MidnightWatcher's Blogspot

By Julian Ryall – “The findings of the report, which has been given to the International Atomic Energy Agency, were revealed by the Yomiuri newspaper, which described a ‘melt-through’ as being ‘far worse than a core meltdown’ and ‘the worst possibility in a nuclear accident.’

A spokesman for Tokyo Electric Power Co. said the company is presently revising the road-map for bringing the plant under control, including the time required to achieve cold shutdown of the reactors.

In a best-case scenario, the company says it will be able to achieve that by October, although that may have to be revised in light of the report.

Water that was pumped into the pressure vessels to cool the fuel rods, becoming highly radioactive in the process, has been confirmed to have leaked out of the containment vessels and outside the buildings that house the reactors.

Tepco said it is trying to contain the contaminated water and prevent it from leaking into the sea, but elevated levels of radiation have been confirmed in the ocean off the plant.” Read more.

March 29 Flashback: When The Fukushima Meltdown Hits Groundwater – “Fukushima is going to dwarf Chenobyl. The Japanese government has had a level 7 nuclear disaster going for almost a week but won’t admit it.

The disaster is occurring the opposite way than Chernobyl, which exploded and stopped the reaction. At Fukushima, the reactions are getting worse. I suspect three nuclear piles are in meltdown and we will probably get some of it.

If reactor 3 is in meltdown, the concrete under the containment looks like lava. But Fukushima is not far off the water table. When that molten mass of self-sustaining nuclear material gets to the water table it won’t simply cool down. It will explode ­ not a nuclear explosion, but probably enough to involve the rest of the reactors and fuel rods at the facility.” Read more.

By Margo D. Beller – “The U.S. is approaching a financial crisis worse than 2008, Jim Rogers, chief executive, Rogers Holdings, warned CNBC Wednesday.

‘The debts that are in this country are skyrocketing,’ he said. ‘In the last three years the government has spent staggering amounts of money and the Federal Reserve is taking on staggering amounts of debt.

‘When the problems arise next time … what are they going to do? They can’t quadruple the debt again. They cannot print that much more money. It’s gonna be worse the next time around.'” Read more.

Worries grow that U.S. could default on debt – “The possibility that the United States could default on its debt — if only for a few days — is starting to alarm the global community even as the idea gains favour among Republicans as a way to force Washington to cut runaway spending. Fitch Ratings agency warned Wednesday that U.S. treasury bonds, seen worldwide as a risk-free investment, could be labelled ‘junk’ if the government misses debt payments by Aug. 15.” Read more.