WASHINGTON — As the scale of Japan’s nuclear crisis begins to come to light, experts in Japan and the United States say the country is now facing a cascade of accumulating problems that suggest that radioactive releases of steam from the crippled plants could go on for weeks or even months.
The emergency flooding of two stricken reactors with seawater and the resulting steam releases are a desperate step intended to avoid a much bigger problem: a full meltdown of the nuclear cores in two reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. So far, Japanese officials have said the melting of the nuclear cores in the two plants is assumed to be “partial,” and the amount of radioactivity measured outside the plants, though twice the level Japan considers safe, has been relatively modest.
But Pentagon officials reported Sunday that helicopters flying 60 miles from the plant picked up small amounts of radioactive particulates — still being analyzed, but presumed to include Cesium-137 and Iodine-121 — suggesting widening environmental contamination.
...more....
eta: AP one sentence report 10 minutes old, prolly gunna be more of this before the cores cool down:
RE: Radioactive Releases in Japan Could Last Months, Experts Say - NYT
The BBC twitter reads like all hell is breaking loose.
1.
0231: No data to suggest a tsunami several metres in height, the monitor adds.
2.
0229: An ashen-faced Japanese quake monitor is live on Japanese TV right now saying no tsunami has been detected.
3.
0227: There were two explosions at Reactor 3, the operator Tepco says - AFP.
4.
0225: Just to remind you: there were fears of a meltdown at Reactor 3 on Sunday. Also: an explosion occurred at Reactor 1 on Saturday but the core was reportedly not exposed.
5.
0224: "Hydrogen blast occurs at Fukushima nuke plant's No 3 reactor" - Kyodo.
6.
0221: Urgent: Explosion at Reactor 3 - AFP.
7.
0220: Sea level has dropped five metres off Fukushima, confirming imminent arrival of tsunami - Japanese TV.
8.
0218: Column of smoke escaping from Reactor 3 at the Fukushima 1 nuclear power plant - Japanese TV.
9.
0216: Grimmer news on the recovery operation in Minamisanriku: about 1,000 bodies found there, according to Kyodo.
10.
0214: Evacuation order issued in the city of Hachinohe in the north-east - Kyodo
11.
0212: Tsunami feared to reach north-eastern coast "in minutes" - Kyodo.
12.
0210: North-eastern coast on the alert for a 3-metre tsunami - Japan's Jiji news agency.
0114: The latest after-shock would probably have been felt by many people in their homes as the government advised people not to go to school or work today due to transport disruption and power cuts.
20.
0112: The new tremor was magnitude 6.2, according to Japanese monitors.
21.
0110: Strong tremor felt in Tokyo - AFP.
Saw blown up #3 building on CNN - building looks more charred than #1. CNN people are too stupid to know what they were looking at, but I recognized #1 from stills and realized that the charred frame at the top of the reactor they were showing on telephoto was #3. No smoke noticeable however.
The ones you are noticing are more terrified than anything else. They are lashing out because they are comfortable; and to acknowledge what is happening is a threat to that comfort. Ignore them, for they are not the voices that will rise in the coming days, months and years. They are not the voices of our collected humanity. They are the old voices of fear and impotence. - Anonymous
(03-13-2011 08:52 PM)jaxx Wrote: Anderson Cooper is live in Japan and he was scared when the explosion was confirmed. Asked if he could get out of there.
Also there is Gupta and O'Brien, both in towns devastated by the tsunami....and they went to high ground when the sirens went off.
I'd be scared too. Glad the tsunami warning was removed.
That's 62 miles - they're detecting radiation up to 60 miles away according to that feed above. He's likely getting some radiation exposure.
The ones you are noticing are more terrified than anything else. They are lashing out because they are comfortable; and to acknowledge what is happening is a threat to that comfort. Ignore them, for they are not the voices that will rise in the coming days, months and years. They are not the voices of our collected humanity. They are the old voices of fear and impotence. - Anonymous
The ones you are noticing are more terrified than anything else. They are lashing out because they are comfortable; and to acknowledge what is happening is a threat to that comfort. Ignore them, for they are not the voices that will rise in the coming days, months and years. They are not the voices of our collected humanity. They are the old voices of fear and impotence. - Anonymous
RE: Radioactive Releases in Japan Could Last Months, Experts Say - NYT
#
0254: To recap, in the past hour we have had reports of a new tsunami which appears to have been a false alarm, and a blast has wrecked a wall at a nuclear reactor but its containment vessel withstood the impact. We also had reports of 2,000 bodies found on the tsunami-ravaged north-eastern coast.
The loss of life is going to be hard to take, those poor people didn't have a chance against all that water and mud.
(03-13-2011 09:11 PM)jaxx Wrote: Hydrogen Explosion At Fukushima Number 3 Reactor (March 14)
It looks like a bigger explosion than the first one, the smoke rising much faster.
Yeah, if you look at the stills after the fact, you can see a lot more charred/twisted frame that remains (compared to #1). Hard to believe the cores aren't affected by these blasts.
The ones you are noticing are more terrified than anything else. They are lashing out because they are comfortable; and to acknowledge what is happening is a threat to that comfort. Ignore them, for they are not the voices that will rise in the coming days, months and years. They are not the voices of our collected humanity. They are the old voices of fear and impotence. - Anonymous
RE: Radioactive Releases in Japan Could Last Months, Experts Say - NYT
#
0328: Seven people are missing and three people have been injured by the explosion at the Fukushima 1 nuclear plant, the AFP news agency reports, quoting an official from Tepco, the company which operates the plant.
It does sound like there was more of an explosion.
(03-13-2011 10:07 PM)jaxx Wrote: Where are you seeing the stills TINS?
CNN was showing before and after pictures of the #3 building. Interesting that CNN is the only news station that broadcasts after about 8PM on weekends.
The ones you are noticing are more terrified than anything else. They are lashing out because they are comfortable; and to acknowledge what is happening is a threat to that comfort. Ignore them, for they are not the voices that will rise in the coming days, months and years. They are not the voices of our collected humanity. They are the old voices of fear and impotence. - Anonymous
Radioactive Releases in Japan Could Last Months, Experts Say - NYT 
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