Update # 15: June 5, 2011
Stories at NHK this morning:
Nelle's comment: I assume the overflow will be "prevented" for 3 days as that is the capacity left in the main processing building (aka waste disposal facility south of Unit 4) at the rates they are pumping the contaminated water out of of the Unit 2 trenches.
Radioactive water leak to be prevented for 3 days
"Tokyo Electric Power Company has decided to increase the transfer of radioactive water by about 1,500 tons to a facility at the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The company says the transfer can keep contaminated water from leaking outside for about 3 days.
More than 105,000 tons of contaminated water is thought to have accumulated in the basements of the reactor and turbine buildings. An additional 500 tons or so flows into the basements per day as a result of the injection of water into the reactors.
The situation is raising concern about the possible overflow of contaminated water.
On Saturday, TEPCO obtained Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency permission to increase the water transfer from its initial plan. It began transferring 12 tons of water per hour from the basement of the Number 2 turbine building to the basement of a facility for nuclear waste.
The utility will start filtering 1,200 tons of highly radioactive water per day on June 15th. It also plans to set up tanks to store 10,000 tons of water underground at the plant in the middle of August."
Sunday, June 05, 2011 11:59 +0900 (JST) http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/05_10.html
Nelle's comment: This next article is a very confusing article. I am putting together a pdf trying to figure out what is being said here. I'll send it through this evening.
Pressure in No.1 reactor drops close to atmosphere
"Tokyo Electric Power Company has found that pressure inside the Number 1 reactor at its Fukushima Daiichi power plant has dropped to close to the outside atmospheric pressure. It reaffirms that the reactor has been damaged.
The reactor is believed to have suffered a meltdown after the March 11th disaster. The meltdown apparently created holes in the pressure vessel and damaged the containment vessel, letting highly radioactive water flow below ground in the reactor building.
Pressure inside an operating reactor is normally around 70 atmospheres. But after the disaster, the pressure indicator showed 6 atmospheres in the Number 1 reactor, raising questions about data reliability.
On Friday, the utility replaced the gauge with a new one and made measurements again.
The reading was 1.26 atmospheres as of 11 AM on Saturday, almost equal to normal air pressure. The company says this proves that air inside the reactor is escaping outside.
But the utility estimates that the lack of a big hole in the reactor is keeping steam inside, leading to the slightly higher interior pressure.
TEPCO is also planning to install new pressure gauges at the Number 2 and 3 reactors to assess the situation accurately."
Sunday, June 05, 2011 10:50 +0900 (JST) http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/05_08.html
Some interesting shots of the damage to Unit 3 and debris from explosion.
Latest video of fukushima plant: http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/05_06.html
More stories on contamination outside the plant grounds today:
High radiation levels around ditches in Fukushima
"High radiation levels have been detected above roadside drainage ditches in Fukushima Prefecture, which hosts the crippled nuclear power plant.
Japan's Nuclear Safety Commission tested radiation levels in the air about 1 meter from the ground at a business district in the prefectural capital on May 24th and 25th.
The test detected radiation of 3 to 4 microsieverts per hour above ditches covered with mud and fallen leaves. The level reached nearly 100 microsieverts in the mud. It is believed that radioactive dust has accumulated in the mud and leaves.
The results are higher than those in other parts of the city, which were 1 to 2 microsieverts at the same locations.
The commission has noted the need to remove highly radioactive mud and leaves from ditches along busy streets. It calls on people to wear masks and gloves to prevent inhalation of radioactive substances during that work."
Sunday, June 05, 2011 10:50 +0900 (JST) http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/05_09.html
Plutonium found outside Fukushima plant
"Minute amounts of plutonium have been detected for the first time in soil outside the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
Shinzo Kimura of Hokkaido University collected the roadside samples in Okumamachi, some 1.7 kilometers west of the front gate of the power station. They were taken during filming by NHK on April 21st, one day before the area was designated as an exclusion zone.
Professor Masayoshi Yamamoto and researchers at a Kanazawa University laboratory analyzed the samples and found minute amounts of 3 kinds of plutonium.
The samples of plutonium-239 and 240 make up a total of 0.078 becquerels per kilogram.
This is close to the amount produced by past atomic bomb tests.
But the 3 substances are most likely to have come from the plant blasts, as their density ratio is different from those detected in the past.
Professor Yamamoto said the quantities are so minute that people's health will not be harmed.
But he recommended that the contamination near the plant should be fully investigated, saying that a study may shed light on how radioactive materials spread in the air."
Sunday, June 05, 2011 23:21 +0900 (JST) http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/05_21.html