Japan Earthquake: Nuclear Plants at Fukushima Daiichi

[SteveElbows]

Filling in more questions about timing, this time in relation to fuel removal from reactor 4 pool.

I think the last we heard about this was a pool & reactor debris survey from August:

http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/handouts/2013/images/handouts_130809_07-e.pdf

According to that the debris removal work should have started in late August, and I expect that if they don't get stuck, we will hear about the next phase before the end of this year.

edited to add that schedule can be seen in this document from later in August, after they formed a plan based on the debris survey I just mentioned:

http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/handouts/2013/images/handouts_130826_07-e.pdf

Fuel removal currently scheduled to start mid-november according to that.

 

[etudiant]

Well... Once they will be able to remove Sr (and some other elements) they should dump that water somewhere. Even if I prefer places where it'll be isolated for some time (this includes some natural reservoirs deep below), it would do practically nothing even if they mix it well in the ocean.

Logic would suggest park it in a tanker, freeze it and send it to someplace really cold. It should not be too hard to keep it as an ice cube for a century or two somewhere in a polar region.
After that it should not matter if the tanker rusts out beneath the cargo.

 

[jim hardy]

I'd suggested a line of old Liberty Ship boilers to distill it. Demineralizers are wonderful but you are left with a LOT of contaminated resin. And seawater wrecks demineralizer resins quickly.
Boiler sludge would be more compact i'd think.

 

[jim hardy]

oops double post - how'd that happen?

removed

 

[Rive]

I guess there isn't significant difference in concentration of D compared to natural water.

As it seems, you are right:
http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=9263&page=113
So it cannot be used as a raw material for the heavy water industry.

Logic would suggest park it in a tanker, freeze it and send it to someplace really cold. It should not be too hard to keep it as an ice cube for a century or two somewhere in a polar region.
After that it should not matter if the tanker rusts out beneath the cargo.

My idea is to pump it down to some geologic formation where the water moves only slowly.
But the 'rust in peace' is also good. It has to be 'out of the way' only for a hundred year or so.

 

[a.ua.]

Removal of the Unit 1 cover?

Thanks for posting.

Perhaps, if you look through the periscope of this will be seen something.
http://photo.tepco.co.jp/date/2013/201309-j/130918-01j.html

 

[tsutsuji]

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/genpatsu-fukushima/20130918/index.html Damages such as cracks were found in 8 locations at elevation 66 m on the unit 1/ unit 2 stack (full height, about 120 m). The cracks are thought to have been caused by the March 2011 earthquake. Tepco will check the resulting earthquake resistance against future earthquakes. The stack is presently unused. As the radiation in the stack vicinity is as high as 10 Sv/hour Tepco is studying how to perform a detailed survey.

http://www.tepco.co.jp/nu/fukushima-np/handouts/2013/images/handouts_130918_13-j.pdf Japanese language handout with picture.

 

[LabratSR]

Thanks to everyone for the updates.


I found this on the TEPCO site, dated July 25th

Progress Status and Future Challenges of the Mid-and-long-Term Roadmap toward the Decommissioning of Units 1-4

http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/roadmap/images/d130725_01-e.pdf



I also found this on the NRA site.

Updated Status of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station - Sept. 16

http://www.nsr.go.jp/english/data/20130917_presentation.pdf

 

[StrangeBeauty]

5.3 earthquake + thanks

<snip>Tepco will check the resulting earthquake resistance against future earthquakes. <snip>

It appears Tepco went with live testing today!
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/usb000jw8u#shakemap

Seriously, probably not much of an issue...

Thanks to everyone for continuing to track this evolving disaster, especially tsutsuji and others that do translations and reading between the lines.

 

[LabratSR]

New method reduces analysis time of radioactive strontium

http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201309190058

 

[a.ua.]

LabratSR

New method reduces analysis time of radioactive strontium

Although the conventional technique has superior analytical sensitivity, with only a minimal amount of components needed to be reliably detected in sample, the process took from two to four weeks
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311dis...AJ201309190058

has long existed in the "iron" and running in 30 minutes qualifies.

http://akp.com.ua/en/index.php?opti...eb-01-150en&catid=71:bettaspectren&Itemid=106

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Please continue discussion in Part 2
https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=711577