Six Nuclear reactors now on the road to a critical meltdown some further along than others

Another reactor at Fukushima nuke plant loses cooling functions

TOKYO, March 13, Kyodo

Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Sunday another reactor of its quake-hit Fukushima nuclear power plants had lost its cooling functions, while at least 15 people at a nearby hospital were found to have been exposed to radioactivity.

The utility supplier notified the government early Sunday morning that the No. 3 reactor at the No. 1 Fukushima plant had lost the ability to cool the reactor core. The reactor is now in the process of releasing radioactive steam, according to top government spokesman Yukio Edano.

It was the sixth reactor overall at the Fukushima No. 1 and No. 2 plants to undergo cooling failure since the massive earthquake and ensuing tsunami struck Japan on Friday.

The disaster raised fears over radioactive leaks from the plants after cooling systems there were hampered, most seriously at the No. 1 reactor.

An explosion Saturday at the No. 1 plant blew away the roof and the walls of the building housing the No. 1 reactor's container.

The government and nuclear authorities said there was no damage to the steel container housing the troubled No. 1 reactor, noting that the blast occurred as vapor from the container turned into hydrogen and mixed with outside oxygen.

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Meltdown Caused Nuke Plant Explosion: Safety Body

TOKYO (Nikkei)--The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) said Saturday afternoon the explosion at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant could only have been caused by a meltdown of the reactor core.

The same day, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (9501), which runs the plant, began to flood the damaged reactor with seawater to cool it down, resorting to measures that could rust the reactor and force the utility to scrap it.

Core of Fuku 1 partially melted; race on to cool...

The core of a nuclear reactor damaged by Friday’s massive earthquake has partially melted, Japan’s nuclear safety agency said Saturday, and the company that runs the plant is pouring seawater into the reactor in an attempt to cool it and prevent it from going critical.

Early Sunday, Japan's nuclear safety agency reported an emergency at a second reactor in the same complex.

The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said that the cooling system malfunctioned at Unit 3 of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant No. 1. The agency said it was informed of the emergency by Tokyo Electric Co., or TEPCO, the utility that runs the plant.

No further details of the troubles at Unit 3 were immediately available.

An explosion Saturday at the same plant destroyed the exterior walls of a building, but officials said the blast did not breach the steel housing enveloping the reactor there.

TEPCO's Fukushima No. 1 and No. 2 plants lost their cooling functions after the area was jolted by a magnitude 8.9 earthquake on Friday. Radioactive cesium and iodine were detected near the facility Saturday, indicating that the melting had occurred, Kyodo News Service reported.

Explosion at Japan nuclear plant (Update 3/14/11)

Japan's nuclear crisis has deepened after a second reactor building at the Fukushima Daiichi atomic power plant exploded on Monday morning. Officials said there was a low possibility that the blast had released radioactive material into the air.

Nuclear fuel rods fully exposed at Japan reactor - Jiji (Reuters) - Nuclear fuel rods at a quake-stricken Japanese nuclear reactor are now fully exposed, Jiji news agency said, quoting the plant's operator, Tokyo Eletcric Power Co .

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Comment by TheLasersShadow on March 14, 2011 at 9:19am: Updated again... Don't ya just wish these asshats could be trusted to give us the truth so we wouldn't have to speculate on this situation continuously. This is ridiculous, if they are "exposed" they are almost certainly going to melt down and gas out. WTH just tell us the damn truth that the nuke plant is fucked, leaking radiation and going to get much worse before it gets better.

Comment by TheLasersShadow on March 14, 2011 at 1:13am: You can see with this second explosion that it was so hot and powerful that it was able to lift a large chunk of the building 2-300 feet into the air.