ANS Friday Matinee January 18, 2018: 1F Update

January 19, 2018, 2:00PMANS Nuclear Cafe

FriNukeMatineeThis week's ANS Nuclear Cafe Friday Matinee is the very latest video update from Tokyo Electric Power Company on the conditions at 1F -- that is to say, "First Fukushima" or the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station.

Since the last update, a great deal has been learned about the condition and location of the melted fuel in units 1, 2 and 3. While the total fuel mass in each unit isn't easily seen, it has been surmised from the available evidence that significant fuel exit occurred from units 1 and 3 into the PCV's, while that in Unit 2 remained much more inside the pressure vessel.

Many scenes around the (very large) site are shown in the video, and the amount of change from the immediate post-accident days is incredible. The gargantuan effort required to remove the debris from the tsunami and from the reactor buildings is no more evident than when, as in this video, immediate post-accident views are compared side-by-side with views from today.

The video runs just over eight minutes and can be streamed or downloaded from the following link: TEPCO Fukushima Daiichi Video Update January 15, 2018