Oops
One day after it was announced, the TEPCO timetable might need to be tweaked.
The CBC reports that Japan nuclear control plan panned
Meanwhile, a robot sent into units 1 and 3 of the Fukushima Daiichi plant detected radiation levels that still make it prohibitive for humans to enter.
“It’s a harsh environment for humans to work inside,” Hidehiko Nishiyama of Japan’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said.
However, he said it is still possible to reach Tokyo Electric’s goal of the shutdown of the reactors within six to nine months.
“I do believe we must be creative to come up with ways to achieve our goals,” Nishiyama said. “I still think the plan … is as appropriate as we can get at the moment.”
They can’t get into the buildings because of the high levels of radioactivity, but they will stay with the plan. Wow, that was a “ringing endorsement”.
In a related note, the Toronto Sun reports that Ukraine seeks more funds for Chernobyl. They need the money to replace the “permanent” concrete cap that was supposed to seal up the radioactive mess forever. It is crumbling after 25 years. Actually, 25 years isn’t bad for Soviet era concrete.
2 comments
Actually, 25 years isn’t bad for Soviet era concrete.
SNORT!
Especially given the conditions under which it was placed, which weren’t exactly conducive to a good cure.
One of the (many) reasons for the ill will between the Ukraine and Russia is that Russia has tossed only a pittance into the pot for fixing Chernobyl, saying “It’s a Soviet problem and the Soviet Union no longer exists.” That despite the fact that if Chernobyl goes kaboom again, Russia will get hammered by radiation too depending upon what the wind’s doing at a given time. But hey, can’t inconvenience oligarchs with little details like that, *they* won’t be irradiated, because they’ll simply step on their private jets and head off to some tropical destination for the duration, da?
– Badtux the Snarky Penguin
The Russians have really figured out the “capitalist” system in a couple of decades, which also explains Ayn Rand – “I got mine – screw you” is not much to base a national economy on, but the ones that “got” don’t much care.
One of my instructors was a former civil engineer in the Soviet Union before escaping to the West. He said that the only resemblance between real Portland cement and the Soviet version was the labeling on the bags.
Most of the apartment blocks in Moscow have corrugated iron awnings across the front. The awnings were installed to stop people being killed by the chunks of concrete falling off the buildings. At least it discourages curb-side parking.