What I have noticed, because I'm a science geek, is that the information coming from Japan (and our local and not-so local media) is spotty at best.
To rectify that problem, over the past few days, I've looked for as much information as possible and culled it into a more factual story. As such, I've done my best to provide you with photo images given out by Tokyo Electric Company in Japan, and have tried to explain what is going on at the reactor facility. We know there were explosions and we know that radiation has been released - but why?
So, in that vein, let's discuss what went wrong at the nuclear reactor site in Fukushima.
The Fukushima Dai-ichi reactors were damaged by the tsunami and the earthquake. It's problems started with the 9.0 earthquake - as the buildings are only rated to withstand earthquakes of 7.9 on the Richter Scale. Still... all things considered, it held up pretty well. It's problems are due to electrical... which is ironic, as electricity is what the nuclear reactors generate. The reactors were flooded partially by the tsunami - making clean-up doubly difficult.
The earthquake actually triggered a shut-down of the Fukushima I (Dai-ichi) power plant's six nuclear reactors. It also shut down Fukushima II (Dai-ni) power station's four reactor units.
Then, when the tsunami hit (to the north in Miyagi-ken, it was a 10-metre (33-foot) high tidal wave... I'm assuming it was a little bit less at the Fukushima facility), it took out the Dai-ichi (Fukushima I) back-up diesel generators. By the way... Dai-ichi means Big One. Dai-ni means Big Two.
So... when the power was knocked out at four of the six Fukushima I Dai-ichi reactors, we saw two different things happen. I'll look at them one by one and provide you with some science... which is interesting (to me) in itself considering I have degrees in Political Science and Journalism. My science, regardless of what my degree is in, is correct as I have always been interested in atomic and nuclear energy and I've done my research for us all.
Here's what happened:
1) The reactors began to heat up.
In the nuclear reactor, where steam is created (for power to be used by customers), the lack of functioning generators caused the water coolant levels to drop... this is very bad, as it leaves the nuclear fuel rods exposed, allowing them to heat up.
As the rods heat up, they crack and release Hydrogen into the air. To avoid an explosion (Hydrogen and a spark is not a good thing - recall what happened to the Hindenberg airship back in 1938?), workers at the reactor vented this gas before it exploded - unfortunately, they didn't do enough, as some of the Hydrogen exploded (in Unit No. 1) and destroyed the nuclear reactor roofs. This is what caused the release of some radioactive gases into the air.
To stop the nuclear rods from overheating (if it overheats past a certain level, you have a melt-down, and subsequent nuclear explosion), workers began shooting and airlifting saltwater from the nearby Pacific Ocean. The good: this will keep the reactor core cool and prevent an explosion. The bad: this will permanently ruin the reactor. For Japan, there wasn't even a question of financial concerns versus life.
Oh... and just so you know... the nuclear reactor has something called a containment shell around it. The reactor core is surrounded by steel vessels. The steel vessels have a concrete wall beside it and a ceiling to stop anything from leaking to the outside world. So... at least there's a shield here - something that Reactor No. 4 at Chernobyl did not have.
However... there is another problem at Fukushima Dai-ichi...
2) The spent fuel starts to heat up.
Spent fuel... hey... nothing last forever, right? Even nuclear fuel rods need to be replaced every once in a while so that your computer set works allowing you to read this blog.
What are spent fuel rods doing in a nuclear reactor? Well, can you think of a safer place to store them? You see, even though a fuel rod is 'spent', it still must be continually cooled by water for many years (no idea how long that is).
Here's the funny thing - in a wry ironic way - at the Fukushima Dai-ichi facility, the spent fuel, also known as nuclear waste, is kept on the upper level of the nuclear reactor, still immersed in water so that it doesn't heat up. The waste is kept at the top of the reactor to (are you ready?) protect it from weather damage and tsunami's.
Now... since the generators controlling the cooling system were without power, or were damaged in the earthquake, the spent fuel rods didn't have enough water around them, and began to bubble and heat up. When the cooling system failed, radiation was released into the atmosphere.
Part of the problem with the cooling system failing around the spent fuel rods, is that the only shielding surrounding the radioactive nuclear waste and the cool fresh air we breathe, is the concrete of the reactor building. The waste system was not built to have a coolant failure of this proportion.
This is what is going on in No. 4 nuclear reactor. Very recently (I can't determine an exact date), spent fuel rods were removed from Reactor No. 3 and placed within No. 4 for storage. Because these are newly removed/spent fuel rods, they are hotter than older ones stored elsewhere on site. With more heat, also comes more radioactivity.
And that's what's going on inside the Fukushima nuclear facility. Let's hope they get power back to the cooling generators quickly.
Somewhere feeling like the blog world's Homer Simpson,
Andrew Joseph
Today's blog title is by Thomas Dolby: SCIENCE!
PS: The image above - that's me as a Simpson's character as drawn by Mike Worley, a comic book illustrator of fine upstanding character after I saved his life when he was having a diabetic crash at a comic book convention in Chicago. I told you I was a geek. Anyhow... visit Mike's site and tell him who sent you: www.worleytoons.com.
PPS: If you'll recall... Homer Simpson is a nuclear technician at a nuclear plant in Springfield, USA. No... not that Springfield.
