A new view on Wednesday, from above the nuclear site in Japan shows the reactor building to #4 completely destroyed. This is the source (spent fuel rod pool #4) of the previous fires, and quite possibly current fire, that have been creating a radiation plume. This plume had previously drifted towards Tokyo, but is now blowing out above the Pacific Ocean. With the outer building now completely destroyed, if the spent fuel rods are exposed due to coolant boiling off, the plume will continue to grow without obstruction. Japanese officials stated that an attempt was made to dump coolant from above, but radiation levels were too extreme, which sounds like a fire is still ongoing. There are anywhere from 450-1800 fuel rods is this cooling pool. There is no word on the rods in cooling pools #2, #5, or #6.
Officials have stated they are close to completing a power line into the facility in an attempt to restore power to the pump facilities. These pumps are able to pump water up to the cooling pools, if they become operable.
The reactors are still the biggest threat to life in Japan if the containment vessels are breached. If this happens, this disaster will be worse than Chernobyl. Workers will have to leave, and if there is not electric supplied to working pumps of the two reactors that were not breached, they too would follow the same fate. So if one goes, they all will likely go without power restored. The cooling ponds in the other reactors would also burn, but it would not be comparible to the reactor leakage.
In other news, snow falling across Japan contains small amounts of radiation. These plumes will circle the Earth.
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