Black Smoke Seen Rising from No.3 Nuclear Reactor at Fukushima plant - NHK

[Hissyspit]

Source: Reuters

@Reuters

FLASH: Black smoke seen rising from no.3 nuclear reactor at Fukushima plant - NHK

4 minutes ago via web Favorite Retweet Reply

Read more: http://twitter.com/#!/Reuters/status/50461365822959618

[truthisfreedom]

1. So we've had bad white smoke, bad grey smoke, and now black smoke?

Don't we make the assumption that black is the worst smoke in a greyscale world?

[Hissyspit]

2. Some are describing it as grey smoke. Reuters reporting "no flames seen."

[Rex]

3. What is the difference? Can they tell what is burning by the color of the smoke?

Just curious.

[Hissyspit]

4. Well, steam is going to be white.

Everything else is more educated guess, I would think. I'm not an expert. Petroleum, metal burn black, if I'm not mistaken.

[Rex]

6. That is what I was wondering, wood burns white and oil dark.

Green leaves burn yellow, just figured they might actually be able to tell what is burning by color...since that has been brought up in a lot of threads.

[jtuck004]

5. When they shoot depleted uranium rounds, one source of which is spent

nuclear fuel, you get thick, black smoke. Some is reported as brown.

Cover the spinach...

[appleannie1]

7. picture It is black

http://my.news.yahoo.com/photos/black-smoke-rising-reactor-number-three-number-1-photo-20110321-131435-774.html

[Ghost Dog]

8. The smoke abated more than two hours later

... Workers were forced to evacuate from part of the facility, located 250 kilometres northeast of the capital Tokyo, after grey smoke rose from reactor number three, operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. said.

The cause was unclear but it was not believed to be linked to the all-important efforts to restore power to the reactor unit systems, officials said.

The smoke abated more than two hours later but white smoke was later seen rising from the number two reactor...

... Rain meanwhile complicated rescue efforts and compounded the misery of tsunami survivors fearful of dangerous radioactive leaks...

/Full Article (I've slightly re-arranged)... http://my.news.yahoo.com/smoke-japan-nuclear-plant-workers-evacuated-20110321-013946-696.html

[CreekDog]

9. unless we're getting a new Pope

I think this is bad news.

[Octafish]

10. Not good. It's the reactor with the plutonium.

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110321x1.html

[Baclava]

12. Your link didn't work, for me

MOX fuel hazards...

- When MOX fuels are used, the probability of having such serious accidents or trouble would increase due to the high content of plutonium in the fuel. Even if an accident is not a serious one, it could become serious since even a small portion of the inventory of actinides released to the environment could cause significant radiological consequences.

- MOX fuel is "hotter" than uranium fuel at equivalent power.

- The radiation exposure from inhalation of radioactive materials during the passage of the radioactive cloud is higher by several dozen percentages than if U fuel elements were exclusively used.

- Radiation exposure through the route of inhalation of remobilized long-lived actinide isotopes is more than doubled.



http://www10.antenna.nl/wise/index.html?http://www10.antenna.nl/wise/469-470/6.html#Chap_6_2

[Octafish]

13. Sorry. It's to a 3-day old Japan Times article. Thank you for your info...

...to which I'd add:

Japan Nuclear Crisis: What About The Plutonium MOX?

Hope it works, Baclava!

[Baclava]

14. "Half-life of Plutonium-239 in MOX is 24,000 years"

That's a cheery tidbit.


You're welcome.

[Baclava]

11. Maybe just due to returning power....they've reconnected external electrical power to all 6

Work at nuclear plant disrupted again by black smoke




Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co said it learned at around 4:20 p.m. that black smoke was seen rising at the No. 3 reactor building, leading to evacuation of workers from the four troubled reactors, but added about an hour later that it was receding.

The radiation level was unchanged shortly afterward, meaning the smoke caused no massive release of radioactive materials, the government’s nuclear safety agency said. Smoke was also seen billowing from the No. 3 building on Monday.

It also turned out that the surface temperatures of the No. 1 and No. 3 reactor vessels have topped the maximum levels set by their designers, now that they can be measured due to battery-based backup power, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said.

At the plant run by TEPCO, all six reactors were reconnected to external power as of Tuesday night and workers scrambled to check each piece of equipment, such as data measuring instruments and feed-water pumps, before transmitting power to them.

Lighting in the No. 3 reactor’s control room was restored Tuesday night, a key step toward regaining control of the situation as operators have been unable remain in any control rooms for long hours due to high radiation levels and power outages.

http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/work-continues-to-restore-nuclear-plant-functions