Fukushima one week on: Situation 'stable', says IAEA | Shameful media panic

The Register - UK ^ | 18th March 2011 12:56 GMT | Lewis Page

[brityank]

I do hope they put that poor guy on suicide watch, he’s already lost some workers to death and accidents from the initial quake and tsunami. Then to contemplate you’re sending others in to potentially life-ending situations has to weigh heavily on one’s heart.

[winoneforthegipper]

To that I agree....

For reference from 2003 on Reactor 3 at plant

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20030209a6.html

Tepco to restart a Fukushima reactor in March
FUKUSHIMA (Kyodo) Tokyo Electric Power Co. plans to resume operations of a reactor at a nuclear power plant in Fukushima, company sources said Saturday.

If the company obtains approval from residents, it will restart its No. 3 reactor at its Fukushima No. 1 plant as early as next month.

It would be the first step toward Tepco restarting its plants since it was discovered last August that the company had falsified records on cracks at nuclear power plants.

But Fukushima Gov. Eisaku Sato has been cautious about operations being resumed. “It is not time to comment yet (about restarting the plants),” he said.

Operations at the No. 3 reactor, in the town of Okuma, Fukushima Prefecture, were suspended last July for 103 days due to regular inspections.

Inspections were prolonged, however, when the company found cracks in more than 80 percent of the reactor’s pipes. It has since either repaired or replaced the damaged pipes.

The pipes carry water used to power the drive shaft of the reactor’s control rods.

Tepco was forced to halt operations at 12 of its 17 nuclear reactors in Fukushima and Niigata prefectures because of the coverup.

Tepco had planned to start using uranium-plutonium mixed oxide fuel at the No. 3 reactor, in line with the government’s plan to promote the MOX program as a key component of a nuclear fuel cycle.

But governor Sato said in September that he would rescind his earlier approval to accept the MOX program following the scandal. He noted that the conditions for the consent to go ahead with the project had “disappeared.”

[PA Engineer]

Is it really so hard to fly in some few generators and pumps at the start of this to keep those coolant systems intact and operating?

I don't know all of the facts on the ground there. My understanding is the word "fly" was about right. The road system was disrupted after the tsunami. If you fly the generators in, you are going to have to fly in the fuel. I don't know how that would have been possible with onsite storage gone.

I still do not know all of the facts in the decision process, however I believe they did their own form of triage. I think they made the right decision to build new power lines to the site. I think during the first eight hours they made the assessment and that was to sacrifice the reactors. This was just more economic damage from the tsunami.

[La Enchiladita]

We will never know how many have died because of misinformation from the panic mongers.

The radiation fear mongering has been one of the main obstacles to the relief and rescue effort. The evacuation area concentric to Fukushima was ever-widened, displacing residents from not only their homes, but business, schools and hospitals. Some persons have died in the shelters because no more medicine was available. Consider that, had they been left undisturbed, their chances of survival were better. Relief could not be brought in to those who could not or would not leave, and so forth. It is tragedy upon tragedy, all because of foolish, irresponsible publicity and pressure.

[La Enchiladita]

Quite a few FReepers are going to be disappointed in their expectation of a “meltdown.”

[HeartlandOfAmerica]

They’ve got 56 nuke plants over there. They couldn’t find a spare that they could have begged, borrowed or stolen? Too big to helo’d to the crippled plant? Surely they got to have engineers on the crew involved in that.

[La Enchiladita]

Yes, please!!!

[PA Engineer]

Those aren't terribly portable. We aren't talking about backyard generators here. The emergency diesels have to put out power in the 5 MW range. Typically, those are an 18-month custom order, then about a year onsite installing and qualifying them.

I was thinking the same thing, but found the need for 20,000 gallons of diesel per day to be the immediate no go.

[chimera]

I'm saying, they aren't terribly portable. You'd have to disassemble the existing unit, transport it (remember we're talking about a country with damaged infrastructure all over), reassemble it, then test it and perhaps then be ready to try the connection.

The diesel fuel storage tanks were the things that were washed away, not the diesels. When seawater entered the intakes of the diesels, those were pretty much ruined. Tanker trucks can deliver new fuel, but getting the new engines and generators to the site in a quick manner would have been a challenge. You're probably talking about several months for such a project under normal circumstances, much less a country essentially ruined by an earthquake of historic magnitude.

[HeartlandOfAmerica]

If you fly the generators in, you are going to have to fly in the fuel. I don't know how that would have been possible with onsite storage gone.

It seems to me that even if you have to fly in pallets of 55 gal drums of fuel it's GOTTA be better than the current situation. ANYTHING to get power pumping into those water pumps.

And if they can fly in what was it? 7 tons of water by chopper, that's still not enough to fly in generators?

Ok. I'll stop second guessing now and go take a nap :)

[PA Engineer]

Everything you said. Panic always kills.

[PA Engineer]

And if they can fly in what was it? 7 tons of water by chopper, that's still not enough to fly in generators?

They made the right decision to put there efforts into rebuilding the power lines to the plant. Diesel backup was a no go. It was that simple. You need to consider your assumptions. You mention generators plural. Think about it. Without getting into fuel logistics, connections and syncing would have been insane.

With a reliable external power source, they will now be able to diagnose and assess the plant situation with systems that are already in place.

[HeartlandOfAmerica]

Very well. I stand corrected and bow to superior knowledge in the area.

TYVM to both you and chimera :)

[brityank]

Just to let you all know, the GE/Hitachi TM2500 13.8KV ‘portable’ unit uses 40 Gallons per minute at full bore output. Here’s a pdf flier to show the details along with some good pictures:

http://www.electricpowergeneration.com/TM2500/TM2500%20Brochure.pdf

[HeartlandOfAmerica]

Thanks for that. lol. I withdraw my 55 gal drums comment ;)

[brityank]

Sorry; should have pinged you to my previous post too. That’s one hell of a load of fuel to manage!

[brityank]

And on that - I too will take a much needed nap!

Cheers. :^)

[La Enchiladita]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2691006/posts

[FreedomPoster]

Just give him and his people time. I’m sure they will before it is over. The head of the NRC is basically an anti-nuclear activist.

[FreedomPoster]

Many of us lived through Tsar Bomba. Unless things really deteriorate, Daiichi’s radiation release will be a small fraction of that of Tsar Bomba.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsar_Bomba