TEPCO to Spray Polymer Emulsion to Prevent Radioactive Dust Migration

In what is perhaps the 1st decent idea TEPCO has come up with to mitigate the radiation crisis at Fukushima, NHK reports that TEPCO will begin spraying a polymer emulsion over the entire Fukushima complex to prevent radioactive dust migration.  Unfortunately even the complex process of spraying foam appears almost more than TEPCO can handle, as they estimate this will be completed by late May or June.  Lets hope this works slightly better than BP's efforts to fix the oil disaster using corexit- which exponentially increased the environmental damage of the spill.

From NHK World:

TEPCO to prevent radioactive dust migration

The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant will spray a chemical hardening agent around the damaged plant to prevent the migration of radioactive dust and soil.


Tokyo Electric Power Company says it will begin spraying the polymer emulsion on top of debris near the plant's reactor buildings starting on Tuesday next week. It has been test-spraying the emulsion since April 1st.

The operation is part of a blueprint announced by TEPCO on Sunday to stop the leaking radiation and bring the plant under control within the next 3 months.

Hydrogen explosions in the first few days of the emergency at Fukushima blew off the roofs and walls of the buildings housing the No. 1 and No. 3 reactors and showered radioactive rubble and dust over the site.

To prevent the debris around a common spent fuel storage pool from scattering, about 2 weeks ago the utility began test coating it with an emulsion widely used in construction sites to settle dust.

TEPCO says the polymer has hardened the debris and that radiation levels in the plant's compound have remained relatively low.

TEPCO says it hopes to finish spraying the agent around the reactor buildings by the end of May, and in the rest of the compound by the end of June.

After that stage, the company plans to cover the reactor buildings with huge filter curtains to prevent any further spread of radioactive materials into the environment.
Monday, April 18, 2011 18:42 +0900 (JST)