New Probe Finds Fatal Radiation Levels at Fukushima Reactor

Design Daily ^ | Tuesday, March 27, 2012 | AP

[palmer]

TOKYO (AP) A new probe at Japan's crippled nuclear power plant has found fatal radiation levels and hardly any cooling water inside one of the reactors, renewing concerns about the plant's stability.[snip]

[palmer]

Not over yet.

[Clara Lou]

As long as they don’t expect international assistance when Godzilla shows up....

[palmer]

In this photo taken by an endoscope and released by Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), a white thermometer, right, is seen through the surface of water in the Unit 2 reactor's primary containment vessel at the the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Okuma town, Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan, Monday, March 26, 2012. TEPCO, the operator of the nuclear power plant, said the water level of the reactor container is only 60 centimeters (about 2 feet) from the bottom, indicating a large quantity of water injected to cool the melted fuel is leaking from the vessel. (AP Photo/Tokyo Electric Power Co.)

[Art in Idaho]

Did our President send all our government resources available and encourage our large construction companies, (Bechtel, Halliburton, etc), to help in this disaster right after it occurred?

[steve86]

The word this publik-skooled AP writer needs is “lethal”, not “fatal”.

[kidd]

It was over a year before anyone could enter the Three Mile Island buildings after its accident.

It took another 5 years to offload the damaged fuel.

Fukushima is undoubtedly in worse shape than TMI-2. But aside from another historical earthquake, there is no indication that there is any increase in the threat to the Japanese people.

[Razzz42]

Unlike Units 2 & 3, Unit 4 didn't erupt in a violent explosion(s) and is relatively intact so workers can approach for short periods of time without being totally irradiated. Anyway, TEPCO's guessing the amount of water covering the melted core was off by about 25'. This besides that some of the melted radioactive fuel is still shown in the Pressure Vessel and some has fallen below unto the floor of the Primary Containment. This leads to the question of how can cooling take place when the water level is so low that it leaves the upper portion of the melted fuel exposed? It is no wonder that gauge and sensor readings report high heat levels at the bottom of the Pressure Vessel when cooling water being constantly pumped in can only shower down as it passes by the upper areas falling to a water level shown in the picture. In other words, TEPCO couldn't flood to keep the melted fuel underwater at all times if they wanted to due to massive leaks. Besides any water that comes in contact with the melted fuel becomes radioactively contaminated.

[alexander_busek]

The operator of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant says an endoscopic examination Tuesday detected radiation levels up to 10 times the fatal dose inside the No. 2 reactor's contain chamber, suggesting challenges ahead in shutting down the facility

This statement makes no sense without indicating for what period of time a human would have to be exposed to the radiation there in order to absorb a lethal dose.

One minute? One hour? One day? Six months? Any guesses?

Regards,

[Carl Vehse]

From the next paragraph in a more complete AP report in the Atlanta Urinal-Constipation:

"Particles from melted fuel have probably sent radiation levels up to dangerously high 70 sieverts per hour [7,000 rem/hr]"

This is approximately ten times the dose rate that probably would be lethal for most people exposed to it for 1 hour.

[Razzz42]

From this link:

http://ex-skf.blogspot.com/2012/03/fukushima-i-nuke-plant-reactor-2-water.html

“...It took about 3 hours for the work, 18 TEPCO employees and 16 Toshiba employees, with maximum radiation exposure of 5.29 millisieverts...”

They keep changing the amount of time for radioactive exposure workers are allowed. The limits of exposure keep being raised.

Amounts of radiation exposure don’t always include ‘accumulative’ effects (years of continued small doses) as cancer would be an indirect result and hard to prove it (cancers) were caused by radiation exposure.

Here is a list of some doses...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orders_of_magnitude_%28radiation%29

[Freddd]

Aww cmon now we all were told, very unkindly, how it’s no worse than a pilot flying an airplane.

Some were even threatened to be shot...unkindly so.

[Cboldt]

One will also find fatal levels of radiation inside a normally functioning reactor.

[Moleman]

Really Steve? I went to public school and am just fine.

[palmer]

Yes, but I think this is the contaiment area surrounding the reactor core, normally would have non-radioactive water in it.

[GOPJ]

How many years can they dump water on this mess to keep it ‘cool’? Forever?

[GOPJ]

The word this publik-skooled AP writer needs is “lethal”, not “fatal”

Our we losing our respect for the MSM Steve?

[kidd]

The reaction is over.
All that remains is decay heat.

Since it has already melted through the reactor vessel, there is no longer any need to add any more water.

[steve86]

Yeah, so am I. Schools around here are still pretty good — especially with respect to traditional American values — but maybe not what they were 50 years ago. I had to correct my girl's science teacher on several points the other day, and sp misteaks in teachers’ comments are rampant. Other than that things could be a lot worse, though. I was encouraged to find out the fifth graders’ camp week will be infused with Christian! values — if not the word Christian — unlike the schools on the west side of our state that use pagan earth worship as a camp theme.

[Razzz42]

Gee, I guess no sense in trying to contain the appox. 60 tons worth of blobs in pools of water. Just let the fallout into the air, it’s invisible anyway so it can’t hurt you, right?

Worry about Units 1 & 3 later when they can get near them in about 20 years.

http://hackaday.com/2012/01/15/turn-your-camera-phone-into-a-geiger-counter/