Spent Fuel Pools

Tepco rejected covering reactor 4 with stone coffin for financial matter

 

 

 

Mabuchi, former minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism stated he suggested building sarcophagus for reactor 4 to have Tepco refuse it. Nuclear accident investigation committee interviewed Mabuchi on 5/31/2012, which was not open to the public.

Mabuchi proposed to cover the 4 aspects of reactor 4 with concrete, which is called sarcophagus in Chernobyl just after 311. However, Tepco rejected it for the financial reason. Also, their pride as engineer stopped them from accepting the fact that they have to do the same thing as Chernobyl.

 

東京電力福島第一原発の事故を検証する国会事故調査委員会は３１日、事故担当の首相補佐官だった民主党の馬淵澄夫・元国土交通相から非公開で聴取した。馬淵氏は終了後に記者会見し、４号機の四方を恒久的にコンクリートで覆う「石棺」案を事故直後に提案していたことを明らかにした。ただ、費用負担の問題などから、採用されなかったという。

石棺で固めるのは、チェルノブイリ事故でも取られた対応策だ。馬淵氏は、福島で採用されなかった理由を「東電側の費用の問題もある。チェルノブイリと同じことはしたくはないという技術者のこだわりもあったのではないか」と指摘。東電の抵抗が背景にあったという認識を示した。

See also

 

Source 1 2

 

 

Mochizuki
Mochizuki
The writer of Fukushima Diary.
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24 Comments

  1. save money – poison the world – criminally negligent and therefore legally liable and denying the planet of their Human Rights

  2. FUKUSHIMA DIARY FR – Tepco a refusé de couvrir le réacteur 4 avec un coussin de pierres pour raisons financières.
    Par Mochizuki le 8 juin 2012.

    M. Mabuchi, ex-ministre du Foncier, des Infrastructures, du Transport et du Tourisme affirme qu’il a suggéré de construire un sarcophage sur le réacteur 4, ce que Tepco a refusé. Le comité d’investigation sur l’accident nucléaire de Fukushima a entendu M. Mabuchi le 31 mai 2012, à huis-clos.

    M. Mabuchi a proposé juste après le 11-3 de couvrir les 4 côtés du réacteur 4 avec du béton, ce qu’on appelle un sarcophage à Tchernobyl. Néanmoins, Tepco a refusé pour raisons financières. Leur fierté d’ingénieur les a empêché d’accepter le fait d’avoir à faire la même chose qu’à Tchernobyl.

    東京電力福島第一原発の事故を検証する国会事故調査委員会は３１日、事故担当の首相補佐官だった民主党の馬淵澄夫・元国土交通相から非公開で聴取した。馬淵氏は終了後に記者会見し、４号機の四方を恒久的にコンクリートで覆う「石棺」案を事故直後に提案していたことを明らかにした。ただ、費用負担の問題などから、採用されなかったという。

    石棺で固めるのは、チェルノブイリ事故でも取られた対応策だ。馬淵氏は、福島で採用されなかった理由を「東電側の費用の問題もある。チェルノブイリと同じことはしたくはないという技術者のこだわりもあったのではないか」と指摘。東電の抵抗が背景にあったという認識を示した。

    Sources :
    1- http://www.asahi.com/politics/update/0531/TKY201205310506.html
    2- http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/politics/news/20120531-OYT1T01017.htm

  3. It can’t huh? a weakened building a box of concrete around it with 1300+ fuelrods/assemblies in it…..isn’t logic…..I mean,it only gets more difficult to solve the problem in that stage…..

  4. WHAT “pride” of engineering? This whole situation is the result of pure stupidity – placing multiple plants on fault lines next to residential areas and the ocean, cutting costs and not bothering to maintain the tech properly, etc.

    I don’t think even Chernobyl suffered from such stupidity, and that was over 40 years ago. Where’s their engineering “pride” coming from? They’re already laughing stock. Since the disaster, they don’t seem to have done anything other than cover up the situation (both politically and literally, with tarps).

    How can they possibly still have any pride left? If there was a number measurement for their pride, it would have to be in the negative millions. Mere words cannot describe their vastly underwhelming ineptitude.

    I won’t even go into the financial excuses. Utterly unacceptable.

    1. Actually, Chernobyl was also caused by stupidity, they were runing tests/experiments with only one working cooling system.

      But hell, what can go wrong with a nuclear reactor.

      The only difference is that Chernobyl was resolved fairly quickly (although Russian “experts” were at first certain, they could get it up and running in a week, similar cretinism as in case of Fukushima, since I recall that TEPCO was at first saying all is ok, soon will restart).

      1. At least Chernobyl wasn’t placed in an especially bad location. But you’re right, I digress. Humans simply aren’t responsible enough to use and maintain such tech. It’s totally not worth the risk.

        1. I think normal humans are responsible enough, but seats of power attract psychopaths, and they don’t care about consequences (they will attach themselves to every success, rarely their own, and absolve themselves of any guilt, even when it is obvious, that they are responsible, it is never their fault).

          So until we remove psycopaths form seats of power I am against nuclear power.

          After all, I would not agree to build a power plant that could destroy a country should it have a catasropchic cooling failure.

          I find it rather astonishing, that nuclear power plant needs any kind of outside power.

          1. The turbine/power generation and plant industrial monitoring control are divorced in order to ensure power is available during a reactor shut-down.

            Is it true that a polygraph is ineffectual against a prepared psychopath, i wonder?
            How about an empathy test for prospective politicians?
            It could be similar to Phillip K. Dick’s test for Replicants from the book “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep” A.K.A. Ridley Scott’s “Blade Runner”!

            1. As far as I have delved into the topic of psychopaths simple electric shock test should be enough to tell. Normal man when given a surprise shock has similar reaction as psychopath, but when you will then tell both that they will receive even a stronger shock again, then normal human will be very scared and stressed, while psychopath will show virtually no emotional response. He will feel the pain, but it seems not to bother their kind.

              So perhaps it is possible for well trained psychopath to cheat a polygraph, but same should be possible for well trained normal human (if he is still normal after such training, which i would doubt)

              There are many ways to detect them, but at this stage it is to late I think, they occupy most of the seats of power at the moment and they would counter act any such attempt. But the knowledge is there (like the discovery of heliocentrism), so maybe after the next calamity they will be removed from seats of power.

    2. Chernobyl was less than 40 years ago, wasn’t it? I’m 57 and I was already married when Chernobyl happened (22 when I married).

  5. This is now a worldwide human rights issue. This nuclear disaster is a human rights violation on a global scale and requires intervention by other nation-states deemed more capable of handling the situation. The Japanese Government has proven un-suited for the task at hand.

  6. Chernobyl was not the same type of reactor; certainly not a BWR GE Mark I.
    It was a carbon pile, more like the long-ago mothballed Hanford reactor.
    Pumping out Pu was likely her main goal.
    As these reactor types don’t directly compare, remediation efforts may only parallel that of Chernobyl’s periodically. Bear in mind that adjoining reactors are still producing power there.

    1. Well other reactors at Chernobyl are still operational, so they can still work.

      There is one major feature that I find comparable (and I think this feature is shared by all current nuclear reactors). And that is: should there be a criticla failure of all cooling systems, those reactors one way or the other explode and release awfull lot of radioactive contaminants.

      And that is what makes me certain, that current reactors should phased out ASAP.

  7. This is simply not true of CANDU reactors, from what i recall.
    I was taught long ago that loss of coolant in a CANDU reactor slows down the reaction. It was touted as an inherant safety feature.
    I have no knowledge of the CANDU II design, though. I would truly hope that that design reduces the tritium emmitted. It seems that every design does have it’s inherant flaws.

    Q: What do Tony Stark & Andrei Sakharov have in common?
    A: One is the father of the Tokamak Fusion Reactor design.
    The former is the ficticious father of a miniature viable
    Tokomak Fusion Reactor.

    1. Fukushima plants blew up after shutdown.

      After shutdown there is the so called decay heat. In case of GE Mark I as far as I have heard (I think in one of Fukushima updates by Fairewinds) it is 5% of maximum power.

      In case of CANDU it is estimated to be 7% of maximum power.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CANDU_reactor#Safety_features

      You can read the rest yourself.

      It can blow up, should there be a problem with restarting cooling long enough. And then you get radioactive releases.

  8. Unfortunately, this same thinking will continue to occur so long as the Japanese are trusting TEPCO to make any decisions about cleanup actions.

    TEPCO needs to be removed from the clean-up activities. Independent professionals need to be making the decisions. In the end, the bill can be sent to TEPCO. But TEPCO should not be making ANY decisions related to cleanup, compensation or the production of electricity using nuclear power plants EVER AGAIN.

  9. There likely will be no TEPCO left to send the bill too. It is the shareholders of TEPCO left holding the bag (full of IOU’s).
    Rather than asking permission to vacate Fukushima Daiichi,
    many of them may be told to leave.
    One can only hope for the sake of hope, that this would improve
    the odds of halting the continued emmissions from the site in due time,
    and the healing begin in earnest.
    They seem to have been more forthcoming over the past couple of months, since their “Mission Accomplished” fifteen minutes in December.

    One still senses that it is not the whole truth, seemingly by far.

    How is it that the stories of those whom have already served beyond their dosage limit have not been told?

    A call for volunteers could be made worldwide,
    for those willing to do their part to risk their lives,
    that others may live.

    Bring them by sea, not air. You want them to have a low-rad count
    before they serve. Call for technologies that can DEFLECT radionuclides to shield robotics and service-workers. There must be a way of draining any electrostatic fields generated by ionization.

  11. At least if you want society to socialize losses, let society manage the cleanup. From what I have read, TEPCO refuses to allow the gov’t to step in. Hmm. Thats like a bank, where everyone knows losses are socialized via bailouts if something goes wrong, has a rogue trader that has a trade on that is losing billions, and if not unwound will eventually bankrupt the bank, then the country. But the trader’s pride is in the way. He says, no-the trade will turn around, I will make a profit. Meanwhile the losses worsen and bankruptcy of a nation is imminent. No bank or country would say, ok rogue trader, carry on. They would pull him off his desk and take over. Yet in Japan, apparently pride of one company is worth more than the life of the planet. We dont even need nuclear war if this is the nonsense the human race is going to put up with.

  12. It sounds to me like they WANT the reactors to continue spewing radiation. Maybe the globalists, who hate Japan, paid off tepco to keep the reactors open and broken. Funny at Chernobyl they had it sealed up within a month by dumping sand, lead, concrete, and Boron into it. The same could be done here. Or the SFRs could be moved to a safe location while there is still time. One can only conclude from this behavior that SOMEONE somewhere WANTS the contamination to continue.

  13. Total crime against humanity for refusing to cover it with a sarcophagus… The entire world is affected by this radiation.. maybe the people will have to go there, beat the guards and repair thenselves the plant by burring it under concreate.. at least it would attrack media attention.. THIS PLANT NEED TO BE BURRIED !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  14. It isn’t ‘stupidity’. It’s unabated greed and no accountability for crimes against humanity. It has long been known the dangers of ‘nuclear’. But, it can’t happen here. Now waiting for the 34 nuclear plant – looks like more – in a listing of nuclear plant accidents since 1952. The governments of the world need trials for crimes against humanity for this and ALOT MORE.

  15. I do think Tepco will go away, not haveing the money to pay for the clean-up…But what about G.E ?…. it is G.E who built it, and Ge who Did all the Building desighn Inludeing putting deasel Generators Under ground..?? and Ge who said this plant is good for this location…so Shouldent G.E go fix it? Should G.E. pay for something they said would be Ok.? Just think about it ? If G.E. get’s away clean then they can get away clean no matter what goes wroung anywhere….So shouldent G.E. Pay..?

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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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