You have probably been following the reporting by the news media.
So have I and I have to turn them off.
I get mad at the news reporters interrupting the experts they have asked to comment.
[Don't tell me what you know, just tell me what I want to hear that will scare everyone and make for headlines. - LRK -]
Maybe it is time to make some sense out of the situation.
Received an e-mail with some links that I think are worth reading.
- LRK -
------------------------------------------
Why I am not worried about Japan’s nuclear reactors. http://bit.ly/joehmen
Morgsatlarge.
**original post below**
I know this is a fairly full on statement from someone posting his very first blog. It will also be far and away the most well written, intelligent post I ever make (I hope!) It also means I am not responsible for its content.
This post is by Dr Josef Oehmen, a research scientist at MIT, in Boston.
He is a PhD Scientist, whose father has extensive experience in Germany’s nuclear industry. I asked him to write this information to my family in Australia, who were being made sick with worry by the media reports coming from Japan. I am republishing it with his permission.
It is a few hours old, so if any information is out of date, blame me for the delay in getting it published.
This is his text in full and unedited. It is very long, so get comfy.
I am writing this text (Mar 12) to give you some peace of mind regarding some of the troubles in Japan, that is the safety of Japan’s nuclear reactors. Up front, the situation is serious, but under control. And this text is long! But you will know more about nuclear power plants after reading it than all journalists on this planet put together.
There was and will *not* be any significant release of radioactivity.
By “significant” I mean a level of radiation of more than what you would receive on – say – a long distance flight, or drinking a glass of beer that comes from certain areas with high levels of natural background radiation.
I have been reading every news release on the incident since the earthquake. There has not been one single (!) report that was accurate and free of errors (and part of that problem is also a weakness in the Japanese crisis communication). By “not free of errors” I do not refer to tendentious anti-nuclear journalism – that is quite normal these days. By “not free of errors” I mean blatant errors regarding physics and natural law, as well as gross misinterpretation of facts, due to an obvious lack of fundamental and basic understanding of the way nuclear reactors are build and operated. I have read a 3 page report on CNN where every single paragraph contained an error.
We will have to cover some fundamentals, before we get into what is going on.
snip
[Note: I will let you go to the source and read. Please do. Very informative. - LRK ]
------------------------------
At Centauri Dreams, read post by Paul Gilster.
- LRK -
------------------------------
Fukushima: Reactors and the Public
http://tinyurl.com/5snkkok
This is an important issue for the Centauri Dreams readership not just in terms of how we produce energy for use here on Earth, but because nuclear reactors are very much in play in our thinking about future deep space missions. Thus the public perception of nuclear reactors counts, and I probably don’t have to remind any of you that when the Cassini orbiter was launched toward Saturn, it was with the background of protest directed at its three radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) that use plutonium-238 to generate electricity. A similar RTG-carrying mission will doubtless meet the same kind of response.
snip
------------------------------
Check out the chart.
- LRK -
------------------------------
TEPCO reactor by reactor status report at Fukushima
Current status of reactors, from TEPCO (will update as required, click to enlarge)
snip
------------------------------
You can monitor the latest earthquakes around the world at USGS.
- LRK -
------------------------------
Latest Earthquakes in the World - Past 7 days
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/
This list contains all earthquakes with magnitude greater than 2.5 located by the USGS and contributing networks in the last week (168 hours). Magnitudes 4.5 and above are in bold font. Magnitudes 6 and above are in red. (Some early events may be obscured by later ones on the maps.)
The most recent earthquakes are at the top of the list. Times are in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). Click on the word "map" to see a ten-degree tall map displaying the earthquake. Click on an event's "DATE" to get a detailed report.
DISCLAIMER
If you cannot see the list, Click here to go to the top of the list.
snip
------------------------------
Check out the animations, especially for the World.
- LRK -
------------------------------
Earthquake Animations - Past 7 Days
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/
The total number of earthquakes in each frame will vary because each frame displays a different seven day time period. Animations are updated hourly from automated real-time maps that have not been reviewed or corrected for errors.
snip
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/
snip
------------------------------
I hope that we will see that life can bring unexpected happenings that need to be placed in perspective along with all that goes on around us. Driving a car can be dangerous but we like to get to our destination in minutes or hours not days or months by foot or horse. We like a warm house and we use coal, natural gas, electricity, or old fashioned logs, but chopping logs has gone out of fashion for a lot of us. Adding solar heat and new technologies can be useful and may have enharent risks.
Just today I saw in a store a set of pointed tongs to lift a cooked turkey from the hot pan and the California lable warned that the materials used have been known to cause cancer. Hmmm, stick a turkey, cause cancer, serve at your own risk. Then again, if the turkey is not good, use the tongs to stab the cook, they are sharp. I should warn the cook to use the tongs at their own risk. :-)
Thanks for looking up with me.
- LRK -
Web Site: http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/
BlogSpot: http://kelloggserialreports.
RSS link: http://kelloggserialreports.
Newsletter: https://news.altair.com/
==============================
**Update**
Latest update: Mar 14, 7.30 am EST. Thanks for your interest.
Follow Josef on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!
Short link to this page: http://bit.ly/joehmen
There exists a copy of this post on Barry Brooks excellent blog, where you can still use the discussion function: http://
Barry does an excellent job of keeping up with current events. Make sure to check for updates on his site: http://bravenewclimate.
Same for the tireless folks at WNN: http://www.world-nuclear-
snipLatest update: Mar 14, 7.30 am EST. Thanks for your interest.
Follow Josef on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!
Short link to this page: http://bit.ly/joehmen
There exists a copy of this post on Barry Brooks excellent blog, where you can still use the discussion function: http://
Barry does an excellent job of keeping up with current events. Make sure to check for updates on his site: http://bravenewclimate.
Same for the tireless folks at WNN: http://www.world-nuclear-
Morgsatlarge.
**original post below**
I know this is a fairly full on statement from someone posting his very first blog. It will also be far and away the most well written, intelligent post I ever make (I hope!) It also means I am not responsible for its content.
This post is by Dr Josef Oehmen, a research scientist at MIT, in Boston.
He is a PhD Scientist, whose father has extensive experience in Germany’s nuclear industry. I asked him to write this information to my family in Australia, who were being made sick with worry by the media reports coming from Japan. I am republishing it with his permission.
It is a few hours old, so if any information is out of date, blame me for the delay in getting it published.
This is his text in full and unedited. It is very long, so get comfy.
I am writing this text (Mar 12) to give you some peace of mind regarding some of the troubles in Japan, that is the safety of Japan’s nuclear reactors. Up front, the situation is serious, but under control. And this text is long! But you will know more about nuclear power plants after reading it than all journalists on this planet put together.
There was and will *not* be any significant release of radioactivity.
By “significant” I mean a level of radiation of more than what you would receive on – say – a long distance flight, or drinking a glass of beer that comes from certain areas with high levels of natural background radiation.
I have been reading every news release on the incident since the earthquake. There has not been one single (!) report that was accurate and free of errors (and part of that problem is also a weakness in the Japanese crisis communication). By “not free of errors” I do not refer to tendentious anti-nuclear journalism – that is quite normal these days. By “not free of errors” I mean blatant errors regarding physics and natural law, as well as gross misinterpretation of facts, due to an obvious lack of fundamental and basic understanding of the way nuclear reactors are build and operated. I have read a 3 page report on CNN where every single paragraph contained an error.
We will have to cover some fundamentals, before we get into what is going on.
snip
[Note: I will let you go to the source and read. Please do. Very informative. - LRK ]
------------------------------
At Centauri Dreams, read post by Paul Gilster.
- LRK -
------------------------------
Fukushima: Reactors and the Public
http://tinyurl.com/5snkkok
by Paul Gilster on March 14, 2011
All weekend long, as the dreadful news and heart-wrenching images from Japan kept coming in, I wondered how press coverage of the nuclear reactor situation would be handled. The temptation seemed irresistible to play the story for drama and maximum fear, citing catastrophic meltdowns, invoking Chernobyl and even Hiroshima, along with dire predictions about the future of nuclear power. My first thought was that the Japanese reactors were going to have the opposite effect than many in the media suppose. By showing that nuclear plants can survive so massive an event, they’ll demonstrate that nuclear power remains a viable option.This is an important issue for the Centauri Dreams readership not just in terms of how we produce energy for use here on Earth, but because nuclear reactors are very much in play in our thinking about future deep space missions. Thus the public perception of nuclear reactors counts, and I probably don’t have to remind any of you that when the Cassini orbiter was launched toward Saturn, it was with the background of protest directed at its three radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) that use plutonium-238 to generate electricity. A similar RTG-carrying mission will doubtless meet the same kind of response.
snip
------------------------------
Check out the chart.
- LRK -
------------------------------
TEPCO reactor by reactor status report at Fukushima
Posted on 15 March 2011 by Barry Brook
http://bravenewclimate.com/Current status of reactors, from TEPCO (will update as required, click to enlarge)
snip
------------------------------
You can monitor the latest earthquakes around the world at USGS.
- LRK -
------------------------------
Latest Earthquakes in the World - Past 7 days
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/
Latest Earthquakes in the World - Past 7 days
Latest Earthquakes Magnitude 2.5 or Greater in the United States and Adjacent Areas and Magnitude 4.5 or Greater in the Rest of the World - Last 7 days
Versión en EspañolThis list contains all earthquakes with magnitude greater than 2.5 located by the USGS and contributing networks in the last week (168 hours). Magnitudes 4.5 and above are in bold font. Magnitudes 6 and above are in red. (Some early events may be obscured by later ones on the maps.)
The most recent earthquakes are at the top of the list. Times are in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). Click on the word "map" to see a ten-degree tall map displaying the earthquake. Click on an event's "DATE" to get a detailed report.
DISCLAIMER
If you cannot see the list, Click here to go to the top of the list.
snip
------------------------------
Check out the animations, especially for the World.
- LRK -
------------------------------
Earthquake Animations - Past 7 Days
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/
The total number of earthquakes in each frame will vary because each frame displays a different seven day time period. Animations are updated hourly from automated real-time maps that have not been reviewed or corrected for errors.
snip
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/
snip
------------------------------
I hope that we will see that life can bring unexpected happenings that need to be placed in perspective along with all that goes on around us. Driving a car can be dangerous but we like to get to our destination in minutes or hours not days or months by foot or horse. We like a warm house and we use coal, natural gas, electricity, or old fashioned logs, but chopping logs has gone out of fashion for a lot of us. Adding solar heat and new technologies can be useful and may have enharent risks.
Just today I saw in a store a set of pointed tongs to lift a cooked turkey from the hot pan and the California lable warned that the materials used have been known to cause cancer. Hmmm, stick a turkey, cause cancer, serve at your own risk. Then again, if the turkey is not good, use the tongs to stab the cook, they are sharp. I should warn the cook to use the tongs at their own risk. :-)
Thanks for looking up with me.
- LRK -
Web Site: http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/
BlogSpot: http://kelloggserialreports.
RSS link: http://kelloggserialreports.
Newsletter: https://news.altair.com/
==============================
http://web.mit.edu/pebble-bed/
Nuclear Power Plant Design Project
While nuclear plants are continuing to be built in Japan, Korea, China, and ... Megawatt electric size of the plant is “naturally safe” with no operator action ..... significant design improvements from previous BWR designs include: ...
snip
==============================
http://www.technologyreview.
Earthquake Shakes Nuclear Power Plants in Japan
UPDATE 3/12/2011:
Radiation leaks and an explosion have been reported at one nuclear reactor. Kevin Bullis 03/11/2011
UPDATE, Saturday, March 12
Radiation levels have risen around a nuclear power plant damaged by an 8.9 magnitude earthquake in Japan, and officials there have ordered the evacuation of an area within a 20 kilometer radius of the plant. The operator of the plant has also reported an explosion in a secondary containment building (see the illustration below), and injuries to four people. The plant operator said the explosion did not affect the main containment area, where the reactor is enclosed. Radiation levels reached 11 millirem, then receded to 7, according to the Nuclear Energy Institute. A chest x-ray measures 8 millirems. The NYTimes is reporting that a major meltdown is not imminent.
Live updates from Japan in English are available here.
snip
==============================
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
The boiling water reactor (BWR) is a type of light water nuclear reactor used for the generation of electrical power. It is the second most common type of electricity-generating nuclear reactor after the pressurized water reactor (PWR), also a type of light water nuclear reactor. The BWR was developed by the Idaho National Laboratory and General Electric in the mid-1950s. The main present manufacturer is GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, which specializes in the design and construction of this type of reactor.
snip
==============================
http://www.engineering.
A Survey of
Power Plant Designs
Elizabeth K. Ervin
(with many thanks to internet and text sources)
snip
==============================
WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK
==============================
Nuclear Power Plant Design Project
While nuclear plants are continuing to be built in Japan, Korea, China, and ... Megawatt electric size of the plant is “naturally safe” with no operator action ..... significant design improvements from previous BWR designs include: ...
snip
==============================
http://www.technologyreview.
Earthquake Shakes Nuclear Power Plants in Japan
UPDATE 3/12/2011:
Radiation leaks and an explosion have been reported at one nuclear reactor. Kevin Bullis 03/11/2011
UPDATE, Saturday, March 12
Radiation levels have risen around a nuclear power plant damaged by an 8.9 magnitude earthquake in Japan, and officials there have ordered the evacuation of an area within a 20 kilometer radius of the plant. The operator of the plant has also reported an explosion in a secondary containment building (see the illustration below), and injuries to four people. The plant operator said the explosion did not affect the main containment area, where the reactor is enclosed. Radiation levels reached 11 millirem, then receded to 7, according to the Nuclear Energy Institute. A chest x-ray measures 8 millirems. The NYTimes is reporting that a major meltdown is not imminent.
Live updates from Japan in English are available here.
snip
==============================
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
The boiling water reactor (BWR) is a type of light water nuclear reactor used for the generation of electrical power. It is the second most common type of electricity-generating nuclear reactor after the pressurized water reactor (PWR), also a type of light water nuclear reactor. The BWR was developed by the Idaho National Laboratory and General Electric in the mid-1950s. The main present manufacturer is GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, which specializes in the design and construction of this type of reactor.
snip
==============================
http://www.engineering.
A Survey of
Power Plant Designs
Elizabeth K. Ervin
(with many thanks to internet and text sources)
snip
==============================
WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK
==============================
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