Posts tagged coverage
Japan death by Nuclear fallout 0 Death by Tsunami 10,000: two Boulder Scientists write
Mar 17th
http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/default.aspx
http://www.nukeworker.com/
http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/fear-the-media-meltdown-not-the-nuclear-one/?singlepage=true
Yes, media coverage is particularly bad on this one. I happened to have
spent a couple of years working in the bowels of Browns Ferry NP which
are identical units to those in Japan. GE Mk I BWRs.
To sum it up in a few sentences, this is essentially identical to TMI.
A Loss of Coolant Accident followed by failed fuel and probably
substantial fuel melt (there was at TMI). The huge hydrogen production
is from the zircalloy fuel cladding actually burning in the steam
environment, stripping the oxygen atom from water and releasing the
hydrogen. Same thing happened at TMI and there was a hydrogen
explosion, though since with a PWR, the entire reactor building is the
containment, the explosion was contained within the reactor building.
At TMI the core remained uncovered for about 24 hours, long enough for
the fuel to reach its maximum temperature and equilibrate with its
surroundings. The fuel that did melt simply flowed out of the core and
quenched in the water that remained below the fuel. It did not melt
through the reactor vessel. In fact it didn’t even scar the inside
surface of the vessel.
This is what I see happening in Japan. There has been partial or
complete fuel failure in both units. That is indicated both by the huge
hydrogen production and by the trace of Cs-137 and I-131 detected on the
outside.
There is a very large inventory of both isotopes in an operating
reactor. The plant design assumes that both are released as gases
during an accident and plan accordingly. That didn’t happen at TMI.
Once things cooled off enough that we could enter the containment, what
we found was that the Cs and I had reacted chemically to form cesium
iodide, a solid material. Most of it stayed in the reactor. Some came
out into the containment building and settled out on surfaces. A very
tiny amount escaped during the initial containment venting at TMI.
Again, the same thing is happening in Japan. The trace of Cs and I that
has been detected on the outside, if chemically analyzed, will be found
to be the compound cesium iodide. This compounding is why there is but
a tiny bit of material released despite practically constant containment
venting.
I don’t quite understand the pumping of sea water. That’s kind of a
last ditch decision because the salt in the seawater destroys the
stainless steel in the plant. Normally there are a few million gallons
of demineralized water on-site for emergency cooling. Maybe it got
contaminated by the tsunami. Maybe the piping from the storage tank(s)
got broken in the shake. I certainly can’t second-guess the on-site people.
I did see mention in one news report that they were using large diesel
construction pumps to pump the water. That indicates to me that the
plant is still completely blacked out. It’s possible that this is the
reason for using seawater – that none of the electric pumps in the plant
are working.
When all the dust has settled, I predict this to be identical to TMI.
An unmitigated disaster for the utility. No significant off-site
radiation exposure and no off-site contamination. In other words, a
non-event as far as the public is concerned. The massive evacuation
will prove to have been precipitous and un-necessary.
————————————————————————
Thank God they’re using good old fashioned traditional units
of dose (the Roentgen) instead of the execrable Sievert. (1 Sievert is
100 R) The only advantage that I have is my experience at Browns Ferry
and TMI.
I don’t quite understand why they’re trying to fill the #3 reactor
building with water unless they’re assuming a failed reactor vessel and
primary containment. Otherwise water from the reactor building could
not get through the primary containment boundary. Bombing the spent
fuel pit with water I can understand but not the reactor building.
The radiation readings at the plant boundary and that one value quoted
at a distance from the plant are from the noble gases, primarily at this
point Xe-133. It’s a rich gamma emitter with a high specific activity.
Fortunately it only has a 5.25 day half-life and so will decay quickly.
The other, at this point minor, contributor is Kr-85. It’s mostly a
beta emitter with a rare gamma. With about a 10.5 year half life it
will be the principle source of radiation around and inside the
containment vessels in the days to come.
Fortunately its low probability gamma means that it can be vented with
little consequence. At TMI we vented a few million curies prior to the
first reactor building entry and there was no change in the background
radiation level at the plant site boundary.
I’d give anything to be at the plant site boundary with a gamma
spectrometer. With that I could tell you want was going on in the core
and what was being emitted and how much. I’ll guarantee you that there
are people there from some agency doing just that. I don’t know why
that information isn’t filtering out.
John
Aljazeera “live from Libya, CNN int, MSNBC, FOX news, best site for TV news coverage
Feb 22nd
Aljazeera English
CNN International Best for Christchurch and overall world:
CNN USA
MSNBC
FOX NEWS
With all of the world crisis going on today, we have put these TVchannels to the topof our news blog. Good coverage of pirates in Somalia, the Earth Quake in New Zealand, the revolutions in Libya, Iran, Egypt, middle east.
Live Shot of Lunar Eclipse CU to host Lunacy Party: Boulder Lunar eclipse tonight
Dec 21st
(Courtesy Stuart Robbins) |
The University of Colorado at Boulder’s Fiske Planetarium, in partnership with the Sommers-Bausch Observatory, will host a viewing party of the total lunar eclipse on Monday, Dec. 20, starting at 10 p.m.
Fiske Planetarium will offer a free talk about the moon by education programs manager Matt Benjamin beginning at 10:30 p.m. in the planetarium’s theater. Refreshments and snacks will be provided.
Following the talk, attendees are invited to walk up the hill to nearby Sommers-Bausch Observatory to view the eclipse in its entirety, weather permitting. Telescopes will be available for public observation and attendees are encouraged to dress appropriately for outdoor star viewing.
The University of Colorado at Boulder’s Fiske Planetarium, in partnership with the Sommers-Bausch Observatory, will host a viewing party of the total lunar eclipse on Monday, Dec. 20, starting at 10 p.m.
Fiske Planetarium will offer a free talk about the moon by education programs manager Matt Benjamin beginning at 10:30 p.m. in the planetarium’s theater. Refreshments and snacks will be provided.
Following the talk, attendees are invited to walk up the hill to nearby Sommers-Bausch Observatory to view the eclipse in its entirety, weather permitting. Telescopes will be available for public observation and attendees are encouraged to dress appropriately for outdoor star viewing.
The eclipse viewing begins about 11:30 p.m. and will continue through 2 a.m. on Dec. 21. Staff from the planetarium, the observatory and related academic programs will be on hand to discuss the eclipse and answer questions. Cameras and lawn chairs are welcome.
This year’s event is a rare moment of celestial timing and alignment; in North America, the next lunar eclipse coinciding with the winter solstice will not occur until 2094.
For more information call Fiske Planetarium at 303-492-5002.
Contact
Matthew Benjamin, 303-492-4073
matthew.benjamin@colorado.edu
Erin Frazier, University Communications, 303-492-8384
erin.frazier@colorado.edu
source popsci
For the first time since 1638, a total lunar eclipse will be visible from North America on the longest night of the year. That night just happens to be tonight, starting at 11:32 AM, so all you moon-oglers will have to stay up awfully late (or wake up perversely early) to catch it.
The eclipse, in which the Earth’s shadow completely blocks out the moon, will last for a particularly long time tonight–it will start at 11:32 PM (Boulder Time), with the total eclipse beginning at 12:41 AM. (West coasters can do the time zone math themselves, and watch the eclipse in shorts with their movie star neighbors on the beach, or whatever they do out there.)
The total eclipse will last for a whopping 72 minutes, until 1:53 AM, during which the moon will appear to change colors, most noticeably to bright orange-red. But do not be alarmed! The moon is not on fire, functioning as some kind of pagan punishment to celebrate the winter solstice. It’ll be changing colors due to the light filtering through Earth’s atmosphere and reflecting on the moon’s dull surface.
For their part, NASA will be hosting a live chat with Marshall Center astronomer Rob Suggs and researcher Mitzi Adams, and will also host a live feed, in case you live in a dungeon or something and can’t see the moon (in which case, you should really look into moving once your dungeon’s lease is up).
source sure start.
Viewers in Boulder will see the eclipse begin around 12:32 am EST. Totality will occur from 12:41 am to 1:53 am EST. During this phase the moon will show as a rusty orange-red color.
This event will mark the start of winter solstice 2010. The shortest day of the year has fallen previously on December 21 but never with the lunar eclipse. It has been centuries since the two events coincided.
The next time this will occur will be in 84 years. While not as long as this last wait, it will still be far beyond the lifetime of most who will witness it tonight.
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Christmas telescopes might end up being unwrapped a bit early, though, in anticipation of a more detailed view of the lunar surface. Light rays bending around and through the edges of the earth’s atmosphere are expected to bathe the moon in sunset like colors, ranging from yellows to oranges and even dark brick reds.
On the west coast of the US, the total eclipse will begin on December 20, at 11:41 pm (PT).
This lunar eclipse coincides with the winter solstice, which means the moon will appear high overhead, making it easy to watch if the weather is good. Astronomers say that, due to recent volcanic eruptions that have dumped tons of ash and dust into the atmosphere, this may be a much darker lunar eclipse than usual.
The total eclipse will be visible in Greenland, Iceland, North America, Central America and western portions of South America. Western Europe will see the early stages of the eclipse before the moon sets, and parts of Asia will get to see a partial eclipse when the moon rises.