TEPCO Unveils Plan To Deal With Fukushima Crisis

RedEaredSlider writes "Tokyo Electric Power Co. unveiled its plan for dealing with the crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. TEPCO said the radiation levels should drop over the next three months. It will take about six months for the reactors to achieve 'cold shutdown' in which the temperature of the water inside the reactor is less than 100 degrees Celsius (212 F). The current plan for cooling the reactors will mean injecting nitrogen into the reactor pressure vessel. All four damaged reactors experienced hydrogen explosions when water, heated by nuclear fuel, turned to steam and reacted with the zirconium alloy cladding of the fuel rods. Hydrogen, when exposed to oxygen, combusts. Nitrogen is an inert gas, so TEPCO hopes that it will prevent further explosions."

Comments

Nitrogen?

[pushing-robot]

Aren't they concerned that the N2 will start fusing into silicon, starting a chain reaction that incinerates the entire atmosphere?

After all, this is nuclear energy we're talking about; common sense has no place in this discussion.

Nice job framing the issue

[DNS-and-BIND]

"the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl"

I see what you did there! But there are parts missing...where's the "TEPCO is a corporation and all corporations are evil so this result was totally expected." The link text says, unveiled its plan for dealing with the crisis...don't you really mean "snowed the gullible media with its non-plan for handwaving away reality while paying no corporate income tax?" And where's the throwaway comment about capitalism failing? I mean, a dry recital of facts with a single opinion statement disguised in the middle is how things work these days, isn't it?

What's the point of a crisis like Fukushima if we don't take advantage of it to score points in favor of environmentalist anti-nuclear political objectives?

Disclaimer: as a dissident, I must be a paid shill of the nuclear companies, there is no other explanation for me speaking such heresy in public, nobody could possibly have a different opinion that the approved correct one.