Meltdown??
 

Japanese sources just announced that a meltdown may be under way at one of their nuke plants. Yesterday we heard that this was extremely unlikely but today?? Damage throughout country appears far worse than originally thought!

i find it interesting that the news is not really focusing on the leak. i dont think thats good.

can that radioactive cloud hit the U.S.?

experts say no!

if it does, i think it will hit california first.

that will give me time to take cover here on the east coast.

I'll be in Japan next month..that should be interesting

:eek: Your new "glow in the dark" look could create a new fad !! ;)

American military over there already showing they picked up increased radiation exposure.

They're still waiting on the plumber's union to agree to a contract to restore the cooling pipes...

Just kidding of course. I hope that they catch a break here and get that thing safely contained VERY soon!

The Japanese are amazing engineers, look at those Tokyo buildings swaying feet in the earthquake, but not falling down. Which is why it is astounding, with their care and redundancy and history of excellence, that we are facing three reactor meltdowns because there isn't electricity to run the cooling. And the backup generators don't work, because they didn't think of raising them above disaster flood level.

Pray that they get those reactors cooled down, best case is that they are ruined and will have to be dismantled and rebuilt. This is a serious blow to the nuke industry. Japanese are amazing folks, they will rebuild and recover but the human toll cannot be repaired, it is amazing that the death toll is as minimal as it appears but that's no comfort to the victims.

Mini-reactors seems an extraordinarily promising and affordable nuclear energy. Exactly the type of green innovation we should be heavily funding (google this for more recent info, you can see Toshiba, Bill Gates, lots of people going this way):

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environmen...ors-los-alamos

That is a far safer nuclear energy I can fully support. Not to mention what it could do for 3rd world countries, emergency energy needs, etc.

Can you imagine your neighborhood purchasing it's own energy source? Outstanding!

A Power plant getting blown up, cuz they don't have enough power. That's a real beauty.

I wouldnt be so sure about the radiation in the atmosphere not being able to reach the U.S. If you look at the jet stream and water to surface airflow patterns it is possible for some to come to the U.S. hitting Hawaii first and then catching the pinapple express and making its way into So-Cali.

A third explosion, and a fire in a reactor extinguished, and threat of weak radiation reaching Tokyo.

:eek::(

Not only that, if the radiation cloud "only" blows east over the Pacific, and does not make high enough altitude to reach the 48 U.S. states, it still will get into the fish, crabs, and other sea life that we bring ashore.

Imagine what will be in the sushi.

http://www.radiationnetwork.com/RadiationNetwork.htm


At this site you can see if you are about to grow a second head......

fubar..sell your g.e stock short..by the way there in nothing in those buildings you see on tv thats explosive..they are trying to seal the unit. that was demo.then they will pour 50k yards of concrete on it.the use of seawater 5 days ago is last and final option. guess the tree huggers blew this one...fossil fuels rule..hey obama still want to put small nukes all over..:rolleyes:

Yeah..that Gulf drilling is perfectly safe too:eek:. I'll take my chances with reactors..just not in Earthquake zones

go blackhawks ;)

Go Prospect Knight;)

Don't buy a limited date flight ticket to Tokyo ....

The Japanese version of Larry, Moe, n' Curly better start getting a bit more creative. I detect the presence of a group of people with the creativity of pudding.

Heard an expert last night rail the Japanese government handling of the catastrophe allowing a private company and a crew of 50 to do the job? Where is the International Atomic Energy Agency?

In a lead-lined bunker? On a more serious note, I don't think anyone could be more heroic than those folks trying to contain this meltdown. Basically they are giving up their lives for the good of all as in all likelyhood the amount of radiation they are facing will kill them eventually.

I don't understand the guys complaint. That "private company" is the electric company, who has the trained nuclear experts familiar with the facilities, 50 of whom are threatening their lives now to stay on the job and protect the rest of the country. Private companies - electric companies - run reactors in the US, too. They also asked for help and advice from experts in other countries right away, too.

So you would have been OK with BP handling the gulf? The Atomic commission has exposed itself for what it is. Worthless. Defund them yesterday.

:zz: Nothing like an abrupt segue to entirely different grossly generalized political bumper stickers ....

listen it does not matter who does what ,those units are phucked.im sure they sub- contracted out the willing mice at a nice price.in the us an most other countrys you have a allowable exposure time /rads..when you reach it you can not work in the plant..the only agency worth a damn is the nrc.us sets the rules and loves to shut down big buck power companys at the drop of a hat.they are the 800lb gorilla..those 'heros' are pawns .not highly skilled people..trust me .dog and pony show for the media.

I actually somewhat agree....while I do not question the bravery and self-sacrifice of those workers, I have to question a government that would allow them to give their lives in what appears to be a hopeless situation.

The people that actually run reactors are quite a bit more than a trained monkey equivalent, and at this point the 50 left are volunteers (actually there are more, they rotate in and out)

Do you guys realize what happens if they walk out? And allow things to continue to degenerate? That's not really an option.

The latest reports of increasing radiation, especially from reactor #4 indicate they may be giving their lives for a lost cause, my concern is the government allowing human sacrifice in the name of painting an unrealistic picture.

I don't think the choice you think exists, does. Which sacrifice should be chosen: 50 people, or millions?

There is no choice involved about abandoning preventing continued meltdown in the 4th reactor, or in preventing that initiation in the other three. They simply can't do that. They have to attempt to prevent a runaway reaction at all costs, as long as there is continuing prevention possible. There are 4 reactors involved. Three reactors have not had core exposure or meltdown, they think the fourth (spent fuel rod) reactor had some core exposure with meltdown. They can't abandon trying to prevent that, to leave all four to initiate meltdown.

Consider firemen and policemen (and military) who put themselves into life-threatening situations. It's the same thing. People that work such jobs know what the risks are.

On a technical aspect, they are rotating people in and out of the various reactors, they pulled back for a couple hours today, totally, due to temporary increased radiation release, and now they are back in.

^^^^ The usual suspects....insane, all of them.

Firemen, police, our military are often put in harm's way...they are all heroic and have my upmost respect, as do the folks in Japan but the moral issue of allowing people to sacrifice their lives to perpetuate a myth is my issue. Recent reports indication that the radiation from reactor #4 has reached the fatal level, moving folks in and out will not solve this if true. The Japanese have shown in the past that they will give their lives for their country, there is no moral justification for the government taking advantage of this for political reasons if the recent reports are correct. At this point, it is a concern, not a fact but nevertheless an element of this ongoing situation that must be examined!

They would then have the credentials to run as a Wisconsin Democratic State Senator ?

I don't think they are worried more about political reasons, than that they are still trying to prevent 4 nuclear reactors from melting down.

I haven't seen anything about "fatal levels" (by which I assume you mean definitively lethal) in reactor 4, only that there was a rise with withdrawal of personnel today, now they are back.

Here's a pretty good update from this afternoon:

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationwo...,7701045.story

CNN reports that situation is continuing to worsen and fatal levels of radiation are coming from reactor #4, at this point it is impossible to assess so I think great care should be extended before exposing workers, perhaps you can read the minds of Japanese officials but I cannot....I'm making no accusations as fact merely expressing concern.

Well played:)