Reuters Breaking - Fukushima nuclear plant No. 3 reactor's emergency cooling system not functioning

[jpak]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/12/japan-quake-iaea-evacuations-idUSLDE72B0JC20110312

(Reuters) - About 140,000 people have so far been evacuated from areas near two Japanese nuclear power plants after Friday's earthquake, the U.N. atomic watchdog said in a statement citing information from Japanese authorities.

"Evacuations around both affected nuclear plants have begun," the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said.

In a 20-km radius around Fukushima Daiichi an estimated 110,000 people have been evacuated. In a 10-km radius around Fukushima Daini about 30,000 people have been evacuated.

<more>

Breaking news at top of link page

[virgogal]

1. This mess could make the earthquake and tsunami seem

like a walk in the park.

Very scary stuff.

[FBaggins]

2. Almost impossible for that to be true.

The earthquake and tsunami are already chernobyl-esque in scope. There have been a string of "should-not-happen" events at these reactors that have pushed them closer and closer to disaster, but the chances of catestrophic disaster are still quite low.

Right now it looks like we'll be arguing in a couple weeks/months whether this was a little better or a little worse than three mile island. We'll argue over whether anyone at all received a dangerous dose... In a less-than-likely-but-still-possible case, we might even argue whether it was five people who died... or fifty... or two hundred. I rather doubt it, but I'm sure that a couple of the usual suspects here will find an article claiming that really thousands died (or will die from cancer), and it's all being covered up.

But we should not lose site of the fact that there's nothing to argue about with the earthquake and tsunami. The devestation is massive and it would be a disservice to the victim and their families to say that it might seem like a "walk in the park" in comparison.

[xoxoFascistMod4u]

7. pronukeshill?

I'd put alot of faith in a dude who can't spell catastrophic correctly to tell me
about the chances of reakter falior.

Seems like the chances are 100%... as evidenced by uh... in terms you'd understand... TV.

Or maybe:
http://e.nikkei.com/e/fr/tnks/Nni20110312D12JFF03.htm

[AtheistCrusader]

8. Yes, one or more fuel rods partially or completely melted.

And it is still all inside the core containment unit. Your own link:

"The amount of radiation detected inside the plant after 4:00 p.m. slightly exceeded the dose people can safely receive in a year, according to information obtained by the Fukushima prefectural government"

Until that changes, the assessment you responded to is correct, spelling errors aside. A semantics quibble of better or worse than TMI.

[Bosonic]

10. wibbly wobbly

I'd put alot of faith in a dude who can't spell catastrophic correctly to tell me about the chances of reakter falior.

I think this sentence just tore a hole in space-time...

[Bosonic]

3. doubtful

The nuke events are nasty, especially when the infrastructure is already Fd up, but you're either underestimating the death+damage of the tsunami/earthquake (10,000 - 100,000 probably dead), or you're overestimating the potential death+damage the nuke plants could cause.

[godai]

5. Perhaps 100,000 dead is no 'walk in the park'.

They showed a town of 77,000 people that basically didn't exist anymore. It was totally flat, nothing there. Those people had maybe 20 minutes to evacuate to higher ground and, hopefully, many of them did.

The nuclear aspect is bad but, so far, no deaths, seems to be coming under control. Shaping up as a 3 Mile Island type partial meltdown. Let's hope it's not worse.

[joshcryer]

6. I continue to be appalled by comments about this.

[jpak]

4. Reuters Update

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/12/japan-quake-nuclear-cooling-idUSLHE7EB02D20110312

(Reuters) - A quake-hit Japanese nuclear plant reeling from an explosion at one of its reactors has also lost its emergency cooling system at another reactor, Japan's nuclear power safety agency said on Sunday.

The emergency cooling system is no longer functioning at the No.3 reactor at Tokyo Electric Power Co's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power facility, requiring the facility to urgently secure a means to supply water to the reactor, an official of the Japan Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency told a news conference.

On Saturday, an explosion blew off the roof and upper walls of the building housing the facility's No. 1 reactor, stirring alarm over a possible major radiation release, although the government later said the explosion had not affected the reactor's core vessel and that only a small amount of radiation had been r

<more>

[AtheistCrusader]

9. Reactor three was already brought down to an acceptable temp/pressure

yesterday, before this happened, so that reactor is probably in much better shape than either 1 or 2.