I've basically given up trying to follow this nuclear news in the headlines, because the information seems extremely haphazard and incomplete.
The link posted from the nuclear scientist suggests that in at least one of the cases, once the control rods dropped in the only issue was handling the residual heat over the next several days until radioactive byproducts finally decayed out.
The New York Times says
A year? Good god. I'm not sure how much stake to put into that of course given the media's incompetence handling nuclear stories.
The link posted from the nuclear scientist suggests that in at least one of the cases, once the control rods dropped in the only issue was handling the residual heat over the next several days until radioactive byproducts finally decayed out.
The New York Times says
Japanese reactor operators now have little choice but to periodically release radioactive steam as part of an emergency cooling process for the fuel of the stricken reactors that may continue for a year or more even after fission has stopped. The plant’s operator must constantly try to flood the reactors with seawater, then release the resulting radioactive steam into the atmosphere, several experts familiar with the design of the Daiichi facility said.
A year? Good god. I'm not sure how much stake to put into that of course given the media's incompetence handling nuclear stories.