Fukushima Unit 2 Endoscope

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http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201201200044

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http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201201200044

First photos from inside Fukushima reactor released

[picture shows these were pictures of the dry well, and camera was below the pressure vessel - if there is water, it's clearly no covering any fuel that's at the bottom of the pressure vessel]

January 20, 2012

The first photographs of the inside of a reactor at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant taken since the March 11 earthquake show that the water level in the containment vessel may be lower than previously thought. Seven still images taken using an industrial endoscope in the No. 2 reactor were released on Jan. 19 by the plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co.

Steam in the containment vessel of the reactor and high radiation levels limited the clarity of the images, but they raise the possibility that melted fuel at the bottom of the vessel may not be adequately covered by water, according to one nuclear expert.

...White dots found on the images were likely the result of radiation, according to TEPCO officials. There did not appear to be damage to the piping in the images, but there were signs of rust. The peeling of paint on the inner wall of the containment vessel was likely the result of the sudden increase in the temperature soon after the accident, TEPCO said.

...The endoscope used was manufactured by Olympus Corp. and has a diameter of 8.5 millimeters and a length of 10 meters. It was inserted through piping on the side of the containment vessel and placed about two meters into the containment vessel.

A total of 34 workers were involved in the operation, which took about 70 minutes. The maximum radiation exposure to the workers was 3.07 millisieverts.

...there is the possibility that the melted fuel that fell to the bottom of the vessel is not being adequately covered by water."