http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110517p2a00m0na010000c.html
“”We’ve given up on venting operations (to lower reactor vessel pressure). The radiation is just too high.””
One of the engineers that helped develop the power system for GE indicated that they should have helicoptered in the necessary equipment. He even tried to contact them to help them. They were not receptive.
I speculate, with no real facts to back me up...that the reason we are seeing this massive data dump revealing what SOME here suspected long ago...is that the big money involved has had time to protect themselves as best that they can....and now people are finally going to get the info so that they realize just how bad it was and that TEPCO and Kan knew it.
http://www.physicsforums.com/showpost.php?p=3306489&postcount=7566
tsutsuji is Online:
Posts: 85
Re: Japan Earthquake: nuclear plants
http://www.zakzak.co.jp/society/dome...1643027-n1.htm tells the following : on May 15th boron was added to unit 3 but the temperature on May 16th is still high with 269°C instead of the required 100°C. A concrete wall is to be built surrounding underground floors to prevent contaminated water to leak into the earth (it is not clear which units are concerned). Reactor buildings at all 4 units (1,2,3 & 4) will be reinforced as a solution to the damages caused by the earthquake and tsunami.
http://www.chunichi.co.jp/s/article/...790154929.html provides a scenario for what happened at unit 2. On March 14th 10:50 AM pressure in the RPV rose to abnormal levels. Tepco performed venting twice, but because of some valve dysfunction, no pressure fall was confirmed. Then hydrogen leaked through welding cracks at the suppression chamber caused by the earthquake. The suppression chamber was damaged by the hydrogen explosion. An alternative view is that the explosion might have taken place inside the suppression chamber with oxygen flowing backwards during the venting.
Back-up cooling systems at Fukushima failed
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/17_04.html
The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has admitted that the reactors’ back-up cooling systems failed to function after the March 11th earthquake and tsunami.
Tokyo Electric Power Company on Monday revealed the plant’s operation records for the period following the disaster on March 11th.
An emergency condenser system at the Number 1 reactor functioned for less than 10 minutes after the earthquake. The failure lasted for 3 hours.
The utility suspects that workers manually shut down the system as pressure inside the reactor became so low that they were afraid of damage.
Another type of back-up cooling system at the No. 1 and 2 reactors lost power when the tsunami engulfed batteries.
TEPCO is still analyzing the data to assess the failure’s impact on fuel rods.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011 07:31 +0900 (JST)
Now that makes a lot of sense. Always follow the money.
The reasons there were explosions in #1, #2 and #3 was because the cores melted. That is what created the Hydrogen. So losing the buildings at that point was mute. IMHO.