A makeshift canopy with protective shields built over a damaged reactor building at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant has been completed, two weeks later than initially scheduled.
A makeshift canopy with protective shields built over a damaged reactor building at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant has been completed, two weeks later than initially scheduled.
Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Oct. 14 that it finished work to envelop the badly damaged No. 1 reactor building with polyester fiber panels, a process it began in August to prevent further leakage of radioactive substances from the reactor.
The cover--47 meters by 42 meters and 54 meters high--is installed with a ventilating system that absorbs radioactive materials through a filter.
TEPCO said the system is capable of ventilating about 40,000 cubic meters of air per hour and reducing the density of radioactive substances to about one-tenth of the current level.
The installation of the cover is expected to allow engineers to measure the accurate level of radioactive materials leaking from the reactor building.
The cover was made easier to build by keeping the number of panels and other parts at a minimum. No screws or bolts were used to build it.
According to TEPCO, the cover is designed to lean on the reactor building. The foundation was designed to move in a strong wind instead of crumbling and damaging the reactor building, even if the wind velocity exceeds its capacity.
TEPCO expects to use the cover for about two years.
TEPCO is also considering eventually enveloping the building with a more sturdy and airtight cover and begin an operation to retrieve damaged fuel rods.
The ceiling of the No. 1 reactor building was destroyed and its steel framework was exposed after a hydrogen explosion occurred on March 12, the day after the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami crippled the plant.
TEPCO said that it plans to begin work to cover the No. 3 and No. 4 reactor buildings, which suffered severe damage to their ceilings after hydrogen explosions, next summer.