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Interesting how the same news is spun differently above ("Fukushima radioactive fallout nears Chernobyl levels") and upthread ("Japan iodine release lower than Chernobyl").

iodine-131 is being released at daily levels 73 per cent of those seen after the 1986 disaster. The daily amount of caesium-137 released from Fukushima Daiichi is around 60 per cent of the amount released from Chernobyl.

Now, rate of emission is one thing; duration is another: but how long did Chernobyl emit radioactive smoke?

*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.

by DoDo on Fri Mar 25th, 2011 at 04:34:52 AM EST
[ Parent ]
60% and 73% are as good as 100% "for government work". The difference is hairsplitting.

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
by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Fri Mar 25th, 2011 at 05:18:05 AM EST
[ Parent ]
DoDo:
rate of emission is one thing; duration is another: but how long did Chernobyl emit radioactive smoke?
It would appear that the fire in the reactor was put out the same day, the 26th of April.

Because of the Soviet lack of transparency it was possible for them to send in firefighters without telling them what they were working on. It was also possible for the authorities to start evacuating Pripyat within 48 hours, before Forsmark in Sweden raised the alert due to the radiation levels. It was also possible for the Soviets to deploy thousands of "liquidators" to do the cleanup after the fire was out.

Here we have a situation where safety of emergency workers is taken seriously and information flows relatively openly, which probably results in slower crisis response and contamination over longer times.

Compare the incident of the Japanese workers wading ankle-deep in radioactive water with the Chernobyl firefighters.

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

by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Fri Mar 25th, 2011 at 05:38:10 AM EST
[ Parent ]
It would appear that the fire in the reactor was put out the same day, the 26th of April.

No, only the secondary fires, the graphite moderator fire in the reactor "continued to burn for many days". I found this: Chernobyl - A breakdown of communication between scientists and the public

After ten hours of trying to put the fire out with water it was apparent that this would not work. For over a week helicopters dumped lead and sand onto the smoldering reactor in an attempt to extinguish the fire. This to did not work. Nitrogen was next used to cool the fire and deprive it of oxygen. Finally on May the sixth the fire was brought under control.

That's ten days then.

Here we have a situation where safety of emergency workers is taken seriously and information flows relatively openly, which probably results in slower crisis response and contamination over longer times.

And, fortunately, also the timely evacuation of poulations from the areas affected by the fallout.

*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.

by DoDo on Fri Mar 25th, 2011 at 06:15:21 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Chernobyl disaster - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The fires were extinguished by 05:00, but many firefighters received high doses of radiation. The fire inside Reactor No. 4 continued to burn until 10 May 1986
Right.

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
by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Fri Mar 25th, 2011 at 06:59:54 AM EST
[ Parent ]
So now 6 May (10 days) or 10 May (14 days)? From this report, it appears 10 May was the end of the helicopter dropping missions. At any rate, this contemporary New Scientist says that the actual release stopped much later, on June 6. Elsewhere, I find an account barely mentioning graphite fire (and a linked diagram in pdf showing a sharp drop on 6 May):

Chapter II The release, dispersion and deposition of radionuclides - Chernobyl: Assessment of Radiological and Health Impact

The release pattern over time is well illustrated in Figure 3 (Bu93). The initial large release was principally due to the mechanical fragmentation of the fuel during the explosion. It contained mainly the more volatile radionuclides such as noble gases, iodines and some caesium. The second large release between day 7 and day 10 was associated with the high temperatures reached in the core melt. The sharp drop in releases after ten days may have been due to a rapid cooling of the fuel as the core debris melted through the lower shield and interacted with other material in the reactor. Although further releases probably occurred after 6 May, these are not thought to have been large.

...Although the releases were considerably reduced on 5 and 6 May (days 9 and 10) after the accident), continuing low-level releases occurred in the following week and for up to 40 days after the accident, particularly on 15 and 16 may, attributable to continuing outbreaks of fires or to hot areas in the reactor. These later releases can be correlated with increased concentrations of radionuclides in air measured at Kiev and Vilnius.



*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.
by DoDo on Fri Mar 25th, 2011 at 07:33:23 AM EST
[ Parent ]

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