Tag Archives: fukushima

Fukushima coolant recirculation with siphon

Posted on April 11, 2011 by

This design avoids damage to recirculation pumps from sea water sediment. A gravity siphon is used to draw water out of the building into a pit where sediment is collected into a shipping container. Water is then pumped from the … Continue reading →

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Coolant Recirculation System at Fukushima

Posted on April 9, 2011 by

They’ve been using sea water to cool the rods, but when the level threatens to overflow the reactor buildings, they’re flushing the water back into the ocean (ref here and here). This is an obvious radioactivity hazard to the environment, … Continue reading →

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Teleoperated Radioactivity Sample Boat

Posted on April 7, 2011 by

The high levels of radioactivity in the waters off the Fukushima nuclear plant require constant monitoring, which is best conducted without exposing human workers. Hence this design for a teleoperated radioactivity sample boat. To make the modification effort as simple … Continue reading →

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A Roof for Fukushima

Posted on April 7, 2011 by

On the right is the baseball stadium known as Safeco Field in Seattle, USA. It is famous for its retractable roof, which rolls back for sunshine on the rare days in Seattle when there is sunshine. Why bring this up? … Continue reading →

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Fukushima Cooling Pump Cascade

Posted on April 6, 2011 by

A German concrete pump is being used at Fukushima to spray cooling water on the spent fuel rods. Now that the plant’s own cooling pumps are down and the cooling pools are empty of water, this pump may be all … Continue reading →

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Fukushima: Removing Spent Fuel Rods

Posted on April 4, 2011 by

If you’ve ever looked at Fairewinds Associates videos, you know that the big problem at Fukushima is the drying up of the cooling pools which are suspended over the reactor vessel and contain the spent (but extremely radioactive) fuel rods. … Continue reading →

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Robot door-opening tool

Posted on March 31, 2011 by

“Robots to the Rescue” (Technology Review, March 29, 2011): Some experts also question how helpful robots would be after a nuclear plant disaster. Something as simple as a locked door could prevent a robot from doing its job. Is it … Continue reading →

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