Japan mulls draping fabric over reactors: report

[Liberal_in_LA]

Japan mulls draping fabric over reactors: report

OSAKA, March 30, 2011 (AFP) - Japan is considering draping crippled reactor buildings at the Fukushima nuclear plant with a fabric to reduce radiation, and using a tanker to siphon off contaminated water, a report said Wednesday.

The government did not explicitly confirm the report, but Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said Japan's leaders and nuclear experts were discussing "every possibility, including those mentioned in the press".

Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan leaves a cabinet meeting at the National Diet in Tokyo on March 30, 2011. Kan said he was resolved to explore alternative energy sources to power Japan. AFP

http://www.saigon-gpdaily.com.vn/International/2011/3/90924/

[Wilms]

1. Since "this never could happen" they have to write the playbook as they flub along. n/t

[MadHound]

2. They have gone from the desperate stage to the stupid stage.

What they need to do is stop trying to save the facility and employ the Chernobyl solution, encase everything in concrete, now.

[uppityperson]

4. Except I think it is still too hot, the concrete won't set.

I think I have read that.

[Liberal_in_LA]

5. yeah, there is some reason it's too soon for bury the reactors in concrete

[MadHound]

6. It is no hotter than Chernobyl was when they buried it.

Chernobyl was smoking, literally and figuratively, when they buried it. They required the choppers to be lead lined, and the crews still died at a young age due to radiation exposure.

There are plenty of high temp concrete solutions they can come up with, but instead they're trying to save what is left of the facility.

[AndyTiedye]

13. It's Still Fissioning. They Can't Entomb it While It's Fissioning

If they do, the pressure will just build up and build up, until it :nuke:

[lapfog_1]

12. Worse, without the constant stream of cooling water

The fuel rods would continue to heat and probably melt.

They can entomb it only after they remove the majority (if not all) of the fuel rods and uranium and plutonium.

[pnwmom]

22. I read that that would be difficult because the spent rods

are stacked in some sort of container that is suspended above the reactors.

[gratuitous]

3. Make it a Cristo project! Of course

Charge folks a thousand yen to see it. Brilliant.

[Newest Reality]

7. We must gather together and send them

millions of rolls of duct tape and plastic sheeting. Our government has already assured us these are important protections for all sorts of calamities.

I would also suggest that we create a drive to find and ship as many school desks as we can spare because they are known to be safety shields in all matters nuclear. I learned this in school when I was a kid and I think the wads of gum under the desks has a lot to do with it. Duck and cover!

[Toucano]

15. +1 n/t

[Raine]

21. Good ole "duck and cover"

get under your desk put one hand over your eyes and the other on the back of your neck ...yup that'll do it, save you from that blast! :nuke: :silly:

[hlthe2b]

8. Oh, Gawd.. I thought this was a Cristo stunt via the Onion....

As per his (the artist, Christo) plans for the Arkanasas River Gorge in Colorado.... Truth is stranger than fiction sometimes.....:eyes:

[Angry Dragon]

9. Or would the fabric keep out prying eyes??

[Liberal_in_LA]

11. good point n/t

[crickets]

14. Bingo. -nt

[lutherj]

10. Gives new meaning to "throwing in the towel". nt

[Toucano]

16. Oh please, oh please, oh please - let it be pink taffeta!

What more could anyone ask for?

[Rex]

17. Funeral drapes.

This gets more depressing as the days pass. Maybe the material is made to keep prying eyes out. This is going to get uglier and they want to hide it from the world what they are about to do.

[MilesColtrane]

18. Umm...who's going to be operating that tanker?

Are there enough suicidal seamen in Japan to fill out its crew?

[upi402]

19. what they need is

a color schemed alert system

green
yellow
orange
red
brown (matches new color of underwear)

[JCMach1]

20. Just had a horrific thought... what if the core burns into the areas containing the water

a lot of it is piping and ductwork apparently... I am just imagining a nightmare with super heated radioactive steam shooting out of these like a gun.

:(