General Discussion
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The news is not better. It could be better, but not much has changed.
Three cores are melted and leaking out the top and out the bottom.
Only one of four reactor buildings looks the same as it did before the earthquake. #1 which blew first has a skirt wrapped around it. The top of it blew off and the covered it up.
Reactor 3 blew sky-high and is now just rubble.
Reactor 4 is turning into rubble slowly. It has the "World's Worst Fuel Pool" and it could, they say, dump its radioactive load at any time or catch on fire again.
Not much has happened to control the problems except pump water onto all that heat producing material. The excess water pretty much flows into the Pacific being there is little containment of water or radiation.
My theory is that when the three reactors melted, the corium (reactor core material) burned through all containment and is burning into the ground. Which is in a way a containment. Surely had the corium spread out flat it would have much more surface area and be burning directly in the atmosphere which would pretty much mean it would all be over.
So, that is the good news. It could be worse.
Mnemosyne
(21,363 posts)Esse Quam Videri
(685 posts)Specifically the black dust that is being found throughout?
RobertEarl
(13,685 posts)The stories about the black dust do seem credible.
Some of the more incredible were saying that the black crud was maybe a new form of life.
As for the rest of the radiation, Japan has lucked out in that winds blew most radiation out over the Pacific. Still, some places that were not evacuated have soil samples testing in the range that would make the ground, if in the US, be deemed uninhabitable.
Esse Quam Videri
(685 posts)It is absolutely amazing that more news outlets aren't talking about this disaster.
TheWraith
(24,331 posts)I don't know where you got your "news," but it's completely and totally wrong. One, none of the reactors "blew sky high." None of them are still melted; all of them are below the boiling point of water. And the coolant water is being contained and recycled. Your "information" is more than a year out of date.
Esse Quam Videri
(685 posts)Where sir do you get your information?
Esse Quam Videri
(685 posts)and the spent fuel storage pool?
RobertEarl
(13,685 posts)When reactor three blew sky-high with a resultant mushroom type cloud carrying with it chunks of the roof, #4 had some roof and wall damage. But since then it has just been crumbling away. Due to high heat and fires it is supposed.
#4 reactor was empty of fuel. All of the waste and the new fuel were in a pool of water and and far as anyone can tell that fuel is still there. Still there except for what has burned off.
The reactor buildings were built so strong they stood up to the earthquake. But the explosions and fires and radiation are taking their toll.
Esse Quam Videri
(685 posts)riderinthestorm
(23,272 posts)whimper....
RobertEarl
(13,685 posts)The crews working in the dangerous conditions for a year now have managed to keep the damage to the current level. Let us all hope they are very successful in limiting any further damage than what has already been done.
There currently are talks of including other nations and experts in the battle. Why they haven't already been involved is unknown. After all, this event is a first time occurrence at this scale and it does effect the world.
You could say they are starting from scratch. Or writing a new book on how to deal with the situation.
mindwalker_i
(4,407 posts)We could buy up all the steaks, hot dogs, and brats, "fire roast" them, bring them back for sale as specialty items. The radiation might actually sterilize the food food for its look trip back, similar to gamma radiation used for preserving some food. Of course, we'd need a robot to carry the food in and roast it since we probably don't want to do it.
If anyone questions the process, hey, what's a few neutrons between friends? And come on, neutrons are NEUTRAL.