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| Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Explosion, March 14th |
March 11, 2011
A earthquake of a magnitude of 9.0 on the Richter scale hit Japan near the coast of Honshu. The earthquake then triggered massive tsunami waves reaching up to 23.6 m in height minutes after the quake had hit. The waves reached nearly 10 kilometers inland. Millions were left without electricity and water, which inadvertently led to three nuclear reactors exploding due to hydrogen build up when the cooling system failed. On March 18, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Yukiya Amano, declared the crisis extremely serious, which lead to anyone within 20 kilometers of the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant and 10 kilometers within the Fukushima II Nuclear Power Plant had to evacuate the area immediately. But just how deadly is the nuclear material in the reactors. What exactly is in the reactors that is causing this chaos? Just how long does it take the radoactive material to travel, how far would it be able to travel, and how deadly would it still be? Share your thoughts and opinions.
The material in the reactors is very deadly. It was said that the amount of radioactive elements leaking from the plant would be very small and wouldn't affect the environment or people, if the leak is kept under control. If cooling cannot be restored, fallout would only spread and pose a danger to people living nearby. If the reactor does melt down, the results could be similar to, if not worse than, that of Chernobyl. Right now people are evacutaed about 20km (12.5 miles) from the plant. And they are stopping cars coming within 60km (37 miles) of the plant. A good website to read more about it is.... http://www.energypublisher.com/article.asp?id=50126
ReplyDeleteOnce a reactor reaches 5000 degrees it is said to not be able to turn back. I agree with chip in that they need to keep cooling it as much as possible. The reactors were said to be blown up by the hydrogen gas build up. Although this was only one of the theories to explain the reactors explosions. I also agree with Chip about the radius of affected area. Very nice points.
ReplyDeleteThe fuel cells in the reactors are extremely dangerous to Japan and surrounding islands. What is causing this is the core is having a total meltdown due to the destabalizationg of the nuclear cells.If the plant were to explode, the outcome would be horrific. The Japan people need to be very concerned about the whole island not just the infected area.
ReplyDeleteNuclear reactor explosions are extremely deadly, and in the case taking place in Japan right now it is estimated that the death toll will reach 10,000; though operators at Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant are still saying that radiation levels at the reactor are within legal limits. Though four nuclear plants in northeastern Japan have reported damage, the danger was greatest at Fukushima's Dai-ichi plant.
ReplyDeleteFrom a Detroit News post, radioactive Iodine-131 has been detected in Michigan's air from Japan. The levels are low enough though to where it doesn't affect humans. This shows that it can travel quite a distant in less than a month.
ReplyDeleteI agree with chip that if there is a melt down it will be a terrble desaster. Right now there is a radioactive cloud moving from japan across the pacific and heading to the west coast of the u.s. Many meteorologists are not sure how servere this cloud is but it also depends on the weather and the altitude of the radioactive material. We will all see how this servere accident will effect us.
ReplyDeleteThe 9.0 earthquake that disrupted the fuel cells in japans nuclear reactor have caused a panic.The nuclear material in large enough doses can be extremely harmful and deadly. it is said that anyone within 20 kilometers is to evacuate immediatly. Nuclear material takes millions of years to decay so traveling through the air does not affect the strength of radiation. I beleive that as dangerous as these nuclear plants are, theses accidents are stepping stones that need to be taken in order to have fully functional and 100% safe to provide us with clean and efficient energy. we need to take a step in the right direction to keep our planet from turning into a big cloud of smog.
ReplyDeleteI agree with nero the branded that the Japan people need to be concerned about the whole island and not just the infected area. if the plant were to explode it would be deadly and it would be a very bad thing. I also agree with chip that they need to keep cooling it as much as possible.
ReplyDeleteAlthough the material in the reactors is deadly, it's not like anyone exposed to it would die instantly. According to an article from The Tokyo Post, it would take up to 100 weeks of constant exposure in even the most severaly affected areas to get sick from the radiation. The cooling system being messed up caused the outer shiled to be weakened, which is letting small amounts of radiation out..it's fairly fast moving, but won't be deadly in the current amounts.
ReplyDeleteI looked up symptoms of radiation sickness. Depending on how close you are to the radiation and how long you are exposed to it dictates the severity of the sickness. If you are severly exposed to the radiation you begin to become nauseated and vomit within 10 mins. The radiation is very deadly which is why the technitions can only work on the reactor for just a few minutes. What is actually causing the chaos is the fact that the nuclear reactors are melting down. A huge reaction is taking place and may not be able to be stopped. I would like to know how powerful the uranium in the reactor is. Please post.
ReplyDeleteThe Japanese Have been through a Nuclear event before..... two to be exact "cough, cough, WW2"...and know all to well how deadly a nuclear explosion and its fallout can be. The earthquake caused a loss of power to the power plant, and the following tsunami knocked out the back up generators causing the core temperature to rise.... the pumping of water into the reactor in the effort to cool the core has caused the water to separate into hydrogen and oxygen, due to how it reacts with the super heated plutonium, which is used in the japanese nuclear powerplants, this build up of hydrogen gas... which hydrogen is extremely dangerous....reference the hidinburg. caused the explosions in the plant so far. Due to insufficiant venting of hydrogen gas, the build up is still occuring which means future explosions are probable. it would be a good idea for the residents to move out of the area and for the entire country and the surrounding countries to take precautions and to know what to due incase of this accident rising to the same level as what happened at chernobyl.
ReplyDeleteIt is very important in my opinion to keep the reactors cool at an adequate temperature. If the raditation were to reach farms or fresh water that would cause many problems with the populations effected by the cloud. We must try to keep the cloud under control at all cost. Very nice post.
ReplyDeleteA recall watching a video of this same thing happening in Russia. And the engineers and soldiers were struggling to drop "fuel rods" done into the reactor to prevent an explosion. Do all nuclear plants require fuel rods? If this one does can't they add more or are they damaged?
ReplyDeleteofficials said that the explosion of reactor number 3 was caused by a buildup of hydrogen gas. similiar to what happened in reactor #1.
ReplyDeleteDear Chickan Joe, Uranium is not shown to be overly harmful in low amounts. However, its chemical effects are harmful. Some of the effects of uranium could be kidney failure, or even a higher risk of developing cancer. Uranium exposure cannot travel far. Exposure occurs when someone eats, drinks or breathes uranium; or gets it on the skin.
ReplyDeleteA nuclear plant is at risk of "meltdown" when it reaches 5080 degrees, at which point it will create a reaction that could consume all the water in the ocean, and still burn strong...making it unstoppable. It would then melt through the floor of the containment center and through the earth's surface. At which point, it would send gysers of radiation shooting into the air...contaminating the surrounding area with radiation.
ReplyDeletei believe that at Chernobyl, if a containment chamber had been used then the actual amount of radiation released would have been lessened. TMI(three mile island) had a containment chamber which also helped reduce the amount of radiation release. Japan was wise in putting in a containment chamber. Kudos to them for learning from the past. My question is, why don't people base nuclear reactors farther away from populated areas. I know that transporting energy from far away would be quite a feat, but why not? and a second question is why are nuclear reactors being based by main bodies of water? TMI and chernobyl should be proof that this is not a good idea.
ReplyDeletenuclear reactors material is very dangerous mainly because the fact that it can travel up to any given distance.this makes it very harmful, the ability to spread and harm people from far away distances is a scary thought. i believe it should be feared and than studied so a way to stop it from spreading can be formed
ReplyDeleteSame as alphadog, I also watched the Russian video. And it also compares to this other video called minutes to meltdown, and there's a nuclear plant in Penneslyvania that had a massive melt down. There was a leaky valve where the rods are contained to hold the steam in was leaving out water vapor so all of the water that cools down the rods was evaporating, and the rods over heated and melted. something simialr to what happened in russia and japan. since the power went out during the eatrh quake in japan, the generators were supposed to turn on, but since the tsunami hit the buildings, the generator for the rods didn't go on and water couldn't flow the the rods so that caused a melt down. and for the part on how dangerous it is to us from the radiation, it's extremely dangerous. I remember from the clips that this type of radiation causes sever cancer, women that were pregnant, and had childern were suggested to evacuate the area immediatly. Instead of using nuclear energy as a substitute for oil, why don't we improve a more eco friendly energy source? We use solar power to power homes and cars, how about we use something similar that's strong enough to use that instead of using something nuclear? And by using some other form of energy we wouldn't be causing harm upon ourselves.
ReplyDeleteSince they can't seem to get the reactors to cool down what will happen to Japan and will other nuclear power plants start to close down to so they can prevent things like this from happening again? Also how do they get rid of the radio active materials after they do get it cooled down?
ReplyDeleteAccording to CNN, there have been two states in the U.S. that have found low levels of radiation in milk. California and Washington have found Iodine levels 5,000 times below the limit set by the FDA. So, the levels of Idoine aren't really a threat, but 15 states have reported radioisotopes from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan. The Iodine has showed up in water and the air. CNN also said, these states aren't concerned because the levels of radiation are less than someone would be exposed to in a five hour airplane flight. I wonder how far into the U.S. the radiation will go.
ReplyDeleteFrom what i may or may not know Nuclear Radiation travles very far and is very deadly. Even tho it may not appear harmful at first it will harm many throughout the years .Good comments by all.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Chip and Nibz that the reactor must be keep as cool as possible to decrease the risk of any more chaos happening in Japan
ReplyDeleteI also agree with chip!
ReplyDeleteGreat comments by all. Nuclear radiation can travel very far in a short amount of time and it's nothing to mess with at all. Mr. Amano made the right call by evacuating the people as soon as possible.
ReplyDeleteI agree with hugo avernus. The thought of it traveling great distances in short period of time is scary. Also, Studies should be performed in a way to stop it from spreading along with keep the plants cool.
ReplyDeleteAll the material in the reactors are harmful and even deadly. It is the hydrogen gas in the reacttors that seems to be causing all this. I agree that with chip that they need to keep the cooling levels at a maximum.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Mrs.Clause!
ReplyDeleteI agre with chicken joe because the closer you are to the radiation the worse it is. If you are farther away from the radiation explostion you may not get radiation posioning at all or very little of it and it can be treatable.
ReplyDelete@thor
ReplyDeletereally 5080 degrees is that celsius? if so that particular area would be reduced to a state very close to glass maybe past, thereby eliminating any usefulness it may have once posessed
At 5000 degrees farenheit you reach what is called "China Syndrome", where the uranium, or in this case, plutonium, would melt down into the ground, burning through rock or anything else, and could theoretically come out on the other side of the world, in "China" for those of us in America, though geographically, directly across the globe from us is technically somewhere in the middle of the Indian ocean. This is impossible,but even if the nuclear material only melts through several hundred feet of earth, the main concern is keeping it inside the containment vessel. It is very, VERY radioactive. The cloud would kill many people, as wuold the fallout following the original blast that would spread radiation across the island, and the world.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very serious issue and needs to be taken care of. Was the reactor created before a population started to arise in that area? If it was then why would people live near it knowing how dangerous it could potentialy be? I agree that it isn't safe to have people so close to this type of radiation seeing that the circumstances are so terrible. This may be a serious issue for a long time.
ReplyDeleteTo Wisconsin, theoretically, radiation will easily pass ove rthe US, however in measurable amounts, it is difficult to say. Because this is a situation that is still developing, it could easily escalate into a full scale nuclear meltdown. If that is the case, another incident similar to Chernobyl could occur, however, an incident as bad as Chernobyl is highly unlikely. Whe n Chernobyl blew up, it was due to a power surge and human error. The workers at the plant disabled the defense mechanisms of the plant, allowing the surge to reach into the core and cause a major meltdown of the core. The meltdown led to the subsequent explosion, that tore apart the building and released massive amounts of radiation into the atmosphere. That cloud of radioactive materials was traced through 5 revolutions around the Earth, which is why i believe the radiation can travel across the US. Now in the event of a full meltdown, Fukushima's plant could potentially explode, but an event like Chernobyl is unlikely. To put Chernobyl into perspective, it was the equivalent of 500 Nuclear bombs dropped on Hiroshima.
ReplyDeleteThe radioactive fallout from the nuclear plant may be around for a long time. Chernobyl is still dealing with some radiation and its been quite a while since that happened. I wonder if there is some sort of isotope or substance that could speed up the break down of harmful radioactive materials.
ReplyDeleteThe melt downs occur when the cooling systems fail. If the cooling system doesnt work for a long time, the water will boil and evaporate and the fuel will begin to melt. Which is what happened at Three Mile Island in 1979, the reactor had a partial core meltdown. But,mechanical failure, operator error, and poor design were blamed for the meltdown.
ReplyDeletei agree with mickey b and hugo avernus, i think that so problems like these wont keep happening we should come up with a way to either control radiation better or come up with an alternate energy source thats safer for humans and the enviroment.
ReplyDeleteThis earthquake have shown that human error alone is not the cause for nuclear problems. Other factors can contribute to the decline of containment in nuclear power. I think this will cause every person involved in the planning, building, and execution of nuclear power plants to be concerned about all factors that could contribute to nuclear meltdown. The safety of the matter is only dependent on the amount of radiation. In fear of a big leak in radiation to cause serious damage, I think they are quarantining the area to prevent that.
ReplyDeleteWETT, your comments about Japan's having been through nuclear disasters before, and your reference to the "Fat Man" and "Little Boy" bombs was correct. What you failed to note, however, are two important facts. Firstly, following the nuclear attack and subsequent takeover by American forces, Japan sank into a depression that took them almost a decade to buck off. The main career for women from 1946-1955 was as a prostitute, selling their bodies to American G.I.s for money so they could afford to eat. Recovery was neither quick nor easy. Secondly, nuclear weapons of today, and the plants used to produce power have been much improved since WWII. The bombs used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were grossly innefficient, and wasted much of the power that they attained. This reactor would be much more devastating than Oppenheimer's bomb could even have dreamed of being.
ReplyDeleteIn the article it mentions that the hieght of the wave was 23.6 m high. I dont beleive that is realistic. the japanese had 30 ft wave barriers on parts of the coastline. when the earthquake hit it dropped the coastline 3 ft so the barriers dropped as well. when the 30 ft wave hit it was able to surpass the barriers and make it inland. if the wave had been 23.6 m high the damage would have been much worse.
ReplyDeleteThe radiation can travel pretty far. This morning on the news, they did a story about the cows in California. Scientists did a study on how the radiation affected the milk production. They found out that there is an extremely small amount of radiation in the milk. Not to where no one won't be able to drink it. Now we know that a tiny bit of radiation can make it to the west coast of the U.S.
ReplyDeletethe material in the nuclear radiation is horrible. and i agree with Skittles:
ReplyDeleteChernobyl happened a while ago and still isnt back to normal. and scientist are saying that the radiation in Japan wont even match it (the damage done, etc). but their will most deffinately be long lasting effects on everything from the radiation, like food, water, and animals.
@Simon, but wasn't the outcome horrible as it is? How could it get worse? I agree that the idea that a 70 foot wave would have led to greater disaster, but I can't see what's worse!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments this week.
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