JAPAN: THREE NUCLEAR REACTORS MAY BE MELTING DOWN
March 14th, 2011

Via: CNN:

A blast at a nuclear reactor and a series of problems at a neighboring one led to a brief spike in radiation levels outside Japan’s troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant Monday, triggering even greater fears that dangerous radiation could add to the country’s devastation.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said he was not ruling out the possibility of a meltdown at all three troubled reactors at the plant.

The blast — caused by a buildup of hydrogen — also damaged the cooling system at reactor No. 2, starting a new round of problems for officials trying to contain the damage from Friday’s earthquake and tsunami.

The explosion at Fukushima Daiichi’s reactor No. 3 Monday morning injured 11 people. It was powerful enough to blow the roof and walls off a building, the Kyodo news agency reported.

More: Unit Three Uses More Toxic ‘MOX’ Fuel

Via: Cnet:

The fuel used in the Japanese nuclear reactor where an explosion occurred today is more volatile and toxic than the fuel used in the other reactors there, a Japanese nuclear expert warned.

At a press conference in Tokyo, Masashi Goto, who worked for Toshiba as a reactor researcher and designer, said the mixed oxide (MOX) fuel used in unit 3 of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant contains plutonium, which is much more toxic than the fuel used in the other reactors.

MOX fuel is a mixture of uranium and plutonium reprocessed from spent uranium, and is sometimes involved in the disposal of weapons-grade plutonium.

Goto added that the MOX also has a lower melting point than the other fuels. The Fukushima facility began using MOX fuel last September, becoming the third plant in Japan to do so.

It is another VERY BAD sign when they keep enlarging the radius of the evacuation zone.