8.9 Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan

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Reply 660

gimpy69

Original post by Luceria

Oh dear. This is scary.

Can't deal with this anymore, might have to get out of country. Don't know whether to stay or go. :frown:

Nerves in tatters. Some people aren't worried at all, but the scare-mongering headlines don't help things.

Reply 661

dhr90

Original post by DominF

I could leave, but it'd be a huge inconvenience so I don't want to do it until it's DEFINITELY dangerous to stay here. The situation seems to be getting worse rather than better though, so maybe my decision will be made before too long...

I understand that reasoning, and if you are in Tokyo then I guess not in as much danger as you could be. If most of the other international students have left, did they fly home or just go further south/west? Is the uni still functioning as close to normal as it could be right now, or have classes etc been stopped?

Good luck to you and everyone else in Japan!

Reply 662

Roobsa

Original post by Ape Gone Insane

Accident at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant upgraded to level 6 crisis, on scale of 7, say French officials

Isn't 7 Chernobyl scale?

Reply 663

lukejoshjedi

Original post by Sushidelight

wow all that propaganda and stuff has come out pretty quickly

Reply 664

DominF

Original post by dhr90

Nearly all of them have actually left the country, I was quite surprised. I'm staying put til the Japanese government says I should do otherwise. I'm on placement in one of the uni labs so my situation is different, but classes for most students have stopped for Spring break. It would've closed anyway though, the lab I'm working in is closing tomorrow for a week, so are many offices apparently.

And thanks! I have a feeling the next couple of days will be crucial.

Reply 665

F_shakeey

Original post by Roobsa

Isn't 7 Chernobyl scale?

Yeah it is and remains to be the only disaster ever to be rated 7, just goes to show how bad it is over there and the threat the nucelar radiation poses to the people.

Reply 666

Lintu93

According to the telegraph, it's already the second worst nuclear accident in history. French experts are claiming it's a 6, while the Japanese are insisting it's only a 4.

There's quite a big difference between a 4 and a 6. I wonder which one it actually is? For everyones sake, I hope it really is only a 4.

Reply 667

CurlyBen

Original post by Lintu93

I suspect it's got something to do with this accident having different features of each: a level 4 incident occurs with a "minor release of radioactive material unlikely to result in implementation of planned countermeasures other than local food controls", which as far as I'm aware, is the limit of the substantiated reports - I haven't seen any stating with any authority that the higher levels of radiation have occurred outside the locality of the plant. A level 6 occurs with a "significant release of radioactive material likely to require implementation of planned countermeasures" - there's been a report that radiation levels around the plant have 'risen considerably' but I don't think there's anything firmer than that. Also levels 4 and 5 talk of immediate deaths from radiation, which I don't think has occurred yet. I guess it just depends on interpretation, although at the end of the day it's hardly the most important thing to be worrying about.

Incidentally, I wouldn't be surprised if the automatic scram-on-earthquake systems are significantly modified following this - as I follow it the whole problem has come about because of an inability to provide external or backup power (because of the tsunami) and the limited life of battery backups to the cooling system. If one of the reactors was still running it should be able to provide more than enough power to run all the coolant pumps and a lot more besides.. but I haven't seen any detailed articles on the technical side of the accident yet.
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Reply 668

lukejoshjedi

Radiation's leaking eeeverywhere. how can they practically stop it... getting dangerous for crews to even be there

Reply 669

HyperInSugar

Last minute reports from both Associated Press and Reuters confirm a fourth explosion has hit Reactor 4 of the Fukushima Plant. :frown:

I just hope everything can be solved as fast as possible. My thoughts and prayers are with the Japanese.

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 670

Mad Vlad

The levels of radiation released are not significant. It doesn't warrant the hysteria that seems to be gripping the media. As bad as it looks, this isn't a Level 6 incident.

Reply 671

CurlyBen

It's a couple of days out of date now, but this article is quite interesting (especially for those of a more technical mind)

Reply 672

lukejoshjedi

I honestly think the media is downplaying the situation- not to scare monger but I'm reading that it could get carried high into the atmosphere and would across the midwest of America in 4 days from the west coast, eventually reach Europe too... :|

nevertheless we should all be praying there's no fall out - these are just theories and predictions, what and where would actually be affected in the worst case scenario? we don't know for sure

Reply 673

bikerx23

Original post by Mad Vlad

The levels of radiation released are not significant. It doesn't warrant the hysteria that seems to be gripping the media. As bad as it looks, this isn't a Level 6 incident.

We've got to be careful with this - INES ratings are typically postulated by the nation where an emergency is ongoing and confirmed after significant evaluation following the event, as part of the lessons learnt exercise. Arguments at this stage of what the level should be are nonsensical - the important thing is that the information available is acted upon and the appropriate measures are put in place. I don't see the motivation of the French authorities in lobbing a massive tabloid hand grenade towards Japan, but they seem to have decided it is best to stir things up and attempt to distract from the Ongoing works.

Reply 674

morris743

Original post by lukejoshjedi

Mild contradiction?

Reply 675

bikerx23

Original post by lukejoshjedi

That, fortunately, seems very unlikely as there is no propellant to push the contaminants into the jet stream, as was the case with Chernobyl derived contamination.

The lack of clarity though is completely infuriating - someone I know said originally that tepco had a history of being secretive and elusive, which I thought was just him adding some vitriol, but in hindsight it seems a completely justified concern.