BBC -Japan to scrap stricken nuclear reactors

[malaise]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12903725
<snip>
Japan is to decommission four stricken reactors at the quake-hit Fukushima nuclear plant, the operator says.

Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) made the announcement three weeks after failing to bring reactors 1 - 4 under control. Locals would be consulted on reactors 5 and 6, which were shut down safely.

Harmful levels of radioactivity have been detected in the area.

More than 11,000 people are known to have been killed by the devastating 11 March earthquake and tsunami.

[snappyturtle]

1. Not a good article for a first read this morning. I don't understand

what decommission means in relation to the reactors. I would have thought that that would have happened quite some days ago. I guess it doesn't make any difference...now.

Read yesterday that the U.S. is sending robots that are radiation hardened that are capable of taking pictures in places too radioactively hot for human beings. Maybe they will help in safely shutting down the four reactors.

[malaise]

2. I am clueless on this subject

Good morning :hi:

[snappyturtle]

5. Hey, Good morning to you!

:hi:

[SydNav]

3. Four out of six is great news- right?

Do we know what they're planning to do with the other two? 

[malaise]

4. No

Welcome to DU :hi:

[marions ghost]

6. duh

n/t

[PoliticAverse]

7. The headline should be "Tepco shutdown of reactors 5 & 6 may not be permanent.

Anyone who doubts that 1-4 aren't already scrap needs a reality check.

[nc4bo]

8. But haven't 5 and 6 been contaminated from just being in the vicinity of 1,2,3 and 4?

And if so, what is the level of contamination? Will every part of 5 and 6 be decontaminated? What about the land around 5 and 6?

OMG such a mess!

[PoliticAverse]

9. Good questions...

The Chernobyl accident happened in 1986 in reactor # 4. Reactor # 3 (adjacent to # 4) was only shutdown
permanently in 2000, 14 years later.