July 6, 2012

Jul 6, 2012 | Fukushima Accident Updates

  • The Oi nuclear unit #3 has begun generating electricity and supplying the national grid. As of this writing, power level is in the 30% range. Power output will slowly continue until early Monday when the full output of the plant should be realized. At that point, the maximum anticipated power shortfall in the Kansai region will drop from 15% down to 19%. (NHK World; Kyodo News) As of this writing, the power level at Oi unit #3 is at 75% and increasing. (Kepco.co.jp)
  • Tepco lashed out at the NAIIC report’s speculation on possible earthquake damage at Fukushima. Tepco spokesperson Junichi Matsumoto told reporters on Thursday that operating staff records and other data do not suggest any quake damage. NAIIC says unit #1 experienced a loss of one of its emergency diesels prior to the second, most massive wave hitting, indicating the earthquake was responsible. They also point out that there may have been tiny leaks from the reactor pressure vessel caused by the quake. Tepco rejects these as mere speculations unsupported by the evidence. (NHK World)
  • This morning, NAIIC head, Kiyoshi Kurokawa said, “Fukushima remains at a very high risk, not only because of the spent fuel issues, but also because of its fragile structure.” He added he could not believe the four damaged units at F. Daiichi could survive another quake. In fact, he was quoted as saying that F. Daiichi is presently “incapable of withstanding the earthquake and tsunami [of 3/11/11].” (Kyodo News)
  • Contaminated water has been found in the bottom of the Spent Resin Storage Tank room at F. Daiichi. The Cesium concentration is very low. In fact, it is so low the usual sample size of 1 cubic centimeter could not produce a confident reading as to its contamination level. Thus, a one cubic meter sample was analyzed (10,000 times bigger) and found to have a 120 Becquerel activity level. It was also discovered that the water level in the room was about the same as the nearby turbine building, which makes Tepco think the Cesium came through tiny leaks around piping penetrations through the walls. Since the water level is lower than the groundwater surrounding the two buildings, there is no chance for the almost-too-low-to-monitor contamination to have “tainted” the groundwater. (Tepco Press Release)