"A lie can run around the world six times while the truth is still trying to put on its pants."
-Mark Twain
(Or something to this effect, tough to find the exact wording using teh Google ...)
Yesterday morning an unnamed "nuclear industry executive" told a New York Times reporter that there was definitely a crack in the reactor vessel at unit 3. He went on to describe this crack as running vertically and extending below the water line. Within hours major news organizations around the world picked up on the story of the suspected crack at the reactor in Fukushima. It became such an issue that people and resources involved at Fukushima were required to stop dealing with the stuff that was really happening in order to gather information regarding this rumor.
And in the minds of those already predisposed to distrust the nuclear industry this became yet another piece of evidence of a coverup. Even late last night after the rumor had largely been shot down, Nightline still proceeded to broadcast a report on the suspect crack in the reactor. This may be good for their bottom line, ginning up fear and uncertainty, but it does a greater disservice to the public.
THERE IS NO CRACK. There are many arguments supporting this conclusion which I've already covered in yesterday's diary, Fukushima Status Update 3/25. There is reactor water escaping from both units 1 and 3 and quite possibly unit 2 as well - isotopic survey results have not yet been reported for unit 2. This is completely consistent with an issue that I raised in my diary a few days ago, and in comments prior to that. The problem is all of those places where one metal surface meets another to form a seal. Even small amounts of corrosion can cause problems for these seals. Valves that are shut start to allow leakage, pumps start to lose their suction because internal seals are corroding. This vulnerability of the reactor vessel's associated components is the cause of the water escaping from the system. And given that there is still positive pressure in the reactors that means that there is a driving force that is pushing on the leaks and most likely causing them to squirt and spray instead of drip. Yes, the reactor vessel SYSTEM is compromised, it has lost its integrity, it is leaking. All this is true. That doesn't mean there is a crack in the reactor vessel itself.
And even now there are people who believe the reactor is cracked and that the utility and government are withholding the truth on this. I suspect there is no argument which could convince these people. It is much easier for them to accept the worst case scenarios fed to them by the TV machine than to actively search for accurate information, or to even consider the relatively remote likelihood that these worst case scenarios will come to pass.
The only crack involved here is what the New York Times reporter was apparently smoking to have accepted such a wild-ass statement as accurate without even bothering to check with engineering types to see if it was plausible, and to have reported it to the world.