Perilous
Times
Japan: Tepco to build sarcophagus over Fukushima reactors
The operator of the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant has announced
plans to construct a shroud over one of the reactor buildings, a
stop-gap measure until a more permanent solution can be found,
such as entombing the facility in concrete.
Japan: Tepco to build sarcophagus over Fukushima reactor
By Julian Ryall in Tokyo
7:00AM BST 16 Jun 2011
The Telegraph UK
A similar concrete sarcophagus was built over the remains of the
reactors at the Chernobyl power plant after that facility was
destroyed in an accident in April 1986.
Tokyo Electric Power Co. will start the construction of a rigid
steel frame over the No. 1 reactor on June 27, Yoshikazu Nagai, a
spokesman for the company, said.
A hydrogen explosion destroyed the walls and roof of the reactor
building on March 12, the day after the cooling system was knocked
out by the Great East Japan Earthquake and the tsunami that it
triggered.
The frame, which is being put together off-site, will support
polyester fibre panels that have been coated with a resin designed
to prevent further radiation leaking into the atmosphere.
The entire structure will be put together by remotely controlled
cranes and other vehicles in order to minimise the amount of
radiation the company's emergency repair crews are exposed to, Mr
Nagai said.
The cover will stand 177 feet high and be 154 long with a roof
that can be opened to give cranes access to the interior. It will
also be fitted with filters that will gradually scrub the air
inside the building of radioactivity, enabling workers to enter
the plant.
Tepco will use the operation to test the construction methods and
effectiveness of the shroud but plans to build similar covers over
the No. 3 and No. 4 reactor buildings, which were also damaged by
explosions after the tsunami.
Eventually, Tepco plans to erect a concrete structure around the
reactors, although it admits that will take several years to
achieve.
Company officials admit they are not sure how effective the
temporary cover may be in limiting emissions of radiation from the
reactors and spent fuel pools, but it will at least prevent more
rainwater entering the buildings and becoming contaminated with
radiation, they said.