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Page added on September 10, 2013
IAEA Boss Says Fukushima Water Leak Urgent
International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Yukiya Amano on Monday characterized the leak of radioactive water at the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant as “a matter of high priority that needs to be addressed urgently.”
Amano pledged to send a team to Japan this autumn to deal with the increasingly worrisome problem.
Meanwhile, plant operator TEPCO announced samples taken from a well near the site tested positive for the presence of radioactive substances, including strontium.
Reports produced by TEPCO admit radioactive water from leaking storage tanks has contaminated ground water and reached the sea. The level of radiation at the well was measured at 3,200 becquerels per liter. The company announced last week it had discovered 650 becquerels per liter of radioactive waste in a well located approximately 20 meters south of the leaking storage tank.
Last week the Japanese government said it plans to build by 2015 a wall of ice under the plant to stop drainage of contaminated water. In the meantime, it plans to pump radioactive water from the tanks to prevent it from reaching the Pacific Ocean.
The plan calls for burying refrigeration pipes a 100 feet underground for nearly a mile around the radioactive site to prevent water from escaping. Ice-barrier technology was used at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee to contain radioactive waste water. The Fukushima ice-barrier project, however, is 150 larger than the one at Oak Ridge.
The energy requirement would be equivalent to the electricity used by thousands of households.
15 Comments on "IAEA Boss Says Fukushima Water Leak Urgent"
curlyq3 on Wed, 11th Sep 2013 2:45 am
Hello to all Peak Oilers … In November, the Japanese will attempt to remove the damaged fuel in the number four reactor fuel pool … the danger of a radioactive fire and the complete loss of Fukushima daiichi(2800 tons of fuel) is very high … the consequences of such an event would likely be a tipping point that would lead to the loss of the next nearest NPP(30 km to the south) … “Safe, Clean Nuclear Energy” … curlyq3
curlyq3 on Wed, 11th Sep 2013 3:03 am
Hello Peak Oilers … correction for previous post … the NPP to the south of Fukushima is 15 km not 30 km … curlyq3
BillT on Wed, 11th Sep 2013 3:19 am
This whole disaster should have been top priority for the whole world as we all are sharing in the results. Radioactive oceans, food, air. No one can escape the eventual increases in cancer and death. It shows how much of a death grip corporate greed has on the world news and governments.
You may soon need a Geiger counter to shop. Like the one Mad Max carried in the movie … lol. Now all we need is one in the Us to melt down and put an end to nuclear power for good. Be patient! We have over 100 of these aging death traps just waiting for a disaster to happen. Or maybe Europe? At least the Philippines were smart and never opened the one built when the US puppet, Marcos was in power.
SilentRunning on Wed, 11th Sep 2013 4:12 am
Curlyq wrote:
>In November, the Japanese will attempt to remove the damaged fuel in the number four reactor fuel pool … the danger of a radioactive fire and the complete loss of Fukushima daiichi(2800 tons of fuel) is very high
I would put the risk of a “radioactive fire” from the removal of fuel in the fuel pool as negligible. Removing the spent fuel rods is the sane, sensible and necessary step to reducing further releases of radio-nucleotides into the environment.
Fukushima is bad enough – making hyperbolic statements about it actually damages the anti-nuclear movement. When your hyperbolic worst case scenarios DONT happen, you will lose credibility.
So far, I’ve seen statements that Fukushima would turn into a “nuclear volcano” (didn’t happen), that the fuel pool would collapse leading to nuclear Armageddon (didn’t happen) and now that unloading the fuel pool will lead to a super-disaster.
The real problem with nukes is that in a future resource constrained and financially/politically collapsed system, we won’t have the means to properly shut down and maintain nuclear reactors in “safe” states. That’s what I see as the HUGE problem with nuke plants.
… the consequences of such an event would likely be a tipping point that would lead to the loss of the next nearest NPP(30 km to the south) … “Safe, Clean Nuclear Energy” … curlyq3
surf on Wed, 11th Sep 2013 4:32 am
Works had access to the spent fuel pools only a few months after the accident. Since then the have reinforced the building to make collapse highly unlikely. Additionally all of the damaged equipment that was used to keep the pools cool and full of water have been repaired or replaced.
When they start the process they will place a storage container in the pool. They will then move the rods into the storage container. The rods will be cover by water the entire time during the move. Once the container is full it will be sealed and then removed from the pool and an empty container placed in the pool. The full storage containers will be placed in a storage yard for long term storage. The containers will be passively cooled by air.
A lot of steps have been taken to insure safety during the entire process. But the news media doesn’t talk about that since it is not news. However they do talk about the highly unlikely problems that could occur, greatly exaggerate the consequences, and then somehow they conclude fiction is news.
curlyq3 on Wed, 11th Sep 2013 4:51 am
Hello Peak Oilers … some info regarding previous post … curlyq3
http://www.fukuleaks.org/web/?p=11357
GregT on Wed, 11th Sep 2013 4:53 am
“The real problem with nukes is that in a future resource constrained and financially/politically collapsed system, we won’t have the means to properly shut down and maintain nuclear reactors in “safe” states.”
Couldn’t agree more. If we don’t have the ability, or the resources, to safeguard these facilities now, what are we leaving behind for our children, and our grandchildren? Morally unacceptable.
dashster on Wed, 11th Sep 2013 10:43 am
Nice that after over two disastrous years later, this International Atomic Energy Director is going to send a team – this fall.
J-Gav on Wed, 11th Sep 2013 1:02 pm
Since the decommissioning process would take about half a century (and mega-bucks) per existing nuke plant, we definitely do have a HUGE problem on our hands.
Mike on Wed, 11th Sep 2013 1:45 pm
A nuclear reactor leak into the ocean, serious? well, who would have guessed it. I’m glad we have these people about to warn us about such complex arcane knowledge
Mike on Wed, 11th Sep 2013 1:47 pm
Curlyq3, can you stop calling us peak oilers please, we’re just people with common sense, you make it sound like we’re a cult or something 😉
BillT on Wed, 11th Sep 2013 2:48 pm
One down and 430+ more to go. As for the ‘safe removal’ only time will tell. Place your bets but I am taking the one that says it will happen somewhere in the process. After all, they have 6 pools and “… No. 4 reactor building has a total of 1,535 fuel rods, or 460 tons of nuclear fuel, in it …” times six to remove. That is a lot of spent fuel to move safely. I wonder how many of the technicians will die in the next 6 months?
curlyq3 on Wed, 11th Sep 2013 3:24 pm
Hello Mike … “we’re just people with common sense, you make it sound like we’re a cult or something” … sorry Mike, it just seems like we are a cult(or something, lol)regarding the common sense everywhere else … curlyq3
PrestonSturges on Wed, 11th Sep 2013 3:36 pm
What are the physical dimensions of the rods? The numbers here imply they are about 700 lbs each?
Kenz300 on Wed, 11th Sep 2013 3:37 pm
Fukushima Daichi meltdown,Unstoppable – YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=658o14caJN4