June 16, 2014

Jun 16, 2014 | Fukushima Accident Updates

  • Tepco reports that 1078 fuel bundles have been removed from the unit #4 pool. This is slightly more than 70% of the total 0f 1533 that was in the pool before the transfer operation began late last year. Of the total number safely transferred, 1056 were used (irradiated) bundles. Thus, nearly 80% of the 1331 actual spent fuel bundles have been removed from #4 spent fuel pool. http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/decommision/index-e.html  Tepco also reports that the total money disbursed to Fukushima evacuees in compensation for the state-mandated evacuation now stands at $39.6 billion (USD). http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/comp/images/jisseki-e.pdf
  • Well water in Fukushima Prefecture is clean and safe. The prefectural government has tested 185 wells in the Hamadori and Nakadori regions and found them all safe to drink. The wells are located in 41 cities, towns and villages in the two regions, including evacuation areas. All analyses had no detectible contamination from F. Daiichi. The Nakadori region runs along the Pacific coastline and Hamadori is the region immediately adjacent to the west. Most of the F. Daiichi exclusion zone is in Nakadori and the northwest exclusion corridor runs into Hamadori. 25 of the tested wells were inside the mandated exclusion zone. The results show that communities can use well water as an alternative source if their normal supplies are contaminated. The screenings were run between October of 2013 and this past March. http://www.fukushimaminponews.com/news.html?id=358
  • Fukushima Prefecture’s birth rate recovered to pre-accident levels. After 3/11/11, the prefecture’s birth rate fell by 4% in 2011 and 7% in 2012. However, it rose 12% in 2013, the largest increase in all of Japan’s 47 prefectures. Since the quake/tsunami catastrophe and nuke accident of 2011, the government has instituted several policies to improve the childbearing environment by offering free medical care, increasing indoor play areas and detection of radioactive materials in school lunches. http://www.fukushimaminponews.com/news.html?id=357
  • A new robot has been added to the F. Daiichi decommissioning team. Clean-up inside the unit #2 reactor building has begun using an advanced robot made by Husqvarna and modified by Toshiba for use at F. Daiichi. The floors of the building have been cleaned by an earlier robot, named “raccoon”, but the walls, cable trays and ducts could not be reached. The new robot can reach as high as five meters. A dozen cameras are mounted on the machine to allow remote-control operators the best-possible views for operation. The operators are located in a small structure outside unit #2 where radiation levels are well-below permissible levels for nuclear workers. http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/2014/1237440_5892.html  For pictures of the new robot, see… http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/handouts/2014/images/handouts_140606_09-e.pdf  Pictures of the “raccoon” robot can be found here… http://photo.tepco.co.jp/en/date/2013/201311-e/131127-03e.html
  • The new Nuclear Regulation Authority Commissioner met with the Press. Tokyo University professor Satoru Tanaka has been criticized by nuclear opponents because…to be blunt…he’s a genuine nuclear energy expert. Tanaka said he has been involved in nuclear energy-related education and research and will utilize his experience as an NRA commissioner. He fully recognizes that a commissioner should make independent decisions and added that the Fukushima accident should not have happened. Tanaka says he will make judgments while keeping in mind that human knowledge has limits and nuclear energy will always have risks. He and Tohoku University Geologist Akira Ishiwatari will replace two current commissioners in September. Ishiwatari has not come under attack. A few lawmakers say Tanaka is unqualified because he is the former member of the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum and has received more than $100,000 (USD) in research grants from Tepco over the past three years. NHK World; New NRA member rejects criticism; June 13, 2014
  • The NRA has posted their latest analytical results of the seabed off-shore from F. Daiichi. The sea-bottom at 6 kilometers distance has about 2,000 Becquerels per kilogram of Cesium-137. At 4 kilometers distance, the Cs-137 concentration is about 1,000 Bq/kg. The highest reading was at the mouth of the Abukuma River, more than 40km north of F. Daiichi, with a level of 2,700 Bq/kg. The University of Tokyo and the National Maritime Research Institute ran the analyses covering a 1,000-sq.-km area. The new data compares favorably with that posted by the local fisheries in 2012, indicating that the Cesium is fixed in the seabed and not migrating. http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/06/14/national/nra-reveals-cesium-readings-seabed-fukushima-1/#.U5w0d6NOUdU
  • US EPA Deputy Secretary Daniel Poneman agrees with Japan’s new energy policy. He feels that nuclear energy is vital in reducing carbon emissions. Japan’s new policy calls for a steady reduction in nuclear reliance, but allows for nuke operation as a base-load electricity source. Pone man finds this entirely appropriate. NHK World; Senior US official welcomes Japan’s nuclear stance; June 13, 2014
  • A monthly Jiji Press poll shows a slight majority of their audience opposes nuke restarts. The most recent survey showed that 51.9% of the respondents disfavor nuclear energy resumption and 33.7% favor it. However, members of PM Shinzo Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party show 55.2% support for restarts and 31% against. Politically-independent respondents are 58.5% against and 26.2% in favor. http://jen.jiji.com/jc/eng?g=eco
  • Japanese antinuclear forces held a restart protest rally in Kagoshima City. 700 demonstrators gathered at the prefectural assembly on Friday demanding that none of the Sendai nuclear units resume operation. They included locals as well as people from Tokyo and Fukushima Prefecture. One local, age 65, said he lives 30 kilometers from the nuke station and no evacuation plans have been drawn up. A Tokyo woman says Japan has been living quite well without nukes for a long time so the Sendai units are not needed. She accused nuclear companies of only thinking of profits and not caring if people’s lives are threatened. Kagoshima Governor Yuichiro Ito says he will decide on the restart if the plant passes the NRA safety screening, while taking into account the opinion of the prefectural assembly. Two Sendai Pressurized Water Reactor units are thought to be at the top of the list for the NRA safety evaluation process. http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20140613_28.html