Japanese Nuclear Plant Explosion

[skeeter]

Just came over te news that the whole island of Japan moved ten inches after the quake also the earth axis has tilted on its rotation maybe that will bring back some more rain.

Now they are claiming the entire landmass moved 8 FEET ! http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=weather/earthquake_center&id=8009020

I wonder if we will hear from any of the Japanese bass fishermen ?

[Tim Smith]

Now they are claiming the entire landmass moved 8 FEET ! http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=weather/earthquake_center&id=8009020

I wonder if we will hear from any of the Japanese bass fishermen ?

This one seems to be a rare case where the early reports under-reported the damage in general.

Clearly this is far worse than Katrina was for us. Thousands dead, economy in immediate retraction, massive loss of infrastructure and a big chunk of the power grid gone and threatening to contaminate the countryside.

And the nuclear plant situation continues to worsen. There was another explosion last night and they're afraid another one might happen today. The plant is definitely leaking radioactive material and it's not clear if the situation there has been or will be contained soon.

A US aircraft carrier in the Pacific has had to reposition to avoid low level radiation spreading downwind from the plant...

...and now Germany has suspended renewal of their nuclear plants in response to the Japanese meltdown, making it almost inevitable that they won't reach their short term carbon emission reduction goals.

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20110314-708581.html

[Fishinokie1]

Just came over te news that the whole island of Japan moved ten inches after the quake also the earth axis has tilted on its rotation maybe that will bring back some more rain.

Just to get a grasp of the size of this disaster.

"The world's fifth-largest, 8.9 magnitude quake was caused when the Pacific tectonic plate dove under the North American plate, which shifted Eastern Japan towards North America by about 13 feet. The quake also shifted the earth's axis by 6.5 inches, shortened the day by 1.6 microseconds, and sank Japan downward by about two feet. As Japan's eastern coastline sunk, the tsunami's waves rolled in"

you can read the rest here...

http://news.yahoo.co...e-of-the-planet

[Fishinokie1]

As you watch the footage of this disaster it will make you wonder how they will ever recover. Most people don't know that Japan OWNS over $885 Billion... yes Billion... of OUR debt. Can you say "time to settle up"! Uncle Sam is going to be writing a big check. Better start stuffin' your extra change under your pillow before Uncle Sam comes looking for it!

[flytyer57]

As you watch the footage of this disaster it will make you wonder how they will ever recover. Most people don't know that Japan OWNS over $885 Billion... yes Billion... of OUR debt. Can you say "time to settle up"! Uncle Sam is going to be writing a big check. Better start stuffin' your extra change under your pillow before Uncle Sam comes looking for it!

They also owe us for the technology that alowed them to nuke themselves.

I'd say that debt has been paid in full a long time ago.

[gotmuddy]

They also owe us for the technology that alowed them to nuke themselves.

I'd say that debt has been paid in full a long time ago.

most definetly. For decades japan was able to use patents to help in their recovery.

[Tim Smith]

As you watch the footage of this disaster it will make you wonder how they will ever recover. Most people don't know that Japan OWNS over $885 Billion... yes Billion... of OUR debt. Can you say "time to settle up"! Uncle Sam is going to be writing a big check. Better start stuffin' your extra change under your pillow before Uncle Sam comes looking for it!

They'll sell the US bonds they own and probably stop purchasing new bonds, yes. Nobody's coming to collect directly.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-japan-global-economy-20110315,0,6650290.story

Now, as it begins the costly process of rebuilding, Japan will almost certainly be buying less Treasury debt and other foreign assets. That in turn could push the United States to pay higher rates on its securities to attract new buyers, eventually putting upward pressure on other U.S. interest rates — including what American consumers pay for credit.

"Interest rates may go up; investors may refuse to take on more Japanese bonds, like Greek and Irish bonds," said Takeo Hoshi, an expert on Japan's economy at UC San Diego.

Potentially adding to the problem, Japan could begin selling some of its existing Treasury holdings, $882 billion as of December, to cover insurance payments for losses or if it has trouble raising finances through bond sales.

I found that exchange student. He's alright but his mom and sister were stranded in downtown Tokyo when the power failed and he was on the coast and ended up having to speed away in a car to escape the tsunami. He's a good kid. Glad he's ok.

[Tim Smith]

Third and fourth explosion inside the containment strutures and fire late today. The reactors are splitting hydrogen off the cooling water molecules and then they're vented into the containment structures around the reactor and exploding. Reports are now coming that pressure has dropped in the "suppression pool", which is apparently the area that normally collects steam for power generation. Radiation around the plant is up 4X and they're finding elevated levels of it 150 miles away. From what I'm reading this seems to mean that something inside the plant has given way and this new radiation represents small amounts of leakage from the containment building around the reactor.

Chances seem high that fuel rods have melted in 3 reactors.

Between the earthquake and tsunami and hydrogen explosions and being filled with water and the reactor core melting it's beginning to seem pretty remarkable that those containment structures are still in place. They're talking about another aftershock of 7+ coming soon. If these containment structures hold I will be impressed.

If on the other hand the containment structure cracks or the reactor core melts and pools at the bottom, the super heated nuclear material can go through the floor of the containment struture and much more radiation will be released.

A lot of engineers are saying this won't happen and that the water at the bottom of the containment facility will cool the material and the fuel is much weaker than it was and the worst is over.

Maybe these nuclear industry experts will be right. This time.

I just watched a video of engineers from the plant in Japan saying that if fuel collects at the bottom of the reactor it could also cause a steam explosion and rupture the containment building.

Wind is supposedly about to shift back to the east, back over Japanese population centers.

190 irradiated so far, 24 beyond safe limits.

Taka says 20,000 are dead from the tsunami and earthquake.

[Tim Smith]

http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Editorial-Board-Blog/2011/0315/A-nuclear-meltdown-in-Japan-Not-if-these-brave-workers-can-help-it

Perspective straightener.

[Wayne SW/MO]

190 irradiated so far, 24 beyond safe limits.

Do you have a link to this Tim? Everything I've read says that there have been no serious irradiation so far.

Beyond the journalistic hype it appears that it is a situation where time is on their favor, if they can contain the integrity of the fuel. If I read the scientific s right, in a nutshell they have to keep water on the rods until they cool to the point they are not boiling away the coolant faster than they can replace it. They say this will happen if they are successful in the mean time..