Although ignored for much of the time by the mainstream media, the events at Fukushima continue to reverberate.
During the past few days there have been very large (for Japan) public demonstrations against nuclear power — with estimates ranging from 20,000 to 150,000 people. See this New York Times story: In Tokyo, Thousands Protest the Restarting of a Nuclear Power Plant. For pictures and comments from the coalface, see www.fukushima-diary.com, maintained by blogger Iori Mochizuki.
The other continuing story is the situation with the spent fuel pond at reactor 4. The pond is perched 100 feet or so above ground level in the reactor 4 building, which has been destabilised by earthquake, a tsunami and a hydrogen explosion. The pond contains 1331 spent and 204 unused nuclear fuel assemblies. There are concerns that if for any reason (eg another earthquake) the pond were to spring a leak and lose its cooling water, the fuel assemblies could overheat, catch fire, and disperse a vast inventory of highly radioactive Cesium 137. Unlike the actual nuclear reactors at the Fukushima site, the spent fuel pond at reactor 4 is not enclosed by a containment structure.
It seems the general view is that the spent fuel needs to be removed from the pond and put into more secure storage, probably dry caskets. However, this is much easier said than done. TEPCO, the plant operator, claims it will be initiated next year. The question is, can it be completed before another earthquake or an unexpected structural failure causes loss of coolant?
There is not a lot of detailed information about what is really going on at Fukushima, hence the Internet is rife with over-the-top speculation and misinformation. However, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) did a good report on the spent fuel pond at reactor 4 a few days ago, see Experts warn of another disaster awaiting at Fukushima. See also the New York Times, Japan Reactor Building Is Tilting but Not a Risk, Operator Says.
See the Nuclear links in the right-hand column of this blog, for some useful sources for updates.
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