nuclear-news

Fukushima ice wall shown to media

An incinerator in Fukushima Daiichi means more incineration, which add more radioaticle nanoparticles dispersed into the air and into the environment.

The operator of the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant has shown media outlets the site where work has been completed for an underground ice wall. The wall is designed to stop underground water from flowing into the plant’s reactor buildings.

Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, began construction of the wall in 2014. Its work was completed earlier this month.

The wall is designed to freeze the soil around the Number 1 to Number 4 reactor buildings in order to keep groundwater from seeping into the structures.

TEPCO has driven about 1,500 pipes carrying refrigerant liquid into the ground around the buildings. The pipes and cooling devices were shown to the media on Tuesday.

But workers have not yet injected a freezing agent into the pipes. This is due to concerns that a sudden drop in groundwater levels may result in the release of radioactive water. TEPCO officials are examining the situation with the Nuclear Regulation Authority, or NRA.

Masato Kino of the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy is in charge of dealing with the contaminated water. He says now that the ice wall is completed, his agency is consulting with the NRA to reduce the volume of radioactive water at the plant.

TEPCO officials also showed the media an incinerator that will burn contaminated waste such as used protective suits.

Officials plan to start testing the incinerator on Thursday.
They hope it will help reduce about 66,000 cubic meters of waste that has accumulated at the plant.
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20160223_32/

February 24, 2016 - Posted by dunrenard | Fukushima 2016 | Contamination, Fukushima Daiichi, Incineration, Radioactive particles