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TEPCO says it will make plan this summer to clean up Fukushima plant

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And what of all the previous plans? If any? I get the feeling that these "plans" will be changing a whole hell of a lot over time, and keeping on reporting these updates like these do more harm than good, in that they come across, to me at least, as further signs of incompetence.

0 ( +6 / -6 )

To call what lies under the reactors fuel is a complete misnomer.....

1 ( +3 / -2 )

So the ice wall is not working? Is that the conclusion?

1 ( +4 / -3 )

A new plan? Only now? SMH.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

TEPCO says it will make plan this summer to clean up Fukushima plant

You mean ALL this time they haven't come up with a plan YET???

5 ( +8 / -3 )

"Plans"

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Feb 2030 Fukushima Shimbun (circulation 500), page 26:

TEPCO says it will make plan this summer to clean up Fukushima plant

2 ( +4 / -2 )

300 Billion Dollars to "clean up" As if it was spilt milk. Tell me more about cheap nuclear power. For 30000000000000 yen you could put solar on EVERY single family home in JAPAN!

5 ( +7 / -2 )

Still too many unknowns, and they know it.

Even so, it is probably better to be seen to be planning something, hoping that in the meantime new technology will be born to deal with whatever awaits down there..

0 ( +1 / -1 )

In a separate account, unverified: Tepco will hold informal gatherings to vote on the need for hearings, at which time a meeting will be arranged to organize a conference to unveil a convention, during which, counter measures will be proposed and steps will be suggested. Voting has a preliminary date for spring of 2032, when Premium Fridays will be expanded to Mellow Mondays, at which time employees may wear sneakers and will be enouraged to whistle in an effort to boost morale, provided they compensate for lost production by working Sundays.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

The 300 billion will pay a lot of salaries and help boost the economy.

-5 ( +1 / -6 )

Only 6 years after the fact? I figured they wouldn't have started on panels to think of plans until a decade later and after all the other NPPs under their reign had been restarted as and they were back in the black, which is of course the primary concern of everyone. When they pointed out the ice wall and their other "accomplishments", did they point out that they had failed despite the enormous costs? Did they mention the radiation inside No#2 is much higher than anything Chernobyl gave off? likely not.

1 ( +6 / -5 )

We ? have a problem. Those of us (foreigners) who live in Japan can make a contribution to solving the problem.

-4 ( +3 / -7 )

I fully understand this is TEPCO's mess, and again I fully agree with the NAIIC report prepared for the Japanese Diet (which eviscerated TEPCO and what was the NRA - see link)

https://www.nirs.org/wp-content/uploads/fukushima/naiic_report.pdf

On the other hand this is reasonable and what was expected by most in the industry. TEPCO is finally figuring out where the corium / melted fuel is and also starting to estimate/quantify radiation levels so based on empirical data (rather than guessing) they can figure out what to do next.

Every other utility (or country) in the world would have to approach this the same way.

There are some very good engineers and scientists working on this problem (and many from overseas helping). This type of event has never happened before (this is a different animal than Chernobyl).

It took the people on site a couple of years to repair the infrastructure supporting the continuous cooling requirements for spent fuel, etc. (which was the most critical task at the time). These systems require redundant / independent power supplies and mechanical systems. Simultaneously they were trying to figure out where the fuel went...which I believe they have so now onto the next step.

I agree with most of what people say about TEPCO here but having met alot of people working on site I do not agree with the implication that the engineers working this problem are not competent (and they are not limited to TEPCO personnel)

-1 ( +4 / -5 )

Most people on here can not understand ampXvolt = a what ?

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Cosmos - I guess that is true....or perhaps most have the solution to the issue at hand.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

I guess that is true thumbs up

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

This sounds like a kid's summer science project. After six wasted years a sudden summer solution? I wish.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

-2 ( +3 / -5 )

Bertie - I do not think anywhere in the article they said they would clean it up this summer. It will take probably another 30-40 years. Now that they have an idea where the corium are starting to quantify radiation levels they have to figure out how use robotics or other methods to work in and environment where no one has worked before.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

We ? have a problem. Those of us (foreigners) who live in Japan can make a contribution to solving the problem.

negative thinkers? Knock yourself out

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

TEPCO says it will make plan this summer to clean up Fukushima plant

Must be busy with so many other things at the moment.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

is it 1st of april already?

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

When the blind lead the blind, they all fall into the...

3 ( +3 / -0 )

TEPCO invited foreign journalists to the site for an update on clean-up efforts ahead of the sixth anniversary of the disaster.

This statement gives me images of what goes on in North Korea when they have foreign visitors. They will be chaperoned, taken to only the 'approved' areas, told what they can take photos of and given strict guidelines on what questions they can ask.

I have to admit, TEPCO and Japan face a mammoth project in cleaning up this 'man-made' mess. The technology does not exist for many of the procedures they have to undertake. The cost of the clean up is growing by the day and the current estimate is only a 'ballpark figure' based on their current progress. However, due to the fickle nature of their progress the end cost could very easily be double or triple the current estimate. It is going to take 30-40 years to clean it up and there will still be areas of Fukushima close to the plant that will never be inhabitable ever again. There are hundreds of thousands of tons of highly radioactive water stored in containers around the plant, which is growing daily. These tanks were only designed to last five years and are not strong enough to withstand another tsunami. TEPCO still has no idea what they are going to do with the water. These containers are also situated at only a few meters above sea level, which means, in the event of another tsunami the whole lot could end up in the Pacific. This disaster was caused by cost-cutting practices and it seems they are using the same cost-cutting mind-set to clean it up. The cost of the clean up should be irrelevant, but the people of Japan should not have to pay for it. It is a TEPCO disaster and TEPCO should shoulder the full amount of the clean up.

-3 ( +2 / -5 )

just clean the damn thing up already! time wasters!! send a cleaning robot in there, legit, clean it up with robots!

-7 ( +0 / -7 )

@gp, are you thinking Roomba, Pepper, or Aibo? Which one (any robot for that matter) has a sufficient radiation resisitence rating?

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

I wonder how one makes a forsomethingneverdealth withbefore,that wehaveneitherthenecessary knowledgetodealwith,northetechnolog neede todoanythingabout. Remember that we have watched six years while they have made very little progress at clean up, or even slowing down the damage being done.

There is no way to ever clean up the area around Fukushima, just moving a bit of dirt around in the living areas, but not the surrounding countryside, which can wash and blow more radiation back into the living areas.

Anyone here that isw illing to move into the affected areas, knowing this, regardless of how cheap the prices might be.

Nor can most of the owners, who know that they can never sell that land and property that once they lived in, and could have sold fairly easy at one time.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

11MAR17 Six year anniversary of Tsunami and TEPCO Fukushima Daiichi Units 1-2-3 total meltdowns. Six years and no indication of where melted Uranium-Plutonium-Zirconium mixed with Reactor housings and cement are located. TEPCO contacted Toshiba to contract with Muon Energy Location Technology (MELT) provider to MELT scan Units 1-2-3 for where abouts of Corium, the now melted fuel mixed with reactor housings. Where could they have gone? Six years later and TEPCO can't bring themselves to share the MELT scan results with the public. TEPCO what are you waiting for? The olympics? The right time? Now is the time to become honest and release the MELT information? Three Mile Island had partial reactor/fuel meltdown and took 7 years to drill molten corium off of the floor and safely contain and then ship somewhere for storage for forever. What did that cost. TEPCO you have three total meltdowns and one has conventional fuel mixed with Plutonium, the worst half-life length of radioactivity hundreds of thousands of years. TEPCO you will announce the Coriums are where again? TEPCO will begin to remove one gram of corium when again? TEPCO you want to cover Fukushima Daiichi up but wait you decided to move a mountain and locate the reactors closer vertically to the ocean for cost saving and now you have the radioactive contamination daily of ground water and coolant water keeping corium cool and all of that water just running off into the ocean. TEPCO you have no money. Japan Government is keeping your TEPCO name a charade. When will you grow up and ask for help?

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It's only making a plan. It's not as if they will have to carry it out!

0 ( +1 / -1 )

no wanderlust .. they only gonna start making a plan to make a plan....expect results ( plan) in 30 years

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

Oh so its all going to be cleaned up this summer, GREAT. LOL

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Speechless..... JGovt help the people of Japan. Make this apart of the plan for Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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