By Susan Duclos
Fukushima plant operators have begun removing spent nuclear fuel from the damaged #4 reactor which is causing dire warnings from experts about the possibility of a "sustained nuclear reaction," and even an uncontrolled nuclear conflagration causing a large scale evacuation of Tokyo.
Via ENENews from AFP:
Each rod contains uranium and a small amount of plutonium. If they are exposed to the air [...] they would start to heat up, a process that, left unchecked, could lead to a self-sustaining nuclear reaction – known as “criticality”. [...] Sceptics say with so many unknowables in an operation that has never been attempted under these conditions, there is potential for a catastrophe. Government modelling in the immediate aftermath of the Fukushima disaster [...] suggested that an uncontrolled nuclear conflagration at Fukushima could start a chain reaction in other nearby nuclear plants. That worst-case scenario said a huge evacuation area could encompass a large part of greater Tokyo [...]
