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Japanese military helicopters and fire trucks poured water on an overheating nuclear facility on Thursday and the plant operator said electricity to part of the crippled complex could be restored in a desperate bid to avert catastrophe. Washington and other foreign capitals expressed growing alarm about radiation leaking from the earthquake-shattered plant, 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo. The United States said it was sending aircraft to help Americans leave Japan. ... Workers were trying to connect a 1-km (0.6-mile) long power cable from the main grid to restart water pumps to cool reactor No. 2, which does not house spent fuel rods considered the biggest risk of spewing radioactivity into the atmosphere.
Washington and other foreign capitals expressed growing alarm about radiation leaking from the earthquake-shattered plant, 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo. The United States said it was sending aircraft to help Americans leave Japan.
...
Workers were trying to connect a 1-km (0.6-mile) long power cable from the main grid to restart water pumps to cool reactor No. 2, which does not house spent fuel rods considered the biggest risk of spewing radioactivity into the atmosphere.
I have been watching the NHK feed and grimly laughing at the helicopter operation. Here is some info: Capacity of spent fuel pools: 1200-1500 tons water 15 meters deep Needed to cover rods: 15 meters, 400-500 tons water For reactor 3, they think there might be enough water that they only need < 100 tons, perhaps less One helicopter can drop 7.5 tons/load. BUt it can't hover, due to the radiation level. If I heard right, those on board are limited to 100 mSieverts/hour (check the time units). They had measured 250/hr at 30 meters and 87/hr at 90 meters. They dumped from 90 meters. See image. Looks more like crop dusting. There was one drop which looked a little better, but at the speed they are going, hitting the building with much is not likely.
I have been watching the NHK feed and grimly laughing at the helicopter operation. Here is some info:
Capacity of spent fuel pools: 1200-1500 tons water 15 meters deep Needed to cover rods: 15 meters, 400-500 tons water
For reactor 3, they think there might be enough water that they only need < 100 tons, perhaps less
One helicopter can drop 7.5 tons/load. BUt it can't hover, due to the radiation level. If I heard right, those on board are limited to 100 mSieverts/hour (check the time units). They had measured 250/hr at 30 meters and 87/hr at 90 meters. They dumped from 90 meters. See image. Looks more like crop dusting. There was one drop which looked a little better, but at the speed they are going, hitting the building with much is not likely.
By email from Joules Burn to Euan Means.
Needed to cover rods: 15 meters, 400-500 tons water
Fighting forest fires with planes and choppers is not an exact science, at the best of times. But at least they can get in lower than 90m.
So dropping water from helicopters is just useless. So, in what may be my last act of "advising", I'll advise you to cut the jargon. -- My old PhD advisor, to me, 26/2/11
I'm not sure for whose benefit.
And don't they have fireboats?
The range and flow of a fireboat must be an order of magnitude or two higher than a truck, surely?
(h/t DoDo) So, in what may be my last act of "advising", I'll advise you to cut the jargon. -- My old PhD advisor, to me, 26/2/11
I numbered the reactors.
No way firefighting ships can get near enough.
There's also the advantage of at least some cover from the turbine buildings.
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