2/28/2012 (Video) Inside Japan's Nuclear Meltdown

Source: PBS
Date: 2/28/2012
Part 1

Watch Inside Japan's Nuclear Meltdown on PBS. See more from FRONTLINE.

1/19/2012 Tepco Drills a Hole in Fukushima Reactor … Finds that Nuclear Fuel Has Gone Missing

Source: Washington's Blog
Date: 1/19/2012

Cold Shutdown … or Escape of Hot Fuel?

I noted last month in connection with Tepco’s announcement of “cold shutdown” of the Fukushima reactors:

If the reactors are “cold”, it may be because most of the hot radioactive fuel has leaked out.
***
The New York Times pointed out last month:

A former nuclear engineer with three decades of experience at a major engineering firm … who has worked at all three nuclear power complexes operated by Tokyo Electric [said] “If the fuel is still inside the reactor core, that’s one thing” …. But if the fuel has been dispersed more widely, then we are far from any stable shutdown.”

Indeed, if the center of the reactors are in fact relatively “cold”, it may be because most of the hot radioactive fuel has leaked out of the containment vessels and escaped into areas where it can do damage to the environment.

12/6/2011 Hartmann: Fukushima...Has the China Syndrome now officially begun?

Source: RT News
Date: 12/6/2011 upload date


Paul Gunter, Beyond Nuclear joins Thom Hartmann. The crisis at Fukushima continues. Over the weekend - the crippled Japanese nuclear plant spewed even more highly radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean - roughly 45,000 liters in all. According to a French nuclear research institute - since the Fukushima nuclear crisis began in March - the plant has leaked more radioactive material into the ocean than has ever happened before in the history of the planet. And he claims that after more than 8 months since an earthquake and tsunami triggered this crisis - it's inevitable that nuclear fuel has leaked into the groundwater - meaning the "China Syndrome" is officially upon us. He also warned that if underground water gets overheated - it could trigger a hydrovolcanic explosion. So what does all this mean? Time to ditch nuclear power - the most expensive and dangerous form of energy on Earth.

11/22/2011 Fukushima: “China Syndrome Is Inevitable” … “Huge Steam Explosions”, “Massive Hydrovolcanic Explosion” or a “Nuclear Bomb-Type Explosion” May Occur

Source: Washington's Blog
Date: 11/22/2011

Fukushima May Blow

I’ve repeatedly noted that we may experience a “China syndrome” type of accident at Fukushima.
For example, I pointed out in September:

Mainichi Dailly News notes:

As a radiation meteorology and nuclear safety expert at Kyoto University’s Research Reactor Institute, Hiroaki Koide [says]:
The nuclear disaster is ongoing.
***
At present, I believe that there is a possibility that massive amounts of radioactive materials will be released into the environment again.
At the No. 1 reactor, there’s a chance that melted fuel has burned through the bottom of the pressure vessel, the containment vessel and the floor of the reactor building, and has sunk into the ground. From there, radioactive materials may be seeping into the ocean and groundwater.
***
The government and plant operator TEPCO are trumpeting the operation of the circulation cooling system, as if it marks a successful resolution to the disaster. However, radiation continues to leak from the reactors. The longer the circulation cooling system keeps running, the more radioactive waste it will accumulate. It isn’t really leading us in the direction we need to go.
It’s doubtful that there’s even a need to keep pouring water into the No.1 reactor, where nuclear fuel is suspected to have burned through the pressure vessel. Meanwhile, it is necessary to keep cooling the No. 2 and 3 reactors, which are believed to still contain some fuel, but the cooling system itself is unstable. If the fuel were to become overheated again and melt, coming into contact with water and trigger a steam explosion, more radioactive materials will be released.
***

 We are now head to head with a situation that mankind has never faced before.

8/18/2011 Hartmann - Fukushima...is this the China Syndrome?

Source: RT News
Date: 8/18/2011


Paul Gunter from Beyond Nuclear joins Thom Hartmann.  Meanwhile, Japan is not out of the danger zone...in fact the nuclear crisis is getting worse and worse!  We've recently learned from Japan that the amount of radiation released was more than 20 times that from the Hiroshima bomb, and now it looks they may be experiencing the early stages of a total China Syndrome meltdown. And is the United States in danger too?

Editor's Note: For more details about the serious fallout situation in Japan from Professor Tatsuhiko Kodama (witness speaking in front of Japanese Diet in the first part of the video), see "7/27/2011 Video with English Caption: Professor Tatsuhiko Kodama of Tokyo University Tells the Politicians: "What Are You Doing?".

The recent Los Angeles Times article Thom Hartman is referring to is "Radioactive isotope, maybe from Fukushima, detected, but ...".

8/8/2011 Unit 3 MOX likely melted through

Source: The Japan Times
Date: 8/9/2011 JST

Kyodo

MOX fuel that was believed to have been kept cool at the bottom of one of the reactors at the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant after its core melted is believed to have breached the vessel after melting again, a study said Monday.

The study by Fumiya Tanabe, an expert in nuclear safety, said most of reactor 3's mixed uranium-plutonium oxide fuel may have dribbled into the containment vessel underneath, and if so, the current method being used to cool the reactor will have to be rethought. This could force Tokyo Electric Power Co. to revise its schedule for containing the five-month-old disaster.

Tepco earlier said that the cores of reactors 1 to 3 are assumed to have suffered meltdowns, although the melted fuel was believed to have been kept at cool enough to solidify at the bottom of each pressure vessel after water was injected.

After analyzing data made public by Tepco, Tanabe argues it became difficult to inject coolant water into the pressure vessel after the pressure rose early March 21. He says the fuel at the bottom overheated and melted again over a four-day period.

8/3/2011 Fukushima Radiation Highest Ever, Exceeding Capacity of Measuring Device ... Fuel Likely Leaking Out Of Containment Vessel

Source: Washington's Blog
Date: 8/3/2011

Things are - literally - heating up again at Fukushima:

• Tepco Says Highest Radiation Yet Is Detected at Fukushima Dai-Ichi

• 10+ sieverts per hour means there is direct exposure to fuel rods or spent fuel ponds: Australia’s former top radiation official

• Tepco: Ultra-high radiation levels may be from melted fuel that leaked out of containment vessel

• Paper: TEPCO needs to check if high radiation doses are “spreading elsewhere” — Two more spots appear to be above 10 sieverts per hour, but no plans to actually take measurements

• New indoor radiation dose record at Fukushima ... May be higher as it exceeded capacity of measuring device

• New York Times: Fatal Radiation Level Found at Fukushima — “Exceeded” 10 sieverts per hour, measuring device was maxed out

• Experts: Melt-through scenario means even higher radiation readings to come — Likely many more reports of deadly radiation in future

• Tokyo U. nuke expert: Radioactive substances may have “poured” into pipe during explosion — Levels could also be extremely high outside Reactors No. 3 and 4

• Asahi: Latest detection of such high radiation levels is evidence that radioactive material spewed from Fukushima at much higher levels than previously believed

In related news from Japan:

• Gov’t says 1,500 tons of highly radioactive sludge may end up as “soil for gardening”

• Japan gov’t: Agency funding project to monitor online info about Fukushima crisis — Around the clock monitoring of “blogs on nuclear power” and “Twitter accounts”

• “Collusive relationship” between Japan gov’t and nuclear power industry — U.S. regulators illustrate why it’s so dangerous

But Reuters notes that the world's most hazardous nuclear plant in terms of worker radiation exposure is in the U.S., not Japan. This Reuters graphic ranks the world's 5 most hazardous plants (Fukushima is only the 5th most hazardous):

(click for better image).
Other U.S. nuclear updates include:

• While it was initially claimed that only 2 acres were burned at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, 133 acres were actually burned

• Radioactive fish have been found in Connecticut River — State officials trying to determine source of Strontium-90

• Whistleblowers Say Nuclear Regulatory Commission Watchdog Is Losing Its Bite

One piece of good news. The river level outside the Fort Calhoun nuclear plant has dropped to 1006 feet, well below the critical 1014 foot danger level:

6/9/2011 | Japan Confirms Nuclear Fuel Has Melted Through The Base Of The Fukushima Plant

Source: Alexander Higgins Blog
Date: June 9, 2011 at 4:52 pm
by: Alexander Higgins

The nuclear fuel in three of the reactors at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant has melted through the base of the pressure vessels and is pooling in the outer containment vessels, according to a report by the Japanese government.
...
Read full article here

6/8/2011 JST | 'Melt-through' at Fukushima? / Govt report to IAEA suggests situation worse than meltdown

Source: Daily Yomiuri
Date: Jun. 8, 2011 JST
by: The Yomiuri Shimbun

Nuclear fuel in three reactors at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant has possibly melted through pressure vessels and accumulated at the bottom of outer containment vessels, according to a government report obtained Tuesday by The Yomiuri Shimbun.
...
Read full article here

6/7/2011 | Japan Admits “Worse Than Meltdown” — Nuclear “Melt-Through” In 3 Reactors

Source: Alexander Higgins Blog
Date: June 7, 2011 at 5:11 pm

Worse than Nuclear Meltdown – In a report prepared for the UN Japan says they believe that Fukushima fuel rods have melted through the bottom for three reactors.
...
Read full article here