Posted on 05/05/2011 1:56:17 AM PDT by ransomnote
Situation Update No. 2 On 03.05.2011 at 04:34 GMT+2
Leaks of radioactive substances from fuel rods are suspected to have occurred at a nuclear power plant in Tsuruga, the Fukui prefectural government said Monday, citing a rise in the level of radioactive substances in coolant water. The operator, Japan Atomic Power Co., will manually shut down the No. 2 reactor of the plant on the Sea of Japan coast and examine the primary cooling system for it. The local government denied that the levels of radioactive substances could threaten the nearby environment. According to Japan Atomic, 4.2 becquerels of iodine-133 and 3,900 becquerels of xenon gas were detected per cubic centimeter Monday, up from 2.1 and 5.2 becquerels, respectively, during previous measurements conducted last Tuesday. It is possible that a pinhole has been created in a zirconium alloy encasing fuel pellets, according to sources at Japan Atomic. The company said the planned shutdown is a precaution following the crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi power station caused by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. Japan Atomic's regulations require a reactor to be halted when the amount of leaked iodine reaches 40,000 becquerels. The company said it will increase the frequency of measurements to once a day from once a week before deciding when to shut down the reactor.
(Excerpt) Read more at hisz.rsoe.hu ...
This is supposedly a MOX plant. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsuruga_Nuclear_Power_Plant
Since the latest guess in pin-holes in cladding I am hoping the issue is small for them and does not over burden their current nuke work load - they have enough to do already.
Ah...I see that you have to click on ‘situation update’ tab at the link to read the excerpt and the prior update #1.
this is a different power operator?
pinholes in currently-in-use rods don’t sound good - what causes pinholes? in titanium? no coolant?
oops titanium s/b zirconium
Yes - different operator: Japan Atomic Power Company
See I was thinking pin hole = pin hole sized problem?
I just read update 1 and here’s a surprising excerpt:
While intensive fact-finding continues, experts are drawing similarities with leaking fuel assemblies which sparked an ongoing nuclear crisis in Fukushima prefecture, following the partial meltdown of nuclear fuel rods in assemblies at quake and tsunami- damaged reactor buildings at Tokyo Electric Power Company’s No. 1 nuclear plant in Fukushima prefecture. Among cities on the Japan Sea coast, Tsuruga is the nearest city to the Pacific Ocean and is well known for its seafood trade. But the coastal region has been plagued with nuclear problems, including in December 1995 when a sodium leak caused a major fire and forced an emergency shutdown. However, the details were withheld from the public in a massive cover-up and according to official sources, reports were falsified, videotape footage taken immediately after the accident was edited and a gag order was issued to the plant’s employees.
Well that Is interesting! (the falsification of records isn’t so surprising but it being a similar issue as TEPCO is)
I wonder who makes the fuel rod assemblies? not exactly an item one would order from Wal-mart! Maybe a shipment meant for Iran made it to Japan instead? ooopsie!
Any number of things.
Tiny bits of debris in the reactor coolant or minor chemical impurities in the reactor coolant are the most common things that cause corrosion on the fuel rods.
Pin hole leaks are not uncommon in reactor fuel rods but are becoming less common as time goes on and reactor operators learn how to prevent them.
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