July 5, 2013

Jul 5, 2013 | Fukushima Accident Updates

  • The NRA says Oi station’s units #3&#4 can run until September. While the 48 idled nukes must meet the new regulations (to be issued July 8) before restarts, the two Oi units will not need to meet them until their routine outages are over. The NRA’s safety evaluation team said no significant safety problems should be expected during the two unit’s current operating runs. The report states, “We think facilities and the way things are managed will not create serious safety problems immediately.” NRA Chair Shunichi Tanaka stressed the Oi units cannot be subsequently restarted until the new standards are fully satisfied, “Additional measures and closer examinations may be necessary after the routine checks. I want the operator to make further efforts to improve safety so that the reactors can (fully) satisfy the new regulation standards.” One Commissioner, Kayoko Nakamura, was not supportive of continuing operations at Oi. She feels the utility’s attitude toward safety was unacceptable and has “not received a passing grade”. http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/07/03/national/oi-reactors-get-ok-to-stay-on-till-september/#.UdV0t-vD8dU — http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0000355177 — http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2013/07/233967.html
  • A nuke restart debate exists in Niigata Prefecture. The seven unit Kashiwazaki-Kariwa station is the focal point of the dispute. The mayors of the two host communities, Kashiwazaki and Kariwa, are taking a rational wait-and-see approach to the issue. Meanwhile, prefecture Mayor Hirohiko Izumida says he cannot go along with restarts for two reasons. First, Izumida believes the cause of the accident at Fukushima has yet to be fully determined by Tepco or the government and he won’t approve restarts until the investigation is complete. In addition, he feels Tepco has neglected the feelings of his constituency, “TEPCO’s plan to file an application even without fulfilling its responsibilities will never gain the understanding of the public. The utility has failed to provide any explanation to the local community.” On the other hand, Kariwa Mayor Hiroo Shinada said, “The village government is in no position to comment on an application because it is something that TEPCO’s management decided. As mayor, I’d like to actively express opinions about the plant’s safety while carefully listening to an explanation.” Local citizen groups are also divided on the issue. Activist Keiko Hashimoto said, “TEPCO is desperate to reactivate the plant in order to meet its managerial requirements.” Meanwhile Kashiwazaki Junior Chamber Chair Kazumasa Takeuchi said he hopes the two units in question, #6 and #7, go into operation as soon as possible. Tepco President Naomi Hirose spoke with the governor and mayors on Friday, but it did not dissuade Gov. Izumida. During the meeting, the governor told Tepco to commit to filtered vents for their containments at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa before asking for his approval again. It should be noted that all units at the station are Pressurized Water Reactor systems with large, domed containments that the NRA has granted a five year grace period for filtered-vent installation. The governor added that he was concerned that the filtering devices will not remove all radiation from a venting, and small amounts would be released anyway. http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20130703p2a00m0na012000c.html — http://japandailypress.com/niigata-governor-criticizes-tepco-for-plan-to-apply-for-reactivation-of-nuclear-plant-0331667 — http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20130704_43.html
  • Four utilities have notified the NRA they will submit restart applications as soon as the new regulations are made official. The notifications were required to be submitted by 10am Friday. All plants are PWRs. They include Tomari units #1&#3, Takahama units #3&#4, and Ikata unit #3. One other notable notification was for the two currently-operating units, Oi #3&#4. Conspicuously missing from the notifications was Tepco’s two ready-to-go units at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa station. The reason for Tepco’s reluctance is the Niigata Prefecture governor’s stern antinuclear outcry. http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2013/07/234326.html — http://jen.jiji.com/jc/eng?g=eco&k=2013070500548
  • Japan’s Atomic Energy Agency has their first fully mobile laboratories for radiation monitoring. They unveiled two of them to the Press this morning. The units can provide near-real-time data on radioactive contamination on the land and in the air. Plus, factors such as temperature and time delays that are faced when sending samples to fixed laboratories will not come into play. Both units will go into operation later this month. JAEA did not say what the mobile units’ first assignments will be. http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20130705_24.html
  • While nuclear power is a fourth or fifth-level issue in most of Japan, it is No. 1 in Fukushima Prefecture. One seat is at stake for the Prefecture in the upcoming upper house election, and two of the three major candidates have taken a hardline antinuclear stance. Incumbent Emi Kaneko, 47, of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) said, “I will send the message from Fukushima Prefecture to the nation and the world that we don’t want nuclear plants.” The Social Democratic Party’s Yoko Endo, 63, said, “The whole of Fukushima Prefecture has been polluted. I will persistently stick to a platform of ending our nuclear power and dismantling reactors.” On the other hand, second incumbent Masako Mori, 48, of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) avoided reactor restart issues while expressing concern for Fukushima parents who suffer radiation anxieties. She was joined by PM Shinzo Abe as she made her speech. The Prefecture’s number of seats in the House has been reduced from two to one, making this an unusually competitive campaign. Nationally, the LDP is expected to sweep the election and establish a clear majority in the upper house. Whether or not the party will be successful in Fukushima Prefecture is unknown. http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20130704p2a00m0na007000c.html — http://japandailypress.com/fukushima-voters-say-politicians-need-to-face-ongoing-nuclear-crisis-0431722
  • Test surveys for radioactive waste storage will begin in Nahara. The environment ministry will begin studies at 10 sites in the town’s Namikura district, located about ten kilometers south-west of Fukushima Daiichi. Minister Shinji Inoue notified town mayor Yukiei Matsumoto of the plan on Wednesday. Inoue stressed the situation is in the preliminary stage, meaning no construction work will be done. The initial surveys will test soil and underlying bedrock for temporary storage facility suitability. Mayor Matsumoto says the ministry plan does not guarantee that a storage facility will be built. He promised to carefully monitor the results. Nahara is one of three towns near F. Daiichi the ministry wants to use for contaminated waste storage until a future permanent repository is built. Lack of temporary storage sites has significantly slowed the region’s decontamination effort. http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20130703_31.html
  • Tepco has issued a Press handout concerning the rubbish fire at F. Daiichi earlier this week. The location of the fire was nowhere near any of the four damaged units at station, in fact it was between the undamaged units #5&6 and a warehouse on a bluff a few hundred meters from units #1-4. Pictures in the handout show how small the burned rubbish pile was. The handout also points out the waste incineration unit only burns “household waste”. http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/betu13_e/images/130702e0101.pdf
  • Tokyo scientists have found a new radioactive Cesium hotspot on a Fukushima City roof. The total activity level of 1.7 million Becquerels is the highest found in more than a year. The area radiation exposure is about 0.5 microsieverts per hour. Team leader Ryoji Enomoto, professor at University of Tokyo’s Institute for Cosmic Ray Research, said the high levels were surprising. The contamination was found on June 8, but the team wanted independent confirmation from a Fukushima non-profit group before going public. The city will decontaminate the roof-top. “Decontamination works encompassing broad areas are important, but it is also important to find spots where radiation levels are locally high by using simplified measurement tools and to decontaminate the spots,” Enomoto said. “It will help reassure people.” http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201307040081