July 29, 2013

Jul 29, 2013 | Fukushima Accident Updates

  • Tokyo Electric Co. says water inside a cabling tunnel from F. Daiichi unit #2 is highly contaminated. Tepco’s analyses show 2.35 billion Becquerels per liter of radioactive Cesium and 8.7 million Bq/liter of Tritium. Total radioactivity from the other 60-odd isotopes in the water is 750 million Bq/liter. The company believes the water has been in the tunnel since April 2011 when a significant leak into it was stopped. Because the half-lives are long enough, there has been little reduction in the contained radioactivity over the past 2+ years. A half-life (t1/2) is the amount of time needed for radioactivity of a substance to drop by one-half. Cesium-134’s t1/2 is a little over 2 years, Cs-137’s t1/2 is about 30 years, and Tritium’s is 12 years. Thus, it is possible the analyzed tunnel activity is residual from the 4/11 outflow. Tepco and the Nuclear Regulatory Authority say it is also possible that the groundwater contamination found this month comes from seepage out of the tunnel. Today, the NRA has ordered Tepco to drain all cabling tunnels that run out of the four still-flooded turbine basements at the nuke station. The agency believes this will stop the contaminating of the groundwater beneath the power complex. The NRA feels water may be sseping through the gravel floors of the tunnels and mixing contamination into the groundwater. Tepco says they will use chemical injections to solidify the gravel beds and underlying soils. Tepco will run the waters drained from the tunnels through the same isotopic removal processes now being used on the turbine basement waters. Whether or not basement waters continue to enter the tunnels will be determined when the tunnels are drained. http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/2013/1229300_5130.html — http://jen.jiji.com/jc/eng?g=eco&k=2013072800100 — http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20130727p2a00m0na008000c.html — http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20130729_27.html
  • Tepco’s foreign nuclear consultants have criticized the company for lack of public transparency. Dale Klein, former head of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said “This action regarding the water contamination demonstrates a lack of conservative decision-making process. It also appears that you are not keeping the people of Japan informed. These actions indicate that you don’t know what you are doing… you do not have a plan and that you are not doing all you can to protect the environment and the people. We would like to express our frustrations in your recent activities regarding the water contamination. These events detract from the progress that you have made on your clean-up and reform for the Fukushima plant.” Klein dismissed allegations that the incident was a “cover-up”, however, explaining that Tepco waited too long to communicate what they had found. Barbara Judge, former chair of Britain’s Atomic Energy Authority, was also upset. She said she was “disappointed and distressed” over Tepco’s delayed disclosure, “I hope that there will be lessons learned from the mishandling of this issue and the next time an issue arises—which inevitably it will because decommissioning is a complicated and difficult process—that the public will be immediately informed about the situation and what TEPCO is planning to do in order to remedy it.” Tepco’s president Naomi Hirose vowed to improve Tepco’s public disclosure, saying “even if the evaluations do not show enough evidence, we will swiftly and honestly mention risks and worst-case scenarios without fearing the impact.” http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/foreign-nuclear-experts-blast-tepco-over-toxic-water-leaks?utm_campaign=jt_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_source=jt_newsletter_2013-07-27_PM — http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/07/26/national/tepco-chief-admits-pr-fiasco-over-water-info/#.UfZzyevD8dV
  • Many residents of Tamura City will be allowed long-term stays beginning in August. The city’s Miyakoji district, which was inside the former 20-kilometer “no-go zone”, will allow repopulation for at least three months to repair earthquake-damaged homes and tend to farmland. The move applies to about 120 households and some 380 individuals. Stores and businesses in the district may reopen and dosimeters will be available to those who ask for them. The district was declared to be decontaminated last week. The highest radiation current level in the district is 1.6 millisieverts per year, which is far below the 20 mSv/yr standard for repopulation. Mayor Yukei Tomitsuka said, “This latest measure effectively ends the no-entry restriction on the area. It’s a fortunate event, and we can expect residents to return. For these next three months, I will petition the government to remove its designation as a zone subject to preparations for the lifting of evacuation orders.”  Resident Kenichi Tsuchiya said, “To people who want to restart their jobs, being able to stay is a good thing. If people can come back during the Obon holiday (in August), their mood will improve.” Another resident, Koichi Tsuboi, wasn’t as optimistic, “Miyakoji has higher radiation levels than those as the temporary housing complex where I live now, and the forests and mountains in the area haven’t been decontaminated at all. An end to the evacuation order will also end compensation payments, and we may be abandoned (by the government).” http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20130727p2a00m0na013000c.html
  • The Fukushima government has begun a campaign to market the Prefecture’s produce. This is being done to counter the rumors and radiation fears that have severely harmed sales, damaging the local economy. Officials and farming representatives are now at major markets, such as Tokyo, to tell consumers their fruits and vegetables are high quality and safe. The promotion will include nearly 100 events across Japan. http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0000406020
  • This week’s carnival of Nuclear Energy Bloggers (# 167) has been posted at Meredith Angwin’s Yes Vermont Yankee website. Blog topics cover the recent problems at Fukushima Daiichi, plus, the past, present and future of nuclear power. http://yesvy.blogspot.com/2013/07/167th-carnival-of-nuclear-energy-blogs.html#.UfZ5g-vD8dU