at first i wasnt worried about the nuclear situation but im pretty scared now
my friends brother works on the eu stock market, i guess on their news feed from the eu energy board they were told reactors are melting down and the radiation released is going to cause a "new catastrophic event". the gist i got is that its going to be worldwide in scope and the north american west coast will be among the first to feel it.
so i went on a huge internet hunt and here is a bunch of shit i found:
japanese video with subtitles that explains the situation using poop and farts as an analogy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1aH2-MhEko&feature=player_embedded#at=35TL;DR of below: spent fuel pools high in radiation are overheating and fucking shit up. they are throwing water at them from helicopters
Japanese Earthquake Update (16 March 22:00 UTC)
Temperature of Spent Fuel Pools at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant
Spent fuel that has been removed from a nuclear reactor generates intense heat and is typically stored in a water-filled spent fuel pool to cool it and provide protection from its radioactivity. Water in a spent fuel pool is continuously cooled to remove heat produced by spent fuel assemblies. According to IAEA experts, a typical spent fuel pool temperature is kept below 25 ˚C under normal operating conditions. The temperature of a spent fuel pool is maintained by constant cooling, which requires a constant power source.
Given the intense heat and radiation that spent fuel assemblies can generate, spent fuel pools must be constantly checked for water level and temperature. If fuel is no longer covered by water or temperatures reach a boiling point, fuel can become exposed and create a risk of radioactive release. The concern about the spent fuel pools at Fukushima Daiichi is that sources of power to cool the pools may have been compromised.
The IAEA can confirm the following information regarding the temperatures of the spent nuclear fuel pools at Units 4, 5 and 6 at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant:
Unit 4
14 March, 10:08 UTC: 84 ˚C
15 March, 10:00 UTC: 84 ˚C
16 March, 05:00 UTC: no data
Unit 5
14 March, 10:08 UTC: 59.7 ˚C
15 March, 10:00 UTC: 60.4 ˚C
16 March, 05:00 UTC: 62.7 ˚C
Unit 6
14 March, 10:08 UTC: 58.0 ˚C
15 March, 10:00 UTC: 58.5 ˚C
16 March, 05:00 UTC: 60.0 ˚C
The IAEA is continuing to seek further information about the water levels, temperature and condition of all spent fuel pool facilities at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
the next link explains how bad the fuel rod situation is. the TLDR is that there are a fuckton of these spent fuel rods that sit in circulating water that has lost power and has now boiled off. they are not in a containment facility and stand to release more radiation than a complete meltdown
http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/03/16/6281333-whats-the-deal-with-spent-nuclear-fueledit: this does get carried by tradewinds directly to vancouver sanfrancisco etc, but it was not worrisome before because there just wasnt enough radiation and it would be high in the atmosphere/dispersed. the fuel rods are capable of much worse, enough to carry harmful doses of radiation well beyond japan
Topic: earthquake in Japan (Read 17670 times)