Fukushima nuclear power plant suffers outage, fuel pool cooling stops TOKYO, March 19, Kyodo Tokyo Electric Power Co. said a power failure occurred at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station just before 7 p.m. Monday, leading to the suspension of systems to cool spent fuel pools of the No. 1, 3 and 4 reactor units. The incident so far has not affected the ongoing water injection to the Nos. 1 to 3 reactors, which suffered core meltdowns in the early days of the March 2011 nuclear crisis, according to the Nuclear Regulation Authority. No major changes have been observed in radioactivity levels detected by nearby monitoring posts. As of 1:45 a.m., TEPCO has not been able to work out steps to ensure bringing the system back online. The accident response center at the station also suffered outage but power was restored shortly.
http://enenews.com/kyodo-tepco-hasnt-been-able-to-work-out-steps-to-ensure-bringing-system-back-online-at-fukushima-daiichi-no-major-changes-in-radioactivity-levels .............................................................. Japan Diplomat: We don’t know what’s happening underground of Fukushima reactors — Potential accident remains now (AUDIO) Akio Matsumura, speaking at “The Medical and Ecological Consequences of the Fukushima Nuclear Accident”, March 13, 2013 (h/t @chrisjcote): [...] I have worked at the United Nations and other international organizations in London and New York for 40 years [...] >There are four major areas of concern that could cause a bigger disaster: > 1. In reactors 1, 2 and 3, complete core meltdowns have occurred. Japanese authorities have admitted the possibility that the fuel may have melted through the bottom of the reactor core vessels. It is speculated that this might lead to unintended criticality (resumption of the chain reaction) or a powerful steam explosion – either event could lead to major new releases of radioactivity into the environment. [...] Audio excerpt of Matsumura’s speech, provided by Radio Ecoshock with host Alex Smith: At 2:30 in >The invisible matter is we do not know what’s happening now underground of the nuclear reactors. When I talk to members of parliament of Europe, my friends, they were under the impression that already Fukushima’s solved. And when I talk to your leaders as well, they’re surprised to hear what I’m saying. […] >You cannot see the inside issue [at the reactors], so nobody knows. That’s why people try to pay attention to policy issue. They forgot a potential accident remains now. You’re talking a policy matter 30-40 years, you have time. But Fukushima doesn’t have time. That’s what I told to all party leaders and I said to one of the cabinets, “My answer is to improve this issue is maybe we might depend on the military.” Listen to the broadcast here: http://www.ecoshock.net/downloads/ES_130320_Show_LoFi.mp3 http://enenews.com/japan-diplomat-we-dont-know-whats-happening-underground-of-fukushima-reactors-potential-accident-remains-now-audio .............................................................. Report: Research shows accelerated failure at Fukushima Daiichi Source: SimplyInfo http://www.simplyinfo.org/?p=8554 Date: December 3, 2012 New Corrosion Research Shows Accelerated Failure At Fukushima Daiichi >The SimplyInfo.org research team has issued a new set of papers on corrosion >factors at Fukushima Daiichi. >The main paper “Spent Fuel Pools At Fukushima; Follow On Report – Corrosion” >looks at corrosion factors in the spent fuel pools at Fukushima Daiichi, it also looks into the ongoing corrosion of pipes still in use to cool the melted down reactors. This paper also looks at the factors such as the long term impact of sea water injection at the plant and the ongoing uncontrolled water chemistry. [...] >The corrosion issues at Fukushima Daiichi are concerning and merit more immediate action to mitigate the potential consequences. [...] Title: Spent Fuel Pools At Fukushima; Follow On Report – Corrosion Source: SimplyInfo Date: December 2, 2012 Emphasis Added This is a follow up to a report [...] We have witnessed several conditions in or around the spent fuel pools since the first report. Foreign material have been introduced into the pools as a result of cleanup on the main floor area, covering spent fuel pool #4 and dropping a large steel beam into the unit 3 SFP. Cooling systems to the SFPs have been shut off many times to make mechanical adjustments causing fluctuations in pool water temperature >Chloride levels in the SFP’s were extremely high (in the 6900’s ppm as opposed to normal of 30 ppm or less) and were left unchecked for months. (10) Every worst case corrosion analysis assumes Chloride levels at least a factor of 10 lower for their extreme conditions. Some corrosion rates have gone from 1mm to 10mm/yr which would suggest potential corrosion of the structural parts of the fuel elements (lattice holders, springs, handling assemblies, pellet holding tubing and fuel pellet cladding. The spent fuel pools have had so many foreign materials introduced that it is very difficult to pinpoint the chemical makeup of the water. Season conditions around Fukushima have contributed to the addition of dust and other foreign materials which can change the chemistry in the pools. [...] See also: Fukushima Daiichi Worker: I got worried about corrosion of pipes after seeing new video of Reactor 1 -- One day pipes will break from slight quake after seeing how much they corroded in only a year -- Same risk at all four reactors (PHOTO) http://enenews.com/fukushima-daiichi-worker-i-got-worried-about-corrosion-of-pipes-after-seeing-new-video-of-reactor-1-one-day-pipes-will-break-from-slight-quake-after-seeing-how-much-they-corroded-in-only-a-year corrosion of pipes after seeing new video of Reactor 1 -- One day pipes will break from slight quake after seeing how much they corroded in only a year -- Same risk at all four reactors (PHOTO) http://enenews.com/report-research-shows-accelerated-failure-at-fukushima-daiichi [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe: <mailto:laamn-unsubscr...@egroups.com> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe: <mailto:laamn-subscr...@egroups.com> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Digest: <mailto:laamn-dig...@egroups.com> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Help: <mailto:laamn-ow...@egroups.com?subject=laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post: <mailto:la...@egroups.com> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive1: <http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive2: <http://www.mail-archive.com/laamn@egroups.com> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yahoo! 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