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The Fukushima reactor building that exploded March 12 is one of a series of identical General Electric reactors constructed in Japan and the US. In this reactor design, the used nuclear fuel rods are stored in pools of water at the top of the reactor building. These “spent” rods are still highly radioactive: the radioactivity is so great the rods must be stored in water so they do not combust. The explosion at Fukushima Daiichi reactor unit 1 apparently destroyed at least one wall and the roof of the building: some reports stated the roof had collapsed into the building.

Two days later, the nearby building containing the plutonium-uranium (MOX) fueled Fuksuhima Daichii reactor unit 3 exploded. So why bother about the rubble of reactor No 1? The WaPo quotes a nuclear engineer who knows the answer:

Although Tokyo Electric said it also continued to deal with cooling system failures and high pressures at half a dozen of its 10 reactors in the two Fukushima complexes, fears mounted about the threat posed by the pools of water where years of spent fuel rods are stored.

At the 40-year-old Fukushima Daiichi unit 1, where an explosion Saturday destroyed a building housing the reactor, the spent fuel pool, in accordance with General Electric’s design, is placed above the reactor. Tokyo Electric said it was trying to figure out how to maintain water levels in the pools, indicating that the normal safety systems there had failed, too. Failure to keep adequate water levels in a pool would lead to a catastrophic fire, said nuclear experts, some of whom think that unit 1’s pool may now be outside.

“That would be like Chernobyl on steroids,” said Arnie Gundersen, a nuclear engineer at Fairewinds Associates and a member of the public oversight panel for the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant, which is identical to the Fukushima Daiichi unit 1.

People familiar with the plant said there are seven spent fuel pools at Fukushima Daiichi, many of them densely packed.

Gundersen said the unit 1 pool could have as much as 20 years of spent fuel rods, which are still radioactive.

Radioactive Cloud Headed For US West Coast?

Posted by Cheryl Nelson on March 14, 2011 at 10:30pm

This just in from PatR....

IF this is true........we are all in immediate danger......please take this serious. We all know the radiation clouds are headed this way, whether in 24 hrs or 7 days........please get prepared!
Pat

http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread674027/pg1
US Air Force WC-135 Detects Deadly Radiation Over Pacific (US in 24hrs), page 1

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Topic started on 14-3-2011 @ 01:58 AM by AllSeeingI

US Air Force WC-135 Detects Deadly Radiation Over Pacific (US in 24hrs)

Special USAF aircraft have detected large amounts of Radioactivity over the mid-north Pacific region. The radiation cloud could make landfall in western North America within 24 hours.

The WC-135 Constant Phoenix is a special purpose aircraft derived from the Boeing C-135 and used by the United States Air Force. Its mission is to collect samples from the atmosphere for the purpose of detecting and identifying nuclear explosions. It is also informally referred to as the “weather bird” or “the sniffer” by workers on the program.

Still working to get other sources. The article did point out that during the Hydrogen Explosion earlier the cloud reached a height of 800m during the initial blast.

More to come....

UPDATE: The original author claims to have been given an anonymous insider tip from a contact friend of his inside the military. He himself is attempting to find out if this story is true. He asks for any possible leads be emailed to him. Mentioned in the source article.

Prayers/Intention for the people of Japan, especially the young and old...

Posted by Cheryl Nelson on March 14, 2011 at 9:30pm

http://blogs.aljazeera.net/live/asia/japan-crisis-live-blog

2:45am

As temperatures plummet, millions of people are spending a fourth night without foods, water or heating.

Overwhelmed shelters are housing 550,000 people along Japan's east coast after the earthquake and tsunami killed at least 10,000 people. Kyodo news agency reports that authorities have lost contact with a further 30,000 citizens.

In Ishinomaki, Patrick Fuller, of the International Federation of the Red Cross, says:

It is the elderly who have been hit the hardest.

The tsunami engulfed half the town and many lie shivering uncontrollably under blankets. They are suffering from hypothermia having been stranded in their homes without water or electricity.

Snow is expected within the next few days.

Radiation Leaking; Al Jazeera's Awesome Chronological Blogs

Posted by Cheryl Nelson on March 14, 2011 at 9:30pm

http://blogs.aljazeera.net/live/asia/japan-crisis-live-blog

"TEPCO reported that they confirmed 8217 micro Sievert at the front gate of the Daiichi Fukushima Powerplant. This is 3 times of what a person normally exposed to in a year in one hour."

Check out Al Jazeera's Live Blogs:

March 12th: http://blogs.aljazeera.net/live/asia/live-blog-japan-earthquake

March 13th: http://blogs.aljazeera.net/live/asia/japans-twin-disasters-march-13-liveblog

March 14th: http://blogs.aljazeera.net/live/asia/disaster-japan-march-14

March 15th: http://blogs.aljazeera.net/live/asia/japan-crisis-live-blog