Cooling Systems Restored to Three Units at Fukushima Daiichi

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources East Asia (Kofu-shi, Japan)--As of 12:30 p.m. JST on Sunday, April 3, power to the cooling systems of units 1, 2, and 3 of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station, which belongs to Tokyo Electric Power Company Incorporated (TYO:9501) (TEPCO) (Tokyo) had been restored. So far, cooling system pumps are working normally and are injecting fresh water into the reactors. On the same day, the reactor temperatures of units 1, 2 and 3 were stable or dropping slightly. Pressure measurements in Unit 1, however, are still fluctuating, while the reactor pressures of units 2 and 3 are either holding or decreasing.

Another major concern of TEPCO is the radioactive standing water in units 1, 2 and 3. High levels of radiation have been preventing officials from restoring power to the affected units' cooling systems, and TEPCO prioritized the movement of the irradiated water. Efforts to move the water began last week, and as of end of Saturday, April 2, TEPCO had executed the following:

• Unit 1 - finished moving water from condensate storage to surge tank
• Unit 2 - finished moving water from condensate storage to surge tank; begun moving water from condenser to condensate storage
• Unit 3 - finished moving water from condensate storage to surge tank

Now that the surge tanks of units 1, 2 and 3 are full, officials are looking into various methods for the disposal of radioactive water. Currently there are several ideas on the table, three of which will not involve filtration of radiation. One idea involves moving water from the surge tanks of units 1, 2 and 3 to Fukushima Daiichi's wastewater treatment facility, which is typically responsible for treating water from units 1 through 4, and had radiation filtration technology prior to March 11. The 14-meter tsunami resulting from the March 11 earthquake that struck Fukushima Daiichi destroyed all but the wastewater treatment facility's underground storage tank, which has a storage capacity of 54,000 tons. However, all filtration equipment was destroyed.

Other disposal plans involve moving water to Mega Float, the floating man-made island just offshore of Fukushima Daiichi, or the United States military barge "Hashike," one of two barges currently onsite to supply Fukushima Daiichi with fresh water.

The Atomic Energy Society of Japan (AESJ) has suggested the use of zeolite, a type of mineral found at most home repair centers. AESJ has suggested installing a tank equipped with zeolite-based filtration equipment and a standard building air cooler. Decontaminated water will be cooled and redirected to reactors to assist in cooling efforts.

As of Friday, April 1, TEPCO also began using KuricoatC-720-G, a bluish, emulsified artificial resin primarily used in earth stabilization to prevent landslides. Kuricoat is diluted in water and then sprayed on the ground in question. The idea is for the kuricoat to act as a bond for surface radioactive particles to prevent them from spreading.

Dilution scales versus time effectiveness for KuricoatC-720-G include the following:

• six months on flat land - 75 kilograms in water to make 1 cubic meter of solution (13:1 dilution)
• 12 months on flat land - 125 kilograms in water to make 1 cubic meter of solution (8:1 dilution)

TEPCO placed an order with Kurita Water Industries Limited (TYO:6370) (Tokyo), the maker of Kuricoat, for 60 cubic meters, or 60,000 liters, of up to 7:1 KuricoatC-720-G solution. With this dilution scheme, TEPCO is aiming to have the Kuricoat last more than 12 months. So far, TEPCO has treated a total of 500 square meters of test area just west of Unit 4. Officials will monitor the effects over a period of two weeks before deciding to use the remaining Kuricoat solution. Kurita has officially announced that it is unsure if its product will be effective in this manner, since it has never been used for this purpose.

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