"The fuel rods were exposed and some of them melted". just now on Japan tv.

[dixiegrrrrl]

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

210,000 people being evacuated.

The Japanese government rates the accident at the Fukushima Number One nuclear power plant at level 4 on an international scale of 0 to 7.

[Robb]

1. INES scale here (link):

http://www-ns.iaea.org/tech-areas/emergency/ines.asp

[Raine]

2. THANKS for this latest info nt

[DainBramaged]

3. I think they are downplaying this tragedy

They do not want to show weakness, even in their darkest moment of need......mark my words, if the rods are exposed, it is a level 7 and long term the country is in for some serious shit.

[thewiseguy]

4. I do not understand why they refused coolants from United States

We offered but they refused.

[wtmusic]

5. Hillary misspoke

The coolant is water. We offered pumps, and they already had some.

[Abq_Sarah]

13. Their problem was getting juice

To the operating systems. You can have all the back up systems in the world but if you have a mega quake that knocks out your primary, secondary and last ditch systems, you pretty much have to resort to pumping in water "manually" and guessing.

[joentokyo]

7. I am in Tokyo only 150 miles from the nuclear plants with problems, and you sound

more afraid than I am. Aren't you far enough away?

[DainBramaged]

17. Of course. Silly me, the japanese government is telling you all is well

what was I thinking, they are in total control of the situation.........


:eyes:

[Statistical]

8. fuel rods melting and fuel rods exposed are two completely different things.

There is nothing that indicates containment was breached.

At TMI the fuel rods partial melted INSIDE the sealed reactor pressure vessel. It was hardly a category 7. Partially melted fuel is a serious event but hardy catastrophic if containment (primary or secondary) holds.

[joentokyo]

9. I am amazed at how people 10,000 miles away think they know more about what

is going on here than we do here in Japan.

[nadinbrzezinski]

11. Actually you may want to blame NHK which is covering

what is going on at the plant... the amazing technology allows me to watch it

And they are right now covering the fact that there is at the very least a partial meltdown.

[Raschel]

14. Well then we all are. They are the world's third largest economy.

Not that money is more important than the lives, but their economic problems will be the rest of the world's. :(

[L. Coyote]

6. Earthquake was 9.0 instead of 8.8

The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said that fuel in the reactor partially melted. It's the first such accident in Japan.
......
The agency called the accident very regrettable even though it was triggered by an earthquake.

================
What, no word on why a bunch of nuclear power stations were built on a subduction fault in a tsunami zone??

[Abq_Sarah]

15. Because they thought it was a better idea

Than a bunch of coal fired plants on an island?

[upi402]

18. They have great DER projects -Distributed Energy Resources = many kinds of alternative energy

They have one site with solar, a fuel cell, a ton of battery storage, etc etc.

They just wanted to beat US. We're doing the same now, grabbing cash, and we'll pay too.

[nadinbrzezinski]

10. Just reach for one of these

And you will feel much better

That said, if they keep containment, six is right. If they don't... fun days ahead...

Regardless the nuclear industry is really hating life about now

[Raschel]

12. Should nuclear accidents really be rated?

[Mimosa]

16. Some people think this is all a big downer.

http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2011/03/77230.html

Excerpt:

Another reactor at Fukushima nuke plant loses cooling functions

TOKYO, March 13, Kyodo

Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Sunday another reactor of its quake-hit Fukushima nuclear power plants had lost its cooling functions, while at least 15 people at a nearby hospital were found to have been exposed to radioactivity.

The utility supplier notified the government early Sunday morning that the No. 3 reactor at the No. 1 Fukushima plant had lost the ability to cool the reactor core. The reactor is now in the process of releasing radioactive steam, according to top government spokesman Yukio Edano.

It was the sixth reactor overall at the Fukushima No. 1 and No. 2 plants to undergo cooling failure since the massive earthquake and ensuing tsunami struck Japan on Friday.

The disaster raised fears over radioactive leaks from the plants after cooling systems there were hampered, most seriously at the No. 1 reactor.

An explosion Saturday at the No. 1 plant blew away the roof and the walls of the building housing the No. 1 reactor's container.

The government and nuclear authorities said there was no damage to the steel container housing the troubled No. 1 reactor, noting that the blast occurred as vapor from the container turned into hydrogen and mixed with outside oxygen