General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Plutonium from Fukushima is a global catastrophe. [View all]questionseverything
(9,674 posts)According to reports, several holes were found at the bottom of the nuclear reactor's pressure vessel, where the melted nuclear fuel now threatens to leak out.
On a daily basis, Tepco injects almost 200 tons of water into the pressure vessel, but it is highly likely that the water has been constantly leaking from the vessel and containment chamber, eventually flowing under the reactor building.
Reuters' report on the admission by TEPCO notes that the disclosure "is the latest indication that the disaster was worse than previously disclosed, making it more difficult to stabilize the plant."
They go on to report that "U.S. nuclear experts said that the company may have to build a concrete wall around the unit because of the breach, and that this could now take years."
NHK World adds:
The company believes the melted fuel has cooled down, judging from the reactor's surface temperature.
But it suspects the meltdown created a hole or holes in the bottom of the reactor causing water to leak into the containment vessel.
It also suspects the water is leaking into the reactor building.
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=8520
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we have started a dangerous chemical reaction we can only stop under ideal conditions, when those conditions deteriorate to this point we seem to be helpless......I mean I have read about building "ice walls" in the ocean to try and contain the radioactive waste but it would take years and loads of energy (even if it worked) to do that
I imagine that is why tpb try to minimize this coverage
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it maybe too late but I have a simple idea to prevent future nuclear disasters ,it seems it is usually the lack of power to the cooling mechanisms that fail ,currently most back up power systems consist of diesel powered generators to pump the cooling water,we saw in japan this is not adequate
why not add windmills to each nuclear power plant that are wired directly to the back up system so cooling never is interrupted?(windmills did not fail during japans problem)
when everything was running correctly they would simply provide additional power ,but during times of problems they could provide energy to run the cooling systems...seems like a simple win/win to me