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JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION

Water recycling system at nuclear plant stops again

National Jun. 28, 2011 - 06:43AM JST ( 21 )

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21 Comments

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PapigiulioJun. 28, 2011 - 08:48AM JST

as predicted
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herefornowJun. 28, 2011 - 09:12AM JST

TEPCO and the government have said they hope to achieve a cold shutdown of the reactors by January by bringing the core temperatures to below 100 Celsius (212 Fahrenheit).

Wishful thinking. Even if they could hit the max of 1,200 tons a day, it will take 91 days just to decontaminate the 110,000 tons of water cuurently sitting there. Which means October 1 at the earliest for just this stage. And since nothing yet has gone accoring to plan, we must assume this won't either, so it will likely be January 1st before all the water is removed, not cold shutdown.
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gogogoJun. 28, 2011 - 09:42AM JST

Sounds like they just threw the hose into the water and pumped it out and they are pumping from the bottom of the area (where all the crap and mad is)... put a float on it and pump water from the top!
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globalwatcherJun. 28, 2011 - 09:57AM JST

1))Workers spotted water leaking from a hose that was sending the processed water into the reactors,

Easy fix, I suppose.

2)No new leakage outside the plant has been reported

Great news!!

3)sealed cracks, set up oil fences around the coastal plant, and acquired more storage tanks in case of emergency.the system “a major step forward” toward stable cooling of the reactors. But he said he was not fully confident about the system. “It’s a problem if the system continues to be unreliable,

I am careless what critics are saying. Do not discouraged, and keep up your good work. Eventually it will work.
0

GwraggedJun. 28, 2011 - 10:44AM JST

Please please get Tepco out of the driving seat. There has to be a better team that can be put together.
0

the_odemanJun. 28, 2011 - 10:53AM JST

Even if they could hit the max of 1,200 tons a day, it will take 91 days just to decontaminate the 110,000 tons of water cuurently sitting there. Which means October 1 at the earliest for just this stage.

Then youll have to include the recycled water being used too. They said they use less than 600 tons of water to cool the 3 reactors a day? So they have 110,000 tons of accumulated water to decontaminate, with 600ish tons being added every day...its too early in the morning for me to do the math, but Im guessing by mid November they should have all the water cleared and cleaned....that gives them 6-8 weeks to get the reactors into cold shutdown status according to their goals?

Muri
0

globalwatcherJun. 28, 2011 - 11:02AM JST

Please please get Tepco out of the driving seat. There has to be a better team that can be put together.

Gwragged, I have an idea. Let's go ahead and MOVE all management members and engineers to Fukushima Daiichi. That will fix TEPCO very quickly. Let them sweat and work together with these people who are dealing with the real issue there. No more suit and no more lip service from Tokyo TEPCO office, Let them get a job done. Agree?
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CrickyJun. 28, 2011 - 11:05AM JST

I am amazed that there does not seem to be a JDF team trained for this type of work! A national disaster that is continuing to unfold and a private company are at the wheel? A company that has consistently failed at even the most basic safety checks - has lied, created false data, the list goes on...at what point does a trained disaster team become involved. 15 out of 15 tested positive for internal radiation and they were 10 km outside the zone. Get an outside team in.
0

nandakandamandaJun. 28, 2011 - 11:27AM JST

TEPCO, the company known as 'Ole Jerky' has been feeling their way forward, trying to feed us updates, but not very well. "We managed to turn the door handle on reactor building 2 this morning". Their news feed obviously does not translate well either, as it is hard for anyone to work out what they are trying to say. Often a later news story does not reflect news released earlier, adding to the confusion.

From their experience gained there, however, and in 'light' of the way Japanese corporations work, they are in the best position to keep this moving forward. An outside team might prove a knicker-twisting distraction.

Actually I am quietly interested in this mass of piping that they are putting together. It appears that with just one huge system and some clever levers they can suck up basement gunk, and switch the decontaminated desalinated water to go into the three reactors, back into the basements, or into storage tanks/barges or wherever they like.

The biggest factor for them must be a reduction in the need to rely upon a massive, and possibly finite, outside supply of fresh water.
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cactusJackJun. 28, 2011 - 12:00PM JST

Why am I not surprised?
0

electric2004Jun. 28, 2011 - 12:03PM JST

Cricky:

Such a group exists, and it is already dispatched. The name is NEAT and the training site is located in Hitachi-naka.
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CrickyJun. 28, 2011 - 12:11PM JST

So they are there? Helping to organize the mess. Got to say thank you for the information. I have been searching for info and have found little about this. NEAT cool name feel better that an out side group are involved.
-3

YongYangJun. 28, 2011 - 12:12PM JST

Restore control? Err... NO. Establish control.
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electric2004Jun. 28, 2011 - 12:23PM JST

For example, the NEAT group helps with detection and analysis of radiation, they provide telephone counseling, and they organize the tours, where local residents can return by bus for 2 hours to their homes to retrieve important personal items.

See for example:

http://english.kyodonews.jp/photos/2011/06/98350.html

New robot for Fukushima operation

Nuclear disaster operation robot ''JAEA-3'' is shown to reporters at the Nuclear Emergency Assistance & Training Center in Hitachinaka, Ibaraki Prefecture, on June 21, 2011. The remote-controlled robot will be used to measure radiation levels at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in Fukushima Prefecture. (Kyodo)
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GwraggedJun. 28, 2011 - 12:25PM JST

Globalwatcher, that would certainly increase incentive for Tepco to get the job done swiftly, and perhaps satisfy some primal desire to make them pay for the suffering they have caused, however, I dont think that lack of incentive is the problem. I do not believe Tepco have the expertise to get the job done properly, or quickly.

They need better people, better minds, better managers, better logistics. Tepco's people are just not good enough, whether or not they are incentivised to within an inch of their lives is neither here or there.
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electric2004Jun. 28, 2011 - 12:26PM JST

And NEAT is involved in helping from the early stage on:

See this report from 15th March.

<http://www.jaea.go.jp/english/jishin/e0315-19.pdf >
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globalwatcherJun. 28, 2011 - 02:02PM JST

They need better people, better minds, better managers, better logistics. Tepco's people are just not good enough, whether or not they are incentivised to within an inch of their lives is neither here or there.

Gwragged, I hear you. They are somewhat incompetent to do a job., right?
Why don't you suggest what you have said to me to Kan's team this week. There are so many good qualified people with great ideas. They have to work for the J.Gov, not for TEPCO on contract base.(Important) There are many smart US Nuke scientists working in NM, USA too. Please do that this week. .
1

GwraggedJun. 28, 2011 - 03:35PM JST

Globalwatcher, I think you have me confused with someone else. Im just a housewife, no access to Kan's team! No one cares what I think, noone who can do anything about it. The situation in Fukushima scares me witless, and Tepco do not seem like the right people for the task in hand. In fact, I think they have proved themselves to be not up to the job. But what can I do about it? Leave, perhaps, but that is about it.
1

OsakadazJun. 28, 2011 - 05:15PM JST

Tepco lied about radiation levels and safety checks for YEARS. When the shroud in front of the reactor broke a decade or so back, they did just what they are doing now, importing workers from Asia and S.Arabia,and made them weld the shroud under conditions of high radiation and against the Japanese law. They have been proven to have witheld info from the govt. and public as recently as a fortnight back. They just submitted a report about how they had continually lied to the government less than a fortnight before the tsunami. Anyone who second guesses anything Tepco does shows more brain than the collective IQ of the government. Oh and most of the poor brave bastards working on this rig are nameless itinerant workers from around Japan who are throwaway muscle. Wait til everyone hears about the Tepco shareholder meeting today. How can over 9000 people be ignored and Have their shareholding voting rights removed? Easy.. Stick em in other rooms and give a max of three seconds to decide a vote. The more things change the more they stay the same.
-1
WilliBJun. 28, 2011 - 09:59PM JST

Ozakadaz:

" what they are doing now, importing workers from Asia and S.Arabia,and made them weld the shroud under conditions of high radiation and against the Japanese law. "

Firstly, what "shroud" are you talking about. Secondly, can you point to any respectable source that proves that "workers from Asia and South Arabia" were "imported"? What is "Asia and South Arabia" anyway? What countries are you talking about?

Please show your sources. I bet you have nothing except some conspiracy blogs.
- ModeratorJun. 29, 2011 - 06:37AM JST
  
  Moderator: Back on topic please.