Explosion did not occur on reactor container -- NHK English

[Helga Scow Stern]

Edano:Explosion did not occur on reactor container

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano says the explosion at a nuclear power station in quake-hit Fukushima Prefecture occurred in the reactor building; rather than the steel reactor container itself.

Edano told reporters on Saturday that the wall of the reactor building collapsed at the Fukushima Number One power plant earlier in the day but that the reactor container itself suffered no damage.

Edano's remarks followed a report that an explosion was heard at the plant.

Edano explained that the reactor is covered with a steel container and that it is placed in the reactor building which is made of steel-reinforced concrete.

more....

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/12_56.html

[ProgressiveProfessor]

1. That goes along with other quality analysis I have read today

[ReturnoftheDjedi]

2. so the concrete wall exploded, not the reactor? that doesn't make any sense.

[Boswell]

3. huh? how did you get that from the article?

something exploded and collaped the wall. seems fairly simple to me...

[MilesColtrane]

6. They were probably venting steam and hydrogen from the reactor into the...

containment building.

Something ignited the hydrogen.

[BrklynLiberal]

4. After Hiroshima and Nagasaki, I would have thought Japan might have been in the vanguard of solar

and wind energy...and never even consider nuclear....

[northernlights]

5. the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency says otherwise

Either something is getting lost in translation or somebody's not keeping the story straight.

And where did the cesium come from?

[jpak]

7. How much damage to the control room, piping, instrumentation and reactor controls?

That building contained a lot of important reactor components - and explosion after a major quake will have damaged lots of stuff.

debris could impair actions to cool and stabilize the plant.

yup