March 12, 201115 yr comment_433197 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12721498 A nuclear expert on twitter (@arclight) speculates (with emphasis on that word) that the pressure release included a lot of hydrogen, which exploded. Light water reactors can't do a Chernobyl. Regardless, Chernobyl was the result of a huge clusterfuck of decisions. The guys here would piss on the reactor if that was what it took to cool it down. Report
March 12, 201115 yr comment_433276 I read they flooded it with seawater and added boric acid. moar pics of general devastation http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2011/03/massive_earthquake_hits_japan.html Report
March 12, 201115 yr comment_433277 Considering the enormous scope of this disaster, I think that pandering to the public's fear of nuclear power is somewhat missing the forest for the trees...... Awful, Just awful. I don't have any other words. Report
March 13, 201115 yr comment_433294 Holy shit. Awful indeed. Best wishes to those people, I hope the nuclear plant holds on. Chernobyl was awful enough already Report
March 13, 201115 yr comment_433304 I hope you're right Jacob. I fear the companies involved in the plant aren't completely honest, so security measures aren't what they're supposed to be. They're scoring the hazard at 4/7 and I'm not sure how much scored Chernobyl on that scale Report
March 13, 201115 yr comment_433310 Chernobyl was a 7/7 on the same scale, Three Mile Island a 5. From many reports there were some more serious uranium fission products like cesium in the vented steam, and some locals (~20) have tested positive for these...... but this is still a long way from a true disaster, and the sea water cooling looks like it is having the desired effect. When it is all said and done though, I suspect that the plants will be complete write offs. and i think they have been doing great, considering they were hit by one of the strongest earthquakes in human recorded history followed immediately by a tsunami. Absolutely. The entire backup generator system was neutered by the tsunami, and yet things are still largely under control. It won't be hard for future systems to be raised to prevent tsunami damage. Edited March 13, 201115 yr by Beefy Report
March 13, 201115 yr comment_433341 They are now fear that there could be a melt down to the core of the two reactors. Hope situation will improve soon. Heck earthquake is bad, but a tsunami is worst. Given the number of the expect death toll, this is much better than the Asian Tsunami event of 2004. Edited March 13, 201115 yr by purk Report
March 13, 201115 yr comment_433358 Latest NYTimes piece. Seems some evidence mounting with worker exposure, etc. Report
March 13, 201115 yr comment_433360 the radiation exposure is going to be from the steam release. these aren't totally sealed systems. Report
March 13, 201115 yr comment_433361 Anybody been in touch with Stax to see if they are OK there? They aren't too far from Tokyo, so would have been shaken around pretty badly. Report
March 13, 201115 yr comment_433363 I feel really lucky to live in western Japan. It really is a terrible tragedy. Report
March 13, 201115 yr comment_433365 Anybody been in touch with Stax to see if they are OK there? They aren't too far from Tokyo, so would have been shaken around pretty badly. I haven't but I do hope that they are alright. Report
March 13, 201115 yr comment_433366 Also Craig and the rest of our Japanese mates. I wish they're all fine. Jacob, no worries, I get the point. Hopefully the meltdown doesn't happen and no new big quakes either. It might be terrible a new damage on the structure. Report
March 13, 201115 yr comment_433382 Good article on the situation here: https://morgsatlarge.wordpress.com/2011/03/13/why-i-am-not-worried-about-japans-nuclear-reactors/ Report
March 13, 201115 yr comment_433398 I dunno about the status of Stax, but Nikon is most likely proper fucked. Even champion fruit loop Ken Rockwell noticed (scroll down for relevant crackpottedness.) Nikon is perpetually back-ordered on most of their premium products in the best of circumstances. I can only imagine how bad the situation will be now. Disclaimer: Yes, the availability of high faltuin' camera equipment over here is completely trivial compared to the devastation in Japan. Report
March 13, 201115 yr comment_433417 Nikon's Sendai factory is only a couple of miles from the shore, which isn't good. Report
March 13, 201115 yr comment_433418 Sounds like Sony is also in a world of hurt along with a few others. http://www.channelnews.com.au/Hardware/Industry/P4L9C8M3 Glad to see that you're ok Amos. Report
March 14, 201115 yr comment_433461 Perhaps the Mayans were on to something. I'd like to add that it was the aliens that visited the Mayans that were on to something Report
March 14, 201115 yr comment_433481 He looks like the main character in the movie "The Illusionist". Nice disappearing act. Report
March 14, 201115 yr comment_433497 http://www.abc.net.au/news/events/japan-quake-2011/beforeafter.htm Report
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