Nitrogen injection at Fukushima plant faces setback.


Nitrogen injection has started at the No. 1 and No. 2 reactors, but has yet to be done at the No. 3 reactor, where pipes that could be used for injection were lost. On July 6, TEPCO sent a robot inside mounted on top of a vehicle for tasks at high places and tried to inspect a pipe connection port at an altitude of 5 meters above the ground, but failed to photograph the location because of the placement of other equipment nearby. The radiation level was found to be as high as 50 millisieverts per hour near the pipes. This indicated that work on connecting the pipes, expected to last up to an hour, would require shielding the radiation with lead mats, and employees working in shifts.

[link to www.asahi.com]