Two Japanese operators from the Fukushima nuclear power plant have visited Chinese equipment manufacturer Sany to express thanks for the 62-metre concrete pump truck donated to inject sea water to cool damaged nuclear reactors following last year’s tsunami.
Visiting Sany’s headquarters, Tianfeng Yan and Yang Zhao, two operators at the plant, said that they knew Tokyo Electric Power would inject sea water to cool the nuclear reactors. However, due to the height of the reactors, fire engines were of no use.
On March 21, 2011, ten days after the tsunami struck, they heard on television that Sany had donated a 62-metre concrete pump truck. German company Putzmeister – later acquired by Sany – also donated a pump.
Yan said he felt that the pump truck was a powerful piece of equipment but he “never thought he would get a chance to operate the vehicle himself”.
Yan used the word “stunned” to describe his feelings when seeing the vehicle. After two days’ of intensive training by Sany’s engineers, the two were able to inject water and shoot videos with the pump truck.
The pump was able to manoeuvre into the narrow lane, and worked with its boom fully extended.
The operator Zhao told of how on April 11, 2011, the Fukushima nuclear power station was hit by a magnitude 7 earthquake. All engineers were forced to evacuate immediately, leaving the Sany pump truck behind.
“We thought the pump truck would fall down, but it was still standing with its boom fully extended when we went back to check,” said Yan.
“The pump truck was controlled remotely from a distance of two kilometres, helping us to be less exposed to the radiation,” said Zhao. “Sany’s pump truck played an important role in the disaster relief, and the Japanese people are extremely grateful to Sany and China.”
The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster was the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl in 1986.
