Meltdown Caused Nuke Plant Explosion: Safety Body
TOKYO (Nikkei)--The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) said Saturday afternoon the explosion at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant could only have been caused by a meltdown of the reactor core.
The same day, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (9501), which runs the plant, began to flood the damaged reactor with seawater to cool it down, resorting to measures that could rust the reactor and force the utility to scrap it.
Cesium and iodine, by-products of nuclear fission, were detected around the plant, which would make the explosion the worst accident in the roughly 50-year history of Japanese nuclear power generation.
An explosion was heard near the plant's No. 1 reactor about 3:30 p.m. and plumes of white smoke went up 10 minutes later. The ceiling of the building housing the reactor collapsed, according to information obtained by Fukushima prefectural authorities.
At a news conference Saturday night, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano discounted the possibility of a significant leak of radioactive material from the accident. "The walls of the building containing the reactor were destroyed, meaning that the metal container encasing the reactor did not explode," Edano said.
The amount of radiation detected inside the plant after 4:00 p.m. slightly exceeded the dose people can safely receive in a year, according to information obtained by the Fukushima prefectural government.
The No. 1 reactor shut down automatically soon after a massive earthquake hit the area Friday, but its emergency core cooling system failed to cool the reactor's core sufficiently.
NISA is affiliated with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
(The Nikkei March 13 edition)
Now this from Infowars: http://www.infowars.com/japanese-nuclear-meltdown-confirmed/:
The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA)confirmed the meltdownSaturday afternoon. Fukushima is one of the 25 largest nuclear power stations in the world. The NISA is affiliated with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
High levels of cesium and iodine, by-products of nuclear fission, are being reported and providing more evidence that a nuclear meltdown is currently underway.
It is now certain Japan is experiencing a Chernobyl event. “At this point, events in Japan bear many similarities to the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. Reports indicate that up to 1.5 meters (4.9 feet) of the reactor fuel was exposed. The reactor fuel appears to have at least partially melted, and the subsequent explosion has shattered the walls and roof of the containment vessel – and likely the remaining useful parts of the control and coolant systems,” Stratfor explains.
“Given the large quantity of irradiated nuclear fuel in the pool, the radioactivity release could be worse than the Chernobyl nuclear reactor catastrophe of 25 years ago,” said Kevin Camps, a nuclear waste specialist.
Prior to the explosion of the containment structure, exposure rates outside the plant were at about 620 millirems per hour. Radiation exposure for the average individual is 620 millirems per year. Virtually any increase in ambient radiation can raise long-term cancer rates, and authorities distributed iodine, which helps protect against thyroid cancer, The Oregonianreports.
As the image above illustrates, the prevailing jet stream moves from Japan to the United States across the Pacific Ocean. Airborne radiation would work its way into the jet stream and reach the United States in less than 36 hours. Jet streams flow from west to east in the upper portion of the troposphere.
By downplaying this serious disaster, the Japanese government is not only endangering its own people, but also millions of people in the United States and Canada.
The cover-up by the Japanese government provides more evidence that government cannot be trusted to safeguard the lives of its citizens.
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