Japan to Assess Its Dumping of Toxic Water, Wall Street Journal, April 14, 2011:
… Authorities also reported that there had been a sudden increase in the temperature near the pressure vessel of reactor No. 3, rising from 170 degrees Celsius on Tuesday to about 250 degrees on Thursday. The temperature remained little changed in other parts of the vessel, however. A Tepco spokesman said the observed increase might be due to a faulty gauge, and workers would investigate further. Reactor 3 has had the lowest temperatures of the three units and isn’t considered to be at an immediate risk of overheating.
Read the report here.
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How could it be getting hotter when the core has melted though the bottom of the reactor and is in a pool on the concrete floor below. Must be a faulty gauge.
The rods are still in the vessel, it’s just some of the melt has possible run out to the pit below, but a critical reaction can take place still within the vessel with the amounts there or in the pit with the amounts on the concrete floor and can/would be burning through it. We do not know how much leaked out if any %.
The vessel may just have a crack down the side where the fusion/fission materials gases/water for cooling are getting out/leaking, raising the levels !
We just don’t know !
“A senior nuclear executive who insisted on anonymity but has broad contacts in Japan said that there was a long vertical crack running down the side of the reactor vessel itself. The crack runs down below the water level in the reactor and has been leaking fluids and gases, he said….
“There is a definite, definite crack in the vessel — it’s up and down and it’s large,” he said. “The problem with cracks is they do not get smaller.”
http://stretchingminds.wordpress.com/2011/03/28/by-mike-whitney-the-doomsday-scenario-is-fukushima-about-to-blow/
Reactor 3
The reactor used uranium and plutonium, which may produce more toxic radioactivity. The reactor containment vessel may have been damaged and the spent fuel pool may have become uncovered. The reactor has 548 fuel assemblies and the spent fuel pool has 514.
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/03/16/world/asia/reactors-status.html
Watch Out ! He says !
Distraught australian for accurate perspective/ magnitude of japanese crisis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MognnB0g56Y&feature=player_embedded
Question:
Could the nuclear fuel be “consumed” so-to-speak with a nuclear detonation? Would one explosion be worse than 100 years of smoldering fuel?
You know, I have thought about that and from what I have heard, the gov. has also thrown that around in a think tank.
First thought as a layman, that it may fuse all the material there and be a short live event. We know there are hundreds of ton’s of material but I don’t think it would act as regular tonnage as in normal explosion as far as size of blast, Has to be fired/ignited in such a way to do that I am sure, but some of it may !
But any rate that could not be attempted with people on the Island of Japan, it would have to be evacuated, hate to think if it came to a point if for some reason they would blast it regardless and give some crappy justification about the reasons.
250 degrees you say? That’s perfect marshmallow roasting temperature! ; – )