Seeking Source of Tainted Water (NHK video)

January 29, 25014

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/newsline/201401291315.html

It is urgent to block the flow of contaminated water by going to the sources but the problem is that workers have to inject water all the time (to cool the reactors). The water mixes with radioactive materials and becomes contaminated.

Then it mixes with the groundwater flowing underneath the plant.

A team of scientists/engineers have been building a small boat with a camera and a special cable to control the device. They have rehearsed using that boat with a model reactor (because of the very high levels next to the reactors). The idea was to drop the boat into the space around the containment vessel and use the camera to survey the area.

The levels of radiation are so high that the engineers can only walk there for 15 minutes and so they have to work in shifts.

The radiation level transmitted by the boat was 2000 millisieverts/hour. The photos also showed water gushing out of a broken pipe. Experts were shocked by the pictures.

The space between the metal containment vessel and the concrete that surrounds it is only 5 cm, making it difficult for engineers to get a picture of the crack to figure out how to fix it.

Everything depends on the ability of engineers to design new robots.

“TEPCO is facing an uphill battle”.