TEPCO: Water isn't leaking from No. 4 reactor pool

[FBaggins]

Tokyo Electric Power Company now says it is unlikely that water is leaking from the spent fuel rod pool of the Fukushima Daiichi power plant's No.4 reactor.

Water is being injected into the pool to replace coolant that is evaporating due to the high temperature of its 1,535 spent fuel rods. Despite sporadically injecting 140 to 210 tons of water a day, the company says the water level in the storage pool is still 10 to 40 centimeters lower than estimated.

TEPCO initially believed that the pool could have suffered damage in an explosion soon after the March 11th quake and tsunami disaster. But the company said on Wednesday that it now believes that the water has been evaporating at a rate in line with calculations by experts.

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/28_05.html

[Someguyinjapan]

1. Translation:

Radioactive seawater isn't being released back into the ocean, it's being released as radioactive steam back into the atmosphere. And we're supposed to view this announcement as positive and reassuring?

[FBaggins]

3. Evaporation and steam are not the same thing.

It makes a big difference in terms of its ability to carry other elements into the air. Spent fuel pools have evaporation all the time (at a lower rate of course due to the lower temperature). Also, the most active part of "radioactive steam" is the water itself as part of the fission process (with an incredibly short half-life). Since there isn't any active fission going on, that isn't a concern.

And we're supposed to view this announcement as positive and reassuring?

If it's true, it IS a positive thing. They eventually have to get to the point where they're cooling/recirculating water to these pools. That obviously becomes more complicated if they're leaking. Since #4 has both the most and most active fuel, it's particularly helpful if it isn't leaking.

[Someguyinjapan]

4. It's still radiation release

Whether it's in the form of seawater being released into the ocean, or seawater evaporating (wasn't paying attention there) into the atmosphere, it's still radiation going from someplace it's supposed to be to someplace it isn't. And that's always a concern, particularly if you happen to be living in the country where the radiation is being released, and will continue to be released, in various forms for an indeterminate period of time.

And for those who read this and think I'm being irrationally afraid, yeah, I am afraid, but there is nothing irrational about it. Given the way things have played out over here, it is certainly reasonable to assume that things may well take a turn for the worse. We're only a magnitude 7 aftershock in the wrong place away from from the whole situation becoming permanently uncontrollable. Something that a lot of people forget about; the aftershocks could potentially continue for months, as they did post-Kobe earthquake. To say nothing of typhoon season being a scant 4 weeks away. Getting the situation under control "eventually" doesn't cut it.

[FBaggins]

5. Um... nope. There really is a difference

I mean... I know you LLR types love to pretend that the amount of radiation is irrelevant. But let's try to keep this in the real world, shall we?

The amount of radiation that is released from evaporation over a spent fuel pool is negligible. The amount released in leaking water (or steam) where cesium (etc) can be physically carried out of the pool is much more substantial. The steam would carry less but do so in a more dangerous fashion.

We're only a magnitude 7 aftershock in the wrong place away from from the whole situation becoming permanently uncontrollable.

Not really. Though it would no doubtl complicate things, the activity levels are too low now to risk the once-worst-case scenario. It would pose a risk to the length of the cleanup efforts and potentially increase the release to the ocean, but the chance of something with a release with wider impacts has faded significantly.

To say nothing of typhoon season being a scant 4 weeks away.

A real concern... but in the same areas.

[SpoonFed]

6. Bags sees future

Not really. Though it would no doubtl complicate things, the activity levels are too low now to risk the once-worst-case scenario. It would pose a risk to the length of the cleanup efforts and potentially increase the release to the ocean, but the chance of something with a release with wider impacts has faded significantly.

Is there no end of things you will not pretend to have an expert opinion on, including seeing into the future and possible consequences of a large aftershock or full on quake? I fully expect some catastrophic quake to ravage the plant solely on the basis of you being consistently wrong along the entire road of this nightmare. Watch out Japan it will be 1-2weeksbefore bags will be proven wrong yet again at your expense.

While you're at it I'd like next weeks lotto numbers.

[FBaggins]

9. You don't need to be able to see the future. Just understand the physics.

The difficulty in keeping a core cool in the first couple days after shutdown is dramatically higher than a month and a half later.

I didn't say that there can't be another earthquake and tsunami, just that even one as large (virtually impossible) wouldn't do as much damage... and one many times smaller (a 7.0 is about 1/100th as strong... and they've had several of those already) isn't the same issue.

There's no doubt that it would be "bad"... but the poster didn't say that. He said it would be "permanently uncontrollable". And that's simply wrong.

you being consistently wrong along the entire road of this nightmare

Yeah? And does this now make five times or six that you've claimed that... been challenged to back it up... and then ran away from the conversation?

Entertaining indeed.

[nonperson]

2. Which only proves once again

That TEPCO and the nuclear industry have little to no idea of what they are doing even even when things are going well and absolutely no idea when the inevitable nuclear catastrophe occurs at one of their death plants.

Nuclear power works on the Sun but try living there. This is why there is no place for nuclear power on Earth.

[kristopher]

8. Dakara - Fission is a Rube Goldberg Machine

www.rubegoldberg.com

[Fledermaus]

7. Even if that's true, its still a broken swimming pool four stories high full of death.

[ReturnoftheDjedi]

10. that's worse than if it was. They've been pumping water into it for a month and still cannot fill it

or cool the rods apparently.

At least they could use the hole as an excuse for why this was occurring.

Now it is evident that what's left of the rods is much hotter than previously thought.

[FBaggins]

11. That's nonsense. Now it's WORSE if the pool ISN'T badly damaged?

They've been pumping water into it for a month and still cannot fill it

Looks pretty full.

or cool the rods apparently.

??? There isn't any way to keep them cool until water can be circulated and cooled. Otherwise, the only choice is to let the water heat up and then pump new (cooler) water in and displace the warmer water. They've been doing this for weeks without aparent trouble.

At least they could use the hole as an excuse for why this was occurring.

Why do they need an "excuse"? That's the way they should EXPECT it to work.

Now it is evident that what's left of the rods is much hotter than previously thought.

Um.... nope.