The devastation from the earthquake and tsunami in Japan caused damage to a nuclear plant which caused the cooling pumps to fail. On Saturday one of the containment building exploded from the high levels of hydrogen gas that built up on the inside.
Sunday (our time) a second building exploded housing another reactor.
The reports state that there in no danger that the reactor vessels were damaged in either building. But they are evacuating people in a 20km radius just to play it safe.
Next thing the reports did say that a small amount of radiation has been released into the atmosphere. A little while later a report said that in one of the containment building, and is is second blast, they were venting radioactive steam and gases out of a building to lower the internal pressure to prevent an explosion.
You watch on TV officials setting up a decontamination center someplace and then you see the checking people for radiation. And you hear about iodine pills being handed out to protect the thyroid gland from radiation just to play it safe.
To try and protect the reactors form having a meltdown they are pumping seawater into them to cool them down. Some say that is a last ditch effort but since they are near a plentiful supply it makes perfect sense since they most likely used up the fresh water.
My questions on all of this a this:
Where did the hydrogen gas in the buildings come from in the first place? Is it a byproduct of nuclear fission from the reactor? If so how did it get outside the reactor vessel?
They say that the reactor vessels were not damaged by the explosions. Can they prove this? I have to remain skeptical on that. I am sure the stainless steel cases where damaged if not the supporting equipment like controls pumps and what have you where damaged or destroyed.
If the they have to vent off radioactive steam from the buildings how did it get in there in the first place?
If the government is setting up decontamination centers and is handing out iodine pills,the problem is a lot worse than what we are led to believe.
They are pumping seawater into the reactors to cool them, great. But what is happening with the heated water? Is it bilingual away to steam and where is the steam going? If not being boiled into steam what are they doing with the discharge? Both would be radioactive and dangerous. Or are they pumping the water through the heat exchanges where the discharge would not be radioactive?
If the cooling pumps where damage by the quake and following explosions how are they pumping water in the first place?
I am certain we are looking at another Chernobyl or TMI in the making. If it is let's all hope that it is no where a bad as either plant. But time will tell.
'till next time.
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