Published: July 3rd, 2012 at 4:43 pm ET
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Subscription Only: Report on Nuclear Disaster Holds Key to Japan Reactors’ Fate
Wall Street Journal
By MITSURU OBE
July 2, 2012
[...]
A number of seismologists, engineers and policy makers say they believe last year’s magnitude-9 quake may have played a part in damaging the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant and contributing to massive radioactive releases there—despite the government’s view that such a scenario is “unlikely.”
[...]
“The possibility of the quake contributing to the Fukushima disaster should not be ruled out,” said Sumio Mabuchi, a senior ruling-party lawmaker, who calls for new safety guidelines on the assumption that a major quake could strike anywhere in Japan.
The area around Fukushima Daiichi sank half a meter after the March 2011 quake. But data received so far indicate the ground movement didn’t significantly damage key parts of the plant [...]
critics say the earthquake may have damaged some of the myriad pipes that circulate water through the reactors.
[...]
More from the WSJ article: Japanese Nuclear Expert: Containment vessel at Reactor No. 2 likely seriously damaged by quake on 3/11
See also:
- Caldicott: "When the earthquake occurred the reactors sunk about a meter in the earth" (VIDEO)
- AP: New gov't study rasies possibility of "structural damage to reactor's foundation" -- Erosion of concrete could be deeper than Tepco claims
- NISA: "Earthquake may have caused ground subsidence in the area of Fukushima plants" -- Safety of Reactor No. 4 building 'visually' confirmed (VIDEO)
- Report: Concern that a subsidence in the earth under unit 4 could cause its collapse
Published: July 3rd, 2012 at 4:43 pm ET
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sending...
If you drop the fuel assemblies in SFP 1.5 feet what is the likely outcome, would that not cause nuclear fuel to get to close together and heat up, are they not supposed to be so far apart from each other or they will start fission, clarify please
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There isn't a structure on this whole planet, with plumbing underneath, that is designed to absorb a half meter drop like this.
Any structural engineers out there? This would mean all the plumbing, underneath all the structures, are broken, and now all they can do is spray water on top and have it leak out the bottom.
So much for the Common SFP being in one piece. It'll be leaking like a sieve. If the power goes out, how long before everything is waterless and completely exposed?
Horrific. Just horrific.
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Doesn't matter if the assemblies moved much or not. The loss of circulating water from broken pipes and electronics destroyed, the lack of access for days to water from hoses (until the roofs blew off) meant they had no hope of stopping the meltdowns, melt-throughs, and melt-outs of the vessel fuel. They were unable to prevent fires in units 1-4.
We wrote here a year ago the earthquake was the dominant nuclear plant destroyer, not the tsunami. It created the tsunami which added a few more negatives to the first defenses, but the die was cast. Cranes were destroyed above the vessels and internal radiation levels were beyond their technologies to halt.
How did they expect to stop runaway fuel with no cranes to pull off shrouds and killer levels of radiation? They have never been in control of units 1-4 since March 11, 2011. Just like a bunch of little kids trying to put out a house fire with squirt guns.
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I love your squirtgun analogy. There is a difference. The house is not trying to kill them.
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All True !!
+ 100
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what they mean is the entire area, including the entire plant site, subsided 0.5m after the earthquake (susidence always occurs following a subduction zone earthquake). But since the subsidence was wide-spread, the plant didnt see much differential movement. the pipes broke because they couldnt take the accelerations (shaking).
In addition to subsiding, the island of Honshu moved 2.4m (8 ft) to the east, buggering up the GPS and land surveys.
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and parts of the coast-line, like where the FUKU1 is located moved 5 m (16 ft) seaward.
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"calculations show the Japan quake should have shifted the position of Earth's figure axis (the axis about which Earth's mass is balanced) by about 17 centimeters (6.5 inches), towards 133 degrees east longitude"
"have caused Earth to rotate a bit faster, shortening the length of the day by about 1.8 microseconds"
http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/japanquake/earth20110314.html
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i guess there are a couple of issues.
1) was the shanking bad enough to damage rotating pumps used for cooling
2) were the main steam rttors any good when they were turning when they got shook and did they damage things.
3) when shook did the reactors cavitate?
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We've done #4 over and over, #1's got a tent around it and we know the little one blew up then melted (down/out?). We know #5 & #6 are basically there, but how much damage? Now it's #2 a bit more. Very high rads, no explosions, yet. Probably melted (down/out?).
Well, that just about covers Fukushima Daiichi, doesn't it?
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I thought 2 did have an explosion.
Am I wrong about that?
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You are right. Here is a link to a part of a Wikipedia article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fukushima_Daiichi_nuclear_disaster#Explosion_2
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My bad, I've never seen any visible explosions from #2, although I remember the worker who described the noises coming from #2,
right after the quake…
But that wasn't the point of my post…
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Not attacking! Sorry!
I just have to make sure of the facts for my chapter i'm writing on Fukushima.
It is very long and full of details and I'm terrified of getting a basic fact wrong because then the entire chapter would be dismissed…
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No no, majia, I didn't take it that way…
I wish I knew more about #2, I was trying to bring up the lack of anything about #3 in my first post. It's whats missing, in my post too…
I'm pretty sure that I do not, know what actually went on there, in the first few days after 3/11.
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Quakes or not, nuclear accidents happen. And they're ruining the environment.
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Wall St Journal contradicts Japanese Gov and nothing too much happens. Where is the Prez? Obama continues his four-day family getaway at Camp David. Some people say he takes too many vacations, well blah blah blah blah blah!
Well nobody wants to talk about all the American reactors, 30 or more years old sitting on fault lines……What about what happens to the strenth of concrete and steel when bombarded with radiation for that length of time and what enriched fuel will do ie burn hotter. Lets just assume this is just about tsunami's and the bad luck of the Japanese……..
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La isla del Hierro is shaking, and in the past : http://forestman.espacioblog.com/post/2006/06/18/el-mega-tsunami-provoco-isla-el-hierro
And another darger ? : http://www.tendencias21.net/Catastroficos-tsunamis-podrian-derivarse-del-derrumbe-de-un-volcan-de-La-Palma_a397.html
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Is it possible Tsunami from the Mainland:
http://cs-imx.s3.amazonaws.com/static/dailypic/20120615/17034.jpg
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I wonder why they give details now. Is it because they think it is time to disclose a bit, or the worse that fuku is still leaking massive water and gas?
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And so at all, you all "fantastic educated engineers" from atomic power plants should compulsorily ride on tours with their own eyes fo Tashkent, to see what can happen when teh earthquake….
The Earth collapsing on 50 m (150 foot) and if they see that you cannot design a power fault earthquake.
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The epicentre of the earthquake and the monument.Clearly seen as trees grow in the pit and are not as tall as a normal level of the current level of…
http://en.rian.ru/images/16370/83/163708353.jpg
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