The Top Short-Term Threat to Humanity: The Fuel Pools of Fukushima

[Foxx]

This article on SOTT got me re-thinking about what might happen if Fukushima becomes a giant inferno of nuclear waste, which seems to me to be an extremely possible situation.

Given that the article is citing Anti-nuclear physician Dr. Helen Caldicott as saying that she will relocate from Boston (east coast US) to the southern hemisphere, but also what the Cs have said about the Fukushima radiation release thus far:

[quote author=Cassiopaeans 9-Apr-2011]
(L) Next question on the list: Is the fukushima radiation negligible compared to the radiation due to 2,000 + nuclear explosions that have happened since 1945?

A: Yes.

Q: (L) How badly will it affect people?

A: Cumulatively, it is already bad.

Q: (L) you mean cumulatively the 2,000 nuclear explosions? And now, this on top of all of that is like critical mass of exposure?

A: Yes.

Q: (L) So, what does that mean for us.

A: DNA changes and diet help to keep the frequency stable.

Q: (L) What about all the people who are vegetarians?

A: They are nuclear “toast” since so much of their energy must be expended to raise the vibrations of their food.
[/quote]

I'm wondering if, especially considering paleo diet changes, others thought that a relocation for people even as far as the East Coast USA would be wise to avoid negative health consequences. Certainly it depends on location, jet stream movements, etc as to how bad fall out would be and certainly I think that people living in Japan would be wise to depart if the power plant loses its remaining stability, I just wonder what take others here have as I'm not sure that moving from Boston to the southern hemisphere is going overboard or if it'll really be that bad.

 

[Noxulus]

I was having some difficulty understanding the science behind this article. I thought the nuclear process had been halted and that was the end to it. Now i'm understanding that there are spent fuel rods in a pool that seem to pose a greater threat than the reactor in the first place?

 

[thevenusian]

I was having some difficulty understanding the science behind this article. I thought the nuclear process had been halted and that was the end to it. Now i'm understanding that there are spent fuel rods in a pool that seem to pose a greater threat than the reactor in the first place?

It is difficult to navigate the science involved because so much data is obscured and not reported by the nuclear industry and the agencies responsible for regulating nuclear power. The same has been true for all the nuclear weapons testing over the past 60 years. They would have us believe that everything is safely under control and dangers are limited.

All nuclear power plants in operation for a number of years have accumulated varying amounts of 'spent fuel' which no longer has the sufficient amount of reactivity to use as fuel, but nevertheless still has a high degree of radioactivity and is extremely toxic and dangerous. The amount of spent fuel is great because it has accumulated over the life-span of the plant- in some cases for 20 or 30 years. It is very expensive to dispose of properly so most of it is simply stored on-site at each plant and kept under water to keep it contained and cooled enough to prevent it from catching fire or exploding- and then being released into the environment. To do this requires uninterrupted electrical power to keep pumps circulating cold water through these pools. And the structural integrity of the pools themselves needs to be maintained as well.

So even though the nuclear plant itself is 'shut down' and the reactors are not in operation, this spent fuel is still sitting in pools on the site and must be kept cool for many, many years.

One of the hazards at Fukushima is that the cooling pool containing spent fuel rods in reactor building number 4 sits 100' above ground level in a building which has been severely damaged. The spent fuel cannot be removed from the pool because it must remain underwater at all times, and the equipment for moving it has been destroyed. So it is a precarious situation. The pool is at high risk of failure should another strong earthquake occur. The situation at Fukushima has never happened before, and will require a great deal of money and engineering accomplishment to resolve safely. Unfortunately the evidence seems to indicate those responsible for the plant have been making decisions based on saving money rather than on behalf of peoples' safety.

 

[Noxulus]

Thanks for the clarification, worrying indeed. It's saddening to think that a country already scarred by nuclear disaster is sitting so precariously on the verge of another.

 

[katesisco]

Fuel pools are exactly that--dangerous --- and likely to be for millennial time. Which is why you see UTube discussions of understanding deuterium. There is a world wide push to find some way to convert this deadly menace. The idea was that we were on the verge of knowing it all--hubris--and expected to segue from this radioactive fuel source to one not radioactive. Didn't happen. Now I wonder if our remnants of radioactivity is not from previous fuel source or even the heart of every scary story in our past ---nuclear war, but some kind of change in solar system weather that causes the sun to start to put out strange particles (whatever happened to that story---it didn't continue and I can't find anything about strange solar particles now) due to compression and when the compression lifts, our Van Allen belts and the neutrinos that have collected above collapse down onto the surface of the planet, initiating a radioactive runaway.

Before that happens I imagine that like Russia did, the countries whose shorelines are dotted with nuclear will simple load the rods onto a ship, drive it out to deep water and sink it. What would you have done?

 

[Aeneas]

From the article

Scientists say that there is a 70% chance of a magnitude 7.0 earthquake hitting Fukushima this year, and a 98% chance within the next 3 years.

Given that nuclear expert Arnie Gundersen says that an earthquake of 7.0 or larger could cause the entire fuel pool structure collapse, it is urgent that everything humanly possible is done to stabilize the structure housing the fuel pools at reactor number 4.

[...]
The structural integrity of the damaged Unit 4 reactor building has long been a major concern among experts because a collapse of its spent fuel cooling pool could cause a disaster worse than the three reactor meltdowns.

...
The storage pool in the No. 4 reactor building has a total of 1,535 fuel rods, or 460 tons of nuclear fuel, in it.

...
Asahi noted last month that - if Unit 4 pool gets a crack from an earthquake and leaks, it would be the end for Tokyo.

...
Before the Committee, Ambassador Murata strongly stated that if the crippled building of reactor unit 4 - with 1,535 fuel rods in the spent fuel pool 100 feet (30 meters) above the ground - collapses, not only will it cause a shutdown of all six reactors but will also affect the common spent fuel pool containing 6,375 fuel rods, located some 50 meters from reactor 4. In both cases the radioactive rods are not protected by a containment vessel; dangerously, they are open to the air. This would certainly cause a global catastrophe like we have never before experienced.

...

Based on U.S. Energy Department data, assuming a total of 11,138 spent fuel assemblies are being stored at the Dai-Ichi site, nearly all, which is in pools. They contain roughly 336 million curies (~1.2 E+19 Bq) of long-lived radioactivity. About 134 million curies is Cesium-137 - roughly 85 times the amount of Cs-137 released at the Chernobyl accident as estimated by the U.S. National Council on Radiation Protection (NCRP).

Yes, it is a most dire situation. Japan has 54 nuclear reactors spread around the Islands and they would all have spent nuclear fuel rods sitting in pools of water if I am not mistaken. What damage would result from a 8.0+ earthquake in Tokyo bay to all the nuclear powerstations in Japan? The Kanto earthquake in 1923 measured 7.9 and devastated Tokyo and the Kanto region, where today the population is 42 million.

Not to mention the impact that a Tunguska style fireball would have on the nuclear power stations as mentioned in this thread: http://cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php/topic,1512.msg329309.html#msg329309

 

[Aeneas]

In trying to find out about how many spent fuel rods there are stored in Japan, I found this bit about a site called Rokkasho in the [urlhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aomori_Prefecture]north-east of Japan[/url].

The Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant (六ヶ所村核燃料再処理施設 Rokkasho Kakunenryō Saishori Shisetsu?) is a nuclear reprocessing plant with an annual capacity of 800 tons of uranium or 8 tons of plutonium,[1] owned by Japan Nuclear Fuel Limited located in the village of Rokkasho in northeast Aomori Prefecture, Japan approximately 17 miles (27 kilometers) north of the US Air Force's Misawa Air Base. Since 1993 there has been US$ 20 billion invested in the project, nearly triple the original cost estimate.

If that wasn't bad enough. But of course such a place would be built to withstand earthquakes, right?

In June 2008, several scientists stated that the Rokkasho plant is sited directly above an active geological fault line that could produce a magnitude 8 earthquake. But Japan Nuclear Fuel Limited have stated that there was no reason to fear an earthquake of more than magnitude 6.5 at the site, and that the plant could withstand a 6.9 quake.

So it is sitting on an active fault that could produce a magnitude 8 earthquake, but not to worry as the owners say they don't think that is likely and it is afterall built to withstand a 6.9 quake.

So how much fuel is there?

After the Tōhoku earthquake in March 2011, the plant ran on emergency power provided by backup diesel generators.[10] The emergency generators were not intended for long-term use.[11] Reportedly there are about 3,000 tons of highly radioactive used nuclear fuel stored in Rokkasho at current, that could overheat and catch fire if the cooling systems fail. Japanese radio reported on March 13 that 600 liters of water leaked at the Rokkasho spent fuel pool.[12] According to The New York Times, grid power was restored on March 14, 2011.[13]

The 7 April aftershock caused the loss of grid power again until the next day

The mind boggles to the insanity out there, but one should not be surprised in a pathocracy ruled by power and greed. There is no thought for humanity and of the leaving the place in a better condition for future generations. With the current mindset amongst the ruling elite there won't be any future generations.

 

[loreta]

I don't remember where I read that maybe in Fukushima they are doing experiences with people? Is that a possibility? Experiences in the sense that they are studying the consequences of radiation and other studies about it.

 

[Rich]

I don't remember where I read that maybe in Fukushima they are doing experiences with people? Is that a possibility? Experiences in the sense that they are studying the consequences of radiation and other studies about it.

Anything is possible Loreta. I think it quite probable the authorities are carrying out health checks on local affected populations and gathering the data. Maybe even prescribing a range of anti-radiation tonics to measure their effectiveness with control groups and placebos. But without data it is just speculation.