Is a Meltdown In Progress? Can They Stop A Meltdown?

These are the questions people around the world are asking, as they are glued to live coverage of the Nuclear Disaster going on in Japan as I type this...

We have had THREE explosions of some kind, some breakdowns and there are most likely TWO more as there is not much that can be done to stop the process.

I've heard it compared to a runaway car. Personally, I'd call it a runaway train.

A few days back there was much talk on managing the crisis.

We now have admittance that the core was exposed briefly, the fuel rods were exposed on two occasions, etc... sea water rushed in and there was a hydrogen explosion as the steam poured out of the plant.

Unfortunately, the US helicopters that were there trying to help were coated with radioactive debris as well as 17 or 18 people who were on the deck of the Ronald Reagan that was underneath the cloud's path out to sea.

I find it strange that CNN and the news media is just releasing today what I knew yesterday, that the Quake has been upgraded to a 9.0. Guess it takes a while for it to be official and to write a press release...

There are also press releases from the plant that read a lot like Hurricane Advisories. The word "may" crop up often and there is more not known than known.

http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/11031405-e.html

Note wording below:

At approximately 11:01am, an explosion followed by white smoke occurred
at the reactor building of Unit 3. It was believed to be a hydrogen
explosion.

According to the parameter, it is believed that the reactor containment
vessel remains intact. However, the status of the plant and the impact
of radioactive materials to the outside environment are presently under
investigation

There is a lot of talk on China Syndrome Scenarios and there are people worried that the air flow from Japan will take any residue east towards parts of California and beyond.

It's easy to say there are way too many alarmists out there with nothing better to do right now, but the truth is they keep admitting to more and more problems at the FIVE different locations that are in danger of melting down. They are in fact, admitting to the possibility of there being a Meltdown going on.

It's amazing that we think some things are impossible, but after watching CNN or FOX for a few days and watching one layer of tragedy upon another being placed into the news we become inured to the reality that this is the worst catastrophe to hit Japan since World War II and they do not mean LOSING the WWII they mean the nuclear aftermath of the bomb being dropped on them.

There is such an irony here that a country that was devastated by radiation was not afraid to use it and run with it.

These plants in this part of the country that were damaged by the Earthquake are indeed very old plants, more than 40 years old and it is said that plants built more recently are safer plants. Personally, I don't think nuclear power is "safe" power but I am in the minority, or rather I was in the minority until recently. Many of my friends have asked me today, "exactly how far are we from the closest nuclear plant?"

The "not in my backyard" mentality is beginning to set in.

Keep watching...

http://wwitv.com/tv_channels/6810.htm

Keep alert. Knowledge is power and it's better to stay informed than to have your head under the ground like an Ostritch unless you can get the rest of your body down there should the worst happen.

Be well, stay safe... Bobbi
Ps Remember, to have one reactor with this problem was unthinkable, let alone five. And, the nuclear plants in California have spent the day explaining to the media that they are built to withstand an earthquake as strong as the one in Japan. I hope so. The truth is we don't know until we know if there would be or wouldn't be a problem.