Remember the discussion we had some time back on nuclear reactors, and
whether they might be a good idea in cruise ships, and the discussion
turned to whether it was a good idea to have nuclear power plants on
land... well a "worst case nuclear scenario" seems to be developing in
Japan after the disastrous earthquake and tsunami... and the strong
possibility of multiple nuclear reactor meltdowns, and what could happen
from that, has the potential to make the earthquake and tsunami pale by
comparison...

--Tom

http://abcnews.go.com/International/...ry?id=13120888

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/as_japan_earthquake

Some quotes...

---

"At least two reactors at the Daiichi plant and three at the Fukushima
Daini plant which located about 10 miles away had damaged cooling
systems, the Associated Press reported. Officials declared states of
emergency for the five reactors."

"A partial meltdown was likely under way at a second nuclear reactor, a
top Japanese official said Sunday, as operators frantically tried to
prevent a similar threat from a nearby unit at the same facility
following a catastrophic earthquake and tsunami that may have killed
1,000 people. Some 170,000 people have been ordered to evacuate the
area covering a radius of 12 miles (20 kilometers) around the plant in
Fukushima near Iwaki. A meltdown refers to a very serious collapse of a
power plant's systems and its ability to manage temperatures. A complete
meltdown would release uranium and dangerous byproducts into the
environment that can pose serious health risks."

"Japanese authorities told the International Atomic Energy Agency that
they are preparing to distribute iodine to residents in the area around
both the Fukushima Daiichi and nearby Fukushima Daini plants."

"U.S. officials are concerned that the threat of a radiation leak has
been downplayed and that wind patterns, which could carry a potential
release of radioactive material outside a 20-kilometers radius towards
Tokyo, have not been sufficiently accounted for."

"This is extremely serious," said Joseph Cirincione, president of the
Ploughshares Fund and an expert on national security and international
policy. "The best case at this point would still be the worst incident
since Chernobyl."

"Given the large quantity of irradiated nuclear fuel in the pool, the
radioactivity release could be worse than the Chernobyl nuclear reactor
catastrophe of 25 years ago."

"Up to 100 percent of the volatile radioactive Cesium-137 content of the
pools could go up in flames and smoke, to blow downwind over large
distances,"

---

Down wind from Japan is the US and Canada... (because that's the way the
earth spins)...

Cesium is the problem in Chernobyl... and the problem will last over 300
years, given the radioactivity half life.