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“Fuel particles themselves must have been blown away” during Unit 3 explosion — Alpha particles “splattered faster than sonic speed”

Published: June 20th, 2012 at 8:45 am ET
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June 14, 2012 post by Minamisoma city council member Koichi Oyama translated by Dissensus Japan:

[...]

About the particles

As Mr. Gundersen pointed out, two red flashes probably came from the blast of the hydrogen explosion, the fuel rods of spent fuel pool [...] reached criticality and exploded.

For example a “Flint”. The stone burns by the strong shock of the moment.

It’s important that the flash and the explosion are connected to the black smoke.

Even when the measuring gauges clashes inside the turbine building and strike a spark, if there is no fuel, there will be no black smoke.

This can only mean that the fuel particles themselves must have been blown away which we can’t see in the image other than the black smoke.

  • First particles : White Smoke = vapor radionuclides which decay in a short time
  • Second particle : Black Smoke = soot radionuclides mainly Alpha Rays close to the fuel.
  • Third particle : Alpha Rays = fuel particles itself which splattered faster than sonic speed.

Published: June 20th, 2012 at 8:45 am ET
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57 comments

Related Posts

  1. Tepco Official on Unit 3: “We don’t know if it was really a hydrogen explosion” August 8, 2012
  2. Gundersen: I think plutonium being reported around Fukushima is raw, unoxidized pieces of nuclear rods that were blown out from Unit 3′s spent fuel pool August 22, 2012
  3. Japan Expert: It was a nuclear explosion at Reactor No. 3 — I believe fuel rods were blown out of spent fuel pool December 13, 2011
  4. Report: Unburned MOX fuel containing plutonium was in mushroom-like cloud of black smoke when Reactor No. 3 exploded June 19, 2012
  5. Tepco: We don’t know if it was a hydrogen explosion at Unit 3 — Tell public it was though because “it’s a speed game” (VIDEO) October 8, 2012
June 20th, 2012 | Category: Reactor No. 3, Spent Fuel Pool No. 3
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57 comments to “Fuel particles themselves must have been blown away” during Unit 3 explosion — Alpha particles “splattered faster than sonic speed”

  • Tacomagroove
    June 20, 2012 at 6:32 am

    unit 3 fuel pool was likely on fire…
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGwwdQS4Bgc

    Look at the difference from the reactor 3's height and structural integrity alone from 10 seconds into this footage and then again at the 1:10 mark…

    At 10 seconds you can clearly see multiple cement columns reaching to almost the same http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGwwdQS4Bgcheight of reactors 2 and 4.

    Then at 1:10 in the off angle zoom the columns appear to be missing entirely…

    Fast forward to this picture here: http://www.nukewatch.org/watchblog/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Fukushima_Reactor3.jpg
    (notice the columns are completely missing) while large piles of steel from the roof lie across the entire surface of the reactor (except from where the spent fuel pool is located)…

    It just seems funny to me that while the helicopter is making its first rounds at the reactor in the footage above from reactor 3, that the column is vivid. And when the picture was taken below. Hours or days later the entire section has vanished… ???

    The footage taken only shows the actual attempts by the pilot making the water drops, (which are out takes shown in a back to back fashion). But the real question is how long was this event in its duration…

    how long did reactor 3 burn? and how many mox fuel bundles were effected, at that time…


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  • BreadAndButter BreadAndButter
    June 20, 2012 at 7:03 am

    Hi Taco, I think that in the helicopter video still already only the seaside row of columns is still standing…front and sides seem already gone? The seaside ones were still there on March 31st, according to cryptome
    http://cryptome.org/eyeball/daiichi-npp2/daiichi-photos2.htm


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  • BreadAndButter BreadAndButter
    June 20, 2012 at 8:22 am

    Underneath the Cryptome picture it says "In this photo taken on Thursday, March 31, 2011 by Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and released by Japan Defense Ministry Friday, April 1,…"


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    • MaidenHeaven MaidenHeaven
      June 20, 2012 at 8:52 am

      Thanks for the images BreadAndButter. The thing that stands out for me besides the damage…is the protective gear that the self defense unit wears….comparing it to what they workers wear…in exactly same areas…they determined that the workers are not worth protecting….even though the workings are helping protect them! *Genocide*

      Because clearly the self defense team know the dangers are appropriately protected.


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      • Time Is Short Time Is Short
        June 20, 2012 at 11:35 am

        Evil is as evil does.

        Think about it. If we gather all the info about the actions of the Japanese government after 3/11, and look closely, they are intentionally killing as many Japanese citizens (and 40,000 US military personnel) as fast as they can.

        We all see the signs. Every act is intentional, to maximize the internal radiation exposure of every living thing in Japan, as fast as possible, with no mitigation whatsoever. Knowing that the higher the internal rad exposure, the faster the populace will die a horrible, painful death.

        The Gods are crying.


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  • Heart of the Rose Heart of the Rose
    June 20, 2012 at 9:56 am

    For visual analysis:
    Black smoke rising from reactor 3
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfnFFSv7uc4


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  • Heart of the Rose Heart of the Rose
    June 20, 2012 at 9:58 am

    If Gundersen is aware of this "splattering".. why isn't he pushing for expansion of the evacuation zone?


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  • ChasAha ChasAha
    June 20, 2012 at 10:07 am

    "I would assume that OUR GOVERNMENT has it."
    – Arnie G. (at approximately 7:50)

    Of course they do.

    The Gov. most likely has a lot of critical data that has been withheld that seriously/obviously should have been released. Why it has not, or was not released, may be a topic in the future's history books of this man-made GLOBAL catastrophe. I am sure there will be many attempts at excuses.

    This is no longer an issue of Military Secrecy or Homeland Security or whatever. It's a matter of innocent people around the globe with families that have a right to know the status of the planet.

    We need a Radiation Freedom Of Information Act.

    Also of note: Mr. Gundersen says the word 'PLUTONIUM' several times. I also heard the word 'aerosolized'. That's probably not so good either. :(


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    • Time Is Short Time Is Short
      June 20, 2012 at 11:47 am

      Aerosolized Plutononium? 1,000 times that in Aerosolized Uranium. How about almost a ton (admitted to, most likely more) of DU in the big chemical plant factory? It burns like magnesium, and was also certainly 'aerosolized'.

      Don't know about DU?

      http://www.apfn.org/apfn/du.htm

      We can't spread radiation death fast enough.


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      • majia
        June 20, 2012 at 12:14 pm

        I agree with Time is Short

        (although I'm not so sure about intentionality here)

        As I've posted before, the cockroaches in my yard that have bedeviled me for 12 years are GONE.

        NO June bugs this year either. I've seen 2 and there should be swarms.

        I've seen 1 or 2 bats (couldn't tell if one was a bat or bird).

        Very few baby quail.

        The cockroaches are the most compelling change. They essentially breathe through their legs and because they live in the dirt they would absorb fallout particles quickly.

        Cockroaches disappeared after Chernobyl–documented in my second link.

        It rained here quite heavily in the week after march 11, 2011.

        I'm sure the cockroaches assimilated alpha and beta emitters and their young were affected.

        Cockroaches may be able to withstand high gamma but we are talking about exposure to beta and alpha emitters here and that is a different game than external exposure to gamma

        http://majiasblog.blogspot.com/2012/06/more-on-missing-cockroaches.html

        http://majiasblog.blogspot.com/2012/06/run-when-you-hear-no-immediate-danger.html


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        • majia
          June 20, 2012 at 12:15 pm

          Speaking at press conference on March 25, 2011, Dr. Yablokov, author of Chernobyl: Consequences of the Catastrophe for People and the Environment, warned of the potential scale of the Fukushima disaster given plutonium fuel was involved :

          We are seeing something that has never happened – a multiple reactor catastrophe including one using plutonium fuel as well as spent fuel pool accidents, all happening within 200 kilometers of a metropolis of 30 million people. Because the area is far more densely populated than around Chernobyl, the human toll could eventually be far worse in Japan… I am not optimistic about the situation at Fukushima. . .It’s especially dangerous if plutonium is released as inhalation of plutonium results in a high probability of cancer. A release of plutonium will contaminate that area forever and it is impossible to clean up.

          Also speaking at the press conference was Cindy Folkers, radiation and health specialist at Beyond Nuclear :

          At Fukushima, our concern is not just the immediate exposures, but exposures that occur over the long term, from radioactive particles that are inhaled or ingested. . . These particles can fall on soil and in water and end up in the food supply for many years. We are worried that officials are measuring only the radiation that is the easiest to detect – gamma rays. Testing people for radiation on their skin or clothing is necessary, but it tells us little or nothing about what they could have breathed in or eaten…


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          • majia
            June 20, 2012 at 12:16 pm

            Russian Chernobyl Expert Warns of Dire Consequences for Health Around Fukushima:Dense populations and risk of plutonium releases could mean Fukushima accident worse than Chernobyl, prominent Russian scientists says http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2011/03/25-4


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            • BreadAndButter BreadAndButter
              June 20, 2012 at 12:27 pm

              Also agreed with TIS (though also not sure about intentonality). It's just too big to handle. See this new study:
              The total amounts of radioactively contaminated materials in forests in Fukushima, Japan.
              "There has been leakage of radioactive materials from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. A heavily contaminated area (≥ 134, 137Cs 1000 kBq m−2) has been identified in the area northwest of the plant. The majority of the land in the contaminated area is forest. Here we report the amounts of biomass, litter (small organic matter on the surface of the soil), coarse woody litter, and soil in the contaminated forest area. (…)
              Our results suggest that removing litter is an efficient method of decontamination. However, litter is being continuously decomposed, and contaminated leaves will continue to fall on the soil surface for several years; hence, the litter should be removed promptly but continuously before more radioactive elements are transferred into the soil. (HOW? BY WHOM?) (…)
              We should note that the litter component is being continuously decomposed and that the decomposed litter is continuously transferred into the soil component. The average decomposition constant (exponential decay constant) of the litter in Japanese forests, determined through field experiments, is approximately 0.41 yr−1. This value indicates that 30–40% of the litter on the soil surface will be decomposed each year. (cont.)


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              • BreadAndButter BreadAndButter
                June 20, 2012 at 12:31 pm

                cont.
                "Thus, most of the trapped cesium in the litter component will move into the soil in a few years, and therefore, the litter component should be removed promptly11. Furthermore, the decomposition of the litter increases exponentially with increasing temperature. During the winter, litter decomposition is inhibited by low temperatures, but the decomposition will accelerate with increasing temperatures during the spring. (…)
                The average longevity of the leaves of the dominant species in evergreen needleleaf forests in Japan (Japanese cedar, Cryptomeria japonica) is approximately 5 years. Hence, contaminated leaves will continue to fall on the soil surface during and after the next 5 years. In addition, the cesium trapped on the leaves would serve as a source of cesium transfer from the biomass to the forest floor via water flow. To effectively decontaminate the forests by removing litter, prompt but continuous effort is needed.
                (HOW? BY WHOM?)
                When the contaminated components are removed, storage space for a substantial quantity of contaminated materials is required. The aboveground tree biomass, litter, and coarse woody litter components are incinerable (aaaargh!), and incineration can reduce the volume and weight of these components. (…)

                http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3360326/?tool=pubmed

                *see what I mean?


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            • AGreenRoad AGreenRoad
              June 22, 2012 at 7:39 am

              How Dangerous Is 400-600 Pounds Of Plutonium Nano Particle Dust Liberated By Fukushima? Via A Green Road http://agreenroad.blogspot.com/2012/03/how-dangerous-is-400-600-pounds-of.html


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      • JoyB
        June 20, 2012 at 1:16 pm

        Ah, TIS. What passes for "health care" in the modern world is something well short of leeches and maggots (which actually do some good if used properly). Someday, if humanity survives long enough, it will view this strange Age of Death as something horrendously barbaric. Particularly the use of radiation to 'treat' cancer and do routine imaging which itself causes cancer. It was all just another excuse to believe the evil fruits of nuclear technology could ever be used for 'good'.

        Cancer treatment these days is positively designed to make the unfortunate victim's remaining life a hell on earth for the purpose of extracting whatever amassed wealth they may have before they die, or at least get insurer/government money to experiment. For many cancers the survival rates are the same whether or not one chooses to get the treatments that will make them suffer so much they will welcome death. And for some of those, a person's chances of spontaneous remission are even with a 'cure' from barbaric treatments.

        Let's face it. If they ever did discover "Remission In A Bottle" you and I would never have access to it. It's a business plan, and it's highly lucrative.


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      • JoyB
        June 20, 2012 at 1:22 pm

        "Aerosolized" means something quite specific when talking about heavy metals. Sure, microscopic dust-sized pieces can be blown out and around, but those will fall out relatively quickly as bomb debris does because they are heavy dust. Aerosolized in this application means "vaporized" – rendered all the way to gaseous.

        Vaporized elements are reduced to single atom size, and those can remain in the air for much longer, to be inhaled along with air and not diminished significantly by cillia in the bronchi or lungs. Gas, not merely widely dispersed dust/ash.


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        • majia
          June 20, 2012 at 1:25 pm

          Joy

          Do you believe that spent fuel pool 3 was "aerosolized"?


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          • JoyB
            June 20, 2012 at 1:33 pm

            I sure think much of what was in the reactor was "aerosolized," that's an inescapable effect of the process of total meltdown. For the fuel pool, it depends on whether or not there was criticality involved in the event. Vaporization is the result of massive bombardment by neutrons and extreme gamma. Like in enough to turn people into shadows on a wall, their atoms literally 'released' from physical manifestation.

            I do suspect there was criticality in the SFP. So yeah, quite a bit was vaporized.


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            • Time Is Short Time Is Short
              June 20, 2012 at 1:55 pm

              Adj. Aerosolized – in the form of ultramicroscopic solid or liquid particles dispersed or suspended in air or gas

              Adj. Vaporized – converted into a gas or vapor

              Generally speaking, biological, chemical or radiological weapons are 'aerosolized'. Water is 'vaporized' when it becomes steam.

              Actually it's semantics, as even steam contains ultramicroscopic atomic particles. Both cases result in the ability of microscopic particles to travel long distances in air currents, the factor being the size and weight of said particles, as you mentioned.

              A weaponized device has a limited amount of product, with a limited sphere of contamination, whereas the horror of Japan has untold tons of product shot into the air, traveling the Jet Stream at 3,000 miles an hour, around the globe.

              We know that Fuku plutonium and uranium – plus everything else – have traveled well dispersed throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Information from the Southern Hemisphere on Fuku spread seems to be scarce. Intentionally, of course.

              None of this includes the aerodynamics and possible spread pattern of the radioactive 'Bucky-balls'. That seems to be a new phenomenon, for scientists to work out.

              I agree that any serious discussion, especially an event of this magnitude, should include the definition of terms used to describe the given situation. Lord knows, these discussions are serious.

              Great respect to all the serious posters who have devoted a great deal of time here, to inspire…


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              • JoyB
                June 20, 2012 at 2:33 pm

                Thanks, TIS. You know, the really insidious thing about nukes is that it's not what you can see that is the greatest danger, it's what you can't see. The single atoms and nasty subatomic particles (Arnie's "hot particles").

                Be seriously worried about what you can see – big vapor events and black smoke – because there's nastiness in it all, and it's positively dangerous whether it comes from a coal plant's filthy plume or a forest fire nearby. But the invisible stuff is what'll kill you relatively quickly and it's the invisible stuff 'authorities' always deny.

                Get a soot-sized particle of fuel into your lungs or eat it for lunch on your sandwich, and it'll certainly settle in to do nasty things to your sensitive internal tissues – but mostly (when talking radioactivity) when it decays to release gamma energy and alpha/beta particles. None of which can be seen with human eyes.

                Thus it's erroneous to say that 'black smoke' is worse in the "hot particle" way than the gas you can't see. Because every single "hot particle" is invisible. Huge concentrations of them are invisible too. Alpha is basically an electron-stripped hydrogen nucleus – way smaller than a whole atom of hydrogen, and nobody can see those. Beta is just an electron/positron emission – electrons have no actual 'size' at all.

                Black smoke just lets you know the shit got out. When the smoke (or steam) dissipates, you are in no way out of danger.


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              • stock stock@hawaii.rr.com
                June 20, 2012 at 4:38 pm

                To your point, I think what I have done suing this EPA data shows beyond doubt uranium and plutonium spread thick, far, and wide.

                We been dosed. We should hold them accountable.

                http://nukeprofessional.blogspot.com/p/uranium-aerosolized-into-atmosphere.html

                http://majiasblog.blogspot.com/2012/06/good-source-for-information-about.html


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          • JoyB
            June 20, 2012 at 1:45 pm

            Thanks, B&B. I saw that post, but because I'm nowhere near Chicago I shrugged because it wasn't aimed at me. The lady did contact me through Lucas this morning, so I explained that her Joy wasn't this Joy.

            I haven't done antinuclear demonstrations since 1979-80 because they don't actually accomplish anything other than drawing attention (usually not flattering – DFH stuff from media). They are pretty good for educational purposes, but to me the Intertoobs are a far better means – the authoritarians have no real defense against that if they can't beat us with billy clubs into submission. Besides, I've got livestock! I can't just pick up and go far away to be a single unit in a crowd that's not really going to accomplish anything. Did do a couple of anti-war [Iraq] demonstrations locally back before it started. Learned that those are just as effective as anti-nuke demos – i.e., not at all. A waste of time, gasoline, and blood (a whole other nasty story of authoritarian abuse of citizenry).

            …I have different ideas about how to stop nukes. Which don't get any press and aren't visible to a camera, for excellent reasons… §;o)


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    • stock stock@hawaii.rr.com
      June 20, 2012 at 4:48 pm

      Lots of proof admitted by the EPA prior to them shutting down radnet. uranium and thus plutonium aerosolized to the effect of 10's of tons at least maybe over 100 tons.

      http://nukeprofessional.blogspot.com/2012/03/plutonium-admission-by-epa.html

      http://nukeprofessional.blogspot.com/p/uranium-aerosolized-into-atmosphere.html


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  • Heart of the Rose Heart of the Rose
    June 20, 2012 at 10:31 am

    Double typo .lol."splattering".I'd like everyone to make note of disclaimer below vid…copy.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwgMAAUtQQY&feature=related
    The majorative of the data we use is for educational purposes.


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  • omniversling
    June 20, 2012 at 10:38 am

    Close-up footage of ruins at Fukushima reactor, helicopter flyover of plant
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aprycG9mlZc&feature=related


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  • majia
    June 20, 2012 at 12:38 pm

    Does anyone know whether there was mox fuel in unit 3's spent fuel pool?

    Also, I read here that the common spent fuel pool is 40 meters to the west of unit 4
    http://www.fukushima311watchdogs.org/biblio/9/Mox%20fuel-corium-plutonium%20in%20Fukushima%20Daiichi.pdf

    Where does that put it when viewing the Tepco webcam?

    Would the common spent fuel be essentially between units 3 and 4 when viewed through tepco webcam?


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  • majia
    June 20, 2012 at 1:44 pm

    thanks Bobby1 and Joy

    Integrity Inspection of Dry Storage Casks and Spent Fuels at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. 16 November 2010. Yumiko Kumano, Tokyo Electric Power Company
    http://www.nirs.org/reactorwatch/accidents/6-1_powerpoint.pdf

    The report states "Approximately 700 spent fuel assemblies are generated every year" (p. 9)

    The assemblies are stored in spent fuel pools and also in dry casks. Each reactor building has a spent fuel pool and there is also a common spent fuel pool.

    On page 9 there is a nice table detailing the amount of fuel assemblies in storage at the plant as of March 2010.

    The report states that there were 3,450 assemblies in each unit's pool as of 2010

    The common spent fuel pool had 6,291 assemblies

    There is also a chart for Storage Amount (ton-U) as of March 2010 (page 4)

    Fukushima Daiichi had 1,760 (ton-U) as of March 2010

    I DON'T know if that chart for storage amount is inclusive of all the fuel at the site or if that is a separate figure for stored uranium. I would think the former, but I don't know for sure.


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    • majia
      June 20, 2012 at 4:28 pm

      I watched those videos Heart

      After everything I've learned over the last year I realize now that I should have taken my kids and left while I could.

      Too late now.

      Too late for everyone who was exposed and has been over the last 15 months of emissions.

      Feel like turning my back on the entire disaster and simply living life to the fullest.

      I think I'll do that when my current project is complete.

      Found a dead love bird on my front porch last night. Seems symbolic.


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  • Heart of the Rose Heart of the Rose
    June 20, 2012 at 4:43 pm

    @majia..Yes.I only post for historical purposes.Each person will have to deal with this knowledge as they see fit.
    What else is there?


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  • Heart of the Rose Heart of the Rose
    June 20, 2012 at 5:02 pm

    @ majia …I was not referring to the Fuku situ..I was referring to dealing with it in an individual manner.


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