More Tsunami Photos

Deaths confirmed at Fukushima Daiichi

03 April 2011

Two workers missing since the natural disasters of 11 March have now been found dead in the turbine building of Fukushima Daiichi unit 4.

Kazuhito Kokubo and Yoshiki Terashima, aged 24 and 21 respectively, were found in the '-1' level of unit 4's turbine hall. The chairman of Tokyo Electric Power Company, Tsunehisa Katsumata, said they had been "working to protect the safety of the Fukushima power station after the earthquake and tsunami." Similar basement levels of other reactors on the site have been found to be flooded, possibly by tsunami water flowing through cabling trenches close to the seafront.

One worker also died at Fukushina Daini after suffering serious injuries and becoming trapped in the crane operating console of the exhaust stack of one of the units during the earthquake.

Like many coastal zones in northeastern Japan, the area near the nuclear power plant was utterly devastated. See image.

These three are the only deaths at nuclear power plants from the earthquake, tsunami and subsequent nuclear emergency. No effects on health or significant contamination cases have been identified among the general public evacuated from the area. The tsunami travelled up to five kilometres inland in Fukushima prefecture, causing a 1113 deaths with 4626 more people still missing. The totals for Japan as a whole are 12,087 dead and 15,552 missing as of today.

Among the 370 workers working to bring stability to the damaged reactor units of the Daiichi plant, 21 have so far experienced radiation doses of over 100 millisieverts.

Normally nuclear workers are allowed to receive a dose of 20 millisieverts over a whole year, although in practice they often receive very much less. If that limit is exceeded in any year, the worker cannot undertake nuclear duties for the remainder.

In emergency circumstances safety regulators allow workers to receive up to 100 millisieverts with the same conditions applying, that they must leave the site should that limit be reached. The 100 millisievert level is roughly the point at which health effects from radiation become more likely. Below this it is statistically difficult to connect radiation dose to cancer rates, but above this the relationship starts to become apparent when looking at a large group.

Japanese authorities have authorised exposures of up to 250 millisieverts in the efforts to bring the Fukushima situation under full control. So far no-one has been exposed to these levels.

Researched and written by World Nuclear News

Accident Chronology

Here is a nice tabular chronology of Units 1- 4.

Again, double click on images to enlarge.

Conversion dope: MpaG & Mpaabs. These are metric units of pressure. One Mega Pascal, Mpa, in English units, equals 145 pounds/sq. in.

MpaG, is gage pressure, Mpaabs, is absolute pressure.

Gage pressure + 14.5 = Absolute Pressure.

The Fukushima Event

[Emergency System Schematic, Two identical, full capacity systems termed Div. 1, Div. 2, either will perform the required safety functions. The Japanese HPCS pumps were driven by steam-turbines, not a dedicated diesel generator set as depicted.]

The following excellent information is taken from this website: http://klickitat.org/nucleartourist/fukushima.htm

This explains where the hydrogen gas came from, to relieve pressure within the reactor system, we were previously told the operators were venting to the containment. This, a poor translation from the Japanese language. This discussion clears that up, and that the gases in the primary containment were vented to the reactor building, secondary containment. Too bad they could not vent to the main plant vent through the filters provided. This would have prevented the hydrogen excursions destroying the upper structures of the reactor buildings.

Time will tell.

"The Fukushima event is slowly building to become the most significant event in the history of nuclear power. During the next couple of days, I will be working to update this page to cover all aspects of this event and also to relate this event to US reactors. Please stop back when you can."

At this point the event has been classified as an INES Level 5 accident. Although antinuclear proponents, e.g. Greenpeace, disagree, neither the IAEA nor the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission currently disagree with Japan's assessment. [Such a designation is rather academic]

As of April 2, radiation levels at locations around the Fukushima plant were trending downward. US Energy Secretary Chu estimated that 70% of the Unit 1 and 33% of the Unit 2 core had melted NY Times, April 1). The Japanese agencies have also reported concrete cracks that may provide at least one path for radioactive releases to the sea (washington Post, April 2). [DOE Sect'y. Chu hasn't a clue as to what's going on in the nuclear field]

An excellent Nuclear Crisis in Japan seminar presentation was recently provided by Dr. Alan Hanson on March 21 at the Stanford University's Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies. It should be noted that this presentation presents an analysis based on information received to date. [Click on URL cited above]

Typical BWR Mark 1 Plant Layout

Here, reproduced from an ORNL report which itself used an original GE plant layout diagram is a new illustration for this blog. This is a BWR plant with a Mk I containment like at Fukushima Daiichi, but which shows a turbine building and typical layout. Now, this overall plant layout shown has the turbine building rotated 90 degrees as compared with Fukushima Daiichi. On the plant shown below, the turbine building is "end on" to the reactor building. However, this might help some folks who are wishing they could at least somehow picture what's going on inside the plants now that the turbine buildings, condensers, and pipe tunnels or "trenches" are making headlines. Keep this in mind when you look at the pic -- the features don't match Fukushima of course but it's a good general representation. [Double click on image to enlarge]

Japan's coast guard rescues dog from floating roof

KESENNUMA, JAPAN — Japan's coast guard has rescued a dog drifting on a rooftop off the country's coast, three weeks after a tsunami ravaged the northeast.

It was unclear how long the dog had been at sea when a helicopter crew spotted it Friday more than a mile (two kilometers) off the town of Kesennuma.

It took several hours to capture the dog because it scampered across other floating wreckage when it saw officers winching down from the chopper.

Officials said Saturday that the dog's blackish collar gives no clues about its owner. After the rescue, the dog kept quiet and ate biscuits and sausages on a patrol boat.

By Julie Makinen and Thomas H. Maugh II, Los Angeles Times

April 3, 2011, 7:51 a.m.

Officials of the Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Sunday that they had retrieved two bodies from the power plant last Wednesday. The men had rushed into the control room during the earthquake and were killed in the tsunami that followed.

NO, NO, NO, this is typical of the c_____ we get from the Main Stream Press. These two men were plant operators whose duty is to roam around the plant checking and observing the operation of equipment.

What I have been able to learn is that they were out in the turbine building when the Tsunami hit and sought shelter in a room in the basement area.

I learn that they were found with external injuries, most likely caused by being bounced around by the rushing water.

They were no way near the control room.

Here is what the Japanese Nuclear Energy Institute reports:

Missing Workers Found

Tokyo Electric Power Company has confirmed that two TEPCO employees who had been missing since the tsunami occurred on March 11 were found dead March 30 in the basement of the turbine building of reactor 4.