Tepco To Flood Damaged Reactors With Water
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
TOKYO (Dow Jones)--Recovery workers at Japan's quake-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear-power complex are preparing to flood damaged reactors with thousands of tons of additional water in an extraordinary step to cool them, despite worries that leaks could result and exacerbate dangerous conditions at the site.
Meanwhile, the Japanese government ordered plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. (9501) to submit all data and operation records since the plant was hit by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, as investigators proceed with a probe about how Japan's ongoing nuclear crisis first developed. Requested information includes records of venting and seawater pumping--two issues that government officials believe may have made conditions worse in the first 24 hours of the crisis.
Also Tuesday, government officials said they had grown increasingly concerned about a potential leak in a pool holding spent fuel at the plant's No. 4 reactor, which had faded in recent weeks as an area of concern for recovery efforts. Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency Tuesday said Tepco, as the plant operator is known, has increased the amount of water sprayed over the pool in recent days.
Tepco warned that the new cooling effort puts recovery workers in uncharted territory, though it believes new data show it is safe enough to allow stronger cooling measures. Workers plan to conduct a test run Wednesday on the plant's No. 1 reactor before proceeding, which could happen as soon as later that day if the test is successful...
http://e.nikkei.com/e/fr/tnks/Nni20110426D26JF238.htmBoiling away and leaks are still a problem they need to solve. Hope this works.