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No one in the Japanese government knew there was a risk of a hydrogen explosion in the initial stages of the emergency at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, an advisor to the Prime Minister says. 　　Remote-controlled robots are being used to look inside one of the disabled reactor buildings at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, before workers begin pumping more water into the reactor. 　NHK TICKER Anyone know what that means? about the robots?

"Nuke agency says water may be leaking from No. 1 reactor container
TOKYO, April 26, Kyodo
The government's nuclear agency said Tuesday that water may be leaking from the No. 1 reactor container of the crisis-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, and that remote-controlled robots are expected to check the situation inside the reactor building." (restricted content so no more detail)

TEPCO prepares to fill No.1 reactor with water

Remote-controlled robots are being used to look inside one of the disabled reactor buildings at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, before workers begin pumping more water into the reactor.

Tokyo Electric Power Company is planning to fill the No.1 reactor and then its container with water by mid July, to submerge the fuel rods and cool them down stably.

To prepare for the operation, TEPCO sent robots inside the reactor building on Tuesday morning to check for leakage and other damage.

If no problems are found, the utility plans to increase the amount of water being fed into the reactor on Wednesday, on an experimental basis.

The water feed is due to be increased from the current 6 tons per hour to a maximum of 14 tons.

Workers will monitor changes in temperature and pressure, to see whether the reactor container can safely hold the water.

Robots will then enter the building again, to check for signs of seepage.

The government's nuclear safety agency says TEPCO also needs to determine whether a water-filled reactor container can withstand strong aftershocks.

TEPCO hopes to fill up the No.1 and No.3 reactor containers by mid-July, as part of its recently announced schedule for containing the nuclear accident.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011 12:49 +0900 (JST) www3.nhk.or.jp
No mention of trying tha with number 2....since the torus is ruptured is my guess.

Disclosing radiation data
People affected by the evacuation orders are incensed. Prime Minister Naoto Kan and other government leaders are paying the price for their failure to disclose relevant information in a timely manner and to explain fully the need for the evacuation. Without clear grounds for the directive, people will not comply.
search.japantimes.co.jp

When the Nuclear and Industry Safety Agency (NISA) raised the severity level at Fukushima from level 5 to level 7 on April 12, it said that the amount of radioactive materials released from the plant was about 10 percent of the quantity discharged at Chernobyl. But if that was an attempt to make the Fukushima crisis look less serious, it is misleading, because the NISA announcement does not take into account the release of contaminated water into the sea. Tens of thousands of people who reside near the Fukushima plant are suffering severe hardships after the government ordered them to leave their homes. More important, Tepco has not yet settled on a way to resolve the nuclear crisis.

In the meantime, radioactive substances continue to leak from the plant. Apart from Tepco's haphazard approach in its attempt to end the crisis, the behavior of the company and that of the government have given rise to suspicions among the Japanese people and the international community that both are hiding vital information. search.japantimes.co.jp

Official: Fukushima radiation release falling

Japan's Nuclear Safety Commission estimates the amount of radioactive release from the Fukushima Daiichi power plant at around 1 terabecquerels per hour as of Sunday. A government advisor says he thinks the amount is gradually falling. The commission announced its latest estimate on Monday, and compared the level to the 154 terabecquerels per day on April 5th.

Kenkichi Hirose, a Cabinet Office advisor in charge of the Nuclear Safety Commission, told reporters that he believes the amount of radioactive release has been declining judging from the current conditions of the plant.

Radioactivity is measured in becquerels, and a trillion becquerels is a terabecquerel.
A huge amount of becquerels does not automatically translate into a similar level of sieverts, which is a unit for measuring the likely medical impact of the radiation on an individual.

When Japan raised the severity rating of the Fukushima nuclear disaster on April 12th, the commission announced its estimate that 630,000 terabecquerels of radiation had been released into the atmosphere from March 11th till April 5th.

At that time, the Japanese Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency offered its own calculation of 370,000 terabecquerels.

The agency said its estimate is about one-tenth of what was released in the 10 days following the Chernobyl accident on April 26th, 1986, and the Nuclear Safety Commission's estimate is even higher.

The figures for Fukushima involve radioactive iodine 131 and cesium 137.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011 12:50 +0900 (JST) www3.nhk.or.jp Ummmm...w0w.

@Rob in SF See? Everything is fine.

UNLESS THIS HAPPENS: Gale batters Ibaraki

Gale-force winds damaged buildings in Ibaraki Prefecture, north of Tokyo, on Monday afternoon. No injuries have been reported.

The fire department in Toride City says it received a call saying that strong winds had blown away a prefabricated warehouse.

Emergency officials found that the warehouse had disintegrated, leaving only its foundation.

The officials say the winds blew off roof tiles or shattered windows in 20 houses in the city. Two utility poles were reportedly caused to tilt.

The fire department says winds of about 80 kilometers per hour hit the city between 1PM and 2PM.

A woman in the city told NHK that the gale was strong enough to shake widows and lasted for 30 or 40 minutes. She said she was frightened.

Monday, April 25, 2011 19:44 +0900 (JST)
www3.nhk.or.jp

According to TEPCO's road map, the water levels will reach the upper end of the fuel rods within three months.

So, er, uh, fuel rods will be exposed for at least 3 months? Don't they kinda' melt like that?

@Ralph Unger "they are returned to the electronics of the 80s, more resistant."
Who's got the Betamax tapes?

@Rob I use 1 inch reel to reel video tape. Or I did in the 80's LOL.

@Ralph Unger I started on 2" helical scan machines...

OMG! when was that 1970?

@Pedro Jesus I dunno. I was sincerely asking...

@Rob in SF So am I but I have read that in several different sources. Looking for confirmation.

@Ralph Unger No, they heat up, and that's what they're supposed to do. They only burn if temperatures inside the core rise over the zirconium cladding limit.

(by over I meant above)

They heat up very quickly if exposed to air. Like almost instantly, and then they burn.