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The second cutting of the contaminated pipe was interrupted because the device was stuck again

The cutting equipment is being lowered to remove the pipes (from TEPCO’s live camera) at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant at 0:19 p.m. on June 10, 2022.

June 11, 2022
On June 10, TEPCO resumed removal work of pipes contaminated with highly radioactive materials between Units 1 and 2 at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (Okuma and Futaba, Fukushima Prefecture) for the first time in 18 days and began cutting a second pipe, but the work was interrupted by a problem. The chain-shaped cutting tool became stuck in the pipe. TEPCO was forced to review its construction methods.
　According to TEPCO, around 3:00 p.m., a large crane began cutting a 7-meter-long pipe (approximately 30 cm in diameter), and an hour later, when 90% of one side had been cut, the cutting tool became lodged in the pipe. At around 7:50 p.m., the cutting device was forcibly lifted up by a crane and removed.
　A similar problem at the end of March occurred when 90% of one side of the pipe was cut. When work resumed two months later after considering measures to prevent the pipe from biting, the piping had been cut spontaneously, so the prepared measures could not be tested on site.
　The piping, 135 meters long in total, was used for venting the steam containing high concentrations of radioactive materials that had accumulated inside the reactor to prevent the containment vessel from rupturing at the time of the accident in March 2011. Since it will be an obstacle to future construction work, it will be removed in 26 sections.
　The work began at the end of February, but after a series of troubles, the first pipe (approximately 12 meters long) was successfully cut on May 23. The cut surface of this pipe was found to have a radiation dose of 3 sievert per hour, which is high enough to kill a person if exposed to radiation for several hours, and the work procedure was reviewed. （The work procedure had to be reviewed.)
https://www.tokyo-np.co.jp/article/182880?rct=national&fbclid=IwAR3CC_FMnl5E_ZOsrclfdytCnDchF9ufc95QXfwiw5HaLqzns4ev20UBtPI

June 13, 2022 Posted by | Fuk 2022 | , , | Leave a comment

Fear of broken contaminated pipes being fixed with wire ropes, which may break and sag due to earthquakes, TEPCO Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.

April 20, 2022
On April 20, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) announced that it will fix a pipe contaminated with highly radioactive materials between Units 1 and 2 of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (Okuma and Futaba, Fukushima Prefecture) to another nearby pipe with a wire rope because the pipe has become brittle due to multiple problems during cutting. Some of the contaminated pipes are on the verge of breaking, and there is a risk that they may break off and hang down due to earthquakes or other causes.

Pipes that are 90% cut and work has been suspended, and there is a possibility that they will break and hang down during an earthquake at TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (courtesy of TEPCO).

The pipes to be cut are about 30 cm in diameter. 90% of the pipes to be removed for the first time (about 11 meters long and weighing about 1 ton) were cut on March 27 by a remote-controlled device on one side. The strength of the piping has decreased.
　On March 19, an investigation revealed that the warping of the broken pipe had increased, and on March 20, work began to wrap the wire rope around the pipe by remote control using a crane. (Note: A TEPCO spokesperson corrected the explanation on the 21st, saying that “workers entered the site to wrap the rope around the pipes.)

The thin piping to be removed was 90% cut in the center of the photo, but work was suspended. The pipes will be secured with thicker pipes and wires because they may break off and hang down due to the earthquake, at TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (courtesy of TEPCO).

The investigation into the cause of the trouble has not been completed, and the resumption of removal is not expected. TEPCO had planned to remove the piping, which totals 135 meters, in 26 sections by the end of April, but has changed the target to the end of September.
　The pipes were used in the venting of contaminated steam inside the reactor to prevent the containment vessel from rupturing immediately after the accident in March 2011. 11 years have passed, but people still cannot get to them. （Eleven years have passed, and no one can get close to it.)
https://www.tokyo-np.co.jp/article/172904?fbclid=IwAR0V8O72lyq_ymfivHwfFbYrclEM_6ZsJD6ymkLBMCWV5lHkw-O1lyoujcM

April 23, 2022 Posted by | Fuk 2022 | , | Leave a comment