- The Environmental Ministry has ramped up its decontamination program for Fukushima. The head of the decontamination task force, Masaru Moriya, says the mission is urgent and should be performed quickly under central government authority. On Monday, five new branch offices were opened in Fukushima, Miyagi and Iwate Prefectures, and one office in Saitama Prefecture. A total of 111 municipalities will be coordinated out of these offices. The Ministry has added more than 180 people, bringing the total decontamination staff to over 500. (JAIF)
- The government is considering making areas near the F. Daiichi off-limits for an extended period, Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura said today. Reconstruction minister Tatsuo Hirano said some areas should be off-limits for an extended period, regardless of radiation levels. While radiation exposure levels are determining if and when most of the evacuation zones can be repopulated, restrictions on the communities nearest F. Daiichi will have added issues to overcome. Concerns have been voiced that the huge volume of contaminated water now in storage could threaten the safety of people living in the vicinity. In addition, a far-reaching concern is safety of nearby residents during removal of damaged and melted fuel. (Japan Times)
- Thermal (fossil-fueled) electricity production is now more than 73% of Japan’s total. Before former-P.M. Kan’s de-facto moratorium on nukes started, the thermal contribution was about 50%. “We’ve managed to make up for a decrease in power generated by nuclear plants by fully operating thermal plants,” says a high-ranking official with Kansai Electric Power Co. All nine companies affected by the moratorium are now running at an economic deficit due to the greater cost of fossil fuels. Their reliance on fossil fuel will only increase. However, thermal unit are unstable sources because they cannot bear full-power operations over a long period. “The more electricity we sell, the greater the deficits we suffer,” says an official with the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry. An increase in the dependence of utilities on thermal power will also result in a rise in the emissions of carbon dioxide. “There are limits to Japan’s excessive reliance on certain energy sources,” says IEE Chairman and CEO Masakazu Toyoda. (Mainichi Shimbun)
- The city of Osaka is creating its own nuclear safety panel. Mayor Toru Hashimoto said that he wants a panel of nuclear experts to verify the safety of nukes – an unprecedented move for a community that does not host a nuclear facility. In Fukui Prefecture, a nuclear safety commission made up of 10 nuclear engineers assesses the operations and management of nuclear power plants in the Prefecture. “I have never heard of a local government that does not host a nuclear power plant setting up such a committee,” said a Fukui Prefectural Government official in charge of nuclear policy. (Mainichi Shimbun)
- The governments of four prefectures are placing pressure on Tokyo to create new safety standards before restarting idled nukes. Fukui, Kyoto, Shiga and Osaka Prefectures want to be intimately involved in the decision-making process because they fear that decisions to-date have been hasty and unacceptable. Fukui Gov. Issei Nishikawa has said, “The central government must first show the public its responsible opinions on the meaning of nuclear power and the need for the reactivation of nuclear reactors and make efforts to secure understanding.” A prefectural assemblyman who opposes restarts said, “While findings from the Fukushima accident have not been confirmed, the government has hastily moved ahead with procedures to reactivate (the reactors) without presenting a provisional safety standard.” In Osaka, local governments have joined to demand eight conditions for restart, including consent of the people living within 100 kilometers of a nuclear power station. Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto said, “We must widen the scope further to include more local municipalities.” Kyoto Gov. Keiji Yamada wants to set up a forum in which officials from the Kyoto, Shiga and Fukui prefectural governments can exchange views. Shiga Gov. Yukiko Kada said, “The investigations into the cause of the nuclear accident in Fukushima, the formulation of safety measures and the mechanism to ensure the safety of nuclear reactors are insufficient.” But, not everyone agrees. One Fukui assemblyman said delaying restarts of Oi #3 & 4 is costing the region plenty, “We were thinking that the reactors would be reactivated in late April…The impact on the local communities is immeasurable.” (Mainichi Shimbun)
- A Fukushima publisher sent soil to Tokyo saying it is nuclear waste. Tadashi Okudaira sent an attached article which said, “This is soil I took from my garden. I am giving this to the Environment Ministry, which is primarily responsible (for the radioactive contamination) and for storing waste. Responsibility of radioactive contamination falls on the central government and Tokyo Electric Power Co. In a gesture of protest, we are starting a campaign to give radioactive soil to the government and TEPCO.” He hopes this will inspire other Fukushima residents to do the same. Because the package is identifiable, the ministry is storing the soil sent by Okudaira. The ministry rejected another box labeled “Fukushima soil” because the sender could not be determined. (Asahi Shimbun)
- P.M. Noda’s nuke restart task force has met, and not everyone is happy. Minister Yukio Edano says he has “glanced” at the stress test results for Oi units #3 & 4, and finds them questionable. On Monday, Edano told the Diet he had safety concerns and was opposed to restarting the Oi plant’s reactors 3 and 4 until local consent is given. Asked about his definition of “locals,” Edano said: “The Fukushima accidents affected the whole country both directly and indirectly. In that sense, all the nation are the ‘locals.'” (Japan Times)
- P.M. Noda instructed Minister Edano to draft new safety standards to be met as a precondition to nuke restarts. The restart task force feels measures to prevent nuclear accidents are not clearly defined in the existing regulations and the move might ease local community opposition. The task force will meet again later this week to discuss the needed safety measures. (JAIF)
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