Cold Shutdown a la Fukushima - What Does It Mean?
Channel: rumorecurioso
Date: 2011-12-19

To recap: 
1. Nuclear FUEL RODS are located inside a REACTOR (which is also called a PRESSURE VESSEL)
2. A REACTOR is located inside a CONTAINMENT VESSEL (they're stacked into each other like Russian dolls)

For the China Syndrome to happen:
1. The fuel must melt and fall to the bottom of the REACTOR (this is called a MELTDOWN)
2. The molten fuel (which is also called CORIUM) must "eat" or melt through the Reactor and fall to the bottom of the Containment Vessel (this is called a MELT-THROUGH)
(there are about 3' of concrete on the bottom of the Containment Vessel, and a steel casing of the Containment Vessel is 2 inches thick)
3. When the molten fuel eats through the Containment Vessel, it hits the soil and continues melting towards the ground water -- we have the China Syndrome!

Fukushima reactors 1, 2 and 3 are all at stage 2, a MELT-THROUGH, i.e., the molten fuel has eaten through the reactors, but NOT through the containments. Why? --
Because the Japanese keep filling the Reactors AND the Containment Vessels with water and the water, they claim, is below 100˚C (water boils at 100˚C).  The Japanese call it a "Cold Shutdown," which is misusing the term.  

The real meaning of the term COLD SHUTDOWN is -
the water circulating between the undamaged fuel rods inside an undamaged Reactor is below boiling or below 100˚C. 

Be careful when you listen to the mainstream media.  Some of the mainstream media's favorite tricks are:
• Tell part of the truth (e.g., the Containment Vessels at Fukushima leak water that was in contact with the molten nuclear fuel.  They say this water is contaminated with strontium and cesium.  They don't tell you it's also contaminated with uranium, plutonium, etc.  They probably don't even test it for these nuclides (may be, so that they don't have to tell us about them then)).
• They misuse the terms (e.g., Cold Shutdown, with the excuse, I suppose, that it's a complicated technical term, but with the effect of downplaying the severity of the problem). (Hey, even Jaczko, the head of the NRC, misused the term -- what's his excuse, too complicated or just sucking up to TEPCO? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYNjKO5gRAU&feature=channel_video_title)
To counteract this, USE COMMON SENSE!  Learn how the process works and ask questions!  

Arnie Gundersen/Fairewinds Associates:
http://www.fairewinds.com/
http://www.youtube.com/user/fairewindsenergy
in Japanese: http://www.fairewinds.com/ja

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/

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