Monday, April 16, 2012

Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon must read blogs ! He has got off his lawn chair and actually taken notice of the clusterfuck and Japan and demanding someone in Washington do something - note the letters to the NRC , hil Clinton , Energy Sec Chu and the US Ambassador to Japan..... also some Tepco items regarding Unit 4's spent fuel pool...

http://enenews.com/breaking-us-senator-issues-press-release-on-no-4-spent-fuel-pool-warns-situation-worse-than-reported-after-tour-of-fukushima-plant-urges-japanese-to-accept-international-help


UPDATE: REUTERS ALERT: "Fukushima damage leaves spent fuel at risk" -US Lawmaker -- "Far worse than he expected" -- Bags of rock only protection from tsunami

Read Senator Ron Wyden’s (D-OR) letters to:
Let Sen. Wyden know how you feel about his position
Title: After Tour of Fukushima Nuclear Power Station, Wyden Says Situation Worse than Reported
Source: Press Release of Senator Wyden
Date: Monday, April 16, 2012
After Tour of Fukushima Nuclear Power Station, Wyden Says Situation Worse than Reported
Urges Japanese Ambassador to Accept International Help to Mitigate Continued Nuclear Risks
Washington, D.C. – After an onsite tour of what remains of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear facilities decimated by last year’s earthquake and subsequent tsunami, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) a senior member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, sent a letter to Japanese Ambassador Ichiro Fujisaki looking for ways to advance and support clean-up and recovery efforts. Wyden’s principal concern is the relocation of spent fuel rods currently being stored in unsound structures immediately adjacent to the ocean. He strongly urged the Ambassador to accept international help to prevent dangerous nuclear material from being released into the environment.
“The scope of damage to the plants and to the surrounding area was far beyond what I expected and the scope of the challenges to the utility owner, the government of Japan, and to the people of the region are daunting,” Wyden wrote in the letter. “The precarious status of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear units and the risk presented by the enormous inventory of radioactive materials and spent fuel in the event of further earthquake threats should be of concern to all and a focus of greater international support and assistance.”
Wyden visited Fukushima on April 6, 2012 while on a Congressional delegation trip to the region. He and a staff member wore radiation suits as they toured the facility and met with workers and managers from the Tokyo Electric Power Company, TEPCO, which is responsible for the clean-up. Wyden found that the facilities designed to house spent nuclear fuel and the reactors themselves were still in a state of disrepair and located in areas that would make them susceptible to further damage from future seismic events. The reactor buildings still contain large amounts of spent fuel – making them a huge safety risk and the only protection from a future tsunami, Wyden observed, is a small, makeshift sea wall erected out of bags of rock.
Wyden is also sending letters today to U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Greg Jaczko asking them to identify additional resources and assistance that their agencies could provide to Japan to address these risks.



and.......

http://enenews.com/tepco-foundation-improvement-work-begins-tomorrow-at-reactor-no-4-also-trying-to-prevent-rainwater-penetration-photos-english


Based on “Mid-to-Long-Term Roadmap towards the Decommissioning of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station Unit 1-4″ which was announced on Dec. 21, 2011, we started the preparation work for the installation of the cover for fuel removal of Unit 4 on Mar. 23, 2012.
We would like to inform that we will start the main work for the installation of the cover for fuel removal on Apr. 17.
As the first step of the main work, we will conduct the foundation improvement work in order to strengthen the foundation which supports the foundation of the frame for supporting the crane which is a part of the cover for fuel removal.
At the same time, we will conduct the countermeasure to prevent rainwater from penetrating into Unit 4 Reactor Building.
Attachment: General plan of the cover for fuel removal of Unit 4 in Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (PDF 121KB)
Image of the cover for fuel removal of Unit 4 in Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (This picture shows only a image of the general plan, therefore it can differ from the actual structure.)
and....

http://enenews.com/tepco-will-start-covering-no-4-spent-fuel-pool-tomorrow

Title: Close-up on Fukushima pool debris
Source: World Nuclear News
Date: April 16, 2012
Work is about to begin on the installation of a cover over Fukushima Daiichi unit 4 prior to the removal of fuel from the reactor building, Tepco has announced. A cover has already been built over the remains of unit 1 to prevent potential emissions of radioactive material, and similar covers are due to be built over units 3 and 4. Preparatory work has been under way since late March and work will begin on the cover for unit 4 on 17 April, the company has announced.
*World Nuclear News “is supported administratively and with technical advice by the World Nuclear Association”; The WNA is “supporting a fast-globalizing nuclear industry”
For more details, see Enformable’s report from last week that contradicts WNN above report:Plans for Fukushima Daiichi Reactor 4 cover revealed on same day TEPCO applied for 1 trillion yen injection of public funds
The design of the 51m tall structure, to be covered by steel panels, will be completed by the end of June and construction will start this fall.
In preparation for the construction the remaining parts of the outer shell, pillars and roof of the 5th floor on the north side of Unit 4 needs to be removed, and this work will be completed by the end of June.
The crane to lift the fuel from Unit 4 is expected to be manufactured in the third quarter of 2012.





Title: Workers prepare No.4 pool for fuel removal
Source: NHK
Date: Tuesday, April 17, 2012 11:17 +0900 (JST)
[...] Before the [No. 4 reactor building] can be demolished, more than 1,500 fuel rods have to be removed [...]
On Tuesday, Tokyo Electric Power Company will begin attaching a special crane to take the fuel out of the pool and constructing a cover to prevent the spread of radioactive materials from the building. [...]
Unlike the shroud that entirely covers the No. 1 reactor building, the structure will cover only the upper part of the pool [...]
TEPCO will also install a filter to prevent the spread of radioactive materials.
The cover is expected to be completed by autumn next year. Spent nuclear fuel will then be removed [...]


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