Fukushima reactor briefly loses cooling during inspection

Almost 5 years on and zero cleanup......not even containment!

Okamura acknowledged the lack of space at the site and said that the plant will seek ways to eliminate human errors like one on Monday.

Admire the optimism, doubt the practicality.

And, what's the most dangerous thing about nuclear power? Human error, of course. Why doesn't that switch have a tamper proof cover like the other one in the photo? Human error or a failure to pay attention to detail?

human error is why trying to harness nuclear power is futile.... maybe after robots create and control robots they'll do a better job (seems like they did pretty well in Terminator although I'm not quite sure why in Matrix they decided not to go nuclear and go with humans batteries instead... maybe they're just smarter than humans )

a temporary loss of cooling Monday when a worker accidentally bumped a switch while passing through a narrow isle* - Japan has a Homer Simpson

oops

"It's under control" was that reporting that Abe said this in 2014 in The Onion?

These little incidents are a dime a dozen now.

One of the melted reactors at the tsunami-hit Fukushima nuclear power plant had a temporary loss of cooling Monday

how?

a worker accidentally bumped a switch

"D'oh!"

Safety cover.

Quote: "His elbow jammed into the switch, breaking off its safety cover and inadvertently turning the lever to turn off the water injection pump to the No. 3 reactor."

Must surely have set off an alarm. Sounds like panic time.

Actually by now the reactors should be able to withstand many days without cooling. There is very little heat generated.

Not mentioned in the above article but there was even more bad news...

From today's NHK: "Also on Sunday night, cooling operations temporarily stopped in the spent nuclear fuel pool at the plant's numbers 1, 2 and 3 reactors when some valves inexplicably opened."

Doh!

PS That NHK article should probably say pools, (not 'pool') as each reactor has its own pool.

"The reactor had enough water left inside and there was no temperature increase or radiation leak from the incident," I think it should read "The reactor had enough water left inside and there was no temperature increase or ADDITIONAL radiation leak from the incident,"

"while passing through a narrow isle "...there is a small island inside the plant?

It doesnt matter anymore these reactores have been open from 5 years. You cannot have an Hydrogen Explosion since there's no containment.

Nuclear. A hopeless mess. Once it's out, like now in the Pacific Ocean, etc., what can be done? Wait a few thousand years? Loathe the mess.

through a narrow isle

Love the proofreading; Why is the hallway on an island, shouldn't it be with the rest of the NPP? I suppose that's what happens when you outsource workers to the yakuza and other el cheapo firms.

Temporary? Nearly an hour? How long before the whole thing blows? And how come, in super hi-tech Japan, alarm bells did not automatically sound instantly?

The No. 3 reactor was using MOX Fuel during its operation 5 years ago. MOX fuel is more radio·toxic than Uranium. Please J Govt entomb the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.

They forgot to give him the Manual-

Why doesn't that switch have a tamper proof cover like the other one in the photo? Human error or a failure to pay attention to detail?

Please reread the article.

His elbow jammed into the switch, breaking off its safety cover and inadvertently turning the lever to turn off the water injection pump to the No. 3 reactor.

Which says to me that the worker probably was aware SOMETHING happened. One would have to hit one of those covers pretty damn hard for it to break off, but within the narrow confines of the passageway, maybe just figured he bumped something along the way and thought nothing of it.

Kiyoshi Mukai the spent fuel rods are still hot and can become critical if not kept cool.

Utrack yes I agree but they can only melt

You cannot have an Hydrogen Explosion since there's no containment.

No containment which are normally made to contain the radioactive isotopes, now, it is free to contaminate the environment from the air but more from the water discharge TEPCO is doing once their tankers are full....

Of course all information comes from the most trusted source, TEPCO.

And,of course, the most ironic thing is that this happened during an inspection. What were the inspectors inspecting? The decor? The weather? The lunch menu? Surely not the cooling system !!!

Kiyoshi Mukai the spent fuel pool is just that. A pool containing water that must be kept cool. Water is composed of 2 parts hydrogen and one part oxygen. So yes there can be another explosion.