This piece was reprinted by OpEd News with permission or license. It may not be reproduced in any form without permission or license from the source.
The increased radiation explained above "indicates the fuel in storage there had been compromised," suggesting worse trouble than so far reported.
On April 15, GSN headlined, "Japan Plant Fuel Melted Partway Through Reactors," saying:
It settled into lower sections of containment vessels, "raising the specter of overheated material compromising a container and causing a massive radiation release," according to a newly released Atomic Energy Society of Japan (AESJ) report.
On April 15, Japan Times writer Kanako Takahara headlined, "Fuel rod fragments at bottom of vessels," saying:
"If too many....puddle at the bottom, they can generate enough concentrated heat to bore a hole in the pressure vessel, which would result in a massive radioactive release to the environment." In fact, there's no assurance it hasn't already happened but isn't being reported.
Downplaying a serious reactor breach, AESJ claimed only small amounts of fuel so far melted and dispersed uniformly across the lower sections of Units 1, 2 and 3. Minimally, months of restoration work lie ahead, perhaps years based on what's already known. According to some experts, we're in unchartered territory, dealing with a unprecedented disaster.
On April 13, on Democracy Now, Physics Professor Michio Kaku called Fukushima reactors "ticking time bombs," saying Tokyo Electric (TEPCO) "has been in denial, trying to downplay the full impact of this nuclear disaster."
He explained a mathematical formula to determine an accident's level, saying this one "already released something on the order of 50,000 trillion becquerels of radiation," warranting a Level 7 rating.
Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).