Note ! My main sources are NHK, Kyodo News, Nikkei News, Asahi News, the BBC and CNN live blogs, Swedish Radio and some private emails. To follow only one of them is insufficient because even at such a time all of them tend to put some political “spin” into their reporting. CNN in my opinion is the most alarmist of these.
1400 CET: The fuel rods at reactor No.2 were fully exposed for about 2.5 hours. The coolant level has now been raised by about 2m.
1300 CET: Press Conference by Chief Cabinet Secretary Edano: The pump failure at reactor no.2 was due to diesel fuel running out and took time to restart. Pumping has been resumed and the reactor is currently cooling. If cooling can be kept going stability will be reached. But some melting of the furl rods has likely taken place. The radiation measured was at a tolerable level for humans.
Some radioactivity had been detected at the plant periphery and surrounding area. A coolant pump at reactor No.2 has failed. Some steam is to be vented. There is conflicting information on the one hand about cooling working, coolant levels increasing by 30 cm but on the other hand also about 80cm of fuel rods being exposed, the possibility of fuel rod melting and of steam and gas being vented. But the radiation leakage is probably due to fuel rods melting at reactor no. 2 as well.
1230 CET: The coolant level at reactor no.2 is recovering and has gone up by 30cm.
Total number of people displaced now exceeds 500,000.
1100 CET: The problems with Reactor No.2 seem to have been losss of power and loss of all pumping capacity after the explosion at reactor No. 3. Power is now restored (by mobile generators?). At Fukushima Dai-ichi it seems (I hope) like a case of “Still critical but catastrophe avoided”.
TEPCO has introducing rotating blackouts. About 25% of Japan’s electricity generating capacity is down. Temperatures in Sendai will drop to freezing overnight and will affect over 300,000 people who are displaced from their homes. Rain – with some snow – is also expected tomorrow. Some offices of foreign companies in Tokyo have decided to close for the week.
By the numbers: 1,834 deaths confirmed with 15,000+ unaccounted for. 24,000 are known to be stranded and awaiting rescue. At least 6,200 buildings destroyed with at least 63,000 damaged.
0945 CET: Confirmed that cooling efforts at reactors No.1 and reactor No.2 have been successful. Whether and when all nuclear reactions have been or will have been shut down is not clear.
0930 CET: Kyodo News says that reactors No. 1 and 2 have been “pulled out of emergency” but the meaning of this is not clear for me. Presumably the power loss at reactor 2 after the explosion at reactor 3 has now been restored and pumping of sea water has restarted. But since fuel rods were exposed at reactor 2, I am not sure if this means that the risk of a hydrogen explosion at reactor 2 has gone. Also presumably reactor 3 has not yet been pulled out of “emergency”.
Tokyo Electric has started some power outages. Though these were due to begin in the morning they started only at 5pm because many have responded to calls to reduce their electricity consumption.
0900 CET: Reactor No.2 has lost all its coolant. Pressure in the building is rising and a third hydrogen explosion is possible. Clearly the fuel rods in reactor No. 2 have also been exposed. PM has called the situation “alarming”. US helicopter has detected radiation and the US aircraft carrier has suspended aid activity says Kyodo News. Fire being fought at Tohoku Electric’s thermal power plant in Fukushima.
Wintry weather expected with snow and moisture in next 48 hours in the Sendai region increasing risk of mud landslides. Heating is a problem at evacuation centres. Updated
0730 CET: Reactor No. 3 building has also suffered what seems to be a hydrogen explosion and the walls of the building have collapsed as with reactor No.1 building. The explosion has relieved the pressure in the building. The fuel here is uranium and plutonium and potential radiation leaks are much worse than from reactor No.1 building. Higher levels of radiation than from reactor No. 1 have been observed but the reactor vessel is said to be undamaged and safe. In the building, radiation levels of 50 μS and and outside the building 20 μS /hour were reported.
The real worry is that the cooling water being frantically pumped in is leaking away and not filling up the reactor vessel as it should. Reactor No.2 is also having sea water being pumped in but there is no report of fuel rod exposure here. Coolant levels are falling.
Reactor No. 4 is also giving cause for concern.
The k2p blog 