Afternoon Update

From NEI’s Japan Earthquake launch page:

UPDATE AS OF 12:30 P.M. EDT, FRIDAY, APRIL 1:
Japan’s nuclear safety agency has reprimanded Tokyo Electric Power Co. for not providing radiation monitors to all emergency workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Each worker is supposed to have an individual radiation monitor, but some emergency teams have had to share monitors, the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum reported. TEPCO said that low-priority work will be suspended if employees do not have monitors.

TEPCO said that only 320 of the 5,000 radiation monitors were available after the earthquake and tsunami, JAIF said.

Radiation Found in Beef
Radiation that exceeds safety standards has been found in beef in Fukushima and three neighboring prefectures, JAIF reported. Radiation also was found in spinach and other vegetables grown in the area. Japan’s health ministry said the beef and vegetables have not been shipped and are not on the market.

Fukushima Daiichi
A U.S. Navy barge containing freshwater to cool the reactors and used fuel pools at the Daiichi site has been towed to the pier. It will be connected to the pumps with hoses.

Meanwhile, injection of freshwater continues at reactors 1-3 and workers continue to spray fresh water on the used fuel pools for reactors 1-4.

TEPCO is evaluating the use of a synthetic resin that would be sprayed over debris at the site to prevent the spread of radioactive dust.

Additional equipment, including the biggest concrete pump in the world, is being provided by U.S. companies. The pump’s 70-meter boom can be controlled remotely. It has been in use at the Savannah River Site, helping build a U.S. government mixed oxide nuclear fuel plant. Concrete pumps are already in use at the site to assist with spraying water into the used fuel pools.

Fact Sheet Update
NEI has updated its fact sheet, “Nuclear Plants Designed and Constructed to Withstand Earthquakes.”

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