Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Fukushima leak cleaned up
Extensive measures to prevent and mitigate potential spills of radioactive water from storage tanks are being put in place at Fukushima Daiichi. The clean-up of a previous leak appears to have been successful.
Partially treated radioactive water leaked from a storage tank last week, going on to escape from a surrounding dam through a rainwater valve. Having discovered this on 20 August, Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) has now pumped away excess water and cleared soil from the affected area to a depth of 50 centimetres, reporting that there is no sign of contamination at that depth.
The company has also increased its monitoring of drainage channels that take rainwater to sea. Where these meet the sea, caesium-134 and beta radiation were below the limits of detection while caesium-137 was found at a trace amounts of 18 becquerels per litre (Bq/l). This is less radioactivity per litre than naturally present in one banana. Further inland, nearer to the faulty tank, there was no detected caesium while beta radiation was at 93 Bq/l. This compares to some 80 million Bq/l in the original leaked water, indicating this is not reaching the sea in any significant quantity, if at all.
One theory for the tank's failure relates to the fact that it is one of three to have been dismantled, moved and reassembled after their original positions suffered subsidence. It is thought that that this may have weakened a flange seal in some way, despite careful testing on reassembly. As a precaution, the company is now draining another of the moved tanks and preparing to drain the remaining one. All flange tanks will in future be subject more regular inspection, with patrols upped to include 50 staff - all carrying radiation dose meters. Thermal cameras will be trained on the tanks, giving an indication of the water levels due to influence of water temperature on the tank surface temperature. There will be a routine for the staff to quickly document any 'suspicious' puddles of water. Rainwater valves will also be closed by default instead of open.
http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/RS_Fukushima_leak_cleaned_up_2708131.html
Partially treated radioactive water leaked from a storage tank last week, going on to escape from a surrounding dam through a rainwater valve. Having discovered this on 20 August, Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) has now pumped away excess water and cleared soil from the affected area to a depth of 50 centimetres, reporting that there is no sign of contamination at that depth.
The company has also increased its monitoring of drainage channels that take rainwater to sea. Where these meet the sea, caesium-134 and beta radiation were below the limits of detection while caesium-137 was found at a trace amounts of 18 becquerels per litre (Bq/l). This is less radioactivity per litre than naturally present in one banana. Further inland, nearer to the faulty tank, there was no detected caesium while beta radiation was at 93 Bq/l. This compares to some 80 million Bq/l in the original leaked water, indicating this is not reaching the sea in any significant quantity, if at all.
One theory for the tank's failure relates to the fact that it is one of three to have been dismantled, moved and reassembled after their original positions suffered subsidence. It is thought that that this may have weakened a flange seal in some way, despite careful testing on reassembly. As a precaution, the company is now draining another of the moved tanks and preparing to drain the remaining one. All flange tanks will in future be subject more regular inspection, with patrols upped to include 50 staff - all carrying radiation dose meters. Thermal cameras will be trained on the tanks, giving an indication of the water levels due to influence of water temperature on the tank surface temperature. There will be a routine for the staff to quickly document any 'suspicious' puddles of water. Rainwater valves will also be closed by default instead of open.
http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/RS_Fukushima_leak_cleaned_up_2708131.html
8 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
good comedy!
"sighs"
What a CROCK!!
lmao
