New Problems Arise at Japanese Nuclear Plant

[Purveyor]

Source: NYTIMES

The Japanese electricians who bravely strung wires this week to all six reactor buildings at a stricken nuclear power plant succeeded despite waves of heat and blasts of radioactive steam.

The restoration of electricity at the plant, the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, stirred hopes that the crisis was ebbing, but nuclear engineers say some of the most difficult and dangerous tasks are still ahead — and time is not necessarily on the side of the repair teams.

The tasks include manually draining hundreds of gallons of radioactive water and venting radioactive gas from the pumps and piping of the emergency cooling systems, which are located diagonally underneath the overheated reactor vessels. The health warning that infants should not drink tap water — even in Tokyo, far from the stricken plant — raised alarms about extensive contamination.

“We’ve got at least 10 days to two weeks of potential drama before you can declare the accident over,” said Michael Friedlander, who worked as a nuclear plant operator in the United States for 13 years.

MORE...

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/24/world/asia/24nuclear.html

[truedelphi]

1. An industry statement if ever there was one -

“We’ve got at least 10 days to two weeks of potential drama before you can declare the accident over,” said Michael Friedlander, who worked as a nuclear plant operator in the United States for 13 years.



It will not be over in two weeks for those in Japan whose family members have been exposed to heavy duty blasts of radiation.

It will not be over for women who are pregnant, and have been downwind of this disaster. And in addition to wrrying about the direct radiation they may have experienced, they might not have enough food to sustain a healthy pregnancy, as regardless of the radiation risk, an embryo needs nourishment to survive.

Children's health will have been seriously compromised - both their health now, and a generation from now when they attempt to conceive a baby and start a family of their own.

The only people this might be over for in two weeks are the slimeballs at GE who went over to Japan with Bush officials in 2006. Then and there they saw to it that the popular mayor of Fukushima was removed from office, and his goal of de-commissioning the plant was no longer attainable. Then they installed a pro-nuke industry guy as the new mayor, and made sure that this poorly designed plant kept on a-running.

Because by managing the prss so well, and convincing so may people that this is just a little "burp' that won't affect much, it is possible that GE's stock dividends will rebound.

And then they can get moving this nation into more nuclear reactor building as well.

[DLnyc]

8. Sounds like an important story, about mayor, but I can't find a good link

to documentation??

[truedelphi]

23. The entire story is one told to me by a Japanese friend.

I imagine that many people in the Fukushima prefecture would be able to corroborate what K has told me, except for most of them being in the midst of a national emergency. (Earthquake/tsunami, and now the nuclear problem.)

I am hoping he calls me so I can receive an update on the conditions there. he speaks Japanese fluently of course, and he was going to run by me any developments that are going on.

but so far we are playing phone tag. (He is here safely in the USA; while his family has trekked out of Tokyo to be in possibly safer environment.)

[CountAllVotes]

20. Picture of the "Sarcophagus"

:scared: Creepy as all hell!

Thanks for the link!

:kick:

[Poll_Blind]

22. LOL- I thought the same thing. Apparently "drama" is the new word for the politically-unspeakable.

"Fukushima nuclear power plant released large clouds of drama which meteorologists fear may be blown over Western Japan. Japanese Emo/Goth community seeks U.N. protection."

PB

[defendandprotect]

24. Agree -- K/R for your post --

[City Lights]

2. How and where does one drain hundreds of gallons of radioactive water? nt

[Angry Dragon]

4. Regressive Party water coolers??

[thereismore]

5. This is what they did in Chernobyl first. Where it goes I don't know. It's a poison pill

for mankind, this kind of energy.

[BrookBrew]

10. You mean after the core exploded fuel and graphite..

I dont see that step yet..

[thereismore]

15. Yes, after it blew up and a meltdown into the pool of water was inevitable. You're right. nt

[jtuck004]

11. Most of the water in Chernobyl turned into steam, then condensed over the land or followed the

same trail as other finer water vapor does.

As they began to pull fuel over the years from the still working reactors it went into a pond, where it sits until it is cool enough to store.

Same as we do here, except for where people suggest such a thing is a security risk and store it in the secondary chamber of the reactor.

As if what we have now isn't a security risk...

[jtuck004]

12. For the interested Gregg Dempsey, in 1998, took pictures inside the sarcophagus

that covers the site of Reactor #4, guided by the people who work there.

http://www.epa.gov/radiation/rert/chernobyltour/index.html#viewertop

eerie...

[City Lights]

18. Thanks for the link. Will definitely look through them later. nt

[jschurchin]

6. How about into TEPCO's executive swimming pool?

Just a thought.

[Electric Monk]

9. I'll give a hint: It starts with "O" and rhymes with "shun".

[Downwinder]

14. Might as well use the GOM sludge pit.

[NickB79]

19. Into the ocean. NT

[thereismore]

3. There is a shitload of things to worry about. A new one: salt buildup. It doesn't end. nt

[The Second Stone]

7. How come the dangerous work is being done by workers

who will be forgotten and underpaid? How about execs and politicians who put these lives in danger do the work?

[daleo]

13. Their minds are too beautiful for that. n/t

[GReedDiamond]

21. That's not a bad suggestion, but...

...unfortunately, corporate executives and politicians don't do "work."

They simply suck the life out of the actual workers.

[jannyk]

16. Steam rising from 4 reactors at Fukushima plant (NHK News)

An NHK helicopter crew has confirmed what appears to be steam rising from No. 1, 2, 3 and 4 reactor buildings at the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

This is the first time that steam has been seen coming out of the No.1 reactor.

The helicopter crew was filming from a location more than 30 kilometers from the plant shortly before 7:00 AM on Thursday.

The Tokyo Electric Power Company says that black smoke seen rising from the No.3 reactor building on Wednesday was no longer visible as of 6:00 AM Thursday.

Thursday, March 24, 2011 09:31 +0900 (JST)

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/24_18.html

[jannyk]

17. Pressure rises inside No.1 reactor container (NHKNews)

Tokyo Electric Power Company is taking measures to reduce pressure inside the No.1 reactor containment vessel at the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

The power company began injecting more water into the No.1 reactor on Wednesday, after temperatures on the reactor surface reached about 400 degrees Celsius, exceeding the safety limit of 302 degrees. Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency says the influx of massive amounts of water has raised the pressure inside the reactor containment vessel.

The power company cut back on the water injection early on Thursday. This resulted in pressure inside the container dropping to 0.3585 mega-pascals, below the safety limit of 0.528 mega-pascals. The reactor temperature also dropped to 243 degrees as of 5:00 AM on Thursday.

The safety agency says the reactor remains stable for now, but it will continue monitoring it carefully.

Thursday, March 24, 2011 11:56 +0900 (JST)

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/24_29.html