

Nuclear Crisis in Japan - llambda
http://www.ucsusa.org/news/press_release/nuclear-crisis-in-japan-fukushima-0518.html

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bootload
This is a good article: Power failure due to turbine shutdown, failure in
backup diesel generators due to tsunami means no AC power and loss of
instruments & controls. The article states further that:

 _"... According to technical documents translated by Aileen Mioko Smith of
Green Action in Japan, if the coolant level dropped to the top of the active
fuel rods in the core, damage to the core would begin about 40 minutes later,
and damage to the reactor vessel would occur 90 minutes after that. ..."_

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serichsen
Even now, there is no need to fear contamination of the environment. The
amounts of radioactive material released are not significant, and even if a
complete meltdown happens (which is not very likely at all even now), it
cannot breach the safety containment.

Follow detailed reports at <http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/>

~~~
llambda
> even if a complete meltdown happens...it cannot breach the safety
> containment.

This is true assuming the containment chamber hasn't suffered structural
damage during the earthquake and subsequent tsunamis. However, given the
magnitude it seems prudent to be as cautious as possible.

Even as I type, the NYTimes is running a story about the latest developments:
it seems emergency cooling efforts are failing in at least one of the troubled
reactors: <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/15/world/asia/15nuclear.html>

