A third reactor has gone south:
The plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power, said late Monday that repeated efforts to inject seawater into the reactor had failed, causing water levels inside the reactor’s containment vessel to fall and exposing its fuel rods. After what at first appeared to be a successful bid to refill the vessel, water levels again dwindled, this time to critical levels, exposing the rods almost completely, company executives said.
Workers were having difficulty injecting seawater into the reactor because its vents — necessary to release pressure in the containment vessel by allowing radioactive steam to escape — had stopped working properly, they said.
The more time that passes with fuel rods uncovered by water and the pressure inside the containment vessel unvented, the greater the risk that the containment vessel will crack or explode, creating a potentially catastrophic release of radioactive material into the atmosphere...
[NYT] Emergency Cooling Effort Failing at Japanese Reactor, Deepening Crisis
All of the pressure relief valves have stopped working? This sound incredibly unlikely.
ReplyDeleteBut lets play devils advocate. The valves are the weakest part of the containment so will blow out upon severe steam pressure. Steam will then be vented through carbon filters which will contain most of the volatile fission products.
The core will then be badly damaged, and will melt partially or even fully. However even these older BWRs were designed for full corium retention and arrest, retaining the non-volatiles.
Where is your source? TEPCO has NO press release stating this...
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