Tepco To Flood Damaged Reactors With Water

[robdogbucky]

Tepco To Flood Damaged Reactors With Water
Wednesday, April 27, 2011

TOKYO (Dow Jones)--Recovery workers at Japan's quake-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear-power complex are preparing to flood damaged reactors with thousands of tons of additional water in an extraordinary step to cool them, despite worries that leaks could result and exacerbate dangerous conditions at the site.

Meanwhile, the Japanese government ordered plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. (9501) to submit all data and operation records since the plant was hit by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, as investigators proceed with a probe about how Japan's ongoing nuclear crisis first developed. Requested information includes records of venting and seawater pumping--two issues that government officials believe may have made conditions worse in the first 24 hours of the crisis.

Also Tuesday, government officials said they had grown increasingly concerned about a potential leak in a pool holding spent fuel at the plant's No. 4 reactor, which had faded in recent weeks as an area of concern for recovery efforts. Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency Tuesday said Tepco, as the plant operator is known, has increased the amount of water sprayed over the pool in recent days.

Tepco warned that the new cooling effort puts recovery workers in uncharted territory, though it believes new data show it is safe enough to allow stronger cooling measures. Workers plan to conduct a test run Wednesday on the plant's No. 1 reactor before proceeding, which could happen as soon as later that day if the test is successful...

http://e.nikkei.com/e/fr/tnks/Nni20110426D26JF238.htm



Boiling away and leaks are still a problem they need to solve. Hope this works.

[robdogbucky]

1. In other news from Fukushima

Fukushima city removing radioactive topsoil in schools

KORIYAMA (Kyodo) -- A city in Fukushima Prefecture started Wednesday to remove topsoil from playgrounds in its elementary and nursery schools, following radiation leaks from a crisis-hit nuclear power plant nearby.

Heavy machinery began scooping off surface soil at Kaoru Elementary School and Tsurumidan Nursery School in Koriyama, city officials said, adding that the removed soil will be discarded in landfills in the inland city.

The work is part of a project to remove the upper layer of soil at 15 elementary and junior high schools, where radiation levels have been measured at over 3.8 microsieverts per hour, as well as 13 nursery schools, where levels of over 3.0 microsieverts per hour have been detected, the city officials said.

The education and science ministry has set a radiation limit of 3.8 microsieverts per hour to allow children in Fukushima Prefecture to play outdoors...

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110427p2g00m0dm006000c.html

[dixiegrrrrl]

4. Radioactive dirt goes to landfills in the city ?

[MadHound]

2. And they're not worried about the possible resulting hydrogen explosion?

Haven't they learned from their previous experience on this?

The only real way to solve this disaster is the Chernobyl solution. The further TEPCO delays that solution, the more danger we are all put in.

[xchrom]

3. Recommend