This might work.............
Posted on 04/04/2011 7:30:43 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
Japan to Cover Reactor 1-4 With Special Cloth
The Japanese government announced Sunday that reactors 1 through 4 at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant will be covered with a special cloth to reduce the amount of radioactive particles being released into the atmosphere.
A forty-five meter high frame will be constructed within a month or two to support the cloth covering the reactors.
In waters around the plant, radioactive material has been detected in the Pacific Ocean some 40-kilometers away from the nuclear plant while contaminated seawater containing more than 3-thousand times the legal limit of iodine has been recorded.
On Saturday, Tokyo Electric Power Company said it found a 20-centimeter concrete crack at the lower levels of reactor number-2, where radioactive water had been accumulating after it had been sprayed onto the reactor to cool it.
TEPCO has tried to stop the leakage of radioactive water by pouring in fresh concrete, but the concrete was washed away by the seawater before it would set on the crack.
On Sunday, the company poured a polymer absorbent into a duct leading to the pit to clog up the holes but the volume of leaking water did not diminish.
TEPCO made another attempt to block the stream Monday by pouring a colored liquid into a tunnel linked to the pit to retrace the exact route of the contaminated water.
The company has stressed that no other reactors are thought to be leaking.
Meanwhile nuclear experts have expressed opposition to the idea of covering nuclear reactors with cloth as it will accumulate radiation within the plant and raise the risk of an explosion. Experts also added that the accumulated radiation would later hinder access to the plant for further stabilization efforts.
However, the Japanese government has stated that TEPCO will execute the plan despite the risks.
Song Ji-Sun, Arirang News.
APR 04, 2011
Another day, another unimpressive idea.
This might work.............
This reminds me of all the crap that went on last summer trying to contain the BP well, when CONCRETE was the only solution! Looks like the same is true here. Looks to me like they are trying to salvage the thing and putting a bandaid on it until they figure out how to salvage it.
The real problem is radioactive seepage into the ground and subsequent water system ..........hello? =.=
It’s “curtains” for that reactor.
It seems that TEPCO has been under the perception that they could salvage something from all this, now it appears they have concluded that all is lost, douse it, bury it and be gone. Sounds easy, but it will take years unless a Chernobyl like human sacrifice can be organized. Not likely.
Let's hope they can pull it off.
schu
I’ve read that it is going pretty straight to to ocean rather that drinking water. I’d avoid seafood from that area for awhile but air contamination is probably the major human hazard at this time.
Meanwhile, you have posters on this site that pretend the engineers know exactly what they are doing to solve the crisis.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2699155/posts?page=10#10
What about the workers who now have to work under a tent that is keeping radiation in...and what about the potential for another explosion.
It will help reduce the spread of contamination.
However the real issue is to establish a closed circuit for the water cooling the reactors.
Seems it would be straightforward to add a heat exchanger into the present piping, or add one to the reactor vents (where the air-borne radiation is coming from).
But, of course, I’m not there and don’t know .
Here is part of the problem
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12933010
It makes me wonder what would really happen if there was an earthquake at Indian Point.
Too many people to evacuate quickly. They are asking for over 100 exemptions from Safety regulations.
If someone like Obama was President I can’t even imagine what would happen.
Well, I must disagre that the problem is that Kan hasn’t turned to the government bureaucracy enough!
Though I agree chain of command is confused.
“Czars” have been popular here...
I expect there’s a technical problem with inserting a condensation loop. This shroud could be a step towards establishing one. IE: a collector for the steam for condensation. Perhaps.
Does it stop Skyshine?
“Well, I must disagre that the problem is that Kan hasn’t turned to the government bureaucracy enough!”
This is about what a big SNAFU this is...and their laws have a procedure in place that is supposed to happen . It isn’t.
Think for a minute about Reagan.
What if he was the PM in Japan and this disaster happened.
Just imagine the difference .
Then think about Obama...it would probably be worse.
Think about Clinton - for all his faults..and there are many..- he would have taken control.
Yes, I know there is a cultural difference.
But the leadership makes a difference in a disaster ..and the PM is not leading.
It is one big cluster&&&& and no better word describes the situation for me.
I can’t help but laugh at the posters who come on this site and claim that the Engineers know precisely what they are doing and will solve the problem.
yeah sure.....
Meanwhile, they will never be able to enter reactor 3 again - the one with Mox fuel...according to TEPCO.
And contaminated water is having to be dumped out of the area of 5 and 6...the two reactors that have not been a problem.
I wouldnt be eating sushi in Japan for awhile.
I read, in another article, that they (TEPCO) have already declared reactors 1-4 as beyond salvage.
I'm sure that if you had a plan to immediately stop it, they would listen.
The entire plant was built on landfill dumped into the coastal ocean. So ground water seepage ultimately means more seepage into the ocean. There are probably more leak points right now into the sea then can be counted. The plant contains miles of pipes.
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