U.S. Sees Array of New Threats at Japan’s Nuclear Plant

[nadinbrzezinski]

United States government engineers sent to help with the crisis in Japan are warning that the troubled nuclear plant there is facing a wide array of fresh threats that could persist indefinitely, and that in some cases are expected to increase as a result of the very measures being taken to keep the plant stable, according to a confidential assessment prepared by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Enlarge This Image

Reuters
Workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear station are dealing with new challenges.
Multimedia

Interactive Feature
Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Multimedia
Related

Company Says Radioactive Water Leak at Japan Plant Is Plugged (April 6, 2011)
Crisis Saddles Village With Unwanted Notoriety (April 6, 2011)
Radiation Errors Erode Confidence in Power Company (April 6, 2011)

Readers’ Comments
Readers shared their thoughts on this article.
Read All Comments (176) »
Among the new threats that were cited in the assessment, dated March 26, are the mounting stresses placed on the containment structures as they fill with radioactive cooling water, making them more vulnerable to rupture in one of the aftershocks rattling the site after the earthquake and tsunami of March 11. The document also cites the possibility of explosions inside the containment structures due to the release of hydrogen and oxygen from seawater pumped into the reactors, and offers new details on how semimolten fuel rods and salt buildup are impeding the flow of fresh water meant to cool the nuclear cores.

In recent days, workers have grappled with several side effects of the emergency measures taken to keep nuclear fuel at the plant from overheating, including leaks of radioactive water at the site and radiation burns to workers who step into the water. The assessment, as well as interviews with officials familiar with it, points to a new panoply of complex challenges that water creates for the safety of workers and the recovery and long-term stability of the reactors.

While the assessment does not speculate on the likelihood of new explosions or damage from an aftershock, either could lead to a breach of the containment structures in one or more of the crippled reactors, the last barriers that prevent a much more serious release of radiation from the nuclear core. If the fuel continues to heat and melt because of ineffective cooling, some nuclear experts say, that could also leave a radioactive mass that could stay molten for an extended period.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/06/world/asia/06nuclear.html?pagewanted=all

Yeah I know, the Daichi plant is doing just dandy... :sarcasm:

Sorry I need to go buy some bananas and brazil nuts!

:hi:

[FBaggins]

1. "New" threats four and a half months ago?

[godai]

2. This article is woefully out of date.

TEPCO is now circulating water, which is decontaminated, cooled and returned to the reactors. Not to say this is a resolved problem, since this will need to continue for 10 years or more. They are just implementing a second recirculation process, to incease capacity. The spent fuel rods are similarly being cooled, with a shorter time frame for removal.

They injected nitrogen a long time ago. What they don't need is another major earthquake.

[dtexdem]

3. But very timely given the earthquake and Irene on the U.S. east coast.

How soon might we be reading similar reports on Virginia?

[godai]

4. No tsunami to knock out the VA diesel generators.

The only comparison is that the VA reactors lost external power, as did Fukushima. But, diesel generators provided the necessary emergency power in VA.

How does the hurricane relate to nuclear reactors? Seems that it will barely touch the coast until NC, then Long Island.

There's nothing timely in the old article.

[nadinbrzezinski]

5. You might want to look up the dam that is keeping the lake going

yes, engineers told us that it wasn't damaged by the quake... alas the society of American Engineers gave it a D-... aka crumbling infrastructure.

They are also right now concerned that a pipe that carries a tad of radioactive water might have shattered.

No, it is NOT FUKUSHIMA... but it is NOT in the clear either...

Oh and it was designed for a 6.1... the quake was 5.8 or 5.9 depending on what expert you look at, and they are checking it right now for STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY.


I know these things are too much of a bother to look up or keep up... after all when Fuku just started we were reassured from here to Sunday as to how safe it was, and nothing to see here. If we all listened to industry ... oh never mind...

Where did I put by banananas and brazil nuts? Oh yes on top of my granite counter...

[godai]

6. I'm aware of Lake Anna. Dam was inspected and not damaged.

I guess they could be lying but what purpose would that serve?

A valid question is...IF the dam were to fail someday (possible) what backups does the nuclear plant have as far as water supply.

So, the plant (and dam) survived the worst earthquake in 100 years in this area and the hurricane will not effect inland Virginia. For better or worse, we need existing nuclear plants to survive natural disasters.

[FBaggins]

7. Oh no! They're checking for STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY???

What on earth is the all-caps for? Does it make it sound scarier to you?

What do you think a post-earthquake inspection is supposed to do if not check the structural integrity?

The way that some twist every little thing they read is ridiculous. I pointed some of it out yesterday. They vented steam and some ignorantly hyperventilated that it was Fukushima all over again. I read this morning that (GASP!) they're down to only one pump per reactor cooling them! (as if they didn't have a choice). And the fact that they were going into a cold shutdown was proof that this was more serious than people think. They found cracked insulation on a pipe and this too was scary. Just think how well they stick that stuff up there! It must have been quite a shake to break it free!