One Thing or Another at #Fukushima I Nuke Plant Series No. N: SARRY (Cesium Absorption System) Stopped

What's more worrisome than SARRY being stopped (TEPCO does have backups - Kurion's cesium absorption towers and AREVA's decontamination system if they really need treatment) is how little capacity left in storing the highly contaminated water (7 days worth).

According to TEPCO's email notice for the press (7/31/2013):

７月30日、「ブースターポンプ停止／漏えい検知」の警報が発生し、第二セシウム吸着装置（サリー）が停止したことについての続報です。

SARRY (cesium absorption system) stopped after an alarm sounded on July 30 signaling "Booster pump stopped/leak detection".

今回停止したブースターポンプはＢ系であり、現場の警報盤を確認したところ、セシウム吸着塔に異常を示す警報が発生していることを確認しました。

The booster pump that stopped is on Line B. On checking the alarm board on site, we confirmed that there was an alarm indicating there was something wrong with the cesium absorption tower.

停止に至った詳細な現場調査および待機中のブースターポンプ（Ａ）の起動準備を、本日（７月31日）朝から開始いたします。

We will conduct a detailed investigation this morning (July 31) to understand how the system stopped and prepare to start the backup booster pump on Line A.

なお、第二セシウム吸着装置（サリー）の処理が停止しても滞留水の受け入れは、集中廃棄物処理施設（高温焼却炉建屋）と集中廃棄物処理施設（プロセス主建屋）を合わせて約７日分の余裕があること、また、原子炉への注水は復水貯蔵タンクと淡水化装置を合わせて約12日分が確保されていることを確認しました。

Even if processing [of contaminated water] by SARRY is stopped, we have about 7 days worth of capacity to store contaminated water in Solid Waste Processing Facilities buildings. We have confirmed that about 12 days worth of reactor cooling water is secured in the condensate storage tank and the desalination apparatus.

In the desalination apparatus?? I suppose TEPCO means tanks that store water treated by the desalination apparatus.

I knew TEPCO had long stopped using Kurion's cesium absorption system and AREVA's co-precipitation system, but I don't think I read or heard anywhere why they stopped using them.

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#Fukushima I Nuke Plant: Field of Cesium Towers

Level the ground, pour in concrete slab, pile up a lot of sandbags. Decidedly conventional tech. And this has to last for no one knows how long. According to TEPCO, as of December 20, the total number of used cesium towers (Kurion and Toshiba) was 316, with the storage capacity of 393 , and the number of used cesium towers increased by 4 from the previous week. Even at this slow rate, the storage would have been full in 19 weeks or about 5 months. Therefore this "kick the can" construction of more storage space.

One area for Kurion (544 towers capacity), another for Toshiba's SARRY (200 towers). From the looks of it, TEPCO will move the existing used towers from the existing temporary storage space to these new temporary storage facility. That means Kurion's storage will be already more than half full (currently 288 towers), and Toshiba's storage will be more than 10% full (currently 28 towers) already.

Why do they need two separate areas for Kurion and Toshiba in the same facility? Because the size of the cesium towers from these companies is too different, as you can see in the TEPCO's diagram below. Kurion's tower is about 2.4 meter tall (probably built to the spec in inches and feet), and Toshiba's tower is about 3.8 meter tall (probably built in centimeters and meters). It seems Toshiba's SARRY towers do not need concrete lids on top, so they are doubling the height of the rack for SARRY towers and using concrete panels to create secure containment for Kurion towers.

Ah the infinitely long road to "recovery" at Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant.

From TEPCO's press release on December 21, you see this diagram of the facility:

30-centimeter thick concrete slab on top of some sort of substrate. That doesn't inspire much sense of security, considering the recent leak from the evaporative condensation apparatus (desalination), whose concrete perimeter cracked because the concrete wasn't cured long enough.

Here's the facility up-close (click for a bigger photo):

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