TEPCO Now Evaluates Dispersing Boric Acid On Reactor 4 As Fuel Rod Damage At Other Reactors Estimated At 33% and 70%

Desperation in Fukushima is growing as one by one the remaining options to prevent the "recriticlaity" of reactor 4 slide away. After the idea floated earlier to pour water on the core in hopes of cooling was dashed following a fire which broke out about 2 hours earlier and technical difficulties associated with the actual implementation , the latest and probably last recourse proposed is to disperse boric acid - a radiation retardant - all over everything in a blind "shotgun" strategy. How that will do anything to prevent the nuclear fall out from the containment bed which is now supposedly exposed to the open air, remains a mystery. And another update from Kyodo: "Fuel rods damage at Fukushima's 2 reactors estimated at 70%, 33%"

From Reuters:

Nuclear power plant operator Tokyo Electric Power said on Wednesday that it is considering dispersing boric acid, a fire retardant, over the Fukushima Daiichi plant's No. 4 reactor from a helicopter.

The plant operator also said a fire seen earlier in the day at the No.4 reactor was no longer visible.

The operator was responding to questions from reporters regarding reports that it was mulling dumping water on the No.4 reactor, which first caught fire on Tuesday, by helicopter.

And from Kyodo:

An estimated 70 percent of the nuclear fuel rods have been damaged at the troubled No. 1 reactor of the Fukushima No.1 nuclear power plant and 33 percent at the No. 2 reactor, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Wednesday.

The reactors' cores are believed to have partially melted with their cooling functions lost after Friday's magnitude 9.0 earthquake rocked Fukushima Prefecture and other areas in northeastern and eastern Japan.

Around 5:45 a.m., a worker at the plant saw flames on the fourth floor of the building housing the No. 4 reactor, believed to be the same spot where an apparent hydrogen explosion caused a fire at 9:38 a.m. Tuesday. The reactor had been halted for regular checks from before the quake.

TEPCO said it had stopped fire-fighting operations after judging that the Tuesday morning fire had been extinguished. It said it promptly reported the latest incident to firefighters and local governments.

Flames were seen through the two square-shaped holes about 8 by 8 meters created in the walls of the building by Tuesday's 6:14 a.m. blast, but were no longer visible when workers at the plant tried to confirm them at 6:15 a.m. Wednesday, the utility said.

On Tuesday, the utility said water in a pool storing spent nuclear fuel rods at the reactor may be boiling and that its level may have dropped, exposing the rods. The government ordered the firm to inject water into the pool ''as soon as possible to avert a major nuclear disaster.''

Comments

[AldoHux_IV]

The worse part is how the Japanese government is controlling all the newsflow-- these poor people will have had lethal doses of radiation before the government says it needs to evacuate more people just so their precious markets don't tank anymore-- what a damn fucking shame.

[depression]

Watching the live press conference on the situation via NHK stream...

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nhk-world-tv

Some quotes:

White smoke around the # 3 reactor, cause is unknown.

Radiation at main gate has risen. Connection to white smoke is unclear.

Reactor #2 emitting radioactive subtances thought to a containment vessel related issue.

6.4 millsievert peak measured at main gate of Fukushima plant, currently measuring 3.1 millisievert. Operation on site has been suspended, workers have moved to "safer areas" in response to higher radiation levels being measured.

For those in the evacuation zones, stay indoors, and do not run air conditioners.

Flames observed inside #4 containment building. Thought to be spent fuel rods are fully exposed, no water shield covering the pools. Workers cannot approach the building due to high radiation levels around the building. Helicopters were considered as a remote way to get water on the cooling pool, but was deemed unfeasable. Fire pump trucks cannot be used because workers cannot get close enough to reach the pool due to high radiation level.

Conference was just interrupted...

Breaking News: warning of strong earthquake, take precautions.....

Camera shaking sideways as earthquake hits....

[Lord Koos]

Just breaking:

(Reuters) - Workers were ordered to withdraw from a stricken Japanese nuclear power plant on Wednesday after radiation levels rose, Kyodo news reported, a development that suggested the crisis was spiraling out of control.

Just hours earlier another fire broke out at the plant, which has sent low levels of radiation wafting into Tokyo in the past 24 hours, triggering international alarm.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/16/us-japan-quake-idUSTRE72A0SS20110316