nuclear-news

At Fukushima, radiation leak continues, spent fuel storage pool a big problem

A separate storage pool for spent fuel rods also is drawing the attention of some Tepco and safety officials. The area, which takes fuel rods from all six reactors, is located near the No. 4 reactor. The pool is nearly full with 6,375 units of fuel, according to Tepco.

Japan Nuclear Dangers Linger Despite Progress, WSJ,  By PETER LANDERS And NORIHIKO SHIROUZU, MARCH 20, 2011,As of late Sunday, power was still out at reactors No. 3 and No. 4, the two most troublesome during the nine-day fight to keep the nuclear plant from spinning out of control. Until Tokyo Electric Power Co. fully restores power at the reactors and turns on cooling systems knocked out after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, it faces continued radiation leakage from spent fuel rods stored at the two reactors.

Those fuel rods are stored in pools of water that have been depleted, although Tokyo Electric Power, known as Tepco, says the water hasn’t completely disappeared, contrary to some reports.

Repeated spraying of water by military and fire-department personnel appears to have raised the water level, but without a permanent solution the rods still could overheat and possibly break apart, spewing more radiation into the air……

The reactor cores also remain a problem area, highlighted Sunday by a rise in pressure within the No. 3 core. That prompted Tepco officials to consider a venting operation that would relieve the pressure while releasing radioactive materials into the air. They later said the pressure was under control and called off the venting. The reactor core is the main part of the reactor, housing the active fuel rods that provide the heat that generates power at the plant.

The operation to connect power to the No. 3 and No. 4 reactors and turn on the standard cooling systems is expected to last at least several days. Until then, some nuclear experts believe the rods are at risk of full meltdown, which could damage the containment vessel and cause a radiation release that would dwarf those that have taken place so far.

For the moment, however, injections of seawater appear to have created a modicum of stability inside the cores of the two reactors.

A separate storage pool for spent fuel rods also is drawing the attention of some Tepco and safety officials. The area, which takes fuel rods from all six reactors, is located near the No. 4 reactor. The pool is nearly full with 6,375 units of fuel, according to Tepco.

Japan Nuclear Dangers Linger Despite Progress – WSJ.com

March 22, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | - Fukushima 2011, Japan, wastes