Fukushima’s Reactor 1 Core Reaches 400 Degrees Celsius

The current situation at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant remains serious and unstable. Graham Andrew, Special Adviser to the IAEA Director General on Scientific and Technical Affairs, said that while there continues to be some improvements, the overall situation at the nuclear station is still “very serious”.

Another negative development in the world’s worst nuclear crisis in a quarter of a century is that the temperature at the spent fuel pools at Reactor No. 1 has reached 400 degrees celsius. This was at 380-390 degrees a few hours back.

From Reuters:

Hidehiko Nishiyama, the deputy-director general of Japan’s nuclear safety agency, later said the smoke at reactor No.3 had stopped and there was only a small amount at No.2.

He gave no more details, but a TEPCO executive vice president, Sakae Muto, said the core of reactor No.1 was now a worry with its temperature at 380-390 Celsius (715-735 Fahrenheit).

“We need to strive to bring that down a bit,” Muto told a news conference, adding that the reactor was built to run at a temperature of 302 C (575 F).

Asked if the situation at the problem reactors was getting worse, he said: “We need more time. It’s too early to say that they are sufficiently stable.”

Also from Yomiuri online:

経済産業省原子力安全・保安院は２３日午前の記者会見で、東京電力福島第一原発１号機で同日までに、原子炉内の温度が４００度以上あることがわかったことを明らかにした。

（2011年3月23日11時25分 読売新聞）

Google Translated:

Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry at a press conference Friday morning, the day before the No. 1 nuclear power plant in Fukushima Daiichi TEPCO announced that it was found that the temperature of 400 degrees in a nuclear reactor.

(25 min at 11 Yomiuri Shimbun, March 23, 2011)

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