Fukushima update

Brave New Climate has a new update on Fukushima which compiles IAEA, NEI and other information sources.

Radiation Levels

* At 07:00PM (JST) on March 20, radiation level outside main office building (approximately 1,640 feet from Unit 2 reactor building) of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station: 2,623 micro Sv/hour.
* Measurement results of ambient dose rate around Fukushima Nuclear Power Station announced at 4:00PM and 7:00PM on March 20 are shown in the attached two PDF files respectively.
* For comparison, a human receives 2,400 micro Sv per year from natural radiation in the form of sunlight, radon, and other sources. One chest CT scan generates 6,900 micro Sv per scan.

Fukushima Daiichi Unit 1 reactor

* At 3:00PM on March 20, pressure inside the reactor core: 0.187MPa.
* At 3:00PM on March 20, water level inside the reactor core: 1.7 meters below the top of the fuel rods.
* At 3:00PM on March 20, pressure inside the primary containment vessel: 0.17MPaabs.
* As of 6:00PM on March 20, the injection of seawater continues into the reactor core.
* As of 7:00PM on March 20, activities for recovering the external power supply are underway.

Fukushima Daiichi Unit 2 reactor

* At 3:00PM on March 20, pressure inside the reactor core: -0.016MPa.
* At 3:00PM on March 20, water level inside the reactor core: 1.4 meters below the top of the fuel rods.
* At 3:00PM on March 20, pressure inside the primary containment vessel: 0.125MPaabs.
* At 3:05PM on March 20, injection of seawater into the spent fuel storage pool has begun, until 5:20PM (total about 40 tons)
* As of 3:46PM on March 20, the distribution board began to receive the external power.
* As of 6:00PM on March 20, the injection of seawater continues into the reactor core.

Fukushima Daiichi Unit 3 reactor

* At 4:00PM on March 20, pressure inside the reactor core: 0.119MPa.
* At 4:00PM on March 20, water level inside the reactor core: 1.65 meters below the top of the fuel rods.
* At 4:00PM on March 20, pressure inside the primary containment vessel: 0.290MPaabs.
* As of 6:00PM on March 20, the injection of seawater continues into the reactor core.
* As of 7:00PM on March 20, about 2,605 tons of water in total has been shot to the spent fuel storage pool.
* As of 7:00PM on March 20, activities for recovering the external power supply are underway.

Fukushima Daiichi Unit 4 reactor

* At 8:20AM on March 20, 10 Self Defense Force vehicles began to shoot water aimed at the spent fuel pool, until 9:29AM.
* As of 7:00PM on March 20, about 83 tons of water in total has been shot to the spent fuel storage pool.
* As of 7:00PM on March 20, activities for recovering the external power supply are underway.

Fukushima Daiichi Unit 5 reactor

* At 2:30PM on March 20: cold shutdown
* At 4:00PM on March 20, the temperature of the spent fuel pool was measured at 95.2 degrees Fahrenheit.

Fukushima Daiichi Unit 6 reactor

* At 10:14PM on March 19, ump for Residual Heat Removal (RHR) started up and cooling of spent fuel storage pool has started.
* At 4:00PM on March 20, the temperature of the spent fuel pool was measured at 82.4 degrees Fahrenheit.

Fukushima Daiichi Common Spent Fuel Pool

* At 09:00AM on March 19, the temperature of the spent fuel pool was measured at 134.6 degrees Fahrenheit.

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