- A Japanese researcher says the only health effects due to the Fukushima accident have been psychological. Kazuo Sakai of Japan’s National Institute of Radiological Sciences said, “Since the accident in Fukushima, no health effects from radiation have been observed, although we have heard reports some people fell ill due to stress from living as evacuees and due to worries and fears about radiation. We know from epidemiological surveys among atomic-bomb victims in Hiroshima and Nagasaki that if exposure to radiation surpasses 100 millisieverts, the risk of cancer will gradually rise. To put it the other way round, we can’t say risk of cancer will rise if you are exposed to radiation lower than 100 millisieverts,” adding that most people measured had radiation exposure of 20 millisieverts or less. Sakai added that Fukushima exposures are not at “the level we have to worry about its health effect,” taking into account exposure from the atmosphere and ingestion from food. When asked about the thyroid cancers recently reported in Fukushima, Sakai said “there is no clear link between the cancers and exposure to radiation, as empirical knowledge says it takes several years before thyroid cancer is detected after exposure to radiation.” Kazue Suzuki, head of Greenpeace Japan, called the announcement a government ploy to down-play the risks of low level radiation exposure, “Japan should pour more energy into prevention of diseases including thyroid cancer than talking down the risk of low-level radiation.” Several news media outlets are supporting the Greenpeace allegation. (Japan Today; Japan Daily Press)
- Meanwhile, the former Tokyo regime’s policy of soothing radiation fear continues to needlessly soak up government funds. The Environment Ministry announced that at the end of December, 103,000 homes in seven prefectures other than Fukushima have been approved for government-sponsored decontamination. The homes are in 58 municipalities in Iwate, Miyagi, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, Saitama and Chiba prefectures. 23% of the residences and 85% of all schools and preschools in the Prefectures have been decontaminated down to Japan’s overly-restrictive limit of one millisievert per year. (Yomiuri Shimbun) [comment – The international average for natural exposure is 2.4 millisieverts per year and millions world-wide live long, healthy lives in backgrounds that exceed 10 mSv/yr. Regardless, the former government in Tokyo chose ridiculously-low limits in the hope of calming the nation’s vocally-prominent radiophobic minority. It is costing Japan’s new government money that would be better spent in Tohoku’s tsunami recovery.]
- Tepco says they can prove there was no quake damage with Fukushima Daiichi unit #1’s isolation condensers. The company has two videos shot on the reactor building’s fourth floor; one on October of 2011 and another on November 30, 2012. When the allegations that Tepco lied to keep the Diet’s investigative team (NAIIC) from inspecting the building, the company released the video from 2011 which they showed to the NAIIC. Now, they have more recent footage from after last year’s release of the NAIIC report. It shows four Tepco employees closely inspecting the debris-covered condensers and the ceiling above them. A plant worker told the NAIIC that after the earthquake, a water leak could be seen along the fourth floor ceiling above the condensers. The video shows no evidence that the ceiling was ever wet. Tepco maintains the alleged leak was actually water that came from the spent fuel pool’s overflow pipe. The quake had caused enough sloshing in the pool to have some water enter the overflow channel and travel down the pipe. The section of pipe above the condensers was supposed to have been sealed by a metal plate, but the quake may have shaken it loose because it is no longer there. (Mainichi Shimbun) The new video can be viewed here… http://photo.tepco.co.jp/en/date/2013/201302-e/130215-01e.html
- Tepco has created an investigative panel to establish whether or not the company actually lied to the NAIIC about the dangers inside reactor building #1. Earlier this month, one of the panel members told the Diet that Tepco lied in February, 2012, which caused the panel to not hold an inspection inside the unit. The new investigation will be headed by Judge Yasuhisa Tanaka. The company says they will not be involved and leave everything to the judge. Tepco denies they lied and that the NAIIC misunderstood their concerns due to poor lighting inside the building and high radiation levels. The Nuclear Regulatory Authority says they would like to go inside unit #1 as soon as possible, but the existing high radiation levels make that impossible. (NHK World)
- The Atomic Energy Society of Japan is reviewing the proposed nuclear safety rules posted by the NRA. A symposium was held in Tokyo on Sunday to discuss the NRA’s proposed standards. It was pointed out at the meeting that the new rules will apply to all companies with nukes, unlike the historical method of letting each utility decide on which standards they would meet. One member said that while safety cannot be absolutely guaranteed, the NRA should make rigorous safety a goal while being clear on the risks involved. Another said the historical promotion of nuclear energy by the former regulators should not be the case with the NRA. (NHK World)
- The NRA has deemed the fractured geology near the Higashidori nuclear station in Aomori Prefecture to be possibly seismic. The Tokyo watchdog says the volcanic ash found in some of the fractures might be due to their seismic movement. While none of the fractures are immediately under the station, the nearness (200 meters) could require the Tohoku Electric Company to invest considerable time and money in upgrading their plant’s earthquake protection. Tohoku Electric says the fractures are not seismic, so they will undertake additional geological investigations to show the NRA they are wrong. The company maintains the fractures were caused by water intrusion into the bedrock and the ash in some of them came after the cracks were formed. The NRA dated the ash and said its intrusion was about 110,000 years ago. (NHK World)
- The Fukushima Liberal Democratic Party chairman says his Prefecture cannot support reactor restarts anywhere in Japan. At the LDP’s Research Commission on Oil, Resources and Energy meeting in Tokyo, Kenji Saito stormed out when the subject turned to restarting some of Japan’s nukes. He angrily said, “I am walking out if the government plans to restart [nuclear power plants] without acting responsibly in dealing with the [Fukushima] accident. I cannot possibly join such a discussion. All the Fukushima chapter members [of the LDP] are opposed to any restarts.” The Chairs from the other 12 Prefectures hosting nuclear facilities remained in the meeting. Hiroyuki Hosoda, the acting secretary-general, said, “We want to eventually restart some of the reactors. I understand the Fukushima representative cannot respond to the issue in a constructive manner.” (Asahi Shimbun)
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Yet another lawsuit against Tepco and the Tokyo government has been filed by citizens living near the Hamaoka station in Shizuoka Prefecture. The suit is attached to a one filed previously by others. The suit says the Fukushima accident’s radioactive releases deny the plaintiffs their rights, which is guaranteed by law, including “the right to live in peace, free from fear and want.” The filing adds, “The state has a legal responsibility to stop the dangerous nuclear power plant.” One plaintiff, Michitoyo Hiratsuka, says tea farmers in the prefecture suffer from harmful rumors that have cost them business. He then asserted that if there’s an accident at the Hamaoka station “the whole region will be beyond repair.” (Mainichi Shimbun)
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