Once you get to the point where operating the plants are a suicide mission....

[Junkdrawer]

the whole crisis deteriorates into a slow motion mega-disaster with unknown consequences.

On Monday, 740 of 800 plant workers were sent home. It wasn't because they weren't needed.

Arnie Gunderson on DemocracyNow:

SHARIF ABDEL KOUDDOUS: What are the efforts right now to cool down the plant? Why do these explosions keep happening? This is the third explosion now.

ARNIE GUNDERSEN: Yeah, that’s a great question. They will continue. I think, given that the site has been evacuated—you know, those 800 people were not sitting around playing poker. They were all doing critical, critical things. So, if you’ve let 800 people go and are trying to do the work of 800 with 60 people, clearly critical items are not going to be accomplished.

...

ARNIE GUNDERSEN: It’s got to make the efforts worse. You know, these 750 people that are being evacuated were doing critical work. They weren’t sweeping floors and washing windows; they were doing critical work. So, when the staff, basically, is cut—90 percent of the staff is told, "You have to leave the site"—that’s an indication that a lot of critical work isn’t getting done. I really think it’s also—it’s an indication that management at the site has thrown in the towel and is going to let this thing run its course without any more human intervention. What that means is that—I’m particularly concerned about another aftershock, especially if an aftershock—on the weak Unit 2 containment, which already apparently has failed, and an aftershock would make it worse. The other thing that especially concerns me is that a large group of personnel were fighting the fire in the fuel pool on Unit 4, and again, you can’t have 60 people on a six-unit site and expect that anything gets done.

...

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/3/15/this_could_become_chernobyl_on_steroids
http://www.democracynow.org/2011/3/15/get_the_children_away_from_the

[Xipe Totec]

1. FUBAR nt

[Hannah Bell]

2. they weren't "sent home" forever. they were taken off site so they wouldn't

accumulate dose; the 50 who stayed stay until they accumulate maximum dose for emergencies & new workers are rotated in.

they are calling up workers from other plants & retirees as well.

[Junkdrawer]

3. 50 people working six sites with jerry rigged cooling systems....

I've heard more than a few experts saying that this is ominous....

[Kennah]

4. The 50 are a Divine Wind

[Hannah Bell]

5. i am making no assessment of how ominous it is. i am merely trying to keep the information correct.

so that people can make their own judgements about "ominousness" based on as accurate information as possible.

if things are dire that can be judged from the facts alone and editorializing is not needed.

[Junkdrawer]

6. I value the input of experts outside TEPCO and the Japanese government....

Are you seriously saying that they should be considered the only source of accurate information?

[Hannah Bell]

7. your report implied that only 50 workers were left on a suicide mission

& others had been sent away permanently.

if you have an issue with clarification of that report, please say so.

[BeFree]

8. right

700 people on at least 3 shifts. 233 per shift. Half those maybe not critical. 117 critical per shift.

US soldiers are reportedly there as well as Japanese forces.

Skeleton crew for sure.

[ljm2002]

9. Thanks for posting...

...at least Democracy Now gives people enough time to explain the issues.

K&R