TEPCO Now Says There Was No Hydrogen Explosion at Reactor 2

From Yomiuri Shinbun (3:03AM JST 10/2/2011):

福島第一原子力発電所の事故を巡り、東京電力が社内に設置した「福島原子力事故調査委員会」（委員長＝山崎雅男副社長）の中間報告案の詳細が明らかになった。

Details of an interim report by TEPCO's internal "Fukushima nuclear accident investigation committee" (headed by Vice President Masao Yamazaki) were revealed.

　２号機で水素爆発があったとする従来の見解を覆し、爆発はなかったと結論付けた。事故を招いた津波について「想定できなかった」と釈明し、初期対応の遅れについても、「やむを得なかった」との見解を示すなど、自己弁護の姿勢が目立つ。東電は、社外有識者による検証委員会に報告案を諮った後、公表する方針だ。

The committee reversed the company's position that there had been a hydrogen explosion in Reactor 2, and now concluded there was no such explosion. As to the tsunami that triggered the accident, the committee says "it was beyond expectations"; of the delay in initial response to the accident, the committee concludes "it couldn't be helped". Overall, the report looks full of self-justification. TEPCO plans to run the report with the verification committee made of outside experts before it publishes the report.

　同原発では、１号機の原子炉建屋が３月１２日午後に水素爆発を起こしたのに続き、１４日午前に３号機が水素爆発した。さらに１５日早朝、爆発音が響き、４号機の建屋の損傷が確認された。爆発音の直後に２号機の格納容器下部の圧力抑制室の圧力が急落したため、東電は２、４号機でほぼ同時に爆発が起きたとし、政府も６月、国際原子力機関（ＩＡＥＡ）に同様の報告をしていた。

At Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, the Reactor 1 reactor building blew up in a hydrogen explosion in the afternoon of March 12, followed by a hydrogen explosion of Reactor 3 in the morning of March 14. Further, in the early morning on March 15, there was an explosive sound, and the damage to the Reactor 4 reactor building was confirmed. Right after the explosive sound the pressure in the Suppression Chamber of Reactor 2 dropped sharply, which led TEPCO to conclude that there were near-simultaneous explosions in Reactors 2 and 4. The Japanese government reported the events as such in the report to IAEA in June.

So then what does TEPCO now think happened in Reactor 2 in the early morning on March 15? Yomiuri doesn't say in the article text, but at the bottom of the illustration that accompanies the article it says:

"There was no explosion, but a possibility of some kind of damage to the Containment Vessel."

So, before TEPCO completely changes story, here's what they say happened on Reactor 2 on March 15 (from the daily "Status of TEPCO's Facilities - past progress" report, page 6):

It says "abnormal sound was confirmed near the suppression chamber" at 6:14AM on March 15.

Now, this is what TEPCO says about Reactor 4 on the same day, about the same time, from Page 16:

It says "an explosive sound was heard" at 6AM on March 15. The Reactor 4 explosion occurred before the Reactor 2 "explosion" which TEPCO now says never happened.

The two sounds are 14 minutes apart, and TEPCO now claims they misheard the second one and there was no explosion in the Suppression Chamber of Reactor 2.

(By the way, the fire spotted at 9:38AM on March 15 on Reactor 4 was never reported to the local fire department or the local government, as I reported on March 15.)

Well I can't wait to read their report and see how they explain away how Reactor 2 is supposed to have spewed more radioactive materials far and wide than any other Reactors.

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