Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Yesterday's Reported Event


Yesterday I posted a link to a video and article claiming major problems were occurring at unit 4.
http://thecontrail.com/profiles/blogs/red-alert-fukushima-spent-fuel-pools-exploded-on-fire-now


I still do not know the truth of what transpired. 

That said, the data do point to a recent fission event at the plant: 

Nuckelchen captured an event dated October 17
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDYjx_VRAO8&feature=youtu.be


My review of 3 weeks of events reported by Tepco and MEXT in Japan available at Fukushima Diary found:

1. Problems reported at unit 1
Temperature picked up in reactor1 again  Posted by Mochizuki on October 1st, 2012
October 17: Reactor1 losing water and temperature is in increasing trend http://fukushima-diary.com/2012/10/reactor1-losing-water-and-temperature-is-in-increasing-trend/

October 18: Cloud-shaped white gas came above reactor3 on live camera http://fukushima-diary.com/2012/10/cloud-shaped-white-gas-came-above-reactor3-on-live-camera/
–JNN live camera caught cloud-shaped white gas coming up above reactor3 at 1:04 10/18/2012.(JST)
–Because lower half of the screen is covered, it’s impossible to detect where it came from

Heart of the Rose kindly provided this link to remind us of the large issue in the ground near until 1 previously

2. Two separate detections of Iodine-131

Iodine 131 measured from sewage sludge in Kumamoto Posted by Mochizuki on October 2nd, 2012

Iodine131 measured for 67% in Yamanashi, “2400 Bq/Kg on 8/16/2012″ Posted by Mochizuki on October 6th, 2012


3. Destruction of radiation detection devices in Fukushima:
October 20: Monitoring posts are destroyed by someone in Fukushima http://fukushima-diary.com/2012/10/monitoring-posts-are-destroyed-by-someone-in-fukushima/

4. Subsequent reports of rising radiation levels in Japan, Japanese Gov data (MEXT)

Radiation level increasing at 5km area from Fukushima plant Posted by Mochizuki on October 4th, 2012

Oct 18: Radiation level is picking up in Tokyo
http://fukushima-diary.com/2012/10/radiation-level-is-picking-up-in-tokyo/

Oct 18: Radiation level keeps going up in Tokyo and Kanagawa area
http://fukushima-diary.com/2012/10/radiation-level-keeps-going-up-in-tokyo-and-kanagawa-area

October 20:Radiation level spiked from 0.06 to 0.21μSv/h in Kagawa http://fukushima-diary.com/2012/10/radiation-level-spiked-from-0-06-to-0-21%CE%BCsvh-in-kagawa

Radiation level is going up in Fukushima despite decontamination, “From 2 to 10.36 μSv/h in street gutter”Posted by Mochizuki on October 22nd, 2012 http://fukushima-diary.com/2012/10/radiation-level-is-going-up-in-fukushima-despite-decontamination-from-2-to-10-36-%CE%BCsvh-in-street-gutter/

 

CONCLUSION: There may have been another criticality - 
However, we have no way of verifying what exactly has happened and what unit has been impacted. From the reports it looks like unit 1 (see Heart's suggestion above about the ground fissure).
We also have no idea of knowing whether it is worse than what occurred in March 2011, June 2011, and Nov-Dec 2011?

We should NOT panic.

We should pay more attention to radiation monitoring data, jet stream patterns, precipitation, and monitor our time outside accordingly.

So, my question is: Where are these levels coming from?






Where would the spikes in Bakersfield be coming from? 

The San Onofre plant, which is closest, is offline; although, it is planned for re-start http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/state&id=8841101

Bakersfield is west of the Palo Verde plant.
 
The prevailing winds blow Palo Verde emissions east to Phoenix

The only plant that could be a culprit would be the Diablo Canyon plant but 1000 CPM beta on radnet is high for normal operations…

Turn on those HEPAs and be vigilant.

2 comments:

  1. Amazingly, it looks to me like the pit on the north end of #3 is steaming more and more each month. I really don't watch it much anymore, because I've known the die is cast for quite awhile - all the radiation will be released to the air, land and sea. They are just trying to spread it out as much as possible - physically so it is less detectable, and time wise - in order to preserve what is left of the nuclear industry, and possibly to prevent exposure - but that seems to be a secondary goal.

    I don't think they can get close to the pit to do anything. There have never been any cranes working close to that pit.

    I've said from the beginning that I think #3 is the real problem. And the problem is in that pit right now.

    Forget about #4 sfp, I think it's relatively stable (of course relatively stable in the case of Fukushima means it's not blowing up as we speak), or even #3 sfp as it is largely burned out.

    I have two theories about that pit at the north end of #3.

    Originally, I thought it was where the RPV landed in the rubble as it came down out of the sky after the explosion on March 14, 2011. There were photos of piles of what looked like fuel rods all over the north end of the building, which still had somewhat intact outbuildings at the time. Since, everything on this end has collapsed into the basement level and probably much deeper than that - something - perhaps those rods we saw in pictures, is burning down into the ground.

    But more recently, after analyzing the #4 building as they tore it down, I've come to another conclusion. Something highly explosive was being stored in the machinery pool of the #4 reactor building. That something is what exploded on March 15th - not the SFP4.

    As I've mentioned before, I suspect that something was brand new MOX fuel being readied for loading into the #4 reactor as soon as the maintenance was completed.

    If this educated guess of mine is true, then it stands to reason that they may have been storing new MOX in the machinery pool of #3 also. Remember they had just loaded MOX into the #3 core in August - a few months prior to the accident. However, according to the records, they only loaded 32 assemblies - which is a pretty small number. Perhaps they had a full load of hot MOX in the machinery pool ready to load at the next refueling.

    If so, then that may be the rods we saw sprinkled all over the north end of the #3 building after the explosion.

    And if so, that may be what has been burning in the "pit" since November 2011 - that has sucked in everything around it, including the control room and all the outbuildings - and possibly is even starting to consume the #2 building as well. That building has been a photoshop picture for many months.

    I also believe this is why they moved the tepcocam, so we wouldn't see the ongoing destruction in this area. There was a single photo released at one time that showed a giant rift in the surface between numbers 2 and 3 and extending west toward the hillside.

    If we could just get some recent overhead photos, or satellite images, it would all be clear.


    James

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  2. Very interesting and disturbing analysis James.

    I think you are right about the explosion in the pool in unit 4.

    It had to be the pool. I have a cite from a Japanese official stating on the record that there was an explosion at building 4, and we know it wasn't in the reactor.

    I don't know what is going on at 3 other than a general knowledge that it is Dante's inferno on earth.

    That said, I have little doubt that most nuclear plants in northern Japan have secrets involving Mox or plutonium, among other plumbs.

    I am, though, concerned about what a nuclear pit would behave like????? Any ideas about that???

    Bobby1 was concerned about the plutonium blow-up regimes article implications....




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