JAPAN’S RACE AGAINST TIME CONTEXT

The operator of a stricken nuclear power plant in northeast Japan

said on Thursday pressure was rising again at reactor 3, which
includes plutonium and uranium in its fuel mix.
Getting to the core of the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant
TOKYO, March 17 - The Fukushima FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI FUKUSHIMA 30-km
Daiichi nuclear power plant at the NUCLEAR PLANT Minamisoma Reactor 5
centre of Japan’s crisis has six reac- People have been evacuated in a
6
20-km Reactor 6
459
tors. The plant is operated by Tokyo 20-km radius successfuly around
Daiichi complex, and a no-fly zone is
Namie
114
Katsurao Fukushima
Electric Power Co (TEPCO). established for a 30km radius from
the facility 288 Futaba
Daiichi

The following summarises what Okuma

Fukushima Reactor 1
is happening at each unit, and the Mar 11 quake Mt. Otakine
Daini
Reactor 2
epicentre Naraha
major risks: 399 Reactor 3
Reactor 4
Fukushima Mt. Kitoya
10-km
REACTORS MOST AT RISK? JAPAN
20 km
Hirono
400 m

Tokyo
Among the six reactors, getting
REACTOR No 3: 784-MW Reactor 4 Tue.
Building suffers fire and an
Reactor 3 Mon.
Concrete building destroyed water to reactor 3 is said to be the
priority since it is the only reactor
What is happening: CH-47
explosion. Catches fire
again on Wednesday
after an explosion but
reactor container still intact which is part powered by plutonium
Chinook
Helicopters and trucks were used Reactor 2 Tue.
to water down reactors as authori- Explosion reported. Fuel
rods were fully exposed
ties reiterated on Thursday that Reactors
for a time on Monday,
causing fears it may lead
100
resolving problems at the plant -- Pa
cifi
cO
m 4 to meltdown. Fuel rod is
33% damaged says
the only unit to include plutonium in cea
n
3
Kyodo news
Power plants
its fuel mix -- was the priority. Reactor 1 Sat.
Concrete cover of plant
Plutonium is considered more 2 destroyed. Fuel rod is
70% damaged says
hazardous than uranium. 1 Kyodo news agency
White smoke coming from the TIMELINE

plant could be steam evaporating (All times are local)

from the spent fuel pool, the Japan MAR 11 Fri. 19:46
Government reveals a
nuclear agency said on Thursday. cooling problem at the
Daiichi plant
It said pressure in the reactor was MAR 12 Sat. 17:47
Explosion and radiation
rising again. leak at reactor 1
confirmed by government
Radiation readings at the reactor
MAR 13 Sun. 23:37
are the highest at the Daiichi com- TEPCO injects seawater
into the reactors 1 and 3
plex, TEPCO said on Wednesday.
MAR 14 Mon. 11:15
There was an explosion at reactor Explosion at reactor 3,
seawater pumped to
3 on Monday. reactor 2
MAR 15 Tue.
06:20 Explosion at
reactor 2. Reactor 4
catches fire
11:57 Explosion reported
at reactor 4
16:44 Reactor 4 fire put out
18:01 TEPCO says it has
pulled out 750 workers
from the plant since
Tuesday and only 50
remain
20:54 Radiation levels at
reactor 4 become too high
to conduct normal work
MAR 16 Wed.
13:27 Operators plan to
bulldoze an emergency
route to allow access for
fire trucks.180 workers
are on site at the complex
18:29 Water is being
poured into reactors 5
and 6
Reactors 5
and 6 not in
the drawing
MAR 17 Thu. Military
helicopters spray water
on the plant to cool the
fuel rods after failed
attempts on Wednesday
Head of IAEA confirms
core damage at reactors
1, 2 and 3, but said
reactor vessels still intact

What are the risks: Source: Reuters TEPCO - Tokyo Electric Power Company IAEA - International Atomic Energy Agency

The major concern is that any

steam coming from the plant will cy noted the steam
Graphic could be coming veteran
NUCLEAR-FUKUSHIMA/UPDATE2 Dateof the 17 nuclear
/ 03 / 11 industry who
carry radiation into the atmosphere. from the spentStoryfuel
Size
pool. That
JAPAN-NUCLEAR/
15 x 16 cm
would is now Reporter -
chief
Research -
engineer at Fairwinds
It’s not clear where this could be indicate that water
Artist covering the
Chris Inton/RNGS Associates
Code Inc.
DIS
coming from. spent fuel is evaporating, which in
© Copyright Reuters 2011. All rights reserved.
http://thomsonreuters.com/products_services/media/media_products/graphics/
Chief Cabinet Minister Yukio turn could mean the vapour is carry- REACTOR No 4: 784-MW
Edano said on Wednesday there is ing off radiation. What is happening:
a “possibility” the primary contain- The spent fuel pool presents There is no water in the spent
ment vessel, the first line of defence a significant radiation risk if its fuel pool and radiation levels are
against a radiation leak, had been contents are exposed to the atmos- extremely high, the chairman of the
damaged, Kyodo reported. The phere. When fuel rods are exposed U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commis-
reactors also have a secondary to the air, zirconium metal on the sion said in Washington on Wednes-
containment building. (see below: rods will catch fire, which could re- day. However, TEPCO said on Thurs-
CONTAINMENT -- WHAT IS IT?) lease radiation contained in the fuel, day that as of Wednesday the spent
However, the Japan nuclear agen- said Arnie Gundersen, a 29-year fuel pool still had water in it.

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JAPAN’S RACE AGAINST TIME
TV on Wednesday showed smoke
or steam rising from the facility after
flames were seen earlier in the day.
The reactor had been shut down for
maintenance when the earthquake
and tsunami struck.
On Tuesday, the spent fuel pool
caught fire and caused an explo-
sion.
Japan’s nuclear safety agency
says the blast punctured two holes
around 8-metres square in the wall
of the outer building of the reactor.
What are the risks:
Exposure of spent fuel to the
atmosphere is serious because there
is more radiation in the spent fuel
than in the reactor, said Gundersen.
The spent fuel pool is not inside a
containment facility either.
“They need to keep water in
those pools because the roof over
the building housing the pools is
already damaged and radiation will
escape,” he said.
The pools contain racks that hold
spent fuel taken from the reactor.
Operators need to constantly add
water to the pool to keep the fuel
submerged so that radiation cannot
escape.
Exposing the spent fuel to the
atmosphere will release radiation.
FUKUSHIMA REACTOR
FAIL-SAFE
SYSTEM FAILURES
1 1st fail-safe: Control rods
rise up to stop nuclear fission
but fuel rods still remained
hot. Circulation of water
should have cooled the fuel
rods but a power outage
caused by the quake
disabled the system
2 2nd fail-safe: Emergency
diesel-powered generator
sprays the fuel rods with
cold water, but the generator
fails an hour later. Experts
suggest the failure was
caused by the tsunami
3 3rd fail-safe: System which
converts steam to water starts
cooling the rods, but the water
level went down. Fuel rods’
temperatures continue to rise
Sources: Reuters, NHK Graphic: Chris Inton, RNGS
A handout photo shows Tokyo Electric Power Co. Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant reac-
tor no. 4 (center) and no. 3 (L) in northern Japan March 15, 2011. Picture taken March 15, 2011.
REUTERS/Tokyo Electric Power Co./Handout
REACTOR No 2: 784-MW
What is happening:
TEPCO plans to run a cable to re-
actors No 1 and No 2 to try to restore
power to the water cooling system,
the Japan nuclear agency said on
Thursday.
An explosion rocked the plant on
Tuesday, damaging a suppression
pool, into which steam is vented
from the reactor to relieve pressure.
Containment
Water
structure
level Condenser
2 3
Fuel
rods
Control
rods
1
Dry well
Wet well
Fuel rods undergoes nuclear fission,
emits heat to produce energy
Water cools it down and maintains
temperature at 270 C
If the cooling system fails, the
temperature can rise to 1,200 C,
melting the zirconium casings of the
fuel rods and cause radioactive leak
The roof of the reactor building is
damaged, Jiji news agency reported.
TEPCO said on Tuesday the fuel
rods were fully exposed. An esti-
mated 33 percent of the nuclear fuel
rods have been damaged at the No
2 reactor, Kyodo quoted TEPCO as
saying on Wednesday.
However, on Wednesday, Japan’s
nuclear agency said the pumping
of sea water into the reactor was
proceeding smoothly.
What are the risks:
When fuel rods are no longer
covered in coolant they can heat up
and start to melt, raising the risk of
a radiation leak and in a worst-case
scenario a full meltdown.
The suppression pool is part of the
primary containment vessel, which
is designed to prevent a leak, but
the IAEA said the blast “may have
affected the integrity of its primary
containment vessel.”
Still, beyond the primary contain-
ment vessel is the containment
building, which is also designed to
prevent radiation from escaping.
REACTOR No 1: 460-MW
What is happening:
TEPCO plans to run a cable to re-
actors No 1 and No 2 to try to restore
power to the water cooling system,
JAPAN’S RACE AGAINST TIME

the Japan nuclear agency said on

Thursday.
An explosion occurred at the
reactor on Saturday. Kyodo quoted
TEPCO as saying on Wednesday
that an estimated 70 percent of the
nuclear fuel rods have been dam-
aged.
The Japan nuclear agency said
on Wednesday the pumping of sea
water into the reactor was proceed-
ing smoothly.
What are the risks:
The IAEA said on Tuesday the pri-
mary containment vessel appeared
intact. If the fuel rods in the reactor
are not covered by coolant, they can
heat up and start to melt.

REACTOR No 5: 784-MW
What is happening:
The reactor had been shut down
for maintenance at the time of the
quake and tsunami.
TEPCO said on Wednesday water
was being poured into the reactor
and that temperatures in the spent
fuel pool were rising slightly.
What is the risk:
Reactor 5 and reactor 6 are seen
less at risk than reactors 1 to 4.

REACTOR No 6: 1,100-MW Philippe Van Troeye, general director of production at Belgian energy company Electrabel shows
What is happening: a slide explaining the how a nuclear plant like Japan's Fukushima Daiichi works during a news
TEPCO said on Wednesday water conference at a nuclear power station in Tihange March 16, 2011. REUTERS/Yves Herman

was being poured into the reactor

--The wind is blowing northwest- Compilation by Neil Fullick
and that temperatures in the spent Publishing by Mathew Veedon
to-southeast, towards the Pa- TopNewsTeam@thomsonreuters.com
fuel pool were rising slightly.
cific Ocean, Japan Meteorological
What is the risk:
Agency said.
Reactor 5 and reactor 6 are seen
less at risk than reactors 1 to 4. © Thomson Reuters 2011. All rights reserved.
CONTAINMENT -- WHAT IS IT?
Each reactor is surrounded by a Republication or redistribution of Thomson Re-
RADIATION, WIND DIRECTION? uters content, including by framing or similar
primary containment vessel. This is means, is prohibited without the prior written
-- Radiation levels were higher
made of strengthened steel four- consent of Thomson Reuters. ‘Reuters’ and
than normal but not dangerous, Ja- the Reuters logo are registered trademarks
to-eight inches thick. It provides the
pan’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety and trademarks of Thomson Reuters and its
most critical line of defence against affiliated companies.
Agency said on Thursday.
leaking radiation from the reactor.
-- They were measured at 338
Should there be a breach, there
microsieverts per hour at the west
is another, final line of defence to
gate at 2000 GMT March 16 (5 am
prevent radiation leaks: a bigger
local time March 17).
containment building made of steel
If a person stands outdoors for
and concrete.
a year, they would be exposed to a
A breach of the containment
radiation level of 400 microsieverts,
building would release radiation
the agency said.
into the atmosphere.