Clear view in unit 3's pool (Fukushima) [View all]

[FBaggins]

A camera inspection of Fukushima Daiichi 3's used fuel pool has revealed no damage to stored fuel, but a huge amount of concrete sediment on the racks.

Clearing wreckage and emptying the pool is among the top priorities for Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco). Removing the used reactor fuel from all four damaged units to the shared storage pool will considerably reduce the risk presented by the site and mark a major achievement in their decommissioning.

The investigation, carried out from 14-18 February has given the clearest view yet of conditions inside the pool, which was littered with heavy debris by the hydrogen explosion of 13 March 2011. Earlier this month Tepco moved a large truss out of the pool, which had previously lain along almost its entire length, blocking camera access. This operation dislodged the refuelling machine mast, which slipped into the water and came to rest without causing further damage.


looking down onto a fuel rack topped with debris and sediment

http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/RS_Clear_view_in_unit_3s_pool_2202131.html

My guess is that they turned off the SFP pumps for a period of time so that the murky water would clear.

What are the odds that Gundersen will finally admit what the rest of us knew almost two years ago? There was no "prompt critical" explosion from within pool #3.