Japan’s Strict Building Codes Saved Lives

[no_such_reality]

The quake happened at 2:46PM local time.

The wave travels at 500 MPH.

So for Tokyo, the time was half hour from quake to landfall.

For the places seen destroyed, the quake was 80 miles off the coast. For San Diego, think Catalina island.

So Sendai would have been hit in under 10 minutes of the quake.

10 minutes…
–edit—

I stand corrected, apparently time lag for nearest points was 10-30 minutes. Sendai airport, (distance unknown) was 1 hour.

The wave slows to approximately 45MPH with shorefall.

[Arraya]

[quote=flu][quote=Arraya]BBC is now reporting a whistleblower statement by Masashi Goto, nuclear engineer, that Toshiba (plant builder) knew that the engineering specs were not adequate for a disaster of this magnitude. Looks like this is a classic cost-benefit scenario, where engineers tell management what is necessary, and management makes the decision about the risks they can live with – in order to get the project margin up.[/quote]

Well, the interesting part though is that Toshiba didn’t build all three reactors…

Unit No. 1 is a General Electric Co. (GE) model that can generate 439 megawatts of power and began commercial operation in 1971, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. The No. 2 reactor was built by GE Toshiba and the No. 3 by Toshiba Corp.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-14/hydrogen-explosion-occurs-at-nuclear-power-plant-135-miles-north-of-tokyo.html

I doubt anyone really planned for a 9.0 earthquake followed by a tsunami that would cut off backup power, and backup to backup power to the cooling systems…[/quote]

Take it up with Mr. Goto and BBC

from BBC Live ( http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12307698 ) Read the bottom, highlighted bits first…

1431: More from Japanese nuclear engineer Masashi Goto: He say that as the reactor uses mox (mixed oxide) fuel, the melting point is lower than that of conventional fuel. Should a meltdown and an explosion occur, he says, plutonium could be spread over an area up to twice as far as estimated for a conventional nuclear fuel explosion. The next 24 hours are critical, he says.

1426: Mr Goto says his greatest fear is that blasts at number 3 and number 1 reactors may have damaged the steel casing of the containment vessel designed to stop radioactive material escaping into the atmosphere. More to follow.

1422: Japanese engineer Masashi Goto, who helped design the containment vessel for Fukushima’s reactor core, says the design was not enough to withstand earthquakes or tsunamis and the plant’s builders, Toshiba, knew this. More on Mr Goto’s remarks to follow.

[Arraya]

[quote=flu][quote=Arraya]BBC is now reporting a whistleblower statement by Masashi Goto, nuclear engineer, that Toshiba (plant builder) knew that the engineering specs were not adequate for a disaster of this magnitude. Looks like this is a classic cost-benefit scenario, where engineers tell management what is necessary, and management makes the decision about the risks they can live with – in order to get the project margin up.[/quote]

Well, the interesting part though is that Toshiba didn’t build all three reactors…

Unit No. 1 is a General Electric Co. (GE) model that can generate 439 megawatts of power and began commercial operation in 1971, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. The No. 2 reactor was built by GE Toshiba and the No. 3 by Toshiba Corp.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-14/hydrogen-explosion-occurs-at-nuclear-power-plant-135-miles-north-of-tokyo.html

I doubt anyone really planned for a 9.0 earthquake followed by a tsunami that would cut off backup power, and backup to backup power to the cooling systems…[/quote]

Take it up with Mr. Goto and BBC

from BBC Live ( http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12307698 ) Read the bottom, highlighted bits first…

1431: More from Japanese nuclear engineer Masashi Goto: He say that as the reactor uses mox (mixed oxide) fuel, the melting point is lower than that of conventional fuel. Should a meltdown and an explosion occur, he says, plutonium could be spread over an area up to twice as far as estimated for a conventional nuclear fuel explosion. The next 24 hours are critical, he says.

1426: Mr Goto says his greatest fear is that blasts at number 3 and number 1 reactors may have damaged the steel casing of the containment vessel designed to stop radioactive material escaping into the atmosphere. More to follow.

1422: Japanese engineer Masashi Goto, who helped design the containment vessel for Fukushima’s reactor core, says the design was not enough to withstand earthquakes or tsunamis and the plant’s builders, Toshiba, knew this. More on Mr Goto’s remarks to follow.

[Arraya]

[quote=flu][quote=Arraya]BBC is now reporting a whistleblower statement by Masashi Goto, nuclear engineer, that Toshiba (plant builder) knew that the engineering specs were not adequate for a disaster of this magnitude. Looks like this is a classic cost-benefit scenario, where engineers tell management what is necessary, and management makes the decision about the risks they can live with – in order to get the project margin up.[/quote]

Well, the interesting part though is that Toshiba didn’t build all three reactors…

Unit No. 1 is a General Electric Co. (GE) model that can generate 439 megawatts of power and began commercial operation in 1971, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. The No. 2 reactor was built by GE Toshiba and the No. 3 by Toshiba Corp.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-14/hydrogen-explosion-occurs-at-nuclear-power-plant-135-miles-north-of-tokyo.html

I doubt anyone really planned for a 9.0 earthquake followed by a tsunami that would cut off backup power, and backup to backup power to the cooling systems…[/quote]

Take it up with Mr. Goto and BBC

from BBC Live ( http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12307698 ) Read the bottom, highlighted bits first…

1431: More from Japanese nuclear engineer Masashi Goto: He say that as the reactor uses mox (mixed oxide) fuel, the melting point is lower than that of conventional fuel. Should a meltdown and an explosion occur, he says, plutonium could be spread over an area up to twice as far as estimated for a conventional nuclear fuel explosion. The next 24 hours are critical, he says.

1426: Mr Goto says his greatest fear is that blasts at number 3 and number 1 reactors may have damaged the steel casing of the containment vessel designed to stop radioactive material escaping into the atmosphere. More to follow.

1422: Japanese engineer Masashi Goto, who helped design the containment vessel for Fukushima’s reactor core, says the design was not enough to withstand earthquakes or tsunamis and the plant’s builders, Toshiba, knew this. More on Mr Goto’s remarks to follow.

[Arraya]

[quote=flu][quote=Arraya]BBC is now reporting a whistleblower statement by Masashi Goto, nuclear engineer, that Toshiba (plant builder) knew that the engineering specs were not adequate for a disaster of this magnitude. Looks like this is a classic cost-benefit scenario, where engineers tell management what is necessary, and management makes the decision about the risks they can live with – in order to get the project margin up.[/quote]

Well, the interesting part though is that Toshiba didn’t build all three reactors…

Unit No. 1 is a General Electric Co. (GE) model that can generate 439 megawatts of power and began commercial operation in 1971, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. The No. 2 reactor was built by GE Toshiba and the No. 3 by Toshiba Corp.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-14/hydrogen-explosion-occurs-at-nuclear-power-plant-135-miles-north-of-tokyo.html

I doubt anyone really planned for a 9.0 earthquake followed by a tsunami that would cut off backup power, and backup to backup power to the cooling systems…[/quote]

Take it up with Mr. Goto and BBC

from BBC Live ( http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12307698 ) Read the bottom, highlighted bits first…

1431: More from Japanese nuclear engineer Masashi Goto: He say that as the reactor uses mox (mixed oxide) fuel, the melting point is lower than that of conventional fuel. Should a meltdown and an explosion occur, he says, plutonium could be spread over an area up to twice as far as estimated for a conventional nuclear fuel explosion. The next 24 hours are critical, he says.

1426: Mr Goto says his greatest fear is that blasts at number 3 and number 1 reactors may have damaged the steel casing of the containment vessel designed to stop radioactive material escaping into the atmosphere. More to follow.

1422: Japanese engineer Masashi Goto, who helped design the containment vessel for Fukushima’s reactor core, says the design was not enough to withstand earthquakes or tsunamis and the plant’s builders, Toshiba, knew this. More on Mr Goto’s remarks to follow.

[Arraya]

[quote=flu][quote=Arraya]BBC is now reporting a whistleblower statement by Masashi Goto, nuclear engineer, that Toshiba (plant builder) knew that the engineering specs were not adequate for a disaster of this magnitude. Looks like this is a classic cost-benefit scenario, where engineers tell management what is necessary, and management makes the decision about the risks they can live with – in order to get the project margin up.[/quote]

Well, the interesting part though is that Toshiba didn’t build all three reactors…

Unit No. 1 is a General Electric Co. (GE) model that can generate 439 megawatts of power and began commercial operation in 1971, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. The No. 2 reactor was built by GE Toshiba and the No. 3 by Toshiba Corp.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-14/hydrogen-explosion-occurs-at-nuclear-power-plant-135-miles-north-of-tokyo.html

I doubt anyone really planned for a 9.0 earthquake followed by a tsunami that would cut off backup power, and backup to backup power to the cooling systems…[/quote]

Take it up with Mr. Goto and BBC

from BBC Live ( http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12307698 ) Read the bottom, highlighted bits first…

1431: More from Japanese nuclear engineer Masashi Goto: He say that as the reactor uses mox (mixed oxide) fuel, the melting point is lower than that of conventional fuel. Should a meltdown and an explosion occur, he says, plutonium could be spread over an area up to twice as far as estimated for a conventional nuclear fuel explosion. The next 24 hours are critical, he says.

1426: Mr Goto says his greatest fear is that blasts at number 3 and number 1 reactors may have damaged the steel casing of the containment vessel designed to stop radioactive material escaping into the atmosphere. More to follow.

1422: Japanese engineer Masashi Goto, who helped design the containment vessel for Fukushima’s reactor core, says the design was not enough to withstand earthquakes or tsunamis and the plant’s builders, Toshiba, knew this. More on Mr Goto’s remarks to follow.

[Arraya]

I doubt anyone really planned for a 9.0 earthquake followed by a tsunami that would cut off backup power, and backup to backup power to the cooling systems…

Fukushima 1 has been at the centre of transparency problems in the Japanese nuclear industry before. In 2002, the president and four executives of Tokyo Electric Power Corporation (TEPCO) were forced to resign over the falsification of repair records.
Japan’s nuclear power operator has chequered past
The company was suspected of 29 cases involving falsified repair records at nuclear reactors. It had to stop operations at five reactors, including the two damaged in the latest tremor, for safety inspections. A few years later it ran into trouble again over accusations of falsifying data.

In late 2006, the government ordered TEPCO to check past data after it reported that it had found falsification of coolant water temperatures at its Fukushima Daiichi plant in 1985 and 1988, and that the tweaked data was used in mandatory inspections at the plant, which were completed in October 2005.

In addition, the Japanese government had been repeatedly warned about seismic risks:

[..] the real embarrassment for the Japanese government is not so much the nature of the accident but the fact it was warned long ago about the risks it faced in building nuclear plants in areas of intense seismic activity. Several years ago, the seismologist Ishibashi Katsuhiko stated, specifically, that such an accident was highly likely to occur. Nuclear power plants in Japan have a “fundamental vulnerability” to major earthquakes, Katsuhiko said in 2007. The government, the power industry and the academic community had seriously underestimated the potential risks posed by major quakes.

So no, it was not unforeseen

[Arraya]

I doubt anyone really planned for a 9.0 earthquake followed by a tsunami that would cut off backup power, and backup to backup power to the cooling systems…

Fukushima 1 has been at the centre of transparency problems in the Japanese nuclear industry before. In 2002, the president and four executives of Tokyo Electric Power Corporation (TEPCO) were forced to resign over the falsification of repair records.
Japan’s nuclear power operator has chequered past
The company was suspected of 29 cases involving falsified repair records at nuclear reactors. It had to stop operations at five reactors, including the two damaged in the latest tremor, for safety inspections. A few years later it ran into trouble again over accusations of falsifying data.

In late 2006, the government ordered TEPCO to check past data after it reported that it had found falsification of coolant water temperatures at its Fukushima Daiichi plant in 1985 and 1988, and that the tweaked data was used in mandatory inspections at the plant, which were completed in October 2005.

In addition, the Japanese government had been repeatedly warned about seismic risks:

[..] the real embarrassment for the Japanese government is not so much the nature of the accident but the fact it was warned long ago about the risks it faced in building nuclear plants in areas of intense seismic activity. Several years ago, the seismologist Ishibashi Katsuhiko stated, specifically, that such an accident was highly likely to occur. Nuclear power plants in Japan have a “fundamental vulnerability” to major earthquakes, Katsuhiko said in 2007. The government, the power industry and the academic community had seriously underestimated the potential risks posed by major quakes.

So no, it was not unforeseen

[Arraya]

I doubt anyone really planned for a 9.0 earthquake followed by a tsunami that would cut off backup power, and backup to backup power to the cooling systems…

Fukushima 1 has been at the centre of transparency problems in the Japanese nuclear industry before. In 2002, the president and four executives of Tokyo Electric Power Corporation (TEPCO) were forced to resign over the falsification of repair records.
Japan’s nuclear power operator has chequered past
The company was suspected of 29 cases involving falsified repair records at nuclear reactors. It had to stop operations at five reactors, including the two damaged in the latest tremor, for safety inspections. A few years later it ran into trouble again over accusations of falsifying data.

In late 2006, the government ordered TEPCO to check past data after it reported that it had found falsification of coolant water temperatures at its Fukushima Daiichi plant in 1985 and 1988, and that the tweaked data was used in mandatory inspections at the plant, which were completed in October 2005.

In addition, the Japanese government had been repeatedly warned about seismic risks:

[..] the real embarrassment for the Japanese government is not so much the nature of the accident but the fact it was warned long ago about the risks it faced in building nuclear plants in areas of intense seismic activity. Several years ago, the seismologist Ishibashi Katsuhiko stated, specifically, that such an accident was highly likely to occur. Nuclear power plants in Japan have a “fundamental vulnerability” to major earthquakes, Katsuhiko said in 2007. The government, the power industry and the academic community had seriously underestimated the potential risks posed by major quakes.

So no, it was not unforeseen

[Arraya]

I doubt anyone really planned for a 9.0 earthquake followed by a tsunami that would cut off backup power, and backup to backup power to the cooling systems…

Fukushima 1 has been at the centre of transparency problems in the Japanese nuclear industry before. In 2002, the president and four executives of Tokyo Electric Power Corporation (TEPCO) were forced to resign over the falsification of repair records.
Japan’s nuclear power operator has chequered past
The company was suspected of 29 cases involving falsified repair records at nuclear reactors. It had to stop operations at five reactors, including the two damaged in the latest tremor, for safety inspections. A few years later it ran into trouble again over accusations of falsifying data.

In late 2006, the government ordered TEPCO to check past data after it reported that it had found falsification of coolant water temperatures at its Fukushima Daiichi plant in 1985 and 1988, and that the tweaked data was used in mandatory inspections at the plant, which were completed in October 2005.

In addition, the Japanese government had been repeatedly warned about seismic risks:

[..] the real embarrassment for the Japanese government is not so much the nature of the accident but the fact it was warned long ago about the risks it faced in building nuclear plants in areas of intense seismic activity. Several years ago, the seismologist Ishibashi Katsuhiko stated, specifically, that such an accident was highly likely to occur. Nuclear power plants in Japan have a “fundamental vulnerability” to major earthquakes, Katsuhiko said in 2007. The government, the power industry and the academic community had seriously underestimated the potential risks posed by major quakes.

So no, it was not unforeseen

[Arraya]

I doubt anyone really planned for a 9.0 earthquake followed by a tsunami that would cut off backup power, and backup to backup power to the cooling systems…

Fukushima 1 has been at the centre of transparency problems in the Japanese nuclear industry before. In 2002, the president and four executives of Tokyo Electric Power Corporation (TEPCO) were forced to resign over the falsification of repair records.
Japan’s nuclear power operator has chequered past
The company was suspected of 29 cases involving falsified repair records at nuclear reactors. It had to stop operations at five reactors, including the two damaged in the latest tremor, for safety inspections. A few years later it ran into trouble again over accusations of falsifying data.

In late 2006, the government ordered TEPCO to check past data after it reported that it had found falsification of coolant water temperatures at its Fukushima Daiichi plant in 1985 and 1988, and that the tweaked data was used in mandatory inspections at the plant, which were completed in October 2005.

In addition, the Japanese government had been repeatedly warned about seismic risks:

[..] the real embarrassment for the Japanese government is not so much the nature of the accident but the fact it was warned long ago about the risks it faced in building nuclear plants in areas of intense seismic activity. Several years ago, the seismologist Ishibashi Katsuhiko stated, specifically, that such an accident was highly likely to occur. Nuclear power plants in Japan have a “fundamental vulnerability” to major earthquakes, Katsuhiko said in 2007. The government, the power industry and the academic community had seriously underestimated the potential risks posed by major quakes.

So no, it was not unforeseen

[Author]

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