Engineers pin hopes on polymer to stop nuke leak

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By RYAN NAKASHIMA and MARI YAMAGUCHI

TOKYO (AP) - Engineers pinned their hopes on chemicals, sawdust and shredded newspaper to stop highly radioactive water pouring into the ocean from Japan's tsunami-ravaged nuclear plant Sunday as officials said it will take several months to bring the crisis under control, the first time they have provided a timetable.

Concrete already failed to stop the tainted water spewing from a crack in a maintenance pit, and the new mixture did not appear to be working either, but engineers said they were not abandoning it.

The Fukushima Da-ichi plant has been leaking radioactivity since the March 11 tsunami carved a path of destruction along Japan's northeastern coast, killing as many as 25,000 people and knocking out key cooling systems that kept it from overheating. People living within 12 miles (20 kilometers) of the plant have been forced to abandon their homes.

The government said Sunday it will be several months before the radiation stops and permanent cooling systems are restored. Even after that happens, there will be years of work ahead to clean up the area around the complex and figure out what to do with it.


Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20110403/D9MC9CO00.html

[Marblehead]

1. oh no

I hope this isn't a junk shot!

[UpInArms]

2. clueless - these peole are clueless

when concrete fails and they "pin their hopes" on shredded newspaper - you gotta know how stupid all of this has become.

[cstanleytech]

8. I admit it seems like the *people* in charge

are screwing it up though of course I could be wrong especially seeing as I am not qualified to make the call on how to fix the leak myself.

[Tesha]

3. "One word: 'plastics'." (NT)

[ret5hd]

4. hmmm...did that last "junk shot" work?

[iemitsu]

5. the lunatics are running the asylum.

[Festivito]

6. Ironic that a oil product is needed to stop a problem with its own replacement. /nt

[The abyss]

7. yes this could work to plug the leak

A slurry of wood pulp and polymer binders injected in enough bulk could seal the breach. If they used a polymer that did not "love" water in enough mass and slapped it in after the bulk of the water had drained it could stop up the breach.

Once that layer is set they could add more pulp and binders that were now hygroscopic in nature and begin to add clean water as coolant.

The trick is to keep everyone alive while they play around with engineering tricks never performed under these conditions.

May the gods bless their endeavors.

[Generic Other]

9. but if the water is drained won't the rods overheat?

Also, I use polymer clay for sculpting. It doesn't do well in high heat. I sure hope it works. What next? Super Glue?

[Downwinder]

10. oatmeal

[The abyss]

11. The rods are already over heating

This is an engineering nightmare that we have created. Only us dumb ass humans can stop or control it.

Let us give those attempting to still this horror our best thoughts,.

[DeSwiss]

12. K&R

Polymer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Appearance of real linear
polymer chains as recorded
using an atomic force
microscope on surface under
liquid medium. Chain contour
length for this polymer is
~204 nm; thickness is ~0.4 nm.

A polymer is a large molecule (macromolecule) composed of repeating structural units. These subunits are typically connected by covalent chemical bonds. Although the term polymer is sometimes taken to refer to plastics, it actually encompasses a large class of natural and synthetic materials with a wide variety of properties.

Because of the extraordinary range of properties of polymeric materials, they play an essential and ubiquitous role in everyday life. This role ranges from familiar synthetic plastics and elastomers to natural biopolymers such as nucleic acids and proteins that are essential for life.

Natural polymeric materials such as shellac, amber, and natural rubber have been used for centuries. A variety of other natural polymers exist, such as cellulose, which is the main constituent of wood and paper. The list of synthetic polymers includes synthetic rubber, Bakelite, neoprene, nylon, PVC, polystyrene, polyethylene, polypropylene, polyacrylonitrile, PVB, silicone, and many more.

Most commonly, the continuously linked backbone of a polymer used for the preparation of plastics consists mainly of carbon atoms. A simple example is polyethylene, whose repeating unit is based on ethylene monomer. However, other structures do exist; for example, elements such as silicon form familiar materials such as silicones, examples being silly putty and waterproof plumbing sealant. Oxygen is also commonly present in polymer backbones, such as those of polyethylene glycol, polysaccharides (in glycosidic bonds), and DNA (in phosphodiester bonds).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polymer">MORE

[JJW]

13. Another Junk Shot

[pam4water]

14. Is that the same newspaper they built the dikes with in New Orleans?

[Sabriel]

15. Sounds a little too much like a middle school art project

Sawdust and newspaper? This is a nuclear reactor, not a do-it-yourself wasp nest for science class.

[cstanleytech]

16. Is that meant to be a joke or

criticism of their efforts and if its meant as criticism what would you different yourself to stop the leak?