TEPCO was ordered by the newly installed Nuclear Regulatory Agency to check the inside of the Spent Fuel Pool of Reactor 3 using the video camera, after a piece of steel frame fell into the pool on September 22, 2012. So the company did, on September 24, and released the videos the same day. (For the video of the debris sliding into the pool, see my previous post.)
TEPCO says they didn't find a piece of metal on top of the fuel assemblies in the pool (1st video), so they looked at the bottom of the pool (2nd video). They did find a piece of metal, but they say they are not sure whether that was the one that dropped into the pool on September 22 or that had been there since the explosion in March last year.
Lots of concrete fragments on top of the fuel assemblies:
Metal debris, but TEPCO is not sure if that's the one that fell on September 22:
Unlike the Reactor 4 Spent Fuel Pool (with 1331 spent fuel assemblies and 204 new fuel asssemblies), the Reactor 3 Spent Fuel Pool has only 566 fuel assemblies (514 spent, 52 new, and there was no MOX fuel in SFP) with the capacity of 1220. Since the metal slid from the edge of the pool and likely went down straight from there, there was probably no fuel stored where it fell. Hopefully.
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For your information, from Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (3/17/2011), number of fuel assemblies in Spent Fuel Pools at Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant (I added the labels). From left, the columns are: Reactors, Storage capacity in the pool, Spent Fuel, New Fuel:
In addition, there are 6375 spent fuel assemblies in the Common Spent Fuel Pool.
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3 comments:
I am utterly astonished at the surreal juxtaposition of the sterile-calm water and the maelstrom that must have reformed the structures in their existing locations.
My respect to the brave men (& women if applicable) that worked to suppress the fires & are giving their lives that many more may have a fighting chance at life. I pray that their sacrifice be justified by history's heavy-hearted hand.
September 24, 2012 11:06 PM
September 24, 2012 11:06 PM
September 24, 2012 11:07 PM
TechDud -
It occurred to me today that when accidents take lives or do great damage, the injured and bereaved get some sense of closure when actions are taken that prevent a similar event from causing damage to others. For example, the murder victim's families obtain some closure when the murderer is captured, convicted and incarcerated. The air crash victims' families obtain closure when the FAA investigation discovers the root cause of the accident and requires the airlines to take corrective actions. Etc.
So far we have not seen anything happen that could provide this type of closure for the victims of TEPCO's triple meltdown. Those who suffered most from the nuclear incident might find great comfort in an immediate acknowledgement by the Japan government that nuclear power is not an acceptable option at any cost, and a zero nuke policy, effective immediately - with irreversible actions taken immediately so as to prevent a reversal of this policy by future government administrations.
So far, over a year an a half after the incident, this lack of closure for the victims, and the indifference of the Japanese government to this deep psychological need, make TEPCO's triple meltdown, and the very idea of a continued reliance on nuclear power, all that much more evil.
The sacrifice of those on site will certainly be remembered by history. What was stolen from the many millions of victims of TEPCO's triple meltdown does not seem to be getting anywhere near the attention it deserves.
Pray for us all.
It's all about being consistent, I have been trading over 6 years and I can say it is def not easy!
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