MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

A slow-motion train wreck that continues to derail …

By Ashley Feinberg, Gizmodo – “The newest update in the highly disconcerting series of devastating failures that is the Fukushima cleanup effort is troubling to say the least. Tepco has confirmed that (unexplained) plumes of steam have been rising from the mangled remains of Reactor Building 3. In other words, there’s a chance Fukushima could be in the middle of another meltdown.

The thing is, no one has been able to find out the exact cause of the rising, mysterious radioactive steam because the combination of physical damage and, more importantly, lethal radiation levels have made investigating the reactor impossible. Tepco has known that a followup meltdown was a severe possibility, though. The Reactor 3 fuel storage pond is still home to about 89 tons of plutonium-based mixed-oxide fuel according to the The Ecologist, and should that fuel storage pond dry out, the highly radioactive rods will melt down with devastating results.

Still, there are two other slightly less severe possibilities outlined by The Ecologist. First, the molten fuel could have burnt its way through the base and into the soil below, producing steam as it comes into contact with groundwater (while simultaneously releasing radioactive contaminants into the ocean). Second, reactor rod fragments could have come into contact with rainwater, producing extreme amounts of heat and, consequently, steam. As The Ecologist notes, ‘Of the three choices this is probably the least serious.’

While some of the possible outcomes might be better than others, nothing we’re facing is exactly ideal. But of course, that seems to be the recurring theme for Tepco’s efforts at containing the Fukushima disaster. Why change now.” Source – Gizmodo.

Flashback: Fukushima Nuclear Reactor No. 3 Using Controversial, and Dangerous, MOX Fuel – “… [A]ccording to an August 2010 announcement by Shikoku Electric Power Co. Inc., reactor No. 3 was filled with a controversial fuel called MOX (Mixed OXide) — a mixture of plutonium and uranium oxides … In a 1997 letter written to then President Bill Clinton, 171 organizations joined together requesting that the President prohibit the use of MOX plutonium fuel in commercial nuclear reactors. Not only was this type of fuel ‘experimental’ at the time the letter was written, it was also more easily utilized into weapons-grade material and ‘increased reactor hazards’ due to technical issues inherent with this type of fuel. ‘Plutonium in the system makes more — and more dangerous — types of radioactivity. This affects the discharges to air and water, and all waste types. Plutonium also affects the fission process itself, making it more difficult to control and leaving an even narrower margin for human error, as well as affecting the physical integrity of the reactor itself.'” Read more.

Flashback: Japan: Record Outdoor Radiation Level That ‘Can Kill In 20 Minutes’ Detected At Fukushima – “Outdoor radiation levels have reached their highest at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant, warns the operator company. Radiation found in an area near a steel pipe that connects reactor buildings could kill an exposed person in 20 minutes, local media reported. The plant’s operator and the utility responsible for the clean-up Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) detected record radiation levels on a duct which connects reactor buildings and the 120 meter tall ventilation pipe located outside on Friday. TEPCO measured radiation at eight locations around the pipe with the highest estimated at two locations – 25 Sieverts per hour and about 15 Sieverts per hour, the company said. This is the highest level ever detected outside the reactor buildings …” Read more.