Commentary By Ron Beasley
While the media in the US is preoccupied with Anthony Weiner there is real news that they don't want you to see - like this:
Apparent Explosion and Fire at Fukushima #4
Yes, the Fukushima nuclear facility continues to be a catastrophe.
There is an explosion at the back of the structure which is captured in frame 1:05.
There is a flash of Cherenkov radiation visible from the back of the structure between frames 1:05 � 1.07.
There is more fire and smoke at 1:31, 1:36, 1:46 and the fuel becomes energetic at 2:12. A transient criticality event appears to have been achieved at 2:12, but the expected is not apparent, at least to me at first glance.
We also have a potential nuclear catastophy a little closer to home - 20 minutes from Omaha, Nebraska.
A fire in Nebraska's Fort Calhoun nuclear power plant briefly knocked out the cooling process for spent nuclear fuel rods, ProPublica reports.
The fire occurred on June 7th, and knocked out cooling for approximately 90 minutes. After 88 hours, the cooling pool would boil dry and highly radioactive materials would be exposed.
On June 6th, the Federal Administration Aviation (FAA) issued a directive banning aircraft from entering the airspace within a two-mile radius of the plant.
"No pilots may operate an aircraft in the areas covered by this NOTAM," referring to the "notice to airmen," effective immediately.
Since last week, the plant has been under a "notification of unusual event" classification, becausing of the rising Missouri River. That is the lowest level of emergency alert.
The OPPD claims the FAA closed airspace over the plant because of the Missouri River flooding. But the FAA ban specifically lists the Fort Calhoun Nuclear Power Plant as the location for the flight ban.
The plant is adjacent to the now-flooding river, about 20 minutes outside downtown Omaha, and has been closed since April for refueling.
A single earthen dam is the only thing preventing a Fukishima type disaster in America's heartland.
Ron - One word: steam.
ReplyDeleteFour words: Fog from the ocean.
Look at the speeded-up timescale. How anyone can say there is a "flash of Cherenkov radiation" on a black-and-white video is quite beyond me. And steam and fog have a certain look to them that is quite different from smoke, even when they're speeded up.
The reason you haven't heard the news about the fuel pool catching fire is that, just as all the other times Arne Gundersen and other doomsayers have proclaimed one, there wasn't one.
Check the Japanese government's radiation reports. If any of this "interpretation" has any validity, the radiation counts will be going up, and many more isotopes will show up.
And the NOTAM was because of the flood, not because of radiation danger from the reactor. One of the problems during a natural disaster is that every jackass with a small plane wants to go see, getting in the way of the emergency crews. NOTAMS like this are standard.
Whatever works Cheryl. Nuclear power is not economic and man simply cannot be trusted with the power of the atom because greed will always win out over safety. We will continue to hear that a disaster at Fort Calhoun can't happen until it does and then we will be told that no one could have predicted it which will be a lie. Perhaps you are right about the recent event a Fukishima or maybe not. The fact remains it is a disaster which japan may never recover. Perhaps Fort Calhoun will survive this flood but what about the next one and there will be more. All I ask is no government guaranteed loans and no government liability insurance. Under those conditions no nuclear plants will be built. That should tell you something.
ReplyDeleteGundersen is an idiot, but there is enough steam rising from #4 to be of some concern before the marine layer rolls in, especially since it is not constant. All is not well there.
ReplyDeleteYes, there is a bit of a flash, which could easily be a car/truck turning the corner. I'm pretty sure they use headlights at night in Japan.
And Ft.Calhoun's spent fuel cooling pumps were out of service for 1.7% of the length of time that it would take for such an outage to become problematic. I don't really see that as cause to freak out, any more than doing so at the "lowest level of emergency alert" being issued during a flood.
"Whatever works." A friend here who is antinuclear said that to me about Helen Caldicott's misrepresentations when she was here.
ReplyDeleteI'm sad to see that you and my friend have joined the Republicans in disrespecting the truth.
If we don't tell the truth and have some contact with reality, how can we do anything?
Here's a better evaluation of the situation at Ft. Calhoun.
ReplyDeleteIt's also worth mentioning that Fort Calhoun is a pressurized water reactor, while Fukushima reactors are of the boiling water type. This about the difference between Ford Escorts at Fukishima and an armored truck at Fort Calhoun.
ReplyDeleteThe government and nuclear power owners have so many trolls out there spinning that it is amazing that the spin doesn't stop completely stop what is clearly a full blown nuclear tragedy.
ReplyDeleteNext in a series, "well, Nebraska "might" have a problem."
The economy is terrible, but how could any literate human being be so filthy as to sign on to cover up these horrors? The trolls here are paid.
Ah, adding in the "nuclear industry pays them" meme to the Arne Gundersen hype. This is truly a rich thread of misinformation.
ReplyDeleteNo, sorry, hell. Not paid by anyone. Just a scientist trying to sort out the facts. Have you asked Arne where he gets his income?
As a photographer and sometime videographer (who also lives on a coast and shoots in the fog on occasion), I'm perfectly willing to concede Cheryl's points on Unit 4. Even an ignoramus like myself has to question how one can conclude Cherenkov radiation from B&W footage speeded up, unless they were filtering for blue light and actually looking for it--they may very well have such equipment, but there's no way that's publicly available for obvious reasons of CYA.
ReplyDeleteThat said, there really isn't any defense for nuclear power when other means of generating power without the horrific risks exist... and much more cheaply.
Nukes are uneconomic, which is the first layer of risk, since it NECESSITATES cutting corners, which put everyone at risk. Substandard parts in place of the advertised items. Lax inspection routines and a massive tolerance for design and construction flaws. Witness the Brown's Ferry fire started by a small candle which nearly crashed the plant.
Even with all this corner cutting, this industry can only continue with massive taxpayer subsidies and massive bills for those unfortunate enough to actually use electricity.
Also, the NRC is not now and never has been anything resembling a competent regulator. They instituted the now fashionable "revolving door" with industry hacks decades before it was cool. Back when they were the AEC. Their primary purpose is to protect the industry and it's profits, not the public interest, health or welfare. It has ever been thus and that will never, ever change.
Indeed, according to that bastion of public interest regulation, what happened at Fukushima is STILL physically impossible! In other news, the earth is flat and nuance is confirmed as a liberal hoax. We have 23 sister plants to Fukushima, all of which are well past their design lifespans, undoubtedly possess a large number of design/construction issues and have only 4 hours of battery life. And while the USG suggested a 50 km evacuation zone for the Japanese, only 10 miles is sufficient for Americans. The NRC is simply protecting corporate profits, rather than making those poor corporations actually pay the decommission costs they had to agree to in order to get their original licenses in the first place. Fourth down, time to punt!
Pursuant to that, there's the secrecy problem, which all sentient beings know leads to corruption, coverups and very undemocratic behaviors. It's a feature, not a bug. Again, it has always been that way.
Then of course, there's the security theater justifying all the secrecy. Nuclear power essentially mandates something resembling a police state to keep it safe from ne'er do wells. A simple power outage and poof, meltdowns a plenty.
One can go on for hours about this, of course, but the point is ample enough. Even if the technology were perfectly safe, it would still be undone by pathological, greedy, lying, incompetent corporate drones who care not one whit about the public safety. Indeed, given that human error is the base cause of most if not all of the major accidents (including TMI and Chernobyl) and the excuse has always been "nobody could have predicted that," why are technocrats so keen to overlook the obvious matter of human stupidity and pettiness when it comes to making bad decisions that kill other human beings?
The mind boggles.
If all greedy evil blood sucking corporations are put out of business, how will anyone be able to work for a living? A world of 6 billion truck farmers?
ReplyDeleteI have worked for three of the huge corporations you all hate so much, wearing steel-toed boots and a hard hat, and my observations simply do not coincide with your vituperative claims.