– Professor: There are fuel rods probably ‘fused’ in Fukushima Unit 4; Pool on bent legs, and lateral supports were not put in when first built — AP: International concern about “catastrophic open-air meltdown” (AUDIO) (ENENEws, Nov 3, 2013):
Associated Press, Nov. 1, 2013: The [No. 4] reactor building was damaged by hydrogen explosions, and remains a source of international concern about a catastrophic open-air meltdown in case of a pool collapse, despite TEPCO’s repeated reassurance that it has reinforced the pool and that the building can withstand another major earthquake.
ABC News Radio, Oct. 31, 2013 — Richard Broinowski, adjunct professor at University of Sydney, Australia’s former ambassador to South Korea, Mexico and several other countries: Cooling pond 30 meters above the ground on bent legs — it’s been flawed and damaged by the earthquake, by the tsunami as well. It was badly constructed in the first place; the lateral support rods were not put inside when they should have been. It holds 256 tons highly radioactive spent fuel. […] No one knows the condition of the spent fuel rods, probably some are fused. There has been a leakage of cooling water. How the heck you get them out with proper safety requires enormous feats of engineering.
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