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Experts question ice wall at Fukushima nuclear plant

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By MARI YAMAGUCHI

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I explained the best solution

So the best solution is to do nothing, collect a group of 'experts' for something that has never happened before (meaning no 'experts' exist), and hope that they can agree on a solution sometime in the next what 3 or 4 years? Rather than try a technology that has been used successfully on smaller scale projects before.

Waiting to find the absolutely positively best solution while the situation continues to get worse does not sound the best choice to me.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

spucky There is another article here on japantoday about tepco getting sued by the workers,, you should check it out . and with that , i thing enough is said . Peace.

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

@ Johndpugh,

it seams like you are not objective and not informed about the inside of Fukushima-Daiichi, since Day One international Companies, Universities and Institutes working on a Solution.

Also you are expecting to much in this short Time (like me, i want that this never happened) but there was much more urgent Problems to solve than organizing a Japanese Business Meeting for Foreigners!

Tepco is, from the Eyes of a Engineer, very good. And you cant exclude Tepcos Information when you want to understand the Problems inside of Daiichi.

The nuclear Engineers from Tepco are the first Choice on the global nuclear Market, in fact they have a Michelin Star!

1 ( +1 / -0 )

I explained the best solution ,, to get experts involved and not let it all to tepco to deal with it , cause tepco dont seem to be capable of dealing with it . That is not only my personal opinion but also experts from other countries agree on one thing , tepco is making a huge mess out of the situation from day one and they are not capable of dealing with this disaster .

Too many cooks spoil the broth ,, true but at least lets get some 'cooks' deal with it ,,not someone who doesn't know how to cook at all :)

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

They are HOPINg to prevent that with the icewall cause nobody knows if it will work or not . It s a huge experiment , never done before . In fact many experts think that it would not work but Tepco seems to be pushing it as a solution ignoring all the risks .

So what is your better solution to deal with the problem?

there needs to be an international effort , with involvement of experts and businesses , experienced people to solve these kinds of enormous problems

Firstly who exactly has experience with a problem such as this? And second, ever heard the phrase 'too many cook spoil the broth'? Have a large group of diverse people with diverse aims is a recipe for gridlock with nothing getting done.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Water is a good isolation for radiation but also water is a big problem in fukushima because of underground pollution and that s why they are trying to build the icewall . Whole problem about icewall is the water contamination , no matter what you claim , how good the water isolates etc etc .You need to get informed . leakage of radioactive isotopes into underground water and from there into the ocean is the whole issue here and that s why they are hoping icewall to prevent that . Water carries radioactuive isotopes in it and thus carries the radioactivity with it as well , into underground water resources and eventually into the ocean .

They are HOPINg to prevent that with the icewall cause nobody knows if it will work or not . It s a huge experiment , never done before . In fact many experts think that it would not work but Tepco seems to be pushing it as a solution ignoring all the risks .

I am sorry but i have lost my confidence in tepco and their way of dealing with the fukushima problem , long ago and i would prefer this job would be taken off their hands. Cabt say more cause my comment will get deleted again .

Icewall is being seen as the MAGIC SOLUTION to solve the issued with fukushima ,, its understandable cause people are desperate and they want to see solutions ,, but just because we want it , it doesnt mean it is going to happen or that icewall is the solution .

As i said earlier , this is too big of a problem for tepco ,, there needs to be an international effort , with involvement of experts and businesses , experienced people to solve these kinds of enormous problems . It seems they are more interested in public image than real solutions in my opinion . Peace

-6 ( +0 / -6 )

We cannot turn back the hands of time. We must forge forward, develop Chinese LFTR styled reactors , Solar Wind Wave, Tidal, Geothermal sources for energy? German Cars now made from Solar, Wind energy?

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

@ Johndpugh, Tepco got back a lot of Control after 3/11 and this is Amazing from the point of Engineering, you must be out of any Imagination of the Devastation from the Quake and Tsunami, which is logical because you was not in Japan!

Water is providing one of the best Protection against Radiation and is well used in the Spend Fuel Pools all around the Globe, a Wall of Ice must be not that different, but i doubt that we find there, inside of the Soil, that much Radioactivity!

But anyway, i know that you are not interested in Solutions, but us here in Japan need to find some, for Fukushima as a much needed Home, we will never give it up!

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Spucky //// you misunderstand the Plan, the Icewall is not there to keep the Radioactivity inside, it is a Protection to avoid the Contamination of the Groundwater with the inside Water from the Cores!///

Doesnt it come down to the same thing ? We can play with the words but Contamination with what ? of course radioactive isotopes ,,wherever isotopes leak there you will have radiation . Isotopes are carrying the contamination with them ,, so it comes doan to the same thing . I think you are confusing contamination with chemical contamination ,, it will be a barrier with outside underground water and inside radioactive water simply put . But what are we even discussing here ,, it is to block radiatioactive isotopes leaking into the undergraound water ( or clean underwater coming in contact with radioactuive water ) either way ,,its the same thing .

/// The Gas Analysis are readable at Tepcos Homepage but i forgot the exact name of the Files, maybe inside of the final Report, or somewhere!////

Exactly , Tepco says so ,, i stopped following tepco long agio for reliable information ,, guess why ? :))

///They provide also the Plan for the Icewall, maybe you look for it too to erase your Misconceptions!///

No misconceptions here ,, explained above ,, contamination with isotopes means radioactivity getting carried with them , misconceptions are not mine , get yourt facts right ,, ;)

///Fukushima is since Day One under a international Supervision (US, UK, France and one more) but the final Word belong to Tepco who are very experienced with NPS, they have/ had Problems but this happened everywhere, it js a huge Company who done great Work after the Tsunami,,,,, ///

Woooowww i would think you should be working for tepco ,,great defence ;) ,, you dont need to tell anyone how GREAT they have been managing this whole crisis ,, and i have no intentions of discussing tepco s successes and failures here ,, anyone who has been following this whole incidence mucst have pretty good idea about that . Mishaps ,, misinformation ,, hiding measurements ,, giving false info ,, web is full of there incompetences if you can do some search ,, and its amazing they are still in charge ,,, nuclear lobby must be very strong ,,

/// your favorite Website do not mention all their sacrifices because it is against their Agenda!///

I dont have a favorite website ( except from my own homepage lol ) but i learned not to get into discussions with anyone defending / praising the great work tepco have been doing ,,, take good care ,, peace :)

-5 ( +0 / -5 )

@Johndpugh, you misunderstand the Plan, the Icewall is not there to keep the Radioactivity inside, it is a Protection to avoid the Contamination of the Groundwater with the inside Water from the Cores!

The Gas Analysis are readable at Tepcos Homepage but i forgot the exact name of the Files, maybe inside of the final Report, or somewhere!

They provide also the Plan for the Icewall, maybe you look for it too to erase your Misconceptions!

Fukushima is since Day One under a international Supervision (US, UK, France and one more) but the final Word belong to Tepco who are very experienced with NPS, they have/ had Problems but this happened everywhere, it js a huge Company who done great Work after the Tsunami, sadly your favorite Website do not mention all their sacrifices because it is against their Agenda!

1 ( +1 / -0 )

spucky You are right there is no evidence of where the coriums exactly are ,, its all assumptions at the moment , about this statement ///They can't be in the Ground because we would see a different Melange of Gases,/// do you have any link about that ? Is that for all 3 of the coriums ? thanks .

Most of the information what i could find was that coriums are most probably melt through s , and that they are in the ground . Of course , all are assumptions , experts trying to "guess '' where they could be ,, and most think that they have already left the buildings but nobody has been able to locate them yet , let alone dealing with them .

I havent heard/ read anywhere M. Kaku correcting his statememnts , but in the end what i mean is , the situation is still very critical , at the plant . Not only about the coriums but the fuel pools which are the biggest threat to cause another catastrophy . Specially on the units with molten coriums underneath , it is impossible to do any work or to remove any fuel from them . That poses the biggest threat by another big earthquake .

I dont know if icewall is the way to go ,, some experts say it is the only option at the moment ,, others think it wouldnt hold the radiation ,, it s all a big experiment . In my opinion the problem is not whether to build the icewall or not ,, the problem is to form a multinational multidisciplinary commite , bring all the bright minds from universities,, people who have experience in the business ,,and try to evaluate different idea s solution s, test them ,, and try to find the best approach . This is not a job for Tepco ,, it is far above their capabilities and every day lost increases the risk of another catastrophe to happen .. Lets not forget that there are still huge amounts of nuclear material in those fuel pools , and sooner later another earthquake is going to hit the site ,, and once that happens nobody will even be able to go anywhere near those plants let alone do any work on them ,,the whole area will turn into a disaster zone , many times worse than what it is now ,, what are they waiting for ?

-5 ( +0 / -5 )

@ JohnDpugh, there is Zero Evidence that the Three Cores left the Containment but there is Evidence that they left the Reactor Pressure Vessel which is inside of the Containment/ Dry Well!

They can't be in the Ground because we would see a different Melange of Gases, the Core released different Chemicals while he passed through the Rods, RPV and hit the Ground, so we can analyze where he is but a Analysis is no Evidence.

We know that the Cores are not on Top of the Building, not on the left, not on the right and also not under the Containment, but all this is Offtopic!

M. Kaku already corrected his Statements he done directly after 3/11.

Icewall is still a Way to go but they need different approaches too, at least we have 3 molten Cores

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Spucky Even if they would fix the cracks / broken parts it wouldnt help much cause coriums are outside the buildings most probably , and those are the real problems , not the buildings themselves as far as i know . Although nobody is able to locate the coriums , ( units 1 2 and 3 ) most probably they have melted through and they are laying undrneath those plants , in the ground , outside the building / strucutre ,, so fixing buildings wouldnt help much .

Well sadi , public opinion is saturated with m,isinformation ,, partly because of tepco s incopetence ,, partly because deliberatley hiding/ delaying information not to cause too much panic ,, partly becasue there is a very strong pronuke bias considering eco0nomical consequences etc etc , so its not only people not getting informed but they are being deliberately misinformed as well .

Unless something is done quickly there will be another massive release and it can get even much worse ,, imagine those fuel pools crashing down with a strong earth quake and losing their water ,, that would cause a disaster much worse than it already is . As Michiou Kaku put it ,, its hanging by the nails .

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

The Idea of a Ice Wall is actually not that bad but imho. to big and to far away!

They should locate the broken Parts of the Fundament and try to fix it from the Inside, the Levels of Radiation, inside of the Basement, are not "that high" and working would be possible for a short Period of Time! (ca. 25-30min)

Tepco is fearing the public Opinion, which is saturated with wrong Information, (thanks to bad "Conspiracy Websites", wrong IAEA Messages and horrorible Public Relation Work from Tepco) they should instead go on even when there will be another massive Release of Radioactivity!

At the moment Japan lost already to much Time, with the result of unneeded Contamination!

1 ( +2 / -1 )

wiillib It was evacuated for a reason , they did not just evacuate it because they just wanted to to . People could live anywhere if they 'wanted to' . How about you ? would you go and live there with your family ? I think everyone knows the answer to that question . You shoudlnt expect anything to glow green in the dark by a nuclear accident , that s not how it happens ,, you cant see , feel smell , taste radiation . Just because animals plants are not totally eradicated , it does not mean it is clean either . I smoke and i am not dead so cigarettes do not kill is just as scientific as your assumption ,, that is not how science works ,, you need research , data , facts before you make suchh claims . I think there is a huge amount of misinformation . Deliberately or not , if people start claiming that chernobyl is not a big deal there is not much one can discuss i suppose .

Radiation is a real danger ,, as real as it gets ,known for a century now . ,

Under less carefull governments even world wars have been fought , but i hope we are wiser NOT to follow those less carefull governments as an example . I think , We need to get informed , there is a huge amount of disinformation going on and its a pity cause many people reading may actually believe that .

But lets not discuuss of topic , its about the icewall at fukushima The icewall is a big question mark whether it will work or not . Experts dont know if it will hold the radioactive leakage ,, will it stop the underground water flowing ,, will it seal it totally ,, what will happen if the water flow stops ,, etc etc ,, its a huge risk and a big experiment ,, and nobody lknows if it will work .

It s easy to criticise ofcourse ,, and claim it will not work , but what other options are there ?? Nobody is coming with better solution till now . So the question is why is there no international effort involving many experts , universities , to try to find a solution for fukushima problem and why is it all left to Tepco to deal with ?

It is too big of a probl;em for Tepco in my opinion . I dont think they can solve these issues . Just my opinion ofocurse.

-5 ( +0 / -5 )

johnpugt:

" I dont think this sentence even needs explantaion but did you hear about the desserted city prypriat ? I "

Prypriat was evacuated. That was a government decision, and a responsible one. But people could live there if they were willing to take the risk. In fact, there is a whole group of old farmers who have returned to their properties in the evacuated zone, and are living there. They are not glowing green in the dark, and neither are the plants and animals that are abundant there.

You are confusing real danger with precautions. These are completely different issues. My point is that under a less careful government, Fukushima would not even be a topic.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

If something comparable happend in any of the 60 new nuclear reactors currenty under construction in neighbouring Communist China

China does not follow the tenets of communism and therefore is not communist. It is an oligarchy.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

williB Explosions are not of concern when it comes to nuclear plant accidents . I think anyone scared of the explosions is not well informed when it comes to nuclear plants and i would advice you to get better informed . Its not the explosion / detination itself that causes the real damage (well maybe to the plant itself but no more than that usually ) it is the amount of radiation that is released which causes the REAL damage . I think everybody knows that we are not talking about nuclear explosions ,, we all have seen them on tv ,, that is not what we are worried about .

Fukushima is many times worse than chernobyl , and possess the even much worse risk than chernobyl ,, there is much more nuclear fuel in fukushima ,, much more pollution three coriums ,, and fuel pools which are still at risk .

The leakage , which still continues to this day and nobody seems to be able to find a way to fix it is mych more than chernobyl too .

The nuclear fuel used is MOX fuel which makes it much more dangerous too , so all those above make fukushima many times worse than chernobyl .

///even in Chernobyl, there is no environmental catastrophe; the area around the old plant is a nature paradise today.///

I dont think this sentence even needs explantaion but did you hear about the desserted city prypriat ? It doesnt look like paradise but more like a ghost town . Chernobyl is not a catastrophe ?? That is a first :) .

///The only reason that Fukushima is an issue at all is because we have a nosy press and a societ which actually cares///

Oww you mean the press which is not allowed to report ?

//Can people please stop hyperventilating about this?//

It is not people hyperventilating ,, it s the society which actually cares as you mentioned above ,, Some people dont buy into pronuke propaganda and try to find the truth amongst all lies ,, that s what is going on here ,, no hyperventialtion but information . Peace.

-1 ( +4 / -5 )

The underground sections of Daiichi are being inundated with water.... TEPCO admits radioactive cesium is in the water flowing into Fukushima plant.

http://nuclear-news.net/2013/06/05/tepco-now-admits-that-groundwater-flowing-into-fukushima-reactors-is-radioactive/

With the triple melt-throughs came the loss of containment which in melting the bedrock underneath the Daiichi Plant. The bedrock separating the seawater Could have melted and thus seawater would come Pouring into below ground sections of the Daiichi plant.

The worst that could have happened is that there is no bedrock left separating the ocean from the melted-through reactor cores. Depending on where the cores are and l am hoping they are underneath the Daiichi Plant. If it is possible to build a temporary underground frozen wall, utilize the areas where the piping out of the ground water is occurring by piping in cement and thus entombing Daiichi underground. Working the way to complete entombment from the bottom up....

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Its Me

" Chernobyl was oner reactor that exploded, Fukushima is 4 reactors "

....which did NOT explode. The telegenic explosions you saw on TV where hydrogen explosions outside of the reactor vessels and are NOT comparable to the actual explosion of the reactor in Chernobyl. It is a completely different scale of the problem. Fukushima is a child`s play compared to Chernobyl.

And even in Chernobyl, there is no environmental catastrophe; the area around the old plant is a nature paradise today.

The only reason that Fukushima is an issue at all is because we have a nosy press and a societ which actually cares. If something comparable happend in any of the 60 new nuclear reactors currenty under construction in neighbouring Communist China, we would not know anything about it, unless our measuring stations pick up some increased radioactivity.

Can people please stop hyperventilating about this?

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Reduced salinity by almost 90%

Yes, reduced salinity by 90% in the first year. Now of course if more seawater had continued to enter the reactor buildings the salinity would have remained constant as any removed would be immediately replaced by new seawater. The fact that salinity did decrease clearly shows that no additional seawater is entering the buildings.

Debris in Seawater can cause fission ( criticality )

No it can't.

that is why they add Boric acid to the Reactors water at Daiichi

Most commercial reactors use boric acid to control reactivity in their reactors when shutdown. It is nothing new or unusual.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

Entombing like at Chernobyl won't work as Fukushima I'd still hot and fuel rods need continued cooling.

The tomb around Chernobyl is also in need to be fixed as it has cracks and will need to be redone every few decades.

Chernobyl was oner reactor that exploded, Fukushima is 4 reactors and the concrete for a 'tomb' would require years of total Japanese production, can't be shipped over a large distance.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Melisa It s not only that it s technically challenging to entomb the whole site but it would still leak ,, you can cover it with anything you want it is still leaking from underneath into the underground waters

All these discussion s show how" cheap " nuclear power is doesnt it .

Fukushima is a huge experiment , many stuff never done before ,, an experiment on all living things ,, we all are a part of it .

0 ( +2 / -2 )

JAEA Characterization of fuel debris

The actual fuel debris is planned to be sampled in the next few years. Until then, the characteristics studies are being performed using (U,Zr)O2 sim-debris. The various forms of high temperature reaction products among (U,Zr)O2, sea salt deposit, Zr, B4C, stainless steel and concrete are characterized by X-ray diffraction, microscopy and elemental analysis etc.

http://www.jaea.go.jp/english/04/ntokai/fukushima/fukushima_01.html

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Debris in Seawater can cause fission ( criticality ) and that is why they add Boric acid to the Reactors water at Daiichi

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Wastewater Treatment at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant

Kurion delivered the first-ever external cooling system for a nuclear reactor, which was responsible for 70% of the radioactivity removed from the water in the first nine months of operation Fukushima, Japan

http://www.kurion.com/applications/separation/fukushima

One year after the tsunami, the water cooling system had processed more than 258,780 MT (68 million gallons), reduced salinity by almost 90% and was estimated to have removed about 12 million curies (4.4 x 1017 Becquerel) of the estimated original 13.6 million cesium curie inventory (5 x 1017 Becquerel)”

Reduced salinity by almost 90%

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Th first water that workers poured into the Daiichi reactors after the explosion and thereafter was seawater..... Duh

And that was 3 years ago, with hundreds of tons of water flowing through every day since. They use fresh water now, so unless seawater is getting in somehow the initial salt would be all gone. Current testing would easily detect new seawater flowing in.

TEPCO will not admit it's seawater

Because testing shows it isn't seawater.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

Unless ice wall is used as a temporary measure until the contaminated soils are removed. The real operational issue is maintaining the ice wall for the long period of time, say for 100 years of the safe radioactive decay period. Of course freezing ice wall requires constant supply source of power to keep the freezer system working. I would think using deep concrete wall with bentonite injection trench, may be costly at first for water proof, but could last for years with minimal maintenance requirement.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Would these "experts" be in the pay of Tepco by any chance? After more than three years of doing nothing it's obvious that Tepco doesn't want to spend the money to install the ice wall. They are more interested in making a profit and using their money to buy tickets to LDP parties.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Covering up (entombing ) is not an option

Yes it is... They can build bridges with a water base then they can entomb Daiichi....

0 ( +1 / -1 )

underwater river running from the mountains to the ocean , underneath the plant and keeps carrying all that radioactive water ( tepco says 300 tons but knowing tepco probab;ly much more than that ) daily goes into the ocean .

TEPCO says it is a underground lake, then TEPCO says it's rain water. TEPCO will not admit it's seawater till we are all old and grey.. Because it is the worst that could happen.....

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Couldn't they find someone more trustworthy than TEPCO to carry out the testing?

Government officials say a feasibility test at the plant, run by Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), proved successful

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

An icewall will require huge amounts od electricity ,,, E lectricity as E in TEPCO .

Buakumindes .. best comment of the day ,:)

Covering up (entombimg ) is not an option cause there is an underwater river running from the mountains to the ocean , underneath the plant and keeps carrying all that radioactive water ( tepco says 300 tons but knowing tepco probab;ly much more than that ) daily goes into the ocean .

Decommisioning those plants is another fairy tale ,, nobody has even came up with a way to deal with the coriums ,, Tepco is building a tent like structure to conceal the plants , so nobody can see whats NOT be happening in there ,, they may claim those plants will be decommisioned ,, with technologies still to be discovered etc etc but as of today there are no solutions ,, the best choice would be to get international community and try to find a solution but somehow its just not happening ,, It seems we will be talking about these same problems for years to come ,, and fuku will keep poisoning the waters for a looooonnng time .

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Well with all the testing the water undergoes, I would think someone would have noticed all the salt in the water if it was seawater.

Th first water that workers poured into the Daiichi reactors after the explosion and thereafter was seawater..... Duh

2 ( +2 / -0 )

No. They are right. Cover the angry hot out-of-control-radiation anime character (Radioactive-Kun) with the cold snow anime character (Snowy Cold Kun). Problem solved. Radioactive-Steam-Cloud-Kun is your friend. yay!

2 ( +2 / -0 )

I think the point is that nothing is perfect. Expecting something perfect is what might be the stumbling point here. what a mess...

0 ( +0 / -0 )

"Don't worry, everyone. Fukushima is now under control. " - Shinzo Abe, Olympics pitch, 2013.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Well thank goodness there is this gaijin guy around to toss some common sense into the mess otherwise this thing would be simply rubber stamped like so much here that ends up costing the country many fortunes!

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Experts have said that while a frozen wall is a proven technology, the size and planned duration of use at Fukushima is unprecedented.

Like it or not, that is the hard truth about the Fukushima clean-up. Everything they are attempting to do has likely never been done before on the scale required. That's what happens when 4 reactors all meltdown at once. Unfortunately you folks there are in for years and years of this kind of story, and the unbelieveably high costs of trying out all these theories.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

I think TEPCO must simplify its solutions and that the japanese people sometimes complicate things that should be easy to solve. TEPCO should show the problem to the world and not a (possible) solution. I am sure someone would come with a very good idea.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Oh my. Why dont all of you go work in that plant.. the only solution to fukushima is build a deep hole and dump everything there.

-6 ( +0 / -6 )

ever thought as I do... that seawater only is maybe what is flooding/gushing/leaking into below ground sections of the Daiichi plant???

Well with all the testing the water undergoes, I would think someone would have noticed all the salt in the water if it was seawater. And decades of worldwide experience with groundwater flow shows that groundwater backed by gravity flows to the sea without a problem. Except in intertidal swamps and areas where huge amounts of groundwater are pumped out, groundwater wins the battle with the ocean.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Months ago these so-called experts were praising the idea, now have they suddenly gone cold (!) on it? News coming right after their record profit statement? What else is going on at Dai Efu?

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Has anyone at TEPCO, JAEA, IAEA, J Govt, engineering contractors Kashima, Obayashigumi, and Taiseikensetsu manufactures Toshiba, Hitachi, and Mitsubishi all involved in Daiichi has ever thought as I do... that seawater only is maybe what is flooding/gushing/leaking into below ground sections of the Daiichi plant??? After the explosions and triple melt-throughs with that the loss of containment which in melting the bedrock underneath the Daiichi Plant Not in a linear flow mind you (Humans and straight lines) Daiichi being situated right on the water..... Makes it kind of obvious that bedrock separating the seawater would have melted and seawater would come Pouring into below ground sections of the Daiichi plant..... entomb, entomb, Entomb the Whole Daiichi Plant below and above ground with cement...

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Entomb the Whole Daiichi Plant below and above ground with cement.... add in coolant piping for SPF's and be good to go...

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Of course the ice wall is unlikely to work, that's precisely why they want to do it. The plan will be hugely expensive, meaning that the government will be able to award expensive construction contracts to it's supporters. It will be expensive to maintain the ice wall, meaning that the government will be paying contractors large annual sums for it's upkeep. And in a few years, after it is discovered that the ice wall isn't doing what it should be doing, the government can award an even larger contract to remove the ice wall, and then pay again to replace it with something else.

Government as usual; deep pockets, and no accountability.

8 ( +12 / -4 )

Melt Downs Ice Walls hmmmm seems like some sort of ironic fantasy.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

I would recommend dumping the plant into the ocean - thats where all the radioactivity will go anyways

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

That ice wall has always sounded to me like a hair-brained idea.

Nice big contract to keep the employment figures looking healthy and to mop up tax-payers' money.

So, it freezes any liquid that approaches it... but would furring up like in a freezer reduce its effectiveness, and will the obviously massive electricity bill be driven up ever further as it gets less efficient, and would water then start to flow over and around it, and can the power source for it be guaranteed, ie no blackouts or brownouts, and where is all that power to be brought from?

What a colossal waste of money it could turn out to be. What would Tepco say afterwards? "No-one could have known"? "Unexpected"...?

6 ( +6 / -0 )

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