Scenes from Japan–The Aftereffects of the Earthquake, Tsunami, and Nuclear Disaster (More than 10,000 Dead)

 

Above a girl isolated because of radiation reaches longingly to her dog which is on the far side of a window. (For more of this photographer’s view of Japan’s disaster, go here.)  His images capture the anguish of people who are trying to deal with the unbearable with dignity.

A quick overview of what has happened in the last day on this MSNBC video.

ABC News info on the nuclear disaster. Note Voice of America is tweeting that ” Fuel rods fully exposed again at No. 2 reactor of Fukushima-1 nuke plant.”

The incredible number of earthquakes both before the 9.0 on Friday and continuing til now can be seen on the interactive earthquake map here. (I highly recommend this.)

Newsweek has an extremely well written though not very scientific explanation of why the San Andreas fault is next to go off.

More volcano eruption video.

Woman’s tale of hanging on a tree then floating on a floor mat.  Her daughter washed away with her but not found.

More film of tsunami and earthquake.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has a video about what is happening behind the scenes. Not exciting but informative.

Facebooktwitterpinterestmail

Join the discussion! For rules visit: https://kymkemp.com/commenting-rules

Comments system how-to: https://wpdiscuz.com/community/postid/10599/

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

28 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
bobbi
Guest
bobbi
13 years ago

This is so sad:
Bodies are coming in on the tide:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110314/ap_on_bi_ge/as_japan_earthquake

bobbi
Guest
bobbi
13 years ago

This is so sad:
Bodies are coming in on the tide:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110314/ap_on_bi_ge/as_japan_earthquake

skippy
Guest
skippy
13 years ago

Updates:

The Hindu News: Meltdown Threat After Hydrogen Blast and Japanese Nuclear Plant Water levels dropped precipitously leaving the uranium fuel rods completely exposed and raising the threat of a meltdown, hours after a hydrogen explosion tore through the building. The fuel rods in all three of the most troubled nuclear reactors appeared to be melting.

BBC News: Meltdown Alert at Reactor The latest hydrogen blast injured 11 people, one of them seriously. It was felt 40km (25 miles) away and sent a huge column of smoke into the air. Nearly 185,000 people have been evacuated from a 20km (12 mile) exclusion zone around the plant. The US said it had moved one of its aircraft carriers from the area after detecting low-level radiation 160km (100 miles) offshore.

New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2011/03/14/14climatewire-desperate-attempts-to-save-3-fukushima-react-84017.html Crews prepared Monday to pump seawater into a third reactor in order to prevent a meltdown. Experts called the injection of seawater into the site’s three crippled reactors units a desperation move never attempted before in the industry…describing this measure as a Hail Mary Pass…

Christian Science Monitor:“Oil Prices, World Markets Affected The natural disaster in Japan has put an end to the recent rise in the price of oil. Crude oil tumbled over $4 to below $100 per barrel as Japanese refiners shut plants. This drop was dramatic, and looks like some traders took advantage of the natural disaster to go ahead and take profits on the higher oil prices.

Google Crisis Response Information: Quake, Tsunami, Nuclear Disaster Resources Page is found here: Listing shelters, aid agencies, phone numbers, transportation and flight status out of Japan, Disaster Message Boards, Power and Blackout Status, etc.

Current reports indicate 500,000 individuals evacuated from tsunami, quake, and nuclear areas. Japan’s Nikkei stock index closed down 6.18%, the worst drop in two years..

Folks, it’s gonna be bumpy… disaster moons, Mayan calendars, iodine tablets and Geiger counters aside…keep those emergency supplies ready at home.

skippy
Guest
skippy
13 years ago

Updates:

The Hindu News: Meltdown Threat After Hydrogen Blast and Japanese Nuclear Plant Water levels dropped precipitously leaving the uranium fuel rods completely exposed and raising the threat of a meltdown, hours after a hydrogen explosion tore through the building. The fuel rods in all three of the most troubled nuclear reactors appeared to be melting.

BBC News: Meltdown Alert at Reactor The latest hydrogen blast injured 11 people, one of them seriously. It was felt 40km (25 miles) away and sent a huge column of smoke into the air. Nearly 185,000 people have been evacuated from a 20km (12 mile) exclusion zone around the plant. The US said it had moved one of its aircraft carriers from the area after detecting low-level radiation 160km (100 miles) offshore.

New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2011/03/14/14climatewire-desperate-attempts-to-save-3-fukushima-react-84017.html Crews prepared Monday to pump seawater into a third reactor in order to prevent a meltdown. Experts called the injection of seawater into the site’s three crippled reactors units a desperation move never attempted before in the industry…describing this measure as a Hail Mary Pass…

Christian Science Monitor:“Oil Prices, World Markets Affected The natural disaster in Japan has put an end to the recent rise in the price of oil. Crude oil tumbled over $4 to below $100 per barrel as Japanese refiners shut plants. This drop was dramatic, and looks like some traders took advantage of the natural disaster to go ahead and take profits on the higher oil prices.

Google Crisis Response Information: Quake, Tsunami, Nuclear Disaster Resources Page is found here: Listing shelters, aid agencies, phone numbers, transportation and flight status out of Japan, Disaster Message Boards, Power and Blackout Status, etc.

Current reports indicate 500,000 individuals evacuated from tsunami, quake, and nuclear areas. Japan’s Nikkei stock index closed down 6.18%, the worst drop in two years..

Folks, it’s gonna be bumpy… disaster moons, Mayan calendars, iodine tablets and Geiger counters aside…keep those emergency supplies ready at home.

tra
Guest
tra
13 years ago

tra

And now serious problems keeping the fuel rods covered with water at the Number 2 reactor.

“They continue to work hard to raise the water level to cover the fuel. Let’s pray again,” Tatsujiro Suzuki, vice chairman of Japan’s Atomic Energy Commission, posted on Facebook today.

The fuel rods on unit 2 have been fully exposed for the second time today, a dangerous development in the effort to stop the reactor from melting down.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/japan-earthquake-fukushima-nuclear-reactors-deteriorate-explosions-fuel/story?id=13131123

I think it’s safe to say that when the vice chairman of Japan’s Atomic Energy Commission starts telling people to “pray,” the situation is really quite grave.

tra
Guest
tra
13 years ago

tra

And now serious problems keeping the fuel rods covered with water at the Number 2 reactor.

“They continue to work hard to raise the water level to cover the fuel. Let’s pray again,” Tatsujiro Suzuki, vice chairman of Japan’s Atomic Energy Commission, posted on Facebook today.

The fuel rods on unit 2 have been fully exposed for the second time today, a dangerous development in the effort to stop the reactor from melting down.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/japan-earthquake-fukushima-nuclear-reactors-deteriorate-explosions-fuel/story?id=13131123

I think it’s safe to say that when the vice chairman of Japan’s Atomic Energy Commission starts telling people to “pray,” the situation is really quite grave.

tra
Guest
tra
13 years ago

Meanwhile, both the Obama administration and the Republicans have been pushing for construction of 200 new nuclear plants here in the U.S., and thousands worldwide.

If anything good comes out of this crisis, it will be that we’re all reminded that nuclear power is not, nor has it ever been, either “safe” or “clean.”

tra
Guest
tra
13 years ago

Meanwhile, both the Obama administration and the Republicans have been pushing for construction of 200 new nuclear plants here in the U.S., and thousands worldwide.

If anything good comes out of this crisis, it will be that we’re all reminded that nuclear power is not, nor has it ever been, either “safe” or “clean.”

tra
Guest
tra
13 years ago

Two conflicting explanations have been given for why the fuel rods in Reactor 2 had become fully exposed: (1) A stuck valve prevented steam from escaping, making it impossible to pump in more water, and (2) a pump had run out of fuel. Not sure whether one report is inaccurate or whether both problems occured.

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/03/14/japan-quake-live-blog-rescuers-from-all-over-pitch-in-to-help/?hpt=T1

Meanwhile, they’re having problems keeping the core in Reacor 3 covered with water, the explanation offered in that case is that the water is leaking out the bottom of the reactor vessel. That doesn’t seem to quite fit with the official line that the reactor vessels are intact and that therefore the release of large amounts of radiation is unlikely. It certainly raises questions about the claims being made that even a full fuel rod meltdown might remain contained in the reactor vessel — if the vessel can’t contain seawater, how will it contain the massive pressure and heat of a full-scale meltdown?

All this should serve as a reminder that even the “redundant safety systems” they always talk about are still no guarantee when dealing with a technology that is inherently extremely dangerous. Given enough reactors in enough places, for enough time, Murphy’s Law (“anything that can go wrong, will go wrong”) will come into play sooner or later. And sometimes multiple things can and do go wrong at the same time. Thinking that we can anticipate all possible scenarios and head them off is just pure hubris.

It will be interesting to see how the nuclear power industry, and their boosters in Congress and in the Administration, try to spin the this. In the past, Japan has always been pointed to as a country that “did it right” as contrasted with, say, the Chernobyl plant. If all hell can break loose even in a nation as technologically advanced and competent with engineering as Japan, this raises the question: Is there anywhere that this sort of thing couldn’t happen?

In my opinion, the best case scenario is that they avert full-scale meltdowns at all three reactors, but also that we are hopefully witnessing the beginning of the end for the commercial nuclear power industry.

tra
Guest
tra
13 years ago

Two conflicting explanations have been given for why the fuel rods in Reactor 2 had become fully exposed: (1) A stuck valve prevented steam from escaping, making it impossible to pump in more water, and (2) a pump had run out of fuel. Not sure whether one report is inaccurate or whether both problems occured.

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/03/14/japan-quake-live-blog-rescuers-from-all-over-pitch-in-to-help/?hpt=T1

Meanwhile, they’re having problems keeping the core in Reacor 3 covered with water, the explanation offered in that case is that the water is leaking out the bottom of the reactor vessel. That doesn’t seem to quite fit with the official line that the reactor vessels are intact and that therefore the release of large amounts of radiation is unlikely. It certainly raises questions about the claims being made that even a full fuel rod meltdown might remain contained in the reactor vessel — if the vessel can’t contain seawater, how will it contain the massive pressure and heat of a full-scale meltdown?

All this should serve as a reminder that even the “redundant safety systems” they always talk about are still no guarantee when dealing with a technology that is inherently extremely dangerous. Given enough reactors in enough places, for enough time, Murphy’s Law (“anything that can go wrong, will go wrong”) will come into play sooner or later. And sometimes multiple things can and do go wrong at the same time. Thinking that we can anticipate all possible scenarios and head them off is just pure hubris.

It will be interesting to see how the nuclear power industry, and their boosters in Congress and in the Administration, try to spin the this. In the past, Japan has always been pointed to as a country that “did it right” as contrasted with, say, the Chernobyl plant. If all hell can break loose even in a nation as technologically advanced and competent with engineering as Japan, this raises the question: Is there anywhere that this sort of thing couldn’t happen?

In my opinion, the best case scenario is that they avert full-scale meltdowns at all three reactors, but also that we are hopefully witnessing the beginning of the end for the commercial nuclear power industry.

tra
Guest
tra
13 years ago

Oh crap.

That number 2 reactor has now had an explosion as well. Not yet clear whether this was “just” a hydrogen explosion like 1 and 3 had. The Times notes that:

“Some early reports in the Japanese press suggested the latest explosion amounted to a different and more critical problem than the previous two.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/15/world/asia/15nuclear.html?_r=1&hp

So for those keeping score at home, there are a total of six reactors at that site, three of which were already shut down for maintenance when the quake & tsunami hit. ALL THREE of the plants that were in operation at the time of the quake & tsunami have now had serious problems with keeping the reactor cores cooled, ALL THREE have had explosions that released at least some radiation (the worst being the most recent one), and ALL THREE remain in at least some danger of a full-scale meltdown.

The Times also notes that:

“They’re basically in a full-scale panic” among Japanese power industry managers, a senior nuclear industry executive said. The executive is not involved in managing the response to the reactors’ difficulties, but has many contacts in Japan. “They’re in total disarray,” he said. “They don’t know what to do.”

Imagine the “full-scale panic” among their Public Relations staff — and among the nuke-lovers in our own Congress and the Obama Administration.

Obama seems to have really bad timing on energy issues, at least as far as when he decides to flip-flop and abandon his campaign promises in order to suck up to industry. You may recall that it was shortly before the BP disaster that Obama started advocating for more ogffshore drilling (and then had to backpedal furiously), and now, just before this Japan disaster he’s been pushing for massive federal funding to build a new wave of nuke plants here in the U.S.

Let the backpedaling begin!

tra
Guest
tra
13 years ago

Oh crap.

That number 2 reactor has now had an explosion as well. Not yet clear whether this was “just” a hydrogen explosion like 1 and 3 had. The Times notes that:

“Some early reports in the Japanese press suggested the latest explosion amounted to a different and more critical problem than the previous two.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/15/world/asia/15nuclear.html?_r=1&hp

So for those keeping score at home, there are a total of six reactors at that site, three of which were already shut down for maintenance when the quake & tsunami hit. ALL THREE of the plants that were in operation at the time of the quake & tsunami have now had serious problems with keeping the reactor cores cooled, ALL THREE have had explosions that released at least some radiation (the worst being the most recent one), and ALL THREE remain in at least some danger of a full-scale meltdown.

The Times also notes that:

“They’re basically in a full-scale panic” among Japanese power industry managers, a senior nuclear industry executive said. The executive is not involved in managing the response to the reactors’ difficulties, but has many contacts in Japan. “They’re in total disarray,” he said. “They don’t know what to do.”

Imagine the “full-scale panic” among their Public Relations staff — and among the nuke-lovers in our own Congress and the Obama Administration.

Obama seems to have really bad timing on energy issues, at least as far as when he decides to flip-flop and abandon his campaign promises in order to suck up to industry. You may recall that it was shortly before the BP disaster that Obama started advocating for more ogffshore drilling (and then had to backpedal furiously), and now, just before this Japan disaster he’s been pushing for massive federal funding to build a new wave of nuke plants here in the U.S.

Let the backpedaling begin!

skippy
Guest
skippy
13 years ago

Latest news, Kym and fellow folks.

Associated Press: “Japanese Agency: Explosion Heard at Power Plant”

Posted: 03/14/2011 05:45:22 PM PDT
SOMA, Japan (AP) “– A third explosion in four days rocked the earthquake-damaged Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant in northeast Japan early Tuesday, the country’s nuclear safety agency said. The blast at Dai-ichi Unit 2 followed two hydrogen explosions at the plant as authorities struggle to prevent the catastrophic release of radiation in the area devastated by a tsunami. The troubles at the Dai-ichi complex began when Friday’s massive quake and tsunami in Japan’s northeast knocked out power, crippling cooling systems needed to keep nuclear fuel from melting down.

The latest explosion was heard at 6:10 a.m. Tuesday (2110 GMT Monday), a spokesman for the Nuclear Safety Agency said at a news conference. The plant’s owner, Tokyo Electric Power Co., said the explosion occurred near the suppression pool in the reactor’s containment vessel. The pool was later found to have a defect. International scientists have said there are serious dangers but not at the level of the 1986 blast in Chernobyl. Japanese authorities were injecting seawater as a coolant of last resort, and advising nearby residents to stay inside to avoid contamination…”

(Surprisingly enough, this AP article appears at the Times-Standard site. To note, the T-S has been remarkably negligent of any coverage of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant– and readers going elsewhere–such as Kym’s site– for information on the worst manmade disaster in 30 years)

skippy
Guest
skippy
13 years ago

Latest news, Kym and fellow folks.

Associated Press: “Japanese Agency: Explosion Heard at Power Plant”

Posted: 03/14/2011 05:45:22 PM PDT
SOMA, Japan (AP) “– A third explosion in four days rocked the earthquake-damaged Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant in northeast Japan early Tuesday, the country’s nuclear safety agency said. The blast at Dai-ichi Unit 2 followed two hydrogen explosions at the plant as authorities struggle to prevent the catastrophic release of radiation in the area devastated by a tsunami. The troubles at the Dai-ichi complex began when Friday’s massive quake and tsunami in Japan’s northeast knocked out power, crippling cooling systems needed to keep nuclear fuel from melting down.

The latest explosion was heard at 6:10 a.m. Tuesday (2110 GMT Monday), a spokesman for the Nuclear Safety Agency said at a news conference. The plant’s owner, Tokyo Electric Power Co., said the explosion occurred near the suppression pool in the reactor’s containment vessel. The pool was later found to have a defect. International scientists have said there are serious dangers but not at the level of the 1986 blast in Chernobyl. Japanese authorities were injecting seawater as a coolant of last resort, and advising nearby residents to stay inside to avoid contamination…”

(Surprisingly enough, this AP article appears at the Times-Standard site. To note, the T-S has been remarkably negligent of any coverage of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant– and readers going elsewhere–such as Kym’s site– for information on the worst manmade disaster in 30 years)

tra
Guest
tra
13 years ago

All it would take to end the use of nuclear power would be to enact one or both of these two simple policy changes:

(1) Repeal the Price-Anderson Act, which indemnifies the owners of nuke plants in the event of a major catastrophe, and require them to have insurance coverage that would cover the costs of a full-scale meltdown. Under Price-Anderson, which was recently renewed in 2005, the U.S. taxpayer is acting as the insurer against catastrophic events for all these plants, at no cost to the industry. Without that hefty bit of corporate welfare, there is no way anyone would be able to operate a nuclear plant — nobody in their right mind would be willing to insure it, at least not at a price that was anything less than astronomical. (That should tell us something about whether it’s such a great idea in the first place.)

and/or

(2) Require that in order to be an investor, high-level manager, CEO, or board member of any utility that owns a nuke plant, those people must reside, full-time, within a 5 mile radius of a nuclear plant, and are to report directly to the plant in the event of any earthquake, tsunami, tornado, hurricane, terrorist attack, nuclear accident, leak, meltdown or any other emergency that puts the plant at risk. No evacuating to a hotel suite in a distant city, corporate boardroom, country home, fallout shelter, or anywhere else. If these nuke plants are really so “clean” and “safe,” surely those who profit from them and advocate for more of them, should be delighted to have one in their own backyard.

The fact is, the only way that these accidents-waiting-to-happen are able to operate is that the financial and personal health risks are foisted onto the taxpayer and the general public, while the profits, largely disconnected from those risks, are allowed to flow freely to the investors, CEOs and so on, who stay well out of harms way even as they tout the “safety” and “cleanliness” of their radioactive cash cows. It’s quite an impressive business plan — no wonder they want to build 200 more nuke plants in the U.S.

tra
Guest
tra
13 years ago

All it would take to end the use of nuclear power would be to enact one or both of these two simple policy changes:

(1) Repeal the Price-Anderson Act, which indemnifies the owners of nuke plants in the event of a major catastrophe, and require them to have insurance coverage that would cover the costs of a full-scale meltdown. Under Price-Anderson, which was recently renewed in 2005, the U.S. taxpayer is acting as the insurer against catastrophic events for all these plants, at no cost to the industry. Without that hefty bit of corporate welfare, there is no way anyone would be able to operate a nuclear plant — nobody in their right mind would be willing to insure it, at least not at a price that was anything less than astronomical. (That should tell us something about whether it’s such a great idea in the first place.)

and/or

(2) Require that in order to be an investor, high-level manager, CEO, or board member of any utility that owns a nuke plant, those people must reside, full-time, within a 5 mile radius of a nuclear plant, and are to report directly to the plant in the event of any earthquake, tsunami, tornado, hurricane, terrorist attack, nuclear accident, leak, meltdown or any other emergency that puts the plant at risk. No evacuating to a hotel suite in a distant city, corporate boardroom, country home, fallout shelter, or anywhere else. If these nuke plants are really so “clean” and “safe,” surely those who profit from them and advocate for more of them, should be delighted to have one in their own backyard.

The fact is, the only way that these accidents-waiting-to-happen are able to operate is that the financial and personal health risks are foisted onto the taxpayer and the general public, while the profits, largely disconnected from those risks, are allowed to flow freely to the investors, CEOs and so on, who stay well out of harms way even as they tout the “safety” and “cleanliness” of their radioactive cash cows. It’s quite an impressive business plan — no wonder they want to build 200 more nuke plants in the U.S.

tra
Guest
tra
13 years ago

Just keeps getting worse.

Just yesterday the authorities were saying that a full-scale meltdown was “extremely unlikely,” with some calling it “virtually impossible.” Now it’s looking more and more like a full-scale meltdown of all three reactors could be imminent, and may be unavoidable:

…industry executives said that in fact the situation had spiraled out of control and that all plant workers needed to leave the plant to avoid excessive exposure to radioactive leaks. If all workers do in fact leave the plant, the nuclear fuel in all three reactors is likely to melt down, which would lead to wholesale releases of radioactive material — by far the largest accident of its kind since the Chernobyl disaster 25 years ago.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/15/world/asia/15nuclear.html?hp

tra
Guest
tra
13 years ago

Just keeps getting worse.

Just yesterday the authorities were saying that a full-scale meltdown was “extremely unlikely,” with some calling it “virtually impossible.” Now it’s looking more and more like a full-scale meltdown of all three reactors could be imminent, and may be unavoidable:

…industry executives said that in fact the situation had spiraled out of control and that all plant workers needed to leave the plant to avoid excessive exposure to radioactive leaks. If all workers do in fact leave the plant, the nuclear fuel in all three reactors is likely to melt down, which would lead to wholesale releases of radioactive material — by far the largest accident of its kind since the Chernobyl disaster 25 years ago.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/15/world/asia/15nuclear.html?hp

tra
Guest
tra
13 years ago

And now this:

[10:12 p.m. ET Monday, 11:12 a.m. Tuesday in Tokyo] A fire has erupted in a fourth reactor at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, a top adviser to Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan announced Tuesday.

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/03/14/japan-quake-live-blog-rescuers-from-all-over-pitch-in-to-help/?hpt=T1

The bad news keeps coming in, and it’s getting to the point where the next bit of bad news is hitting even before the last bit of bad news has been widely reported.

tra
Guest
tra
13 years ago

And now this:

[10:12 p.m. ET Monday, 11:12 a.m. Tuesday in Tokyo] A fire has erupted in a fourth reactor at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, a top adviser to Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan announced Tuesday.

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/03/14/japan-quake-live-blog-rescuers-from-all-over-pitch-in-to-help/?hpt=T1

The bad news keeps coming in, and it’s getting to the point where the next bit of bad news is hitting even before the last bit of bad news has been widely reported.

tra
Guest
tra
13 years ago

“We remain fundamentally committed to nuclear power and the expansion of nuclear power in the U.S. as a safe and clean emissions-free source of electric generation.”

– Jim Owen, a spokesman for the Edison Electric Institute, an association of electric utility companies.

http://www.npr.org/2011/03/14/134535204/japan-triggers-shift-in-u-s-nuclear-debate

Just to be clear: He said that today.

That’s right, he used the phrase “safe and clean, emissions-free” to describe nuclear power, even in light of today’s events.

Unfuckingbelievable.

tra
Guest
tra
13 years ago

“We remain fundamentally committed to nuclear power and the expansion of nuclear power in the U.S. as a safe and clean emissions-free source of electric generation.”

– Jim Owen, a spokesman for the Edison Electric Institute, an association of electric utility companies.

http://www.npr.org/2011/03/14/134535204/japan-triggers-shift-in-u-s-nuclear-debate

Just to be clear: He said that today.

That’s right, he used the phrase “safe and clean, emissions-free” to describe nuclear power, even in light of today’s events.

Unfuckingbelievable.

tra
Guest
tra
13 years ago

Apparently the fire in Reactor # 4 at the Japanese plant may bave been due to spent fuel rods overheating:

That fourth reactor had been turned off and was under refurbishment for months before the earthquake and tsunami hit the plant on Friday. But the plant contains spent fuel rods that were removed from the reactor, and experts guessed that the pool containing those rods had run dry, allowing the rods to overheat and catch fire. That is almost as dangerous as the fuel in working reactors melting down, because the spent fuel can also spew radioactivity into the atmosphere.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/15/world/asia/15nuclear.html?hp

But, but, but it’s soooo safey-cleany, sooooo emission free, it’s like having a fresh dewy mountain meadow next door, and the aroma of Mom’s apple pie wafting in from the kitchen, all wrapped in one!

Staff
Member
13 years ago
Reply to  tra

Thank you for keeping this updated tra and everyone else! I’m overwhelmed and worried about the new levels of radiation. I’ll Start a new post.

tra
Guest
tra
13 years ago

Apparently the fire in Reactor # 4 at the Japanese plant may bave been due to spent fuel rods overheating:

That fourth reactor had been turned off and was under refurbishment for months before the earthquake and tsunami hit the plant on Friday. But the plant contains spent fuel rods that were removed from the reactor, and experts guessed that the pool containing those rods had run dry, allowing the rods to overheat and catch fire. That is almost as dangerous as the fuel in working reactors melting down, because the spent fuel can also spew radioactivity into the atmosphere.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/15/world/asia/15nuclear.html?hp

But, but, but it’s soooo safey-cleany, sooooo emission free, it’s like having a fresh dewy mountain meadow next door, and the aroma of Mom’s apple pie wafting in from the kitchen, all wrapped in one!

Staff
Member
13 years ago
Reply to  tra

Thank you for keeping this updated tra and everyone else! I’m overwhelmed and worried about the new levels of radiation. I’ll Start a new post.

tra
Guest
tra
13 years ago

The leaders of BOTH major political parties are continuing to push for hundreds of billions in additional direct and indirect subsidies to ensure the creation of more of these ticking time-bombs, which are so expensive, uneconomical, dangerous and impractical that no one in the private sector will finance one, insure one, or build one without massive corporate welfare.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12738459

tra
Guest
tra
13 years ago

The leaders of BOTH major political parties are continuing to push for hundreds of billions in additional direct and indirect subsidies to ensure the creation of more of these ticking time-bombs, which are so expensive, uneconomical, dangerous and impractical that no one in the private sector will finance one, insure one, or build one without massive corporate welfare.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12738459