Even the most rudimentary words seem hard to find, at a time like this. This is jaw-slacking. And one horrific nightmare.
Per tonight's New York Times reporting:
. . . .Japan faced the likelihood of a catastrophic nuclear accident Tuesday morning, as an explosion at the most crippled of three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station damaged its crucial steel containment structure, emergency workers were withdrawn from the plant, and a fire at a fourth reactor spewed large amounts of radioactive material into the air, according to official statements and industry executives informed about the developments.
“No. 4 is currently burning and we assume radiation is being released. We are trying to put out the fire and cool down the reactor,” the chief government spokesman, Yukio Edano, told a televised press conference. . . .
Truly a sad moment for science -- brought on by the simple fact that nature cannot be fully-predicted -- i.e, a 8.9 magnitude quake rather near the reactors. I hate to call the plant design the result of any hubris, but it is in essence hubris to tell geologists "that won't ever happen near here." It took almost three-quarters of a century, but it. just. did. happen. there. My meditations go with the people of northern Japan.
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