Japanese Fire Fighters tell families "We won't be coming home"

[Gordon_4_v1legacy]

Go for gold chaps, go for gold.

 

[ZombieGenesis]

Holy shit...
That is an insane amount of selflesness. I'm trying to get my head around it, and I just sort of can't. I can't imagine anyone doing something like that.
Hell, I don't think anyone I've met WOULD do that.

I want to say how brave these men are, but I wouldn't be able to if I tried.

They should have sent a poet.

 

[LetalisK]

This story doesn't sit well with me. I didn't go through the entire thread(11 pages, jesus) but I have to shake my head at the standard shody journalism from the link in the OP. No mention of why this is necessary, how this would help, or the purpose of it(ie maybe getting more people out of the area before a meltdown, I dunno).

For all we know they are going into a lethal amount of radiation to try to slow down the meltdown so that more people can evacuate from a meltdown that will kill or injury several thousand more people in the surrounding area OR trying to stop an otherwise controllable meltdown that would not lead to a large body count but would somehow save the plant if it were averted. A little description of what is actually at stake would have been appreciated from the hack journalist of the story.

 

[thevillageidiot13]

Posted a link to this on my Facebook.

I already had a certain amount of respect for all firefighters, but this is outrageous.

Massive respect to them.

 

[infohippie]

I'm not so sure about this. I haven't been able to find a reference to it on any other news organisation's site, even on the NHK homepage, and I don't trust Sky News. The men working on the plant are being exposed to significantly higher than normal radiation levels, but it's not near lethal levels. The workers are heroes, true, regardless of whether Sky's report is close to the truth, but I think Sky are sensationalising the story. Western media organisations have been doing so since the start of the disaster.

 

[Arizona Kyle]

This is a massively courageous thing of them to do, but is there honestly no safer way to do it?

if there was a safer way do you think they would be doing this??? Not to be mean but there is no "safe" way to deal with what has happened

OK we get it, you're very clever. The sarcasm wasn't needed you know, I was just wondering why helicopters and all the stuff they use for forest fires wasn't useful. Of course they'll have thought it through, I'm just surprised that considering how 'safe' nuclear power is that this is literally the only option. I figured we'd have some kind of plan for this.

Helicopter are not fast enough and it takes up too much fuel to be used continually

 

[Ewyx]

Props to them, as for me, I'd rather be a live coward than a dead hero.

 

[Arizona Kyle]

As I understand it spraying the thing with water is only a very temporary solution. They need to actually fix the thing before it blows, but from what I have been hearing that may not be possible.

If they were going into the plant to fix the problem that would be worth dying for, but spraying the thing with water isn't worth their lives. This has been going on for a while now, how many firefighters need to get hit with radiation before they let the thing blow or fix the problem? Dying in order to save people is noble, throwing your life away in order to buy another few days.. meh. At this point anyone who wanted to get out of the blast radious could have done so. It's tragic to think that they may have to let it blow, but let's be honest, Japan can handle a nuke going off inside it's borders.

You obviously dont know that much about nuclear reactors do you?

 

[springheeljack]

Jesus thats some fucking hardcore bravery right there
fight on you crazy bastards

 

[Ruwrak]

If any culture on this world has a sense of discipline and selfsacrifice, it's the japanese.

You need to re-read my post and see that I am praising those men. Yes, I did take the entire japanese people as a whole there. And that is based on a long standing history of discipline, both mentally and physically. If you think I am cheapening the actions of these men, you need to rethink what I wrote.

You will come to the realisation I am not only praising the men in the reactor. I am also praising the men that search for survivors, hand out food, offer shelter to the homeless and all the other people that are working to rebuild and help out where they can. And if you say that is bad, then you are saying something very wrong there.

Think about how skewed your remark is about the discipline of the japanese people. You would be saying that only the fireman have duty, love and discipline. And that would be wrong. I hope you see that.

And I'm not going to argue with you about who is wrong or who is right, I just want to show you that you're leaving out some other good people who work hard by saying what you said.

 

[infabread]

Sob stories like this never usualy get to me but i felt something when i read this one, my hear goes out to them.

 

[The SettingSun]

We need more good, brave men like these in the world.

 

[Laughing Man]

So, is there an update on this yet?

Press Release (Mar 19,2011)
Plant Status of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (as of 9:00 AM Mar 19th)


*new items are underlined

All 6 units of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station have been shut down.

Unit 1(Shut down)
- Reactor has been shut down. However, the explosive sound and white smoke
were confirmed after the big quake occurred at 3:36PM Mar 12th. It was
assumed to be hydrogen explosion.
- We have been injecting sea water into the reactor pressure vessel.

Unit 2(Shut down)
- Reactor has been shut down and the level of reactor coolant had dropped
and the reactor pressure had increased because the Reactor Core
Isolation Cooling System stopped. Measures were taken to lower the
pressure within the Reactor Containment Vessel and to inject sea water
into the Reactor while carefully confirming safety. The level of reactor
coolant and the pressure of the Reactor resumed.
- At approximately 6:00AM on March 15, 2011, an abnormal noise began
emanating from nearby Pressure Suppression Chamber and the pressure
within this chamber decreased.
- We completed receiving electricity from the external transmission line
up to the auxiliary transformer. We are installing the power cable from
that transformer to the temporary power panel.
- We have been injecting sea water into the reactor pressure vessel.

Unit 3(Shut down)
- Reactor has been shut down. However, the explosive sound and white smoke
were confirmed at 11:01AM Mar 14th. It was assumed to be hydrogen
explosion.
- At 8:30AM on March 16th, fog like steam was confirmed arising from the
reactor building.
- At approximately 6:15AM on March 17th the pressure of the Suppression
Chamber has temporarily increased.
- We are working on receiving external power supply to Units 3 and 4.
- We have been injecting sea water into the reactor pressure vessel.

Unit 4 (outage due to regular inspection)
- Reactor has been shut down. However, at approximately 6AM on March 15th.
We have confirmed the explosive sound and the sustained damage around
the 5th floor rooftop area of the Nuclear Reactor Building.
- On March 15th and 16th, we respectively confirmed the outbreak of fire
at the 4th floor of the northwestern part of the Nuclear Reactor
Building. We immediately reported this matter to the fire department and
the related authorities. TEPCO employees confirmed that each fire had
already died down by itself.
- At this moment, we do not consider any reactor coolant leakage inside
the reactor containment vessel happened.

Unit 5 (outage due to regular inspection)
- Reactor has been shut down and the sufficient level of reactor coolant
to ensure safety is maintained.
- At this moment, we do not consider any reactor coolant leakage inside
the reactor containment vessel happened.

Unit 6 (outage due to regular inspection)
- Reactor has been shut down and the sufficient level of reactor coolant
to ensure safety is maintained.
- We are working on receiving external power supply to Units 5 and 6. We
completed the repair work on the emergency diesel generator (A).
- At this moment, we do not consider any reactor coolant leakage inside
the reactor containment vessel happened.

Cooling of spent fuel pools
- In Unit 3, water discharge by Self-Defense Force's helicopters was
conducted from 9:48 AM in the morning on March 17th. Also water
discharge by the riot police's high-pressure water cannon trucks and
Self-Defense Force's fire engines was conducted from 7PM on March 17th
and finished at 8:09PM.
- In Unit 3, water discharge by Self-Defense Force's fire engines and US
army's fire engines was conducted from 2 PM and completed a quarter to
3 PM.
- After that, from 0:30 AM, Mar 19th, water discharge by Tokyo Fire
Department's Hyper Rescue was conducted and completed at 1:10 AM.
- We are considering further water discharge at Unit 3 and others subject
to the conditions of spent fuel pools.

Casualty
- 2 workers of cooperative firm were injured at the occurrence of the
earthquake, and were transported to the hospital.
- 1 TEPCO employee who was not able to stand by his own holding left chest
with his hand, was transported to the hospital by an ambulance.
- 1 subcontract worker at the key earthquake-proof building was
unconscious and transported to the hospital by an ambulance.
- The radiation exposure of 1 TEPCO employee, who was working inside the
reactor building, exceeded 100mSv and he was transported to the hospital.
- 2 TEPCO employees felt bad during their operation in the central control
rooms of Unit 1 and 2 while wearing full masks, and were transferred to
Fukushima Daini Power Station for consultation with a medical advisor.
- 4 workers were injured and transported to the hospital after explosive
sound and white smoke were confirmed around the Unit 1.
- 11 workers were injured and transported to Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power
Station etc. after explosive sound and white smoke were confirmed around
the Unit 3.One of the workers was transported to the FUKUSHIMA Medical
University Hospital at 10:56AM
- Presence of 2 TEPCO employees at the site is not confirmed.

Others
- We measured radioactive materials (iodine etc.) inside of the nuclear
power station area (outdoor) by monitoring car and confirmed that
radioactive materials level is getting higher than ordinary level. As
listed below, we have determined that specific incidents stipulated in
article 15, clause 1 of Act on Special Measures Concerning Nuclear
Emergency Preparedness (Abnormal increase in radiation dose measured at
site boundary) have occurred.
· Determined at 4:17 PM Mar 12th (Around Monitoring Post 4 )
· Determined at 8:56 AM Mar 13th (Around Monitoring Post 4 )
· Determined at 2:15 PM Mar 13th (Around Monitoring Post 4 )
· Determined at 3:50 AM Mar 14th (Around Monitoring Post 6 )
· Determined at 4:15 AM Mar 14th (Around Monitoring Post 2 )
· Determined at 9:27 AM Mar 14th (Around Monitoring Post 3 )
· Determined at 9:37 PM Mar 14th (Around main entrance )
· Determined at 6:51 AM Mar 15th (Around main entrance )
· Determined at 8:11 AM Mar 15th (Around main entrance )
· Determined at 4:17 PM Mar 15th (Around main entrance )
· Determined at 11:05 PM Mar 15th (Around main entrance )
· Determined at 8:58 AM Mar 19th (Around MP5)

- The national government has instructed evacuation for those local
residents within 20km radius of the periphery and evacuation to inside
for those residents from 20km to 30km radius of the periphery, because
it's possible that radioactive materials are discharged.
- At approximately 10AM on March 15th, we observed 400mSv/h at the inland
side of the Unit 3 reactor building and 100mSv/h at the inland side of
the Unit 4 reactor building.
- We found no signs of abnormal situation for the casks by visual
observation during the patrol activity. A detailed inspection is under
preparation.
- We will continue to take all measures to ensure the safety and to
continue monitoring the surrounding environment aroud the Power Station.

For the most part the reactors themselves have been brought under a certain level of control the main issue at present is the coolant levels in the spent fuel storage containers. It is this location in two of the reactors that the firefighters have been flooding with water and to which the helicopters where trying to drop water.

If they were going into the plant to fix the problem that would be worth dying for, but spraying the thing with water isn't worth their lives. This has been going on for a while now, how many firefighters need to get hit with radiation before they let the thing blow or fix the problem?

Not really up to speed on how a nuclear reactor works are we, firstly NONE of the fire fighters have died, I am not even certain anyone has died as a direct result of these reactors. Second the reactor will not explode, what they do is heat up to the point that the fuel beings to burn through the reactor casing, the fuel and then any material melted drops through the bottom of the reactor, the burning fuel is the main issue since it releases a massive amount of radiation whilst it burns. If what you are thinking of is what happened at Chernobyl well that was a different situation the explosion was caused by a massive build up of pressure as the reactor went critical in a matter of minutes due to a combination of Xenon 135 posioning, human error in removing the manual control rods fully, the process of shutting down the primary coolant turbines, positive void co-efficient steam bubbles and a flawed control rod design. The worst part of Chernobyl was the burning graphite regulators in what was left of the burning reactor after it had fallen through in to the reactor catcher.

The only thing that can save you from uranium radiation is an 8m thick wall of cement, those mens ae an example for everyone

Not quite Uranium is an Alpha emitter which means that it is primarily harmful if ingested or inhaled. Wear a pair of rubber gloves and you could probably handle a lump of Uranium without issue. The big risk to health comes from the Neutron radiation released during Uranium reaction, these by products are Gamma emitters so are very very harmful to health and in the case of these power plants the big risk is the Plutonium contained in the spent fuel storage tanks of reactors 3 and 4. It is also a Aplha emitter and is also primarily harmful if ingested or inhaled but unlike Uranium it is far less stable when exposed to air.

 

[Dfskelleton]

I have almost never heard of such bravery.
God bless their hearts. I swear that when this is over, these heroic souls deserve a type of memorial.
I'm not just saying this, but this is truly touching. I usually don't truly get saddened by stories like these, but this one...

 

[mortalsatsuma]

Bloody good show. Heroes, each and every one of the crazy buggers. Brought a single man-tear to my eye.

 

[DemonicVixen]

The only thing that can save you from uranium radiation is an 8m thick wall of cement, those mens ae an example for everyone

Time to start building bunkers then lol. Explains why people are warned to keep inside with all windows, doors etc blocked off tightly