Fukushima Daiichi Unit 3 Spent Fuel Pool Gate Inspected
Most people haven't started paying attention to the next fuel-removal task at Fukushima. This is likely because Wasserman hasn't written his "Oh wait! THIS is humankind's most dangerous moment!" screed yet. But Tepco was scheduled to begin fuel removal from the SFP of Unit #3 in a couple months.
Most of the debris has been removed, but the large fuel handling machine is still there. There was some concern a week or two ago that the falling machine had damaged the gate that separates the fuel pool from the reactor well (and through which fuel assemblies pass during refeuling operations). This is important because a gate failure could result in some of the water in the pool draining out
After this inspection, it appears that the fuel handling machine isn't in contact with the gate (some other piece of wreckage is) and the pool-side gate appears to be in place. The more likely cause of the secondary gate shifting is now the explosion.
It's reasonable to question whether Tepco can still meet their expected June starting date for fuel removal, but it at least looks as though the fuel handling machine is not in contact with the gate, so it likely can be removed (granting access to the spent fuel below).
...snip...
In TEPCO’s report they explain that the fuel handling crane is not in direct contact with the gate but a large piece of steel is. The beige marked section indicates where the steel is in contact with the gate. TEPCO has not noticed any significant water leakage from the spent fuel pool and was not able to inspect all of the mounting hooks for the gate door. The upper portion appeared to still be in contact with the rubber sealing gaskets.
Many more photos and content at:
http://www.fukuleaks.org/web/?p=14637
