June 30, 2014

Jun 30, 2014 | Fukushima Accident Updates

  • In a June 30 posting, Tepco reports 1188 fuel bundles have been removed from the unit #4 pool. This means more than three-fourths of the bundles (76.5%) have been safely transferred. 1166 (88%) of the 1,331 spent (irradiated) bundles have been removed. http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/decommision/index-e.html  In a June 27 posting, Tepco says they have topped $40 billion (USD) in compensation payments to evacuees. Of this, $17.5 billion has been disbursed in personal indemnification, and $17.74 Billion in corporate and property payments. http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/comp/images/jisseki-e.pdf
  • An American doctor says Fukushima radiation is being used as a terror weapon. Dr. Jane M. Orient, M.D., says Japan used a “wrong dose-response model” with mandating public evacuations around F. Daiichi. As a result, as many as 1,600 people have died due to radiation terror since the spring of 2011. Orient’s report, “Fukushima and Reflections on Radiation as a Terror Weapon”, is posted in the summer of 2014, edition of Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons. In it, Orient states, “The effects of low-dose radiation are in fact grossly misstated. The resulting fear-based regulatory regime deprives people of life-saving technology.” In addition, official orders based on “ignorance or fear-based official directives” thwarted Tsunami rescue efforts and produced disastrous social and economic effects. Orient explains how current radiation standards were created out of political assumptions based on extrapolations derived from huge exposures to fruit flies just after WWII, ignoring historical evidence. The extrapolations have become the Linear/No Threshold model used to set radiation exposure limits all over the world. However, a large body of scientific evidence clearly shows there is an exposure threshold for harm, and LNT collapses in the low level region. Worst-case public exposures from Fukushima are many times less than the threshold. Orient says evacuations were ordered out of ignorance and fear on the part of Tokyo officials, and the current reluctance of people to return home is due to the fear spawned by government standard-setting since the accident. She concludes, “The damage that could be caused by nuclear technology is amplified many-fold by extreme risk predictions based on false theory. Exposure limits need to be raised to realistic levels based on actual experience, and the LNT needs to be discarded…” Orient calls for physicians to insist on an honest appraisal of radiation exposure risks, which is currently not the case. http://www.jpands.org/vol19no2/orient.pdf
  • Tepco says they won’t further increase evacuee mental duress payments. The government’s Compensation Dispute Center says Tepco should increase monthly psychological damage payments by $500 USD for the 15,000 government-mandated evacuees of Namie Town. This would be in addition to the $1000 they already get for mental anguish, on top of the $7,500 in evacuation compensation they have received every month for more than 3 years. Tepco says the Center has not considered the individual circumstances of the petitioners and deviated from existing guidelines. The company added that the increase would be unfair to tens of thousands of other evacuees. Tepco said they would agree to a $200 per month increase for those physically injured or ill. This is the first time the company has refused settlement proposals to evacuees other than Tepco employees. Namie officials say Tepco fails to understand the mental pain of Namie evacuees, and Mayor Tamotsu Baba said, “…[TEPCO] has betrayed its loyalty and been incredibly insincere.” http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20140627p2a00m0na011000c.html
  • Tokyo has called for summer energy savings due to the nuke moratorium. Without the voluntary reductions, it is possible that some companies could experience power shortages. The two most vulnerable are Kansai and Kyushu Electric Companies, both of which have a relatively low percentage of fossil fuel-powered plants to replace their government-shuttered nukes. Fully 80% of Japan’s summer electrical supply is expected to come from fossil fuel-burning (thermal) units. More than 20 % of these thermal plants are more than 40 years old and susceptible to sudden failure. The minimum desired reserve capacity in Japan is 3% and the estimate of the August reserve is 4.6%. However, the estimated reserve margin for Kansai Electric will only be 3.4%. Kansai’s nuclear Oi units #3&4 were running last year to avoid the shortfall, but they will remain shuttered this summer. It should be noted that government estimates of reserve margin have been lower than what actually happened the past three summers. Japan’s Meteorological Agency says an unusually-hot summer, worse than last year’s, is possible due to a powerful, persistent high pressure zone over the Pacific Ocean. http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20140630p2a00m0na010000c.html