Third Fukushima reactor may be melting down, homeless 'recruited' for cleanup

This article tends to call into question the Fairewinds report that all is fine with Reactor 3 at Fukushima. Who to believe?  I don't know. With my heart I want to believe that all is fine and my grandchildren will have a normal long life. The other side of me sees the reality that we, as a planet, or at least the Northern Hemisphere can never see "normal" ever again. We can hope, pray, make wishes that this will all turn out OK but that is likely not the reality. As much as it is difficult to face that reality I have found I really must and I grieve for all those who will not see a long life...especially my grandchildren. 

From: All Voices

Toyko Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the Japanese energy company, has confirmed that mysterious plumes of steam have been rising from the devastated remains of Reactor Building 3 at the Fukushima nuclear plant. This means there is a better-than-even chance Fukushima could be experiencing yet another meltdown.

Also, as has been widely reported, TEPCO recently tried moving some radioactive water from one tank to another. In the process, it spilled four tons of deadly radioactive sludge onto the surrounding grounds.

That four tons of slurry, sludge and water, however, pales in comparison to the 300 tonsof radioactive water that also recently leaked from a nearby tank directly into the ocean. Still, amazingly, the radiation levels in this most recently leaked/spilled water are relatively low compared to puddles that have been forming outside all tanks beginningabout six weeks ago.

And if that is not bad enough, a tropical storm is headed to the area, which will cause even more radioactive leaks.

The plant's primary leak is continually worsening rather than getter smaller. That is, it has never been properly contained and continues to contaminate the surrounding area.

Recently, Japan's government agreed to fund a massive project to construct an underground ice wall to try to contain all of the leaked groundwater. Most experts seem to agree that such a wall would work, but TEPCO must first cease spilling radioactive water onto the ground.

As for the unexplained rising steam, no one knows its precise cause since the almost total physical destruction of the plant and, more ominously, the highly lethal radiation levels have rendered investigating the stricken reactor impossible.

It is known, however, that the Reactor 3 fuel storage pond still harbors (tenuously) about 89 tons of plutonium-based mixed-oxide fuel, according to the The Ecologist. If that fuel storage pond dries out, the highly radioactive rods will melt down and precipitate uncontrollable and unimaginable devastation, engulfing and contaminating the northern half of Japan (including Tokyo). And, depending on wind and sea currents, there will be a serious potential for radioactive contamination of the entire planet.

However, in defense of TEPCO, one of the foremost critics of nuclear energy, Fairewinds Energy Education, has posted a statement on its website assuring all that this reactor will not explode. Fairewinds' chief engineer, Arnie Gunderson, tried to explain why: 

(FULL ARTICLE---LINK)