Sunday, June 12, 2011

6/12: Clear Evidence of Ongoing Criticality at the Fukushima Reactors, SFP #4 In BAD SHAPE

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/06/12/984424/-Fukushima-4-Spent-Fuel-Pool-in-Critical-Condition?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Evidence of the ongoing criticality--i.e., fission--stems from the high levels of Iodine-131, a type of ionizing radiation that has a short half life (7 or 8 days as I recall).

Spent fuel pool #4, which contains the fuel from reactor #4 as well as the "spent fuel," is at the top of building #4. This building is on the verge of collapsing. Now Tepco claims that the water in the pool cannot easily be cooled because a pipe is broken. Pictures of the broken pipes are sobering.

Now for some excerpts from the Daily Kos article
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/06/12/984424/-Fukushima-4-Spent-Fuel-Pool-in-Critical-Condition?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

"Nuclear workers who inspected the area in the Fukushima 4 reactor building under the spent fuel for the first time since the M9.0 earthquake and tsunami were met by a scene of destruction. TEPCO's plans to cool the spent fuel pool using existing plumbing will have to be scrapped. The plumbing that would have been used to cool the spent fuel pool is broken, bent and twisted beyond repair. The water in the spent fuel pool is close to boiling. TEPCO has been unable to cool the spent fuel pool below a temperature NHK reports as "above 80 degrees Celsius."...


"...Moreover, the continued high levels of I-131, with a half life of just 8 days, near unit 4 could indicate criticality events might have taken place in the spent fuel pool since the earthquake. Because we don't know how the radioactive water got to where it is this is just a possibility. However, the ratios of Iodine-131 to Cesium-137 should be dropping rapidly because Cesium-137 has a much longer half life of 30 years. The continued high levels of Iodine-131 at several sites near units 2, 3 and 4 indicates that something is happening but we don't know what it is. (MAJIA HERE: WE DO KNOW WHAT IT IS--FISSION!)...

MAJIA HERE: A very good summary of the situation can be found here, "Fukushima: The Elephant in the Room"


http://www.opednews.com/populum/page.php?f=Fukushima--The-Elephant-i-by-lila-york-110611-262.html#startcomments






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