Fukushima’s nuclear reactors – still on the brink of disaster

Australia’s very right wing and pro nuclear newspaper made a little mistake in publishing this one. Perhaps the editors didn’t read it properly. The headline is completely misleading!

Fukushima nuclear reactor back from the brink BY:RICK WALLACE, TOKYO CORRESPONDENT , THE AUSTRALIAN June 13, 2013 ”……..More than 1500 radioactive spent fuel rods sit immersed in water in the open-air pool, which is located about 30m above the ground in what’s left of the reactor No 4 building.

The rods are extremely volatile and, unlike the fuel in the reactors, are not surrounded by any containment structure. If exposed, they can spontaneously combust, creating a tragedy nuclear workers say would put 2011 – the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986 – in the shade.

Asked about other risks and challenges to the recovery process at Fukushima, Mr Takahashi cited removal of the melted nuclear fuel from the reactors and the ongoing build-up of contaminated water. “There are many difficult processes and among all of them the removal of the damaged fuel is the most difficult because no country has experience in doing this,” he said.

“The other main difficulty is treatment of the water and preventing the inflow of incoming water, and then we need to treat and dispose of the waste from that water.” Fukushima Daiichi is dotted with more than 300 giant tanks to store this water, each one holding some 1000 tonnes. TEPCO says it wants to expand its storage capacity to 700,000 tonnes and is digging underground tanks, too.

The company is also trying to lower the water table around the plant by digging wells to stem the entry of groundwater into the subterranean spaces of the reactors and minimise the outflow of contamination.

Each day, more than 3000 workers travel to Fukushima Daiichi to work, braving high radiation levels. Much of the debris at the plant has been cleared, although crumpled cars and trucks still dot the side that fronts the ocean. Pumps, and pipes that snake throughout the site, are keeping the situation stable for now but it’s readily apparent a huge amount of decontamination work remains before workers can turn to the task of decommissioning the reactors themselves.

Readings during yesterday’s press visit peaked at 1500 microsieverts near the reactor No 3 building. Standing in this spot for about 13 hours would give a person the 20 millisievert dose deemed as the trigger for evactuating civilians on an annual basis…..

The tour follows a series of embarrassing episodes for TEPCO, including a blackout that shut down cooling to the fragile plant for several hours.The company also recently revealed there had been a leak in one of the steel tanks storing radioactive water, and it had found radioactive cesium leaking into the groundwater near the plant. .http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/fukushima-nuclear-reacto