Mars 2011: Kärnkraftverket i Fukushima - utbruten och sammanfogad tråd

High hydrogen levels in pipes at No.1 reactor

The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says that high densities of hydrogen have built up in pipes connected to the No. 1 reactor.

Tokyo Electric Power Company says that an explosion is unlikely as there is no oxygen in the pipes, but that it will begin work to drain the gas starting on Thursday.

TEPCO began measuring the density of the gas on Wednesday after finding it accumulating in pipes connected to the reactor's containment vessel late last week.

It found that the density of hydrogen was high, at between 61 to 63 percent.

TEPCO says the hydrogen is likely the remains of gas that caused explosions at the plant in March, following the quake and tsunami disaster.

The utility has also promised to check the density of hydrogen in pipes in the No. 2 and No. 3 reactors, in line with instructions from Japan's nuclear safety agency.
Thursday, September 29, 2011 08:06 +0900 (JST)

Police introducing radiation-proof vehicles
Japan's National Police Agency will introduce radiation-proof vehicles as part of stepped-up counter-terrorism measures at nuclear power plants.

The agency says the new vehicles will be installed at 9 police headquarters in the country. The vehicles are shielded with lead, which blocks radiation.

The vehicles will enable police officers to protect themselves from radiation when apprehending terrorists and rescuing the injured in cases of terror attacks or accidents at nuclear plants.

In the wake of the September 11th attacks in the United States in 2001, Japanese police have been guarding some of the country's nuclear plants and related facilities. Armed officers and bullet-proof vehicles are on duty around the clock.

Agency officials say they are stepping up counter-terrorism measures in the belief that the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant has increased the likelihood of nuclear facilities being targeted.
Friday, September 30, 2011 13:04 +0900 (JST)

TEPCO demands only 50% disclosure of manuals
The operator of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has finally submitted its accident manuals in their original form to Japan's nuclear safety agency. But the Tokyo Electric Power Company maintains that only half of the documents' contents should be made public.

In mid-September, TEPCO submitted its procedural manuals for nuclear accidents to a Lower House committee investigating the Fukushima accident. But the utility blacked out most of the contents.

The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency later instructed TEPCO to submit the originals for 3 types of manuals for accidents of varying scale. The agency also asked the utility how much of the contents could be made public.
TEPCO now says that about 50 percent of the material should remain secret. It also says it wants to disclose just 10 percent of a manual for dealing with serious accidents.

TEPCO says this is because the manuals contain information covered by intellectual property rights. The company also says its manual for dealing with serious accidents includes information on important facilities. It says the documents cannot be made public because such facilities could become potential targets of terrorist attacks.

The nuclear safety agency says it will consider the validity of TEPCO's argument, and will aim to disclose the manuals by the end of October.
Tuesday, October 04, 2011 15:45 +0900 (JST)

TEPCO ordered to draw up safety guidelines
Japan's nuclear watchdog has ordered the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant to draw up clear safety guidelines to oversee its work to get the plant under control.

Tokyo Electric Power Company is striving to bring the disabled reactors to a state of cold shutdown by next January, and then to begin preparations for their decommissioning.

The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency says it wants TEPCO to set down the specific post-emergency nuclear safety protocols that will direct its work over the coming 3 years.

The agency says the key objective will be to prevent any additional discharge of radioactive substances and to drastically reduce radiation levels at the plant.
It says TEPCO should identify ways to pinpoint and control radioactive hot spots, and take steps to prevent hydrogen explosions.

The agency also wants the utility to report by mid-October how it aims to secure safety while using decontaminated water to cool down the reactors.

The agency says it will ask experts to review the adequacy of the guidelines that TEPCO comes up with.
Tuesday, October 04, 2011 09:34 +0900 (JST)