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Nuclear Energy Institute Report on Japan’s Nuclear Reactors, November 2, 2011

Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–November 2, 2011.  

TEPCO Takes Precaution Against Possible Fission in Fukushima Reactor

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  • Workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear energy facility have taken steps to halt the possibility of localized fission reactions in reactor 2 after detecting trace amounts radioactive xenon in the reactor’s containment vessel, NHK World reports. Xenon is a byproduct of fission. Tokyo Electric Power Co., which operates the facility, reports no significant changes in temperature, pressure and other data from the reactor.

Media Highlights

  • A special report on the IEEE Spectrum website looks at “Fukushima and the Future of Nuclear Power.” Articles include an in-depth review of the first 24 hours after the earthquake and tsunami struck the nuclear energy facility and a comparison of the Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima nuclear accidents.
  • In a first since the March 11 nuclear accident, a shutdown reactor in Japan has resumed operation, the New York Times reports. After receiving approvals from the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency and the local government, reactor 4 at the Genkai nuclear energy facility came back on line this week. The reactor was inadvertently shut down Oct. 4 due to an operator error. However, it will shut down again in December for a scheduled inspection.
  • U.S. boiling water reactors “would have fared much better” in an earthquake and tsunami than the reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear energy facility, the website Electric Light & Power reports.  The article says that U.S. facilities are subject to regulations that would limit damage in a severe natural event and that plants are located in places with minimal vulnerability to the kind of tsunami that struck Japan.
Source: nei.org

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