*The updates are underlined
All 6 units of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station have been shut down.
Unit 1 (Shut down)
- Explosive sound and white smoke were confirmed after the big quake
occurred at 3:36 pm on March 12, 2011. It was assumed to be hydrogen
explosion.
- At 3:37 pm on March 25, 2011, we started injecting freshwater to the
reactor and are now injecting fresh water by a motor driven pump powered
by the off-site transmission line.
- At 10:11 am on December 10, 2011, in addition to water injection from
water feeding system, we started water injection from piping of core
spray system to the reactor.
Current water injection volume is approx. 4.6 m3/h from the reactor feed
water system and approx. 1.8 m3/h from the core spray system.
- At 1:31 am on April 7, 2011, we commenced injection of nitrogen gas into
Primary Containment Vessel.
- At 11:22 am on August 10, 2011, we started cyclic cooling for the water
in the spent fuel pool by an alternative cooling equipment of the Fuel
Pool Cooling and Filtering System.
- On October 28, 2011, we completed installation of the cover for the
Reactor Building in order to contain dispersion of radioactive
substances.
- At 4:04 pm on November 30, 2011, we started operation to inject nitrogen
into the reactor pressure vessel.
- At 6:00 pm on December 19, 2011, a full-scale operation of the PCV gas
management system started.
Unit 2 (Shut down)
- At approximately 6:00 am on March 15, 2011, an abnormal noise began
emanating from nearby Pressure Suppression Chamber and the pressure
within the chamber decreased.
- At 10:10 am on March 26, 2011, we started injecting freshwater to the
reactor and are now injecting fresh water by a motor driven pump powered
by the off-site transmission line.
- At 2:59 pm on September 14, 2011, in addition to water injection from
water feeding system, we started water injection from piping of core
spray system to the reactor.
Current water injection volume is approx. 2.9 m3/h from the reactor feed
water system and approx. 7.1 m3/h from the core spray system.
- At 5:21 pm on May 31, 2011, we started cyclic cooling for the water in
the spent fuel pool by an alternative cooling equipment of the Fuel Pool
Cooling and Filtering System. (At 1:38 pm on January 10, 2012, the
hydrazine (corrosion inhibitor) injection was also started).
- At 8:06 pm on June 28, 2011, we started injecting nitrogen gas into the
Primary Containment Vessel.
- At 6:00 pm on October 28, 2011, a full-scale operation of the PCV gas
management system started.
- At 10:46 am on December 1, 2011, we started the nitrogen injection to
the Reactor Pressure Vessel.
Unit 3 (Shut down)
- Explosive sound and white smoke were confirmed at approximately 11:01 am
on March 14, 2011. It was assumed to be hydrogen explosion.
- At 6:02 pm on March 25, 2011, we started injecting fresh water to the
reactor and are now injecting fresh water by a motor driven pump powered
by the off-site transmission line.
- At 2:58 pm on September 1, 2011, we started water injection by core
spray system in addition to water injection by the reactor feed water
system piping arrangement.
At 10:05 am on January 10, because of the replacement work of the water
injection piping arrangement from the water feed system in association
with the commissioning of reactor injection pump in Turbine Building, we
have controlled the amount of injected water to the reactor gradually.
The amount of injected water to the reactor from the reactor feed water
system was adjusted from approx. 3 m3/h to approx. 2 m3/h, and the
amount from the core spray system was adjusted from approx. 6 m3/h to
approx. 7 m3/h.
Current water injection volume is approx 2 m3/h from the reactor feed
water system and approx. 7 m3/h from the core spray system.
- At 7:47 pm on June 30, 2011, we started cyclic cooling for the water in
the spent fuel pool by an alternative cooling equipment of the Fuel Pool
Cooling and Filtering System.
- At 8:01 pm on July 14, 2011, injection of nitrogen gas into the Primary
Containment Vessel started.
- At 4:26 pm on November 30, 2011, we started operation to inject nitrogen
into the reactor pressure vessel.
Unit 4 (Outage due to regular inspection)
- At around 6 am on March 15, 2011, we confirmed the explosive sound and
the sustained damage around the 5th floor rooftop area of Reactor
Building.
- At 12:44 pm on July 31, 2011, we started cyclic cooling for the water in
the spent fuel pool by an alternative cooling equipment of the Fuel Pool
Cooling and Filtering System.
- At 10:58 am on November 29, 2011, in order to decrease more salinity, we
installed Ion exchange equipment and started the operation of such
equipment.
- At this moment, we don't think there is any reactor coolant leakage
inside the primary containment vessel.
Unit 5 (Outage due to regular inspection)
- Sufficient level of reactor coolant to ensure safety is maintained.
- At 5:00 am on March 19, 2011, we started the Residual Heat Removal
System Pump in order to cool the spent fuel pool.
- At 2:45 pm on July 15, 2011, we started the operation of the original
Residual Heat Removal System (System B) by its original seawater pump.
- At 10:11 am on December 22, 2011, since we finished the recovery work of
seawater pump (System B) of equipment water cooling system, we made a
trial run. At 11:25 am on the same day, we confirmed no abnormalities
and restarted the operation.
- At this moment, we don't think there is any reactor coolant leakage
inside the primary containment vessel.
Unit 6 (Outage due to regular inspection)
- Sufficient level of reactor coolant to ensure safety is maintained.
- At 10:14 pm on March 19, 2011, we started the Residual Heat Removal
System Pump of Unit 6 to cool down Spent Fuel Pool.
- At 2:33 pm on September 15, 2011, we started separately cooling the
reactor through the Residual Heat Removal System and the spent fuel pool
through Equipment Cooling Water System and Fuel Pool Cooling System.
- At this moment, we do not think there is any reactor coolant leakage
inside PCV.
Injured and others
- At 2:22 pm on January 9, 2012, at the Spent Sludge Storage Facility (*)
which is under construction, a partner company's worker who had been
engaged in concrete placement work reported his physical disorder. He
was carried to the emergency medical room of Unit 5/6 and received
medical treatment. Because he was in cardiopulmonary arrest, he was
carried from Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station to Iwaki Kyouritsu
Hospital at 3:25 pm. No radioactive materials were found to be attached
to the worker's body.
* Spent Sludge Storage Facility: The facility to store radioactive waste
(spent sludge), which is produced during the process of accumulated
water treatment, on a temporary basis.
Others
- At around 10 am on June 13, 2011, we started the operation of the
circulating seawater purification facility installed at the screen area
of Unit 2 and 3.
- At 8 pm on June 17, 2011, we started operation of Water Treatment
Facility against the accumulated water. At 6:00 pm on July 2, we started
the circulating injection cooling to inject the water, which was treated
by the accumulated water treatment system, to the reactors through the
buffer tank.
- At 7:41 pm on August 19, 2011, we started treatment of accumulated water
by parallel operation of one line from the cesium adsorption instrument
to the decontamination instrument and the other treatment line of the
cesium adsorption instrument No.2.
- At 2:06 pm on October 7, 2011, we started to spray purified accumulated
water brought from Unit 5 and 6 continually in order to prevent dust
scattering and potential fire outbreaks from the cut down trees.
- On October 28, 2011, we started installation of the water proof wall at
the sea side, in front of the existing shore protection, Units 1-4, in
order to contain marine pollution by underground water.
- At 12:25 pm on December 13, 2011, we started the re-circulating
operation of desalination facility (reverse osmosis membrane type) for
the purpose of suppression of condensed water after desalination
treatment.
- From 8:17 am on January 10, 2012, we started to transfer accumulated
water from the basement of the turbine building of Unit 2 to the
Centralized Radiation Waste Treatment Facility, the Process Main
Building.
- At 9:25 am on January 10, second Cesium adsorption apparatus was stopped
to backwash the filter because there was a gradual downward tendency. At
12:58 pm on the same day, the apparatus was started up and it achieved
the steady flow (approx. 36 m3/h) at 1:04 pm.
- At 10:28 am on January 10, TEPCO staff found a leakage of water from the
packing at the bottom of the tank of the concentrated water storage at
water desalinations (reverse osmosis membrane type), which was about one
drop in one second. The amount of leaked water is approx. 10 litter and
is staying on the concrete. After retightening of the bolt at the joint
of the tank, we confirmed the leakage was stopped around 12:35 pm on
January 10. In addition, sandbags were piled around the water pond to
protect its expansion. Because water leaked from waste storage tank, it
does not need to stop the water treatment system and there was no impact
to the water injection to reactor.