August 12, 2013

Aug 12, 2013 | Fukushima Accident Updates

  • Japan’s Industry Ministry admits their statement of highly-contaminated groundwater flow to the sea is an assumption. The Ministry official who made the announcement qualified the Ministry’s position when he said, “But, we’re not certain if the water is highly contaminated.” In addition, a “French expert” said the environmental risk of the possible leakage to the sea is small compared to the overall impact of the accident in 2011. http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/tepco-starts-pumping-out-toxic-groundwater-from-fukushima-plant?utm_campaign=jt_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_source=jt_newsletter_2013-08-11_PM
  • Tepco announced that the groundwater level just inside the soil-solidified wall rose above the barrier. They dug an observation well 4 meters from the quay shoreline and tested it Saturday for water depth and radioactive content. The groundwater’s level is 60 centimeters (about 2 feet) higher than the top of the fully-solidified ground. Thus, the company says flow into the quay is likely, but they are hopeful that the system to pump away the groundwater from the inside of the wall will drop the level below the top of the barrier. The soil-solidification appears to be 100% below a ground-depth of 1.8 meters. Above that depth, the degree of solidification decreases. The test for radioactive material from the observation well revealed Tritium, a radioactive isotope of Hydrogen, at 34,000 Becquerels per liter. The initial test on Thursday, when the well was dug, revealed 23,000 Bq/liter. Total Cesium is at 2.3 Bq/liter and all other isotopes show a collective activity of 210 Bq/liter. It should be noted that the limit for unrestricted release is 60 Bq/liter for Cs-134 and 90 Bq/liter for Cs-137.  http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2013/08/240416.html — http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20130811_01.html — http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/2013/1229649_5130.html
  • A Tepco spokesperson says they have been aware of groundwater flow under F. Daiichi for two years. Last Friday, Masayuki Ono said Tepco’s experts have known that hundreds of tons of under-Fukushima waters flow into the sea every day for that time period. Until last month, however, Tepco has said that none of the groundwater leaking to the sea was contaminated. Now, using worst-case-scenario assumptions, Tepco says that contamination might be leaking into their quay along the shoreline. Ono gave no reason why Tepco waited two years to disclose their knowledge of Fukushima groundwater flow. On Saturday, Tepco said they have tested groundwater near their underground soil-solidified wall and found radioactive materials in the water. (see above) http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20130810_99.html — http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2013/08/240353.html
  • Tepco plans to soil-solidify the entire shoreline along the F. Daiichi quay. They will dig wells deep into the earth between the seawater intake structures for units #2&3 and units #3&4 and start pumping water away at about 80 tons per day before solidifying the embankments next to the quay. They feel this will prevent groundwater building up at the solidified walls and seeping over them, as was the case with the first wall built recently. Tepco added that the pumping-out rate at the first wall’s well, between units #1&2, is now 60 tons per day. There has been no announcement as to the effect it has had on the water level at the solidified wall. http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20130812_32.html
  • Ten F. Daiichi workers were found to be contaminated on their heads. The skin contamination was about 10 Bq/cm2. This is 2.5 times Tepco’s skin contamination limit. The workers were contaminated while waiting for a bus inside the station’s property. The cause was in initially believed to be a machine spraying cool mist at the station. The mist was used to help avoid heatstroke due to the record-high temperatures now gripping all of Japan. The same water is used for toilets and other sanitary purposes. All uses of this water was suspended. Subsequent water analysis revealed no detectible Cesium in it. Thus, the use of the potable water was resumed across the station. Tepco now thinks the contamination was due to a localized dust surge while the workers were waiting for the bus. http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20130812_30.html — http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/2013/1229677_5130.html
  • The people taking advantage of the “long-stay” opportunity in Tamura town are looking ahead. This is the first time that evacuees from the nuclear accident have been allowed to stay at their homes for a long period of time, other than for long-holiday seasons. Currently limited to three months, if all goes well they will have all restrictions lifted and life can fully normalize. Tamura’s long-stay option has been taken by 28 families out of a possible 120. Businesses for retail, lodging and restaurants will resume operations to support the repopulation effort. Among the returnees were Tokuhiro Watanabe and his family who evacuated to Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture. Seven members of his family returned to their home in the Miyakoji district and enjoyed fireworks after dinner on Aug 1.http://www.fukushimaminponews.com/news.html?id=225
  • Tohoku University has begun a detailed analytical program on fishing along the Tohoku coastline. They are testing the shallow seas where most fishing occurs. Professor Yukio Agatsuma said, “We want to confirm where and to what extent cesium still remains, and to also allay concerns that the cesium will go up the food chain to larger fish. We have been unable to determine trends yet because radioactivity levels have been different even for the same type of marine life depending on the sample and location where it was collected.” Most marine samples have shown less than 50 Becquerels per kilogram, though a few were as high as 72 Bq/kg. One Sea Squirt registered 483 Bq/kg, but the professor said it was due to bottom mud collected at the same time as the fish.  Tsuneo Fujita, an official with the Fukushima Prefectural Fisheries Experimental Station said they have found sand and mud with contamination as high as 5,000 Bq/kg, but “There should be no concerns about swallowing the sand that may swirl up in the ocean.” He explained by adding, “When cesium is attached to inorganic materials, such as sand and mud particles, it is believed that the cesium will leave the body along with those materials.” http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201308120096