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Fukushima radiation skyrockets after possible fuel breach
Radiation levels inside the damaged Fukushima nuclear reactor are over 100 times fatal levels, the highest they've been since the triple meltdown in March, 2011, according to operator Tepco. The company recently sent a camera-equipped robot into the reactor, which relayed images showing a meter-wide hole in the pressure vessel (above), with possible melted uranium fuel on a grating below. "It may have ... melted and made a hole in the [containment] vessel, but it is only a hypothesis at this stage," a company spokesperson told the AFP.
Japan is building a huge 'ice wall' to block Fukushima's fallout water
No one can blame Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) for the earthquake and tsunami that wrecked its Fukushima nuclear plant in 2011. Since then, however, the company has been accused of having a "weak sense of crisis" in responding to the accident's many knock-on effects. This includes the leakage of contaminated groundwater that passes under the damaged plant and into the Pacific Ocean -- something that is happening right now at a rate of 400 tons per day. This week, after more than a year of back and forth, TEPCO has finally managed to get the Japanese nuclear regulator's approval to create a massive wall of frozen soil to hold the groundwater back.
Fukushima technician gives behind-the-scenes look at the cleanup operation
New details about the robotics deployed to help clean up Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant have emerged, thanks to a series of blog posts penned by an anonymous technician. Known only as 'S.H.', the blogger wrote of the effectiveness of the donated iRobot Packbots and Warriors (despite their prolonged exposure to electronics-damaging radiation), while criticizing the Tokyo Electric Power Company for what he saw as inept supervision, unreasonable schedules and disregard for technician safety. S.H., who helped retrofit a vacuum cleaner onto a robot to collect radioactive dust, also revealed technical details about the robots, explaining that they were manipulated with a PlayStation-style controller via a Panasonic Toughbook and that the devices were most effective in pairs, which allowed for better wireless connectivity and faster emergency response. The site was taken down after it began circulating on Twitter but IEEE kept and translated the posts, available for your perusal at the source link, below.
Fukushima plant operator uses modded robot vacuum to suck up radioactive dirt (video)
A few months ago, back when Japan was freshly reeling from that devastating earthquake and tsunami, it became obvious that robots could help survey radiation levels in Fukushima, even if they were powerless to lower them. Now, Tokyo Power Electric Co., the company that operates the damaged nuclear plant, is experimenting with an ad hoc system designed to clean at least some of the radioactive dirt from the reactors. What you see in that clip below is an industrial-grade vacuum cleaner attached to a Warrior, the most heavy-duty of iRobot's mobile bots. The idea is that workers can control the system from a safe distance, and let the robot handle the dirty work of removing toxic sand and debris. Head past the break to see it in action, combing the floor of the (eerily) empty plant.
T-Hawk UAV enters Fukushima danger zone, returns with video
We'd love to head on down to Fukushima with a DSLR and some iodide pills, but that's obviously not going to happen. Sending in a flying robot seems to be the next best thing, though, and that's exactly what Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) has done. T-Hawk, a US-made MAV (Micro Air Vehicle) commonly used to search for roadside bombs in Iraq, made its Japanese debut last week when it photographed the nuclear plant from above, providing a detailed look at the interior damage a month after iRobot's visit. Small enough to fit in a (rather large) backpack, officially the T-Hawk is named for the tarantula hawk wasp species, but could just as easily have been named for the T. Hawk Street Fighter character, who also swoops in to attack his opponents from above. As expected, things look pretty nasty at ground zero, so head past the break for a video of the damage.
iRobot Packbots enter Fukushima nuclear plant to gather data, take photos, save lives (video)
iRobot recently deployed a pair of robots to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan, where intense levels of radiation have made it increasingly dangerous for human rescue workers to operate. The remote-controlled Packbots entered one of Fukushima's reactor buildings on Sunday morning, in the hopes of providing authorities with a better idea of what's going on inside the plant's nether regions. Each Packbot entered the facility with an attached video camera, allowing Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) to receive live interior images and temperature readings of the troubled reactor building. It would certainly be a daunting task for any human to undertake, but the Packbot is specially designed to cope with hazardous conditions (in the past, it's been used to defuse bombs for the U.S. Army). And the Packbot isn't alone, either. Authorities are also using a mechanical excavator and transporter to wipe away some of the debris outside the plant, while an unmanned helicopter has been hoisted skyward, to take aerial photos of the area. TEPCO has yet to release information on the Packbots' findings, but if Sunday's mission proves to be a success, they'll be sent in to two other reactor buildings, to do it all over again. Check out a video and an extra image of the Packbot, after the break.
