CONFIRMED reports of an explosion at the power plant

[nadinbrzezinski]

per Russian TV... the only live TV i got right now.

You'd think... oh never mind.

http://news.sky.com/skynews/

There for you at sky news too

[steve2470]

1. Japan Quake: Nuclear Plant Meltdown Fears

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Video-Japan-Quake-Nuclear-Power-Plant-Emergencies-After-Japan-Earthquake-And-Tsunami/Article/201103215950844?lpos=World_News_Carousel_Region_0&lid=ARTICLE_15950844_Video%3A_Japan_Quake%3A_Nuclear_Power_Plant_Emergencies_After_Japan_Earthquake_And_Tsunami

8:14am UK, Saturday March 12, 2011
Andy Jack, Sky News Online

An explosion has reportedly been heard and plumes of white smoke seen at an earthquake-hit nuclear plant in Japan - amid fears of a possible meltdown.

Japanese news agency Jiji reported the blast had taken place at Fukushima Number 1 nuclear power plant, 150 miles (240km) north of capital Tokyo.

It is one of two nuclear power stations in Fukushima where emergencies had already been declared due to cooling problems.

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. This is NOT good

[nadinbrzezinski]

3. Confirmed

BreakingNews Breaking News
Japan nuclear plant update: Several workers injured following explosion at quake-hit site - NHK
4 minutes ago Favorite Retweet Reply

[Paradoxical]

4. Hydrogen explosion?

[nadinbrzezinski]

5. Not clear

(All times are local in Japan GMT+9)

5:03pm
Several workers have reportedly been injured in the blast at the nuclear plant.

4:59pm
An explosion has been heard and smoke was seen at Fukushima No.1 nuclear power plant, Jiji news agency quotes police as saying.

4:57pm
AFP reports that Japan TV footage shows smoke billowing from Fukushima No.1 nuclear plant and that radioactivity there is 20 times normal level.

[Paradoxical]

8. Sounds like the top of the fuel might be burning.

Byproducts include hydrogen. Which will explode when exposed to heat (already present)

[nadinbrzezinski]

29. Superheated steam

water at over 100 C...

From what I can tell from Russian TV.

They already have fall out... if I can make heads or tails out of this,

This explains the FD nuclear response.

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. MSNBC also reports this

[steve2470]

11. Explosion rocks quake-hit Japanese nuke plant

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42044156/ns/world_news-asiapacific/

NBC, msnbc.com and news services
updated less than 1 minute ago


TOKYO — An explosion was heard and smoke was seen at a quake-hit Japanese nuclear power plant on Saturday, officials said.

An explosion was heard and smoke was seen at a quake-hit Japanese nuclear power plant on Saturday, officials said.

Several workers were injured by the blast, NHK reported.

Japan earlier in the day warned of a meltdown at the nuclear reactor damaged when a massive earthquake and tsunami struck the northeast coast.

on edit: copyright

[Raine]

7. CNN ...just reported it. nt

[AlabamaLibrul]

9. Everything is STILL totally fine and safe some 24h later according to the nuke lobby n/t

[nadinbrzezinski]

12. Of course, go lick a nuclear rod

it is SAFE... really.

:-)

Sorry my gallows humor is really off the scale at the moment.

[upi402]

10. Yeah, watch the wind now eh?

Head east aint just an old rock band now

[nadinbrzezinski]

13. Or find a nice cave...

what can I say?

I found I got Russian TV, only thing LIVE right now on my TV

[upi402]

16. Wow!

Russian TV? Is it cable, dish, or are you pulling it in somehow.

[Ghost Dog]

19. RT (Russia Today) via internet here:

http://rt.com/on-air/

[upi402]

27. Ah... intrnet

Watching now, it's very good. Thanks!

[nadinbrzezinski]

20. Cable, we expanded to get current when tehy

start carrying Current and keith... RT is not really very good, but they are doing good disaster coverage.

[Skip_In_Boulder]

14. FYI

http://www.stormsurfing.com/cgi/display_alt.cgi?a=npac_250

[nadinbrzezinski]

15. I know.. trust me, I am downwind

I have been making jokes, but...

[upi402]

17. from AJ live blog

5:03pm Several workers have reportedly been injured in the blast at the nuclear plant.

http://blogs.aljazeera.net/live/asia/live-blog-japan-earthquake#update-10551

[Skip_In_Boulder]

18. Well I don't try to pretend that I understand nuclear energy but,

I hope this chart is wrong.

0-50 rads - No obvious short-term effects

80-120 rads - You have a 10% chance of vomiting and experiencing nausia for a few days

130 -170 rads - You have a 25% chance of vomiting and contracting other symptoms

180-220 rads - You have a 50% chance of vomiting and having other severe physical effects

270-330 rads - 20% chance of death in 6 weeks, or you will recover in a few months.

400-500 rads - 50% chance of death

550-750 rads - Nausia within a few hours ; no survivors

> 1000 rads - immediate incapacitation and death within a week or less.

http://www.rumormillnews.com/cgi-bin/forum.cgi?read=198724

[nadinbrzezinski]

21. When I saw it the only thing that is serviceable is the pattern

they degrade exponentially.

Why I started making gallows jokes about only 750 rads...

Survivors close to the explosion at Hiroshima died from them since they were exposed anywhere from 700 to 1000 rads.

People at the edge got low levels, (and got cancer later on in life)

In the US, very much worst case, don't drink milk for a while and they should tell us to stay indoors... for a few days... WORST CASE...

It will now officially though affect the ecology as in fisheries where it will concentrate.

[LooseWilly]

26. So you're saying I should start smoking again?

I knew there was bound to be a silver lining... :+

[nadinbrzezinski]

30. Trust me the gallows humor is hard

[LooseWilly]

33. What humor?

If I'm liable to get cancer off this anyway... all the bullshit threats over cigarettes are reduced to the threat of pulling a muscle hitting the water after jumping of the Golden Gate Bridge (which some fucknut managed to do successfully recently as well).

If that reactor goes... I'm gonna go get 'em, and I'm gonna smoke 'em. And I'm just going to laugh when busybodies tell me that it's bad for me... because the air will literally be worse. :+

[nadinbrzezinski]

36. It degrades exponentially

[LooseWilly]

45. Ohh... well, as long as the Australian Radiation Services are incompetent, then nevermind.

I'm sure their ballpark is so far off that not only will we not all be dying within the next month (which the chart and the numbers would suggest, but was obviously an absolute worst case scenario), presuming the reactor goes (which I really really hope it doesn't, Japan's had a hard enough week)... but whatever radiation the US West Coast is exposed to as a result will not elevate cancer odds so much that the relative risks caused by anything less than smoking two packs a day will shrink to a near infantesimal level when juxtaposed... just as cancer odds from exposure to high EM levels from our cell phones is so small next to the odds from smoking two packs a day that the cell phone companies are able to convince us all to ignore that risk.

The phenomenal unlikelihood of of this tri-fecta of disaster may, I think, potentially change the underpinnings of a whole lot of factors that we all have to work with when assessing risk. If this goes badly, it will be changing the environment itself for... well, look at the chart. The Australian Radiation Services may be incompetent... but I suspect there's some sort of potential ball park to be found... and even if mere considerations of the air we breathe aren't cause for re-evaluation— the realization of the full implications of probability, and the fact that every precaution known to man can be taken and still not be enough, may be cause enough for some to re-evaluate the risks they take or don't take.

Or, maybe not. Do as you like... they're your risks. :+

[nadinbrzezinski]

48. 750 rads are lethal values

200-300 in NA is to be expected, worst case. Nothing to sneeze at, but 750... No pun what are they smoking.

[Skip_In_Boulder]

31. It's just a matter of how one looks at things. n/t

[upi402]

22. Walls and roof of a building at site destroyed by blast

Japan nuclear plant update: Walls and roof of a building at site destroyed by blast - NHK v Sky News: /RT @BreakingNews:

[steve2470]

23. Fukushima prefecture says Tepco's no.1 reactor ceiling has collapsed - Jiji

http://live.reuters.com/Event/Japan_earthquake2

[nadinbrzezinski]

24. RT showing it, not the actual reactor

[Skip_In_Boulder]

25. From the Twitter machine.

BreakingNews Breaking News
by maddow
Japan nuclear plant update: Walls and roof of a building at site destroyed by blast - NHK via Sky News

[nadinbrzezinski]

28. One wall has collapsed

they have lost all cooling

They had a serious steam explosion, from my knowledge of physics.

Water was at over 100 C (212 F).. per Russian TV, via Japanese TV

Radiation at 1000 over normal levels

[highplainsdem]

32. Some tweets are saying NHK is telling people stay indoors, avoid tap water, turn off a/c.

[Maru Kitteh]

38. It's cold outside there. People wouldn't be running A/C.

[highplainsdem]

34. More tweets saying everyone within 10 km told to evacuate, and to cover skin,

[highplainsdem]

35. New tweet says an official is telling people not to trust tweets.

[Cetacea]

37. Don't trust officials telling people not to trust tweets.

Maddow tweeting 4 injured in blast.

[highplainsdem]

39. Yes, I've seen a lot of tweets about that, and one tweet saying a worker is trapped.

[highplainsdem]

40. Fukushima residents asked to close doors, shut windows, cover mouths w/masks, towels, kerchiefs

OpenHQR HQR Group
Fukushima residents asked to close doors, shut windows, cover mouths w/masks, towels, kerchiefs as explosion destroys nuclear building. NHK
3 minutes ago Favorite Retweet Reply

[upi402]

41. Radiation levels 20x normal, roof collapsed too

some are saying 1,000x normal

[nadinbrzezinski]

42. I don't think people know if this was containment breach

Or not

[upi402]

43. I get the sense Japan is minimizing

and the worry of a meltdown of a MUCH larger scale than Chernobyl is warranted.

[nadinbrzezinski]

44. They are telling people to now stay indoors

We got a release

[Cetacea]

47. Yes.

They are still insisting that everything is...cool, as in "no danger of contamination".

[nadinbrzezinski]

46. People there is a breach

BreakingNews Breaking News
Japan nuclear plant update: Hourly radiation leaking from Fukushima is equal to amount permitted in one year, official tells Kyodo
3 minutes ago Favorite Retweet Reply

maddow Rachel Maddow MSNBC
Contextualizing nuclear disasters - in layman's language: http://is.gd/SeFvdK
15 minutes ago

BreakingNews Breaking News
RT @SkyNewsBreak: Japanese government warns of further aftershocks, urging people to move to higher ground
21 minutes ago

[nadinbrzezinski]

49. They are going to administer iodine per Russian tv.

[highplainsdem]

51. Good idea.

[highplainsdem]

50. "Hourly radiation leaking from Fukushima is equal to amount permitted in one year:"

Seeing lots of tweets saying that.

[joshcryer]

52. Trying to confirm that, if true this is a seriously fucking bad disaster.

[nadinbrzezinski]

53. Russian TV just covered that

of course they have a problem. I think they are readying from the twitter...

[upi402]

54. RT reports likely meltdown n/t

[highplainsdem]

55. Tweet says Kyodo News says the radiation level is falling now:

Journalisti MsJournalist
#Fukushima: Radiation level falls after briefly surging following blast. - Kyodo
8 minutes ago Favorite Retweet Reply

[highplainsdem]

56. But another tweet says the evacuation area has been widened to 20 km

Cormacaroni Cormac O'Connor
evac area has been widened to 20km #fukushima
2 minutes ago Favorite Retweet Reply

[nadinbrzezinski]

57. They still got a release