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Over two months after the earthquake and tsunami hit the Fukushima nuclear power plant, Japan finally admits that a complete core nuclear meltdown has occurred in three of the Fukushima nuclear reactors.
As I previously wrote, Japan has finally confirmed a complete nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear reactor 1, but stopped short of confirming nuclear meltdown in reactors 2 and 3.
Japan Confirms Nuclear Meltdown And New Video Footage Of The Fire At The Fukushima Nuclear Plant
Japan finally confirms nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear reactor admitting 5 feet of the nuclear fuel rods have melted into a pool of lava that is burning through the bottom of the containment vessel.
The news was followed with a complete press release from TEPCO revealing that the nuclear reactor was damaged from the earthquake before the Tsunami hit, and the nuclear meltdown started with 4 hours of earthquake. The complete timeline of the water levels and temperatures following the quake reveal that a complete nuclear meltdown occurred at the plant within 18 hours of the earthquake.
An in-depth overview of the timeline of the rapid nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima reactor 1, including temperature data, water levels and the state of the fuel rods as the crisis unfolded.
There was also an admission from TEPCO that holes were discovered in the nuclear reactor vessels in reactor 1 and 3 caused by molten nuclear lava burning through the reactor. Ironically, Japan still denied that a meltdown occurred at reactor 3 simply because TEPCO had not confirmed it.
In wake of the news that Japan has confirmed a nuclear meltdown at Fukushima nuclear reactor #1, TEPCO is now reporting the discovery of holes in the containment vessels at reactor 1 and reactor 3, which contains the plutonium mox fuel, both of which are leaking radiation into the ocean. The holes have reportedly been caused by molten lava from the nuclear meltdown at the power plant burning through the reactor walls
Now we finally have an admission from Japan that complete core nuclear meltdown has occurred at reactor 2 and reactor 3, meaning Japan is now confirming a complete nuclear meltdown has occurred in 3 of the Fukushima nuclear reactors.
Fun to see the spin by one of the MSM in Japan. Now they are all saying core meltdown, complete core meltdown, we knew from the beginning, we knew in March. It’s hysterically comical.
Particularly hilarious is Haruki Madarame, who now basically says “we knew that”, while he was the one who told the PM on March 12, “Don’t worry, the nuclear reactor doesn’t break.”
Yes, there were nuclear experts and independent journalists in Japan and around the world who said it was a meltdown, and they were attacked by the government and the MSM like Asahi as “fear-mongering”. I thought so too, after reading the entries on wiki on Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and corium, among others.
But it isn’t true until the official, government-approved sources say so, and it is now, after more than 2 months: complete core meltdown in all three operating Reactors at Fukushima I.
From Asahi News (Translated by EX-SFK):
The data disclosed by TEPCO on May 16 shows that core meltdown may have occurred in the Reactors 2 and 3 at Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant. In the Reactor 3, the melted fuel may have dropped to the Containment Vessel. Nuclear experts have pointed to the possibility [of meltdown in the Reactors 2 and 3] and Prime Minister’s Assistant Goshi Hosono hinted at the possibility in the May 16 press conference.
According to TEPCO’s “roadmap” on April 17, it was going to take between 6 to 9 months to shut down the reactors. The revision of the “roadmap” will be inevitable now that both Reactor 2 and Reactor 3 may have had a meltdown, as it will take more time to build a cooling system for the reactor core, and the massive amount of highly contaminated water will need to be processed.
The data disclosed on May 16 was the data right after the earthquake on March 11. It took TEPCO some time to retrieve the data from the central control room of the plant because of the long period of power outage and the radioactive materials on the recorded printout. The data in 4 large binders includes graphs on the printout and operation diaries kept for each shift.
According to the data, the pressure inside the Reactor 2 RPV (Reactor Pressure Vessel) dropped at 6:43PM on March 15 (JST), and the pressure inside Reactor 3 RPV dropped at 11:50PM on March 16. The integrity of the RPVs were compromised, it is thought, and the pressure went down.
There are many channels that go through the bottom of the RPV [16 centimeters thick] to insert control rods and measurement devices. The melted fuel went down to the bottom of the RPV, and may have melted the devices at the bottom. The contaminated water from the Reactor 3 has been found to contain the radioactive materials like technetium that are produced when the nuclear fuel gets damaged, indicating that the melted fuel may have dropped from the RPV into the Containment Vessel.
In the press conference, TEPCO refrained from saying anything definite. “We haven’t fully grasped the situation at the plant, and we haven’t been able to evaluate it.”
PM Assistant Hosono said that there was no water being poured into the Reactor 1 for 14 hours and 9 minutes, Reactor 2 for 6 hours and 29 minutes, and Reactor 3 for 6 hours and 43 minutes. He said “We should be prepared for the possibility of the complete meltdown of the reactor core.”
Haruki Madarame, chief commissioner of the Nuclear Safety Agency spoke after the regular meeting of NSA on May 16. “When the highly contaminated water was found coming from the Reactor 2 in late March, we recognized that the reactor had a meltdown, and advised [the government]. We also knew that the Reactor 1 and 3 had the same situation, looking at how the accident unfolded.”
According to TEPCO, based on the records, the Reactors 1, 2 and 3 stopped automatically after the quake, and there was no sign of any physical damage to the reactor. Emergency diesel power generators were working. TEPCO concluded that all the equipments were working normally after the quake and there was no major damage to the plant until the tsunami hit.
For official confirmation from the corporate media The Wall Street Journal writes:
Cores Damaged at Three Reactors
TOKYO—Substantial damage to the fuel cores at two additional reactors of Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex has taken place, operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Sunday, further complicating the already daunting task of bringing them to a safe shutdown while avoiding the release of high levels of radioactivity. The revelation followed an acknowledgment on Thursday that a similar meltdown of the core took place at unit No. 1.
Video (Click Thumbnail To Watch) The operator of Japan's stricken nuclear plant is using remote-controlled robots inside reactor buildings damaged by a hydrogen explosions to gauge radiation and temperature levels. Video courtesy of AFP and image courtesy of Associated Press.
European Press photo Agency Junichi Matsumoto, an official of Tokyo Electric Power Co. listens to questions during a press conference regarding the meltdown of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant at the company headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, May 13, 2011.
Workers also found that the No. 1 unit’s reactor building is flooded in the basement, reinforcing the suspicion that the containment vessel is damaged and leaking highly radioactive water. The revelations are likely to force an overhaul of the six- to nine-month blueprint for bringing the reactors to a safe shutdown stage and end the release of radioactive materials. The original plan, announced in mid-April, was due to be revised May 17.
The operator, known as Tepco, said the No. 1 unit lost its reactor core 16 hours after the plant was struck by a magnitude-9 earthquake and a giant tsunami on the afternoon of March 11.
The pressure vessel a cylindrical steel container that holds nuclear fuel, “is likely to be damaged and leaking water at units Nos. 2 and 3,” said Junichi Matsumoto, Tepco spokesman on nuclear issues, in a news briefing Sunday.
He also said there could be far less cooling water in the pressure vessels of Nos. 2 and 3, indicating there are holes at the bottom of these vessels, with thousands of tons of water pumped into these reactors mostly leaking out.
Tepco found the basement of the unit No. 1 reactor building flooded with 4.2 meters of water. It isn’t clear where the water came from, but leaks are suspected in pipes running in and out of the containment vessel, a beaker-shaped steel structure that holds the pressure vessel.
A survey conducted by an unmanned robot Friday found radiation levels of 1,000 to 2,000 millisieverts per hour in some parts of the ground level of unit No. 1, a level that would be highly dangerous for any worker nearby. Japan has placed an annual allowable dosage limit of 250 millisieverts for workers.
