JAPAN:Three of the Nuclear Reactors may have a meltdown

[Stan]

According to news releases three of the Japanese Nuclear Reactors may have a meltdown

What would the effect be of those of us on the west coast of North America?

[Amelia]

Japan nuclear blast could be more deadly than Chernobyl, experts fear

Experts in Israel and abroad divided on scope of disaster at Japan's nuclear plants, as Japanese government hasn't provided accurate information regarding threat posed by explosions at Fukushima nuclear power plant.

By Yossi Melman

Haaretz.com

Sun, March 13, 2011 Adar II 7, 5771

Quote:

Hebrew University Professor Menachem Luria, an expert on air quality and poisoning, told Channel 2 on Saturday: "This is very worrying. There is no doubt that we have not seen anything like this in years, perhaps ever since nuclear experiments were conducted in the atmosphere in the 1950s. From what we can gather, this disaster is even more dangerous than Chernobyl, both from the standpoint of the population's exposure to radioactive material and the spread of radioactive contamination in the area."

Luria continued: "Once there is an uncontrollable heating up, the nuclear fuel undergoes a metamorphosis into the gaseous phase. Since we are talking about metals and solid items, they turn into particles that are capable of traveling great distances. They can wander thousands of kilometers."

If these gases are indeed emitted into the atmosphere in large quantities, the wind regime could carry them all the way to China, South Korea, and eastern Russia, or in the other direction, toward Hawaii and the west coast of the United States. The likelihood of this happening, though, is not high.

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/new...s-fear-1.348809

[Guest]

Wow!

[Gail]

Tonight I went to a couple of drug stores (the health food stores are closed) to find some KI (Potassium Iodide). That is what they treat people with who will undergo nuclear fallout exposure.

If any of those reactors blow, that will be US here on the west coast of N. America that will get the fallout.

A person is supposed to take 130 mg of the KI a day or two before exposure. This prevents the radioactive materials from bonding with your thyroid, where apparently the cancer will hit after the radiation exposure.

I did not have any luck at the drugstores but they are going to look into it, as I was not the first person that's been asking for Potassium Iodide today at both places.

I was first made aware of the situation through facebook, but then looked it up on a Canadian Disaster Response site.

I've called my son and daughter-in-law and told them to watch the news and be aware. I am pretty sure the media will keep us updated as to where to go to get treated.

[Dr. Shane]

If no major meltdown occurs and they are able to contain the radiation, this could be a major boost for nuclear power plants. It could show how safety procedures work to prevent major disasters from happening even in the midst of a natural disaster.

[Amelia]

My thyroid was burnt out yrs ago, so I think I'll be ok. But you are right Gail, most of the people that died from the Chernobly incident, did so from thyroid cancer.

[Amelia]

Quote:

Shirakawa, Japan (CNN) -- Japanese authorities are operating on the presumption that possible meltdowns are under way at two nuclear reactors, a government official said Sunday, adding that there have been no indications yet of hazardous emissions of radioactive material into the atmosphere.

The attempts to avert a possible nuclear crisis, centered around the Fukushima Daiichi facility in northeast Japan, came as rescuers frantically scrambled to find survivors following the country's strongest-ever earthquake and a devastating tsunami that, minutes later, brought crushing walls of water that wiped out nearly everything in their paths.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano told reporters there is a "possibility" of a meltdown at the plant's No. 1 reactor, adding, "It is inside the reactor. We can't see." He then added that authorities are also "assuming the possibility of a meltdown" at the facility's No. 3 reactor.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/03/12/japan.quake/index.html?hpt=T1&iref=BN1#

Quote:

6:45 p.m. ET, 8:45 a.m. Tokyo] 15 more people in the vicinity of Fukushima Daiichi's nuclear power plants have been exposed to radioactivity, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency has confirmed, according to Kyodo News.

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/03/12/jap...ad-destruction/

Quote:

Victims top 2,000 in Japan quake-tsunami, nuclear crisis continues

SENDAI, March 13, Kyodo

Japan continued to grapple Sunday with widespread damage from its biggest recorded earthquake and massive tsunami that hit northeastern and eastern regions two days ago, with the number of reported victims topping 2,000 and a crisis escalating at one of two affected nuclear plants.

The magnitude of the devastating quake was revised upward the same day from 8.8 to 9.0, making it one of the largest recorded in the world, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2011/03/77268.html

[whatisthis]

Is there one of the islands of Japan that is less dangerous? Could people be ferried there, maybe?

[Bravus]

Longish, but well worth a read: http://bravenewclimate.com/2011/03/13/fukushima-simple-explanation/

The short version - the sky is still not falling.

[Woody]

While we were sleeping ... it did fall.

Our fleets are getting radiation exposure.

[lazarus]

If no major meltdown occurs and they are able to contain the radiation, this could be a major boost for nuclear power plants. It could show how safety procedures work to prevent major disasters from happening even in the midst of a natural disaster.

Not sure about that Shane. It's often not what actually happens that makes an impact but what people think could have happened that influences things.

[ClubV12]

Our fleets have DETECTED very small trace amounts of radiation in the cloud coming from Japan. About the same amount as you would get in a month's time from standing in your front yard. The Navy has incredibly sensitive sensors for such things. The fleet is moving away from the "cloud zone" as a precaution.

No matter how this is resolved it will NOT increase safety concerns for Nuclear power. It is a major setback for nuclear power plants, they are effectively finished as a source of power. Coal and Natural Gas will once again become the first choice.

It is terribly expensive to build a nuclear plant in the first place, SO expensive the pay back, compared to coal and gas, is just not viable. Japan just put a death nail in the nuclear power option.

[lazarus]

Stay indoors?

Is that really helpful? Can any scientists help me on that?

[Woody]

Stay indoors?

Is that really helpful? Can any scientists help me on that.?

It's helpful if you want to die.

Dr. Woody

[Dr. Shane]

Not sure about that Shane. It's often not what actually happens that makes an impact but what people think could have happened that influences things.

I agree completely. The Gulf oil spill is a good example. It has probably made Americans more likely to support off-shore drilling. It was in the news every day for a couple of months and now... where is all that oil? It was suppose to be 50,000 barrels a day. We saw more ecological damage from the Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska and that was a lot less oil. Of course the Alaska oil is heavy and bitter and the Gulf oil is light and sweet. But public perception is that all that oil shot out in the Gulf with very little consequences.

If what happens in Japan dwarfs Chernobyl, the public perception may well be much more willing to embrace nuclear technology.

[lazarus]

Brush your jacket off?

Don't turn on your AC?

Brush off the soles of you shoes?

[Dr. Shane]

I think all three reactors have at least partially melted down. I heard they were built to withstand an 8.2 quake and this was an 8.9. The big question is how much radiation can they contain. I heard Japan is asking for US help but I am not sure what the US can do for them. The Japanese are very advanced, perhaps more than the US.

[ClubV12]

Stay indoors? Just a tiny problem with that, 90% of the houses in that area have been wiped off the face of the earth. Stay indoors WHERE???? Easier said than done.

It does appear that there may be a more serious breach of the inner container housing the nuclear fuel. Looks real bad. SO many people evacuated, but where do they go?

[Dr. Shane]

I doubt 90% of the houses are wiped out. Japan is very advanced. Their building codes are more stringent than California.

One question this disaster does bring up is if we should be building nuclear power plants in areas prone to earthquakes.

[Woody]

ON FOX they reported that one city had 80% of the houses totally destroyed.

[Bravus]

...at this point the sky may be getting a little shaky...

[SuzzeeeQ]

I'm not afraid....if Tokyo isn't getting much...why would the west coast get this?

---------------

David Brenner, director of the Center for Radiological Research at Columbia University, said he thinks "at this point in time there's no real evidence that there are health risks to the general population."

For example, radiation levels in Tokyo were twice the usual level on Tuesday but they were too negligible to pose a health threat, officials said.