Sunday, August 5, 2012

TEPCO About to Release Video Footage of Teleconference in the Early Days of #Fukushima I Nuke Plant Accident


Plant Manager Masao Yoshida, who is now hospitalized for cerebral hemorrhage, is seen screaming to the TEPCO headquarter people "It's bad, it'd bad" when the Reactor 3 building exploded.

TEPCO will let the media view the video, but will not allow any recording (picture, voice). Images of some of the people in the video will be blurred to protect privacy if their names and faces have not already been in the news, and some sounds will be muted also to protect privacy. Even the organization made up of mainstream media is protesting, saying everything should be fully disclosed, now that TEPCO is a government ward.

For now, the only way for the ordinary people to get a glimpse will be through the reporting by the media.

Kyodo News has a few glimpses, in their article (8/4/2012):

原発所長「本店、大変、大変」 東電のテレビ会議映像

Fukushima Plant Manager "Honten, Taihen, Taihen" [HQ, its' bad, it's bad], in TEPCO's teleconferencing video

原子炉建屋の爆発に動揺する原発所長や作業員、首相官邸との連絡調整にうんざりした様子の幹部―。東京電力が6日から公開する福島第1原発事故直後の社内テレビ会議映像の一部内容が4日、関係者の証言から判明した。3号機建屋が爆発した際には吉田昌郎所長(当時)が血相を変えて「本店、大変、大変」と叫ぶ場面が記録されている。

Plant manager and workers shaken by the explosions of reactor buildings, senior managers tired of trying to communicate and coordinate with the Prime Minister's Office. Part of the content of the internal teleconferencing video right after the start of the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant accident was revealed by anonymous sources on August 4. TEPCO plans to disclose the video [to the media] starting August 6. The video captured Plant Manager Masao Yoshida as the Reactor 3 building exploded; he was screaming in great alarm, "Headquarters, it's bad, it's bad"

 第1原発事故では昨年3月12日、まず1号機の原子炉建屋が水素爆発した。テレビ会議の映像には、免震重要棟2階にある緊急時対策本部が激しく揺れ、余震と思ったのか天井を見上げる社員や、慌ただしく情報収集する技術系幹部らが写っている。

On March 12, 2011, the Reactor 1 building had a hydrogen explosion. The teleconferencing video shows the violent shaking in the Emergency Response Headquarters on the 2nd floor of the Anti-Seismic Building, with workers thinking it was an aftershock and looking up at the ceiling, and technical managers hurrying to collect information on what was going on.


Kyodo doesn't say what color Mr. Yoshida's face had turned when he was screaming. My first guess is that the blood had drained from his face, making it extreme pale. But since he had no choice but take action, any action, maybe his face was turning red.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

http://atomicpowerreview.blogspot.de/2012/08/hamaoka-no-5-seriously-contaminated.html

Atomfritz said...

If my nukey would poo, I'd be embarrassed too.
Maybe he oscillated between pale and red.

Well understandable they don't want to make the most embarrassing video of the year available to the public.

I really Hope the video finds a leaker!
Thanks for reporting!

Atomfritz said...

OT:
@ anon 1:54

My personal theory what happened:

The Hamaoka operators probably did a small but very costly mistake.
They apparently haven't evacuated the heat exchanger from seawater before shutting down reactor circuit pressure.
This allowed for seawater entering the cooling circuit when the overpressure became too low to prevent seawater entering the holes in the heat exchanger.

A nuclear beginner's mistake. Probably they were too confident that Unit 5 wasn't so leaky yet, but now they know. LOL.

P.S.: You need overpressure to keep seawater out.
A very illustrative photo is on page 128 of a book about radioactive waste handling problems, showing leaky laid-off nuclear submarines awaiting decommisioning and dismantling which are being kept afloat only by means of pressurized air being pumped in constantly, still being loaded with nuclear fuel.
Look at the massive bubbling through the leaky hulls!

If this overpressure ever fails, blub, blub and the reactor becomes seawater-cooled...

Link: www.iaea.org/inis/collection/NCLCollectionStore/_Public/28/002/28002184.pdf

arevamirpal::laprimavera said...

Thank you anon for the link and Atmofritz for your comment. That was one of many things I was going to read about. Chubu Electric reported in May last year as "not a problem but..." http://ex-skf.blogspot.com/2011/05/seawater-mix-up-at-hamaoka-nuke-plant.html

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