Posted on 03/17/2011 8:31:07 AM PDT by hc87
Please post current Fukushima reactors news and links here.
much better and slower over flyover video...is that what’s left of the pumps(where they pause)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=lBXqiw6EJUk
Earlier Thursday, the government used aerial water drops -- after aborting the plan a day earlier because of radiation danger to the helicopter pilots.
Anchor them near site, plumb to the shore and use static nozzles on target(s).
Japan's Self-Defense Forces have sprayed water on the overheated No.3 reactor of the quake-damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.The forces finished the 30-minute operation on Thursday evening. Five fire engines loaded with a total of 30 tons of water were used.
But the Defense Ministry says it has not confirmed whether the water reached the storage pool housing spent fuel rods, though it reached the inside of the building that houses it.
The forces are preparing to repeat the exercise on Friday if requested by the government.
Temperatures are rising in the spent fuel rod pools of the plant's No.3 and No.4 reactors, where a massive radiation leakage is feared.
Earlier in the day, police also used high-pressure water canons to douse the No.3 reactor from the ground. But the water failed to reach the target, and the operation was suspended due to high radiation levels.
#1 reactor building structure appears to be a lighter structure (upper two floors, at least) than the other three buildings. Possibly light steel framing with thin "Transite" (cement + asbestos) panels that blew away cleanly -- leaving the structure open for venting. That may have turned out to be advantageous for venting a hydrogen explosion -- without transferring damage to the rest of the building.
#s 2 - 4 appear to be robust reinforced concrete wall structure with thick, pre-cast concrete panels set in from the outside and grouted in place. When hydrogen in those buildings blew, the resistance of the panels (before detaching) apparently transfered force into the reinforced concrete structure and transferred damage to it.
#2 building has only a single pre-cast panel (on the seaward side) blown out. Some images show steam/smoke venting through that hole. The damage in #2 reactor is supposedly below grade -- in the "Steam Suppression Torus"...
The structure of building #3 looks pretty well mangled -- almost down to grade.
#4 building is troubling: many of the pre-cast panels (especially on the seaward side) are blown away -- leaving the reinforced concrete structure severely "racked and cracked". IMHO, it is not unlikely that that cracking damage could have extended to the walls/floor of the used fuel cooling pool on the ?5th? floor. If that is the case, that pool may have a serious crack/leak. In the video, you can see brownish-gray smoke or contaminated steam coming from the approximate location of the cooling pool in #4...
For reference, the landward side corresponds to the viewpoint of the most commonly-used cutaway drawing. (The fuel-delivery portals/ rail tracks are on the west side at the southwest corner.)
Could the reason for the ups & downs of the radiation readings be due to leaks in the storage pool? Just saying, cause the temp keeps rising & then falling again when they are adding water, so sounds to me that there may be leaks & they are not water tight anymore.
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