First of four Fukushima reactors cleared of nuclear fuel (VIDEO aljazeera)

One of four heavily damaged reactor buildings at Japan's tsunami-battered Fukushima nuclear power plant has been cleared of radioactive fuel rods, the operator said on Saturday (Dec 20).
It was a significant step in the decommissioning efforts, but workers still have three heavily crippled reactors to clean up after they were sent into meltdown in the 2011 quake-tsunami disaster. The overall clean-up work of the Fukushima plant is expected to take decades.

A total of 1,535 fuel rod assemblies have been now taken out of the building after Tokyo Electric Power Co's (TEPCO's) year-long operation, a company spokesman said. "Completion of the removal work is a milestone, but the decommission work will continue," plant chief Akira Ono told reporters.

The nuclear fuel was removed from a pool used to store the rods - which were mostly spent - in the reactor number 4 building, which was offline for regular check-ups at the time of the March 2011 disaster. 

The tsunami battered the plant's cooling system and sent reactors number 1 to 3 into meltdown, setting off the worst atomic accident in a generation.

TEPCO will remove fuel rod assemblies from the pools of other damaged buildings before extracting the melted fuel from the reactors.

- AFP/al

 [channelnewsasia.com]

20/12/14

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Related:

• All spent fuel removed from reactor 4 pool at Fukushima No. 1, Tepco says ...

• Earthquake with an intensity of 4 on the Japanese scale of 7 rattled the Hamadori area of eastern Fukushima Prefecture at 6:31 p.m. Saturday, the Meteorological Agency said.....

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Related:

• Fukushima Water Treatment System Fails Again

• Effectiveness of Fukushima Ice Wall Unclear to Experts

• TEPCO finds water leak area in crippled Fukushima No.1 reactor

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Related:

• TEPCO moves 22 fuel rods from the 4th unit of NPP “Fukushima-1” to a special pool...

• Fukushima operator to start fuel-rod removal. -Japan's engineers prepare to move uranium and plutonium fuel rods as part of plant's decades-long decommissioning plan.

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Only 26-meter tsunami could now damage Fukushima – (TEPCO)

The operator of Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear plant has raised the tsunami projectile height, saying it would take a 26-meter wave to damage the facility and cause radioactive leakage, local media reported. This comes as Japan faces a typhoon threat.

Officials from the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) have nearly doubled the previous projected tsunami height that would inundate the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant – raising it from 14 to 26.3 meters, Asahi Shimbun reported on Saturday.

The flood caused by such a tsunami would “likely cause seawater to mingle with the radiation-tainted water accumulating in the basements of the reactor buildings at the six-unit plant, allowing 100 trillion becquerels of cesium to escape,” The Japan Times reported, citing TEPCO officials.

• However, TEPCO officials noted that such a strong tsunami occurs only once every 10,000 to 100,000 years.

The operator also increased the scale of a potential earthquake that would damage the plant by 1.5 times to 900 gals, media reported.

The company’s statement made on Friday comes in response to a demand made by Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) for the operator to review tsunami counter-measures. The authority is to decide whether TEPCO’s figures are suitable.

Following the March 2011 earthquake that triggered a 15.5 meter tsunami and hit the Fukushima Daiichi plant – causing three nuclear core meltdowns – the NRA obliged other facilities to strengthen tsunami counter-measures and raise the scale of the highest tsunami protection. But the new regulation did not apply to Fukushima, which is over 40 years old, as the plant was to be decommissioned.

As a measure to reduce the impact of a potential hit by a huge seismic wave, TEPCO said it will cut the quantity of radioactive water stored on the premises of the facility. Thus, the amount of radioactive water leaked into the ocean would be reduced by 30 percent, Asahi reported.

In the wake of the 2011 tragedy, Japan shut down all its nuclear reactors. However, the Japanese government has been keen on the nuclear restart, insisting that the reactors are necessary to provide cheaper energy to the economically-challenged Asian nation.............Will Typhoon Phanfone affect Fukushima?........http://rt.com/news/193364-tsunami-damage-fukushima-tepco/
5/10/14
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Related:

• Fukushima To Be Hit By Typhoon, Causing Ocean Contamination (Tepco)

• Fukushima No. 1 at risk of 26-meter tsunami: Tepco...

Fukushima To Be Hit By Typhoon, Causing Ocean Contamination (Tepco)

MOSCOW, October 4 (RIA Novosti), Ekaterina Blinova - Tepco, the Tokyo Electric Power Company, has revealed that the approaching typhoon could hit the damaged, decommissioned 40-year old nuclear power facility Fukushima No.1, which was severely affected during the earthquake and tsunami in 2011.

"The deluge would likely cause seawater to mingle with the radiation-tainted water accumulating in the basements of the reactor buildings at the six-unit plant, allowing 100 trillion becquerels of cesium to escape, according to an estimate that Tepco revealed Friday at a meeting of the Nuclear Regulation Authority," the Japan Times reports.
According to the media outlet, tidal waves from the storm are likely to reach a maximum height of 26.3 meters or more. The storm is likely to strike the Fukushima No.2 nuclear plant as well, but "its idled reactors and fuel pools" are not expected to be destroyed, Tepco officials assert.

• It should be noted that the 2011 tsunami reached a height of 15.5 meters when it hit the plant, which was followed by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake.

In order to minimize the impact of the hurricane, Tepco "will reduce the vast quantity of radioactive water" on the site, the Asahi Shimbun notes. Citing Tepco's officials, the media source claims that the amount of contaminated wate, which is expected to spill into the ocean, could be decreased to 30 percent "by filling in trenches near reactors."..................http://en.ria.ru/world/20141004/193667366/Fukushima-To-Be-Hit-By-Typhoon-Causing-Ocean-Contamination-Tepco.html4/10/14

Fukushima Water Treatment System Fails Again

A water treatment system to decontaminate radioactive water at Fukushima nuclear plant fails again and thus had to be partially shut down, Japan's NHK news agency reported Saturday.

According to the plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the trouble could have been caused by faulty filters.

One of the three lines of the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) was turned off after the engineers found out that the water contains calcium, hindering the elimination of radioactive strontium.

Since March, the ALPS system at Fukushima has had a series of similar failures. TEPCO then replaced the filters and resumed the system operations, highlighting company's plans to set up another facility to treat the tainted water.

On March 11, 2011, the Fukushima nuclear power plant was hit by a powerful earthquake and a subsequent tsunami, which caused a partial meltdown of three of the plant's nuclear reactors as radiation leaked into the atmosphere, soil and sea.

The incident was the world's worst nuclear disaster since the 1986 Chernobyl catastrophe.

Several areas within the 20-kilometer (12 miles) zone from the plant are still considered unfit for habitation due to the high levels of radioactive contamination.

TEPCO has been widely criticized for being inadequately prepared for a tsunami and for its slow response to the disaster.

Cleaning the toxic waste from the abandoned nuclear plant and reactors decommissioning have become the principal task of TEPCO, the process of disaster cleanup is expected to take at least 40 years.
en.ria.ru
27/9/14
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Related:

• Effectiveness of Fukushima Ice Wall Unclear to Experts

• TEPCO finds water leak area in crippled Fukushima No.1 reactor

• TEPCO detects record radiation at Fukushima’s reactor 2, new leak suspected

• TEPCO moves 22 fuel rods from the 4th unit of NPP “Fukushima-1” to a special pool...

Effectiveness of Fukushima Ice Wall Unclear to Experts

MOSCOW, August 25 (RIA Novosti) - The effectiveness of Tokyo Electric Power Company’s (TEPCO) plan to create an “ice wall” to contain the waste water used to cool the failed reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is so far unclear to experts.
"As the water comes down the mountains towards the ocean, it's not clear to me that [TEPCO] really knows how it is going to move around that frozen barrier," former US Nuclear Regulatory Commission chairman and the head of the international advisory panel to TEPCO Dr. Dale Klein said in an interview with VICE News, published Sunday.

Along with the other experts, Klein is worried by TEPCO not keeping the public informed about the dangers currently posed by the failed reactors. "They give off the perception that they're covering up something, when that isn't what they're doing at all," the analyst said.
TEPCO officials have repeatedly been accused of negligence and not sharing enough information with the public. Three months after the March 2011 catastrophe, The Wall Street Journal released a report based on interviews with TEPCO engineers, saying the company knew some of its reactors were incapable of withstanding a tsunami.
In August 2013, TEPCO admitted that 300 tons of highly radioactive water had leaked from the nuclear power plant, significantly more than the public was led to believe.
And early in August 2014, the company revealed that all the fuel rods in Fukushima Daiichi reactor three have apparently melted down, while in November, 2011, it was estimated that only 63 percent of the reactor’s fuel cord had melted.
The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant was severely damaged after a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami hit the plant in March 2011, leading to the extensive leakage of contaminated water into the surrounding environment.

The negative effects of the Fukushima nuclear disaster are still being felt. Last week, Fukushima Prefecture officials announced that the number of young people diagnosed with definitive or suspected thyroid cancer, a disease often caused by radiation exposure, has reached 104. To illustrate the negative effects the disaster has had on animals and insects, researchers cite the example of the pale grass blue butterfly, which has seen a reduction in size and an increased mortality rate in the region.

In June 2014, TEPCO began to erect a mile-long underground wall of ice around the damaged reactors to stop toxic water from leaking into the Pacific. Later that month the company said it was having trouble with the construction of the wall, as the pipes carrying the coolant were unable to freeze the ground. Still, in July TEPCO decided to move forward with the ice-wall plans, hoping to complete construction by March 2015.
 http://en.ria.ru/world/20140825/192327162/Effectiveness-of-Fukushima-Ice-Wall-Unclear-to-Experts.html
25/8/14
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Related:
 

• TEPCO moves 22 fuel rods from the 4th unit of NPP “Fukushima-1” to a special pool...

• Fukushima operator to start fuel-rod removal. -Japan's engineers prepare to move uranium and plutonium fuel rods as part of plant's decades-long decommissioning plan.

• Έως 44 δισ. ευρώ η απορρύπανση της Φουκουσίμα

TEPCO finds water leak area in crippled Fukushima No.1 reactor

Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, said it has identified the exact location of water leakage at the bottom of the container of the plant's No. 1 reactor, local media reported Wednesday.

The company said that a remote-controlled robot survey found that water was leaking from a joint in a pipe connected to the No. 1 reactor's primary containment vessel, Kyodo News said.

The metal bellow joint is likely to have been corroded by seawater that was used as an emergency measure to cool the reactor during the early stage of the nuclear crisis triggered by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, Kyodo quoted a TEPCO official as saying.

The official, according to the report, denied the possibility that the leakage was caused because the earthquake damaged equipment, adding TEPCO will continue to investigate if there are other areas of leakage nearby.

Confirmation of locations of water leakages is an important part of TEPCO's plan to scrap the No. 1 to 3 reactors, which suffered meltdowns as the operator has to plug the leaks and fill the containers with water that serves as radiation shield so as to remove the melted fuel.
(Xinhua)- [cntv.cn]
28/5/14
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US Navy sailors sue Fukushima operators for £600m

Nearly 80 US Navy sailors who supported Japan after the Fukushima disaster demanded £612 million (US$1bn) from Tokyo Electric Power Plant (Tepco), operators of Fukushima. According to plaintiffs, over the last three years they have suffered from different diseases as a result of radiation exposure.

An earthquake that was followed by tsunami and nuclear disaster took place March 11,2011. The USS Ronald Reagan super-carrier was sent to the northeast coast of Japan to assist the country.

The vessel crew that includes sailors and support personnel claims that during the operation, called Operation Tomodachi, they were exposed to radioactive plumes. According to them, since the accident they have suffered from different health issues, ranging from cancer to fertility problems.

Their claims were submitted to San Diego District Court in California. Paul C Garner, a lawyer representing the Nevy sailors, says that "they are suing Tepco for negligence in permitting escape of radiation from Fukushima nuclear power plant, strict liability, fraudulent concealment of true facts and a $1 billion medical fund plus compensation."

This is an amended claim, as an earlier version was dismissed by the judge in San Diego last year.

The US government assured that the levels of radiation were too low and the sailors couldn't get their health damaged. The government also published a list of exposure details.

The US Navy spokesman told The Telegraph that after the operation all crew was monitored and the levels of radiation exposure were very low.

Vessels' personnel deny Government's proofs and continue to stand their ground.

Lt Steven Simmons, a 36-year-old administration officer, told that he had fallen ill within months of returning to the US from his deployment on the USS Reagan. He said that doctors didn't do internal and external monitoring of people. He also said that though he heard via intercom that "contaminants" got into water, he had already had his breakfast and had drunk several glasses of water. Mr. Simmons used to be a very healthy man. He used to doing the P90-X work out and claimed the "Stairway to Heaven" in Hawaii. After his return, his health began to decline. Today he is wheelchair bound father of three children. Doctors say that it can't be a radiation poisoning. Otherwise, Lt Simmons would have been affected earlier.

Tepco that is now facing a large number of lawsuits from Fukushima residents doesn't comment on the issue. The company's representative thanks the US for all its help and assures that the company would appropriate all measures, assigned by the Court in US.

Today, three years after the Fukushima disaster, concerns in the region are growing. Local city governments are adopting resolutions that stipulate more intensive testing of coastal seafood. Some scientists think that seaborne radiation from Fukushima will wash up on the US West Coast. Nevertheless, the most of scientists assure that radiation will decay or lessen to the concentrations that don't have any effect on people's health.

Voice of Russia, Telegraph
 http://voiceofrussia.com/2014_02_09/US-Navy-sailors-sue-Fukushima-operators-for-600m-3939/
9/2/14
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Related:

• US West Coast on high alert against tsunami-washed Japanese invasive species

• Fukushima debris island the size of Texas floating to the US.

• Έως 44 δισ. ευρώ η απορρύπανση της Φουκουσίμα

US West Coast on high alert against tsunami-washed Japanese invasive species

While winter storms have plunged temperatures across various parts of the United States, the West Coast is bracing itself for an altogether different – yet still very unwelcome – set of seasonal hazards: invading marine life from Japan.
Almost three years after the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami ravaged Japan’s east coast and set off the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, dislodged debris from the site is still washing up onto American shores. Yet while scientists have downplayed the possibility that the wreckage is contaminated with radiation, they are keeping their eyes peeled for hostile sea creatures hitching rides from across the Pacific. 


The answer is ‘yes,’ there is a real threat,” John Chapman of the Oregon State University’s Marine Bioinvasion Lab told RT in an interview, noting that well over 150 marine species have arrived on the coast over the last year. “These [creatures] have the potential to invade local habitats.”
Currently, government agencies across California, Oregon, and Washington are drafting comprehensive surveys of their coasts in an attempt to determine exactly what species have reached their shores and which, if any, have been able to successfully establish themselves in local habitats.
“We’re still in the discovery phase,” Chapman said. “We’re still getting lots of debris” and even more is expected to arrive during the winter season, which is typically when the majority of the rubble washes ashore. Scientists previously believed that native Japanese marine life could not survive the voyage across the Pacific Ocean, but the results have proven quite the opposite.
“We’ve been wrong on all our predictions so far,” Chapman said.
Over the last two years, entire docks have made their way to the shores of Oregon and Washington, housing dozens of non-native marine life. Meanwhile, other instances have seen fishing vessels surface with entirely different communities of life onboard. Already, scientists and researchers have pinpointed a number of potentially hazardous arrivals.
According to marine biologist Steve Rumrill, of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), two species discovered in the state were on the Global Invasive Species Database’s list of the world’s 100 worst invaders: Wakame, a seaweed native to Japan that began reproducing as soon as it arrived in America, and the Northern Pacific seastar, which he described as a voracious predator that could decimate local shellfish populations.............................http://rt.com/usa/japan-invasive-species-west-coast-587/
3/2/14
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Related:

• Fukushima debris island the size of Texas floating to the US.

• Los Angeles prepares to fight Fukushima debris

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• Έως 44 δισ. ευρώ η απορρύπανση της Φουκουσίμα

• Fukushima: Verstrahltes Wasser bedroht den Pazifik 

• Inside Fukushima: TEPCO releases pics from inside nuclear plant after tsunami (PHOTOS)

• H ιστορία στο Τόκιο:Συνομιλίες υπουργών και εμπειρογνωμόνων στη Φουκουσίμα για την πυρηνική ασφάλεια (Nuclear Safety)

TEPCO detects record radiation at Fukushima’s reactor 2, new leak suspected

TEPCO has found a record 1.9 million becquerels per liter of beta ray-emitting radioactive substances at its No.2 reactor. Also radioactive cesium was detected in deeper groundwater at No.4 unit’s well, as fears grow of a new leak into the ocean.
The level of beta ray-emitting radioactivity in groundwater around the crippled Fukushima reactor No. 2 reactor has been rising since November, NHK reported.

Previous the highest level – 1.8 million becquerels (bq/liter), of beta-ray sources per liter - was registered at reactor No.1 on December 13.

Meanwhile, TEPCO’s latest examination of deeper groundwater beneath the #4 reactor's well has raised new concerns that there might be another source of radioactive substances leakage into the ocean.

For the first time, the analysis of water samples taken from a layer 25 meters beneath the No. 4 reactor's well that is facing the ocean has revealed radioactivity in groundwater.

TEPCO investigators detected 6.7 bq/liter of Cesium 137 and 89 bq/liter of strontium as well as other beta ray-emitting radioactive substances.

However, the company’s officials said that it is early to talk about a hotspot of radiation leak and more examinations are needed to prove that. TEPCO suggested that current numbers could be wrong because radioactive substances may have been mistakenly mixed during the process of getting the sample.

Leakage of radiation-contaminated water has been the major threat to Japan’s population and environment from the very beginning of the Fukushima disaster in March 2011.

Only in late July 2013 did TEPCO acknowledge the fact that contaminated water is escaping from basements and trenches of the Fukushima plant into the ocean.

Since then, TEPCO reported about two major leaks of highly radioactive water into the ocean from storage tanks – a 300-ton leak in August and 430 liters in October. 
rt.com
21/12/13
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• Fukushima: Verstrahltes Wasser bedroht den Pazifik 

• Fukushima: le typhon a fait couler de l'eau radioactive dans un fossé...

TEPCO moves 22 fuel rods from the 4th unit of NPP “Fukushima-1” to a special pool...

Specialists from the Japanese energy company TEPCO, operator of the accident-struck nuclear power plant, “Fukushima -1” have successfully moved 22 fuel elements (rods) from the container to a special pool just 100 meters away from the fourth unit, is being reported in a press release.
Work on extraction of the fuel rods at the fourth power plant, “Fukushima -1” began on Monday, the 18th of November. In the fourth power unit, 1.533 fuel elements are stored, most of them consisting of spent nuclear fuel.


 Last year, TEPCO, in test mode, removed two of them and made sure that the elements have not been corroded, allowing the beginning of their safe removal. 

The Company expects that work on extraction of the fuel elements at the fourth power plant, “Fukushima -1” will be completed by the end of next year.

Read more: http://indian.ruvr.ru/news/2013_11_23/TEPCO-moves-fuel-rods-from-Fukushima/
23/11/13
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Related:

• Fukushima operator to start fuel-rod removal. -Japan's engineers prepare to move uranium and plutonium fuel rods as part of plant's decades-long decommissioning plan.

Ρομπότ εντοπίζει διαρροές στη Φουκουσίμα.

Για πρώτη φορά ένα τηλεκατευθυνόμενο ρομπότ εντόπισε το ακριβές σημείο διαρροής ραδιενεργού ύδατος από τον αντιδραστήρα 1 της πυρηνικής μονάδας της Φουκουσίμα στην Ιαπωνία.

Χθες, 14 Νοεμβρίου, το ρομπότ που φέρει ειδική κάμερα εντόπισε δύο ρωγμές σε δεξαμενή μέσα στο “τείχος” που περικλείει τον αντιδραστήρα.

Εντωμεταξύ, σήμερα η διαχειρίστρια εταιρεία, Tepco, ανακοίνωσε ότι εντοπίστηκε νέα διαρροή από δεξαμενή ραδιενεργού ύδατος στον πυρηνικό σταθμό της Φουκουσίμα, αντίστοιχη με τη διαρροή που είχε σημειωθεί προ μερικών μηνών.

«Τεχνικός μιας συνεργαζόμενης εταιρείας εντόπισε τη διαρροή σήμερα στις 08:50», αναφέρει στην ανακοίνωσή της η Tepco.


“Μια σταγόνα έπεφτε κάθε 4 δευτερόλεπτα», εξήγησε η εταιρεία.

Μέτρηση που έγινε 50 εκατοστά από το σημείο διαρροής του ύδατος αποκάλυψε την παρουσία ραδιενέργειας 30 μιλισιβέρτ την ώρα, ένα μάλλον υψηλό επίπεδο, το οποίο οφείλεται κυρίως στις ακτίνες βήτα από τις οποίες οι εργάτες μπορούν εύκολα να προστατευτούν.

Η Tepco ανακοίνωσε αργότερα ότι έσφιξε τα μπουλόνια κοντά στο σημείο της διαρροής, η οποία σταμάτησε.

Σύμφωνα με την εταιρεία, το επίπεδο του ύδατος που μετρήθηκε στο εσωτερικό της δεξαμενής είναι ανάλογο με εκείνο στη διπλανή δεξαμενή, πράγμα που σημαίνει ότι η ποσότητα του ραδιενεργού ύδατος που διέρρευσε είναι πολύ μικρή.

Η Tepco διατηρεί τεράστιες ποσότητες ραδιενεργού ύδατος στη μονάδα της Φουκουσίμα ώστε να μπορέσει να ψύξει τις λιωμένες ράβδους καυσίμου ουρανίου των τριών κατεστραμμένων αντιδραστήρων.

Ωστόσο, οι τεχνικοί της παραδέχτηκαν ότι δεν γνωρίζουν τον όγκο ραδιενεργού ύδατος που διαρρέει καθημερινά και ότι αντίστοιχα προβλήματα με τον αντιδραστήρα 1 αντιμετωπίζουν οι αντιδραστήρες 2 και 3.

Η διαχειρίστρια εταιρεία θα συνεχίσει να χρησιμοποιεί ρομπότ όχι μόνο για το έργο του εντοπισμού ραδιενεργών υδάτων αλλά και για την τιτάνια επιχείρηση αποξήλωσης των αντιδραστήρων.
econews, sigmalive,mme, RT
18/11/13
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• Robot detects locations of radioactive leaks at crippled Fukushima nuclear plant.

Fukushima operator to start fuel-rod removal. -Japan's engineers prepare to move uranium and plutonium fuel rods as part of plant's decades-long decommissioning plan.

 -

The operator of Japan's wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant has taken the first step in the long and hazardous process of decommissioning the facility, extracting four fuel-rods from their container for later removal.
Tokyo Electric Power Co, known as Tepco, said it transferred the uranium and plutonium rods to a steel cask within the same cooling pool in a badly damaged reactor building, beginning on Monday the delicate and unprecedented task of removing 400 tons of highly irradiated spent fuel from that reactor.

"We will continue with the work from tomorrow and proceed, paying close attention to safety," Tepco said in a statement.
The removal of the rods was the most difficult and dangerous task undertaken since runaway reactors were brought under control two years ago.
It follows months of setbacks and glitches that have stoked widespread criticism of the utility's handling of the crisis, the worst nuclear accident in a generation.
The work pales in comparison with the much more complex task that awaits engineers, who will have to remove the misshapen cores of three reactors that went into meltdown.
More than 1,500 rods must be pulled out of the storage pool where they were being kept when a tsunami smashed into Fukushima in March 2011.
Over the course of two days, the company said it expects to remove 22 rods, with the entire operation scheduled to run for more than a year.
A huge crane with a remotely controlled grabber will be lowered into the pool and hook onto the rods, placing them inside a fully immersed cask.

Complicated decommissioning
The 91-ton cask will then be hauled from the pool - to be loaded onto a trailer and taken to a different storage pool about 100 metres away.
Experts have warned that slip-ups could quickly cause the situation to deteriorate. Even minor mishaps will create considerable delays to the already long and complicated decommissioning.
While such operations are routine at other nuclear plants, the disaster has made conditions far more complex, TEPCO has said.
Months of setbacks at the plant have included multiple leaks from tanks storing radioactive water, and a power outage caused when a rat electrocuted itself on a circuit board.
Tepco's management of the problems has been criticised as haphazard and uncoordinated, with one government minister saying it was like watching someone playing "whack-a-mole".
The full decommissioning of Fukushima is likely to take decades and include tasks that have never been attempted anywhere in the world.
Villages and towns nearby remain largely empty. Fear of radiation makes residents unable or unwilling to return to live in the shadow of the leaking plant.
aljazeera.com
18/11/13
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Related:
 

• Robot detects locations of radioactive leaks at crippled Fukushima nuclear plant.

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• Fukushima: Verstrahltes Wasser bedroht den Pazifik 

• Φουκουσίμα: «Δεν είναι ανησυχητική» για το περιβάλλον η διαρροή ραδιενεργού ύδατος.

 

Robot detects locations of radioactive leaks at crippled Fukushima nuclear plant.

This handout picture taken by Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) on November 13, 2013 shows US nuclear expert Lake Barrett (R) inspecting the unit four reactor building of the crippled TEPCO's Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant at Okuma town in Fukushima prefecture. (AFP Photo/TEPCO)

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For the first time, a remote-controlled robot has detected the exact spot of radioactive water leaks from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant’s Reactor 1, local media reported.

The robot was sent close to the lower part of the Reactor 1 containment vessel at the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi on Wednesday. Its camera captured images of radioactive water leaking from two holes of the vessel into the building housing the reactor, NHK television reported. 
The lower section of the vessel contains water that cools the molten nuclear fuel rods, damaged after the March 2011 earthquake that triggered a tsunami which hit the Fukushima nuclear facility.
The radiation levels in the inspected area were reported at 0.9 to 1.8 sieverts an hour, while a typical release of radiation is generally accepted to be 1 millisievert a year.
Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the nuclear plant’s operator responsible for the cleanup, has to keep the melted uranium fuel rods of the three damaged reactors cool for them to be relatively stable. Thus, the operator is storing huge amounts of radioactive water at Fukushima nuclear facility.
However, TEPCO engineers said that they cannot estimate the amount of water that leaked through the holes, NHK reported. They also admitted that Reactors 2 and 3 of the Fukushima Daiichi have similar problems.
TEPCO is now planning to use robots to locate other leaks which have been causing concern, as it is important not only in solving water contamination problems but also in carrying out decommissioning of the reactors.

This handout picture taken by Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) on November 13, 2013 shows US nuclear expert Lake Barrett and TEPCO workers inspecting the spent fuel pool at the unit four reactor building of the crippled TEPCO's Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant at Okuma town in Fukushima prefecture. (AFP Photo/TEPCO)

Earlier in November, TEPCO announced that by the end of the month the company will start extracting more than 1,500 fuel rods from the No 4 reactor of the crippled nuclear plant, which contains 10 times more Cesium-137 than Chernobyl did.
The rods are expected to be placed in the outdoor pool at the station by the end of next year.
However, scientists have urged caution as such an operation has never been undertaken, while a mishap could release a huge amount of radiation into the atmosphere or cause an explosion many times worse than the original disaster.
“If something goes wrong this could be a global catastrophe that dwarfs what has happened in Fukushima Daiichi thus far,” Kevin Kamps, a nuclear waste specialist from the organization Beyond Nuclear told RT.
According to experts, complete elimination of the consequences of the nuclear catastrophe will take from 30 to 40 years.
The crippled reactors of the nuclear facility are located near the coast of the Pacific Ocean. After the tsunami that hit Fukushima, the cores of the three reactors melted and burnt through the concrete basement of the reactor zone. The water used to cool them has been leaking into the soil and contaminating the ground water on the premises of the nuclear facility. This water eventually started seeping into the Pacific. According to estimations from Japan’s Ministry of Industry, around 300 tons of contaminated groundwater has leaked into the ocean daily since the nuclear disaster occurred in 2011.
rt.com
14/11/13
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Related:

• Fukushima: Verstrahltes Wasser bedroht den Pazifik 

• Radiation levels in Fukushima bay highest since measurements began - reports...

• Φουκουσίμα: «Δεν είναι ανησυχητική» για το περιβάλλον η διαρροή ραδιενεργού ύδατος.

• Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant leaking contaminated water....

• Japan Reports Soaring Fukushima Groundwater Radiation...

• Έως 44 δισ. ευρώ η απορρύπανση της Φουκουσίμα

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  • TEPCO admits Fukushima-1 reactors leak radioactive water to Pacific Ocean

  • Φόβοι για εκροή ραδιενεργού ύδατος από το εργοστάσιο της Φουκουσίμα στη θάλασσα 

• Radioactive cesium level soars 90-fold at Fukushima in just 3 days...

Fukushima debris island the size of Texas floating to the US.

A massive island of debris is slowly making its way to the United States after forming in the wake of the tsunami that rocked Japan back in 2011. The tsunami killed almost 16,000 people in Japan, caused numerous problems at the nuclear plant in Fukushima, and dislodged more than 1.5 million floating objects into the Pacific Ocean. Now, a collection of debris the size of Texas is roughly 1,700 miles off the coast of California. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the debris scattered by the tsunami has been spread around an area of the ocean that’s three times the size of the continental United States. It also said to expect trash to continue arriving on American shores for the next few years. Already, objects such as boats, rooftops, soccer balls, and docks have hit various parts of the West Coast. Even more will arrive with the Texas-sized island, but, more than the trash, scientists are interested in the organisms that could be living on them........http://rt.com/usa/fukushima-debris-island-texas-266/5/11/13--

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Related:

• Los Angeles prepares to fight Fukushima debris

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• Έως 44 δισ. ευρώ η απορρύπανση της Φουκουσίμα

• Fukushima: Verstrahltes Wasser bedroht den Pazifik 

• Inside Fukushima: TEPCO releases pics from inside nuclear plant after tsunami (PHOTOS)

• H ιστορία στο Τόκιο:Συνομιλίες υπουργών και εμπειρογνωμόνων στη Φουκουσίμα για την πυρηνική ασφάλεια (Nuclear Safety)

 

Σεισμός 7,1 Ρίχτερ στην Ιαπωνία - Προειδοποίηση για τσουνάμι. (WIDE TSUNAMI IS NOT EXPECTED)

Προειδοποίηση για τσουνάμι εξέδωσαν οι Αρχές της Ιαπωνίας, μετά τη σεισμική δόνηση μεγέθους 7,1 βαθμών της κλίμακας Ρίχτερ που σημειώθηκε ανοιχτά της Xονσού της Ιαπωνίας, σύμφωνα με το Αμερικανικό Γεωλογικό Ινστιτούτο (USGS).
Η προειδοποίηση τέθηκε σε ισχύ για τις επαρχίες Ιουάτε, Φουκουσίμα, Μιγιάγκι και Ιμπαράκι. Όπως μετέδωσε το ιαπωνικό πρακτορείο ειδήσεων «Kyodonews», εργαζόμενοι στο κατεστραμμένο πυρηνικό εργοστάσιο της Φουκουσίμα έλαβαν εντολή να εγκαταλείψουν τον χώρο των εγκατάστασεων που βρισκόταν κοντά στη θάλασσα.

 Εκπρόσωπος της διαχειρίστριας εταιρείας «Τepco» ανακοίνωσε πως δεν παρατηρήθηκε κάποιο νέο πρόβλημα στο εργοστάσιο.


Εκπρόσωπος της αστυνομίας ανακοίνωσε πως δεν υπάρχουν αναφορές για τραυματίες σε καμία επαρχία της χώρας. 
 (zougla.gr)
25/10/13
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• M 7.1 - OFF EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN - 2013-10-25 17:10:17 UTC.....local time: 02:10....324 km SE of Ishinomaki, Japan

Magnitude Mw 7.1 Region OFF EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN Date time 2013-10-25 17:10:17.0 UTC Location 37.22 N ; 144.66 E Depth 10 km Distances 477 km E of Tokyo, Japan / pop: 8,336,599 / local time: 02:10:17.0 2013-10-26 354 km E of Sendai-shi, Japan / pop: 1,037,562 / local time: 02:10:17.0 2013-10-26 324 km SE of Ishinomaki, Japan / pop: 117,233 / local time: 02:10:17.0 2013-10-26

Source parameters reviewed by a seismologist ----

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TSUNAMI INFORMATION STATEMENT NUMBER   1
NWS PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER EWA BEACH HI
720 AM HST FRI OCT 25 2013

TO - CIVIL DEFENSE IN THE STATE OF HAWAII

SUBJECT - TSUNAMI INFORMATION STATEMENT

THIS STATEMENT IS FOR INFORMATION ONLY. NO ACTION REQUIRED.

AN EARTHQUAKE HAS OCCURRED WITH THESE PRELIMINARY PARAMETERS

   ORIGIN TIME - 0710 AM HST 25 OCT 2013
   COORDINATES - 37.2 NORTH  144.6 EAST
   LOCATION    - OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU  JAPAN
   MAGNITUDE   - 7.5  MOMENT

EVALUATION

 BASED ON ALL AVAILABLE DATA A DESTRUCTIVE PACIFIC-WIDE TSUNAMI IS
 NOT EXPECTED AND THERE IS NO TSUNAMI THREAT TO HAWAII. REPEAT. A
 DESTRUCTIVE PACIFIC-WIDE TSUNAMI IS NOT EXPECTED AND THERE IS NO
 TSUNAMI THREAT TO HAWAII.

THIS WILL BE THE ONLY STATEMENT ISSUED FOR THIS EVENT UNLESS
ADDITIONAL DATA ARE RECEIVED.

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 Μετασεισμοί 26/10/13 (9:30π.μ.)

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Φουκουσίμα: «Δεν είναι ανησυχητική» για το περιβάλλον η διαρροή ραδιενεργού ύδατος.

Οι επιπτώσεις στο περιβάλλον από τη διαρροή ραδιενεργού ύδατος στον πυρηνικό σταθμό της Φουκουσίμα δεν πρέπει να προκαλούν ανησυχίες, διαβεβαίωσε σήμερα ο πρόεδρος της Ρυθμιστικής Αρχής της Πυρηνικής Ενέργειας, ο οποίος κινήθηκε στο ίδιο μήκος κύματος με τον ιάπωνα πρωθυπουργό.
"Δεν μπορεί ν' αρνηθεί κανείς ότι ραδιενεργό ύδωρ διαφεύγει στη φύση, αλλά δεν υπάρχει λόγος για υπερβολική ανησυχία όσον αφορά τις επιπτώσεις στο περιβάλλον", τόνισε ο Σουνίτσι Τανάκα.

"Δεν πιστεύω ότι όσα είπε ο 'Αμπε είναι επιστημονικώς αβάσιμα. Ωστόσο, είναι απαραίτητο να ληφθούν μέτρα για να σταματήσει η διαρροή. Το ότι λέμε πως δεν είναι ανησυχητικό δε σημαίνει ότι δεν πρέπει να κάνουμε κάτι", πρόσθεσε.

Από τον Τανάκα ζητήθηκε να σχολιάσει τις καθησυχαστικές δηλώσεις του ιάπωνα πρωθυπουργού Σίνζο 'Αμπε, το Σάββατο, ενώπιον της Διεθνούς Ολυμπιακής Επιτροπής, πριν ανατεθεί στο Τόκιο η διοργάνωση των Ολυμπιακών Αγώνων του 2020.
Απαντώντας σε ερώτηση μέλους της ΔΟΕ για τις πρόσφατες διαρροές ραδιενεργού ύδατος στη Φουκουσίμα, ο 'Αμπε τόνισε: "Μη βλέπετε τους τίτλους των εφημερίδων, αλλά την πραγματικότητα. Οι επιπτώσεις έχουν περιοριστεί σε μια ζώνη 0,3km2 στο λιμάνι της Φουκουσίμα και "δεν υπήρξαν, δεν υπάρχουν και δε θα υπάρξουν προβλήματα για την υγεία".

Ο 'Αμπε διαβεβαίωσε ότι "η κατάσταση είναι υπό έλεγχο και ότι δεν έχει προκληθεί και δε θα προκληθεί ποτέ καμία ζημιά στο Τόκιο".

"Το χειρότερο που θα μπορούσε να συμβεί για τον πυρηνικό σταθμό είναι ένας σεισμός ή ένα τσουνάμι που θα κατέστρεφαν ό,τι έχει γίνει μέχρι σήμερα", πρόσθεσε.
Η εταιρεία Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) "δε διαχειρίστηκε το πρόβλημα των διαρροών με τον κατάλληλο τρόπο", παραδέχθηκε ωστόσο ο Τανάκα, ο οποίος εξέφρασε την ικανοποίησή του για την απόφαση της κυβέρνησης να αναλάβει η ίδια τον έλεγχο των επιχειρήσεων.
"Η πυρηνική αρχή θα λάβει και αυτή μέτρα για να σταματήσει το πρόβλημα των διαρροών", τόνισε.

Ο Τανάκα προειδοποίησε τέλος ότι πρέπει κάποια στιγμή να απορριφθεί στη θάλασσα ραδιενεργό ύδωρ, το οποίο είναι αποθηκευμένο στις δεξαμενές "εφόσον φιλτραριστεί σε ένα αποδεκτό από τη διεθνή κοινότητα επίπεδο".
imerisia.gr
11/9/13
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• Fukushima: Verstrahltes Wasser bedroht den Pazifik 

• Νέα διαρροή ραδιενέργειας στην Ιαπωνία. Αγνοείται η πηγή απ’ όπου προέρχεται η ραδιενέργεια.

• Φουκουσίμα: 30.000 δισ. μπεκερέλ καίσιου και στρόντιου στον ωκεανό - TEPCO

• Φουκουσίμα: Διαρροή ραδιενεργού νερού στον Ειρηνικό. Η κατάσταση χαρακτηρίζεται επείγουσα από την ρυθμιστική αρχή