NRC Thinks Japan Unit Pressure Vessel Damaged, Markey Says, Bloomberg, April 6, 2011 at 3:01 pm EDT:
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission thinks the reactor in unit 2 of Japan’s disabled power plant got so hot it “probably melted through the reactor pressure vessel,” U.S. Representative Edward Markey said. …
Martin Virgilio, the agency’s deputy director for reactor and preparedness programs, told reporters after a House hearing today that the commission doesn’t think the “core has breached,” which would let radiation escape. …
Giselle Barry, a spokeswoman for Markey, said information on the status of the unit 2 reactor came from correspondence between his staff and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. …
Read the report here.
See the redacted correspondence between Markey and the NRC here.
sending...
Speaking of containment vessel.
When you look at the high resolution images of the site that were released recently, the hole in the top of turbine building 3 looks an awful lot like the shape of the containment vessel these reactors use. Not saying that is what it is. But look at the deep hole in reactor 3 from the satellite images, then google the mark one reactors containment vessel, and then look at that hole in turbine building three… hmmm… kind of looks like a puzzle piece to me. Which makes sense as the story at
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/16/world/asia/16contain.html
points this out very well.
These reactors appear to have been susceptible to this in their design. If a hydrogen explosion occurs, it could eject the core is what I took from the story.
When you watch the videos of the explosions at the reactors I swear I can see some massive chunks of concrete going air borne.
Just something to think about.
I agree.. Those were very powerful explosions, and for them to say that no spent fuel rods went airborne is just crazy.. Also, the fact that they’re trying to “restore power and water” to the reactors is just insane.. From those photos, you can clearly tell that the cooling and electrical system has been annihilated.. The media is going in slow-motion here, still pretending like they’re not sure if radiation is leaking, and it’s a fucking joke.. I really wish we could get some info from people in Japan, people who are witnessing this first hand to see if people are getting sick over there yet..