OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
I'm sure many recall my opining on the Fukushima situation, TEPCO's mismanagement, and how, ultimately, decisions they made not to upgrade the site, something they were able to get away with because the site was "grandfathered" in and the Japanese nuclear regulator has the operators on their board, were what ultimately resulted in the disaster.
Not only due to the inability to run the backup generators (they were at sea level and the fuel tanks were washed away) but also, the breach in the first place, which would have been stopped by the seawall being upgraded to the same height of other facilities, such as the sister plant closer to the epicentre.
Well, some more TEPCO news:
Major issue underlined in the above block of text. Zero supervision.
The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant is the largest (by nameplate capacity) nuclear facility in the world, exceeding even Bruce Power here in Ontario. It has 7 reactors and a total NET capacity of 7,965MWe. However, it has not operated since the tsunami (even though it was completely unaffected by it), which is why Bruce is the largest operating plant in the world (and should be ~7,000MWe in the next 5 years or so). They've been struggling to get a unit online (unit 7) for quite a while, and this is just another bungle that has pushed that timeline out.
Not only due to the inability to run the backup generators (they were at sea level and the fuel tanks were washed away) but also, the breach in the first place, which would have been stopped by the seawall being upgraded to the same height of other facilities, such as the sister plant closer to the epicentre.
Well, some more TEPCO news:
Shoddy welding maintenance work at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture will push back moves to bring the facility back online by many months, perhaps longer, its operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. acknowledged.
The No. 7 reactor has been plagued by problems to do with installing safeguards against terrorist attacks that required further work and a new round of inspections by the Nuclear Regulation Authority, the nation's nuclear watchdog body.
TEPCO announced Dec. 24 that it had uncovered 74 instances of defective welding that is essential to safe operations of the nuclear reactor.
The utility said it had been tipped off anonymously on several occasions since March about shoddy welding work done by a subcontractor.
In its latest announcement, TEPCO acknowledged the problem and said welding would have to be redone at 1,200 or so sections, a process that will likely take until next summer.
TEPCO had intended to resume operations at the No. 7 reactor in autumn 2022, but that plan has now fallen by the wayside.
The tips about poor welding involved piping used for fire extinguishing equipment. The company in question had the job of ensuring the piping would safely operate at 1,220 points. The utility checked 194 of them and found problems at 74, or about 40 percent.
Normally, gas is injected into the piping during welding to prevent oxidation. But the welders didn't bother to inject any gas, leaving the piping apparatus open to rapid deterioration over the long term. That, in turn, left open up the possibility of safety problems emerging because the fire extinguishing equipment might not operate properly.
TEPCO questioned 17 welders and nine admitted that they did not use gas when doing the maintenance work. One welder said he pretended to inject gas by inserting a hose into the piping, but never releasing any.
According to the report submitted Dec. 24 to TEPCO by Tokyo Energy & Systems Inc., which subcontracted the welding work to the company in question, the welders found it bothersome to lug gas canisters around and then remove them from the reactor after they had completed tasks for their shifts.
Initially, they released only a small volume of gas. Subsequently, most of the welders did not bother to use any gas at all.
Moreover, they falsified their work reports to make it appear they had carried out their tasks correctly. No supervisor from Tokyo Energy & Systems was on-site to check that the welding was being done properly. The company had only the falsified work reports as confirmation that the work had been done by the book.
Major issue underlined in the above block of text. Zero supervision.
The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant is the largest (by nameplate capacity) nuclear facility in the world, exceeding even Bruce Power here in Ontario. It has 7 reactors and a total NET capacity of 7,965MWe. However, it has not operated since the tsunami (even though it was completely unaffected by it), which is why Bruce is the largest operating plant in the world (and should be ~7,000MWe in the next 5 years or so). They've been struggling to get a unit online (unit 7) for quite a while, and this is just another bungle that has pushed that timeline out.