Monday, March 14, 2011

Nuclear Fuel Rods Fully Exposed at Japanese Reactor

Nuclear fuel rods at a quake-stricken Japanese nuclear reactor are now fully exposed, Jiji news agency said, quoting the plant's operator, Tokyo Eletcric Power Co .

The exposure is at the Fukushima Daiichi complex's No.2 reactor. Such exposure, unless reversed, will very likely lead to a meltdown. Then it is only a containment vessel preventing a massive leak. If the containment vessel doesn't hold, serious radiation enters the air.

Depending on wind conditions such radaition could pass over Tokyo, only 160 miles away.

1 comment:

  1. RW,

    As I understand it, this reactor was set to be mothballed next month. There are safe (or safer, anyways) designs, as I'm sure you saw Bill Walker's article on LRC: http://www.lewrockwell.com/walker/walker42.1.html.

    Companies in the US need to get on the stick with trying to get out in front of the PR disaster this could, or will, be for NP.

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