Yokota Airmen play vital role in cooling Fukushima power plant

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. J.G. Buzanowski
  • 374th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan --  A team of Yokota Airmen labored nonstop March 25-27 to design and create essential components for water pumps to be used at a nuclear power plant in northern Japan.

The power plant, located roughly 130 miles north of Yokota Air Base in Fukushima Prefecture, suffered catastrophic damage to its cooling system in the 9.0-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami March 11.

To help Japanese crews stabilize the reactors, the government of Australia donated several water pumps to their cause. The Japanese hoses, however, didn't fit the attachment points on the Australian pumps.

Fortunately, the 374th Maintenance Squadron developed the solution.

Two teams of four Airmen on 12-hour shifts designed and created the necessary adapters, pressure valves and other pieces so Japanese crews could use the pumps to augment the plant's cooling system. The pumps will be used to transport fresh water into the plant instead of ocean water, which leaves corroding salt residue when it evaporates. The project is one more way Team Yokota has supported Operation Tomodachi, the overall relief mission to help the Japanese people in their recovery efforts.

Staff Sgt. Charles Coy, aircraft metals technology section chief, spearheaded the endeavor. Working a swing shift between day and night crews enabled him to coordinate efforts as everyone worked on a different part of the project.

"Normally people bring us a broken part, blueprint or an idea they've sketched," Sergeant Coy said. "For this, they showed us the pump and the hoses -- that was all we needed. We designed every piece from scratch, and then just built what was needed."

One of the designers, Airman 1st Class Jeremy Hamblin, was excited about the challenge of the project and the chance to aid the Japanese people in their time of need.

"We were all wishing we could be a bigger part of everything that was going on," the Cedar City, Utah, native said of Operation Tomodachi. "Now we know we've had a direct impact in helping cool the reactors. It's nice to know we were there for them when they needed us."

To create the components, the Airmen scavenged what scraps of steel they could from around base, used a special computer program to design each piece and then cut out each part with exacting care.

"Precision is key," Airman Hamblin said. "If you're off by a hair's width -- that's two hundredths of an inch -- you're 'toast' and it means starting all over. So you have to get it right the first time. Especially with this project because we didn't have extra metal if anything got messed up."

Sergeant Coy, the only senior technician in the flight, said the project has yielded prime opportunities for his junior Airmen to excel.

"They've been nothing short of amazing," Sergeant Coy said. "We've not had to redo a single part anyone's made; it's all been perfect the first time through."

One member of the night shift team, Airman Daniel Pina, has been particularly effective.

"It all comes natural to him," Sergeant Coy said. "Airman Pina asks all the right questions and he's a quick learner, which is exactly what we needed for this job."

According to Sergeant Coy, Airman Pina did work usually reserved for technicians with four or five years on the job. Airman Pina, an Ogden, Utah, native, has been in the Air Force six months. The gravity of the situation certainly isn't lost on him.

"This is probably the defining moment of my career," Airman Pina said. "It's probably the defining moment of my life. I just really hope it works."

Despite the urgency and significance of their task, safety was always of utmost importance.

"If we ever rush and miss taking necessary safety steps, someone could get hurt and that would mean one person off the line -- we can't ever afford that, especially not right now," Sergeant Coy said.

For him, the hardest part of the job was telling people to stop doing theirs.

"I hated having to send people home because everyone wanted to keep at it until we were done," he said. "But I had to make sure they got their rest so they could come back the next day ready to work. I'd have to tell people, 'Just relax, you can't operate the machinery unless you've had proper rest. You did your part, now get some sleep and the next crew will take it from here.'"

After most of the components were finished Saturday (March 26), the Airmen delivered them to a team of Australian engineers, who showed Japanese technicians how to assemble the complete system. Then they loaded the pumps onto a truck bound for Fukushima to begin setting it all up.

The remaining pieces were delivered Sunday morning, with Japanese crews expected to place the pumps into service that day, all thanks to the generosity of the Australian government and the ingenuity of Yokota Airmen.