japane

Japan’snuclearcrisisleadstodangerous

spikeinradiationlevels

ByStevenMufsonandChicoHarlan,Tuesday,March15,6:30AM

Japan’snuclearemergencyturnedmoredireonTuesdayafterthethirdexplosioninfourdays

rockedtheasideFukushimaDaiichicomplexandfirebrieflyragedinastoragefacilityforspent

fuelrodsatafourth,previouslyunaffectedreactor.

Threehoursaftertheexplosion,theradiationlevelattheplantmeasured11,930microsievertsper

ionlevels

shrankdramaticallywithinthenextsixhours,to496microsievertsperhour,whichgovernment

spokesmanYukioEdanocalled“muchhigherthanthenormallevel. . .butonethatcausno

harmtohumanhealth.”

Hisstatementbroughtlittlesolacetothecountry’sfranticresidents,whoarefrustratedbyvague

alsandworriedthatgovernmentassurancesmay

ultimatelyprovefal.

OfficialsfromTokyoElectric,ownerofthenuclearcomplex,saidradioactivesubstanceswere

emittedafteranexplosionintheunit2reactorat6:14a.m.(5:inWashington).

Theblasttookplacenearorinthesuppressionpool,whichtrapsandcoolsradioactiveelements

fromthecontainmentvesl,losionappearedtohavedamagedvalvesand

pipes,possiblycreatingapathforradioactivematerialstoescape.

Andwhilethefireatthefourthreactorhadbeenextinguished,Japaneofficialstoldthe

InternationalAtomicEnergyAgencythatbecauoftheblaze“radioactivityisbeingrelead

directlyintotheatmosphere,”theagencysaid.

AgravePrimeMinisterNaotoKantoldthenationthatradiationhadalreadyspreadfromthe

reactorsandtherewas“stillaveryhighriskoffurtherradioactivematerialescaping.”Heurged

peoplewithin12.5milestoevacuate,andsaidthowithin19milesoftheplantshouldremain

indoors.

Healsoaskedforcalm.

TokyoElectric,whichovertheweekendsaidithad1,400peopleworkingatthecomplex,

ledthoworkerswhoremainedatthe

plant,whohesaid“areputtingthemlvesinaverydangeroussituation.”

Higher-than-normalradiationlevelsweredetectedinTokyo,roughly150milesfromFukushima.

Kanagawa,aprefecturesouthofTokyo,

Ibaraki,roughly70milesfromTokyo,levelswerebriefly100timeshigherthannormal,according

totheKyodonewsagency.

Ineachca,officialssaidthatexposuretotholevelsofradiationwouldnotpoanimmediate

dangertohumanhealth.

Ano-flyzonewas

mostoftheday,windsblewinasouth-easterlydirection,pushingtheplumeofradioactivity

towardthePacificOcean.

LateTuesdayafternoon,JapaneauthoritiessaidthesituationatFukushimaDaiichihad

tiontoputtingoutthefireatunit4,

workershadfoundawaytostabilizetroublesomeunits1and3,keepingthefuelrodsunderthe

aidthatitwastooearlytotellifworkers’emergencycooling

effortsareworkingforunit2.

“veonthegroundthingsarechaotic,”Takayuki

Terai,professorofnuclearengineeringattheUniversityofTokyo.“Butinesnce,theyjusthave

toputwaterintothereactorscontinuouslyandcoolthemdownandcontainthem.”

Amidthefour-day-longemergencyattheFukushimaDaiichiplant,Japan’spublichasgrown

skepticalaboutthereliabilityofofficialinformation,criticizingTokyoElectricofficialsin

particularfortheirvagueanswersduringnewsconferences.

KanhimlfwasnotbriefedontheTuesdaymorningexplosionuntilafterithadbeenreportedon

ingtoaKyodoreporterwhooverheardtheconversation,Kanlatergrilledthe

companyreprentatives,asking,“Whatthehellisgoingon?”

Duringamid-morningnewsconference,fourTokyoElectricofficialsrevealedalmostno

informationabouttheblast.

Japan’susuallydeferentialpressturnedvicious,asking,“Whatdoesthismean?”

“Wewantanswers,notapologies,”onereportersaid.

Tuesdaybeganwiththefirethatbrokeoutinapoolstoringspentfuelrodsatthebaofunit4,

whichhadbeenshutdownforinspectionbeforelastFriday’ssaidthefire

mostlikelybrokeoutbecauthepoolwaterhadrunlowordry,allowingtherodstooverheat.

Radioactivesubstancesspewedoutsidefromthefire,officialssaid,becauthestructurehousing

thepoolwasdamagedbyMonday’xplosionatunit3.

Halfanhourlater,ssaidthat,unlikethetwoprevious

explosionsthatdestroyedouterbuildings,thixplosionmighthavedamagedportionsofthe

containmentvesldesignedtobottleupradioactivematerialsintheeventofanemergency.

Theexplosionwasfollowedbyabriefdropinpressureintheveslandaspikeinradioactivity

outsidethereactortolevelsmorethaneighttimestherecommendedlimitforwhatpeopleshould

receiveinayear,governmentofficialslatersaiditwasunclear

whetherthespentfuelfireortheexplosionhadcaudthespikeinradiation.

ThenewtbackscameontheheelsofadifficultMondayatFukushimaDaiichiunit2,oneofsix

yofficialstherereportedthatfouroutoffivewaterpumpsbeingudto

flooult,the

companysaid,thefuelrods,normallycoveredbywater,werecompletelyexpodfor140

minutes.

Thatcouldhavegraveconquences,worningthepartialmeltdownthatmostexpertsthinkis

arison,inthe1979ThreeMileIsland,Pa.,nuclearplantaccident,ittookjust

twohoursforhalftheplant’snuclearfueltomelt.

AccordingtoareportbytheKyodonewsagency,thefifthpumpwaslaterrestarted,andawater

mixedwithboronwasagaininjectedinadesperatebidtocoolthereactor,butthefuelrods

daymorning,TokyoElectricsaidthat2.7

meters,orlessthanhalf,oftherodswerestillexpod.

TheotherfourpumpswerethoughttohavebeendamagedbyablastMondaythatdestroyeda

buildingatthenearbyunit3reactor,ast,likeoneonSaturdayatunit1,

wascaudbyabuildupinhydrogengeneratedbyareactionthattookplacewhenthezirconium

alloywrappedaroundthefuelrodswaxpodtosteamat2,200degreesFahrenheit.

TheInternationalAtomicEnergyAgencyreportedthatinjectionsofawaterintounits1and3

hadbeeninterruptedbecauofalowlevelinaawatersupplyrervoir,buttheawater

injectionswerelaterrestored.

Acommercialsatellitephotoofthecomplexshowedpilesofdebrisontopofunits1and3,which

raidnewfearsabouttheconditionofthepoolswherespentfuelisstored,especiallyatunit1,

whereadesignbyGeneralElectricplacedthepoolontopofthereactorbutbelowtheouter

atellitephoto,therewasnosignofalargecranethathadbeen

lityofworkerstoasssthedamagewashinderedby

fearsthatanotherexplosionmightoccur.

InMarch2010,1,760tonsofspentfuelwasstoredinthesixpools—84percentofcapacity,

accordingtoTokyoElectric.

AfterMonday’xplosionatunit3,Japanegovernmentofficialswerequicktoasrtthatitdid

notdamagethecorecontainmentstructure,andthey saidtherewouldbelittleincreain

explosionpromptedJapan’snuclearagencytowarn

stalsoinjured11people,oneriously.

Thestringofearthquake-andtsunami-triggeredtroublesattheFukushimaDaiichiplantbegan

Friday,whenalossofgridpower(caudbytheearthquake)followedbyalossofbackupdiel

generators(caudbythetsunami)ledtothefailureofcoolingsystemsneededtokeepreactor

coresfromoverheating.

TheIAEAreportedthatJapanhavacuated185,000peoplefromtownsnearthenuclearcomplex.

TheagencysaidJapanhasdistributed230,000unitsofstableiodinetoevacuationcentersfrom

theainehas

notbeenadministeredtoresidents;estionof

stableiodinecanhelptopreventtheaccumulationofradioactiveiodineinthethyroid.

TheU.S.7thFleetsaidMondaythatsomeofitspersonnel,whoarestationed100milesoffshore

fromtheFukushimaDaiichiplant,

airborneradioactivitypromptedthefleettorepositionitsshipsandaircraft.

Usingnsitiveinstruments,precautionarymeasurementswereconductedonthreehelicopter

aircrewsreturningtotheUSSRonaldReaganafterconductingdisasterreliefmissionsnearSendai.

Thomeasurementsidentifiedlowlevelsofradioactivityon17crewmembers.

Thelow-levelradioactivitywaasilyremovedfromaffectedpersonnelbywashingwithsoapand

water,andlatertestsdetectednofurthercontamination.

ChancellorAngel

MerkelsaidMondaythatshewassuspendingadealthatwouldhaveextendedpermitsfor17

agingnuclearplants.

,notingthattheJapane

nuclearcrisixpodthelimitsofhumaningenuityandimaginationandpointedtothepossible

failureofthebest-laidbackupplans.

DavidLochbaum,anuclearengineeranddirectoroftheNuclearSafetyProgramoftheUnionof

ConcernedScientists,saidinaconferencecallthatincertainrespects,rplantsare

heearthquakeand

tsunamiknockedouttheelectricalgridandbackupgenerators,theJapaneengineersswitchedto

batteriesthatcouldlastforeighthours,hesaid.

“Inthiscountry,mostofourreactorsareonlydesignedwithbatterycapacityforfourhours,”

Lochbaumsaid.“Manyofourreactorsareinsituationwhereearthquakes,orhurricanesinthegulf,

oricestormsinthenortheast,oratreeinCleveland,cancauanextensiveblackout,”hesaid.

TheAugust2003blackoutthataffected52millionpeopleacrosstheupperMidwest,NewYork

andpartsofCanadawastriggeredwhenoverheatedwiressaggedintotreesinnortheasternOhio.

Ninenuclearunitsswitchedtodielbackupgenerators,whicharethesizeoflocomotiveswithout

wheels.

DespitethecascadeofequipmentfailuresattheFukushimaDaiichicomplex,somenuclear

expertsnotedonMondaythatthefuelrodsthere,whotemperaturecouldhaverintoashighas

4,000degreesFahrenheit,wouldlosomeoftheirheatoverthenextfewdaysandwould

probablyremainencad,evenintheworst-cascenario,inacondarycontainmentstructure

withveralfeetofsteelandconcretewalls.

impossibletoeintothereactorvesls,

officialswereinlargepartspeculatingaboutwhatishappeninginsidebyusingavarietyofgauges

andindicators.

“Let’shopetheycangetthereactorsundercontrol,”saidRichardLester,headofthedepartment

ofnuclearscienceandengineeringattheMassachuttsInstituteofTechnology.“They’renot

thereyet.”