[meteorite-list] 8.9 Quake in Japan & ZIRCONIUM

From: Barrett <BarrettWF_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed, 16 Mar 2011 01:50:57 -0600
Message-ID: <029001cbe3ae$e366a240$aa33e6c0$_at_net>

Hello Count, et al-
Just a quick comment here on something most people aren't aware of.

>The facts are, as of a minute ago, that there has been no containment
vessel breach in any of the reactors.
It is being reported that one of the containment vessels are cracked.


>What has happened, is that some fuel rod assemblies have been damaged by
loss of coolant and resulting overtemp. They can melt into each other, but
they can't burn through the vessel, >or start a fire, as there is no
graphite in the GE design.

I don't know about THIS particular reactor, but..... Almost ALL reactors use
ZIRCONIUM as the metal for the fuel rods and other various parts for the
reactors. ZIRCONIUM ignites easily and CAN NOT be put out by water. Water
just feeds it and produces hydrogen & oxygen (We already know about what
THAT does). I've been listen almost non-stop to FNN and CNN and I've yet to
hear anyone talking about this fact. While there are a few ways to put out a
zirconium fire, as long as the fuel rods themselves stay "hot" they really
don't stand a lot of chance of putting the fire out. Smothering a zirconium
metal fire with salt is one way to do it. The salt melts over the burning
zirconium and encapsulates it. Even with a relatively small amount of
zirconium, it takes a LONG time for it to smother and cool to safe levels.
Personally, I'd like to hear some of the nuclear engineers speak to this on
TV. FWIW- ZIRCONIUM is used by the Navy and Airforce in many incendiary
bombs. It burns so hot and furious that it burns right thru the steel on
heavily armored tanks and burns thru the cement used in bunkers. Zirconium
is the wildcard that everyone is overlooking here. If the zirconium catches
fire, it WILL melt and burn its way thru anything.

Try Googleing ZIRCONIUM METAL and WESTERN ZIRCONIUM in Ogden, UT and see for
yourself. It's nasty stuff when it ignites, but it's also the most corrosion
resistant metal known.
-Barrett
Received on Wed 16 Mar 2011 03:50:57 AM PDT