Nuclear fuel debris lower than believed
Source: Agencies |
December 1, 2011, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
RADIOACTIVE debris from melted fuel rods may have seeped deeper into the floor of a Japan's tsunami-hit nuclear reactor than previously thought, to within a foot of breaching the crucial steel barrier, according to a new simulation yesterday.
The findings will not change continuing efforts to stabilize the reactors more than eight months after the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant was disabled.
Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power said its latest simulation showed fuel at the No. 1 reactor may have eroded part of the primary containment vessel's thick cement floor.
The fuel came within a foot of the container's steel wall in the worst-case scenario but has been somewhat cooled, the company's nuclear safety official Yoshihiro Oyama said at a government workshop.
He said the reactor had more extensive damage to its fuel rods because it lost cooling capacity before the other two, leaving the rods dry and overheated for hours before water was pumped in.
The nuclear crisis following the March earthquake and tsunami caused huge radiation leaks and the relocation of some 100,000 people.
Another simulation released yesterday by the government-funded Japan Nuclear Energy Safety Organization showed that the concrete erosion at the No. 1 reactor is believed to be less than 2 meters from the surface of the 7-meter-thick concrete floor.
Tokyo Power and government officials aim to achieve "cold shutdown" by the end of the year - a first step toward creating a sufficiently stable environment to work on removing the nuclear fuel and closing the plant.
A preliminary government report this month said it will take 30 years or more to decommission the plant safely.
Yesterday's simulation shows what happened early in the crisis and do not indicate recent deterioration.
The findings will not change continuing efforts to stabilize the reactors more than eight months after the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant was disabled.
Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power said its latest simulation showed fuel at the No. 1 reactor may have eroded part of the primary containment vessel's thick cement floor.
The fuel came within a foot of the container's steel wall in the worst-case scenario but has been somewhat cooled, the company's nuclear safety official Yoshihiro Oyama said at a government workshop.
He said the reactor had more extensive damage to its fuel rods because it lost cooling capacity before the other two, leaving the rods dry and overheated for hours before water was pumped in.
The nuclear crisis following the March earthquake and tsunami caused huge radiation leaks and the relocation of some 100,000 people.
Another simulation released yesterday by the government-funded Japan Nuclear Energy Safety Organization showed that the concrete erosion at the No. 1 reactor is believed to be less than 2 meters from the surface of the 7-meter-thick concrete floor.
Tokyo Power and government officials aim to achieve "cold shutdown" by the end of the year - a first step toward creating a sufficiently stable environment to work on removing the nuclear fuel and closing the plant.
A preliminary government report this month said it will take 30 years or more to decommission the plant safely.
Yesterday's simulation shows what happened early in the crisis and do not indicate recent deterioration.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
