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Page added on September 26, 2015
Fukushima reactor could have suffered total meltdown
The scientists from Nagoya University had been using a device that uses elementary particles, which are called muons. These are used to give a better picture of the inside of the reactor as the levels of radioactivity at the core mean it is impossible for any human to go anywhere near it.
However, the results have not been promising. The study shows very few signs of any nuclear fuel in reactor No. 2. This is in sharp contrast to reactor No.5, where the fuel is clearly visible at the core, the Japanese broadcaster NHK reports.
The team believes that 70 to 100 percent of the fuel has melted, though they did add that further research was needed to see whether any fuel had managed to penetrate the reactor
A report in May by the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), which is the plant’s operator, said that a failure in reactor No.2’s pressure relief systems was one of the causes of the disaster. The team used a robot, which ventured into the building and measured radiation levels at various places, while also studying how much leakage had occurred from the control systems.
TEPCO has used 16 robots to explore the crippled plant to date, from military models to radiation-resistant multi-segmented snake-like devices that can fit through a small pipe.
However, even the toughest models are having trouble weathering the deadly radiation levels: as one robot sent into reactor No.1 broke down three hours into its planned 10-hour foray.
Despite TEPCO’s best efforts, the company has been accused of a number of mishaps and a lack of proper contingency measures to deal with the cleanup operation, after the power plant suffered a meltdown, following an earthquake and subsequent tsunami in 2011.
Recent flooding caused by Tropical Typhoon Etau swept 82 bags, believed to contain contaminated materials that had been collected from the crippled site, out to sea.
“On September 9th and 11th, due to typhoon no.18 (Etau), heavy rain caused Fukushima Daiichi K drainage rainwater to overflow to the sea,” TEPCO said in a statement, adding that the samples taken “show safe, low levels” of radiation.
“From the sampling result of the 9th, TEPCO concluded that slightly tainted rainwater had overflowed to the sea; however, the new sampling measurement results show no impact to the ocean,” it continued.
A recent study by the University of Southern California said the Fukushima disaster could have been prevented. One of the main faults cited was the decision to install critical backup generators in low-lying areas, as this was the first place the 2011 tsunami would strike, following the massive earthquake.
LISTEN MORE:
Backup generators are a key part of any nuclear power plant – they are essential to cool the plant in the event of power loss, in order to prevent a reactor meltdown. These generators were the first to be affected by the disaster, which the author describes as “a cascade of industrial, regulatory and engineering failures.”
Unable to cool itself, the Fukushima Daiichi power plant’s reactors fell like dominos. “What doomed Fukushima Daiichi was the elevation of the EDGs (emergency diesel generators),” the authors say. One such generator was installed in the basement, while the others were just 10 and 13 meters above sea level – an unacceptably low height, according to Costas Synolakis of USC’s Viterbi School of Engineering in Turkey.
64 Comments on "Fukushima reactor could have suffered total meltdown"
penury on Sat, 26th Sep 2015 4:20 pm
Gradually the full scope of the disaster will be revealed. However, it appears that great effort is being used to avoid disclosing and facts which might cause alarm in the sheeple.
onlooker on Sat, 26th Sep 2015 4:40 pm
http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-fukushima-nuclear-disaster-in-perspective/24730
Above is a link to Dr. Helen Caldicot summary of Fukushima and how terrible this disaster has been. Now if some people wish to believe the Nuclear Industry and their apologists and shills fine. I rather believe a dedicated person who is not beholden to any large institution, industry or organization. Who has dedicated her life to learning about nuclear and communicating the terrible facts maybe because she witnessed first hand the ravages of radiation sickness in children as she is a certified Pediatrician . Another aspect of an insane civilization.
onlooker on Sat, 26th Sep 2015 4:43 pm
Penury is that the MO or signature of the powerful institutions of the world we live in. To hide the truth and to avoid accountability. Well for whatever its worth the sheeple are catching on to this pattern.
real7777 on Sat, 26th Sep 2015 6:05 pm
Japan got stupid and storing water that are 100 times LESS radiated than allowable drinking water in USA and europe. Solution is to sell it as energy or health drink in USA lol 😉 Cancer risk from cellphones are much higher. Coal is much more dangerous to health and they estimate 2 million death per year from pollution.
Technically TEPCO is not legally responsible since it was natural disaster, but it was responsible Japanese company with good morals.
abcnews “Thirty-five years ago, Dale G. Bridenbaugh and two of his colleagues at General Electric resigned from their jobs after becoming increasingly convinced that the nuclear reactor design they were reviewing — the Mark 1 — was so flawed it could lead to a devastating accident. ”
If accident happened in usa, GE would been bankrupt.
1) Very faulty design and unconcerned about safety
2) 1980s lawsuit made it unbuildable in west coast USA due to unsafe design on earthquake west coast BUT GE built it in earthquake prone Japan.
3) GE(were expert) and built it at that location
4) Faulty procedure.
etc.
Of course if world force GE to recall unsafe plants, GE and USA will probably go bankrupt.
Google “real7777 fukushima”
Maybe GE INTENTIONALLY sabotage Japan since it could not compete.
Of course no one was charged with crime against humanity when USA INTENTIONALLY conducted radiation fallout test on south pacific islanders. I think there is higher than usual minor mutations for Micronesians.
BobInget on Sat, 26th Sep 2015 6:27 pm
real7777
Get back to us in 5,000 years when clean-up is completed. I’ll wait.
(if you come back with 2,500 years instead, I’ll
take bets)
“moisturized diesel generators”
Early submarines were surface diesel powered. Insufficient water-proofing while possible, was
clearly left out of reactor design.
Bob Steaves on Sat, 26th Sep 2015 6:29 pm
What if the diesel generators were on the roof? Batteries were recharged via solar/wind.
Easy connect for valves to operate via roof access.
apneaman on Sat, 26th Sep 2015 6:54 pm
Sea Level Rise Brings Added Risks to Coastal Nuclear Plants
http://www.climatecentral.org/news/sea-level-rise-brings-added-risks-to-coastal-nuclear-plants
onlooker on Sat, 26th Sep 2015 7:06 pm
Actually from reading a related article the fatal flaw was that the diesel generators were placed too low at almost sea level so were flooded by tsunami.
MisInformedIdiots on Sat, 26th Sep 2015 7:06 pm
And the the misinformed mass idiots believed what this big liar Tepco is saying
MisInformedIdiots on Sat, 26th Sep 2015 7:13 pm
“A recent study by the University of Southern California said the Fukushima disaster could have been prevented. One of the main faults cited was the decision to install critical backup generators in low-lying areas, as this was the first place the 2011 tsunami would strike, following the massive earthquake.”
“Backup generators are a key part of any nuclear power plant – they are essential to cool the plant in the event of power loss, in order to prevent a reactor meltdown. These generators were the first to be affected by the disaster, which the author describes as “a cascade of industrial, regulatory and engineering failures.”
Unable to cool itself, the Fukushima Daiichi power plant’s reactors fell like dominos. “What doomed Fukushima Daiichi was the elevation of the EDGs (emergency diesel generators),” the authors say. One such generator was installed in the basement, while the others were just 10 and 13 meters above sea level – an unacceptably low height,”
Less than 200 words says it all… Corruption has lead to that disaster ! And whats irony is the Japanese public don’t even blame Tepco for their mistake due to corruption and irresponsibilities..
Plantagenet on Sat, 26th Sep 2015 7:17 pm
It was very negligent of the TEPCO engineers to locate critical parts of the reactor system in a tsunami hazard zone.
Too bad Japan had to learn this lesson the hard way.
onlooker on Sat, 26th Sep 2015 7:23 pm
Thanks Mis for backing up my post.
Red Flowers on Sat, 26th Sep 2015 7:35 pm
Is there any hope for the thorium/molten salt reactors that don’t require cooling to replace the fission/fusion type? This type decision was made years ago undoubtedly because the current reactor types provided nuclear material for bombs during the cold war and thorium reactors didn’t.
Brian Fraser on Sat, 26th Sep 2015 7:36 pm
I think the bottom of a containment vessel should be lined with very generous amounts of neutron absorbing materials like boron, cadmium and hafnium. This should prevent a meltdown from escaping containment.
antaris on Sat, 26th Sep 2015 7:47 pm
The bottom of the containment vessel should be lined with all the stupid greedy people that wanted these humanity killers.
antaris on Sat, 26th Sep 2015 8:05 pm
How do you say in Japanese ” oh shit, we Fucked up”
Go Speed Racer on Sat, 26th Sep 2015 8:07 pm
When Chenobyl melted, the truth went out freely so the public knew how bad it was. Lots of screaming public complaining, at the time: THIS time, the Universal Perpretators of Everything have a total information blackout. So no bad news like Chernobyl, and everybody pretend everything is OK.
Theryl McCoy on Sat, 26th Sep 2015 8:11 pm
backup generators in the basement on the coast of a country that invented the word Tsunami. Lol.
GregT on Sat, 26th Sep 2015 8:21 pm
:”How do you say in Japanese ” oh shit, we Fucked up””
Genero Erectric?
twabster on Sat, 26th Sep 2015 8:36 pm
It’s a real shame how much we are not being told immediately. This is the first indication how bad reactor #2 really is. Specifically, special robots for the purpose can’t even survive… what the radiation or the heat or the sharp edges ? I still have faith in nuclear power, but unfortunately this incident gives 2 black eyes to the technology and advancement over the past 30 yrs since the Chernobyl disaster. And the critical 100 yr lesson learned is you can’t place backup generators too low where mother nature can take a lick at them.
antaris on Sat, 26th Sep 2015 9:16 pm
‘Twab we are only about sixty years in. Fourty years from now their won’t be any airlines flying and each nuke plant will probably be ringed by death. So the 100 year lesson will have cost a lot.
But never to be repeated. Nobody close to pass on the lesson.
Amphibious Rodent on Sat, 26th Sep 2015 9:18 pm
The problem with fission reactors is what’s called decay heat. After the reactor is shut down, the fission reaction stops. However, the smaller atoms that are created by the fission of uranium create heat as the decay. This decay heat is originally about 6% of the reactor power and falls off very slowly requiring the shutdown reactor to be continuously cooled for days/weeks/months.
The problem isn’t inherent to the GE design that was used at Fukushima Daiichi. It is inherent to all designs that require power to run pumps and systems to remove this decay heat. This includes all reactors that are currently operating in the world. It’s safe to say that any of the currently operating plant designs would’ve suffered a similar fate following an extended loss of power event.
The newest generation or plants such as the Westinghouse AP1000 design does not require electrical power following an accident. These “passive” safety plants would’ve likely survived the event.
The real issue is that there are certain places on earth where you should not build a nuclear plant. These include the slopes of Mt. Etna, Iceland, and Japan.
js on Sat, 26th Sep 2015 9:22 pm
Oh, that is much worse that the almost sorta kinda nearly 100% full meltdown we had been led to believe earlier. This is such an enormous disaster one which will keep on giving to the end of (human) time.
antaris on Sat, 26th Sep 2015 9:25 pm
So Amp from what I have read over the years here we have something like 400 disasters waiting to happen. Correct ?
antaris on Sat, 26th Sep 2015 9:28 pm
Not counting all the nukes sitting on top of rockets.
Amphibious Rodent on Sat, 26th Sep 2015 9:32 pm
Potentially.
Although I would put the ones that are in seismically active areas with the potential for 50-foot tsunamis near the top of that list. Funny that most of those happen to be in Japan.
Each plant has to meet what’s called a “design basis”. This includes the largest credible earthquake, the highest credible flood, the hottest credible temperature, etc. An “acceptable” level of risk may be that the design basis is exceeded only once every million or so years. The trouble is, we have only about 1600 reactor-years of operating experience (400 plants times 40 years), and we’ve exceeded the perceived design basis limits several times.
The guy who’s job it is to determine the design basis earthquake and flood limits at Fukushima Daiichi is the person at fault here. He was dead wrong.
jerry smith on Sat, 26th Sep 2015 9:34 pm
the Japinese Gov and Tepco do not care about the people, I have e mails i sent to both offering at cost a new simple to use radiation detector. So simple a child of 6 could use it or wife shopping for food. no responce from either. It can detect all types of radiation. Most living in the area are common laborers of rice farmers or fisherman. They need some thing any one can understand. Shows you can eat or not eat food or drink liquids. NO RESPONCE!!!
Amphibious Rodent on Sat, 26th Sep 2015 9:34 pm
As a nuclear engineer, you can blame me for the commercial reactors, but not for nuclear warheads.
jerry smith on Sat, 26th Sep 2015 9:37 pm
ANY ONE WANTING MORE INFO CAN CONTACT ME AT: smith_jerry_lee@yahoo.com or USA phone 1 702 421 5900
Amphibious Rodent on Sat, 26th Sep 2015 9:41 pm
What basically saved most of Japan was the prevailing winds and ocean currents. Had this occurred on the west cost of Honshu rather than the east coast, the toll would’ve been much higher.
Try to remember that 20,000 people lost their lives in the earthquake/tsunami. Yet, the Tohoku 9.0 earthquake will be known for the Fukushima nuclear disaster. To date, two workers lost their lives to the accident. The economic and human cost has been considerable, especially to those in the evacuation zone, but I think if I had lost family to this tragedy, I would be a bit miffed by this.
jerry smith on Sat, 26th Sep 2015 9:41 pm
I traveled to Japan with in one week of the accident was able to get with in 10 km of the reactor. Took both air and ground reading. OMG HIGH HIGH HIGH
jerry smith on Sat, 26th Sep 2015 9:47 pm
I sent further e mails to both TEPCO and Government saying i was comming back to Japan and would like to meet with them. No Responce from either. Meet with nuclear engineer from Tokyo Universiety. He took device and tested it. Came back said it was great worked fine. Told hime of my experience with both TEPCO and Government. His responce was: you do not understand Japinese mentality. for them to accept your offer would mean that there was a problem, they would never do that!!!
Amphibious Rodent on Sat, 26th Sep 2015 9:47 pm
Still, I’d sooner live next to a nuke plant than a chemical plant or an oil refinery.
jerry smith on Sat, 26th Sep 2015 9:51 pm
I have copy of e mails sent to both TEPCO and Gov. I used their web sight e mail. No one can say they did not receive it. Called a english news paper in Japan with the story. They were very interested, the very next day the news paper had no further interest.
jerry smith on Sat, 26th Sep 2015 9:54 pm
My e mails went to 2 different prime ministers, the current one and the previous one. Sent to 4 different officals at Tepco no responce from any of them!
jerry smith on Sat, 26th Sep 2015 10:01 pm
The US Government has no shame. search neuclear disasters look for simi valley california. Helidyne and others were operating reactors with no containment outter covering. had manny melt downs no one has cleaned it up. just after the accident a local radio station host made some comments on this. i tried manny times to talk to him left messages at his work. finally did connect. his comment to me was: I can not talk about this i hope you understand. yes some one put pressure on him or the radio station, wonder who?!!!
makati1 on Sat, 26th Sep 2015 10:04 pm
435 at last count, I think and more being built, not to mention the 20,000+ nukes waiting to rain down on cities all over the world. And it all began with Hiroshima and the US desire to rule the world even then.
Amphibious Rodent on Sat, 26th Sep 2015 10:05 pm
You’re right about Japan. They do not handle industrial crises well. There was hope that this would change after this disaster, but I see things going right back the way they are. The people are another story. They did a great job getting back on their feet after the unprecedented human catastrophe that was the earthquake and tsunami.
The problem is that Japan is resource-poor. They have no oil, gas, or coal to speak of. They built the nuclear plants to give them a measure of energy independence. They have no real alternatives as was evident over the last four years with the nuke plants shut down and the devastating effect on their economy.
I know for a fact that they are requiring changes to their plants in response to the accidents, but this is closing the barn door after the horse it gone. They need an alternative to nuclear power in Japan.
jerry smith on Sat, 26th Sep 2015 10:06 pm
after looking up the accident look for map of local area. you will see there is a city with in just 10 miles from it.
jerry smith on Sat, 26th Sep 2015 10:14 pm
I bet no one has told you that RADON is the second largest cause of Death?! That manny states now require a RADON test befor you can sell your home. Some test are free. But the removal of the RADON is expansive, any where from 1,500 to 6,000 dollars, and result is only good for 30 days. we developed a new device that removes all radon from home and keeps it away the cost is small but no one has any interest in further developing ot marketing this home device. Oh well what can i say. Further info can be had by contacting me at 1 702 421 5900 or e mail at: smith_jerry_lee@yahoo.com
Amphibious Rodent on Sat, 26th Sep 2015 10:19 pm
Every human endeavor carries risks. You have to decide what you want, your 21st century life style which requires massive amounts of electricity, or the return to a kinder, gentler time, let’s say 1850 with a tenth of the population, a 40-year life expectancy, high infant mortality, etc.
To get power, you need big thermal power plants or big hydroelectric plants. Smaller sources like solar and wind have their own problems. Shutting down the 100 or so nuke plants in the US would require replacement power of nearly 100 giga-watts. That’s about a million windmills. Where do you suggest we put them?
We can’t use more fossil fuels (including natural gas which has a better PR department than coal and oil but still produces CO2 according to my freshman chemistry class) because of climate issues. Serious climate change advocates realize that there are only two choices; reduce standard of living or build MORE nukes.
So what do you suggest? Good luck taking away America’s iPhones.
Amphibious Rodent on Sat, 26th Sep 2015 10:22 pm
Radon come from the natural decay of naturally occurring uranium in the ground. It is not man-made in the least. It can, however, be a big problem especially in well-insulated houses as the concentrations can be high enough to make the cancer risks equal to smoking several packs of cigarettes per day.
Easy to solve, though.
James Gerard on Sat, 26th Sep 2015 10:24 pm
The best recent article I have seen is by George Johnson in the NY Times. See it at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/22/science/when-radiation-isnt-the-real-risk.html?_r=1
“No one has been killed or sickened by the radiation, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. But about 1,600 died of causes related to the evacuation.”
So we can add to the mistakes that were made the extremely exaggerated panic that even led to the evacuation of hospitals. Had the people stayed in place, they would not have received anything near a dangerous dose of radiation.
This accident, which was caused by putting the reactor in an absurdly stupid location, qualifies as a relatively minor industrial accident. The clean-up of the reactor itself will take a long time, but it is not going to cause any more major problems for the environment. Eventually it may have to be encased in a concrete shell.
Another point to keep in mind is that in spite of the accidents at Chernobyl and Fukushima, Nuclear Power has the best safety record by far of any large scale power generating method – including hydro. And this is in spite of the fact that presently operating reactors are virtually all solid fuel high pressure water types designed before modern safety concepts were developed.
In light of this, it is important to comment on what someone said above about Helen Caldicott. She is not a dedicated and sincere investigator. She is an unscrupulous propagandist and polemicist who deliberately spreads fear based on a fabric of lies. She will stand in front of audiences and repeat outrageous lies and misinformation over and over again. The only people who listen to her are credulous and totally ignorant of the facts about nuclear science.
The best antidote to Caldicott’s venom is the excellent book “Power to Save the World” by Gwyneth Cravens. Published before Fukushima, it is still a very good source of clear information about the history of the nuclear industry. She dispels many myths about the dangers by taking the reader along as she is guided through the entire history and development of nuclear science and reactors by a recognized expert. There is no attempt made to gloss over mistakes that were made. The book is exceptionally clear.
Another comment asked about the Liquid Fuel Thorium Reactor. That is indeed the best design for a future global fleet of completely safe reactors.
The MSR (Molten Salt Reactor) with its hot liquid salt fuel and heat exchange mixture was run successfully at Oak Ridge for 20,000 hours. For excellent information and history, read “Super Fuel: Thorium, the Green Energy Source for the Future” by Richard Martin.
Also see the site timothymaloney.net for clear graphic explanations of the Thorium fuel cycle and the MSR/LFTR (Molten Salt Reactor/Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactor) plus related important discussions.
Amphibious Rodent on Sat, 26th Sep 2015 10:33 pm
Some basic research in molten salt, but a lot of issues. It’s hard to make the fluorine-berylium-lithium salt as the lithium has to be enriched to reduce the production of tritium. The main issue is materials to contain and transport the salt. Right now, this is in the universities and national labs, but not being taken seriously by the industry. It doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be developing it, though.
When I got out of school in 1980, nuclear fusion was “just around the corner”. 35 years later, it’s still “just around the corner”.
We seem to have lost the ability to do basic research in this country, then move that research into commercial operation. We used to be good at this. We can sure make good video gaming systems, though.
BTW, the Chinese have two MSR test reactors about to come on-line over the next two years.
antaris on Sat, 26th Sep 2015 11:17 pm
AR. I don’t no about basic research of nuke but I do believe that the Chinese will come to North America and take over as they are doing that right now by buying it all up. No need for nukes.
jim on Sat, 26th Sep 2015 11:25 pm
I am a geoogist so I looked at the frequency of large tsunamis on this coast. A case could be made for approximately 1-2 destructive tsunamis per century. If the cleanup lasts 40 years there is possibly close to a 50% chance of a tsunami hitting the cleanup effort and spreading more radioactive crap around.
antaris on Sat, 26th Sep 2015 11:37 pm
So Jim. What is the likely hood of jet airplanes flying for 100 years out of the thousands of human exhistensy. Now think of a nuk reactor. Really let your mind think. I have a diploma in Mech Engineering. I am not afraid for myself but for my 13 year old Son. I know shit happens and fast. My Son thinks I am old and silly. Fifty percent of fuck all is Nothing.
gdubya on Sun, 27th Sep 2015 12:04 am
“a cascade of industrial, regulatory and engineering failures.”
Fortunately the next generation thorium / breeder / molten salt / LENR / fusion reactors built for profit will not suffer any mechanical problems as they will be constructed & maintained perfectly without concern for cost or quarterly profits.
Does anyone else find there is a curious disconnect between the minutes of useful electrical consumption (eg this posting) and the
– massive environmental modification of hydro
– thousands of years of nuclear waste our ancestors have to deal with.
– massive piles of overburden, slag, ash, from coal.
– and of course the multiple thousands of years it will take for tectonic activity to remove our released fossil carbon dioxide.
No short term thinking amongst this super intelligent species.
db on Sun, 27th Sep 2015 4:26 am
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0BcnpqlBq4
Here’s a good (but older/2012) explanation of the different types of radiation and a simple device to detect whether or not food or your environment is radioactive at unsafe levels. I have not seen this product available online so I will need to try the number listed in the description.
frederick on Sun, 27th Sep 2015 5:13 am
Question Why didnt they place the backup generators in reinforced concrete structures with water tight doors than the tsunami couldnt flood them