11/8/2012 Fermi 2 nuke plant shut down

Source: northwestohio.com
Date: Posted: 11.08.2012 at 2:20 PM
by: Kevin Kistner

MONROE CO. -- The Fermi 2 nuclear power plant in Monroe County has been shut down.
DTE Energy says it took the plant offline after finding an excess of hydrogen gas in a cooling center for the main electrical generator.
An increase in hydrogen gas in the water-cooled system decreases its efficiency.
The generator is on the non-nuclear side of the plant and has two separate cooling systems for its different sections.   One uses water and the other hydrogen.

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.

6/26/2011 TEPCO failed to report possible hydrogen explosion

Source: Asahi.com
Date: 6/26/2011

Smoke rises from the No. 3 reactor  at Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power  plant which exploded in March.  (Asahi Shimbun)

Tokyo Electric Power Co. knew there could be an explosion at the No. 3 reactor at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant the day before it happened, but didn't report the possibility to authorities. The failure to notify the central and local governments was revealed in reports submitted by TEPCO to the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). The reports were made available on NISA's website June 24. ... Read full article here

5/31/2011 | Blast at Japan nuclear plant 'likely gas cylinder'

Source: AFP via Yahoo News
Date: Tue May 31, 4:00 am ET

TOKYO (AFP) – An explosion was heard Tuesday at Japan's tsunami-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, but no rise in radiation levels nor any injuries were reported, the plant operator said.
...
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5/26/2011 | U.S. reactor retrofits in works to avoid blasts

Source: Bloomberg via The Japan Times
Date: Thursday, May 26, 2011

New York/New Delhi — Entergy Corp., the second-biggest nuclear operator in the U.S., and Duke Energy Corp. said the industry may need to retrofit reactors or bolster safety systems after a pressure-relief system failed at the Fukushima No. 1 plant, contributing to the disaster.
...
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5/19/2011 | Touted upgrades like Browns Ferry's failed in Japan

Source: The Tennessean
Date: Thursday May 19, 2011

Safety improvements long in place at Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant had been touted as able to protect it from the explosions that tore up a Japanese plant of the same design, but Japanese officials said this week they had upgraded too.
...
Read full article here