> That reactor DID NOT BLOW UP. The explosion WAS NOT nuclear in nature. It's caused by > hydrogen being vented, not an atomic explosion.
"Blew" is an appropriate verb for vented hydrogen that has exploded. I said nothing about a nuclear nature. The instantaneous relocation of half the building should also justify the same verb-age.
Tokyo Electric Says Meltdown Possible at Fukushima No.3 Reactor
March 14, 2011, 12:28 AM EDT)
(Bloomberg) -- Tokyo Electric Power Co. said a meltdown is possible at its Fukushima Dai-Ichi No. 3 reactor where a hydrogen explosion occurred, injuring six workers.
A meltdown may occur should the reactor’s fuel rods remain exposed, Managing Director Akio Komori said at a press briefing in Tokyo today. The vessel containing the reactor’s radioactive core is intact after the blast at 11:01 a.m. local time, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said earlier...
> > That reactor DID NOT BLOW UP. The explosion WAS NOT nuclear in nature. It's caused > by > > hydrogen being vented, not an atomic explosion. > > "Blew" is an appropriate verb for vented hydrogen that has exploded. I said nothing > about a nuclear nature. The instantaneous relocation of half the building should also > justify the same verb-age.
Well it's also incredibly unlikely/impossible for a nuclear power plant to blow-up like a nuclear bomb would. The fissionable material in a plant is nowhere near the concentration needed in a nuclear bomb, and the fact that the fissionable material is not compressed into a low volume/high fission ratio means that the type of reaction which takes place in a nuclear bomb is simply not possible in a nuclear reactor.
What appears to have happened there in Japan is what would have happened at Three Mile Island if things had gone even worse. Regardless, there is a lot of land in Japan which is fairly radioactive.
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I am just a worthless liar.
I am just an imbecile.
I will only complicate you.
Trust in me and fall as well.
I saw something recently that talked about military personnel on a ship off the coast of Japan getting the equivalent of one month of background radiation in a few hours by being NEAR a radioactive site.
Then the reporter followed it up with a statement about them being OK after they were scrubbed down.
I think they're mixing two completely different things. I worked at a nuclear plant. When you went into the Radiologically Controlled Area (RCA) you dressed in a yellow jumpsuit with a hood, booties, googles and latex gloves. Your gloves overlapped your sleeves and were taped with masking tape. Likewise for your boots.
All of this gear was purely for what is called "surface contamination". Essentially, radioactive dust that ends up on things due to maintenance in the RCA and containment.
In addition to the protective gear for what amounts to radioactive dust, you also carry two dose meters. One is an electronic device that looks like a beeper that measures radioactive particles shooting though your body, the other is more of a long-term dose meter that records overall exposure for many months at a time.
I was UNDER the reactor vessel one time assisting a technician from Westinghouse replacing some sensor modules. We were standing behind thick concrete walls as much as possible to block the radiation and limit our exposure. I was running in and giving him tools, then running back out of the room. There was a limit to how much radiation exposure you could get in one day. I think I hit the daily limit in about 20 minutes. The guy from Westinghouse, on the other hand, got enough dosage in that one day that he wasn't allowed into the RCA again for a whole year. Neither of us needed to be "scrubbed down" because we didn't come in contact with "surface contamination".
The bottom line is that it's possible to get giant doses of radiation without actually becoming "contaminated" with radioactive dust. It's also possible to get extremely contaminated with radioactive dust to the point where they have to strip you down and scrub your skin because it got into your pores without getting a large radiation dose.
I was ordered to stay inside for a bit today as well... But I'm so far away that the levels here have been less than receiving a tooth X-ray. They've been checking the air around base hourly. Could be worse when the wind changes direction though.
The rolling blackouts suck though. Just leaving my computer off for now and sticking to the iPhone
Just broke my personal record for number of consecutive days without dying!
Doesn't reassure me at all. The explanation on that page suggests that the radiation that gets out has a half life of seconds... so how am I 237 kilometers away with radiation in the air? I can neither believe the media nor this so-called PhD. They are all idiots and/or masking the truth to prevent panic. Actually some media makes it sound worse than it is... Radioactive rain from the plant headed for HongKong? Riiight.....
Just broke my personal record for number of consecutive days without dying!
The very last of what you said is most certainly the case. They weren't wearing any CBR gear, they were just flying in Helicopters bringing in supplies. They had to scrub the aircraft as well... But the levels of radiation weren't all that bad. But if all it takes is a quick wash to remove all/most then it would be dumb not to do it. People don't seem to understand that you get radiation doses by simply sunbathing...