Japan: Reactor 3 - Rising Radiation;. Emergency Declared; PM flying to area.

[denem]

0202 Emergency declared

0217 "At the moment we have ordered a 10km exclusion zone around the facility. I'm going there with experts from the industry to talk with the people responsible on the ground, and to grasp how the situation is. On this basis we will make the necessary decisions."

0228 The unsafe level of radioactivity at the Fukushima plant is being created by the plant's No 3 reactor.

0232: The plant operator says the top of the fuel rods is 3 metres above water

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12307698

There are some weasel words comparing the situation to Reactor 1, conveniently overlooking the fact that the physics of a MOX reactor are quite different. Note the 10km Exclusion zone. I presume it means complete exclusion.

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. MSNBC breaking partial meltdown on unit three

and the PM should stay out

VIP\ disaster\ don't mix

[denem]

3. Somebody's got to carry the can for the cover up.

The Japanese have a tradition of Hari Kari, if the lot goes up.

[nadinbrzezinski]

5. They might pass this one as an act of god

and it would be the head of the plant.

Somehow I doubt the PM will carry a Daisho (Katana\ Wakisashi combo)

[suffragette]

2. "Top of fuel rods is 3 metres above water"

That does not sound good.

[Fuddnik]

4. Holy shit.

Does not sound good is an understatement.

[thewiseguy]

8. And also consider that they are MOX fuel rods...Plutonium...

[suffragette]

10. Looks like more people in hospital because of radiation

http://www.abc.net.au/news/events/japan-quake-2011/

Update: Tokyo Electric Power Co has notified Japan's nuclear safety agency that the radiation level at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant has exceeded the legal limit.

Hourly radiation at the site was measured at 882 micro sievert, in excess of the allowable level of 500.

The company acknowledged that the No.3 reactor of the quake-hit Fukushima plant had lost its cooling
functions, while 19 people at a nearby hospital were found to have been exposed to radioactivity, in addition to three cases of exposure recorded Saturday.

(Kyodo)


They don't note if these are workers from the plant or area residents.

[panader0]

6. 10km is about 6 miles

Not very far if there is a real danger.

[B2G]

11. I believe it's 20Km

That was ordered earlier today.

[1776Forever]

7. Latest from TEPCO - TOKYO POWER CO.: (more at link)

Press Releases

Press Release (Mar 13,2011)
Impact to TEPCO's Facilities due to Miyagiken-Oki Earthquake (as of 8AM)

http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/11031304-e.html

Below is major impact to TEPCO's facilities due to the Miyagiken-Oki
Earthquake that occurred yesterday at 2:46PM.
*new items are underlined


Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station:
Units 1 to 3: shutdown due to earthquake
Units 4 to 6: outage due to regular inspection
* The national government has instructed evacuation for those local
residents within 20km radius of the site periphery.
* The value of radioactive material (iodine, etc) is increasing according
to the monitoring car at the site (outside of the site). One of the
monitoring posts is also indicating higher than normal level.
* Since the amount of radiation at the boundary of the site exceeds the
limits, we decide at 4:17PM, Mar 12 and we have reported and/or noticed
the government agencies concerned to apply the clause 1 of the Article 15
of the Radiation Disaster Measure at 5PM, Mar 12.
* In addition, a vertical earthquake hit the site and big explosion has
happened near the Unit 1 and smoke breaks out around 3:36PM, Mar 12th.
* We started injection of sea water into the reactor core of Unit 1 at
8:20PM, Mar 12 and then boric acid subsequently.
*TextHigh Pressure Coolant Injection System of Unit 3 automatically stopped.
We endeavored to restart the Reactor Core Isolation Cooling System but
failed. Also, we could not confirm the water inflow of Emergency Core
Cooling System. As such, we decided at 5.10AM, Mar 12, and we reported
and/or noticed the government agencies concerned to apply the clause 1 of
the Article 15 of the Radiation Disaster Measure at 5:58AM, Mar 13.
In order to fully secure safety, we operated the vent valve to reduce the
pressure of the reactor containment vessels (partial release of air
containing radioactive materials) and completed the procedure at 8:41AM,
Mar 13

* We continue endeavoring to secure the safety that all we can do and
monitoring the periphery.

[Bluebear]

9. 'We continue endeavoring to secure the safety that all we can do '

:crazy:

[denem]

12. 10 km Total exclusion - except for volunteers I imagine.

[MilesColtrane]

13. Does anyone know if this Fukushima-3 has top entry control rod design?

If so, then the reactor should have SCRAMmed as soon as the power was cut.

Would the exposed fuel rods still be hot enough to melt down if the nuclear reaction had been halted 20 hours ago?

[jpak]

14. "0232: The plant operator says the top of the fuel rods is 3 metres above water"

Jesus H fucking C

:wow: