UPDATE AS OF 5 P.M. EDT, MONDAY, APRIL 18:
Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) estimates it will take up to nine months to stabilize the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. A plan released Sunday breaks the project into two steps, the first taking up to three months, the second up to six months more.

According to the company's "Roadmap Towards Restoration," TEPCO plans to:

* Fill the containment vessels of reactors 1 and 3 with enough water to cover the fuel in the reactors while it decides the best course of action to repair the damaged containment vessel of reactor 2. The goal is to lower the temperature of the water inside the reactors to below boiling.
* Install heat exchangers to help cool the reactors. TEPCO continues to inject water into the reactors to prevent overheating. TEPCO also continues to spray water onto the used fuel storage pools as needed.
* Use giant covers with filters to enclose the reactor buildings and control the release of radioactivity.
* Install additional water storage tanks and purification facilities to process the highly radioactive water that has accumulated in the plant buildings and nearby concrete enclosures. The decontaminated water then will be used to cool the reactors. Radioactive water that has accumulated in turbine room basements is hampering work to restore cooling operations.
* Expand monitoring of radiation in the 12.5-mile evacuation area and later decontaminate houses and soil.
http://nei.cachefly.net/newsandevent...n-that-region/

Getting a better handle on it every day.

That's good. Pretty soon, I'll be able to come out of my bunker.

Originally Posted by FL Knifemaker

That's good. Pretty soon, I'll be able to come out of my bunker.

Just in time for the Obama Bomb.......economic collapse.....

Originally Posted by FL Knifemaker

That's good. Pretty soon, I'll be able to come out of my bunker.

Shower before you hit the mall. Do it for the children.

Originally Posted by Indiana_Geoff

Shower before you hit the mall. Do it for the children.

I actually have a two day FUNK going on right now. Had to do some kitchen plumbing that required the water be turned off at the street. If my bud doesn't finish up this morning, I'll be hitting the pool but the water is still pretty chilly Im at the point where I can't stand myself

So I won't be able to use a gallon of milk for a night light any more?

Been scratching my head on this one for several days. Perfect use for contaminated water: pump it back into the reactor. It's still water, isn't it? And you were going to pump it somewhere anyway, weren't you? W-e-e-e-l-l-l?

So... if they get this under control and the devastation is minimal, will the success of the containment go even an inch towards getting more plants operational in the US? I mean this was just about worst case scenario... can it really get much worse than an earthquake followed by a tsunami?

Fukushima is the maximum-credible excursion for a water-moderated reactor. (Chernobyl was graphite-moderated.) So yeah, the plant itself can't do any worse. Though a situation can always be managed worse, and will be if we wait long enough.

OTOSOTC (on the other side of the coin), every plant design newer than Fukushima is at least a power of ten safer, not counting Soviet designs. Power of 100 if not in a tsunami zone. Those are conservative.

Remember a new plant today will be old and corroded in 30 years............( if not maintained......... but that takes $$$ and regulation and enforcement).


Jim

This is just a ticking time bomb - rusty dirty heap of radioactive rubble awaiting the next quake!

Nice.....................

Originally Posted by Real Ira

So I won't be able to use a gallon of milk for a night light any more?

If you're lactose intolerant, you can still use it to heat your home.