Thursday, April 28, 2011

#Fukushima I Nuke Plant: Why Are the Radiation Levels in Reactors 5 and 6 So High? Or Is There Some Data Mix-up?

(UPDATE 4/29/2011) It seems that atmc.jp has been presenting the temperatures of the Spent Fuel Pools of Reactors 5 and 6 as the dry well radiation levels for Reactors 5 and 6. It does seem like a data mix-up (or data link mix-up). I have notified the site (atmc.jp) of the mix-up.

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I don't know where the site "atmc.jp" gets the data (I can't find them in Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency's press release about the status of the plant and plant parameters), but I've noticed the radiation levels of the dry wells (of the Containment Vessels) in Reactors 5 and 6 have been high, according to atmc.jp, the site that automatically compiles the Fukushima I Nuke Plant accident-related data.

The radiation levels are actually higher than the more troubled Reactors 2 and 3. The Reactor 1's dry well radiation measurement stopped after the radiation registered 100 sieverts/hr on April 8.

As of April 29, Reactor 5's dry well radiation level is 40.3 sieverts/hr, and Reactor 6's dry well radiation level is 33.5 sieverts/hr.

In comparison, Reactor 2's dry well radiation level is 22.1 sieverts/hr, Reactor 3's 14.1 sieverts/hr.

Here are the numbers for the Reactor 5 dry well radiation, from atmc.jp:

日付 D/W S/C
4/29 40.3 _
4/28 41.1 _
4/27 40.1 _
4/26 39.5 _
4/25 37.3 _
4/24 38.6 _
4/23 38.2 _
4/22 37.7 _
4/21 37.2 _
4/20 36.7 _
4/19 37.2 _
4/18 36.7 _
4/17 35.9 _
4/16 36.3 _
4/15 35.8 _
4/14 36.1 _
4/13 35.6 _
4/12 35.7 _
4/11 36.3 _
4/10 36.4 _
4/09 35.2 _
4/08 34.8 _
4/07 36 _

And for Reactor 6 dry well radiation, also from atmc.jp:

日付 D/W S/C
4/29 33.5 _
4/28 27 _
4/27 28.5 _
4/26 33.5 _
4/25 30 _
4/24 35 _
4/23 26.5 _
4/22 35 _
4/21 26.5 _
4/20 33.5 _
4/19 25 _
4/18 34 _
4/17 24.5 _
4/16 33.5 _
4/15 25 _
4/14 30 _
4/13 23 _
4/12 30 _
4/11 26.5 _
4/10 31 _
4/09 24 _
4/08 30.5 _
4/07 21.5 _

7 comments:

Oops said...

I don't know if this is related?
http://enenews.com/fukushima-reactors-no-5-and-6-in-trouble-cracks-are-allowing-in-radioactive-water-that-could-destroy-emergency-generator-and-other-vital-equipment-video

Perhaps radioactive water is leaking in?

arevamirpal::laprimavera said...

I don't know. Even if there is contaminated water coming in, as long as the Containment Vessels are intact the radiation inside the Containment Vessels (dry well) shouldn't be going up at all.

There are people looking at the same data and and wondering, in Japan. They are at a loss, other than the measuring equipment failure.

Anonymous said...

The information comes from METI. Link is below.
http://www.meti.go.jp/press/2011/04/20110429002/20110429002-3.pdf

Anonymous said...

Robbie001 sez:

Perhaps the excess water from units 1-4 have damaged some "vital equipment" that relates to the D/W detection systems in 5&6? Or maybe 5-6 were damaged during the early stages of the crisis and TEPCO has been trying to keep it secret?

The most disturbing part of the contaminated water getting into units 5-6 is it gives us an idea of just how much water isn't being contained at the facility. Units 5-6 are quite a distance from the contamination source and if they are taking on enough water to be a concern there must be a river of contamination flowing their way.

arevamirpal::laprimavera said...

@anon at 2:53AM, thanks for the link. I've looked at it carefully again, and I still can't find info on radiation levels for reactors 5 and 6 dry wells. All they have for reactors 5 and 6 is temperature, water level, pressure of the pressure vessels, and temperatures for spent fuel pools. There has to be data somewhere of these radiation levels...

@Robbie, that's what I suspect also, that 5 and 6 were damaged early on and TEPCO didn't bother to tell the world.

Anonymous said...

At the atmc.jp site you can see there is a link which will take you to the site that is gathering the data. It looks as if the reactor radiation numbers from #5 and #6 posted at these sites is in fact the temperature of the pools, and not the radiation readings. Likewise some of the splits for the drywell and suppression chamber are also incorrect. As always, proceed with caution.

Link to the data aggregator https://spreadsheets0.google.com/ccc?authkey=CP6ewJkO&hl=ja&key=t5VrTdLDZDbX39YK-iFb0Iw&hl=ja&authkey=CP6ewJkO#gid=4

arevamirpal::laprimavera said...

@anon at 1:55PM, you're right. atmc.jp is linking the Spent Fuel Pool temperature data as dry well radiation. I will update the post and will email atmc.jp of their mistake.

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