Tag: potassium iodide

Chernobyl Documentaries

On By southwerkIn business ethics

Here are several documentaries about the Chernobyl reactor disaster.  Each of these three stories is on You Tube. As you play the first one, the next ones appear on the right side listing or on the screen itself at the end of each part.

I think it’s wise to look at these, if only for the reactions and miscommunications that facilitated the disaster.

James Pilant

This is a ten part documentary. It is fascinating for its exposure of new information including much, much larger death tolls. I was particularly surprised that the Soviets used thousands of miners to dig a room beneath the stricken reactor which was filled with concrete and formed a base that the melting core could not penetrate.

Here is the first part of a six part documentary.

This is a five part.

Japanese Refugees?

On By southwerkIn business ethics5 Comments
Wasteland (courtesy of the game, Fallout 3)

If there is a nuclear catastrophe, is there enough space on the islands remaining after a significant loss of land due to radiation to support the entire population?

Japan is approximately 145,925 square miles in size. The Chernobyl disaster rendered 10,800 square miles uninhabitable. Compared to the total area of Japan, this is not a lot of land. However, Chernobyl was a single reactor and it issued a plume of radiation for several days. In Japan, the plumes from radiation from as many six reactors and unprotected discarded fuel rods could last for weeks or even months.

What if they lose 1/3rd of the islands? That would be 48,642 square miles. Remember it is not just refugees, there will be hundreds of thousands, more likely millions of Japanese exposed to varying levels of radiation.

It may well be necessary to evacuate Japanese from the home islands.

The numbers could be from a few hundred thousand to many millions.

It would have to begin almost immediately after a meltdown.

The best way initially would be by commercial airliner. But if there were considerable numbers, there would have to be ships.

The costs would be enormous particularly the medical costs.

It’s hard to hypothesize without some estimate of how much land will be too irradiated to be safe and for how long.

Nevertheless, planning should go forward. The situation at the plants is critical and apparently getting worse.

It is better to begin thinking about these things now, rather than waiting until confronted by a desperate situation.

James Pilant

How Much Radiation Will Reach the United States?

On By southwerkIn business ethics

We have entered totally uncharted territory.

There could be a meltdown of a single reactor or as many as six. There appears to be a burning pile of spent nuclear fuel rods on the surface outside any containment vessel. This type of problem is more like Chernobyl than anything else we have seen.

There are already containment breaches in No. 2 and No. 4. There is some evidence that No. 3 has breached. I believe it has because No. 3 was a special reactor using partially reprocessed fuel rods with a plutonium component. It burned much hotter than the other reactors.

The weather in this area features wind that has changed pretty dramatically over the last few days. At one point, the wind was blowing South South East directly toward Tokyo.

If there are further explosions and the containment vessels are further damaged, will the containment vessel be shattered or merely holed? If the containment vessel is destroyed there will be a massive release of radiation. However, material to dampen the radiation can be dropped directly into the reactor. If, on the other hand, a hole is blown in the containment vessel, a continuous plume of radioactive will issue. It will be very difficult to get material to cover and neutralize the meltdown under that circumstance because the intact section of the containment vessel will protect the meltdown.

There is evidence that there are more discarded fuel rods near the reactors. I do not know this for a fact. But it is consistent with what we have seen of the practices of the Japanese nuclear industry.

I’m probably missing a few things but look at a list of the factors I have cited.

1. From one to six reactors could meltdown singly or together.

2. Surface fuel rods could be as dangerous as reactor meltdown and at least one storage area is burning. It could produce a surface explosion similar in a way to Chernobyl.

3. The changing wind patterns (this is winter and a rough one) could drive a radioactive cloud in almost any direction. If the reactors meltdown at different times the individual radiation clouds could go in different directions.

4. Will the containment vessels be shattered revealing the core or will they be fractured or holed in different places? That will be a major factor in the initial release of radiation. After that, it will be a major factor in how much radiation the plant emits continuously.

5. Will the core be exposed enough so that chemicals slowing or stopping the nuclear reaction can be delivered to the core? If not, we could be in for a very lengthy expulsion of radioactive plume into the atmosphere.

6. Are there more discarded fuel rods discarded near the any of the six reactors? If so, how many and under what storage conditions? This could radically effect the situation in terms of creating explosions and fires as well as the potential of a meltdown outside a containment vessel.

Because of these six factors, I think there is no way to develop a coherent prediction of how much radiation will reach the United States. But these factors are certainly not encouraging for the Japanese.

James Pilant

Suicide Mission

On By southwerkIn business ethics
Samurai - Courtesy of Photobucket

So, it’s come down to this. I have heard that the next 24 to 48 hours will be critical. I am guessing the 18th or the 19th myself. My heart goes out to those workers who are about to make a difficult sacrifice.

James Pilant

From the Huffington Post –

According to the official, the U.S. believes a larger evacuation zone should be imposed and that the next 24-48 hours are “critical.”

“It would be hard to describe how alarming this is right now,” ABC quoted the anonymous official as saying.

The nuclear crisis in Japan has intensified since the massive earthquake first damaged nuclear facilities. On Wednesday, the White House advised Americans within 50 miles of the Fukushima nuclear facility to evacuate and plant employees were temporarily forced to retreat as radiation levels “soared.”

The difficulties caused by the evacuations were blamed for “escalating” the chances of a meltdown.

“They need to stop pulling out people — and step up with getting them back in the reactor to cool it. There is a recognition this is a suicide mission,” the unnamed U.S. official was quoted by ABC as saying.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s chief claimed there is no water in one of the spent fuel pools at the Fukushima nuclear plant, which Japanese officials have denied. According to the AP, “If NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko is correct, this would mean there’s nothing to stop the fuel rods from getting hotter and ultimately melting down.” White House spokesman Jay Carney said on Wednesday that the situation in Japan is “deteriorating and fast-moving.”

Cables recently released by WikiLeaks show the Japanese government was warned about the design of its nuclear reactors years ago, and did not act.

GE $1 Billion Nuclear Unit at Risk as Nations Mull Atomic Future (via Bloomberg)

On By southwerkIn business ethics

From Bloomberg –

General Electric Co. (GE)’s goal of broadening its $1 billion nuclear service-and-parts business with sales of new reactors risks stalling as world leaders reconsider the future of atomic energy.

Governments from Germany, which halted 25 percent of its nuclear-generated electricity, to India, with $175 billion in planned spending by 2030, are reassessing the technology after Japan’s March 11 earthquake and tsunami crippled a power plant and raised the threat of a meltdown.

Political doubts after the Japan disaster may signal dwindling appetite for new plants, and the reactors that Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Immelt has said he wants to pursue. Three reactors at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi plant use a GE design, including the damaged No. 1 unit that began operating in 1971.

“We want to look at, just like the whole industry, the details of what happened here,” GE Power & Water CEO Steve Bolze said yesterday in an interview. “There is going to be a lot of discussion, and we’re part of that process.”

While the President and Congress are taking a “Damn the Torpedoes” approach and reaffirming their commitment to nuclear power, the business world is having some doubts. I expect the doubts to get worse in the next few days.

I should make note of the pro nuclear vitriol being unleashed in the last few days against those who would “exploit” the crisis. Further, I have seen a good number of times the idea that this is a good development for the American nuclear industry. This is a good example of corporate and political PR techniques gaining wide usage. You attack the enemy’s strongest point. The reality is simple and it will not change no matter how much is written and how much contempt for opponents of nuclear power is expressed, these events call into question the very idea of producing power through nuclear energy.

How that debate works out will depend heavily on the events of the next few days.

James Pilant

Latest Press Release from the Nuclear Regulatory Agency

On By southwerkIn business ethics

This is the United States Nuclear Regulatory Agency’s latest press release No. 11-409, 3-15-11. This is every last word of it, all of it.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission Seal - Courtesy Wikipedia Commons

NRC ANALYSIS CONTINUES TO SUPPORT JAPAN’S PROTECTIVE ACTIONS
NRC analysts overnight continued their review of radiation data related to the damaged Japanese nuclear reactors. The analysts continue to conclude the steps recommend by Japanese authorities parallel those the United States would suggest in a similar situation.
The Japanese authorities Monday recommended evacuation to 20 kilometers around the affected reactors and said that persons out to 30 kilometers should shelter in place.
Those recommendations parallel the protective actions the United States would suggest should dose limits reach 1 rem to the entire body and 5 rem for the thyroid, an organ particularly susceptible to radiation uptake. The currently reported Japanese radiation measurements are well below these guidelines.
A rem is a measure of radiation dose. The average American is exposed to approximately 620 millirems, or 0.62 rem, of radiation each year from natural and manmade sources.

Their writer has brevity down to an art. The central message here is a combination of “they are doing what we would do” and a sort of background, implied “Go team” for the Japanese. Some of the writers who have commented on this blog in the last few days feel that their government here in the United States is letting them down when it comes to information – for instance, the probabilities of radiation reaching the West Coast and other parts of the United States.

This kind of terse press release does nothing to assuage the public’s fears and, in fact, gives the impression of studied indifference.

This series of incidents in Japan is one of the great historical sagas of this 21st Century. History is being made virtually by the hour.

The United States is ill served by this limited and useless public information during such a crisis.

James Pilant

Somber Japan emperor makes unprecedented address to nation (via Talking Points Memo)

On By southwerkIn business ethics1 Comment

Emperor Akihito - courtesy CNN.

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese Emperor Akihito made an unprecedented televised address to his disaster-stricken nation on Wednesday, expressing deep worry about the crisis at damaged nuclear reactors and urging people to lend each other a helping hand in difficult times.

Looking somber and stoic, the 77-year-old Akihito said the problems at Japan’s nuclear-power reactors, where authorities are battling to prevent a catastrophe, were unpredictable after an earthquake he described as “unprecedented in scale.”

This illustrates the seriousness of the situation. This morning the Japanese were planning a helicopter drop of water and other materials to slow the fires at the reactors. After a single helicopter flew over the site, the mission was aborted. It is safe to assume that radiation levels were too high for a safe mission.

We are reaching the point where they may have to ask helicopter and ground crews to enter the area in spite of the high radiation levels. They are running out of options very quickly. I believe they will have to evacuate in the next day or so. I also predict volunteers will remain in spite of the almost certain personal cost. They are short of every kind of effective response to the crisis but they are not short of courage.

James Pilant

 

(Canada) National Post Map

On By southwerkIn business ethics

This is the National Post’s special report page on the atomic plants in Japan. You can see in the lower right corner a map of the jet stream which seems to point the radiation toward the U.S. I have no idea if that is the correct interpretation. There is a lot of interesting stuff on it. You can probably see it better here at their web site.

James Pilant

The Japanese Government Has Sent the Workers Back into the Plant

On By southwerkIn business ethics1 Comment

This is all I have. It came in on Reuters “comments.” I want this to be right. If the workers are on site, there is a chance that meltdown can be avoided.

Japan nuclear agency: Evacuation order of plant workers lifted at 0230 GMT after radiation falls

This came in later —

I am very pleased.

James Pilant

From MSNBC

Workers at a quake-damaged atomic power plant briefly suspended operations and evacuated Wednesday after a surge in radiation made it too dangerous to remain there, dealing a setback to Japan’s frantic efforts to stem a nuclear crisis.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said work on dousing the overheated reactors with water was disrupted by the need to withdraw.

“All the workers there have suspended their operations. We have urged them to evacuate, and they have,” Japan’s chief cabinet secretary, Edano said, according to a translation by NHK television.

The workers were allowed back into the plant after almost an hour when the radiation levels had fallen.

It’s possible that evaporation from reactor No. 3 may have caused the temporary surge, Edano said, although that can’t be immediately confirmed.

Obama Defends Nuclear Energy (via Yahoo News)

On By southwerkIn business ethics4 Comments

This popped up on Yahoo news just as I had finished posting that the Japanese government had abandoned the nuclear station after the radiation became too dangerous for the workers.

I suppose comment is not necessary at this time.

James Pilant

From Yahoo News –

President Barack Obama on Tuesday defended the use of nuclear energy despite the calamity in Japan where a nuclear power plant leaked radiation in the wake of a devastating earthquake and tsunami.

The president told Pittsburgh television station KDKA that all energy sources have their downsides but that the U.S. — which gets 20 percent of its electricity from nuclear power — needs to look at the full array of them.

The president said facilities in the U.S. are closely monitored and built to withstand earthquakes, even though nothing’s failsafe. Proponents of nuclear power fear their efforts to win over the public to the safety of their industry have been dealt a tremendous blow by the disaster in Japan.