Japan to build an 'Ice Wall around Fukushima nuclear plant

[Ichingcarpenter]

Japan is to invest hundreds of millions of dollars into building a frozen wall around the Fukushima nuclear plant to stop leaks of radioactive water.

Government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said an estimated 47bn yen ($473m, £304m) would be allocated.

The leaks were getting worse and the government "felt it was essential to become involved to the greatest extent possible", Mr Suga said.

The plant was crippled by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

The disaster knocked out cooling systems to the reactors, three of which melted down.

Water is now being pumped in to cool the reactors, but storing the resultant large quantities of radioactive water has proved a challenge for plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco).

'Under the government plan, a wall of frozen earth will be created around the reactors using pipes filled with coolant to prevent groundwater coming into contact with contaminated water being used to cool fuel rods.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-23940214





I guess this wall will keep out the undead

[Turbineguy]

1. Maybe they could build one of those

around Assad.

[The Straight Story]

2. If they hadn't rush building it and listened to people it might not be leaking (nt)

[The Straight Story]

3. Tanks said built in haste, bound to leak

FUKUSHIMA – A subcontractor who was involved in building water storage tanks at the damaged Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant said late last month that concerns about leaks emerged after workers were told to build the vessels as quickly as possible.

As feared, one of the tanks at the plant leaked 300 tons of highly radioactive water last month, Tokyo Electric Power Co. recently disclosed.

“We were required to build the tanks in quick succession,” the man said, recalling his experience building a group of tanks in the H4 area of the plant two years ago. “We were told to put priority on making the tanks, rather than quality control. There were fears that toxic water may leak.”

....

The tanks were flange-type units, which are less watertight than those with welded seams because they have many bolted parts that spring leaks.

The man said the workers were ordered by Tepco and its subcontractor to meet a deadline for the tanks because the amount of coolant water was rising and needed to be stored.

He said management of the tanks’ construction was poor, with necessary materials sometimes not delivered on time and rusty bolts found among the materials.

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/09/02/national/leaks-feared-when-fukushima-no-1-water-tanks-constructed/#.UiXD-xhEr2Q

[Ichingcarpenter]

4. Yes and then the denial dangerous leaks was criminal

only 14 times less truthful......than what it was.

How long can they maintain an Ice Wall considering the half life of the items they are dealing with?

Seems to be extremely temporary but at least its a start.

[dipsydoodle]

5. Winters coming.

?itok=FMYG3MHg

[trusty elf]

6. Nuclear power-clean, safe and economical....

[Johnny Ready]

7. The fallout maps are worth a look

My first reaction to this crisis in 2011 was to search for a google map showing the potential fallout area's and the corresponding threat level. There are some very detailed maps that factor in wind and ocean currents available, to get a better idea of our risk factor.

Do I personally think this is a serious concern, yes I do. The odds of any government allowing full disclosure of an accident of this magnitude are understandably slim. My feeling is we are being told, as well as the residents of Japan the very least information possible. Mainly to avoid a stock market crash, and to avoid the panic that should be taking place now if you are a resident of Japan or the US west coast. - (to a lesser degree)

[Poll_Blind]

12. ^ This. nt

PB

[Warren DeMontague]

14. Yeah, I dont go in for tinfoil stuff normally, but it was very odd how

The very minute the markets started reacting, badly, to fukushima the media coverage shut off like -wham-.

[iemitsu]

8. What do they suppose will happen to the ice when it comes into contact with

superheated radioactive waste?
I hope this plan will work but it seems like an odd plan to me.

[bemildred]

9. I think the idea is that the wall will be remote from the core.

In the ground, to create an impermeable barrier. But it will have to be powered forever, I would think, so it's a temporary patch.

[Ichingcarpenter]

10. kick because its important to all of earth N/t

[snagglepuss]

11. Ice wall in an earthquake zone. No problems there.

Kidding aside can an ice wall withstand an earthquake?

[1-Old-Man]

15. We, the US, have used ice-wall containment for our own (radioactively) contaminated sites.

The problem is that the ice wall has to be kept an ice wall. Just like your refrigerator, if you unplug it the thing stops working.

Here's something for you. If a thing has a half-life, which is to say that in some period of time half of whatever you are measuring will change into something else. For lots of nuclear materials you can presume a half life of 25,000 years - just sort of a rule of thumb. It takes 10 half lifes for whatever the thing is to become what you can think of as essentially gone, non existent, undetectable. So the question here becomes who is gong to keep the refrigerator going for a quarter million years?

[jimlup]

16. kick and rec...

meanwhile back across the other pond...