ScribbleLive

"This is because fully flooding the primary containment is an entirely unique application that
does not seem to have been considered at the design stage of this BWR NPP some 40 to 50
years past. The fact that the built structure of the primary containment has been in service for forty years (some might opine a period well beyond its design service life) being subject to inevitable age-related degradation; and that it has sustained to a severe seismic event, followed by a violent explosion all, surely, make it even more imperative that the adequacy to perform this new (and beyond-design-basis) task be openly and thoroughly demonstrated.
Because of the high radiations levels persisting in and around the Unit 1 reactor block, TEPCO has been denied access to thoroughly inspect the built structures. Although it acknowledges
there to be leaks through the containment, TEPCO has been unable relate how these leakage paths (that must be structural discontinuities) could impair or degrade the structural containment role of Unit 1.
In this respect, TEPCO’s justification for proceeding with the flooding, as presented in the
publicly available summary report,13 is scant and lacking the rational and disciplined approach that such a project merits.
Certainly, TEPCO’s approach in presenting and justifying the flooding scheme is not
sufficiently comprehensive, omitting as it does any consideration of the period over which Unit 1 primary containment will have to act as a ‘water sarcophagus’ – it gives little cognisance to the radiological consequences should the containment fail in the near or longer terms – there is no consideration of how the surety of this adaptation of the containment and the hulk of Unit 1 might be maintained in future years nor, indeed, how it might be practicably dismantled and decommissioned at some unspecified time in future.
In short, TEPCO’s scheme for the flooding of Unit 1 is poorly-thought through and, although
now in the process of practicable implementation, a demonstrable nuclear safety case has not been presented."

@RBeaner , the idea for a cover is mentioned in the pdfs of this tepco release: www.tepco.co.jp .

@Veen Qui looks to me like it's coming steam, not fog, from at least 3 reactors- fits with the movement in the air perhaps

Lots of smoke coming from all 3 as the fog leaves.

Thursday, May 12, 2011
TEPCO: A Few Centimeter Diameter Hole at the Bottom of Reactor 1's Pressure Vessel, Maybe

The bottom of the Reactor Pressure Vessel (RPV) is 16 centimeters thick, as per TEPCO's press conference on May 12 morning.

In the evening press conference, TEPCO said their calculation showed there must be a hole a few centimeter in diameter at the bottom of the RPV that is leaking water.

From Yomiuri Shinbun (1:33AM JST 5/13/2011):

東電によると、１号機では現在、燃料を冷却するため圧力容器内への注水（毎時約８トン）が続き、累積注水量はすでに１万立方メートルを超えている。ところ が、１０日に圧力容器の水位計を調整した結果、冷却水の水位が容器の底部から最大４メートル程度しかないことが判明。この漏水量から圧力容器の損傷を計算 したところ、直径数センチの穴に相当することが分かった。

According to TEPCO, 8 tons/hour water is being poured into the RPV to cool the fuel. The ***ulative amount of water that's been poured exceeds 10,000 cubic meters (tons). On finding the water level inside the RPV was at most 4 meters from the bottom of the RPV. TEPCO calculated the damage to the RPV from the amount of water that's leaked from the RPV, and came up with a possibility of a hole a few centimeters in diameter.

@Peter Melzer That article was apr 17

Hot times in Fukushima?

@all I think alot of what is considered steam and smoke is just plain fog. Look at it from that viewpoint and try to dissprove it. Don't start from the worst hypothesis and try to prove it. If you hear hooves. it's horses, not unicorns,
by you

@RBeaner If it's emanating from a plant...it's not fog!

I agree no fog. Yesterday was also no fog, you could watch how it built up.

sigh. wrong aphorism again. and we are separately referring to foreground fog/haze passing by, occasionally filling up the screen, and the steam/smoke rising clearly from the plants.

HAHA,

Nice shot, if it weren't for such bad things going on there.

I watched the progression during both smoke-outs and the plants were putting out progressively more smoke before they were engulfed and the fog came after.

@LM I saw that now, that more smoke came now, and it has zomed on that reactor. It's the first time I see the smoke live - it's difficult to see, only seconds if the backlight is right. if they are trying to work on something at a reactor, can we see or hear anything from watching this cam as long as it is daylight?

@Mona You can occasionally see cranes and cement pumpers moving around. The contrast on the cam is really screwy right now so it's kind of hard to see smoke. If there was a blast of some kind and your sound was turned up you could probably hear it. I'm not sure if we're actually witnessing quakes...it could be the camera buffeted by the wind. We'll find out in a half hour or so if the USGS posts something.

@LM can it be wind shaking the camera like that or was it a quake?...

Thanks Panserbjorne9!

See the smoke rising closer to the camera? Wonder what that is?

@Rexz = low cloud I think near the cam