- TEPCO reports that one of the temperature monitors on #2 Primary Containment Vessel (PCV) has risen considerably over the past 10 days. On January 27 the “upper bottom head” instrument was at 45oC and yesterday it had climbed to 71oC. Plant operators increased the cooling feed-water injection rate from 5 to 6 tons per hour, which seems to have stabilized the temperature. The two temperature instruments on the RPV bottom head have remained steady at about 44oC. TEPCO speculates the change is due to some plumbing work on the feed-water injection system over the past two weeks. The core spray injection system, which cools the innermost portion of the RPV, remains at 4 tons per hour since those thermal monitors are steady.
- NISA will conduct a 3-week inspection at Fukushima Daiichi to see if the cold shutdown condition can be maintained into the foreseeable future. They will check the replacement RPV cooling and water decontamination systems for long-term operability. The inspection will also include worker interviews, contingency preparations and operating manuals. The inspections will begin Today and be open to the news media. (NHK World)
- Of the 634 deaths in the Fukushima evacuation zone’s population since March 11, 573 have been certified as “disaster-related”. A disaster-related death certificate is issued when a death is not directly caused by a tragedy, but by fatigue or the aggravation of a chronic disease due to the disaster. All deaths came from 13 municipalities in the no-entry, emergency evacuation preparation or expanded evacuation zones around the nuclear plant. The 13 municipalities are three cities–Minami-Soma, Tamura and Iwaki–eight towns and villages in Futaba County–Namie, Futaba, Okuma, Tomioka, Naraha, Hirono, Katsurao and Kawauchi–and Kawamata and Iitate, all in Fukushima Prefecture. “During our examination of the applications, we gave emphasis to the conditions at evacuation sites and how they spent their days before they died,” a city government official said. “However, the screening process was difficult in cases when people had stayed in evacuation facilities for an extended time and when there was little evidence of where they had been taking shelter.” (Yomiuri Shimbun)
- A U.S. research team will perform a long-term study of wildlife around Fukushima Daiichi. The team will be headed by Dr. Timothy Mousseau, who has published numerous questionable reports of adverse radiation effects with the wildlife around Chernobyl. Mousseau says physical changes in birds and insects due to radiation happens faster than in humans and can be used to predict future health effects on future generations of people. He claims to have proven abnormalities in wildlife with radiation fields as low as 26 millisieverts per year. The study will begin in May. (JAIF)
- The worms found in the forest grounds around Kawauchi have elevated levels of radioactive Cesium at about 20,000 Becquerels per kilogram. Kawauchi lies on the southwest edge of the 20km no-go zone around Fukushima Daiichi. Motohiro Hasegawa of Japan’s Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute says worms are a source of food for many wild animals and he fears that radiation could gradually accumulate in the bodies of animals throughout the food chain. Worms studied at Otama village, 60 km. from the damaged power complex, have 1,000 Becquerels per kilogram and Tadami town, 150 km. away, have worms reading 290 Becquerels per kilogram. This is a direct correlation with the with the forest contamination levels recorded in August and September at the three locations; Kawauchi at 1.4 million Bq/kg, Otama at about 100,000 Bq/kg and Tadami at 20,000 Bq/kg. (Japan Times) The report fails to consider that it takes about 2,200 typical ground worms to weigh a kilogram, thus the specific activity per Kawauchi worm is but 8 Becquerels.
- After more than 10 months of testing, food fish caught well off the Tohoku coast have shown very little Cesium contamination. The specific species are Tuna, Bonito and Pacific Saury. Regular studies nationwide have found no alarming signs among ocean fish caught outside the coastal areas of Fukushima and Ibaraki prefectures. Some deep-water fish, such as Tuna, have shown Cesium levels between 10 and 20 Becquerels, but most are well below detectability. It is believed that the deep-water levels have peaked because seawater Cesium concentrations are either barely detectable or non-detectable. Other than fish caught in near-shore locations off Fukushima Prefecture, no bottom feeders have been found to exceed the provisional limit of 500 Becquerels per kilogram. (Japan Times)
- The lowest temperatures in recorded history have stressed Japan’s electric power supplies to their limit. Kansai Electric Company has issued a “severe” forecast in energy usage and Kyushu Electric Company was forced to import 2,400 megawatts of power when its Oita LNG-fired station was forced to shut down due to the freezing temperatures. Total electricity usage across Japan reached 96% of full capacity on Saturday. At 97% capacity, the Tokyo government can invoke emergency power reduction measures because the loss of one large power plant could cause a blackout due to overloading the remaining systems. At 100%, it is believed a massive nation-wide blackout is possible. Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yukio Edano said Friday there was no problem with the electricity supply, although the situation is tough. “There’s no doubt there are risks of power stations halting operations or weather change-related risks in and after next week,” Edano said after a Cabinet meeting. “I’d like to ask the nation to save energy as much as possible.” (Yomiuri Shimbun)
- A vacant lot in Yokohama has been declared a no-entry zone due to radiation levels. The radiation field is said to be 6.9 microsieverts per hour, roughly 12 times the national standard for open property. City officials say the relatively high radiation level is probably due to Fukushima contamination, even though the power complex is some 270 kilometers to the Northeast. The city plans to decontaminate the site by stripping the upper layer of topsoil. (Japan Times)
- 97.7% of the farms in Fukushima Prefecture have produced rice below the new government standard for Cesium contamination of 100 Becquerels per kilogram. 84.3% of the rice farms had levels that were undetectable. The central government said it will prohibit the planting of seeds in areas that are heavily contaminated, but it has not decided which areas should face such restrictions. Agriculture Minister Michihiko Kano said on Feb. 3 that the government should not impose limits on planting. “We should respect the feelings of farmers,” he said. (Asahi Shimbun)
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