Talk:Fukushima nuclear accident/Archive 4

"pressure suppression room"
I can't see one of those on the diagrams, and one is not mentioned in the main article on the plant or the BWR AFAICS. It has the form of something which has been translated and come out odd. Midgley (talk) 20:04, 15 March 2011 (UTC)
 * It's the torus shaped structure around the bottom of reactor. See 'wet well' on the diagram. Mchl (talk) 20:06, 15 March 2011 (UTC)
 * The New York Times now refers to the torus and I would approve of changing the language to torus.--Brian Dell (talk) 21:27, 15 March 2011 (UTC)
 * I have an idea the briefings referred to 'pressure suppression room' and it might be correct jargon but i do prefer torus. But I am not clear whether in fact the torus might be the steel ring rather than the concrete room surrounding the steel torus.which might be the pressure suppression...hell, i dont know! But there are some nice articles here telling you how they work if you have time. I stuck 'torus' into the diagram captionSandpiper (talk)
 * Here's how it's described in BWR article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boiling_water_reactor_safety_systems#Automatic_Depressurization_System_.28ADS.29 Mchl (talk) 22:43, 15 March 2011 (UTC)
 * I don't read Japanese, and the original isn't to hand AFAICS, but is it possible that "room" is a translation of something that would better be rendered as "pool"? Midgley (talk) 12:27, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
 * "Pressure suppression room" means "pressure suppression chamber". "Toroidal pressure suppression chamber" woud be the best description. Robertmclean2 (talk) 13:37, 16 March 2011 (UTC)

Total exposure if constantly standing outside Fukushima I Nuclear Plant since beginning of accident
I have estimated the total radiation exposure that an individual would receive if standing outside the Fukushima I Nuclear Plant to be approximately 15 mSv. Some have deleted this because they say that it is wrong. Well, I think you'd find that it is quite a reasonable estimate.

The maximum measured radiation was 400 mSv per hour of course that must have only persisted for a very short time otherwise we would be hearing reports of radiation burns. At all other times the measurement was below 0.5 mSv.

I would also like to comment on the fact that all of these news agencies are utterly incompetent and irresponsible for providing inaccurate, inconsistent, and clearly wrong (impossible) numbers and units. 130.56.95.17 (talk) 20:20, 15 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Unless an outside source gives this estimate, we can't use it in the article; it's considered original research. Sorry, but that's simply the rules. 155.138.3.21 (talk) 20:52, 15 March 2011 (UTC)
 * The following sources may provide what you're looking for then. A lot less panic and misrepresented measures, and a lot more accurate information 130.102.158.15 (talk) 22:40, 15 March 2011 (UTC)

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/03/14/fukushiima_analysis/ http://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/tsunamiupdate01.html http://mitnse.com/


 * Such aggregations are original research, and probably rather meaningless, as there are probably large variations between different places at the plant. Cs32en   Talk to me  03:48, 16 March 2011 (UTC)

400mSv/hr was recorded near a reactor. OP estimated exposure of an individual at the perimeter of the NPS. Fortunately, TEPCO has been releasing those figures quite reliably here:

http://www.tepco.co.jp/cc/press/betu11_j/images/110316e.pdf

I don't feel like doing the math, but there's your source.
 * You can't use that data to calculate exposure to a hypothetical individual standing at the gate because these are point readings, not cumulative readings. For example 8mSv at 00:40 and 2mSv at 00:50. How long would exposure to 8mSv been...30 seconds, 10 minutes? To achieve a total exposure figure you need data from a continuous monitor.--Pontificalibus (talk) 17:02, 16 March 2011 (UTC)


 * You couldn't get an exact number, but a good approximation could be had by plotting these data points and solving for the area under the curve. Again, I don't care to do the math. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.129.169.114 (talk) 18:42, 16 March 2011 (UTC)


 * And as it has been said it would be for naught as that goes against WP:SYNTH. Sorry! =( Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie Say Shalom! 18:47, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Yes and that wouldn't work either, if there are spikes of radiation, you can't draw a smooth curve through the points of data you have - you don't know what spikes or troughs you aren't capturing - you need continuous cumulative monitoring.--Pontificalibus (talk) 18:51, 16 March 2011 (UTC)

Thank you to all editors
a thank you to all editors foryourwork. I've found this article to be one of the few sources of detailed and concise information that I have available to me. The real time updating is much appreciated. Many than to all, keep up the good work. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.187.45.71 (talk) 00:13, 16 March 2011 (UTC)


 * No thank yous are necessary, but a cash donation to each editor would be greatly appreciated. ;) Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie, AKA TheArchaeologist Say Herro 00:41, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
 * I am sure what he meant was that any donations ought to be directed to the wiki foundation who raise money to pay for this. (I dont think he was serious, but perhaps I am) Sandpiper (talk) 07:50, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Errr, yeah, Wiki Foundation, right.... Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie Say Shalom! 08:06, 16 March 2011 (UTC)

Two missing workers
We need to mention the two missing workers at Reactor 4. 75.41.110.200 (talk) 01:18, 16 March 2011 (UTC)


 * You're right, they should indeed be mentioned. Here is a source and here is another . Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie, AKA TheArchaeologist Say Herro 01:22, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Looks like they were lost in the tsunami, not the reactor fire.. 75.41.110.200 (talk) 04:54, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
 * I also saw a reference somewhere to a death due to a crane accident. Carcharoth (talk) 08:10, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
 * That's the crane operator at Unit 2 of Fukushima 2 (Dai-ni), not Fukushima 1 (Dai-ichi). Poor guy. 216.239.45.130 (talk) 09:56, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
 * It's odd to focus on two deaths when there are at least tens of thousands dead. 74.197.54.204 (talk) 16:53, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Those tens of thousands of deaths (I haven't seen a source putting it that high) while related to the larger disaster are not specifically related to this aspect of the disaster, by which I mean the Nuke plant. Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie Say Shalom! 22:01, 16 March 2011 (UTC)

File:Fukushima I 14 March 2011 satellite image by DigitalGlobe.jpg
184.144.160.156 (talk) 02:33, 16 March 2011 (UTC)


 * What the...? Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie, AKA TheArchaeologist Say Herro 03:17, 16 March 2011 (UTC)

There's actually a newer satellite picture now: http://twitpic.com/49zxz2/full --92.194.11.9 (talk) 12:55, 16 March 2011 (UTC)

Complete plant evacuation?
Both CNN and Fox News are now reporting that the latest government press conference said that the last 50 workers at Daiichi have been evacuated due to radiation dangers. Anyone who speaks Japanese well enough to have understood the conference directly know if that's true? rdfox 76 (talk) 02:52, 16 March 2011 (UTC)


 * Oh, Shit Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie, AKA TheArchaeologist Say Herro 03:25, 16 March 2011 (UTC)


 * I'm not sure whether any confusion is necessarily a translation problem. It's unclear whether this is a permanent or long-distance evacuation or whether work has temporarily been suspended, but the employees remain in the vicinity of the plant. Cs32en   Talk to me  03:42, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Yes, American news gave a simplified version of what actually took place. Cla68 (talk) 03:45, 16 March 2011 (UTC)


 * Oh, lol, for a second I thought this was the end of Japan as we know it. Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie, AKA TheArchaeologist Say Herro 03:48, 16 March 2011 (UTC)

You can follow the Japanese press conference simultaneously translated to English at (Windows Media Player needed, choice of bandwidths) and the Japanese radio news in English at  (choice of Windows Media or MP3). (they just recapped about the recent medium quake near Chiba: "intensity 423" and showing "M6.0") -84user (talk) 04:03, 16 March 2011 (UTC) By the way, the evacuation order was lifted an hour later they just said. -84user (talk) 04:05, 16 March 2011 (UTC)


 * We can't take it out the article without a reliable source; all our reliable sources are saying that the evacuation is still happening. Does anyone have a reliable source??Rememberway (talk) 05:16, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Confirmed by http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nhk-world-tv the alleged evacuation that has supposedly occurred recently leaving the reactors to melt down and all of us to die was a single mistranslation that spread far and wide.


 * During the recent press conference Yukio Edano was describing events that happened earlier in the day when he said that workers had to be evacuated due to a spike in radiation but they returned shortly after.


 * (Of course, nhk didn't say anything about a mistranslation because they aren't even aware of what the US media are saying, what they did is during an update, show how Yukio was on earlier and said workers had been evacuated temporarily and returned)


 * The systematic and total failure of the media time after time after time after time on this is probably a much bigger news story than the events at the reactors. I would suggest editors here be much much more skeptical about their "reliable" sources as Forbes, BBC, AP, Reuters, Al-Jazeera ALL failed to report correctly in this case


 * From the same news conference several news sources are reporting that Edano reported radiation levels of something like 8000 milli-sieverts, but I was listening live to the English translation of the conference and after he said that he spent literally like 10 seconds correcting himself saying "sorry, sorry I meant 8000 micro sieverts ie 8 milli-sieverts" Yet somehow only the error was reported by a nontrivial part of western media 98.222.61.16 (talk) 06:36, 16 March 2011 (UTC)

Would it be possible for editors following this, and aware of what errors are being propagated, to contribute at WP:ERRORS to make sure that the blurb about these incidents that is currently on Wikipedia's main page is reasonably correct and updated? Thanks. Carcharoth (talk) 08:09, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
 * BBC just said the plant had been evacuated though now people were back.Sandpiper (talk) 08:27, 16 March 2011 (UTC) At this minute the wiki main page says ' A spike in radiation levels at the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant in Ōkuma, Japan, forces the evacuation of staff working to prevent a meltdown.' which seems to me to be correct, even if it is based on the evacuation of most of the staff reported 12 hours ago.Sandpiper (talk) 08:30, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
 * "temporarily relocated" would probably be better than evacuated, according to this: http://joiito.tumblr.com/post/3895389108/main-stream-media-echo-chamber-sounding-false-alarmOsakadave (talk) 09:29, 16 March 2011 (UTC)

Don't use dramatic laguage!
Lets refrain from using dramatic language in the article, an editor called ionizing radiation "DNA-destroying energy". I've changed it to "ionizing radiation". This is an encyclopedia article not a tabloid newspaper. --Diamonddavej (talk) 04:26, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
 * I agree. I cited and reworded parts of this section to be more neutral and to flow better. 66.65.191.165 (talk) 05:25, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
 * In the context of this article, radiation always means ionizing radiation. I suggest to simply write "radiation", in order to avoid confusing readers who don't know what "ionizing" means. Cs32en   Talk to me  20:18, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
 * This is a problem of lay language versus professional/scientific language. I'm not particularly attached to the use of that term, but in regards to human health, what describes the situation for most readers, "ionizing radiation" or "DNA-destroying". Most readers wont understand the significance of "ionizing radiation" from a health point-of-view, whereas "DNA-destroying" is descriptive of the health impact. Emotion is only in the interpretation. We must remember, we are not writing scientific papers here, we are writing for a lay audience.John Moss (talk) 06:50, 17 March 2011 (UTC)

zircaloy
We should improve the zircaloy article, with all that is being mentioned about the failure modes of the fuel rod cladding. 184.144.160.156 (talk) 08:45, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
 * There is an article about Nuclear fuel and Fuel element failure.Sandpiper (talk) 10:33, 16 March 2011 (UTC)

Reactor status summary
The time stated in the top first cell needs a timezone. JST? Didn't see anything in the source and don't wanna guess. Styxnsoon (talk) 09:09, 16 March 2011 (UTC)

update that seemed to be important.
Don't know if anyone else consider so, therefore I will ask here. I saw in the news about the water level of reactor 5 was lowered by 40 cm, but still 201 cm above the fuel rods, and Japan is planning to use the diesel power generator of reactor 6 to fill back the water of reactor 5. —Preceding signed comment added by MythSearchertalk 09:21, 16 March 2011 (UTC)

Create new sub-articles due to length?
The article seems to be expanding quickly and soon become unwieldy, perhaps it would be good to start new sub-articles on Unit Reactors 1, 2, 3, and 4 or the International reaction section, for example. The article would become much more powerful and concise if these sections for example were shortened, coupled with a interwiki link to a sub topic article that provides more in-depth happenings of the various aspects of this accident. Naming might be difficult. 184.195.79.101 (talk) 10:37, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
 * no. my stock answer is to resist all suggestions to split until it is unavoidable. a reader needs to see all the information as a whole because unit 1 did not fail without affecting unit 2, and so on. There would be enormous repetition and no one could maintain any of the articles properly. The bit which is most separate from the rest is international reaction to the incident  and general commentary from other parties, which is going to grow and grow. Sandpiper (talk) 10:52, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
 * No. The article is still acceptable in length, and these things should really be seen together. Furthermore, as long as things are unfolding rapidly, any move (merge, split) is advised against. This situation is clearly different from the split between the reactor article and the accidents article as in that case the title did not cover anymore the main point of the article, which many people felt was inappropriate. In this case that is not the case. L.tak (talk) 10:58, 16 March 2011 (UTC)

tepco report of strange noises
tepco reported

''"At approximately 6:00 today, an abnormal noise began emanating from nearby the pressure suppression chamber of Fukushima Dai-ichi Power Station. Given that the pressure within this chamber had decreased, it was believed that this was an indication that an abnormality had arisen. From this point on, while water injection operations are still underway, the temporary transfer to a safe place of TEPCO employees and workers from other companies not directly involved with this work has begun. Currently, at Fukushima Dai-ichi Power Station, the remaining workers are doing their best to secure the safety and security of the site.

The parameters for Unit 2's nuclear containment vessel and the containment vessel show no significant change."''

problem is it does not say which reactor they are describing as making strange noises. I also just heard a news story that evacuation was caused by a mistaken radiation reading. That does not seem consistent with this official press release. Sandpiper (talk) 10:38, 16 March 2011 (UTC)

Generator Location
I was talking with a physics professor who seemed well informed. He stated that it was standard practice to position diesel generators at a non-trivial distance from the reactors, so that they would still be accessible in case of a problem with the reactors. And he said that in the case of Fukushima I, that the backup generator building happened to be placed at a relatively low lying position that made it more vulnerable to the tsunami, while the reactor buildings themselves were somewhat elevated and received essentially no damage from the tsunami. This seems like an interesting detail, if correct. Has anyone seen reports discussing the location of the generators on the site, and whether they might have been relatively more vulnerable? Were the reactor buildings hit by the tsunami, or were they high enough to avoid a direct hit (it's hard to tell from the satellite photos whether there is a slope there or not)? Dragons flight (talk) 12:03, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
 * have not seen any information on plant layout, which I agree would be interesting if anyone finds some. I have seen a comment the sea wall was designed to keep out 6.5m waves, so you would have to assume the water was at least this deep. The water is capable of running up hill as a body maintaining its depth, particularly since this is right on the coast. Ask someone who was on the top of a reactor watching for waves what he saw. Sandpiper (talk) 14:00, 16 March 2011 (UTC)

The dieselgenerators are usually placed in a ground level buildings with an underground fuel tank. Thats because of the seismic resistance. The higher floor, the more serious seismic damage.

NHK report gens being underground in NE corner of each turbine/ancillary hall. Underground possibly due to typhoons being considered greater threat than tsunamis. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.129.74.56 (talk) 21:34, 16 March 2011 (UTC)

I've found a generic site plan for a BWR - [BWR Building location graphic] - but this doesn't make any allowances for changes made to match local conditions. MWadwell (talk) 02:35, 18 March 2011 (UTC)

units
Should there be an article relating rad, rem, roentgen, curie, gray, sievert, rutherford, becquerel ? We don't seem to have an overarching article to cover the differences between these units. As older disasters did not use sieverts (Three Mile Island, Chernobyl) in news broadcasts from that period, people looking up resources on those events may end up needing some sort of guide on the issue. 184.144.160.156 (talk) 12:18, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
 * People would simply click sievert to find out. Matthew_hk   t  c  12:26, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Maybe a short sub-section at Radioactivity would be appropriate for this. Cs32en   Talk to me  20:23, 16 March 2011 (UTC)

Latest Cabinet Report (17:00 local time)

 * http://www.kantei.go.jp/jp/kikikanri/jisin/20110311miyagi/201103161700genpatsu.pdf My Japanese is not good but some item were readable, such as the level of radiation surrounding and in Tokyo. Instead of using how many time than normal (nature envir.), actual measurement should be used. And TEPCO on-site meter also show the radiation remain stable in 1mSv/h (P.S. third column is location 正門 = main gate 正門付近 = near maingate, fifth is neutron, 6th column is wind direction 東南西北= East, South, West, North, last column is wind speed)  Matthew_hk   t  c  12:24, 16 March 2011 (UTC)

"Recriticality" discussions ought to be restrained as rather fanciful, not that Wiki's responsible for whatever alarming conjectures USA Today dredges out of its sources but Wiki should avoid adding murk. Yes, "spent" fuel actually still has a goodly remaining proportion of un-split Uranium atoms. (Engineering tries to bring that percentage as low as possible but nature resists and much of the Uranium remains un-split when the core is no longer serviceable.) And Water is a moderator..., yes, and (for the benefit of other readers) a moderator is a substance that slows (moderates) fast (fission-emitted) neutrons. And critical (permit me, please to touch on the basics) means a chain reaction is in effect with neutron counts per unit time holding steady. ("Subcritical/supercritical" describe chain reactions with counts falling/rising.) When discussing chain reactions and criticality, GEOMETRY of the fuel and surrounding moderators is of absolute importance to what happens next. If moderation *does* change, there are actually two ways criticality becomes more likely: 1) Moderation intensifies and neutrons may be retained near fissionable fuel, or 2) Moderation diminishes and neutrons that would have been unable to reach fissile Uranium atoms can now do so. It's all a question of geometry. (Steam bubbles, for example, moderate less than liquid water because their molecules are spread apart.) Because the used fuel stockpile is arranged for storage and not as a potential reactor core, any notion the stored fuel could arrange itself (through diminshed moderation or reforming/distorting/melting) is a crap shoot... a total unknown. There's just enough truth in "recriticality" talk to not dispense with it entirely. I believe what happens at Fukushima is news. Whatever USA Today (or whoever) prints is not news, per se, but can be carefully sifted for appropriate references, so we have to be careful. [No one asked me but I'd *guess* criticality amongst the stored fuel is almost absurdly unlikely. It's too hard to randomly engineer the appropriate geometries in the heap. OTOH, those with close knowledge of the facility could speak to the (it's gotta be more likely) chance of bits of a deformed, steaming mass leaving their tank and releasing fission fragments. "Re-criticality" is not required to have a bad (worse) situation. (Sources here are personal knowledge as a former reactor operator.)] — Preceding unsigned comment added by RobertSegal (talk • contribs) 15:33, 16 March 2011 (UTC)

Milli or Micro
I find that the prefixes for milli and micro are being used interchangeably when describing the amount of radiation being leaked. Contributors continue to indicate microseiverts when the, I believe, intend to use milliseiverts. There's a big difference between the two. Can contributors please ensure they are using the correct metric prefixes? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 174.115.52.3 (talk) 12:52, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Well according to the Sieverts article, all I see used there is mSv which is much more relevant in terms of dosage and radiation sickness. But also at the same time most values used on the page are relatively low and best (in my opinion) expressed as μSv. Though think we need to make some consensus as to this issue. AlexTheBarbarian (talk) 14:07, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
 * As discussed here I think millisieverts is preferred, but the most important thing is not to make a 1000-order-of-difference mistake! --Pontificalibus (talk) 15:40, 16 March 2011 (UTC)

MIT chart and figures on decay heat energy for these reactors
MIT Nuclear Science and Engineering has a number of posts regarding the crisis. This one: http://mitnse.com/2011/03/16/what-is-decay-heat/ has a graph and calculated figures, in megawatts, for the heat production of the cores of unit 1 and of units 2 and 3. There are figures for the past, today and for future days and months, going out to 11 March 2012. According to this it will be early July before the heat production is half what it is today.

There's also http://mitnse.com/2011/03/15/explanation-of-hydrogen-explosions-at-units-1-and-3/ with some details / speculation about steam with hydrogen from the secondary containment area being vented inside the top of the building of units 1 and 3. In http://mitnse.com/2011/03/15/unit-2-explosion-and-unit-4-spent-fuel-pool-fire/ they say that unit 3's explosion was inside the secondary containment.

I think this WP article is really good. My page http://www.firstpr.com.au/jncrisis/ is an attempt to link to relevant sites and to have images and info which are not possible in WP, including a Google Group for wider-ranging discussions than are possible on WP talk pages. - Robin Robin Whittle (talk) 13:00, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
 * I am glad you like the article, but I would suggest anyone really concerned about specific points to also look at the refs and other news sources for themselves. Probably information about events a couple of days old is more reliable, as there seems to be considerable coyness at the moment in explaining clearly what is happening. Information I have heard did suggest that fuel rods would cool somewhat faster than you suggest (ie significantly within 10 days) but I havnt gone into it. Sandpiper (talk) 13:36, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
 * I Robin. Just a quick note about your page: "Particles such as electrons are emitted during radioactive decay and travel through the water at a velocity faster than the speed of light in water. " is quite untrue...Don't mix up phase velocity of light and speed of light... --MarmotteiNoZ 10:43, 17 March 2011 (UTC)

Canada and USA
should we add the hysteria in west coast US and western Canada, which have people clearing out pharmacies of potassium iodide? Several US and Canadian news channels have been reporting on it. The Canadian Prime Minister seems to have commented that people should not be administering it to themselves. 184.144.160.156 (talk) 13:17, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
 * I have seen a couple of experts saying iodine pretty pointless except for children. The article ought to discuss world hysteria but I would not want to go over the top on this. Just above someone discussed splitting the article, and the one point I would perhaps support would be a separate article on world reaction to the accident, as distinct from the facts of the accident here. But I still wouldnt split until there was a large body of text already. It is very hard to say how this matter will resolve eventually and what will then be a sensible article arrangement. Sandpiper (talk) 13:29, 16 March 2011 (UTC)

digitalglobe.com has images of the damaged reactors
http://www.digitalglobe.com/index.php/27/Sample+Imagery+Gallery has an image taken today (2011-03-16) showing all four reactor buildings in considerable detail. I don't know enough about WP copyright policies to be sure whether these images could be used by WP. The terms of use http://www.digitalglobe.com/index.php/128/Usage look quite generous. Robin Whittle (talk) 13:21, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
 * I'm not sure it's compatible. Usually fair-use images on Wikipedia have to be reduced resolution. The terms of use bans that kind of modification. Keeping the photo credit attached to the image is also difficult if it can't be burned in as a watermark (no modification allowed), since anyone can edit wikipedia, and thus remove the credit. 184.144.160.156 (talk) 13:32, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
 * The terms of use are generally irrelevant when it comes to NFCC. Fair use depends on US law which allows us to use copyrighted content regardless of what the copyright holder wants under some specific circumstances. Our policies limit when we can use content further then required by US law but what the copyright holder wants generally still isn't relevant. However I'm not sure if those images would qualify under NFCC for other reasons. In particularly they probably need to be viewed in large size so aren't really necessary to be shown in the article. I would suggest instead an external link to them may be worth considering. Nil Einne (talk) 15:51, 16 March 2011 (UTC)

neutronic effects of plutonium
Anyone know what the relevant neutronic effects of plutonium are re reactor 3 or is this just nonsense? Sandpiper (talk) 14:45, 16 March 2011 (UTC)


 * Plutonium produces more neutrons per fission on average than U-235, and hence has a significantly smaller critical mass. However MOX fuel generally contains a significant amount of non-fissile depleted uranium in addition to the plutonium in order to make MOX behave overall more like uranium fuel rods.  So an intact MOX rod should be very similar to an intact U-235 rod.  Maybe there is some significant difference with respect to meltdown, but I'm not sure what it would be.  I do know that plutonium is much more toxic than uranium, so it would be appreciably worse in an environmental release, but that's not due to it's "neutronic effects".  Dragons flight (talk) 15:10, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
 * so you view would be the 'neutronic' effect is nil? That was kind of what I had thought trying to look into it. Sandpiper (talk) 19:02, 16 March 2011 (UTC)

The uranium fuel rods also would contain plutonium as a result of neutron capture in U-238 once they have been in the reactor. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Testpattern75 (talk • contribs) 21:18, 16 March 2011 (UTC)

Criticality in a spent fuel pool (GUardian report, ref 162 at present), and flowing water...
Water is a moderator. If the level of that in the pool drops fission gets less likely, not more likely. There might be an alarming and dangerous situation, the used rods might melt or catch fire, but in the context of a nuclear power article "critical" is a very precise term for something else. I'd be very surprised if the spent fuel rods were in a critical assembly only prevented from runaway fission by (something in the) cooling water, whereas keeping them cool seems uncontroversial. Also around there, the rods are said to need runing water for up to 3 years. I think they just sit in a pool, and convect - if they do get stored in running water, ithere isn't a place for it shown on the diagrams. Midgley (talk) 12:32, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
 * The problem is that the spent fuel pool contains not only used rods, but also fresh ones. In contrast to unit 5 and 6, they were brought there from the reactor core to make the core available for inspection. They were tightly packed in the pool. If they melt, there is a probability that criticality is reached. That is how I understood it. Some sources say the pool or all pools together contain up to 400 tons of radioactive fuel. --rtc (talk) 12:39, 16 March 2011 (UTC)


 * BBC and USA Today have similar quotes about the threat of "recriticality" in spent fuel pool 4, so I'm going to assume they really did express such a fear. The only thing I can imagine is that they worry about the rods melting and forming into a molten puddle that happens to be "critical".  Dragons flight (talk) 12:47, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
 * I havnt seen a ref on this yet. I did see one ref which mentioned recriticality, but since the situation it was talking about was a pond which had not been critical before, clearly some sort of misunderstanding was going on. If the water is lost the rods will melt. They are presumably in substantial concrete tanks so I dont know how much this might be capable of conducting away heat into the body of the building. I doubt whether the fact they are new or old would make a great difference to the outcome. I dont know the sums but without a moderator it requires much more material to become critical and they seem to be trying to add boron to damp down a reaction even if the worst happened. Then the question is how well any container would disperse or concentrate the melt. There would be serious radiation escape from this bowl of soup without any need to go critical. Reactor 3 uses plutonium, which is very poisonous entirely apart from being radioactive. Sandpiper (talk) 13:54, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
 * by "recriticality" they mean the fresh fuel that is temporarily stored in the pool during inspection. Since it is not used up, it could in principle easily achieve criticality if sufficiently close to each other. Authorities say there is a small possibility that the explosion might have moved or kicked or damaged the fresh fuel in the pool and brought them close enough together for criticality to be possible. It's not a big threat, but it's a possibility different from zero, as they say. PS: Not the pond has been critical before, but the fuel -- before it was taken out of the reactor. Hope that clarifies the situation. --rtc (talk) 14:24, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
 * I am very sceptical, refs? Saying fuel is used up is not really true, since there was enough fissile material still in the rods before they were removed for the reactor to operate. Its not quite like running out of petrol. Sandpiper (talk) 14:40, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
 * What do you mean by "Saying fuel is used up is not really true". Did I say fuel is used up? I said the opposite, acutally: "Since it is not used up" Some of the fuel in the pool is spent fuel, some is fresh fuel removed merely for inspection and to be put back later. --rtc (talk) 14:48, 16 March 2011 (UTC)

There is one ref where the guardian reports tepco as saying rods might reach recriticality supporting a claim in the article that stored rods might go critical. I am sceptical about the claim. This is important because we are implying to a reader it might blow up. It will not blow up. Nothing more than we have seen already anyway. This should not be in the article without better substantiation than this.Sandpiper (talk) 14:52, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Sigh... Fuel rods are at criticality during normal operation of a nuclear power plant. Do these plants thus blow up during normal operation? obviously not. This is not the same as a nuclear bomb; a nuclear bomb consists of entirely different kind of radioactive matter, much more pure... If criticality is reached, lots of energy will be released, just as it is during normal operation of the plant. It might actually blow up, like a big steam explosion, and it might spread radioactive contamination, but it would certainly not be anything comparable to when a nuclear bomb blows up. Also, the probability is small, as I already said. It is a possibility if fuel containers have been pushed, moved, kicked or damaged by the hydrogen explosions, thus getting near to each other --rtc (talk) 14:57, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
 * so we have to make that clear. we do not. a reader who does not understand will think this a bomb. It cannot remain as it is. But my initial point is whether there is an actual clear ref about this. Nothing wrong with the guardian but they are reporting what someone else has said and it is simply not a clear quote of what was originally said. Sandpiper (talk) 15:02, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
 * "a reader who does not understand will think this a bomb" A reader can misunderstand almost anything you write. You cannot avoid these misunderstandings, they are inherent. Let's not make conjectures about what the reader might or might not misunderstand and just focus on reporting the information that we have -- and that includes the fact that there is a possibility, different from 0, that criticality might be reached, and that thus attempts are made to cool the pool. Feel free to look for further sources on the topic and add them if you find something (amke sure you avoid WP:SYNTH however), but I do not think we need to remove anything. --rtc (talk) 15:14, 16 March 2011 (UTC)

At the risk of wading into a controversial topic. I added a link from BBC that explains the criticality issue. See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12762608 Its description seems consistent with the article text:
 * "So why is it that the Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) has warned: "The possibility of re-criticality is not zero"? If you are in any doubt as to what this means, it is that in the company's view, it is possible that enough fissile uranium is present in enough density to form a critical mass in the cooling pond - meaning that a nuclear fission reaction could start in the building, outside the containment shield that surrounds the actual reactor. If it happened, this would lead to the enhanced and sustained release of radioactive materials - though not a nuclear explosion." 66.65.191.165 (talk)
 * Yes, that is completely correct, and just what I said above. It is obvious from basic physics and common sense. --rtc (talk) 15:14, 16 March 2011 (UTC)

If you show me a statement directly from tepco (or other sources quoting what they have said, in context) I will accept it. I suspect a mistake has been made.Sandpiper (talk) 15:16, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
 * No mistake has been made, the statement is completely meaningful and logical. The source given already contains a literal quotation from Tepco spokesman: "The No 4 reactor is an increasing cause for concern. Tepco believes that the storage pool may be boiling, raising the possibility that exposed rods will reach criticality. "The possibility of re-criticality is not zero," a Tepco spokesman said" Other sources report the same. There's nothing that would make it implausible. Please let's not be over-skeptical. Read above that criticality may pose further serious problems, but certainly no nuclear-bomb-like scenario. --rtc (talk) 15:22, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
 * I read the bbc. they agree the quote. But as I just suggested I see they also explain the situation and say "if it happened, this would lead to the enhanced and sustained release of radioactive materials - though not a nuclear explosion." I note they also suggest that maybe someone stole the water from the cooling pond for some other purpose. Probably to top up the the reactor because there was no other clean water left and they did not want to have to scrap another one? Sandpiper (talk) 15:26, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
 * I added the BBC comment to the article for clarification. --rtc (talk) 15:32, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
 * yes thanks. I give in. The entire section on that reactor appears to be all about an ongoing fuel pond incident. The best thing to do about criticality is to raise it so as to explain it. Sandpiper (talk) 16:03, 16 March 2011 (UTC)

EU energy minister just said a critical event is possible within the next few hours (though I dont think he meant technically critical?)Sandpiper (talk) 15:34, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Oettinger didn't mean "critical" in a technical sense, if he used that word. Oettinger's speaker quickly added that Oettingers statements about possible further catastrophic developments are not to be understood as being based on some new information not publicly available yet. It's a general statement of fear, not new information and there is no threat of something specific. --rtc (talk) 15:50, 16 March 2011 (UTC)

[This was written as other posts were accumulating.] Proper use of the word "critical" is not irresponsible provided Wiki educates the reader on the meaning of the word. The extent to which the audience is getting what you mean is the extent to which communication has succeeded. Communication is the responsibility of the one with something to say. In any event, "recriticality" discussions ought to be restrained as rather fanciful, not that Wiki's responsible for whatever alarming conjectures USA Today dredges out of its sources but Wiki should avoid adding murk. Yes, "spent" fuel actually still has a goodly remaining proportion of un-split Uranium atoms. (Engineering tries to bring that percentage as low as possible but nature resists and much of the Uranium remains un-split when the core is no longer serviceable.) And Water is a moderator..., yes, and (for the benefit of other readers) a moderator is a substance that slows (moderates) fast (fission-emitted) neutrons. And critical (permit me, please to touch on the basics) means a chain reaction is in effect with neutron counts per unit time holding steady. ("Subcritical/supercritical" describe chain reactions with counts falling/rising.) When discussing chain reactions and criticality, GEOMETRY of the fuel and surrounding moderators is of absolute importance to what happens next. If moderation *does* change, there are actually two ways criticality becomes more likely: 1)Moderation intensifies and neutrons may be retained near fissionable fuel, or 2)moderation diminishes and neutrons that would have been unable to reach fissile Uranium atoms can now do so. It's all a question of geometry. (Steam bubbles, for example, moderate less than liquid water because their molecules are spread apart.) Because the used fuel stockpile is arranged for storage and not as a potential reactor core, any notion the stored fuel could arrange itself (through diminshed moderation or reforming/distorting/melting) is a crap shoot... a total unknown. There's just enough truth in "recriticality" talk to not dispense with it entirely. I believe what happens at Fukushima is news. Whatever USA Today (or whoever) prints is not news, per se, but can be carefully sifted for appropriate references, so we have to be careful. [No one asked me but I'd *guess* criticality amongst the stored fuel is almost absurdly unlikely. It's too hard to randomly engineer the appropriate geometries in the heap. OTOH, those with close knowledge of the facility could speak to the (it's gotta be more likely) chance of bits of a deformed, steaming mass leaving their tank and releasing fission fragments. "Re-criticality" is not required to have a bad (worse) situation. (Sources here are personal knowledge as a former reactor operator.)]RobertSegal (talk) 15:39, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
 * My inclination is it wont be critical but I agree it has been reported that it could be, so it is legitimate to report that fact. But it has to be explained properly. I donot like the alarmist title about criticality. the section ought to also take in the para above which is about the same events and I will merge them. then you can complain about whatever title I dream up? Sandpiper (talk) 15:53, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Originally, I included the "risk is not zero" quote with the paragraph above. That's why it doesn't start with the date. I'm not sure who/when it was moved to its own section. However, I agree that given the information we currently know, it should be merged with above. 66.65.191.165 (talk) 16:00, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
 * we are falling over each other. I just agreed to leave it. I think if the issue is being reported and discussed then we follow that. the whole section on that reactor is really about the same thing. If there is a criticality heading it needs to have a balanced content explaining this is not what it may sound like. Sandpiper (talk) 16:09, 16 March 2011 (UTC)

ANyone any ideas wher the quoted times came from so we could tidy that up?Sandpiper (talk) 16:11, 16 March 2011 (UTC)

The fuel does not contain any moderator by itself. Without moderator the fuel can not reach criticality. The fuel pools use water which is a pretty good moderator, for cooling. In order to keep the fuel subcritical, the water and sometimes, when the fuel is stored in a dense matrix (in cells), also the material of the cells contains boron (H3BO3 in the water and B4C in the steel). The problem with recriticality might occur if the amount of boron in the water decreased. In case the fuel would melt, the mass could not get critical (as the fuel construction - distances between fuel rods, i.e. the ratio of water and fuel, makes the criticality possible). Not even melted MOX fuel would get critical.


 * Fuel can get critical without a moderator, if there is enough fuel in a contiguous space. The fuel itself would act as a moderator (although the hydrogen contained in water is much more efficient). What is necessary is that enough neutrons originating from spontaneous fission slow down suffiently to cause additional fission events, instead of leaving the fuel mass. In a large mass of fuel, neutrons have a much higher chance to slow down rather than escape, but I don't know if there is enough fuel in the pond, so that a critical mass could be formed without the existence of a moderator. Borate may evaporate, too, so it may be of little help if there is a full-blown meltdown. Cs32en   Talk to me  20:55, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
 * We are not talking about high grade uranium or plutonium. We are talking about up to 5 % enriched (fresh) and about 2 % enriched (spent) fuel. It contains very little fissile material and a lot of absorbers (fission products). In a melted mass, the escape from the fuel would lower however the absorption would increase much more (few orders). The neutron moderator is defined - decrease of neutron energy per one scattering (logarithmic reduction of neutron energy per collision) times probability of the scattering (macroscopic cross section for scattering) divided by probability of absorption (macroscopic cross section for absorption) - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutron_moderator. The decrease of energy per scattering in fact says you how fast the neutron will lose energy (will get thermal), when you multiply it by the probability of that number of scattering, you get (again bluntly) the required distance the neutron has to venture to get thermal, when divided by probability of absorption you get the real knowledge whether the neutron will get thermal or absorbed on the way. The best moderators are light nuclei. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 89.111.77.140 (talk) 06:07, 17 March 2011 (UTC)


 * Sure it is not enriched uranium. That means a larger mass is necessary to achieve criticality. That is not useful for a bomb, because (a) the larger mass must be transported by the rocket or airplane (b) if the exponential growth of neutron production is not quick enough (although still positive), the mass will explode due to the heat when only a small fraction of the fissionable material will have actually produced neutrons. Criticality therefore does not necessarily mean nuclear explosion, but even if "only" a large amount of thermal energy is being produced, or people in the vicinity will simply die on the spot due to the short, but massive emission of neutrons, the consequences would probably be significant. Cs32en   Talk to me  23:34, 17 March 2011 (UTC)


 * Amount and geometry play role. Not just amount. The Oklo natural reactor in Gabon required water flowing throught the uranium mass in order to get critical. The same would be necessary for the melted mass. However, the mass won't have any gaps where water could flow. Thats why it can not get critical (IMO).


 * I have given it some more thoughts and came to the following conclusion: the melted mass can not get critical because of the geometry which contains no moderator. The only possible criticality can occur if water in the pool in which the fresh fuel, which is kept uncritical by distance and H3BO3, would lose boron and the fresh fuel would get closer to each other (would bend, etc.). In this case, the criticality is a possibility. Then the fuel and water would get hot, the water would evaporate and the fuel would melt and the criticality would not be possible again.

Reactor status summary table
The Reactor status summary section and table was recently deleted, by a well-intentioned editor. I have restored it per WP:BRD. Let's discuss it here.

In my view, the table was a very useful "big picture" summary of several classes of information: the design and specifications of the various reactors, as well as their status at the time of the earthquake/tsunami, and it also included their relatively more recent status in the past few days. The table is sourced. Even if some of the more recent claims in the table ought to be modified, or better sourced, or removed entirely, this would not justify deletion of the entire table. What do others think? Cheers. N2e (talk) 15:00, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
 * keep it. Obviously after this is over it will become redundant.Sandpiper (talk) 15:04, 16 March 2011 (UTC)


 * I removed the table because it is original research. We cannot say anything specific about what the overall status of the plant is. The table mixes information from various points in time and composes them into a conjecture about the overall current status. That is synthesis. Also, it is by no means completely sourced: The claims about this or that being okay (the green entries) seem to be made by default if there is no evidence of the contrary; but such an assumption is original research. It would be okay if the table itself had been published in a reliable source. I agree that it might be a "useful" table in one way or another, but that is not sufficient for Wikipedia standards. --rtc (talk) 15:07, 16 March 2011 (UTC)


 * Not quite sure that is right. synthesis is about the combination of "material from multiple sources to advance a position".  This is from a single source.  And it meets WP:V.  I don't think the original research guidelines have anything at all to say about research done by folks (and published) outside of the Wikipedia project.  So perhaps the introductory prose in the section ought to clarify that this table is merely the view of only one outfit, the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum, and that, as in any dynamic situation, some claims (e.g., current status) will change over time, and that other analysts may have other positions.  I think that table ought to stay, but the section be improved.  Cheers.  N2e (talk) 15:20, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
 * My only concern would be that it might be a WP:COPYVIO, being directly copied from a single source?--Pontificalibus (talk) 15:22, 16 March 2011 (UTC)


 * OK I see. I had assumed the table has been compiled by Wikipedians. I do not see a copyright problem, because there is no creativity involved. It's below threshold of originality. --rtc (talk) 15:36, 16 March 2011 (UTC)

In the row entitled "Containment pressure," I can match "D/W" with the reactor drawing legend ("Dry Well") earlier in the article, but I cannot find a reference to "S/P" anywhere, therefore I have no idea what "S/P" means. Wholeflaffer (talk) 19:51, 16 March 2011 (UTC)

Simple juxtaposition of information is not original research or synthesis. We can also combine material from different sources, as long as we do not draw conclusions from it, explicitly or implicitly. Presenting material in a biased way may amount to implicitly drawing conclusions, to be sure. Cs32en  Talk to me  20:59, 16 March 2011 (UTC)

Table gives a great overview. Keep and improve! NuclearEnergy (talk) 21:05, 16 March 2011 (UTC)

Original research, editorial commentary by Wikipedians
In "Cooling problems at Unit 3, the following unreferenced analysis and commentary by a Wikipedia editor appears: "(It is noted that the reference article states that the top three meters of MOX fuel rods were exposed to AIR. This is not possible without having a major breach of the reactor vessel. The correct statement should have been that the the top three meters of the rods were exposed to steam - not air. In either case the important thing is that a portion of the rods were NOT covered with water which has a much greater convective capacity to remove heat from the rod.)" The editor may be right, with the uncovered rods surrounded by water vapor or steam mixed with hydrogen, rather than air, but it is unencyclopedic for us to add our own lengthy editorial comments and observations to the article, since this is not a blog but an encyclopedia. Also authorities are not certain that no pipes are broken after the numerous explosions and fires, let alone the earthquake, and any penetration could allow air in. I see 2 alternatives: 1) Remove the commentary or 2)Find a reference from a reliable source. Edison (talk) 15:04, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
 * or the person who took the section from whence it came could put it back into context. But which facts in it do you dispute? It is normal to state which facts you are challenging as it is not required to source anything unless it is controversial. Sandpiper (talk) 15:06, 16 March 2011 (UTC)


 * It does appear to be WP:OR, and therefore would be fairly removable. N2e (talk) 15:08, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
 * It was a commentary on the wording of the source. I have reworded the article to clarify this and retained but hidden the commentary for the information of other editors.--Pontificalibus (talk) 15:12, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
 * sorry, my apologies. I didnt find the bit complained of because the ed (or someone) had removed it and I was looking at the wrong thing. He is right. it wanted sorting.Sandpiper (talk) 15:14, 16 March 2011 (UTC)

bold assertion
the lead says:"To date, the radiation leaks beyond the plant's boundaries have not reached a level high enough to constitute any significant detriment to public health.."

There have certainly been times when radiation beyond the plant boundaries has been distinctly dangerous. Lucky everyone had been evacuated. Sandpiper (talk) 17:01, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
 * I removed it, we can't verify it.--Pontificalibus (talk) 17:19, 16 March 2011 (UTC)

The precondition for that assertion was the successful evacuation of public from the area with radius of 20 km. In that case most of the measured radiation would be caused by noble gases and other short lived radionuclides which would not get beyond 20 km. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.62.224.25 (talk) 19:51, 16 March 2011 (UTC)


 * Still requires a source to say that. Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie Say Shalom! 19:53, 16 March 2011 (UTC)

Source: http://www.tepco.co.jp/cc/press/betu11_j/images/110316e.pdf

Regular measurements of radiation levels at the plant's perimeter. Yeah, they're higher than background, but not dangerously so. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.129.169.114 (talk) 20:28, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
 * some of the irregular ones are very unhealthy. There seems to be some suggestion that highly radioactive debris from explosions in 4 is scattered about the plant. I just read one report which suggested the high reading between 3 and 4 was from this debris. Then there was a comment firefighters cannot operate because of debris in the way. so shift it? no? Some of it is probably scattered outside the plant. I think we are already past the point where dangerous material is purely contained within the buildings. Sandpiper (talk) 22:44, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Agreed but it is still on plant property. I believe Wikipedia is doing a public service by noting that the off-plant threat has so far been minimal because, as many radiation health experts have noted, there is a strong inclination in the general public to panic when it comes to radiation.  The UN report on Chernobyl concluded that, without minimizing the many individual tragic outcomes, the biggest damage to human health on a broad basis ended up being psychological.--Brian Dell (talk) 00:45, 17 March 2011 (UTC)

Casualties?
Nowhere in the article I can find info about casualties of this accident, at least direct casualties. Maybe someone should insert there a special box for that? Thanks 83.9.169.151 (talk) 19:11, 16 March 2011 (UTC)


 * I don't know where the casualty box went, I saw one here a few days ago and now there's nothing? I think we should add it, I know at least a few people had radiation poisoning and some 15 people were injured from the explosions themselves.... someone even died from working on a tower during an explosion (if I remember right). I don't know why these were removed, I see nothing in this talk page discussing it unless they figured these hydrogen explosions weren't related to the 'nuclear incident' at hand and removed them. Teafico (talk) 22:17, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Casualties have been quite light so far, especially compared to the natural disaster numbers, and also a bit difficult to track down. BUt there will be quite a few radiation victims before this over, especially amongst plant workers. Hope they get a medal. Sandpiper (talk) 22:53, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
 * There was the guy that was killed in the crane, but that was during the earthquake not the explosion. Chaosdruid (talk) 23:37, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
 * The dead worker on the crane was at Fukushima II, and it was related to the quake effects. --91.32.45.178 (talk) 00:53, 17 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Alright. Me mentioning tower was the crane, and then I simply just remembered Fukushima... didn't know it was the earthquake! Yeah, I expect radiation injuries, so... if that pops up. The reactor-housing explosions don't count for injuries I suppose, then. Teafico (talk) 05:00, 17 March 2011 (UTC)


 * http://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/tsunamiupdate01.html has the injuries categorized and such if you guys think the information is helpful. It lists poisonings, contaminations, and injuries from the explosions themselves. Teafico (talk) 05:15, 17 March 2011 (UTC)

New reliable source: M. Ragheb
This new chapter published today maybe a reliable academic source:

In -- Petri Krohn (talk) 19:56, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Part IX Nuclear Safety: 3. Fukushima Earthquake and Tsunami Station Blackout Accident

Seems a nice report, good read! 94.212.148.55 (talk) 23:07, 16 March 2011 (UTC)

Report of Rupture in Containment Chamber Housing of units 2 and 3
Voice of America reports of officials confirming that the containment chamber housings of units 2 and 3 have "ruptured". Since this is an important distinction, can anyone corroborate?--Nowa (talk) 20:16, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
 * It is merely repeating old news (as it admits) using its own notions. --rtc (talk) 20:48, 16 March 2011 (UTC)

"Requests for help" section - is this relevant?
"Even at the highest level, Elisabeth Byrs, of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), stated that "Japan has requested international search and rescue teams, but only a handful." Nevertheless, search and rescue teams have been dispatched on an ad hoc basis, based upon their own assessment and ability to operate."

Was this pasted in from a general article on the earthquake/tsunami? It doesn't seem terribly relevant to Fukushima I. --144.53.226.17 (talk) 22:58, 16 March 2011 (UTC)

That provides a foundation and a context for the special case of the dearth of information and lack of specification of need with respect to the Fukushima situation. Note that immediately after that cited quote is the following:

The Japanese government has asked the United States to provide cooling equipment to the Dai-ichi plant to help resolve the crisis. As of 15 March 2011, the United States had provided Japan with 3,265 kg (7,200 lb) of special equipment to help monitor and assess the situation at the plant.[224][225]

There is a lot of action coming from the US NRC and other agencies and one of the emergent crisis management issues is the failure of Japanese authorities to accurately communicate their needs. Thus, it seems that for the time being it might be appropriate to allow this content to remain as is. Later, as the overall article becomes unweildy, we can migrate it to a separate page proposed on US Government Non-governmental response. Geofferybard (talk) 23:37, 16 March 2011 (UTC)

Did unit 2 explode?
Did unit 2 explode? If so, why the March 16th satellite photo show Unit 2 still intact?


 * Mentioned in the table summary is that the building is not as damaged as the other buildings, possibly why it is not 'visibly' damaged in the sattelite photograph. AlexTheBarbarian (talk) 07:02, 17 March 2011 (UTC)
 * I think the explosion was in the basement or anyway further down, where it is potentially much more serious. The top of the building was designed to blow off. Sandpiper (talk) 08:43, 17 March 2011 (UTC)

SFP unit-1+2
I see that the "Integrity of Fuel in SFP" for unit 1+2 shows "no-data".

Might it not be better to state it as "(presumed) compromised", in yellow?

As of now (17mar2011, 0100hr, gmt+1), that seems obvious to me. 94.212.148.55 (talk) 23:55, 16 March 2011 (UTC)


 * When the original from TEPCO says no data we are compelled to just report that instead of speculate ourselves. An extremely relevant bit of info would be the number of rods in the pools... the problem in 4, for example, is much more serious than in 5 or 6 because 5 and 6 only have as third as many rods.--Brian Dell (talk) 00:56, 17 March 2011 (UTC)

Proposed SPLIT : International Response to Fukushima nuclear accidents
It's gonna get bigger.Even that page needs to split or be very well organized into type of response. (1) emergency responder assistance to Japan (2) reactive modifications of countries' own internal nuclear policies. Those pages/that page needs careful, organized distinction between

(3) type of responders: (a) government (military and nonmilitary)Note there is already as site for US Operation Tomodachi (b) NGO.

Geofferybard (talk) 23:43, 16 March 2011 (UTC)


 * Agreed.--Brian Dell (talk) 00:48, 17 March 2011 (UTC)
 * I agree.--ColdCase (talk) 01:18, 17 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Support - It can be like the International reactions to the 2011 Libyan uprising page. Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie Say Shalom! 01:20, 17 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Support - The section will likely expand faster than the others, and clutter the quality of the article. Moreover, the article is now 125 kb+, far to large for some slow internet users and cell phone users that might truncate the page, whilst the international response is probably not the most sought after information on this topic. AnAnthro (talk) 01:41, 17 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Support wanted to propose that earlier the day myself. NuclearEnergy (talk) 01:55, 17 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Support this article is too long --Reference Desker (talk) 02:55, 17 March 2011 (UTC)

Split done, using a title along the lines of the above Libya example: International reaction to Fukushima I nuclear accidents NuclearEnergy (talk) 02:23, 17 March 2011 (UTC)


 * Started on it and then had what I was working on get blanked and redirected halfway through, so I'm tweaking the new one. Next time please do not just blank, maybe try merging the info and then blanking? @Nuclear Energy I sense you're not going to be welcome around here for much longer, mate ;) (Joke on your name -- just in case) Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie Say Shalom! 03:07, 17 March 2011 (UTC)

Sources talking about consequences?
One must of course always avoid violating WP:CRYSTALBALL, but as things keep getting worse people will want to know what happens as a worst-case scenario to Japan (I read the Russians were saying that the worst case scenario appears to be unfolding.). Do we have qualified experts in reliable sources making predictions of what the wider consequences of say a full meltdown of the four offending reactors might be (or six in the worst of worse cases)? My mother read about the Zone of Alienation, and suggested the Japanese would have to move to China (not realising there is deep hatred left over from WWII, and that there are 125 million People in Japan, 25 mil in Tokyo). This is a bit extreme and it is the opinion of a worrisome Jewish mother with no background in this area. So what have others said about it? Or to put it mildly how bad are things going to be for our comrades in Japan? Surely someone qualified has written about it. Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie Say Shalom! 23:45, 16 March 2011 (UTC)


 * Notable commentary reported in reliable sources, as well as notable [!] speculation about future developments may be added to the article. Any assessment or speculation does not become notable just because the source of the comment is a notable person or institution, so there are rather strict conditions that must be met before adding anything that amounts to information about speculative comments about possible future developments. Cs32en   Talk to me  23:52, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Notable persons speculation needs to also...(please elaborate).Geofferybard (talk) 00:03, 17 March 2011 (UTC)


 * Yeah, I got that. I was just stating that I think somone should be rustling up some of that info and putting it here for review. Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie Say Shalom! 00:41, 17 March 2011 (UTC)


 * What COULD happen is almost unlimited and therefore a COMPLETE overview could be almost unlimited in size. Wikipedia is a fundamentally backward looking entity... we can't really do anything until other (sources) have done so first.  We get firmly behind a story instead of getting out in front of it.--Brian Dell (talk) 00:53, 17 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Isn't that what I was saying? Looking at what actual experts from reliable sources are talking about etc? It doesn't have to be complete of course, just the crap they, in their undoubtedly expert opinions (sarcasm left over from the experts saying Mubarak would not fall) think will probably happen. They usually put forward some scenarios. Hey, I know how it works. =p Normally I'm the one throwing the wikirules at people after all *puts self on pedistal* Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie Say Shalom! 01:24, 17 March 2011 (UTC)
 * I already see the sentence "The gravity of the catastrophe is such that international leaders have expressed concerns that the crisis may become a disaster on the scale of the Chernobyl reactor fire of 1986" prominently featured. I would think that would do, without adding, "and some other people have expressed concern that everyone in Japan will have to move to China" or whatever the speculation is.  It is going to be disputed whether or what to include and it would be difficult to resolve the dispute because it can't be objectively settled like what has happened in the past.--Brian Dell (talk) 03:21, 17 March 2011 (UTC)
 * ... Re-read what I said.... I said that was my mother speculating that after reading about the Zone of Alienation. My mother isn't exactly in line with WP:RS I would think. I put that to illustrate the lack of knowledge of the lay person and also just for fun. Please be sure to read carefully in the future so that you don't look like you're taking a joke seriously (especially as I said it was the musings of a worrisome Jewish mother). =p When I said experts understand I am talking about possible speculations either by people with Nobel Prizes in this field who have been quoted in something like the New York Times or speculation from some high up member of the IAEA. Understand my meaning now? =p And yeah I guess the Chernobyl thing will do for now. Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie Say Shalom! 04:06, 17 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Given the large amount of commentary on the events, only comments (possibly including speculation) that has been widely discussed (as reported by reliable sources) would meet the threshold of WP:DUE for this article. The situation may be different for sub-articles that may be created in the future. Cs32en   Talk to me  23:10, 17 March 2011 (UTC)

Criticism of IAEA?
Should a section be added regarding this?

From: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/15/us-chernobyl-clean-up-expert-slams-japan-idUSTRE72E7AL20110315

Quote from Iouli Andreev, former director of the Soviet Spetsatom clean-up agency responsible for cleaning up after the Chernobyl accident:

"The IAEA should share blame for standards, he said, arguing it was too close to corporations building and running plants. And he dismissed an emergency incident team set up by the Vienna-based agency as "only a think-tank not a working force":

"This is only a fake organization because every organization which depends on the nuclear industry - and the IAEA depends on the nuclear industry - cannot perform properly.

"It always will try to hide the reality.

"The IAEA ... is not interested in the concentration of attention on a possible accident in the nuclear industry. They are totally not interested in all the emergency organizations." Dshields51 (talk) 00:09, 17 March 2011 (UTC)


 * Appropriate for the IAEA article. Criticisms presumably apply apart from Fukushima so not appropriate here.--Brian Dell (talk) 00:49, 17 March 2011 (UTC)


 * Here is the link IAEA. =) Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie Say Shalom! 00:54, 17 March 2011 (UTC)

In fact, IAEA has been working on new safety standards for some time. Drafts can be seen on its pages. The thing is, IAEA has no jurisdiction, every state has its own nuclear regulator. IAEA was founded as an agency which should secure non-proliferation of nuclear material. Of course, they also perform safety audits but only when asked to do so. So if you want to blame someone, it has to be the japanese nuclear regulator. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.62.224.25 (talk) 18:42, 17 March 2011 (UTC)


 * And if you want to blame them, you need a source doing so. It's kind of like the UN though, lol, when you want it to do something it doesn't have the power to and when it does do something, you complain about it interfering. Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie Say Shalom! 18:49, 17 March 2011 (UTC)

Timeline should be more concise since there is a separate article
Geofferybard (talk) 00:10, 17 March 2011 (UTC)
 * We all wish fewer things happened on those days, but they did not. Arguably what you mean is that the timeline in the timeline article should be more detailed. I didnt create the section, but I think it works well. Sandpiper (talk) 08:31, 17 March 2011 (UTC)


 * I just added the update regarding NHK showing footage of steam rising over reactors 2,3 & 4, the only reference would be the NHK World webfeed, do you want me to use this as a reference? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.75.27.243 (talk) 00:39, 17 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Please create a user account. If using TV [pls state time of broadcast. Geofferybard (talk) 02:07, 18 March 2011 (UTC)

Reactor status summary color coding
It is my opinion that most of the green cells under the Unit 4 column should not be green, but should be gray. The reason is they are totally irrelevant because that reactor is defueled. For example, "Pressure vessel, water level" shows "Safe". It should either show "Not necessary" or "Not applicable" and be gray. My reasoning is that the spent fuel (IE the danger / risk) for reactor 4 is in a storage area, thus nothing is "safe" (ie green colored) about that reactor at all. The danger (red) lies in the spent fuel, not in any of the core / containment systems, thus coloring green gives a false impression of safety. I'll be making the changes now, and if anyone has a problem then please revert them and discuss it here. --Dan East (talk) 01:58, 17 March 2011 (UTC)
 * My concern here is you are not only changine the colour which perhaps could be justified but replacing the wording with your own despite the fact you have no source Nil Einne (talk) 02:30, 17 March 2011 (UTC)
 * I have no problem with not following TEPCO's chart exactly. It is not sacred and can potentially be improved (if the IAEA continues to provide temperature data for the pools, for example, that could be added).  But there should be a reference for the claims supporting the deviation, specifically, a footnote for "Core Defueled Spent fuel stored in SFP"--Brian Dell (talk) 03:11, 17 March 2011 (UTC)
 * If the wording is changed back to "Not necessary" and "Not damaged", but the new coloring applied, then the table will seem inconsistent because in some cases cells with those phrases will be green, and in others white. Perhaps if it were to read "Not necessary (defueled)" (instead of "Not applicable") and is colored white, then it will be clear why that cell is not green like the others. Again, I think they are using color coding in that table to paint a rosy picture, and simply indicate more green than red. Reactor 4 was a major source of radioactivity at one point, yet using their criteria it is and will always be mostly green because all those cells will always read "Not necessary" because the fuel isn't in the core. --Dan East (talk) 03:34, 17 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Let's be sure all is in line with WP:SYNTH of course. Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie Say Shalom! 04:27, 17 March 2011 (UTC)
 * The source of the chart is JAIF, not TEPCO. I think it is problematic if changes are made without making it clear that the Wikipedia version of the chart differs from the version produced by the named source. It's OK to vary the chart but I feel that readers should be made aware of the fact that it differs from the original. 82.132.248.93 (talk) 07:01, 17 March 2011 (UTC)

NHK TV: Tsunami height & destruction of generator fuel tanks (veracity?)
At http://www.firstpr.com.au/jncrisis/#videos I have archived most of a ~1 hour NKH program which probably went to air in the evening of 2011-03-16 JST. I can't find the program on their site, but maybe there is a YouTube copy. This has an English translated soundtrack.

3:20 Graph of tsunami depth taken 45km north of the power plant. The water dropped and then went to 7.3 metres higher than normal.

4:00 The white cylindrical objects next to the waterline were swept away by the tsunami. These were the fuel tanks for the deisel generators. "The fuel oil tanks and other facilities along the coastline were all washed away. Tsunami waves reached as much as 300 metres from the coastline.  The tsunami waves inundated parts of the facilities of the nuclear plant. Electrical equipment was soaked in water and this is believed to be the cause of the emergency core cooling device failure."

I will add any other highlights to my page. Robin Whittle (talk) 04:21, 17 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Very nice. Do you think we can use this as fair use in our article? And whose idea was it to put the fuel tanks next to the waterline in a place known to have tsunamis? F (talk) 10:33, 17 March 2011 (UTC)

Looking now at the before and after photos, the white vertical cylinders are still there: http://www.digitalglobe.com/downloads/DG_Analysis_Japan_Daiichi_Reactor_March2011.pdf So this may be a false report. I should have checked more carefully before mentioning it. AFAIK any statement on a TV program such as this can be reported if it is relevant, but it would be best to report the statement as a statement, rather than repeat the statement as if it was a fact. I think this and the related articles are excellent. Robin Whittle (talk) 18:03, 17 March 2011 (UTC)

Ooops - sorry, I need some sleep. The .pdf page 3 shows before the tsunami, and the big white cylinders are still there after the tsunami. If this report is true, then the fuel tanks for the generators must have been some of the other structures closer to the waterfront which were swept away. Tanks are normally cylindrical, but I don't see any missing cylindrical objects. I think it would be best to get a more authoritative confirmation of this reported damage before mentioning it in the article. The article at present has "washing away fuel tanks" in the third sentence, but there is no citation of the source of this report. Googling, I see a few mentions of it, but nothing authoritative. I am concerned that this may be people repeating what they read in the article. However, this page http://journalrecord.com/2011/03/16/additional-thoughts-on-nuclear/ predates my mention of tanks being washed away, and uses the words: "washing away their fuel storage tanks". Since these words "washing away fuel tanks" have no reference, and the only ones I know for this report are not primary sources, I have deleted them from the article. I have not edited the article before this. I will start a new section about this change below, and I suggest we discuss it there. Robin Whittle (talk) 18:35, 17 March 2011 (UTC)

Problem with References
I'm not sure how to correct the formatting error on this one. The last two references in the Reactor Status Summary (currently #180 and 181) have a problem. Maybe someone can make the appropriate correction. MartinezMD (talk) 06:07, 17 March 2011 (UTC)
 * i have put back the original refs but dont have time to check them. they had been name linked and the full versions elsewhere in the article had been deleted without realising they were refd elsewhere. Probably. Sandpiper (talk) 08:03, 17 March 2011 (UTC)

Thanks for fixing that one, but now there is another. Perhaps the editors should not use an abbreviation and instead use the entire annotation? Because if there are more deletions, we will lose any duplicate listings. When the article is somewhat stable, we can go back and collate repeated sources. MartinezMD (talk) 20:17, 17 March 2011 (UTC)

Bold removal of fear-mogering data
Hi, an IP-based editor added a statement by the renowned physicist and science popularist Michio Kaku about how the Japanese military should build a chernobyl-like sarcophagus over the plant. I'm sure this was well intentioned, but the statement was unsourced and imho unworthy of inclusion in the lead of the article. I would not be surprised that Dr. Kaku would say this sort of thing given his anti-nuclear stance. I believe that his statement would be a fringe viewpoint in this article. Kyaa the Catlord (talk) 06:29, 17 March 2011 (UTC)


 * I found what I think was the IP editor's source, but it's all conjecture on Kaku's part - if's, maybes. etc. He's just a talking head and isn't involved to give a credible opinion, so I agree with the removal.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlZhUi1nhtE

MartinezMD (talk) 06:41, 17 March 2011 (UTC)


 * Don't know about that removal but remember WMF is for general users and they are all familiar with Kaku. I actually used a sourced remark of his suggesting a TMI type deal possible which someone removed as "fear mongering" on Kaku's part, claiming that no one was worried about Meltdown despite that every talking head in the galaxy had that M word on their lips. IMO his idea of a "sarcophagus" is noteworthy in that it is so ludicrous. Like, how could they do that will hot rads all over to the point they can't even drop a bucket of water from a chopper. Geofferybard (talk) 04:27, 18 March 2011 (UTC)

"700 rods" in SFP of unit 4
It appears the 700 rods of spent fuel in the pool of unit 4 come from Foxnews Live television. Can we remove that "fact" ?

Henk Poley (talk) 06:39, 17 March 2011 (UTC)


 * There's also a mention of this on the TIME website, apparently the original source is "one report from Sankei news": http://ecocentric.blogs.time.com/2011/03/15/a-new-threat-in-japan-radioactive-spent-fuel/ . 82.132.136.200 (talk) 07:17, 17 March 2011 (UTC)
 * how many rods are in a full reactor? at least this number are supposed to be in the pool after being removed from the reactor according to IAEA.Sandpiper (talk) 07:24, 17 March 2011 (UTC)


 * A more direct source: http://www.nirs.org/reactorwatch/accidents/6-1_powerpoint.pdf . This SFP inspection (march 2010) report mentions the entire plant (unit 1-6) produces 700 fuel rods (spent fuel assemblies) in one year. It also states that there are 3450 rods in the SFP in all reactor buildings together. Henk Poley (talk) 07:29, 17 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Regularly a 3 year rotation is observed, so the total amount of rods in the reactor containments should be 3x that amount. You can approx. split that up per each reactor power generation. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Henk Poley (talk • contribs) 07:32, 17 March 2011 (UTC)
 * A quick spreadsheet calculation gives me: unit 1 200 rods, units 2-5: 350 rods, unit 6: 500 rods Henk Poley (talk) 07:40, 17 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Useful stuff. 82.132.136.200 (talk) 08:09, 17 March 2011 (UTC)
 * The reactors are different sizes, as a complication. I think 1 is smaller. its listed on the powerplant article if not here. Something suggested all rods are replaced at once, but this might not be true, but also they likely last more then 1 year. potentially if 4's rods were removed to replace them, then the brand new ones might have been sitting in the pool waiting to be inserted too. Sandpiper (talk) 08:19, 17 March 2011 (UTC)
 * These numbers are already factored over the peak power generation of each unit. Also, only unit 4's containment was fully unloaded into the SFP at the time of the earthquake. The report I linked states that the common pool is basically filled (549 places left) Henk Poley (talk) 08:26, 17 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Hmm, I notice a problem in my calculation. Sheet 9 of the presentation I linked says 15,558 fuel containers = ~450% of the total amount of fuel rods in the 6 reactors. Meaning the total is about 3500 (5 years x 700 per year)), and not 2100 (3 years x 700 per year). I'll redo my spreadsheet. Henk Poley (talk) 09:15, 17 March 2011 (UTC)
 * "about 3500" rods is mightily similar to the 3450 rods in storage in the SFP. I suspect that in March 2010, each SFP had a full core (5 years worth). Henk Poley (talk) 09:30, 17 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Also 1 year later you can assume 700 rods were added. And those can't fit in the 549 places left in the 'common pool'.. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Henk Poley (talk • contribs) 09:49, 17 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Similarly, estimated spent fuel assemblies in SFPs: unit 1: 340, unit 2,3,5: 575, unit 4: 925 := 575 (storage) + 350 (fresh old core), unit 6: 810 Henk Poley (talk) 08:23, 17 March 2011 (UTC)

Someone earlier suggested. It mentions that there is a separate storage pond away from the reactor ponds which contains 2/3 of the total stored on site. I dont recall if it that link or somewhere else I read discussing the issue of how exactly the rods were stacked, whether they were loosely spaced or densely stacked, and whether there might be more of them than the original design envisaged (impacting cooling, especially if cooling was lost). The issue of Boron racking to soak up neutrons perhaps implies tighter filling than would be possible without, which again impacts on fail-safeness.Sandpiper (talk) 09:48, 17 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Yes, from the presentation I linked: 3450 / (6291 + 3450) ~= 34% (from your nei.org PDF). Henk Poley (talk) 09:55, 17 March 2011 (UTC)

The french have made estimates when they expect the rods to become uncovered if not given more water. They estimated pool 4 was good for 4 days (from date of accident ie 11th). Sandpiper (talk) 10:48, 17 March 2011 (UTC)

Source suggestion (in French) : IRSN
I point the following information note (in French) published yesterday evening (March 16th) GMT by the experts of Institut de radioprotection et de sûreté nucléaire. I think it could be used to double-checked the current state of things, and when it disagrees with them to also give this analysis. It is synthetic and precise, and authored by a reliable organization. French Tourist (talk) 09:24, 17 March 2011 (UTC)


 * Unfortunately the source is in another language and I'm sure if you were to look back on the discussion page we have had numerous sources that were mistranslated. Until the source is reliably translated it cannot be used on the page. AlexTheBarbarian (talk) 10:10, 17 March 2011 (UTC)
 * I can read it welll enough in french and much more easily using google to translate. it says they estimat pool 4 would take 4 days to become dangerously dry if not attended, but longer for the others. Sandpiper (talk) 11:29, 17 March 2011 (U


 * Thanks for providing the link; it's a very clear and helpful account. 82.132.139.159 (talk) 12:16, 17 March 2011 (UTC)


 * Well since you can actually understand french and your not relying purely on google translate *shiver* then IMHO its an acceptable source until we have an english source. AlexTheBarbarian (talk) 13:36, 17 March 2011 (UTC)
 * I don't intend to edit the article, since loads of competent editors are presently doing it, but if somebody requires a translation of any specific section of this document, I shall be glad to help and give a non-professional translation on this discussion page (I check regularly my watchlist). BTW, the attitude of my country towards English language is a shame, these documents are obviously of interest outside French-speaking world and should be translated on the website. Note the document is regularly updated, here is the last version (this morning GMT) : . French Tourist (talk) 14:11, 17 March 2011 (UTC)

allegation of early failures in cooling pond 2
We currently have a section alleging problems with cooling pond 2 right from the start. As with the debate yesterday over criticality, this one has only one ref on a very significant allegation. Can anyone produce anything to confirm this? If not, I do not think it should be a section by itself as this puts undue weight on one report.Sandpiper (talk) 10:26, 17 March 2011 (UTC)

article says now "Initial instability in unit 2 spent fuel storage pool

According to a report in the New York Times, "[A]t the start of the crisis Friday, immediately after the shattering earthquake, Fukushima plant officials focused their attention on a damaged storage pool for spent nuclear fuel at the No. 2 reactor at Daiichi, said a nuclear executive who requested anonymity.... The damage prompted the plant’s management to divert much of the attention and pumping capacity to that pool, the executive added. The shutdown of the other reactors then proceeded badly, and problems began to cascade." [97]" Sandpiper (talk) 10:26, 17 March 2011 (UTC)
 * no responses all day so I have rewritten the comment to downplay it and cut the separate section. Sandpiper (talk) 20:53, 17 March 2011 (UTC)