Hiroaki Koide of Kyoto University: "Situation Mankind Has Never Faced Before"
Some sobering thoughts...
Radiation expert says outcome of nuke crisis hard to predict, warns of further dangers
Hiroaki Koide, a radiation metrology and nuclear safety expert at Kyoto University's Research Reactor Institute shares what he thinks may happen in the coming weeks, months and years. At present, he believes that there is a possibility that massive amounts of radioactive materials will be released into the environment again. He mentions “steam explosion” after melted fuel hits water. Melted fuel may have sunk into ground — “We are now head to head with a situation that mankind has never faced before”
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/perspectives/news/20110909p2a00m0na016000c.html
Posted by: Gardening Gal
Let's get the BRAWM
Let's get the BRAWM commentary on this.
Way back when FLEXPART
Way back when FLEXPART Forecasts stopped their http://transport.nilu.no/producs/fukushima site, I emailed them to thank them for their service and to beg them to put it back up.
A fellow emailed back and told me that they were more concerned with the hydrological aspects of the problem than the airborne. I could only assume that he meant the release of radiation into the ocean, as well as the eventual contamination of the surrounding area's groundwater, which would continue to seep and creep, as water does.
Certainly, there is a possibility that once the corium touches groundwater, it could explode into steam. Heat + water = steam. Then we'd have more radioactive airborne water raining down upon us. Oh, goodie.
This is interesting. NILU is
This is interesting. NILU is the Norwegian Institute for AIR Research, that's where their expertise is, and the Flexpart model was specifically designed to model ATMOSPHERIC plumes, not water movement--as far as I read. When you say "they were more concerned with the hydrological aspects of the problem than the airborne", are you referring to NILU or the Japanese? With the risk of significant watersteam explosions and incineration of radioactive waste, the disinterest in air plume forecasts is more likely related to significant economic implications, as pointed out by the well-informed poster who explained the lack of legal recourse and compensation cancer victims of the TMI disaster suffered--due to lacking plume data! I am still extremely suspicious of the shut down of NILU (I never received an answer when I inquired by phone for the reasons).
This is something that I
This is something that I don't understand. Isn't the melted fuel already in contact with water all the time (I mean, since the basements and foundations are already flooded since March and they keep pouring water 24/7)? Why would touching "the ground water" make a difference?
Is it possible this guy is
Is it possible this guy is just an alarmist? I thought the possibility of the core melting through to the water table had been ruled out...also didn't I just catch a report that the fuel has cooled considerably at this point?
I would like to have some
I would like to have some independent opinion on this too. Koide is against nuclear energy, but he wouldn't be talking about that possibility six months just for the kicks.