Footage of Fukushima No.3 reactor released

Footage of Fukushima No.3 reactor released

Tokyo Electric Power Company has released video footage taken last week of Number 3 reactor at its crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

The video shows workers wearing protective suits enter the building through a cargo entrance. The roof of the facility was missing with the sky in view because of a hydrogen explosion on March 14th.

The footage also shows the workers advancing while wiping the floor with paper sheets to check the concentration of radioactive substances scattered there.

They were then seen climbing down a stairwell while carefully using dosimeters attached to the tips of poles they were carrying.

The footage also revealed yellow-colored water that had accumulated in the basement. The water is believed to be leaked water that had been injected into the reactor in an effort to lower its temperature.

The dosimeter readings at locations where the footage was taken were around 50 millisieverts per hour.

The highest reading during this inspection stood at about 100 millisieverts per hour, meaning the workers would receive the maximum allowable level of exposure -- 250 millisieverts -- within 2 and a half hours.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011 20:49 +0900 (JST)