The 6 problem reactors which have gotten all of the press are located within the Fukushima Daiichi complex.
However, the same nuclear power plant operator that runs the Daiichi complex - Tepco - runs a separate nuclear complex 7 miles away, called Fukushima Daini. There are 4 reactors located at the Daini complex.
On March 12th, Tepco reported:
Unit 1
- At 8:19am, there was an alarm indicating that one of the control rods
was not properly inserted, however, at 10:43am the alarm was automatically
called off. Other control rods has been confirmed that they are fully
inserted (reactor is in subcritical status)
***
- At 6:08PM, we announced the increase in reactor containment vessel
pressure, assumed to be due to leakage of reactor coolant. However, we
do not believe there is leakage of reactor coolant in the containment
vessel at this moment.
- At 5:22AM, the temperature of the suppression chamber exceeded 100
degrees. As the reactor pressure suppression function was lost, at 5:22AM,
it was determined that a specific incident stipulated in article 15,
clause 1 has occurred.
(Article 15, Clause 1 of Japan's Act on Special Measures Concerning Nuclear Emergency Preparedness simply provides that there are elevated radiation levels or that "an event specified by a Cabinet Order as an event that indicates the occurrence of a nuclear emergency situation has occurred.")
Tokyo Electric Power Co Inc said on Monday it had detected a rise in radiation levels at its Fukushima Daini nuclear power plant.
A company spokesman said that the cooling process at the plant has been working properly and that the rise was probably due to radiation leak at the nearby Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex, where cooling functions were damaged by Friday's massive earthquake and tsunami.
Today, Tepco announced that smoke was seen rising from Daini reactor number 1:
Smoke was spotted at another nuclear plant in northeastern Japan on Wednesday, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said.
The company said smoke was detected in the turbine building of reactor No. 1 at the Fukushima Daini nuclear power plant around 6 p.m. (5 a.m. ET).
Smoke could no longer be seen by around 7 p.m. (6 a.m. ET), a company spokesman told reporters.
I'm surprised Tepco didn't say the smoke was a grease fire from the kitchen. Beacon burning.
ReplyDeleteThe imbeciles who released the Stuxnet virus should spend eternity in cleaning up reactor meltdowns as work-release before back to their cells. These stupid pieces of crap need to learn that the devil does not share his toys. And they wish to learn the hard way.
ReplyDeleteThe TEPCO website also contains this
ReplyDeletehttp://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/11031105-e.html
A temporary small fire occured at a service building in Fukushima Daini
Nuclear Power Station. However, it was extinguished at 4:07 PM today.
Don't worry folks, a fire inside a nuclear power station complex? Nothing to see here, keep driving.
then this-and a direct quote:
Today at approximately 2:46PM, turbines and reactors of Tokyo Electric
Power Company's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station Unit 1 (Boiling
Water Reactor, rated output 460 Megawatts) and Units 2 and 3 (Boiling
Water Reactor, Rated Output 784 Megawatts) that had been operating at
rated power automatically shutdown due to the Miyagiken-oki Earthquake.
For the above 3 units, off-site power was lost due to malfunction of one
out of two off-site power systems, leading to automatic startup of
emergency diesel generators.
Subsequently, at 3:41PM, emergency diesel generators shutdown due to
malfunction resulting in the complete loss of alternating current for all
three units.
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/11031103-e.html
My question is-exactly when did the power go off? I know, the backups tried to start at sometime before 3:41 pm, but was that 3:40, or 3:39 or 3:19 or . . .
In other words, the plant could have been without power for a long time, TEPCO wants us to assume (I guess) that the back -ups tried to start the VERY minute the power went off, but how does anyone know this? Does TEPCO know that the power went off exactly at 3:40?
And that Back-ups start immediately after power is interrupted? Then why don't they say this? My point is, the power station could have been ( and most likely was) without power for several minutes . . . .then an emergency was declared. The timings given are just a tad too tight to be true.
Also, and I know this is boring work, but we all need to watch exactly what TEPCO is saying in these news releases. Here is why:
ReplyDeleteOn Friday, March 18th,at around 2:30 pm, I started examining the news releases now listed at
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/index-e.html
I was certain that I then saw (I had started a Word page of notes on what I read)a release that gave out events that happened at the time of the quake and one of the events listed was (at 2:46 pm on 3/11/11)the sound of an explosion at the complex. That citation is now gone and I unfortunately did not record the web page address or down load it. TEPCO is a known multiple times offender when it comes to covering and lying.
They need to be watched.
According to the NEI:
ReplyDelete"Fukushima Daini
All reactors at the Fukushima Daini site remain in safe condition. Smoke seen at reactor 1 at the Daini site on Wednesday resulted from a short circuit in a sump pump at the reactor. The smoke stopped after workers at the facility opened the power supply to the breaker for the pump. The cause of the short circuit is being investigated."
As I figure it, and I've check several times, NEI reports accurate information, as do to otherwise could prove politically disastrous very quickly, as more than a few independent expert eyes are watching details.
It's clear enough that the best possible light NEI can throw on the situation comes by carefully reporting all the accurate details they can, because the media continues to reasonably dramatize the situation in a sensation way in order to make a living as media.
Raymonde's comment is right on. I remember the first reports were that the safety of EIGHT reactors was compromised. Then, I never heard that figure again.
ReplyDeleteConversely, Hal Horvath sounds like a mouthpiece for the nuclear power industry. Given the radiation readings, I find it incredulous that any intelligent, informed adult could make the comment "the media continues to reasonably DRAMATIZE the situation in a sensation way in order to make a living as media."
Dramatize, Dr. Strangelove?