HOW JAPAN FEELS

Japan's Feeling of Dread Surrounding the Nuclear Crisis Intensifies
Bill Powell, March 16, 2011 (Time)

"The 50 workers struggling to contain the fallout at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant faced two significant setbacks…both of which appeared to increase the risk of a significant release of radiation into the atmosphere…The government and Tokyo Electric Power Co., Fukushima Daiichi's operator, now acknowledge that two of the three reactors that were operating at the time of last Friday's 9.0 earthquake and tsunami have since sustained damage to their containment vessels.

"The widespread feeling of dread surrounding the nuclear crisis intensified further…when, for the second consecutive day, a fire broke out at reactor unit number 4, where 15 highly radioactive spent fuel rods are being stored in a pool of water 45 feet deep. The 50 remaining TEPCO workers at the Daiichi plant, who are tasked with trying to cool the reactors down with seawater, were hustled into a protective room as radiation levels spiked…but were able to resume work [90 minutes later] when radiation levels fell."

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"…[N]uclear scientists say that the sequence of events at reactor 4 is a reason for intense concern. Once the cooling pumps stop…the water in the spent fuel pools will begin to heat up and slowly start to boil off…30 feet of water would have to boil off before exposing the rods. That could take several days…The exposure of those rods is particularly serious because TEPCO officials have said they were removed relatively recently from the reactor core…[and have] ‘a very high level of radiation and are generating more heat’…

"That under normal circumstances that wouldn't necessarily be a source of concern, because of the existence of a secondary containment unit and a ventilation system housed in the reactor's building. But on Monday morning, a huge hydrogen explosion at reactor unit 3 blew a 26-foot hole in the side of the building containing reactor 4. The hydrogen, nuclear scientists say, almost certainly came from the spent fuel…and that in turn means the water level in the pool has sunk…[so] the gaping hole in the secondary containment unit at reactor 4 means that radioactive gases — iodine-131 and cesium — from the spent fuel…will be vented…"

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"…By late Wednesday afternoon, flames were no longer visible at reactor unit 4, but smoke and steam were still billowing skyward, prompting fears that the authorities were stumbling in the face of the crisis and reacting haphazardly…Yukiya Amano, the Japanese director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, himself complained of not having sufficient information from Japanese authorities…Many Japanese share his unease. For the first time, there has been a whiff of panic as far south as Tokyo…

"Convenience stores are running out of ready to eat foods…iodine tablets, which protect against the carcinogenic effects of iodine-131 emissions [are selling out]…there are few seats remaining for flights out of Tokyo…[and hotels] have emptied. At Tokyo Station…long lines of passengers [are buying] tickets for bullet trains heading south…"