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[Tellemurius]

I can't help but think of the similarities to the horrible finale of Fallout 3 where despite wearing an anti-radiation suit and downing half a dozen anti-radiation pills you instantly die anyway...

But yeah, if we had stuff that easily and totally protected from ionizing radiation, we wouldn't make such a fuss about cosmic rays in matters of manned interplanetary travel.

Why constructing space ships in space would be so much better and cost effective.

[Bouchart]

Yahoo has at their main page that the fire at the plant is out, but they don't have a link to a source yet.

Edit: The Nikkei is up over 6% right now.  That's a good sign that some of the panic may be abating.

I know it could look a bit callous to follow the financial markets at a time like this, but they are a good gauge of fear.

[nenjin]

It's probably a watermark of trading's irrationality, but I wouldn't take it for much else. Much of the trading right now is utterly predatory, and is going to flip on every development. Including market reports.

[Bouchart]

It's probably a watermark of trading's irrationality, but I wouldn't take it for much else. Much of the trading right now is utterly predatory, and is going to flip on every development. Including market reports.

Highly possible.

Anyway I don't see that blurb on Yahoo anymore.  May have been inaccurate?  No way of knowing.

[Bouchart]

http://en.rian.ru/world/20110315/163009589.html

I can't vouch for the integrity of this source.

Edit: Ok now the story is up on Yahoo.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/ts_nm/us_japan_quake

[Erk]

One man's advice to a family member who is in Sendai right now. Not a government source, an expert talking to a relative with advice on how to deal with this.

-->Greg as you know I have expertise in this area since I have worked in the nuclear field for over thirty years. Here's my perspective -- This is a very serious situation but not the disaster that it is being made out to be especially in the US press. This situation is not at all like Chernobyl where there was no containment at all with a graphite cooled reactor that burned for weeks uncontrolled. There is so much misinformation being spread by the media. For example, there was no fire in the Unit 4 spent fuel pool as reported by the media. Instead the fire was an oil fire associated with one of the cooling pumps for the pool. Although there are some indications that part of the Unit 2 reactor cooling system has been damaged, there is nothing indicating containment has been compromised. Radiation levels are steadily decreasing. The last reported reading ONSITE was about 60 millirem/hr, which is a dose rate that is routinely seen in areas within normally operating plants. This dose rate is not alarming or extraordinary. For biological effects to occur, a human needs to be subjected to a dose in the range of 50 to 100 rem or 50,000 - 100,000 millirem. The highest dose received by a worker was 10.8 rem, which shouldn't result in long term issues for them. Again the key word here is that the dose rates being reported are at the plant site. Three things are important when it comes to radiation protection - time, distance and shielding. Since everyone is evacuated to a radius of 30 miles, there is essentially ZERO chance of anyone in the public receiving a dose that is health significant. Again, I am not downplaying the situation. It is the most serious situation that this industry has faced since Chernobyl, where workers received lethal doses in the order of several THOUSAND rem and nearby residents recieved doses in excess of one hundred rem. Expect releases to continue since the plants will continue venting containment - as they have to do. For accurate information, please check out the following websites:

www.iaea.org
www.nei.org
www.world-nuclear-news.org

MY thoughts go out to everyone dealing with this terrible tragedy. Take care of yourself Greg. Stay safe and warm. I think of you often.

[Aklyon]

One man's advice to a family member who is in Sendai right now. Not a government source, an expert talking to a relative with advice on how to deal with this.

-->Greg as you know I have expertise in this area since I have worked in the nuclear field for over thirty years. Here's my perspective -- This is a very serious situation but not the disaster that it is being made out to be especially in the US press. This situation is not at all like Chernobyl where there was no containment at all with a graphite cooled reactor that burned for weeks uncontrolled. There is so much misinformation being spread by the media. For example, there was no fire in the Unit 4 spent fuel pool as reported by the media. Instead the fire was an oil fire associated with one of the cooling pumps for the pool. Although there are some indications that part of the Unit 2 reactor cooling system has been damaged, there is nothing indicating containment has been compromised. Radiation levels are steadily decreasing. The last reported reading ONSITE was about 60 millirem/hr, which is a dose rate that is routinely seen in areas within normally operating plants. This dose rate is not alarming or extraordinary. For biological effects to occur, a human needs to be subjected to a dose in the range of 50 to 100 rem or 50,000 - 100,000 millirem. The highest dose received by a worker was 10.8 rem, which shouldn't result in long term issues for them. Again the key word here is that the dose rates being reported are at the plant site. Three things are important when it comes to radiation protection - time, distance and shielding. Since everyone is evacuated to a radius of 30 miles, there is essentially ZERO chance of anyone in the public receiving a dose that is health significant. Again, I am not downplaying the situation. It is the most serious situation that this industry has faced since Chernobyl, where workers received lethal doses in the order of several THOUSAND rem and nearby residents recieved doses in excess of one hundred rem. Expect releases to continue since the plants will continue venting containment - as they have to do. For accurate information, please check out the following websites:

www.iaea.org
www.nei.org
www.world-nuclear-news.org

MY thoughts go out to everyone dealing with this terrible tragedy. Take care of yourself Greg. Stay safe and warm. I think of you often.

sounds like Everything Is Ok, pretty much. except for it being a major problem.

[Erk]

sounds like Everything Is Ok, pretty much. except for it being a major problem.

...not sure I see the connection...

[Aqizzar]

Live international television now reporting: a spokesman from the Japanese government has said the last-resort workers at the Fukushima reactor are being evacuated, the radiation levels are simply too high to stay.  Exact details are not forthcoming, but there's only so many possibilities of why this would be.  The facility is being left unmanned, with hoses and pumps hopefully keeping water on the reactor, which has now so thoroughly damaged its vessel that the water can't stay contained.  Plumes of steam are blowing out of the structure.

The safety zone is roughly 30 miles in diameter - 12 miles of "Get the Hell out while you can", and 20 miles of "Stay indoors or leave, just avoid particulate".

[Bouchart]

Not looking good.

[Zrk2]

What went wrong with the final containment?

*Insert plug for CANDU reactors here.*

[Bouchart]

There's a complete lack of new news.  Not good.

[Tellemurius]

http://live.reuters.com/Event/Japan_earthquake2
They went back....

[Bouchart]

http://live.reuters.com/Event/Japan_earthquake2
They went back....

No indication of whether they went back because radiation levels fell, or if it's a suicide mission...

[Tellemurius]

http://live.reuters.com/Event/Japan_earthquake2
They went back....

No indication of whether they went back because radiation levels fell, or if it's a suicide mission...

Japan nuclear agency: Evacuation order of plant workers lifted at 0230 GMT after radiation falls

i looked below