Update #61: Sept 14, 2011
At the Plant Site – Reactor Temperatures
A few days ago I posted a comment from Physics Forum saying the temperature decline at the bottom of the RPV in Unit 3 was levelling off and more action would be needed to control it.
I am sorry to report this has proven to be correct. The temperature in Unit 3 is again above 100 degrees C. (So it is boiling again.)
You will note there is no big hoopla press announcement as there was when it dropped below 100 for 2 days after starting the spray injection into the RPV.
Here is the temperature data for Unit 3.
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A (pink) is the temperature for the feed water nozzle at the top of the RPV.
B (gold) is the temperature at the bottom of the RPV.
If you go to the temperature charts and tables for all 3 units you can see that Unit 1 is the only one of the three below 100 degrees C at the bottom of the RPV (the re-defined parameter for "cold shutdown").
Decontamination Recirculation System
The JAIF Reports are now reporting the amount of radioactive waste being produced by the system.
The system has been running for 2 and a half months. By the most optimistic estimates this system will be running for a minimum of 10 years, although one presumes at reduced rates if the fuel cools down. So coping with the system's waste will be an on-going problem.
Below are the latest (September 6) reported amounts of waste.
As you can see the amount of sludge is already quickly approaching TEPCO's storage capacity.
Sludge: 555m3 (Storage capacity 800m3),
Used vessels: 173 (Storage capacity 393),
Concentrated waste liquid: 2,450m3 (Storage capacity 10,000m3)
Contamination/Decontamination
Energy News carried these stories today. The links are to the source article. The summations are by Energy News.
Fukushima cesium contamination widespread but less than Chernobyl, Asahi, September 14, 2011:
An extensive area of more than 8,000 square kilometers has accumulated cesium 137 levels of 30,000 becquerels per square meter or more after the accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, according to Asahi Shimbun estimates. […]
The Asahi Shimbun calculated the size of the contaminated area based on a distribution map of accumulated cesium 137 levels measured from aircraft, which was released by the science ministry on Sept. 8.
The estimated size may increase in the future because the distribution map will be subject to corrections and because it currently covers only five prefectures. […]
Radiation levels are still high in the area. Measurements in six locations in the town of Namie, Fukushima Prefecture, which are 24 to 31 kilometers from the Fukushima No. 1 plant, ranged between 4.5 and 32.6 microsieverts per hour on Sept. 9.
GSDF holds emergency evacuation drill near stricken Fukushima nuclear plant, Mainichi, September 13, 2011:
The Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) and residents of the zone between 20 and 30 kilometers from the stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant held an emergency evacuation drill on Sept. 12 […] in preparation for any further large-scale emission of radioactive materials from the plant […]
The scenario for the drill presupposed further meltdown of the Fukushima plant's No. 3 reactor core, and a local accumulation of radioactive materials emitting 20 millisieverts of radiation within the next four days. […]
If you haven't seen any of the video interviews with Mr. Matsumura who stayed behind inside the 20km exclusion zone, this video may interest you. It is embedded at the link. Inside Japan's nuclear ghost zone, BBC by David Shukman, September 13, 2011:
The only Fukushima story on NHK this morning regards decontamination and another expert panel. Whether the public will take any comfort in their recommendations for decontamination considering the extremely high levels of contamination that are being considered "not a threat to public health" remains to be seen. The timeline for the guidelines to be released is unclear, that is, I don't know if "this year" means before Jan 2012 or within a year.
An expert panel has begun discussing effective ways to remove radioactive materials from areas near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
Experts on radiation and soil pollution on Wednesday attended the first meeting of the panel set up by the Environment Ministry.
Environment Minister Goshi Hosono told the panel that decontamination is Japan's top priority, and that the country faces the challenge of decontamination on an unprecedented scale.
In Fukushima Prefecture, municipalities near the plant have launched their own efforts to decontaminate buildings and soil.
The government plans to launch a model decontamination project in 12 of the prefecture's municipalities before focusing on severely contaminated areas early next year.
The panel is to discuss how much topsoil must be scraped away for effective decontamination, as well as standards and methods for municipalities' temporary storage of radioactive soil.
The ministry plans to draw up basic guidelines for decontamination, including specific methods, this year, based on the panel's discussion.
Meanwhile SKF reports these troubling contamination stories today. The full stories with all the pictures and charts can be read at the links.
Perhaps this first story should actually be called a Decontamination/Recontamination story.
The willful ignorance, or the determination to carry on with their lives they knew before March 11, of many Japanese is driving me crazy.
A nursery school in Akita Prefecture bought turf from Ibaraki Prefecture, which is located south of Fukushima Prefecture and was doused with radioactive materials by downwind from Fukushima I Nuke Plant creating areas with high radiation, in middle of July. Small children were playing on the freshly installed turf. Then the city came and measured the air radiation level. Guess what. It was high. Duh.