NRC: No Water In Spent Fuel Pool Of Japan Plant

didn't know where to put it.
even though it's n.p.r. i found this quite important.
mods, move if needed. delete if posted already somewhere within this jumble of threads.

WASHINGTON March 16, 2011, 03:57 pm ET The chief of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Wednesday that all the water is gone from one of the spent fuel pools at Japan's most troubled nuclear plant, but Japanese officials denied it. If NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko is correct, this would mean there's nothing to stop the fuel rods from getting hotter and ultimately melting down. The outer shell of the rods could also ignite with enough force to propel the radioactive fuel inside over a wide area. Jaczko did not say Wednesday how the information was obtained, but the NRC and U.S. Department of Energy both have experts on site at the Fukushima Dai-ichi complex of six reactors. He said the spent fuel pool of the complex's Unit 4 reactor has lost water. Jaczko said officials believe radiation levels are extremely high, and that could affect workers' ability to stop temperatures from escalating. Japan's nuclear safety agency and Tokyo Electric Power Co., which operates the complex, deny water is gone from the pool. Utility spokesman Hajime Motojuku said the "condition is stable" at Unit 4.

link

Every time you think things are at it's worst something else happens.

This is turning into a disaster of biblical proportions

Man gotta love conflicting reports from tptb, i dont think they have a clue how bad it is.

if i lived in japan.

i think this

all the water is gone from one of the spent fuel pools

is where i pack a bag and leave.

They also said helicopters tried to drop water onto the exposed reactor, but there was too much steam and radiation so they had to turn back. This doesn't look good.

Originally posted by rubbertramp
if i lived in japan.

i think this

all the water is gone from one of the spent fuel pools

is where i pack a bag and leave.

Yes, that pool has de-activated spent fuel. It only stays inactive if there is cool water around it, now all of that fuel is going to begin heating and melting. It's gonna be way worse than cherynobl. Get out if you are anywhere near japan.

reply to post by rubbertramp


What I don't understand is why would NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko say that no more water is obtainable while Japanese officials DENY that statement.

Also, that Gregory Jaczko did not say how his information was obtained. So the U.S. says one thing while the japanese say another thing. Figure that since the japanese are dealing with this tragic crisis in real-time, just figure that they would be the ones that would know the status of their nucleur facilities or??

My heart goes out too Japan and I hope that justice prevails

reply to post by spydrbyte25


for some reason the name scott ridder came to mind after reading your reply.

Why are U.S. Officials so gung-ho for telling the truth when it's about other governments, but when it's their own government, they either lie or avoid the question?

I don't know who to trust. Probably neither.

Canadian news is reporting on it too.

US: no water in spent fuel at Japan plant

Granted it is a spin off article of the original article but it is still concerning if it turns out to be accurate.

reply to post by Dendro


it was an ap article, which means it went out over the news wire.
n.p.r. picked it up early and many others will follow.
lets see how long it takes to hit fox, cnn and others.

cnn

"What we believe at this time is that there has been a hydrogen explosion in this unit due to an uncovering of the fuel in the fuel pool," Gregory Jaczko told a House energy and commerce subcommittee hearing. "We believe that secondary containment has been destroyed and there is no water in the spent fuel pool, and we believe that radiation levels are extremely high, which could possibly impact the ability to take corrective measures."

link

Originally posted by rubbertramp
if i lived in japan.

i think this

all the water is gone from one of the spent fuel pools

is where i pack a bag and leave.

Fortunately for Japan and for the world, there are dozens if not hundreds of men risking, or rather giving up, their lives in order to fix this. I'm glad they're not like you.

Well unfortunately the only way we will know if these spent fuel rods are indeed fully exposed, they cant hide people losing hair and having organ failure within minutes of exposure if they are too close ( 100yrds ? )

Originally posted by PoorFool

Originally posted by rubbertramp
if i lived in japan.

i think this

all the water is gone from one of the spent fuel pools

is where i pack a bag and leave.

Fortunately for Japan and for the world, there are dozens if not hundreds of men risking, or rather giving up, their lives in order to fix this. I'm glad they're not like you.

well, considering i'm certainly no expert, i'd most likely just be in the way.
i can only assume that you are and you'd be heading right for ground zero.
tell ya' what, since your obviously the brave one i'll purchase your ticket from anywhere in the world to japan so you can help.
just u2u me an adress or what ever.
or pick a mod and i'll u2u him/her my cell phone number.

yes, though, much respect to those risking their lives.
they do know what they are doing.

The Japanese government is giving confusing information. They said that the radiation would only affect your health if you stayed for one year 24/7/ in the area. On the other hand the chopper mission to dump water was cancelled due to high radiation ... My BS meter is in the red. What are we to believe?

I pray for the brave souls working at the reactor ...

news.theage.com.au...

Weird timing, imo.
The US is saying they have new information (spy sats?) and that US needs to listen to US, not Japan and expand the evacuation zone.

reply to post by PoorFool


i'm still waiting.
come on now, i just offered a free way for you to go help.

i wouldn't even be doing this x-cept for the fact that you insinuated to me being a puss.

Originally posted by WeRpeons
They also said helicopters tried to drop water onto the exposed reactor, but there was too much steam and radiation so they had to turn back. This doesn't look good.

Dosn't look good ? WeR, I'm not picking on you ok. I just want to say it's looking like the ugliest damn thing I could ever have imagined. Can we F things up for ourselves any more?

I think it's time we fired the elite. Get it. Send the richest people on earth in there with a garden hose. Let them be heros.

Reposting from other thread, but on this same article...

www.cnn.com...

...
The water served to both cool the uranium fuel and shield it. But once the uranium fuel was no longer covered by water, its zirconium cladding that encases the fuel rods heated, generating hydrogen, said Robert Alvarez, senior scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies and a former official with the Department of Energy.

That caught fire, resulting in a situation that is "very, very serious," he told CNN. He said the next solution may involve nuclear plant workers having to take heroic acts. Asked to be more specific, he said, "This is a situation where people may be called in to sacrifice their lives. ... It's very difficult for me to contemplate that but it's, it may have reached that point."
...

The article may have been referenced before, but that one section is shocking.