February 20, 2012

Feb 20, 2012 | Fukushima Accident Updates

  • Former Prime Minister Naoto Kan has become an internationally-acclaimed opponent to nuclear energy. In a Friday interview with the Associated Press, Kan said the Fukushima accident “laid bare” a host of vulnerabilities with Japan’s nuclear industry and its regulation. He believes the disaster mandates Japan reduce its reliance on nuclear energy and replace it with renewables, eventually phasing out all nuclear power plants. Kan said the earthquake and tsunami was not the cause of the nuclear crisis, but rather it was due to a lax nuclear power industry and its regulations, ranging from inadequate safety guidelines to crisis management. He added the crisis was poorly handled due to three areas of insufficiency; communication and coordination among nuclear regulators, Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s management and his own government. Kan denied that he ever withheld information during the crisis, blaming poor Press communications on a lack of timely, reliable data. He further blamed the Fukushima crisis on TEPCO building its nuclear power complex “too low”, meaning it wasn’t high enough above sea level. Kan said he considered a worst-case scenario where all six of the plant’s reactors and rods in their spent-fuel pools would have melted down, which could have forced the evacuation of millions of people, including Tokyo. But, he denied actually planning to evacuate Tokyo. Kan said that up until March 15 the situation was losing ground to “the invisible enemy”, but by March 17 he felt that the emergency cooling sprays using seawater had reduced temperatures enough to ease his concerns. The accident convinced him there is no future for nuclear energy, considering the magnitude of the damage from an accident and the yet-to-be resolved question of what to do with radioactive waste. Then, he made a bizarre statement, considering what had already been said, “I wouldn’t call myself anti-nuclear. I seek a society non-reliant on nuclear energy, a society that can do without nuclear energy, and Japan can prove a role model. It’s possible.” (Associated Press) Not anti-nuclear? Who is he kidding?
  • The scandalous web tabloid, International News Network, has dubbed Kan an “Energy Apostle”. In addition to echoing the AP report, INN says Kan is still haunted by the specter of having Tokyo evacuated. In a Friday interview, INN quotes Kan as saying, “The biggest factor was how at one point, we faced a situation where there was a chance that people might not be able to live in the capital zone including Tokyo and would have to evacuate. If things had reached that level, not only would the public have had to face hardships but Japan’s very existence would have been in peril.” (INN)
  • The Health Ministry has officially set their Cesium standards for food and drink far lower than anywhere in the world. The action has brought considerable criticism from the Radiation Council of the Science and Education Ministry. One Radiation Council member said, “The basic premises for calculating the limits are too strict.” Other Council members feel the new standards are based on calculations that are not realistic. One anonymous Council member said, “I wonder [the limits were calculated] based on a fictitious scenario.” In response, a senior health ministry official said, “We aimed to set standards that protect a large majority of people, even in a case when multiple worst-case [scenarios] are combined.” Health Minister Yoko Komiyama admits that his heavy influence is behind the restrictive standards based on protecting children, “In order to feel safer, we’d like to set stricter limits for baby food items.” Another Health Ministry official adds, “We think we must protect the public’s health by setting a rational standard under the strictest assumptions. We have a different view from the report presented by the Radiation Council.” (Yomiuri Shimbun)
  • Yokosuka residents have demanded that their city not assist in tsunami rubble disposal. Representatives of ten community groups presented a letter to the local governor on Saturday, seeking a retraction of the city’s desire to help with tsunami clean-up. The groups say they are concerned that the rubble might contain “radioactive fallout”. They admonish the governor for allegedly agreeing to help with rubble disposal before first checking with them. The group also feels accepting the tsunami trash would produce rumors that could hurt the local farmers and fishermen. (JAIF)
  • TEPCO has announced that their last operating nuke will be shut down March 26. With Today’s shutdown of Takahama unit #3, the TEPCO Kariwa unit #6 shuttering in March will leave Japan with but one remaining nuke in operation. The final operating nuke, at Tomari NPS, will be shut down in late April. (News on Japan) With Friday’s closure, Kansai Electric has called for further energy-saving efforts to avoid the possibility of rolling blackouts. If no idled nukes are restarted by the end of April, the ever-tightening electricity supply issue in Japan will only get worse. (Mainichi Shimbun)
  • Japan’s Forestry Agency would like to build four biomass-burning power plants to rid Japan of tsunami debris and ease the power shortage. The plants are proposed to be built in Miyagi and Iwate Prefectures, will burn 200,000 tons of material per year, and produce a total of 16 MWe of electricity. Barring local meddling, the four units can be finished and operating in 2014. (News on Japan) Radiophobia has effectively paralyzed tsunami debris incineration, so the Forestry Agency should expect the worst.
  • South Korea is making an attempt to recruit TEPCO officials to buttress their nuclear program. Two TEPCO executives were approached last year. One was asked about his reduced salary over dinner and his views concerning a move to South Korea. It is expected more will be approached this year. South Korea gets 30% of its electricity from nukes and is actively promoting its nuclear technology around the world. (News on Japan)
  • Radiation exposure is not the cause of sickened and dead ringed seals along Alaska’s northern coast. America’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says tissue samples taken from seals and walruses show no evidence of abnormal radiation levels. The investigation was spurred due to local concerns about possible radioactivity levels from the Fukushima accident. (News on Japan)