Fire at J-nuclear facility

[Tsuru]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4832712.stm

"Kepco said the blaze appeared to have begun in an area where ash is packed into steel barrels."

[...]

"A prefectural official said the waste facility contained very low-level radioactive waste."

Remind me because I'm at a loss here.... which part of the nuclear power generation process produces ash that needs to be put in steel barrels?

[dimwit]

Remind me because I'm at a loss here.... which part of the nuclear power generation process produces ash that needs to be put in steel barrels?

Generally it would mean protective clothing, filters etc.

Some Examples of Low-Level Radioactive Waste
Low-level radioactive waste is generated at commercial facilities such as nuclear power plants, hospitals, and research institutions. It includes radioactive materials used in various processes as well as supplies and equipment that have been contaminated with radioactive materials. Low-level waste can include:

-ion exchange resins and filter materials used to clean water at a nuclear power plant,
-contaminated hand tools, components, piping, and other equipment from nuclear power plants and other industries,
-research equipment from laboratories where radioactive materials are used,
-shoe covers, lab coats, cleaning cloths, paper towels, etc., used in an area where radioactive material is present,
-containers, cloth, paper, fluids, and equipment which came in contact with radioactive materials used in hospitals to diagnose or treat disease,
-filters from sampling devices used to test for airborne radioactive contamination,
-scintillation fluids in which filters from some sampling devices must be dissolved in order to determine the amount of radioactive material present, and
-carcasses of animals treated with radioactive materials used in medical or pharmaceutical research.

These items are just a few of the materials categorized as low-level radioactive waste.

What Is Low-Level Radioactive Waste?

[Buraku]

JAPAN relies on nuclear power for nearly a third of its electricity, and a lack of local sources of energy, coupled with a national commitment to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, imply that this figure will have to rise to 40% over the next few years. But deep suspicion of nuclear energy and its regulation is not helping. Local opposition has, since 2003, forced three utilities to shelve plans for new nuclear plants. Now, on March 24th, a court ordered the newest and biggest of the country's 55 reactors, at the Shika plant in western Japan, to stop operations, barely a week after it had come onstream. The court upheld a case brought by residents who argued that the reactor's design took too little account of the risk of big earthquakes. The power utility plans to appeal.






About a fifth of the world's nuclear reactors sit in what are reckoned areas of "significant" seismic activity; in Japan, make that 100%. To date, the performance of Japan's nuclear plants has been exemplary during earthquakes; they have either sailed through unruffled, or reactors have shut down automatically. Nonetheless, human errors and cover-ups have generated unease. An accident in 1995 has kept one reactor closed to this day. In 1999, at a facility outside Tokyo, workers mixed enriched uranium by hand to save time, and caused a runaway chain reaction, killing two workers and irradiating hundreds of villagers. In 2002, details of falsified inspection and repair reports forced the temporary closure of 17 plants. And in 2004, steam from a broken pipe that had not been inspected for two decades killed five workers in western Japan.

[Greji]

Don't worry about it Buraku! The Construction Ministry will send Aneha over to work up some new designs on the plants. You may glow in the dark slightly, but not to worry about the catfish flinching.

[Buraku]

Fukushima reactor shuts down after detecting radioactivity
http://www.japantoday.com/jp/news/399430