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Thursday, April 21, 2011

IAEA : Fukushima Nuclear Accident Update Log

Updates as of 20th April 2011 from IAEA, excerpt :

" On Wednesday, 20 April 2011, the IAEA provided the following information on the current status of nuclear safety in Japan:

1. Current Situation

Overall, the situation at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant remains very serious, but there are early signs of recovery in some functions, such as electrical power and instrumentation.

Changes to Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Status

The IAEA receives information from a variety of official Japanese sources through the Japanese national competent authority, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA). Additional detail is provided in the IEC status summary with information received by 07:00 UTC on 20 April 2011.

Management of On-Site Contaminated Water

TEPCO has provided a plan to NISA for the transfer of highly contaminated water from the basement of the turbine building of Unit 2 to the main building of the radioactive waste treatment facilities, to reduce the risk of this stagnant waste water being discharged to the environment. Measures to ensure that the radioactive waste treatment facility is watertight were completed on 18 April and the transfer of water from Unit 2 was commenced on 19 April.

Plant Status

Work to strengthen the electrical power system between Units 1 - 2 and Units 3 - 4 was completed on 19 April. White "smoke" continues to be emitted from Units 2, 3 and 4.

In Unit 1 fresh water is being continuously injected into the reactor pressure vessel through the feedwater line at an indicated flow rate of 6 m3/h using a temporary electric pump with off-site power. In Units 2 and 3 fresh water is being continuously injected into the reactor pressure vessel through the fire extinguisher line at an indicated rate of 7 m3/h using a temporary electric pump with off-site power. In Unit 4 fresh water continues to be sprayed onto the spent fuel pool using a concrete pump truck.

Nitrogen gas is being injected into the containment vessel in Unit 1 to reduce the possibility of hydrogen combustion within the containment vessel. The pressure in the containment vessel has stabilized. The pressure in the reactor pressure vessel is increasing."

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