Most recent briefing

Just watched the NISA briefing at 10:20 Tokyo time. Some details...

No. 1 plant: At 9 PM last night TEPCO began injecting water through two simultaneous paths, but containment pressure started to rise. Water injection rate was lowered at 2:25 AM from 178 liters/minute to 160 liters/minute and pressure lowered and is now stable just below the design containment vessel pressure. This unit's spent fuel pool is not making much heat but TEPCO plans to get seawater injection running on this pool probably tomorrow.

No. 2 plant: Temperatures relatively stable; will not put water into drywell today but will into pressure vessel. 40 tons of water went on the plant on the 20th and 18 tons on the 22nd from 4:07 PM to 5:01 PM, for spent fuel pool. Work on this plant is being held up by some high radiation areas. Seawater injection continues.

(APRA note: This backs up the earlier report, apparently made only on this blog, of a high rad area in the turbine building near the feed pumps.)

No. 3 plant: No black smoke today; no good reason as to what caused this although NISA notes that there are some pumps on that side of the reactor building and it could be their lube oil burning. Put 35 tons of water in spent fuel pool from 11:03 to 13:20 on the 23rd, and today beginning at 5:35 AM about 500 tons of water will go in the pool.

No. 4 plant: Fuel pool is the issue here and seawater injection continues.

No. 5 plant: Tripped a seawater pump; no core cooling at the moment but temp is stable and the pump should be fixed today.

No. 6 plant: No issues.

Probably two more briefings and a flurry of documents to come before noon Tokyo time.

9:40 PM Eastern Wednesday 3/23
ATOMIC POWER REVIEW