(US) Minnesota nuke plant shuts itself down

11 05 2011

From MONDAY –

Reactor Shuts Down Unexpectedly at Prairie Island Nuclear Plant Monday

Unit 2 of Minnesota’s Prairie Island nuclear plant shut down automatically Monday morning, according to Nuclear Street sources.

Safety systems for the reactor tripped at 7:22 a.m., sources indicate. The unit shut down safely, the plant responded as expected, and no injuries were reported. The cause of the trip is under investigation. It appears to be a weather-induced generator lockout, sources said, and one possibility is that lightning struck a power line leading to a plant substation.

Operated by Xcel Energy 28 miles southeast of Minneapolis, Minn., Prairie Island uses two, roughly 550-megawatt Westinghouse pressurized water reactors licensed in 1974, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Unit 1 at the plant was shut down April 29 for scheduled refueling.

According to an NRC reactor-status list, unit 2 was operating at full power when the trip occurred.

http://nuclearstreet.com/nuclear_power_industry_news/b/nuclear_power_news/archive/2011/05/09/reactor-shuts-down-unexpectedly-at-prairie-island-nuclear-plant-monday-050903.aspx


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TV News Worthless on Japan Nuke Crisis

1 04 2011

It looks like the web is the way to get some accurate news and chemistry explanations about the Fukushima Dai-Ichi reactor meltdown.
A happy surprise has been YouTube. There are more good videos posted creating a better view of what is really happening.

Here are some worthy items:
Japan’s Meltdown Crisis Is “Chernobyl On Steroids”
Expert: “Reactors in runaway” state —

Radioactivity 10,000 times the limit found from groundwater

and on the OTHER location, 10 miles away ….
Fukushima Daini Reactor No 1 Water Pumps Affected By Electrical Fire

RT NEWS discusses containment of the reactor –

YouTube Has Been Restricted in Japan.Censorship about Fukushima nuclear reactor


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Meltdown Evaporates From TV News, Royals Plan Wedding

29 03 2011

You would think 6 nuke reactors out of control (with 2 known meltdowns unabated) in still quaking Japan would lead the news or at least be a second runner up to raging North Africa.

The Union of Concerned Scientists examined photos and film from March 27 and reports:

” . . .  a picture said to have been taken yesterday in the control room of the Unit 2 reactor at Fukushima Dai-Ichi. . .
While Japanese workers seem to have restored lighting to the control room, no other source of power seems to have been restored. All the computer monitors are blank. The clock is dead. None of the equipment status lights and gauges appear to be functional. None of the annunciator windows are lit—and the plant is far from a condition where no parameters are in alarm status. . .  “

Conventional news is reporting (on the web) Highly radioactive water threatens Fukushima with some mention of plutonium but not that a meltdown forms it(!!!). . .

Workers were using sandbags and concrete panels yesterday in a desperate attempt to prevent the contaminated water from spreading further through the plant or into the nearby soil and ocean. . .

Talk about rearranging deck chairs!

There’s just a few items of news on the meltdown since yesterday –

“A crane normally used to lift and move fuel rods is not visible, indicating the possibility that part of the crane may have fallen into the fuel rod pool and damaged some of the rods.”

“TEPCO officials told reporters Monday morning that despite the continuous pumping in of water to cool down the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 reactor cores, water levels were not rising as expected, meaning the pressure containers may not be completely sealed off.”

But HOLD EVERYTHING!

Kate Middleton picks TWO cakes for royal wedding!

Workers were using sandbags and concrete panels yesterday in a desperate attempt to prevent the contaminated water from spreading further through the plant or into the nearby soil and ocean.

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Meltdown possible at Fukushima reactors – TOPEC

25 03 2011

URGENT: Meltdown possible at Fukushima reactors: Tokyo Electric #NoAgenda. – from Open Source DSC and No Agenda News and Information


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Nuke Disaster in Japan, Updates

12 03 2011

L A T E S T [ Mar. 14]

Second reactor building explodes

http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2011/s3163897.htm

and

Fuel rods fully exposed at tsunami – hit reactor in Fukushima

The fuel rods in one of Japan’s damaged nuclear reactors have been temporarily fully exposed from their coolant, raising the risk of overheating and a meltdown.

A spokesman at the Fukushima plant said today that Unit 2’s rods were briefly exposed.

Sea water was being channelled into the reactor to cover the rods again.

Unit 2 of the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant is the latest reactor to lose its ability to cool down.

The other two reactors at the plant are facing a meltdown and authorities are racing to cool them with sea water. . . (more)

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-news/fuel-rods-fully-exposed-at-tsunami-hit-reactor-in-fukushima-15113711.html

WikiLeaks: Japan warned over nuke plants

Japan was warned more than two years ago by the international nuclear watchdog that its nuclear power plants were not capable of withstanding powerful earthquakes, leaked diplomatic cables reveal.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/wikileaks/8384059/Japan-earthquake-Japan-warned-over-nuclear-plants-WikiLeaks-cables-show.html

 

______________from Mar. 12:_______________

The officials in Japan and the energy-cozy media seem to be minimizing the radiation leak(s) at Japanese atomic reactors.

CNN says:

An explosion at an earthquake-damaged nuclear plant was not caused by damage to the nuclear reactor but by a pumping system that failed as crews tried to bring the reactor’s temperature down, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said Saturday.

The next step for workers at the Fukushima Daiichi plant will be to flood the reactor containment structure with sea water to bring the reactor’s temperature down to safe levels, he said. The effort is expected to take two days.

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/03/12/japan.nuclear/

They call it a “concern” not a meltdown. Nothing to look at here. Move along.

But Nature.com says:

Two Japanese nuclear power stations are struggling to contain damage from a major earthquake and tsunami, in what could become be the worst nuclear incident since the catastrophic Chernobyl accident of 1986.

http://blogs.nature.com/news/thegreatbeyond/2011/03/explosion_rocks_nuclear_plant.html

and they say they are giving out iodine pills.

and  Xinhua says:

Radiation is leaking from the Fukushima No.1 nuclear plant in northeast Japan, after its reactors were disabled by Friday’s massive earthquake and ensuing tsunami, Japanese officials confirmed Saturday.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-03/12/c_13775056.htm

and  The Daily Yomiuri says:

The Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said Saturday afternoon that a nuclear meltdown was suspected at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant’s No. 1 reactor.

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20110312dy01.htm

World Nuclear News says:

Battle to stabilise earthquake reactors

http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/RS_Battle_to_stabilise_earthquake_reactors_1203111.html

You decide for yourself if this disaster is being contained. It doesn’t look like it is.

Also CNN is reporting “Quake moved Japan coast 8 feet; shifted Earth’s axis” (! ! ! )

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/03/12/japan.earthquake.tsunami.earth/index.html

Lots more constantly updated on the web.

U P D A T E

US Nuclear Experts Worry About Possible Japan Reactor Meltdown

http://www.voanews.com/english/news/asia/US-Nuclear-Experts-Worry-About-Possible-Japan-Reactor-Meltdown-117863244.html

“. . . . Nuclear energy analyst Robert Alvarez of the Institute for Policy Studies says there are many things we do not know about the failure, including whether the containment structure is fully intact. “The information that has been made public, particularly by the Japanese nuclear safety authorities, certainly indicate that radioactive elements from the fuel itself have escaped and entered the environment. And even if the reactor maintains its integrity, there’s a possibility that things like open relief valves on the top of the reactor and things like that may still release large amounts of radioactivity,” he said.

Ken Bergeron, a physicist who formerly worked for Sandia National Laboratories, says a so-called station blackout – which involves the loss of both off-site electricity and on-site backup power from diesel generators – is viewed in the nuclear industry as extremely unlikely. But he says it happened.

“So we’re in uncharted territory. We’re in the land where probability says we shouldn’t be. And we’re hoping that all of the barriers to release of radioactivity will not fail,” he said. “

BBC & CNN are now taking the meltdown possibility seriously – F. C.


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Japan Quake: BBC Monitoring Damaged Nuke Plant

11 03 2011

L A T E S T —

Snap analysis: Japan may have hours to prevent nuclear meltdown

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/12/us-japan-quake-nuclear-us-analysis-idUSTRE72B04C20110312

————————————

BBC interviewed a nuclear power expert who said the cooling system in the damaged nuke plant is NOT contained.

On TV  BBC International has been updating the story as it unfolds.  Watch on the web if your area doesn’t carry the channel.

See live coverage from BBC News here – http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/

From their web page  –

Japan’s prime minister has declared a “nuclear emergency” after a number of reactors shut down after a massive earthquake hit the country.

Eleven reactors at four nuclear power stations automatically shut down, but officials said one reactor’s cooling system failed to operate correctly.

Under Japanese law, an emergency must be declared if a cooling system fails.

In total, the country has 55 reactors providing about one-third of the nation’s electricity. . .  (more)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12711707

This post will get an update if the cooling water situation gets fixed (relying on BBC tv coverage) – F.C.

U P D A T E

from Fox News,  5:40 pm  New York Time :

U.S. Rushes Coolant to Japanese Nuke Plant After Earthquake

The United State is rushing coolant to a Japanese nuclear reactor whose cooling system failed after a power outage caused by Friday’s massive earthquake off northeastern Japan.Speaking at the White House Friday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said U.S. Air Force planes were carrying “some really important coolant” to the Fukushima Daiichi plant.Japan’s nuclear safety agency said pressure inside one of six boiling water reactors at the plant had risen to 1.5 times the level considered normal. . .   (more) 

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/03/11/rushes-coolant-japanese-nuke-plant-earthquake/


Gads! They are going to release toxic vapor to prevent a blow up (!!!!) — but this story is from earlier today —

 

Radiation Risk Grows at Stricken Nuclear Reactor in Japan

Government May Release Radioactive Vapor to Help Prevent Reactor Meltdown

story:  http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-japan-nuclear-reactors,0,6779389.story

The New York Times has coverage (hopefully with updates) also –

Emergency Declared at Japanese Nuclear Plant

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/12/world/asia/12nuclear.html?src=me

L A T E S T   U P D A T E

a dire situation …..

From the Union of Concerned Scientists (via e-mail) —

March 11, 2011, 2:30 p.m. ESTUCS MEDIA ALERTCONTACT: Elliott Negin, 202-331-5439 or 202-997-1472 (cell)

NUCLEAR CRISIS IN FUKUSHIMA: WHAT WE KNOW

The massive earthquake off the northeast coast of Japan has caused a
potentially catastrophic situation at one of Japan’s nuclear power
plants. The situation is still evolving, but below is a preliminary
assessment based on the facts as experts at the Union of Concerned
Scientists currently understand them.

The plant’s owner, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), reported that
at 2:46 p.m. local time (12:46 a.m. EST) “turbines and reactors of
Tokyo Electric Power Company’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station
Unit 1 … and Units 2 and 3 … automatically shut down due to the
Miyagiken-oki Earthquake.”

These reactors are three of the six operating reactors at the
Fukushima I nuclear facility. All are boiling water reactors. Unit 1
has a rated output of 460 megawatts, and Units 2 and 3 each have a
rated output of 784 megawatts.

TEPCO went on to state the shutdowns were caused by the loss of
off-site power “due to malfunction of one out of two off-site power
systems.” This loss of power triggered emergency diesel generators,
which automatically started to provide backup power to the reactors.

However, at 3:41 p.m. local time (1:46 a.m. EST), the emergency diesel
generators shut down “due to malfunction, resulting in the complete
loss of alternating current for all three units,” according to TEPCO.
The failure of the diesel generators was most likely due to the
arrival of the tsunami, which caused flooding in the area. The
earthquake was centered 240 kilometers from Japan, and it would have
taken the tsunami approximately an hour to reach the Japanese islands.

This power failure resulted in one of the most serious conditions that
can affect a nuclear plant — a “station blackout” — during which
off-site power and on-site emergency alternating current (AC) power is
lost. Nuclear plants generally need AC power to operate the motors,
valves and instruments that control the systems that provide cooling
water to the radioactive core. If all AC power is lost, the options to
cool the core are limited.

The boiling water reactors at Fukushima are protected by a Reactor
Core Isolation Cooling (RCIC) system, which can operate without AC
power because it is steam-driven and therefore does not require
electric pumps. However, it does require DC power from batteries for
its valves and controls to function.

If battery power is depleted before AC power is restored, however, the
RCIC will stop supplying water to the core and the water level in the
reactor core could drop. If it drops far enough, the core would
overheat and the fuel would become damaged. Ultimately, a “meltdown”
could occur: The core could become so hot that it forms a molten mass
that melts through the steel reactor vessel. This would release a
large amount of radioactivity from the vessel into the containment
building that surrounds the vessel.

The containment building’s main purpose is to keep radioactivity from
being released into the environment. A meltdown would build up
pressure in the containment building. At this point we do not know if
the earthquake damaged the containment building enough to undermine
its ability to contain the pressure and allow radioactivity to leak
out.

According to technical documents translated by Aileen Mioko Smith of
Green Action in Japan, if the coolant level dropped to the top of the
active fuel rods in the core, damage to the core would begin about 40
minutes later, and damage to the reactor vessel would occur 90 minutes
after that.

Concern about a serious accident is high enough that while TEPCO is
trying to restore cooling the government has evacuated a 3-km (2-mile)
radius area around the reactor.

Bloomberg News reported that the battery life for the RCIC system is
eight hours. This means that the batteries would have been depleted
before 10 a.m. EST today. It is unclear if this report is accurate,
since it suggests that several hours have elapsed without any core
cooling. Bloomberg also reported that Japan had secured six backup
batteries and planned to transport them to the site, possibly by
military helicopter. It is unclear how long this operation would take.

There also have been news reports that Fukushima I Unit 2 has lost its
core cooling, suggesting its RCIC stopped working, but that the
situation “has been stabilized,” although it is not publicly known
what the situation is. TEPCO reportedly plans to release steam from
the reactor to reduce the pressure, which had risen 50 percent higher
than normal. This venting will release some radioactivity.

UCS will issue updates as more information becomes available.

###

The Union of Concerned Scientists is the leading U.S. science-based
nonprofit organization working for a healthy environment and a safer
world. Founded in 1969, UCS is headquartered in Cambridge,
Massachusetts, and also has offices in Berkeley, Chicago and
Washington, D.C. For more information, go to http://www.ucsusa.org.

————————————————————————————————————–

and this —

Report: Radiation soars inside troubled reactor

Tokyo –

Radiation measurements at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant were 1,000 times higher than normal after Friday’s massive earthquake in northern Japan

, the Kyodo news agency reported early Saturday, citing Japan’s nuclear safety agency.There were concerns that radioactive steam may have escaped the plant due to high pressure inside an overheating reactor, after the earthquake apparently damaged power and water supplies and disrupted the reactor’s cooling systems.

from-  http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/asiapacific/news/article_1625456.php/Report-Radiation-soars-inside-troubled-reactor

 


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