Japanese government fears meltdown at second f*kushima nuclear reactor13/03/11, 9:39 am
THERE ARE NEW fears of a nuclear meltdown at the stricken f*kushima I nuclear power plant in Japan today, after authorities said they had begun to pump seawater into a second reactor at the plant.
The primary and backup cooling systems at the number 3 reactor were damaged in the aftermath of Friday’s earthquake and tsunami, and the plant’s operator TEPCO now fears that the temperatures in the reactor could result in a second hydrogen explosion, similar to that which destroyed a containment building around another reactor yesterday.
The government has warned that a meltdown at the number 3 reactor is now a distinct possibility.
That blast, at the number 1 reactor, is not thought to have damaged the reactor itself, with TEPCO insisting that the steel casing that houses the reactor itself remaining intact.
In spite of this, however, radioactive leakage has been observed near the site and a total of 19 people have now been hospitalised for radiation exposure.
Further reports suggested that a leak in the reactor had caused the co0ling fluid around the energy rods to leak out, briefly exposing the rods before new water could be pumped back inside.
Though the plant is relatively close to the seafront, thereby making sea water a fairly predictable source of emergency coolant, the tactic is a fairly unusual one – indicating the unprecedented gravity of the situation facing the plant.
Some air has been intentionally vented from the number 3 reactor building, in order to ease the pressure on the containment building and avoid a second explosion in as many days.
The International Atomic Energy Agency have begun distributing iodine tablets to those evacuated from the 20km exclusion zone around the plant, hoping to combat any radiation poisoning of the thyroid gland, which is particularly susceptible to such poisoning.
More:
http://www.thejournal.ie/fears-over-meltdown-at-second-f*kushima-nuclear-reactor-2011-03/
( Note: The
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