Tepco to remove 1300+ damaged fuel rods starting next month, one mistake could kill millions

[hsedin33]

http://nuclear-news....lear-fuel-rods/

Dangers in removing Fukushima’s spent nuclear fuel rods

Japanese gamble Armageddon in Last Ditch Fukushima Effort, Whiteout Press, August 20, 2013. Fukushima, Japan Japan gambles the world “……….For the past two years, there have been varying and sporadic reports, some official and some unofficial, describing how the Fukushima nuclear meltdown is anything but under control. In fact, millions of gallons of radioactive wastewater continue to spill out into the Pacific to this day. And while the reactors and their safety mechanisms continue to break down, the world comes closer and closer to global Armageddon.

To stop the complete and total meltdown of Japan’s nuclear reactors, authorities have proposed a dangerous plan. The biggest problem is Fukushima’s Reactor Number 4. The reactor’s cooling pool for spent nuclear rods is located on the top floor of the TEPCO building. And that building was heavily damaged by the 2011 quake. Due to its instability, authorities say they must move the 400 tons of spent fuel rods right away.

Spent fuel rod transfers occur on a fairly regular basis, but always under the most secure and controlled setting due to the potential nuclear catastrophe that would happen if just one spent rod is mishandled. In the case of Fukushima’s Reactor 4, officials will attempt to remove 1,300 spent fuel rods from a structurally unsafe building in a highly contaminated environment.

The problems and dangers

One nuclear fallout expert, Christina Consolo, spoke to RT News to answer the outlet’s questions regarding the situation in Fukushima. She detailed a list of potential problems authorities might encounter when they attempt to move the spent rods. Those potentially catastrophic hurdles include (from RT News):

• The racks inside the pool that contain this fuel were damaged by the explosion in the early days of the accident.
  

• Zirconium cladding which encased the rods burned when water levels dropped, but to what extent the rods have been damaged is not known, and probably won’t be until removal is attempted.
  

• Saltwater cooling has caused corrosion of the pool walls, and probably the fuel rods and racks.
  

• The building is sinking.
  

• The cranes that normally lift the fuel were destroyed.
  

• Computer-guided removal will not be possible; everything will have to be done manually.
  

• TEPCO cannot attempt this process without humans, which will manage this enormous task while being bombarded with radiation during the extraction and casking.
  

• The process of removing each rod will have to be repeated over 1,300 times without incident.
  

• Moving damaged nuclear fuel under such complex conditions could result in a criticality if the rods come into close proximity to one another, which would then set off a chain reaction that cannot be stopped.
  

What is most likely to go wrong?

When asked what the biggest potential dangers are in removing the damaged spent fuel rods, Christina Consolo replied, “The most serious complication would be anything that leads to a nuclear chain reaction. And as outlined above, there are many different ways this could occur. In a fuel pool containing damaged rods and racks, it could potentially start up on its own at anytime. TEPCO has been incredibly lucky that this hasn’t happened so far.”

She also expressed concern for the human workers that will have to submerse themselves into a highly radioactive environment and then perform extremely precise movements. Not only might their senses and thinking be affected, but their protective gear will make the entire operation somewhat clumsy.

“My second biggest concern would be the physical and mental fitness of the workers that will be in such close proximity to exposed fuel during this extraction process,” Consolo told RT News, “They will be the ones guiding this operation and will need to be in the highest state of alertness to have any chance at all of executing this plan manually and successfully. Many of their senses, most importantly eyesight, will be hindered by the apparatus that will need to be worn during their exposure to prevent immediate death from lifting compromised fuel rods out of the pool.” http://www.whiteoutp...kushima-effort/

http://rt.com/news/f...el-removal-598/

Fukushima apocalypse: Years of ‘duct tape fixes’ could result in ‘millions of deaths’

Published time: August 17, 2013 13:15

Edited time: August 18, 2013 13:41

Get short URL

Damaged Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) number 1 daiichi nuclear power plant at Okuma town in Fukushima prefecture (AFP Photo)

Share on tumblr

TrendsFukushima nuclear disaster

TagsAccident, Children, Earthquake, Ecology,Election, Japan

Even the tiniest mistake during an operation to extract over 1,300 fuel rods at the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan could lead to a series of cascading failures with an apocalyptic outcome, fallout researcher Christina Consolo told RT.

Fukushima operator TEPCO wants to extract 400 tons worth of spent fuel rods stored in a pool at the plant’s damaged Reactor No. 4. The removal would have to be done manually from the top store of the damaged building in the radiation-contaminated environment.

In the worst-case scenario, a mishandled rod may go critical, resulting in an above-ground meltdown releasing radioactive fallout with no way to stop it, said Consolo, who is the founder and host of Nuked Radio. But leaving the things as they are is not an option, because statistical risk of a similarly bad outcome increases every day, she said.

RT: How serious is the fuel rod situation compared to the danger of contaminated water build-up which we already know about?

Christina Consolo: Although fuel rod removal happens on a daily basis at the 430+ nuclear sites around the world, it is a very delicate procedure even under the best of circumstances. What makes fuel removal at Fukushima so dangerous and complex is that it will be attempted on a fuel pool whose integrity has been severely compromised. However, it must be attempted as Reactor 4 has the most significant problems structurally, and this pool is on the top floor of the building.

There are numerous other reasons that this will be a dangerous undertaking.

- The racks inside the pool that contain this fuel were damaged by the explosion in the early days of the accident.

- Zirconium cladding which encased the rods burned when water levels dropped, but to what extent the rods have been damaged is not known, and probably won't be until removal is attempted.

- Saltwater cooling has caused corrosion of the pool walls, and probably the fuel rods and racks.

- The building is sinking.

- The cranes that normally lift the fuel were destroyed.

- Computer-guided removal will not be possible; everything will have to be done manually.

- TEPCO cannot attempt this process without humans, which will manage this enormous task while being bombarded with radiation during the extraction and casking.

- The process of removing each rod will have to be repeated over 1,300 times without incident.

- Moving damaged nuclear fuel under such complex conditions could result in a criticality if the rods come into close proximity to one another, which would then set off a chain reaction that cannot be stopped.

What could potentially happen is the contents of the pool could burn and/or explode, and the entire structure sustain further damage or collapse. This chain reaction process could be self-sustaining and go on for a long time. This is the apocalyptic scenario in a nutshell.

The water build-up is an extraordinarily difficult problem in and of itself, and as anyone with a leaky basement knows, water always 'finds a way.’

'Trivial in light of other problems at Fukushima, water situation could culminate in the chain reaction scenario'

At Fukushima, they are dealing with massive amounts of groundwater that flow through the property, and the endless pouring that must be kept up 24/7/365 to keep things from getting worse. Recently there appears to be subsidence issues and liquefaction under the plant.

TEPCO has decided to pump the water out of these buildings. However, pumping water out of the buildings is only going to increase the flow rate and create more of these ground issues around the reactors. An enormous undertaking - but one that needs to be considered for long-term preservation of the integrity of the site - is channelling the water away, like a drain tile installed around the perimeter of a house with a leaky basement, but on an epic scale.

Without this effort, the soils will further deteriorate, structural shift will occur, and subsequently the contents of the pools will shift too.

The damage to TEPCO's No.1 Fukushima nuclear power plant's third reactor building in the town of Okuma, Fubata district in Fukushima prefecture (AFP Photo)

Any water that flows into those buildings also becomes highly radioactive, as it is likely coming into contact with melted fuel.

Without knowing the extent of the current liquefaction and its location, the location of the melted fuel, how long TEPCO has been pumping out water, or when the next earthquake will hit, it is impossible to predict how soon this could occur from the water problem/subsidence issue alone. But undoubtedly, pumping water out of the buildings is just encouraging the flow, and this water problem needs to be remedied and redirected as soon as possible.

RT: Given all the complications that could arise with extracting the fuel rods, which are the most serious, in your opinion?

CC: The most serious complication would be anything that leads to a nuclear chain reaction. And as outlined above, there are many different ways this could occur. In a fuel pool containing damaged rods and racks, it could potentially start up on its own at anytime. TEPCO has been incredibly lucky that this hasn't happened so far.

'One of the worst, but most important jobs anyone has ever had to do'

My second biggest concern would be the physical and mental fitness of the workers that will be in such close proximity to exposed fuel during this extraction process. They will be the ones guiding this operation, and will need to be in the highest state of alertness to have any chance at all of executing this plan manually and successfully. Many of their senses, most importantly eyesight, will be hindered by the apparatus that will need to be worn during their exposure, to prevent immediate death from lifting compromised fuel rods out of the pool and placing them in casks, or in the common spent fuel pool located a short distance away.

Think for a moment what that might be like through the eyes of one of these workers; it will be hot, uncomfortable, your senses shielded, and you would be filled with anxiety. You are standing on a building that is close to collapse. Even with the strongest protection possible, workers will have to be removed and replaced often. So you don't have the benefit of doing such a critical task and knowing and trusting your comrades, as they will frequently have to be replaced when their radiation dose limits are reached. If they exhibit physical or mental signs of radiation exposure, they will have be replaced more often.

The stricken Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) Fukushima daiichi No.1 nuclear power plant reactor number three (L) and four ®, with smoke rising from number three at Okuma town in Fukushima prefecture (AFP Photo)

It will be one of the worst, but most important jobs anyone has ever had to do. And even if executed flawlessly, there are still many things that could go wrong.

RT: How do the potential consequences of failure to ensure safe extraction compare to other disasters of the sort – like Chernobyl, or the 2011 Fukushima meltdown?

CC: There really is no comparison. This will be an incredibly risky operation, in the presence of an enormous amount of nuclear material in close proximity. And as we have seen in the past, one seemingly innocuous failure at the site often translates into a series of cascading failures.

'The site has been propped up with duct tape and a kick-stand for over two years'

Many of their 'fixes' are only temporary, as there are so many issues to address, and cost always seems to be an enormous factor in what gets implemented and what doesn't.

As a comparison: Chernobyl was one reactor, in a rural area, a quarter of the size of one of the reactors at Fukushima. There was no 'spent fuel pool' to worry about. Chernobyl was treated in-situ...meaning everything was pretty much left where it was while the effort to contain it was made (and very expeditiously I might add) not only above ground, but below ground.

At Fukushima, we have six top-floor pools all loaded with fuel that eventually will have to be removed, the most important being Reactor 4, although Reactor 3 is in pretty bad shape too. Spent fuel pools were never intended for long-term storage, they were only to assist short-term movement of fuel. Using them as a long-term storage pool is a huge mistake that has become an 'acceptable' practice and repeated at every reactor site worldwide.

A destroyed building of TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi (No. 1) atomic power plant at Okuma town in Fukushima prefecture (AFP Photo)

We have three 100-ton melted fuel blobs underground, but where exactly they are located, no one knows. Whatever 'barriers' TEPCO has put in place so far have failed. Efforts to decontaminate radioactive water have failed. Robots have failed. Camera equipment and temperature gauges...failed. Decontamination of surrounding cities has failed.

'If and when the corium reaches the Tokyo aquifer, serious and expedient discussions will have to take place about evacuating 40 million people'

We have endless releases into the Pacific Ocean that will be ongoing for not only our lifetimes, but our children’s' lifetimes. We have 40 million people living in the Tokyo area nearby. We have continued releases from the underground corium that reminds us it is there occasionally with steam events and huge increases in radiation levels. Across the Pacific, we have at least two peer-reviewed scientific studies so far that have already provided evidence of increased mortality in North America, and thyroid problems in infants on the west coast states from our initial exposures.

We have increasing contamination of the food chain, through bioaccumulation and biomagnification. And a newly stated concern is the proximity of melted fuel in relation to the Tokyo aquifer that extends under the plant. If and when the corium reaches the Tokyo aquifer, serious and expedient discussions will have to take place about evacuating 40 million people from the greater metropolitan area. As impossible as this sounds, you cannot live in an area which does not have access to safe water.

The operation to begin removing fuel from such a severely damaged pool has never been attempted before. The rods are unwieldy and very heavy, each one weighing two-thirds of a ton. But it has to be done, unless there is some way to encase the entire building in concrete with the pool as it is. I don't know of anyone discussing that option, but it would seem much 'safer' than what they are about to attempt...but not without its own set of risks.

And all this collateral damage will continue for decades, if not centuries, even if things stay exactly the way they are now. But that is unlikely, as bad things happen like natural disasters and deterioration with time...earthquakes, subsidence, and corrosion, to name a few. Every day that goes by, the statistical risk increases for this apocalyptic scenario. No one can say or know how this will play out, except that millions of people will probably die even if things stay exactly as they are, and billions could die if things get any worse.

Workers spraying resin on the ground near the reactor buildings to protect the spread of radioactive substances at TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant at Okuma town in Fukushima prefecture (AFP Photo)

RT: Are the fuel rods in danger of falling victim to other factors, while the extraction process is ongoing? After all, it’s expected to take years before all 1,300+ rods are pulled out.

CC: Unfortunately yes, the fuel rods are in danger every day they remain in the pool. The more variables you add to this equation, and the more time that passes, the more risk you are exposed to. Each reactor and spent fuel pool has its own set of problems, and critical failure with any of them could ultimately have the end result of an above-ground, self-sustaining nuclear reaction. It will not be known if extraction of all the fuel will even be possible, as some of it may be severely damaged, until the attempt is made to remove it.

RT: Finally, what is the worst case scenario? What level of contamination are we looking at and how dire would the consequences be for the long-term health of the region?

CC: Extremely dire. This is a terrible answer to have to give, but the worst case scenario could play out in death to billions of people. A true apocalypse. Since we have been discussing Reactor 4, I'll stick to that problem in particular, but also understand that a weather event, power outage, earthquake, tsunami, cooling system failure, or explosion and fire in any way, shape, or form, at any location on the Fukushima site, could cascade into an event of that magnitude as well.

'Once the integrity of the pool is compromised that will lead to more criticalities'

At any time, following any of these possible events, or even all by itself, nuclear fuel in reactor 4's pool could become critical, mostly because it will heat up the pool to a point where water will burn off and the zirconium cladding will catch fire when it is exposed to air. This already happened at least once in this pool that we are aware of. It almost happened again recently after a rodent took out an electrical line and cooling was stopped for days.

Once the integrity of the pool is compromised that will likely lead to more criticalities, which then can spread to other fuel. The heat from this reaction would weaken the structure further, which could then collapse and the contents of the pool end up in a pile of rubble on the ground. This would release an enormous amount of radioactivity, which Arnie Gundersen has referred to as a “Gamma Shine Event” without precedence, and Dr. Christopher Busby has deemed an “Open-air super reactor spectacular.”

This would preclude anyone from not only being at Reactor 4, but at Reactors 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, the associated pools for each, and the common spent fuel pool. Humans could no longer monitor and continue cooling operations at any of the reactors and pools, thus putting the entire site at risk for a massive radioactive release.

'At least the northern half of Japan would be uninhabitable, and some researchers have argued that it already is'

Mathematically, it is almost impossible to quantify in terms of resulting contamination, and a separate math problem would need to be performed for every nuclear element contained within the fuel, and whether or not that fuel exploded, burned, fissioned, melted, or was doused with water to try to cool it off and poured into the ocean afterward.

Workers using a German-made pump to pump water from the spent fuel pool in Unit 4 at Fukushima No.1 (Dai-Ichi) nuclear power plant in the town of Okuma in Fukushima prefecture (AFP Photo)

Some researchers have even ventured to say that other nuke plants on the east coast of Honshu may need to be evacuated if levels get too high, which will lead to subsequent failures/fires and explosions at these plants as well. Just how profound the effect will be on down-winders in North America, or the entire northern hemisphere for that matter, will literally depend on where the wind blows and where the rain falls, the duration and extent of a nuclear fire or chain-reaction event, and whether or not that reaction becomes self-sustaining. At least the northern half of Japan would be uninhabitable, and some researchers have argued that it already is.

This is already happening to the nuclear fuel in the ground under the plant, but now it would be happening above ground as well. There is no example historically to draw from on a scale of this magnitude. Everything is theory. But anyone who says this can't happen is not being truthful, because nobody really knows how bad things could get.

The most disturbing part of all of this is that Fukushima has been this dangerous, and precarious, since the second week of March 2011. The ante will definitely be upped once the fuel removal starts.

'The mainstream media, world governments, nuclear agencies, health organizations, weather reporters, and the health care industry has completely ignored three ongoing triple meltdowns that have never been contained'

An obvious attempt to downplay this disaster and its consequences have been repeated over and over again from 'experts' in the nuclear industry that also have a vested interest in their industry remaining intact. And, there has been a lot of misleading information released by TEPCO, which an hour or two of reading by a diligent reporter would have uncovered, in particular the definition of 'cold shutdown.’

Over 300 mainstream news outlets worldwide ran the erroneous 'cold shutdown' story repeatedly, which couldn't be further from the truth…[it was] yet another lie that was spun by TEPCO to placate the public, and perpetuated endlessly by the media and nuclear lobby.

Unfortunately, TEPCO waited until a severe emergency arose to finally report how bad things really are with this latest groundwater issue...if we are even being told the truth. Historically, everything TEPCO says always turns out to be much worse than they initially admit.

'Unfortunately there is no one better qualified to deal with this than the Russians, despite their own shortcomings'

I think the best chance of success is…that experts around the world drop everything they are doing to work on this problem, and have Russia either lead the containment effort or consult with them closely. They have the most experience, they have decades of data. They took their accident seriously and made a Herculean effort to contain it.

Of course we also know the Chernobyl accident was wrought with deception and lies as well, and some of that continues to this day, especially in terms of the ongoing health effects of children in the region, and monstrous birth defects. Unfortunately there is no one better qualified to deal with this than the Russians, despite their own shortcomings. Gorbachev tried to make up for his part in the cover-up of Chernobyl by opening orphanages throughout the region to deal with the affected children.

Underwater silt fence with orange floats being set in the sea near the drain of TEPCO's Fukushima nuclear power plant at Okuma town in Fukushima prefecture (AFP Photo)

But as far as Fukushima goes, the only thing that matters now is if world leaders and experts join forces to help fix this situation. Regardless of what agendas they are trying to protect or hide, how much it will cost, the effect on Japan or the world’s economy, or what political chains this will yank.

The nuclear industry needs to come clean. If this leads to every reactor in the world being shut down, so be it. If the world governments truly care about their people and this planet, this is what needs to be done.

Renowned theoretical physicist Michio Kaku stated in an interview a few weeks after the initial accident that “TEPCO is literally hanging on by their fingernails.” They still are, and always have been. The Japanese have proven time and time again they are not capable of handling this disaster. Now we are entrusting them to execute the most dangerous fuel removal in history.

We are extremely lucky that this apocalyptic scenario hasn't happened yet, considering the state of Reactor 4. But for many, it is already too late. The initial explosions and spent fuel pool fires may have already sealed the fate of millions of people. Time will tell. Anyone who tells you otherwise is not being honest, because there is just no way to know.

http://www.voanews.c...up/1769997.html

Under Fire, TEPCO Prepares for Critical Phase of Fukushima Cleanup

(VIDEO)

http://www.voanews.c...eo/1770268.html

Download

TEXT SIZE

Henry Ridgwell

October 15, 2013

TOKYO — Workers at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan are about to embark on one of the most critical aspects of the clean-up: removing the fuel rods from one of the worst-hit reactors. Critics say the plant’s owners, TEPCO, should not be trusted to carry out the operation and warn the consequences of any accident would be unprecedented.

Over 1500 fuel rods sit in a damaged storage pool 30 meters above the ground inside the shell of the reactor 4 building at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. Safely removing them is the next big challenge for the plant’s owner, TEPCO.

General Manager Masayuki Ono said the operation has been carefully planned.

He explained that because the entire reactor 4 building was destroyed by a hydrogen explosion, TEPCO had to reinforce the structure. This happened during the first year and that new building is now strong enough to stand another earthquake, he added.

That hydrogen explosion - one of the iconic images of the Fukushima accident - left the inside of the pool littered with debris.

Debris, fuel rod removal

TEPCO’s first task is to remove the debris. And then, one by one, the fuel rods will be removed manually using a crane suspended above the crippled reactor building.

Ono explained that a fuel extraction cover was built over Unit 4 and installed at the fuel handling facility. This structure does not put any weight on the Reactor 4 building, and can be used to remove the fuel without adding any additional weight.

The fuel rods must be kept submerged and must not touch each other or break. Nuclear experts warn any mishaps could cause an explosion many times worse than in March 2011.

Mitsuhei Murata, Japan’s former ambassador to Switzerland and an anti-nuclear campaigner, said a series of incidents over the past 30 months - including radioactive water leaks - have called into question TEPCO’s ability to carry out this critical operation.

“The Unit 4 contains 10 times more Cesium-137 than Chernobyl. So in case the worst occurs, a total withdrawal [from the site] will be imposed, which means this can be considered as the beginning of the ultimate catastrophe of the world and the planet,” said Murata.

International help

Murata said the Fukushima crisis requires the world’s best scientific minds. “The two-and-a-half years of struggling by the state and by TEPCO have proven that nuclear accidents cannot be coped with by electric companies or by a single state. That’s why Japan should ask for international cooperation.”

Hironori Nakanishi, Director-General for Energy Policy at the government's Agency for Natural Resources and Energy, said Japan is engaging foreign expertise.

“The sole responsibility in managing the situation safely is still on TEPCO corporation. But still we are in the same boat and we have to support their activity," said Nakanishi. "So in order to achieve that goal we asked specialists from all over the world, which consists of six people, from the United States, the UK, France, Russia and Ukraine.”

Inspectors from Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority have approved TEPCO’s planned operation to remove the fuel from Reactor 4. The process is scheduled to begin in November and will take up to 18 months.

[Tre Mac]

Thanks Japan.

[HTania]

Should stop nuke completely.

[NightHawkSniper]

So they construct nuclear facilities and are fully aware that they are vulnerable to earthquakes/tsunamis...that is just as dumb as flying H-bombs over the US

[SISU]

Seeing all of this happen feels like watching a movie. It seems too crazy to be actually happening. I think the owners of TEPCO and whatever geniuses decided to build a nuclear plant in such a high-risk area should be among the first to have to go remove the fuel rods.

[LostViking]

Despite a lot of bad news coming from Fukushima, I do feel that Japan is probably the least of our concerns. Its happening right now, so of course it will get all the attention, but there are less well developed nations that also use nuclear power. I bet there are a vast number of facilities around the world in far worse condition than Fukushima, and will make for a lot bigger trouble in the future.

In Japan, I imagine that the whole Fukushima situation has (hopefully) given birth to a whole new perspective on nuclear power, and that regulations and safety measures will increase dramatically at other facilities. Humanity struggles to focus on what is important, sometimes it takes catastrophe to bring everyone back in focus, in other words a disaster may save more lives in the future than it ruins in the present, particularly in a place like Japan where they do have the resources to make improvements for the future.

[Heretic]

[hsedin33]

Despite a lot of bad news coming from Fukushima, I do feel that Japan is probably the least of our concerns. Its happening right now, so of course it will get all the attention, but there are less well developed nations that also use nuclear power. I bet there are a vast number of facilities around the world in far worse condition than Fukushima, and will make for a lot bigger trouble in the future.

In Japan, I imagine that the whole Fukushima situation has (hopefully) given birth to a whole new perspective on nuclear power, and that regulations and safety measures will increase dramatically at other facilities. Humanity struggles to focus on what is important, sometimes it takes catastrophe to bring everyone back in focus, in other words a disaster may save more lives in the future than it ruins in the present, particularly in a place like Japan where they do have the resources to make improvements for the future.

Worst case Scenario would see mass evacuations here in North America depending on which way the winds were blowing. Remember they are doing this manually without computers, and they don't even know where lots of the rods are or what condition they are in, well that or they won't tell us.

[TOMapleLaughs]

Meanwhile, the old 'make the gains private, make the losses public' approach to capitalist world finance continues.

The government of Japan, ie. the people of Japan, are forking over $50 billion to bail out Tepco. Meanwhile, corporate giants Toshiba, Hitachi, and GE all escape (who all earn billions in profits every quarter) designed the bloody thing to a flaw and get off scott-free.

10/17/2013 9:16 AM ET

Japanese government has issued bonds worth five trillion yen ($50 billion) to help the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) pay compensation to the victims of the 2011 nuclear accident at its Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in the country's northeast. The compensation is for the people evacuated and farmers and fishermen who lost their livelihood in the accident, the worst since the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster in Ukraine. More than 160,000 residents had been evacuated in a 30-kilometer radius of the stricken plant following massive radiation that contaminated food and water.

According to Japan's NHK broadcaster, the government plans to recover the funds through an annual pay-back by TEPCO and contributions from other nuclear power companies, but Japan's Board of Audit says it could take more than 30 years for the government to recover funds from the power utility.

[Electro Rock]

You think they would have at least built some kind of containment structures over the reactor buildings?

Why are they concerned about cost anyway?

[aGENT]

We should just nuke the site...

Oh wait....

[Wesker]

The worst part about Fukushima is that it's a fast breeder reactor, the most dangerous type of reactor that exists. Not a lot of people know this but in the 60's Detroit was almost wiped of the map because their fast breeder Fermi 1 suffered a partial meltdown.

[TOMapleLaughs]

Your mom is a fast breeder.

(sorry)

[Warhippy]

What kills me the most is how quickly Canada and the US were quick to not only write off helping what is a global disaster, but instead of warning or educating people.

They just quietly raised the "safe or minimum safe levels of allowable radiation"

Because you know, the government says 3 times what was considered safe 4 years ago, and that makes the human body immune to those extra levels.

Right?

[Rick Grimes]

[Offensive Threat]

Whats the controversy here? The fuel rods have to be removed. They are going to do it in the safest way they can under the current conditions. Unless you have a plan of how to do it better theres not much to talk about other than bitch about the situation in general.

I am pro nuclear power. Not in Japan or anywhere else on a fault line but in locations not prone to natural conditions that could cause a failure it is a practical solution. There have been no new reactor construction starts in the US between 1977 and 2013 due to the incredibly high cost associated with the massive list of safety requirements implemented since those times. Currently there are a couple new reactors under construction that just broke ground a few months ago. At prices ranging from $500 million and up its no wonder they havent been making many. Its pretty safe to assume the safety levels of reactors built now are going to be orders of magnitude higher than those built 30-50 years ago. 3 mile island and chernobyl happened partially due to failures of mechanical measuring devices run by computers no smarter than a current calculator.

[-SN-]

You need to dig into the first couple articles. There's a lot of fear-mongering and speculation.

Consider this:

http://planet3.org/2013/08/23/fukushima-leak-a-problem-locally-not-internationally/#comment-39749

Where to begin. Let’s start with a discussion of SFP #4:

They will not removed INDIVIDUAL rods, but bundles containing 70 or so rods.

Fuel had been discharge around 4 months before the event, if memory serves me correctly. The Japanese run 13 months cycles and replace roughly 1/3 of the core. There was also some older spent fuel that had been discharged 1-2-3 years before.

The fuel has now been sitting in the pool an additional 2.5 years or so. This means that the fuel is quite a bit cooler than when it was first discharged. Also remember that, we/they have been moving fuel for many many years, how do you think it got into the large central storage pool and the dry casks.

They will likely start with the FRESH unirradiated fuel in the pool (around 200 bundles). THis fuel has no risk. It is essentially non radioactive (slight alpha emitter as uranium decays). In fact, they pulled several bundles more than a year ago to evaluate. After that they will likely go to the longest discharged fuel. It is old enough to be easily air cooled and can be readily moved to their central storage pool for a few more years of cooling.

The most recently discharged fuel will have been out of core at least 3 years before they start moving it. It will require some additional care in the immediate area as it will be both temperature hot and still very radioactive, but practice does make perfect.

An earthquake that destroyed that building would NOT contaminate Tokyo. It would make a mess on the site. Period.

Now I’m not a radiation expert, but one comment on the whole contaminated water issue. The phrase “a drop in a bucket” is extremely appropriate. The size of the Pacific ocean compared to the physical amount of radioactive materials that have been released is a very small drop in a very large bucket. We can detect it because we have very sensitive equipment, but it’s impact will be so minimal as to be unmeasurable.

I will try to get some links for you, but a friend asked that we get you some answers quickly.

[Lancaster]

Should stop nuke completely.

And power their cities with what? Rainbows and good thoughts? It's not like Japan can just suddenly start drilling oil or use LNG. A lot of homes in Japan already have solar panels installed, but that just a small drop in the bucket. Switching to another form of energy will just create pollution in another form.

So they construct nuclear facilities and are fully aware that they are vulnerable to earthquakes/tsunamis...that is just as dumb as flying H-bombs over the US

The reactor is earthquake proof and tsunami proof..... just so happened that the earthquake that hit and the subsequent tsunami was significantly more powerful than the normal expect range of probabilities. With nuclear reactors, you gotta build them somewhere and until there is a true alternative to them, they're still the most viable option.

Of course, I'd rather they used thorium-based nuke reactors, but Fukushima's plant was built during the 60's and geopolitical events affected it.

Meanwhile, the old 'make the gains private, make the losses public' approach to capitalist world finance continues.

The government of Japan, ie. the people of Japan, are forking over $50 billion to bail out Tepco. Meanwhile, corporate giants Toshiba, Hitachi, and GE all escape (who all earn billions in profits every quarter) designed the bloody thing to a flaw and get off scott-free.

It's actually just a form of Keiretsu, kinda different from how the US just writes blank cheques. The majority of the shareholders/creditors of TEPCO are usually Japanese nationals and their pension/retirement plans.... so no real money is actually lost. The majority of government debts.... usually Japanese citizens and their financial plans... so this is just shifting of resources. Vastly different than here in the West.

[Horny Manatee]

This would never happen in Japan.

[hsedin33]

Whats the controversy here? The fuel rods have to be removed. They are going to do it in the safest way they can under the current conditions. Unless you have a plan of how to do it better theres not much to talk about other than bitch about the situation in general.

I am pro nuclear power. Not in Japan or anywhere else on a fault line but in locations not prone to natural conditions that could cause a failure it is a practical solution. There have been no new reactor construction starts in the US between 1977 and 2013 due to the incredibly high cost associated with the massive list of safety requirements implemented since those times. Currently there are a couple new reactors under construction that just broke ground a few months ago. At prices ranging from $500 million and up its no wonder they havent been making many. Its pretty safe to assume the safety levels of reactors built now are going to be orders of magnitude higher than those built 30-50 years ago. 3 mile island and chernobyl happened partially due to failures of mechanical measuring devices run by computers no smarter than a current calculator.

Who said there was a controversy, they are moving radioactive fuel rods that if mishandled could start a chain reaction. Are we not allowed to talk about things we can't control? Might as well forget all the GDT and PGT's then too as we have no way to control the outcome of a game.

Newer technology doesn't mean safer. Things will always go wrong, its just a fact of life, you will never have 100% guaranteed safety. The problem with nuclear is when something does go wrong, and it will, it has the potential to do an incredible amount of permanent damage. I looked up nuclear reactor accidents in the U.S. and it seems like they continue to happen no matter what year it is.

http://en.wikipedia....e_United_States

Nuclear reactor accidents in the U.S.[21][3]

Date Location Description Fatalities Cost

(in millions

2006 US$) INES

rating

November 29, 1955 Idaho Falls, Idaho, US Power excursion with partial core meltdown at National Reactor Testing Station's EBR-1 Experimental Breeder Reactor I 0 5

July 26, 1959 Simi Valley, California, USA Partial core meltdown at Santa Susana Field Laboratory’s Sodium Reactor Experiment 0 32

January 3, 1961 Idaho Falls, Idaho, US Explosion at National Reactor Testing Station's SL-1 Stationary Low-Power Reactor Number One 3 22

July 24, 1964 Charlestown, Rhode Island, United States An error by a worker at a United Nuclear Corporation fuel facility led to an accidental criticality 1 ??

October 5, 1966 Monroe, Michigan, USA Sodium cooling system malfunctions at Enrico Fermi demonstration breeder reactor causing partial core meltdown 0 19

July 16, 1971 Cordova, Illinois, USA An electrician is electrocuted by a live cable at the Quad Cities Unit 1 reactor on the Mississippi River 1 1

August 11, 1973 Covert Township, Michigan, USA Steam generator leak at the Palisades Nuclear Generating Station causes manual shutdown of pressurized water reactor 0 10

March 22, 1975 Athens, Alabama, USA Fire burns for seven hours and damages more than 1600 control cables for three nuclear reactors at Browns Ferry, disabling core cooling systems 0 240

November 5, 1975 Brownville, Nebraska, USA Hydrogen gas explosion damages the Cooper Nuclear Facility’s Boiling Water Reactor and an auxiliary building 0 13

June 10, 1977 Waterford, Connecticut, USA Hydrogen gas explosion damages three buildings and forces shutdown of Millstone-1 Boiling Water Reactor 0 15

February 4, 1979 Surry, Virginia, USA Surry Unit 2 shut down in response to failing tube bundles in steam generators 0 12

March 28, 1979 Middletown, Pennsylvania, US Loss of coolant and partial core meltdown, see Three Mile Island accident and Three Mile Island accident health effects 0 2,400

November 22, 1980 San Clemente, California, USA Worker cleaning breaker cubicles at San Onofre Pressurized Water Reactor contacts an energized line and is electrocuted 1 1

January 25, 1982 Ontario, New York, USA Ginna Nuclear Generating Station (then operated by Rochester Gas & Electric now by Constellation Energy Nuclear Group) experiences a steam tube rupture, releasing radioactivity into the environment. 0 1

February 26, 1982 San Clemente, California, USA Southern California Company shuts down San Onofre Unit 1 out of concerns about earthquake 0 1

March 20, 1982 Scriba, New York, USA Recirculation system piping fails at Nine Mile Point Unit 1, forcing two year shutdown 0 45

March 25 1982 Buchanan, New York, USA Damage to steam generator tubes and main generator resulting in a shut down Indian Point Energy Center Unit 3 for more than a year 0 56

June 18, 1982 Seneca, South Carolina, USA Feedwater heat extraction line fails at Oconee 2 Pressurised Water Reactor, damaging thermal cooling system 0 10

February 12, 1983 Forked River, New Jersey, USA Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station fails safety inspection, forced to shut down for repairs 0 32

February 26, 1983 Fort Pierce, Florida, USA Damaged thermal shield and core barrel support at St. Lucie Unit 1, necessitating 13-month shutdown 0 54

September 15, 1984 Athens, Alabama, US Safety violations, operator error, and design problems force six year outage at Browns Ferry Unit 2 0 110

March 9, 1985 Athens, Alabama, US Instrumentation systems malfunction during start-up, which led to suspension of operations at all three Browns Ferry Units 0 1,830

June 9, 1985 Oak Harbor, Ohio, US Loss of feedwater event at Davis-Besse reactor after main pumps shut down and auxiliary pumps tripped due to operator error. NRC review determines site area emergency should have been declared 0 ?

April 11, 1986 Plymouth, Massachusetts, US Recurring equipment problems force emergency shutdown of Boston Edison’s Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant 0 1,001

March 31, 1987 Delta, Pennsylvania, US Peach Bottom units 2 and 3 shutdown due to cooling malfunctions and unexplained equipment problems 0 400

July 15, 1987 Burlington, Kansas, USA Safety inspector dies from electrocution after contacting a mislabeled wire at Wolf Creek Nuclear Generating Station 1 1

December 19, 1987 Scriba, New York, US Malfunctions force Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation to shut down Nine Mile Point Unit 1 0 150

March 29, 1988 Burlington, Kansas, USA A worker at the Wolf Creek Generating Station falls through an unmarked manhole and electrocutes himself when trying to escape 1 1

September 10, 1988 Surry, Virginia, USA Refuelling cavity seal fails and destroys internal pipe system at Surry Unit 2, forcing 12-month outage 0 9

March 5, 1989 Tonopah, Arizona, USA Atmospheric dump valves fail at Palo Verde Unit 1, leading to main transformer fire and emergency shutdown 0 14

March 17, 1989 Lusby, Maryland, US Inspections at Calvert Cliff Units 1 and 2 reveal cracks at pressurized heater sleeves, forcing extended shutdowns 0 120

November 17, 1991 Scriba, New York, USA Safety and fire problems force shut down of the FitzPatrick nuclear reactor for 13 months 0 5

April 21, 1992 Southport, North Carolina, USA NRC forces shut down of Brunswick Units 1 and 2 after emergency diesel generators fail 0 2

February 3, 1993 Bay City, Texas, USA Auxiliary feed-water pumps fail at South Texas Project Units 1 and 2, prompting rapid shutdown of both reactors 0 3

February 27, 1993 Buchanan, New York, USA New York Power Authority shuts down Indian Point Energy Center Unit 3 after AMSAC system fails 0 2

March 2, 1993 Soddy-Daisy, Tennessee, USA Equipment failures and broken pipes cause shut down of Sequoyah Unit 1 0 3

December 25, 1993 Newport, Michigan, USA Shut down of Fermi Unit 2 after main turbine experienced major failure due to improper maintenance 0 67

14 January 1995 Wiscasset, Maine, USA Steam generator tubes unexpectedly crack at Maine Yankee nuclear reactor; shut down of the facility for a year 0 62

May 16, 1995 Salem, New Jersey, USA Ventilation systems fail at Salem Units 1 and 2 0 34

February 20, 1996 Waterford, Connecticut, US Leaking valve forces shutdown Millstone Nuclear Power Plant Units 1 and 2, multiple equipment failures found 0 254

May 15, 1996 Morris, Illinois, US Plunging water levels around the nuclear fuel in the reactor's core prompt shut down at Dresden Generating Station 0 ?

September 2, 1996 Crystal River, Florida, US Balance-of-plant equipment malfunction forces shutdown and extensive repairs at Crystal River Unit 3 0 384

September 5, 1996 Clinton, Illinois, USA Reactor recirculation pump fails, prompting shut down of Clinton boiling water reactor 0 38

September 20, 1996 Seneca, Illinois, USA Service water system fails and results in closure of LaSalle Units 1 and 2 for more than 2 years 0 71

September 9, 1997 Bridgman, Michigan, USA Ice condenser containment systems fail at Cook Units 1 and 2 0 11

May 25, 1999 Waterford, Connecticut, USA Steam leak in feed-water heater causes manual shutdown and damage to control board annunicator at the Millstone Nuclear Power Plant 0 7

September 29, 1999 Lower Alloways Creek Township, New Jersey, USA Major Freon leak at Hope Creek Nuclear Generating Station causes ventilation train chiller to trip, releasing toxic gas and damaging the cooling system 0 2

February 15, 2000 Buchanan, New York, USA NRC Alert issued after steam tube rupture Indian Point Unit 2 [22] 0 2

February 16, 2002 Oak Harbor, Ohio, US Severe boric acid corrosion of reactor head forces 24-month outage of Davis-Besse reactor 0 605[23]

January 15, 2003 Bridgman, Michigan, USA A fault in the main transformer at the Donald C. Cook Nuclear Generating Station causes a fire that damages the main generator and back-up turbines 0 10

June 16, 2005 Braidwood, Illinois, USA Exelon’s Braidwood nuclear station leaks tritium and contaminates local water supplies 0 41

August 4, 2005 Buchanan, New York, USA Entergy’s Indian Point Nuclear Plant leaks tritium and strontium into underground lakes from 1974 to 2005 30

March 6, 2006 Erwin, Tennessee, USA Nuclear Fuel Services plant spills 35 litres of highly enriched uranium, necessitating 7-month shutdown 0 98

September, 2009 Crystal River, Florida, USA When cutting into Crystal River 3 Nuclear Power Plant containment building to create a large opening for the replacement of the Steam generator (nuclear power) the structure was severely cracked resulting in the permanent closure of the facility. 0 1,000+

February 1, 2010 Vernon, Vermont, US Deteriorating underground pipes from the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant leak radioactive tritium into groundwater supplies 0 700

July 15, 2011 Morris, Illinois, US Chemical leak of sodium hypochlorite restricted access to a vital area that houses plant cooling water pumps at Dresden Generating Station 0 ?

January 30, 2012 Byron, Illinois, US Unusual Incident reported at Byron Nuclear Generating Station. Loss of off-site power caused unit 2 to run a shut down cycle and release tritium steam into the atmosphere 0 Undetermined

March 31, 2013 Russellville, Arkansas, US One worker was killed and two others injured when part of a generator fell as it was being moved at the Arkansas Nuclear One. 1 ?