research last year assessing the state of nuclear facilities in Japan.

[Confusious]

4. They don't have anymore diesel fuel or batteries in japan

to keep it going? Wow, who knew. They got the tech to build a reactor, but they don't have any to build batteries or make diesel fuel. Or even fly it in by one of those new fangled whirly birds.

[Scuba]

3. "we can ensure the safety" Uh huh. Sure. n/t