Spent Fuel Pools

Tepco to start removing fuel from reactor4 pool around 10th November

The Fukushima worker “Happy11311” commented on Twitter that the spent fuel removal from reactor4 pool will start from around 10th November 2013.

Tepco has been announcing it would start from mid November.

https://twitter.com/Happy11311/status/392261128744480768

http://www.tepco.co.jp/nu/fukushima-np/handouts/2013/images/handouts_130925_04-j.pdf

 

 

Because of the guiding of Japanese family and the next research, I decided to accept the donations temporarily again. Thank you for your consideration.

_____

Français :

Tepco va commencer vers le 10 novembre le retrait des assemblages de combustible de la piscine du réacteur 4 

See also

 

Le travailleur de Fukushima “Happy11311” a déclaré sur Twitter que le retrait des combustibles usagés de la piscine du réacteur 4 va commencer autour du 10 novembre 2013.

Tepco avait annoncé que ça devrait commencer mi-novembre.

https://twitter.com/Happy11311/status/392261128744480768
http://www.tepco.co.jp/nu/fukushima-np/handouts/2013/images/handouts_130925_04-j.pdf

J’ai décidé d’accepter temporairement les dons à nouveau à cause du guidage de la famille japonaise et de la prochaine recherche. Merci d’y penser.

Mochizuki
Mochizuki
The writer of Fukushima Diary.
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16 Comments

  1. Oh, to be a fly on the wall when that announcement was made.

    Was it recieved with cautious optimism, or like a family member had died?

    Just how did they put those SFP4 fires out in 2011 anyway?

    1. WAG here (Wild Arse Guess)

      The individual zircalloy bundle fires probably burned until the zircalloy combustion fuel, of the hottest fuel bundles, ran out. Certainly the pitiful and sporadic water injections were not capable of extinguishing the flames. Luckily, not all the SPF-4 zircalloy tubes ignited.

      The most recently removed bundles were the hottest in both the radioactive sense and the thermal sense of the word ‘hot’. The hottest bundles generally had the conditions most conducive to combustion. When the water circulation failed the UOX pellets quicky heated the zircalloy. Reportedly, temperatures on the order of 9k [°F)] (9,000 degrees Fahrenheit), consistent with vaporized UOX, were produced.

      The superheated zircalloy tubes boiled and sloshed the water and generated steam. The wet-dry-wet-dry conditions of the superheated zircalloy tubes were conducive to pyrophoric (spontaneous) flames in the reactors and Spent Fuel Pools. Simultaneously, the superheated seawater injected as an emergency coolant was conducive to direct separation into O2 and H2 gasses.

      Multiple, (presumably pyrophoric) Spent Fuel Pool fires were reported (internally) at the USA NRC via email communications. These pyrophoric fires further increased the hydrogen generation in the Spent Fuel Pools. The nonnuclear physical conditions in the reactors and Spent Fuel Pools were chaotic, energetic, incendiary and cacophonous. Unprecedented releases of radio-iodine occurred at the FDNPP. The North American sky turned orange from the I-131, which did NOT occur during the Chernobyl disaster.

      The nuclear conditions ceased to even remotely resemble the design assumptions of nuclear reactors and Spent Fuel Pools. Control rods melted. Some UOX fuel pellets were alloyed with the zircalloy tubes, some with the reactors and metal containment shells. Some pellets were thrown about by steam gusts and hydrogen explosions. Some UOX melted and puddled, in the same unpredictable wet-steam-dry-wet sucession.

      Neutron velocities were as random as the cooling water conditions. The FDU-3 reactor, freshly loaded with MOX fuel, detonated in a visibly more energetic fashion than FDU-1 and FDU-2. FDU-3 scattered much of its fuel load across a 1,000 square miles. Neutrons from FDU-3 transmuted structural steel members into (radioactive) gamma sources.

      Sincerely,

      Bill Duff

      1. Thank you for the best summation of events that i have seen for a while.

        Add to that the fact that blow-away doors may have been welded shut in Units #1, 3 & 4 forcing the buildup of gasses within the buildings at least partly akin to Brown’s Gas (so much for that theory) including presumably oxidant.

        However; it doesn’t explain how such a pyrophoric fire could have been put out.

        I see that a Hydrometeorological expert let it be known that they were concerned about the earthquakes and tornadoes.

        Tornadoes?

        Quote: “Vladimir Kovbasyuk, Russian Hydrometeorological Expert, Oct. 16, 2013: “We analyzed the problems several years ago, when the 2011 earthquake and tornado hit the Fukushima nuclear plant.”

        quoted from: http : //enenews.com/alert-top-level-japan-official-publicly-suggests-multiple-fukushima-reactors-are-leaking-directly-into-the-sea-its-not-mixing-with-groundwater-and-getting-diluted-expert-contamination-f

        as noted originally by Jackassrig

        Quote of lickerface:
        “I wondered about this as well. I’m thinking it may be a translation issue, and they meant tsunami… although when I go to Google Translate and convert “tornado” and “tsunami” to Russian, I see two distinctly different words. Hmm.”

        Quote from Wyakin:
        “I remember hearing about a funnel cloud somewhere near FU during 2012. Funnel clouds and tornadoes often translated somewhat interchangeably in several languages.

        3 tornadoes are covered in ENE in that time period:

        http : //enenews.com/nhk-tornado-occurred-in-fukushima-during-recent-storm-twister-in-neighboring-prefecture-damaged-area-30km-long-video”

        I don’t know if a tornado could put out such a fire, yet the slip seems interesting, no?

        So, how do you put out a 5000 plus degreee faranheit fire?
        Argon?
        Perhaps we are gone, yet too slow to notice.

        1. No more zircalloy fuel to burn

          The hottest (newest) spent fuel bundle melted first. We shall call that, ‘Bundle-A’

          The dry-wet-dry-wet conditions allowed the ‘Bundle-A’ zircalloy tubes to ignite. The ‘Bundle-A’ zircalloy tubes burned until there was no zircalloy material left to burn.

          All the radiocesium, radiostrontium, radioiodine and other fission products contained within ‘Bundle A’were released to the atmosphere and/or circulating water.

          ‘Bundle A’ ceased to burn when the zircalloy was gone. The fuel pellets from ‘Bundle A’ dropped to the bottom of the Spent Fuel Pool and continued to heat, melt and vaporize. The composition of the ‘Bundle A’ fuel pellets included a substantial component of plutonium. With the cesium, strontium and iodine vaporized; the composition of the ‘Bundle A’ fuel pellets was essentially MOX Fuel. The reactor irradiation converts UOX to MOX; but the other fission products ‘poison’ the fuel pellets; rendering them temporarily somewhat useless as nuclear fuel.

          Some of the melted fuel (corium) was diluted in the process, by alloying (mixing) with components of stainless steel, titanium and other metallic and ceramic materials in the Spent Fuel Pool.

          Meanwhile, ‘Bundle B’ has independently heated up to the ignition point in the (essential) presence of water and water vapor. ‘Bundle B’ has been in the Spent Fuel Pool for about 18 months longer than ‘Bundle A’. ‘Bundle B’ has no radioiodine and about half as much cesium-134 as ‘Bundle A’. ‘Bundle B’ ignites. ‘Bundle B’ will cease to burn when the zircalloy tubes have completely burned. The formerly UOX, but now essentially MOX fuel pellets of ‘Bundle B’ are added to the corium mix at the bottom of Spent Fuel Pool #4.

          A similar process wass simultaneously occurring in the reactors and other Spent Fuel Pools in March 2011. This is why the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster is MUCH more massive than the Chernobyl ‘mini-disaster’. Fukushima turned the atmosphere of the Northern Hemisphere ORANGE with radioactive iodine. Chernobyl did no such thing.

          Sincerely,

          Bill Duff

          1. It seems that you may be saying that the SFP burned itself out.

            … And how long would that take?

            I do remember the pictures of “Poolium” pouring out of the walls of Unit 3 or 4.

            Something is decidedly amiss here. It would appear that somebody had poorly attempted to rewrite history. Do any incompetent organizations immediately come to mind? How about TEmPCo themselves? Could they have attempted this alone? Who are their conspirators?

            Dammit! WHO are their conspirators!

            1. Minutes,

              It would not take long for a single superheated zircalloy tube to burn itself out, after ignition. Perhaps on the order of a few seconds to a few minutes, I would suppose, based on magnesium and sodium metal fires. The zircalloy tubes within a SINGLE bundle would likely all be simultaneously on the verge of impending combustion when Tube-1 ‘torched’. The neighboring tubes in the same bundle would likely ignite each other, in a rapid fashion.

              The spacing of the bundles, in the SFP would probably prevent ‘Bundle A’ from igniting its closest neighbors, ‘Bundle N’ and ‘Bundle X’. However, the integral cesium and various metals, including possibly the uranium and plutonium.

              There were lots of other chemical reactions taking place during the time. Depending on the instantaneous geometry and instantaneous water depth, some fissioning could easily occur.

              I would much prefer to ‘see there than be there’.

              Sincerely

              Bill Duff

  2. greetings,

    the rest of the world have a right to know backup plans in cases of failures, e.g., a fuel rod dropped on the ground, etc. i do not think the japanese government even think of preparing for these failed cases.

    sincerely,
    -kcn

    1. As HoTaters has so eloquently elucidated it, i shall paraphrase in case of my own inaccuracy:

      “They have failed to plan, therefore; they plan to fail.”

      Am thinking “Plan B”, is “Brazil”.

      Don’t leave thinks too late, or the “Plan” may be similar to that of an aircraft crash. That is to put your head between your legs (and “KYAGb”).

      That is; if there really is any fuel rods remaining in SFP4, and not simply “Kabuki Theatre” to shock and amaze us all.

      I really feel for the people displaced by all disasters here.
      There are likely many good people still living in tents.

      They need the kind and selfless compassion that should have started from day #1,
      March 11, 2011 – a day which will long live in infamy on both sides of the Pacific.

    2. First,

      Any downwind government worth a ‘tinkers dam’ would be distributing, to the PUBLIC, MASSIVE supplies of KI, Radiogardase, breathing filter maks, battery powered HEPA room air filters, and so forth. The incompetent, lying, blithering idiots at TEPCO intend to begin fuel movements next month.

      Curiously, Japan, USA, Canada, Mexico, South Korea and the North Pacific Islandias have NOT initiated such distributions. Gee, I can’t think of a single governmental entity on ‘God’s Green Earth’, which has taken the first step, for the public. However, you can bet your FANNY that the Kenya Native, family and Bo the White House Dog have Airforce 1 on ‘hot standbye’, for their immediate return to Patagonia.

      Sincerely,

      Bill Duff

      1. If some Chernobyl, TMI or 311 level accident occurs, I am good to go.

        However beyond that; for a cascading ‘worst case’ disaster …

        I know how to survive tough conditions as well as anybody.

        I have made some minimal personal provisions for an ELE (extinction level event).

        However, it has been crystal clear, since my 1st SAC briefing in about 1960; there are some catastrophic events which render survival untenable and undesirable.

        Prolonging the agony is torture, not living.

        Sincerely,

        Bill Duff

  3. Unreliable, inconsistent propaganda by international criminals:

    The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) disasters are remarkable for the unprecidented anthropomorphic radiation releases; combined with a TOTAL breakdown in disaster communication with the GLOBAL public.

    Absolutely NONE of the FDNPP: ‘information’, ‘data’, ‘situation-reports’, and/or ‘health-advisories’ have been candid.

    TEPCO, Japan, Nuclear Contractors, Barack Obama, CTBTO and the WHO have jointly and severally REFUSED to provide: fallout information, decontamination, anti-radiation medications, dosage information, evacuation facilitation, food-safety advisories or ANY other form of useful information; regarding the FDNPP disasters.

    Such behaviors comprise a deliberate pattern of ‘Human-Rights violations that descend beneath criminal violations; to a despicable level which is beneath the depths of depraved violations by Joe Stalin, Adolph Hitler, Mao Tse Tung, Sadaam Hussein and/or Pol Pot. And nuclear ecological terrorism is certainly a sustainable criminal charge, in light of the VAST nuclear ‘dirty-bomb’, that is the FDNPP.

    Sincerely,

    Bill Duff

    1. Yes. You do understand.
      We have all been, and continue to be, betrayed unto death by the lot of them.

      However; every NPP is potentially (possibly eventually) a ‘dirty-bomb’.

      SHUT THEM ALL DOWN in Canada, the Not-so United States, Europe, India, and elsewhere.

  4. UNNATURAL phenomena

    The sound of rain falling in the trees, without actual water precipitation, has been reported in Chernobyl, TMI and Fukushima. These spherical particles probably represent a portion of that unusual, and I daresay ‘UNNATURAL’ phenomenon.

    Sincerely,

    Bill Duff

    Pub Med – Published online 2013 August 30. doi: 10.1038/srep02554 PMCID: PMC3757362

    Emission of spherical cesium-bearing particles from an early stage of the Fukushima nuclear accident

    Kouji Adachi,a,1 Mizuo Kajino,1 Yuji Zaizen,1 and Yasuhito Igarashi1

    This study directly observed spherical Cs-bearing particles emitted during a relatively early stage (March 14–15) of the accident.

    Although the accident has global impacts, we still do not know exactly what happened in the reactors during the accident, and the estimates of the radioactive Cs releases vary largely from 9 to 36 PBq6,8,9,10.

    In these samples, we found two significant peaks in the radioactivity concentrations between March 14 and 15 (Plume 1) and between March 20 and 22 (Plume 2) (Fig. 1). These significant plumes in the air were also reported in eastern Japan and polluted the water and soil2,12,13,14,15. Meteorological conditions, such as rain and the wind direction, and the releases of radioactive materials were the main causes of the high surface deposition events14.

    In Figure 3, we show a particle containing Cs (Cs Particle 1). The particle is spherical with a diameter of 2.6 μm. The energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS) spectrum shows Cs peaks. The Cs distribution in the elemental mapping image indicates that the spherical particles consist of Cs along with substantial amounts of Fe and Zn and minor amounts of Cl, Mn, and O. The decay-corrected activity (as of March 2011) of Cs Particle 1 is 3.27 ± 0.04 and 3.31 ± 0.06 Bq for 137Cs and 134Cs, respectively (Fig. S5). Assuming a particle density of 2.0 g/cm3, the Cs mass percentage within the particle is estimated from its activity (Bq) to be 5.5. Another Cs-bearing particles (Cs particles 2 and 3) from the same filter but different spots are similar to Cs Particle 1, although they have weaker activity (Fig. S6). The particles consist of Fe, Zn, and Cs and are approximately 2.0 μm in diameter. The radioactivity for Cs particle 2 is 0.66 ± 0.02 and 0.78 ± 0.04 Bq for 137Cs and 134Cs, respectively. The Cs mass percentage within Particle 2 is estimated from its activity to be 2.5. Assuming that the entire the radioactivity in the Plume 1 was from the Cs-bearing spherical particles gives an average of 1.4 Bq per particle, which is comparable to that of Particle 2.

    1. Kouji Adachi, Mizuo Kajino, Yuji Zaizen & Yasuhito Igarashi – Meteorological Research Institute, 1-1 Nagamine, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan 305-0052.

      We collected aerosol samples on quartz fiber filters (25 cm × 20 cm) at the Meteorological Research Institute, Tsukuba, Japan, which is located 170 km southwest of FNPP. In these samples, we found two significant peaks in the radioactivity concentrations between March 14 and 15 (Plume 1) and between March 20 and 22 (Plume 2) (Fig. 1). Meteorological conditions, such as rain and the wind direction, and the releases of radioactive materials were the main causes of the high surface deposition events14. We used the filters that had the maximum radioactivity levels from each plume (from March 14, 21:10 (local time) to March 15, 09:10 and from March 20, 21:30 to March 21, 09:13)

      Figure 4 http www ncbi nlm nih gov/ (pmc/articles/PMC3757362/figure/f4/)

      The model simulation of the total deposition of the 137Cs released from the FNPP in Plume 1 (between March 14, 17:00 and March 15, 02:00 (JST)).

      This study reports for the first time the presence of spherical radioactive Cs-bearing particles emitted from the FNPP during a relatively early stage (March 14–15) of the accident. The particles coexist with Fe, Zn, and possibly other elements, and their diameters are approximately 2 μm. Because these elements were evenly distributed within the particle, we conclude that they are internally mixed and form an alloy. Due to its spherical shape and composition, the particle is likely solid and is largely insoluble in water. Spherical aerosol particles, such as fly ash, commonly form from liquidized materials or during the condensation of vaporized materials depending on their sizes17.

      The spherical Cs-bearing particles were larger and less water soluble than sulfate particles, resulting in more dry deposition and less deposition in the region northwest of the FNPP (Figs. 4 and S9). It is probable that the emission processes had changed between the emissions of Plumes 1 and 2 as the accident and water injection progressed; however, further studies will be needed to reveal the emission process during the accident.

      This study aims to show the presence of spherical radioactive Cs-bearing particles to stimulate and facilitate further studies across multidisciplinary fields that will enable the proper understanding and evaluation of particle effects.

      The composition and the spherical shape of the Cs-bearing particles emitted by the FNPP accident will be a key to understand what happened in the nuclear reactors during the accident.

      The spherical Cs-bearing particles likely have longer retention times on the land surface than those of the water-soluble Cs particles. The retention time of the particles in the soil or other environments needs to be reconsidered.

  5. Plant DESIGN

    Towers ……….3………….1
    Reactors……4321………65

    Read backwards
    11/10/13
    November 10 ’13

    1. Sorry, thirteenth month, 10th day, of 2011 ???

      November 10th, 2013 and the 11th will be nervous days for many, due to the numeric similarity to March 11, 2011.

      Also, i thought the plant design was:

      Towers …CSFP.3…CSF….1
      Reactors……4321………56

      The administration orifice would be close to unit 1.

      Almost got it… Don’t give up.
      We are all scrambling for provable facts, and have been for some time.

      I encourage you to continue learning, Kim.
      Don’t be afraid. Fear is a mind-killer.

      Be alert.

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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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