Monday, February 27, 2017, 15:00 - 16:00
The Current Situation of Fukushima Daiichi and the Challenges Ahead
Language: The speech and Q & A will be in Japanese with English interpretation
Six years have passed since three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant suffered a meltdown. The recent discovery of melted fuel as well as very high radiation levels, inside the No.2 reactor have raised new doubts about the huge decommissioning task facing the plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco).
Despite the failure of recent attempts using robots to determine the location and condition of melted fuel, Tepco insists that decommissioning is possible.
As the operator attempts to gain a better understanding of the situation deep inside the three damaged reactors, attention is expected to focus on the units' design.
The Club has invited two former engineers to discuss the reactors' design and offer expert analysis of the current situation at Fukushima Daiichi and the challenges ahead.
Masashi Goto is a former nuclear reactor designer for Toshiba, which provided reactors 3 and 5 at Fukushima Daiichi. During his career at Toshiba, Goto, now head of the non-profit organisation the Union for Alternative Pathways in Science and Technology, helped design containment vessels for the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, Hamaoka and Onagawa nuclear power plants.
Mitsuhiko Tanaka is a former nuclear reactor designer for Hitachi, which supplied unit 4 at Fukushima Daiichi (Reactors 1, 2 and 6 were built by the U.S. company General Electric). Tanaka, a member of the Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission set up by the National Diet, designed reactor pressure vessels while working for Hitachi, and performed stress analysis of the No.4 reactor pressure vessel at Fukushima Daiichi.
Please reserve in advance, 3211-3161 or on the website (still & TV cameras inclusive). Reservations and cancellations are not complete without confirmation.
Professional Activities Committee
Masashi Goto Mitsuhiko Tanaka