Tsunami hits north-eastern Japan after massive quake

[Casper]

[RSVDon]

I'm surprised by a nuclear plant design that allows the boiling water being passed to the turbines to become even slightly radioactive. Aren't those typically in a separate closed loop system? Besides that, the pic looks like its right by the water, seems like they should be able to use pumps to get some cool water in there.

It's not unheard of. Do you have info that this reactor is a boiling water type where the coolant steam is what turns the turbines? I didn't figure they'd use that setup. It's usually the radioactive coolant which is just circulated between the steam chamber and reactor rods, then a second coolant system is the one that gets boiled to create steam, to turn the turbines.

If the system is the latter, there's always going to be one radioactive coolant and one not. Boiling of the radioactive one sucks. Hope that reactor case holds if it were to loose coolant and suffer a meltdown...

Chernobyl's reactor did some crazy things with a 11 ft deep concrete slab over top of it....well, WAS over top of it.

[Casper]

[Disclaimer]

Beyond the human suffering, this is related to the forum...

How the earthquake is affecting Japan’s motorcycle companies

http://hellforleathermagazine.com/2011/03/how-the-earthquake-is-affecting-japan%E2%80%99s-motorcycle-companies/

This illustration shows the locations of Japanese motorcycle factories and companies in relation to the 8.9 magnitude earthquake’s epicenter off the coast of Sendai. So far, the only word of significant damage comes from Honda’s Tochigi R&D facility where one person was killed and 30 injured during the quake. It should be noted that this is an ongoing event, aftershocks continue and tsunami warning remain in place for the entirety of Japan’s east coast.

Illustration: Grant Ray

Even though most of the above facilities appear to have escaped the catastrophe unscathed, it seems reasonable to expect disruptions to production as Japan’s infrastructure reels from the massive quake. According to Jason Fullington’s firsthand report, public transportation in Tokyo is currently shut down completely and the roads — jammed with people trying to reach loved ones or escape damage — aren’t much better. The next few weeks are likely to see energy shortages, continuing difficulties with transportation and emergency measures which could further interrupt normal operations.

[chevysoldier]

Detailed info on the latest quake.

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/usc0001zle.php

[chevysoldier]

List of quakes in that area just today 11 Mar 11. Ignore the smilies btw.

Magnitude/UTC date & time/latitude degrees/longitude degrees/depth km/region

MAP 5.4 2011/03/11 23:59:21 36.499 141.441 22.6 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.3 2011/03/11 23:58:03 38.460 143.530 29.1 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.1 2011/03/11 23:53:28 38.858 142.452 25.3 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.1 2011/03/11 23:40:11 37.073 143.529 25.3 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 4.9 2011/03/11 23:31:22 33.728 143.855 24.9 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.3 2011/03/11 23:26:50 39.178 142.709 24.9 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.0 2011/03/11 23:21:22 39.161 143.296 25.0 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 4.9 2011/03/11 23:05:14 39.732 141.850 65.0 EASTERN HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.4 2011/03/11 22:54:28 36.494 142.267 25.4 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.8 2011/03/11 22:51:18 37.806 144.967 25.0 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.3 2011/03/11 22:42:58 37.627 143.801 27.4 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.0 2011/03/11 22:36:56 37.097 143.796 25.0 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 4.6 2011/03/11 22:29:42 38.285 142.636 25.0 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 4.9 2011/03/11 22:22:35 39.180 142.917 25.0 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 4.7 2011/03/11 22:08:13 40.152 142.219 47.5 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.2 2011/03/11 21:41:57 37.279 142.351 10.1 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 4.8 2011/03/11 21:34:25 37.401 141.236 37.1 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.4 2011/03/11 21:00:45 39.048 142.477 24.9 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.1 2011/03/11 20:41:24 37.675 143.698 25.0 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.5 2011/03/11 20:36:10 37.838 142.847 24.9 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.1 2011/03/11 20:34:40 36.993 140.985 25.2 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.5 2011/03/11 20:23:43 35.818 141.583 24.2 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 6.3 2011/03/11 20:11:22 39.025 142.645 8.7 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 6.6 2011/03/11 19:46:49 40.472 139.070 10.0 NEAR THE WEST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.2 2011/03/11 19:45:24 37.653 141.548 25.2 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.5 2011/03/11 19:31:56 36.962 138.367 10.3 EASTERN HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.5 2011/03/11 19:24:28 35.770 140.639 24.9 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 6.1 2011/03/11 19:02:58 39.372 142.900 24.8 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 6.2 2011/03/11 18:59:15 37.037 138.355 10.0 NEAR THE WEST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 4.9 2011/03/11 18:55:14 35.814 141.657 24.6 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.1 2011/03/11 18:44:06 36.858 141.029 25.5 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 4.9 2011/03/11 18:43:13 40.139 143.061 89.7 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 4.9 2011/03/11 18:39:33 37.916 143.055 1.8 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.9 2011/03/11 18:17:05 36.218 141.685 25.4 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.7 2011/03/11 18:11:24 37.118 142.160 13.8 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 4.7 2011/03/11 18:02:38 36.793 143.212 24.9 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.0 2011/03/11 17:50:01 37.648 144.991 25.8 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.4 2011/03/11 17:32:13 37.137 144.572 24.8 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.1 2011/03/11 17:30:47 37.418 141.099 24.9 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.0 2011/03/11 17:23:57 36.015 141.888 24.9 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.5 2011/03/11 17:16:59 37.111 144.145 26.4 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 4.8 2011/03/11 17:14:59 39.016 142.517 51.9 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.0 2011/03/11 17:12:40 37.564 144.069 25.1 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.0 2011/03/11 16:55:52 37.779 143.171 25.1 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.0 2011/03/11 16:34:21 39.376 143.405 40.8 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.0 2011/03/11 16:20:51 36.157 141.877 25.3 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.5 2011/03/11 16:11:26 39.463 143.577 9.2 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.3 2011/03/11 16:04:52 39.236 144.320 25.5 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.0 2011/03/11 15:55:22 36.626 142.162 24.8 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.0 2011/03/11 15:50:59 37.409 142.217 24.9 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.0 2011/03/11 15:46:01 36.022 141.958 19.7 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.4 2011/03/11 15:42:05 36.066 141.515 15.8 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 4.9 2011/03/11 15:36:15 38.907 142.722 24.9 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.2 2011/03/11 15:32:33 37.216 142.233 25.0 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.6 2011/03/11 15:19:37 36.233 141.856 25.0 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 6.2 2011/03/11 15:13:14 35.997 141.796 18.9 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.0 2011/03/11 15:01:38 39.082 142.383 26.0 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.8 2011/03/11 14:56:15 35.979 141.367 25.0 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.4 2011/03/11 14:54:03 35.919 141.819 24.9 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.1 2011/03/11 14:44:07 36.655 140.769 25.1 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.4 2011/03/11 14:26:30 37.431 142.254 13.2 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.1 2011/03/11 14:20:19 37.947 143.183 25.2 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.2 2011/03/11 14:10:39 37.575 141.963 25.5 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.5 2011/03/11 14:00:37 36.151 140.845 30.8 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 4.9 2011/03/11 13:58:49 36.681 141.776 25.3 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.2 2011/03/11 13:55:27 38.039 142.831 24.9 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.3 2011/03/11 13:48:38 38.426 143.061 25.1 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.6 2011/03/11 13:43:10 38.972 144.209 25.2 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 4.9 2011/03/11 13:42:26 37.410 142.009 25.3 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.6 2011/03/11 13:34:36 36.249 141.850 35.5 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.1 2011/03/11 13:31:54 39.152 142.837 25.0 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.8 2011/03/11 13:16:49 36.304 141.730 30.1 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.1 2011/03/11 13:15:45 37.393 141.882 30.1 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.3 2011/03/11 13:02:43 36.755 141.885 30.2 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.3 2011/03/11 12:59:21 36.128 141.768 24.9 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.4 2011/03/11 12:54:52 38.502 142.120 36.7 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.6 2011/03/11 12:49:01 36.158 141.711 25.0 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.3 2011/03/11 12:34:22 36.912 143.736 39.0 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.2 2011/03/11 12:33:18 38.374 142.590 29.7 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.2 2011/03/11 12:28:44 36.166 141.664 29.3 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.3 2011/03/11 12:24:37 36.525 141.707 27.8 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.9 2011/03/11 12:12:53 38.052 142.542 21.6 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.1 2011/03/11 12:04:16 36.351 142.700 38.4 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.5 2011/03/11 11:56:16 36.356 141.504 39.4 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

Edited March 12, 2011 by chevysoldier

[chevysoldier]

Magnitude/UTC date & time/latitude degrees/longitude degrees/depth km/region

MAP 5.1 2011/03/11 11:54:02 36.982 142.535 45.0 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.8 2011/03/11 11:46:46 36.034 141.055 47.5 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.8 2011/03/11 11:44:28 36.709 142.231 31.0 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 6.5 2011/03/11 11:36:39 39.276 142.521 11.6 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.7 2011/03/11 11:21:02 35.759 140.913 25.2 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.5 2011/03/11 11:16:50 36.614 141.894 36.6 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.5 2011/03/11 11:13:12 36.451 141.789 18.2 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.5 2011/03/11 11:10:57 35.534 141.856 27.7 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.6 2011/03/11 11:00:51 37.813 141.481 28.7 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.1 2011/03/11 10:58:05 39.060 142.213 30.3 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.0 2011/03/11 10:52:07 38.534 143.346 29.9 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.5 2011/03/11 10:45:46 38.466 143.591 41.1 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.3 2011/03/11 10:35:35 37.044 141.298 25.8 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.9 2011/03/11 10:28:44 39.447 143.531 29.3 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.6 2011/03/11 10:20:27 36.966 142.289 21.7 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 6.0 2011/03/11 10:10:34 39.248 142.779 28.9 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.2 2011/03/11 09:59:56 36.703 142.207 41.6 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.5 2011/03/11 09:47:01 39.685 142.938 29.7 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.2 2011/03/11 09:42:22 39.438 142.749 30.2 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.4 2011/03/11 09:37:08 35.877 141.585 29.9 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.5 2011/03/11 09:09:14 37.717 143.267 36.2 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.4 2011/03/11 09:04:10 37.299 142.655 30.5 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.2 2011/03/11 09:00:19 37.056 141.966 20.0 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.4 2011/03/11 08:52:26 36.763 141.910 35.8 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.5 2011/03/11 08:46:47 37.421 142.453 37.3 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.9 2011/03/11 08:40:56 37.465 141.122 38.6 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 6.1 2011/03/11 08:31:07 37.428 141.200 25.0 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 6.5 2011/03/11 08:19:24 36.200 142.000 19.9 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 6.2 2011/03/11 08:15:40 37.034 144.612 27.8 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 6.2 2011/03/11 08:12:04 36.606 141.557 19.8 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.5 2011/03/11 08:10:30 36.394 140.631 30.4 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.9 2011/03/11 08:01:58 37.071 142.734 22.6 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.6 2011/03/11 07:56:15 37.130 142.305 34.0 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.7 2011/03/11 07:54:44 37.742 141.565 45.3 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.8 2011/03/11 07:42:55 36.406 141.919 29.9 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.9 2011/03/11 07:38:26 39.250 142.783 29.1 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 6.1 2011/03/11 07:28:12 36.802 141.911 24.0 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 6.1 2011/03/11 07:25:33 37.916 144.621 15.0 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 6.3 2011/03/11 07:14:59 36.648 141.811 25.0 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.9 2011/03/11 07:13:47 36.051 142.347 28.5 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.8 2011/03/11 07:10:59 37.899 142.734 30.0 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 6.3 2011/03/11 06:57:14 35.758 140.992 30.2 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 6.3 2011/03/11 06:48:47 37.993 142.764 22.3 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 7.1 2011/03/11 06:25:50 38.106 144.553 19.7 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 6.8 2011/03/11 06:15:40 36.186 141.192 35.0 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 6.4 2011/03/11 06:07:21 36.401 141.862 35.4 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 6.4 2011/03/11 06:06:11 39.025 142.316 25.1 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 8.9 2011/03/11 05:46:23 38.322 142.369 24.4 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Maps/region/Asia_eqs.php

Edited March 12, 2011 by chevysoldier

[ReconRat]

Casper's post #26 was reported to be houses floating out to sea and on fire. Here's another view of them:

http://d.yimg.com/a/p/rids/20110311/i/ra29459898.jpg?x=400&y=272&q=85&sig=uOoFIJ.OHhTK35bQdo50hQ--

http://d.yimg.com/a/p/rids/20110311/i/r2036600403.jpg?x=400&y=269&q=85&sig=ieThguDiK4YlzBVdv7ffPA--

This photo impressed. The 20-30 foot tsunami initially coming on shore. From this angle it can be seen a bit better, how tall it is, where it hits the trees.

http://d.yimg.com/a/p/rids/20110311/i/r1965558651.jpg?x=400&y=254&q=85&sig=ZfTSnGwtVEUvZ9Jw7pelJg--

Edited March 12, 2011 by ReconRat

[r1crusher]

I'd bet there's a break wall somewhere under that wave in the last pick, never the less it is very intimidating to see that shit coming in.

[chevysoldier]

In the past hour and a half there have been 7 more quakes. Is this area always this active?

MAP 5.4 2011/03/12 01:17:01 38.095 142.702 24.6 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 4.8 2011/03/12 01: 12:16 37.118 140.535 54.5 EASTERN HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.1 2011/03/12 01:03:59 37.939 141.556 26.0 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.5 2011/03/12 00:45:09 36.041 141.815 23.7 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.0 2011/03/12 00:39:37 37.317 142.450 25.0 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.0 2011/03/12 00:25:08 37.803 141.894 29.8 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

MAP 5.0 2011/03/12 00:21:24 36.475 143.586 24.5 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

[ReconRat]

In the past hour and a half there have been 7 more quakes. Is this area always this active?

Yes, after a major event like this, there will be several days of settling down and adjusting along the fault line. Like they said, there was a 7.1 or something a couple of days before, and in 1 in 20 of those, it's a precursor to a "big one". This time it was.

[chevysoldier]

Thanks Tom.

Here some snapshots from google earth. First is the earthquakes in the area and the second is the estimated wave height model of the tsunami. Crazy...

Edited March 12, 2011 by chevysoldier

[eggs]

fucking tragedy.

Here are some video links http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12709856

[RSVDon]

Ah, all reactors were successfully scrammed during the largest earthquake. No more reactions. That's good.

[ReconRat]

Ah, all reactors were successfully scrammed during the largest earthquake. No more reactions. That's good.

Scrammed, yes, but still struggling to reduce the core temperatures. The power for the pumps of the cooling systems failed at most of the reactors. And the worst one just exploded the outer concrete containment shell.

Watch the explosion here - CNN

There is no fear of a meltdown, since these are not fast breeder reactors like the one at Chernobyl. But they will have to cool them down and quickly. They have started pumping sea water into some of the buildings for cooling.

And there has been a fair amount of radiation released to the local areas surrounding the worst of the reactors.

One reactor now has cleared everyone out of a zone of 10 kilometers around it.

edit: 83,000 people live within the 10kilometers around the two worst cases.

edit: two reactors have cleared a 10k zone, and the one that exploded increased to 20k.

Edited March 12, 2011 by ReconRat

[Cheech]

Ah, all reactors were successfully scrammed during the largest earthquake. No more reactions. That's good.

There's a pretty active discussion on Fark about this, and from what I can gather these things are happening. Disclaimer: I'm not a nuclear scientist, merely a pudgy engaged observer. Consume the appropriate amount of salt.

The reactor is a Boiled Water Reactor design, with a metal Reactor Vessel, a concrete containment chamber around that, and possibly a chamber around that designed so that weather events don't erode or compromise the containment chamber.

From what I understand, they are still running on batteries (more which are being delivered) since the diesel generators were knocked out in the tsunami. Whatever power source they have (or don't), it's not enough to keep the pumps running continuously to circulate fresh water, hence the pressure buildup.

Don's post is somewhat accurate in that they scrammed the reactors after/just before the quake, however that puts them out of OMGWTFBBQ CHERNOBYL! disaster range and more into Three Mile Island range. Reactors don't just shut off, the analogy I'm hearing thrown around the most is they are akin to a stove; you can kill the flame/element, but you'll still burn your hand if you touch the top. What we're seeing now is decay heat, which as long as they can keep that under control they should be out of the woods.

Explosions are never good, and I don't know whether the outer shell of the containment structure blew or the containment structure itself. They are talking about releasing pressure (steam) to the atmosphere, the vents of which are filtered so the environmental fallout of the venting would be controlled.

One last thing, try not to get too caught up with the media talking about 100x levels this or 1000x levels that. Radiation is measured using a logarithmic, not exponential scale, I'll let some of the mathletes here explain that in further detail.

[ReconRat]

The explosion was from a build up of hydrogen gas. The zone around that one has been increased to 20 kilometers.

...Japan's nuclear agency said there was a strong possibility that the radioactive cesium the monitors detected was from the melting of a fuel rod at the plant, adding that engineers were continuing to cool the fuel rods by pumping water around them. Cesium is a byproduct of the nuclear fission process that occurs in nuclear plants.

Before Edano's announcement, Malcolm Grimston, associate fellow for energy, environment and development at London's Chatham House, said the explosion indicated that "it's clearly a serious situation, but that in itself does not necessarily mean major (nuclear) contamination."

"This is a situation that has the potential for a nuclear catastrophe. It's basically a race against time, because what has happened is that plant operators have not been able to cool down the core of at least two reactors," said Robert Alvarez, a senior scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington...

http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/03/12/japan.nuclear/ Edited March 12, 2011 by ReconRat

[NinjaNick]

Is Hitomi Tanaka safe!!??

Please say so.

[ReconRat]

Good BBC videos of the explosion and results, on the AlJezeera English channel:

edit: Containment pressures are out of control at seven reactors at two locations now. They will begin venting radioactive gas and steam to try and lower the pressures. Monitoring of radiation levels outside the facilities show Cesium, which means that some of the fuel rods are melting. The reason that is bad, is that the fuel rods wind up as a puddle at the bottom. Then there is no control of the nuclear reaction. The result is a continuous build up of heat, until it is hot enough to melt through the bottom of the reactor and into the ground below.

Edited March 12, 2011 by ReconRat

[Gump]

wow..this vid gives a good perspective. Watch the semi at the end.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12709850

[NinjaNick]

wow..this vid gives a good perspective. Watch the semi at the end.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12709850

Amazing video Gump! Thanks for posting this. That is INSANE! You can tell down on the ground that water is moving FAST!

[ReconRat]

On the ground in Kessennuma City when the tsunami hit. BBC link.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12722026

And they still haven't found four of the commuter trains with people. Gone.

[chevysoldier]

Holy shit. Those videos were wicked. How far inland did the water come?

[Gump]

On the ground in Kessennuma City when the tsunami hit. BBC link.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12722026

And they still haven't found four of the commuter trains with people. Gone.

Man... Not making light of the situation but you know it's a bad day when you can't actually find the train. I wonder how much of a warning they all had?

[cmh_sprint]

Holy shit. Those videos were wicked. How far inland did the water come?

I heard this morning that it had gone as far as 6 miles inland.