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Containment Breach Suspected at Fukushima

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Along with the report of an internal explosion at the Fukushima No 2 reactor reports of what seems to be at least a partial reactor containment breach have been made:


Part of the container of a troubled nuclear reactor appears to be damaged, the Japanese government said today, a development that could indicate the possibility of serious radiation leaks.

Chief cabinet secretary Yukio Edano told reporters “damage appears on the suppression pool” – the bottom part of the container that contains water used to cool the reactor and control air pressure inside.

“But we have not recorded any sudden jump in radiation indicators,” Mr Edano said, without elaborating.

Japan fears damage to reactor container AFP via ABC 14 Mar 11

TEPCO reports the partial evacuation of operators from the facility.  Previously there was a report of an explosion at Fukushima No 2:


TOKYO – Japan’s nuclear safety agency says an explosion has been heard at Unit 2 of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant. An agency spokesman speaking Tuesday on national television said the explosion was heard at 6:10 a.m.

Japanese agency: Explosion heard at nuclear plant AP via Yahoo News 14 Mar 11

In the TEPCO news conference recently the translator mentioned that the explosion was heard “…in the vicinity of the reactor.”

Very little information is available at this time:



The latest explosion was heard at 6:10 a.m. Tuesday (2110 GMT Monday), a spokesman for the Nuclear Safety Agency said at a news conference. The plant’s owner, Tokyo Electric Power Co., said the explosion occurred near the suppression pool in the reactor’s containment vessel. The pool was later found to have a defect.

International scientists have said there are serious dangers but not at the level of the 1986 blast in Chernobyl. Japanese authorities were injecting seawater as a coolant of last resort, and advising nearby residents to stay inside to avoid contamination.

Tokyo Electric Power said some employees of the power plant were temporarily evacuated following Tuesday morning’s blast.

Japanese agency: Explosion heard at nuclear plant AP 14 Mar 11

Worth noting that there has been no confirmation of a radioactivity release of any significance as a consequence.  However:


Government officials admitted that it was “highly likely” the fuel rods in three separate reactors had started to melt despite repeated efforts to cool them with sea water. Safety officials said they could not rule out a full meltdown as workers struggled to keep temperatures under control in the cores of the reactors.

The Fukushima crisis now rates as a more serious accident than the partial meltdown at Three Mile Island in the US in 1979, and is second only to the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, according to the French nuclear safety authority. After insisting for three days that the situation was under control, Japan urgently appealed to US and UN nuclear experts for technical help on preventing white-hot fuel rods melting.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said it was “unlikely” that the accident would turn into another Chernobyl, but failed to rule it out completely.

Gordon Rayner and Martin Evans – Japan crisis: third explosion raises spectre of nuclear nightmare Telegraph 14 Mar 11

Unfortunately the quantity and reliability of information being made available to the public seems to be declining as the incident unfolds amid emerging media discussions of past infractions by the operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, and allegations of complicity on the part of the Nuclear, Industrial and Safety Agency and succesive past governments of Japan.


Categories: Uncategorized.

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138 comments

  2. Shaun Appleby

    Sending eight additional NRC personnel to Japan:


    Acting as part of a U.S. Agency for International Development assistance team, the NRC has dispatched eight additional experts to Tokyo to provide assistance as requested by the Japanese government.

    The first members of the team left the United States Monday evening and were due to arrive in Tokyo Wednesday afternoon. The team includes additional reactor experts, international affairs professional staffers, and a senior manager from one of the NRC’s four operating regions.

    NRC Sends Additional Experts to Assist Japan 14 Mar 11

    At least we will know at governmental level what the hell is going on.  I’m guessing the cables home from the Seventh Fleet recently lit up a few offices back in DC.

  3. Shaun Appleby

    The report of damage to the containment vessel matches a warning from a BRW Mk I comment recently in another thread, forgive the reposting, but apparently the containment of these GE BWRs has known vulnerabilities:

    While the authorities continue playing down the possibility of a breach of the primary containment at these reactors, I remain concerned. Fukushima Dai-Ichi reactor Units 1, 2, and 3 are boiling water reactors with Mark I containments. The Mark I is unusually vulnerable to containment failure in the event of a core-melt accident. A recent study by Sandia National Laboratories shows that the likelihood of containment failure in this case is nearly 42% (see Table 4-7 on page 97). The most likely failure scenario involves the molten fuel burning through the reactor vessel, spilling onto the containment floor, and spreading until it contacts and breeches the steel containment-vessel wall. 

    The Sandia report characterizes these probabilities as “quite high.”  It’s not straightforward to interpret these results in the context of the very complicated and uncertain situation at Fukushima. But they are a clear indication of a worrisome vulnerability of the Mark I containment should the core completely melt and escape the reactor vessel.

    Ed Lyman – Sunday Update on Fukushima Reactors All Things Nuclear 13 Mar 11

    Not reassuring but perhaps prophetic.  It should be emphasised it is unclear what the status of the reactor core is but it would be equally difficult for operators at the plant to determine at his point.  Numerous authorities have pointed out that the Three Mile Island PWR containment was significantly more “sturdy” than the GE Fukushima configuration.

  4. Shaun Appleby

    The Times seems to have pretty good sources of their own with this alternate report:


    This explosion, reported to have occurred at 6:14 a.m., happened in the “pressure suppression room” in the cooling area of the reactor and inflicted some degree of damage on the pool of water used to cool the reactor, officials of Tokyo Electric Power said. But they did not say whether or not the incident had impacted the integrity of the steel containment structure that shields the nuclear fuel.

    Radiation levels around plant spiked after the explosion to 8,217 microsieverts an hour from 1,941 about 40 minutes earlier, the company said. Some emergency workers there were evacuated, though the levels would have to rise far higher to pose an immediate threat to health, officials said.

    Hiroki Tabuchi, Keith Bradsher and Matthew E Wald – 3rd Blast Strikes Japan Nuclear Plant as Workers Struggle to Cool Reactor NYT 14 Mar 11

    Their reports of radiation levels are very specific suggesting that more information is available to Japanese authorities than they are making immediately public.

  5. John Allen

    TOKYO | Mon Mar 14, 2011 6:58pm EDT

    TOKYO (Reuters) – The wind over a radiation-leaking nuclear plant in northern Japan will blow inland from the northeast and later from the east on Tuesday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

    . . .

    Radiation levels at the plant, located 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo, peaked at 3,130 microsievert per hour on Monday evening, equivalent to exposure to five stomach X-rays.

    http://www.reuters.com/article…

  6. Shaun Appleby

    Through translation.

    Referring to increasing radiation hazard from Fukushima.  Asks residents within 30km to stay indoors.  Confirms 10km evacuation almost complete.  Otherwise nothing but dodging question about Fukushima No 2.

    Edoma now speaking, also reported a fire in Fukushima No 4 related to spent fuel storage, though not with fuel itself.  But radiation issues arise.

    Now referring to Fukushima No 2 reports a “hole” in the reactor leading to the earlier explosion.  Continuing water coolant operations at Nos 1, 2 and 3.

    Now reporting radiation levels overall may have impact on human health.  20-30km radius population to stay indoors with windows closed and etc.  Keep your washing off the line.

    Cabinet meeting follows.  We will try our very best.

    Defers technical questions to TEPCO on No 2 containment.  Reiterates fire causing some hydrogen release with spent fuel in No 4.  Plays down radiation hazard but acknowledges all four reactors are sources.  Suggesting radiation levels are increasingly but largely unchanged (bad translation?).

  7. John Allen

    editors choice photos from the last 48 hours online. There are a lot of photos from Japan that show the magnitude of the devastation. I was a bit peeved about one thing, tho. They had photos of protests in many countries, including a very small one in Saudi Arabia, but not one photo from Wisconsin. Wouldn’t want to upset our Galtian overlords.

  8. Shaun Appleby

    The Times has the inside track on this story:


    TOKYO – Japan faced the likelihood of a catastrophic nuclear accident Tuesday morning, as an explosion at the most crippled of three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station damaged its crucial steel containment structure, emergency workers were withdrawn from the plant, and much larger emissions of radioactive materials appeared immiment, according to official statements and industry executives informed about the developments.

    Hiroko Tabuchi, Keith Bradsher and Matthew L Wald – Japan Faces Prospect of Nuclear Catastrophe as Workers Leave Plant NYT 14 Mar 11

    And they aren’t afraid to say so, either.

  9. Shaun Appleby

    Anderson Cooper is increasingly uncomfortable being within 60km of Fukushima as he reports the “impacting human health” radiation report.  I don’t blame him.

  10. Shaun Appleby

    Watching the industry “nuclear experts” explaining these most recent developments.  Nobody’s prepared to say what is on everybody’s mind and the disclaimers are flying fast, “old,” “earthquake,” “sunburn.”  Yeah, I’ll bet you’ll be on the first flight over there to help.

  11. Shaun Appleby

    In the situation at Fukushima:


    Sky News, ITN, BBC & CNN all moving teams away from the #Fukushima plant as a precaution. #Japan

    Can’t believe they were still there, frankly.  Would the last person to leave please set up a webcam?

  12. spacemanspiff

    Although I understand how this is like a perfect storm of disaster.. it happened!

    I’ve been reading up and checking out different points of views.

    But still, my first ever well thought out opinion on nuclear is pretty biased. I don’t like it.

  13. Shaun Appleby

    Radiation warning charts from a totally unconfirmed source which appears to be in nanoGrays/hour which may equate to a µSv if the levels are any indication.  Anyone out there understand these?  Doesn’t seem to take account of wind direction or decay.

  14. Shaun Appleby

    But sobering:


    @BreakingNews Radiation measured at 400 times annual legal limit near No. 3 Fukushima reactor – Kyodo

  15. Shaun Appleby


    Fire in No. 4 reactor at stricken nuclear plant is extinguished, Japan’s nuclear safety agency says – AP

    Brave firefighters, to say the least.

  16. Shaun Appleby

    Doesn’t have any nuclear industry advertisers:


    The pools, which sit on the top level of the reactor buildings and keep spent fuel submerged in water, have lost their cooling systems and the Japanese have been unable to take emergency steps because of the multiplying crises.

    The threat is that the hot fuel will boil away the cooling water and catch fire, spreading radioactive materials far and wide in dangerous clouds.

    The good news is that the Japanese have a relatively long time to deal with the problem. Nuclear experts estimate the timeline for serious problems that could lead to a reactor meltdown as minutes to hours, and put the comparable time for cooling pools at days to weeks.

    The bad news is that if efforts to deal with the emergency fail, the results could be worse.

    The pools are a worry at the stricken reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant because at least two of the three have lost their roofs in explosions, exposing the spent fuel pools to the atmosphere. By contrast, reactors have strong containment vessels that stand a better chance of bottling up radiation from a meltdown of the fuel in the reactor core.

    Were the spent fuel rods in the pools to catch fire, nuclear experts say, the high heat would loft the radiation in clouds that would spread the radioactivity.

    “It’s worse than a meltdown,” said David A. Lochbaum, a nuclear engineer at the Union of Concerned Scientists who worked as an instructor on the kinds of General Electric reactors used in Japan. “The reactor is inside thick walls, and the spent fuel of Reactors 1 and 3 is out in the open.”

    A spokesman for the Japanese company that runs the stricken reactors said in an interview on Monday that the spent fuel at the Fukushima Daiichi and Daini plants had been left uncooled since shortly after the quake.

    William J Broad and Hiroko Tabuchi – In Stricken Fuel-Cooling Pools, a Danger for the Longer Term NYT 14 Mar 11

    Nasty stuff.

  17. Shaun Appleby

    It might still be able to contain this event with human intervention, at some cost apparently.  The radiation levels have dropped, the fire in No 4 is out and the pumping of coolant seawater continues at all three stricken reactors.

  18. Shaun Appleby

    Now even the weather report on CNN has the Fukushima plant highlighted and the weathercaster is talking about radiation.

  19. Shaun Appleby

    From two hours ago:


    Japanese authorities informed the IAEA that there has been an explosion at the Unit 2 reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. The explosion occurred at around 06:20 on 15 March local Japan time.

    Japanese authorities also today informed the IAEA at 04:50 CET that the spent fuel storage pond at the Unit 4 reactor of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is on fire and radioactivity is being released directly into the atmosphere.

    Dose rates of up to 400 millisievert per hour have been reported at the site. The Japanese authorities are saying that there is a possibility that the fire was caused by a hydrogen explosion.

    The IAEA is seeking further information on these developments.

    The IAEA continues to liaise with the Japanese authorities and is monitoring the situation as it evolves.

    Japan Earthquake Update (15 March 2011, 06:15 CET) IAEA 15 Mar 11

    Unfortunately this report contradicts the “fire extinguished” announcement although it may be old news.  In any case it contradicts the statement that the spent fuel is not affected by the fire and suggests it is indeed the source of the fire which is a desperately bad situation if correct.  Spent fuel, of which these reactors gratefully don’t have a big on-site inventory, is as great a hazard as reactor fuel, or worse, in regards to contamination.

    I really wonder about this recent IAEA report, frankly, as this is a serious problem if true.

  20. Peter Jukes

    Fukushima No. 1

    Reactor No. 1 – Cooling failure, partial melting of core, vapor vented, hydrogen explosion, seawater pumped in.

    Reactor No. 2 – Cooling failure, seawater pumped in, fuel rods fully exposed temporarily, damage to containment system, potential meltdown feared.

    Reactor No. 3 – Cooling failure, partial melting of core feared, vapor vented, seawater pumped in, hydrogen explosion, high-level radiation measured nearby.

    Reactor No. 4 – Under maintenance when quake struck, fire caused possibly by hydrogen explosion at pool holding spent fuel rods, pool water levels feared receding.

    Reactor No. 5 – Under maintenance when quake struck.

    Reactor No. 6 – Under maintenance when quake struck.

    Fukushima No. 2

    Reactor No. 1 – Cooling failure, then cold shutdown.

    Reactor No. 2 – Cooling failure, then cold shutdown.

    Reactor No. 3 – Cold shutdown.

    Reactor No. 4 – Cooling failure, then cold shutdown.

    Though this is now being classed as a category six (you can see the INES scale broken down here, it’s worth noting the difference between Fukushima and Chernobyl.

    The point about the Chernobyl thing was, it went up to 30,000ft or so and it continued for months on end. The sort of thing that would happen with an explosion in Fukushima would actually be relative duration, hours at the absolute most. What happened with Chernobyl was that the graphite core caught fire and you got radioactive material being putting out to a very great height over a very long period and pretty much went round the world. That radioactive material then went in to the food chain, sheep ate it and concentrated it. That was the problem. It’s totally different here in Japan.

    British Embassy in Tokyo Press Release: The Government’s Chief Scientific Officer Professor John Beddington comments on the developments following the explosion at Fukushima nuclear plant.

  22. Shaun Appleby

    At Fukushima, and reactors No 1 and No 3 stabilising:


    Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said they were closely watching the remaining two reactors at the plant, five and six, as they had begun overheating slightly.

    He said cooling seawater was being pumped into reactors one and three – which were returning to normal – and into reactor two, which remained unstable.

    Japan’s nuclear safety agency said earlier it suspected the blast may have damaged reactor two’s suppression chamber.

    Japan earthquake: Radiation levels fall at Fukushima BBC 15 Mar 11

    Here’s hoping we don’t have any more nasty surprises.  God help those on-site who are fighting to keep this under control.

  23. Shaun Appleby

    That TEPCO, the NIAS and the Japanese Government are being forthcoming about prognosis and radiation levels and there seems to be a tendency towards ambiguity and opacity in official announcements.

  24. Shaun Appleby


    @BreakingNews Japan says flames rising from reactor at Dai-Ichi nuclear plant – AP

    6 minutes ago

    Presumed the plant which contains the spent fuel.

  25. Chris Blask

    Our harbor suffered $22.5M damaage, tearing out docs and sinking at least 30 boats.

    Some footage of the surges turning solid boats and piers into stew. This is 4,000 miles from Japan.

  26. Shaun Appleby

    What happened to the upper area spent fuel storage at the two reactors which exploded, especially No 3?  Haven’t heard a single word on the subject throughout this incident.

  29. Shaun Appleby


    @abcnews Just in: Fukushima operators considering spraying acid on to No. 4 reactor to stop spent fuel rods from “reaching criticality”.

    8 minutes ago

    That would be boric acid, I’m guessing.  This is never supposed to happen.  Even Greenpeace concedes spent fuel won’t reach criticality in storage.  Must be badly melted to rupture boron storage containers.  We aren’t being told what they know.

  30. Shaun Appleby

    Now they tell us:


    Thirty-five years ago, Dale G. Bridenbaugh and two of his colleagues at General Electric resigned from their jobs after becoming increasingly convinced that the nuclear reactor design they were reviewing – the Mark 1 – was so flawed it could lead to a devastating accident.

    Matthew Mosk – Fukushima: Mark 1 nuclear reactor design caused GE scientist to quit in protest ABC via Daily Caller 15 Mar 11

    There are apparently twenty-three of these plants operating in the US at the moment.

  31. Shaun Appleby

    From Fukushima No 3, the MOX reactor, apparently:


    @ToneyBrooks #Japan #Nuclear We hope this is not total meltdown of #3. @martyn_williams in Japan reports the NSA said this is #3. If so, we just went 7.

    2 minutes ago

    If you ask me No 3 has had an evil little wisp rising for days (see photo at top of diary.)  Just like a gaping hole in the ground we saw lots of back in the Eighties.

  32. Shaun Appleby

    All personnel evacuated, cooling and fire-fighting suspended.  Possible breach at Fukushima No 3 (unqualified through translation) unsure but suggested broken containment in the MOX reactor core, calling for US military involvement.  Fire apparently out again in No 4 but my guess is we will see more of that again as burning nuclear fuel is almost impossible to extinguish without magnesium oxide sands or the like.

    Should we consider a new INES level of eight?  Rough calculation of fuel involved and plutonium content would put Fukushima Nos 1-4 at roughly three to four times the potential magnitude of Chernobyl in worst case scenario.

  33. spacemanspiff

    It’s awesome how you expand on the info and flesh it out. You’ve done an awesome job on these stories in real time. Just wanted to thank you for keeping me informed. All other Moose too! Just wanted to heap extra props on Appleby.

  34. Shaun Appleby

    Bad, bad news:


    Radiation reached around 20 times normal levels in the capital Tuesday morning, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government said, while offering the assurance this reading posed no immediate risk to human health and that the public should remain calm.

    “I received a report this morning that there was an important change of data,” Gov. Shintaro Ishihara said at a news conference. “I heard that it will not immediately cause health problems.”

    He said the metropolitan government would continue to give minute-by-minute updates.

    At a metropolitan facility in Setagaya Ward, “a very small amount” of iodine and cesium, substances generated by a nuclear reaction, were detected in floating dust particles between midnight and 7:12 a.m.

    Takahiro Fukada – Radiation levels spike in Tokyo; capital still safe, Ishihara says Japan Times 16 Mar 11

    What’s the point in lying about something everyone will know in a day or two?

  36. Shaun Appleby

    Photo of Fukushima Nos 3-4 from NHK screen grab No 3 in foreground, No 4 centre distance:


    White squares are chunks of #4’s wall, hanging from steel skeleton. Spent fuel storage pool was somewhere behind that wall, next to roof.

    Why are they showing pre-explosion pictures on cable throughout this?

  37. Shaun Appleby

    Weigh in:


    France’s Nuclear Safety Authority said the disaster now equated to a six on the seven-point international scale for nuclear accidents, ranking the crisis second only in gravity to Chernobyl.

    Europe’s energy commissioner Guenther Oettinger went further and dubbed the nuclear disaster an “apocalypse”, saying Tokyo had almost lost control of events at the Fukushima plant.

    “There is talk of an apocalypse and I think the word is particularly well chosen,” he said in remarks to the European Parliament.

    Japanese Nuclear Reactor Container Feared Breached AFP via Discovery News 15 Mar 11

    These are not people with specific material agendas regarding nuclear power.  In fact the INRS, in France, is the equivalent of NISA in Japan.

  38. Chris Blask

    includes snow over Japan moving out to sea to carry the radiation into the Pacific and dump it before Hawaii.

    Delivered so professionally. It’s just the weather report.

    unf

  39. Shaun Appleby

    Looks like Nos 5-6 are in play as well, take with a dose of iodine:


    These bloody liars… Has anyone paid attention to this?

    There are two slightly different pieces of information on this, but first, from NHK (Japanese; 5:15AM JST 3/16/2011), who, with so many polite, soothing Japanese words in an archaic-looking Mincho font, essentially says the government agency was hiding the important truth (link, emphasis added):


    Japan Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency [English website] announced earlier today that the water level in the Reactor Pressure Vessel of the Reactor No.5 has started to fall slightly. The reactor was supposed to be safe and “cold”, as it had been shut down for maintenance before the earthquake struck.

    However, the nuclear fuel rods were already in place inside the Reactor Pressure Vessel in preparation for the restart of the operation, and so it was necessary to keep water circulating in the Vessel. Then the earthquake struck on March 11, and tsunami destroyed the diesel power generator, which occasionally caused the temperature of the Vessel to rise<. In order to adjust the pressure, the valve [on the vessel] was opened to let the steam escape. Then the water level was observed to have dropped to 2 meter 1 centimetre above the fuel rods, at 9PM on March 15. That was 40 centimetre lower than at 4PM.

    According to the Agency, they currently using the diesel power generator of the Reactor 6 to pump water to both the Reactors No.5 and 6. The Agency is confident that the water level can be well-controlled.

    In other words, it was not just the matter of the used fuel rods in the storage pool (spent fuel pool)! The Reactor No.5 was, and always has been, “live”.

    According to BLTWY MSNBC (3/15/2011), it is the same with the Reactor No.6, that it, too, is “live” with the fuel rods in the Pressure Vessel:


    Units 5 and 6 were loaded with  nuclear fuel but not producing when Friday’s quake and tsunami struck.  They had been considered stable, but on Tuesday a senior Japanese  official said temperatures there were slightly elevated.”The power  for cooling is not working well and the temperature is gradually rising,  so it is necessary to control it,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano  told reporters.  “Plant operators were  considering the removal of panels from units 5 and 6 reactor buildings  to prevent a possible buildup of hydrogen,” the International Atomic  Energy Agency said in a statement.

    If MSNBC is correct, then both the Reactor No.5 and No.6 are loaded with nuclear fuel rods in the Reactor Pressure Vessels and so both are “live”, and both Reactors are also loaded with hundreds of used fuel rods stored in the spent fuel pools near the top of the buildings.

    And the temperatures of the spent fuel pools of these Reactors are rising. (See my previous post.)

    I am counting how many nuclear fuel rods are there in each Reactor, from various Japanese news sources. That’s another post. Stay tuned.

    Arevamirpal – Fukushima I Nuke Plant: Reactor No.5 Is “LIVE” Ex-SKF 16 Mar 11

    Just mentioning.

  40. spacemanspiff

    … to understand everything that is going down in Japan.

    Here is a great explanation video.

    Awesome.

    Almost as awesome as this one.

    For those who would rather read about it.

    http://arstechnica.com/science…

    Following the events at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactors in Japan has been challenging. At best, even those present at the site have a limited view of what’s going on inside the reactors themselves, and the situation has changed rapidly over the last several days. Meanwhile, the terminology involved is somewhat confusing-some fuel rods have almost certainly melted, but we have not seen a meltdown; radioactive material has been released from the reactors, but the radioactive fuel currently remains contained.

    Over time, the situation has become a bit less confused, as cooler heads have explained more about the reactor and the events that have occurred within it. What we’ll attempt to do here is aggregate the most reliable information we can find, using material provided by multiple credible sources. We’ve attempted to confirm some of this information with groups like the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Department of Energy but, so far, these organizations are not making their staff available to talk to the press.

    What goes on inside a nuclear reactor

    Nuclear reactors are powered by the fission of a radioactive element, typically uranium. There are a number of products of this reaction, but the one that produces the power is heat, which the fission process gives off in abundance. There are different ways to extract electricity from that heat, but the most common way of doing so shares some features with the first steam engines: use it to boil water, and use the resulting pressure to drive a generator.

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