TEPCO spraying water directly into No.2 reactor

[kristopher]

TEPCO spraying water directly into No.2 reactor

The operator of the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has begun injecting water directly onto the spot in the No. 2 reactor where the fuel is believed to be located after melting down in the pressure vessel.

Tokyo Electric Power Company has been spraying water continuously into the reactors since the March accident to cool them down.

As of 11AM on Wednesday, the bottom of the No.2 reactor was 114.4 degrees Celsius, compared to 84.9 degrees at the No.1 reactor and 101.3 at the No. 3 reactor.

TEPCO thinks the temperature at the No.2 reactor remains higher because the injected water is not cooling the place where the melted-down fuel is located.

On Wednesday...

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/15_05.html

[GodlessBiker]

1. Where is all this water going after it has come in contact with the fuel?

[ret5hd]

2. it mixes with groundwater and is diluted, poisoning more and more of japans groundwater.

And that's the GOOD news.

The bad news is the homeopaths are right and the more diluted it becomes the stronger it gets.

[FBaggins]

3. Most of the words in that post are spelled correctly...

... But the content is entirely nonsense.

[truebrit71]

5. Yup. There's nothing to worry about at the plant...it's all good...

...:eyes:

[FBaggins]

8. Nope... There's plenty to worry about

Which is why there's no point in making cr@p up like that BS.

[ret5hd]

9. well, tell us then, Humorlessman...

( i am imagining you scowling like the man on the cover of jethro tull's " aqualung")

is it because you know for a fact that the contaminated water is not escaping into the water table, or that you know for a fact the homeopaths are full of shit?

( careful!!! beware the wrath of the homeopaths!)

[bengalherder]

10. Touche. +1

And...extra points for the Jethro Tull reference.:fistbump:

[NickB79]

12. Personally, I'm going with B) homeopaths are full of shit

[RaleighNCDUer]

7. LOL

[kristopher]

4. They have a closed loop system with filters to reduce contamination before re-use.

The water isn't escaping any longer.

However, on that note, an independent research team has just released a new estimate of the amount of Cesium 137 released into the ocean that is 3X the official estimate:

"The researchers estimated that the amount of radioactive cesium-137 that was directly released into the sea came to 3,500 terabecquerels over the period from March to the end of May, while estimating that roughly 10,000 terabecquerels fell into the ocean after it was released into the air.
<snip>
According to the analysis, the cesium is expected to first disperse eastward into the northern Pacific from the coast of Fukushima Prefecture, northeast of Tokyo, via relatively shallow waters about 200 meters deep or less.
The cesium will then be carried southwestward from the eastern side of the International Date Line at a depth of 400 meters before some of it returns to the Japanese coast carried northward by the Japan Current from around the Philippines.
The analysis showed that some of the cesium will flow into the Indian Ocean from near the Philippines, and in another 40 years will reach the Atlantic, while some will turn westward south of the equator after reaching the eastern end of the Pacific and crossing the equator....

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110914p2g00m0dm104000c.html




A government map displaying radiation levels in the area around the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant.

[saras]

6. Into the ocean, of course, by way of the water table

[PearliePoo2]

11. It is out of control...face it.

They don't know where the corium blobs are. It's so hot no one can get in there.
Outside at a pipe, the readings were maxing out the instuments.
It's a fubar.

[FBaggins]

13. Did you read the OP?

The two reactors that previously activated sprays within the RPV have seen substantial temperature declines. If the bulk of the corium was out of the RPV (let alone out of the primary containment), this wouldn't be the case.

[kristopher]

14. Did you read the OP?

There is absolutely nothing about how much of the corium has escaped the RPV, you've made that up. You have also made up out of whole cloth the statement that "If the bulk of the corium was out of the RPV" the other two reactors would not have seen substantial temperature declines.

In fact, it has been made abundantly clear in previous announcements that most of the core has melted through and escaped the PRPV and is now located in the bottom of primary containment in an unknown configuration.

On Wednesday, the utility began using pipes located above where the fuel is believed to be, along with an existing pipe, to diversify the coolant passages as the exact spot where the fuel is, remains unknown.

[FBaggins]

15. Lol! So you not only read it, but posted it and STILL don't understand it?

What a shocker.

In fact, it has been made abundantly clear in previous announcements that most of the core has melted through and escaped the PRPV and is now located in the bottom of primary containment in an unknown configuration.

Sorry... that's not at all true. It has never "been made clear" that most of the core escaped the rpv, only that some of it is thought to have escaped.

the exact spot where the fuel is, remains unknown.

That's correct. They didn't know whether 1% escaped and 20% is sitting at the bottom of the RPV and the remaining corium is still above the support plates... or all of it melted to the bottom of the rpv and 5/10/20% exited to the primary containment... or ALL of it escaped into the primary containment.

The effectiveness of spraying within the RPV itself makes the later end of that range much less likely.

Just as I predicted http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=115x309011

[Name removed]

16. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[txlibdem]

17. I'll need to watch more about this on my 50 year old television, which uses vacuum tubes, no remote

I've been trying to listen to news reports on my 50 year old radio, also vacuum tubes, but all I get is that silly "Who's on first" routine from the young comedy team of Abbot and Costello. A young fella called Chet Huntley usually brings the news but I'm usually too busy changing the oil in my 50 year old car, or adjusting the clutch plate, or wishing my car had seat belts.

These 50 year old technologies that I use still today are just not as good or as fancy (and certainly not as safe) as the brand new designs of things but I'm having a hard time knowing the difference between a 50 year old technology and a modern one nowadays. I guess the old "thinker" aint workin' like it used to.