ID :
193355
Wed, 07/06/2011 - 18:42
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/193355
The shortlink copeid
Water treatment system operates below target rate at Fukushima plant
TOKYO, July 6 Kyodo - The radioactive water treatment system at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant operated at about 76 percent of its capacity over the week through Tuesday, slightly lower than the 80 percent initially targeted, the plant operator said Wednesday.
While the amount of highly tainted water that had been feared to overflow at the complex dropped thanks to the system's operation, its lower-than-expected performance is likely to push back the entire water treatment schedule there.
The operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., now expects about a 10-day delay, or until around mid-August, in lowering the levels of highly radioactive water that had accumulated at buildings for the Nos. 2 and 3 reactors to about 1 meter below groundwater levels.
The water treatment installation, which enables tainted water that leaked from damaged reactors to be recycled to cool nuclear fuel inside them after being cleaned, processed about 6,380 tons of the water over the seven-day period through Tuesday, against the 8,400 tons Tokyo Electric says the system is capable of handling a week.
The system has processed a total of 14,970 tons of the highly tainted water since it began operating on June 17.
The amount of highly radioactive water that accumulated at buildings for the Nos. 1 to 4 reactors has dropped to 97,610 tons, down 1,830 tons from last week, according to TEPCO, as the operator is known.
The treatment installation suffered a lower-than-expected performance partly because it needed to be stopped every time radioactive absorbents were replaced and it shut down automatically due to configuration errors.
TEPCO, which has since taken corrective measures, says it hopes that the system will begin operating at 80 percent of its capacity by the end of this month and raise the performance rate to 90 percent next month.
A successful operation of the water recycling process is vital to stabilizing the reactors at the Fukushima complex, which has spewed radiation since it was hit by the powerful earthquake and tsunami in March.
While the amount of highly tainted water that had been feared to overflow at the complex dropped thanks to the system's operation, its lower-than-expected performance is likely to push back the entire water treatment schedule there.
The operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., now expects about a 10-day delay, or until around mid-August, in lowering the levels of highly radioactive water that had accumulated at buildings for the Nos. 2 and 3 reactors to about 1 meter below groundwater levels.
The water treatment installation, which enables tainted water that leaked from damaged reactors to be recycled to cool nuclear fuel inside them after being cleaned, processed about 6,380 tons of the water over the seven-day period through Tuesday, against the 8,400 tons Tokyo Electric says the system is capable of handling a week.
The system has processed a total of 14,970 tons of the highly tainted water since it began operating on June 17.
The amount of highly radioactive water that accumulated at buildings for the Nos. 1 to 4 reactors has dropped to 97,610 tons, down 1,830 tons from last week, according to TEPCO, as the operator is known.
The treatment installation suffered a lower-than-expected performance partly because it needed to be stopped every time radioactive absorbents were replaced and it shut down automatically due to configuration errors.
TEPCO, which has since taken corrective measures, says it hopes that the system will begin operating at 80 percent of its capacity by the end of this month and raise the performance rate to 90 percent next month.
A successful operation of the water recycling process is vital to stabilizing the reactors at the Fukushima complex, which has spewed radiation since it was hit by the powerful earthquake and tsunami in March.
