May 30, 2012
Tokyo Electric Power Company
The TV Asahi "Hodo Station" ran a coverage concerning the soundness of the Reactor Building and the Spent Fuel Pool (SFP) of Unit 4 at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station on May 25. The context of the fact is as follows.
Regarding the part saying that "The water of the SFP would flow out if the temporary SFP cooling system pipes get damaged",
- The pool water is circulated by injecting from the top of the pool and collecting the overflowing water at the Skimmer Surge Tank, as shown in the figure below. There are no pipes or drainage holes that pass through the concrete structure of the pool, either on the side or at the bottom of the pool.
- It is true that a part of the SFP cooling system is composed of temporary pipes that have been installed after the accident. However, the water which directly goes to the pool is circulated through the original system, injected from the top of the pool and the overflowing water being collected at the Skimmer Surge Tank.
- Consequently, should the temporary pipes get damaged, the water of the Spent Fuel Pool (SFP) would not flow out in a massive scale.
Appendix: Image of the actual SFP (PDF 42.5KB)
© Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc.
