175 replies to this topic

[Bob-C]

Hi everyone, according to a report from enenews.com, "Nuclear Super Typhoon? Massive storm may approach Fukushima this weekend — Current gusts of 195 mph May 26th, 2011 at 04:58 PM." The report explains:

Super typhoon churns through Pacific, threatens Okinawa, CNN, May 26, 2011:

Super Typhoon Songda ripped across the western Pacific on Thursday, dropping heavy rain on the Philippines and threatening Okinawa and the Japanese main islands with rain and damaging winds into the weekend.

Songda was a Category 5 storm late Thursday, with maximum sustained winds of 161 mph and gusts of 195 mph, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The storm was producing wave heights of 38 feet in the Pacific, forecasters said. [...]

The report aslo pointed out:

Tropical Cyclone Information, Japan Meteorological Agency, May 26, 2011:



Typhoon Songda brings floods, snarls traffic in Philippines, Bloomberg News by Cecilia Yap and Joel Guinto, May 25, 2011:

[ ...] The typhoon may pass over the main island of Honshu, including Fukushima prefecture where Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s crippled nuclear plant is located, according to the forecast. The storm is expected to weaken before reaching Japan.

Engineers at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear station are trying to cool reactors and stop radiation leaks after the plant was hit by a March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

Bob-C

[CCL]

Geez, it just doesn't end, does it, Bob. I'm a former member of the nuclear power industry; back in the Navy these were the types of horror stories we told ourselves to keep us entertained while out to sea. This is crippling (obviously) the world's 3rd largest economy. The human toll is going to be horrendous; there will be a refugee count (eventually) in the hundreds of thousands. I'm sure they're doing just about all that can reasonably be done; we all know that the full story of the heroes - and villains - won't come out for a decade or so. I'm old enough to not think in Seiverts and Baquarells; I'm still a Rem/Rad/Roegnten guy. However, the radiation levels are high enough that no one with any sense of future past the next couple of decades needs to be working at the facility, which is going to hamper attempts to stabilize the plants. At the point of offering a potential solution that I'm sure is being discussed - what, other than the radiation levels and a lack of robots sophisticated enough to install the equipment - is keeping Tepco from bringing in a borasilicate glass system and just filling the containments? Weight is one consideration, and therefore more structural analysis of the containment foundations will need to be performed. But borasilicate stabilization should do the trick, if they can figure out how to get it done. Steve

[Bob-C]

Geez, it just doesn't end, does it, Bob.

I'm a former member of the nuclear power industry; back in the Navy these were the types of horror stories we told ourselves to keep us entertained while out to sea.

This is crippling (obviously) the world's 3rd largest economy. The human toll is going to be horrendous; there will be a refugee count (eventually) in the hundreds of thousands.

I'm sure they're doing just about all that can reasonably be done; we all know that the full story of the heroes - and villains - won't come out for a decade or so.

I'm old enough to not think in Seiverts and Baquarells; I'm still a Rem/Rad/Roegnten guy. However, the radiation levels are high enough that no one with any sense of future past the next couple of decades needs to be working at the facility, which is going to hamper attempts to stabilize the plants.

At the point of offering a potential solution that I'm sure is being discussed - what, other than the radiation levels and a lack of robots sophisticated enough to install the equipment - is keeping Tepco from bringing in a borasilicate glass system and just filling the containments?

Weight is one consideration, and therefore more structural analysis of the containment foundations will need to be performed. But borasilicate stabilization should do the trick, if they can figure out how to get it done.

Steve

Hi Steve, it's always a pleasure to hear from you. Thank you very much for your thoughtfulness and for sharing your wealth of knowledge and experience. I agree with your comments and appreciate your offering a potential solution to a very sad and critical situation that has caused tremendous suffering and hardship to the Japanese people.

Best to you and yours,

Bob

[Bob-C]

Hi everyone, according to a report from enenews.com, "Nuclear expert: Fukushima 'has turned even worse than it was in Chernobyl' — “Appears to have fit into the worst predicted scenario” May 26th, 2011 at 07:19 PM." The report explains:

Fukushima melt-down worse than Chernobyl, Voice of Russia, May 24, 2011:

The situation at the quake-hit Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan appears to have fit into the worst predicted scenario. [...]

Certainly, in the first hours after the tragedy happened the operators were too shocked to unveil any details to the public. However, things did not get clearer with time. Deputy Director at the Russian Institute for Nuclear Engineering, Chernobyl clean-up worker Igor Ostretsov commented on the situation in an interview with the VOR…

“The Fukushima disaster has proved that nuclear industry should be controlled only by the state and not by private companies. The outcome of this tragedy has turned even worse than it was in Chernobyl. Graphite which was part of the reactor`s core, burnt out and vanished in the atmosphere. But at Fukushima the reactor`s core melted.” [...]

Bob-C

[Bob-C]

Hi everyone, according to a report from enenews.com, "Academics warn that TEPCO has failed to disclose scale of radiation leaks — Gov't to release details at 'appropriate time' May 27th, 2011 at 02:27 AM." The report states:

Fukushima Faces 'Massive' Radioactive Water Problem, Bloomberg by Stuart Biggs and Yuriy Humber, May 26, 2011:

[A]cademics warn [TEPCO] has failed to disclose the scale of radiation leaks [...]

"Tepco knows more than they've said about the amount of radiation leaking from the plant," Jan van de Putte, a specialist in radiation safety trained at the Technical University of Delft in the Netherlands, said yesterday in Tokyo. "What we need is a full disclosure, a full inventory of radiation released including the exact isotopes."

The government plans to release details on the radiation released at the "appropriate time," said Goshi Hosono, an adviser to Prime Minister Naoto Kan [...]

Bob-C

[Bob-C]

Hi everyone, according to a report from enenews.com, "US Navy forecast shows super typhoon may hit Fukushima plant — TEPCO 'still considering typhoon measures' May 27th, 2011 at 12:19 PM." The report states:

Typhoon Songda strengthens; may hit Fukushima nuclear station, Bloomberg News, May 27, 2011:

Typhoon Songda strengthened to a supertyphoon after battering the Philippines and headed for Japan on a track that may pass over the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant by May 30, a U.S. monitoring center said.

Songda's winds increased to 150 miles per hour, the U.S. Navy Joint Typhoon Warning Center said on its website. [...]

The center's forecast graphic includes a possible path over Fukushima Dai-Ichi plant [...]

"We are still considering typhoon measures and can't announce detailed plans yet," Takeo Iwamoto, a spokesman at Tokyo Electric Power Co., said by phone when asked about the storm. [...]

Bob-C

[Echo]

Hi everyone, according to a report from enenews.com, "US Navy forecast shows super typhoon may hit Fukushima plant — TEPCO 'still considering typhoon measures' May 27th, 2011 at 12:19 PM." The report states:

Typhoon Songda strengthens; may hit Fukushima nuclear station, Bloomberg News, May 27, 2011:

Typhoon Songda strengthened to a supertyphoon after battering the Philippines and headed for Japan on a track that may pass over the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant by May 30, a U.S. monitoring center said.

Songda's winds increased to 150 miles per hour, the U.S. Navy Joint Typhoon Warning Center said on its website. [...]

The center's forecast graphic includes a possible path over Fukushima Dai-Ichi plant [...]

"We are still considering typhoon measures and can't announce detailed plans yet," Takeo Iwamoto, a spokesman at Tokyo Electric Power Co., said by phone when asked about the storm. [...]

Bob-C

Hey Bob,

Just checked it out and Songda is no longer a Cat 4-5 Typhoon. It is weakening in the colder northern waters and is going to be just a tropical storm by the time it gets to Japan on Sunday night.

http://www.wundergro...g/wp201104.html

Doc

[Bob-C]

Hi everyone, according to a report from enenews.com, "US Navy forecast shows super typhoon may hit Fukushima plant — TEPCO 'still considering typhoon measures' May 27th, 2011 at 12:19 PM." The report states:

Typhoon Songda strengthens; may hit Fukushima nuclear station, Bloomberg News, May 27, 2011:

Typhoon Songda strengthened to a supertyphoon after battering the Philippines and headed for Japan on a track that may pass over the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant by May 30, a U.S. monitoring center said.

Songda's winds increased to 150 miles per hour, the U.S. Navy Joint Typhoon Warning Center said on its website. [...]

The center's forecast graphic includes a possible path over Fukushima Dai-Ichi plant [...]

"We are still considering typhoon measures and can't announce detailed plans yet," Takeo Iwamoto, a spokesman at Tokyo Electric Power Co., said by phone when asked about the storm. [...]

Bob-C

Hey Bob,

Just checked it out and Songda is no longer a Cat 4-5 Typhoon. It is weakening in the colder northern waters and is going to be just a tropical storm by the time it gets to Japan on Sunday night.

http://www.wundergro...g/wp201104.html

Doc

Hi Doc, good to hear from you. Thanks for your thoughtfulness and thanks for the link to the weather map depicting Songda's current path and strength.

Have a happy and fun-filled weekend and a successful trading week ahead.

Best,

Bob

[Bob-C]

Hi everyone, according to a report from enenews.com, "Crippled nuke plant not prepared for heavy rain, wind — TEPCO: We apologize for lack of significant measures May 28th, 2011 at 05:48 PM." The report states:

Crippled nuke plant not prepared for heavy rain, wind, Kyodo, May 28, 2011:

[...] Heavy rain has been forecast for the areas from Sunday to Monday due to the season's second typhoon, Songda, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. [...]

A TEPCO official said, "We have made utmost efforts, but we have not completed covering the damaged reactor buildings. We apologize for the lack of significant measures against wind and rain."

Goshi Hosono, a special adviser to Prime Minister Naoto Kan, told a press conference Friday that the current measures "cannot be said to be appropriate." [...]

Bob-C

[Bob-C]

Hi everyone, according to a report from enenews.com, "Fukushima nuclear plant is 'leaking like a sieve' May 29th, 2011 at 01:19 PM." The report explains:

Leaks have been a persistent problem at the plant since it was struck by an earthquake and tsunami on 11 March. Three reactors operating at the time of the quake went into meltdown after the tsunami wiped out emergency generators designed to circulate water through the cores. TEPCO recently admitted that all three units probably suffered complete meltdowns before workers could flood them with seawater. [...]

[T]oday Reuters reports that the storage tanks appear to be leaking.

And that's just the start of the bad news because the reactors themselves appear to be leaking as well. TEPCO initially hoped that the leaks were largely coming from pipes that could be repaired, but they now concede that both the reactors' pressure vessels and primary containment vessels, which are designed to contain an accident, are probably leaking water. [...]

Given all these problems it may be no surprise that some scientists are simply floating the idea of turning Fukushima into a nuclear graveyard. It would be a simple solution, but given the plant's location on the coast, storing the waste there for millenia may be unrealistic.

Bob-C