Japan Daiichi Reactor 3. Photo: DigitalGlobe.
The plutonium-based mixed-oxide-fueled number three reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant may have a break in its containment vessel, according to the Japanese government. If the reactor containment has been breached and the radioactive steam emerging from the plant is from the number three reactor core, it could mean that plutonium particles are being spread in the air over Japan.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano first told a press conference that smoke was seen Wednesday morning around the No.3 reactor. Later government spokesmen said they thought the chance the reactor had been breached was low and the steam may have been coming from the spent fuel pool on the roof of the damaged reactor. Edano said, ”As we saw in the No. 2 unit, steam has been released from the [No. 3] reactor’s containment vessel.”
The tragedy unfolding in Japan is the first time that MOX fuel has been part of a nuclear power plant failure. The plutonium based fuel is supplied by the world’s largest nuclear company, the French firm AREVA, which sold the fuel to TEPCO last September. MOX fuel rods have been used in the reactor since then.
Plutonium is one of the most deadly substances on earth and inhalation of the particles could result in a vastly increased chance of cancer and other health effects. Read more here.
Joseph Trento has spent more than 35 years as an investigative journalist, working with both print and broadcast outlets and writing extensively. Before joining the National Security News Service in 1991, Trento worked for CNN's Special Assignment Unit, the Wilmington News Journal, and prominent journalist Jack Anderson. Trento has received six Pulitzer nominations and is the author of five books, including Prelude to Terror, The Secret History of the CIA, Widows, and Prescription for Disaster. Joe currently serves as the editor of DCBureau.org.
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