Monday, May 23, 2011
Two Nuclear Reactors Were Damaged by the Earthquake, BEFORE the Tsunami Hit ... and the Entire Nuclear Reactor Design Is Flawed
Bloomberg reported last week:
A radiation alarm went off at Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Fukushima nuclear power plant before the tsunami hit on March 11, suggesting that contrary to earlier assumptions the reactors were damaged by the earthquake that spawned the wall of water.
A monitoring post on the perimeter of the plant about 1.5 kilometers (1 mile) from the No. 1 reactor went off at 3:29 p.m., minutes before the station was overwhelmed by the tsunami that knocked out backup power that kept reactor cooling systems running, according to documents supplied by the company. The monitor was set to go off at high levels of radiation, an official said.
Nuclear expert Arnie Gundersen just confirmed that some of the Japanese nuclear reactors were severely damaged even before the tsunami hit.
Specifically, Gundersen reports that the containment vessel at Fukushima 1 started leaking and melting down before the tsunami hit. Similarly, Gundersen notes that the fuel pool at reactor 4 cracked and started leaking after the earthquake and before the water hit.
Remember that Japanese seismologists had warned for years that Japan's reactors were extremely vulnerable to earthquakes, with one top seismologist noting:It's like a kamikaze terrorist wrapped in bombs just waiting to explode.
Gundersen also points out that Florida's nuclear reactors are vulnerable to tidal surges from hurricanes, and California's reactors vulnerable to tidal surges caused by earthquakes.
Gundersen notes that this shows that the entire design of these old-fashioned nuclear reactors is a failure.
Finally, Gundersen says - I've repeatedly noted - that conditions are in many ways even more precarious in the U.S. than in Japan.
The Implications of the Fukushima Accident on the World's Operating Reactors from Fairewinds Associates on Vimeo.
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We all watch the horrible images of people following the tragedy in Japan. It makes us more aware of not only the nuclear hazards but also not having food or water. I think the entire west coast of the US should be more prepared. My son and his family live in San Diego and I plan to get them an earthquake kit. If a damaging quake hits, we never know how long it will take for disaster relief to get to your location. We need to be more aware because we never know when disasters will happen.
ReplyDeleteLooking around meself these days, I see reward seekers as today's breeding population. Not masters of their own minds, but reward seekers. All of these fission thermonuclear plants are and have always been inherently unstable with corrosion problems, spent fuel problems (This problem alone has the potential to kill all life on earth except cockroaches.), and the rest. It was always known and ignored since the first plant went online. The builders of these things are called responsible citizens because they drive nice cars and live in nice houses and smirk at the people dying of radiation poisoning in Japan and the mess in the 48 states. There are some changes that need to be made against those 'in control'. Is there anybody out there who does not know what 'NEED' means?
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