CNN Wire Staff
Tokyo (CNN) - A first attempt to plug a cracked concrete shaft that is leaking highly radioactive water into the ocean off Japan failed Saturday, so officials are now exploring alternatives, spokesmen for Tokyo Electric Power Co. said.
Power plant workers had been trying to fill the shaft with fresh concrete, but that did not change the amount of water coming out of the crack, the spokesmen said at a news conference that ran late into the night Saturday.
Their "plan B" is to use polymers to stop the leak, the spokesmen said. A Tokyo Electric expert will visit the site Sunday morning and decide what polymer to use before the work begins.
Workers will then break the shaft's ceiling and insert the polymer in a different spot from where they tried to place the concrete, they said.
Water from the 2-meter-deep, concrete-lined basin has been seen escaping into the ocean through a roughly 20-centimeter (8-inch) crack, the company said earlier Saturday. The shaft lies behind the turbine plant of the No. 2 reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, which was heavily damaged in the earthquake and resulting tsunami last month.
Radiation levels in the shaft have been measured at more than 1,000 millisieverts per hour, which is more than 330 times the dose an average resident of an industrialized country naturally receives in a year. Radioactivity above the shaft was measured at 250 millisieverts per hour, said Tokyo Electric, the plant's owner.
Tokyo Electric said it is discussing other methods to use should the polymer fail, but it hasn't identified what those other methods may be.
The discovery of the leak comes after a feverish effort in recent days to explain a sharp spike in contamination in seawater measured just off the plant. Tokyo Electric said the shaft lies next to the water intake for the plant's steam condenser, at the end of a long channel that has been filling with radioactive water for several days.
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If not now, when will the world recognize that assessment and response to a disaster such as this, can not be left to either a private company or a single nation? When the threat is so clearly obvious from the outset in its potential to cause such considerable damage and death–we cannot reasonably rely on a panel of individuals where interests lie anywhere other than the safety of all persons involved, not to mention the environment. Again, a fear of "overreaction" and a sense of obligation to prevent panic seems to be associated with misinformation and delay, with a cost that may only years down the line be accurately measured. It's not an issue of trust, it's an issue of reason and common sense.
Mr. Cooper: who would I contact to reccommend a polymer that may help solve this problem. I have a polymer that I use to stop loss circulation in weighted muds and high temperature. I don't know what type of PWR it is an the temperature at present at the leak or inside the containment vessel that needs to be plugged.What type of polymer (super absorber) they used already??
Thank you,
J. wattigney
Using the polymer repair method for the reactor will be similiar to the operation of a run-flat tire; the polymers will be pulled into the leak with the flowing water to plug the hole. Something that will make this process hard for the plant technicians will be that the majority of the water will want to flow out of the existing coolant plumbing exit. To direct the polymers out through the leak, either very large amounts will have to be used, or the coolant exit will have to be slowed, so more of the polymers will exit through the breech until it is filled. This will pose signifigant risk of even greater heat issues if the current supply of water is slowed. Care will also need to be taken so that the polymers do not impede the current flow of water, should the process fail.
I saw an interview with one of the partners of TEPCO. He was an American (in a very expensive suit). This alone is an interesting fact that would interest a lot of people. Why isn't he involved with making sure that the contamination and radiation is being dealt with more efficiently or effectively? Who is this guy?
He was talking about his plans to build new nuclear plants in the U.S. They would be the first ones in thirty years. He will be starting in Texas. I think that he said
Obama has already approved this.
They have no idea of how to deal with this stuff without it being a horrible threat that many do not believe is worth it. Until they actually find a way to make sure that this kind of disaster will never happen again,
I don't believe that we the people will let this happen.
I hope that more information gets out about this man and his past business standards and his very questionable future plans.
Other consederations need to be made regarding what exactly is being put into the water. There are no doubt other extremely toxic substances in the area that are being release into the ocean along with the radiation. One possible solution would be to filter the outgoing water through a large quantity of coal as it is released into the environment. Coal is readily available and the carbon will absorb atleast some of the toxic chemicals on there way into the ocean.
so what happens to the ocean after Japan dumps radiation in the sea ? thats not fair to all in ocean communities
I would Like to say that it was wise of the Japanese to opt for water in cooling the failed reactors and it is an acceptable that some of the radioactive bi-product has to be dumped into the ocean. During the chernobyl incedent, lead and graphite were dropped from helicopters which, in turn, went into the atmosphere causing massive clouds of radioactive smoke in the intense heat.
One suggestion would be to possibly add a radioactive damper to the water such as Boron. Regardless the water is keeping the particles out of the air.
pump contaminated water into sealed barges,take to the artic and allow them to freeze until they can be decontaminated.
im not that smart (only a kid), so im probaly wrong about this, but with the nuclear power plant leakage, i was wondering if they considered trying to use like a putty or a hard (but not completely solid) piece of clay, just to stop the water temporarily, and then support the clay or putty using a more solid reinforced blocking material such as melting/wielding a thick enough piece of metal over top of the clay(sealing it for good)or even the concrete.
would like to suggest using the crystal absorbent product they put in diapers and use in wedding decorations called cracked ice which absorbes and expands the liquid it is placed in then holds it till evaporation removes the water leaving behind held in the crystals anything else that is absorbed in them. making the containment of the dryed crystal much smaller and easier to contain.
I don't know if it's contraindicated or not but flora-zine dye is used to trace leaks. I believe the Japanese government realizes the risk from typhoons could seriously complicate the problem so they may be trying to get ahead of that eventuality. The radiation in the environment will be a problem for a lot longer than people think. The dilution in the ocean theory is in error. Cesium is heavy and will not move around much. This event will worsen over time it is unfortunate but we should not be surprised when it does.