... except for the dang Environmentalists and Protesters ...
Nobody could have foreseen the Dangers, Except for them ... but they don't count.
MOX fuel arrives in Japan
Kyodo News, japantimes.co.jp -- May 19, 2009
Two cargo ships carrying recycled nuclear fuel arrived Monday in Japan from France for the planned introduction of plutonium-thermal power generation in the fall, power company officials said.
[...]
The ships will also deliver the fuel, a combination of uranium and plutonium extracted from spent nuclear fuel, to Kyushu Electric Power Co.'s Genkai nuclear power plant in Saga Prefecture and Shikoku Electric Power Co.'s Ikata plant in Ehime Prefecture.
[...]
Antinuclear groups staged demonstrations against the pluthermal power generation plan, shouting, "No transport of dangerous MOX fuel." Pluthermal is a Japanese word combining the English words plutonium and thermal.
Critics point to the potential dangers of MOX fuel, warning that use of fuel containing plutonium exposes residents to greater health risks in the event of serious accidents.
Kyushu Electric plans to put MOX fuel into the No. 3 reactor of the Genkai plant at the time of the next regular inspection in August.
Flash-back a few weeks to the disturbing News about the "extra risks" at Reactor 3 -- Risks that Nobody could have foreseen ...
Plutonium threat at Japan reactor, expert warns
by Tim Hornyak, news.cnet.com -- March 14, 2011
At a press conference in Tokyo, Masashi Goto, who worked for Toshiba as a reactor researcher and designer, said the mixed oxide (MOX) fuel used in unit 3 of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant contains plutonium, which is much more toxic than the fuel used in the other reactors.
[...]
"According to announcements, there appears to be no major damage to the containment vessel" of reactor No. 3, Goto said at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan. "In other words, it is able to fulfill its function."
But it's still unknown whether the outside of the containment vessel had been damaged in the blast, he added.
Flash-forward to today's disturbing News at Reactor 3 -- that Nobody could have foreseen ...
Japan: PM Says Fukushima Still Very Grave; Leak At Reactor 3
automatedtrader.net -- Friday, 25 March 2011
TOKYO (MNI) - [...] Japan's nuclear safety agency announced earlier Friday that there was a "good chance" that the reactor vessel of Reactor 3 at the Fukushima plant has been damaged and that high levels of radiation have leaked out.
[...]
"Reactor 3 seems to have retained some containment functions, but there is a good chance that the reactor has been damaged somewhere," Hidehiko Nishiyama, spokesman for the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, told a news conference.
Japan Fears Nuclear Site Reactor Damage
David Connolly, Sky News Online, UK, Friday March 25, 2011
High radiation levels at Japan's Fukushima 1 nuclear plant have raised fears that a reactor core may have been damaged [...]
The number three reactor is of particular concern because it is the only one of six at the facility to use a potentially volatile mix of uranium and plutonium.
Well since the one in six chance appears to HAVE happened, What exactly is this mixture of uranium and plutonium anyways?
MOX fuel
From Wikipedia
MOX fuel stands for Mixed oxide fuel. [...]
Specifically, MOX fuel refers to a blend of plutonium and natural uranium, reprocessed uranium, or depleted uranium. For example, a mixture of 7% Pu / 93% U (Plutonium/Uranium)
Well there's Bad News and Good News, according to these Nuclear experts, concerning that MOX threat, seemingly let loose at Japan's Reactor Three ...
Plutonium In Fuel Rods: Cause For Concern?
by Dan Charles, NPR -- March 16, 2011
According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, MOX fuel presents particular risks in an accident.
[...]
plutonium is a particularly long-lived and toxic material. The half-life of plutonium-239 is 24,000 years, so if it escaped in smoke from a burning reactor and contaminated soil downwind, it would remain hazardous for tens of thousands of years.
But officials at the International Atomic Energy Agency say the presence of MOX fuel does not add significantly to the dangers.
[...]
And although plutonium is a long-lived emitter of radiation, it is also quite heavy, so it is not likely to move very far downwind from its source.
Well at least the Sky is Not Falling ... or is it? Hmmm?
That's "good news" (sort of) for America, Not so good for Japan.
(Who's says Oceans don't keep us safe?)
Even the US EPA makes an effort to make Plutonium sound um, "palatable" ... yummm!
Plutonium
from EPA.gov
Plutonium (chemical symbol Pu) is a radioactive metal with Atomic Number 94. Plutonium is considered a man-made element, although scientists have found trace amounts of naturally occurring plutonium produced under highly unusual geologic circumstances.
[...]
How does plutonium get into the body?
People may inhale plutonium as a contaminant in dust. It can also be ingested with food or water. Most people have extremely low ingestion and inhalation of plutonium. However, people who live near government weapons production or testing facilities may have increased exposure. Plutonium exposure external to the body poses very little health risk.
[...]
How can plutonium affect people's health?
External exposure to plutonium poses very little health risk, since plutonium isotopes emit alpha radiation, and almost no beta or gamma radiation. In contrast, internal exposure to plutonium is an extremely serious health hazard. It generally stays in the body for decades, exposing organs and tissues to radiation, and increasing the risk of cancer. Plutonium is also a toxic metal, and may cause damage to the kidneys.
[...]
What are the properties of plutonium?
Plutonium has at least 15 different isotopes, all of which are radioactive. The most common ones are Pu-238, Pu-239, and Pu-240. Pu-238 has a half-life of 87.7 years. Plutonium-239 has a half-life of 24,100, and Pu-240 has a half-life 6,560 years. The isotope Pu-238 gives off useable heat, because of its radioactivity.
All this expense, complexity, and danger -- just to generate heat, to boil water?
I guess nobody could have foreseen, either -- there must be other Cleaner, Cheaper, Safer ways, to do this?
Why risk all that expense in Renewable Clean Engery Investments -- when Nuclear Science has a "sure-fire" way to keep Boiling Water ...
-- At least until that day -- They Can't, that is.
Of course, WHO can Foresee what the Future might hold in store for us, now
-- with Ostrich Mentality being what it is and all ... Only the Opinions of the Ostriches really count!
And THEY, by nature, aren't the most "insightful bunch" around.
NOTE: this story is still Breaking, and I'm still hoping for that Miracle, that would have somehow kept that MOX "contained" at Reactor Three ... a Miracle that "that Nobody could have foreseen" either ...