TEPCO starts removing tainted water at No. 3 reactor
May 18, 2011
The operator of the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant said Tuesday it has started transferring highly radioactive water at the No. 3 reactor's turbine building and its vicinity to a waste-disposing facility to prevent it from leaking into the environment.
The tainted water, whose level has been rising by around 2 centimeters a day at the turbine building, may be leaking from the reactor vessel damaged by the March 11 devastating earthquake and ensuing tsunami as well as could pollute the sea, prodding Tokyo Electric Power Co. to try to remove it promptly.
The utility, known as TEPCO, also said it continued setting up equipment at the water-disposal facility to decontaminate the radioactive water so it can be reused to cool fuel in the vessel in the near future.
In an updated version of its road map toward settling the nuclear crisis, released Tuesday, TEPCO said it will seek to set up a coolant circulation system by using the tainted water.
In another development, TEPCO said workers will enter the No. 2 reactor building at the nuclear power complex in Fukushima Prefecture in the near future to inspect radiation levels and damage inside.
The move is aimed at preparing for work to set up a new system to cool the reactor stably, according to the utility.
Workers were slated to go into the building late Tuesday, but the plan was postponed to Wednesday or later as it has taken a longer time than expected to check necessary devices such as protective suits and masks, TEPCO said.
It will be the first time for workers to enter the No. 2 reactor building since an explosion sound was heard from a nearby pressure suppression chamber on March 15.
In April, a pair of remote-controlled robots failed to carry out sufficient measurements of radiation levels inside the building housing the No. 2 reactor vessel because the high humidity inside clouded the robots' camera lenses.
Workers will take care to avoid being heavily exposed to radioactive substances, such as by using devices that have dosimeters attached at the end of a stick, company officials said.
But it is uncertain whether such operations could go smoothly as concerns grow that radiation levels are high at some locations inside the vessels housing the reactors, in which fuel might have largely melted in the worst case scenario, observers said.
The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency acknowledged Tuesday that a nuclear meltdown may have occurred at the plant's Nos. 2 and 3 reactors as well, following recent findings that suggest a fuel meltdown at the No. 1 reactor.
Meanwhile, a large artificial floating island, which will be used to store the contaminated water accumulated at the nuclear plant, arrived at Onahama port in Fukushima Prefecture on Tuesday morning.
TEPCO expects the so-called ''megafloat,'' provided by the Shizuoka city government, to be able to store about 10,000 tons of water, company officials said. The utility plans to use the storage for water with relatively low contamination that has gone through a decontamination process.
The megafloat, which is about 136 meters long, 46 meters wide and 3 meters tall, is scheduled to berth along the quay near the Fukushima Daiichi complex in late May, the officials added.
(Distributed by Kyodo News on May 17, 2011)
The tainted water, whose level has been rising by around 2 centimeters a day at the turbine building, may be leaking from the reactor vessel damaged by the March 11 devastating earthquake and ensuing tsunami as well as could pollute the sea, prodding Tokyo Electric Power Co. to try to remove it promptly.
The utility, known as TEPCO, also said it continued setting up equipment at the water-disposal facility to decontaminate the radioactive water so it can be reused to cool fuel in the vessel in the near future.
In an updated version of its road map toward settling the nuclear crisis, released Tuesday, TEPCO said it will seek to set up a coolant circulation system by using the tainted water.
In another development, TEPCO said workers will enter the No. 2 reactor building at the nuclear power complex in Fukushima Prefecture in the near future to inspect radiation levels and damage inside.
The move is aimed at preparing for work to set up a new system to cool the reactor stably, according to the utility.
Workers were slated to go into the building late Tuesday, but the plan was postponed to Wednesday or later as it has taken a longer time than expected to check necessary devices such as protective suits and masks, TEPCO said.
It will be the first time for workers to enter the No. 2 reactor building since an explosion sound was heard from a nearby pressure suppression chamber on March 15.
In April, a pair of remote-controlled robots failed to carry out sufficient measurements of radiation levels inside the building housing the No. 2 reactor vessel because the high humidity inside clouded the robots' camera lenses.
Workers will take care to avoid being heavily exposed to radioactive substances, such as by using devices that have dosimeters attached at the end of a stick, company officials said.
But it is uncertain whether such operations could go smoothly as concerns grow that radiation levels are high at some locations inside the vessels housing the reactors, in which fuel might have largely melted in the worst case scenario, observers said.
The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency acknowledged Tuesday that a nuclear meltdown may have occurred at the plant's Nos. 2 and 3 reactors as well, following recent findings that suggest a fuel meltdown at the No. 1 reactor.
Meanwhile, a large artificial floating island, which will be used to store the contaminated water accumulated at the nuclear plant, arrived at Onahama port in Fukushima Prefecture on Tuesday morning.
TEPCO expects the so-called ''megafloat,'' provided by the Shizuoka city government, to be able to store about 10,000 tons of water, company officials said. The utility plans to use the storage for water with relatively low contamination that has gone through a decontamination process.
The megafloat, which is about 136 meters long, 46 meters wide and 3 meters tall, is scheduled to berth along the quay near the Fukushima Daiichi complex in late May, the officials added.
(Distributed by Kyodo News on May 17, 2011)
