Diaper absorbent, shredded newspaper and sawdust used to attempt plug of nuke leak

[Liberal_in_LA]

Diaper absorbent used to try to plug nuke leak
Mix so far fails to stop radioactive water from going out to sea

The effort to contain Japan's nuclear crisis on Sunday came to this: Engineers mixed together sawdust, shredded newspapers and chemicals used in diapers in the hopes that would plug a radioactive leak into the sea.

A first stab at the desperate experiment failed, Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said.

"We were hoping the polymers would function like diapers but are yet to see a visible effect," said NISA spokesman Hidehiko Nishiyama.

Engineers mixed nearly 20 pounds of a chemical absorbent, 130 pounds of sawdust and three garbage bags of shredded newspapers into pipes leading to a pit connected to the Unit 2 reactor, NISA stated.

The absorbent — like those used to soak liquid in diapers — can expand to 50 times its normal size when combined with water.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42402150/ns/world_news-asiapacific/

[glowing]

1. Sounds like the experiment to clean up oil in the Gulf.

[Liberal_in_LA]

3. Yeah, it kinda does. Clearly they are grasping for straws.

[titaniumsalute]

2. Using diapers?

Really is the ultimate shitty situation.

[Skidmore]

4. I don't know about that. Those disposable diapers

can expand from a few ounces to hold several pounds of solid or liquid waste and are designed to last for at least the half life of radioactive materials. In the distant future, the archeologists of some more advanced civilization will stumble on our landfills and find all that crap just as fresh as when it was buried. They are going to think we worshiped baby poop and that these were temples.

[nc4bo]

6. Thanks for the laugh when I was getting my daily, hardcore dose of low!

:rofl:

Really - thanks!

[Skidmore]

7. Anytime.

[Urban Prairie]

11. Considering how quickly we "nuclear age" human parasites are poisoning the planet

Those "archeologists" might have to be from another more evolved and highly immune species on Earth, and in the extremely distant future, or they will have to originate and travel here from another very many light years distant planet.

[JohnyCanuck]

5. If anyone has figured out yet how to get the toothpaste back in the tube...

Phone the Fukushima plant collect, they are waiting for your call.

[Urban Prairie]

8. Maybe Kimberly Clark could make a super-size Depends to stop or slow the 8" leak?

Seems like they need to use a lot more waterproofing and somewhat less absorbent materials than that, and form it to seal the crack more effectively. How would only 130 lbs of sawdust, three garbage bags of shredded newpaper, and 20 lbs of chemical absorbent be nearly enough to hold back, much less "absorb" what probably is hundreds iof gallons of radioactive water that likely put a great amount of pressure on their "plug" that failed miserably?

[titaniumsalute]

9. They should dump loads of tampons and maxipads in there also

[malaise]

10. Desperation indeed

WTF???

[kestrel91316]

12. Why aren't they using GORILLA GLUE??

It forms a hard, indestructible mass inside dogs' stomachs, in the presence of water.

Surely they could try it?