Japan Newspaper: ‘Startling’ secret Fukushima evidence revealed — Fear that Reactor No. 3 would ‘break apart’ just before it had massive explosion — After signs Reactor No. 2 vessel was destroyed, 90% of workers fled plant in ‘mass desertion’

 http://enenews.com/secret-fukushima-testimony-is-startling-fears-reactor-no-3-to-break-apart-just-before-it-had-massive-explosion-after-signs-reactor-no-2-vessel-was-destroyed-90-of-workers-fled-plant

Asahi Shimbun, May 21, 2014: Startling Fukushima testimony raises grave questions [...] a document that recently came to light [...] is a record of statements made by [the manager of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant] Masao Yoshida [...] Yoshida said that on March 15 [...] fears were being voiced that the plant’s No. 2 reactor containment vessel was damaged or destroyed [...] about 90 percent of plant workers defied Yoshida’s orders and fled to the Fukushima No. 2 plant, about 10 kilometers away [...] The document raises grave questions. [...] TEPCO must reveal every aspect of the mass desertion, and waste no time in doing so.

Asahi Shimbun, May 20, 2014: According to the document, Yoshida [...] received two reports around 6:15 a.m. on March 15, 2011. One was about the sound of an explosion coming from the direction of the No. 2 reactor. The other described pressure falling to zero in the reactor’s suppression chamber. Both were signs that the No. 2 reactor containment vessel was damaged or destroyed [...] Yoshida judged that the containment vessel had not been damaged because radiation levels were not increasing in the emergency command center. At 6:42 a.m., Yoshida ordered workers to temporarily evacuate to locations at the plant site where radiation levels were comparatively low [...] workers around 7 a.m. told drivers of buses [...] to head to the Fukushima No. 2 nuclear power plant [...] Only 69 workers remained [...] It was not until around noon on March 15 that other workers returned [...] During their absence, white steam was seen spewing out of the No. 2 reactor and a fire occurred at the No. 4 reactor. Radiation levels reached the highest levels [...]

Asahi Shimbun, May 21, 2014: Yoshida [...] told a government committee that dry venting was planned on March 14, 2011, to prevent rising pressure from causing the containment vessel of the No. 3 reactor to break apart, according to documents. [...] venting also results in the release of such substances [...] At the time, the government had called on TEPCO and the Fukushima prefectural government not to make any announcements about the precarious situation at the No. 3 reactor to avoid panic among the public. [...] Dry venting leads to the release of radioactive materials at concentrations between 100 and 1,000 times greater than through wet venting [If the reactor was vented] radiation levels [...] in northern Fukushima Prefecture were forecast to reach 250 millisieverts [...] government officials told TEPCO not to release information about the situation [...] explosion at the No. 3 reactor building at 11:01 a.m. reduced the pressure in the containment vessel, eliminating the need for dry venting, according to Yoshida. [...]

NHK report on the venting: Japan TV: Radioactive release was up to 500 times larger than thought for Fukushima reactor -- Surprising surge in radiation levels before explosions -- Our understanding of what happened at plant is 'very limited' (VIDEO)