Japan Trying to Cool Reactors From Possible Meltdown

Japanese efforts to prevent a nuclear meltdown by flooding reactors with seawater are a last-ditch attempt, but do not mean that a nuclear tragedy is imminent, experts said Sunday.
Nuclear experts who have followed the developments at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in northeastern Japan say that despite several setbacks, the possibility of massive radiation exposure remains low -- at least for now.
Japanese officials are keeping an eye on two nuclear plants that have released radiation beyond normal levels. At the Daiichi plant in Fukushima, in two of the three reactors -- Nos. 1 and 3 -- the Japanese government is assuming, but has not confirmed, that there has been a partial meltdown because of the powerful earthquake and tsunami that struck on Friday. At a second plant, in Onogawa, excessive radiation levels also were recorded, though officials have told the United Nations' atomic watchdog agency that the situation is "under control."

They report that they don't expect a complete meltdown.

The Sea water "appears" to be working, but with the unlikely side effect of corrosion from the the salt and boron in the water.

James Walsh, a research associate from MIT claims, "..a mixture of salt and boron is the last thing you want to do. It is essentially a white flag waving stating 'The plant is done.' They are using this as a last resort to impede a partial or full meltdown." A meltdown is a catastrophic failure of the reactor core.

As of now, they are picking up high levels of hydrogen inside the reactors...which is an indicator of a potential precursor of a meltdown. As of today, Japanese officials are still claiming this is not a meltdown."

The biggest dilemma that Japan is facing is the combination of the 8.9 earthquake mixed with the tsunami. The earthquake knocked out the main cooling system, and then the tsunami washed over the site and knocked out the backup generators.

All eyes are upon Japan in how they are handling this detrimental situation. Even though they are one of the most prepared countries in dealing with natural disasters such as these that occurred, everyone's skills are still put to the test. Global specialists are lending their hands and knowledge to assist where they can.