Update from TEPCO's Press Conference on Toshiba's 4-Legged Robot That Crashed in #Fukushima I Nuke Plant Reactor 2 Torus Room

It's so pathetic it is almost funny. Or at least the dialog between the reporters and TEPCO during the December 12, 2012 press conference was, probably unintentionally.

It was funnier reading about it via the tweets by @ystricera, who has tweeted almost all press conferences by TEPCO and the government regulatory agencies since March 2011.

Reporter: What time did the robot stop?
TEPCO: In the morning.
Reporter: It's evening now, and you don't know the exact time?
TEPCO: We will investigate all day tomorrow.

Two human colleagues from Toshiba had to get exposed to 1.36 millisievert radiation to retrieve the robot, but just to the outside the torus room.

For more of the mission of this clumsy Toshiba robot, see my previous post.

From his tweets on December 12, 2012, the remarks in parenthesis are either his explanation or the reporters' questions:

（2号機4本足ロボット調査、もともと1階北東側三角コーナーから親機入れて階段を降りてから）東電「階段をまず降りて地下のところまでいってトーラス室に行くのに登り階段がある、そこから登る操作していた所足をかけて上に上がろうとしていた所前足が浮いて後ろに倒れる形に　」

(Investigation of Reactor 2 by the 4-legged robot, it was to enter from the northeast corner on the first floor and climb down the stairs, then..?) TEPCO "The robot first climbed down the stairs to go to the basement, then there are stairs to climb up to the torus room. The robot started to climb. Then the forelegs went up in the air and the robot fell backward."

東電「遠隔段階、動作不能になったので2人いって回収。結果的には倒れているので想定していない不具合があったのかと思うが、状況としては前足を前にかけていて後ろ足をあげる段階で後ろ倒しになったと、バランス崩す制御になったと」

TEPCO "The robot was on a remote control. Two people went to retrieve the unresponsive robot. Since it fell down, we assume there were some unexpected problems. But the situation was that the forelegs were on the step already, and the robot was lifting the hind leg, then lost control and fell backwards."

東電「動作開始の直後。登り始めるところからスタートで登りはじめたらすぐ。」

TEPCO "It was right after the robot started to climb."

東電「2号機ベント管調査の件、キャットウォークに登る階段を登りはじめた所で厳密に言うとトーラス室に入ったところ」（人がいって回収したのは間違いないか）「2人いって回収、入り口なのでそんなに大きいわけではなく実際の被曝量は多い方の方で1.36mSv」

TEPCO "The robot was just starting to climb the stairs leading to the catwalk. So to be precise, it was right inside the torus room." (So human workers went to retrieve it, is that correct?) "Two people went to retrieve the robot. Because the location was right at the entrance, the radiation level was not that high. The max exposure was 1.36 millisievert."

（共同池上　調査前にひっくり返った）東電「開始直後ですので調査はできていない」（明日は調査しない、終わり時期がよくわからないがいつくらいまでやる予定）「1日1本、2本、状況に応じてだが全部で8本あるのでそういうオーダーでできると作業継続」

(Ikegami of Kyodo News: So the robot flipped over before the investigation.) TEPCO "It happened right at the beginning of the work, so no, there was no investigation done." (So you're not going to do the investigation tomorrow? When will the investigation be over?) "One or two vent pipes a day, so depending on the situation, there are 8 vent pipes, we hope to carry out the investigation at that pace."

（回収は東電社員）「協力企業」（東芝の人）「そうだと思います」

(Did TEPCO employees retrieve the robot?) "Affiliate company." (Were they from Toshiba?) "I think so." [TEPCO doesn't even know that??]

（壊れた部分は）東電「倒れかかったということで、そんなに大きく壊れてないと。後ろの壁にもたれかかった。回収は手で運び出した」（建屋の外まで）「トーラス室の外の三角コーナーまで」（ロボット自体は今どこに）「三角コーナーに」

(What broke?) TEPCO "The robot didn't completely fall down, so we don't think it's damaged much. It was leaning against the wall behind it. Workers hand-carried it." (To outside the reactor building?) "To the landing just outside the torus room." (Where is the robot now?) "On the landing."

（仮置きしたのはおもいっちゅうのもあると思うが）東電「そこでバッテリーチャージもできますし」

(I suppose it is because the robot was so heavy that the workers had to leave it there for now.) TEPCO "Well, we can charge batteries there."

（ロボット三角コーナーに仮置きというお話されたが故障原因わからずにその場に仮置きだと修理しようがないが外に持ちだして確認したりは）東電「どういう調査するか含めて確認中」

(So the robot is temporarily placed on the landing, you say. But if you have it there temporarily without knowing the cause of the problem, there is no way to repair it. Are you going to take it outside [the reactor building] and inspect?) TEPCO "We're trying to figure out what to do."

（止まったのは何時）東電「朝」（夕方になってもわからないと）東電「明日1日調査する」

(What time did it stop?) TEPCO "In the morning." (It's evening now, and you don't know the exact time?) TEPCO: "We will investigate tomorrow all day."

AAAAGGGGHHHH....

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