I haven’t got the power
Written by: adekun on 18 July, 2007 7:02 pm - Filed under: blog ?
What has made me angry is that yet again greed has taken precedence over safety. The operator of the damaged plant TEPCO took seven hours to report that water containing radioactive material had leaked into the sea. These figures were undervalued and it is now reported that the levels are 50% higher than first stated. At first there was a denial of any problems.
A transformer, part of the grid connection caught fire. Transformers are cooled by oil which is the likely cause of the fire. It took almost two hours to extinguish, which begs the question were they prepared. Although the units had automatically shutdown, the fuel in the reactor core needs cooling. Had the onsite generation failed, meltdown becomes a credible outcome.
News of a small emission of radioactive cobalt-60 and chromium-51 into the atmosphere, has since been released as well has fifty malfunctions at the plant.
It seems the operator was keen to restart some of units, but as reports mounted the local mayor ordered the plant be closed indefinitely until its safety can be confirmed.
Although built to withstand strong earthquakes, frequently the tremors are beyond these limits. Some are even built on fault lines as maybe the case with Kashiwazaki-Kawara. It all seems a bit slapdash to me but expect there are more pressing concerns.
