Japan braces for potential nuclear catastrophe

[Deleted User]

Chernobyl Schnerbobryl. The quake is only 5/7 on the scale; Chernobyl was a 7.

 

[twiztidsinz]

Chernobyl Schnerbobryl. The quake is only 5/7 on the scale; Chernobyl was a 7.

Uh... the quake in Japan was originally reported as 8.9, then upgraded the next day to 9.0.

 

[mrwienerdog]

Yeah right, after all of this over (assuming they succeed which I pray they do), they shouldn't have to work or pay taxes for life.

lucky for them they don't live in the usa where they wouldn't even get health benefits like the 9/11 respondents.

Because it's all about America, isn't it?

 

[Liezah]

'Clearly in a catastrophe'
"It is very clear that we are at a level 6," ASN President Andre-Claude Lacoste told a news conference in Paris. "We are clearly in a catastrophe."

"Right now it's worse than Three Mile Island" but it's nowhere near the levels of radioactivity released during Chernobyl, added Donald Olander, a professor emeritus of nuclear engineering at University of California at Berkeley.
At Three Mile Island, the radiation leak was held inside the containment shell — thick concrete armor around the reactor. The Chernobyl reactor had no shell and was also operational when the disaster struck. The Japanese reactors automatically shut down when the quake hit.
The IAEA said about 150 people in Japan had received monitoring for radiation levels and that measures to "decontaminate" 23 of them had been taken.
Clearing up nuclear questions
Though Japanese officials urged calm, Tuesday's developments fueled a growing panic amid widespread uncertainty over what would happen next.
In the worst-case scenario, one or more reactor cores would completely melt down, a disaster that would spew large amounts of radioactivity into the atmosphere.

Source

 

[Mantis41]

Two different scales. Both are logrithmic so a 4 in either scale is 10 times greater than a 3

International Nuclear Event Scale
7 – Major Accident
6 – Serious Accident
5 – Accident With Wider Consequences
4 – Accident With Local Consequences
3 – Serious Incident
2 – Incident
1 – Anomaly
0 – Deviation (No Safety Significance)

Richter Magnitude Scale
< 3.4 - Detected only by seismometers
3.5 - 4.2 - Just about noticeable indoors
4.3 - 4.8 - Most people notice them, windows rattle.
4.9 - 5.4 - Everyone notices them, dishes may break, open doors swing.
5.5 - 6.1 - Slight damage to buildings, plaster cracks, bricks fall.
6.2 - 6.9 - Much damage to buildings: chimneys fall, houses move on foundations.
7.0 - 7.3 - Serious damage: bridges twist, walls fracture, buildings may collapse.
7.4 - 7.9 - Gr-eat damage, most buildings collapse.
> 8.0 - One every 5 to 10 years Total damage, surface waves seen, objects thrown in the air.

 

[Mantis41]

Latest updates:

http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2011/03/78374.html

Fukushima nuke plant situation 'worsened considerably': think tank
WASHINGTON, March 15, Kyodo

The situation at the quake-hit Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant in northeastern Japan ''has worsened considerably,'' the Institute for Science and International Security said in a statement released Tuesday.

Referring to fresh explosions that occurred earlier in the day at the site and problems in a pool storing spent nuclear fuel rods, the Washington-based think tank said, ''This accident can no longer be viewed as a level 4 on the International Nuclear and Radiological Events scale that ranks events from 1 to 7.''

Noting that a level 4 incident involves ''only local radiological consequences,'' it said the ongoing crisis is ''now closer to a level 6, and it may unfortunately reach a level 7'' -- a worst case scenario with extensive health and environmental consequences.

''The international community should increase assistance to Japan to both contain the emergency at the reactors and to address the wider contamination. We need to find a solution together,'' it said.

==Kyodo

Also good source for info:
http://live.reuters.com/Event/Japan_earthquake2

 

[MelodieOctavia]

It's amazing how bad things have gone in a matter of hours.

I truly hope this gets rectified. A true meltdown would have a devastating impact on the entire world economy, if not more.

 

[Mantis41]

Not good at all.
Apparently the containment pool at #4 has just caught fire again.

 

[SPH73]

Lam Ching-wan, a chemical pathologist at the University of Hong Kong, said...

"Very acute radiation, like that which happened in Chernobyl and to the Japanese workers at the nuclear power station, is unlikely for the population," he said.

"But you're nowhere near a Chernobyl ... Chernobyl there was no impediment to release, it just blew everything out into the atmosphere," he said. "You've still got a big chunk of the containment there holding most of it in."


Source

The nuclear crisis in Japan is officially worse than Chernobyl,

No, its not even close to Chernobyl. And those are direct quotes from the very article you posted. Which obviously you didn't read.

OP confirmed a fear mongering troll.

Go back to 4chan where people like you belong.

 

[Mantis41]

Unfortunately it is not scaremongering at all. If the containment pools are exposed and allowed to boil dry this could pose a threat just as dangerous as the Chernobyl disaster due to the amount of material in the pools and the fact they are not in containment.

This is why they are desperately trying to replace water in the pools to prevent an exothermic reaction and wide spread radioactive release. From reports it appears fire has broken out in the #4 containment pool again. Let’s just hope they can keep enough water in the pools. If the rod temperatures reach around 4000 deg F then they are screwed.

 

[chyyran]

I just heard on the news that this meltdown might become the *second Level 7 disaster on the INES scale.. But then it's also rated a 4.. and a 6...

This is not good, now I can't go to Japan for vacation anymore

Poor Japan.

*The first and only being Chernobyl

 

[MelodieOctavia]

*snip

It sounds like you are just as much of a troll as he is, if not more, if he was even trolling at all. It was pretty evident with the 4chan remark. Try harder.

Anyway, sources like AP and CNN are even reporting that this could potentially be worse than Chernobyl, if a full out Meltdown were to happen in just ONE reactor. It's not scaremongering, it's not FUD, this is real and should be treated with both caution and haste.

 

[SPH73]

Unfortunately it is not scaremongering at all...

Gee, I wonder who knows more about this subject? Internet trolls or the scientists quoted in this article?

Dear Trolls, where did you get your degrees?

After the Chernobyl incident there were 1,000 cases of lukemia reported in only the surrounding village. 900+ of those cases were cured. And these were people who lived right next to the reactor. There are still people living near the reactor today.

I think the hysterical response to this crisis on the internet is because of two factors. One are hate filled, fear mongering trolls. They hate themselves and they hate the world so they want everyone to be afraid and miserable just like they are. (Just visit 4chan for a minute and you'll see what I mean.)

The other factor is age. A lot of people on the internet are young and stupid. At least on this site. I know the US educational system has failed, but it appears things are no better in the rest of the world.

 

[stinkoman]

Hoping that it isn't that terrible if it happens. Japan's got it rough right now.

 

[Mantis41]

If anyone is interested in the effects of the Chernobyl accident, this was quite an informative read.
http://www.greenfacts.org/en/chernobyl/index.htm#2

 

[Joe88]

a fire has now started in one of the reactor buildings
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/15/...E72E90T20110315

 

[SPH73]

If anyone is interested in the effects of the Chernobyl accident, this was quite an informative read.
http://www.greenfacts.org/en/chernobyl/index.htm#2

That's a great article. Hopefully some people on this forum will read it an get informed. There's nothing worse than ignorance.

And for those of you hoping for the worst, that reactor fire is already under control according to various live blogs.

Spoiler

Trolls lose again

 

[mechagouki]

Another good article here:

Gregg Easterbrook for Reuters

 

[GeekyGuy]

Everyone is, of course, entitled to express his or her opinion, but let's not let this discussion fall into the gutter. Regardless of the differences in opinion, one thing's for certain: many people living in Japan and the surrounding areas have trying times ahead of them. We might not know the extent of the danger, but we do know there's some serious shit going on over there right now. Keep the discourse peaceful please.

 

[monkat]

Damn Pearl Harbour...