Tepco failed in shutting up retained water even with cement / Water level becomes back only within 2.5 hours

Photo : Injecting cement and grout to underground trench. Taken on 11/25/2014. 

 

Following up this article.. Retained water underground temperature went up by 10℃ near Reactor 2 / Tepco “Still investigating the cause” [URL]

 

Even cement couldn’t shut up the underground trench, Tepco reported on 11/27/2014.

There are underground trenches connected to each crippled reactor building. Each one of them retains extremely highly contaminated water and it is assumed that the water is leaking to the ground and the sea. For example, the underground trench of Reactor 2 retains 5,000 t of contaminated water, the one of Reactor 3 retains 6,000 t as Tepco reports. In order to pump up the contaminated water, it is necessary to separate those trenches from the buildings.

After they admitted the frozen water wall failed, Tepco tried to fill the underground trench with cement and grout.

They completed filling one of the joint parts between the trench and Reactor 2 T/B (Turbine Building) on 11/6/2014 and pumped up the retained water of the trench on 11/17/2014.

By pumping up the water for 6 hours, they managed to reduce the retained water level by 20cm. However the water level went back to the previous level only 2.5 hours after turning off the pump.

Also, the water temperature jumped up to suggest the water coming from Reactor 2 T/B is heated by something. The largest increase in temperature was approx. 35℃ within 4 days (-27℃ → 8℃).

 

It became clear that even if they fill the trench with cement, contaminated water, which contains the direct leakage of coolant water, would keep flowing into. The filling cement would make it even more difficult to pump up the water. At this moment Tepco is not announcing they are going to change the plan.

 

http://www.tepco.co.jp/nu/fukushima-np/roadmap/images/d141127_07-j.pdf

http://photo.tepco.co.jp/date/2014/201411-j/141125-01j.html

 

 

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Français :

Échec de Tepco à bloquer les eaux des tranchées, même au ciment : Tout est revenu en seulement 2,5 heures

 

Photo : Injection de ciment et de coulis dans la tranchée souterraine, du 25 novembre 2014.

Article lié : La température des eaux souterraines retenues près du réacteur 2 est montée de 10℃ / Tepco : “On cherche encore pourquoi”

Tepco rapporte le 27 novembre 2014 que même le ciment n’arrive pas à obturer la tranchée souterraine.

Il existe une tranchée souterraine reliée à chaque bâtiment de réacteur dévasté. Chacune contient des eaux extrêmement radioactives qui doivent fuir ensuite dans le sol vers la mer. Par exemple, selon les rapports de Tepco, la tranchée souterraine du réacteur 2 contient 5 000 T d’eau radioactive, celle du réacteur 3, 6 000 T. Pour pomper ces eaux radioactives, il faut isoler ces tranchées de leur bâtiment.
Après avoir reconnu l’échec du mur congelé souterrain, Tepco a essayé de combler les tranchées souterraines avec du ciment et du coulis de ciment.
Ils ont terminé le 6 novembre 2014 le comblement d’une des parties reliant le bâtiment de la turbine (T/B) du réacteur 2 avec sa tranchée et pompé le 17 novembre 2014 les eaux bloquées dans cette tranchée.
Ils ont fait descendre le niveau de ces eaux de 20 cm au bout de 6 heures de pompage mais après l’arrêt des pompes il est revenu à sa position initiale en seulement 2,5 heures.
En outre, la température de l’eau est montée, laissant ainsi supposer que l’eau arrivant du (T/B) du réacteur 2 est chauffée par “quelque chose”. Le plus grand écart de température constaté a été d’environ 35 ℃ en 4 jours (-27℃ → 8℃).

Il devient clair que même s’ils comblent totalement les tranchées au ciment, les eaux extrêmement radioactives qui contiennent les fuites directes du liquide de refroidissement vont continuer à s’écouler. Le remplissage de ciment va simplement rendre les pompages plus difficiles. Pour l’instant, Tepco n’a pas fait de déclaration annonçant qu’ils revoyaient leurs plans.

http://www.tepco.co.jp/nu/fukushima-np/roadmap/images/d141127_07-j.pdf
http://photo.tepco.co.jp/date/2014/201411-j/141125-01j.html

About this site

This website updates the latest news about the Fukushima nuclear plant and also archives the past news from 2011. Because it's always updated and added live, articles, categories and the tags are not necessarily fitted in the latest format.
I am the writer of this website. About page remains in 2014. This is because my memory about 311 was clearer than now, 2023, and I think it can have a historical value. Now I'm living in Romania with 3 cats as an independent data scientist.
Actually, nothing has progressed in the plant since 2011. We still don't even know what is going on inside. They must keep cooling the crippled reactors by water, but additionally groundwater keeps flowing into the reactor buildings from the broken parts. This is why highly contaminated water is always produced more than it can circulate. Tepco is planning to officially discharge this water to the Pacific but Tritium is still remaining in it. They dilute this with seawater so that it is legally safe, but scientifically the same amount of radioactive tritium is contained. They say it is safe to discharge, but none of them have drunk it.

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