Energy News - Japan.....
Posted by Mochizuki on March 2nd, 2014 · No Comments
Posted by Mochizuki on March 2nd, 2014 · No Comments
Gundersen: “Nuclear core has disintegrated” at Fukushima Unit 3 — Japan Energy Expert: Location of melted fuel for 3 reactors is unknown, this has never happened anywhere before (VIDEO)
Fukushima Diary......
Just check the ineptitude of Tepco......
Just check the ineptitude of Tepco......
Tepco burnt and cut one of the last two thermometers in reactor2 RPV due to another mis-operation
Posted by Mochizuki on March 8th, 2014 · No Comments
Following up this article.. One of the last 2 thermometers in reactor2 RPV was broken / Tepco possibly destroyed it during the test [URL]
On 3/7/2014, Tepco admitted they burnt and cut one of the last two thermometers in reactor2 RPV by themselves.
Now there is only one thermometer left in the vessel. It is estimated to take 3 months to replace it with a new one.
It was due to another mis-operation. According to Tepco, they put 2.5 times high voltage as the limit to the thermometer on the insulation resistance.
They had the manual, but the operator didn’t notice the voltage limit.
Because of the high level of atmospheric dose in Fukushima plant, experienced workers are forced to leave. Having the increasing demand in workers for Olympic game construction and also the restart of other nuclear plants, it is concerned that Tepco is actually in the serious shortage of the skilled workers. However Tepco is denying the risk to state they still have the sufficient stock of the workers in other nuclear plants.
On the other hand, local media point out the lack of skilled workers is already starting to cause the recent troubles due to the continuous basic mis-operations.
[100 m3 overflow] “Who turned on the wrong valve and why ?” / Still not identified
Posted by Mochizuki on March 8th, 2014 · No Comments
Following up this article.. Tepco to re-interrogate 43 workers about 100 m3 overflow[URL]
On 3/7/2014, Tepco announced they hadn’t obtained any useful information from the interrogation.
The overflow of 100m3 contaminated water was caused by the wrong valve settings. However, nobody was supposed to work beside the issued valves that day, and also the valve settings were fixed when Tepco went to see the situation. It is possibly someone’s malicious act.
However Tepco still hasn’t found out who was involved and why regardless of their 2 weeks interrogation with over 100 workers. According to Tepco, “expert” is joining the investigation, but none of the details are announced. Some of the local media stated in Tepco’s press conference that this accident revealed Tepco’s vulnerability against “internal threat”. In this case, Tepco can be a victim.
Still 3,600 tonnes of contaminated rainwater retained in the faulty designed reserver / “No place to go”
Posted by Mochizuki on March 8th, 2014 · No Comments
Tepco still retains 3,600 tonnes of contaminated rainwater in underground reservoirs, which experienced the major leakage last Spring.
Tepco dug the ground, covered the hole with water shielding sheets, and called it the underground reservoir. In April of 2013, at least 3 of 7 reservoirs leaked the contaminated water.
They decided to abandon the reservoirs. However having the continuous typhoons causing overflow of the dams to surround tanks last Autumn, Tepco started reusing the faulty designed reservoirs in order to evacuate the rainwater that was mixed with contaminated water in the dams.
Tepco was supposed to send the newly added water back to the tanks, but they still cannot empty the reservoirs due to the shortage of other storage.
Currently 2 of 7 reservoirs retain the rainwater. One has 1,500 tonnes, the other one has 2,100 tonnes. At this moment, they still have no safer place to stock it.
Another system of ALPS suspended again / Only one week since last suspension
Posted by Mochizuki on March 7th, 2014 · No Comments
Following up this article.. The multiple nuclide removing system (ALPS) suspended again [URL]
On 3/6/2014, another system of the multiple nuclide removing system, ALPS (Advanced Liquid Processing System) stopped for malfunctioning.
ALPS has 3 independent systems. One of them was suspended last week, and another system was suspended again.
According to Tepco, a booster pump got overloaded due to their mis-operation. Tepco wasn’t aware that the operation of theirs would cause the pump overloaded.
Since they started the test operation of ALPS last Spring, it hasn’t worked without intermission of the troubles.
[100m3 overflow] More than half of water absorbed by the ground soil / Possibly flowing into groundwater again
Posted by Mochizuki on March 7th, 2014 · No Comments
Following up this article.. [100m3 overflow] Contaminated water is removed by “hand-digging” of human workers [URL]
More than half of the overflowed contaminated water was absorbed by the ground before they removed, according to Tepco.
Among overflowed 100m3 contaminated water, it was only 42 m3 that Tepco managed to remove. The rest of 58 m3 is assumed to have flown into the groundwater stream.
Tepco states they will pump it when it comes up to the ground surface, but it is possibly flowing to the sea already.
Tepco inspected reactor1 / Elevator shaft and isolated column severely blasted / Cooling condenser full of debris
Posted by Mochizuki on March 7th, 2014 · No Comments
Even under the blasted 5th floor, the elevator shaft and the isolated column are severely damaged in reactor1 building.
On 2/26/2014, Tepco and NRA (Nuclear Regulatory Agency) conducted the inspection of the 3 & 4th floor of reactor1 building.
As a result, they found 4th floor, which is under the blasted 5th floor is also collapsed. Especially the elevator shaft and the isolated column were severely damaged.
IC (Reactor Core Isolation Cooling Condenser) is also covered by full of debris. The damage scale is not known.
↓ The blasted elevator shaft and isolated column
↓ Reactor Core Isolation Cooling Condenser
↓ Open hatch
[100m3 overflow] Tepco “Abnormality was too slight to notice”
Posted by Mochizuki on March 7th, 2014 · No Comments
Following up this article.. [100m3 overflow] Contaminated water is removed by “hand-digging” of human workers [URL]
The abnormality of tank water level trend was too slight to recognize, Tepco stated in the press conference of 3/5/2014.
When 100m3 of highly contaminated water overflowed from the tank, the operators were watching the monitor of tank water levels. However they didn’t notice the water overflowing.
In the report that Tepco submitted to NRA (Nuclear Regulation Authority) on 3/5/2014, it was simply because the water trend was represented in the scale of 0% ~ 100% on the monitor (See the picture below). Before the tank had the additional contaminated water, it was already 98% full. They therefore didn’t recognize 2% of the increase, which was shown as a “negligible gap” on the monitor.
The operators are employed by the different company from the monitor maker. It revealed the fact that Tepco is not supervising even the most basic things in Fukushima decommissioning process.
2,900 MBq/km2 of Cesium-134/137 still fall
down in Fukushima plant area monthly
Posted by Mochizuki on March 4th, 2014 · No Comments
Still 2,900 MBq/Km2 of Cesium-134/137 fall down monthly in Fukushima plant area.
It’s been nearly 3 years since 311, but still high level of radioactive plume is falling around the plant.
The sampling date was from 12/25/2013 to 2/3/2014. Cs-134 density was 800 MBq/km2, Cs-137 density was 2,100 MBq/km2.
This is nearly 31 times much as fallout level in Fukushima Daini. The significant difference shows Fukushima plant is still emitting the high level of radioactive plume to the environment.
Tepco damaged power cable for reactor4 pool
coolant system / Tepco “Didn’t know the cable
was there”
Posted by Mochizuki on March 4th, 2014 · No Comments
On 2/25/2014, Tepco damaged the power cable for reactor4 pool, which was installed by themselves.
It stopped one of the coolant systems of reactor4 pool, they ended up suspending fuel removal from the pool. They took about 4 hours to restart.
Tepco was drilling the ground in the south side of reactor4 in the process of improving the ground to stop groundwater flowing into the reactor buildings.
When they drilled approx. 1m in the ground, they damaged the power cable.
Regarding the cause, Tepco stated they were not informed of that the power cables were there by the outsourced company. Also, they had the “subjective impression” that any pipes or cables were not buried there.
Additionally, they actually found unexpected material when they started drilling, but they continued drilling without checking anything.
Underground wall on the seaside of reactor3
was possibly broken / Groundwater level in sync
with ebb and flow
Posted by Mochizuki on March 4th, 2014 · No Comments
The groundwater levels have been in sync with ebb and flow since the end of February in the seaside of reactor3.
Those groundwater levels are observed in two borings inside of the underground wall. Those borings must be separated from the sea.
However since 2/25/2014, the water levels are synchronized with the seawater level from Tepco’s data released on 2/28/2014.
Tepco hasn’t made any announcement about this trend, but if the ground wall is broken, it means contaminated groundwater is leaking to the sea again.
According to Tepco, they measured nearly 7 trillion Bq/m3 of All β nuclides from the contaminated water taken in the seaside of reactor3 last summer.
(cf, Tepco detected nearly 7 Trillion (10^12) Bq/m3 of All β nuclides from contaminated water in the summer of 2013 [URL])
The tank had water to 98% of capacity / Tepco
“Can’t reduce due to the serious shortage of
water storage”
Posted by Mochizuki on March 2nd, 2014 · No Comments
Following up this article.. Tepco to re-interrogate 43 workers about 100 m3 overflow[URL]
The overflowed tank had contaminated water up to 98% of its capacity before the overflowing accident, according to Tepco.
The primary cause of the overflow was because additional water was lead in due to the mis-operation, however there was the background that the tank was already nearly full since before. There is a risk that even other tanks can overflow in the potential earthquakes.
In the working group of 2/24/2014, NRA (Nuclear Regulation Authority) required Tepco to reduce the water level in the tanks to 95%.
However Tepco rejected their request “because of the shortage of contaminated water storage”.
Having contaminated water endlessly increasing, Tepco is having to use even the buffer capacity of the 3% (98% – 95%).
Tepco to re-interrogate 43 workers about 100
m3 overflow
Posted by Mochizuki on March 2nd, 2014 · No Comments
Following up this article.. Tepco narrowed down the workers to re-interrogate to a few tens / “Asking the expert of investigation” [URL]
Tepco is implementing the second interrogation with 43 workers regarding the 100 m3 overflow accident. Tepco announced in the extraordinary meeting of 2/28/2014. (cf, [100m3 overflow] Contaminated water is removed by “hand-digging” of human workers [URL])
At the moment of 2/28/2014, they haven’t found anyone who possibly lead the water to the full tank to cause overflow. They decided to interrogate 30 workers again, and picked up new 13 workers to interview with.
None of the details of investigation was announced.
[100m3 overflow] Contaminated water is
removed by “hand-digging” of human workers
Posted by Mochizuki on March 2nd, 2014 · No Comments
Following up this article.. [100m3 leakage] 64m3 of overflowed water still not removed [URL]
The overflowed contaminated water is being removed by hand-boring of the human workers.
Having 100m3 of highly contaminated water overflow from a tank, Tepco held an extraordinary press conference on 2/28/2014.
In the press conference, where vice president, and Fukushima plant chief attended, they stated the overflowed water flowed to the area, where the valves and the pipes are complicatedly installed. Because they cannot reply on heavy equipment, human workers must try to remove the water by hand.
By 2/28/2014, still more than half of the water remains unremoved. Regarding the contaminated ground soil, they had removed 130m3.
The overflowed water is assumed to contain 240,000,000,000 Bq/m3 of All β nuclides to include Strontium-90. Even though shielded, the workers are forced to be exposed to Bremsstrahlung from the contaminated water.
The multiple nuclide removing system (ALPS)
suspended again
Posted by Mochizuki on February 27th, 2014 · 4 Comments
One of the three systems of the multiple nuclide removing system called ALPS (Advanced Liquid Processing System) was suspended due to another accident again.
According to Tepco, the inverter of pump had a ground fault. The pump is to send contaminated water to an adsorption tower. The cause is not identified.
The government of Japan has no other plan to resolve the increasing contaminated water problem but freezing water wall. However, none of them has been in the operation yet. Especially ALPS hasn’t been in the full operation since they started the hot test last Spring.
Related article.. [Column] ALPS and frozen water wall can be the performance before discharging contaminated water to the Pacific [URL]
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