- Two international experts conclude that the radiological impact of Fukushima will be much less than Chernobyl. They spoke at a day-long symposium at Univ. of California/San Francisco marking the anniversary of the accident in Japan and said even those who lived inside the Fukushima evacuation zones were not exposed to harmful levels of radiation. James Seward, MD, medical director of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, referred to research findings that have emerged about potential health outcomes that may result from the Fukushima accident based on Chernobyl data. Most radiation concerns focus on gauging risk to the broader public. These worries are based on risks from internal doses to children and adults outside the power plants. Seward said that compared to the Chernobyl response, residents were evacuated more rapidly and food products were taken off the market more quickly following the Fukushima Daiichi. He stressed that 60 percent less radiation was released. Mitsuyoshi Urashima of Jikei University School of Medicine in Tokyo, has taken a role as government advisor and educating the public about the health effects of Fukushima’s radiation. He has also written a book on the subject. He said confusion and mistrust generated by government communications about radiation releases, contamination and hazards caused local officials and citizens to act more decisively than central government agencies in organizing clean-up or monitoring efforts. Urashima said about 30 percent of more than 3,000 children tested to date have had thyroid nodules, but it is unclear whether this represents an abnormally high percentage. No thyroid cancers have been detected thus far. He added that recent monitoring near Fukushima City indicates that there has been less exposure to radioactivity from the meltdowns than to radiation from normal background sources. (UCSF News)
- TEPCO has reduced the nitrogen injection inside the unit #2 containment area. They are preparing to make a second inspection of the structure and its equipment. They need to reduce the nitrogen feed to make the atmosphere safe for people to work. (TEPCO Press Releases)
- The mayor of Tsuruga is pressuring the Tokyo government to speed up creation of new nuclear safety regulations. The city requests the central government to outline a provisional safety standard for nuclear power generation based on lessons learned from the accident at Fukushima. Mayor Kazuharu Kawase also requested that the government offer financial support to the city to offset the “large effects” on the region’s economy and employment due to the prolonged suspension of idled nukes and delayed construction of new reactors. Within the city limits are the two-unit Tsuruga power station and Monju Fast Breeder prototype. In a petition to Minister Yukio Edano, the mayor says, “We have had nuclear power as a local industry for about 50 years. So we have concerns about various economic and employment issues.” In addition, the petition urges, “Procedures for resuming operation (of reactors) should be advanced steadily while implementing safety measures based on the (new safety standard) and under a local agreement.” (Japan Times) [comment – This is the first inkling that local governments will want to be compensated by Tokyo for income lost due to the moratorium on nuclear plant operation.]
- The NSC has formally approved the stress tests for Oi units #3 & 4. Their findings have been forwarded to the Prime Minister and his cabinet. The NSC also called for additional tests to be run covering the ability of reactor buildings (containments) to keep radiological releases to a safe minimum even in the most severe accident conditions. However, the NSC says these added tests should not keep currently idled nukes from restarting. The stress tests alone should be the restart determinant. The commission’s decision to approve the test results angered nuclear opponents during the brief public announcement, which lasted about five minutes. Opponents shouted “Stop this meeting!” and “This is a crime!” As soon as the meeting ended. some people climbed over tables placed between the commission members and observers and demanded that the meeting not end. They asserted that the safety commission’s approval was unacceptable and were upset that the meeting did not have any public input. They argued that the causes of the Fukushima crisis have not been fully investigated. NSC chair Haruki Madarame made the brief speech and immediately left after he said he will step down as NSC chief when the new nuclear safety agency takes over. One of the nuclear opponents used this as a criticism of the commission’s decision, “How can a person who is leaving soon be responsible for restarting the Oi reactors?” (Japan Times)
- The NSC earlier approved the draft nuclear safety guidelines which sets the stage for the new watchdog agency. The new guidelines focus on upgraded earthquake/tsunami protection and improved electrical reliability to mitigate another blackout situation. It also calls for expanding the emergency preparedness radius to 30 kilometers instead of the current 10 kilometers. But, given stalled deliberations in the Diet on a bill for the new agency’s formation, its planned inauguration on April 1 is expected to be delayed. Thus, when the new guidelines will take effect is uncertain. (Mainichi Shimbun)
- As it turns out, Tokyo wasn’t the only government group to ignore SPEEDI projections during the first week of the Fukushima accident. Fukushima Prefecture not only snubbed SPEEDI projections, but the data was deleted from all computers between March 11 and March 15. SPEEDI (System for Prediction of Environmental Emergency Dose Information) was making accurate predictions on “plume” direction and dispersal from its meteorological programming, but because of the blackout there was no radiological release data coming into the system. Because of this, Fukushima officials felt the projections were useless and erased all information from their computer memory to maintain server capacity. “At the time, everything was in a state of confusion. We can’t confirm who deleted the e-mails,” a prefecture disaster management headquarters official said. (Yomiuri Shimbun) [comment – at least Fukushima officials only ignored SPEEDI for 5 days. Then-P.M. Kan’s emergency team ignored it for more than two weeks!]
- Fukushima shows that the realities of nuclear energy take a back seat while fear of nukes dominates the debate. Malcolm Grimston, associate fellow at Great Britain’s Chatham House’s energy, environment and development program, fears that the nuclear debate will continue to be driven by fear, and not by anything else, “There is this cultural fear of radioactivity. But public opinion recovered after Chernobyl and Three Mile Island. And what’s different today with the nuclear debate is the recognition that the availability of fossil fuels is an issue.” However, opponent Tony Juniper, former director of Friends of the Earth, insists that people’s fears about nuclear power are entirely rational. For Juniper, fear itself remains and should be central to the world’s judgment, “The very fact that we have this huge news story reminds everybody that nuclear power involves having to contain these high levels of radiation.” He further points to uncertainty as another foundation of fear, “It’s far too early to say what’s going to happen in Japan.” He doesn’t care about the psychological impact of a campaign based on fear, uncertainty, and doubt. (BBC Magazine)
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