Good observations. I’m hearing that they’re going to try again (with water and boric acid). If this site is right, it’s as you mentioned:
“...Both units 1 and 3 have no roof after earlier blasts, making it easy to dump water onto them, he said. Unit 4 has holes in the building, allowing fire trucks to spray water inside...”
But I’m not sure if this will present any problems with the design of the reactor:
“...Boric acid contains boron, which helps slow nuclear reactions by absorbing neutrons, said Naj Meshkati, a nuclear power plant safety expert at the University of Southern California. But the same acid also melted away steel when it was used repeatedly at a troubled northern Ohio nuclear plant.”
http://www.cp24.com/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20110315/110315_japan_quake/20110315/?hub=CP24Home
Thanks for the info and links. If I’m reading this right, boric acid on the spent rods might hurt the containment steel. I read the cores should be much cooler now...
Wish I knew what caused the spike. Hopefully it won’t last and hinder work on the spent rods...
Anyway, great charts/graphs, etc. you’ve been posting. Appreciate them very much.