|
Digital News Report – The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power disaster has still been ongoing since the earthquake and tsunami damaged several units on March 11, 2011. The Tokyo Electric Power Company has announced a long term plan to stabilize the nuclear accident and it will take around six to nine months to complete.
The power plant has detailed a step-by-step plan which they hope will completely cool down and put a halt to the emergency. In Step two of their plan, the company hopes to achieve cold shutdown condition and be able to decrease the total amount of contaminated water. They say that this goal will take an estimated 3 to 6 months to complete.
However, the first step in the Tokyo Electric Power Company’s plan is to first maintain stable cooling and to continue cooling the reactors. This part of the plan is estimated to take around 3 months. In addition to this, they are working toward getting enough storage to hold the water that has a high radiation level to prevent it from being released into the environment. Then the company will treat the contaminated water that has the low radiation levels. They also have plans to prevent the radioactive material from dispersing from the nuclear plant with future plans to cover the plant temporarily.
Between April 15th and 17th, the company has been continuing work on the nuclear emergency. They reported having sprayed a dust inhibitor around the Radiation Waste Treatment Facility to prevent the spread of radioactive materials. They have also been throwing sandbags and zeolite in the screen rooms of Units 1 through 4. There was a electrical short circuit to a power supply which they are investigating. They also have been using a remote control robot to survey the situation inside Unit 1 nuclear reactor building.
To read the complete nuclear emergency restoration plans set forth by the Tokyo Electric Power Company visit http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/betu11_e/images/110417e12.pdf.
By Victoria Brown
|
