Workers pulled at Japan nuke plant as smoke rises

AP/YahooNews ^ | 3/21/11 | ERIC TALMADGE and MARI YAMAGUCHI

[Straight Vermonter]

That area of the Ukraine has much higher than normal cancer rates.

Actually not true but nice try.

[thackney]

Just to beat the dead horse a little more...

Ukraine officially opened Chernobyl up to tourism in January 2011.

Already seen Afghanistan, Yemen and those other popular tourist sights and want something different?

http://www.ukrainetour.com/index.php?option=com_service&view=article&id=42

[paulycy]

I appreciate the info. I’m learning...

[paulycy]

About 135.000 people were evacuated from a 30-km radius around the Chernobyl Station.

A bit different that I had first estimated for Japan...

[thackney]

It is certainly has some controversy.

I think Ukraine was expecting to make some dollars off the 25th anniversary. Probably the deciding factor at this time.

[mvpel]

The critical piece of information is missing from the crying CEO's statement - high enough to kill at what distance?

If you've toured a nuclear plant and seen comparatively fresh spent fuel in the pool, the eerie blue glow from the Cerenkov effect is a visual reminder of how much raw power is at work there:

Twelve feet of purified water above the tops of the rods is shielding the radiation, and the blue glow is a result of particles emitted by the spent fuel bundles traveling through the water faster than the speed of light, since the speed of light in water is only 3/4 that in vacuum.

Low levels of water in a spent fuel pool mean low levels of shielding from the radiation, and uncovered fuel rods will almost certainly result in enough radiation to kill anyone standing nearby. This does not, however, mean that the radiation is floating into the winds and out over the land - it'd be like a flashlight beam.

Now, if the zirconium cladding catches fire and starts to burn, this can result in the rupture of the cladding and release of gaseous and particulate fission products, which is a very serious situation. But there again, you need to know two things - level of radiation, and DISTANCE. They issued the evacuation order to put more DISTANCE between the people and the situation.

What was the evacuation radius around the Chiba refinery fire that finally burned itself out today, ten days after the quake, after dumping untold quantities of carcinogenic chemicals into the air? I haven't heard. Benzene and naptha don't make a very healthy dressing for your spinach salad.

Did you hear about the hydroelectric dam that collapsed during the quake and wiped out 1,800 homes and may have killed hundreds of people? I hadn't until just now.

How many people have died as a result of radiation from Fukushima? Zero, so far as we know, in spite of the extreme seriousness of the situation.

Context! Perspective!

[meatloaf]

There is quite a bit of information. Unfortunately the news media has done an extremely poor job of providing the background material needed to understand the situation. I've yet to see any news that did not have factual errors.

The steel and sheet metal “roof” structures that were damaged by the hydrogen explosions have been interpreted by many as the destruction of the containment. That's not true. It's also not true that any reactor has been exposed. The primary containment is a thick steel lined, heavily reinforced concrete structure that is designed to resist the impact of an airliner and the subsequent fire. If you have ever seen one, you would know how massive the construction is.

The other issue is the short attention span that makes it difficult to fully inform the public. Sound bites are not enough to explain the construction and operation details of a nuclear power plant.

There are quite a few Freepers that are quite knowledgeable. Many have spent time explaining some of the info needed to understand the situation in Japan. When all is considered, yes, the situation in Japan is serious, but it's not going to be the radioactive disaster many claim.

TMI proved many things especially the safety of nuclear power.

[CharlesWayneCT]

4 wasn’t running, and had no rods in it, so if they were to entomb it, it would be only for the spent fuel rods, which seems overkill when you theoretically just have to stick them in a pool of water for a while and then you can dry-case them for good.

[DaxtonBrown]

“Damn, 4 seconds. And you even used more words. “

Ha!

I mean, 20,000 people just died from natural events that can in large part be engineered against. But the focus is instead on a subset event that will cause fewer than 100 deaths, even though it is using obsolete fifty year old design technology.

In comparable terms, it would be like living in 1970 and saying an accident with a Model-T driving 85 on the highway proved cars would never amount to much.

The question is, why aren’t we on safe third plus generation reactors by now? The answer is, the anti-nuclear lobby.

[NonValueAdded]

FWIW the 12 noon ET Fox Radio News said two American Navy ships left the area in a hurry today, including the USS George Washington. A press release said is was due to a predicted shift in the winds and necessary to maintain readiness.

Late last week the Gubermint sent home some civilian contractors despite their wanting to stay. They were not necessarily from the Fukushima area and were not sent home due to reaching exposure limits.

[mvpel]

Did you hear where they’re from?

[gunsequalfreedom]

Yes, like in Hiroshima. It will never be inhabitable.

That is not a very good example if you are trying to make the case of nuclear...just suggesting.

[gunsequalfreedom]

Sure looks like a beautiful city. I remember the first time I flew into Japan airspace and thinking what a different air space it was back then.

[mvpel]

The Americans and the British told their people to evacuate up to 50 miles away.

That recommendation probably came from a pathetic jackwagon of a bureaucrat who thinks "Sievert" is what you've done when you've cut something in half. Reckless, considering how difficult it is to move one mile in a disaster area, let alone 40 miles.