First Video of Fukushima Reactor #3 explosion - Japanese TV

[leveymg]

Run time: 01:10 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bPi6aHmd88   Posted on YouTube: March 14, 2011 By YouTube Member: horiday456 Views on YouTube: 305   Posted on DU: March 14, 2011 By DU Member: leveymg Views on DU: 1777

 
This blast appears to be even more massive than the explosion that ripped off the walls and roof of the outside containment building in reactor #1 a couple days ago.

[gadjitfreek]

1. Steam explosion

We thought the same problem that hit Chernobyl could not impact pressurized-water reactors. Chernobyl used a graphite moderator. Our design uses water as both the moderator and the coolant, but it relies on a constant refresh of cooled water. The force inherent in superheated steam in an enclosed building ultimately leads to this kind of thing happening. This wouldn't be a problem in a fusion reactor, because the fusion process stops when the temperature drops. Fission is not dependent on temperature. I am actually teaching this to my students today and I have them do a paper on whether they would prefer to have a fossil fuel or fission power plant built in their town. Should be an interesting year for that paper.

The problem is obvious. With 7 billion people on the planet and a civilization absolutely dependent on electricity to keep it going, we knew there was going to be a breaking point some day. This might very well prove to be that day when we look back. The looming question is...where do we go from here? An even bigger potential catastrophe lurks in every Earth-directed solar flare that the new solar cycle kicks out. We could potentially lose the entire electrical grid for years, due to short-sightedness and lack of investment in surge protection for transformers.

[leveymg]

2. There have also been reports of a hydrogen explosion, reactor overheating.

Update on the explosion(s) at Reactor 3: "We believe it was a hydrogen explosion. It is not immediately known if it affected the reactor" - nuclear safety agency spokesman Ryo Miyake. -BBC

It appears that the #1 and/or #3 reactor core has either been breached or that radioactive steam/smoke has indeed been vented from inside the containment vessel. Either way, this is not good.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

3. are their no people on the site working ? they keep saying "we don't know" and "possible meltdown"

[vaberella]

6. The Japanese people tend to be well prepared for evacuations in situations like that.

I'm sure they evacuated that building ASAP.

[Junkdrawer]

4. And there's (was?) spent fuel on top of there....

From a thread by Paradoxical:

HOWEVER, almost 600 tons (1.2 million pounds) worth of spent fuel are stored in pools inside the individual reactor buildings. This is a major cause for concern given the recent explosions that appear to have caused significant damage to at least two reactor buildings.


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=439&topic_id=639439&mesg_id=639439

When the DU Nuclear Power Clearleading Squad says "This is a major cause for concern", it's time to crawl in a corner and start sucking your thumb.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

5. it is a meltdown...here is a link live 24/7 News from Japan with english translation

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/7497266