Japan feared aftershocks at nuclear plant, report shows

National Oct. 16, 2011 - 03:00PM JST ( 20 )

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20 Comments

3

SmorkianOct. 16, 2011 - 03:41PM JST

Well, duh. So did everyone else.
1

smithinjapanOct. 16, 2011 - 05:02PM JST

Wow... it took them months to know what a child could have pointed out. Great job TEPCO! The better question is that since they knew about it, what have they done to prevent an aftershock creating such disaster? My guess? nothing. The execs probably left it to someone else while they ran away with stomache problems, and those 'in control' were left with nothing from above and have had to save the company with the actions they don't get credit for.
0

888naffOct. 16, 2011 - 05:18PM JST

another no news story to feed into the fukushima press mill
2

SmorkianOct. 16, 2011 - 07:59PM JST

ssway

They have had 3 reactors MELT THROUGH into the ground

Putting it in ALL CAPS doesn't make that statement any more correct. Let's stick to facts and not lies, OK?

When will people realize that Japan was nuked on an epic scale way beyond Hiroshima or Nagasaki starting in March and still ongoing.

Like this. ~250,000 people died as a direct result of 6 and 9 August, 1945. Tens if not 100's of thousands died from the later after effects. Total death toll from Fukushima Daiichi - 3, all workers, none as a direct result of the radiation. This will surely increase over the next 30 years but to compare it to Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings is completely and utterly ludicrous, not to mention horribly disrespectful to the hibakusha.

West coast North America is getting their share as well

Oh cmon. West coast of America got measurable traces, that's all. This is an ocean problem and a Japan problem.
0

shanabelleOct. 16, 2011 - 08:22PM JST

Yet another....now they tell us moment!
0

nandakandamandaOct. 16, 2011 - 09:31PM JST

We already figured all this out months ago here on JT.

In fact there is more detail to the above story, (such as many of the fuel rods in Pool #4 are live/active, not spent, they are all packed together in dangerously close proximity, and there is MOX, thus plutonium in that pool.)

The only thing newsworthy here is that JNES have finally confirmed some of the facts we already knew.
1

zichiOct. 16, 2011 - 10:17PM JST

The spent fuel in No4 cooling pool remans "hot" because they were only removed from inside the reactor at the end of last year. There are also 200+ new fuel rod assemblies which would have been used to refuel the reactor.

The most damaged reactor building was No3 which was destroyed by both steam and hydrogen explosions.

In the last few days, after completion of the new outer building on No1 reactor building, TEPCO using a robot, measured the radiation level inside the building. 3.5 to 5 SIEVERTS per hour. No worker can enter the building with those levels. Now it's enclosed, it could build up. TEPCO does not know exactly were the melted fuel (corium) is. Has it escaped the water-filled basement?

TEPCO failed to take 600 anti-quake measures recommended by NISA even though revised safety guidelines in 2006 required action. NISA have stated TEPCO failed to conduct strength tests on key equipment, control rods and the majority of piping including those feeding coolant to the reactors. Workers on 3/11 reported those pipes twisting and being ripped from the walls. The cooling pipes were not installed correctly including incomplete welds on pipe joints.

In the last few days, TEPCO have released infrared radiation readings for reactors 1&3.

The one for No1 reactor show the spent fuel cooling pool at lower temps but inside the reactor there is still fuel rods or melted fuel (corium). There is something outside of both the pool and the reactor.

http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/news/110311/images/111015_42e.jpg

The one for No3 reactor shows something quite different. There's no heat inside the reactor which is strange because there should be unless there is no more fuel inside it. There are still "hot spots" inside the cooling pool. But most concerning, there appears to be fuel rods between the reactor and the fuel pool. Fuel rods can be seen in the building debris in HD photo's too.

http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/news/110311/images/111015_43e.jpg

But don't worry, the nuke accident is "winding down" successfully.
1

YongYangOct. 16, 2011 - 11:12PM JST

Any of us who KNEW wrote the same MONTHS ago, half a year ago. Just check our posts to prove as such.
0

zichiOct. 16, 2011 - 11:22PM JST

Did the recently discovered plutonium outside of the plant come from the No3 explosions? According to new government contamination standards there are 13,000 sq km of contaminated land across 8 prefectures. The building structures were destroyed, badly damaged or weakened by 3/11. The plant couldn't take another powerful quake.
2

YongYangOct. 16, 2011 - 11:31PM JST

@Zichi: Very possibly from the fires at No 4 storage pool, too.
0

zichiOct. 16, 2011 - 11:41PM JST

YongYang

but only No3 reactor contained MOX plutonium fuels? I believe TEPCO is storing some American MOX fuel in the common spent fuel pool but that was mainly undamaged by 3/11?
-1

DisillusionedOct. 17, 2011 - 12:26AM JST

I have to sympathize with the Japanese a little on this one. They have been faced with an unprecedented task and have no idea what to do about it. Yeah, they are naive and, to a certain extent, ignorant, but shutting down these reactors is not like turning off a toaster. Sadly, there have been many offers from international agencies to help shut down this debacle, but they have been refused. The French wanted to send 20 specialists in to shut down the plant, but the were denied. The radiation is contained to a specific area and it has been evacuated. Of course, there are hot spots triggering hysteria within the society, but if you are outside the exclusion zone you are not in danger of contracting any form of radiation sickness. You may be exposed to a small amount of radiation from different sources, but it is not dangerous. The risk is higher having two or three X-rays a year.
0

zichiOct. 17, 2011 - 12:38AM JST

Disillusioned

I don't know what you mean by "shut down"? It will take more than 10 years to deal with the plant. In Tokyo there's an international team of nuclear experts, scientists, engineers working on the plant problems. Decommissioning will take at least 20 years, maybe longer?

The radiation isn't contained to a specific area. As well as very high radiation levels inside the reactor buildings, there are many hot spots around the plant with levels greater than 500 microsieverts per hour.

The plant can't just be shut down. No one has tried to remove melted fuel (corium) before. Technically, all the reactors have shut down.
1

Hide SuzukiOct. 17, 2011 - 12:42AM JST

Didn't TEPCO keep saying that everything was under control ? LOL i guess it doesn't matter since most people don't trust what they say
0

zichiOct. 17, 2011 - 01:43AM JST

The last radiation map of the plant was issued by TEPCO on Sept.22

http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/f1/images/f1-sv-20110922-e.pdf
0

nandakandamandaOct. 17, 2011 - 10:54AM JST

Thanks for the images, zichi.

Looks like they need to send in a pooper-scooper and drop some of those hot bits back into a spent fuel pool or somewhere to cover them and cool them down.
-1

Star-vikingOct. 17, 2011 - 10:06PM JST

zichi Oct. 17, 2011 - 12:38AM JST

I don't know what you mean by "shut down"? It will take more than 10 years to deal with the plant. In Tokyo there's an international team of nuclear experts, scientists, engineers working on the plant problems. Decommissioning will take at least 20 years, maybe longer?

Probably means "cold shutdown", where the temperature of the coolant water inside the reactors is below 100 degrees centigrade. More here: http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/IT-Fukushimaunitsnearcoldshutdown-2909114.html

The plant can't just be shut down. No one has tried to remove melted fuel (corium) before. Technically, all the reactors have shut down.

Well, not producing power anyway.
0

Elbuda MexicanoOct. 18, 2011 - 12:40AM JST

Many good comments, thumbs up from the bottom of my heart to all of those who are still here in Japan, and trying to get along with our lives in spite of the idiots at Tepco.
0

FadamorOct. 18, 2011 - 04:35AM JST

While the plants may have reached "cold shutdown" status (and the jury is still out on how you determine that when the rods are no longer where they're supposed to be or in the form they're supposed to be), this article addresses the danger to the spent fuel pools. Those can go "hot" quickly if the pool gets cracked and loses coolant. Number four is of particular concern because in addition to the spent fuel, the pool also has the ACTIVE fuel that was in the reactor prior to it coming down for maintenence. Ponderous. Freaking PONDEROUS, man!