*** Fukushima *** and other nuclear-----updates and links

TEPCO starts dismantling leaky Fukushima tank

The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says work has begun to dismantle the tank that leaked highly radioactive water in August.

Tokyo Electric Power Company says it began taking apart the storage tank on Tuesday to find out why it leaked more than 300 tons of radioactive contaminated water.

TEPCO says some of the radioactive water may have flowed out to sea.
[link to www3.nhk.or.jp]
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TEPCO failed to meet promise on water barriers

A onetime advisor to former Prime Minister Naoto Kan has revealed that the operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant promised 2 years ago to build fences to block radioactive water leaks at the plant, but failed to deliver on the promise.

Democratic Party of Japan executive member Sumio Mabuchi told a party meeting on Wednesday that Tokyo Electric Power Company agreed with the DPJ-led government in June 2011 to build shields around the reactor buildings.
[link to www3.nhk.or.jp]
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Coastal whitebait fishing postponed in Fukushima

A fisheries cooperative in Fukushima Prefecture says it will put off coastal test-fishing of whitebait due to concerns about radioactive water leaks into the sea from the Fukushima Daiichi plant.

About 40 local fishermen in Iwaki City decided at a meeting on Wednesday to postpone at least until next spring the fishing originally planned for late September.

They said gaining understanding from consumers would be difficult due to a delay in implementing measures to deal with leaked radioactive water.
[link to www3.nhk.or.jp]
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Regulatory body vows safety at Fukushima plant upon 1st anniv.

Nuclear Regulation Authority Chairman Shunichi Tanaka vowed to ensure the safety of the accident-stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant as the regulatory body marked the first anniversary of its launch on Thursday.

"The situation of the Fukushima Daiichi plant remains unstable. Every time a radioactive water leakage, a blackout and other trouble occurs, I think of the people, living inconvenient lives in areas where they have been evacuated, getting worried about their hometowns," Tanaka, a native of the city of Fukushima, said in a statement.

"We will do our utmost, with a strong belief that we can, and must overcome this issue," he also said.
[link to english.kyodonews.jp]
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why would anyone want to visit the The Land of Radioactive Mutant Zombies?

morbid curiosity?

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Thanks Bug. I really appreciate the link.

I've been there twice... it's a nice country with superb food and even better beer... Suntory beer, instead of Budweiser horse pi$$... lol... but to be honest, that was back in the 80s...
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Grid connection for first AP1000s planned for late 2014

Sanmen 1 and Haiyang 1 are due to be connected to the Chinese electrical grid in December 2014, said Wang Binhua, chairman, SNPTC, in a presentation at the World Nuclear Association's annual symposium in London in mid-September. He said that 28 reactors are currently in construction in China, and 16 are in preliminary preparation (which means that they have passed the central government's preliminary approval).

In addition, safety-related concrete was due to be poured for eight more AP1000s in China within the next year, said Danny Roderick, Westinghouse president and CEO. That includes two units each at two new sites, Xudabao in Liaoning province and Lufeng in Guangdong province, and two additional units each on the existing Sanmen and Haiyang sites (in other words, they are Sanmen 3&4 and Haiyang 3&4).
[link to www.neimagazine.com]
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The situation will only be worse next spring. Put it off for another 100 years.

RIVER BEND STATION – NRC PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION AND RESOLUTION INSPECTION REPORT 9-13-13

No findings were identified during this inspection. There were however 13 violations covering this inspection area previously level against the station during this inspection period.

The team reviewed 300 condition reports, including associated root cause, apparent cause, and direct cause evaluations, issued between May 13, 2011, through July 12, 2013, to determine if problems were being properly identified, characterized, and entered into the corrective action program for evaluation and resolution. The team found that concerns were being entered into the licensee’s corrective action process as condition reports, which included issues and concerns, both safety-related and non- safety-related. During the assessment period, the licensee initiated 17,807 condition reports of which 5,537 or approximately 30 percent were classified as conditions adverse to quality.

The team found that the corrective actions associated with adverse conditions were generally effective; however, the team observed some corrective actions that were not effective in addressing issues. These included corrective actions closed to other condition reports which did not directly align with the documented condition, corrective actions to conduct training that did not document what individuals or organizations were trained and did not include the training syllabus, and corrective action to conduct training that was cancelled without adequate justification, etc.
[link to www.nucpros.com]

IMHO, this is a bad one:

"• Noncited violation 05000458/2012004-03 was issued for failure to appropriately tune the reactor core isolation cooling turbine speed controller. Specifically, during operation, this performance deficiency resulted in improper tuning of the turbine speed control system, which caused the turbine exhaust check valve to repeatedly slam against its open and shut valve stops and abnormally large turbine governor valve oscillations. This finding has a cross-cutting aspect in the area of problem identification and resolution because the licensee did not implement and institutionalize industry knowledge, including vendor recommendations, to support plant safety."

The other 12 violations/findings at link...
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well, the Fukushima Radiation Catastrophe happened in March of 2011.

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Steam observed 5 of previous 6 days at Fukushima Unit 3; Lasted for 24 hours straight at one point — Nuclear Expert: There could be pockets of corium still in molten state; Nobody quite understands what’s going on (AUDIO)

[link to enenews.com]

#3 was totally obliterated by the .02kt nuclear explosion.
they've got big problems in there.

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Mmmm, I'm very well aware of that since I'm in the the nuclear business... I wouldn't hesitate to visit Japan again for a couple of weeks if the company sent me there... still a nice country except for Fukushima Prefecture...

These guys didn't have a problem going there...

Exchange trip for nuclear industry heads

American chief nuclear officers have completed a week-long technical visit to Japan, learning from their counterparts' experiences of the Fukushima accident and recovery.

The trip to Japan was coordinated by the US Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO) and its counterpart the Japan Nuclear Safety Institute (JANSI). Both bodies provide a forum for operators of nuclear power plants to share experience and learn from each other.

Some 24 chief nuclear officers (CNOs) from US power companies took part. With responsibility for nuclear safety, these board-level experts in nuclear operation have a leading role in ensuring the proper technical and cultural conditions are in place for safe operation. In total the group spent over ten hours touring the Fukushima Daiichi plant, the site of the accident two years ago. They also visited Fukushima Daini, which experienced an emergency but was able to avoid an accident, while a sub-group was able to visit the Kashiwazaki Kariwa power plant and see repairs after a 2007 earthquake as well as post-Fukushima improvements to tsunami defence and emergency response.
[link to www.world-nuclear-news.org]

The figures in the article are wrong, 27 of 28 invited went there...
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o.k. so a bunch of Nuclear Industry Lap-Dogs went to Japan.... they probably never ventured out of the
downtown Tokyo whorehouse district.

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It's going to be like venomous snake handling.
Can they avoid the fangs..?

It's out of our individual hands, but we all face the consequences of their ability to accomplish a tenuous task which has never been performed before.
Zero learning curve.

Given Tepco's history.. I'm not very comfortable thinking about it.
I'd feel a lot better about it if an highly skilled and independent non-japanese contingent were doing the transfer.

The pucker factor will be extremely high once they get started.

I guess..
The same way we slow down to look at a wreck on the highway.

NASCAR is making butt loads of cash by the same principal.

well, they've started their extraction.. to what extend though... who knows....

Do you have any information you'd share concerning the implications of the improper tuning of the turbine speed control and the associated systems..? How would a malfunction in this turbine affect the other reactor control safety systems..?

Or is it the administration of vendor recommendations that you see as the bigger problem? Or both..?

No pressure.. I value your opinion if you wish to share it.

Last Edited by Waterbug on 09/18/2013 10:14 PM

That's a good point.
We're still dependent on tepco to tell us what's going on.
We won't know the situation until it's already catastrophic and undeniable.
They'd rather tell a lie.. when the truth would sound better.

WNN is clearly shilling for the nuke industry.
Quoting that site is a clear indication of affiliation.

those that sha'n't be spoken of were angling everyone at a pro-nuke site this week earlier

Asahi: Buildings at Fukushima plant can start floating from too much groundwater — Expert: Blocking groundwater with ice wall may weaken soil and cause buildings to topple (AUDIO)
[link to enenews.com]


Asahi Shimbun, Sept. 18, 2013: [...] The site receives so much groundwater that special equipment–rendered useless by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami–was set up to prevent the plant’s buildings from floating on the continuous flow. [...] The original site of the Fukushima No. 1 plant was a cliff more than 30 meters high. But 20 meters was lopped off [...] putting the groundwater level only a few meters below the surface. The plant itself was constructed on land containing gravel layers through which water can easily pass through. In the past, a brook trickled by the No. 4 reactor. [...] Without that pumping, the buildings faced the danger of being buoyed by rising groundwater. [...] TEPCO officials have pinpointed only two locations, including the turbine building of the No. 1 reactor, where groundwater is entering the building basements. They believe there are many more breaches.

Steam observed 5 of previous 6 days at Fukushima Unit 3; Lasted for 24 hours straight at one point — Nuclear Expert: There could be pockets of corium still in molten state; Nobody quite understands what’s going on (AUDIO)
[link to enenews.com]

Famous Japanese Actress: Gov’t is covering up Fukushima crisis — “Our nation has a right to know” — People who write the truth on Internet will be punished under new law — TV stars in Japan are to never discuss political views
[link to enenews.com]


In a message posted on Friday, Fujiwara accused the government of covering up the truth about the crisis at the Fukushima nuclear plant, and spreading misinformation about radiation and leaks of radioactive water there. “As a citizen I am really concerned about it,” Fujiwara wrote in another message. “Our nation has a right to know.” [...] “Once the bill is signed, the people who will write the truth on the Internet (or through other means) will be punished,” she stressed. [...]

Thanks Bug, didn't expect that one, at least not from you... you've known for a long time that I'm working in the nuclear business... call me a shill if it makes you feel better... IMHO, most of the things I've posted are bad news for the nuclear industry...
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Abe asks TEPCO to decommission 2 more reactors

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has urged the operator of the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant to decommission 2 more of its idle reactors.

Abe was speaking to reporters after inspecting the plant on Thursday. Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, has been decommissioning the plant's No.1 to 4 reactors.

Abe said he urged the utility to decommission the plant's No.5 and 6 reactors to concentrate efforts to address problems left by the 2011 nuclear accident.
[link to www3.nhk.or.jp]
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Cracks found in vent pipe at Fukushima plant

The people in charge of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant say they've found cracks in a steel framework that supports an unused ventilation pipe. They relied on the pipe for a period of time to release dangerous vapors created by the 2011 accident.

Officials at Tokyo Electric Power Company say workers on Wednesday discovered the cracks and cuts at 8 places in the buttress about 66 meters above the ground.

The Nuclear Regulation Authority has ordered the company to assess the capacity of the pipe to withstand an earthquake as quickly as possible.
[link to www3.nhk.or.jp]
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Nahh. Not calling you a shill.
I just don't like the tone set by that site.
Nothing against you personally.
I realize how much guts you have to even post here to start with.
I apologize for the implication.