MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

“TOKYO — Radioactive debris from melted fuel rods may have seeped deeper into the floor of a Japan’s tsunami-hit nuclear reactor than previously thought, to within a foot from breaching the crucial steel barrier, a new simulation showed Wednesday.

The findings will not change the ongoing efforts to stabilize the reactors more than eight months after the Fukushima Daiichi plant was disabled, but they harshly depict the meltdowns that occurred and conditions within the reactors, which will be off-limits for years.

The plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co said its latest simulation showed fuel at the No. 1 reactor may have eroded part of the primary containment vessel’s thick concrete floor. The vessel is a beaker-shaped steel container, set into the floor. A concrete foundation below that is the last manmade barrier before earth…

Another simulation on the structure released by the government-funded Japan Nuclear Energy Safety Organization, or JNES, said the erosion of the concrete could be deeper and the possibility of structural damage to the reactor’s foundation needs to be studied.

JNES official Masanori Naito said the melting fuel rods lost their shape as they collapsed to the bottom of the vessel, then deteriorated into drops when water pumping resumed, and the fuel drops spattered and smashed against the concrete as they fell, Naito said.” Read more.

Temperature has gone ‘over scale’ at reactor 2 – “Today Tepco started their press conference 20 mins late, which is unusual. They did not even prepare documents to explain the current situation of the reactors. According to their statement, at least 3 troubles are happening. 1) At reactor 3 […] The water cooling system is not properly working. Water coming into the system and coming out of the system shows similar temperature. They assume it is because a valve was turned off. The last time it was checked was 11/19/2011. They don’t know why the valve got turned off. 2) At reactor 2 Gas pressure controlling room’s temperature has gone over scale. It’s in suppression chamber. Because the temperature has gone too high, heat gauge can not indicate accurately. They say other 2 heat gauges are indicating normal temperature ,but they are about 100m away from the place. Also, because the point is extremely radioactive, nobody can get close to check/replace the heat gauge.” Read more.