Japan: Same Type of Concrete Pumping Trucks Used at Chernobyl Are En-route to Fukushima

April 1st, 2011

Via: MSNBC:

Some of the world’s largest cement pumps were en route to Japan’s stricken nuclear plant on Thursday, initially to help douse areas with water but eventually for cement work — including the possibility of entombing the site as was done in Chernobyl.

Operated via remote control, one of the truck-mounted pumps was already at the Fukushima Dai-ichi site and being used to spray water. Four more will be flown in from Germany and the United States, according to the German-manufacturer Putzmeister. The biggest of the five has an arm that extends well over 200 feet.

“Initially, they will probably pump water,” Putzmeister stated. “Later they will be used for any necessary concreting work.”

A construction company in Augusta, Ga., was among those redirecting the pumps to Japan. Its owner said he believes building a concrete sarcophagus will follow.

“Our understanding is they are preparing to go to next phase and it will require a lot of concrete,” Jerry Ashmore told the Augusta Chronicle.

He did not expect the pump to return. “It will be too hot to come back,” Ashmore said.

A cargo plane is expected to fly the truck and pump from Atlanta next week at a cost of $1.4 million.

Putzmeister concrete pumps were among those used to seal in the Chernobyl reactor after it exploded in Ukraine in 1986, and sightings of the first truck at the Dai-ichi complex last week led to media speculation that Japan was planning to do the same in Fukushima.

Related:

SRS Concrete Pump Heading to Japan Nuclear Site

Pump Truck with Long Boom Headed to Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant

Research Credit: THB

5 Responses to “Japan: Same Type of Concrete Pumping Trucks Used at Chernobyl Are En-route to Fukushima”

  1. Eileen says:

    One can only hope that this hot reactor is given its proper tomb. Pitiful that this is taking so long to happen. Ans so sorry for the lights being out Japan. I say this as I sit in front of a glowing with EMF screen.
    Peace and good health to all.

  2. quintanus says:

    So this building #4 is supposed to have thousands of pounds of aging bars of fuel? The roof of the building makes it unclear whether this stuff is inside secondary containment, which we can’t see
    http://cryptome.org/eyeball/daiichi-npp/daiichi-photos.htm

  3. mangrove says:

    Don’t want to be too far out there on the conspiracy fringe…. but, what if this is simply a public relations stunt to give the appearance that they tried everything (even though, this looks bad showing up so late)? Just posing the question. Prolly legit…. but why am I not hopeful? Doom overload I guess. But this is some serious shit going down, straight from hell.

  4. c0rundum says:

    While entombment is an almost 100% certainty, and has been from early on, I’m very concerned about the decision process leading up to it.

    Entombment is only useful once the fuel has been stabilized in some way – i.e. prevented from recriticality. Otherwise the unstable fuel will easly destroy the sarcophagus arrangement and anything else in it’s way. Uncontrolled fission has complete command over any kind of matter you throw at it.

    Chernobyl was not ‘stopped’ by planners. It paused by accident – when the fuel mixed with concrete sand and formed liquid glass, which held the fuel in suspension and inhibited fission. Even that isn’t a permanent arrangement, because the glass component has been degrading each year.

    In this case, chucking *huge* quantities of sand and/or metal chips in there is probably the first step towards calming the fuel before any attempt can be made to entomb.

    Last note – if they mess up the entombment, they won’t be able to reach the reactor any more. They had better get it right first time.

    Complete disaster from start to end.

  5. jfreon says:

    They wanted to save their investment first. Now it is time to bury it, boron first.

    http://m.cnbc.com/id/42101479/South_Korea_to_send_boron_to_stabilize_Japan_reactor

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