In just a few weeks, this disaster will simply become a distant memory in the minds of many people unaffected around the world.This looks really scary. Perhaps the end of the world is near... Perhaps 2012 is real...
The 13 backup diesel plants failed. Supposed to pump coolant. It is a lesson for nuclear plant designers. A rethink for those countries thinking of setting up a nuclear power plant. Everyone thinks 13 backups sure fail-safe. Well, think again. Think Chernobyl and before that, 3MileIsland.
Not exactly, it was the explosive ejection of nuclear fuel debris and resulting fire in the exposed core of the No. 04 reactor which had then resulted in large quantity of radioactive isotopes being released into the atmosphere that constitute the majority of fallout contamination in the Chernobyl nuclear meltdown accident.Chernobyl, on the other hand, uses graphite to contain radioactivity levels. When the incident at Chernobyl took place, the explosion blasted the graphite into ultra fine particles, which, unlike steam, tend to linger in the air a lot longer and settle in at much higher concentrations. That explains why Chernobyl remained radioactive for so long.
Grigorii Khmel said:![]()
We arrived there at 10 or 15 minutes to two in the morning ... We saw graphite scattered about. Misha asked: "What is graphite?" I kicked it away. But one of the fighters on the other truck picked it up. "It's hot," he said. The pieces of graphite were of different sizes, some big, some small enough to pick up ...
Not exactly, it was the explosive ejection of nuclear fuel debris and resulting fire in the exposed core of the No. 04 reactor which had then resulted in large quantity of radioactive isotopes being released into the atmosphere that constitute the majority of fallout contamination in the Chernobyl nuclear meltdown accident.
... and neither was the graphite moderator "blasted into ultra fine particles".
In an unlikely event of a breech in the Unit 01 Boiling Water Reactor (BVR) reactor vessel of the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant and its surrounding containment structure following a meltdown will eventually result in the release and dispersion of primarily Iodine-131, Strontium-90 and Caesium-137 radiacotive isotopes with a half-life of 8.02 days, 28.8 years and 30.1 years respectively into the environment.have to look at the respective halflifes and try to figure out when they decay until a relatively safe level.
I read a report that the nuclear power plant works are attempting to cool the reactors by feeding it with a mixture of both sea water and boric acid. The boric acid will supposedly counteract the sea water and ensure that the salt from within will not react to produce a working circuit.
In all fairness, i think most of the Japanese are more concerned about the state of the nuclear power plants. Food, water and electrical shortages can be dealt with in time, but if lethal amounts of radiation start leaking from the nuclear power plants. it can take up to years or generations for the radiation levels to subside. Not to mention that leaking radiation will directly affect what remains of Japan's food and water supplies.
Let's hope the Japanese can work quickly to secure the nuclear plants for any further mishaps within the next 24-72 hours.
In an unlikely event of a breech in the Unit 01 Boiling Water Reactor (BVR) reactor vessel of the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant and its surrounding containment structure following a meltdown will eventually result in the release and dispersion of primarily Iodine-131, Strontium-90 and Caesium-137 radiacotive isotopes with a half-life of 8.02 days, 28.8 years and 30.1 years respectively into the environment.
Iodine-131 is the deadliest of the three and may result in thyroid cancer thus the stocking up of potassium iodide tablets by the Japanese government as a countermeasure but it has a relatively short half-life of only 8.02 days. It is Strontium-90 and Caesium-137 that will be of a major concern as they will eventually be deposited back into the earth, reintroduced into the food chain and accumulate within the bodies of the local populace - irradiating them from within.