May 15, 2014

May 15, 2014 | Fukushima Accident Updates

  • The discharge of bypass groundwater at F. Daiichi may start next week. 600 tons was pumped out of the ground a few weeks ago, and stored in an uncontaminated tank. Samples were taken and found to be well-below Tepco’s self-imposed limits for release, which are many times less than those set by the government for discharge to the sea. Tepco says the groundwater has 0.047 Becquerels per liter of Cesium-137 and 220 Bq/l of Tritium. An independent laboratory, Japan Chemical Analysis Center, also tested the water and found 0.039 Bq/l of Cs-137 and 230 Bq/l of Tritium. Both testing groups say no radioactive Strontium has been detected. Once the data been formally presented to the local fisheries and all questions are answered, it is expected that the release will begin. Third-party officials will observe the discharge. NHK World; Release of Fukushima pumped groundwater to start; May 14, 2014 — http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/05/15/national/fukushima-operator-release-safe-radioactive-groundwater-within-days/#.U3Sx-aNOUdU
  • Communities near the Hamaoka Nuclear Station say the plant does not qualify for restart. The mayors of all eleven municipalities inside the 30 kilometer evacuation zone (UPZ) say that that Tokyo’s new safety regulations are inadequate. Makinohara Mayor Shigeki Nishihara said, “The location (of the nuclear plant) is unacceptable.” Nishihara has called for scrapping the three operational units at the site ever since former PM Naoto Kan ordered them shuttered in May 2011, due to earthquake fears. Omaezaki Mayor Shigeo Ishihara commented, “Just because you have designed [new regulations] does not mean it is alright to go ahead with the restart.” Another dissenter, Iwata Mayor Osamu Watanabe, also feels that even the best evacuation plans are inadequate, based on a recent simulation, “The [simulation] was based upon mere bureaucratic calculations, and completely downplayed the psychological factors among residents, such as panic.” Hamaoka is located a little more than 140 miles southwest of Tokyo, near an off-shore subduction zone fault believed capable of an 8.0 Richter scale temblor. Hamaoka’s design criterion for a quake is 8.5 Richter scale. Further, an 18 meter high anti-tsunami wall is being built since the worst-case scenario shows a wave height of about 10 meters. http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20140514p2a00m0na012000c.html (Comment – Immediately following Kan’s sudden shuttering of Hamaoka, the Yomiuri Shimbun called the move “abrupt” and “a political judgment that went beyond technological worthiness.” Regardless, Fukushima-spawned radiophobia has infected the communities around Hamaoka, to the detriment of all involved.)
  • Tokyo is ordering all utilities to overhaul their “thermal” (fossil-fueled) power plants. Ever since the last Japanese nuke was idled two years ago, the nation’s electrical reserve margin has been minimal, with barely enough power to make it through Japan’s scorching summers. To replace the 30% of Japan’s electricity that came from nukes, companies have been operating old, previously mothballed oil, gas and coal burning units, as well as plants that were designed for intermittent “peak load” purposes. All of them have been running constantly since the moratorium began and they are in danger of abrupt, unanticipated mechanical failure. If this happens during peak summer demand, sudden blackouts could happen all over Japan. To reduce the chances for such an infrastructural calamity, the government has ordered electric companies to overhaul the old and/or peaking units ASAP, so they can be relied on this coming summer. http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20140515p2a00m0na016000c.html
  • The “Fukushima nosebleed” manga dispute continues. Fukushima Prefecture’s formal complaint to the publisher has been posted and says, “The depiction could severely damage the agriculture, forestry, fisheries and tourism industries,” and, “there have been no confirmed cases of direct damage to health caused by radioactive materials emitted from the nuclear accident.” The comic has also upset Osaka officials by depicting eye and nose disorders allegedly due to the local incineration of tsunami debris from Iwate Prefecture. Osaka Gov. Ichiro Matsui told reporters there are already too many misunderstandings about the nuclear accident. He asked, “Please don’t do things that will lead to greater confusion.” Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto was disappointed with the manga, as well, “I think he [the artist] went overboard with the depiction that has no basis in fact.” Former Futaba Mayor Katsutaka Igodawa remains steadfast that he gave the artist correct information about Fukushima nosebleeds, “I only spoke the truth. It is wrong for the prefectural government to raise such a fuss.” Another character in the comic portrays a Fukushima University professor who says, “You simply can’t decontaminate a wide area in Fukushima and make it a place where people can live again.”  http://japandailypress.com/manga-series-oishinbo-under-fire-for-fukushima-depiction-1448413/ — http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0001274657 (Comment – exploiting people’s fears of radiation is a profitable business in Japan. The profiteers don’t seem to care about the damage their irresponsible work causes.)  
  • Attempts to tie Fukushima to movie icon Godzilla are resurfacing in an unusual fashion. Some critics believe that Japan’s movie-makers can say goodbye to their beloved monster because of the nuke accident. Waseda University professor of literature Toshio Takahashi believes that no Japanese movie company wants to make Godzilla movies because of the controversy over nuke power that exists. Although Godzilla has always been tied to nuclear bomb blasts, the professor says people would necessarily connect it to Fukushima radiation releases because “Godzilla gains strength from nuclear power and he spews radiation everywhere.” New Japanese-made Godzilla movies would make the existing nuclear controversy worse because “he’d ultimately force people to ask hard questions”. Fukushima is too touchy of an issue for Japanese film-makers to deal with. No matter which “side” of the nuclear issue is projected, it will offend large numbers of people. http://japandailypress.com/after-fukushima-godzilla-will-probably-never-come-home-to-japan-1548458/