Update #21: June 28, 2011
by Nelle Maxey
Today at NHK, the water decontamination system is reported as running again. The diagram which accompanies the story shows the 4km of pipe overlaid on a aerial view of the site.
TEPCO restarts water-circulation cooling
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/28_32.html
"The operator of the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has restarted its new water-recycling cooling system after repairing leaky pipes….The system is designed to pump highly radioactive water out of reactor buildings, decontaminate it and circulate it back into the reactors as coolant.
TEPCO says the system is the key to cooling the reactors while decreasing the amount of contaminated water threatening to overflow."
Tuesday, June 28, 2011 19:15 +0900 (JST)"
Nelle's comment: So 1 ton of contaminated water was spilled because TEPCO didn't (as I speculated yesterday) check the 4km of pipe prior to re-starting the system!
Then there is this here 15 tons….lol
What a gong show…
Radioactive water leaks from Japan's damaged plant
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/28/us-japan-nuclear-idUSTRE75Q1EV20110628
(Reuters) – "Tons of radioactive water were discovered on Tuesday to have leaked into the ground from Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant, the latest in a series of leaks at the plant damaged in a March earthquake and tsunami, the country's nuclear watchdog said….
About 15 metric tons of water with a low level of radiation leaked from a storage tank at the plant on the Pacific coast, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said."
Nuclear plant operator skipped pipe check
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/28_32.html
"The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant says it skipped a scheduled test of the plant's water pipes on Monday, shortly before it was forced to suspend a water recycling operation due to leaks.
The utility ran the filtering system, designed to recycle contaminated water for use in cooling the reactors, for just 90 minutes on Monday before treated water was found leaking from unfastened pipes.
The operator says it failed to check the 4 kilometers of piping as it had found no problem during an inspection more than 2 weeks ago.
The company says it will review that decision.
The utility is under pressure to commence the recycling system as the contaminated water may start overflowing around July 5th."
Tuesday, June 28, 2011 08:04 +0900 (JST)
Nelle's comment: I don't understand the statement in the following story that the cover for Unit 1 when installed will "minimize the number of workers who must spend time at the site". But since the cover won't be completed until "late September', I'm sure we will hearing much more about this endeavour.
TEPCO starts covering No.1 reactor building
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/28_27.html
"The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has begun building a giant polyester shield over the damaged Number 1 reactor building to contain the spread of radiation.
One of the largest cranes in Japan has been brought to the site for the construction. It has a 140 meter-long arm that can lift up to 750 tons.
The crane will be used to install a fabric cover around the reactor building. Before that, it will be used to remove debris from the top of the building, which was shattered by a hydrogen explosion one day after the earthquake and tsunami on March 11th.
Tokyo Electric Power Company says that when the shield is installed, the entire structure will be about 54 meters high.
Meanwhile, offsite at Onahama Port about 50 kilometers from the nuclear plant, the utility is preassembling 62 steel components that will be joined to create a rigid frame. The frame will support one millimeter-thick polyester fiber panels.
The components will start arriving at the plant in July. Work to assemble them will be done by the crane. The utility says the process will minimize the number of workers who must spend time at the site and lessen their radioactive exposure. TEPCO hopes to complete the cover by late September."
Tuesday, June 28, 2011 20:07 +0900 (JST)
Nelle's comment: The comment below on Unit 3 regarding the "plumbing work" is a bit misleading. Radiation levels are horrible in all the reactor buildings. The real problem is that the explosion in Unit 3, the worst explosion, basically destroyed all the piping and the building is littered with debris which is even worse than in Unit 4. Although the MOX fuel in Unit 3 would make the radiation levels more dangerous (if that is possible when they are running at double digit seiverts per HOUR!).
It is unlikely this will happen by July 17th.
TEPCO injects nitrogen into No.2 reactor
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/28_34.html
"The Tokyo Electric Power Company began injecting nitrogen into the containment vessel of the No.2 reactor at the Fukushima nuclear plant on Tuesday night to prevent hydrogen explosions.
Hydrogen is generated when water in the reactor comes in contact with radiation. It's believed that hydrogen is building up inside the containment vessel.
As the reactor continues to be cooled, reaction between hydrogen and oxygen can result in an explosion, in the worst case scenario.
The utility firm has been pumping nitrogen into the No.1 reactor. But there's no knowing yet when it can start doing so at the No.3 reactor, because the plumbing work for nitrogen injections cannot be undertaken due to high-level radiation inside the reactor.
According to a roadmap to contain the crisis at the plant, the work of injecting nitrogen into the 3 reactors is scheduled to be complete by July 17th.
The spokesman for the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, Hidehiko Nishiyama, says the current situation is severe but workers at the plant will do their best to achieve the target on the roadmap."
Tuesday, June 28, 2011 20:39 +0900 (JST)
Nelle's comment: More contamination surfaces.
The seabed contamination is confirmed both 20 km north and south of the complex and 3 km out. This is at quite a distance from the plant and implies much more serious ocean contamination (again if that is possible!) than previously reported.
As to the radioactive ash at the garbage incineration plant for Tokyo , this also would support the independent studies showing much higher contamination in Tokyo than officially reported.
Radioactive strontium detected in seabed
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/28_08.html
"Radioactive strontium has been detected for the first time on the seabed near the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
Tokyo Electric Power Company says it found strontium-89 and -90 in the seabed soil. The company conducted a survey on June 2nd about 3 kilometers off the coast at 2 locations, some 20 kilometers north and south of the nuclear complex.
The substances pose a serious health risk because they can accumulate in the bones if inhaled, which could cause cancer.
Up to 44 becquerels per kilogram of strontium-90 were detected, which has a half-life of 29 years.
The substances had been detected before in soil on land and in seawater following the nuclear accident in March.
A member of the government's Nuclear Safety Commission, Shigeharu Kato, says more examination should be carried out to find out if or how the substances can accumulate in marine life.
The fishery ministry conducted separate surveys. It did not find radioactive strontium in fish and seafood samples taken off the coast of Ibaraki and Chiba prefectures. Both are located south of the Fukushima plant."
Tuesday, June 28, 2011 08:54 +0900 (JST)"
Nelle's comment: And then there is the TEPCO Shareholder meeting. Amazing how much coverage the "business" news gets, eh?:
TEPCO shareholders pressure utility management
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/28_29.html
"The management of Tokyo Electric Power Company has come under severe criticism from shareholders over its handling of the accident at its Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant….a proposal by more than 400 shareholders to have the utility's corporate rules stipulate a withdrawal from nuclear power generation was voted down."
Tuesday, June 28, 2011 20:38 +0900 (JST)"
Bloomberg carried a long article on this as reported by the San Francisco Chronicle:
Tepco Protesters Demand End to Nuclear Power as Police Wait
New York Times carried an article as well:
Shareholders Push Tepco to Abandon Nuclear Power
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/27/business/global/27tepco.html
And finally, I highly recommend reading this Counter Punch article:
The Deep Green Meaning of Fukushima
http://www.counterpunch.org/fitz06272011.html
The Watershed Sentinel is proud to share Nelle Maxey's Fukushima Updates prepared for the BC environmental community.
Every day, Nelle pours over the media and other reports of the status of the reactors at Fukushima, comparing figures and trying to make sense out of the conflicting reports.