Robots TEPCO found high levels of radiation in the reactor buildings

April 19, 2011, 1: 40 pm EDT by Yuji Okada, Michio Nakayama and Tsuyoshi Inajima

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April 19 (Bloomberg) - Robots sent in three buildings at the nuclear Fukushima Dai-Ichi crippled detected Japan radiation too toxic for humans after the plant operator with a plan to end the crisis in the six to nine months.Measurements show an hour in the building of the reactor No. 3 would expose humans to more than one-fifth of the radiation that the Japan has said is that most workers can withstand a year, the Atomic security agency said yesterday. The buildings were damaged by explosions in the days after a magnitude-9 quake and tsunami March 11 assommé air conditioners, triggering the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl 1986.A radiation in Fukushima Dai-Ichi station sustained decline can be achieved in the three moisTokyo Electric Power Co. said in a statement establishing his plans. After a judgment of the cold, where basic reactor temperatures drop below 100 degrees Celsius (212 degrees Fahrenheit), can be reached in six months, he said. "TEPCO should be faster than its described on two particular areas: circulate radioactive water in pressure vessels and covering the reactor buildings to avoid releases of radiation,"Tadashi Narabayashi, Professor of nuclear engineering at the University of Hokkaido said today.Over the next three months, Tepco, as the utility is known, plans to fill the vessels of containment of the reactor No. 1 and no. 3 units with water, the company said in its statement on April 17. The utility seal the vessel of the No. 2 reactor, which is probably damaged, before flooding it.Leak at sea "If flood us the ship damaged, contaminated water leakage increases", Tepco Vice President Sakae Muto told journalists in Tokyo on April 17. "We will continue to inject water with care and monitor the volume of water filtered.".Water pumped far overflowed in basements and the trenches, with some of them leaking into the ocean.TEPCO said earlier that it will begin draining the highly radioactive water in a trench near the No. 2 reactor today, Junichi Matsumoto, an official at Tokyo Electric, said to journalists. The power utility plans to move from 10 000 tonnes of contaminated water, a waste treatment unit and expects to finalize the transfer, Matsumoto said.Robots, RadiationTwo iRobot Corp. robots sent April 17 to check if humans can enter again the site found as high as 49 millisieverts per hour of radiation levels in the building of the No. 1 engine and up to 57 millisieverts in building No. 3said the nuclear and industrial safety agency.The cumulative maximum level of nuclear workers was raised 250 100 millisieverts millisieverts by the Ministry of health of the Japan on March 15. Exhibition totalling more than 100 millisieverts a year is the level below which any increase in cancer is obvious, according to the world nuclear Association in robot London.Another was sent in the reactor No. 2 building yesterday and recorded levels of 4.1 millisieverts per hourspokesman Tetsuya Terasawa told journalists today.TEPCO shares fell 8.4% 428 yen in Tokyo today and Exchange to 449 yen at 1: 46 pm. The stock is down by almost 80 percent since the earthquake and tsunami, which left people approximately 28,000 dead or missing.Pellets of fuel in no. 1, 2 and 3 reactors can melt at the plant, the nuclear safety agency, said today, in the first official confirmation of damage to the nuclei.Nitrogen injection "Believed that pellets of fuel in the reactors have melted", the Agency said in a report. "The extent of melting cannot be confirmed until the fuel rods have been removed."TEPCO provides inject nitrogen into the vessels of containment of the No. 2 and no. 3 reactor late April, said Muto. The injected utility inert gas in no. 1 unit this month to prevent explosions hydrogen. "Injection of nitrogen is not evil, but has no meaning, it has just one like that you do something,"said Michael Friedlander, a former nuclear engineer U.S. based in Hong Kong. "It's a question of resources and the population;" These people could be better used. "Three to six months after the initial phase of its plan, Tepco will attempt a closure cold reactors No. 1, 2 and 3, the company said. 4, 5 And 6 reactors were closed at the time of the disaster.The utility will also cover the No. 1, 3 and reactor buildings 4 as a temporary measure to reduce emissions of radiation after structures were damaged by hydrogen explosions last month, according to the Declaration. "TEPCO should cover buildings as soon as possible, at least before the typhoon season of Japan, because the rain and wind can cause leakage of radioactive water in spent fuel pools,"stated Narabayashi at the University of Hokkaido."

-With the help of Kyung Bok Cho and Taku Kato in Tokyo. Editors: Aaron Sheldrick, Amit Prakash

To contact the reporters on this story: Yuji Okada at Tokyo to the yokada6@bloomberg.net; Michio Nakayama in Tokyo at the mnakayama4@bloomberg.net. Tsuyoshi Inajima in Tokyo at the tinajima@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Amit Prakash to aprakash1@bloomberg.net

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Nuclear power plant Japan still spewing radiation at sea

Measured radiation in seawater ashore off the Central nuclear Japan tsunami-ravaged several million times legal limit in recent days, while officials argue that contamination still does not constitute an immediate danger.

Radiation was cast in the Pacific Ocean the Fukushima Daiichi plant since a 9.0 magnitude earthquake caused a massive tsunami that flooded the complex. Over the weekend, workers he discovered a crack where the highly contaminated water has been discharging directly into the ocean.

The tsunami has sprayed about 400 kilometres from the northeast coast, killing thousands of people and entire towns flattened. Tens of thousands more lost their homes in the crash of the water, and thousands have been forced to leave the area near the plant because of radiation concerns.

A member of the Force of legitimate defence of the Japan Research victims on a coastline that was damaged by the earthquake and the tsunami, in Miyako, Iwate Prefecture, Tuesday. Toru Hanai/ReutersMany of these "radiation refugees" are frustrated by the mandatory 20-kilometre exclusion zone and plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. - including the stock value has plunged its lowest level ever - them said Tuesday it would give the affected towns 20 million yen (240 000 US$) each.

Also Tuesday, TEPCO announced that sea water samples near one of the reactors contained 7.5 million times the legal limit of radioactive iodine on April 2. Two days later, this figure dropped to $ 5 million.

Experts have said that radiation quickly dissipates in the vast Pacific, but they also said that it is not known what will be the effects of large amounts of contamination. No fishing is permitted in the vicinity of complex.

TEPCO said in a statement that even large amounts would have "no immediate impact" on the environment, but added that it is working to stop the leak as soon as possible.

The readings were taken more near the plant as before - apparently because the new points have been added after the crack was discovered - and do not necessarily reflect a worsening of the contamination. Other measures metres hundreds of plant have declined to levels approximately 1,000 times the legal limit - down from 4,385 times the legal limit last week.

Measurements of radiation from TEPCO was questioned last week, and the nuclear safety agency ordered the utility to analyze again its samples. As a result, some figures have been chosen and several days worth of measures were released Tuesday.

Radioactivity is cast into the ocean, in part, because the factory workers were forced to use a method fortune to lower temperatures and pressures by pumping water in reactors and allowing Gush out everywhere where it can. This is a difficult process, but it prevents a complete breakdown of fuel rods that would unleash even more radioactivity in the environment.

This means also is pooling of means highly radioactive water through the plant, and some of them blasted their way to the ocean. Workers are now desperately trying to find a place to store the contaminated water because it is preventing them from restoring the normal cooling systems.

From late Monday, they began less than pumping contaminated water into the sea to space in a storage facility for the more highly radioactive water.

This process should take two days.

The building is not designed to hold water, but it is also not flee, so engineers have decided once it is empty, they can pump in plu radioactive water.

Japan is another method of decontamination of the Russia.

Monday, a spokesman for the Russian nuclear agency, Rosatom, Sergei Novikov, told journalists that the Japan had requested send Russia a vessel used to remove nuclear waste liquid from decommissioned submarines.

Novikov said that Moscow expected responses to certain questions before granting the request.

It has more than 15 million litres of contaminated, water pooling around the plant, Hidehiko Nishiyama, a spokesman of the Japan nuclear and industrial safety agency, said Tuesday. It is unclear how much storage space is left at the plant, but the last approach should make room for approximately 2.6 million gallons in the building of waste storage.

Even if TEPCO has made the decision to release deliberately contaminated at least water is a mark of progress on the resolution of a problem, every day seems to bring a new setback and reputation of the company took a serious blow.

On Tuesday, its stock dropped yen 80 - the maximum daily limit, or 18 per cent - just 362 yen ($ 4.3), falling below its previous low record of 393 yen from December 1951 to closing.

Since the earthquake, the prices of the action of the TEPCO has nose-dived a staggering 80 per cent. The Tokyo Stock Exchange said investors have dumped TEPCO shares worth 1.06 billion of yen since March 11.

Stress to announce the bad news also seems to be taking a toll. An official teared up and his voice starts shaking was details at a press conference near the plant this week.

In what could be an effort to counter the bad advertising, Takashi Fujimoto, Vice-President of the TEPCO, said that the company offered 20 million yen ($ 240,000) for each city or city affected by the mandatory evacuation zone. He calls the cash "money apology" and noted that a city he had refused because he disagreed with the approach. He gave no details.

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