How long will it take to stabilize Fukushima?

[CabalPowered]

Poll question: How long will it take to stabilize Fukushima?

What's your crystal ball telling you? Definition of stable for this poll:

A) Cracked/damaged/leaking reactor vessels removed or entombed
B) Melted/partially melted spent fuel rods moved to a new pool, or other remediation
C) Undamaged vessels operating within specs, without the use of backup systems

[Fledermaus]

1. 100years ++

[Journeyman]

2. Not soon enough no matter when it happens. . .

[AndyTiedye]

3. Is Entombing Even an Option?

They could entomb Chernobyl because most of the nuclear fuel had already burned up.

There is about 25 Chernobyls worth of spent fuel in addition to what is in the 6 reactors.
If they just try to seal it all up in concrete the heat and pressure have nowhere to go.

When the pressure gets great enough, you have an atomic bomb. :nuke:

[OKIsItJustMe]

4. Japan nuclear cleanup could last 'decades'

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/1118189/1/.html

Japan nuclear cleanup could last 'decades'

Posted: 23 March 2011 0029 hrs

PARIS: The Fukushima nuclear crisis will leave Japan with a cleanup problem that will last for years or even decades and carry an astronomical cost, experts said.

Credible estimates of the bill are impossible right now, they cautioned, given that engineers at the Fukushima No. 1 plant are still in emergency mode and data about damage and radiation remain sketchy.

But assuming the plant is stabilised, many years of work lie ahead and the final tab will be billions of dollars, they said.

…

Alternatively, it could build a Chernobyl-style concrete "sarcophagus" to entomb the reactors for effectively forever, or at least until the cores have cooled sufficiently for some future technology to deal with them.

…

[CabalPowered]

5. Not sure

Chernobyl kind of entombed itself. The remaining fuel fused with the sand that was used as part of the barrier walls and formed a sort of lava. The reactor dropped down one level in the initial explosion and the lava burned through the floor and cooled in the rooms below the reactor. It's still down there. The sarcophagus was primarily erected to keep rain out of the basement and contain the dust.

[OKIsItJustMe]

6. Chernobyl entombed itself? Tell that to the families of the helicopter pilots

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QS-HngPwYYU
http://www.nytimes.com/1990/07/04/obituaries/anatoly-grishchenko-pilot-at-chernobyl-53.html

Anatoly Grishchenko, Pilot at Chernobyl, 53

AP
Published: July 04, 1990

A Soviet helicopter pilot who contracted leukemia after trying to douse the fire at the Chernobyl nuclear plant in 1986 has died, a hospital spokeswoman said today.

…

Mr. Grishchenko repeatedly flew his heavy-lift helicopter through the intensely radioactive gases spewing from the Chernobyl plant, dumping sand and cement in an effort to cap the crippled reactor.

He and a handful of others in the operation were designated heroes of the Soviet Union, the country's highest honor.

Despite lead shielding on the aircraft and other protective gear, Mr. Grishchenko suffered radiation sickness and was found to have radiation-related leukemia last year.

…

[CabalPowered]

7. Correction

I'm fully aware of their efforts to contain reactor. What I should've said was the "missing fuel" entombed itself. I wasn't aware of this until I watched this BBC special..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KeSXMTzt6M&feature=related

*edit: BBC, not NOVA