Nucleur Plants in Japan may meltdown after quake

[Nikonfan]

Many of the plants are not able to cool the reactors and they are evacuation the nearby populations. Radiation levels are 1,000 times normal right now and getting worse.

Radiation Levels Surge Outside Two Nuclear Plants in Japan - FoxNews.com

[jkderby]

We will get Hondas and Toyotas that will glow in the dark.

[Buddha]

The report I read said the coolant pumps quit because the diesel generators quit after an hour so that there was no AC to run the pumps and circulate coolant. There has to be more. For engineers who don't normally miss a trick, this doesn't make sense.

[zachary]

This could be another Chernobyl. Very sad and very frightening to say the least.

[Buddha]

It won't be a Chernobyl. Even the Russians admitted Chernobyl was a bad idea and built only the one.
The Japanese plant is an entirely different design. It won't leak like Chernobyl if it does meltdown.

[Buddha]

Here is a link to a Reuters article on the reactor.

Snap analysis: Japan may have hours to prevent nuclear meltdown | Reuters

[TxTowman]

Hopefully it will trigger upgrades for all plants

[surlynkid]

i work with plenty of japanese "engineers". they miss more tricks than you care to know. it is all about arrogance. to quote, the japanese believe americans are "monocellular". they think we are stupid.

my credentials to state any engineering claims --- B.S. chem engr with high honors from large engineering program and 20+ years experience.

[Dobick]

the latest just came out an hour ago on AP that the most affected reactor may melt down, and that cooling must take place in a matter of hours and not days to keep this from occuring.

AP News | EagleHerald | Marinette, Wisconsin/Menominee, Michigan USA

[TxTowman]

WOW! I wonder what this is going to do.

hopefully they will get it contained before a major catastrophe happens.

[Dobick]

on a side note -- I will take this opportunity to plug the iphone app called "ap mobile"

if there is any breaking news of significant interest it will send you a push notification. So far it has only notified me when the story is of real importance and not something like celebrity news, etc.

I rec'd a notice last night about the earth quake, and then rec'd three tonight - two about the nuclear reactors and one about the NFL melt down.

[tertius]

Fear Mongers.

[Dobick]

Yeah. Your probably right. The crumbling walls of the nuclear reactor is just more fear mongering as well huh?

[iCe]

Originally Posted by surlynkid

i work with plenty of Japanese "engineers". they miss more tricks than you care to know. it is all about arrogance. to quote, the Japanese believe Americans are "mono-cellular". they think we are stupid.

my credentials to state any engineering claims --- B.S. chem engr with high honors from large engineering program and 20+ years experience.

True... but I've always enjoyed working with them and proving them wrong

Originally Posted by Nikonfan

Many of the plants are not able to cool the reactors and they are evacuation the nearby populations. Radiation levels are 1,000 times normal right now and getting worse.

Radiation Levels Surge Outside Two Nuclear Plants in Japan - FoxNews.com

That was a long article that briefly mentioned nuclear reactor problems. I'm not too sure what to make of all this. It would be nice to know if it's the primary cooling system or secondary cooling system. I guess if they don't have power to run the pumps it's both? I would be surprised if they don't have a contingency plan for this scenario.

[iCe]

Originally Posted by Dobick

the latest just came out an hour ago on AP that the most affected reactor may melt down, and that cooling must take place in a matter of hours and not days to keep this from occuring.

AP News | EagleHerald | Marinette, Wisconsin/Menominee, Michigan USA

This is a little bit more disturbing... I like how the "official" says that since they are in a location where the breeze blows toward the ocean a radiation release wouldn't necessarily pose a hazard. Yo... official guy... we are to the west of you. Downwind...