Chemical Complex Is On Fire With Nuclear Fuel Yamaguchi

[lovuian]

At 2:20 of 4/22/2012, Iwakuni Otake Petrochemical Complex of Mitsui chemicals got lightning strike to explode.

The complex is still on fire, and 3379 units of radioactive waste (200L in each unit) and Uranium for nuclear fuel are preserved in the site.

The state of the uranium and radioactive waste is not reported yet.

Windows were broken and several people got injured.

[DeSwiss]

1. K&R

[lovuian]

2. DeSwiss love that

Mitsui chemicals hold 71.1 tones of depleted uranium. They have 8 complexes in Japan but it is not known which site holds depleted uranium. Iwakuni Otake site holds 3379 units of nuclear waste. Osaka site holds 1889 units

http://fukushima-diary.com/2012/04/chemical-complex-is-on-fire-with-nuclear-fuel-in-yamaguchi/?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed
from twitterfead source

[DeSwiss]

4. I've concluded that.....

...we ''Citizen Journalists'' are going to have to follow this life-threatening problem, and pretty much everything else from here on out. Because it should be clear to anyone who have at least two brain cells to rub together, that we can't trust the government nor the media to tell the truth.

At. All.

- We're definitely on our own.....

[freshwest]

5. Mushrooms R US.

[freshwest]

3. And so it goes...

[marble falls]

10. The Saguaro and Coxcomb are naturaly occurring and have been around for centuries.

[freshwest]

11. Getting that post count up, I see. Or perhaps you're replying to the wrong person.

[marble falls]

12. Meant to reply to this video on the thread ...

sorry to have inconvenienced you with my march to infinite postings at the my rate of what, 4 or 5 a week. http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1017&pid=23367

[MADem]

6. I think maintaining a great distance from that place is a good idea. nt

[snagglepuss]

7. ....

[intaglio]

8. Now we need a nuclear apologist to tell us that it's all cool

It's only comparatively low level waste, in fire proof containers and anyway it isn't the nuclear plant that is dangerous and outdated and on fire.

[Art_from_Ark]

9. Actually, you need someone who can read Japanese to give you the rest of the story

Last edited Sun Apr 22, 2012, 11:27 AM - Edit history (2)

The explosion occurred in a plant that refines plastics like resorcin(al), which is used in tires, as well as PET (PETE in the US) used to make plastic bottles.

http://mainichi.jp/select/news/20120422k0000e040092000c.html

The complex actually consists of two plant areas, one on either side of the Kose River.

After some searching, I found a mainstream media article that mentions the radioactive materials stored at the site. From the Nippon Keizai Shimbun:

　これまでのところ、有毒ガスなどの発生は確認されていない。また工場敷地内では、放射性物質を含む使用済みの触媒をドラム缶約3400本に入れて保管していたが、異常はないという。
"At the time of this writing, there has been no confirmed occurrence of toxic gases, etc. Furthermore, on the plant grounds there are about 3400 steel drums filled with *used/spent catalysts including radioactive substances*, but there are apparently no abnormalities."

http://www.nikkei.com/news/category/article/g=96958A9C93819695E0E0E2E2868DE0E0E2E6E0E2E3E09191E3E2E2E2;at=ALL

[lovuian]

13. Thank you so much for the translation

Do we trust the "but there are apparently no abnormalities"
I hope they can be trusted

[Art_from_Ark]

16. I hope they can be trusted, too

Even if the radioactive waste is not from nuclear power generation, it would still be a nightmare for the area if any of those steel drums ruptured.

[Art_from_Ark]

18. Here's an update from the Japanese Wall Street Journal

The fire was "nearly extinguished" at 5:15 p.m. local time, about 15 hours after the first explosion. The explosion was strong enough to cause damage such as broken windows to 410 homes near the complex. One worker was killed, 11 other workers suffered injuries of varying degrees. There were also 11 local residents who were injured. Yikes.

http://jp.wsj.com/Japan/node_431141

[Maynar]

14. "but there are apparently no abnormalities."

YET.

[Dustlawyer]

15. Why would you store radioactive material in a chemical plant?

I live in what used to be called "the Golden Triangle." It was so named for these 3 cities around the area where oil was first discovered in Texas. Humble/Mobile oil was founded here, Texaco as well. We have oil refineries and chemical plants ALL OVER! They catch on fire!

[Art_from_Ark]

17. What is interesting here is the word "catalyst"

which is a substance used to initiate or speed up a chemical reaction. The implication is the waste is produced on site, but it is not expressly stated. I have been trying to find information about the production of chemicals that requires the use of catalysts containing radioactive material, but have not found anything yet.