Japan nuclear plant disaster: warning of an 'apocalypse’ as fallout hits danger levels

[BLUE 1,026]

By Martin Evans, and Gordon Rayner 6:30AM GMT 16 Mar 2011

 

More than 140,000 people living up to 18 miles away from the power station were warned to stay indoors and lock windows as the Japanese government announced that radiation levels were high enough to damage human health.

 

As officials tried to bring the problem under control, they said they were contemplating using helicopters to spray water over the plant in an attempt to prevent the spread of radioactive particles.

 

A third explosion at the Fukushima Daiichi complex is believed to have damaged the protective casing of No 2 reactor, increasing radiation levels sharply in the surrounding area. At one point, readings near the plant briefly topped 400 millisieverts an hour, a level high enough to cause radiation sickness and long–term damage to health if workers had not been wearing protective suits.

 

The Tokyo Electric Power Company which runs the plant disclosed last night that there had, in fact, been four explosions since Friday's earthquake knocked out power at the 40–year–old power station.

 

Three blasts were heard by locals, but it was more than 20 hours before the company admitted that a fire at a fourth reactor had occurred following another explosion at daybreak on Tuesday, local time. It later emerged that two workers from the power station were missing following the explosion at reactor No 4. Last night it was disclosed that a new fire had broken out in the same reactor.

 

Source: The Telegraph

Edited March 16, 2011 by BLUE

[BigBen07 285]

That is seriously scary shit. This is making Chernobyl look tame in comparison.

Edited March 17, 2011 by BigBen07

[SteVo+ 3,702]

Yeah this is getting really bad...I heard fallout could potentially hit the western United States? Holy shit.

[Guest Durant4MVP]

And people thought nuclear power would be a good idea here in the USA....

[Sarge+ 3,436]

Yeah this is getting really bad...I heard fallout could potentially hit the western United States? Holy shit.

 

Actually, last I heard, that was pretty doubtful at least for the moment.

[blotsfan 2,112]

And people thought nuclear power would be a good idea here in the USA....

Nuclear power is a great idea in America. Its cheap and clean and safer than you'd think. The Japanese plant was made almost 40 years ago. The technology has moved along so much since then.

[RazorStar 4,025]

Not to mention most of the United States are under no threat of a tsunami or a 9.0 Earthquake.

[BarrelofHobos 20]

By Martin Evans, and Gordon Rayner 6:30AM GMT 16 Mar 2011

 

More than 140,000 people living up to 18 miles away from the power station were warned to stay indoors and lock windows as the Japanese government announced that radiation levels were high enough to damage human health.

Sorry, but what exactly would that do? Unless they're afraid of the radiation breaking into their house I dont see how that would help much.

[Krawnka 282]

Nuclear power is great, but I don't think anyone can plan for a 9.0 earthquake and a tsunami. How can anyone possibly simulate a double whammy like that?

 

The US survived Hiroshima and Nagasaki, I'd be surprised if any TRUE incidents happened in the US from this.

[rzb+ 367]

And people thought nuclear power would be a good idea here in the USA....

And people thought gasoline would be a good idea too. After BP, bicycle sales did.... nothing.

 

Nuclear power is a great idea in America. Its cheap and clean and safer than you'd think. The Japanese plant was made almost 40 years ago. The technology has moved along so much since then.

That's exactly right. Plus the Japanese didn't follow the correct regulations set at that time. They half-assed it, and now pay the price. Unfortunately many others are paying it as well. After this incident, we've looked harder at our facilities. Now would be a great time to build because the standards would be set so high.. they'd be the absolute best possible.

 

RIP to those who have been lost and prayers to those that are still missing.

[NaTaS+ 958]

Edited March 18, 2011 by NaTaS

[Turry 755]

Yeah this is getting really bad...I heard fallout could potentially hit the western United States? Holy shit.

 

People in vancouver were freaking out about that and buying Iodine Pills but I heard wednesday on the news that theres no need for it and people shouldn't worry.

[RazorStar 4,025]

Californians are buying up potassium iodide in bulk.. pharmaceuticals win again.

[seanbrock 1,684]

One thing that bothers me about this is that it's all that you see on the news. I'm not saying I don't care about it, but there's a lot of really important shit going on now. Why does the Batchelor get a special and the News is relagated to just covering one thing. I know it's about what sells and TV is a business, but come on.

[rzb+ 367]

One thing that bothers me about this is that it's all that you see on the news. I'm not saying I don't care about it, but there's a lot of really important shit going on now. Why does the Batchelor get a special and the News is relagated to just covering one thing. I know it's about what sells and TV is a business, but come on.

CNN has their own channel, and website. If you want more news, you can go there and hear more about other stories.. such as Libya and Egypt, which are also getting coverage daily (i.e. Nightly News).

[BLUE 1,026]

By SHINO YUASA and JEFF DONN, Associated Press Shino Yuasa And Jeff Donn, Associated Press – 5 mins ago

 

TOKYO – Two weeks after an earthquake and tsunami triggered a crisis at a nuclear plant, the government said Friday there is a suspected breach at a reactor — another setback that would mean radioactive contamination at the facility is more serious than once thought.

 

Japanese leaders defended their decision not to evacuate people from a wider area around the plant, insisting they are safe if they stay indoors. But officials also said residents may want to voluntarily move to areas with better facilities, since supplies in the tsunami-devastated region are running short.

 

The escalation in the nuclear plant crisis came as the death toll from the quake and tsunami passed the grim milestone of 10,000 on Friday. Across the battered northeast coast, hundreds of thousands of people whose homes were destroyed still have no power, no hot meals and, in many cases, no showers for 14 days.

 

The uncertain nuclear situation again halted work at the Fukushima Dai-ichi complex, where authorities have been scrambling to stop the overheated facility from leaking dangerous radiation. Low levels of radiation have been seeping out since the March 11 quake and tsunami knocked out the plant's cooling system, but a breach could mean a much larger release of contaminants. The most likely consequence would be contamination of the groundwater.

 

"The situation today at the Fukushima Dai-ichi power plant is still very grave and serious. We must remain vigilant," a somber Prime Minister Naoto Kan said. "We are not in a position where we can be optimistic. We must treat every development with the utmost care."

 

The possible breach in the plant's Unit 3 might be a crack or a hole in the stainless steel chamber of the reactor core or in the spent fuel pool that's lined with several feet of reinforced concrete. The temperature and pressure inside the core, which holds the fuel rods, remained stable and was far lower than what would further melt the core.

 

Suspicions of a possible breach were raised when two workers suffered skin burns after wading into water 10,000 times more radioactive than levels normally found in water in or around a reactor, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said.

 

Water with equally high radiation levels was found in the Unit 1 reactor building, Tokyo Electric officials said. Water was also discovered in Units 2 and 4, and the company said it suspects that, too, is radioactive. It was not clear whether the water in each unit came from the same source, officials said, but acknowledged the discovery would delay work inside the plant.

 

Friday marked two weeks to the day since the magnitude-9.0 quake triggered a tsunami that flattened cities along the northeastern coast. With the cleanup and recovery operations continuing and more than 17,400 listed as missing, the final number of dead was expected to surpass 18,000.

 

Kan apologized to farmers and business owners for the toll the radiation has had on their livelihoods: Several countries have halted some food imports from areas near the plant after elevated levels of radiation were found in raw milk, seawater and 11 kinds of vegetables, including broccoli, cauliflower and turnips.

 

Read more: Yahoo