Fukushima Daiichi plant, and some other thoughts.

According to Kyodo News, Monday evening (Japan time), radiation at the front gate was 3,130 μSv, which is nearly triple that of a few days ago, prior to when the #1 reactor's outer concrete housing was obliterated.

As noted elsewhere in the news, the Daiichi plant was scheduled to be decommissioned this year, but its operating license was renewed for another decade, just last month.  Age notwithstanding of course, because these plants are inspected and required to meet safety regulations regardless of age, excepting that modern reactors are designed differently, and as such, some of the newer designs may have led to a better outcome than the Fukushima plant, including pebble bed reactors and other advanced design reactors with lower output capacities.

I think these images via NYT sums up the fears of everyone about the Fukushima Daiichi plant.

And unfortunately, helicopter crews running supply distribution operations were exposed to the invisible plume of radiation from the Fukushima plant, though they were easily washed off and the exposure was not exceedingly high - just no more x-rays for the rest of the year.

Incidentally, Kyodo News is now giving completely free access of its Japan-Quake related news, via RSS feed.

And the other day, Japan raised its own rating of the earthquake, from a 8.8 to 9.0.

Could this mark the end of nuclear fission power, and the shift to making viable, cost-effective nuclear fusion power a reality?  -- I think so.