- The Tokyo government plans on injecting $50 billion into nuclear damage liability (NDF) funding. The monies are intended for evacuee compensation and environmental decontamination. Currently, the fund has a $50 billion limit, but a new “accelerated Fukushima disaster recovery” rider could double the amount. The money is being loaned to the NDF interest-free. From there, it is forwarded to Tepco on an as-needed basis. This is because the real cost is significantly more than had originally been estimated due to expanded compensation possibilities for the 84,000 who qualify. Tepco and the nation’s nuclear utilities will eventually be expected to reimburse Tokyo for everything. Specifically, NDF will repay the debts to the government using general contributions paid by the 11 nuclear power producers in Japan and special contributions extended by TEPCO. http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20131109p2a00m0na009000c.html (comment- meanwhile, the government has merely appropriated about $30 billion for the 250,000 tsunami refugees.)
- A new contaminated leak was discovered at F. Daiichi. The leak was from a wall joint near one of the outlet pipes from a wastewater tank coffer dam. It was found dripping on Saturday. A puddle 32 inches by 40 inches had built up, reading 140 Becquerels per liter of Strontium-90 activity. No Cesium isotopes were detectable. The puddle was surrounded by sandbags and did not enter any of the wastewater drainage ditches. Subsequently, a plate was installed over the area of leakage, inside the dam, and sandbags were placed around the plate. None of the tanks inside the coffer dam were found to be leaking. The residual water inside the dam (~29 tons) is being pumped to an underground reservoir. http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/2013/1232087_5130.html Tepco has also posted the latest contamination levels in the drainage ditches of concern at F. Daiichi. The levels have dropped more than a factor of 15 relative to their highest readings of mid-October. The Press is neglecting to cover this, of course. http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/f1/smp/2013/images/south_discharge_13110801-e.pdf
- The Nuclear Regulation Authority will change the way radiation exposure estimates are run for the F. Daiichi evacuees. Previously, dose projections were based on readings taken by aircraft monitoring. The readings were then projected into the dose estimates by assuming people spend 8 hours per day outdoors. However, the few people who have repopulated in the past three months have dosimeters which show actual exposures as much as seven times less than the estimates. The NRA wants to use these dosimeter-based readings as public information with Fukushima evacuees. It is hoped that the dosimeter readings will persuade some of the current people who are reluctant to go home to change their minds. Since September, the NRA has discussed “scientific and technical aspects” of the repopulation of evacuated communities with outside experts. The change in exposure monitoring is one decision made at these meetings. The proposal calls for teams of “communicators” to be sent out and explain the acceptable exposure levels using this method. The study team said the concept of “safe” doses has not come into the discussion. http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201311090063 How this will affect evacuee decisions on returning home is speculative, at best. However, if a statistic posted by the reconstruction Agency is correct, it might make a positive difference. The Agency ran a recent evacuee survey and found that 90% of the people from some communities either have no desire to ever return home or can’t make up their minds. The latter might be positively affected by the dosimeter-based system since it shows exposures are much lower than previously assumed. However, all of those reluctant to repopulate agree that measures taken to date are insufficient. At the same time, NRA Chair Shunichi Tanaka says discussions with local residents about exposure levels should be done by local officials, and not the NRA. This statement has brought loud protests from critics inside the Reconstruction Agency who call it a contradiction of the concept of transparency. Tanaka responded that he fears that evacuee repopulation would be stalled due to a potentially large number of evacuees wishing to relocate elsewhere. Going through local officials makes more sense since two communities, Date and Iitate, have a large number of residents eager to return home. http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20131111p2a00m0na012000c.html
- The Environment Ministry assembled an expert panel to review health monitoring and possible medical support for Fukushima evacuees. The seventeen selected people met for the first time today. Among the initial discussions were methods of determining long-term exposures, possible health effects, and scientific guidelines on what exposures warrant medical treatment. Assessments will focus on people in Fukushima and other parts of eastern Japan who live near hot spots. The panel’s findings are expected to be published next summer. http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/nuclear.html
- Tepco plans to freeze highly contaminated waters in underground tunnels and pipes. The idea is to prevent mixing of the contaminated waters with groundwater. All of the designated freezes are for conduits coming from the Turbine building basements of units #2 and #3 at F. Daiichi. Work on the project is expected to begin in April. The tunnels and pipes contain an estimated 10,000 tons of fluid. Ducts enclosed in nylon bags will be placed at the connections to the buildings to block the entrance of water into the tunnel pipes. Cement and soil will then be injected into the bags, and coolant at minus 40 C will be put into the ducts to freeze the bags and the contaminated water around them. The frozen material should will block the tunnels and pipes completely. Tepco Engineer Hiroyuki Ishikawa said, “The work will take several months, so we’d like to position the ducts appropriately and minimize the workload for workers to prevent excessive exposure to radiation.” http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0000785092
- Tokyo Electric Company has posted their new ways to deal with F. Daiichi contractor issues. Improvements include strengthened management controls, doubling the pay to contract workers up to $200 per week, new procedures, better top-to-bottom communications, and improved infrastructure at the station. Also, a temporary office building for 1,000 people, an eight-story-high rest facility, and a warm meal building are to be built, all of which is planned to be completed by March, 2015. President Naomi Hirose said, “As the decommissioning work continues, improving working conditions and the safety of workers, along with their morale and motivation, should be among our highest priorities. We believe this is a very important element in regaining public trust.” http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/betu13_e/images/131108e0101.pdf Tepco has also released a more-detailed explanation of the impending spent fuel transfer out of unit #4. http://photo.tepco.co.jp/library/131030_02e/131030_01-e.pdf
- Tokyo’s Reconstruction Agency will grant a $76 million subsidy for F. Daiichi evacuee housing. The money is intended for construction of 3,700 public housing units in the Prefecture, focusing on refugees from Kori Town and Kawauchi Village. The funds will also be used to procure land for 563 units in Minamisoma and Iwake. This will be in addition to the evacuee subsidy granted in March for a total of $500 million. A third allocation is pending, dependent on the number of people who apply for federal housing assistance. http://jen.jiji.com/jc/eng?g=eco&k=2013110800196 (comment – Meanwhile, the long-promised 27,000 units for tsunami refugees remains unfulfilled. At last count, less than 500 had been completed, 2,000 are partially built but in local political limbo, and the rest have yet to be started. When will the Japanese people demand that the 250,000 remaining tsunami refugees get as much government support as the Fukushima evacuees?)
- At least 33 Japanese civic groups have been cyber-attacked. They have been inundated with more than 2.5 million Emails since September. A criminal lawsuit is being considered according to lawyer Yuichi Kaido who represents the organizations.The Japan Times says the groups include Fukushima Genpatsu Kokusodan, the Prefecture’s leading antinuke group. The Times said that not all attacked groups were anti-nuke. On the other hand, The Asahi Shimbun says all the attacked groups were antinuclear, including Women’s Active Museum on War and Peace and the Metropolitan Coalition Against Nukes. The perpetrators are believed to have used software designed to abuse computer systems that automatically send confirmation emails to people who register for newsletters or make inquiries. Some Emails contained hostile messages. One of them said, “Unless we kill all of the anti-nuclear believers, world peace will never be achieved”. However, most of the bogus Emails were designed to obstruct internal activities of the targeted groups and/or cause an internal feud among group members. http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/11/10/national/anti-nuclear-civic-groups-targeted-in-large-scale-cyber-attacks/#.Un-xboEo4dU — http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/social_affairs/AJ201311100027
- Fukushima’s fruit is being marketed in Thailand. Fukushima Vice-Governor Masao Uchibori presented fruits grown in Fukushima Prefecture as gifts to Thailand’s royal family on Oct. 22, hoping to draw attention to the safety of the products. Uchibori visited the Thai royal palace and met with Khuying Araya, chief secretary to Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn. He asked Araya to sample peaches, pears, grapes and apples he brought.Uchibori gave a similar gift to Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong in late October, and the gesture was well-received. In addition, Uchibori persuaded Asia Atlantic Airlines to link Bangkok to Sendai City beginning December 4th. http://www.fukushimaminponews.com/news.html?id=261
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