Fukushima report - 07/06/2015

Events at Fukushima

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THE PLANT AT FUKUSHIMA IS LIGHTING UP LIKE A 'CHRISTMAS TREE' IN THE AREA BETWEEN UNIT NUMBER TWO & THE VENT STACK! THIS IS NEW & HAS HAPPENED SINCE THAT 'HEAVY PIECE OF EQUIPMENT' WAS HAULED OUT OF THAT 'SPENT FUEL POOL' THAT I DONT THINK EVEN EXISTS!

TO MAKE MATTERS WORSE A WORKER GOT NUKED TO DEATH ON SITE THE OTHER DAY THE SAME DAY THAT THE ALARM WENT OFF AT UNIT NUMBER TWO! I DO NOT TRUST ANY OF THIS & WOULD NOT BE AT ALL SURPRISED IF ALL THESE EVENTS ARE CONNECTED IN SOME WAY! TAKE A LOOK AT THE LINKS & SEE WHAT YOU THINK?

A worker reported to the onsite office saying he felt unwell. He was transported to Iwaki hospital and died soon after arriving. TEPCO has given no further details about what kind of work he was doing or his cause of death.

On the same day dust monitoring at monitoring post 2 alarmed then went back down to normal. TEPCO is trying to dismiss it as being caused by “noise”. They also reported no work at unit 1 was underway at the time and that monitoring posts 1 and 3 did not alarm. Other incidents later found to be significant included brief and isolated monitoring alarms.

http://www.fukuleaks.org/web/?p=14942

http://fukushima-diary.com/…/tepco-released-the-video-and-…/

 

 (the video begins after a HUGE PIECE OF EQUIPMENT has been lifted up already from what looks like a pool.......It is not dripping......

Vice: ‘Suspicious’ death at Fukushima plant — Officials: Damaged nuclear fuel containers found in Unit 3 pool after removal of massive piece of debris

• “High radioactivity prevented workers from carrying out the removal smoothly”
• Concern about “new fuel failure” (PHOTOS & VIDEO)

http://enenews.com/vice-suspicious-death-fukushima-plant-officials-damaged-nuclear-fuel-rod-containers-found-unit-3-pool-after-debris-removed-concern-about-new-fuel-failure-high-radioactivity-prevented-workers

NHK, Aug 4, 2015 (emphasis added): Fuel rod casings found damaged by debris… workers have found damaged fuel rod containers after removing a device that had fallen on them during the 2011 disaster. They’re now checking whether the damage will affect their plan to remove fuel from the pool. A 20-ton device for moving fuel rods in and out of the pool on the building’s top floor was removed on Sunday… High radioactivity prevented workers from carrying out the removal smoothly… Workers found that the metal casings of 4 assemblies had been distorted and have twisted handles. This is evident in images released by the operator… The utility is checking for other damage and studying how to remove the distorted casings from the pool.

TEPCO (pdf), Aug 4, 2015: Unit 3 Spent Fuel Pool… we found bent handles of 4 nuclear fuel assemblies located under the Fuel Handling Machine which was removed on August 2nd… there is no indication of new fuel failure by the removal… In the future, when discussing fuel removal, we will consider how to deal with the bent handles of nuclear fuel aщsemblies.

Vice News, Aug 4, 2015: A 30 year-old man died this weekend as he worked on decommissioning Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant… It is not yet known whether the man’s death was due to radiation exposure, and an autopsy is pending… In a statement released Monday, [Tepco] said that the man had been taken to the emergency room after complaining that he wasn’t feeling well. “His death was confirmed early in the afternoon,” Tepco said. Isabelle Dublineau, the head of the experimental radiotoxicology laboratory for France’s Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN), said… it was “too early” to comment on the death… While the latest death has already been branded suspicious in the media, Tepco has so far denied that any of the deaths are related to radiation exposure… The worker who died over the weekend was working… on the construction of the “ice wall”…

Watch TEPCO’s video of the removal at Unit 3 here

Officials: Buildings sinking next to Fukushima reactors — Experts: We know structures decaying, getting more unstable

• ‘Plant deterioration investigation’ underway
• Molten fuel thought to be eating away structural materials

http://enenews.com/officials-buildings-sinking-next-fukushima-reactors-expert-structures-decaying-becoming-stable-plant-deterioration-investigation-underway-molten-fuel-causing-structural-materials-corrode-vide

Tepco handout (pdf), summary translation by Fukushima Diary, Jul 21, 2015 (emphasis added): Tepco announced Fukushima plant area has irregularly sunk since 311… The report readsReactor 1 turbine building sank by 730 mm [2.40 ft], Reactor 2 by 725 mm, Reactor 3 by 710 mm, Reactor 4 by 712 mm.

IAEA Headquarters (pdf), 2015: We know that the buildings will decay and become less stable… there is the dilemma of 1) gathering more information… and 2) acting earlier and maybe not having enough information to make good decisions.

IAEA Nuclear Energy Series (pdf), 2014: The impact of the salt on the corrosion of structural materials had to be assessed and measures taken accordingly to retain integrity.

Lake Barrett, Tepco adviser (pdf): Reactor building structure has likely been degraded… Explosions Weaken RB Structure… Aftershock May Cause Building Failure… — Issues: … Aftershock Structural Integrity… — Safety Challenges: … Containment Degradation

US National Research Council, 2014: Substantial structural damage occurred… particularly Units 3 and 4… The explosions [were] extremely destructive. The complex structure of thelower part of the reactor buildings is well suited to cause flame acceleration… Ironically, having a strong structure with multiple compartments can greatly enhance the damage…this result, although not intuitive, is now well established.

Kazuhiro Suzuki, IRID managing director (pdf), 2014: Estimation of structural strength decline by sea water inflow; Evaluating device/structural integrity and remaining life…

Sugiura Machine Design Office: We obtained results [using a] flying robot. We already have started to work on plant deterioration investigation with major manufacturer.

IRID 2014 Annual Symposium (pdf):

• p. 94: Assessing structural integrity of RPV/PCV… data on corrosion rate will be collected… to evaluate aseismatic strength, taking into consideration long-term wall thinning by corrosion… stainless steel [components] may already be cracked
• p. 95: Overall structural integrity… Building behavior analysis (building damage simulation)… Influence of corrosion [and] high-temperature strength deterioration
• p. 98: Structural integrity of PCV structures… Corrosion wall thinning… Estimated thinning of Unit 1 dry well [and] suppression chamber… Generated stress… of the suppression chamber support structures was higher [than allowable]…reinforcement (such as burying the torus chamber with cement materials, etc.) will be studied
• p. 99: Structural integrity of RPV pedestal… influences of corrosion by molten fuel debris are not taken into account and further study is needed

Shunichi Suzuki, TEPCO, IRID 2014 Annual Symposium:

• Part 6: “One more important point I need to cite is to assure the stability of the site… because of the presence of the ocean water, corrosion could take place…preventative measures against the corrosion need to be taken.“
• Part 85-87: “Next is assessing structural integrity of RPV and PCV [and] get qualitativedata of corrosion rate. There is sea water injected so corrosion may gradually proceed… To be prepared against future possible earthquakes we have to evaluate whether this is tolerant or not… We must consider corrosion.”
• Part 91: “PCV [integrity] is generally alright, but in some parts — for instance the column support of the suppression chamber — it [doesn't meet standards].”
• Part 92: “This is the pedestal of RPV… The molten debris may be causing corrosion.”

Watch Suzuki’s presentation here