Tsunami hits north-eastern Japan after massive quake

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0147: The legal limit for radioactivity has been passed at the Fukushima plant, AFP says, quoting Japan's Kyodo news agency

BBC news just. now.
 
0147: The legal limit for radioactivity has been passed at the Fukushima plant, AFP says, quoting Japan's Kyodo news agency

BBC news just. now.

It all depends on where exactly the radioactivity was measured. Inside the protection chamber, inside the building, or outside in the open? If it is the latter, there's a very good chance that a meltdown has occurred in some shape or form.
 
0147: The legal limit for radioactivity has been passed at the Fukushima plant, AFP says, quoting Japan's Kyodo news agency

BBC news just. now.

good news. Hopefully the same news will apply to the other 2 reactors
 
Thats all is said, it was on the breaking news bar.

---------- Post added at 07:03 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:00 AM ----------

good news. Hopefully the same news will apply to the other 2 reactors

No i think it was implying it's gone over the limit.

---------- Post added at 07:06 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:03 AM ----------

0202: More on the higher radioactivity level at the nuclear plant. The Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco) has informed the government of an "emergency situation" but this does not mean an immediate threat to human health, the company adds. A similar rise in radiation levels occurred after the company released radioactive steam from another reactor to let go of pressure. On that occasion too, the company was obliged to inform the government of an "emergency situation".
 
good news. Hopefully the same news will apply to the other 2 reactors

Er mate, that ain't good news. The legal limit for radioactivity has been passed: i.e, it is more radioactive than the law deems safe.

In theory they should be safe. Chernobyl had safety procedures that wouldn't have passed muster anywhere apart from in Eastern Bloc nations. In the non-Soviet world, in essence everything is sealed within a protection chamber. If an accident happens and the rods melt through their casings, it will be contained by the chamber.

As I said, if radioactivity levels are high inside the chamber, then that's not really a problem, it's just doing its job. If it is high inside the building or outside... well. That could mean a meltdown (as in radioactive materials escaping from the chamber) and that is not good news at all.
 
Thats all is said, it was on the breaking news bar.

---------- Post added at 07:03 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:00 AM ----------



No i think it was implying it's gone over the limit.

Yeah, I've just realised. Was getting too hopeful I guess. Hoping thats inside, because they were saying the levels had dropped earlier, and the containmet area had held. Was just hoping things were looking better. I'm just tired because I've pretty much been following this literally since I woke up this morning.

---------- Post added at 07:08 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:07 AM ----------

Er mate, that ain't good news. The legal limit for radioactivity has been passed: i.e, it is more radioactive than the law deems safe.

In theory they should be safe. Chernobyl had safety procedures that wouldn't have passed muster anywhere apart from in Eastern Bloc nations. In the non-Soviet world, in essence everything is sealed within a protection chamber. If an accident happens and the rods melt through their casings, it will be contained by the chamber.

As I said, if radioactivity levels are high inside the chamber, then that's not really a problem, it's just doing its job. If it is high inside the building or outside... well. That's a meltdown, and they are in serious ****.

Yeah I misread that, apologies. When i saw the words safe I just assumed things had got better.
 
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If the protection chamber has held and is at no risk from pressure, then everything should be find. Those things can withstand small nuclear bombs, let alone small amounts of radioactive material.
 
Guess all we can do is pray for the best. Just shows that not only nuclear energy can be our best friend, but also our enemy at times.

---------- Post added at 07:18 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:16 AM ----------

If the protection chamber has held and is at no risk from pressure, then everything should be find. Those things can withstand small nuclear bombs, let alone small amounts of radioactive material.

So hopefully, the protection chamber should be safe from any more aftershocks then? As they seem to be in the 6 magnitude, and should get weaker?
 
If the protection chamber has held and is at no risk from pressure, then everything should be find. Those things can withstand small nuclear bombs, let alone small amounts of radioactive material.

And there's no chance of a nuclear explosion from within the container, so they should be safe.
 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-12723092

The further you read down this article, the more sinister the whole situation begins to sound.

Reports of radio-caesium being detected, which suggests a meltdown is underway.

This report confirms my suspicion that the Japanese energy company are witholding information as well. The evidence shows they have a history of it.
 
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And there's no chance of a nuclear explosion from within the container, so they should be safe.

But there is a possibility of pressure building up, which as we all know enough pressure can destroy just about anything. There are built in valves to release said pressure if needed, though.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-12723092

The further you read down this article, the more sinister the whole situation begins to sound.

Reports of radio-caesium being detected, which suggests a meltsown is underway.

This report confirms my suspicion that the Japanese enrgy company are witholding information as well. The evidence shows they have a histroy of it.

If there are reports of radioactive caesium isotopes, then we'd best hope they're talking about inside the reactor core, because that **** is seriously lethal. IIRC, anyway.
 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-12723092

The further you read down this article, the more sinister the whole situation begins to sound.

Reports of radio-caesium being detected, which suggests a meltdown is underway.

This report confirms my suspicion that the Japanese enrgy company are witholding information as well. The evidence shows they have a histroy of it.

Have a bad feeling going to be waking up to more bad news
 
Have a bad feeling going to be waking up to more bad news

At risk of repeating myself, you don't need to worry if the protection chamber is still intact. All resports suggest it is, and pressure is being managed by the vents specifically designed for this purpose. The protection system built for this very end are working well, as far as we know, and it is silly to speculate.

Once we've heard that the protection chamber has exploded/failed/fissured, then we really start to pity the Japanese. Until then, we can only hope that it doesn't happen, and rest assured that the systems put in place are working.
 
But there is a possibility of pressure building up, which as we all know enough pressure can destroy just about anything. There are built in valves to release said pressure if needed, though.



If there are reports of radioactive caesium isotopes, then we'd best hope they're talking about inside the reactor core, because that **** is seriously lethal. IIRC, anyway.


But didn't the valves get opened earlier on to release pressure? Apologies for the possible ignorance, but I'm just coming across so many different news sources and stories I'm actually starting to get a bit confused. I'm just hearing so much information I'm actually getting confused
 
But didn't the valves get opened earlier on to release pressure?

Yes. So in other words, it's working.

What I'm worried about is the thing Jake said earlier about radioactive caesium isotopes. That isn't normal. If they've found it outside, we're looking at a possible semi-meltdown at least.
 
Yes. So in other words, it's working.

What I'm worried about is the thing Jake said earlier about radioactive caesium isotopes. That isn't normal. If they've found it outside, we're looking at a possible semi-meltdown at least.


I see now. Like I said, I'm literally hearing so much information, I'm literally getting lost. But it'll be nothing compared to whats going through the minds of the people over there.
 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-12723092

The further you read down this article, the more sinister the whole situation begins to sound.

Reports of radio-caesium being detected, which suggests a meltsown is underway.

This report confirms my suspicion that the Japanese enrgy company are witholding information as well. The evidence shows they have a histroy of it.

A partial-meltdown has occured in at least one reactor - the fuel melts when it isn't cooled sufficiently to prevent it and it's fairly obvious from the descriptions and events that this is the case here. But you won't see a company or scientist use 'meltdown' as a technical description of that because 'meltdown' really doesn't have a clear definition.

The levels of radioactive material suggest that what is currently outside the containment is a result of the venting to reduce the pressure. It seems like they've vented a second reactor very recently as radiation levels have gone back up again.

My real concern is the number of reactors in a similar situation as it'll stretch Japanese resources to keep on top of things even further - criticisms of the Japanese government and nuclear agencies over lack of information or clarity seems to apply there. One unanswered question I'd love to have answered is actually one for the US government - what exactly was the coolant they rushed to Japan? And which reactor was it used in? That's a real mystery.

The casualties from the Tsunami and earthquake seem to be very understated at the moment - would expect the numbers to rise dramatically as they get to the affected areas.
 
Yes. So in other words, it's working.

What I'm worried about is the thing Jake said earlier about radioactive caesium isotopes. That isn't normal. If they've found it outside, we're looking at a possible semi-meltdown at least.

Radio Caesium is lethal too, and has fairly long half lives, so it's a huge worry if it's leaking out somehow.

I really wish they'd release more information, it has all just been a tiny bit of information being released at a time, with scientist's from other country's having to extrapolate and draw conclusions from it.
 
A partial-meltdown has occured in at least one reactor - the fuel melts when it isn't cooled sufficiently to prevent it and it's fairly obvious from the descriptions and events that this is the case here. But you won't see a company or scientist use 'meltdown' as a technical description of that because 'meltdown' really doesn't have a clear definition.

The levels of radioactive material suggest that what is currently outside the containment is a result of the venting to reduce the pressure. It seems like they've vented a second reactor very recently as radiation levels have gone back up again.

My real concern is the number of reactors in a similar situation as it'll stretch Japanese resources to keep on top of things even further - criticisms of the Japanese government and nuclear agencies over lack of information or clarity seems to apply there. One unanswered question I'd love to have answered is actually one for the US government - what exactly was the coolant they rushed to Japan? And which reactor was it used in? That's a real mystery.

Basically my thoughts. Usually nowadays, in order to prevent the general hysteria that such a connotation-laden word would cause to the general public, meltdown is generally used to describe when it melts through any protective casing, and is ejected into the environment in some form. That's not a technical definition, of course, but that's how I understand it.

I was interested by that coolant story too, again for the same reasons you are. I'm assuming reactor three (being the one apparently most heavily damaged, if you could call it that) was the one the coolant was used on. Possibly it was used on the other three reactors as the third was beyond hope, of course, which would be worrying.
 
The levels of radioactive material suggest that what is currently outside the containment is a result of the venting to reduce the pressure. It seems like they've vented a second reactor very recently as radiation levels have gone back up again.

But the result from venting is only supposed to release Nitrogen-16 which decays rapidly to regular, stable Oxygen.
 
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