May 21, 2013

May 21, 2013 | Fukushima Accident Updates

  • The IAEA supports the sea-discharge of groundwater from F. Daiichi. Juan Carlos Lentijo, head of the IAEA team that held last month’s inspection, said, “It will be very nice if they really get to bypass the main building through these systems — through this direct pumping of the water to the sea — because it is clean water.” He called the wastewater buildup the biggest remaining problem at the plant site. He added that stopping the groundwater in-flow is necessary because “maybe they can go to the building and try to see what the problems are and try to repair these problems.” He added that the current 30-40 year plan for accident clean-up is reasonable, given experiences with past decommissioning efforts, but he stressed there remains the “potentiality for future developments that could enhance the situation.” (Kyodo News)
  • The IAEA will support Fukushima Prefecture decontamination efforts this coming summer. They will analyze radiation data, tour the exclusion zone, assist in making maps of radioactive levels, and provide support in waste disposal efforts. The IAEA team plans on spending five days in Fukushima beginning July 22. Last December, the IAEA and Fukushima Prefecture entered into a three year agreement to provide a joint effort. The pact was formally signed in April. One of the pressing issues is decontamination of the forests in and around the exclusion zone. Roughly 70% of region is forested. Another issue concerns incineration of contaminated burnable wastes and disposal of the resulting ash. (Mainichi Shimbun; Kyodo News)
  • Last week, a Tepco Press Release included atmospheric radioactive readings inside F. Daiichi units 1, 2 and 3. None of the internal atmospheres were above the limits set for worker inhalation. (.002 Bq/cc for Cs-134 and .003 Bq/cc for Cs-137) Of the six locations being monitored in unit #1, three have detectible Cesium isotopes in the air. One location is 100 times below the inhalation limit, while the other two are about 1,000 times below the standard. One of the two locations in unit #2 reads a barely detectible level which is 10,000 times less than the limit. All of the six monitored locations in unit #3 show no detectible Cesium isotopes in the air. For details, go to http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/f1/smp/index-e.html and scroll down to “Other”, then click on May 15, 2013.
  • Japan will drop its pledge to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 25% before 2020. The target was set three years ago, before the accident at F. Daiichi which led to the country’s moratorium on nuclear plant operation. Japan has greatly increased the burning of fossil fuels to replace the nukes and significantly amplified their GHG emissions. Thus, they can no longer meet their 2020 commitment. Tokyo says they will alter their GHG pledge accordingly and give a revised projection to the United Nations. The new target will be submitted at the UN climate change conference in Germany, later this year. (NHK World)
  • The Nuclear Regulation Authority has judged another geologic system to be seismic, this time under the Higashidori nuclear station in Aomori Prefecture. They say at least two “crush zones” meet the current definition of active faults. A crush zone is the seam between adjoining bedrock layers that have moved independent of each other at some time in the past. As the bedrock structures move against each other, the boundaries are crushed and the seam fills with the crumpled material. The question is not with the designation of such a seam as a crush zone. The bedrock layers either side of the seam demonstrate movement at some point in the geological past. The question is how long in the past the seam was formed and when it last experienced movement between the two masses? No method exists to precisely date seam movement. Thus, the judgment on movement age is left to the opinion of geological experts. Consequently, it is an inexact science with a relatively high degree of uncertainty. The NRA team, however, meets all academic criteria for making the subjective decision. (The Japan News)
  • On Sunday, a Japan News editorial charged the NRA with drawing a “hasty conclusion” on the Tsuruga fault being seismic, rendered last week. In fact, the piece says it is “highly questionable” that the NRA had sufficient scientific grounds to render their judgment. The News bases their opinion on criticisms over the NRA decision made by Japanese academics. In fact, one of the NRA’s expert panel members, Kyoto University Associate Prof. Hiroyuki Tsutsumi, questioned the team’s final conclusion. He said, “[The report] lacks a considerable amount of fundamental data. It would be fruitful for us to hold discussions after we conduct further research.” A second panel member, Tokyo Gakugei University Associate Prof. Koichiro Fujimoto, lamented, “[The report’s content] would be completely unacceptable in an academic paper.” In other words, the NRA’s expert panel on the Tsuruga seismic issue does not have universal agreement – perhaps majority agreement, but not unanimous. The News charges NRA acting chair, Kunihiko Shimazaki, who also heads the seismic panel, with “a lack of fairness” and making decisions “based on predetermined conclusions.” Comment – The Japan News is the English language edition of the Yomiuri Shimbun, Japan’s largest newspaper.
  • Tepco has decided to apply for restarting two units at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear station, Niigata prefecture. The applications will be submitted as soon as the new NRA regulations are in effect, which is expected in July. Tepco wants the restarts in order to ease the financial burden they suffer from the government-mandated nuclear moratorium which has forced them to use more-expensive fossil-fueled plants to meet their electrical demand. The applications will be for units #1 and #7 at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, both of which are Boiling Water Reactor plants. Niigata governor Hirohiko Izumida has reservations about Tepco’s plans because F. Daiichi is also a BWR station, “We won’t discuss resuming operations [of the reactors] until results of the review into the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 plant are presented.” It is expected that four other utilities will submit restart applications at the same time as Tepco. These requests will be for specific units at Tomari (Hokkaido Electric), Takahama (Kansai Electric), Ikata (Shikoku Electric), plus Sendai and Genkai stations (Kyushu Electric). Kashiwazaki-Kariwa is the only BWR station of the group, and will need to have filtered depressurization vents installed, which Tepco says will be done by the end of July. All others are Pressurized Water Reactor systems which do not need the vents in order to restart. (The Japan News)
  • Rice farming has returned to the F. Daiichi “no-go zone”. Farmers in the Miyakojimachi district of Tamura have begun planting rice for the first time since 3/11/11. The district is the only part of Tamura which has been fully decontaminated, thus allowing residents to return home for daily visits. Some enterprising rice farmers are trying to take advantage of the opportunity. Although the fields have been decontaminated to within the government limits, a Potassium-rich fertilizer is being used to reduce the possibility of any residual Cesium uptake by the seedlings being planted. The Fukushima government is considering dropping the visit-restriction rule to allow rice farmers to stay around-the-clock, at least a few days each week. This will be important to monitor water usage necessary for rice growth. (Japan Daily Press)
  • 700 residents of the Hippo District of Miyagi Prefecture are suing for F. Daiichi damage compensation. The Hippo District is more than 50 kilometers northwest of F. Daiichi and well-outside the evacuated areas of Fukushima Prefecture. The $700,000 lawsuit claims that because some locations in Hippo have radiation levels higher than some of the locations inside the Fukushima evacuation zone, the residents should receive the same financial compensation that Fukushima evacuees receive. The Tokyo government requires Tepco to make huge compensation pay-outs to Fukushima evacuees and the 700 Hippo residents want to be given the same financial consideration. (Mainichi Shimbun, Asahi Shimbun) Meanwhile, the Tokyo government is extending the three-year statute of limitations on filing Fukushima-related lawsuits. The lower House of Representatives approved the bill to today. The lawmakers say they have done this to keep pending lawsuits from becoming invalid once the 3-year time statute is reached. (Kyodo News)