Posted on 04/18/2011 4:24:18 PM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
Japan Agency Admits Fuel Melt at Fukushima N-Plant
Tokyo, April 18 (Jiji Press)--The industry ministry's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency on Monday acknowledged that nuclear fuel rods have melted at the No. 1 to No. 3 reactors of the crippled nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan.
The agency reported the assessment to the day's meeting of the government's Nuclear Safety Commission. This was the agency's first official recognition of core melt accidents at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s <9501> Fukushima No. 1 plant, which was knocked out by the March 11 massive earthquake and tsunami.
On March 12, officials of the nuclear agency noted that nuclear fuel may have melted at the No. 1 reactor, where radioactive cesium was found.
According to the agency, such radioactive materials as technetium-99m were detected in the No. 2 and No. 3 reactors. Technetium cannot be released unless fuel pellets in nuclear fuel rods melt, the agency said.
P!
Plenty of high fives all around at the WH...Good news is hard to supress...
I don’t see how they could possibly deny it: It has been clear since day 3 that at least part of the core has melted.
The significance of this particular report at this time from this particular source? Lawyers only know.
May God help them.
And may God help our men and women there who are helping the Japanese.
I’m confused — I thought it was clear a month ago that at least part of the fuel had melted down, and that some of the spent fuel rods were damaged.
We failed miserably as civilization.
Yep!
At the time, it was a jumble of mutually exclusive claims which laymen found utterly confusing.
This report to me tells us they now have proof of what we already knew.
TEPCO has had on their “reactor status” pages for several weeks “fuel probably damaged” and figures of 20% to 70% of it depending on reactor. I don’t understand why anyone could say this is “first time they admitted” tripe.
Just people trying to fan the flames a little more, the way I see this story.
The only way the reactors could produce hydrogen gas is if the zirconium fuel rod casing was running way above white heat. No hydrogen is produced unless the fuel bundle is very, very damaged with uranium oxide fuel pellets spilling out inside the reactor. The first hydrogen - air explosions that blew the walls and roofs off the containment buildings happened on day 2, as I recall.
Anyway, that is common knowledge. Most people don’t have common knowledge, unfortunately. Most people don’t think at all.
Most reports - for months - have talked of partial meltdowns - so why is this stuff about technetium being treated as news? A 'new normal' that Japan's soft peddling at a different level of non-truth?
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