Melted Fuel Near Point of Reaching Bottom Container, Barrier Needed

People just don't seem to care about Fukushima as much as before but it's still a very real problem that's not going away. There are some major announcements coming out of Japan every week or so and I rarely hear much about them on ATS, and the threads that cover these announcements don't get much attention.

Well as I said it's not going away and could be getting worse.

The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant revealed Wednesday that melted nuclear fuel has nearly reached the bottom steel wall under the concrete.

Following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, all of the fuel inside the No. 1 reactor melted after cooling functions failed with a substantial amount of the fuel melting through the reactor pressure vessel and dripping into the outer container.

On Wednesday, Tokyo Electric Power Company, said the melted fuel has eroded the concrete base of the reactor container by up to 65 centimeters.
If the erosion expands another 37 centimeters, it would be hitting the steel wall.

However, TEPCO's analysis is rough at best because it is a prediction of the current situation inside the reactor based on its temperature change and injection of cooling water.

"TEPCO's analysis says we have 30 centimeters of the concrete base left to prevent the melted fuel to hit the bottom. But I am not confident that we have that much space left. We have to be prepared for the worst case scenario."

If the fuel melts through the remaining concrete embedment, which is only some 30 centimeters, it is bound to seep into the soil.

Therefore, experts say TEPCO must find a measure to prevent fuel leakage.

"I think they must install a 5 to 10 meter barrier in the basement to prevent the worst case scenario."

Leakage of melted fuel may invite a host of difficult problems such as safe removal of the fuel in a cold shutdown of the nuclear reactor in the future.

For that reason, experts stress TEPCO must promptly find a way to put a stop to the fuel erosion inside the reactor.

Source

I still strongly believe they're not even close to telling us how bad it really is and how serious the long term effects will be. They can't even contain it locally so what's supposed to convince us they have the situation under control.

I have heard many theories of what could happen if these reactors this were to seep into the soil and most of them are very concerning.

Let's hope they figure it out before it's too late.

don't forget the link.

Great find

Never ending nightmare. But people will consistently step up to defend nuclear power because wind turbines are "ugly".

reply to post by My.mind.is.mine


Never ending nightmare is right.

TPTB don't want us having clean and natural energy.

Now that they screwed up, again, they are trying to sweep it under the rug.

Dilute the fuel slag- Just add something with boron oxide or halfmium oxide and sand to the melted fuel. It will turn into a big sticky ball of radioactive glass that won't melt through much else.

reply to post by eywadevotee


Is this guaranteed to work

You should send them an e-mail

thanks for posting this..

I fear the reactor vessel has been breached fro a while now and the concrete is the only thing stopping this "poolium" from eating through the soil it is only a matter of time before we see more steam more heat and regrettably a large blast.

I hope I am wrong but all the evidence points to an unstoppable mass of poolium.

This article says otherwise.



It shows that there is still an additional 7.6 metres of concrete before soil penetration.

src

brill

My article is more recent and says 30 centimeters.

"TEPCO's analysis says we have 30 centimeters of the concrete base left to prevent the melted fuel to hit the bottom. But I am not confident that we have that much space left. We have to be prepared for the worst case scenario."

According to my article TEPCO are the ones to make the claim, and he says it could be less than 30 cm as the above quote hints.

I will look into this to see if I can come up with more information.

Originally posted by Corruption Exposed
My article is more recent and says 30 centimeters.

"TEPCO's analysis says we have 30 centimeters of the concrete base left to prevent the melted fuel to hit the bottom. But I am not confident that we have that much space left. We have to be prepared for the worst case scenario."

According to my article TEPCO are the ones to make the claim, and he says it could be less than 30 cm as the above quote hints.

I will look into this to see if I can come up with more information.

edit on 3-12-2011 by Corruption Exposed because: (no reason given)

Exactly. The number floating here is approx 30cm. From the OP this closely resembles the number given by the image I've linked. The question is does that number reflect the amount left for the containment vessel or the overall barrier via concrete. It is somewhat confusing but then look who is giving out the information and details.

brill

reply to post by brill


Oh, I see what you mean now. I took another look at the diagram and realized what I'm looking at.

Do you have any idea how long it would take to eat through that 7.6 m of concrete?

Originally posted by Corruption Exposed
reply to post by brill

 

Oh, I see what you mean now. I took another look at the diagram and realized what I'm looking at.

Do you have any idea how long it would take to eat through that 7.6 m of concrete?

I don't think anyone can accurately predict that given the extremely high level of radiation in there, it may take years, decades to get the truth. Perhaps there are sensors within that concrete, who knows. It stands to reason that given TEPCO's continued lies and misinformation the only way we will know is once the groundwater is glowing green.

brill

reply to post by Corruption Exposed


Can you be kind enough to tell us who is the person who said this:

"TEPCO's analysis says we have 30 centimeters of the concrete base left to prevent the melted fuel to hit the bottom. But I am not confident that we have that much space left. We have to be prepared for the worst case scenario."

and who said this:

"I think they must install a 5 to 10 meter barrier in the basement to prevent the worst case scenario."

because they are not identified in the article...

reply to post by jeichelberg

On Wednesday, Tokyo Electric Power Company, said the melted fuel has eroded the concrete base of the reactor container by up to 65 centimeters. If the erosion expands another 37 centimeters, it would be hitting the steel wall. However, TEPCO's analysis is rough at best because it is a prediction of the current situation inside the reactor based on its temperature change and injection of cooling water.

They didn't give a name, but it was TEPCO. You must have not read the article.

My secretary is on the phone right now getting a hold of TEPCO's CEO. I should have word by Monday

Originally posted by Corruption Exposed
My secretary is on the phone right now getting a hold of TEPCO's CEO. I should have word by Monday

classic
2nd

brill

reply to post by Corruption Exposed


LOL>>>Good response...lemme know what she comes up with...I actually read the whole article...and to say the PERSON being quoted is TEPCO is supercilious nonsense...it is irresponsible journalistic practice to include unattributed quotes in a news story...

This is a very terrifying situation, with all the related events caused by the earthquake the tsunami and the radiaton. I really hope they can figure out something to help the people affected.

Wish I knew what the schematics look like for the structure. It's hard to solve a problem when you don't have an idea of what it looks like.

I wonder what the temperatures are involved here?

Is there a problem with cooling it too quickly? If not, then what chemical process or machinery do we possess here on earth that reaches the coldest temperatures?

If we were able to get underneath it, using back hoes or what ever heavy equipment needed, can we install a giant heat sink that is attached to a high enough powered cooling system?

Remember what the old computer cpu heat sinks look like - with the air exposed fins? build a large scaled version of one and attach a cooling system to it that keeps the heat sink tempurature regulated.

What was the space shuttle nose cone made from? In other words what materials do we possess that can withstand the highest temperatures and also dissipate heat? That material could be used between the heat sink/cooling system and the steel base of the reactor.

In situations like this, that affect us all, I hate not being able to help.

IMO nuclear reactors shouldn't be used at all. If they are to be used, then at the very least the components should be modular and easily removable so that they can be placed in portable cooling container systems. All necessery components could have been removed, transported to a safe location where a vacant reactor was waiting.

They should get the chinese government involved, apparently they are Great at digging tunnels.

BTW we're starting a global company in a thread here on ATS to try and give the world back to it's people. Involvement is open to all. Here's the thread if interested: Help create a global company owned by the people to take back the world...