News From The Meltdowns: Leaks, Robots, and More LEAKS

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/ Leak found at Fukushima Daiichi desalting device Tokyo Electric power Company says radiation-contaminated water was found to have leaked from a desalinating device at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. The plant operator adds that the leak stopped when it halted the device, and that the water has not flowed outside the complex. TEPCO said a worker detected the leak at the device that removes salt from water used for reactor cooling at about 3 AM on Friday. The company estimates that about 360 liters leaked out. Radioactive cesium was already removed from the water at a different unit, but the water still contains radioactive strontium and other substances. The utility said the leaked water is contained inside a barrier installed at the building that houses the device. It also said reactor cooling has not been hampered by the halt of the desalination device, as processed water stored in tanks is used instead. The device has been hit by similar leaks in the past. TEPCO is investigating the cause. Jun. 21, 2013 - Updated 02:27 UTC ROBOT CARRIES OUT SURVEY INSIDE FUKUSHIMA REACTOR A remote-controlled robot with a 7-meter-long arm has carried out a survey inside a reactor building at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. The newly developed robot is equipped with a camera and dosimeter on the tip of its arm. Its human operators worked from the building serving as the headquarters for the decommissioning work at the plant. Tokyo Electric Power Company used the robot on Tuesday to investigate 6 locations near an interior ceiling of the Number 2 reactor. Workers were unable to conduct detailed surveys there due to high radiation levels. TEPCO said the highest radiation reading of 19 millisieverts per hour was found at a height of 4.3 meters. It also said photos from the robot did not show any damage to pipes. There is an opening near the interior ceiling leading to the damaged containment vessel. The officials said they will analyze the information collected by the robot to aid their repair work. Jun. 20, 2013 - Updated 05:02 UTC TEPCO REPORTS ANOTHER LEAK AT FUKUSHIMA The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has reported another leak of radioactive water, this time from a steel storage tank above ground. Tokyo Electric Power Company officials say a worker found the leak shortly after noon on Wednesday. The tank is one of those built at the plant since May to store contaminated water transferred from storage pools underground. The utility built the tanks after finding a series of leaks in April in the underground pools. TEPCO officials say the contaminated water was seeping from a joint in the tank, at a rate of one drop every 3 to 4 seconds. They report that bolts at the joint were tightened. They stopped water transfer and are investigating the cause. The officials say no changes were detected in radioactivity levels at monitoring points near the plant. The tank is about 400 meters from the sea. TEPCO officials say there is no risk of contaminated water reaching the sea. Jun. 5, 2013 - Updated 07:36 UTC FAIR USE NOTICE: Any copyrighted (©) material is made available to advance understanding of ecological, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, moral, ethical, and social justice issues, which constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law.