Over the past 48 hours or so, it seems like there is a lot of misinformation and disinformation being floated regarding what's happening with the troubled nuclear plants in Japan. I'll try to clarify things a bit, in as non-technical terms as possible. By way of credentialing myself, I'm an old school, Institute for Nuclear Power Operations-certified systems engineer in GE Boiling Water Reactors (BWRs), and worked for over 20 years in the industry with a large architect engineering (A/E) firm and an electric company with a nuclear portfolio. I've worked directly at four BWR plants, including one similar to Fukushima. Ok, with that out of the way...
Disclaimer - much of what follows is simply a compilation of comments that I made earlier today. I've been tied up most of the day, and haven't been able to keep a close eye on developments.
The bottom line: take everything you read or hear about the events at the Fukushima plants with a grain of salt. There is a lot of anecdotal information that leads to some obvious conclusions, but there is very little hard data that allows even someone with my experience to fully understand what's going on. If someone on TV says the reactor core is melting out of the bottom of the reactor vessel, don't believe them. If someone on TV says there are flowers blooming and everything's peachy in the nuclear world, don't believe them, either. More after the jump.: