Monday, June 16, 2014

#Fukushima I NPP on Google Maps


Google Maps finally updated the satellite photograph of Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant. It shows the more-or-less current plant condition in great details.

(Click to enlarge the screenshots; Google Map at the bottom of the post.)


Instead of mangled steel beams and trusses completely covering the Reactor 3 operating floor, you actually see the Spent Fuel Pool, with water, with the half-submerged fuel handling machine:


Contrary to a belief still popular with people around the world (including Mr. Koide of Kyoto University) that the Reactor 4 building is still a smoking wreckage about to collapse at any moment, it now actually looks like this:


Removal of fuel assemblies from the Reactor 4 Spent Fuel Pool is now 70% finished, as of 6/16/2014. You can still see a lot of debris on the east side (ocean side) of the Reactor 4 building. Debris immediately around the reactor buildings has extremely high radiation contamination, according to the survey by TEPCO (I'll try to locate the document later).

Probably to suppress radiation and to prep for the frozen soil impermeable wall construction, the roads around the reactor buildings and the turbine buildings look to be paved with metal plates. Right where the trailer with Hitachi logo on top is where the frozen soil impermeable wall is being constructed near Reactor 1:


Almost all trees have been cut to reduce radiation levels inside the plant. It's particularly apparent around the wells to draw groundwater for the groundwater bypass scheme. This location used to be covered with ever-green trees.


A pile of what looks to be low-radiation waste and debris, near the groundwater bypass wells:


There are two barges inside the plant harbor; you can see the silt screen that somewhat separates the water in the open channel in front of the water intakes for the reactors:


At the southern end of the plant harbor, you can see the wall of steel pipe sheet piles in the water in an attempt to stop groundwater from flowing into the harbor and flowing out of harbor:


The high-radiation strip between the turbine building and the plant harbor seems to have been cleared of debris enough for various works. Here again, you can see the metal plates on the ground to lower the radiation for the workers:


Fukushima I NPP on Google Maps:

17 comments:

citizenperth said...

Good work :) TY....

Anonymous said...

The situation at Reactor4 is improved I see. There is not much fuel left and the structure is nicely covered. When the pool is emptied and the sea side rubble is cleared the atmospheric dosage will get quite low.

The Reactor3 fuel pool is another story. The fuel removal will not be a walk in the park as Reactor4.

Anonymous said...

The structure at Unit 4 does not actually support the building or in any way have contact with it. It supports the heavy equipment only. Building 4 remains as was and is most vulnerable to any ground movement.
It is misleading to indicate that the additional structure in any way supports building 4.
Spent fuel pool 3 has never been recoverable. The whole floor was destroyed, it is simply not existant.

VyseLegendaire said...

Anonymous @ 10:12 AM:

Shhh, Ex-SKF is a secret pro-nuke blog with an apologist agenda.

arevamirpal::laprimavera said...

Thanks, Vyse, you made my day.

Anonymous said...

The Reactor 4 cover is built on large steel beams. It makes no sense to use such a structure for support. The natural frequencies differ for a damaged concrete building and a steel structure. The steel structure adds weather cover, air management, dosage shielding, hoisting and a platform for transportation to every level. The reactor 4 building got extra support built into the lower floors much earlier.

The Reactor 3 pool is not empty, blown away or whatever the internet made up :) The fuel is in there. Along with a lot of debris. This is a real challenge.

Anonymous said...

Street view near the plant works as well.. Have look. Nothing like Chernobyl.

Anonymous said...

"Vyse Legendaire said...
Shhh, Ex-SKF is a secret pro-nuke blog with an apologist agenda."

And not only an apologist agenda, but is tasked with the very, very essential affirmation of the MOX waste disposal Insurgency ..

http://atlantaprogressivenews.com/interspire/news/2014/06/09/savannah-river-site-becoming-world%E2%80%99s-nuclear-dumping-ground-despite-safety-risks.html

"They", "they", are watching you, ex-SKF.

haha

Anonymous said...

I see from anon @ 10:12 the "unit 4 is perilously close to toppling over" meme refuses to die. The building will be completely empty of fuel and will be 10 times more structurally sound than it was three years ago and people will still be blogging not only about how dangerous it is, but about how the media is covering it up by their silence. I will die and go to my grave with people still believing unit 4 barfed up its pool full of fuel and then started leaning precariously, It is a lesson in the power of misinformation and ought to be part of any curriculum on media studies. Now we have the new shocking revelation; that the pool at unit 3 has ceased to exist... Mutatis mutandis.

Anonymous said...

I'm sure the Japanese will find other uses for all that steel they built around that hellpit, so they may not have much to go on at that point.

Maybe then they'll let journalists up close to examine the lean-to.

Anonymous said...

It's far from over but to explain would be violating preaching in accordance with the engineering capacities and the peoples tastes.

Anonymous said...

Well, on behalf of Areva, let me say thank you for not violating preaching.

Anonymous said...

Truly hellish images

Homegrown Smoker said...

Very worried for oour friends and family that reside in Japan.

Anonymous said...

Definatly a pro-nuclear site here ! Why is it that so many people have forgotten that we were told early on in this catastrophy that the melted down reactors had been placed into ''cold shutdown'' ? It was only fairly recently that ineptco I mean Tepco fully admitted that there was indeed at least 3 melt downs and possible melt throughs at Dachi.When reactors melt down,they most ceartainly can not be placed into cold shutdown mode.So that would mean that either Tepco told a blatant lie,or that the meltdowns occoured after the reactors were placed into cold shutdown.If this is even possible then we have yet another very valid reason not,to have faith in the argued saftey of nuclear power ! Another bit of information that most people seem to forget concerning this tragedy,is that we were told that despite the ''so called'' hydrygen explosions ,''which were powerfull enough to destroy cocrete walls more than a meter thick''and the meltdowns,that there had been no breech of containment, as far as the actual reactor vessels were concerned.If this were,or is the case, then why is it then that Tepco is having difficulty locating the fuel core material, and,please explain why it is that microscopic particles from those much sought after cores have been found as far away as Europe ?

Anonymous said...

It's nonsense like the above that makes it worth coming back to the comments sections. Not to rain on your parade of conspiracy, but by May of 2011 Tepco was saying that all three reactors had experienced meltdown.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2011/05/25/national/tepco-admits-two-more-meltdowns/#.U6lBAPl_uJE
Cold shutdown is a nuclear engineering term, and while you may not like the term or agree with its implications, it exists in the nuclear engineering industry regardless. You seem to doubt that the explosions were hydrogen explosions. Fair enough. You presume them to have been nuclear explosions? And, you seem to be suggesting that part of the cores ended up in Europe? That would be an extraordinary thing indeed. But my guess is that you will find many a sympathetic ear here, as some other posters are starting to share your view that this is "Definatly a pro-nuclear site".

Anonymous said...

Could they keep contaminated water from the harbor going into the ocean by drilling a large hole thru mantle under ocean, thus trapping it below the surface of ocean? Just wondering if anyone knows

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