LIVE: Hosing down No.3 reactor (LINK)

[Poll_Blind]

HERE

Fullscreen viewing recommended to see the water & steam/smoke much more clearly.

PB

[OmahaBlueDog]

1. I pray this works

I have serious doubts, but hope springs eternal.

[Poll_Blind]

2. Well, remember a good portion of this water spray is to make sure spent fuel rods have water on them

It's not a panacea but what it does hope to achieve is to prevent the worst case scenario from happening- which would involve those rods on fire, melting down, etc.

PB

[OmahaBlueDog]

4. If I understand correctly, they are refilling a pond (essentially)

Does that water usually recirculate (like a reactor) or is it just static?

[Poll_Blind]

7. It's definitely not static. I am guessing that normally cool water comes in at the bottom of...

...the container and is drawn off the top, where it'll be warmest. So circulated in that fashion.

PB

[Tx4obama]

9. It 'normally' is recirculated with cool water. Otherwise it just gets really hot and evaporates. n/t

[kristopher]

11. They are on #3 trying to keep the fuel with plutonium in it from melting down

[cui bono]

14. you mean the WASTE with plutonium in it. These pools hold the waste. n/t

[Tx4obama]

15. I wouldn't call it 'waste'. The fuel rods are exactly the same as they were in the reactor

except that their strength is just lessened from being five years old, so they are just not as efficient was they were when they were new.

[cui bono]

20. No, it is waste. They have been used for power and are just cooling down before disposal.

They are not going to be used again. They are nuclear waste that is too hot to for permanent disposal.

[kristopher]

16. No, I mean fuel, the reactor is melting down.

[cui bono]

21. I believe what is melting down is the pools that are holding the waste.

It is my understanding that the actual area that is holding the rods that are still used for creating power has not yet been breached. I think the media is purposely keeping people from realizing that there is all that waste up there. When they say "spent fuel" that is the rods that have already been used up and is nuclear waste.

[Lucinda]

3. Watching...Thank you!

[Poll_Blind]

5. Only 2 of the 7 engines appear to have sprayed water so far. I think they're hoping to...

...have one hosing that fucker down continuously at least until the spent fuel rods are happy.

PB

[tabatha]

6. thanks.

[Tx4obama]

8. That is NOT going to help.

The spent fuel pool is on the 4th floor, and the pool is 30+ feet deep.
There is no way that water is filling up the pool, and no one even knows if the pool is still intact and not damaged, it could be bone dry or leaking like a sieve.

The spent rods have to be COMPLETELY under water, otherwise any water that hits them will just evaporate.

[FBaggins]

18. Actually, no

Every little bit helps. If the water flashes to steam on contact, it's still removing a great deal of heat.

If thy can set up an unattended constant spray, it could really help.

Of course, some of that steam will be radioactive for a short time.

[virginia mountainman]

10. Steam is a GOOD SIGN...

I hope things start improving.

[AsahinaKimi]

12. arigatou

gozaimasu. Interneto no terebi wo mite imasu.

[kristopher]

13. Michio Kaku: "Like using a squirt gun to put out a forest fire."

I sure as hell hope he is wrong.

[necso]

17. Heroic efforts.

Quadruple them.

If those fuel rods really start to cook-off, the entire operation could be in jeopardy.

[PA Democrat]

19. Prime Minister Kan is addressing the country.

He call the Fukushima nuclear crisis "grave." Not encouraging. More of a pep rally than informative. He expressed determination to resolve the problem, but no details on how that will be accomplished.