Quote of the Day
People are more easily led than driven.
David Harold Fink
Fukushima Nuclear Incident Update
The Daiichi site continues to be the focus of emergency efforts; the other sites have been stabilized. Unless otherwise noted, subsequent references in this and relevant future update summaries will refer to the relevant Daiichi units.
NEI reported the following:
- over 100 tons of water were sprayed at the top of the unit 4 building, for the first time targeting spent fuel rod pool 4.
- helicopters have verified the surface temperatures of all 4 spent fuel pools of ongoing concern to be < 100ºC
- pressure has stabilized in reactor 3, meaning an anticipated venting was cancelled. (As reactors 5 and 6 stabilized after power restored, their expected venting was also cancelled.) [Venting has a small risk for any radiation not caught by relevant filtering.]
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) writes:
- containment vessel pressure indication restored for reactor 1 on March 19
- no white smoke observed from reactor 2 since March 19
- mitigated white smoke observed from reactor 3 since March 19
- reactor 2 power restored; however, no status yet on components (pumps, etc.) possibly disabled during the earthquake
- sufficient power had been restored to put reactors 5 and 6 in cold shutdown (cooling systems stable and under control, low pressure and temperature: reactor coolant < 100ºC). NOTE: reactor 4 had had its core out before the earthquake; its relevant issue has been the infrastructure for the spent fuel pool containing 250 tons of used fuel. This leaves reactors 1-3 as the only reactors not in cold shutdown.
- spent fuel pool notes: used fuel rods are cooled in the pools for 1 to 3 years after removal from the reactor pressurized vessel. (After a minimum of 18 months, the used fuel is transferred to a separate common use spent fuel pool.) The core assemblies are positioned/maintained in the pools to control against fission reactions (e.g., control rods, boric acid, etc.) Sufficient heat removal processes and coolant levels are maintained to lower risk of boiling by or exposure of the fuel rods (i.e., possible hydrogen generation from the zirconium cladding). Spent pool 4 held more fuel than the other ponds because the reactor 4 core had been removed during maintenance last November.
- the earthquake caused severe damage to the upper floors of the buildings (spent fuel pools on top) for reactors 3 and 4, possibly affecting pool structures, and/or to the torus of reactor 3
- spent fuel pool statuses: firefighters are continuing to add water to pool 3 and have started adding water to pool 4. The separately stored common use spent fuel pool is reported stable.
Michele Kearney's Nuclear Wire has the following updates:
- the Nuclear Communications Network notes that the University of Tokyo has estimated that the height of the tsunami waves reached at least 23 meters, more than the 10 meter wall. (The tsunami wave is thought to have disabled the emergency diesel generators, the loss of which rendered various electrical components unusable, including the spent fuel pool heat removal system and various pumps.) [I should note here there are different wall/tsunami height statistics cited elsewhere, indicating the required protective wall heights at 5.7 meters (Daiichi) and 5.2 meters (Daini) respectfully, while TEPCO estimated the corresponding tsunami heights at more 10 meters and 12 meters. Whatever the actual measurements, it is clear that tsunami waves easily cleared the protective walls.]
- Manual injections of seawater continue into the reactor containment vessels and the primary containment vessels continue for reactors 1 through 3
- NISA reports control room functionality has been restored for reactor 2; work is ongoing to supply power to the residual heat removal systems for reactors 2 and 3 (including the spent fuel pools)
- all radiation readings continue to improve downward across the board, including outlying Japanese municipalities
The always interesting Hiroshima Syndrome today points out that because of exponential drop offs of decay heat, that after about a week or so within a spent fuel pool (remember, for instance, the half-life of radioactive iodine is 8 days and the core assembly from reactor 4 was deposited in the spent pool last November), the fuel heat primarily comes from lower-concentration isotopes. The author also debunks media speculation about water sprays allegedly to cool down the external surfaces of reactor vessels. (The water sprays are to the top of buildings where the spent fuel rod pools are located.)
After the NRC Chief blunder last week speculating on reactor conditions (cf. Friday's post), it's a relief to hear Energy Secretary Steven Chu say the Obama Administration believes that the worst may be over. I would like to point out that I said in Wednesday's post "I'm more inclined to think the situation is finally beginning to approach a manageable state."
A very nice radiation dose chart is available here.
Reforms: Thumbs UP!
Short-Term Elections: Thumbs DOWN!
Approval of some nine measures (including political rights, presidential term limits, and emergency rule reform) means that as promised by the military, its rule will be short-lived. (If rejected, military rule could extend to up to 2 years.) Short-term elections heavily favor the two most well-organized groups: the incumbent National Democratic Party and the Muslim Brotherhood, whom makes no secret about its desire to establish an Islamic state. The Muslim Brotherhood had an aggressive get-out-the-vote campaign. Other Egyptian pro-democracy forces are left scrambling to establish parties, just months away from elections. I do not like the chances of the National Democratic Party being able to reinvent its image and distance itself from 30 years of repressive rule (think of Mubarak-bashing on steroids). Other political aspirants are scrambling to organize.
My reservations here are the same as with any democratic state (including the US): there must be safeguards for the rights of individuals and minorities (e.g., Coptic Christians). The Coptic Christians, who have been subjected to multiple attacks by Islamic terrorists over the past year, are worried that the eventual government or constitution may systematically exclude them, e.g., from judicial appointments or staffing important government posts and hence voted against the changes, primarily because of the expedited election schedule.
Lifetime Cable Sunday Night Series: Coming Home: Thumbs UP!
The producers of the popular ABC-TV series "Extreme Makeover: Home Editions" have put an innovative twist on the popular Youtube videos of servicemen coming home from overseas and reuniting with their families, which I have occasionally emedded in this blog. The show's producers help stage imaginative reunions with an unsuspecting targeted loved one, usually under a pretext of doing a news story on military families with parents serving overseas. It can be something as simple as a reinvented coming-out-of-a-cake stunt for a preschool little girl to an elaborate reunion with a 12-year-old violinist invited to be a guest performer at a symphony Christmas concert. Previously telecast episodes are available at the official show site (see above link). As always, speaking in particular as someone who has been in such a family and in turn a couple of my siblings' families have also gone through it, I am grateful for service members serving isolated tours overseas or on Navy ships and submarines in service to our country.
Something You Won't Hear From the Anti-Nukes
Consider the death rates by Terra Watt Hour (data from Next Big Future and 2004 Energy Sources):
ENERGY TYPE | PCT USE | DEATH RATE |
|---|---|---|
Oil | 38 | 36.00 |
Coal | 26 | 161.00 |
Natural Gas | 23 | 4.00 |
Nuclear | 6 | .04 |
Hydroelectric | 6 | 00.10-01.40 |
Misc Alternative | 1 | 00.15-12.00 |
Political Humor
"In a speech Obama said women earn 75 cents for each dollar a man makes, to which Sarah Palin said, 'Have you met Todd?'" –Jimmy Fallon
[I wonder what the guy can buy with the 25 cents his wife lets him keep? (OK, now you know why I'm still single...)]
"Tea Party candidate Michele Bachmann said the Revolutionary War started in New Hampshire when it really started in Massachusetts. Interesting that a woman who believes so strongly in states rights can't get her states right." –Jay Leno
[Sorry, Charlie: voters don't want politicians to remember the right states; they want politicians to remember state rights.]
Musical Interlude: My Favorite Groups
America, "Tin Man"
