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NHK Video: Core Fukushima details unknown — Where was “radioactive material” released from? How much was released? Did quake affect plant?

Published: March 11th, 2012 at 6:13 pm ET
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Title: Core details of nuclear accident not known yet
Source: NHK
Date: Sunday, March 11, 2012 10:17 +0900 (JST)

One year after the disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, core details relating to the accident are still not known, including from where a large amount of radioactive material was released.

Following the March 11th earthquake and tsunami, nuclear fuel melted at the No.1, 2, and 3 reactors of the plant. Many people were forced to evacuate because a large amount of radioactive material was released across a wide area. The nuclear accident seriously affected Japan’s entire society and economy.

[...] details remain unclear, including from which part of the plant the large amount of radioactive material was released, and how much material was spread in the air or at sea.

And there’s another core item still unconfirmed. The utility firm says the earthquake itself did not affect major safety facilities and equipment. However, the high radioactivity at the site does not permit confirmation of the claim.

Watch the report here

Published: March 11th, 2012 at 6:13 pm ET
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31 comments

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March 11th, 2012 | Category: Audio/Video Clips, Fukushima Daiichi
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31 comments to NHK Video: Core Fukushima details unknown — Where was “radioactive material” released from? How much was released? Did quake affect plant?

  • Tumrgrwer Tumrgrwer
    March 11, 2012 at 6:34 pm

    Everyone is trying very hard to say that the quake did little damage it was the big wall of water that shut them down. As we can see here; I believe they are going to restart 5 and 6 to pay for 1,2,3,& 4.

    http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn21556-fukushimas-fate-inspires-nuclear-safety-rethink.html

    "The European Union, for instance, has ordered a risk assessment of all nuclear power plants in its member states. These assessments are supposed to consider each plant's ability to withstand a full range of potential hazards – from earthquakes and floods to plane crashes and terrorist attacks. A bunch of b.s. SHUT THEM DOWN!!!!

    The Japanese disaster did bring some positive news. The reactors along Japan's Pacific coast suffered no serious damage from the earthquake, even though its magnitude exceeded the worst-case scenarios assumed in their designs. That bodes well for the ability of reactors worldwide to withstand major earthquakes.

    But Fukushima Daiichi was doomed by a decision to plan for a maximum tsunami height of only 5.7 metres, well short of the wave of up to 15 metres that engulfed the plant on 11 March 2011. In the light of this error, regulators worldwide are reassessing whether other plants are vulnerable to catastrophic floods, caused by tsunami, swollen rivers or failed dams."


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  • gottagetoffthegrid
    March 11, 2012 at 6:35 pm

    … Earthquake didn't affect the reactor…

    Balderdash.

    "The latest analysis also presents evidence that xenon-133 began to vent from Fukushima Daiichi immediately after the quake, and before the tsunami swamped the area. This implies that even without the devastating flood, the earthquake alone was sufficient to cause damage at the plant."

    http://enenews.com/bloomberg-fukushima-began-releasing-radiation-before-tsunami-indicative-structural-damage-reactors-during-quake-scientists-contradicts-official-assertions


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  • Sickputer
    March 11, 2012 at 6:50 pm

    > high radioactivity at the site does not permit confirmation of the claim [of earthquake creating the meltdowns]

    SP: Even if the radioactivity was under control the nuclear cabal would never admit to earthquake damage. Their standard mode of operation is deny, deflect, distract, and disinform.

    Take the earthquake August 23, 2011 eleven miles from the North Anna nuclear power in Virginia. Nuclear critics warned the NRC that inacessible pipes were possibly damaged. The NRC basically said we don't think it is a danger. So after three months the two reactors went back online.

    Fast forward only about two months after these aged Rube Goldberg monsters lurched back into service:

    "Dominion Virginia Power has found elevated levels of a weak form of radioactivity in a sampling well at its North Anna nuclear power station. On Friday, the Richmond-based utility was notified by its laboratory contractor that water taken from an on-site groundwater sampling point contained an unusually high level of tritium — more than twice the EPA’s standard for drinking water.

    The radiation poses no hazard to the public, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said. ”At this point, I don’t think there’s any concern on the NRC’s part that it would affect (nearby Lake Anna) or drinking water supplies,” said Roger Hannah, a spokesman for the federal regulatory agency’s Atlanta office.

    Dominion Virginia Power is not sure where the radioactivity is leaking from, but the two reactors at the Louisa County plant are not the source, company spokesman Rick Zuercher said.

    “There is no evidence that the increased concentration of tritium we sampled was related to the earthquake” on Aug. 23, which shut down the plant for nearly three months, the company told the NRC."

    http://thewatchers.adorraeli.com/2012/02/22/elevated-level-of-tritium-detected-in-groundwater-of-north-anna-nuclear-station-us/

    SP: Deny, deflect, distract, and disinform. They are very good at their propaganda…


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    • jec
      March 11, 2012 at 7:34 pm

      THIS is MY drinking water..the tritium laced stuff. And..since NO ONE checks it in the local water districts..sure sounds like TEPCO doesnt it? Does anyone know HOW to get local water tested?

      Turns out was easy to get all the county water tests-for some years. However, the key elements of concern, are not allowed to be tested. The radioactive particle tests..by law(as I have been informed)..have to be done by the USA Environmental Protection Agency or EPA. EPA will not test per latest information-they say its not needed. ALL IS FINE..So VEPCO (Virginia Electric Power company) or TEPCO..same same I guess. VEPCO response is less than informative when you ask about local water testing for radioactive products. If anyone has better luck at finding the actual testing reports..would be great to get. The current situation.they test at certain time periods..they SHOULD test when any contaminate is found in the test wells of the nuclear plants..OR when they vent the nuclear plants (tritium is vented a LOT). EACH time they vent any product at all…


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  • dear jones
    March 11, 2012 at 7:10 pm

    "The latest analysis also presents evidence that xenon-133 began to vent from Fukushima Daiichi immediately after the quake, and before the tsunami swamped the area. This implies that even without the devastating flood, the earthquake alone was sufficient to cause damage at the plant."

    Possible the tsunami helping them to cold the melted core down.


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  • dharmasyd
    March 11, 2012 at 7:18 pm

    Tsunamis are easier to protect against than EQs. So never admit that–

    "At 0136 EST on March 12, 2011, a “vertical earthquake” resulted in an explosion at the Fukushima Daiichi Unit 1. …(snip)
    Explosion occurred at Unit 1 following 0136 EST (March 12, 2011) earthquake.
    This explosion was due to hydrogen."

    See this as posted 3/7/12 at enenews.


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  • James2
    March 11, 2012 at 7:25 pm

    It's only a mystery of where the radiation come from because they don't want anyone to know where it came from. This is all so stupid.

    You can do any kind of risk assessment you want on the plants' abilities to withstand any kind of disaster you want.

    But the assessment needed is to study what happens when the plant melts down – that's the imporatnt thing.

    I could care less about whether it was the tsunami or the earthquake or a magic man from the moon that caused the reactors to melt – the fact is they did and others will too unless we eliminate nuclear power in this form.


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  • TheBigPicture TheBigPicture
    March 11, 2012 at 7:54 pm

    Yep, doesn't much matter what caused it, because it's been a different reason for every previous nuke disaster. They blow up.


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  • Sickputer
    March 11, 2012 at 8:23 pm

    Great background info for the highly technical details of seismic engineering standards set for Japanese and American reactors:

    http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf18.html

    Of special interest….

    "achieved cold shutdown in a few days. However, at Tepco's Fukushima Daiichi plant, a major accident sequence commenced.  The three reactors were shut down by the earthquake and the emergency diesel generators started as expected, but then they shut down an hour later when submerged by the tsunami, about 15 metres high at that point. Other systems proved inadequate and led the authorities to order, and subsequently extend, an evacuation while engineers worked to restore power and cooling."

    SP: The power grid was already down by the earthquake effects. The tsunami took out the generators. The backup batteries were depleted by early March 12. Reactors at 1,2, and 3 begin their inevitable progression to meltdown.

    More from that webpage: "Even for a nuclear plant situated very close to sea level, the robust sealed containment structure around the reactor itself can prevent any damage to the nuclear part from a tsunami, though other parts of the plant might be damaged. At Fukushima, the turbine halls contained both the backup diesel generators and much of the electrical switchgear, which proved fatal for the Daiichi 1-3 reactors."

    SP: Although we suspect the extraordinary vertical and lateral movement of the Great Earthquake began the destruction of the Daiichi reactor vessels we can only guess that the earthquake was by itself a megaplex destroyer. We can't prove that because the tsunami delivered a knockout punch that is provable.

    II give Arnie a pass on this debate…he is certainly correct to say the tsunami delivered a fatal blow. It may have been the second of two fatal blows…but that controversy may never be proven because of lack of access to the units for a structural exam.


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  • jackassrig
    March 12, 2012 at 8:31 am

    Yes you can prove it. Take any old mangled reactor, find the piping drawings, model the piping into your preference of pipe stress software-Caesar II or AutoPipe, apply earthquake loading of CURRENT codes, run program, check stresses in pipe, get structural support drawings, apply loading from piping system to pipe supports, check support for over stress, check loading on sensitive equipment. More than likely you will find piping is overstressed and supports will all fail. Piping will forgive much abuse but the supports will not. The welds will all fail because of the loading from the Eq's. Loss of supports loss of pipe loss of equipment.


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  • jackassrig
    March 12, 2012 at 8:36 am

    Caesar II and AutoPipe-I'm not pushing any of this software-are recognised all over the world as a standard in piping design. The software has been varified in the field and no one in their right mind would question the output. The Owners were negligent Period. Hang'um all.


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