BREAKING: (11:14) Fire occurs at Fukushima plant's No. 4 Reactor

[denem]

No details yet.
Kyodo News: http://english.kyodonews.jp/

The last 'domino' falls.

[eleny]

1. Thanks for the link

[suffragette]

2. Edano just said fire in #4 occurred before explosion in #2

on NHK in response to a reporter.

It all just keeps escalating.

[denem]

6. It was a new flash, ten minutes ago.

[suffragette]

10. This is new as well

No conflict in info on this one, just Edano giving more detail live on NHK.

And like you say: dominoes.

They look to all be affecting each other to one degree or another.

[Thegonagle]

3. Holy f---! I was under the impression that reactor 4 was not even in operation

at the time of the quake. What gives?

This is bad. Really, really bad!

I'm on the verge of tears as this unfolds.

[Botany]

4. So that is all 4 of them

abc7 #BREAKINGNEWS: Fourth reactor on fire at #Japan nuclear plant, more radiation leaked



and is there a risk from plutonium too?

http://news.cnet.com/8301-11386_3-20042852-76.html

[Webster Green]

9. Are there 4 reactors in all of Japan? n/t

[Botany]

11. yes ..... lot of them

Japanese Nuclear Power Plants .... @ each site there is one or more reactors

[Angry Dragon]

12. This may help

http://www.insc.anl.gov/pwrmaps/map/japan.php

[geckosfeet]

5. Government spokesman said there is high probability that the containment vessel on #4 was breached.

[JVS]

7. Wait, what? I thought number 4 wasn't even in operation.

[Daemonaquila]

13. "Not in operation" means something different with nuke plants.

There is no such things as "turning off" a nuclear reactor. Reactors 4-6 were off-line for maintenance, but that just means that they were not actively producing power. Even off-line with the control rods fully inserted, there are peppy reactions going on. Once cooling is lost, the reactor will melt down... it'll just boil off all its water at a much slower rate on the way to BOOM.

[denem]

8. Oh great, just Fantastic.

[wundermaus]

14. Live Blogger in Japan on line now

http://yokosonews.com/live

[snagglepuss]

15. I think this is at a different location.

[k2qb3]

16. No, no. no.

There's no fuel in the #4 reactor.

It's the spent fuel in the tank above the reactor that's exposed, and possibly on fire.

It's worse than it would be if it were a live reactor, it will produce particulates...very nasty ones.

It's #2 that they think has a containment breach.

[snagglepuss]

17. There was confusion on another thread about this. I am not sure where this reactor.

of poster stated "Daiishi is the one where reactor 4 is not operating, not Fukishima Daini plant"



http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x646847

[whatchamacallit]

18. Update from that site says the #4 fire has been put out

"BREAKING NEWS: Fire at No.4 reactor apparently put out: Tokyo Electric"

Hard to know what's really going on.