FEPC Statement 3/22

Hiroko Tabuchi, David Jolly and Kevin Drew report in the New York Times that the Unit 2 cooling pond “was spewing steam late Tuesday, forcing workers to divert their attention to dousing the reactor building with water.”

The FEPC statement yesterday said they saw steam on Monday, but the statement today (full-text below the jump) does not (although they aimed 40 tons of water at the pool on Tuesday afternoon).  I’ll ask whether the Jolly et al got the date wrong, or whether there were two steam sightings.

Update | 11:32 22 March 2001 I am told that Jolly et al fouled up the date and that the steam was spotted yesterday and that no more steam was observed as of 7:11AM on March 22 (JST).

Update to Information Sheet Regarding the Tohoku Earthquake

The Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan (FEPC) Washington DC Office

As of 10:00AM (EST), March 22, 2011

• Radiation Levels
  • At 2:30PM (JST) on March 21, it was announced that radioactive nuclides have been detected from the sampling of seawater near the seawater discharge point of Unit 1 to 4 (south side). The details of radioactive nuclides, concentration, and the maximum permissible water concentration set by the government are as follows:

Radioactive Nuclides	Concentration (Bq/cm3)	Maximum Permissible Water Concentration (Bq/cm3)
Co-58	5.955 x 10-2	1 x 100
I-131	5.066 x 100	4 x 10-2
I-132	2.136 x 100	3 x 100
Cs-134	1.486 x 100	6 x 10-2
Cs-138	2.132 x 10-1	3 x 10-1
Cs-137	1.484 x 100	9 x 10-2

• • At 03:30PM on March 22, radiation level at main gate (approximately 3,281 feet from Unit 2 reactor building) of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station: 277.5 micro Sv/hour.
  • Measurement results of environmental radioactivity level around Fukushima Nuclear Power Station announced at 7:00PM on March 22 are shown in the attached pdf file. English version is available at:    http://www.mext.go.jp/english/radioactivity_level/detail/1303962.htm
  • For comparison, a human receives 2,400 micro Sv per year from natural radiation in the form of sunlight, radon, and other sources. One chest CT scan generates 6,900 micro Sv per scan.
• Fukushima Daiichi Unit 1 reactor
  • At 11:20AM on March 22, pressure inside the reactor core: 0.227MPa.
  • At 11:20AM on March 22, water level inside the reactor core: 1.8 meters below the top of the fuel rods.
  • At 11:20AM on March 22, pressure inside the primary containment vessel: 0.175MPaabs.
  • As of 6:00PM on March 22, the injection of seawater into the reactor core continues.
  • As of 4:00PM on March 22, external power generation is connected through Unit 2 and the functionality of the electric devices is being checked.
• Fukushima Daiichi Unit 2 reactor
  • At 11:20AM on March 22, pressure inside the reactor core: -0.018MPa.
  • At 11:20AM on March 22, water level inside the reactor core: 1.35 meters below the top of the fuel rods.
  • At 11:20AM on March 22, pressure inside the primary containment vessel: 0.11MPaabs.
  • At 11:20AM on March 22, the temperature of the spent fuel pool: 127.4 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • As of 4:00PM on March 22, roughly 40 tons of water in total has been injected into the spent fuel storage pool.
  • As of 4:00PM on March 22, external power generation is connected and the functionality of the electric devices is being checked.
  • As of 6:00PM on March 22, the injection of seawater into the reactor core continues.
• Fukushima Daiichi Unit 3 reactor
  • At 10:35AM on March 22, pressure inside the reactor core: -0.101MPa.
  • At 10:35AM on March 22, water level inside the reactor core: 1.575 meters below the top of the fuel rods.
  • At 10:35AM on March 22, pressure inside the primary containment vessel: 0.100MPaabs.
  • At 2:10PM on March 22, the Tokyo Fire Department began to shoot water aimed at the spent fuel pool.
  • As of 4:00PM on March 22, roughly 3,742 tons of water in total has been shot to the spent fuel storage pool.
  • As of 4:00PM on March 22, external power generation is connected through Unit 4 and the functionality of the electric devices is being checked.
  • As of 6:00PM on March 22, the injection of seawater into the reactor core continues.
• Fukushima Daiichi Unit 4 reactor
  • As of 4:00PM on March 22, roughly 255 tons of water in total has been shot to the spent fuel storage pool.
  • As of 4:00PM on March 22, external power generation is connected and the functionality of the electric devices is being checked.
• Fukushima Daiichi Unit 5 reactor
  • At 11:00AM on March 22, the temperature of the spent fuel pool: 99.5 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • As of 4:00PM on March 22, external power generation is connected and the power supply has been switched from Diesel Generator.
• Fukushima Daiichi Unit 6 reactor
  • At 11:00AM on March 22, the temperature of the spent fuel pool: 77 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • As of 4:00PM on March 22, external power generation is connected and the functionality of the electric devices is being checked (Spent fuel pool is being cooled by the power supplied from Diesel Generator of Unit 6).
• Fukushima Daiichi Common Spent Fuel Pool
  • At 4:30PM on March 21, the temperature of the spent fuel pool: 141.8 degrees Fahrenheit.

Our official sources are:

• Office of The Prime Minister of Japan
• Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA)
• Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) Press Releases
• Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT)