Fukushima debacle updates......September 26th....

http://fukushima-diary.com/2012/09/89-2-of-contaminated-water-tank-is-full-new-installation-will-be-caught-up-with-by-2016/

89.2% of contaminated water tank is full. New installation will be caught up with by 2016

Posted by Mochizuki on September 26th, 2012 · 1 Comment

Share on yahoomailShare on facebookShare on twitterShare on emailMore Sharing Services

On 9/24/2012, Tepco released their roadmap to decommission Fukushima plant.

On their report, Tepco stated 89.2 % of the contamination storage tank is already full.

By 9/18/2012, they have 203,708 m3 of contaminated water in the tank. Currently the total capacity of the tank is only 228,500 m3, which means it’s already 89.15% full.

Because Tepco is not supposed to discharge it to the sea, they have to keep building new tanks until they decommission Fukushima plant.

They are planning to increase it to 320,000 m3 by the end of this November. By June of 2013, they are to increase it to 400,000 m3, but it will be full by the end of 2015 as well.

Because of the distance from the plant and the quality of the ground, areas where can be used to the contaminated water storage tank are limited.

Last December, Japanese government announced decommission of Fukushima plant would take up to 40 years. [Link]

At this moment, Tepco hasn’t announced their plan about the contaminated water storage for the rest of 35 years.

and.....

http://fukushima-diary.com/2012/09/third-steel-beam-found-beside-the-fuel-rack-tepco-fuel-assemblies-may-be-damaged/

Third steel beam found beside the fuel rack. Tepco “Fuel assemblies may be damaged”

Posted by Mochizuki on September 25th, 2012 · 3 Comments

Share on yahoomailShare on facebookShare on twitterShare on emailMore Sharing Services

As to the latest accident in reactor3, Fukushima Diary reported Tepco found 2 steel beams in SFP3.
(cf. [Reactor3] Underwater video, “Two steel beams were found in the pool”)

After this article, Tepco found another steel beam in the pool, now they are considering the possibility that the fuel assemblies are damaged.

So far, Tepco finished investigating the 1/8 of the pool and found 3 steel beams in total. One of the 3 steel beams was found beside a rack of fuel assemblies.

Tepco still hasn’t verified the dropped steel beam.

They have been stating there is no change in the radiation level in the pool water and no change of the water level, which suggests the state of the pool and fuel assemblies were sound, but they are starting to suggest the possibility that fuel assemblies were damaged.
東電が3号機のプールに鉄骨を落とした件について、Fukushima Diaryは東電が2本目の鉄骨をプールの底から見つけたとレポートしましたが、その後3本目も見つけたことが分かりました。東電は燃料が傷ついている可能性もあるとしています。

これまでのところ、東電はプール全体の8分の1程度を調査し終わり、鉄骨3本をプールの底から見つけました。このうち1本は燃料が入っている「ラック」と呼ばれる枠組みのすぐそばで沈んでいたということです。

東電は今回落下した鉄骨をまだ特定できていません。

東電はこれまで、プールの水に含まれる放射性物質や水位に目立った変化がなく、燃料に傷もないとしてきましたが、燃料が傷ついている可能性を示唆するなど、姿勢を変えています。

and.....

Title: Removal of steel members started at Fukushima I unit 3
Source: The Denki Shimbun
Date: Sep. 25, 2012

Caption: Columns and beams of the unit 3 building are bent inward

[...]

Unit 3 [...] is slated to complete debris removal by around next summer.

What is different from unit 4, which has completed debris removal, is that columns and beams of unit 3 are bent inward. Because many of the columns and beams of unit 4 were bent outward, it was possible to handle them remotely with a large crane. A platform will be constructed around the unit 3 building at the height of the fifth floor, and debris will be removed with heavy machines deployed on the platform.

Some steel members are submerged in the unit 3 pool as deep as about 3.5 meters [~12 feet]. Although they do not interfere with the fuel at present because the top of the fuel is at about 8 meters deep [~26 feet], TEPCO intends to pull them out while taking care not to damage the fuel.