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2011-03-27 -Signs, Portents, and the Weather-

Japan reactor radiation levels 10 million times normal: CNN

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Posted by anon1 2011-03-27 03:00|| || Front Page|| [11134 views ] Top

#1 Situation is not good. Those who said it was Chernobyl are closer to the right answer than those who said it wasn't as bad as Three Mile Island.

Sad for Japan.

Posted by anon1 2011-03-27 03:02|| 2011-03-27 03:02|| Front Page Top

#2 No, this is NOTHING like Chernobyl. In fact, while some workers were exposed to more than the 100mSv dose used as the normal limit, none have been exposed to more than the 250mSv dose limit set for this event. And both levels are well below the 500mSv limit for workers in the US and elsewhere in the world.

"10 million times normal" is pretty much scare headlines. That is water that has apparently leaked from the cooling loop of one of the reactors into the basement of the turbine building. MOST of that radiation was from Chlorine-38 which has a half-life in minutes and is an "activation product" of bombarding salt in sea water with neutrons.

That radiation will be gone in a couple of days and once they switch to fresh water for cooling, no more of it will be generated.

Posted by crosspatch 2011-03-27 03:18|| 2011-03-27 03:18|| Front Page Top

#3 The 10-million-times normal reading applies to radioactive iodine-134 found in the No. 2 building's pooled water, according to the nuclear safety agency. This isotope loses half its radioactive atoms every 53 minutes, compared to a half-life of every eight days for radioactive iodine-131 that has also been detected in recent days.

I-134 decays to one ten millionth (i.e. background levels) in 23.3 half lives or 20.6 hours. Chernobyl indeed.

Posted by Zebulon Thranter9685 2011-03-27 03:19|| 2011-03-27 03:19|| Front Page Top

#4 crosspatch & Zebulon Thranter9685 don't confuse us with facts!

Posted by g(r)omgoru 2011-03-27 03:29|| 2011-03-27 03:29|| Front Page Top

#5 And the salt in the water is gradually being turned into argon by neutron activation. Both the sodium and the chlorine will eventually become argon but there is a brief period where sodium hydroxide is produced. About 25% of the chloride ions in salt are Cl-37 which pick up a neutron to become Cl-38. This decays in less than an hour to argon. Sodium doesn't bond to argon so the sodium ion is freed. The free sodium reacts with water to create NaOH also known as lye. But eventually the sodium converts to magnesium (becomes milk of magnesia) and then eventually potassium and sulfur and finally argon. Most light activation products eventually work their way up to argon gas at which point they are vented.

Posted by crosspatch 2011-03-27 03:32|| 2011-03-27 03:32|| Front Page Top

#6 Here is the breakdown of the isotopes in that water:

http://bravenewclimate.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/fd_nuclide_conc.jpg?w=449&h=178

Also note that had the workers been wearing chest waders, they would have suffered no consequence at all. As it was, they got a little beta "sunburn" and that is about the equivalent severity of their injury, about like a sunburn.

Posted by crosspatch 2011-03-27 03:35|| 2011-03-27 03:35|| Front Page Top

#7 The high concentration of Cl-38 is due to neutron activation of Cl-37 in the sea water salt. (about 25% of the salt in sea water is Cl-37).

Once they switch to fresh water cooling the Cl-38 starts to go away. It also looks like they are getting the spent fuel cooling pond circulation and filtration systems working:

http://bravenewclimate.com/2011/03/26/fukushima-26-march-status/

Posted by crosspatch 2011-03-27 03:38|| 2011-03-27 03:38|| Front Page Top

#8 Yup, Chernobyl. /s

Posted by tipover 2011-03-27 03:47|| 2011-03-27 03:47|| Front Page Top

#9 While the media obsesses over this nuclear non-disaster, it ignores the toll of dead and missing passing 27,500.

The worst natural disaster in a developed nation by a very long way.

The death toll would have been a lot lower had vulnerable towns been relocated to higher ground.

As is usually the case with 'natural disasters', the real fault lies with governments who won't pass the necessary legislation to protect the population until after a disaster occurs.

We saw the same thing here in Oz recently. Dozens died in floods and it was only afterwards that the government decided letting people build their homes on floodplains was a bad idea and had to stop.

Posted by phil_b 2011-03-27 04:43|| 2011-03-27 04:43|| Front Page Top

#10 "Most light activation products eventually work their way up to argon gas at which point they are vented."

OMGOMGOMG. Argon!!! Doomed! We are DOOMED! DOOOMED I say!

AAAAARRRRGGGGOOONNN!!!!!!!! must be bad, starts with Arg!

/s

Posted by Whiskey Mike 2011-03-27 07:06|| 2011-03-27 07:06|| Front Page Top

#11 In Chernobyl they were working in shifts of a few minutes, it was so radioactive.

Posted by trailing wife 2011-03-27 08:26|| 2011-03-27 08:26|| Front Page Top

#12 'MOST of that radiation was from Chlorine-38 which has a half-life in minutes and is an "activation product" of bombarding salt in sea water with neutrons.'

'The 10-million-times normal reading applies to radioactive iodine-134 found in the No. 2 building's pooled water, according to the nuclear safety agency. This isotope loses half its radioactive atoms every 53 minutes,'

If there's a significant amount of short-lived neutron activation products then where do the neutrons come from?

Would spontaneous fission produce enough neutrons to explain this? Is there still a low level fission chain reaction? Or is there another mechanism that would create neutrons?

Posted by Spealet Dark Lord of the Veal Cutlets6086 2011-03-27 08:42|| 2011-03-27 08:42|| Front Page Top

#13 As long as godzilla doesnt eat my chewits , we'll all be fine ! here

Posted by Craper and Company 2011-03-27 08:59|| 2011-03-27 08:59|| Front Page Top

#14 if it keeps anon1 unplugged and huddled in the dark in her panic room, it's got Chernobyl written all over it

/ssshhhh

Posted by Frank G 2011-03-27 09:05|| 2011-03-27 09:05|| Front Page Top

#15 Yeah, about that alleged radiation spike ... not so much.

Posted by CincinnatusChili 2011-03-27 11:17|| http://f2a.biz/cc 2011-03-27 11:17|| Front Page Top

#16 10^7?That would be like inside ... Betegeuse.
Beetlejuice!
Beetlejuice!
B....

Posted by twobyfour 2011-03-27 15:47|| 2011-03-27 15:47|| Front Page Top

#17 "If there's a significant amount of short-lived neutron activation products then where do the neutrons come from?"

Good question. They come from the nuclear fuel. The cooling water is circulating in direct contact with the fuel rods. These rods emit neutrons. The control rods are absorbing those neutrons so they don't start a chain reaction but the cooling water is exposed to them.

That said, they are now backing off that entire radiology report. The latest numbers from NISA make no mention of any Cl-38 or I-134.

It is very early in the morning in Japan, we probably won't get any new information for a few more hours yet.

Posted by crosspatch 2011-03-27 15:59|| 2011-03-27 15:59|| Front Page Top

#18 TOPIX > KAN TOLD TO DECENTRALIZE TOKYO [Earthquake] ANNIHILATION DANGER.

Pert advises NATO KAN that any major or catastrophic natural destruction of TOKYO could effec destabilize + destroy the entire Country of Japan, as since TOKYO PER SE = TOKYO ECON ACTIVITIES made up 1/3 of Japan's economy in 2007, is larger than INDIA'S GDP, + over 3X LARGER THAN SWEDEN'S ECONOMY???

and

* SAME > {Globe-and-Mail.UK] FEAR GROWS NEAR ANOTHER NUCLEAR PLANT IN JAPAN. Japan Nucplant at KASHIWAZAKI-KARIWA is the world's largest in in terms of output, + is located on a MAJOR = DANGEROUS FAULT LINE.

DANGER CLOSE.

However, despite quake risks JAPAN WILL STILL NEED NUCPOWER PLANTS UNTIL SUCH TIME IT CAN FIND A EFFEC SUBSTITUTE/ALTERNATE SOURCE CAPABLE OF MATCHING THE 30% OF JAPAN'S TOTE ENERGY PRODUCED BY SAME.

IMO Artic read, "SUBSTITUTE/ALTERNATE SOURCE" = NOT COAL???

IOW, "JAPAN CHERNOBYL" OR NO "JAPAN CHERNOBYL", JAPAN CAN'T STOP USING NUCENERGY.

Posted by JosephMendiola 2011-03-27 23:55|| 2011-03-27 23:55|| Front Page Top

00:01 trailing wife
23:55 JosephMendiola
23:50 crosspatch
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23:02 Godzilla
22:56 CrazyFool
22:54 Pappy
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